Cranberry-Orange Scones

If 2008 was the year of the muffin and 2009 was the year of the scone, why am I already baking a batch of scones in 2010? Shouldn't I be moving on now? To cookies, perhaps, or cupcakes or brownies or croissants. There are too many bakeable lovelies, really, for me to remain so enamored with scones. Except that they're easy to pull off. Give me twenty minutes and a pint of cream, I'll be sliding a batch into the oven only to stare lovingly at them through the glass until they reach an appropriate shade of toastiness. Then, I'll eat one straight up, searingly hot and soft, which gives me the strength to wait until the remainder of the batch cools. Add a fat cloud of gently sloped frosting and then the rest of them may not last the day. Honestly, I'm not sure I can move on from the scones. Especially when I just keep getting better at making them. They may be my signature baked good, so take note: you'll be seeing plenty of scones again this year.


Cranberry-Orange Scones
Makes 18 medium-size scones

Scones
3 cups sifted flour
1/2 cup sugar
5 tsp baking powder
scant 1/2 tsp salt
zest of an orange
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold
1/2 cup dried cranberries (sweetened or plain, your choice)
3/4 cup whipping cream
1 egg, lightly beaten

Frosting
3 T butter, softened or melted
3 cups powdered sugar
1 T maple syrup
juice of an orange

Turn the oven to 350º and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with nonstick spray.

Use a food processor to whirl the flour, salt, baking powder, orange zest and sugar together to mix. Add the butter, cutting it into tablespoons and pulsing until the mixture is crumbly like thick, wet sand. (You can cut the butter in by hand too.) Add the cranberries and pulse until spread throughout — this chops a few of them up which spreads them throughout the batter. Place the mixture into a large bowl and form a hole in the center. Pour the cream and egg into the hole and use a fork to stir them together, gently pulling the sandy flour into the center until everything is barely mixed. The dough should hold together when pinched.*

Shape the dough into three balls about the size of your two hands cupped together. Do this as gently and quickly as possible. Against a floured countertop, press the balls into flat rounds, one at a time, until one inch thick. Use a knife or bench scraper to cut each round into six wedges. Place the wedges on the baking sheet, at least an inch apart, and continue with the next ball. When all the scones are shaped, bake for 20 minutes then check for doneness. They may need another 5 minutes. They should be puffed to double their size and brown at the edges.


While the scones cool, whisk the frosting ingredients together, adding only enough orange juice to make the frosting fluffy and spreadable, not too loose to hold its shape. Frost when the scones are completely cooled and let set to dry or eat immediately. If you'd rather not frost your scones, simply brush the cut wedges with more cream and sprinkle with sugar before baking.

* Note: If you live in a dry climate, you may need to add more cream to get the dough to hold together. Don't be afraid to do so. Add one tablespoon at a time until the dough sticks together, then proceed.

Black Bean Soup Nachos with Eggs

A nice plate of creative nachos never hurt anyone.

Give me a minute now to explain the weirdness. Deep breath. When my family comes to stay, I buy way, way, wah-hay too much food. It stems from the looks my mother gives me when she sees space in my refrigerator, like we might starve. And, yes, I overreact to this, despite years of visits and their aftermath, despite knowing we'll shop at some point for even more food, despite knowing we'll assemble a dinner or two from things that now exist in the cupboard and will afterwards need to be puzzled into the refrigerator. I stuff the appliance to the gills just to avoid that look. It needles me.

This holiday visit, due partly to the abundance of Christmas dinner leftovers and also to the storm that moved in, we skipped several planned meals together. Meals I had shopped for. At Costco, no less. Uh-oh. For a while, it worked out swell. George and I got stuck here too, and ate at the crowd-sized portion of veggie stroganoff that barely fit into a 9x13" casserole. Took a week to polish that off. Midway through, I started the black bean soup, which I adore and George hates. I puree it lightly, keeping it a bit on the chunky side, and then swirl some brilliant green cilantro-lime creme across the top for serving. Doesn't matter what I do to the stuff, George dislikes it. He'll eat it only once. And here I'd made a group portion, crockpot style. So I got creative yesterday, spurred by the desperate knowledge that if I didn't, I would be eating this for two more weeks. The result: eggs poached in leftover soup served nacho style over crushed (nearly stale) chips, made more appealing with cheese and cilantro-spiked sour cream. It was actually delicious. Really. Thick and filling and warm and George really liked it. Ha. Fooled him.

