Shallot Mushroom Tarte Tatin

Shallot Mushroom Tarte Tatin

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I wanted to make something a little special to ring in the New Year with my husband. But while I was looking for something new to make, I didn’t want it to be overly complicated. And I wanted a dish that would look and taste rich, but not actually be rich. This Shallot Mushroom Tarte Tatin was everything that I was looking for – once I had made a few tweaks.

Full disclosure – I didn’t actually make the Shallot Mushroom Tarte Tatin for New Year’s Eve – or at all. We ended up eating left-overs and ultimately my husband made the tarte with my suggested changes for New Year’s Day dinner. However, this riff on a Tarte Tatin did not disappoint. Originally devised as an accompaniment with drinks, it makes a perfect romantic dinner for two with a lovely, crisp white wine and accompanying arugula and fennel salad. So if you are looking for a Valentine’s Day dinner to share with that special someone, definitely consider this Shallot Mushroom Tarte Tatin.

Don’t be put off by the number of shallots in the recipe. The way they are bathed in the balsamic reduction results in a sweetly caramelized shallot that simply melts in your mouth.

While we did use an all-butter puff pastry (from the freezer section of our grocery), there are vegan puff pastry options. And except for the small amount of cheese added just before serving, the tarte is also vegan. The cheese could be skipped but a vegan cheese option is also possible – and frankly, desirable, in my opinion. The original recipe called for burrata, a cheese that always seems unappetizing to me. I feel the same way about burrata as I do about undercooked egg whites. Ewwww. In any event, I thought the slight tang of a creamy goat cheese was a better foil for the richness of the caramelized shallots. But you do you.

Recipe

Yield: 2 servings as dinner

Ingredients

1 tablespoon pine nuts or slivered blanched almonds

6 to 8 shallots, peeled and halved lengthwise

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

¼ Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided (Use a vegan buttery solid if you are keeping this vegan.)

1 package frozen puff pastry, thawed according to the instructions on the box (I used Dufours brand which is all butter)

All-purpose flour (for surface)

8 ounces mixed mushrooms (such as maitake, oyster, and/or shiitake), torn into bite-size pieces. [While any mushroom would taste good, these mushrooms tend to not hold as much moisture as button, baby bella, cremini or Portobello mushrooms and, therefore are less likely to lead to a soggy bottom.]

1 garlic clove, crushed or grated

2 to 3 ounces of a creamy goat cheese (the kind found in a log), crumbled

2 Tablespoons grated parmesan or pecorino cheese

1 Tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, plus more for garnish

Sprinkling of flaked Maldon Sea Salt for garnish (Optional)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the pine nuts or almonds on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast the nuts until golden, about 4 minutes. Transfer the nuts to a small bowl and set aside. Do NOT turn off the oven.

Roll out the thawed puff pastry on lightly floured parchment paper to smooth out any creases. The Dufours puff pastry came in one large sheet. If the pastry was in two sheets, place them on top of one another and roll the sheets out together. Cut out a circle that is one inch larger than the top of your skillet. [So my skillet was a Lodge cast iron skillet that measured 10-inches across the top and 9-inches across the bottom. Therefore, my pastry was rolled out to 11-inches.] Once the desired circle is cut out, prick the pastry all over with a fork. Cover the pastry round with another sheet of parchment or plastic wrap and stick it in the refrigerator while you prepare everything else. Using cold pastry will help prevent shrinkage.

Toss the shallots in the vegetable oil on the same baking sheet that you used to toast the nuts. Season the nuts with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Roast the shallots until tender and with some browned spots – 20 to 25 minutes. Allow the shallots to cool.

While the shallots are roasting, bring the vinegar and sugar to a simmer in a 9 or 10-inch ovenproof skillet. Swirl the pan occasionally until the vinegar has reduced some and become syrupy, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1 Tablespoon of unsalted butter and remove the pan from the heat. Arrange the roasted shallots, cut side up, in the skillet with the vinegar syrup, overlapping them slightly, if needed. Set aside.

Using a medium skillet, melt the remaining 2 Tablespoons of the butter over medium-high heat. Cook the mushrooms and garlic, tossing often, until the mushrooms are tender and browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper and 1 Tablespoon of the thyme leaves.

Add the cooked mushroom mixture, nuts and grated parmesan to the pan with the shallots, filling in any gaps between the shallots. Any extra mushrooms can just be scattered evenly on top of the shallots. Up to here, this can all be done ahead, if desired. Just don’t forget to preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. before the next step!

When you are ready to bake the tarte, take the pastry out of the fridge and drape it over the shallots and mushrooms, tucking the edges down inside the skillet. Bake until the pastry is golden brown, puffed and will not sink if gently pressed with your finger – 25 to 30 minutes. Ovens vary so it could even take a bit longer.

Allow the tarte to sit outside the oven for 10 minutes. Take a plate or cutting board that is larger than the pan and carefully invert the skillet onto the plate. It should release from the pan without any trouble. Scatter the goat cheese, a few more thyme leaves and the Maldon Sea Salt, if using, over the top. Serve with a lovely, crunchy green salad with a slightly acidic dressing and some crisp bread. Now enjoy!

Chocolate Orange Pistachio Shortbread

Chocolate Orange Pistachio Shortbread

Due to the unprovoked, continuing brutal war of annihilation against Ukrainian civilians by Vladimir Putin and his army and the worsening humanitarian crisis, please consider helping by following the link below. There are a number of reputable aid agencies from which to choose. Many of these agencies will also help flood and tornado victims suffering the effects of climate change.

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Buttery rich with bittersweet chocolate, candied orange and pistachios! Chocolate Orange Pistachio Shortbread is one great cookie. Not too sweet, and with melt-in-your-mouth goodness, these lovely shortbread cookies are perfect to adorn any holiday table.

I love a good shortbread cookie. [See below for links to other shortbread options.] These surprisingly sturdy cookies are naturally festive. They come decked out with green from the pistachios, orange from the candied peel, with chocolate chunks all embedded in a golden cookie. Chocolate Orange Pistachio Shortbread are wonderful on their own, but also make a perfect counterpoint to other sweeter cookies that may make up your holiday cookie box.

