There isn’t anything complicated about the recipe, it just requires everything be prepped before frying up the squid so it can go right onto the sandwiches. The black chile oil is really terrific and we’re looking forward to using it again (particularly mixed with mayo on another sandwich). Larry grilled the chiles outside so we didn’t have to deal with the cough-inducing smell of roasting dried chiles.

I cut the squid bodies into thin rings before tossing them in lemon juice and then flour. They went into a cast-iron dutch oven with a couple of inches of oil heated up inside, and they’re completely cooked in just a few minutes. The lemon juice adds a teeny bit of tang and flavor – just enough. The star of the show is the calamari, which turned out perfect and tender. We loved these sandwiches, but we both thought the ratio of bread to fillings was too high – I think next time, we’ll use slices of a rustic loaf, lightly toasted. Find the recipe for the sandwiches at Serious Eats, and the creamy coleslaw we had on the side at A Year in the Kitchen.

• Fried Squid Po’Boy with Avocado & Black Chile Oil (‘Wichcraft)
• Creamy Buttermilk Coleslaw (Cook’s Illustrated, July 2002)

I skipped the shaved white chocolate topping on the cupcakes and added a bit of pink luster dust instead. It’s pretty but I need practice applying it with a light hand and uniformly.

This bean-based mole is different, probably not something I’d make again. But with squash and greens on hand (the recipe calls for kale – I used chard, since that’s what I had), it was a natural choice. Plus I regularly make up a pot of beans (I have an obsession with Rancho Gordo beans), and this week it happened to be borlottis.

I think the mole would be good on a tortilla with avocado and sour cream. We topped ours with some avocado, but Larry thought it needed sour cream. It wasn’t bad, a nice spicy, hearty dish for a cold night.

• Borlotti Bean Mole with Roast Winter Squash (101 Cookbooks)
• Meyer Lemon and Ricotta Cupcakes with White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting (Matt Bites)

If you don’t like peanut butter (I don’t), then cashews or almonds make great nut butters. Marcona almond butter is to die for, if you ask me. I prefer nut butters on toast. And I know a lot of people love nut butters swirled into oatmeal (I don’t). I do like a spoonful of hemp seed in my oatmeal, though. It’s not too big and crunchy so it doesn’t ruin the texture, and the flavor is a lot like sunflower seeds.

That’s right – hemp seed. I’m a closet hippie. But I love it – in granola, in nut & seed bars, even added to smoothies. It’s readily available – I buy it at Whole Foods, but Sprouts carries it too. I haven’t seen much of a difference in the different brands, as long as it’s unhealed (seeds with shells will be bitter). Right now I have Bob’s Red Mill on hand and it’s just fine.

Hemp seed butter isn’t a nut butter strictly speaking, but it’s a great alternative for anyone who doesn’t like nut butters, or for those with tree nut allergies. The main downside to hemp seed butter is that it’s an unappealing shade of green. The upside is that it’s tasty and really easy to make.

This was a small batch – I only used a half cup of hemp seeds, added to a small food processor bowl. A heavy-duty blender would work too, but I think VitaMix users should pay close attention to how hot the mixture gets, since they tend to generate a lot of heat while blending.

Once the seeds are in the bowl, turn the blade on and let it go. The first stage will look like coarse sand, as the seeds get chopped up. But keep blending (scraping down the sides as needed), because as the oils release from the seeds, it will form into a paste. A too-thick paste, most likely. At this point, add a little oil – hemp oil if you have it, or a neutral cooking oil. I use a teaspoon per half cup of seeds. Blend a little more until it’s the consistency you want, and it’s ready to eat!

This takes a bit of planning, because the pork belly is braised at a low temperature for six hours the day before serving. The glaze can be made ahead of time, making it a good dish to serve company – just sear it off and coat it with the glaze and it’s ready.

The leftovers make great wraps and sandwiches, especially with some avocado. I’ve got another slab of belly in the freezer, and next time I’m going to try the same recipe but do the braise in the pressure cooker. The glaze would be good mixed with shredded pork shoulder as well. The rest of dinner continued the bacon theme – bacon in the grits, bacon in the Brussels sprouts. I think I prefer both without bacon but overall it was still a pretty good dinner. I’m looking forward to exploring Twenty some more. The recipe for the pork belly is posted on Michael Ruhlman’s site and the grits recipe can be found on The Splendid Table.

