THE MENU: Granola with almonds, flax, and dried cherries

THE SONG: Bad Diary Days by Pedro the Lion

David Bazan’s lyrics don’t exactly invoke morning cheer, but this granola can carry the dialogue in his depressing scene from a failed relationship.  And fortunately, I can promise that it will make you a lot happier than realizing your girlfriend is a cheat.

I adapted this recipe from the New York Times’ Olive Oil Granola.  It’s easy to adapt, and dead easy to make.  Important culinary techniques include: stirring.  But just be sure you set your timer every ten minutes while it’s baking; if you don’t stir, you could end up with a seriously botched batch of granola, like I did (wah, wah…).  The most important thing is to get roughly the right ratio of dry to wet ingredients, but otherwise the spices, nuts, and fruit can all be customized to your liking.

BAD DIARY DAYS GRANOLA (adapted from the New York Times)

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup flax seeds
1 1/2 cups sliced almonds or chopped pecans
grated zest from 2 lemons
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup dried cherries

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line a large baking sheet with a silicone non-stick baking mat.

Combine oats, seeds, nuts, lemon zest, spices, and salt in a large bowl and combine well.  Add syrup, oil, and vanilla extract and combine well; spread evenly on lined baking sheet.

Bake for about 50 minutes, stirring and re-spreading every 10 minutes.  Cool on a baking rack; store in airtight container.

]]> http://devilpie.wordpress.com/2010/02/06/bad-diary-days-granola/feed/ 0 Briana Bad Diary Days Granola in the pan Bad Diary Days Granola in a jar Granola Prep http://devilpie.wordpress.com/2010/02/03/i-fall-to-pieces-plum-crumble/ http://devilpie.wordpress.com/2010/02/03/i-fall-to-pieces-plum-crumble/#comments Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:55:05 +0000 Briana http://devilpie.wordpress.com/?p=57 ]]>

THE MENU: Plum Crumble

THE SONG: I Fall To Pieces by Patsy Cline

If Sara Lee could package and sell this dessert, this is the song that would accompany its TV commercial.  A slim, hot brunette raises a bite of ruby red filling and golden, buttery crumble to her lips, while Patsy Cline’s smooth voice lyricizes the orgasmic expression on her face — the American answer to those porno-esque Magnum ice cream commercials. (Incidentally, for fellow LOST fans who just can’t wait for more Sawyer action, check him selling the shit out of these ice cream bars.)

Like the song, this dessert is simple but stick-in-your-head good.  Plums are a nice surprise for a dessert that’s usually stuffed with apples or berries, and even the topping is special: it gets a citrusy-floral flavor from orange zest.  Plums give it an awesome ruby red color even in the winter at relatively reasonable prices (14 plums cost me $6.41 — a lot better than I’d do stockpiling $5 half pints of bright berries).

Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream to cut the plums’ tartness and BOOM! goes dessert heaven — each time you eat it again.

PLUM CRUMBLE adapted from The Best of Cooking Light Everyday Favorites

14 plums, each cut into 6 wedges
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons dry red wine
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup regular oats
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
7 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces

Butter and flour a 13 x 9-inch baking dish.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine plums, sugar, red wine, and vanilla extract and toss gently to combine.  Pour into baking dish.

Combine flour, oats, sugar, orange zest, salt, and nutmeg in a medium bowl.  Cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal.  Sprinkle flour mixture evenly over plum mixture.

Bake at 375 degrees for 45-60 minutes or until plum mixture is bubbly and topping is lightly browned.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

THE SONG: This is What We Do by MC Hammer

OK, so you might wonder: MC Hammer + Pizza = Where are you going with this?  It may seem far-fetched, but bear with me…  I was craving pizza and needing to bake (I have a special relationship with baking), so I set out to make some pizza dough.  I plunked my flour bags, yeast jar, and mixer on the counter and cracked open my laptop, contemplating the appropriate soundtrack for my kneading.  The go-to options are Italian opera or mafia music — yeah, that’s right, mafia music, you know what I mean — but that’s all so cliche, and being that I don’t have an ounce of Italian blood in me and didn’t grow up eating meatballs with the mafia, they’re not all that personal of a reference.

But pizza IS a big part of my family, in an altogether different way.  The first thing pizza reminds me of is my brother, who would subsist on the stuff if given the choice.  In our household, there was always some manner of frozen pizza on hand, delivery numbers were practically on speed-dial, and of course, there were frequent battles over where to go to dinner.  The dramas of our sibling rivalry played out in these arguments: me wanting to try the Indian place or bean soup at the new cafe, he wanting a place that serves pizza, ideally in the form of a buffet with a Pac Man arcade machine.  It still drives me crazy, but alas: the inspiration for my pizza soundtrack.  Connor, my brother, also loves the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles also love pizza (remember “Pizza Power!”?).  And MC Hammer laid down some choice tunes for that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles soundtrack, so that’s exactly what played over the loud churning of my mixer.

