Although the September issue of Bon Appetit is filled with wonderful things, I’m going to skip to my favorite feature, which is the “Best of the Bakeshops.” This month showcases a selection of goodies that are twists on classics and made all the better for it. Take chocolate-chip cookies, for example. They’ve been all the rage lately, with the New York Times and their 36-hour cookies, but something no one considered was replacing the chocolate chips with brownie chunks. Yes, brownie chunks. The Sweet Pea Bakery & Catering in Phoenix has done just that with their Brownie-Chunk Cookies. As an added bonus, you get two great recipes in one here as you must first make a pan of brownies before you can make the cookies. Don’t think of this as extra work but rather as extra awesomeness. Plus, you use only half a pan of brownies to make the cookies, so that leaves you with half a pan of brownies to fold into homemade ice cream (well that’s what I would do anyway).

If you’re looking for a show-stopper dessert, look no further than Vanilla Bake Shop’s Chocolate Cake with Fleur de Sel Caramel Filling. This cake is made in steps as well, but it’s one delicious step after another, from chocolate cake to caramel filling to chocolate ganache. I found the caramel filling particularly intriguing as it is made differently than most caramels I’ve made it the past, with the addition of crème fraîche or sour cream, which gives it a noticeable tang. Layer cakes always seem impressive, but this one is especially so as four layers of cake are dressed up in caramel and chocolate and accessorized with toasted almonds. Could you honestly ask for anything else other than a fork?

In case you’re wondering how to stay slim while consuming all of these baked goods, this month’s BA also features an article by Melissa Clarke about a food writer’s diet and how to eat well as opposed to plentifully. All I can say to that is good luck with this cake and these cookies lying around…

Chocolate Cake with Fleur de Sel Caramel Filling

CARAMEL FILLING

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, diced

1/4 cup crème fraîche or sour cream

1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Large pinch of fine fleur de sel* plus additional for assembly

GANACHE FILLING AND FROSTING

1 1/2 pounds bittersweet chocolate, chopped

3 cups heavy whipping cream

CAKE

2 cups sugar

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup whole milk

2 large eggs

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1 cup hot water

1 tablespoon instant espresso powder or instant coffee

1 1/4 cups almonds, toasted, coarsely chopped

CARAMEL FILLING

Stir sugar, 1/4 cup water, and corn syrup in deep medium saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium; cover pan and cook 4 minutes. Uncover; increase heat to high. Boil without stirring until syrup is deep amber, occasionally brushing down pan sides with wet pastry brush, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat. Add cream (mixture will bubble). Whisk in butter, then crème fraîche, lemon juice, and pinch of fleur de sel. Cool completely. DO AHEAD: Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before using.

GANACHE FILLING AND FROSTING

Place chocolate in large bowl. Bring cream to simmer in medium saucepan. Pour cream over chocolate; let soften 1 minute. Whisk until chocolate is smooth. Cool, then cover and chill overnight. DO AHEAD: Ganache can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled. Bring to room temperature before using.

CAKE

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides. Line bottom of each with parchment paper; butter paper and dust pan with flour.

Sift sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into large bowl. Add milk, eggs, and melted butter. Using electric mixer, beat at low speed until blended. Increase speed and beat 2 minutes. Stir 1 cup hot water and espresso powder in small bowl to dissolve. Add to batter; beat until blended (batter will be thin). Divide batter between pans (about 3 cups each).

Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 32 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on racks 10 minutes. Cut around cakes; turn out onto racks. Peel off parchment and cool completely.

Using long serrated knife, cut each cake horizontally in half. Place 1 layer on platter; spread with 1/2 cup room-temperature ganache. Spoon 3/4 cup ganache into pastry bag fitted with 1/4-inch plain round tip. Pipe ring of ganache around edge of layer. Spread 1/4 cup room-temperature caramel filling evenly inside ring. Sprinkle caramel with large pinch of fleur de sel, then 1 tablespoon almonds. Top with second cake layer, ganache, ganache ring, caramel filling, fleur de sel, and almonds. Repeat with third cake layer. Top with fourth cake layer, cut side down. Spread remaining ganache over top and sides of cake. Press remaining almonds onto sides. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover with cake dome and chill. Let cake stand at room temperature 1 hour.