• Braised Pork Belly with Caramel-Miso Glaze (Ruhlman’s Twenty, p. 269)
• Brussels Sprouts Sautéed in Spicy Bacon Fat (Ruhlman’s Twenty, p. 240)
• Grits (Ruhlman’s Twenty, p. 141)

Wine: 2006 Sea Smoke Southing Pinot Noir (Santa Lucia Highlands, California). Stellar.

There are a few vegetables that have been particularly challenging for me. I finally gave up on asparagus – I just don’t like it, no matter how it’s prepared. Carrots are iffy, and so is broccoli. I can usually manage to eat broccoli if it’s roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper. It has to be piping hot – I won’t eat lukewarm or cold broccoli. I don’t like the tops at all, but roasting cooks them down enough that they’re edible.

When I can, I’ll swap out the broccoli that’s been in our CSA share every week for the past couple of months. But lately there hasn’t been anything to swap with – and now we’re getting both regular broccoli and broccoli rabe. It’s winning. I finally had to cook it. I used both in this dish, and it worked fine – I just cut the regular broccoli into smallish pieces so it would cook at the same rate as the broccoli rabe.

This was a nice pairing to one of our favorite dishes, Black Pepper Tempeh. There are similar flavors – shallots and garlic – but sesame oil and a bit of rice vinegar differentiates it. I tasted the broccoli before and after adding the vinegar, and it makes all the difference in the world. I ate a decent helping of the broccoli (before I even touched the tempeh – no chance to cool off!) and would make this again. The recipe is posted at The Kitchn.

My batter was odd – a little runny, and I had problems with lumps of flour. It did thicken up as it sat on the counter, and I probably should have let it sit for a while before I scooped it out onto baking sheets. After they cooked, though, the cake part of the whoopies turned out pretty good, not as puffy as I would have liked and without a nice crackly top. They’re a little sticky. I will say that I love mixing batters by hand – so simple and satisfying.

The buttercream is terrific, as are all of the Baked buttercreams I’ve made to date. It’s a classic Swiss buttercream – heated and whipped eggs and sugar, plus a hefty four sticks of butter. It’s light, creamy, not overly sweet, and very stable. Overall we liked the final result (although I think the red velvet whoopies were better). To get the recipe and see the other entries from this week’s Baked Sunday Mornings head on over to Baked Sunday Mornings.

• Chocolate Whoopie Pies (Baked Explorations, p. 108)

I’m dying to cook more out of the Bi-Rite Cookbook. There’s a lot of really delicious-sounding recipes in there, along with interesting information about different ingredients. And if you’re anywhere near San Francisco and you love food, Bi-Rite Market is not to be missed. It’s amazing how many fantastic ingredients they pack into such a tiny space.

this is a mostly traditional BLT, but there are a couple of twists. The harissa mayo is genius – simple, really – jarred harissa mixed with a bit of mayo add spice and tang to the sandwich. The lettuce is dressed with a simple vinaigrette for additional flavor – it’s not distinctive, but I think it makes a difference. And then, the final touch is a poached egg. It makes for a messy sandwich, but when the yolk breaks into the sandwich filling it just elevates the entire thing. The recipe for the sandwich is posted at Serious Eats.

• BLT&E With Harissa Mayo (Bi-Rite Market’s Eat Good Food)

• Apple Cake (Canal House Cooking Volume No. 7: La Dolce Vita)

Unappetizing as the frosting looks, it’s still pretty good. It’s got an interesting flavor. The cake, on the other hand, turned out a little weird tasting and kind of heavy. I was surprised, because it uses cake flour. They turned out more like a gingerbread. Larry thought the buttercream would be great on vanilla cupcakes, and I agree. But next time, I need to put more thought into the appearance of the frosting.

The last problem is the candy topping. It’s cute on top for a couple of hours, and then the sugar starts to melt and pool up on the frosting – and it made my buttercream deflate a bit. I’d recommend not adding the candy topping until just before serving.

