Sugar and Thyme...

Recipe: Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes

I'm on a Nigella Lawson kick, and this recipe from "How to be a Domestic Goddess" (which I tweaked only slightly) seemed too easy and too good to pass up. And it is - though it only took a little more than an hour from start to finish, including washing (okay, rinsing) dishes, I wound up with a dozen beautiful chocolate soldiers, ready to brighten anyone's day.

The batter:
1 stick unsalted butter
4 ounces of bittersweet chocolate, broken into pieces
12 ounces (one small jar) of cherry jam
1/3 cup sugar
large pinch of salt
2 large eggs, beaten
1 cup cake flour
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. When it's almost completely melted, add the chocolate pieces. Let the pan sit over the heat for 15 seconds or so and then turn off the heat (remove the pan from the hot burner if working on an electric stove) and stir the butter and chocolate until smooth and shiny. Add the jam, sugar, salt, and eggs and stir. Add the flour and baking powder to the saucepan and mix until the flour is just incorporated.

Spoon the mixture into lined cupcake tins, being careful to fill the tins only 2/3 full (otherwise your cupcakes will spill over and have large flat tops). Bake for 25 minutes on the middle rack of your oven. When done, cool in the pan on the cooling rack for 10 minutes, then remove them from the pan and cool on the rack.

The frosting:
1/3 cup heavy cream
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
12 chocolate covered cherries

Place the cream and chocolate in a small saucepan over medium heat. Warm the cream to almost boiling and then remove the pan from the heat and stir until smooth. Allow the mixture (which is actually a ganache) to cool to room temperature. Then whisk the ganache until it's thick. Apply to the cupcakes like any other icing and top with a chocolate cherry. Enjoy!

Sunday Supper: Chicken and Rice Soup

It's inevitable - any homemade soup will always remind me of my Nunni. She was a product of another time when cooking wasn't something that people hurried through, when someone's time, energy, and love could be tasted in a delicate broth or a tender bite.

Nunni was an orphan who, as a teenager, worked for a wealthy family in McKeesport PA, keeping house and making meals. She made everything from scratch, of course, and while she retained some of the more traditional techniques and recipes from her Ukrainian background, it was her light, warm, comforting broths that I remember the most.

Feeling industrious, one day, years after Nunni passed away, I asked my mom to help me make homemade chicken and rice soup. Even before it was ready, when the broth was still watery and the chicken bones had yet to yield their salty goodness, I could tell that this soup - and indeed any homemade soup - was something special.

To call it and the canned or freeze-dried stuff by the same name is almost a crime. Homemade soup is delicate, warm filling, flavorful, and yet not at all salty or overpowering. Try it yourself. You'll see.

Chicken and rice soup

Begin with the following:
1 onion, quartered
3 ribs of celery, halved
3 carrots, peeled and halved
3 cloves of garlic, peeled but whole
1 tsp whole peppercorns
2 bay leaves
3# of chicken backs

Toss the above ingredients in your largest stockpot, as shown above. Cover to the rim with water, and turn the burner on high until the water begins bubbling on the surface. Turn the heat down to medium-low or whatever temperature will keep your liquid at a slow simmer. Simmer the broth for as long as possible, at least 4 hours. In the first hour, tend to the broth often, skimming foam and fat from the broth surface with a spoon or sieve. As you continue cooking, skim the broth at least twice an hour.

Once you have a suitable broth, which means it's thin and delicate but still flavorful, you can begin preparing the soup. Leave the broth on the burner, bubbling away - the flavors will continue to concentrate while you're chopping.

Gather the following:
1 tbsp butter
1# skinless chicken breast, cubed
1 rib of celery, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1/2 an onion, diced
1 cup of rice

Place a second stock pot over a medium heat and melt the butter. When it's beginning to bubble, add the chicken and sear the cubes lightly, about 3 minutes per side. Don't worry about cooking the chicken cubes through, because they will have plenty of time to poach in the broth once it's ready. Add your onions and a pinch of salt, letting them sweat for a few minutes. Be sure to mix the onions around with the chicken, scraping up any dark spots from the bottom of the pan. Add your celery and carrots and a pinch of salt. Give the veggies and chicken a quick stir and then set a colander on top of that pot, which we'll use to catch the solid chicken and vegetable parts from the first stock pot.

You may want to line the colander with paper towels or cheesecloth, especially if you didn't do the greatest job skimming the broth during the first hour of cooking.

Then, with great care, transfer the liquid from the first pot into the second pot, allowing the colander to strain out the stock base. Finally, add your cup of rice and stir.

You now have the makings of a great soup! At this point I'd add a generous pinch or two of salt, as well as some freshly cracked pepper, a bay leaf, and maybe even a Parmesan rind if you can get your hands on one (the grocery stores actually sell rinds for this purpose, can you believe it?).

Let the soup simmer until the rice is cooked through. Just before serving, taste for salt and add more as needed - but remember, this is delicate work! Don't overpower the broth - add just enough salt to bring out the base flavors of chicken, aromatic vegetables, and herbs. Fish out the cubes of chicken and shred them with two forks if you'd like - yet another homemade touch. Serve in a deep bowl with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese, just like Nunni did. Enjoy.

