Recipes

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A collection of recipes I've created.

Categories

Pasta Dishes

Carbonara

Ingredients

  • 8 egg yolks
  • 8 oz grated pecorino romano (my preference), parmigiano reggiano, or other hard Italian cheese
  • 6 servings fettuccine or other pasta
  • 0.5 lb pancetta
  • 1 tbsp black pepper
  • 4 cloves garlic (optional, non-traditional)
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice (optional, non-traditional)

Materials

  • Cooking pot
  • Spoon or whisk
  • Mixing bowl
  • Tongs

Procedure

  • Set aside a small amount of cheese to sprinkle on top.
  • Strain the egg yolks.
  • Blend the egg yolks, lemon juice, black pepper, and cheese into a paste.
  • Mince the garlic.
  • Dice the pancetta.
  • Fry the pancetta with the garlic.
  • Cook the fettuccine.
  • Drain the fettuccine, setting aside 1-2 cups of the pasta water when it's done.
  • Add pasta water slowly to the egg and cheese, stirring continuously. Add plenty so that the sauce is a little thinner than your desired final product.
  • Add the egg sauce and pancetta to the fettuccine, mixing with tongs to coat the pasta.
  • Top each serving with the remaining cheese.

Presentation

This dish is best served in a white bowl to highlight the deep yellow color the egg yolks bring.

Soup

Borscht

Ingredients

  • Quick-pickled Beet Sour
    • 1 qt white vinegar
    • 1 qt water
    • 1/4 cup sugar
    • 1/4 cup salt
  • Soup
    • 1 tbsp butter
    • 2 white onions
    • 1 small head of cabbage
    • 3 large carrots
    • 1 tsp dill
    • 2 bay leaves
    • 1 tbsp black pepper
    • 1 tsp oregano
    • 1 tsp red pepper flakes
    • 6 cloves of garlic
    • 12 oz tomato paste
    • 2 qt rich broth, such as beef bone broth
    • salt, to taste
  • Toppings
    • Sour cream
    • Fresh flat-leaf parsley

Procedure

  1. Dice the beets into approximately 1/2 inch cubes
  2. Combine the ingredients for the beet sour in a pot and simmer until the beets are softened. At that point, remove from heat, but do not discard the liquid.
  3. Dice the onions.
  4. Slice the carrots into rounds.
  5. Slice the cabbage into long and thin strips.
  6. Mince the garlic.
  7. Melt the butter in a large pot.
  8. Add the onions and a generous pinch of salt, then sauté until the onions start to soften.
  9. Stir in the tomato paste, garlic, and seasonings.
  10. Add the cabbage and carrots
  11. Add a little broth, to help the cabbage steam.
  12. Cover until the cabbage has softened and cooked down a bit, stirring frequently.
  13. With a slotted spoon, sieve, or other implement, move the beets from the brine to the soup.
  14. Add the remaining broth.
  15. If it's not sour enough, add a little bit of the brine at a time, to taste.
  16. Top individual servings with sour cream and parsley.

Sweets

Apple Pound Cake

Ingredients

  • 1 cup shredded apple
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup applesauce
  • 1/4 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 tsp cinnamon

Procedure

  1. Combine butter and sugar.
  2. Combine flour and shredded apple.
  3. Combine all ingredients.
  4. If the mixture is not moist enough, add more applesauce until it is a sticky dough.
  5. Bake at 350 F for 22 minutes (mini muffins) to 50 minutes (loaf).

Cherry Coffee Cake

Ingredients

  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1 1/2 cup dried cherries
  • 1/2 cup candied lemon peel
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cardamom
  • 2 tsp almond extract
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 cup butter, melted

Procedure

  1. Combine the butter and sugar.
  2. Add the remaining dry ingredients and stir to combine into a loose crumb.
  3. Add the wet ingredients and mix.
  4. Bake at 350 F for 45-55 minutes.

