Monthly Archives: January 2012

Sex, Lies, Cream of Tomato Soup

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Sorry for the deceptive title, but I wanted you to read this.

I have always adored tomato soup of all varieties. It’s like a warm hug from a favorite aunt, loving and unpretentious. The best tomato soup I ever had was the tomato-cheddar at Henry David’s Restaurant in Keene, NH. Sadly, Henry David’s no longer exists, but twenty-plus years ago, it was THE restaurant to go to in Keene, NH. Back in college, I would trek to Henry David’s in my LL Bean Maine hunting boots with my roommates and enjoy a nice hot cup of tomato-cheddar. Maybe it was the snow and slush that covered Keene from November until March, maybe it was the slim pickings of our dining hall, maybe it was the fact I was always starving back then, but no soup has ever tasted so satisfying to me before or since. I have tried numerous times using various recipes to find a tomato-cheddar that I like as much as Henry David’s, but I have never been successful. Perhaps  the missing secret ingredient is my youth? If, by chance, you happen to have a great (not merely good, GREAT) tomato-cheddar soup recipe, I sincerely hope you will share it with me.

Continuing our tour of Keene, NH, we come to a humble little diner that has been in existence since 1961 and has the honor of being the spot of the first, last and only waitressing job I’ve ever held for the hardest two months of my life.  If you are a political show junkie as I am, you may already be familiar with Lindy’s Diner in Keene, NH. If you plan on winning the NH primary, I highly suggest you visit Lindy’s. I have the distinction of being the worst waitress who ever served in their long and proud history, as well as the one who cried the most in front of customers and who received the most pennies and nickels for tips. Since this was 1988 and not 1908, a seventeen cent tip is every bit the insult you think it is.

Despite my traumatizing but short-lived diner waitress career, I still love diners to this day. Like tomato soup, diner food is always such a comfort to me. I was so excited to come across this recipe in Diner Classics chapter of Jane and Michael Stern’s Square Meals for Cream of Tomato Soup: a little bit wholesome, a little bit trashy, a whole lot of perfect.

I used tomatoes I had frozen at the end of the summer from my garden. Since they are Romas and a bit smaller, I used eight instead of six.

I love that there are onions AND scallions AND garlic in this soup. Probably not suitable for a first date, but extra flavorful nonetheless.

The result is a richly layered soup that is not too heavy. I know this is a classic diner offering, but I would serve it to special guests with pride. Thank you, Sterns!

Cream of Tomato Soup, from Square Meals by Jane and Michael Stern

1 onion, chopped fine

1 carrot, chopped fine

4 Tablespoons butter

3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 quart chicken broth

6 fresh and large ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped course

1 clove garlic, crushed

6 scallions, chopped fine

4 white peppercorns, whole

1 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 cup light cream

In a deep pot, saute onion and carrot in butter until onion turns slightly brown. Add flour; mix well. Slowly add broth, tomatoes, garlic, scallions, peppercorns, salt and sugar. Cover and cook over low heat 1 1/2 hours.

Blend in blender or food processor and add cream. Garnish with a sprinkle of basil, oregano, or toasted croutons. Serves 4 to 6.

Cousin Beth’s Sour Cream Coffee Cake

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One of my earliest memories is of my mother singing, “If I knew you were coming, I’d have baked a cake, baked a cake, baked a cake…” It’s funny how these early melodic messages worm their way into the psyche, for I firmly believe that one should always have something sweet (and preferably homemade) to offer a guest, and I try to plan accordingly. I also believe that unexpected company, while occasionally delightful, is also somehow wrong. It’s a fun, chirpy little song with a slightly passive aggressive message: “Don’t drop in without calling me first, bonehead. If I knew you were coming, I’d have baked a cake. Now instead you’re treated to a sink full of dirty dishes and a stale granola bar. Are you happy?”

Recently my Cousin Beth shared with me her tried and true coffee cake recipe. She wrote, “This is the first cake I ever learned how to make, and to this day it is my family’s all-time favorite.” I’ve been waiting for an occasion to try it out, and I was expecting a friend for coffee this morning, so I baked it last night. This is cake is so moist and delicious, and it’s the perfect compliment to coffee and company, expected or unexpected.

