Better Butter Can Be Yours!

My daughter loves to cook (makes a mom so proud :) ). She was making dinner and put a stick of butter in a sauce pan and then put the pan on the flame while pulling out the rest of her ingredients. While her back was turned, the butter slowly melted. When she returned to her pan, there were three distinct layers of butter in the pan. “Ewe, Mom what happened to the butter?” she groaned. Apparently she’d never noticed this before. This was a teaching moment (we parents love teaching moments).

What she was seeing were the elements of creamy butter all separated out.

First = The top foamy layer of water and milk. This is undesirable when clarifying butter and should be skimmed off the top with a spoon and thrown away.

Second = The deep yellow layer of the prized butterfat. This is the stuff you want to keep (pour this out into a small dish or bowl) for sautéing and cooking.

Lastly = The milk solids. This stuff will be on the bottom and burns easily – even at low pan temps. Throw this away, too.

Left with just the lovely yellow butterfat to proceed with, she completed her mirepoix like a pro. Dinner is now cooking in the slow cooker and we’ve completed another lesson in the culinary school of hard knocks.

Try clarifying your butter before starting your next sauté. See if you don’t agree that it leaves a cleaner, buttery taste on your vegetables while browning more evenly and with less smoke.

Eat Well,

Dawn

A Salted

A girlfriend called me over the weekend to ask my opinion about the different salts called for in a recipe she was going to make. OK...most everyone else I know can tell you that was her first mistake. Starting out a sentence with, "So what do you think about…” will land you in a 20 minute chat about the topic. Her question was valid though and it was important that she understood; she wanted to know the difference between regular table salt and kosher salt.

While all refined salt is sodium chloride, all salt is not the same. To start, some salt is mined from ancient seas - taken out of the ground. Other salt is made by drying beds of salt water. Salt, like the kind mom had on the table, has iodine added. Iodine is part of the hormone that regulates your metabolism. Iodine is found in food that comes from the sea or is grown in areas that were once under the sea. For people living in the Great Plain states and away from sea water, Goiter (a disease of the thyroid gland resulting from iodine deficiency) used to be a terrible problem. So salt, which everyone used daily, was fortified with iodine.

Table salt has a granular shape to it. It packs well with other grains in the measuring spoon, so table salt is heavy. Because of its shape, it also takes longer to dissolve on your tongue, leaving the impression that it is “saltier” than other kinds of salt.

What other kinds of salts are there you ask? Well, just about one for every region of every country that is or ever was, by the ocean or sea. But Kosher salt is different. While kosher salt is usually Kosher, as in prepared according to Jewish dietary laws, that’s not why it’s called kosher salt. It’s flat, flake shape is perfect for curing meat, or koshering. Its flakiness means it takes less to fill up a measuring spoon, so kosher salt is light. Kosher flakes hit the tongue and dissolve quickly leaving the impression it is less salty than other kinds of salt.

So back to the difference in the recipe. If the recipe calls for kosher salt and all you have is table salt, reduce the amount of salt you are adding by 25%. 1 tsp kosher = 3/4tsp table. Funny thing is, salt is subjective anyway. I always season my food before I bring it to the table, however I place salt cellars on the table just in case.

After 20 minutes on the phone I think I forgot what the original question was. We ended up talking about the new waffle pan I just got. She asked me what I thought about it and…

Eat well.

Dawn

Ya' Gotta' Have Heart

This weekend, I was reading interesting Valentine’s Day food facts. Did you know:
• It didn’t become a romantic holiday until the Middle Ages.
• It was removed from the Roman calendar in 1969.
• Over 35 million heart-shaped, chocolate boxes are sold each year for the big event.
• Over 8 billion conversation hearts are purchased in the two weeks prior.

At any rate, my children gathered around me ready to continue our Valentine project. We’ve been baking giant heart-shaped sugar and gingerbread cookies to decorate and give away on Valentine’s Day. That’s when it hit me, that Valentine’s Day isn’t about the chocolate (ok, well maybe just a little) or the Sweathearts candies (I do love reading the sayings), but rather about gathering with the one (or ones) you love to celebrate that love.

With all the turmoil going on in the world today, don’t ‘cha think we could all use an extra generous dose of love? I think this Monday would be the perfect time to tell those who are close to us that we love them (only HR appropriate Valentine’s at work of course). Let’s all call mom (mom’s love that kinda stuff), dad (dad’s love it too, they just don’t show it like mom does), grandmas/grandpas/brothers/sisters, BFFs, all those really special people in our lives. A hand made card (or cookie or chocolate) can make someone feel extra special.

At Specialty’s we even have the CookieGram feature to send that someone (or someones) a special online cookie credit (www.specialtys.com/cookiegram.aspx).

