Cranberry Cornmeal Cookies

I am a total sucker for cornmeal. Perhaps it's a texture thing: cornmeal is both grainy (in a good way) and soft. It's responsible for creamy, buttery, polenta, and for crumbly, steaming-hot cornbread. Substitute 1/2 a cup of flour for an equal amount of cornmeal in your go-to pancake recipe, and I guarantee you'll be pleasantly surprised. If you like cornmeal, that is. D conveniently hates cornmeal. Isn't it funny how things work out?

Even the confessed cornmeal hater didn't hate the cookies I made last night. In fact, D said "they're good, they're just not cookies." (Cookies=chocolate chip cookies, for those in need of some translation.) Admittedly, these aren't soft and chewy like tollhouse or the delightful blue chip variety that Deb made this week, but they're not meant to be. Cranberry cornmeal cookies have a texture more like shortbread: buttery and not overly sweet, with an irresistible melt-in-your-mouth quality. And cornmeal sets them apart from your average icebox cookie. For one thing, it turns the cookies a pleasing shade of yellow. It also gives each bite a coarseness that can't be achieved with regular or whole wheat flour. Finally, lemon zest and cranberries team up with cornmeal's flavor so harmoniously that the final product is a song in your mouth. Have cornmeal and I won you over yet? Don't think I can't hear the murmurs from the peanut gallery...Another cookie? But it was just the holidays, and I ate so many cookies, and now I've got cookie chub and I can't look at another sweet, so can't you post some salad recipes? The answer is yes, but not right now. People, you always have room for more cookies. I promise to post a healthful and delicious dinner idea this weekend, just as soon as I can take some better pictures of it. For now, find some room in your tummy because these are scrumptious. Take it from me -- or take notice of cornmeal cookies popping up all overtheplace. (That last link is where I discovered the recipe -- thanks, Carol!) They're really, really worth a try.

p.s. If you're really hankering for healthy recipes, try some hearty carrot soup, href="http://www.notderbypie.com/indian-round-1-potato-and-eggplant-curry/">potato and eggplant curry,asian cabbage slaw, or a simple recipe for delicata squash.

Cranberry Cornmeal Cookies makes about 20 cookies -- some people got way more, I dunno how

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1 1/4 cups plain all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries

1. Add softened butter to sugar in a mixer and whizz until just combined.
2. Add zest, yolks and salt, whizz again just for about 5-6 seconds.
3. Then add the flour, cornmeal, and cranberries. Whizz again until it all comes together, but only just. Make sure you do not over beat the dough!



4. Knead the dough into 2 balls, then using some cling wrap (I used wax paper, but don't), cover and shape the balls into 2 mounds.



5. Use a rolling motion to smooth and neaten the cylinders. It helps to wrap the cylinders with 3-4 folds of the cling wrap.



6. Chill in the freezer for about 45 minutes.
7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
8. Slice about 1/2 to 2/3-inch slices, and place 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet.
9. Bake for 15 minutes, until the edges are golden.
10. Remove, and allow to cool completely before storing.
11. Cookies will keep, packed and sealed, for upto 1 week (maybe more, if you can let them last that long.)The dough will keep in the freezer for at least 1 month...I've never had it around for longer.

Tip: resist the temptation of adding more than the recommended amount of cranberries, as this would undermine the quality of the texture.

Blackberry-Pear Clafoutis

Our apartment building overlooks a charming little street packed with bars and restos that's bustling both by day and by night. While it's wonderful to live where things happen, sometimes that means 3am powows and lots of "hoot....rah! hoot...rah!" from drunk frat-boy types. Last night's "visitors" were loud and rowdy, and I got precious little sleep. Needless to say, it was a slow, slow weekend morning chez nous. And slow weekend mornings call for some serious kitchen therapy.

Enter the clafoutis (pronounced cla-FOO-tee), a cross between a pancake and a custard (or, as D. put it, "kind of like a crepe but a little more runny." Yum.) Simple to prepare, beautiful once cooked, and rather fun to eat, a clafouti is where comfort food and luxury meet. It's often served as dessert, but I love it for breakfast on those days when you need more than a spoonful of sugar to wash the previous night down.

