Molly Sheridan
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Leave the Light On: To Saugerties Lighthouse

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November 28, 2011 By In the rabbit hole

Even though my first viewing of the children’s film Pete’s Dragon left me inconsolable for days (Disney films were a bit darker in 1977), its setting also sparked in me a great love for lighthouses. That bit of personal history might have added an extra gloss of romance and nostalgia to our visit to New York’s Saugerties Lighthouse, but the place certainly didn’t need it. The restored 1869 structure sits in the Hudson River at the mouth of Esopus Creek, and we had a perfectly clear and crisp-but-not-cold November weekend to enjoy the views and the grounds. When we tired of that, the coal-burning stove in the sitting room invited us to camp out on the sofa and read the afternoon away.

Path to Saugerties Lighthouse, November 2011

An easy (though sometimes muddy) hike along a 1/2 mile trail through a wood and along the shoreline leads the way to Saugerties Lighthouse.

View from the path to Saugerties Lighthouse, November 2011

View from the path to Saugerties Lighthouse

View from the path to Saugerties Lighthouse, November 2011

View from the path to Saugerties Lighthouse

Saugerties Lighthouse in the morning sun, November 2011

Saugerties Lighthouse in the morning sun

While in town, we also enjoyed an amazing supper at Miss Lucy’s Kitchen and lighthouse keeper Patrick Landewe was kind enough to make the coffee the next morning. He also produced a lovely breakfast of scrambled eggs and pancakes topped with stewed apples, all made on a stove that had clearly attended a few breakfasts across the decades. Meanwhile, I coveted the fridge, which might not have been all that energy efficient, but made up for it in charm.

Saugerties Lighthouse kitchen

Saugerties Lighthouse kitchen

We also had the chance to check out the lighthouse museum and to climb up inside the tower during our visit, but you can catch the views at home thanks to a webcam that streams live footage. In another mark of the 21st century on this otherwise historically preserved and reconstructed space, whale oil has been forsaken and the light is now solar powered.

Tower Views at Saugerties Lighthouse

Tower Views at Saugerties Lighthouse

The bed was soft, the night was long, and we left ready if not exactly willing to return to our own post-holiday reality. If you’d like to check out more photos of this glorious place, you can view a few more of my shots here or go directly to the lighthouse site to plan a visit.

Pecan and Whipped Cream Cake (Twitter Made Me Bake It Edition)

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November 23, 2011 By In eat me, sweets

Even though my professional life revolves around creating multimedia content for websites, I am a social media skeptic. I don’t know why I’m so contrary, but there it is. So when we were assembling Wonderland Kitchen and Brian twisted my arm to adopt my @wonderlandk handle, I’ll admit that I was a reluctant Tweeter. Still, I picked out a few foodies to follow, and enjoyed lurking in the digital shadows, checking in on their chatter and lovely recipes from time to time. When one particularly delicious blogger announced his latest cake creation, I threw in my first comment:

I promptly wondered why I’d bothered. Then, a few seconds later, a response popped up:

We went back and forth like that a few more times, and even though it was about a minute of total mental effort, it stuck with me afterward. Here we were, two strangers unlikely to have otherwise ever traded a word in our lifetimes, suddenly connected by cake. It was sweet, simple, and only existentially soul-shaking if you stared at it too hard. (Ahem.)

Flash forward to today, and I made this cake, and @rvank sent his good wishes, and now I’ll take it along, over river/through woods, to the Thanksgiving feast we plan to share with our family tomorrow. The world feels a little closer, a little warmer as a result of these casual connections, so a shout from Wonderland to everyone out there reading and cooking this weekend: We here in this kitchen raise a glass to you and yours, wishing you all the best as we celebrate the bounty of the season.

And now, the cake! This recipe reminds me how much more I love baking when you can weigh your ingredients. So pull out your kitchen scale and let’s get to it. Thanksgiving is only a few hours away!

Pecan and Whipped Cream Cake

adapted by Chasing Delicious from a Bo Friberg recipe (Thanks to @rvank for the recipe and inspiring my purchase of a cake carrier to protect it during transport.)

4 ounces pecans
1 ounce powdered sugar
5 ounces bread flour
4 ounces cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups heavy cream
11 ounces granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter and flour a bundt pan.