• Root Beer Float Cupcakes (The Butch Bakery Cookbook, p. 133)

The recipes from Heidi at 101 Cookbooks always appeal to me – I think it’s because we share a preference for savory, umami flavors (for me, that means things like miso, soy sauce, cheese, green tea, tomatoes and cured meats).

This recipe worked great in terms of my pantry, because we still had some delicata squash left, and I had just picked up freshly made tofu from our local Japanese cafe. There was arugula from our CSA, so that’s what went on top.

The tofu gets a flavorful marinade and is tossed with roasted squash before going into the oven to bake. The marinade concentrates and makes for a really nice one-dish meal.

• Miso Sesame Winter Squash (101 Cookbooks)

I worked for years to perfect my granola recipe. It has just the flavors I like in granola (almonds, honey, oats, dried blueberries). People have told me that it’s “like crack”, because it’s so addictive, and I always make up a batch before we go on vacation because our dog sitter loves it. So I’m not sure why I decided to try another granola – I suppose just for variety, I guess. And I liked the sound of this one. It doesn’t have any dairy in it and there’s very little sugar, but it’s got maple syrup and a healthy amount of salt to make an addictive salty-sweet treat.

I should mention that if you don’t like things salty, cut the salt in half the first time you make it. Larry and I are both salt fiends, but even he thought it was too salty. I didn’t, of course. I love the flavors here – dried tart cherries and pistachios go really well together. I’m tempted to start playing with the recipe now that I’ve made it as-is. Chunks of apricots would also be really nice, and I think hemp seed sounds great too.

There’s something else special about this granola – I don’t know why I chose this in particular, but I had in mind to send Wendi from Bon Appetit Hon a little treat at some point (don’t forget to take a look at her site, and her Etsy shop with beautifully photographed note cards). Last year Wendi put together some packages and sent them out to a bunch of people as a Love Bomb, and I was one of the lucky recipient of some damn tasty cookies. But it wasn’t just the cookies – it was such a kind, thoughtful gesture (see more about Love Bombing from LoveFeast Table). I tucked away her address and decided I’d surprise her at some point in the next few months with a return Love Bomb. And the timing and the granola seemed right. It was so much fun and really gratifying. I highly recommend it, and plan on doing it again.

• Eleven Madison Park Granola (Serious Eats)

This month’s Bake Together is cheesecake, and it wasn’t difficult at all to figure out what I was going to make. I love cheesecake – creamy and mildly cheesy with a crunchy crust. It’s also one of the first desserts I ever learned how to make.

My “problem” right now is a glut of Meyer lemons – I know, I shouldn’t complain. I’m not. But I’m one of those people that can’t stand seeing them falling off the trees in my neighborhood (besides my own tree, there are at least two more on my block and another on the next block, and they’re prolific, especially during dry, warm winters). I gather them up from my tree and from the neighbors and typically I make tons of lemon curd to hand back to them. I also juice pounds of them and freeze it in mini muffin tins. I knew for sure my cheesecake was going to have lemon playing a starring role.

I considered adding a lemon curd topping to the top, but I tend to like my cheesecakes on the simpler side. Still, I wanted to do something besides just lemon. I decided the speculaas cookies we recently made for Baked Sunday Mornings would make a perfect crust – and they did! I think it’s my new favorite crust. I love that it’s not too sweet and there’s that hint of warm spices. It plays off great with the creamy lemon filling. To crush the cookies, just give them a whirl in a food processor.

I made up a batch of cookies for the crust, but store-bought Biscoff would work just as well. The great thing about making a batch of cookies to use as a crust is that you don’t need to worry about making pretty shapes – I just cut mine into rough squares. And my tummy didn’t mind eating the leftovers, despite not looking perfectly cute.

The only other change I made was to lighten up the texture a bit by swapping out the sour cream for ricotta. I think a sheep’s milk ricotta would be great, too – but it was out of stock when I went to the store.

