Cooking Method: Baking
IRISH AMERICAN SODA BREAD v.2.0* by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan
Traditional Irish soda bread is made with whole wheat flour, currants, caraway seeds, buttermilk and baking soda to leaven the loaf. No butter, no sugar, no eggs in the original, rustic, true Irish loaf. It was intended as a no-nonsense quick loaf. My ‘Americanized’ version cuts a bit of butter into the dough to help produce a more tender crumb and adds a bit of sugar is for a touch of sweetness.
v.2.0* And now in my new 2.0 version, I am giving the recipe a few more ‘tweaks’ ( I cannot help it, I am a Chef, ‘tweaking’ is what we do.) I have increased the sugar, switched the currants to dried cranberries, swapped the caraway for fennel seeds, added orange zest and draped an orange confectioner’s glaze over the finished loaf. It will be a bit sweeter and a bit fancier and maybe a bit of sacrilege? (With apologies to my Irish ancestors.)
PUMPKIN CARAMEL FLAN by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan
Our Foodie’s marketing and design Guru (just two of her many roles) asked me about Thanksgiving recipes a few weeks back and I had already been contemplating pumpkin pie. That led me down the path of thinking what my least favorite part of this revered dessert was… and it is the soggy crust holding the delicious pumpkin filling. Even the best made, most delicious,
shatteringly crisp crust appeals less to me than the filling. It was then a no-brainer to make a ‘pumpkin flan’ with a caramel base added for a touch of ‘fancy’ as my Thanksgiving recipe. This is a classic French ‘crème renversee’ in which the
bottom of the baking dish is coated in caramel and the pumpkin custard is poured over and baked in a water bath. When set and chilled the custard/flan is turned upside-down (reversed) onto a larger plate with the caramel having both been absorbed into the flan and forming a delicious sauce.
And here it is: Pumpkin Pie. No Crust. Just filling. Chilled. Creamy & Delicious.
An-End-of-the-Season TOMATO GRATIN 3.0 by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan
There are stll decent, ripe tomatoes at our petite Farmers’ Market in South Boston. To be sure, they are really winding down. I keep making this dish every week because it is so delicious and so simple to assemble.
As I have made it a few times I have refined my technique and found the best ‘hack’ is to preslice the tomatoes and lay them out on paper towels to absorb excess moisture. Either do this step a couple of hours before you want to assemble and bake the gratin, or do it the day before and leave them in the fridge overnight.
A ceramic/glass/porcelain gratin dish works beautifully for this recipe — I used a porcelain quiche dish. It is 10-inches in diameter and about 2 1⁄2-inches deep. It is deep enough to build 3 layers of sliced tomatoes, which I found, after having made the gratin three times, to be the perfect number of layers!
Lemon-Almond-Cake ‘Parfaits’ with Lemon Curd and Candied Almonds by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan
This is an update and remake of my Flourless Almond Cake recipe. The cake has more grated lemon rind and is baked in a loaf pan, ensuring that even-sized squares of cake can be cut for the parfaits. Fresh-made lemon curd, toasted candied almonds and dollops of whipped cream complete the desserts. AND......NO judgement here: you could also, of course, make this dessert with a purchased pound cake.
What is lemon curd? It’s a fruit spread, jam-like in consistency and made with fresh citrus juice, eggs, sugar and butter. It’s very easy to make and very delicious. The British historically serve it with scones ( think ‘Downton Abbey’.)
GRECO – TURKISH MOUSSAKA By Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan
Moussaka is to the Ottoman Empire (think Greece and Turkey) what Lasagna is to the Italians (and Italian- Americans!). It is a slow baked, layered casserole with a rich meat sauce, sliced eggplant and a cheesy bechamel sauce. No pasta. Of course, there are many variations. In my version, I have added a layer of thinly sliced potatoes to the bottom of the dish to give the finished Moussaka a bit more structure. I didn’t invent this technique, but I encourage you to employ it as my portions of
finished Moussaka held their shape beautifully when plated. PS - This dish is a labor of love, and it will take you a bit of time to prepare. The results are well worth your efforts.(I suggest that you read through the entire recipe first and visualize the preparation and cooking steps required.)
‘Middle Eastern’ Chicken Salad by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan
This is a chicken salad made with flavors and ingredients from a Middle Eastern pantry—chickpeas, olives, scallions, yogurt, tahini and za’atar spice mix - don’t forgo the za’atar spice mix! It is used to marinate the chicken breasts. This chicken salad has an herby, savory and exotic flavor and is also a bit crunchy thanks to the sesame seeds. (And za’atar spice is easy to find these days!)
Baked Brie with Glazed Shallots & Toasted Almonds by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan
This is a super-easy holiday party appetizer—it’s baked in the box the cheese is sold in! I lined the box with a circle of parchment paper before I baked it. It looks a bit more ‘partyready’ and keeps the oozing baked cheese from sticking to the edges of the box. Serve with crackers of your choice and a sweet/savory pepper jam or cranberry sauce on top after it comes out of the oven. Done. Easy. Delicious.
CANDIED COCOA ESPRESSO WALNUTS by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan
Snacks for the holidays. These candied nuts would be great served with a charcuterie platter or used as a crunchy element on a pear & cheese salad. Or gifted as an edible holiday treat.
Glazed Salmon Bowl with Brown Rice, Shiitakes, Roasted Scallions & Soy Marinated Eggs by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan
Often, it’s a picture in a magazine that inspires a recipe and that’s exactly what happened here. I saw a picture of ‘jammy’ looking soy & teriyaki marinated eggs and thought: “I’d like to make (eat) them”. And that initiated my recipe process. What do I want to eat with these eggs? First, some soy-glazed salmon and then I had an idea to use up two ingredients from my Farmer’s Market Veggie Share: (grilled/broiled) scallions and (sautéed) shiitake mushrooms and finally some brown rice or other grain to tie the dish together. Eh voila ! That’s how this recipe was born.
