Orange, Brown and Buttery(milk)

Alison Roman is a goddess who can do no wrong. I’ve taken a pass through her Dining In cookbook several times - which is to say I’ve read it, ogled over the incredible pictures, marveled at the simplicity of it all, but didn’t baked a thing. Like any millennial, I put the book back on my bookshelf (not sure if that’s a thing millennials have anymore) and followed her religiously on Instagram. After watching her stories a few thousand times, I decided it was time. This is my second time making her Brown Butter - Buttermilk Cake, the first time I followed her recipe to a T, and it was rich, donut-like, and a huge hit. The second time I made it I took some liberties which turned out more delicious than the first time.

1) I added the zest of a whole orange and half a lemon into the flour/dry mixture

2) I added the juice of a whole orange into the icing mixture

3) I made a very quick and easy blueberry compote to be served on top or on the side. It’s my attempt at breaking through the inevitable clogged arteries you’ll face after eating this buttery deliciousness. I’m sure raspberries and/or blackberries could work as well, but I’m deathly allergic- so there’s that.

I’m sure my additions are extra, but I’ve been told I’m a very extra person so it seems fitting. However you decide to make it, it will be decadently delicious and donut-like.

Silky, Sensational Saffron Pasta

I couldn’t keep the alliteration going til the end, I’m sorry I failed you. This really is the best cold weather pasta dish you could ask for. I’m a sucker for saffron, I blame my middle eastern roots for yet another expensive obsession and the more saffron you dump (or carefully measure so as to be fiscally responsible) in, the better. This is one of the few recipes that I follow to a T the OG version lives here https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/paccheri-pasta-with-braised-chicken-and-saffron-cream.

I’ve probably made it twenty times, and I struggle to find a better way to do any of it. As always I’ll add my notes in the margins if I have changes, or feel compelled to insert my opinion, we all know I never shy away from a good opinion.

• 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 pounds chicken thighs with skin and bones (this seems excessive, I use 2 pounds max. Also, remember when I dissed chicken thighs here? Me either)

• 2 tablespoons olive oil (plus 1 tbspn butter, because why not? + you get super nice skin)

• 2 cups chopped white onions

• 6 garlic cloves, peeled, crushed (don’t skimp on this, it’s necessary)

• 2 cups dry white wine

• 1 teaspoon saffron threads, crushed (I do 2 tspns because life’s short and then you die)

• 2 cups (or more) low-salt chicken broth (no, don’t do more)

• 1 pound paccheri (giant rigatoni) or regular rigatoni

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

• 2 tablespoons (or more) fresh lemon juice

• 2/3 cup chopped fresh basil

• I shave some fresh parmesan cheese over the top

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, skin side down, to skillet and cook until golden, about 7 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plate. Add onions and garlic to drippings in skillet; sauté until onions are slightly softened, 7 to 8 minutes. Add wine and saffron to skillet; bring to boil. Continue to boil until liquid is thickened and reduced by less than half, about 8 minutes. Add 2 cups chicken broth to skillet. Return chicken to skillet; bring to boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover; simmer gently until chicken is very tender (adjust heat to prevent boiling and turn chicken over after 30 minutes), about 1 hour total. Transfer chicken to plate and cool.

Reserve skillet with juices. Remove skin and bones from chicken and discard. Tear chicken meat into bite-size pieces; place in medium bowl and reserve.

Cook pasta in pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain; return to pot.

Meanwhile, spoon off fat from juices in skillet; discard fat. Add cream to juices in skillet and boil until sauce is reduced to 2 1/2 cups and is thick enough to coat spoon, about 10 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons lemon juice, then chicken pieces. Stir over medium heat until heated through, adding more broth by 1/4 cupfuls to thin sauce as needed and adding more lemon juice by teaspoonfuls, if desired, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add chicken mixture to pasta in pot and toss to coat. Stir in basil. Transfer pasta to plates.