Figgy Pudding

Ingredients

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1 tbsp orange blossom water
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • Spices
    • 1 tsp cinnamon
    • 1/2 tsp ginger
    • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
    • 1/4 tsp allspice
    • 1/4 tsp cloves
    • 1/4 tsp cardamom
  • Mixins
    • 1/2 cup chopped dried figs
    • 1 cup chopped dried fruit and/or nuts
      • Recommendation: equal parts golden raisins, cherries, cranberries, dates, and walnuts
    • 2 tbsp candied citron
    • 1 tsp fresh orange zest

Materials

  • Measuring cups
    • A 2+ cup liquid measuring cup, plus a 1/4 cup measuring cup should be enough
  • Measuring spoons
    • 1 tbsp, 1 tsp, 1/2 tsp, 1/4 tsp
  • A mixing bowl
  • A double boiler
    • A large slow cooker with water and a stand is the easiest
  • A glass bowl or baking dish that fits about 3 cups of stuff and fits in the double boiler
  • A zesting implement

Procedure

  1. Combine mixins, vanilla extract, and orange blossom water.
  2. Combine dry ingredients.
  3. Combine all ingredients.
  4. Grease a glass bowl or baking dish.
  5. Cook the pudding in a double-boiler for about 6 hours.

Presentation

Run a knife around the edge to free the pudding from its dish. Flip it upside down onto a platter. Serve warm thick slices with hard sauce melting on top.

Flan

Flan originates in Spain, but Mexico has some notable variations, including any combination of cream cheese, orange, and rum. This recipe includes orange and rum.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 6 egg yolks
  • 3 egg whites
  • Juice of 1 orange (2 tbsp)
  • Fresh zest of 1 orange (1 tbsp)
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tbsp + about 1/4 cup golden rum
  • 1 tbsp corn starch
  • A pinch of salt

Materials

  • 6-10 ramekins, depending on their size
  • Assorted measuring cups
  • Assorted measuring spoons
  • A mixing bowl
  • A hand mixer (optional)
  • A pan for an in-oven water bath
  • A spray bottle of water

Procedure

  • Divide the sugar between the ramekins.
  • Spray the sugar to moisten slightly.
  • Bake the sugar on 550 F (convection if available) until melted and amber.
  • Let the sugar cool.
  • Combine orange juice, orange zest, vanilla, rum, corn starch, and salt in a measuring cup.
  • Combine remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl and blend until homogenous.
  • Slowly stream in the orange mixture while continuing to blend.
  • Strain to remove lumps.
  • Divide the mixture between the ramekins.
  • Place the ramekins in the baking pan.
  • Fill the baking pan with boiling water such that the water level is higher on the ramekins than the flan mixture level.
  • Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes - 1 hour, until firmer but still jiggly
  • After removing the ramekins from the oven, immediately carefully spoon on just enough golden rum to cover the surface of the flan.
  • Let sit overnight (or longer) in the refrigerator.

Presentation

Run a knife around the edge of the ramekin to free the flan. Flip the ramekin over a plate. The sugar on the bottom will have dissolved into a caramel syrup. Pour this syrup over the flan.

Simplified Pan de Muerto

This pan de muerto recipe is a single-rise batter bread, in contrast with most recipes I've seen for it which require kneading and multiple rises. It's also a very small batch, suitable for probably 1 muffin tin. For a full loaf double or triple the recipe.

Ingredients

  • Bread
    • 1 cup flour
    • 1 tsp orange zest
    • 1/4 tsp salt
    • 2 tsp anise seeds
    • 4 tbsp butter
    • 1 tbsp orange blossom water
    • 1/4 cup sugar
    • 1/4 cup milk
    • 1 tsp instant yeast
    • 1 egg
  • Glaze
    • 1/4 cup orange juice
    • 1/2 cup granulated sugar

Materials

  • Mixing bowl
  • Additional bowls
  • Hand mixer (optional)
  • Loaf pan or muffin tin

Procedure

  1. Combine flour, salt, orange zest, and anise seeds.
  2. Melt Butter
  3. Mix sugar, milk, and orange blossom water.
  4. Warm the milk mixture to a little over 100 F (about 30 seconds in the microwave).
  5. Stir the milk mixture until the sugar is dissolved.
  6. Add yeast to the milk mixture and stir to combined.
  7. After a few minutes, once the yeast has bloomed, combine all remaining bread ingredients.
  8. Mix until the batter is soft and smooth and gets a bit of stretch to it.
  9. Rise in a greased pan for 45 minutes.
  10. Bake at 400 F until the interior is 190 F, about 18 minutes for a single loaf or less for muffins.
  11. While the bread is baking, combine the glaze ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a boil, then remove from heat.
  12. Once the bread is out of the oven and the glaze is cool, pour the glaze over the top of the bread. You can optionally poke the top of the bread with a fork to help the glaze soak in.