One of the first things I ever baked on my own were cookies. I would send them to brother in college to share with his roommates. And one holiday I baked about 100 gingerbread men/women to share with the doctors and nurses in the recovery room where I volunteered. I still find it difficult to believe, but I actually stayed up late lovingly decorating them to resemble the different hospital staff. And maybe that’s what pushed me over the edge! But I didn’t make cookies for years after that.

Since the pandemic, though, I have gotten back into making cookies. If you are doing them all by yourself, there is no getting around that it can get a bit tedious. If, however, you can break up the task, it’s not too bad. So I prepared the dough for five different cookies over a single day. Then I refrigerated them and am now baking them up over a couple of days.

Even though I may not make certain things, I’m always on the lookout for new recipes. It’s a wonderful antidote to the relentless bombardment of bad news! I came across the recipe for Orange, Pistachio and Chocolate Shortbread and knew immediately that this was one recipe I would actually make. Of course, I made a few tweaks to “improve it” as my maternal grandmother would have said.

My version of Chocolate Orange Pistachio Shortbread follows. Shortbread keeps very well in an airtight tin, so are perfect for gifting. These are soooooooooooo good that you should be sure to save a bunch for yourself!

But as we are starting the Festival of Lights (Hanukkah) Sunday night, I will likely take a break from cookie baking in order to make latkes, sfenji, sufganiyot and beignets. Of course, I will need to give most of these away or my husband and I won’t fit through our front door!

As I have discovered rather late in my cooking game, doing all of your measuring and setting of your ingredients out before actually assembling (known as mise en place) makes for a much less stressful baking experience.

Try these other wonderful shortbread options:

Lavender Mint Shortbread Cookies

Tehina Shortbread Cookies

Gateau Breton – French Shortbread Cake

Recipe

Yield: About 40 cookies, depending on how you form and cut them

Chocolate Orange Pistachio Shortbread

Ingredients

3 cups/419 grams all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)

1¼ cups/284 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature

¾ cup/175 grams granulated sugar

1 large egg yolk (save the white for a different cookie or to add to an omelette)

1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract

2 teaspoons orange blossom water (readily available online and in Middle Eastern grocery stores)

½ cup/76 grams roughly chopped candied orange peel

½ cup/76 grams shelled unsalted pistachios, roughly chopped

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Directions

Step 1

Whisk together flour and salt in a medium bowl. Combine butter and sugar in a large bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using an electric mixer (fitted with the paddle attachment if using a stand mixer), beat at medium-high speed until the mixture is pale in color, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula, as needed. Add egg yolk, almond extract and orange blossom water and blend until combined.

Chocolate Orange Pistachio Shortbread

Step 2

Add flour mixture in two batches and mix on low until barely combined. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the orange peel, pistachios, chopped chocolate and remaining bits of flour. The dough may appear crumbly. If necessary, gently need the mixture with your hands until you have a smooth dough with everything well distributed.

Step 3

To form the cookies, cut the dough into 3 even portions. Roll each portion into a log with a flat bottom, top and ends. This can be pretty easily handled if you roll the dough using plastic wrap and a dough scraper pushed up against the sides to even out your log. Chill the dough 8 hours or for up to 3 days before cutting and baking. When you are ready to bake, remove the logs, one at a time from the fridge for about 15 minutes before cutting. If the dough is too hard, the pieces will break and too soft and they will just squish. Dough can always be remolded into a new log, so don’t worry if the first slices aren’t perfect!

Step 4

To bake the cookies, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Place one log at a time on a cutting board and using a sharp, large knife, cut slices about 3/8-inches thick. Any pieces that aren’t perfect can be mushed together and rerolled.

The cookies do not spread much so you can place them about 1.5 inches apart on the cookie sheet. Ovens vary, as will the thickness of dough etc. Mine took about 18 minutes to bake, but just watch them after 15 minutes until you see how they are baking in your oven. You can always add time but once they are overbaked, there isn’t much you can do.

If you don’t have a convection oven (I DON’T) turn the trays once halfway for more even baking. And if some are darker than others, remove those to a cooling rack and put the others back until the desired golden color. These cookies are pretty forgiving.

Step 6

Remove from the oven, allow cookies to cool completely on cooling racks. The cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for at least 1 week.

Italian Apple Cake

Italian Apple Cake

Due to the unprovoked, continuing brutal war of annihilation against Ukrainian civilians by Vladimir Putin and his army and the worsening humanitarian crisis, please consider helping by following the link below. There are a number of reputable aid agencies from which to choose. Many of these agencies will also help flood and tornado victims suffering the effects of climate change.

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Autumn and the Jewish New Year always mean sweet/tart/crisp, juicy apples and cinnamon to me. I can’t get enough of them in every and any iteration. My blog has several apple cake examples and you could be excused in thinking that are many more really needed.

But when I came across this recipe for an Italian Apple Cake, I knew I would try it right away. Of course, I tweaked it a bit! The result is a beautiful, fragrant, appley cake that is even better the second day. Every time I lift the lid on the cake plate, I am hit with a waft of apple scent. It’s delicious before I even taste a bite!

Most of the ingredients are always on hand so I was able to pull it together without a trip to the grocery store. There is nothing fancy here or cloyingly sweet. Every bite is chock full of apple chunks and the flavor is clean and apple-forward with a hint of lemon and cinnamon.

While I did use a hand mixer for beating the eggs with the sugar until airy and light, this cake can be made by hand if you have a strong arm. Other than that one task, no special equipment is required. And while I chose to lay some additional apples on top, dotted with butter and sprinkled with Demerara sugar, you could opt to leave that off and simply dust the cooled cake with confectioner’s sugar for presentation. I did also brush the finished cake top with a light coating of apple jelly for a bit of shine.

Italian Apple Cake

With so many varieties of apples available, choose one (or a variety) that is tart/sweet and will hold its shape when baked. No applesauce here!

The holiday of Sukkot begins Sunday night and lasts all week. This is a perfect treat for the coming 8 days. But you don’t have to be Jewish to enjoy this Italian Apple Cake. Perfect as is, a dollop of freshly whipped cream or crème fraîche would not go amiss, however. And the cake cuts beautifully.

