Bacon Rosemary Einkorn-Cornmeal Biscuits | #EinkornExperiment

The experiment in einkorn continues! I've been in the mood for biscuits lately, so I thought that was the perfect excuse to do further experimenting with the all-purpose einkorn flour that I mentioned last month. I started with a base recipe that I'd saved from the November issue of Cooking Light magazine, when best intentions of adding it to my Thanksgiving menu fell through.

The original recipe used spelt flour, and I thought since spelt and einkorn were so similar (and sometimes used interchangeably), that maybe this recipe would translate well. I did change things up a bit by adding fresh rosemary and that elusive thing known as leftover bacon to the mix.

Peach-Rosemary Shrub Syrup

I've been meaning to try making (and drinking) a shrub for at least 3 or 4 years now. I'm not really sure why I've waited so long, seeing as they couldn't be any easier to make. So, when you think shrub, does your mind automatically go to the bushes outside your childhood home? Or, if you're like me, a little TLC song might start playing on a constant loop in your head. (Yes, I know it's scrub, not shrub. I can't help the way my mind works.) What I'm really referring to are the shrubs that are also known as "drinking vinegars".

Basically, you macerate fresh fruit or berries with sugar until the fruit is soft and the sugar is dissolved, then you add vinegar and allow the mixture to infuse for several days. You can add fresh herbs or spices for different flavors. Once the mixture has infused, you strain out the solids and use the resulting sweet and tangy syrup to flavor things, usually drinks (though you could use it in vinaigrettes or sauces, as well).

Panmarino (Italian Rosemary Bread)

It's the 16th, and you know what that means - Bread Baking Babes time! Cathy from Bread Experience is our BBBabe kitchen of the month, and her bread choice was influenced by her Tuscany state-of-mind (after spending time there recently). Can you blame her? Not me. I don't think I'd get it off the brain for years. It's been my numero uno destination spot for as long as I can remember. Her choice: Panmarino, or Italian Rosemary Bread.

Described as a bread that's fragrant with rosemary, with a crust that "sparkled with diamonds", I couldn't wait to pull mine from the oven. It's a fairly simple recipe. Aside from the Biga* that needs to sit for at least 14 hours before you make the bread, it comes together quickly, as well.

The original recipe makes 4 one-pound loaves. That's actually not too much, as I bet neighbors and family and friends would readily welcome one into their kitchen (or you could freeze a couple). But I decided to halve the recipe the first time around.

Midnight Margaritas (with a side of remembrance) | Practical Magic #FoodnFlix

There's some things though, I know for certain: always throw spilled salt over your left shoulder, keep rosemary by your garden gate, plant lavender for good luck, and fall in love whenever you can. 

Our food 'n flix pick for this month was an oldie, but a goodie: Practical Magic.  Sisters Sally and Gillian are raised by their quirky, lovable aunts after their father dies due to an age-old curse on the Owens women and their mother shortly after, of a broken heart.  The aunts serve chocolate cake for breakfast, they dose out love spells for the townsfolk, and they teach their nieces the importance of plants, herbs, and other magical properties.

I'll Drink to That: Strawberry-Infused Gin + Strawberry Ice Cubes

Yes, this post consists of all Instagram photos.  I'm hopelessly addicted.  I'll admit to being a late-starter when it comes to Instagram, though.  I really didn't think I'd ever actually be "on" there.  I have a boring old cell phone.  It slides, I can text.  (But I rarely do.)

And then for Christmas, I was surprised.  It's a rare thing for me to be surprised by a gift, as I usually have to HINT at what I actually want.  And, or need.  I'd dropped a few not-so- casual suggestions that may or may not have involved the ridiculous camera on my Average (ummm...as in not Smart) phone.

A tablet was not one of those gentle suggestions.  Sure, I wanted one.  But I never really let myself dream of it, because I just didn't think it was doable right now.  My husband has a way of pulling off the impossible.  Sometimes I'm curious as to how he does it.  This time, I didn't care - didn't want to question.  I was shocked into silence when I tore off the wrapping paper (and a "decoy" box, mind you) to find a tablet.  A tablet of my very own.  My very first app was Instagram.