SOUR CREAM COFFEE CAKE
1/2 lb. butter
1-3/4 cups sugar
1 cup sour cream
3 eggs
pinch salt
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
3 cups flour
1 tsp. vanilla
Topping – 1/2 cup sugar mixed with cinnamon and chopped nuts (optional) and  a handful of mini chocolate chips (Note from Dawn and Beth — feel free to be creative with your topping. Brown sugar will work, too. Err on the generous side with the cinnamon!)
Preheat oven to 350.
Cream butter and sugar.
Add eggs and beat lightly.
Add sour cream, vanilla and dry ingredients, beginning and ending with flour.
Layer 1/2 mixture in a buttered angel food pan (I used a Bundt pan), cover with some topping, add rest of batter, and sprinkle with the remainder of the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes. 

Ask Mom Mom: Facebook Etiquette

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More than one person has asked me to weigh in on the subject of Facebook etiquette, and I am happy to oblige. Sometimes when I’m on Facebook, it seems like otherwise decent people have completely forgotten their manners and common sense. Here are a few gentle reminders:

1. Don’t say anything on Facebook that you wouldn’t say to your boss’s wife/husband at a company Christmas party. Acceptable Status: Whew, this weekend flew by! Back to work in just 12 short hours. Unacceptable Status: I hate my job and all of the idiots I work with, ESPECIALLY my stupid moron boss!!!! If you keep this simple “boss’s wife” principle in mind, 99% of all your Facebook problems will be solved.

2. NO POLITICS. If you must speak of politics, speak of actual ideas you believe in and can intelligently support for valid reasons, not ugly partisan bashing or cheap political jokes. Good ideas have no political affiliation. Unless you are 100% sure of the political persuasion of each and every one of your 325 friends, keep your mouth shut. Would you tell that joke to your boss’s wife or husband? Would you tell that joke at a cocktail party? No? Then I don’t want to hear it, either.

3. Keep the pictures tasteful. I think it’s really super that you lost 65 pounds since last summer, but you’re a mother of three who is over the age of eighteen, and I really don’t want to see you in your bikini posing in your kitchen. You’re just embarrassing yourself.

4. No Vaguebooking. Just in case you’re unclear, here is a vaguebooking status: I can’t believe what happened today. Unbelievable! I am totally devastated. Then when fifteen well-meaning friends ask, “Are you okay? What happened?” the response is always, “Oh, I can’t talk about it.” Really? Because you just did. And now you’re annoying me.

5. No dirty laundry, no profanity. Don’t talk about your rotten ex. Don’t talk about your slutty neighbor. Or your cheating husband. Keep it classy, people. It’s not cool or funny to call people gay or retarded. If you wouldn’t say it to someone’s face, don’t say it on Facebook.

6. No excessive bragging. Yes, I do enjoy seeing your vacation pictures. No, I don’t want to hear about your husband’s giant bonus. Yes, I want to hear your kids are doing well in school and in sports. No, I am not interested in your child’s “very superior” IQ. There is a line of good taste. Figure it out, then don’t cross it.

7. For God’s sake, wish your friends a Happy Birthday! I realize Facebook has taken the definition of “friend” and stretched it beyond any recognition, but here’s the deal: If we are Facebook friends, and you are active on Facebook and can’t even manage to wish me a Happy Birthday by typing two stinkin’ words? Then we are not really friends.

All My Cookbooks

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As I mentioned back in my Caesar Salad post, my first cookbook was The New York Times Cookbook, a mighty doorstop-sized tome. I was about 22 when I bought it, and I immediately knew I was in over my head. I could only tackle the simplest of recipes (I believe cucumber salad was my first victory, and even that was a challenge). Mostly I would just refer to it casually in conversation, you know, like, “My New York Times Cookbook says the right figs make all the difference.” I am sure everyone was quite impressed.