And if you are like me, and can’t get enough of apples, consider some of these other delicious recipes:

Italian Apple Cake

Apple Cake – Take 2

Whole Wheat Apple Cake

Vegan Dessert to die for – Apple Frangipane Tart

Apple Bread Pudding

Tarte Aux Pommes – Apple Tart

Apple Walnut Bread with Rum-Soaked Raisins

Caramelized Apple Pancake

Apple Pecan Bourbon Bundt Cake

Apple Cinnamon Noodle Kugel

Spiced Apple Cake

Amish Apple Pie

Plum (or Apple)and Almond Paste Tart

Vegan Apple Raisin Cake with Applejack Sauce

Apple Tarte Tatin

Apple Crumble

Apple pie with cheddar cheese crust and hard sauce

Recipe

Italian Apple Cake

Yield: One 9-inch cake

Ingredients

Italian Apple Cake

2.5 to 3 medium apples, peeled, cored and cut into small chunks (I used 2.5, but I could have even had a few more chunks)

1 large apple if using the decorative topping, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

Zest of one small lemon

2 cups (240 g) unbleached, all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons (14 g) double acting baking powder

1 rounded teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon kosher or fine sea salt

1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar

1 cup (245 g) whole milk plain yogurt

1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 large eggs at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon unsalted butter for dotting apples on decorative top, if using

A light sprinkling of Demerara or sanding sugar for decorative top, if using

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a non-stick 9-inch spring form pan with a vegetable spray.

Rub the lemon zest into the sugar and set aside while you measure out your other ingredients.

In a medium bowl, mix together the dry ingredients and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, using a hand mixer, cream the lemon/sugar and eggs until they are light in color and VERY fluffy. This takes between 5 and 8 minutes.

Stir in the yogurt, butter and vanilla extract until smooth. Do this by hand with a spatula. Do NOT use the hand mixer.

Add the dry ingredients and stir through gently until everything is well combined. Then add in the apples and gently stir through.

If you are using the optional decorative topping, layer the apple slices in an attractive over-lapping pattern. Then sprinkle the apple slices with the sugar and dot with the butter.

Place the spring form pan on top of a baking pan to catch any oozing from the bottom of the pan. Bake until nicely browned. Ovens vary as do apples. So start checking after 45 minutes but don’t be surprised if the cake takes at least an hour. I always then turn off my oven, leaving the door ajar with the cake inside. This will ensure that the cake really is done and won’t sink. The apples and yogurt will keep the cake moist.

Allow the cake to cool on a wire rack for about 15 minutes. Using a thin spatula, carefully run it around the inside of the pan’s rim to make sure that nothing stuck anywhere. Then you can open the ring and remove it. Cool the cake fully. The cake should easily come off of the bottom of the spring form pan. However, you could also leave it on it and serve from there, just being careful not to cut into your pan.

Place the cooled cake in a covered cake plate. Italian Apple Cake is even better the next day, making it a great do-ahead recipe. Now enjoy!

Perfect French Walnut Tart

Perfect French Walnut Tart

Due to the unprovoked, continuing brutal war of annihilation against Ukrainian civilians by Vladimir Putin and his army and the worsening humanitarian crisis, please consider helping by following the link below. There are a number of reputable aid agencies from which to choose. Many of these agencies will also help flood and tornado victims suffering the effects of climate change.

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Are you looking for something new for Rosh Hashanah? This luscious French Walnut Tart is perfect. A short bread cookie-like pastry shell gets filled with toasted walnuts, each piece coated in a honey, buttery caramel. It is a perfect balance of sweet and salty with the earthy richness of walnuts. Yes, please!

Try this Perfect French Walnut Tart with a glass of Montbazillac for a taste of the Perigord. This region of France in the Dordogne is known for its truffles, foie gras, Montbazillac and walnut tarts. While I have never visited this region of France, I have become an armchair traveler there though the books of Martin Walker. I love the Chef Bruno, Chief of Police books because they spend as much time on food as they do on the mysteries to be solved.

The recipe calls for crème fraîche, a naturally soured cream. It can be purchased in many grocery stores these days. However, it is so simple to make your own crème fraîche. You just need to plan one day ahead of using it. My husband loves it on so many desserts that I almost always have a jar in my fridge. I love homemade whipped cream, but crème fraîche adds a certain umph to what might be an otherwise overly-sweet or blah dessert – neither of which this is.

While this recipe calls for unsweetened crème fraîche, I often add some confectioners sugar and vanilla when I am serving it with a simple cake. Crème fraîche is incredibly easy to produce. All that is required is a glass container, 1 cup of cream and 2 to 3 Tablespoons of buttermilk or whole milk kefir. Mix them together and leave the jar covered in a warm place for 24 hours and Voila! If you plan on adding sugar or vanilla to the crème fraîche, only add it after the mixture has soured and thickened.

The cookie-like crust is a dough that anyone can work with. It’s not fussy to make, comes together quickly and there is no need to roll out any pastry!

The Perfect French Walnut Tart is a cousin of my beloved Bourbon Pecan Pie and is a lovely dessert any time. But nuts and honey? Perfect as a High Holiday treat. The ratio of nuts to filling is very high, giving it an almost toffee-like texture. Total, unadulterated yumminess!

Perfect French Walnut Tart

Recipe

Yield: One 9-inch tart; 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients

For the tart shell

87 grams (2⁄3 cup) all-purpose flour

46 grams (1⁄3 cup) whole-wheat flour

40 grams (3 tablespoons) white sugar

1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt

6 tablespoons (3⁄4 stick) salted butter, cut into 1⁄2-inch cubes (You could use a non-dairy “butter” if you wanted to eat this with meat on the holiday.)

1 large egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the filling

107 grams (1⁄2 cup) white sugar

1⁄4 cup honey

1⁄3 cup crème fraîche (If you need to keep this non-dairy, there are non-dairy sour “creams” on the market.)

