Recipe: Buttermilk French Toast & Rubarb Compote

 
As we've definitely mentioned before, we're drowning in a sea of fresh eggs - along with all the other backyard chicken owners out there. But, of course, we're not complaining! There are a seemingly infinite number of recipes that use eggs by the coop-full, and we're having a blast experimenting.

Lucky for us, we also have a glut of fantastic local bakeries in the area. One of our favorites, and oldest, is the Daily Bread Bakery. They make a ton of fantastic things - black bottom cupcakes, homemade oreos, granola... not to mention, one of the best basic chocolate cakes ever. 

But our current obsession is their classic challah bread. This buttery challah, toasted with a spoonful of jam, makes an amazing breakfast all on its own. But add a few bright eggs and some tangy buttermilk, and you've got the fixin's for some kick-ass french toast! So the other morning we took out a loaf, cut a few thick slices, cracked some eggs, and started cooking. Because we also have too many rhubarb stalks (detecting a theme here?) we made a quick compote to spoon on top along with our favorite Old Field Farm Syrup. Sweet, simple, and delicious - and we used up four eggs!

Buttermilk French Toast

From Gourmet via Epicurious.com

+ 1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk

+ 4 large eggs

+ 3 tablespoons sugar

+ 1/4 teaspoon salt
+ 12 (1/2-inch-thick) slices challah (from a 1-pound loaf; not end slices) 

+ 4 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided 

1. Preheat oven to 200°F. 

2. Whisk together buttermilk, eggs, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Pour into a large 4-sided sheet pan, then add bread in 1 layer and soak, turning occasionally, until bread has absorbed all liquid but is not falling apart, about 20 minutes.

3. Heat 1 1/2 tablespoon butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until foam subsides. Transfer 4 bread slices with a slotted spatula to skillet and cook, turning once, until slightly puffed and golden brown, about 3 minutes total. 

4. Transfer to a large shallow baking pan and keep warm in oven. Cook remaining bread in 2 batches, adding 1 1/2 tablespoon butter between batches.  

Rhubarb Compote

+ 4 cups 1/2-inch pieces fresh rhubarb

+ 1 1/2 cups sugar

+ 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1. Simmer the ingredients in a small saucepan until the rhubarb is soft, about 15 minutes.

Sunday Brunch: Spinach and Bacon Quiche

This is the longest we have gone without posting since we started our blog, and let us just say that we have the best excuse ever! After months of careful (ha!) planning, we have finally moved to our homestead in New Marlborough, Massachusetts! And in the midst of the big move, Jake spent a week working with students at the Hayground School in Bridgehampton, Long Island, where his lessons covered butchering, charcuterie, and "good meat." With so many exciting things going on - packing, lesson plans and panic attacks - we've had almost no time for cooking or writing. 

"Almost" being the operative word. While we were pretty overwhelmed with it all, we did reserve some time to host a small going away brunch with Bren and Silka's mom. In the name of time and sanity, we kept it simple with a classic quiche - perfect for those of you planning a spring/Easter brunch. We like our quiche how we like most things: filled with bacon and cheese and served with a simple green salad. And to top off the meal, Bren (always the perfect guest) came with mimosa fixings. 

While none of us have really accepted the fact that we're no longer a subway ride away from each other, it was the perfect little brunch to send us on our way.

Spinach and Bacon Quiche

Adapted from Savuer's adaptation of Julia Child's classic Quiche Lorraine recipe

For the Crust:
2 cups flour
1⁄4 tsp. salt
Pinch sugar
8 tbsp cold butter, cut into small pieces
3 tbsp lard, cut into small pieces
1 egg, lightly beaten

 

For the Filling:

4-oz. slab bacon, diced

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 3/4 cups whole milk

3/4 cup grated cheese - Swiss or Gruyere work wonderfully 

1 1/4 cups blanched, drained and chopped spinach

1⁄2 tsp. salt

Freshly grated nutmeg

Freshly ground black pepper

1. For the crust: Sift together flour, salt, and sugar into the bowl of a food processor. Add butter and lard and pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Sprinkle in up to 6 tbsp. ice water, pulsing until it just begins to hold together. Dump mixture onto a lightly floured surface and, using your hands, press dough firmly into a rough ball. Give the dough several quick kneads with the heel of your hand to form a smooth dough, then shape into a ball, flatten slightly to make a round, and dust with flour. Wrap round in plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 400°. Allow dough to soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out on a lightly floured surface into a 14'' round. Fit dough, without stretching it, into a pie plate or buttered 10'' bottomless metal flan ring (1 1⁄2'' deep) and set on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet with no rim. Using a fork, prick bottom lightly, then make a decorative edge around the rim. Line dough with buttered aluminum foil, then add pie weights or dried beans. Bake until crust is set and edge just begins to color, about 25 minutes. Remove foil and weights, brush bottom and sides with egg, and continue baking until crust is pale golden, another 2-5 minutes.

3. For the filling: Reduce heat to 375°. Fry bacon over over medium-high heat until it is crisp. Transfer bacon with a slotted spoon to a paper towel to drain, then arrange on bottom of crust. In the meantime, blanch and thoroughly drain your spinach.

4. Beat eggs, cream, cheese, spinach and salt together in a medium bowl and season to taste with nutmeg and pepper. Pour mixture into crust and bake until custard is puffed and golden and just set in the center, 30-35 minutes. Serve quiche warm or at room temperature.

Recipe: Shoo's Scrambled Eggs

Like PB+J's, chocolate chip cookies and chicken noodle soup, most people like their scrambled eggs the way they like them. Or, in Jake's case, the way their mother makes them. Luckily for Silka, Jake's mom makes some killer scrambled eggs! (Warning: If you like your eggs dry, this post is not for you!) Susan - or "Shoo," as we call her - starts her scrambled eggs by adding lots of great dairy (cream cheese!!) then cooks them suuuuuper slowly, resulting in the most creamy, soft, moist pile of sunny yellow eggs you'll probably ever taste.

What makes these blissful eggs even better is that lately they've been coming from our very own chickens! Our little flock is free to spend most of it's days wondering around the yard scratching for good grub, and the happy result of this free-ranging lifestyle is a daily collection of eggs with intensely saffron-yellow yolks. This past weekend we scrambled some up along with a handful of bacon from our own pig and a hash of the previous night's roasted roots. It was a humble Sunday Brunch, but it couldn't have been more heavenly!

Shoo’s Scrambled Eggs

+ 6 eggs, ideally fresh and/or free-range

+ ⅓ cup cream

+ 2 oz cream cheese broken into small (about 1/2 inch square) chunks

+ salt and pepper to taste

+ 2 tbsp butter

1. Beat the eggs lightly with the cream. Stir in the cream cheese, salt, and pepper.

2. Melt butter in a thick sauce pan. When butter has melted pour in the eggs.

3. Cook at lowest heat, stirring occasionally.

4. Serve immediately.

Serves 3

Recipe: Classic Welsh Scones

On a lazy weekend morning, nothing makes us happier than a big cup of coffee and something freshly baked. The problem with this equation is that, in your pre-pastry haze, you have to actually “freshly bake” something. Enter scones - the easiest thing ever to make, a catch-all for aging pantry staples, and the perfect not-too-sweet-not-too-savory vessel for butter, cream and jam. Seriously, you could make these in your sleep – which is basically what we did last weekend. 

The morning (ok, ok, afternoon) after a rousing game of Pictionary (ok, ok, we’re waaaay cooler than we sound), Silka rolled out of bed desperate for our favorite scones. And as she slowly flipped rummaged through the pantry, we realized that we’d been holding on to just a handful of raisins, almonds and walnuts. The nuts went into a pan to roast and the raisins into a hot water/left-over whiskey to plump up. After an easy mix of simple ingredients and a quick cooking time we were back on the couch contentedly snacking away and watching bad movies On Demand. Who could ask for more?!  

Welsh Scones

From The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri

+ 2 1/4 cups All Purpose flour

+ 1/3 cup sugar

+ 1 tbsp baking powder

+ 1 tsp cream of tartar

+ 1/2 tsp salt

+ 8 tbsp (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter cut into 12 pieces

+ 1 large egg

+ 1/2 cup milk

Optional:

+ 1/2 cup of raisins, soaked in a mix of hot water and whiskey for 30 minutes

+ 1/2 cup nuts, roasted and coarsely chopped

1. Set a rack in the middle level of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees.

2. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is mealy but dry and powdery.

