Gingersnaps!

I don't bake much.  But for some reason, around Christmas, I feel the urge to get in the kitchen.  The other night, I decided to make some gingersnaps.  They came out pretty well, although I think they could be even more ginger-y.  A coworker suggested fresh ginger, which I just might try next time - yes, there will be a next time, as they are almost gone already!

3/4 cup unsalted butter
1 cup packed brown sugar (most recipes call for dark, but all I had on had was light, so that's what I used)
1/4 cup unsulphured molasses
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp crystalized ginger
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp allspice
Sugar for coating (about 1/2 cup is enough)

• Mix all dry ingredients in a medium size bowl and set aside.
• Combine sugar and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix about 2-3 minutes, till well incorporated.  Scrape down sides of bowl. 
• Add molasses, egg, and vanilla, and beat until light and fluffy.
• Incorporate flour mixture on very slow speed and mix until just combined.
• Place bowl in refrigerator for about 1 hour so dough is easier to handle.
• Preheat oven to 350.
• Roll dough into 1" diameter balls, or use a small scooper (this way your hands will not get all sticky!)
• Drop balls into small bowl of sugar and roll around to coat.
• Place on silicone baking sheet, or parchment paper, on a cookie sheet.
• Bake for about 12-15 minutes (I took mine out at 12 so that they were still a little soft - leave them in longer for a crunchier cookie)
• Cool on a wire rack
• EAT!

*note - I returned the bowl of dough to the fridge in between batches to keep it from getting too sticky.

Crackers

Parmigiano Rosemary Crackers

I have recently discovered the joy of making crackers at home.  Worried that I was eating too much processed food and too many salty snacks, I set out to find a recipe for homemade crackers.  I found one that tasted good, but was missing that crunch of a store bought cracker.  Then I found these on a blog - I could not believe how easy they were, and how crispy they turn out - just like a real cracker!  I've made some slight adjustments, and have tried several versions with different things added.  For the ones I made last night, I added some grated parmigiano reggiano, chopped fresh rosemary, and cracked black pepper to the dry ingredients.  For a Spanish themed dinner, I made some sprinkled with Spanish Pimenton before baking.  They are sooooo yummy!  Here's the basic recipe - I usually cut it in half because it really makes a lot.

1 1/2 cups semolina flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1 cup warm water
1/3 cup olive oil

Whisk together the flour and salt (and any other dry ingredients you want to add for flavoring) in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.  Add the water and olive oil.  Mix at medium speed for about 7 minutes (or knead by hand if you don't have a stand mixer).  Dough should not be sticky, but not too dry either.  It will feel a bit like a pizza dough.  Divide the dough into 8 balls, coat each ball lightly with olive oil, cover, and let rest for about an hour.

Heat oven to 450.  Flour a cutting board or other surface (I simply use my granite counter top).  Take one of the dough balls and flatten out into a disc.  Run through a pasta machine on setting number 1 (if you don't have a pasta machine, you can just roll out the dough, but try to get it as thin as you can - about 1/16 of an inch).  Continue to pass through the pasta machine until you get to number 3 or 4.  I have a great pasta attachment for my stand mixer - makes the rolling much easier than a manual machine because it leaves both hands free to handle the dough.  Once you have a very thin sheet, add any additional toppings you wish to add (I usually use a flaked sea salt), prick all over with a fork to prevent puffing up of the dough, cut into squares, rectangles, or whatever shapes you want.  I use a ravioli cutter to give them a fun edge, but you can just use a knife, a pizza cutter, whatever.  Carefully transfer to a floured baking sheet, or a baking sheet lined with a Silpat liner.  Bake for about 8-10 minutes.  Watch them carefully, as they can go from golden to burnt very quickly.  When they are a beautiful golden brown, remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack.  They will cool down very quickly - usually by the time your next batch is done baking.

Back again!!

So much has happened since I last posted here.  One big change is my new job - I'm now working for Veritable Vegetable, the nation's oldest Organic Produce Distributor.  As you can imagine, this has given me access to all sorts of wonderful produce.  I'm organizing my life in many ways, and one of those is to try again to post regularly on here and make this into something....  so here we go.

One thing that I was thrilled to find at work were these - fresh Cranberry Beans.  I've often used the dried or canned variety, but had never even seen them fresh like this.  So I recently brought a bunch home and made a soup.

Cranberry Beans in their pods

I sat down with this bowl full of beans, and an empty bowl, and the Food Network on TV.  Much like shelling peas, you just snap one end and expose the pretty beans inside:

After an episode of Anne Burrell, here's what I ended up with - about 4 cups of shelled beans.

Shelled beans

Unfortunately, after cooking they loose their unique coloring, but the creamy texture more than makes up for this.  So then it was time to start the soup.  With no real recipe to go by, here's what I did:

Mirepoix

All of my soups start with a mirepoix (2 parts chopped onion, 1 part chopped celery, 1 part chopped carrots) and a large, heavy soup pot.  My favorite is a 5 1/2 quart Le Creuset that I got for my birthday one year.  Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in the pot, add the mirepoix, a little bit of salt, and cook until soft, about 8-10 minutes.  Then I added the shelled beans, about 1/2 can of chopped San Marzano tomatoes (I had some leftover from the previous night's dinner) and about 4 cups of chicken stock, and a sprig of sage.  Oh, and I tossed in some parmesan cheese rinds that I had in the fridge.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer.  No salt at this time because it can make the skins of the beans tough.  I cooked the soup for a couple of hours, occasionally adding more water if the level got too low.  Once the beans were super tender and all the flavors had time to really come together, I decided to add some Rainbow Chard that I had in the fridge.  After washing, I cut out the stalks and chopped them up - added to the soup and cooked for about 10 minutes.  Then I chopped up the leaves and added them and cooked for 5 more minutes.  Then season the whole thing with salt and pepper, ladle into bowls, and drizzle with some good quality olive oil. Here's the finished product.  This made enough for dinner that night, dinner for me and Creg the next night, and another night, and one more serving in the freezer (how much is that total? 6?)  Of course, we accompanied the soup with grilled cheese sandwiches, which I did not photograph.

Cranberry Bean Soup