Meyer Lemon Cheesecake with Speculaas Crust
Adapted from: Abby Dodge
Makes 12-14 servings

For the crust:
2 cups (9 ounces) finely crushed Speculaas cookies (recipe here), or store-bought Biscoff
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:
3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, at room temperature
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
Good pinch of table salt
1 1/3 cups (9 3/8 ounces) granulated sugar
1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese, at room temperature
1 tablespoon Meyer lemon zest, finely grated
1/4 cup fresh meyer lemon juice
4 large eggs, at room temperature

To make the crust:
1. Heat the oven to 375°F. Wrap the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with a piece of aluminum foil and clasp the outer ring over the foil so the edges hang outside the ring. In a medium bowl, stir together the cookie crumbs and sugar until well blended. Drizzle with the melted butter and mix until well blended.

2. Dump the crumbs into the springform pan and cover with large piece of plastic wrap. Place your hands on the plastic wrap and press the crumbs about halfway up the sides of the pan.(The plastic wrap will keep the crumbs from sticking to your hands.) With the plastic wrap still in place, redistribute the remaining crumbs evenly over the bottom of the pan and firmly press down to make a compact layer. I like to use a metal measuring cup with straight sides and a flat bottom for this task.. Bake until the crumbs are fragrant, about 10 minutes and set on a rack to cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F.

To make the filling:
1. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, flour and salt until very smooth and no lumps remain. It’s very important for the cream cheese to be lump free at this point so stop and scrape the beater and sides of the bowl frequently. Add the sugar and ricotta and beat until well blended and smooth, stopping to scrape beater and bowl several times. Add the lemon zest and lemon juice and beat until just blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until just blended, stopping to scrape beater and bowl before each addition. (Don’t over beat the filling once the eggs have been added or the cheesecake will puff too much.) Tap the bowl several times on the counter to release some of the air bubbles. Pour the filling into the cooled crust. Using the tip of a small knife or a toothpick, pop any air bubbles on the surface.

2. Bake at 300°F until the center jiggles like jello when nudged, 63 to 68 minutes. The cake will be slightly puffed around the edges and the center will still look moist. Set on a rack and cool completely. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 8 hours or overnight or up to 3 days. The cake can also be frozen up to 1 month.

To serve:
Have a flat serving plate ready and close by. Unclasp the pan’s ring, remove it, and using the excess foil, gently nudge and lift the cake to be sure it’s released. Using the foil, carefully lift the cheesecake and slide it onto the serving plate and center it. Tear off one side of the foil close to the cheese cake. On the opposite side of the cake, gently pull the remaining foil out from the cheesecake. Run a thin knife under hot water, wipe it dry, and cut the cake into slices, heating and wiping the knife after every slice.

• Meyer Lemon Cheesecake with Speculaas Crust (adapted from Abby Dodge)

• The Oatiest Oatmeal Cookies Ever (Good Eats, Oat Cusine II)

These are easy to make, too – by hand, using a bowl, with a pastry cutter. The traditional shape is square or oblong, but I went with stars instead. They have potential. I think I rolled mine too thin and baked them too long, but Larry still likes them. I think they’d make a great pie crust.

For this round of Baked Sunday Mornings, we’re co-hosting with Club Baked, another Baked group. To get the recipe and see the other entries from this week’s Baked Sunday Mornings head on over to Baked Sunday Mornings or Club Baked.

• Speculaas (Baked Explorations, p. 114)

With the glut of Meyer lemons in my neighborhood (my backyard, plus several neighbor’s trees), I’m inclined to make huge batches of lemon curd to give away. Lemon curd is wonderful, but it leaves me with a lot of egg whites. And the Meyer lemons keep coming (I’m not complaining).

Ever since I made meringue for this cake I’ve been thinking I should make up another batch. It’s pretty simple, and they’re delicious. This recipe differs a bit from the one in the cake in that it’s made using an Italian meringue. The sugar syrup is heated before adding it to the egg whites. It’s an extra step but the advantage is that the meringue is more stable and takes well to flavorings in the syrup. And oh, these meringues. They’re so well-suited for Meyer lemons because after one goes in your mouth, all of the heady floral sweetness that defines the best of the lemons comes through loud and clear. Delicious.