4 tablespoons (1⁄2 stick) salted butter (Or a good quality non-dairy “butter” like Earth Balance)

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1⁄4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 Tablespoon cornstarch, sifted

3 large egg yolks [You can save the whites for a meringue or to add to an omelette.]

230 grams (2.5 cups) walnuts, roughly chopped and lightly toasted

A sprinkle of Maldon Sea Salt as a garnish

Directions

Heat the oven to 325°F with a rack in the lower-middle position. Mist a 9- inch tart pan with removable bottom with cooking spray.

To make the tart shell, in a food processor, process until combined both flours, the sugar and salt, about 5 seconds. Scatter the butter over the mixture and pulse until it resembles coarse sand, 10 to 12 pulses. Add the egg yolk and vanilla, then process until the mixture is evenly moistened and cohesive, 20 to 30 seconds or until the dough just starts to come together. Do not wait for it to form a ball.

Crumble the dough into the prepared tart pan, evenly covering the surface. Using the bottom of a dry measuring cup, press into an even layer over the bottom and up the sides; the edge of the dough should be flush with the rim. Use a fork to prick (dock) all over the bottom, then freeze until the dough is firm, 15 to 30 minutes. You can also refrigerate the dough for at least one hour or up to overnight.

While the dough chills, make the filling. Pour 1⁄4 cup water into a medium saucepan. Add the sugar and honey into the center, avoiding contact with the sides. Cook over medium, swirling the pan frequently, until the mixture is amber in color, about 8 to 10 minutes. Off heat, add the crème fraîche, egg yolks, butter, vinegar, cornstarch and salt, then whisk until the butter is melted and the mixture is well combined. Then add the nuts and stir until evenly coated. Let cool until just warm, about 30 minutes.

While the caramel cools, you want to blind bake the dough before adding the filling. (Because this is essentially a short bread crust, there is no need to line the pan or to use weights.) Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for about 15 minutes.

Pour the filling into the warm tart shell, then gently spread in an even layer. Bake until the edges of the filling begin to puff and the center jiggles only slightly when gently shaken, 25 to 35 minutes. Then turn off the heat, open the oven door slightly and leave the tart in the oven for 10 more minutes. You might want to put some foil or a baking sheet under the pan to catch any spill-over. (Do NOT be alarmed when you first see the baked tart coming out of the oven. It will bubble up and look kind of messy at first. Trust me – it settles down as it cools.)

Let the tart cool on a wire rack for about 1 hour. Remove the pan sides. Serve warm or at room temperature with a sprinkling of Maldon Sea Salt. The tart is superb accompanied by lightly sweetened crème fraîche or whipped cream.

Notes: Don’t overcook the caramel. Aim for an amber hue; if it gets much darker than that, the finished tart will taste bitter.

Whole-wheat flour in the crust plays up the earthiness of the walnuts. To toast the walnuts, spread them in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 325°F until fragrant and just starting to brown, about 8 to 12 minutes, stirring just once or twice; do not over toast them or they will taste bitter. The dough-lined tart pan can be prepared in advance; after the dough is firm, wrap tightly in plastic and freeze for up to two weeks.

Libyan-Style Fish (Chraimeh)

Libyan-Style Fish

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Libyan-Style Fish (Chraimeh) is to Libyan Jews – and many Israelis – what gefilte fish is to Eastern European Jews. And while my family origins are strictly the Pale of Settlement, I am a bigger fan of chraimeh than gefilte fish. This sweet and savory (sometimes fiery) dish is bound to become a tradition in your house too.

Normally made with a firm-fleshed non-oily white fish such as sea bass or amberjack, salmon steaks are more readily available where I live and also more affordable. You can also make this with thicker fillets of a white fish with the skin still on. I have even eaten made from catfish.

There are as many recipes for Libyan-Style Fish as there are people who originated from Libya. And each family prides itself on its version. While comparing recipes (and I must have looked at at least 6) it seems that all have in common: garlic; paprika, caraway seeds, cumin and chiles. The recipe I finally landed on comes from Jerusalem a Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi. But, of course, with a few tweaks by me.

Whether you choose to use this recipe or some other, just be sure to have plenty of good bread on hand for dipping into the sauce. The sauce is what this dish is all about! While normally served as a starter to the Shabbat or holiday meal, my husband and I ate it as our main course on Shabbat.

Serve Libyan-Style Fish (Chraimeh) warm or at room temperature. I did tone down the heat a bit to suit our tastes. This can get pretty fiery in some versions. But the beauty of making these foods at home is that you are the boss. YOU control the heat. Because the spices make the dish, I encourage you to only use the freshest dried spices. Better yet – grind your own. And the end product should be a perfect balance of sweet and savory.

Libyan-Style Fish (Chraimeh) is a great make-ahead dish and can easily be doubled or tripled to serve a crowd. Fish cooked in a sweet or savory tomato-based sauce is ubiquitous across the Mediterranean and North Africa. The Moroccan version is a bit more subtle in its flavorings but not terribly dissimilar. While served year-round, it is a perfect summer make-ahead meal. Add some rice or couscous and you have dinner!

For another great Shabbat and holiday fish starter, try my Egyptian Ground Fish Balls in a tomato-based sauce. My family loves these for Passover. And if you truly cannot live without gefilte fish (And who says you have to choose?!) try my Gefilte Fish Loaf.

Recipe

Yield: 3 to 4 servings as dinner. About 6 servings as a starter

Ingredients

Libyan-Style Fish

About 5 Tablespoons of neutral oil (I use canola)

2 medium vine-ripened tomatoes, coarsely chopped OR 1 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes

3 to 4 salmon steaks (about 1.5 to 2 pounds), rinsed and patted dry

6 large cloves of garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped

2 teaspoons sweet paprika

1 Tablespoon of caraway seeds, dry toasted in a pan and then ground

rounded 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1.5 teaspoons of ground cumin

rounded 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (preferably Ceylon cinnamon)

1 green chile, coarsely chopped with or without seeds depending on the level of heat you are looking for

About 2/3 cup of water

3 Tablespoons of tomato paste

2 teaspoons of granulated sugar (I actually used Demerara)

1/3 cup diced roasted peppers ( I had homemade, but jarred are fine)

Juice of 1/2 of a lemon plus 1 lemon cut into 4 wedges

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or flat-leafed parsley

kosher salt and Aleppo pepper (or freshly cracked black pepper) to taste

Directions

Place the garlic, spices, 2 Tablespoons of oil and chile in a blender or food processor (Mortar and pestle would also work) and blitz to a thick paste. I needed to add another Tablespoon of oil to get the right consistency.

