Stewart, Tabori & Chang

Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented

brittany — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Everything good these days seems to be coming out of Brooklyn, so I wasn’t surprised to find that Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, authors of Baked Explorations, have a tremendously successful bakery in Brooklyn that is garnering national attention—not to mention a whole lot of love for from the food-centric blogosphere.

This is the second book by the duo; their first was aptly titled Baked and named after their bakery. Lewis and Poliafito are becoming known for upping the ante and recreating run-of-the-mill sweet treats; think the usual suspects—brownies, pound cakes, scones—but on steroids. Their latest cookbook is in the same vein but aims to put a clever spin on classic American desserts. During their travels, Lewis and Poliafito were often approached by fans who wanted to share their favorite desserts that have been passed down through generations at “church suppers and small town gatherings.” Many of these were hyper-regional or long thought of as passé or just plain bizarre, like Mississippi Mud pie or Jell-O pretzel salad—a favorite at Mormon gatherings. (I can personally attest to this—don’t ask.)

Thumbing through a baking cookbook, especially one as stylish and hip as Baked Explorations, is equally enticing and discouraging to me. As I’ve said before, I do not enjoy baking, mostly because I’m very bad at it and looking at page after page of perfectly executed desserts only reminds me of how inferior my baking skills are. That being said, Baked Explorations isn’t all towering, perfectly-iced cakes and multi-tiered treats. There are many recipes that not even I could screw up, including a no-bake cookie.

The first thing that caught my eye was the second recipe in the book, intended for breakfast: pumpkin cheddar muffins. The combination sounded a little odd, perhaps even a tad gross, so naturally I was intrigued. This time of year I’m all about simple pumpkin goodies and have been known to churn out countless pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and more than a few loaves of pumpkin bread. I love when sweet and savory collide and these little gems do not disappoint. Since receiving Baked Explorations just one month ago, I’ve made these pumpkin cheddar muffins a total of six times; I’ve eaten them for breakfast, I’ve dipped them into bowls of turkey chili, and sopped up the last bit of soup in my bowl with them. They are dead simple to make and taste just like you think: cheesy and pumpkin-y, but they’re also spiked with a bit of cayenne pepper that hits your throat ever so slightly after each bite. They are divine.

I really wanted to talk about the Nutella scones, which in theory are perfect. Nutella is a decadent chocolate hazelnut spread from Italy and when you combine it with a chocolate scone and chopped hazelnuts, you should have heaven on a plate. I had a dry hockey puck, but I hope others will have more luck with these than I did. In my defense, making a good scone has a lot to do with baker’s intuition, which I have none of. Plus, the directions for rolling the scones out were complicated at best.

For those of you yearning for diabetes, I highly recommend making the double chocolate loaf with peanut butter and cream cheese spread. I love simple bread/loaf recipes that don’t require yeast or kneading and much like the pumpkin cheddar muffins, this recipe was incredibly easy to whip up. It’s rich, it’s decadent, and it made my toothless eighty-year-old great uncle giggle like a schoolgirl. To me, that’s the ultimate test of a recipe’s yum factor, and this one passed the test with flying colors.

Written by: Tina Vasquez, November 18th 2010

Amor y Tacos: Modern Mexican Tacos, Margaritas, and Antojitos

admin — Tue, 25 May 2010 16:01:00 +0000

By Deborah Schneider

Stewart, Tabori & Chang

I have an exciting announcement to make: I’ve never enjoyed a cookbook as thoroughly as I have Deborah Schneider’s Amor y Tacos. I grew up eating Mexican food nearly every day, and as an adult, I still make homemade Mexican food the way my father taught me at least two times a week—not the gloppy, heavy Americanized stuff full of cheddar cheese and sour cream, but simple, hearty, good-for-you-food that’s easy to make and even easier on your budget. This is exactly why I’ve fallen madly in love with Schneider’s cookbook; though a majority of the dishes require a bit of prep work, the meals come together quickly in the end and she effortlessly showcases affordable, accessible, and delicious modern Mexican food.

Another reason to love Amor y Tacos: Schneider focuses heavily on Mexican street food, which is the best food Mexico has to offer and just so happens to be a personal obsession of mine. I went crazy testing recipes from this book; I wanted to make everything in it, but I’m going to try to show some restraint and just talk about a few of the dishes, all of which were from the Antojitos (think appetizers), Tacos, and Salsa chapters.

Generally, I try to stay away from fast food, but I’ve somehow convinced myself that eating outrageously unhealthy food is okay—as long as I’ve made it in my own kitchen and kept a close eye on the amount of salt, fat, and other worrisome cooking essentials that quickly make "good" food “bad.” Admittedly, not all of the street food featured in the book is good for you or what some would refer to as “authentic Mexican.” This is because, like all culinary cultures, there’s a lot of borrowing, and if it’s a dish genuinely served on the streets of Mexico, it’s good (and authentic) enough for me.

All of this is just to say that the first recipe I tackled was for something seemingly American and ridiculously bad for you: Schneider’s Mexican Hot Dog with Chipotle Ketchup, otherwise known as the Perro Caliente. In short: a bacon wrapped hot dog encased in a bun that’s been slathered with garlic mayo and griddled. All of this fatty goodness gets topped with pickled jalapenos, pico de gallo salsa (diced Roma tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and lime juice), and a tart, spicy ketchup spiked with chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. I feel the need to point out that I will never again be able to eat a hot dog unless it’s topped with pico de gallo; it’s a marriage made in heaven. It’s that little bit of crunchy, juicy freshness that cuts through the fat and makes a hot dog more than just a hot dog.

Another standout was the Shrimp Taco Dorado, and like all of the tacos in Schneider’s book, what really makes them pop are the interesting salsas she chooses to accompany them. Pico de gallo is pretty customary for tacos, but Schneider’s shrimp tacos also get topped with guacamole that’s spiked with mangoes, tequila, and goat cheese, as well as mango habanero salsa, chipotle salsa, and a few cilantro sprigs. To me, it’s these simple, easy, yet slightly labor intensive accompaniments that really elevate the tacos to something special.

I wouldn’t be doing the book justice if I didn’t mention the Carne Asada Taco Vampiro. It’s never really explained why this super taco gets called a vampire, but who cares when you’re sinking your teeth into what is essentially a quesadilla wrapped around juicy grilled carne asada and topped with guacamole, chipotle salsa, pico de gallo, cotixa cheese, and a sprinkling of the ever ubiquitous cilantro? Seriously, life doesn’t get any better than that.

Written by: Tina Vasquez, May 25th 2010