There's just something that I love about the imperfection of Instagram shots.  They're more of a peek into daily life - real, raw, blemished.

That said, I really wanted to talk booze today.  Infused booze, to be exact.  It's not random, I have a plan for this strawberry-colored (and lightly flavored) gin.  But you will have to wait until next weekend to find out what exactly that plan is.

Consider it a heads-up.  Make a batch of this and have it ready and waiting.  It's going to be a cocktail that is totally pretty-in-pink.  Mmm hmm.  You know what holiday is just around the corner.  Just witness the lovey-dovey ice cubes I've sneaked (snuck?) in alongside the booze for whimsy.

Strawberry-Infused Gin + Strawberry Ice Cubes

by Heather Schmitt-González

Prep Time: 24 hours (basically unattended

Cook Time: n/a

Keywords: beverage alcohol strawberries Gin Valentines Day birthday

Ingredients (8 fluid ounce)

for the Strawberry-Infused Gin:

• ~8 ripe strawberries, hulled & sliced
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary, optional (see notes)
• 8 floz. Gin

for the Strawberry Ice Cubes:

• strawberries
• water

Instructions

Strawberry Infused Gin (yield: 8 oz.)

Place sliced strawberries and rosemary sprig in a 1 pint canning jar. Add Gin. Cover tightly and let sit for about 24 hours; it doesn't take long for the gin to leach the color and flavor from the delicate berries. Shake a few times, you know, whenever you walk by. Strain into a clean jar.

note:

You could leave the rosemary out for plain strawberry infused gin. You could also switch up the herbs - try using basil, mint, or sage instead.

Strawberry Ice Cubes (yield: varies)

Hull the strawberries and chop them roughly. Mash up a bit with a fork. Place into ice cube trays and top off with water. (Use heart-shaped silicone ice cube trays - or chocolate/candy molds - for Valentine ice cubes.) Freeze until solid.

Add to cocktails (or lemonade, tea, etc.) for a fun twist!

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I already know what I'm making with this Strawberry-Infused Gin... what would YOU make with it?

50 Women Game-Changers (in Food): #17 Dorothy Hamilton - Caramelized Fruit w/ Rosemary

In May '11, Gourmet posted a list of 50 Women Game-Changers (in Food) that runs the gamut from food writers to cookbook authors to television personalities to restauranteurs to chefs to food bloggers.  Some are a given.  Some are controversial.  Speaking the names of some brings fond childhood memories.  Speaking the names of others will make some readers cringe.  And of course, some of our favorites were not even included.  We food-lovers are a passionate bunch of people and whether we agree or disagree, every woman on this list has earned her place for a reason.  Being a woman who is passionate about food (cooking, eating, talking about, writing about, photographing), when I caught wind of Mary from One Perfect Bite's idea of cooking/blogging her way through each of these 50 women...one per week...I knew I wanted to join her.  Many of these women paved the way for us in culinary school, in the kitchen, in cookbooks, in food writing, and on television and I think it is a fabulous way to pay tribute to their efforts.  Some of the women on the list have been tops with me for years.  Some I have heard of (perhaps even seen, read, or cooked from) before.  And there are even a handful that I am not familiar with at all.  I excited to educate myself on each of these women game-changers and hope you look forward to reading along.  We are going in order from 1 to 50.

the "Gourmet" prompt...

17. Dorothy Hamilton- Educator extraordinaire, Hamilton founded Manhattan’s International Culinary Center, formerly known as the French Culinary Institute: It counts among its many alumni a triumvirate of iconoclasts dominant in 21st–century food world U.S.A.: David Chang, Dan Barber, and Wylie Dufresne.

Hmmmm....Dorothy Hamilton.  Where to begin?  How's about with the fact that I hadn't heard of her before "the list" came out.  Ugh.  She's pretty world-famous.  I'm in the culinary field.  Why on earth did I not know of her?  I mean, she's the founder of The French Culinary Institute which was opened in 1984 as a small, but well-respected French cooking school.  Only  now it is the International Culinary Center, a world-class educational facility and destination... which has launched over 15,000 culinary careers.  Pretty Impressive.   Aside from winning numerous awards, including ones from the James Beard Foundation, she is also the creator and host of a 26-part television series that aired on PBS called Chef's Story...as well as the author of the companion book.   (She conceived textbooks for the culinary school, as well.)  So, isn't it ironic how I couldn't find a single recipe by her to make today?  Instead, I used a recipe devised for her by a grad of the ICC.