My research also revealed that The International Committee for Relatively Pointless Abbreviations and Badly Misspelled Acronyms (SPUDS) has just released a new, internationally approved list of abbreviated signoffs perfect for this holiday. They include:

ooo = hugs
xxx = kisses
OOO = big hugs
XXX = big kisses
oo = hugs for everybody but you
OO! = big, excited hugs
xx@ = kisses and earlobe nibbling
zzz = snoring
yyy = anything that occurs between kissing and snoring

Well, back to my cookies. The egg whites are separated, there’s powdered sugar all over the place and several more batches of Royal icing to whip up. Our Specialty’s Family sends everyone a virtual hug (because everyone needs a hug) and we wish everyone a heartfelt Happy Valentine’s Day!

OO!

Dawn

Slow As Molasses

Our Ginger Molasses Cookie is back for the holidays in our cafes. Many of our customers (and my family) look forward to this traditional Northeastern US cookie making its annual appearance.

Ginger is the underground stem (rhizome) of the plant known as Zingiber officinale. It has been a popular and valuable spice for medicinal and culinary uses for over 5000 years. The oils in ginger trigger production of digestive enzymes that neutralize stomach acids, and aid in digestion and absorption of nutrients. Ginger is also credited with increasing circulation and lowering cholesterol levels, as well as being an anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant.

The blackstrap molasses we use is the byproduct of the process of refining sugar cane into table sugar. It is an excellent source of manganese and copper, iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, vitamin B6 and selenium.

We roll our cookies in sugar before baking. As the cookie bakes, it spreads and cracks form in the coating creating a sparkle that looks like frost on the cookie. They have a deep, aromatic bite and finishes with a sense of freshness on your tongue.

All of these ingredients come together to create a holiday for your senses. Here’s wishing you the best of holidays from myself and the Specialty’s family.

Eat Well,

Dawn

The Pilgrim Pumpkin Pie

The Mayflower left Plymouth, England in September, 1620, with 102 passengers and 30 crew members on board. During the 66-day voyage, the Pilgrims faced treacherous storms, two deaths and one birth.

On November 11, 1620, the Mayflower reached what is now Provincetown Harbor on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Winter set in quickly, during which time more than half of the pilgrims died. And those who survived had only 5 kernels of corn a day on which to live.

In early autumn of 1621, the 53 surviving Pilgrims celebrated their successful harvest with what is remembered as the “First Thanksgiving in Plymouth.” Their celebration included the great Indian king Massasoit and 90 of his men.

While pictures of this celebration usually include pumpkin pie, there were no milled flours for making a fine pie crust, no sugar and no spices. Their “Pumpkin pie” was most likely served as custard baked inside a pumpkin.

My family traditionally enjoys this kind of pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. My youngest started clamoring for one when Halloween pumpkins first hit the market. These are easy to bake and impressive to serve.

1. Start by selecting a small sugar (baking) pumpkin. If your pumpkin is too big it will take too long to bake the custard through. Since you will be eating the pumpkin, be sure to wash the outside of the pumpkin as well.
2. Preheat your oven to 350. You need a moderate oven so the pumpkin won’t burn before the custard is cooked through.

3. While the oven is heating up, prepare your pumpkin and your custard:
   • Carve off the top nicely- you’ll want to put the top back on for baking and serving.
   • Clean out and scrape the inside lid & walls of the pumpkin very well. You will end up eating any stringiness you leave inside the pumpkin.
4. Make your favorite custard recipe or combine in a pan:
   
   • 6 eggs
   • 2 cups heavy whipping cream
   • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
   • 1 tablespoon molasses
   • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
   • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
   • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
   • 1 tablespoon butter
5. Cook over a low heat stirring constantly until warmed (but not cooked or thickened) and then pour the mixture into the pumpkin. This helps the custard cook evenly without overcooking the pumpkin.


6. Replace the lid on top of the pumpkin and stand the pumpkin in a shallow baking dish with a small amount of water at the bottom. Place in the center of your preheated oven. It should take 60-90 minutes to bake through. You will need to check the custard for doneness to be sure. The custard should look mostly set when you remove it from the oven.

It’s most impressive to serve the pumpkin warm but can also be made a day ahead and refrigerated. When you serve it, you slice it like an apple. Each slice has some custard in the center and the fresh baked pumpkin on the edge. It’s not nearly as sweet as the pumpkin pie we’ve come to know, but this “pie” will make your friends and family thankful they came to your table for this celebration.

My wish is that you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Eat Well,

Dawn

The Dark Side of Chocolate...

This week I continue my focus on the chocolate we use at Specialty’s.  In my previous article I talked about how Cacao (pronounced 'ka-KOW') pods are harvested and turned into Milk Chocolate.  Today I’d like to share a richer, deeper chocolate experience… Semi-Sweet chocolate; my favorite!
 

