Recipe Notes: November 2017

1 November 2017

Muffin Tin Doughnuts

Recipe from June 2013 Cook's Country

I like doughnuts. Best of all are homemade donuts, still warm from the fryer, crispy on the outside, soft and warm on the inside. (I wrote about this combination last month.) However, making fried doughnuts is a bit of a chore and they don't keep particularly well. It doesn't take long for moisture to move from the inside to the crust, ruining that crispy exterior. So the promise of good doughnuts without the work of frying was too hard to pass up.

These doughnuts should be called muffins: they are made in a muffin tin and the batter is created using the same technique that is used to make muffins. In one bowl the dry ingredients—flour, sugar, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, and freshly grated nutmeg—are whisked together. In a second bowl the wet ingredients—buttermilk, melted butter, eggs—are whisked together. The wet ingredients are added to the dry and stirred until just combined. The batter is scooped into muffin tins and baked. The finished doughnuts are then painted with melted butter (this recipe uses two sticks of butter) and coated with cinnamon sugar. Very straightforward and from start to finish in just over one hour. When the cold buttermilk was added to the melted butter it partially solidified but this didn't seem to affect the finished product. I found that a #24 scoop was too small to portion the batter among the 12 cups so next time I need to use a larger one.

The resulting doughnuts are quite good. They have a crispy, crunch exterior though not as crispy as fried donuts. They keep well in the freezer and after thawing and a short spin in the microwave are almost as good as when fresh. The crumb is tasty with a nice hint of nutmeg, though perhaps the crumb is a little heavy. For a quick homemade doughnut, these are quite good and easy to make.

13 November 2017

Buttermilk Waffles

Recipe for Classic Buttermilk Waffles from America's Test Kitchen

The problem using recipes that include buttermilk is having a lot of leftover buttermilk. The smaller size container is one quart and recipes usually call for one cup or so of buttermilk. Finding myself in that situation I tried some buttermilk waffles using a recipe from season 2 of America's Test Kitchen. (It was fun watching video of the show from all those years ago and seeing the familiar faces but much younger.)

Making the batter was straightforward: the dry ingredients (AP flour, cornmeal, salt, baking soda) are mixed in one bowl, the liquid (egg yolk, melted butter, buttermilk) in another, and egg whites are beaten in a third. The liquid ingredients are mixed into the dry before the whipped egg whites are folded in. These are then baked on a waffle iron. 

The resulting waffles are OK, but not as good as the yeasted waffles that I enjoy. The batter is very thick which makes it difficult to spread on the waffle iron. The outside of the waffles is not as crispy  as I like and having three dirty bowls to wash was a little much. I will say that these waffles seemed to be better as leftovers, warmed up in a toaster, than the yeasted waffles are.

23 November 2017

Apple Pandowdy

Recipe from Cook's Country, October 2016

This is a variation on apple pie that I made for our Thanksgiving for two. It is a skillet pie and has only a top crust. Part way through baking the crust is pressed down into the apple juices. These flow over the top of the curst and caramelize during the latter part of baking. This is "dowdying".

It took about three hours to make this dessert, not all of the time was hands on. The dough is made with all butter and a little sour cream, using the food processor to cut the flour and butter together. After chilling it is rolled out and cut into squares. The filling is made in a skillet (I used a 10" nonstick skillet) with apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, and apple cider, among other ingredients. The squares of crust are shingled onto the filling in the skillet, brushed with an egg wash and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, then baked. Part way through baking the pan is removed from the oven to dowdy the crust. 

Because it is a skillet pie the crust is much easier to make than with a conventional pie. It was a good skillet pie. We didn't eat it when it was still warm from the oven when it was probably at its best. The filling was well balanced, not too sweet and not too spicy. The crust, being just on the top, took a back seat to the filling but it was reasonably tender and also nicely seasoned. This is a good alternative to conventional apple pie.

23 November 2017

Roast Turkey Breast with Gravy

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated, November 2017

What do you do to have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with only two people? Last year we roasted half of a turkey breast. This worked out well, despite missing dark meat. I made an all-purpose gravy which does not rely on any drippings from the meat. While is was passable it was not as good as gravy made with turkey rather than just vegetables and store-bought chicken broth. Thus it was exciting to see a new recipe this year for roast turkey breast and gravy. 

The recipe is for a whole turkey breast, including the back. I went to Whole Foods planning to buy that, but found they had half breasts and, separately, turkey backs. The half breast is a better size for us, and the back (which costs less than the breast) could be used for the gravy. The day before Thanksgiving I salted the turkey and put it in the refrigerator. I used the turkey back, following the recipe, to make turkey stock. This took about 1½ hours with browning the turkey and then simmering it with onion, carrots, celery, thyme sprigs, and a bay leaf. I cut the back in half and made the broth in a skillet. The finished broth was placed in the refrigerator with the turkey.

The next day, the turkey was placed in a skillet, brushed with butter and sprinkled with salt, then placed in a 325° oven to roast. When it reached 130° it was removed, the oven temperate was increased to 500°, and the turkey cooked to 160° The 3.2 pound half breast was done in under 90 minutes. While the turkey rested, the gravy was made. Flour was whisked into the drippings, then the pan was deglazed with some white wine. The turkey stock was added and the gravy simmered until thickened. Together it took about two hours to prepare the turkey and gravy.

More work went into preparing the gravy then roasting the turkey. But it was well worth it! The gravy was very good as was the turkey. Half a breast was just right for us, it made for a good meal plus a reasonable number of meals with the leftovers. I still miss having the dark meat, maybe someday I'll find a good recipe that solves this problem, too.