*A type of sea salt; available at some supermarkets and at specialty foods stores.

David Lebovitz’s book The Perfect Scoop should be familiar to all of you by now, but that’s not stopping me from writing about it. I have been pining away for this book for the past year and since no one bought it for me (despite repeated hints), I finally went out and got it myself. I feel like I have now wasted a year of my life living without this book. As it was, I had already made a few recipes from the book thanks to the postings of some other bloggers, but now I’m unstoppable. I’ve had the book for two days and have already made three ice creams. Is it possible to die of an acute ice cream overdose? If so, I may find out, but at least it’s a sweet way to go.

Last summer I made Lebovitz’s Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream and it was enough to convince me that the man knew his ice cream. Since then I’ve watched other bloggers make many of his recipes, all with outstanding results, and I’ve read Lebovitz’s blog, jealous of his escapades in Paris. When I started making ice cream last year, I upgraded from my ancient ice-cream maker to a snazzy new Cuisinart. A year later I moved out of my parents’ home and left the ice-cream maker behind because I foolishly believed I didn’t have space in my tiny freezer to keep the bowl, or space in my tiny apartment to keep the machine.

After going a few months without an ice-cream machine, I broke down and bought another one, exactly the same as my old one. And after another month of cranking out ice cream, I decided that I needed two things: an industrial ice-cream machine just like the one David Lebovitz has, and his book to go with it! Since then I’ve made Fresh Fig Ice Cream (which, despite the sludge-like color, is actually very smooth and figgy), Blueberry Frozen Yogurt (bursting with blueberry), and my favorite, Rum Raisin Ice Cream (which I added too much booze to so it never hardened completely but I quite liked it that way).

The book is divided into Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas and Sweet Accompaniments, and although I have yet to dip into the accompaniments chapter, I can’t wait to make some mix-ins, sauces, and vessels for my ice cream. I couldn’t be happier with the book and its interesting array of ordinary and extraordinary ice cream flavors, not to mention the beautiful photography and witty stories that introduce the recipes. If you’re at all interested in ice-cream making (and I don’t see why you wouldn’t be), David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop is the book you want to have.

Rum Raisin Ice Cream (from David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop)

2/3 cup mixed dark and light raisins

1/2 cup dark rum

1 inch strip of orange or lemon zest

3/4 cup whole milk

2/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided

Pinch of Salt

4 large egg yolks

Heat the raisins, rum, and orange zest in a small saucepan. Let simmer for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat. Cover and let stand for a few hours. (The raisins can be macerated 1 day in advance.)

Warm the milk, sugar, 1/2 cup of the heavy cream, and salt in a medium saucepan. Pour the remaining 1 cup cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warmed milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as your stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and into the cream. Stir until cool over an ice bath, then chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator.

When ready to freeze the ice cream, drain the raisins over a bowl and reserve the rum. Discard the orange zest. Measure the drained rum and add more, if necessary, so that you have a total of 3 tablespoons. Stir the rum into the custard.

Freeze the mixture in your ice-cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. During the last few minutes of churning, add the rum-soaked raisins.

Do you really need a book devoted entirely to cookies? That was the question I was asking myself as I requested to review a copy of Martha Stewart’s newest book, Cookies: The Very Best Treats to Bake and to Share. After poring over the book for the past couple of weeks, I’ve learned that the answer is a resounding yes. Not only do I need a book devoted entirely to cookies, but I feel like I’ve been missing out on not having one until now. I’ve become obsessed with trying out a new cookie recipe each week and have so far baked my way through Iced Oatmeal Applesauce Cookies, Lemon-Poppy Seed Crisps, Banana Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies, and Turtle Brownies.

The book is arranged into 7 chapters: Light and Delicate, Chunky and Nutty, Crisp and Crunchy, Soft and Chewy, Cakey and Tender, Rich and Dense, and Crumbly and Sandy.  There is really a cookie for all types of cookie lovers. I tend to gravitate to some chapters more than others, but I’ve found cookies in all of them that I want to try (next up on my list are Dark Chocolate Cookies with Sour Cherries.)