3. Invert the bowl of the food processor over a mixing bowl and carefully remove the blade. If you are adding raisins, nuts or both, gently stir them in now.

4. Quickly whisk the egg and milk together and use a fork to toss the egg mixture into the flour mixture, continuing to toss until all the flour mixture is evenly moistened.

5. Gently knead the dough 3 to 4 times, until it is smooth. Divide the dough in half and pres and pat each half into a disk about 6 inches in diameter. Place the two disks of dough a couple of inches apart on the prepared pan.

6. Use a floured bench scraper or knife to mark each disk of dough into 8 wedges, pressing straight down, and cutting no farther than halfway into the dough disk.

7. Bake the scones until they are very deep golden and firm, 12-15 minutes.

8. Slide each disk of baked scones onto a platter and use a knife to cut them completely along the markings into wedges.

9. Serve with butter, whipped cream and jam!

Sunday Brunch: Pappa Al Pomodoro

We've got lots of plans for The Butcher & The Baker in 2012, but perhaps closest to our hearts is  a growing focus on collaboration. Not only are three, four or five heads better than two, but we stand to learn so much from our friends' tastes, voices and skills. This Sunday, in a first attempt, our good friend Mark Silver spent the afternoon in our kitchen, cooking us a beautiful and hearty brunch. Like us, Mark is a seriously dedicated home cook, who loves clean, bright flavors and does most of his shopping at green markets. And unlike us, Mark is a vegetarian. But as carnivorous (and cynical) as we are, Mark has proven time and time again that a meal doesn't need meat to be colorful, filling, and flavorful. 

After a Saturday morning stroll though the Union Square Green Market, Mark came over Sunday afternoon with his boyfriend Jeffery and a bottle of Prosecco. He proceeded to take us through a classic and insanely simple rustic Italian dish - Pappa al Pomodoro, or stale bread and tomato stew. The stew highlights one of our favorite secret weapons for getting through the winter - canned tomatoes. After making a thick tomato stew from our can of choice (we just love the local Jersey Farms Crushed Tomatoes) we threw in big chunks of perfectly golden, just-toasted stale bread and let the magic happen. For an added kick, we topped the stew with a single raw Flying Pigs egg yolk - a yummy addition, but certainly optional for hard-core vegetarians. To fill out the meal, Mark slowly cooked some Cayuga Pure Organics Polenta with homemade vegetable stock, topped with Cowgirl Crème fraîche, Two Guys micro-scallions, and roasted mushrooms and, to cut the heaviness, a light green salad with celery and Parmesan. 

Huge thanks to Mark for cooking such a perfect winter meal. We can't wait to have you and Jeffery back!

Pappa al Pomodoro

+ 1 loaf rustic white bread (fresh or day-old)

+ 1 28-oz. can crushed tomato

+ 1 small red onion, finally diced

+ garlic (8-10 cloves)

+ 1/2 tsp pepperoncino (red pepper flakes)

+ very good olive oil

+ a bay leaf

+ a saucepan of hot stock

1. Preheat the oven to 425ºF.

2. Slice the loaf into approximately 1-in./2-cm cubes. Discard any pieces that are too crusty. (You should have about 5-6 cups of cubes.)

3. Toss the bread with lots of peeled and halved garlic cloves in olive oil on a baking sheet or roasting pan. Bake until golden brown, but before garlic scorches.

4. In a large saucepan or sauté pan with a tight-fitting lid, add the diced red onion and pepperoncino to a couple tablespoons of olive oil, cover, and poach the onions over very low heat.

5. When the onions are soft and just beginning to color, add the entire can of tomatoes with a few ladlefuls of stock and a bay leaf. Season with salt to taste. Stir frequently, simmering the sauce over medium low heat.

6. Add the croutons to the tomato mixture, stirring frequently. Add stock as the bread absorbs it to maintain the stew's consistency.

7. Keep stirring and adding stock as necessary until the croutons soften and break apart - about 15 minutes.

8. You may leave the stew as is, or remove the bay leaf and purée it totally or part way with a foodmill or immersion blender.

9. To plate, ladle a generous portion into a shallow bowl, and drizzle with olive oil. You may top it with shaved cheese, chiffonade of basil, or an egg yolk, e.g.