Magical Hot Cereal

While we're on the topic of magical breakfast items, there's this restaurant in Union Square called Neighborhood Restaurant & Bakery that serves the best Cream of Wheat I've ever tasted.  It's creamy and just the perfect sweetness with the added depth that comes from a pinch of salt.  There's a velvetiness that probably comes from cream and/or butter.  And then there's a bright note of citrus and the comfort of vanilla and cinnamon.

I've asked for the recipe, or at the very least the ingredients, but they've never shared it with me.  There's whole posts on Chowhound where people try to figure out what's in it.  After some experimentation, I think I've found a recipe and method that gets pretty close to the real thing.  I use Bob's Red Mill 7 Grain Hot Cereal instead of Cream of Wheat for some extra fiber and protein, but it turns out almost as creamy as Cream of Wheat due to the constant stirring and risotto-style method of adding small amounts of liquid when the previously added liquid has been absorbed.

I use terms like pinch and dash below because I'm not measuring any of the ingredients except the water and hot cereal when I make this for myself since the amounts are so small.  Just know that a dash is more than a pinch and you should be all set.

 
Magical Hot Cereal
makes 1 serving

3/4 cup water
1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill 7 Grain Hot Cereal
1/4 teaspoon orange rind, finely grated
1 dash kosher salt
1 dash ground cinnamon
1 pinch fresh ground nutmeg
4-5 tablespoons vanilla soy milk
2 drops vanilla extract
1 teaspoon butter (I've been using Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread)
2 tablespoons maple syrup

 
In a small pot, add orange rind to water and bring to a boil.

 
Add cereal, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg and reduce heat.

 
Stir while cooking and add the soy milk a tablespoon at a time when liquid has been fully absorbed by the cereal.

 
When the cereal is done, about 6 minutes, add vanilla extract, butter, and maple syrup.  Stir to mix and serve hot.

Note that while you can certainly leave out the butter, it just won't be as magical without it.

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Magical Cold Brew Coffee

 

One big change that happened this summer is that I got to start working from home full time.  When I was given the option, I hesitated at first because all I could think about was the fact that I wouldn't be able to get free coffee at work anymore.  It's not super great coffee or anything, but it's there.  And it's free.  And I need coffee in the morning.  Then I remembered cold brew coffee.

I've known about it since last summer when this article came out, but never got around to trying it out myself, mostly because I don't have any coffee filters.  Now that I had the motivation, I grabbed a box of filters from Trader Joe's and started cold brewing away.  I discovered that cold brew coffee was smoother than hot brewed coffee and super convenient to keep in the fridge for whenever I wanted some iced coffee.  Life was good.

Then I came across this recipe for Magical Coffee and my life changed.  This coffee isn't just good or better; this coffee is MAGICAL.  It's like there's a party in my cup and everyone is invited.  The flavors sing, the aromas dance.  I used to use coffee to wake me up in the morning.  Now I wake up in the morning to taste this coffee.

Magical Cold Brew Coffee
makes 2-3 servings

1/2 cup coffee beans
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 pinch fresh ground nutmeg (optional)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 cups water

Grind the coffee to a medium-fine texture (stop before you get to espresso fine).

In a French press, add the ground coffee, cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar.

Pour in 2 cups of cold water, stir, and wait 2 minutes for the coffee to float and "bloom".

Stir again and cover.  At this point you can put it in the fridge to steep or leave it on the counter at room temperature.  If I want to drink it in less than 8 hours, I'll leave it on the counter.  Let steep overnight or longer, up to 24 hours.

 
Press the grinds and pour through a coffee filter.  You can store this coffee base in the refrigerator for a week.

To serve, pour over ice cubes and add cream, milk, or half & half if you like.  I prefer vanilla soymilk.

Die of happiness.

I tweaked the proportions a bit from the original recipe because I like to add a lot of soymilk to my coffee so I wanted the coffee base to be a little stronger.  Now that it's getting colder, I may end up using the French press to brew hot coffee but I'll still probably add the cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar.