Place pecans and powdered sugar together in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until nuts are broken down just a bit rougher than a meal. Transfer to a medium-sized bowl, and add in the flours, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine and set aside.

In a second bowl, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

In a third bowl, beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla together for several minutes. Then, using a wide spatula, fold half of the dry ingredients into the egg/sugar mixture, followed by half of the whipped cream. Repeat the process again with the remaining portions of each, fully incorporating but taking care not to over-mix and deflate the batter.

Pour into the prepared bundt pan and smooth with the spatula. Place in the preheated oven and immediately reduce the baking temperature to 325°F.* Bake for 45-50 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the cake won’t be clean, should come out with crumbs sticking to it, not raw batter. Cool on a rack, then loosen and turn out onto your serving platter. It should fall right out, but a light dusting of powdered sugar will disguise most removal-inflicted scars.

*I forgot this step and found myself flying back down the stairs five minutes later. Disaster averted, I still ended up baking my cake for closer to 53 minutes, which is typical of my oven. Here’s hoping I judged correctly; bread I have down, but cakes still make me nervous.

Epic Feast: Giving Thanks in Advance

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November 21, 2011 By In breads & breakfast, eat me, mains, sides, soups

I’d like to slip in an early “I’m thankful for…” acknowledgement to say that I’m thankful for cozy weekends at home with family and friends. It probably seems like a ridiculously simple thing, but a concentrated stretch of “closed laptop/turned off work life” and some steady human interaction provides powerful recalibration in life. My own priorities realigned, I was back at my desk this morning with fresh focus and a smile on my face.

That in our house the embrace of these warm and comforting times usually centered around the kitchen is probably not a shocker, and Brian and I decided to throw a little pre-Thanksgiving feast on Sunday evening to cap it all off. There was food and food and more food, plus three wines to pair it up with. We may just have to make a habit of this: Sunday Suppers in Wonderland, anyone? I think I smell a 2012 project coming on…

So anyway, a plan was hatched.

The Menu

The food:

Spinach Salad with Bosch Pears, Cranberries, Red Onion, and Toasted Pecans w/goat cheese rounds rolled in pepitas (a riff off of this)

Kaddo Bowrani (Baked Pumpkin) from The Helmand Restaurant (secret recipe revealed to the world thanks to this)

Roasted Parsnip and Pear Soup (a decadent, non-vegan variation on this)

Cheddar and Dill Biscuits (pretty much these, but sans bacon)

Roast Chicken Provençal (Brian made this as outlined, while I subscribed to the blog that provided the recipe, because it’s amazingly lovely.)

Simmered Root Vegetables with Swiss Chard (more or less this, though we only used kale, carrots, and potatoes. It was fairly plain, so next time I think I’ll do a version of the the pot pie gravy and filling instead)

The wines:

2011 Georges Deboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau
2009 Perrin & Fils Cotes de Rhone Villages
2008 Domaine de Ferrand Chateauneuf-du-Pape

Not a dud in the bunch. We enjoyed them all and they complimented the food (right down to the Lake Champlain truffles we ended the night on) perfectly.

 

***

And now, a sampling of the recipes. The rest were so close to the linked originals above that they don’t seem to bear repeating.

Roasted Parsnip and Pear Soup
adapted from Vegan Workshop

3 large parsnips, peeled and cubed
2 medium pears, cored and cubed
1 small onion or a few shallots, peeled and quartered
2 T hazelnut oil
1/2 cup whole milk
2 T maple syrup
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Place parsnip, pear, and onion chunks on a large baking sheet (I line mine with foil first for easy clean up). Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to evenly coat.

Roast the fruit and vegetables for about 40 minutes, stirring halfway through for even browning.

About 15 minutes before roasting is complete, bring 5 cups of vegetable broth and 1 bay leaf to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Add roasted fruit and vegetables and leave to simmer 10 minutes more. Remove bay leaf and puree the soup. Stir in milk and maple syrup. Add additional vegetable broth or milk to thin to desired consistency, and adjust seasoning to taste.

