Another early morning and another day of watching a quiet world bestir itself into a hive of  activity. I watch from afar, taking solace in my cold, quiet kitchen. I watch as sunlight slowly begins to pour into the room, and wait as the warmth of a heating oven robs the room of its dawn chill. The whir of a stand mixer fills the air, taking with it the still quietness that seemed to own the morning, mere moments ago.

I sneak a finger swipe of a taste from the bowl, deciding last minute to add another lemon’s worth of zest. I taste again. Perfection. I taste one more time just to be safe.

Then I sit at a small table, circled by tall windows, and I wait. Minutes pass as I watch a dim backyard come to life with the golden yellow glows of flickering sunlight, dancing through wind-tossed leaves, and tall blades of unkempt grass. I smile while watching a bird frolic about a bird bath, and a squirrel attempting the same with  half as much grace and almost no coordination. I laugh.

A chime from my oven wakes me from my daydream. I slide a toothpick in and out of the tender cake, checking for  just the right amount of sticky crumbs hanging on. It’s done. I carry it carefully to a counter and again I find myself waiting. By now the yard and the morning is a flood of light, golds and yellows now replaced with the bright, colorless white of daylight. The birds and squirrels are no where to be seen, likely hiding in spots of shade under big green canopies. I too would hide from the coming summer’s heat.

Steam no longer swirls above the floral vanilla and sweet lemony pound cake. It must be cool. I hastily slice into the dense crumb with a fork, barely getting it onto a plate. Before I know it, it’s gone, a delicious, fleeting taste of spring gone before I even knew it had arrived.

    Print Recipe    

Lemon Vanilla Pound Cake

Difficulty: Easy
Yield: 1 9″ loaf pound cake
Prep Time:  10 minutes
Cook Time: 35-40 minutes

Tools:

1, 9″x4″ loaf pan
Stand mixer with paddle attachment

Ingredients:

5 oz. unsalted butter, at room temp.
4 oz. light brown sugar
2 oz. sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla bean paste
1 tsp. vanilla extract
6 ounces all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. lemon zest
1 tbsp. lemon juice

Instructions:

1. Preheat an oven to 375°F. Butter and flour a loaf pan, and set aside.

2. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about five minutes.

3. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla bean paste and vanilla extract and mix in well.

4. Sift together the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt) and set aside.

5. Mix together the wet ingredients (heavy cream, lemon zest and lemon juice) and set aside.

5. Add 1/2 of the dry ingredients to the creamed butter  and sugar mixture. Just blend in.

6. Add the cream and lemon mixture to the batter. Blend in well.

7. Add the reamining dry ingredients and blend in until the batter is even. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if need be.

8. Bake for in a preheated overn for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

9. Let the cake cool in the pan before serving.

What is your favorite flavor pound cake?

Chasing Delicious -

There are two things I can’t get enough of. One is bread – I love every and all breads. The other is grilling and cooking over an open flame. Combining the two puts me in a sort of culinary heaven.

And that’s exactly what this loaf of focaccia is, culinary heaven. When you begin to mix the dough you will notice right off the bat that is is loaded with onion; you may even think there is too much onion for this to even work – don’t worry though; there’s no such thing as too many onions. Once you get this focaccia on the grill though you will begin to see how delightful this loaf is. Almost right away the smell of cooking onions and the caramelizing of the crust will linger around the grill.

Take this sucker off of the grill and you’ve got yourself a fresh, earthy loaf of bread that has a deliciously smokey flavor and wonderful caramelized, grilled crust. This may just be my new favorite bread.

Focaccia: Focaccia is characterized by a chewy crust and a tender, uneven crumb. To achieve this, focaccia dough is a very wet dough. While this makes it a little tricky to work with, it is definitely worth every bit of dough that will stick to your hands. Focaccia is also the perfect vessel for various flavorings and here I’ve included onion and rosemary. You can add flavorful ingredients to the dough before rising, on top of the dough just before baking (or in this case grilling) or even on top of the loaf after it is done. Serving focaccia with a little seasoned olive oil is never a bad idea either.