Caramelized Fruit with Rosemary

adapated from André Soltner for A Bon Vivant's Diet (Dorothy Hamilton article) in Food & Wine

        1 c. sugar
        1 Tbs. freshly squeezed lemon juice
        1 rosemary sprig
        ½ c. water
        2 large, firm but ripe Bartlett pears, peeled, cored and cut into ¾" cubes
        2 mangoes, peeled and cut into 1" cubes
        3 bananas, cut into 1" pieces

    Preheat the broiler. In a small saucepan, combine 1/2 cup of the sugar with the lemon juice, rosemary and 1/4 cup of the water and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Let cool.

    In another small saucepan, combine the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar with 2 tablespoons of the water. Cook over high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Cook without stirring until a deep amber caramel forms, about 5 minutes longer. Remove from heat and carefully add the remaining 2 tablespoons of water. Very carefully- it will spit and sputter a bit.  When the steam subsides, stir the caramel over moderate heat just until the sugar that has seized up a bit from adding the water dissolves again and the caramel is smooth again.

    Thread the fruit on 16 skewers. Set the skewers on a baking sheet and brush with the rosemary syrup; let stand for 10 minutes. Broil the skewers on 1 side only for about 3 minutes, until caramelized. Transfer the skewers to a large plate, drizzle with the caramel sauce and serve.  I looooved the flavor of the rosemary/lemon sugar syrup, so I stirred what was left of it after brushing onto the fruit, into the caramel.

The rosemary syrup and caramel sauce can be kept at room temperature for up to 1 day.  I recommend broiling these very close to the fire.  Mine didn't get as caramelized as I would have liked in the little time it takes them to be "warm enough".  Good...loved the caramel...but overall- meh.

Who is cooking along with these 50 Women Game-Changers?

Mary- One Perfect Bite, Val- More Than Burnt Toast, Joanne- Eats Well With Others, Taryn- Have Kitchen Will Feed, Susan- The Spice Garden, Heather- girlichef, Miranda- Mangoes and Chutney, Jeanette- Jeanette's Healthy Living, Katie- Making Michael Pollan Proud, Kathy- Bakeaway with Me, Sue- The View from Great Island, Amy- Beloved Green, Barbara- Moveable Feasts, Linda- There and Back Again, Kathleen- Gonna Want Seconds, Martha- Lines from Linderhof, Nancy- Picadillo

Raisin Rosemary Bread

This bread is what I would call a little bit unexpected.  It uses bread flour...regular old white bread flour...and yet it is dense and chewy, deeply flavorful and brown!  And while it's true that the heady, piney rosemary threaded throughout the bread is a major contributor to the "deeply flavorful" factor (not to mention the intoxicating smell it emits), it's actually the humble raisin that plays the star in this loaf.  Bruised and battered into submission, the pulpy raisin spreads its stickiness...its essence...to every last inch of this bread.

Unexpected.  In a glorious way.

Raisin Rosemary Bread
As I've been doing a lot lately, I turned this recipe around a bit so that I could let my bread machine do all of the heavy work in the beginning.  You can just as easily change the order of things to mix it by hand (since that was how the original recipe was written).  If you do it by hand, you may will want to run your knife through the raisins a few times to "open them up", so that they still give the bread that gorgeous color, perfume, and flavor throughout.
adapted from Jamie's Kitchen
yield: 1 loaf

2 c. tepid water + more as needed
1 Tbs. honey
just over 1 lb. (3-4 c.) bread flour + more as needed
1 Tbs. salt
scant 2 Tbs. instant yeast
~⅓ c. fresh rosemary leaves
~9 oz. (~1½ c.) raisins

Add the ingredients in the order listed from water through yeast to the pan of your bread machine and select dough cycle.  Adjust water and/or flour as needed until your dough is neither sticky nor dry...it should be just "tacky".  Add raisins and rosemary to pan just once everything is mixed correctly and just as it starts to knead the ingredients together.  Let cycle run (and rise).