Kaddo Bowrani (Baked Pumpkin)
from The Helmand Restaurant in Baltimore (via the Baltimore Sun)

1 small pumpkin
3/4 cup sugar (Overwhelmed by this amount, I used a lot less sugar–a 1/4 cup, if that–but then found the dish lacking. Still, that’s a lot of sugar, so more experiments will be needed. I think I’ll give brown sugar a try next.)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
cinnamon
1 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
Dash salt

Remove seeds and peel pumpkin. Slice remaining flesh top to bottom into 2-inch crescents. In a large, oven-safe sautée pan with a lid, heat oil and add pumpkin. Cook on medium covered for 10 minutes, flipping slices over with tongs halfway through. Remove from heat and sprinkle the pumpkin with the sugar and cinnamon. Replace lid and bake at 350°F for 20 minutes or until soft.

Stir yogurt, garlic, and salt together until smooth. Plate warm pumpkin, drizzle with yogurt sauce, and serve immediately.

Cheddar and Dill Biscuits
adapted from Bon Appétit

3 3/4 cups bread flour
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup chilled unsalted butter
2 1/2 cups coarsely grated sharp cheddar cheese (about 12 ounces)
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1 3/4 cups chilled buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the bowl of a food processor and pulse several times to mix. Cube up the butter and add to the flour mixture, pulsing again until butter is reduced to small bits. Place this mixture in a large bowl, along with cheese and dill. Toss with fork to evenly incorporate. Pour in buttermilk while stirring and mix just enough to wet all ingredients and produce a sticky dough.

Pull off small handfuls (approx. 1/4 cup) of the shaggy dough with your fingers and drop onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake biscuits until golden, about 18 to 20 minutes.

A feast shared and well enjoyed.

A feast shared and well enjoyed.

The Queen of Green: Fresh Cilantro Chutney

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November 17, 2011 By In condiments & pickles, eat me

Even before I was addicted to that amazing spicy tomato jam, I had a thing for savory yet unconventional condiments. Many years ago when I lived in Jackson Heights, Queens, I purchased almost all of my groceries at the Indian shop on the corner. As a result, it was not unusual for me to cart home 10 lbs. bags of rice, bottles of imported shampoo, and parathas from the frozen food case. Of my many exotic discoveries, however, my favorite by far was a shockingly bright condiment: cilantro chutney. If you’re in the “cilantro tastes like soap” camp, this may not win you over, but for me it was love.

When I moved out of that apartment, I feared that this affair was doomed, but as it turns out it was a simple enough thing to make at home. Good thing, too, since once I have a jar within reach, I find myself slathering it on everything I eat. Your sandwiches will never be the same!

Fresh Cilantro Chutney
adapted from Manjula’s Kitchen

Fresh Cilantro Chutney: Process

1 large bunch cilantro, washed well (no need to remove stems unless they are particularly thick and woody)
3 green chilies, split and seeds removed unless you can stand the heat
2 tsps. minced ginger
3 T lemon juice
1 tsp. canola oil
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. whole cumin seeds
Pinch of asafetida

Place all ingredients except for the cilantro in the bowl of a food processor and blend for a minute or so, until peppers are well minced. Add the cilantro (in batches, if needed) and continue to process until all ingredients are evenly incorporated. Adjust seasoning as needed.

A Vegetarian At Thanksgiving

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November 13, 2011 By In breads & breakfast, eat me

Even though I’m a vegetarian, as a fan of all things cooking and presentation, holiday meals are high priority–even ones designed around a dressed up roasted bird (or perhaps bourbon brined and fried?). Over the years as an invited guest at the feasts of others, I’ve contributed my share of wild rice and dried fruit side dishes or defaulted to pie baking duty. Considering 2011 has been my year of bread, however, for this year’s round I went looking for an appropriate holiday loaf.

Which brings me to my second “even though,” because even though I am not Jewish, I have been addicted to braiding up dough ever since trying my hand at challah–and I haven’t even gotten to the double-decker celebration version yet!

All of this preamble gets us around to how I ended up landing on this King Arthur recipe for Holiday Pumpkin Bread and declaring it a perfect candidate. Featuring fall flavors, it’s not too sweet yet unusual enough to stand out, plus its round celebratory braid reinforces the sentiment of love and community gathered around the table for more than just an average Thursday night meal.