Black Bean Soup Nachos with Eggs
Serves 2

3-4 cups leftover black bean soup
4 eggs
2-3 large handfuls of almost stale chips (you can use fresh, but this is a perfect use for slightly stale leftovers)
1/4 cup grated cheddar
salsa
sour cream
cilantro
lime, optional

Eggs bubbling in a pot of soup? Who knew it would taste so good.

In a wide bottomed pan with a lid, reheat the soup over medium heat. When the soup starts to bubble, add in the eggs, one per quadrant, if you imagine your pan is divided into quarters. Place the lid over the top and let simmer for 5-7 minutes, depending on how well set you like your eggs. In the meantime, crush a handful or so of chips onto each plate, grate your cheddar, and get out your condiments. If you want to make cilantro creme, wash a fat handful of cilantro and whir it in a blender with 1/4 cup of sour cream and a squeeze of lime juice. Easy. Otherwise, just get everything out of the fridge and set it aside.

It doesn't look overly appetizing here, but wait for it...

When the eggs are set, use a spatula to arrange two of them on each stack of chips, then split the remaining soup by pouring it over the plates. Top with grated cheese, sour cream (or cilantro creme), salsa and another handful of chips, if desired. Eat and be amazed that you didn't think of making this before. Make a mental note that you will immediately forget. Move on.

Not bad looking, right?

What's left in the refrigerator, you might be wondering? Well, I was able to freeze a good portion of my stockpile, cheeses and tortillas mostly. Only one head of lettuce remains, and a pile of cauliflower/broccoli/eggplant/mushrooms that I'm roasting as I write this, hoping to toss it into last-minute salads. We're on the last dozen of eggs, thank goodness for holiday baking! To use the milk, we're having biscuits and gravy tonight. Maybe I'll post that later on. Mmmm, biscuits. Happy new year!

What we've been eating

These cinnamon rolls were an instant family fave...

Unfortunately, I have been following others' recipes most of this month. December doesn't bring out the most creativity in me. In part because I am responsible for feeding family members who, unlike George, tend to complain loudly if they don't like something. Takes away one's daring nature. So, aside from a few new cookie recipes I tried, I stuck mainly to tried and true menu items: mashed potatoes, baked sweet potatoes a la Rosette, mom's lefse, stuffing (can't go wrong with this no matter what), veggie meatballs, etc. I crammed handfuls of stuffing into chicken breasts to pacify the meat eaters and otherwise purchased cold cuts to keep complaints to a minimum. End of my holiday food worries. Begin handing out warmed plates of steaming leftovers with mugs of hot chocolate, apple tea and cider.

My inspired leftover squash and fennel spaghetti dish. Yum.

Leftovers, on the other hand, were a weird mix. I made this broken spaghetti bowl by mixing roasted squash and fennel chunks with vinaigrette and leftover pasta, garnished with parsley. No complaints here, though it seems too complicated to set up as a routine recipe.

Probably the standout treat we ate this year was the cinnamon rolls from The Pioneer Woman Cooks by Ree Drummond, which makes about 50 rolls. I started the dough in advance and froze them in pie tins of 8, thawing them one or two at a time as needed for breakfasts. They're pill0w-soft and delicious. I added orange zest to the recipe (because I like a hint of citrus to cut the butter) and then glazed half with the coffee icing she makes and half with a simple vanilla version (my parents and one sister are anti-coffee). I'm hesitant to write out the book's recipe, since I can't find it previously posted online and don't wish to be the first to steal it. Instead, I'm repeating her post here, with a direct link to the original, because Ree's step-by-step also has a gorgeous photo alongside it. Very easy to follow. I'm telling you, this may make a whole lot of rolls, but you WILL eat them. Or give them away so that you won't. Either way, you won't be sorry.