Turn dough out onto a floured counter and knead for a few minutes by hand.  Form into either a free-form round or long loaf and place on a baking sheet that has been dusted with flour.  Alternately, oil a loaf pan really well, form dough into a cylinder and place in pan.  Cover lightly with a greased film of plastic or a clean kitchen towel and let rise until doubled in size, ~45 minutes - 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350° F during last 15 or 20 minutes of rise time.

Score the length of the bread with a sharp knife, stick a sprig of rosemary in (if you wish) and slide into preheated oven.  Depending on how  you formed  your loaf, bake for anywhere from 25-50 minutes, until golden and crisp.  It seems to take longer to bake if it is in a loaf pan.  If I had to recommend a shape, I'd go with a free form or banneton-formed loaf (it has a tendency of sticking to the pan if baked in one).

This loaf is extremely fragrant and somewhat dense.  It reminds me of brown bread.  Very moist and satisfying.  Jamie recommends serving with a Ploughman's lunch or with a Cheddar cheese sandwich and tangy pickles.  I decided to make a grilled cheese using Extra Sharp cheddar.  I ate it with tangy pickles and washed it down with some dark ale.  It was heaven!  The salty, gooey cheese was the perfect compliment to the sweet, yet herbaceous, hearty bread.

I am also sharing this post with:
*Ott, A's Iron Chef Challenge: Red Star Yeast
*Yeastspotting!

Bacon-Wrapped Cod w/ Rosemary and Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

I've been going through a major rosemary phase lately.  I mean, I've always loved rosemary...just like I love pretty much any herb...but I always wind up getting a crush on one particular herb for a certain period of time.   When that happens, I just can't get enough of it.  Right now, rosemary is the object of my affection.  Maybe it's all the talk of Tuscany lately.  Of course, I've been talking of Tuscany for years, so maybe not.  But something triggered it, and I believe I'll just enjoy this crush while it lasts and stop over-analyzing.  I've been trying to eat more consciously lately.  I want to add more fish and seafood back into my diet.  Our diets.  The difficulty in that is the lack of seafood-lovers (or even toleraters) in my  house.  While everybody is pretty open and willing to try most things around here...I get shot down at fish constantly.  I happen to love it.  I blame it on the fact that we are nowhere near the ocean.  If we lived near the ocean, they would smell the sea and taste the sea and they'd be begging me to bring it to their plates.  However, we do live close enough to some great lakes that you'd think at least trout or bluegill would be accepted willingly.  And you know, it might.  I just realize that I'm a horrible mom who never takes her kids fishing.  Okay, I didn't just realize...but I did just put it in writing.  I mean...I fished as a kid.  I caught crazy turtles and snakes and got chased around my grandma's farm by my cousin with a still-moving fish head on the end of a stick.  Why, oh why haven't I given my children the same opportunity?  Because I don't have any fishing poles.  Or a fishing license.  Or a hubs who enjoys fishing.  Aaahhh...  Anyway, my actual point being that I'm trying slowly but surely to introduce new (to the fam) types of fish and seafood into our diet.  When I can find good, fresh fish or seafood...it's going to make its way onto our plates and into our bellies.  What better way to start than to wrap in something everybody loves?  I mean, we all know that bacon makes everything better.  I found a great bacon-wrapped Cod recipe from Jamie's Food Revolution that worked wonders.  Simple, delicious, full of gorgeous flavors...and when I paired it with some beautiful potatoes...the response was "mmmmpppfff...nnnommm...chewwww...rrrmmmppphh..." {<----- my lame attempt at happy eating noises}.

Bacon-Wrapped Cod w/ Rosemary
and Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

1 chunky cod filet, per person (~7 oz., skin on or off)
3 slices bacon*, per person
2 sprigs rosemary, per person + extra for potatoes
olive oil
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
small handful Fingerling potatoes (any variety), per person

Preheat oven to 475° F.  Line a large sheet tray with foil or parchment.

preparing fingerlings:  Slice any thicker potatoes in half, lengthwise.  Bring a pot of salted water to a boil with potatoes.  Let bubble gently for ~5 minutes.  You want them to just start getting tender.  They will finish cooking in the oven and get some nice, golden edges, as well.  Drain and set aside while preparing cod.

preparing cod: Pick leaves from one of the stems of rosemary for each person, then chop them up fairly finely.  Sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper over the rosemary, then drizzle it all with olive oil and mix it up with your fingers.  Roll each piece of cod in the mixture until they're coated all around with the mixture.  Set aside.

