Hi there. I should start this post by acknowledging things have been very quiet here since late February. Between having limited internet access at my apartment for the past three weeks due to shoddy Road Runner service, long days at work, and a minor boyfriend medical emergency, I haven’t been cooking or posting much. I have been documenting my existence with daily photos and uploading them when I can. I’ve also been eating a lot of sandwiches, my favorite of which has been this week’s melted brie, apple, and blackberry jam on toasted whole wheat.

But let’s get down to the business at hand. It’s St. Patrick’s Day. You may be reading this through Guinness goggles; perhaps you have a bottle of Jameson nearby. You may not be drinking and just wearing a wool sweater, or still giggling to yourself about the suckers you saw wearing wool sweaters on a day that hit sixty degrees.

I have no sweater or booze. Instead, I have a large chunk of crispy, sugar-topped Irish soda bread. This is the first soda bread I’ve made that couldn’t double as a doorstop or weight training tool and I owe it to this recipe from Epicurious. It’s not be the most traditional recipe, but it was a hit this morning at work, and I’ve consumed half of a second loaf by myself. Its scone-like consistency and flavor may make it a staple in my breakfast bread rotation. The only issue is tracking down buttermilk and having plenty of raisins on hand.

Even though the holiday is almost over, give the recipe a shot and enjoy a slice on Sunday morning with a cup of tea.

After looking through my Grandma Mangan’s recipe book at my mother’s house last fall, I decided to buy a scanner and archive the book’s contents on my computer. My father has now loaned me the recipe box of his mother, my Grandma Cahill, and I have started scanning her recipes as well.  Grandma Cahill’s collection has more recipes in poetic verse (total: 2), and Grandma Mangan’s collection has more clippings of famous dishes from local restaurants, but overall, their contents are similar. They include a recipes scribbled on scraps of paper, clippings from newspapers and processed food packaging, and index cards from friends and family. Lots of jello molds. Lots of “whipped topping.”

The first recipe I chose from my Grandma Cahill’s collection was for molasses cookies. Internet sleuthing while the cookies were baking yielded many similar—if not identical—recipes on the web, so it must have appeared on the side of a molasses container at one point and now graces the index cards of many collections. Recipe and photos after the jump.

Grandma Cahill’s Molasses Cookies
[yields ~3 dozen]
-3/4 c. shortening
-1 c. sugar
-1/4 c. molasses
-1 egg
-2 tsp. baking soda
-2 c. sifted flour
-1/2 tsp. [ground] ginger
-1/2 tsp. [ground] cloves
-1 tsp. cinnamon
-1/2 tsp. salt

Melt shortening in a 3 or 4 qt. saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat; let cool. Add sugar, molasses and egg; beat well. Sift together flour, soda, cloves, ginger, cinnamon and salt; add to first mixture. Mix well; chill.

Form in 1 inch balls, roll in granulated sugar and place on greased cookie sheets 2 inches apart. Bake in moderately hot oven, 375º F, 8-10 min.

Cookies rolled and ready to bake:

I read a tip that if you want your molasses cookies to be chewy, you should cool them on a flat surface and not a rack. Unfortunately, I read the tip after my cookies were fully cooled on a rack and tucked away in tupperware, so if you try it, let me know if it works for you. These were crunchy, but still good.

It was a banner weekend: dinner on the Upper West Side on Friday night, the farmers’ market in Grand Army Plaza on Saturday morning, shopping and macarons in SoHo in the afternoon, beer and tacos in Sunset Park at night, and finally on Sunday, manicures, pints of pumpkin ale, and lots of cooking in Park Slope. It felt the way a New York weekend should, with just the right balance of adventure and absurdity, and enough scenic views for a Woody Allen film. Much of it also revolved around food, so it was natural to wind down by baking a pie Sunday afternoon with my well-manicured hands.

I wanted to go recipe-free to make an apple cranberry pie, so I tried to remember as many techniques as I could from last year’s apple pie adventure and winged the rest. The pie was a success, but I forgot to add flour to the apple mixture which resulted in a little excess liquid. I’ve corrected it in the recipe after the jump.

Apple Cranberry Pie
Crust
-2 1/2 cups flour
-2 tsp. sugar
-1/4 tsp salt
-1 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/2″ cubes
-5-6 tbs. ice water

Filling
-4 large Jonagold apples (or baking apples of your choice), peeled and sliced into 1/4″ wedges
-Juice of 1 large lemon
-2/3 cup dried cranberries
-2/3 cup sugar
-1 tbs. ground cinnamon
-1 tsp. allspice
-1/2 tsp. vanilla
-1/4 tsp. almond oil
-2 tbs. flour

1) Mix flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add butter and cut in using two knives, slicing the butter into small pieces throughout the flour (alternate: add ingredients to a food processor and pulse until it’s a course meal).