Pioneer Woman’s Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

• 1 quart Whole Milk
• 1 cup Vegetable Oil
• 1 cup Sugar
• 2 packages Active Dry Yeast
• 8 cups (Plus 1 Cup Extra, Separated) All-purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda
• 1 Tablespoon (heaping) Salt
• Plenty Of Melted Butter
• 2 cups Sugar
• Generous Sprinkling Of Cinnamon

• To the filling, VTD adds: zest of two oranges

MAPLE FROSTING:

• 1 bag Powdered Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Maple Flavoring
• ½ cups Milk
• ¼ cups Melted Butter
• ¼ cups Brewed Coffee
• ⅛ teaspoons Salt

This recipe makes about 50 cinnamon rolls. Or six lovely pie plates worth for all of your visiting relations. For preparation instructions with step-by-step photos, visit this Pioneer Woman Cooks original post from June 1, 2007.

Second-Wind Hazelnut Bites

Tiny bursts of energy (for what's wrong with my fingernails, see note)

I've been reading and reviewing cookbooks at a somewhat alarming pace. In order to give solid recommendations, I try to follow at least one recipe before delivering my verdict on someone's years of hard work. While I've never really been curious about raw food, Stephanie Tourles book about raw snacks hit a different note. Suppose it's possible to reap the benefits of eating raw by simply incorporating it into my snacking regimen, why, I'd have to reconsider my view. The recipes sound surprisingly delicious, particularly the energy bar and snack section. I flagged a number of pages, perused my local bulk store and came home with ingredients to test several raw snacks. Let's pretend I started with the PMS-preventative ones at random.

To my surprise, these Second-Wind Hazelnut Bars are extra sweet and chewy with just the right amount of texture. If this is how raw foods go down, count me in.

The recipe makes 24 small snack bites.

Second-Wind Hazelnut Bites
Recipe by Stephanie Tourles (as printed in Raw Energy)
Makes 24 small bites

1/2 cup raw hazelnuts
1/2 cup raw, hulled sunflower seeds
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut, finely shredded
1/4 cup raw honey
1/4 cup raw sesame tahini

1. Grind the hazelnuts and sunflower seeds into a medium-fine meal in a nut and seed grinder. [I used the food processor.]
2. Transfer the nut mixture to a medium bowl and stir in coconut, honey and tahini. Use your hands to blend the ingredients well and mash them into a small, cohesive dough ball.
3. Pinch off small pieces of dough and roll them into bite-size balls about 1 inch in diameter.
4. For the best flavor and consistenty, allow the balls to set for 24 hours before eating. Store the balls in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator and consume within 2 or 3 weeks. They may be individually wrapped, using waxed paper or plastic wrap, and taken with you to enjoy as portable energy bites.
   

Close-up of the final product, which resembles raw oatmeal cookie dough.

Stephanie Tourles is the author of Raw Energy: 124 Raw Food Recipes for Energy Bars, Smoothies, and Other Snacks to Supercharge Your Body, due out this month from Storey Publishing.

Orange and Oat Scones, Take 1

The crumbly little boogers.

My weakness for scones parlayed into an early test run of this recipe, which I'd originally scheduled to coincide with visiting holiday guests. Thankfully my greed got the best of me, as these did not turn out. I mean, yes, they tasted good. So in a sense they're fine. But in the super fluffy, light scone sense, the baking sheet of crumbs I pulled from the oven was not really fine at all. Unexpected. The recipe, printed in My Nepenthe by Romney Steele, has garnered a bit of food blogger attention.

This relative failure has me convinced the weather is ruining my scones. You'd think the cooler temperatures would be condusive to the already-rushed process of mixing chilled ingredients, yet it seems to keep the butter so cool that the mixture never gels. Unless I knead it, which isn't recommended. So, for now, I've got my eye on this Heidi Swanson adaptation, hoping the buttermilk substitution will resurrect the dough into unified, solid scones.

Tomato-Onion Jam

Layered on olive foccacia bread, yellow tomato, fresh mozzarella
and tomato-onion jam stand ready to go on the panini grill.

There's no good way to photograph this and I'll tell you why. First, I used up my slowly-ripening garden tomatoes that have been sitting on a sheet tray in the dining room for two months. They're more mottled than any single color, though they still taste delicious, and they made the jam a precarious shade of purple I hadn't hoped to see. Second, caramelized onions look terribly inedible to me, brown and transcluent, like ghosts of themselves. Between the description and subsequent hue of my jam, you probably don't even want to make this anymore. Which is why you should ignore me completely and make it. Throw caution to the wind. Just know that you'll end up with a rich, complex, flavorful condiment that moistens a sandwich nicely while managing to be outright good for you. That's right, no mayo needed. Now are you with me?