Check out how to make magical pumpkin spice latte here!

Update:  I just tried making this with a small handful of torn mint leaves, and it totally reminds me of Philz' Mint Mojito Iced Coffee!

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Banana Bread Yeasted Waffles

When I was originally looking for yeasted waffle recipes, I stumbled across this one for Banana Bread Waffles. I know, right? What an awesomely yummy idea! The more I thought about it, the more I was tempted to skip the waffle face off and just make these. But ordinances must be followed, so I saved this one for last. The only thing I changed was that I added some walnut pieces to the batter right before cooking since I had some lying around, and since I didn't have ground ginger or ground cloves, I added a pinch of allspice. Oh, and I halved the original recipe since I only had 2 bananas.

Banana Bread Yeasted Waffles (from seven spoons)
makes 2-3 servings

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tablespoon dark brown sugar, packed
3/4 teaspoons yeast
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Pinch of allspice
1 egg, beaten lightly
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana, about 1 1/2 bananas
1 tablespoon Greek yogurt
1/4 cup walnut pieces (optional)

In a small bowl, whisk together the butter, milk and vanilla. Set aside, the mixture should be warm but not hot.

In a large mixing bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, brown sugar, yeast, salt and spices. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, whisking until smooth. Stir in the beaten eggs. Cover the bowl loosely and refrigerate for at least 12 hours, but up to 24.

About 30 minutes before you want to make waffles, take the batter out of the refrigerator to come up to room temperature slightly. It should be doubled in size and the surface will be covered in bubbles.

When ready to begin, stir the sour cream into the mashed bananas and then mix the fruit and walnuts (if using) into the batter. It will deflate, but use a light, quick hand to thoroughly combine.

Heat your waffle iron and bake the waffles as per the manufacturer's instruction.

Serve with maple syrup and additional slices of fresh bananas and walnuts, if desired.

Leftovers can be frozen and then reheated in a toaster or in an oven; keep the heat low and an eye on them though, they brown quickly.

I found that I needed more than 30 minutes at room temperature for the batter to double, so I stuck it in a slightly warm oven for 15 minutes. In the end, I found these waffles to be more soft than crispy and the flavor wasn't very memorable. In fact, right now I'm thinking that griddling a slice of real banana bread on a waffle iron might be even better....

One year ago:  Nian Gao (Mochi Cake), Red Bean Ice Cream

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Homemade Waffle Face Off

Ever since I tried my first Belgian waffle (with real pearl sugar!) from Mr. Crepes a few weeks ago, I've been wanting to make some waffles. My friend, Nicole, had left me her waffle maker when she moved away this past summer and I had yet to break it out. I was hoping to buy some pearl sugar from Mr. Crepes, but it turns out they no longer sell it there. So I settled for making regular waffles. But oh my, the many different "regular" waffle recipes that existed! I browsed through the waffles on TasteSpotting, The Kitchn, and looked up Alton Brown's recipe. I remembered an episode from Good Eats when he explained that the batter you want for pancakes and the batter you want for waffles are two completely different things since pancakes should be soft and fluffy and waffles should be crispy on the outside. Unfortunately, his recipe for the Basic Waffle included buttermilk as an ingredient, and I didn't really feel like buying something I don't usually use just to make this. But then I found a recipe titled, "Waffle of Insane Greatness". How could you not want to make those?

And then while talking to my friend, Helena, about my plan to make waffles, she recommended Mark Bittman's recipe for Overnight Waffles from How to Cook Everything (thank you, Ellen!), saying they were the best waffles she had ever had. That's when I decided it was time for another face off: Yeasted vs. non-yeasted waffles.

Obviously, as you can tell from the title, the Overnight Waffles need to be started the night before to give the yeast time to do it's thing. There are several steps to the recipe, and I followed everything to the letter (including separating the egg and whipping up the egg whites; is there anything more satisfying than whipping egg whites up to a soft peak by hand?) except that I halved the recipe. Hopefully it didn't alter the outcome too much.