    Print Recipe    

Grilled Rosemary Focaccia

Adapted from a Rose Levy Beranbaum recipe.

Difficulty: Intermediate
Yield: 1, 12″ loaf
Prep Time:  20 minutes
Rising Time: 2 hours
Cooking Time: 1o minutes

Tools:

Bowls
Wooden Spoon
Baking Sheet
Grill
Peel or large spatula

Ingredients:

1 tsp. active yeast
2/3 cup warm water (105-115°F)
1 tsp. honey
8-9 oz. all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. oil
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
4 oz. onion, finely julienned
1 tbsp. rosemary, finely chopped

Oil

Instructions:

1. Dissolve the the yeast in the warm water.

2. Add the honey to the yeast mixture and stir until the honey has dissolved.

3. Add 8 oz. flour and all of the oil, salt, pepper, onion, and rosemary. Mix together until a dough forms. The dough should be sticky but not wet. If needed, add a little more flour.

4. Oil the outside of the dough and place it in a covered bowl at room temperature until it has doubled in volume about 1 hour.

Note: The ideal temperature for rising dough is around 90°F. If your kitchen is much colder than this, you can set your oven to preheat at 400°F For 1 minute. After 1 minute, turn the oven off (it should feel barely warm inside) and place the dough inside to rise.

5. Once doubled, remove the dough from the bowl and onto a liberally oiled baking sheet. Spread the dough out until it forms a 1/2 inch to 1 inch tall oval or rectangle about 12″ long.

6. Let the dough rise another 30 to 45 minutes until it is slightly less than doubled in size.

7.In the meantime, preheat the grill. Set the grill up so one half is on high, and the other half is unheated. If using charcoals, arrange them on one half of the of the grill.

8. Once the bread has risen a second time, place the baking sheet with the focaccia over the heated section of the grill. Cover the grill and let the bread cook for 4-5 minutes or until the bottom of the bread is brown and solid enough to move.

Note: This initial step of baking the bread on the baking sheet is necessary to give the bread shape and rigidity. Baking the loaf straight on the grill grate could cause it break apart and fall through. Be sure the baking sheet is liberally oiled.

9. Using a large spatula or peel, slide the focaccia on to the unheated portion of the grill, brown side down (make sure you oil the grates first). Cover the grill and cook another 5-10 minutes or until the top begins to turn a golden brown.  Depending on how hot your grill is, you may need to cook it longer.

10. Remove the focaccia loaf from the grill and let it cool a few minutes before serving. Drizzle the top with salt, olive oil, and extra rosemary if desired.

Have you ever grilled bread? Give it a try and share your results in the comments below!

Chasing Delicious -

My mornings, like much of my waking life, is fraught with routine and familiarity. Without the aid of an alarm clock, I wake up at the same time every day –  5:52 A.M. It’ll take me all of thirty seconds for my heavy arms to find their way to my cell phone; I check the time, instinctively open my email, guilt-fully browse Facebook and twitter, and  finally slide my phone back down somewhere, anywhere, whilst I float between reality and vaguely lucid thoughts and dreams. I glance out the window, waiting for the orange and yellow morning glow to creep in. Nothing yet.

Some minutes later I’m naked, in the shower of course, briefly contemplating spending my day under the pounding, boiling hot water. I give up on that thought quickly. Back in clothes, after the common routine of morning, and I get to make my first real decision of the day – at least so I think. Coffee or tea? Coffee – always coffee. After my chemex lazily does it’s job, I slop a cup of coffee together in a heavy mug, sling my camera around my neck, and head out the door into the still dark morning.

