New York Style Jalapeño Cheddar Bagels

There is a small bagel shop that has reached celebrity status in our town for its notoriously gooey, doughy, new-york style bagels. Sunday mornings we inevitably wake up craving a sinful breakfast sandwich with cheddar and bacon overflowing. So  much so, that we can't even bother to put on decent clothes and end up stumbling into the shop in our pjs, hair a disaster of a "bun". As wonderful as this is, it is putting a significant hole in our wallets and we decided to try to make our own bagels.

The jalapeño cheddar bagel at Goldberg's is one of the most interesting flavor combinations at Goldberg's;  with the sweet, wheat-y taste of the bagel, combined with the sharp tang of the cheddar and the kick of the jalapeño.

Before making these bagels, we were unaware just how many steps it took to make a bagel, or at least a good, new-york-style one. The end product is well worth it though, so try to stick it out.

Recipe adapted from Strawberry Pepper
Ingredients:
(makes 16)
For Dough:
3 cups warm water (~110 ºF/45 ºC)
2 tbsp yeast
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp canola or olive oil
4 tsp barley malt syrup
2 tsp salt
2 cups + 1 cup medium sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
4 jalapeños, finely diced
8 cups bread flour
For Boiling:
3 tbsp barley malt syrup
2 tsp salt

Directions:
1. Dissolve yeast and sugar in a large mixing bowl with warm water. We used dry active yeast and let it sit about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Stir in the oil, syrup and 2 cups of flour. Then add the salt, chopped jalapeños, and 3 cups of cheddar. Add the remaining flour until well-blended.
3. Turn out onto a clean floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes until a smooth and elastic dough has formed.. Once the dough is kneaded, cover with a dish towel and let the dough rest for 15 min.

 
4. Divide the dough into 16 pieces and roll between your hands into coils about 10inch long and 1 and a half inches thick. Form dough into circle and seal well, as they tend to come apart after being boiled. Cover and let sit for 15 minutes.
5. Bring a pot of water to boil and and the barley malt syrup and salt.
6. Preheat the oven to 450 and cover 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and sprinkle with cornmeal (we had to use crushed tortilla chips).
7. When dough is ready, drop 2 bagels at a time (depending on how large the pot is; do not crowd the pot!) and boil for 50 seconds on each side. Then remove and dry so that they do not stick.

8. Place boiled bagels on baking sheet and sprinkle tops with cheddar cheese (the more the better in our opinion)
9.Place the baking sheet in the oven, and reduce the heat to 425 ºF. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until the crust turns golden and has crisped. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.
10.Enjoy!

Julia Child Popovers

 "You can't go wrong with Julia" - Michaela's mom's words as we were searching for a perfect popover recipe. This woman trusts Julia's recipe more than her own mother's. We knew this had to be good, and we were not disappointed.

It's easy to think that these treats are quite difficult to make, seeing as they appear to be a rustic cousin of the temperamental souffle. This simple recipe produces delightful popovers; crispy on the outside and delicate and moist on the inside. The trick is to invest in a popover pan, it literally gives inches to the height of your popovers. Although they can be made in muffin pans, the end product tends to have a more dense and slightly tougher texture.

Ingredients:

1 cup whole or 2% milk
1 cup of all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

3 eggs

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

 *have all ingredients at room temp*

Preheat oven to 425F. Mix together all five ingredients with a whisk until well blended and sieve out any lumps. Fill greased muffin cups or popover pans 3/4 of the way full (this recipe made 6 in our popover pan) and bake for 25 minutes. Then turn down the heat to 325F and make for another 15 minutes or until puffed and slightly browned.

We had ours with butter and jam, which seeped into the spongy pores of the popovers and gave them an even richer flavor. You can also just serve these with softened butter, honey, or savory toppings, depending what mood you're in. Either way, this quick recipe will give you consistently delicious results that will impress guests or give your family something to look forward to in the morning. 

Pancakes, Omelettes and Bacon, Oh My!

We woke up after a sleepover one morning craving something sweet and savory for breakfast. It appears we all have the same underdevelopment of decision making skills, seeing as we could not possibly choose between eggs, bacon, pancakes or scones. So, we just decided to make all of them!

We greased each mini-cupcake cup and filled the first half inch with some easy pancake batter (Bisquick, don't scorn us for cheating a little!). And due to the fact that our boyfriends are inexplicably terrified of goat cheese and sunny side up eyes, we decided to vary the filling; some being sunnyside up, some scrambled and some with goat cheese, Gorgonzola or cheddar. Lastly, we wrapped a half-cooked (just nuked in the microwave for 2 minutes) piece of bacon around the deliciousness and popped them in the oven.

These little compact breakfasts are a great way to get a sample of everything and fool your family into thinking you're fantastically creative and talented in the culinary arts....or maybe no fooling is needed. ;)

Boston Field Trip!

  Sorry for all the delays in posting, we had a crazy summer away from each other, with Michaela in Spain (more about that in the next post!) and Lily in Boston. We all found some time to get together though, when we came up to see Lil in Boston. We found this adorable restaurant named Sportello near the wharf. Just because our lives were hectic during those couple of months didn't mean we forgot about great food! Sportello has a great selection of new-wave Italian food, along with an adorable baking section, which, unfortunately, we were too stuffed to sample.