• Meyer Lemon Meringue Kisses (Piece of Cake)

Even though we’ve had a pretty mild, warm winter here in the SF Bay Area, I’m still compelled to make soups. And we love lentils. This isn’t an ordinary lentil soup. It uses quick-cooking red lentils and has curry spices – turmeric, cumin, mustard seed. Lightly sautéed spinach is added at the end, but I think any greens will work here, just adjust the cooking time. I used kale because that’s what was in the refrigerator. Lemon adds bright acidity, and I think the soup got better after it sat for a day or two.

• Red Lentil Soup with Lemon (101 Cookbooks)

This is a quick, simple soup. I used a Japanese vegetable broth; soy sauce and sesame oil are added for richness and flavor, but the broth on its own isn’t very substantial. The perfect addition to this is smoked trout – Trader Joe’s sells it in little tins, which makes it easy to transport as a work lunch.

• Soba Noodle Soup with Spinach & Smoked Trout (Serious Eats)

I’m not sure if this recipe was doomed from the start – it’s a pie that’s got whole, thinly sliced Meyer lemons in the filling. That filling is given a boost from eggs and sugar, but no one who tried this pie liked it. It could have been my decision to use rapadura sugar instead of regular granulated sugar. The rapadura has a very distinct flavor and is an un-appetizing shade of brown, which didn’t help. We didn’t even like this enough to make me think I could make it work with another iteration – I think I’ll save my Meyer lemons for something better.

• Shaker Lemon Pie (Serious Eats)

There wasn’t much there. Good, crusty bread, cheese. Winter squash, eggs, lettuce (thanks to our CSA), beans, chorizo. It was the eggs and lettuce that inspired me: I knew Larry wanted something simple (he could have been happy with cheese and crackers, as long as there was wine). I remembered a recipe in one of the cookbooks I’m particularly attached to, How to Eat Supper. It’s quite simple – just deviled eggs with a simple salad. The dressing contains a bit of the deviled egg mixture (genius – it’s and emulsified fat already), and the eggs are crisped up in a sauté pan after they’re stuffed. I love the eggs like this. Why don’t we eat deviled eggs more often? It seems like the recipe only comes out for parties. Add some garlic bread and a good glass of red wine, and it’s a perfect weeknight meal. Find the recipe at The Splendid Table.

• Pan-Crisped Deviled Eggs on French Lettuces (The Splendid Table’s How to Eat Supper, p. 146)
• Sourdough Batard with Sauteed Garlic Butter (Fine Cooking #43, March 2001, p. 49)

Wine: 2006 Unti Barbera (Dry Creek Valley, California). We love Barbera, and this is a particularly good vintage from Unti.

If you can make caramel, honeycomb is pretty simple. It’s helps to have a good candy thermometer and not too much heat on the pan. And never, ever walk away from cooking sugar. There’s a good description and a photo of what honeycomb looks like when the caramel is cooked less here. Larry and I both kind of liked this on the darker side – it tastes similar to the burnt caramel products at Recchiuti. This candy is stick-to-your-teeth chewy (not a coincidence that both of us had to have dental work for broken fillings soon after I made this).

• Honeycomb (Sugar Baby, p. 146)

Our latest delivery from Siren SeaSA was a fantastic black cod. I was really tempted to make the black cod & chorizo stew that Anna posted, but Larry’s been asking for parsnips. And this recipe for a caramelized, butterscotch-y sauce and whipped parsnips looked too good to pass up.

This was a perfect choice – the cod turned out perfectly, buttery and so fresh and delicious. We loved the parsnips. They’re whipped with potatoes, cream and butter to provide a nice richness and structure. The bok choy is simply prepared but makes a nice, crunchy side.

I also made my first attempt at a vegan ranch dressing. It’s good – I used fresh dill, but I think it could be improved by using a mixture of fresh herbs. Find the recipe for Sanctuary Dressing here.