For those of you who like pictures with your recipes, this book outdoes most by having a photo of every single cookie. In a format I haven’t seen before, but absolutely love, Martha Stewart’s Cookies has a photo index at the front of the book, showcasing all that the book has to offer. As if that weren’t enough, many of the recipes are accompanied by another cookie photo as well. This is a book to flip through when you’re looking for some inspiration or just to drool over the possibilities of what could soon be coming out of your oven.

In true Martha form, this book closes with a section on Tools and Techniques, (which tells you what tools you need and tips for making the different kinds of cookies) and also a section on Packaging and Giving (which shows you how to wrap up your creations for the perfect gift). It wouldn’t be a Martha book if everything wasn’t just perfect, and it certainly is.

So if you’re wondering whether or not you need a book devoted entirely to cookies, why not try making these Lemon-Poppy Seed Crisps?  They’ll convince you to want to try them all.

Lemon-Poppy Seed Crisps

¼ cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp coarse salt
1 ½ cups sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 ½ tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 T poppy seeds plus more for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350F.  Bring lemon juice to a simmer in a small saucepan over med heat; cook until reduced by half.  Add ½ cup (1 stick) butter, and stir until melted.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.  Put remaining ½ cup butter and 1 cup sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on med speed until creamy.  Add egg and reserved lemon butter; mix until pale, about 3 minutes.  Mix in vanilla and 2 tsp lemon zest.  Reduce speed to low.  Mix in flour mixture and poppy seeds.

Stir together remaining ½ cup sugar and 1 ½ tsp lemon zest in a small bowl.  Roll dough into 1 ¼ inch balls; roll balls in lemon-sugar mixture.  Space 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.  Press each with the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar mixture until ¼ inch thick.  Sprinkle with poppy seeds.

Bake until just browned around edges, 12 to 13 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through.  Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.  Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Pure Food by Christine Cushing is a book that offers a wide variety of dishes that focus on freshness and flavor. The recipes are straightforward and emphasize using seasonal ingredients in a way that suits them best. The layout is clean and the photos are bright and inviting. The book begins with a shopping, organizing, and produce companion that provides suggestions for a well-stocked pantry as well as tips on how to use ingredients that you may not be as familiar with. The recipes are divided into seven chapters: Salads, Dips & Starters, Fish & Seafood, Poultry, Meat, Grains & Starches, Veggies & Sides, and finally Fruit & Desserts.  Prep time and cooking time are listed with each recipe and are generally under an hour with some being much less so. Seasonal availability of ingredients is also given with each recipe, which is a nice touch.

As Christine describes at the beginning of the book, there are five very important factors that are woven throughout the book:

Flavour, Flavour, Flavour

Quality of Ingredients

In Season

Ease of Preparation

Health

Those, combined with the implied factor of fun (as all cooking should be fun), create a nice balance of recipes and tastes. The Strawberry Mango Mojito Salad looked too delicious for me to pass up, and it was the first thing I made. I added some kiwis because I had them on hand and opted to rim the class with sugar, but otherwise stuck to the recipe.

Strawberry Mango Mojito Salad (from Pure Food by Christine Cushing)

1 pint fresh ripe strawberries, hulled and cut in half
1 medium Atulfo mango, peeled and diced (Atulfo is less stringy than other varieties)
¼ cup granulated sugar (60mL)
½ bunch fresh mint leaves, washed and chopped finely
Grated zest and juice of 1 lime
2 oz white rum (50mL) or to taste

Combine the strawberries and mango in a medium bowl.  Sprinkle with sugar, mint leaves, lime juice, zest and rum.

Let stand for about 30 minutes to develop its flavour.

For maximum impact, serve in a martini or rock glass with fresh mint sprigs and a lime slice on the rim of the glass.

March’s issue of Food & Wine magazine is dubbed the Special Kitchen Issue and reviews a variety of small appliances, giving the top three in each category.  The appliances reviewed are blenders, convection toaster ovens, deep fryers, food processors, hand mixers, juicers, and panini presses. I feel like I’m missing out here because I only have two of these (the blender and food processor), but at least if I decide to add these gadgets to my kitchen at some point in the future, I’ll know which ones are best.