And for the record, yes I’m still lactose intolerant :)

xoxo Mo

Monique’s Triple Chocolate Chippy, Nutty, Chunky Cookies

Once upon a time my boyfriend dragged me to a beekeeping class. Rewind. I met the love of my life, we were in a rather new relationship and I wanted to seem like a brave, cool, down for whatever girlfriend. When he suggested beekeeping classes I shrugged nonchalantly and said yeah, cool, sure. Little did he know that a feeling of dread coursed through my body at the very mention of spending the day with a bunch of body-fluid-sucking, poison-delivering monsters.

That day-long event cemented my love and admiration for …bees (and my boyfriend, but mostly the bees), and it also validated the fact that my triple chocolate chip cookies are pretty darn delicious. I had brought the most appropriate thing for a room of granola chomping hippies: chocolate chip cookies made with the finest Callebaut chocolate I could find (I assumed that they would have very discerning palates). I knew I had struck gold when a woman who smelled of patchouli oil exasperatedly shouted from across the room, can someone please claim these cookies - they are just so delicious. I ended up jotting down the recipe from memory on a small notepad that I was using to take notes on the history of beekeeping and passing it out to my new found friends. And I’ll be damned if I didn’t leave that class feeling like Barefoot Contessa.

Note- these cookies are a bity cakier in texture. If cakey isn’t your thing, you might want to try the pan banging chocolate chip cookies I’m writing about next.

Recipe:

• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 tspn baking soda

• 1/2 tspn salt

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter

• 1/2 cup light brown sugar

• 6 tbspn granulated sugar

• 2 large eggs (room temperature)

• 1 tspn vanilla extract

• 1 cup semisweet chocolate cookies (callebaut is what I usually use for all of the chocolate and it’s honestly SO worth the extra $$)

• 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chunks

• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips

• 1/2 cup - 3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer on medium for 3-4 minutes until pale in color. Add the sugars and mix for another 4 minutes on medium speed. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until incorporated, another 2 minutes.

In a separate bowl (or sometimes I cheat and just add each of the dry ingredients individually into the wet, but be a better person than me) mix together the dry ingredients, stir until combined and gradually add to the wet ingredients in several stages with the mixer set to low. Mix until just incorporated. Mix the chocolate and nuts in by hand, careful not to overmix.

Bake for 12-14 minutes on parchment lined baking sheet until golden brown around the edges. Cool completely on a wire rack.

A Chicken Sandwich is a Chicken Sandwich, Until It Isn't.

There are few things more satisfying than finding an affordably delicious recipe that transforms the ordinary into something…you guessed it! extraordinary. Enter the protagonist in this melodrama: chicken. Being the struggling graduate student that I am, I have regressed in life (in more ways than one, but that’s a story for another time). I’ve gone from buying my organic, Amish-raised, Kobe-beef-fed, gently-bathed-in-premium-soaps, chickens to now buying a plastic pack of very dead, thoroughly refrigerated, and mostly likely depressed and medicated chickens at Costco. If this introduction hasn’t thoroughly whet your appetite, we likely won’t get along IRL and you probably should never cook something I have enjoyed. For the rest of you, please continue reading.

I found this recipe on Bon Appetit under Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Caesar-ish Dressing. I love a good -ish, and I wasn’t disappointed by judging this recipe by its title. I’ve made a few alterations below based on my personal preferences. Because if I could go back in a time capsule and make it all over again, I would. But I can’t, so I’m giving you the benefit of not having to find a time capsule after making this. I will list the recipe as is, and give you the running Monique commentary in ( ).

Side note: After making this I realized that I’ve become a chicken breast girl and it’s real weird.

• 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

• 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

• 2 garlic cloves, finely grated

• 2 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

• 2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, plus more

• ⅓ cup plus 2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for grill

• 6 Tbsp. mayonnaise

• ¼ cup chopped cornichons (I finely chopped them)

• Kosher salt

• 4 large or 6 small skinless, boneless chicken thighs (Time Machine Monique here: I would prefer to use pounded out chicken breasts in the future)

• 4 brioche buns, split

• 1 medium fennel bulb, thinly sliced crosswise, fronds reserved

• 1 cup basil leaves

• ¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (I just realized I forgot to add these, would have been good I’m sure)

• 1 small head Little Gem lettuce (I used whatever lettuce I had that wasn’t moldy in the fridge)

• 1 medium tomato, sliced ¼" thick

Whisk mustard, Worcestershire, garlic, 2 Tbsp. lemon juice, and 2 tsp. black pepper in a medium bowl. Whisking constantly, stream in ⅓ cup oil until emulsified. Transfer half of marinade to a small bowl, then whisk in mayonnaise and cornichons (this will be the special sauce). Season mayo dressing with salt; set aside.