Mahogany Black Cod with Whipped Parsnips, Baby Bok Choy & Mustard Sauce
Recipe Source: Michael’s Genuine Food, Michael Scwartz & JoAnn Cianciulli
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Four 7-ounce skinless black cod fillets, 1 inch thick
3 parsnips (3/4 pound), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes (1 1/2 pounds), peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon kosher salt
Nonstick spray
1/4 cup heavy cream
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes, at room temperature
4 heads baby bok choy, halved lengthwise

Instructions:
In a small bowl, blend the honey, mustard, and soy with a small whisk or dinner fork. Put the cod fillets in a resealable plastic bag and pour in half of the honey mustard. Reserve the remaining sauce for serving. Marinate the cod in the fridge for 6 hours or preferably overnight.

Put the parsnips and potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water by 1 inch. Add the salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Once the water boils, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the vegetables are very tender but not falling apart, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450•F. Line a baking sheet with alumi- num foil and coat with nonstick spray.

Drain the vegetables in a colander and transfer to a food processor. Puree, adding the cream and 4 tablespoons butter through the feed tube. Transfer to a medium pot, cover, and keep warm while you cook the fish.

Remove the fish from the marinade, scraping off the excess; discard the marinade. Lay the fillets in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake until the fish flakes easily and is cooked through, 10 minutes.

While the fish is roasting, cook the bok choy. Arrange the bok choy cut side down in a single layer in a large skillet. Add 1/4 cup water to coat the bottom of the pan and the remaining tablespoon of butter. Set over medium- high heat and cook, turning the bok choy with tongs, until the water and butter become a glaze and the bok choy has softened slightly, 5 minutes.

To serve, spoon the parsnip puree onto 4 plates, lay the fish on top, and arrange the bok choy next to it. Drizzle with the reserved honey mustard.

• Mahogany Black Cod with Whipped Parsnips, Baby Bok Choy & Mustard Sauce (Michael’s Genuine Food, p. 136)

I recently took an excellent mozzarella-making class at Workshop, taught by Nicole Kramer Easterday of FARMcurious. I’ve made ricotta at home (it’s surprisingly easy), but mozzarella has always scared me a little. This short class was a perfect introduction – mozzarella is finicky to make, but it’s not complicated and doesn’t take long at all (we left class with cheese in hand).

If you can get raw milk, it makes the process much easier. Otherwise, use milk that’s local and made on a smaller scale, not homogenized and not ultra-pasturized. It was pretty interesting to see the differences in four separate batches of cheese made during class. They definitely didn’t progress the same, or even look the same until they were formed into the balls at the end. This is generally due to inconsistency with milk processing (which is why raw milk works best).

One of the downsides of making mozzarella at home is having so much leftover whey. It seems like a waste – but don’t throw it away! It can be cooked down into a caramel-like Norwegian cheese called Gjetost. It can also be added to soups and used to make stock. I like the idea of adding it to pureed squash soups as a way to add protein and body.

My favorite part of making the cheese was the stretching and forming into balls. It’s dipped into hot water (thus the rubber gloves) until it’s stretchy. The stretching is passive, using gravity and the cheese’s own weight to string out before it’s formed into smooth balls, just as you would form bread dough into a round loaf. The cheese is absolutely delicious, fresh and creamy.

We used a vegetable rennet in tablet form. A kit that includes just about everything you need outside of the milk makes things easier – find them at FARMcurious. And for a simple recipe and more description of how mozzarella is made, take a look at The Whiskey Chicken.

There are two things that are key to this soup’s success. It was getting late, so we ate some before it had time to cook down after it was all put together. Don’t skip the part of the recipe where the squash cooks down – it will concentrate and become a little sweet and quite delicious. It made a big difference in flavor and texture. The second is the Sherry vinegar reduction. It’s delicious and a great ingredient to have on hand for more than just this soup. But the addition of a bit of syrupy acid really balances the flavors out and takes the soup from good to outstanding.

The recipe, using pumpkin, is posted here. The version I made uses delicata squash and a honeycrisp apple.

• Brown Butter-Delicata Squash Soup with Sherry Vinegar Reduction (Girl in the Kitchen, p. 68)

The group posts at the beginning of every month, and I didn’t get to this cake right away. I’m not sure I’ll still join the group, but anytime I get to bake from this book, it’s a pleasure. This cake can be made in a Bundt pan. There are two things that make it interesting – before pouring the batter into the pan, the pan is coated with butter, cinnamon sugar and chopped nuts. And the batter is separated before it’s completed to flavor one part with chocolate, then scoops of batter are placed in the pan to make a pretty swirl pattern.

