By Lydia Ellison
Hello! As you all know I am planning my wedding. This is the most stylish stationary/wedding invites/note card shop I have ever seen. Below is a montage of their favorite save the dates of 2009. Visit Mr. Boddington’s Studio for much more gloss.
Mr. Boddington’s Save the Dates, happy browsing!
A round up of our favorite save-the-dates in the past year:
By Sarah Lagrotteria
We went to a potluck dinner in Philadelphia that had all the magical holiday ingredients–roast turkey, chocolate hazelnut crunch cake, a little girl in ruby red sparkle slippers and a big friendly dog named Poe. Our friend Jess made mushroom barley soup and it wasn’t until I was walking home through the snow that I realized I had never made it round to the stove for my own bowl. So I made this one last week and I must say, it was every bit as heavenly as the party. The mushroom flavor is so complex that it’s really a very special soup, not your average veg and grains in a pot. As with most, this soup is even better the next day.
Mushroom Barley Soup
1/4 cup dried porcini mushrooms
1 quart vegetable stock
1 quart mushroom stock (can substitute veg if you can’t find mushroom)
2 tablespoons butter
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 large carrot, thinly sliced into rounds
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
2 pounds assorted mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup white wine or sherry
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup barley
3 tablespoons heavy cream (optional)
1. Pour hot water over the porcini mushrooms in a heat-proof bowl. Let soften, about 30 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, reserving both the liquid and the softened mushrooms for the soup. Coarsely chop the softened mushrooms.
2. Combine the vegetable and mushroom stocks in a medium pot over medium heat. Let come to a simmer while you prepare the soup. You want to the stocks warm when you add them to the soup pot so the soup doesn’t have to come back to temperature to cook the barley.
3. In a large soup pot over medium-high heat, melt the butter then add the vegetables (onion through fresh mushrooms) and the bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft, about 8 minutes.
4. Add the wine and continue cooking until the wine burns off. Add the flour and cook, stirring, until you can no longer see any white flour in the pot, about 5 minutes. Add the warm stock, the reserved porcini mushroom juice, the reserved porcini mushrooms and the barley. Bring the soup to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cover, until barley is soft and chewy, about 50 minutes.
5. Remove the bay leaf and stir in the cream. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve with seasoned and toasted baguette slices.
By Sarah Lagrotteria
This New Year’s Eve I want to share with you one of my favorite recipes from times gone past: my mom’s chocolate cake with buttermilk frosting. Actually, it’s my mom’s friend Fern’s recipe and I’m sure Fern (don’t you love her name?) got it from a friend who probably got it from a classic cookbook, but to me it’s my mom’s cake and simply the best, most versatile chocolate cake recipe. My mom used it to make our birthday cakes and I used it just a few weeks ago to make Lydia’s birthday cupcakes. It’s also the last recipe featured in this cookbook under the name “Recipe 66.”
You can use the recipe below to make one 9-inch round cake, a square 8×8, a rectangular 8×13 (for a very thin but rich cake) or to fill 2 cupcake or mini-cupcake tins. It is equally delicious gluten-free, which is how I make it for Lydia’s FIANCEE (!!), dear Drew.
What you’re looking at are the cupcakes from Lydia’s birthday which I gilded and silvered because it was fun and unlike how I normally handle foodstuffs. I usually like my food to look like food, not mini spaceships. Lydia’s birthday had a chic Mad Men theme and so I decided to turn these cupcakes into homemade Hostess Cupcakes, complete with a mascarpone cream stuffed center. I got the idea from Sarah Magid’s charming Organic and Chic. Her baked goodies are beautiful and whimsical and fun and her voice is thoughtful and loving and kind. And she likes to use paints, such as these. So I went for it and the cakes sparkled and shone and tasted extra special.
Had I remembered to take a shot before I began painting, you’d see the a shiny, crackly buttermilk frosting that is, quite simply, the bomb, and a definite upgrade from the original Hostess Cupcake glaze.