Clafoutis is traditionally made with cherries, but I love them with pears. And since I really can't just leave a recipe alone, I also mixed in some leftover blackberries, which, along with a little orange zest, made a delightful addition. Yes, clafoutis is just as "grandmotherly" (thanks to Clotide at C&Z for the apt metaphor!) as it sounds. But you know what? So am I a little. And when there's no leftover challah for french toast, when you just don't want to make like those jappy mothers and their egg-white omelets, when oatmeal was your breakfast everyday this week, clafoutis, humble clafoutis, is the perfect choice.

To the drunken, belligerent frat boys who stood on my street corner last night shouting half-coherent obscenities and poorly constructed pick-up lines: if you're reading this, a) I'm impressed that you're already awake, considering your wee-hour ridiculousness and b) thanks to my breakfast this morning, I'm hating you a little less than I would have otherwise.

To the rest of you, my loyal and patient readers: clafoutis can make you just as delightful as I sound now. Don't believe me? Try it for yourself.

Blackberry-Pear Clafoutis adapted from Epicurious serves 2-4

• 2 pears, not too ripe, diced
• 1/2 cup blackberries
• 1/8 cup maple syrup
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup half and half or whole milk (if using 2% milk, add an extra Tbsp. flour)
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/8 cup flour (add an extra Tbsp if using 2% milk)
• 1/8 cup plus 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 tsp. grated orange zest
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• pinch of salt

1. preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. butter a castiron pan, and over medium heat, cook pears and blackberries until pears brown a bit, about 3 minutes.
3. pour syrup over fruit, and move pan into the oven for 5 minutes.
4. Put pan back on the stove and cook over medium-high heat until the syrup has mostly evaporated, about 5 minutes. Turn off stove.
5. Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees.
6. Beat eggs, half and half, and vanilla until well incorporated.
7. Add all but 1 Tbsp sugar and all the flour and mix until there are no lumps. Add cinnamon and zest.
8. Pour batter over pears. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 40 minutes, until the center is set.
9. Remove from the oven, sprinkle remaining brown sugar over the top, and serve immediately.

Easy, Healthy Butter Bean Stew

Bet you never thought you'd see "healthy" and "butter" next to each other in the same sentence!

Last night, after heating up some broth for a very sick D., I moseyed back to the kitchen to figure out dinner for myself. The fridge was pretty cleaned out, save some pretty blood oranges, 6 grape tomatoes, and a bit of leftover fennel. But fear not, dear readers! A few ingredients really do go a long way. I feel a little bit like Rachael Ray when I say this, but a delicious and healthy meal really is only 30 minutes away.

Will you roll your eyes if I say this was not a recipe? Fine, you win. Here's the recipe, but please, pretty please, feel free to adapt this in any way you see fit. If you've got regular white beans, they'll do just fine (though I do love the starchy, buttery texture of butter beans, hence called). If you wish, add some feta cheese and parsley. This can go in any number of different directions, all equally easy and delicious.

Butter Bean Stew

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp. each dried oregano and dried basil
• 1 bay leaf
• piece of a parmagiano reggiano rind, if available (feel free to substitute other cheese such as feta)
• 1 cup crushed tomatoes
• handful grape or cherry tomatoes

• For this one-pot wonder, I tossed some chopped garlic and shallots in a Tbsp of olive oil, let them sweat for a couple minutes, added salt, pepper, a bay leaf, and a Tbsp. each of dried oregano and dried basil. Then I drained and added a can (yes, a can!) of butter beans, and tossed them around to coat. I added a piece of the rind from parmigiano reggiano cheese. Then I added a bit of leftover canned crushed tomatoes (I'd estimate about 1 cup or so) and the six cherry tomatoes I had. I don't need to tell you to add more if you have more...