This is a nice, pretty cake. The nuts stick to the outside – so a plain-ish Bundt pan works best. I love the swirl pattern that the batters make on the inside, too. The recipe is posted at Fine Cooking.

• Nut-Crusted Chocolate-Banana Swirl Cake (The Weekend Baker, p. 288)

I’m squeaking in at the last minute with this month’s Bake Together again. I keep finding myself wanting to commit to more baking groups, more testing, more projects in the kitchen… but there’s only so much time and so much eating I can do.

This simple boule was perfect for me to whip together at the last minute. It’s quick to come together, especially in a mixer with a dough hook (lifesaver). I didn’t get overly creative with flavors – a bit of fresh rosemary and pepper in the dough, a bit more rosemary on top. And a good sprinkling of flaky salt for the top, too. It reminds me of my favorite focaccia – buttery, herbaceous, salty.

I love some of the other submissions this round, too – I thought the pull-apart version was particularly genius. Make sure to take a look at all of the variations in our growing group here.

Salt & Pepper Rosemary Peasant Boule
Adapted from: Abby Dodge
Makes 1 round loaf; 8-10 servings

Ingredients:
3 1/3 cups (15 ounces) all purpose flour
1 packet (1/4 ounce) instant yeast (rapid rise)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary, divided
1 1/3 cups very warm water (between 115 and 125 degrees)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon flaky coarse salt (Maldon)

Instructions:
1. In a large bowl of electric stand mixer, whisk the flour, yeast, sugar, salt, baking powder, pepper and 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary. Clip the bowl into the mixer stand and fit the mixer with the dough hook.

2. Check that the water temperature registers about 120 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. (In order for this type of yeast to grow, the liquid needs to be between 115 and 125 degrees).

3. With mixer on medium-low speed, slowly pour the water into the flour and mix until the flour is completely incorporated. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the bottom and sides of the bowl, about 6 minutes. Don’t venture too far away while it’s mixing as the mixer might dance around on the counter.

4. Scoop up the dough and shape it into a ball. Lightly grease (using some of the melted butter or spray release) the bottom and sides of the mixing bowl and pop the dough, rounded side up, back into the bowl. Cover the top securely with plastic wrap. (I like to use a large rubber band to hold the plastic in place.) Let the covered dough rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

5. Using some of the melted butter, generously butter an 8-inch round cake pan. Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface (there’s no need to flour—the dough is soft but not sticky) and press to deflate it. Shape the dough into a 7-inch-wide round and place it, smooth side up, in the center of the prepared pan. Generously brush the top and sides with some of the melted butter. You may not need all the butter. Sprinkle the top with the remaining 1 teaspoon of rosemary and the coarse salt.

6. Let the dough rise (no need to cover it) in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 25 minutes. It will fill the pan.

7. About 15 minutes before the dough is ready to bake, position a rack in the middle of the oven and the oven to 375°F. When the dough has risen to about 2 inches above the edge of the pan, bake until the boule is well browned and sounds hollow when tapped, about 30-40 minutes (the inside temperature should be 200 degrees on an instant-read thermometer). Transfer the pan to a rack and tip the baked bread onto a rack and remove the pan. Set it right side up and let cool completely.

• Salt & Pepper Rosemary Peasant Boule (adapted from Abby Dodge)

I particularly like white chocolate in cake batters and buttercream. It adds a unique flavor that’s not easy to place. I like it in cookies and bars, mixed in with chunks of dark chocolate. And it makes a great ice cream. But I didn’t like it in this recipe. These are similar to blondies, except there’s no brown sugar to be found and the batter contains some melted white chocolate. The texture was odd and cakey. They’re extremely sweet – too sweet.

• White Chocolate Brownies (Rosie’s Bakery All-Butter, Fresh Cream, Sugar-Packed, No-Holds-Barred Baking Book)

At first I thought these were going to be cookies (for some unknown reason). But after reading the recipe and description, they’re actually more like little pecan pie bites.