Buttermilk Chocolate Cake with Buttermilk Frosting from Sarah’s Mom’s friend Fern*
Cake
2 sticks unsalted butter
1/2 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder (I like Droste or Green & Black)
1 cup water
2 cups AP flour (or gluten-free equivalent)
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup buttermilk
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract (for the gluten-free version, I use 2 teaspoon vanilla extract and a tablespoon of espresso to cover the chickpea flavor of the gluten-free flour. You can add espresso to the traditional recipe as well)
Frosting
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1/4 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder (I like Droste or Green & Black)
3 tablespoons buttermilk
2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
you can also add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or other nuts to the frosting if desired.
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter and flour the cake pan of your choice or line your cupcake tins.
2. Make the cake. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the cocoa powder and water. Bring to a boil them remove from the heat. Let cool.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Add the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla. Blend well using a hand held mixer or a strong hand and whisk. Add the cooled cocoa mixture, stirring until just combined. The batter will be thinner than regular cake batters, but this only means you are on your way to making a great cake. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out almost clean, about 20-25 minutes for large cakes, about 12-15 for cupcakes and 8-10 for minis. Let cool completely before frosting.
4. Make the frosting. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the cocoa powder and buttermilk. Bring to a boil then remove from the heat and let cool. Pour into a large mixing bowl.
5. Using a handheld mixer, beat the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and walnuts into the cocoa mixer. Mix until thoroughly combined and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Pour or spread over cooled cake. The frosting will set into a shiny glaze that crackles like thin ice when you cut into it. Beautiful.
6. The secret step. Wrap the cooled and frosted cake loosely in cling wrap and refrigerate it, even if only for an hour or so before serving. Whereas refrigerating tends to dry out baked goods, it dampens this cake so that it’s amazingly dark, dense and moist, just how I envisioned mud pies when I was little.
Enjoy and best wishes for a happy, healthy 2010.
xoxosl
* Fern gave Angus and I a beautiful pewter cake server as a wedding present-little does she know how perfectly appropriate a gift it was.
By Lydia Ellison
This is the most perfect homemade holiday treat to gift to family, friends and co workers. Buttery toasted pecans laced with nutmeg, allspice and cloves! These pecans are easy to make, package up beautifully and they keep for a few weeks in an air tight container.
The recipe is from Drew’s mother, Janice Howerton (my soon to be mother-in-law!) In her Christmas kitchen, these pecans star along side crispy buttermilk sugar cookies and white chocolate peppermint bark. She uses special Elliot pecans for this recipe which are smaller and richer than the varietal I find in stores. If you can find these then use them though “normal” pecans work just fine.
Nibble on these over cocktails, toss them into a festive salad or just stand at the counter gabbing and shoving them in your face like I usually do with Janice.
Sugar and Spice Pecans
3/4 c. sugar
1 egg white
2 1/2 tablespoons water
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2- 1 pound bags pecans
Froth the egg white lightly in a large bowl. Combine all the toppings into the egg white mixture and toss in the pecans until coated. Spread on 2 greased lined sheets covered in parchment or a silpat, bake at 275 for 50-55 minutes. Remove from the pan immediately and once cool to the touch, separate each pecan. Store in an airtight container.
PS- Sarah and I made these this year (as well as this which was almost as good as Anjali’s caramel salt corn) as a thank you to our clients and co-workers. Yum.
By Sarah Lagrotteria
We at Apples & Onions have had a very exciting weekend! It was both Lyd and Angus’ birthday this weekend which means I got to feel extra appreciative of two of my most special dears all at once. We’ll have some photos and recipes for you from Lydia’s very chic retro soiree later in the week, but first a quick look at Angus’ birthday breakfast.
It’s my lot in life to have married someone who, unlike me, does not have a fat tooth. The idea of birthday cake does nothing for Angus, so I have to think outside the butter, sugar, flour and egg box to come up with a birthday treat. This year it was a breakfast featuring a salad of cantaloupe and pretty pomegranate seeds, long slices of toasted rustic bread, cream cheese, sliced cucumbers and tomatoes and homemade gravlax which is the closest I can come to smoked salmon in my own kitchen. I used this recipe, which is the simplest I’ve tried and the only one that doesn’t require weighing the salmon down while it cures–no cans of tomatoes stacked suspiciously on top of the foil-wrapped dish!–which means I was able to hide it successfully in plain sight. Angus didn’t have a clue until the coffee was already brewed and the bread hot and toasty.