My second cookbook was a complete 180. Bob Blumer’s The Surreal Gourmet was filled with recipes and language I could easily understand, and it provided me with the Caesar salad recipe I still use to this day. I’m pretty sure I made every single thing in that book. It was my own Julie and Julia (Dawn and Bob), minus the fame and fortune and advanced skill level.

We got married in 1993, back when Prodigy was everyone’s internet server of choice. There was no Google, and Food Network was still in its infancy. In other words, cookbooks were still relevant. And boy, did I love them. My cookbook collection grew exponentially each year. I dreamed of a kitchen with a dedicated cookbook shelf to display all of my babies.

One day while looking through the Pottery Barn catalog, I saw black ledges hung on a kitchen wall displaying cookbooks, sort of like artwork. I had a big, blank space on my kitchen wall, and I just knew it was meant to be filled with my cookbooks. The problem was that many of my favorite cookbooks were rather well-loved, Velveteen Rabbit style: ripped, food stained, and generally disgusting. Definitely not artwork. I had a few acceptable, non-disgusting cookbooks, but not enough to fill a wall, so I went online and ordered a vast array of bargain cookbooks based solely on their size, shape and cover art, and these served to fill in the blank spaces. I thought I was quite clever.

The problem was that the Pottery Barn ledges were ridiculously expensive, considering it was a simple black painted piece of wood, and probably cheap wood at that. Ed jumped in with the words I hear quite often, “Oh, I can make that!” And he’s right, the man can make anything. ANYTHING. We’ve all heard of the time value of money, but what about the money value of time? This is my number one rebuttal to Ed’s, “Oh, I can make that!” We compromised and bought the cheap Target knock-offs. Let me share with you just a couple of the horrible reviews of these ledges:

This shelf is flawed in design; the mounting structure does not lie flush with the actual shelf, and the shelf overhangs by about 2 millimeters– doesn’t sound like a lot, but IT WILL KEEP THE SHELF FROM EVER HANGING ON YOUR WALL. However, before you realize this, you’ll have dug several holes in your wall– or six, precisely, if you’re me. And then you’ll find that for all your hard work, painstaking leveling, perfect placement…. [……] wall shelf will NOT CONNECT WITH THE MOUNTING BAR. DO NOT BUY THIS. TARGET: YOU OWE ME A NEW WALL. MINE IS MARRED BECAUSE I TRUSTED YOU. MAKE THIS RIGHT

and

DO NOT BUY THIS SHELF. I work in contracting and never saw such a poorly made piece of [junk] in my life. This is by far, the worst buy I have ever had from target. The directions are incomplete and inaccurate and the bracket and shelf will never come together, despite your best efforts. Wasted [$$] on two of these things. TARGET PLEASE DISCONTINUE THIS PRODUCT.

But thank God I am married to Superman; not only can he build anything, he can also FIX anything. Needless to say, he had his work cut out for him. He was right, he definitely should have just built them from the get-go. Sometimes I’m wrong.

I have not purchased a cookbook for several years, thank you, Internet, but I still do appreciate a good cookbook. My cousin Linda recently recommended a fun, quirky, retro book called Square Meals by Jane and Michael Stern, and it’s a must for any cookbook collector. Cousin Linda says the kugel recipe is fabulous, and once I’m done de-carbifying, I plan to try it. The recipes — many of which contain gelatin — are both hilarious and historically accurate. All I know is that Square Meals will be an invaluable reference for me when I host my next Mad Men party.

These days, the cookbook has to be pretty special for me to consider it, but I do hope to add to my collection over the years. If there is any “must have” cookbook in your collection, please let me know. There is always room on the shelf for one more.

The Pioneers of Chester County: Chicken Tortilla Soup

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My friend had the great idea of reuniting our limoncello crew to make something a little more family friendly, and I was all for it! We decided to go with a soup, and The Pioneer Woman’s Chicken Tortilla Soup seemed to get high marks based on the almost 500 comments on her blog. Not jealous. Really, I’m not. She’s great. But if you want to make any comments here, I sure wouldn’t mind…

We gathered in my friend’s beautiful kitchen, pots in hand, and got to work tripling the recipe. Can you believe I’ve never had chicken tortilla soup? Or ANY tortilla soup? I am always amazed at how little I know about the world.