I’m not a big fan of pecan pie. Something about nuts and pie just doesn’t appeal to me. But this is Baked Sunday Mornings, I embrace every challenge and am more often than not pleasantly surprised.

The base of the tassies is a buttery cream cheese pastry crust that’s formed in mini-muffin pans. I took no chances and sprayed the pans with some Pam before adding the dough – I had visions of trying to scrape all 40 of them out of the little cups.

The filling is simple, a basic egg and brown sugar custard with chopped toasted pecans. There wasn’t anything difficult about mixing the filling and then adding toasted pecans plus the sugar filling on top of the muffin cups. They came out pretty cute, and I’m glad I used a bit of Pam – the sugar is like glue and I surely would have had issues getting some of them out. Larry said he likes these. I had a bite of one, and thought it was okay, but not quite my thing.

To get the recipe and see the other entries from this week’s Baked Sunday Mornings head on over to Baked Sunday Mornings.

• Pecan Tassies (Baked Explorations, p. 82)

I couldn’t resist diving into the book a bit more and decided to make another stout-based cupcake, this one a little less tame. The cake is a chocolate stout, and the frosting is a hefty buttercream spiked with vanilla and stout. The cupcakes are topped with chocolate-covered pretzels. Pretty good, although I’m still partial to the first cupcakes I tried. Find the recipe for Beer Run Cupcakes at Serious Eats.

• Beer Run Cupcakes (The Butch Bakery Cookbook, p. 81)

We had a somewhat spur-of-the-moment company night with our friends Chris and Julie. It’s something we don’t do enough lately (have people over for dinner). It seems as if dinner parties always works out better for me if they’re not over-planned, so I’m forced to just make things that are reliable and delicious, rather than try to make an entire meal made up of things we’ve never tried before.

My strategy was to make things that I could do ahead of time and that took minimal preparation once our guests arrived. Homemade pasta is a perfect example of this – this sauce can be completely prepped ahead of time, and I made the pasta dough the day before and extruded it the morning of our dinner. I satisfied my urge to try something new with a terrific little crostini of brie, dates and toasted walnuts (Larry picked out the appetizer recipe). And the cake – it’s a moist white cake with warm spices and a boozy buttercream that Larry didn’t love (too boozy). But I thought the cake was perfect for a cold winter night, paired with the big Ridge Zin we were finishing off after dinner.

• Brie, Date and Toasted Walnut Crostini (Fine Cooking Big Buy Cooking, p. 77)
• Thomas Keller’s Pasta Dough (Oshii Eats)
• Bucatini in a Spicy Tomato Sauce with Crisped Pancetta (Fine Cooking #60, November 2003p. 98c)
• Sourdough Batard with Sauteed Garlic Butter (Fine Cooking #43, March 2001, p. 49)
• Arugula Salad with Grapes, Fennel, Gogonzona & Pecans (The Best of America’s Test Kitchen 2008, p. 30)
  
• Nutmeg-Spice Cake with Creamy Rum Buttercream (Flour, p. 170)

Wine:
- 2006 Kosta Browne Russian River Pinot Noir (Russian River Valley, California). Good, but not the best offering from Kosta Browne.
- 2005 Williams Selyem Feeny Vineyards Zinfandel (Russian River Valley, California). From a winery known for great Pinots comes a fantastic Zinfanfel. This is everything a Zin should be – balanced, fruity, big, food-friendly.
- 2007 Ridge Carmichael Zinfandel (Alexander Valley, California). Also good, but a little overshadowed by the Feeny!

I’m still tinkering with different recipes for macaroni and cheese. I’ve come to the conclusion that I like a classic stove-top mac most of all, the closer to Kraft of my childhood, the better. This one isn’t bad, although it doesn’t hold up very well as a leftover (very few macs do). It’s a good way to use up extra butternut squash, though, and it doesn’t come across as overly squash-y. A good portion of the cheese and fat is replaced with the butternut squash puree but I still wouldn’t call this health food.

• Creamy Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese (Always Order Dessert)