Honeymoon: Delancey

While we were in Seattle, we were lucky enough to have dinner at Delancey, the restaurant owned by Molly Wizenburg (Orangette), who you may realize from reading my blog, I love. A lot.



We started with Burrata, served with prosciutto and arugula (excuse the not-so-great pictures taken in the dark restaurant with my point and shoot):



Then, pizza! I picked sausage:



Salami and fennel seed (which I loved even though I do. not. like. fennel):


They may just look like normal pizzas, but they were AMAZING. Simple, high quality ingredients. The salami was especially phenomenal.

In the back, you can see Molly's husband, Brandon. In the front, you can see the bottle of rose that we drank...

Then, I met Molly. No big deal...



She and Brandon gave us dessert on the house since it was our honeymoon. This is Adam's. I can't remember what it was, except it involved blackberries and was delicious Oh hey, I took a picture of the menu. It's blackberry pavlova:



But mine was totally better. Peaches with honey whipped cream, and BOURBON carmel. The bourbon. It was good.:


If you ever find yourself in Seattle, I highly recommend checking out Delancey (and getting there when it opens or else you might have to wait 2 hours for a table. If you do have to wait two hours for a table, there is a bar across the street, not that we went there and had enough drinks to be a bit tipsy before dinner). Also, one pizza is not enough for two people, but too much for one person, which means leftovers you can eat for breakfast in your hotel room. Cold pizza. Breakfast. It's classy.

Ginger-Molasses Cookies

Exciting news: I OWN A STAND MIXER!

Yes, a little over a week ago, my aunt threw me a bridal shower in St. Paul. I had a great time with all my friends, ate delicious food, and received lots of handy things for our new kitchen. My grandparents were generous enough to give me a gorgeous chrome Kitchen Aid stand mixer. I pulled it out of its box as soon as I got home and placed it in its new home on my counter. And that is where it sat for eight whole days before I touched it again.

I have wanted a stand mixer for the longest time. There have been so many recipes where I stood there, beating things with a hand mixer, or worse, a wooden spoon, for what seemed like forever, all the time dreaming of the day when a stand mixer would do all that work for me. When it was finally in my possession, I wanted to break it in with something that is hard to make without one. Something like the brioche I made a few months ago, where I cursed under my breath while kneading butter into the dough and made my entire kitchen a mess. Only, I didn't feel like making brioche. I thought and thought and thought and nothing seemed like the perfect first recipe for the mixer. Until I finally I gave up and decided I needed to make something right away. It was wrong for the stand mixer to sit there untouched for so long. I tried to get my fiance to give me an idea. After several unhelpful suggestions (potato salad??!?!), he finally mentioned gingerbread cookies. I searched several of my favorite blogs and found this recipe from Orangette. I ran to the store to get what I needed and finally plugged the Kitchen Aid in and watched the magic.



Ginger-Molasses Cookies
From Orangette

NOTE: The batter needs to be refrigerated for at least 2 hours, so keep that in mind when planning!

2 ¼ cups whole wheat pastry flour (all-purpose is fine too)
1 ½ tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 ½ tsp ground cloves
1 tsp salt
½ cup vegetable shortening, at room temperature
6 Tbs unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 ½ cups light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp peeled and grated ginger
1/3 cup molasses
½ cup unrefined cane sugar (or granulated sugar)

Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt in a bowl and set side.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a regular bowl and use a hand mixer), beat the butter and brown sugar until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until fully incorporated each time. Then add the ginger and molasses and mix well.

Mix the dry ingredients into the wet, adding about 1/3 of the dry ingredients each time. When it is all added, cover the bowl in plastic wrap in set in the fridge for at least two hours. Molly says it can be kept in the fridge for 4 days at this point. I left it there overnight.



Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put the cane sugar in a shallow pan (I used a cake pan). Roll the dough into balls about 2 inches in diameter, eight at a time. Roll each ball in the sugar, coating it completely. Keep the dough in the fridge when you are not using it, otherwise it will warm up and become sticky and hard to work with. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and bake for 15-17 minutes (Mine were perfectly done at 15). Eight at a time should fit on a sheet.

When done, pull the parchment paper off the sheet and onto the counter to let cool. Take the cookies off the paper when cool enough and reuse for the next batch. I ended up with around 28 cookies (Molly said 22).