Libyan-Style Fish

In a large, heavy, flat-bottomed pan with a cover, add remaining 2 Tablespoons of oil and heat to shimmering. Add in the garlic spice mixture and stir for 30 seconds until fragrant.

Garlic Spice Mixture

Immediately add the chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, roasted peppers, fresh lemon juice, water and sugar and stir well. Bring to a simmer and cook partially covered for about 10 minutes or until the tomatoes have softened and the sauce has thickened some. Taste and add more salt as needed and Aleppo or black pepper.

In the meantime, rinse and dry your fish. Liberally salt and pepper both sides of the fish and set aside.

When the sauce has melded, add the fish steaks, pushing them gently into the sauce. The sauce will not cover them. My salmon steaks were quite thick, so I simmered them for 9 minutes on the first side, spooning sauce over them occasionally and then turned them over to cook for another 8 to 9 minutes. Depending on the thickness of your fish you may not need to turn the pieces over. You want to cook the fish to the flake stage. Spoon sauce over the fish.

Allow the fish and sauce to cool down to warm before serving. Garnish with chopped fresh herbs. Libyan-Style Fish can be served warm or at room temperature. Serve over rice or with LOTS of delicious bread like fresh challah. Left-overs can be refrigerated and gently reheated.

Lemon Ricotta Almond Cake for Passover

Lemon Ricotta Almond Cake for Passover

Due to the unprovoked, brutal and barbarous war on Ukrainian civilians by Vladimir Putin and his army and the worsening humanitarian crisis, please consider helping by following the link below. There are a number of reputable aid agencies from which to choose.

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Every year for decades I hosted Passover, the Jewish holiday commemorating the redemption of the Jewish People from slavery. And while it was a lot of work, I loved having family and friends around to join in the seders. There have been many wonderful desserts, including a few that are vegan. (They are linked below.) But I always tried to make at least one new dessert each year. This Lemon Ricotta Almond Cake for Passover would have been this year’s entry in that category. Unfortunately, between my niece’s family having moved away and the pandemic, it has been a few years since I hosted any family holiday gathering.

Pesach this year will be spent with Matthew, Frances and Juliana in San Francisco. Perhaps I can convince Frances to make this Lemon Ricotta Almond Cake for Passover.

Light, moist and lemony, this flourless cake uses almond flour to replace all-purpose or cake flour. Between the almond flour and the ricotta, this is a cake that it is impossible to dry out. It may get slightly custardy over time, with the flavors only intensifying. Delicious on its own, adding either fresh berries and a dusting of icing sugar or a berry compote would kick it up to the next level. Michelle Polzine’s Slow-Roasted Strawberries would be a great option. However, for my money, true perfection was achieved when I served this luscious cake with a good dollop of lightly sweetened home-made creme fraiche and a few raspberries. No matter how you choose to eat this cake, you cannot go wrong.

Lemon Ricotta Almond Cake for Passover

But you don’t have to make this just for Passover. It’s a lovely, light dessert any time of the year. The recipe originated from the Donna Hay Magazine via the Nosher website and has been slightly tweaked by me. And while there are volume measurements included, I strongly recommend weighing your ingredients when baking.

Lemon Ricotta Almond Cake for Passover

For Other Great Passover Desserts:

Passover Florentine Cookies

Death by Chocolate Vegan Passover Cake

Passover Sephardic Wine Cookies

Chocolate Chip Vegan Meringue Buttons for Passover

Passover Almond Coconut Macaroons

Passover Orange Ginger Spice Cookies

French Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Glaze

Chocolate Amaretti Tortemake with kosher for Passover amaretti cookies

Tarte Citron Mamajust substitute 1 Tablespoon of Matzah Cake Meal for the 1 T of flour

Recipe

Yield: One 8-inch cake

Ingredients

120 grams (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
275 grams (1 1/3 cups) granulated or caster sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped or 1 generous teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract (Optional to use only if you wish to have a more pronounced almond flavor)
1/4 cup loosely packed lemon zest (2 to 3 lemons, depending on size)
4 large eggs, separated and at room temperature
240 grams (2 1/2 cups) almond meal or almond flour
300 grams (1 1/3 cups) ricotta, at room temperature
About 2 Tablespoons flaked (sliced) natural almonds
Icing sugar, for dusting

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter or PAM an 8-inch (20 cm) springform pan. Line the bottom with a parchment round and lightly sugar the sides and bottom.

Lemon Ricotta Almond Cake for Passover

Place the butter, granulated sugar, vanilla seeds or extract, almond extract and lemon zest in a stand mixer. Beat for 8 to 10 minutes (REALLY) until, pale, creamy and very fluffy. Scrape down the sides as needed.

Gradually add the egg yolks one at a time, while continuing to beat the mixture.

Add the almond meal and beat to combine. Fold the ricotta through the mixture.

In a separate, clean bowl, beat the egg whites until you have stiff peaks.

Gently mix through about 1/3 of the egg whites in to the main batter to loosen it up. Then carefully fold in the remaining egg whites in 2 parts until most of the white bits are no longer visible. Be careful to not deflate the mixture since there is no other leavening in the cake.

Pour the mixture into the cake tin and smooth out the top with a spatula. Decorate the top with the sliced almonds.

Lemon Ricotta Almond Cake for Passover

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or longer, depending on your oven. The top should be golden and there shouldn’t be any wobble. If it appears that your cake isn’t done, but you don’t want it to brown anymore, cover it lightly with aluminum foil. Allow the cake to cool completely on a wire rack. Carefully run a thin knife or spatula around the cake in the pan to be sure that it isn’t sticking anywhere. Then you can loosen the ring of the springform pan and remove the cake. Do not apply icing sugar until the cake is completely cooled.