I used wild Pacific Northwest salmon that had been flash frozen. You must use previously frozen fish when making gravlax as the freezing process kills any parasites that would otherwise, er, grow during the curing process. Also, it’s best to season with white pepper as the recipe suggests. I only had black peppercorns on hand hence the slightly dark spots where the peppercorns stained the salmon flesh. Even sightly mottled, it was still a beautiful piece of fish.
It takes longer to make toast and set the table than it does to get the salmon ready for curing and it’s such a special treat. I’ll be doing it again. Angus ate a pound and a half!
xoxosl
by Lydia Ellison
We use these little glasses (Venetian style wine tumblers) every time we entertain and people flip over them. As delicate as they are they are pretty durable. We use them to serve water, wine, espresso and even hot mint tea! I love how they are dressy and elegant yet all different which gives a rustic vibe to the table setting. They add a touch of class to my Ikea dishware.
These make a great gift! I bought them at a local boutique New Stone Age, but NapaStyle.com has them too.
For my birhtday I want these…
and these…
thank you!
by Sarah Lagrotteria
Loves, I’ve been waiting months to share this exciting news with you. Chocolate: A Love Story: 65 Chocolate Desserts from Max Brenner’s Private Collection, by Max Brenner and gorgeously illustrated in a fantastical, free association style by Yonotan Factor has finally arrived in bookstores!
I’m overjoyed for three reasons. First, who wouldn’t want a beautiful recipe (and art book) devoted to chocolate? Second, I was lucky enough to have the chance to work with Max and his assistant Danielle Sarna as a recipe consultant for this beautiful collection-an experience that had me marveling at the ingenuity of Max’s vision and stunned at just how much chocolate I can consume before needing a break (A LOT). Third, because the book is now on bookshelves, I can share a few of my “behind-the-scenes” pictures of the beautiful, oooey-gooey, fluffy, rich and whimsical treats you’ll find inside!
If you haven’t looked through the book, I suggest you do. Max Brenner (also known as The Bald Man) is kind, intelligent, fantastically creative and a true poet when it comes to chocolate. Each recipe in the collection evokes one a personal memory for Max, who shares those memories in brief poetic passages that make this one of those cookbooks with voice. It’s a joy to read.
Now on to the pix!
Airy profiteroles waiting to be filled with chocolate coconut pastry cream and drizzled with chocolate ganache
A to-die-for homemade doughnut served warm with a sprinkle of powdered sugar…
…and filled to oozing with warm raspberry chocolate ganache. The doughnuts might be my fave.
“Contentious” Chocolate cookies-made with dark and milk chocolates, dried apricots and candied orange zest. Each bite is a riot of flavor. I’ve gotten a lot of mileage out of this recipe.
Chocolate Spaghetti
Looks better than you thought, right? I devoured two bowls leaning up against the kitchen island. No time to sit when warm chocolate is cloaking the noodle like the most beautiful carbonara.
And, last, but not least, a HUGE, beautiful pavlova with fresh summer berries.
There are so many more delicious treats than the ones I’ve shown here. It was a good run and it’s a very special book.
xoxosl
By Sarah Lagrotteria
I’ve been on a cake-baking kick these past few days because I only recently bought my own copy of Rose Levy Beranbaum’s seminal work The Cake Bible. I tried a few recipes this weekend, but my favorite is this simple buttermilk cake.
It’s not much to look at, but it has the softest, most gently sweet crumb. It’s delicious after dinner or to enjoy with friends and iced tea on a warm afternoon–nothing fancy, just a happy cake for a happy time.
I’ll share the recipe below, but first please indulge me and take a look at that Bonne Maman jar just to the right of the cake. It’s filled with–get this–homemade creme fraiche. As the name suggests, creme fraiche is French, a product that only recently began appearing anywhere but the most upscale gourmet food stores here in the states. It’s thick like sour cream but less sour and, with a teaspoon of sugar, whips up into something thicker and far more luxurious than whipped cream. Of all dairy products, it alone has that certain je ne sais quoi.