2) Add 2 tbs. of ice water and mix in with a fork. Continue adding water until the dough is lightly moistened and can form into a ball. Form it into two disks, place in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 30 minutes.

3) While the dough is chilling, mix the apples, cranberries, lemon, sugar, vanilla, almond oil, cinnamon, and allspice in a large bowl. Pour the mixture into a large sieve over a bowl and let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.

Once 30 minutes have elapsed, pour the excess liquid into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook until it becomes a syrup, just thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, and set aside.

4) Preheat the oven to 350º. Remove the dough from the fridge and let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. Lay out a sheet of wax paper, coat with flour, and place the first disk in the center. Sprinkle more flour on the dough and place another sheet on top, then begin to roll the dough into a 12″ circle, about 1/4″ thick. Repeat this process with the other disk of dough.

5) Place one sheet of dough in the bottom of an ungreased pie pan, taking care not to let it stretch. Toss the apple mixture with 2 tbs. flour, then add on top of the dough. Drizzle the mixture with the apple syrup you boiled down earlier, then top with the other sheet of dough. Cut away the excess dough from the edges and crimp with your fingers or a fork to seal them together. Also, cut in three vents in any pattern you’d like (My vents pictured below were not large enough).

6) Place the pie on a baking sheet to catch any drippings and bake at 350º for 1 hour. Keep an eye on the crust edges and if they brown too quickly, cover them with a layer of aluminum foil. Once baked, let the pie cool for an hour before serving.

There are a number of recipes written on random stationary in my grandmother’s collection. This is on hotel stationary, while others come from factories, a research facility of some sort, and (what I believe to be) my aunt’s algebra homework.

According to my mother, this recipe for honey whole wheat bread was one of her favorites. After making it today, I can see why. The crust is crunchy, the interior is soft, and there is the tiniest hint of honey. My baking process wasn’t error free, however.

More photos and the full recipe after the jump.

Grandma Mangan’s Honey Whole Wheat Bread
In a mixing bowl:
-3 cups w. wheat flour
-2 pkg. yeast
-1 tbsp. salt

Heat to luke warm:
-1 1/2 c. water
-1 1/2 c. milk
-1/2 c. honey
-2 tbsp. cooking oil
Add to dry ingredients. Mix well.
Add 1 c. w. wheat flour.
Then add 3-4 c. white flour to make stiff dough.

Turn out and knead 5 mins.
Rise 45-60 mins.
Shape it into loaves. Rise 30-45 mins.
Bake at 375º for 40-45 mins.
Brush with butter.

This recipe makes a lot of dough. If I didn’t botch two loaves by placing them in loaf pans, rather than letting them be freeform on a baking sheet, it would have made 6 small loaves or 3 large loaves. To give you an idea of how unprepared I was, here’s a time lapse of the bread rising in the largest bowl we have in our kitchen:

Once the dough reached this mushroom cloud status about 45 minutes in, I decided it was time to shape it into loaves. I used my hands and a sharp knife to grab clumps of dough and slice them away. I placed four on a lightly greased cookie sheet and two in loaf pans as a test (which failed, as I mentioned earlier. Too crunchy).

As the loaves were rising a second time, I ran to the nail salon near my apartment for a relaxing $8 manicure. It was a crazy weekend and I felt like some budget-conscious pampering was in order. Grandma would have been proud. Not bad for $8, right?

I returned home, pre-heated the oven, and put the loaves in to bake. Overall, I think they turned out well and will be perfect for breakfast and a few sandwiches throughout the week. I also turned the botched loaves into croutons, at Clare’s suggestion.

The kitchen table in my apartment offers a rotating assortment of baked goods in tupperware containers and ziploc bags. Last week, Erin made pumpkin cookies and banana nut muffins. Then, Clare made pumpkin bread and muffins, followed a few days later by Magnolia cupcakes (mini and full size). Erin made corn muffins yesterday, then I made zucchini bread. Erin made zucchini cookies, a batch of brownies, and more muffins this afternoon, and finally, while not baking-related, Jess made a whole bunch of edamame tonight. There’s nothing better than getting home from work to a fresh plate of cookies, or waking up in the morning to a plate of muffins waiting for breakfast.

My zucchini bread recipe came from Simply Recipes, my new trusted source for baked goods. They’re behind the brownies and banana bread that I have shared with many friends and they’re always a hit.