Vanilla Buttermilk Cake (Foodie Book Club: A Homemade Life)

As I mentioned earlier (when I made bouchons au thon), this month's selection for the Foodie Book Club was A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg of Orangette.

If you are not familiar, this book is an autobiography of Molly's life. Each short chapter tells a story and ends with a recipe. The stories span from her childhood to college to Paris to her father's death and finally her romance with her now husband Brandon, whom she met through her blog. I think what I love most about this book is although it is definitely about food, it is actually more about the people in her life. Each recipe is tied to a specific person or a specific memory and Molly invites you into her world and describes it so well that the recipes end up being an added bonus.

And what an added bonus they are! The first time I read the book last summer it seemed that at the end of every chapter I was making a mental note: "Must make this soon!" Soon, I was wondering if I would come across anything I wouldn't want to make. Since then, I have made several recipes from this book, as well as her blog, and not a single one has been disappointing. I made her Banana Bread with Crystallized Ginger at Christmas, the Tarte Tatin, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, roasted rhubarb, the bouchons au thon earlier this month, countless others I can't recall at the moment, but mostly, her Buckwheat Pancakes.

The Buckwheat Pancakes have become my go-to pancake recipe. I make them maybe once every month or two (in fact, I made them this morning before dropping my little sister off at the airport). I almost always make them with sliced bananas and sometimes, when I'm feeling indulgent, a few dark chocolate chips. But that was a complete tangent. I'm not writing about those pancakes today, but the Vanilla Bean Buttermilk Cake with Creme Fraiche.

I made creme fraiche for the bouchons au thon and knew I would have some leftover. I happened to flip past this recipe and decided it would be the perfect way to put that extra creme fraiche to use, along with the buttermilk I used to make the creme fraiche in the first place. It fit perfectly. Molly's version actually includes glazed oranges, but I decided to omit them. The cake turned out perfectly. Tangy, light and not too sweet. Molly says that it is best on the day it's made, but leftovers "make a nice 'dessert' after breakfast." I actually kept the cake around for maybe even 5 days. It did dry out slightly but was still delicious. I wasn't sure about this after-breakfast dessert thing, but every mid-morning that the cake was around, I found myself cutting off a thin slice, so I think she was definitely onto something.


(The macaroons pre-chocolate ganache)

Just as the bouchons led to this cake, this cake led to Molly's coconut macaroons with chocolate ganache. The cake calls for 4 egg yolks, leaving you with just enough egg whites for her recipe, which yielded rich, chewy sweet macaroons dipped in a bittersweet chocolate ganache. A definite must if you make this cake and are feeling naughty enough to go for something indulgent instead of the usual healthy Leftover Egg White Omelet.

All in all, I am a huge fan of Molly/Orangette. We are actually going to Seattle for our honeymoon and I am definitely making sure we eat at Delancy (her and Brandon's restaurant) while we are in town!



Vanilla Bean Buttermilk Cake with Creme Fraiche
From Molly Wizenburg's A Homemade Life

4 large egg yolks
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean
2 cups cake flour (I was too lazy to make my own and used whole wheat pastry instead)
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

Creme fraiche (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-inch springform pan. Line with parchment paper and grease the paper as well.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks with 1/4 cup of the buttermilk and set aside.

Put the sugar in a medium mixing bowl and scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the bowl. Use your fingers to rub the seeds into the sugar and break up any clumps. Add the flor, baking powder, and salt and beat at a low speed for a few seconds to combine.

Cut the butter into pieces and add to the dry ingredients along with the rest of the buttermilk. Beat on low until moist and then medium to combine for about one minute. Add the egg mixture in 3 doses and beat well inbetween each addition. The batter will be thick, airy, smooth, and pale.



Pour into the ban and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes before removing and then cool completely. Serve with a dollop of creme fraiche.

Bouchons Au Thon

It was just a few weeks ago that I posted about the (never home)maker's Foodie Book Club. I am so excited that this month's selection was A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg of Orangette that I couldn't help but get an early start with a sneak peek mini-review. Plus, I've been wanted to try this recipe for awhile and I couldn't wait any longer!

I first read this book last summer and I loved it so much that when my copy was ruined after accidentally landing in a muddy puddle, I immediately went out and bought another. Each chapter is a short vignette of Molly's life, followed by a related recipe. She shares stories of her family and friends, living in Paris, and eventually meeting her husband through her blog. Her recipes are fantastic, and if possible, her storytelling is even better.