We started off with some Goat cheese infused butter spread over freshly baked bread. The fig topping added the perfect amount of sweetness to start off our meal.

 After spending 20 indecisive minutes, sending our waitress back and forth three too many times, Lil decided on strozzapreti with braised rabbit, picholine olives, rosemary. Something that seemed too simple to Meg and Michaela but turned out to be arguably the best dish; simple, scrumptious and not too sinfully rich

Michaela and Meg both couldn't choose between the creamy potato gnocci with peas and porcini and the lamb raviloli with mustard greens. So (per usual) they decided to split the dishes.

 Although the gnocci was absolutely delicious, after two bites we were already full, leaving very little room to try the lemon semifreddo we ordered. It was too decadent to leave sitting out though, so we all put in a little hard work ;)

 

Blackberry Yogurt Tart with Lavender-Infused Honey

Since it's almost officially summer, we were in the mood for something light and fresh, preferably involving berries, and this tart fulfills all those requirements. It also was pretty easy and involved only the ingredients we already had in the house, so it's a perfect recipe for when it's hot out and you want something sweet in a hurry. My favorite part was the lavender-infused honey, which added a delicate note and the perfect amount of sweetness to the tart.


Here's the recipe (a Sandy Peach original):

For the Lavender-Infused Honey:

• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 tbs lavender (dried or fresh)

For the Crust:

• 1 1/3 cups flour
• 1/2 cup oatmeal
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 5 tbs butter, melted
• 3 tbs lavender-infused honey

For the Filling:

• 1 1/4 cups vanilla Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 3 tbs nonfat dry milk (for thickening)
• 3 cups (about) fresh or frozen blackberries
• 3 tbs sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tsp water

 Directions:

For the honey:

1. Heat the honey over medium heat until it melts and turns translucent
2. Add the lavender and stir to combine
3. Simmer (don't boil!) for ten to fifteen minutes and remove from heat.

For the crust:

1. Whisk together flour, salt, and oatmeal to combine.
2. Add honey and melted butter and mix together with your hands until it forms moist crumbles.
3. Press the mixture into the bottom and halfway up the sides of a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F for ten minutes, or until golden.
5. Remove from oven and cool completely.

 

For the filling:

1. Mix berries, cinnamon, and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat.
2. When juice begins to come out, add the cornstarch and water mixture and simmer the berries for five more minutes, or until soft but not mushy.
3. Strain out excess juice from berry mixture.
4. Stir together yogurt, sugar, and dry milk; pour into cooled crust.
5. Drizzle remaining lavender honey over yogurt (heat it in the microwave if it's too thick) and then place berries evenly over the yogurt and honey.

 

Cut into slices and savor the summer!!

Brown Butter Bars with Caramelized Bananas

For our first post, we decided to combine two of our favorite flavors: brown butter and bananas. Yumm. We used Lil's delicious brown butter bar recipe (borrowed from her neighbor) and added some lovely bananas, which we then caramelized (because what this recipe needs is more butter, right?)

The flavors meshed well together, producing a rich and buttery bar with a hint of banana. We had two each last night and couldn't help devouring even more for breakfast this morning. Mmmmm sweet banana bliss.

Here's the recipe:

Brown Butter Bars 
For the crust:

• 8 oz unsalted butter
• 1/2 c powdered sugar, sifted 
• 1 1/2 c all-purpose flour 

For the filling:

• 3 large eggs 
• 1 c sugar 
• 3/4 c + 2 Tbs all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt 
• 1/2 tsp vanilla 
• 5 oz unsalted butter 
• caramelized bananas

For the crust:
1. Melt the butter in a pan at medium-high heat till the butter begins to brown (don't be scared if it starts to burn a little at the bottom, you'll sieve that out). When it turns a deep golden color and smells slightly nutty strain through a fine sieve into a container that can handle an extreme transition from hot to cold.

2. Freeze till it's solid; about one half-hour. We recommend pouring the butter into a large pan so that it freezes sooner.

3. Put the powdered sugar and flour in a large bowl. Cut bits of the cold brown butter into the sugar and flour. Use your hands to mix together till you get a crumbly, sandy mixture.

4. Press into a 9x13 inch baking dish. Chill for about a half-hour. Preheat oven to 375F. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until golden in color. Set aside to cool.

For the bananas:
1. Melt 3 tablespoons butter and 1/2 cup sugar in a medium skillet over medium heat. Let the mixture bubble for about five minutes, until all the sugar is completely smooth.

2. Remove from heat and add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, whisking to combine.

3. Add 3 sliced bananas and gently mix into the caramel until it evenly coats the slices. Place in the refrigerator and chill until you need it.



For the filling:
1. Whisk together the eggs, vanilla, sugar, salt and flour in a large bowl. Place the butter in a pan and heat till the butter starts to brown. When the butter turns a deep golden color and smells nutty, once again, strain through a fine sieve. Watch out! The butter will be super hot (Michaela learned the hard way).

2. Pour butter into the egg mixture, whisking as you do so.
 

3.Spread half the filling over the baked crust. Then dollop the bananas evenly across the filling, making sure to leave some caramel over.


4. Spread the rest of the filling over the banana layer. And then drizzle the rest of the deliciousness over the top.

5. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the filling is golden brown and set, and cut into squares.

Enjoy!