Brown Eyed Baker »

[4 Sep 2010 | No Comment | 4 views]

Welcome back to another Saturday edition of The Weekend Dish. Thank you for the great feedback last week; I’m so happy that this is something you all enjoy. So here we go! Amazingly, I made nothing with chocolate this week. I must have a fever. Oh well wait, the Cowboy Cookies had chocolate chips. But [...]

Michael Ruhlman »

[3 Sep 2010 | No Comment | 24 views]

Michael Ruhlman »

[3 Sep 2010 | No Comment | 13 views]

Brown Eyed Baker »

[3 Sep 2010 | No Comment | 19 views]

Cinnamon Ice Cream Yield: About 1 quart Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes | Chill Time: 8 hours | Churn Time: 20 minutes 1 cup whole milk ¾ cup granulated sugar Pinch of salt Ten 3-inch cinnamon sticks, broken up 2 cups heavy cream, divided 5 egg yolks 1. Warm the milk, sugar, salt, cinnamon [...]

Simply Recipes »

[3 Sep 2010 | No Comment | 14 views]

Corn Relish

You know one of the reasons why hot dogs are such favorites with kids? Well, at least when I was a kid we got to choose our own toppings. The act of getting the toppings on just right, without making a complete mess, was challenging. But we had such a feeling of accomplishment, keeping the mustard or ketchup inside of the bun instead of all over the floor. Of course, eating the hot dog was another matter. Hard to avoid that mess. ;-) My favorite topping, next to mustard of course, was sweet relish, which I would pile on with gusto. I do believe the reason they wrap hot dogs in paper at ball games is to catch the relish, so you can still eat it, and not waste a morsel. Right?

Continue reading “Corn Relish” »


101 Cookbooks »

[2 Sep 2010 | No Comment | 21 views]

I packed a number of things for last weekend’s getaway to Mendocino. One pair of flip-flops, one book, a stack of magazines, a bottle of bubbles, ten rolls of film, three cameras, a tripod, and a bag of limoncello macaroons. I bookmarked these Pinched Orange Macaroons a while back, and when my sister gave me a bottle of limoncello (made from lemons in her yard), I decided to do a twist on Patrick Lemble’s cookies using the homemade citrus liqueur and zest. I thought they’d be a nice little treat for the cabin. The cookies are made primarily from almond paste and they bake into golden-crusted, powder-coated, almond-citrus gems. A tad messy to make, but well worth it.

Limoncello Macaroon Recipe

Before we dive into the minutiae of macaroon cookie making, I thought I’d share a few photos. For those of you who have missed previous mentions of the cabin, it is waaay off the grid, and a bit rustic - in the very best way possible. I like to sit on the porch and do a whole lot of nothing. We played board games and cards, cracked jokes, and talked a lot about the mountain lion that has been spotted at the cabin over the past few months.

Limoncello Macaroon Recipe

The mountain lion seemed like an abstract concept to me. Abstract in the way that I know there are bears around when I go camping, but I don’t really think about it much because they don’t bother me. There’s a difference here. This mountain lion has apparently killed a couple goats in the area. And then, there’s that photo up above. Lori & Lisa’s cousin rode down the driveway on his quad one afternoon to show us. He’d rigged a motion capture camera near his cabin, just up the road a bit, and apparently the camera captured that frame. It’s hard to tell from my picture, but I assure you, that cat is large.

Limoncello Macaroon Recipe

So, for the most part we stuck around the cabin. Or traveled in a pack when we were out and about. On the food front, Lori made an amazing grilled eggplant, arugula, and mozzarella salad as part of our dinner Saturday night, and if she posts it or publishes it at some point, I’ll be sure to link to it and give you all the heads up. Strong, garlicky, and good. She makes a mean panzanella as well.

Limoncello Macaroon Recipe

As far as the limoncello macaroons are concerned, let me say a few things. First off, they travel quite well. And while they seemed to be at their absolute peak roughly thirty minutes after baking, I placed the cooled cookies in a sealed plastic bag, and they were delicious for days. There wasn’t as much textural difference between the outside crust and the super-moist middle after being bagged, but they were still 90% as good.

Limoncello Macaroon Recipe

They’re also made from one of the simplest batters imaginable. I made one batch following Patrick’s original technique, then took a shortcut with the second batch which you’ll see reflected in my version of the recipe below. In short, I found I didn’t really need to do an egg wash/powder. I found the dough was quite moist. I threw a good amount of powdered sugar down on the counter top and shaped the cookies from there. They had a nice powdered sugar coating without the extra step. If you find you’re not getting enough of a powdered sugar coating before baking, give each ball of dough a light brushing of egg white and a quick roll in more powdered sugar.

Continue reading Limoncello Macaroons…


Dunkin Style »

[2 Sep 2010 | No Comment | 11 views]

I was at Costco last weekend and noticed they had Cole Slaw makings in their refrigerated section, it had a bunch of cabbage, some walnuts and Craisins. It was all pre-packaged and included the dressing, all you had to do was mix it together.

How fun is that? NOT! I thought it would be an interesting slaw, but I was not ABOUT to pay 8 bucks for it.

I stopped by the store and found a bagged mix of two different kinds of cabbage plus carrots. I had Craisins and Walnuts at home. I made it for about a buck!

I used my locally famous Cole Slaw dressing and it rocked my world. It is best eaten the same day, as the nuts become soft after a day or two.

1 package of green cabbage (or cut your own)
1 package of purple cabbage (or cut your own)
1 bag of shredded carrots
1/2 cup of Craisins
1/2 cup of Walnuts

The Dressing:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tbl white vinegar
21/2 tbl lemon juice
Mix the dressing together, incorporating all ingredients
Add the vegetables and Craisins, and let sit several hours to overnight
Add the nuts on top before serving