I don’t usually cook for lunch, preferring to throw together a salad or sandwich in the middle of the day. On Tuesday however, I was inspired by the dozen eggs sitting in my fridge and ran to the store for a few extra supplies for a quiche. Along with the eggs, I just needed bacon, leeks, pie crust, and a few cups of half and half for a simple lunch and a few days of breakfast.

Bacon and Leek Quiche
-Your favorite pie crust from scratch or store-bought (no sugar) for a 9″ quiche pan
-4 eggs
-1 1/2 cups half & half
-5 slices of bacon, cooked and roughly chopped
-1/4 cup finely chopped leeks (discard the tough green tops and use the white and light green stem)
-1 tbs. butter
-4 oz. grated Swiss cheese
-1/2 tsp. kosher salt
-1/4 tsp. black pepper

1) Preheat oven to 350°.

2) Place the pie crust in a lightly greased quiche pan and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Once chilled, remove from the fridge and cover with parchment paper. Add pie weights (dry beans or ceramic baking weights) and bake for 15 minutes. Then, remove the weights, discard the parchment paper, and poke the bottom of the crust with a fork in a number of spots. Place back in the oven and bake for another 10 minutes.

3) While the crust is baking, melt 1 tbs. butter in a medium skillet and cook the leeks over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, or until tender. Stir often and turn down the heat if they begin to brown. Drain the butter and set aside. Next, beat the eggs, cream, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl and set aside.

4) When the crust is done, allow to cool for 5-10 minutes. Line the bottom of the crust with the cooked leeks and bacon, then sprinkle evenly with the grated Swiss cheese. Finally, pour the egg and cream mixture on top.

5) Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the eggs are set and the top of the quiche is nicely browned.

This week has been a roller coaster ride of uncertainty, and when I’m uncertain about things that factor largely into my life and well being, my mind turns into a simulator of worst case scenarios. Like the NASA astronauts or people playing SimCity, it prepares me for anything that could come my way, for better or worse. It’s why I carry a sewing kit and a pair of socks in my purse at all time, I had a sleeping bag in the trunk of my car throughout college, and I always leave my apartment with an extra half-hour to spare if traveling by subway. I mentally note easily accessible bathrooms around the city, and if you called me from most neighborhoods below 23rd Street or in northern Brooklyn, I could probably give you directions to one.

I was sprawled on the couch last night in the midst of one of my “What if…” sessions when I made an important decision. It was time to relax. It was time to make some brownies. For me, there is no dessert more comforting in both taste and texture, especially when they contain more butter than is found in many homes these days. Forget chocolate chip cookies. These childhood icons are low maintenance and no electric mixer needed.

This is one of my favorite brownie recipes, and while it does require a little time on the stove, the results are completely worth it. If you make them, cut them into small pieces because they are very, very rich. Relax and enjoy.

Despite temperatures in the nineties, I continued my trend of incredibly easy desserts this afternoon by making a blueberry crisp. It’s cheap, it’s fast, and you can usually make it without having to run out for special ingredients as it follows a simple formula of fresh fruit + sugar + oats, flour, and butter topping. If you’re really lucky, blueberries will be very ripe and on sale at the local market (a whopping 3 pints for $5 was what I found today). You can also get away with eating it for breakfast, however adding a scoop of ice cream in the morning may go too far. A dollop of whipped cream might be the perfect compromise. Full recipe after the jump.

Blueberry Crisp
Fruit Layer:
-4 cups blueberries, washed and dried
-Juice of 1 lemon
-1/3 cup white sugar

Topping Layer:
-1 cup rolled oats
-1/3 cup flour
-1/4 cup brown sugar
-1/4 cup white sugar
-1 tsp. cinnamon
-1/2 tsp. nutmeg
-1/2 tsp. ground ginger
-5 tbs. butter, chopped into small cubes

1) Pre-heat the oven to 375º. Lightly grease the bottom of  9″ x 9″ baking dish with unsalted butter and set aside.

2) Toss together blueberries and lemon juice in a large bowl. Add the sugar and toss until the berries are fully coated. Pour them into the baking dish, creating an even layer.

3) Rinse and dry the bowl. Add all of the dry ingredients and stir together, then cut in the butter using two knives or your hands. Pour the crumble mixture over the berries.

4) Bake for 35 minutes, cool, and serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

When I think of pie, my mind immediately goes to setting up a workstation complete with flour, ice water, a rolling pin, and plenty of wax paper. I recall the careful waiting game of chilling the dough, then rolling it out (but not too much!), and trying to place it into a pie dish without ripping it. It’s a rewarding but stressful process that I’m not always prepared to undertake.