Tomato-Onion Jam
Makes about a cup

1 tsp olive oil
1 large yellow or white onion, peeled and diced
4 large tomatoes, any kind or color, cored and diced
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp sugar
salt & pepper to taste

In a heavy-bottomed pot, warm the oil over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Add the onion and toss to coat with oil, then cook with the lid over top for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions go brown and transclucent. Add the tomato, vinegar, sugar and a pinch of salt and cook, lid on, for another 10 minutes. The tomatoes should cook down quite a bit, making a sauce in the bottom of the pan, but still retain some of their shape. Turn the heat off and taste, seasoning with more salt and pepper as needed. Use on a sandwich now or let cool and store.

Keep the jam in the refrigerator as you would a fruit jam. It goes well on sandwiches with vegetables like eggplant and mushrooms and nearly any kind of melting cheese.

Olive Foccacia

Chunks of fresh foccacia in a glass cookie jar, ready for Thanksgiving dinner.

I must say, I do love bread. Especially multi-textured bits that can be used for sandwiches as well as eaten with dinner. Foccacia is one of my favorite bread children. Plain, it has so few ingredients you can assemble it quickly and bake it up immediately. Flavored, it turns into an entirely different bread without much extra effort. I start the flavored recipe at night, whipping everything together and kneading, then shoving the bowl in the refrigerator overnight to let the flavors blend. Come morning, I flip it out into an oiled baking sheet and let it rise for a few hours, then 25 minutes of baking and it's done. The problem is that though the recipe is pretty hands-off, I can't stay away from it. Something about the way it burbles up in the pan, spreads itself out, it all begs to be touched. I'm already proud of it, the brainlike, wrinkled dough. I have this idea that it will one day be president.

Olive Foccacia
Makes one baking sheet-sized bread

5 tsp active dry yeast
1 + 3/4 cups warm water
1 tsp sugar or honey
1/2 cup EVOO
5 cups flour
2 tsp sea salt
1 cup kalamata olives, drained thoroughly
zest of one lemon
2 tsp dried oregano
coarse salt for sprinkling, about a teaspoon

1/4 cup EVOO for pan

In a cereal bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water and sugar. Let sit 5-10 minutes, until the mixture is bubbly and you can't see granules of yeast. While the yeast does its thing, zest the lemon and drain the olives into another small bowl and add the oregano. Mix together and let sit to combine flavors.

Measure the flour and sea salt into a large bowl. Add the oil to the yeast mixture, then pour over into the flour and salt, using a wooden spoon to make a shaggy, soft dough. Scrape the dough out onto a floured surface and knead, about 5-7 minutes, until the dough comes together smoothly without sticking, adding up to another 1/2 cup of flour in the process. Flatten the dough as best you can on the counter, then pour the bowl of olives and seasonings over it. Knead it in gently, poking olives back inside as they fall out. It will look a mess, but somehow it works out okay. Oil a large bowl and place the dough inside, covering with saran wrap. There should be plenty of room for the dough to rise. Place the dough in the refrigerator and let rise overnight.

Two hours before baking (in winter; for summer, it will take less time to warm), remove the dough from the refrigerator. Add the 1/4 cup EVOO to a rimmed baking sheet, using your fingers to spread it evenly around and coat the corners well. Place the dough on the sheet, spreading and flattening it as much as possible. Don't worry if it doesn't reach the corners yet, it will relax more as it warms up. Let the dough soften for an hour, then spread and flatten again, working until the dough reaches the edges and corners of the pan. Let rest and rise for 30 minutes to an hour.

The dimpled dough, ready for the oven.

Preheat the oven to 450º. Poke the dough with your fingers, making divots and dimples on the surface. Sprinkle it with the salt, if using, and more oregano, if you like. Bake 20-30 minutes until golden brown. Remove from pan and try to stop yourself from tearing into it with your bare hands. Or don't stop yourself.

To freeze, and foccacia freezes beautifully, cool on a wire rack completely. Slice bread into sandwich-sized rectangles or dinner-sized squares and wrap in aluminum foil. Reheat in the oven, inside the foil, for 10-15 minutes at 375º. If using a panini grill for sandwiches, let the bread come to room temperature and then stuff and grill it. The oils will pop out of the crust without any additional fat and give it a nice crisp texture.