One thing I do have in my kitchen though that I absolutely love is my KitchenAid, which is perfect for making all of the amazing desserts in this month’s issue.  There’s an entire section entitled “Big Sugar’s Blockbuster Desserts,” which features recipes from the Big Sugar Bakeshop, which is frequented by an ever increasing number of celebrities because of its proximity to major TV network studios. I can’t wait to try the Pecan-Praline Cheesecake with Caramel Sauce or the Apple Pie Bars, and I couldn’t wait at all to try the Reverse Chocolate Chip Cookies, I made those immediately! With 24 ounces of chocolate, these are a seriously good cookie.

If I haven’t tempted you with desserts, there are also some delicious-sounding savory dishes such as Glazed Asian Baby Back Ribs, Crunchy Asian Pea Salad with Honeyed Bacon, and Pan-Seared Meyer Lemon Gnocchi.  Tempted yet?  I know I am.

Reverse Chocolate Chip Cookies (Food & Wine, March 2008)

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa, sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped into chunks
• 12 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped into chunks

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, sift the flour with the cocoa, baking soda, and salt.

In a standing electric mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the butter with the granulated and light brown sugars at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until incorporated. At low speed, beat in the bittersweet- and white-chocolate chunks until they are evenly distributed.

Scoop eight 1/4-cup mounds of batter onto each of the prepared cookie sheets, leaving 3 inches between them. Flatten the mounds into 2-inch rounds. Bake on the lower and middle racks of the oven for 20 minutes, until the cookies rise and then flatten slightly; switch the cookie sheets halfway through baking. Let the cookies cool for 10 minutes, then slide the parchment paper onto racks and let the cookies cool completely. Line the cookie sheets with fresh parchment and repeat to make the remaining cookies.

The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 1 month.

If you’ve ever wanted to try some new flavours but have been unsure about how to go about it, might I suggest some Indian food? For some people, Indian cuisine conjures up images of long hours in front of the stove and a hot tandoor oven, but that’s not the case if you’ve got Madhur Jaffrey helping you out. In her book, Quick and Easy Indian Cooking, Jaffrey shows us that it’s possible to recreate complex Indian flavours in a fraction of the time and in your own home.

The majority of the dishes in this book can be made in under 30 minutes, proving that it doesn’t take forever to make a tasty and satisfying meal.  The book itself is vibrant and colourful, with beautiful photos and design. It’s the type of book that makes you want to cook from it, as well as read it curled up on the couch. Jaffrey introduces each recipe with a little blurb about when the dish is typically served or what to pair it with or an insight on the method used to cook it. She’s the type of cookbook author that you feel is in the kitchen with you and that’s the best kind.

The book is divided into 8 categories which range from Soups and Appetizers to Drinks and Desserts. Recipes include classic dishes like Lamb Vindaloo, Chicken Korma and Mango Lassi, but also include something a little different like Garlicky Mushroom Masala Omelet, Chick Peas Cooked in Tea and Banana Halva. The recipes for fresh chutneys look particularly nice and infinitely versatile.

Although the recipes sound amazing, there are a couple things to note before buying this book. The first is that many of the recipes call for the use of a pressure cooker. The pressure cooker makes it possible to create meals in under 30 minutes although it is not necessary to have one as stove top directions are also given for all of the recipes. Making these dishes on the stove top will obviously take longer, but most of that time is not hands on. The second thing to note is that some of the ingredient lists may seem long. Once you have a well stocked pantry however (especially with the appropriate spices), the recipes don’t actually take any longer to make, despite the number of ingredients. I think you’ll also find that the added ingredients are what make the dishes distinctly Indian and full of flavour.

Madhur Jaffrey makes Indian cuisine accessible to all in this lovely book that I’m eager to try more from. This recipe that I’ve given here is for her Banana Halva and I wanted to try it as soon as I read that this was a recipe for banana lovers. I served it simply with a little powdered sugar, although whipped cream, as Jaffrey suggests, would certainly be wonderful.