• Season chicken thighs with salt and add to medium bowl with remaining marinade. Toss to coat. Let sit at room temperature, tossing occasionally, at least 30 minutes, or chill up to 4 hours.

• Prepare a grill for medium-high heat. Lightly oil grate. Grill chicken, turning once halfway through, until well charred and cooked through, 8–10 minutes. Transfer to a platter and let rest 5 minutes. If you have 6 chicken thighs, cut 2 of them in half and use 1½ thighs per sandwich.

• Grill buns cut side down until lightly charred, about 30 seconds. Transfer to platter with chicken.

• While chicken rests, coarsely chop fennel fronds. Toss fronds, sliced fennel, basil, red pepper flakes (if using), and remaining 2 tsp. oil and 2 tsp. lemon juice in a medium bowl; season with salt and black pepper.

• Spread reserved mayonnaise dressing on cut sides of each bun. Arrange 1–2 lettuce leaves and sliced tomato on bottom halves. Top each with chicken, then arrange fennel salad over. Close sandwiches with top buns.

Enjoy your medicated or unmedicated chickens, I won’t judge.

(Link to the OG recipe here: https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/grilled-chicken-sandwich-with-mustard-mayo)

Not Quite Out of the Box, but Out of This World Brownies

I never diet, which is why I’m writing to you in the middle of a diet. I figured it is as good a time as any to bake an indulgent, super gooey, ultra chocolatey brownie, right? And, while I would like to have you believe that I have baked these and shipped them off to a friends house, they are still sitting in my kitchen. I would also be lying if I told you I didn’t lick the spatula (a few times) and didn’t taste test when they came out. I have no self control.

These aren’t despair brownies, and I promise they’re just as good even when you aren’t in the throws of emotional weight-induced turmoil. They’re just F’ing delicious. I would say that they remind me of my childhood, but my parents never baked. I would also say that they taste like the boxed brownies you buy at the supermarket, but I’ve owned a Kitchen Aid mixer since I was 10 years old so I’ve never had a fond appreciation for the powdered mix. What I can tell you is that you will love these, and that they are simple. Super duper simple.

Warnings: If you don’t like fudgey gooiness, don’t make these. If you don’t like licking brownie batter, don’t bake.

Recipe (adapted from The Kitchen):

• 2/3 cup canola oil

• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour

• 1/4 tspn baking powder

• 3/4 tspn. kosher salt

• 3 large eggs (at room temperature)

• 2/3 cup dark brown sugar

• 1 1/3 cup powdered sugar

• 1 tspn. vanilla extract

• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Farenheit. Grease a 9x13 inch pan with butter (the original recipe calls for a 9-inch square pan, but I prefer a thinner more fudgey brownie).

Microwave the canola oil in a medium sized microwave-safe bowl for 20 seconds. Gently stir the cocoa powder into the warm oil until it is smooth. You have now successfully started the cocoa blooming process. Set the cocoa powder + oil mixture aside and continue with your mix.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Beat the eggs, powdered sugar and brown sugar in an electric mixer with the paddle attachment on medium for 3-4 minutes. Mix in the vanilla and beat another few seconds. Add 1/2 of the cocoa mixture you had set aside into the egg mixture, and beat on high for 5 minutes (it should start to get shiny). Add the flour mixture to the egg + cocoa mixture slowly on low speed until it is just combined. Pour the other 1/2 of the cocoa mixture into the mixing bowl and mix an additional 30 seconds. Take the mixing bowl off the stand, and fold in the nuts, chocolate chips, or any extra goodies you want to add in.

Bake at 325 for 25 - 30 minutes.

Enjoy! (preferably when you aren’t on a diet)

OG recipe can be found here https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-pantry-cocoa-brownies-240312