Then for a brief moment of that morning, mere minutes really, I seem to have the world to my self. The path-littered greenbelt behind my home  hasn’t come to life with runners or bikers yet. The park down the street is barren and quite. Streets sit unused. Stores only now begin to flicker to life as some tired clerk goes about flipping open signs and windexing finger-printed doors. Nothing makes me happier than watching a civilization wake up and come to life, except perhaps the quite that precedes such feverous activity.

As I trek about backroads and long dusty paths, the world around me begins to rouse. And then suddenly, as if out of no where, the world around me becomes a swamp of people, a bustle of hurried men and women and children needing to get somewhere. That’s my cue. I head back home. I switch out my camera for a dusty old book or a bare pad of paper. I watch the day age from afar as I bury myself in some frivolous intellectual or creative pursuit.

Somewhere in there I find myself wandering around the kitchen for a reprieve, looking for an excuse to bake something. Unlike the familiar routine that guided me here, I make it all up as I go. Flour flys about the bright white kitchen. Tools clink and clatter against dirty dishes; both begin to pile up on counters, in sinks, and all over any bare space my greedy hands can find. Fingers are coated in batters and doughs and custards and sauces. Bites and tastes guide me through this culinary adventure. A warming oven robs the room of any chill it once had. I watch as I somehow pull some dish together, still after so many years sure it isn’t some learned skill but a bit of magic.

And then it’s done and everything is clean again. I slide my fork into the sweet, fruity, garden-reminiscent tart sitting before me. I close my eyes and just focus on tasting.

Then I go to bed – far too early for my age – and I start the routine all over again.

    Print Recipe    

Rosemary Custard Grape Tart

Difficulty: Intermediate
Yield: 1, 9″ round tart
Prep Time:  1 hour
Resting Time: 2 hours
Baking Time: 25 minutes
Assembly Time: 30 minutes

Tools:

1, 9″ round tart pan
Rolling pin
Parchment paper
Pie weights or dry beans
paring knife

Ingredients:

1 pound Sweet Lemon Short Dough, recipe below
1 quart Rosemary Custard, recipe below
1 large bunch black grapes
1 large bunch green grapes

Honey (optional)

Instructions:

1. Prepare the Sweet Lemon Short Dough and Rosemary Custard according to their instructions and set aside both in the refrigerator to chill. The dough needs to rest long enough until it is firm enough to roll out.

2. Preheat the oven to 375°F.

3. Roll the Short Dough out to a 1/8 inch thick square about 10 inches in diameter, using as little flour as possible. Place the rolled out dough gently in the pie pan, tucking dough into the corners (Take care not to let the dough stretch during this step.) Remove any excess dough that is left above the edge of the pie pan.

Note: Short dough is a fragile dough; it is best to work quickly as the dough will become too soft to work with once it has warmed up.

4. Line the dough with parchment paper or foil. Place pie weights or dry beans on the parchment paper, enough to fill the tart pan all the way to the top. (The parchment paper or foil and the pie weights should be pressed to the edges so it will hold them up during baking.)

Note: This is called blind baking – because you cannot see the dough as it bakes – and is done to allow the dough to retain its shape; without the pieweights, the dough would puddle into the bottom of the pan during baking.

5. Bake the tart dough in the preheated oven for 14 to 16 minutes until the visible edges begin to brown and they feel firm.

6. Remove the tart from the oven and carefully remove the pie weights or dry beans, including the parchment paper separating the beans and the dough. Place a few slits in the bottom of the dough. Place the dough back in the oven and bake for another 8 to 10 minutes until the bottom of the crust begins to brown and feels firm.

7. Set the baked tart crust aside to cool. In the meantime prep the grapes by cutting them all in half, horizontally.

8. Once the crust is cool, pour the custard into the tart. Evenly spread it out so it is level with the top of the crust.

9. Arrange the grapes on top, with the cut side facing down.

Styling:  To duplicate my tart (a spiral of the two grape varieties), start both spirals at the same time from the center of the tart. Take care to ensure the spiral is circular in shape.