I found the construction of the bread to be straightforward, and even mixing the somewhat sticky dough was a snap since I just piled all the ingredients in a bowl and let my stand mixer go to work. Most of the required investment is simply in time while waiting out the two rises. A little oil on your hands and your counter space keeps the soft dough from adhering to anything while forming the circular braid, and the lovely smells of pumpkin and spice even before the baking begins are enough to keep the baker motivated. Once the rounds hit the oven, good luck keeping attracted family members from devouring them before your holiday meal. Luckily, the recipe makes two loaves.

On a personal note, a nifty thing I discovered as a result of my broken oven and the paging through the instruction manual I did in an attempt to troubleshoot: this appliance is way fancier than I realized when we moved in and it even has a proofing feature! This is going to make winter bread baking–which can be a little tricky in our sometimes drafty, radiator-heated home–a lot more efficient. I bet this might work for yogurt making as well…

Spiced Pumpkin Celebration Bread
adapted from King Arthur Flour

20 oz (4 3/4 cups) AP flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 1/2 ounces (1/3 cup) brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon instant yeast
15-ounce can pumpkin
2 large eggs
1/4 cup melted butter

*additional egg, beaten with water as needed, for egg wash

Place all the ingredients (except for the egg wash) in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and mix and knead until smooth. The dough is somewhat sticky, but take care not to add too much additional flour so that the bread remains moist and light. Transfer to an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for about 90 minutes.

Once dough has puffed up (but not really doubled) lightly oil your workspace and hands and divide the dough into six even pieces. Working with three at a time, roll each into a log about 1.5 inches thick and braid, pulling the loaf into a round and joining the individual ends together. Lightly oil a 9-inch cake pan and place the braid in the center. Repeat the process with the remaining dough, then cover both with a sheet of greased plastic wrap. Allow to rise again, 60-90 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. When second rise is complete, gently remove plastic and brush each loaf with the egg wash. Bake for 30 minutes until golden (or until the center of the dough registers 190°F). Remove loaves from the pans and place on a wire rack. Cool completely before slicing.

***I’m not sure this recipe meets the requirements for Cathy Elton’s call for heart healthy T-day recipes, but at least it’s homemade so no weird additives! If you’ve come to Wonderland looking for such nutrition-conscious festive dishes, perhaps a batch of Celeriac and Lentils with Hazelnut and Mint will suit.

Nostalgia for the Cookie Jar

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November 9, 2011 By In eat me, sweets

Even though it’s easy for me to ask for the check and skip the dessert menu, I do have a twinge of nostalgia when it comes to the cookie jar. A kind, grandmotherly sort of woman who used to live across the street from me when I was but a grade-schooler would often indulge my precocious conversation and offer me my choice of vanilla or chocolate sandwich cookie from the container she kept on her kitchen counter. She also gave me a small china statue of the Virgin Mary which I still cherish well into adulthood and well past my Catholicism, but I have to say, I miss her cookie jar.

However, I’m reliving some of that related joy this week. A friend gifted me a nifty little recipe book that boasts 100 variations on a basic butter cookie dough, and I wanted to make a batch for her in appreciation of her thoughtfulness. Though I was initially attracted to some of the more complex examples, in the end I settled on this simpler cashew and poppy seed slice-and-bake treat, which turns out a cookie that I’d call “bonus shortbread.” Not too sweet, and a perfect partner for afternoon tea and conversation. I put some of them in a tin right beside my kettle where they look quite at home.

Cashew and Poppy Seed Cookies
from 1 Dough, 100 Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
3/4 sugar
1 egg yolk
2 1/2 cups AP flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of salt
1 cup cashews, chopped
3 T poppy seeds (or enough to coat outside edge of cookies)

Cashew and Poppy Seed Cookies: Process

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, salt, and nuts. Set aside.

Cream together butter and sugar. Add egg yolk and continue mixing until well combined. Add in flour/nut mixture in two batches. Dough should be stiff enough to form into a log (take care not to leave an air pocket in the middle as I did). Spread poppy seeds in a shallow dish and roll the log through them to coat. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate for 60 minutes or until firm.

Preheat over to 375°F.

Remove chilled dough from plastic and slice into 1/2-inch rounds. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets and bake for 12 minutes, until lightly golden at the edges (I did not get much color, so don’t wait on this). Allow to cool for 10 minutes on the sheets before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.