Overnight Waffles (based on Mark Bittman's recipe from How to Cook Everything)
makes 2-3 servings

1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Canola oil (for brushing on waffle iron)
1 egg

The night before, combine dry ingredients and stir in the milk, then butter and vanilla. The mixture will be loose and creamy. Cover and set aside overnight at room temperature.

The next morning, brush the waffle iron lightly with oil and preheat. Separate the egg and stir the egg yolk into the batter. Beat the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Fold them gently into the batter.

Pour the batter onto the waffle iron just until the barely covered. Bake 3 to 5 minutes, depending on your iron. Serve immediately with maple syrup and butter.

I thought it was interesting that in the book, Mark mentions that his favorite type of maple syrup is Grade B which is also the cheapest. Maple syrup is pretty darn expensive even up here in New England, but I found that Harvest sells Grade B maple syrup in bulk!

It looks like the "Waffle of Insane Greatness" recipe is from a restaurant called Aretha Frankenstein's in Tennessee. I have a feeling I will never get to go and try the originals, but having the recipe is good enough for me.

Waffle of Insane Greatness (courtesy of the Food Network and Aretha Frankenstein's)
makes 4 servings

3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; mix well. Add the milk, vegetable oil, egg, sugar, and vanilla and mix well. Let the batter sit for 30 minutes.

Preheat the waffle iron. Do not use non-stick spray on the waffle iron; the oil in the batter will allow the waffle to release easily. Follow the directions on your waffle iron to cook the waffles. Serve immediately with butter and syrup.

It's true about not needing to grease the waffle iron for these. If you let the batter sit long enough, the oil will even start to separate. If that happens, just stir the batter again and the oil will re-incorporate. I chose not to halve this recipe because it would've been a lot harder to do so and also because it seemed like the main ingredients (flour, milk, oil, and egg) were almost identical in quantity.

As you can see from the pictures above, the Waffle of Insane Greatness browned more uniformly and had a more defined shape. This translated into a crisper waffle. It also had an eggier taste than the Overnight Waffles which I thought had a pretty strong yeasty taste. The texture of the Overnight Waffles was definitely fluffier but I didn't really get the crispiness.

I decided to try to make them side by side so that they had the same amount of time on the iron. Again you can see (below) that the Waffle of Insane Greatness had a more defined shape and that the Overnight Waffles had more air bubbles, but now you can see that the Overnight Waffles actually brown quicker than the Waffle of Insane Greatness. (Please ignore the fact that there are holes in the Waffle of Insane Greatness; that's more due to user error as you can see in the picture with the waffle iron.)

Personally, I had a slight preference for the Waffle of Insane Greatness because it was able to get the crispy texture I wanted. Too many air bubbles in the Overnight Waffles meant it absorbed the maple syrup like a sponge and got way too soggy way too fast. Also, I thought the yeasty taste was a little too strong for me. One of my roommates preferred the Overnight Waffles, though, and my other roommate's sister preferred the Waffle of Insane Greatness.

As a final experiment, I mixed the last of both batters together and made an Overnight Waffle of Insane Greatness. This turned out to be the perfect waffle for me. The yeasty flavor was neutralized and turned into a more malted flavor. The waffle was crispier and had less air bubbles than the Overnight Waffles but was fluffier than the regular Waffle of Insane Greatness. If I ever really, really wanted to make the perfect waffle, I would make these two recipes and combine them again. But being the lazy person I am, I'll probably just make the Waffles of Insane Greatness again and maybe try separating the egg and whipping up the egg whites before folding them in.

One year ago:  Hot Pot, Tang Yuan

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Homemade Banana-Sweetened Granola

I'm lucky enough to work at a place that supplies free milk (skim, 2%, and whole!) so my breakfast each weekday morning is usually some type of cereal and milk. I never considered making my own granola before, though, because I remember all the hype when I was younger about how much sugar and fat is in granola. Then I came across this recipe for banana-sweetened granola that seemed too good to be true. Not only did the recipe not contain any sugar (using a banana and some maple syrup-or in my case, honey, because I didn't have any maple syrup-as sweeteners) but it also didn't list oil as an ingredient (although the almonds, flax seeds, and shredded coconut that I added contain natural fats). I don't know how this compares to homemade granola that uses sugar and oil, but I do know that this was good enough to eat as breakfast for a whole week!