Three pots for three friends

Picking apart boneless chicken, just like Laura Ingalls Wilder

Beans and Rotel

The final, delicious product.

The verdict: I am calling this soup a success. There were a grand total of fifteen of us who ate this soup for dinner tonight. All three of the husbands loveloveloved it. All three of us pioneer women of Chester County loved it, too. Three children liked it well enough. Two children cried about it. One picky eater ate a small amount. And two boys were too busy with sports to try it as of this publishing, but my prediction is that they will like it. While the soup is very flavorful (one of my son’s called it a burrito in a bowl), I think the toppings really make it shine. Cilantro is a must (unless you think it tastes like soap) and cheese and sour cream and avocado, too.

The Pioneer Woman’s Chicken Tortilla Soup (original printable recipe here)

Ingredients

  • 2 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
  • 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
  • 1-½ teaspoon Cumin
  • 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
  • ½ teaspoons Garlic Powder
  • ½ teaspoons Salt
  • 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
  • 1 cup Diced Onion
  • ¼ cups Diced Green Bell Pepper
  • ¼ cups Red Bell Pepper
  • 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
  • 1 can (10 Oz. Can) Rotel Tomatoes And Green Chilies
  • 32 ounces, fluid Low Sodium Chicken Stock
  • 3 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
  • 4 cups Hot Water
  • 2 cans (15 Oz. Can) Black Beans, Drained
  • 3 Tablespoons Cornmeal Or Masa
  • 5 whole Corn Tortillas, Cut Into Uniform Strips Around 2 To 3 Inches
  • _____
  • FOR THE GARNISHES:
  • Sour Cream
  • Diced Avocado
  • Diced Red Onion
  • Salsa Or Pico De Gallo
  • Grated Monterey Jack Cheese
  • Cilantro

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix cumin, chili pepper, garlic powder, and salt. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil on chicken breasts, then sprinkle a small amount of spice mix on both sides. Set aside the rest of the spice mix.

Place chicken breasts on a baking sheet. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until chicken is done. Use two forks to shred chicken. Set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a pot over medium high heat. Add onions, red pepper, green pepper, and minced garlic. Stir and begin cooking, then add the rest of the spice mix. Stir to combine, then add shredded chicken and stir.

Pour in Rotel, chicken stock, tomato paste, water, and black beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 45 minutes, uncovered.

Mix cornmeal with a small amount of water. Pour into the soup, then simmer for an additional 30 minutes. Check seasonings, adding more if needed—add more chili powder if it needs more spice, and be sure not to undersalt. Turn off heat and allow to sit for 15 to 20 minutes before serving. Five minutes before serving, gently stir in tortilla strips.

Ladle into bowls, then top with sour cream, diced red onion, diced avocado, pico de gallo, and grated cheese, if you have it! (The garnishes really make the soup delicious.)


Moosewood’s Fragrant Rice Noodles with Vegetables

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We decided a few weeks ago that on Mondays we would serve a vegetarian dinner and call it Vegetable Monday. I am sure our 30+ days of high calorie, nutritionally-void holiday food and tight jeans may have inspired this grand proclamation, but I’m kind of digging it. This replaces our once popular Pizza Monday, so you can imagine how the kids feel about this. They probably refer to it as Arsenic Monday behind our backs.

This comes from one of my favorite cookbooks, Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home. I am modifying it a bit tonight for our meal, but I will share the original version first, and then my adjustments. My kids like broccoli and peppers, so I threw them in there. They also like rice instead of rice noodles. And, oh, did I mention they won’t eat the sauce? Basically, I’m just making this for Ed and myself.

Don’t be put off by the name. “Fragrant” somehow doesn’t feel like a good food word to me, although it is certainly evocative. Fragrant is too close to fragrance (i.e. perfume or Glade air freshener), and that’s not something I want in my food. Plus, this is peanut based, but you’d never know it from the name, would you?