  From this point on, you basically just watch the whole thing simmer away until you can't stand it any longer. If desired, add some water to keep a thinner consistency. I lasted about 15 minutes -- plenty of time for all the flavors to come together. Ladel into a bowl atop a nice, crusty crouton or piece of toast, and enjoy just so.

Vegetable Galette

Few things showcase the rustic nature of fruits and vegetables better than a galette. Essentially a freeform tart, a galette has a hand-folded crust that is folded half way into the center, leaving some of its innards exposed. A galette is by definition slightly asymmetrical, but more beautiful for its imperfection, in my opinion.

I most like galettes with thinly-sliced fillings. If slices are more like chunks, it becomes quite unweildy and difficult to eat. However, packed with thin slivers of apples, spices, and brown sugar, or layered with red peppers, yellow squash, onions, and goat cheese, a galette is both easy to eat and oh-so-delicious.

The key to a good galette is to make sure that the exposed part stays moist in the oven. To do this, there are two tricks: first, add a little extra liquid or fat to the middle. Two, cook uncovered until the galette crust starts to turn golden, then cook covered for a bit so the inside has a chance to steam. I've covered both of these bases in the recipe below, but PLEASE, pretty please feel free to improvise. if you don't like onions or goat cheese, throwsome feta, greek olives and tomatoes in instead. Alternatively, use pears and gorgonzola. Wow, I just figured out what to make this weekend.

Vegetable Galette

Basic Flaky Pie Crust from The Pie and Pastry Bible (© 1998 Cordon Rose, Inc.)

• 9 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
• 1 1/2 cups + 1 1/2 tablespoons pastry flour or 1 1/2 cups (dip and sweep method) bleached all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (for savory recipes, use 1 1/2 times the salt)
• 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 tablespoons ice water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar
• (Optional)1/8 teaspoon baking powder (if not using, double the salt)

1. Divide the butter into two parts, about two thirds to one third: 6 Tbsp. and 3 Tbsp.
2. Cut the butter into 3/4-inch cubes. Wrap each portion of butter with plastic wrap, refrigerate the larger amount and freeze the smaller for at least 30 minutes.
3. Place the flour, salt, and baking powder in a reclosable gallon-size freezer bag and freeze for at least 30 minutes.
4. Add the larger amount of butter cubes to the flour mixture and process for about 20 seconds or until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
5. Add the remaining frozen butter cubes and pulse until all of the frozen butter is the size of peas. (Toss with a fork to see it better.)
6. Add the lowest amount of the ice water and the vinegar and pulse 6 times.
7. Pinch a small amount of the mixture together between your fingers. If it does not hold together, add half the remaining water and pulse 3 times.
8. Try pinching the mixture again. If necessary, add the remaining water, pulsing 3 times to incorporate it. The mixture will be in particles and will not hold together without being pinched.
9. Spoon the mixture into the plastic bag.
10. Holding both ends of the bag opening with you fingers, knead the mixture by alternately pressing it, from the outside of the bag, with the knuckles and heels of your hands until the mixture holds together in one piece and feels slightly stretchy when pulled.
11. Wrap the dough with plastic wrap, flatten it into a disc, and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes, preferably overnight.
12. If crust refrigerated overnight, set it out at least half an hour before rolling.

Galette

• 1 red pepper, julienned
• 1 onion, finely sliced into thin rings
• 1 yellow squash or zucchini, sliced into thin slivers or using a mandoline
• 1/3 cup sundried tomatoes
• 1 log chevre or soft goat cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Flour rolling surface; roll out crust into a circle 14 inches in diameter.
3. Spread a thin layer of goat cheese over the crust, using about half of the log..
4. Layer julienned vegetables in a decorative pattern on the crust, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border.
5. Fold border inward, pleating and tucking in when necessary.
6. Dot the exposed filling area with chunks of goat cheese. (I actually ended up spreading goat cheese over the whole top after taking these pictures, and I like it better that way.)
7. Bake galette uncovered for about 30 minutes, or until crust starts to turn golden. Cover loosely with tin foil and bake another 15 minutes, until innards are soft and cooked through.
8. Serve warm or at room temperature.