Homemade Banana-Sweetened Granola (based on this recipe at Delicious By Nature)

makes about 6 servings

1 ripe or frozen banana
3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup almonds, chopped
1 cup shredded coconut
2 tablespoons flax seeds
1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Using a blender, blend together banana, water, honey, cinnamon, vanilla, and sea salt until very smooth.

Toss banana puree together with rolled oats and nuts. Lay everything out in a single layer on a tinfoil lined baking pan (it may stick a little). Bake for 40 minutes until oats are starting to brown. Stir 4 times throughout, breaking up any clumps that are forming.

Add shredded coconut when there are 12 minutes left of baking time to lightly toast.

Remove from oven and add the flax seeds and raisins. Serve with milk or yogurt or as a snack on its own.

Feel free to substitute different nuts, seeds, and dried fruits if you like. I just added the shredded coconut because I still had some leftover from making the Samoa cupcakes and the raisins from making the carrot cake ice cream.

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Bacon and Egg Bunny Buns

When I first saw these on Tastespotting, I just knew I had to make them, and what better venue for some bunny buns than an Easter brunch? The recipe seemed a little different from the one I use for hua juan, but I decided to follow it exactly. The only change I made was that I used scallions instead of chives in the bacon egg mixture and used ice cream sprinkles instead of eyes for the chives.

Bacon and Egg Bunny Buns (based on this recipe from justhungry.com)
makes 12 buns

For the dough:

400 g all-purpose white flour
1 packet (7g) instant dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
220 ml warm water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
extra flour for rolling out

For the filling:

2 slices bacon
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoo sugar
1 teaspoon rice wine
1 tablespoons scallions, finely chopped

In a large bowl mix the dry ingredients for the dough together. Add the warm water a little at a time, mixing all the time, until it forms a shaggy ball. Add the oil and knead in the bowl until the dough cleans the sides. Place on a board (lightly floured if necessary) and knead until smooth. Form into a ball, place back in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Leave until risen to about 2 1/2 times its original size, about 1 hour.

In the meantime, make the filling. In a dry non-stick frying pan, fry the the bacon bits until crispy but not too black. Drain well on a paper towel and crumble once cooled.

Mix together the egg, soy sauce, sugar and rice wine. In the same non-stick frying pan (i.e. in the bacon grease), mix the egg around to make scrambled eggs that are firm but not hard (take off the heat while still soft and they’ll continue to cook to the ideal firmness). Add the scallions and bacon at the end and mix well. Let cool to room temperature.

Punch down the risen dough, roll into a snake and cut into 12 equal pieces. Make each piece into a small, smooth ball. Cover with a dampened kitchen towel and let rest for about 15 minutes.

Cut parchment paper into twelve 4" or so sized squares.

Make ready the steaming equipment.

Flatten a dough ball to about 5" in diameter, making the edges thinner than the middle part.

Place about 1 teaspoon of the filling in the middle of the dough circle. Don’t try to overfill or you will have trouble closing up the dough.

Gather up the dough around the filling, pinching to seal well. The dough should be moist enough to form a good seal, but if not brush the edges with the tiny bit of water and pinch closed again.

Flip the bun over, and form into a longish oval shape, rounding out any bumps if needed. Look at the bun and decide which end looks best as the ‘face’ of the bunny.

Lay a pair of clean, sharp scissors almost flat against the top of the bun lengthwise. The points should aim for about 1/3 from the ‘face’ end of the bun. Snip two ‘ears’, taking care not to cut through the dough so the filling is exposed.

To make the eyes, poke small holes with a chopstick end and poke in an ice cream sprinkle in each hole. Don’t go too deep! (If you are in a hurry, just poke the holes and skip the chives.)