10. Serve immediately. You can also drizzle a little warmed honey on top for added sweetness if you’d like. This will also act like a glaze, creating a shiny top and help the tart keep a little longer.

Short Dough: Most tarts use a form of short dough to create the base. Short dough is essentially a cookie dough (butter, sugar, eggs & flour). Unlike pie dough that is flaky, short dough becomes firm and rigid allowing the tart to stand on its own without the aid of a pie dish. Because short doughs often contain a lot of butter and sugar in relation to flour, they are a very wet and soft dough and thus short doughs must be refrigerated for an hour or more before rolling out. The lemon in this recipe gives this dough a tangy, floral sweetness while the oat flour gives it a wonderfully earthy, nutty flavor.

    Print Recipe    

Sweet Lemon Oat Short Dough

Difficulty: Easy
Yield: 1 pound or enough for 1, 9″ round tart
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Resting Time: 2 hours

Tools:
Stand mixer with beater attachment
Parchment paper

Ingredients:
5 oz. unsalted butter, at room temp.
4 oz. sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp. lemon zest
1/4 tsp. salt
5 oz. all-purpose flour
2 1/2 oz. oat flour

Instructions:
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the sugar, butter, egg, lemon zest and salt together until combined.
2. Add the flour and mix until a dough forms.
3. Form the dough into a disk and wrap in parchment paper.
4. Place in the refrigerator and chill for a couple hours.

Custard: Since this custard uses cornstarch, you can bring the mixture to a boil while thickening it without fear of cooking the eggs. However, be sure not to cook it more than a few seconds once it reaches a boil, otherwise the cornstarch will breakdown and the custard will become irreversibly thin.

    Print Recipe    

Rosemary Custard

Difficulty: Easy
Yield: 1 quart custard
Prep Time:  10 minutes
Infusing Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 20-30 minutes

 

Tools:

Heavy bottomed pot
Pairing knife
Parchment paper
Whisk
Parchment paper

 

Ingredients:

1 qt. milk
1/4 oz. rosemary (about 5 sprigs)
2 oz. cornstarch
8 oz. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3 eggs
3 oz. unsalted butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract.

Instructions:

1. Place the milk in a heavy bottomed pot. Add the rosemary sprigs to the milk. Bring the milk to a simmer.

2. Once the milk has reached a simmer, remove the pot from the heat and let it cool to room temperature with the rosemary sprigs in the milk.

3. In the mean time, mix the cornstarch, sugar, salt and eggs together in a bowl. Set aside.

4. After the milk has reached room temperature, remove the rosemary sprigs and any rogue leaves.

5. Bring the milk back to a simmer. Once the milk begins to simmer, slowly pour some of the milk into the sugar mixture while whisking vigorously to temper the eggs. Return the tempered egg mixture to the pot with the remaining milk.

6. Heat the mixture over medium-high heat and bring it to a boil, stirring or whisking constantly. Once at a boil, continue cooking for another 30 seconds to ensure the cornstarch taste is cooked out.

7. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla extract. Mix until the butter is completely melted.

8. Allow the custard to cool to room temperature before placing in the fridge to chill.

Chasing Delicious -

In case you weren’t aware, I run another site all about cocktails, mixology, and being a man. I am of course talking about The Boys Club. Today,  I’ve shared a post that breaks down the basics of glassware and explains why there are so many different kinds of glasses!

Check out the Mixology 101 – Glassware post at The Boys Club for a zoomable poster and a lot of glassware information. You can also buy a print over at thesweettooth.co.

But wait, there’s more! It’s giveaway time!

thesweettooth.co Poster Set Giveaway

I’ll pick one lucky commenter at random to win a set of posters of their choice (any size too) from thesweettooth.co. Here’s what you can do to win:

Mandatory Entry: Simply tell me about your favorite type of glass and why in the comments.

Want some extra entries? Be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry.