Lemon Ricotta Almond Cake for Passover

Meatballs in Tamarind Sauce

Meatballs in Tamarind Sauce

These Syrian Meatballs in Tamarind Sauce are a fruity, tangy crowd pleaser. We have our son, daughter-in-law Frances and granddaughter visiting us this week. Originally scheduled to come for New Year’s and our son’s birthday, when my husband contracted Covid and the trip was postponed. Airlines were cancelling flights right and left as well. It had been so long since we had had them for a visit to Chicago that I had begun to feel that this day would never come. Thankfully, my husband recovered and because we both had been vaccinated and boostered, I managed to remain negative!

I had been dreaming of their visit forever and all of the things that we would do and meals that I would cook. Well, unfortunately the weather has been quite cold and they are used to California temperatures. So between that and Covid restrictions, a trip to the grocery store and one walk along the river is as exciting as it got. However, Nana and Grandpa made sure that we had lots of stories to read and toys to play with and Juliana helped Nana cook. Our granddaughter is only two so she has not yet been vaccinated and we wanted to be careful.

Well, I may not be able to control very much these days, but I could at least feed everyone well. As soon as I came across this recipe for Meatballs in Tamarind Sauce, I knew that I had a winner. I did make a few changes to quantities and method, but there is no one way to make these and every family has their own version.

These delicious meatballs are often served for Jewish Holidays, including Passover. Mine were made using breadcrumbs, but equal amounts of matzah meal could easily be swapped out to make them Kosher for Passover. Of course, you don’t have to Jewish to enjoy these yummy and satisfying meatballs and they likely are also made in non-Jewish Syrian communities. Traditionally served with rice, I used whole wheat couscous when I served them.

The meatballs call for a fairly large quantity of pine nuts, which are not inexpensive. A reasonable substitute would be blanched slivered almonds. However, if pine nuts are within your budget, I would encourage you to use them. Their unique flavor, especially when lightly toasted, just makes this dish truly celebratory.

The seasonings are warming baharat , Aleppo pepper and allspice with loads of chopped fresh herbs. And tamarind, which can be found in Indian and Middle Eastern stores is readily available online or in many spice stores these days.

The recipe I made called for ground beef, but ground lamb could be used instead. Meat has become quite expensive and normally my husband and I only eat it once a week, if that. However, the recipe does make 40 meatballs and will feed a crowd, especially with the usual array of salads and dips that are a part of every Middle Eastern/North African meal. Everyone, including my 2-year old granddaughter loved this dish!

Meatballs in Tamarind Sauce

Recipe

Yield: 40 golf-size meatballs

Ingredients

For the Meatballs

About 1 Tablespoon EVOO, Grapeseed or other oil

3 pounds of ground beef

5 large eggs

1.5 cups of pan-toasted pine nuts

3/4 cup fine dried bread crumbs (or matza meal)

About 2 cups of bread crumbs or matza meal for lightly coating the meatballs (I used a mix of Panko and regular fine dry bread crumbs.)

1.5 teaspoon kosher salt

1 heaping Tablespoon of baharat or allspice

1.5 teaspoons Aleppo pepper

2 large handfuls of fresh herbs, finely chopped. (Parsley, cilantro, dill and mint are wonderful)

For the sauce

2 teaspoons EVOO

1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

4 cups water

10 Tablespoons (1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons) good quality tamarind paste in concentrated form

6 ounces tomato paste

Juice of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Oil two sheet pans with about 1/2 Tablespoon on each pan.

Combine all of the meatball ingredients in a large bowl except for the oil. I like to use glass or stainless steel when working with raw meat. Wearing disposable gloves or with your hands moistened with cold water, roll the meatballs into golf-sized balls. You should get about 40 meatballs.

Place the 2 cups of bread crumbs in a shallow dish. Roll each meatball in the crumbs for a light coating. Add breadcrumbs as necessary. Place 20 meatballs on each sheet pan, with about 1 inch in between.

Place the pans in the oven and cook for 20 to 25 minutes or until well-browned.

Meanwhile in one or two large skillets, mix the ingredients for the sauce. Stir and simmer while the meatballs cook.

When the meatballs are browned and the sauce has simmered, add the meatballs to the sauce. Simmer for about 30 minutes, The sauce should have thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Spoon some of the sauce over the meatballs and serve over rice or couscous.

Poppy Seed Window Cookies

Poppy Seed Window Cookies

Poppy Seed Window Cookies are a buttery delight with the zing of blood orange marmalade. Some people think that Christmas marks the beginning of an end to cookie season. But Christmas has always been a non-event for me. I am happily and proudly Jewish and have never felt a longing for a Christmas tree or waited for Santa to come down the chimney. So I think any season is cookie season!

This type of cookie has many different names. Sometimes called “lunette” cookies by the French because they resemble eyeglasses or Occhio di Bue Biscotti in Italian which means bulls’ eye. Also similar to a linzer cookie. What they all have in common is a buttery, eggy rich cookie dough with some kind of filling. They are a wonderful cookie to gift because they hold up beautifully. Fillings are only limited by your imagination, but blood orange marmalade, which was used here, is a wonderful foil for the rich dough. I had never seen these made with poppy seed before reading a piece on cookies by Susan Spungen in the New York Times.

After reading comments and making a couple of batches, I have made a few small changes to the directions. Normally, I tend to like things well-done. I always buy the darkest, crustiest bread I can find! But despite the instructions, I found that I liked these best when they were fully baked but not yet golden. I think that it preserved the clean buttery taste and prevents them from drying out too quickly. The only change to the ingredients that I made was to add 3/4 teaspoon of pure almond extract to the dough in addition to the vanilla. Almonds, poppy seed and orange are simply a match made in heaven.

A nice thing about these cookies is that you can make the different parts over a couple of days. The dough, itself will last up to 5 days in the refrigerator if tightly wrapped. And straining the marmalade isn’t difficult, but it is slightly tedious. That can also be done separately.

Chilling the raw cookies before baking is really important. It helps keep the cookies from puffing up and spreading during baking. Since I certainly don’t have room in my fridge or freezer for a half-sheet cookie sheet, I improvised. While it is still unseasonably warm for a Chicago winter, it is cold enough on my terrace to place my cookie trays outside covered in the step before baking. Worked like a charm.