Recipe: Watermelon Salsa

Yes, watermelon salsa - and it's fantastic!

This spicy, juicy dip is a tasty alternative to the tomato salsa we're all used to eating. The recipe, listed below, is adapted from one that arrived in a friend's CSA box last month. It can be spruced up with any number of additions, including corn, black beans, or cilantro. The first time I tasted this, Scotch bonnet peppers had been substituted for jalapenos, and it was amazingly good. Maybe squeeze some fresh lime juice into the mixture? But in the end, onions, peppers, and watermelon are really all you need for a firey, fresh snack.

Watermelon Salsa

2 cups of diced watermelon
3/4 cup of finely diced onions
1/4 cup of finely diced jalapenos (more if you like spice - 1/4 cup makes for a very mild salsa)

Combine all the ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl and allow the mixture to chill in the fridge for at least an hour. Enjoy!

HOW TO: Make Pasta From Scratch

I've made homemade pasta a couple of times. It's always laborious and time-consuming, but it's also fun and really rewarding, especially if you can wrangle a friend or significant other (hint hint, DK) into doing it with you. Plus, there's nothing more satisfying than making something from scratch. It's like magic, the way the pasta just comes together.

But making pasta from scratch is not like baking - it's far from an exact science. You just have to do it a few times to figure out what feels right. It all depends on the temperature, humidity, type of flour, size of eggs, etc. So while the perfect dough can't be scripted, here's a good place to start:

3 cups flour (all-purpose or OO)
4 eggs (large)
1 tablespoon olive oil

tools needed: large cutting board or other sanitary work surface, fork, pasta roller, a sharp knife

Mound most of the flour in the center of a large wooden cutting board, reserving a 1/4 cup for later. It's easy to add the reserved flour later to make wet dough drier, but it's very tough to add liquid to a dough that's too dry.

Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the eggs and the olive oil. Using a fork, beat together the eggs and oil. Then you can begin to incorporate the flour little by little by pulling some in from the sides of the well with the tines of your fork as you continue to mix the liquid in the center. Try to retain the shape of the well by pushing the flour up from the base of the mound to retain the volcano shape.

Believe it or not, the dough will start to come together once half of the flour has been incorporated, but it will still look like a mess. Set aside the fork; now use your hands, cupping the flour in toward the center of the board and squeezing the ragged dough ball together. At this point you can start kneading the dough by hand, using the your palms to push the dough into the board, turning it over on itself, and pushing it down again. There will be stray bits of egg and flour around the edges of the dough that you should just brush to the side while you concentrate on the main task at hand. Keep kneading for 5 minutes. You should then have a heavy mass of soft dough.

Then wrap it in plastic and let the dough rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. Yes, you have to let it rest. No, you can't skip this step, regardless of how hungry you might be. Kneading the dough mixes the flour with the liquid, creating gluten. To properly roll the dough in the upcoming steps you first have to let the gluten rest.

So, you've let the dough rest for 30 minutes (right?). Now you can unwrap it and cut it into four portions - you will roll one portion at a time. Let the remaining dough hang out in the fridge while you work. Lightly flour the dough you're working with and send it through the pasta machine on the thickest setting. Fold it in half or into thirds and send it through again. You will have to roll the pasta on the same setting a number of times. Each time you pass it through the roller the pasta is "kneaded" again, stretching those glutens which will give us a nice chewy pasta.

I usually move on to the next setting when the pasta is smooth and unblemished, meaning no cracks or tears in the dough. If your dough does start to rip, don't worry. You've moved to a thinner setting too quickly. Just drop the machine down to a thicker setting and re-roll the sheet. Be sure to dust it with a little flour every now and again. The pasta should never stick to your fingers - it should be smooth, soft, and elastic.

As you continue rolling, the pasta will get loooooooong - a partner is a big help when you're trying to send these long sheets through the roller. But remember, you want to be able to comfortably eat the noodle, so you can cut a long sheet of pasta in half if need be.

Once you've rolled the sheet to your desired thickness, it's time to cut! You can do this by hand by folding the sheet over on itself and cutting lengthwise with a sharp knife. This is a great way to make pappardelle. Standard pasta machines include a cutting roller, usually for fettuccine and cappellini noodles.

Once you've cut your noodles, drop them into salted boiling water for 90 seconds or until they float. There is no al dente for fresh pasta. Instead, you'll want your noodles to be smooth, shiny, and chewy. Overcooking will make your noodles gummy and gross.

And there you have it! Fresh pasta, as warned, is not an easy process. It usually takes a good bit of time and elbow grease, but what's better than producing a beautiful meal from a handful of flour and a couple of eggs?

Welcome!

Welcome to Sugar and Thyme! This Web log is a collection of my experiences, impressions, and opinions related to all things epicurean. I hope you'll peruse the contents and share your thoughts about food, cooking, ingredients, restaurants, grocery stores, and more.