You can get it at Whole Foods or other stores, but I hit the dairy aisle this weekend and of course couldn’t remember why I was there, so I bought some yogurt and left. When I realized what was missing, I remembered once seeing a recipe for creme fraiche that, insanely enough, called for leaving a mixture of heavy cream and buttermilk out overnight to thicken at –wait for it–70 degrees or above. Eeew, I thought, but I mixed my dairy, covered the jar, jacked up the heat and in the morning, voila!
I was afraid to taste it. My mom taught me to fear any and all dairy that isn’t straight from the fridge and it looked suspiciously like mayo, of which I am not a fan.
But finally I did and it was the real deal. Really. I’m not saying you should run home and make it yourself, but I’m glad I did.
Sorry for the bad image of the completed cake, but Lydia and I were having a little too much fun to remember the shot. And yes, the cake was actually made this past weekend. The summery-looking peaches are from Blum Ranch in Acton, CA which grows a variety that ripens later than most, from August through the end of October. These were the last of the bunch.
Rose Levy Beranbaum’s Buttermilk Country Cake
4 large egg yolks
2/3 cup buttermilk
1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups cake flour, sifted
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
Preheat the overn to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan, line the bottom with parchment paper then butter again and flour.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the yolks, 1/4 of the buttermilk and the vanilla until just combined.
In a large mixing bowl, use a handheld mixer to combine the dry ingredients. Add the butter and remaining buttermilk and mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are just moistened. Turn the speed to medium and beat for a minute and a half to develop the cake flour’s gluten which will give the cake its structure. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
Continue mixing and add the egg mixture in three batches, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top of the cake with a spatula. Bake until lightly golden brown and a knife inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean,about 30-40 minutes (mine took 35). Let cool on a rack for 10 minutes before inverting. Because this cake is so soft, make sure to gently invert again, so that the top of the cake is facing upward, which will keep the cake from splitting.
Whip cream or creme fraiche with a teaspoon of sugar until fluffy. Smooth a generous amount of cream on top of the cooled cake and top with fresh fruit of choice. I arranged peach slices into a circular pattern, but this cake would be wonderful topped with summer berries as soon as they’re back in season.
xoxosl
By Lydia Ellison
They don’t look like much but are the most fantastic seasonal muffin/cakes you could ever hope for. They are like biting into a sweet and spiced trip to the pumpkin patch on a crisp fall Saturday. They may not be photogenic but it’s inside that counts anyway right.
This recipe is also from my mom’s best friend Laura, click here to read abut her amazing Sweet Mint Tea. Laura is allergic to wheat so her sister Cathrine (a really fantastic baker) adapted this recipe to be wheat free, back in the 90’s before wheat free baking was at all in the zeitgeist! Now there are all kinds of wheat free baking flours but back then it was all about rice flour. Fortunately, rice flour or brown rice flour works well in this recipe. It gives the muffins this dense spongy, moist texture that is rarely achieved in GF baking. My Mom and I have health-ed up the recipe a bit over the years but you can’t tell the difference at all.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
1 16oz can of pumpkin puree (or freshly roasted pumpkin puree)
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup flour or rice flour (I use brown rice flour)
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil (I use coconut oil, melted)
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice mix (I use more)
1/2 tsp (scant) baking powder
1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used Callebaut 60% bittersweet disks which were divine but harder to find)
Heat the oven to 350 degrees and grease the cups of a cupcake pan. Mix first all the wet ingredients together until smooth and then fold in the dry ingredients until just incorporated. Add the chocolate chips. Bake about 25-35 minutes, until a knife come out clean. Muffins will be dense and moist.
By Lydia Ellison
Sarah and I are often asked by clients to suggest wines to accompaign the meals we create. While we both really appreciate wine and I LOVE to drink it, we are not super savvy in the wine paring department. THANK the stars above that we have Beth Liebetrau in our lives. Beth is a self taught wine pro, (though she would never admit to being expert at all). She is constantly learning about wine; researching, tasting, visiting wineries and taking classes. As a result of this hard work she is very knowledgeable about the varietals, regions and years yet not a snob about price!! We’ve called on her many times to assist in wine parings and our clients have been THRILLED with her suggestions.
She did a post on her blog about the details behind a wine paring dinner she helped us on this past Spring.
Enjoy!