Banana Halva
(from Quick and Easy Indian Cooking by Madhur Jaffrey)

4 very ripe bananas
1 T vegetable oil or ghee
2 T sugar
1 T chopped, unsalted, peeled pistachios
½ T chopped walnuts
¼ cup lightly whipped heavy cream or clotted cream

Peel the bananas and mash them.

Put the oil or ghee in a nonstick frying pan and set over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, put in the mashed bananas. Stir and fry for 5 to 6 minutes. Turn the heat to medium and stir and fry for another 10 minutes or until the bananas have browned and turned to a kind of soft toffee. Turn the heat to low. Add the sugar. Stir for another 30 seconds or until the sugar has dissolved. Add the pistachios and walnuts and mix in. Cool to room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap until serving time. Serve with whipped or clotted cream.

The first thing I noticed as I flipped through The New Regional Italian Cuisine Cookbook by Reinhardt Hess, Cornelia Schinharl and Sabine Salzer was the abundance of beautiful pictures. There is a photo of every single recipe, as well as scenic shots of Italy and close-ups of ingredients. Photos are a major plus in any cookbook and this one certainly goes above and beyond the call of duty and as a result allows you to get a feel for not only the finished dishes but also where they come from.

Unlike basic, run of the mill Italian cookbooks that lump all of Italy into one category of cooking that mainly includes pasta and pizza, Regional Italian Cuisine features recipes from eight culinary regions, using ingredients and techniques that are specific to each one. Every region is introduced with an explanation of why certain foods are particular to it (which varies depending on factors such as landscape, climate, inhabitants and surrounding borders) and what we are likely to find there. The regions are then divided by recipes for Appetizers, First Courses, Main Courses, Side Dishes and Dessert and are labeled in both Italian and English.

What is especially helpful is that the book is indexed not only by region, but also by course, so that even though appetizers are spread throughout the book, a quick look at the index will reveal all of them together.

Another nice feature in this book are the pages devoted strictly to a particular ingredient which are scattered throughout the book and feature wine, herbs, lesser known vegetables, fruit and meat. Along with the fantastic photos, these pages help to acquaint you with the individual regions and their specialties.

The only gripe I have about this cookbook (and it’s a minor one) is that some of the ingredients are not easy to source, such as bottarga, boar, rabbit or chanterelles. However, I’m glad they didn’t try to substitute them with other ingredients that would have affected the integrity of the recipes. These ingredients add to the authenticity of the dishes and make me want to find them so that I can make the recipes properly (and it is possible to find these ingredients, you just might have to look a little harder, the internet makes everything possible now).

So far I’ve made Insalata al Pecorino (Salad with Pecorino Cheese), Ossobuco d’Agnello (Braised Lamb Shanks) and Crostatina di Mele (Apple Puff Pastry Cake) and I’m looking forward to trying other dishes like Chickpea Soup with Prawns, Ricotta ‘Meatballs,’ Stuffed Gnocchi with Chanterelle Ragu and Nougat Honey Semi-Iced Cream. I think The New Regional Italian Cuisine Cookbook is one that I will turn to again and again for delicious recipes.

Insalata al Pecorino (Salad with Pecorino Cheese- Tuscany)

Ingredients for 4:

2 eggs
7 oz mixed salad greens, (preferably several varieties such as Romaine, arugula, radiccio and chicory or Belgian endive)
3.5 oz aged pecorino cheese
2 T raisins
¼ cup pine nuts
8 anchovies (preserved in oil)
2 T white wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper
5 T olive oil

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Per Portion: about 335 calories

Cook eggs in simmering water for about 10 minutes and rinse them with ice cold water. Rinse, trim, and pat dry the salad greens; tear them into bite-sized pieces.

Cut the rind off the cheese and shave it with a vegetable peeler. Soak the raisins in hot water. Toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet until they are golden brown. Mince the anchovies.

Whisk the vinegar and olive oil to a creamy consistency; season with salt and pepper (taste before salting, as anchovies and pecorino are already salty). Peel the eggs and cut in wedges. Drain the raisins.

Toss the salad greens, cheese, raisins, anchovies, and pine nuts with the dressing; if necessary season with salt and pepper. Garnish the salad with the eggs and serve.