It’s hard to wax lyrical about my memories of actually making pizza.  Those weird, never-expire Boboli pizza crusts and handful of failed homemade pizza dough attempts were God-awful.  Frankly, making pizza at home can be traumatic.  Better to just order in.  But the desire to bake and eat pizza drove me to try, try again.  Sam Sifton’s “Crust Fund” article from T Magazine last summer cheered me on and gave me recipes to work with, and Jill Santopietro‘s “Tiny Kitchen” video on said recipes gave me even better guidance, and I forged ahead.

SAM SIFTON’S PIZZA DOUGH

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour, plus more for dusting
3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 1/4 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt (my note: if you don’t have kosher salt, just use sea salt)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1. The morning or ideally the day before cooking, prepare the dough.  Using a hand whisk, combine the flours, yeast and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Switch to a wooden spoon and stir in 1 1/2 cups cold water and olive oil until a rough dough forms.  Set the bowl on the mixer and, using the paddle attachment, mix on low speed for 1 minute.  Increase the speed to high and beat for 4 to 6 minutes, until it becomes a wet and vaguely menacing mass. (If it forms into a ball, lower the miser speed to medium-high.  If not, stop the mixer to scrape down the sides once.)  My note: add tiny bits of water or flour to adjust dough moisture and give it at least 30 seconds to mix — it’s easy to add too much and throw off the balance.

2. Scrape and pour the dough onto a heavily floured work surface.  Keeping your fingers, the counter top and the dough well floured, fold one dough end over the other so that half the floured underside covers the rest of the dough.  Let rest for 10 minutes.

3. Cut the dough into 2 equal pieces.  Shape each piece into a smooth ball.  Place each ball on a well-oiled plate, generously dust with flour and loosely cover with plastic wrap.  Let the dough rise until it is at least doubled in size, about 3 hours.

4. Punch the dough balls down, shape into rounds and place each in a quart-size freezer bag.  Refrigerate dough between 1 and 24 hours.

PIZZA WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS, FIGS, BACON AND BLUE CHEESE by Sam Sifton

Serves 2 (according to Sam Sifton)

1 large Spanish onion
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
2 bay leaves
Kosher salt
4 thick slices bacon, cut into 1/4-inch thick batons
1 ball pizza dough (see above)
Flour, for dusting surface
12 dried mission figs, stems trimmed, cut into quarters or small pieces
3/4 cup crumbled Gorgonzola
Extra-virgin olive oil, to drizzle
Freshly cracked black pepper

1. At least 45 minutes before cooking, preheat the oven and pizza stone to 550 degrees.

2. Melt the butter in a large saute pan over high heat.  Add the onions, thyme, and bay leaves.  Cook for 5 minutes, stirring often, until the onions begin to wilt.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have softened and turn a deep, golden brown, about 25 minutes.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Remove the bay leaves and transfer the onions to a small bowl.

3. Place the pizza dough on a heavily floured surface and stretch and pull, using your hands or a rolling pin, into about a 14-inch round.  Place on a lightly floured pizza peel or rimless baking sheet.  Cover with the toppings, careful not to press on the dough and weigh it down: the caramelized onions first, then the figs and bacon, and finally the Gorgonzola, leaving roughly a 1/2 inch border.  Shake the pizza peel slightly to make sure the dough is not sticking.  Carefully slide the pizza directly onto the baking stone in one quick, forward-and-back motion.  Cook until the crust has browned on the bottom and the top is bubbling and browning in spots, about 7 minutes.  Drizzle with a little olive oil and some cracked black pepper.  Serve hot.  Makes 1 pizza.

MY PIZZA MARGHERITA

Serves 1-2, depending on how much pizza you can handle

1 can of San Marzano plum tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/2 – 1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 ball pizza dough (see above)
Flour, for dusting surface
1 ball Fresh Mozzarella, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices
Fresh basil

Heat oven to maximum heat at least 45 minutes before cooking, with oven tiles or pizza stone on the lowest possible shelf.

SAUCE  In a blender, place three plum tomatoes and about 1/2 cup of tomato liquid along with oregano, basil, marjoram, salt, and 1 tablespoon olive oil.  Blend on high for about two minutes, until well-pureed.

PIZZA  Press, roll, and toss pizza dough using a rolling pin (or wine bottle if you don’t have a rolling pin) and hands into a 14-inch or larger round.  The dough should be extremely thin.  Place on a floured pizza peel or rimless baking sheet and cover with toppings, starting with sauce, then cheese and basil.  Drizzle with olive oil before sliding into oven (jiggle the pizza on the pan or pizza peel first to make sure it isn’t stuck, then quickly slide it onto the pizza stone or oven tiles).  Cook until the crust is browned and cheese well-melted, about 8-10 minutes.