Lay three slices of bacon down next to each other, slightly overlapping and then place a slice of cod on top (skin side up) and wrap the bacon around, leaving the "seam" on the bottom or bottom edge.  Place on prepared sheet pan.  Repeat with all of the cod and bacon.  Set the second (still whole) sprig of rosemary for each serving on the top of the bacon-wrapped fish and drizzle a bit more olive oil over each.  Try to keep all of your fish on one side of the sheet pan, if there's enough room to still leave a little space between each.

both:  Transfer the slightly cooled potatoes to the other half of the prepared sheet tray.  Drizzle with a bit of olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper...and chop a little extra rosemary and throw that on, too.  Toss them around with your fingers a bit, then slide the whole tray into the oven.  If you have too many servings to put both on the same tray, then use two trays.

Slide the tray(s) into the oven and cook for ~10-12 minutes, until the fish is cooked all the way through and the bacon and potatoes are golden with bits of crisp edges.

Serve one bacon-wrapped piece of cod per person with the fingerlings divided amongst each plate.

*You may want to cook your bacon about halfway through before doing this step.  If your bacon is particularly thick, it may not get done by the time the fish is ready...and there's not much worse than over-cooked fish.  If you decide to do this, you could use the rendered fat to toss the potatoes with just before they go into the oven, in place of the olive oil.

Our theme at IHCC this week is Mad About Herbs!

*I am also sharing this post with:

Baked Brie with Rigatoni and Spinach

If you were to ask me what I wanted for Mother's Day, my answer would be simple...just hugs and kisses and a happy day at home with the kiddos that call me mom.  I'm a bit of a homebody.  I like home.  Of course, if you were to throw in a day where I was free from the burdens responsibilities of home like laundry and dishes and cleaning, I wouldn't turn that down.  And if somebody happened to bake me up a round of sexy, oozy, beckoning cheese...well, I may just cry.  

While I adore folding noodles into this warm, comforting blanket of cheese...I also adore eating it with nothing other than a loaf of crusty bread and a bottle of wine.  And I'm not gonna lie, I could eat the whole round all by my lonesome.  But if somebody else happens to be around, I'll share. 

Baked Brie with Rigatoni and Spinach

adapted from (recipe for Baked Camembert & Pasta) Jamie's Food Revolution

serves ~4

1 (8 oz) round of Brie (in the round box)

2 garlic cloves, peeled & sliced paper thin

1 sprig fresh rosemary, leaves picked

olive oil

sea salt

cracked pepper

16 oz. uncooked Rigatoni (or other pasta)

6 oz. baby spinach

freshly grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 350° F.  Line a sheet tray with foil.  Score a circle in the top rind of the Brie, leaving a border of ~½".  Peel/trim back the circle of rind and eat or discard.  Guess which one of those things I did?  Strew the garlic over the exposed cheese.  Crack some pepper over it.  Scatter the rosemary leaves over it and then drizzle the whole thing with a bit of olive oil.

Place the whole thing on your prepared sheet tray and slide into the oven for ~25 minutes or until it oozes deliciousness.  In the meantime, bring a large pot of water to a boil.  (Try to time this to coincide with the last ten minutes or so of your Brie's time in the oven.)  Salt your water and cook your pasta.  Add spinach to water during last minute of cooking time.  Drain, saving ~1 cup of your cooking water.  Return pasta and spinach to pot, drizzle with a bit more olive oil, season with salt and pepper, to taste and grate some Parmesan cheese over it.  Toss.

Divide pasta mixture among serving bowls and serve with your baked Brie...passing it so that everybody can scoop or pour as much as they like over their individual servings of pasta.  Fair warning, if I'm at the table, you may want me to go last...because I could just pass on the pasta and go at the Brie with a spoon...

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mama's out there...I hope this day brings you happiness!  And cheese.