Pressing Pickle Update

Take a look at that.  Bread and butter pickles in their natural habitat: atop a burger.  I can't say that I've ever eaten pickles on a burger before last night, but evidently I've been missing out.  Because those pickles LOVE being on a burger.  I LOVE those pickles being on a burger.  We have a very happy situation here people.  I already broke down and made a second batch of them, you know you should probably get started on your first.

I'm not even the only one schilling pickles on the internet these days.  Evidently, refrigerator pickles are hot right now.  Lady Gouda's making bread and butters.  Emily Style is making dills.  Clearly this means that they are the new, hot, in, thing.  I'm never on trend.  This might be a first.  I shall revel in it.

Also, remember the poor forgettable loser in the pickle playoffs?  The poor asian pickles?  They know their audience.  Understanding my natural procrastination instincts are especially strong when it comes to throwing out food, they lurked in the batch of my fridge for a week.  I thought they were just peeking around the condiments feeling sorry for themselves, but really, they were gathering spice.  Ryan was on a snack-seeking mission and poking around the back of the fridge and there they were.  I don't know if it was desperation or optimism, but he popped a pickle.  It was nice and fiery.  Happy pickle.  He finished the jar in a single sitting.  I still wouldn't say they were the best pickle option, but if you like things hot, let a batch sit awhile, you won't be sorry.

Make the Focaccia!

I'm going to go ahead and assume you're not like me. That you have a whirlwind of holiday parties to attend, a beautifully decorated house, profusions of gifts already purchased, wrapped and tucked under the tree and are simply relaxing by the fire sipping something decadent and doodling menu plans on your personalized stationery. Good for you. Clearly, all you need is an easy, impressive recipe to bring to your potluck parties, or add to your already high-end gourmet spread.

Of course if you are like me, and haven't started shopping, haven't heard even one carol that was not some crappy new-age elevator music rendition, are avoiding the only party you've been invited to, you probably need some carbohydrates to help you eat away Scrooge-y feeling burning inside your two-sizes too small grinchy heart.

Either way, this focaccia will make your season bright. Celia of Fig Jam and Lime Cordial is an absolute whiz with breads and this one tempted me the moment I spied it on her blog. It did not disappoint. In fact, I made it Saturday and there is naught but a tiny corner left. I've altered her recipe only to account for the fact that I lack sea salt and bread flour and to give you the proportions of fillings I used. But feel free to experiment, I believe Celia would say that was the spirit of the thing in the first place! If you're going upscale you might want to use marinated artichokes and some kalamata olives. If you're eating away stress like me, seriously go with provolone and pepperoni - it's like a portable pizza. There are more delicious ideas for fillings on Fig Jam and Lime Cordial, so make sure to click the recipe link!


SERIOUSLY GOOD FOCACCIA
adapted from filled focaccia for a less impressive kitchen.


INGREDIENTS:
3 1/3 C flour (I used all-purpose, Celia says bread flour)
1 packet dried yeast
1 tsp table salt
1 1/3 C water
3 T + 1 t olive oil (plus more for drizzling)
1/3 lb provolone chopped
1/2 C chopped turkey pepperoni
I absolutely would use more filling next time!

DIRECTIONS:
Combine flour, salt and yeast, then add liquids, mix. Then chop up all the goodies you plan on putting inside and add them. Blend gently. Then cover with wrap and let sit for 30 minutes. See? Sitting:


Knead gently. Do this in the bowl to keep stuff from flying off everywhere. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover and let rise 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Pat out onto a normal sized cookie sheet covered in silpat or parchment. Let sit for 20 minutes again covered. At this point Celia recommends preheating your oven to maximum. My crappy but old school oven has a max well over 550F. I turned to 525F and smoke was coming out. Don't do that. 500 is about the best I can do with an intervention from a fan so that might have to be that.Poke holes in it with your fingers like so:


Lower the oven temperature to 425F and bake for 25 minutes. Celia advises rotating it once but I totally forgot and had no ill effects. Pretty no?

Lemon Raspberry Muffins

My very first Hippo and Nigella post. I'll admit, I didn't select this recipe because it spoke to me more than the others. It was a very practical choice. First, it didn't require self-rising cake flour. Additionally, I had raspberries that needed using. They were good. Not great, not I can't wait until I make these again. Just good. I think they need more lemon. Maybe a lemon glaze? They're definitely worth experimenting with. And for the raspberry haters out there, you might consider blueberries instead. Also, this is the very first time I used my silcone baking cups. They are reusable, and they don't take half your muffin with them when you peel them off. What's not to like?

LEMON RASPBERRY MUFFINS
adapted from How to Be a Domestic Goddess

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 C butter, melted and cooled
1 1/3 C all purpose flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/3 C sugar
1/4 t salt
juice and zest of 2-3 lemons - Nigella only called for one. From her directions, it seems clear she's expecting you to have about a half cup of lemon juice. Maybe she just has better lemons than I do, but I had slightly less than a quarter cup of juice from one lemon. I used another lemon too and still didn't have a half cup of juice. I'd really make sure I was getting that half cup.
1/2 C milk
1 large egg
1 C ish of raspberries - You don't need to be precise with the berries, a smidge under or over will hurt no one.

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 400 F. Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt and zest. Right here, I had a problem. You need to make sure you wash your lemons well when you use the zest, because the skin is where all the pesticides and gross things you don't want to eat are concentrated, but also, it's where all the lemony flavor is. Make sure you dry your lemons thoroughly before zesting, and maybe even let your zest dry before adding it to the flour mixture, because otherwise, the zest bits will want to clump and no one wants one bite of all zest and a pan of muffins that are less lemony right? Okay. Combine your lemon juice and milk. The juice will curdle the milk, that's okay. Beat in the egg and the melted butter. Add the liquids to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in the raspberries. Raspberries are very delicate and will break if treated roughly. Unless you want your muffins to be all pink, go slowly and gently. Pour info muffin cups and bake for about 25 minutes. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a baking rack to cool for 10-15 minutes. For those who want to experiment, and maybe confirm this as a dessert rather than breakfast product, you might consider a lemon glaze of 1/3 C sugar and 1/3 C lemon juice heated and stirred until clear. You would pour this over the muffins while still hot so they absorb the glaze.

Tasty Toasts

These blue cheese and pear on wheat bread toasts are a bit decadent, but they require very little effort and no cooking skills. If you have a knife, a toaster oven and access to a decent bakery, you're all set. They can be served as an appetizer or an hors d'oeuvre at a party or as a dessert. I like a little flexibility in my food don't you?

BLUE CHEESE, PEAR AND HONEY TOASTS

INGREDIENTS:
1 bosc pear (you can tell if it's ripe, it will be all wrinkly around the stem)
a mild, creamy blue cheese
honey
wheat bread or multigrain from a good bakery

DIRECTIONS:
Slice the pears thinly and arrange across the bread. Crumble the blue cheese over the top. If you are feeling decadent (and I always am), drizzle with a small amount of honey. Then put in the toaster oven. I use the toast button, and it goes for 4 minutes, which is exactly the right amount of time to melt the blue cheese and make the bread able to support the toppings. To use as a passed hors d'oeuvre, I would recommend using the tiny square bread you can get at most grocery stores and dicing the pears instead of slicing, and popping in your conventional oven on a tray for a few minutes.