Ovens vary tremendously as will the size and thickness of your cookie. I am giving a suggested size for the cookies as well as a thickness, but you can make these with any set or shape of cookie cutters that you wish.

When making a recipe with multiple parts, I find it easiest to read it through first several times. Then I carefully measure and prep each section so that when I am ready to bake or assemble, I am not suddenly scrambling or forgetting something. Sometimes it means washing one or two extra bowls, but in the long-run it makes things much simpler to accomplish the desired results.

While the blood orange marmalade is a wonderful filling, I did play around with some extra dough that I had. Skipped the window and used Nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread) as the filling. Then dipped the cookies in a chocolate glaze flavored with a bit of Cointreau. AMAZING! I do need to work on my glaze a bit for it to be perfectly glossy, and my dipping technique, but it was definitely a winner. So have fun making these. And if blood orange isn’t your jam, raspberry jam would be equally delish.

Purim begins at sundown on March 16. Normally I make my delicious Queen Esther poppy seed cookies along with hamantaschen, but I think this year I might just make these instead.

Recipe

Yield: About 2 dozen sandwich cookies depending on size

Ingredients

2 ½ cups/320 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1 ½ tablespoons poppy seeds, plus more for sprinkling

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1 cup/225 grams unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened

⅔ cup/135 grams granulated sugar

2 large egg yolks, at room temperature (The whites can be saved and used in an omelet or another cookie.)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon pure almond extract

2 tablespoons buttermilk (or 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons milk
mixed with 1 teaspoon lemon juice or 2 T kefir)

1 cup blood orange marmalade, with the solids strained out

Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Directions

In a medium bowl, sift your flour and baking soda. Add the poppy seeds and salt and whisk to combine. Set aside.

Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed for 3 minutes – until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks, vanilla and almond extracts and beat well on medium speed, scraping the bowl down as needed.

With the beater on low speed, add half of the flour mixture and just mix until barely combined. Add all of the buttermilk and the remaining flour. Beat on low speed just until combined. Then turn the speed up to medium and beat until the dough begins to clump, scraping down the sides a couple of times.

Divide the dough into 2 balls that have been flattened into disks. Wrap them in plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least one hour or up until 5 days.

At any point before assembling the cookies, you can prepare the marmalade. Place spoonfuls of a good quality blood orange or other marmalade in a fine mesh strainer over a bowl. Push the clear liquid part through the strainer. The solids are still edible and can be reserved or you can discard them. Cover the strained jam and set it aside until you are ready to use it.

When you are ready to bake the cookies, remove one of the disks from the fridge. It will need to warm up for about 15 minutes before you can roll it out. Flour a sheet of parchment that fits a half-sheet baking pan or a silicone mat. Roll the slightly softened dough out, adding flour as necessary until it is between 1/8 and 1/4 inches thick. If your kitchen is very warm and the dough starts to get sticky, you can always pop it in the fridge for a few minutes. Using a cookie cutter or glass that is about 2 to 2.75 inches in diameter cut out the shapes. Take half of the cut-out dough and using a cutter that is about 1.5 to 1.75 inches, cut out the centers. The cut-outs can be re-rolled along with any excess dough to make more cookies. Keep doing this until you use up the dough. The cookies will not spread much. I was able to easily get 12 cookies on a half sheet pan. When the pan is filled, lightly cover it with a towel and chill for about 15 minutes.

While the cookies are chilling, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. with the rack in the middle. Bake the chilled cookies for 12 to 16 minutes or until they look done but are not yet golden. If the bottom or edges just are starting to get a bit golden, they are done! Remove the pan to a wire rack and after 2 minutes, carefully take the cookies off of the pan and place them directly on the rack to cool completely.

Continue this process until all of the dough is used or do some now and some another day. When the cookie parts are baked and fully cooled, separate your top sections (the ones with the cut-out) onto a single cooling rack or piece of parchment. Generously rain powdered (confectioner’s or icing sugar) down over them through a strainer.

Spread a generous teaspoonful of jam over the bottoms. Carefully lay a top cookie over the jam. If desired, you can sprinkle some poppy seeds over part of the visible jam in the window.

Now enjoy!

Vegan Mushroom Walnut Pâté

Vegan Mushroom Walnut Pâté

Vegan Mushroom Walnut Pâté makes a delicious addition to your holiday table. Once upon a time I used to make a vegetarian mushroom pâté. It wasn’t beautiful, but it was delicious. Frankly, it was a bit of a pain to make in the pre-food processor days. However, it went very well with roast turkey or chicken and was worth the extra effort for holidays and special occasions. And it was especially yummy in sandwiches the following day. But those of you who follow my blog know that I am trying to prepare more vegan dishes. I initially got interested in vegan cooking because my godson was deathly allergic to eggs AND his family keeps kosher, which means they won’t mix milk and meat – among other things. So finding – or developing – great vegan recipes became an imperative.

Now, though, I try to cook vegetarian and vegan meals for me and my husband several times a week. While my reasons are for better health as well as the welfare of the planet, I wouldn’t do it if I couldn’t make meals that were delicious and satisfying. It doesn’t hurt that my favorite cuisines are Mediterranean/Middle Eastern and South Asian, both of which have a rich heritage of vegetarian and vegan dishes.

You certainly don’t have to be vegan to enjoy this Vegan Mushroom Walnut Pâté. It’s a wonderful make-ahead side or appetizer that can be enjoyed by anyone – unless allergic to mushrooms or walnuts that is. So if you are looking for something a bit different to try for the holidays, give this Vegan Mushroom Walnut Pâté a go. It still isn’t pretty (but what pâté is?) and it still is delicious! Spread it on crackers or some Melba toast and enjoy it with a Crackling Vermentino or other sparkling wine. Mmmmmmmmm!

For an alternative Vegan Mushroom Pâté that is not baked try:

Mushroom Walnut Pâté

You can’t go wrong with either one.