Entry Two: Share this post on facebook.(Copy and paste the link of the post in the comments.)

Entry Three: Share this post on twitter. (Copy and paste the link of the tweet in the comments.)

Entry Four: Like Chasing Delicious on facebook.

Entry Five: Like The Boys Club on facebook.

Entry Six: Follow me on twitter: @rvank.

Entry Seven: Follow The Boys Club on twitter: @thecocktailguys.

Entry Eight: Like me on pinterest.

Entry Nine: Like The Boys Club on pinterest.

Entry Ten: Follow me on instagram.

This giveaway is open until midnight (CST) on May 20th.

Good luck, y’all!

Chasing Delicious -

Hey Chasing Delicious readers!

Shelly from Cookies and Cups here, stopping by for a quick minute…

I have to say that I am a leetle nervous over here today…Will they like me? Will they think my Bacon Praline Brittle looks like hunks of a McRib sandwich?

Gahhh!

Anyhow, moving on, I make desserts. That’s my thing. And certainly bacon isn’t a traditional dessert food, most of us have come to terms with bacon all day every day.

So what I’ve done here is taken bacon…candied it up, and then coated it in more sugar.

It’s sort of amazing.

Jump on the bandwagon, people.

First you need to get some thick sliced bacon.

Add some molasses, dark brown sugar, maple syrup and black pepper.

Let all that marinate for a while.

After it’s all sugary, go ahead and bake it…

It will get dark while it’s baking due to all the sugar you coated it with. Don’t worry!

Let it cool and chop up the bacon and set aside for the moment.

Next mix up some sugar and water and boil them until the mixture is clear and the sugar is dissolved.

Then add some chopped pecans and kosher salt…Stir this while cooking for a few minutes until you get a nice deep amber color…

*Stir the entire time because the pecans will burn otherwise!

Remove from the heat and add in a little butter and your chopped bacon until coated completely.

Spread this all on a lined baking sheet and sprinkle with flaked sea salt…

Let it cool completely and break into pieces!

    Print Recipe    

Bacon Praline Brittle

• Information
• Yield
• Difficulty
• Time
• Serving Suggestions

This recipe comes from Shelly over at Cookies and Cups.

This recipe will yield  a delicious amount of amazing brittle!

This recipe is easy. See the recipe difficulty key for more information.

This recipe will take about  1 hour + 24 hours+ resting time.

 Store airtight for up to 3 days at room temperature or refrigerated for 5 days. 

Tools:

Ziplock bag
Baking sheets
Foil
Cooling rack
Knife
Heavy-bottomed pot
Parchment Paper or silicon baking mat

Ingredients:

Candied Bacon
1/2 lb. thick sliced bacon
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 tbsp. molasses
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Praline
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp. water
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tbsp. butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cup chopped candied bacon (from above)
1 tsp. flaked sea salt

Instructions:

Candied Bacon

1. In a large zip-top bag combine bacon, dark brown sugar, molasses maple syrup and pepper. Coat the bacon with all the ingredients by squeezing the bag, working all the ingredients together.

2. Chill for 24 hours.

3. On a foil lined baking sheet lay bacon flat and bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes, until bacon is brown and crisp.

4. Transfer pan to a wire rack and allow to cool.

5. Once cooled chop bacon.

6. Line another baking sheet with a nonstick line and set aside.

Praline

7. For praline combine granulated sugar and 2 Tbsp water. Cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes until sugar is dissolved. Add in chopped pecans and kosher salt. Stir continuously for 4-5 minutes (Mixture will be boiling) until it becomes a deep amber color. Stirring prevents the pecans from burning.

8. Remove from heat and immediately stir in butter and chopped bacon.

9. Once bacon it coated completely with caramel mixture spread evenly onto your lined pan and sprinkle with flaked sea salt.

10. Allow to cool and break into pieces.

Thanks for having me today, Russell!! xoxo

Chasing Delicious -