This sauce is a winner. I always double it, since Ed prefers his food drowning in sauce, but I seriously don’t suggest doing that unless you have sauce addiction issues like my husband. I also like to add a bit of crushed red pepper for some heat, just a 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon. As you can see below, we used two different blends of veggies (Vegetable Monday, was I lying?). I love this recipe with rice noodles or pasta, but it works equally well with plain old rice, too.

Moosewood’s Fragrant Rice Noodles with Vegetables

Ingredients

1 1/2 quarts water
SAUCE
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon freshly grated lime peel
1/2 cup peanut butter (preferably smooth)
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 cup vegetable stock
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
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Noodles and Veggies (feel free to add or subtract to taste):
6 ounces 1/4-inch-wide rice noodles (or linguini if rice noodles are unavailable)
2 leeks, well rinsed
2 small zucchini
2 small yellow squash
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
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Directions:
In a covered pot, bring the water to a rapid boil. Combine the sauce ingredients and mix them by hand or puree them in a blender until smooth. When the water boils, add the noodles and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until just tender. Drain, rinse briefly under cool water, drain again, and set aside.
Cut the leeks, zucchini, and yellow squash into sticks 5 to 6 inches long and 1/4 to 1/2 inch wide. Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet. Stir-fry the leek sticks on medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the zucchini and yellow squash and continue to stir-fry for about 3 to 4 minutes, until the vegetables are just tender. To prevent scorching or sticking, add about 1/4 cup water while stir-frying. Add the noodles (or pasta) and the sauce and toss well until heated through. Serve at once.

Chicken Corn Chowder

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One of my favorite food blogs which I recently discovered is Growling Tummy. As soon as I saw this recipe for Chicken Corn Chowder, I knew it had high potential. And I was right! Four out of five family members loved it (even Mr. Picky), and the only one who didn’t finish it practically fell asleep in his soup due to a very fun sleepover birthday party at the Great Wolf Lodge…so I am not blaming the recipe! Ed said it reminded him a bit of the soup version of chicken pot pie, and I agree. The jalapeno gave it a wonderful kick, and the roasted red pepper added nice color and flavor. I used a rotisserie chicken, too, which made this soup incredibly quick and easy to prepare (albeit a bit pricier). I will definitely be making this again!

Growling Tummy’s Chicken Corn Chowder

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1/2 cup chopped celery
  • 2 medium potatoes, chopped
  • 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 3 cups reduced-fat milk
  • 2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
  • 2 cups chopped roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts, rotisserie chicken works great here (vegetarians can omit the chicken and its still a great chowder)
  • 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels (about 3 ears, but you can use frozen)
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
  • salt to taste
  • 2 roasted red peppers from a jar, chopped
  • 1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn

How To:

Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, celery, potato and jalapeño and cook for 3 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Add flour; cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in milk and remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil and cook until thick (about 5 minutes). Reduce heat and serve (biscuits work great as a compliment).

Bagels and Butter

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We are lucky to have good bagels around here. Our local bagel store used to be owned by a woman who I called the “Bagel B____ (rhymes with witch),” or BB, for short. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only person who called her that. God, she was vile. I worked with NYSE floor traders who had more patience than this woman. And I was (for the most part) a very good, very efficient bagel orderer.  99% of the time I knew exactly what I wanted and spoke in a clear, concise fashion with no dilly dallying, and she was still miserable and rude. Fortunately, a much nicer man has since bought the store, and I am now safe to modify my order without BB’s scorn.

I am so very proud of myself. Yesterday I made bagels for the first time and homemade butter for the second time. Both were surprisingly easy. Luisa, my favorite food blogger at The Wednesday Chef, shared Peter Reinhart’s Amazing and Almost Idiot-Proof Recipe, and I was inspired to try myself. Assuming I can keep up with a good workout schedule, I am thinking of making bagels weekly. Or, at least, monthly. In any event, they are so good that I am already dreaming of next time.

The butter I made on a whim, after reading an article in Fancy Fine Cooking. I just felt like my special bagels deserved good butter. Plus, I’m kind of a show-off.