The story that accompanies this recipe is about college and studying abroad. Molly starts by saying "I am one of those people for whom college was just okay. I liked my classes and my professors and the peopel I met there, but I never felt completely at home. I always imagined college as a place where I would tumble, not unlike Alice falling down the rabbit hole, into some sort of lovely, wacky, self-contained world." I couldn't relate more. College was great, but it wasn't quite how I'd pictured it and by senior year, as everyone else was feeling nostalgic, I could. not. wait. to get out of there.

Molly's unmet expectations inspired her to spend a semester in Paris. Her host mother sold and tested silicone baking equipment and this was one of the many recipes she prepared in her silicone molds. Molly describes them as having "a texture somewhere between the filling of a quiche and a freshly made country pate." To me, they are kind of a cross between a tuna-version of the meatloaf cupcakes I made earlier this year and a cheese souffle. They were so delicious I ended up eating four of them.

I am planning on posting another mini-review and recipe at the end of the month along with the rest of the book club, but for now, enjoy these!


(I hate photographing on these yellow plates, but they are all I have. I am hoping to have a lovely cream set after the wedding this summer that will hopefully look a lot nicer!)

Bouchons Au Thon
From Molly Wizenburg's A Homemade Life

One 6oz canned tuna (either solid white or chunk light)
1 cup shredded Gruyere
1/3 cup creme fraiche*
3 tbsp tomato paste
3 large eggs
1/4 cup chopped yellow onion
2 tbsp chapped parsley
1/4 tsp salt

*I must admit, I used to be scared for creme fraiche. I wasn't sure exactly what it was or where to find it, so I avoided it altogether. Then I found out it is incredibly easy to make. The day before you want to use it, combine 1 cup of heavy creme and 1 tbsp buttermilk (I put it in a jam jar). Let it sit out at room temperature for twenty-four hours, then refrigerate and use within ten days.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease 8 cups of a muffin tin.

Drain the can of tuna and put it in a medium bowl. Mash it with a fork to break it into dime-sized or smaller pieces. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until combined.



Divide the mixture among the 8 muffin cups and bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool for five minutes and then run a knife around the edge of each bouchon to remove it from the pan and serve. They can be served warm or at room temperature, but I prefer warm.


(The lovely oven in my new house)

Roasted Rhubarb with White Wine

(I think this was taken before it was cooked, because it looks nothing like that now. I must have been too excited to eat it. Oops.)

My friend Alex had been waiting very impatiently for rhubarb to arrive in the produce section. When she first mentioned her intense need for rhubarb right-that-minute, I thought "Hmm, yes, rhubarb is good, but I can wait." It wasn't until I read Molly's latest post on Orangette that I needed it.

A week or so later, Alex and I walked into the store and she exclaimed "Look!" and then I yelped. I yelped. In public. Over rhubarb. One of the employees turned around to see if something was wrong, but just saw two girls excitedly stuffing produce bags with rhubarb.

There are only four ingredients, but making this recipe, for me at least, was way too complicated. I made it the day after we had started moving and it took 2 trips to the old apartment and one to Target to finally have all the equipment I needed. But that first rhubarb of the spring? So worth it.



Roasted Rhubarb with White Wine
From Orangette, adapted from Canal House Cooking Volume 3

2 lb. rhubarb, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, split

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the ingredients in a dutch oven or deep pan. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring once halfway. Serve warm or cold. I suggest serving it over vanilla ice cream.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Oatmeal Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

My plan for my second post has been foiled by persimmons that have yet to become ripe, so that recipe will have to wait. Oh well, it will give me more time to decide between persimmon pudding and persimmon tea cake. So instead, I directed my baking urge last night to oatmeal chocolate chip cookies care of Orangette. They came out perfectly and keeping the percentage of recipes I've tried from Molly's blog and book at 100%. The only change I made was using dark chocolate chips.

Hopefully I will grace you with something delicious and persimmon related soon, that is, if the three persimmons sitting on my kitchen decide to cooperate.



Oatmeal Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies
From Orangette

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp vanilla
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
1 and 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips
1 and 1/2 cups quick oats

1. Sift together dry ingredients.

2. Cream together butter and sugars with an electric mixer. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk. Add dry ingredients.

3. Stir in chocolate chips and oatmeal. Preheat oven to 325 F. Refrigerate dough 30-60 minutes.

4. Bake cookies for 25 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Makes 2 dozen cookies.