Enter the graham cracker: a buttery, sweet angel to the rescue of those who want to bake a pie but don’t want the hassle of a flour-based crust. It’s the crust of choice for chocolate and banana cream, but it’s most notably found lining the pans of key lime pies everywhere.

I made my first key lime pie this weekend for a small gathering of friends. Although I had consumed more than my weight in the pie as a child visiting my grandparents in Florida, I’d never even looked at a key lime recipe before. This was the simplest version I could find, as I wanted to skip the meringue topping.

Overall, it was one of the easiest baked goods I have ever made, save for the labor involved in squeezing the limes. No stress, no rolling pins. I was unable to find key limes in Greenpoint, I so I used regular limes, a dash of lemon juice, and 1/2 tsp. of lime zest in the filling to make sure it had the right balance of tart and sweet. My only recipe suggestion is lightly greasing your pie dish with butter because the graham cracker crust may stick a bit.

In place of photos from my baking process (I was frazzled getting ready for company and forgot to document), I offer you photos from a yo-yo competition I attended the following day at South Street Seaport.

I’ve been on a serious cherry bender for the past few weeks. Mounds of blushing Royal Ann, bright red sour, and purple Bing cherries seem to be around every corner in New York and I can’t resist buying a pint or two whenever I see them. They’re the perfect snack food because they take so much activity to consume that I eat less during my late night kitchen raid. I admit the image of me spitting cherry pits into a cup while watching Conan isn’t the most attractive tableau, but here we are.

Last Saturday morning was no exception during my morning trip to the Greenpoint Farmers’ Market. All of the sweet cherry varieties were $6-7 a pound, however the sour cherries were almost past their peak ripeness and going for just $3.  I decided to grab a few handfuls and try an afternoon baking experiment: scones.

I had only made scones once before, way back in 8th grade for a project in my history class. We were studying Ellis Island and to help us understand the US immigrant experience of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, every student in my grade spent an afternoon in a historical reenactment of what it was like to go through the various check points. We dressed up in our finest old-timey costumes (see: mother’s clothes from the 80s) and received an index card explaining who we were. Most were immigrants, some were doctors, and some were inspectors. The lucky ones were quarantined for TB in a row of desks in the back of a classroom, while the rest of us shuffled through and improvised our reasons for coming to the States.

As an extra-credit component of the day, we could bring in a dish from our ancestral home to share with the class. Being the nerdy girl I was (who was also nicknamed “Wednesday” during those torturous three years), I naturally jumped at the chance to bring in something reflecting my Irish heritage. Scones seemed easy enough, however when I realized I was short a cup of flour in the midst of baking, I had to improvise by adding oats I found in the cupboard. Unfortunately, they weren’t the rolled oats that are always used in baked goods, they were steel cut Irish oats that typically require 30-40 minutes boiling on the stove if you don’t want them to crack a tooth. I brought the finished scones in anyway and as you can imagine, the light brown rocks sat uneaten in a ziploc bag on my desk for the entire day.

With fresh sour cherries in hand, I was determined not to let this scone baking experience go awry. I picked up a bar of dark chocolate and got to work.

Chocolate and Sour Cherry Scones
-3/4 cup sour cherries, pitted and quartered
-1/2 cup unsalted butter (see special instructions in step 1 and 3)
-2 cups flour
-1/3 cup granulated sugar
-1/4 cup brown sugar
-2 tsp. baking powder
-1/2 tsp. baking soda
-1/2 tsp. salt
-1/2 cup milk
-1 egg, lightly beaten
-1/2 cup finely chopped dark chocolate (with a few chunks)
-2 tbs. of granulated sugar for sprinkling

1) One hour before you start baking, place the 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick) in the freezer.

2) Pre-heat oven to 400°.

3) Mix all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Take the butter out of the freezer and use a grater to carefully grate the butter into the bowl. Once complete, use your hands to mix it with the dry ingredients, breaking up any chunks of butter that may have stuck together. If you don’t have a grater, simply cut non-frozen butter into small chunks, add them to the dry ingredients, and cut them in using two knives.

4) Add the cherries and chocolate and mix briefly.

5) Add the milk and lightly beaten egg and then stir until fully incorporated. Do not overmix.

6) Turn out the dough onto a wide, floured work surface. Use your hands or a rolling pin to flatten the dough into a 2″ thick circle.

7) Cut into 8 wedges (pizza-style) using a floured knife and place the wedges onto a lightly greased cookie sheet. Make sure they have a little room to expand.

8 ) Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool on the sheet for 1 minute, then move to a wire rack. (They taste best while they’re still warm and the chocolate is still gooey.)