Two pieces of advice: DOUBLE THIS RECIPE! I made seven bagels, and in retrospect, I wish I would have made six larger ones instead. Twelve decent sized bagels instead of seven smaller ones would have been perfect. And start this recipe ONE DAY BEFORE you want to eat bagels (see step 7: refrigerate overnight).

Bagels, The Los Angeles Times, November 12, 2008

Total time: 1 hour, 15 minutes plus chilling, rising and cooling time for the dough and bagels

Servings: 6 to 8 bagels

Note: Barley malt, also known as barley malt syrup, is generally available at health food stores including Erewhon Natural Foods in Los Angeles and Granny’s Pantry in Pasadena, as well as at most Whole Foods Market stores. Instant yeast is generally available at cooking and baking supply stores. Despite the short work time, this recipe takes two days to make because of the rising time. If you make more than 6 bagels, you may need to prepare 2 baking sheets. Toppings can include poppy or sesame seeds, coarse salt, dehydrated onion or garlic bits that have been soaked, and cinnamon sugar.

3 1/2 cups (1 pound) unbleached bread flour

3 teaspoons salt, divided

3/4 teaspoon instant yeast

1 tablespoon barley malt syrup (or honey)

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon baking soda

Toppings as desired

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer or food processor or by hand, mix the flour, 2 teaspoons salt, the yeast, barley malt syrup and 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons water until the ingredients form a stiff, coarse ball of dough (about 3 minutes if mixing by hand or in a mixer; or 1 minute in a food processor). If necessary, add a little more water. Let the dough rest 5 minutes.

2. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until the dough feels stiff yet supple, with a satiny, slightly tacky feel, 2 to 3 minutes. If the dough seems too soft or too tacky, sprinkle over just enough flour as needed.

3. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to several hours. Keep in mind that the bagels must be shaped before proofing overnight.

4. When ready to shape the bagels, line a baking sheet with lightly greased parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

5. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide it into 6 to 8 equal pieces. Form each piece into a loose, round ball by rolling it on a clean, dry work surface with a cupped hand; do not use any flour on the surface. If the dough slides around and won’t ball up, wipe the work surface with a damp paper towel and try again — the slight amount of moisture will provide enough “bite” for the dough to form a ball. When each piece has been formed into a ball, you are ready to shape the bagels.

6. Using your hands and a fair amount of pressure, roll each dough ball into a “rope” 8 to 10 inches long. (Moisten the work surface with a damp paper towel, if necessary, to get the necessary bite or friction). Slightly taper the rope at the ends so that they are thinner than the middle. Place one end of the dough between your thumb and forefinger and wrap it around your hand until the ends overlap in your palm; they should overlap by about 2 inches. Squeeze the overlapping ends together and then press the joined ends into the work surface, rolling them back and forth a few times until they are completely sealed.

7. Remove the dough from your hand and squeeze as necessary to even out the thickness so that there is a 2-inch hole in the center. Place the bagel on the prepared sheet pan. Repeat with the other pieces. Lightly wipe the bagels with oil, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight.

8. Remove the bagels from the refrigerator 90 minutes before you plan to bake them. Fill a large stockpot with 3 quarts of water (be sure the water is at least 4 inches deep), cover with a lid, and slowly bring the water to a boil. When it comes to a boil, add the remaining teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of baking soda, reduce the heat and simmer with the lid on.

9. Thirty minutes before baking, heat the oven to 500 degrees.

10. Test the bagels by placing one in a bowl of cold water. If it sinks and doesn’t float to the surface, return it to the sheet, wait 15 minutes and then test it again. When one bagel passes the float test, they are ready for the pot.

11. Gently lift each bagel and drop it into the simmering water. Add as many as will comfortably fit in the pot. After 1 minute, use a slotted spoon to flip each bagel over. Poach for an extra 30 seconds. Using the slotted spoon, remove each bagel and return it to the lined baking sheet. Continue until all the bagels have been poached. Generously sprinkle each bagel with a topping, except for cinnamon sugar (see note below).