The first time I flipped through the March issue of Bon Appetit there was a definite trend in the type of recipes that I gravitated towards.  They were all gooey.  This is actually a feature of this month’s issue entitled Warm, Sticky, Gooey!, but I seem to have found other recipes in the magazine that aren’t in that feature but that fit the bill too.  The gooey funfest begins on the cover with a gorgeous photo of a Grilled Corned Beef Sandwich on Rye that’s oozing with fontina cheese and is carried throughout the magazine.  Gooey cheese reappears in Quesadillas with Greens and Goat Cheese as well as in Grilled Ham and Cheese Sandwiches.  If savoury goo doesn’t get your mouth watering, how about sweet goo like the Caramel-Pecan Upside-down Banana Cake that I made?  The original recipe calls for walnuts, but I happen to prefer pecans so it was an easy switch.  Other sweet gooey recipes include Dulce de Leche and Chocolate Chunk Bread Pudding, and Brandied Apricot Beignets with Chocolate Sauce to name a couple.  And finally, Blogger/author Molly Wizenberg (of Orangette) tells of her trouble with yeast but ultimately provides us with yet another version of gooeyness - a recipe for Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Glaze.

If you’re interested in more than just goo, Bon Appetit also has a feature on potatoes with a few different ways to cook up Russets that will leave you hungry for more.

Prep School this month has tips on peeling eggs, skinning fish and making custard, as well as an anatomy lesson on saucepans.

March means Easter is coming and instead of drowning us in chocolate, Bon Appetit has provided a menu for an old-fashioned Southern Easter, complete with Brown Sugar and Mustard Glazed Ham, Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Honey and a dessert of Cornmeal Cake with Buttermilk Ice Cream and Rhubarb Compote.

Of course, this month’s issue has a special place in my heart because the interview on the last page is with none other than basketball great, (and now restaurateur) Michael Jordan.  Sigh, remember the Bulls in the 90’s?

Caramel-Walnut Upside Down Banana Cake
(Bon Appetit, March 2008)

Topping
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
3 tablespoons dark corn syrup
3/4 cup walnut halves or pieces (I used pecans)

Cake
1 3/4 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (2 to 3 large)
3 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon dark rum
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream (I used homemade raspberry ice cream)

For topping:
Spray 8-inch round cake pan with 2-inch-high sides with nonstick spray. Bring butter, sugar, and corn syrup to boil in medium saucepan, stirring constantly until butter melts. Boil syrup 1 minute. Stir in nuts. Spread topping in prepared pan. Let topping cool completely.

For cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Sift first 4 ingredients into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and both sugars in large bowl until blended. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, then mashed bananas, sour cream, rum, and vanilla. Beat in dry ingredients in 2 additions just until combined. Spoon batter into pan.

Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes. Cut around cake. Place platter over pan. Holding pan and platter together, turn over. Let stand 5 minutes, then gently lift off pan. Cool at least 15 minutes for topping to set. Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

February’s Bon Appetit is dubbed The Green Issue and contains tips on how to eat organic, sustainable food that is good for the earth and good for you too, complete with recipes for everything from meat to veggies and dessert.

Bon Appetit has been sporting a new look lately and this issue also introduces some new columns, one of which is written by blogger Molly Wizenberg of Orangette and is called Cooking Life.  In this month’s issue, Molly explains why she’s not a vegetarian and provides a recipe for delicious looking Lamb Sausage Patties.  If you’re a fan of Molly’s blog, you’ll love her column and if you’re not acquainted with Orangette, you’ll want to be.

Another new feature in Bon Appetit is Prep School, which endeavours to be a guide full of kitchen tips and tricks to help you succeed.  Among the goodies you’ll find this month are how to butterfly a chicken, cut up butternut squash and zest with the best of them.  Prep School has a comic book feels to it, with illustrations to show you the way.

If you’ve got a sweet tooth and would like to incorporate some whole grains into your baking, then look no further, Bon Appetit has a selection of recipes which include cupcakes, pie, bread and cookies.  Whole Wheat S’more Cookies anyone?