Our Semi-Sweet chocolate contains a higher percentage of cacao (55%) than our Milk Chocolate (30%) giving it that dark appearance and extra rich flavor you can taste in our cookies.  We use chunks of Semi-Sweet chocolate in our cookies, so when you bite in to them, you can see and taste that gooey-chocolatyness (spell check says there is no such word, yet I know it to be true) all throughout the cookie.  Semi-Sweet chocolate has no milk. And since it has more cacao there is less room for sugar.  What that means is the resulting chunk is only semi-sweet and is filled with more chocolate flavor.  I like using Semi-Sweet chocolate in my baking because it balances out the sweetness of my pastry.  I also use it in my cooking; it adds a depth of flavor and a touch of sweetness to many dishes.  Of course, I eat it straight out of the bag as well.  

  

I always keep a supply of Guittard chocolate on hand for baking and eating.  Storing it properly (described in my milk chocolate blog) ensures it looks and tastes its best when I bake or eat it.   Since chocolate contains Theobromine, I’m careful to store it safely.  Theobromine is an alkaloid and just an ounce of baker’s chocolate contains (400mg) enough to send a 40lb dog to the vet.  Please take care in keeping chocolates out of reach of pets.

  

One of my favorite ways to use Guittard Semi-Sweet chocolate is in brownies. This brownie recipe is a super easy, one bowl dessert that is quick to whip up, quick to bake and quick to disappear!  One batch will yield 16 – 2” inch squares.  But who eats a two inch square???
 

Quick & Easy Brownies

1 cup (6 ounces) Guittard Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips*

1/4 cup butter

2 large eggs

1/2cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup sifted all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)

*For extra chocolaty brownies, stir another cup of semi-sweet chips into the batter.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF and butter the bottom of an 8x8-inch pan.

1) In a microwave safe bowl: combine 1 cup of chips with butter and melt on a 50% setting in the microwave, stirring occasionally until melted and smooth. Then, set aside to cool.

2) Beat eggs, sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.

3) Stir in the melted chocolate with a rubber spatula.

4) Add flour and salt, stirring only until combined (it’s OK if there are some small lumps)

5) Spread the batter into the buttered pan, getting batter all the way in the corners. 

6) Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center still has moist crumbs on it.

When cool, cut the brownies into 2-inch squares.   Dust with powdered sugar for a festive presentation.

 
Baking Tip:  If you bake brownies so the toothpick comes out clean, the brownies will be cakey.  If you pull them out when they are just a little underdone, when they are cool they will still be chewy.

 

Eat Well,
 

Dawn

The Tricks of the Treat

On this Halloween morning, it seems more than appropriate to talk about chocolate. 

 

Chocolate has been cultivated for more than 3000 years.  Ripe Cacao pods are knocked off the Cacao tree, which is small and leggy because it grows under the canapé of other trees.  The beans are then removed from each pod and piled in bins to develop flavor through fermentation.  Fully fermented beans are spread out and dried in the sun for 5-7 days to prevent mold from developing.  The dried beans are then cleaned of stones, twigs and other debris. 

 

At this stage, the cacao beans are graded and then sold to roasters (like our longtime chocolate partner, family-owned Guittard Chocolates).  They roast the beans and then remove the shells to get to the good stuff - cacao nibs.  The nibs are ground into a chocolate paste (called "chocolate liquor") and separated into two components - cocoa solids and cocoa butter. 

 

Throughout most of history cacoa was used in a beverage called xocolatl ("bitter water") - nothing like the hot cocoa we enjoy today.  Jospeh Fry & Son revolutionized chocolate in the solid form we know in 1847 when they mixed cocoa butter back into dutched chocolate and added sugar - creating a mouldable paste.  They combined cocoa solids, cocoa butter, sugar and milk to form the first modern milk chocolate bars.

 

At Specialty's, we use only Guittard Milk Chocolate in our Milk Chocolate Chip cookies.  We select xxtra large chips to ensure our large cookies deliver the perfect blend of soft chewy cookie and sweet creamy milk chocolate in every bite. 

 

At home, I store my milk chocolate away from cabinets that are near the oven.  Heating and cooling chocolate will draw the cocoa butter out of the chocolate and cause a grey film to develop ("blooming").  I also take care to keep chocolate safe from our pets.  Chocolate contains theobromine and phenethylamine which have been linked to positive effects on serotonin levels in the human brain. However; theobromine is vert toxic to dogs and cats and will make them sick.  Please take care in keeping candy out of reach of pets.

Enjoy your chocolate - whether it is among the treasures of tonight's trick or treating bounty or one of my family cookie recipes at Specialty's.  Let's appreciate this delicious combination of an ancient product with modern techniques.
 

Eat Well,

Dawn