12. Place the baking sheet in the oven and reduce the heat to 450 degrees. Bake for 8 minutes and then rotate the sheet (if using two sheets, also switch their positions). Check the underside of the bagels. If they are getting too dark, place another sheet under the baking sheet (i.e., double-pan it). Bake until the bagels are golden brown, an additional 8 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer the bagels to a rack for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Note: If using cinnamon sugar (1 part cinnamon to 5 parts granulated sugar), immediately brush the top of each hot bagel with melted butter and then generously sprinkle with the mixture so that it is coated. It will form a nice cinnamon crust as it cools.

Each of 8 servings: 226 calories; 7 grams protein; 46 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams fiber; 1 gram fat; 0 saturated fat; 0 cholesterol; 1,031 mg. sodium.

Step 3, the dough ball

Step 6, formed in O shape

Step 12, hot out of the oven

Homemade Butter by Daniel Leader, Fine Cooking, December 2011

Ingredients

Heavy Cream

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip 2 cups of heavy cream on medium speed until medium peaks form, about 3 minutes. Put a splatter guard on the bowl or drape a kitchen towel over the mixer and the bowl. Increase the speed to high and continue whipping until the solids separate from the buttermilk (you will hear sloshing), about 8 minutes.

Gather the butter into a ball and put it in a strainer. Rinse under cold water, squeezing with your hands, until the water runs clear, about 1 minute. Knead in 1/4 tsp. sea or kosher salt and shape the butter as you like. Pat it dry with a paper towel, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for up to a month.

Notes from Dawn: This is obviously super easy as long as you have a heavy duty mixer. 8 minutes is a long time to run a mixer not equipped for such work, so make sure your mixer is up to this task. It is also quite a mess. TOTALLY worth it, but be prepared to clean up a bit.

You’re probably thinking the picture below is not such a mess and I must be a total princess. Oh, you just wait! This is only the first part where it’s still glorified whipped cream.

Okay, was I lying? Isn’t that awful?

But the final product is so delicious and the perfect accompaniment to fresh baked bagels or bread. Voila!

My Easiest Recipe Yet: Hot Water in a Mug

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Around 2 pm yesterday, I was so cold I could hardly stand it. The weather has been wacky here in the Northeast: unseasonably warm, then cold, then warm again, then REALLY cold. I think the fluctuation has made it seem colder than it actually is. I’m not normally one to yammer on about the weather; just setting up the story here.

A less lazy person would have found a sweater or turned up the heat, but not me. I suddenly had a memory of Mom Mom drinking hot water. Just plain hot water. Even as a child, that seemed…I don’t know? Odd? Wrong? Icky? “Depression Era” wasn’t in my vocabulary back then, although I suppose a part of me felt like drinking plain hot water with nothing else in it was probably a poor person’s drink.

But it was 2:00 pm and coffee was out of the question for me. Tea didn’t sound good, either, since I am trying to cut back on sugar. So that left me with the obvious choice: Hot water, straight up, Mom Mom style! I heated up my electric tea kettle and poured the water into one of my rarely used (but oh so cute) Fiestaware tea cups. The hot water instantly warmed me. Not only did it warm me, it soothed me. It felt good. It felt right. I should have known Mom Mom knew what she was doing.

Mom Mom wasn’t a doctor, but she was certainly ahead of her time when it came to alternative health practices, and most of her information was from AM talk-radio show doctors she listened to religiously. She and Pop Pop took vitamins and supplements years before anyone else I knew. I can still picture all the vitamins lined up like little soldiers at her kitchen table: small ones, big ones, clear ones, dark ones…so, so many!

I hesitate to repeat any medical claims, but if you Google “benefits of drinking hot water,” you will find dozens of reasons to give this a try. It is important to note that you should never drink hot water straight from the tap, as it is not properly purified. Boil the water first, and then enjoy. If nothing else, it’s a nice post-holiday detox. This is only my second day, so I can’t share any life-changing claims just yet, but I promise to keep you posted on any progress worth noting.

Mom Mom’s Health Drink

Ingredients:

Water

Directions:

Bring to full boil. Enjoy in a mug or cute tea cup.