A few tips:

You need a pizza stone or oven tiles. Oven tiles tend to be cheaper and work just as well; they’re ceramic tiles that you line up on the bottom of your oven and they help regulate heat while you bake or, in this case, they act as a cooking surface themselves.

You need a really, really hot oven. The recipes below suggest heating the oven to 550 degrees or maximum heat at least 45 minutes before you cook.  My friend Hailey also suggests putting your oven on “Clean” mode, if it has one.  This will crank it up even hotter.  You need the crust and the toppings to cook quickly and evenly, and the hotter, the better.

Plan ahead. Waiting for the dough to rise takes a few hours, so try to make it in the morning or even days early.  It can keep in the fridge for a few days, so you can put together a couple of batches over the weekend and then store it for the week.  I want to try freezing it, but I haven’t tested that theory yet.

Key supplies, from suppliers I like:

Oven Tiles from Brooklyn Kitchen

Epicurian Pizza Peel from Brooklyn Kitchen

Bacon from the Meat Hook

Fresh Mozzarella and Gorgonzola Cremaficato from Bedford Cheese Shop

THE MENU: Celery Root and Apple Salad with Hazelnut Vinaigrette by Molly Wizenburg

THE SONG: The First Cut is the Deepest by Sheryl Crow

If Cat Stevens wrote a food blog, he’d probably be singing “The First Post is the Hardest”.  I’ve been cooking, taking photos, writing, and even putting together my blogroll all week.  Meanwhile, that voice in the back of my head has been chirping, “Briana, write the freakin’ first post already!”  But the inaugural post is so… Monumental.  Definitive.  Scary!  So why not start right here, right now, with a great song and awesome food writer whose recipe I’m munching as we speak. Er, write.  Here goes!

Molly Wizenburg of Orangette is one of my favorite food bloggers, and she now also writes a monthly column for Bon Appetit.  (Her situation is a dream: quit your PhD program to start a food blog and get a book deal, published column, and husband out of it? Color me jealous.)  Her Bon Appetit column this month is “A Love Letter to Celery Root”, and includes a recipe for a crunchy, fresh celery root salad.  It’s a great recipe, and I’ll be keeping it on hand, if not for celery root, at least for the really simple but tasty vinaigrette.  It takes less than ten minutes to make, and in my experience, the smaller you chop your veggies and apples, the more gracefully you’re going to eat this thing. Enough from me, read her story and make the recipe, preferably while listening to Sheryl Crow or Cat Stevens.

CELERY ROOT AND APPLE SALAD WITH HAZELNUT VINAIGRETTE

4 to 6 servings (my note: this is a LOT of salad, you might want to halve it if you don’t have a lot of mouths to feed)

VINAIGRETTE
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 small garlic clove, pressed
1/4 cup hazelnut oil plus additional for drizzling
2 tablespoons olive oil

SALAD
1 medium celery root, peeled and cut into matchstick-size strips
1 medium fennel bulb, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced
1 unpeeled Gala apple, cut into strips
Parmesan cheese shavings

VINAIGRETTE Whisk first five ingredients in a small bowl.  Whisk in 1/4 cup hazelnut oil and olive oil.

SALAD Combine celery root, fennel, and apple in large bowl.  Toss with vinaigrette.  Top with Parmesan.  Drizzle with additional hazelnut oil, if desired.

Awkward Eating Alert: Long strips of fennel dripping in vinaigrette may end up on your face if this salad is not chopped carefully.

My Favorite Things by Diana Ross and the Supremes

So where did this begin?

On my way to get some drinks in the neighborhood (in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, to be specific), I randomly selected D’Angelo’s Voodoo on my iPod and the track “Devil’s Pie” came on. As I walked and listened, I mused about creating a Devil’s Pie recipe.  This led to further musings about food and music, and I decided it would be pretty cool to write a blog that connected food and recipes to music.  I have yet to create a recipe for Devil’s Pie, but I started cooking, taking photos, writing, and posting almost immediately.

In truth, this is one of many food-centric blog ideas I’ve had in the past year. Cooking, food, writing and photography all top my list of favorite things, so this blog is a great excuse to indulge in said activities, and share them with other people.  Oh, and I really like music, too.

Some of the connections between food and music are totally personal, some are puns or interpretations of lyrics, and some are even more random than that.  But hopefully you like what you see and hear.  Heck, maybe you’ll even try cooking some of the recipes on this here old blog.

As Julie Andrews would say: here are a few of my favorite things.  I hope you enjoy them, too.