Recipe

Vegan Mushroom Walnut Pâté

Yield: About 10 servings

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons EVOO

1 pound of mushrooms, white, cremini or baby bellas, quartered

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, lightly toasted in a dry pan

1 shallot, peeled and chopped

1 cup chopped fresh fennel or celery

Handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped

1.25 cups fine, dried bread crumbs – plain or seasoned

1 pound silken tofu

1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast

1 teaspoon each: dried thyme, basil and oregano

1.5 teaspoons kosher salt

generous pinch of cayenne (Optional)

Directions

Oil or use a cooking spray to coat an 8 X 4-inch loaf pan. Line the pan with cooking parchment and oil that as well. Cut a piece of parchment large enough to sit on the top of the pâté mixture in the pan. Set the pan aside.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat the EVOO in a large sauté pan and add the chopped shallot and fennel or celery. Sprinkle with about 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt. Sauté until the mixture begins to soften. Then add the chopped parsley and bread crumbs. Stir through to moisten everything. Turn off the heat.

While the vegetables were sautéing, place the mushrooms and silken tofu in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse the mixture until everything begins to break down. Add in the nutritional yeast, dried herbs and the veggie/breadcrumb mixture. Pulse until smooth.

Add in the walnuts and just pulse 3 or 4 times quickly. If you prefer not to have bits of walnut in the finished product, you can pulse the mixture a few more times, until it is smooth throughout.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Add the oiled parchment on top of the mixture so that it is right against it. Give the pan a tap on the counter to make sure that everything is even and there are no air bubbles. Place in the hot oven and bake for 1.5 hours. Allow to cool completely.

Vegan Mushroom Walnut Pâté

If you are not going to serve it as soon as it is cool, refrigerate it in the pan. Remove the pan from the fridge about an hour before you are ready to serve. Carefully remove the piece of parchment that is on top and invert the pan onto your serving plate or board. Peel off the remaining parchment paper. Garnish as desired.

Bourbon Pecan Bread

Bourbon Pecan Bread

This fragrant quick bread is easy to make and even easier to eat. While flipping through one of my old hand-written books of favorite recipes, I came across this Bourbon Pecan Bread. I hadn’t made it in years and the recipe said that it made three mini-loaves. Clearly this was a recipe that I used to make as gifts to friends and teachers. However, I wanted to only make a single larger loaf this time around. Like most quick breads, this one comes together quickly and bakes for about an hour. These breads are really not breads at all but are simple cakes that are perfect with tea or coffee pretty much anytime of day. They all have the traditional crack down the middle that you see in cakes made with baking soda.

Bourbon Pecan Bread doesn’t need any glaze or embellishments. With holidays and maybe even some friends or family visiting, it’s great to have this absolutely wonderful quick bread in your back pocket. The most difficult part will be not jumping in to eat it before its cool. These make wonderful “host/hostess” gifts. And wrap it in some cellophane and tie a pretty bow on for a gift that anyone would be happy to receive.

Now I’m sure that the recipe comes from somewhere. Unfortunately, several decades ago when I was writing it down, I wasn’t concerned with provenance. So, that said, my apologies to whoever conceived the original, wonderful recipe. Though uncredited, it is truly appreciated. I did make a few tweaks, but nothing substantial.

This recipe was made using a food processor. However, it could also be made by hand, or using a hand or stand mixer. There are just a few things to remember: don’t over mix the batter once you start adding the flour and make sure that all of your ingredients are at room temperature.

You could swap out walnuts for the pecans and some sort of cognac or Armagnac for the Bourbon. But there is just some wonderful alchemy that happens when pecans and Bourbon are in the same recipe. Bourbon is an American whiskey made from distilled corn mash. And pecans are the only indigenous American nut. So perhaps, that is why something so magical happens when they are paired in things like Bourbon Pecan Pie or this Bourbon Pecan Bread.

Bourbon Pecan Bread

While there is alcohol in this recipe, it cooks away in the baking process, leaving only its flavorful depth and essence behind. There is no non-alcoholic substitute that would work here.

Tightly wrapped once it has fully cooled, this Bourbon Pecan Bread will last for several days and can be frozen for later enjoyment. However, when this intoxicating smell wafts out of your oven, you will have to be of a stronger will than I have to not eat it right away.

Recipe

Yield: 3 mini-loaves or one 9 x 5-ince loaf

Bourbon Pecan Bread

Ingredients

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 large eggs

1/2 cup (one stick) unsalted butter at room temperature

1/2 cup real maple syrup

1/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup buttermilk or plain kefir

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans, lightly pan toasted

3 Tablespoons Bourbon

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

About 2+ Tablespoons Demerara or other coarse sugar (optional, but a nice touch)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease (I used cooking spray) a loaf pan. Line the bottom and sides with parchment with a 2-inch overhang. Grease the paper as well. Sprinkle the Demerara sugar un the bottom of the pan, if using. Then carefully turning the pan, coat the bottom and sides with the sugar. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and then add the salt.

Using a food processor or mixer (or by hand), cream the butter, brown sugar and maple syrup until fluffy. This should take about 3 minutes if you are using a machine. Add the eggs and mix well. Then add the Bourbon and vanilla.

Starting with the flour, add one third to the butter mixture and process in pulses just until barely combined. Then add half of the buttermilk and lightly pulse or mix it through. Repeat with the next third of the flout and the remaining buttermilk. Add the toasted pecans to the final bit of flour and toss them together. This will help prevent the nuts from all sinking to the bottom. Now add this last amount of flour/pecan mixture and pulse it through the batter or mix with a spatula until just combined. Do not overmix the batter once you have begun adding the flour or the final cake will be gummy and tough.

Pour or spoon the thick batter into the prepared pan. Tap it lightly on the counter to even things out. Lightly sprinkle with the coarse sugar if using and bake for about an hour or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. For mini-loaves, bake these beauties for about 45 minutes. If your oven bakes as unevenly as mine, turn the bread about half way through. Don’t worry about the top cracking down the middle. That is classic for this kind of bread. Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Then carefully lift out the Bourbon Pecan Bread, using the parchment sling. Remove the parchment and place on a wire rack to cool completely. Now enjoy!