Place each bun on a piece of parchment paper, and place in a steamer well apart (they will puff up to about twice the size, and any touching parts will not be smooth). Steam for about 20 minutes. Eat while piping hot.

I found that the dough came out a bit more dry than what I am used to, and as Annie put it, "there is a flavor to the dough". I agreed and thought it tasted like sandwich bread. This isn't exactly a bad thing, it's just not what is expected from a steamed bun. If I were to make these again, I'd definitely try it with the dough I use for hua juan. Also, I'm not so sure I like the soy sauce added to the scrambled eggs; I think the bacon makes it salty enough, and I'd prefer the color of normal scrambled eggs rather than kind of brownish eggs that were in these. Lastly, I'd definitely not use the ice cream sprinkles for the eys next time. As you can see, the color started running when they were steamed, and they kind of look like goth bunnies or Bunnicula.

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Dutch Babies

On snowy days like this when I get to work from home or on a lazy Saturday morning I like to treat myself and make a Dutch baby. Ellen first told me about these puffy pancakes and waxed poetically about how good they were. It wasn't until I was in Ft. Lauderdale with Angela that I got myself to Original Pancake House and finally tried one. We also ordered their other specialty, the Apple Pancake, but compared to that sugar-laden monstrosity, the Dutch baby was clearly the superior.
The Dutch baby contains a lot of egg in its batter and is baked in the oven in a skillet so that it rises to heights never before seen by any other pancake and finally settles down into a custardy shell ready to be topped with powdered sugar, fresh lemon juice, and melted butter. I actually forgo the additional melted butter don't let that stop you from trying it.
When I went looking for the recipe on-line to try to make myself I found two delightful blogs about it: this one from Orangette, who is one of my favorite food writers, and this one from Steamy Kitchen which showcases her adorable sons making the simple recipe. Notice that the latter is called a German Oven Pancake; I believe the Dutch moniker arose from a bastardization of the word Deutsch, which is German for German (yay for 3 years of high school German!). I chose to make the latter simply because I don't usually have half and half in the fridge unless I am making ice cream. I use a Calphalon Everyday Pan for this; make sure that whatever pan or skillet you use is oven safe. In other words, if there are any plastic bits, don't put it in the oven!

With this recipe we come across the same issue as with the nian gao recipe, namely, how to mix raw eggs, milk, and melted butter together without either cooking the eggs with the melted butter or solidifying the melted butter with cold milk. My solution is to use very warm milk--not hot enough cook the eggs and at the same time not cold enough to solidify the butter.

Dutch Baby (adapted from here)
makes one pancake

1/3 cup of all-purpose flour, sifted
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup milk
1 1/3 tablespoons melted butter
2/3 tablespoon sugar
1/6 teaspoon of salt

Lemon juice
Powdered sugar
Blueberries (optional)
Melted butter (optional)

Preheat oven to 450 °F.

Lightly beat eggs in a large bowl. In a glass measuring cup, heat the milk in the microwave for 30 seconds so that it is very warm but not too hot. Add to the eggs. In the same measuring cup, melt the butter in the microwave for 30 seconds. Add to the milk and eggs and stir. Add salt and sugar.

Gradually add flour to egg mixture, a spoonful at a time and whisk to incorporate until there are no lumps left.

Lightly spray a 9" oven-safe skillet with cooking spray. Pour batter in the skillet. Bake 12-18 minutes, just until the edges are golden. Check your pancake at the 12 minute mark.

Remove from oven and set on a trivet. Serve hot and top with lemon juice, powdered sugar, blueberries, and melted butter, if desired.

I've also seen posts where people have topped theirs with apples and cinnamon or caramelized pears, but I prefer the simple tartness of lemons and blueberries. Eating a Dutch baby requires some care, not only because the pan will be quite hot, but also because if you breathe in while bringing a piece into your mouth, you're likely to inhale quite a lot of powdered sugar.

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