Since it’s the Green Issue, I decided to try out a few veggie recipes and went with Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Lemon and Pistachios, as well as Creamy Rice with Parsnip Puree and Root Vegetables.  Brussels sprouts have come a long way from being hated by children everywhere to a dish worthy of being served at your next dinner party.  Brussels sprouts are downright tasty so long as they’re prepared properly and you can count on Bon Appetit to show you how to do it right.  As for the Creamy Rice, you’d never guess that there’s no actual cream or butter in the recipe.  The creaminess comes from the parsnip puree and makes for a nice and healthy side dish.

Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Lemon and Pistachios
Bon Appetit, February 2008

3 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 tablespoon minced shallot
12 large brussels sprouts (about 1 1/2 pounds), trimmed, leaves separated from cores (about 8 cups), cores discarded
3/4 cup shelled unsalted natural pistachios
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallot and stir 20 seconds. Add Brussels sprout leaves and pistachios, and sauté until leaves begin to soften but are still bright green, about 3 minutes. Drizzle lemon juice over. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl and serve.

Servers 4-6.

It always amazes me that anyone should have a difficult time buying me a present.  Then again, it also amazes me that I’m not showered with presents on a daily basis.  I’m sure there are enough cookbooks out there that I could get a new one every day and never have any repeats.  Sadly, I have come to the conclusion that other people don’t realize this.  How else can you explain the fact that What’s Cooking: Baking by Emma Patmore is the only cookbook I received for Christmas?  Unbelievable, but true.

I suppose What’s Cooking should consider itself lucky to have been my one and only Christmas cookbook as it has meant I’ve spent a copious amount of time getting to know it.  Allow me to tell you a little about the book that claims to be a step-by-step collection of baked dishes.  It certainly is an eclectic mix of recipes.  Chapters are divided into Puddings & Pastries, Breads & Side Dishes, Vegetarian Baking, and Cakes and Cookies.  As an added bonus, every single recipe has a picture of the final product, as well as step-by-step photos.  The chapter on Vegetarian Baking somewhat baffles me, as I think it should perhaps be renamed Vegan Baking.  Regardless, it has both sweet and savoury baking and recipes call for predominantly whole wheat flour as opposed to all purpose.  I have yet to attempt any recipes from that chapter.  I have, however, tried out the Chocolate Bread, Cheese and Onion Pies and Oat and Raisin Cookies.

The Chocolate Bread gave off a wonderful aroma while baking, but had a very subtle chocolate flavour and only a faint hint of sweetness.  I baked it with the intent of making Chocolate French Toast and it was certainly good as such.  It would also work for PB & J or PB & Banana sandwiches.

The Cheese and Onion Pies were a surprise hit for me.  After making them I decided I wanted to try a little nibble and that little nibble turned into me devouring a whole pie…  This book seems to have an abundance of onion recipes, including Celery and Onion Pies, Mini Cheese and Onion Tarts and Red Onion Tart Tatin, to name a few.

My favourite recipe of the three that I tried though, were the Oat and Raisin cookies.  They were soft and chewy, homey and just plain good!

Final verdict? This book contains an interesting mixture of sweet and savoury baked goods.  Some of the recipes seem like an odd choice, but hey, I’m a little weird myself, so I guess that’s alright.  I’m actually curious to try out some of the vegan recipes as those are something that I’m not at all familiar with, but it’s going to be awfully hard for me not to throw in a handful of bacon.  The photos of every recipe are certainly a bonus and the Oat and Raisin cookies are going to become a regular in my kitchen.

Oat and Raisin Cookies
(Adapted slightly from What’s Cooking: Baking by Emma Patmore)

4 T butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
½ cup all purpose flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
1 ½ cups old fashioned rolled oats
¾ cup plump raisins
2 T sunflower seeds

Line 2 cookies sheets with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the beaten egg gradually and beat until well combined.

Sift the flour, salt and baking powder into the creamed mixture.  Mix well

Add the oats, raisins, sunflower seeds and mix together thoroughly.

Place spoonfuls of the mixture well apart on the prepared cookie sheets and flatten them slightly with the back of a spoon.

Bake the cookies in a preheated oven at 350F for 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned.

Let the cookies coo slightly on the cookie sheets.

Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and cool completely before serving.

Makes 16-18 cookies.