breakfast for dinner

hello! last night i scurried all the way to the upper east side, to an event thrown by decades to benefit sloan-kettering hospital's cancer center. basically, i got to sip champagne and feast my eyes on some of the most beautiful designer vintage clothing i've ever seen in person - none of which i could afford, of course. still, it was fun, and i got to catch up with a long-lost friend, which is always a good thing.
 

top: thrifted vintage
scarf: thrifted
boots & skirt: madewell
earrings: c/o charming charlie

 i got home and set straight to work on dinner - i'd scored some duck eggs and house-made corned beef hash from work, so i had a vague plan for breakfast for dinner. i heated up the oven, got some pizza dough rising, and set about chopping.

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breakfast pizza 

one batch pizza dough - i use this recipe
white or red sauce - i made a bechamel sauce (basic recipe here) with onions, mushrooms, ramps and fresh ricotta
toppings of your choice - i used baby heirloom tomatoes, duck prosciutto, avocado and an egg

heat your oven as high as it will go without broiling - mine was up to about 550. put your pizza stone or a sheet pan inside to heat up with the oven. make your sauce, then roll out your pizza dough on a piece of parchment so you can easily slide it onto your sheet pan/pizza stone. bake it for 2-3 minutes, then pull it out and spread your sauce over the dough, and add the toppings that need more time - for me, it was the tomatoes and prosciutto. bake these for 5-6 minutes, then pull out and add the egg and avocado; bake for five more minutes or so, until the white of the egg is fully cooked.
 

while everything was baking, i quickly threw together some corned beef hash.

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corned beef hash

 3 large idaho potatoes, scrubbed and diced
1 small yellow onion, diced
a spring of rosemary, finely chopped
1 cup of prepared corned beef hash (mine was dressed with some mustard and mustard seeds, salt, and pepper)
butter
3 eggs (i used duck eggs, just because.)

once everything is chopped, it's quite simple; use a cast-iron pan and add a couple tablespoons of butter. add the onion, and sautee until soft and transparent; add the potatoes, turn the heat down to medium-low, and just let those potatoes cook through. don't worry too much about them sticking to the pan; add a bit of butter if this happens (my favorite solution to any problem) and you'll just have some nice crispy bits. add the rosemary, and salt and pepper to taste, and the corned beef (chopped into bite sized pieces) once the potatoes have cooked through, and stir occasionally; i put mine in the super hot oven with the pizza, still baking, so they'd be ready at the same time. while the hash crisped up in the oven, i fried the duck eggs to place on top.
 

i didn't get home to start cooking until nearly ten o'clock, so by the time we sat down to dinner it was a rather unhealthy 11:20; it felt sort of right, though, eating breakfast in the pitch black, all sleepy-like. but instead of just waking up, i got to go to bed right after. bonus. have a wonderful week, and more from me soon -

xo audrey

ant audrey

greetings from a dining room table in icy cold brooklyn! it's finally feeling like winter here - the temperature has literally dropped 30 degrees in the past few days, and it's almost a relief to bundle up in a winter coat and gloves (although this haircut is leaving much to be desired warmth-wise.) i've had a pretty serious lack of outfit posts lately (and posts in general, but i digress) - it's not on accident; my hair hasn't been cut or colored since i first chopped it and blonded it back. . . whenever that was. i'm trying to grow it out, and will probably dye it back to brown at some point, but for now i'm settling for punk-rock-muppet, or whatever the look i'm cultivating is. it certainly doesn't help that i've take to dressing like your crazy, eternally single aunt. case in point, my christmas garb:



sweater: cloak & dagger
dress (as skirt): charlotte taylor via anthropologie
shoes: ebay'd ferragamos
necklace: thrifted

wrinkles and all.

anyway, for our christmas sam and i headed up to connecticut to spend it with his family. thanksgiving in california with my folks, christmas in connecticut with his; it's a tradition i've come to love, since time at home with my family is invaluable to me, of course, especially now that it means seeing my little nephew pete. my mom makes all the foods i love for thanksgiving - green bean casserole just the way i like it - and then for the christmas holiday sam's mom handmakes more pierogies than you can count, the wine flows generously, and there's a big screen tv in a den (i always wanted to have a house with a den when i grew up) to escape into. the bakery was pretty hectic leading up to christmas, but i threw together a dish i'd prepared a couple weeks earlier in brooklyn that sam went crazy over.

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bass en croute


upon a little internet searching to refresh my memory (i couldn't remember quite what veggies i used the first time) i came across this recipe, which is pretty similar. so i guess i can't claim complete ownership over this one, but i will say it's pretty easy to make and quite the crowd pleaser. particularly if you have a fridge full of fresh fish, as i do.

1 sizeable fish fillet (i used striped bass, which apparently has been on a KILLER run this fall. in case you were wondering.) i'd say about 4-5 inches wide by ten inches-ish long.
2 sheets puff pastry dough
1 egg, beaten
1 bulb fennel
1 lemon
1/2 cup greek olives
1 cup cherry tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
about 1/4 cup chicken stock
a couple tablespoons cream
salt & pepper


preheat the oven to 375; make sure your puff pastry sheets are defrosted and ready for use. prep the fish by slicing it, long ways, in half - so that you have two fillets that look the same size as the original from above, but are half the thickness. slice 1/2 the tomatoes, the greek olives, and the fennel; saute until soft, squeeze with 1/2 the lemon juice. prepare the puff pastry sheet by placing it on a baking pan on top of some parchment paper. brush the dough with the beaten egg (there should still be plenty left to brush the outside of the pastry when finished) then place one of the fillets in the center. top it with the sauteed veggies, then place the other half the fish on top; place two slices of lemon on top, squeeze the rest of the juice over it, salt and pepper, then carefully place the second sheet on top of the fish. trim the pastry so it's about 1 inch from the fish, then fold it over itself and seal it with a fork. brush the pastry with the remaining egg, then put it in the oven. it'll take 25-35 minutes to bake; keep an eye on it, and take it out to rest for a few minutes once it's puffed and golden brown.

for the sauce - while the pastry is cooking, take the remaining 1/2 cup of tomatoes, sliced in half, and the cloves of garlic; chop them, toss the two with olive oil, then wrap them in aluminum foil and roast until the skins of the tomatoes have popped and started to brown (10-15 minutes.) remove the foil and place the ingredients in a small pan; saute on low, adding chicken stock as needed, then right before you get ready to serve, add the cream, salt, and pepper. strain the sauce to remove the tomato skins and seeds, and drizzle around the pastry. ta-da!





you can see how out of practice i am - i totally forgot to take pictures the whole time and just cooked like a normal person. i'll get back on track, i swear.

i sincerely wish you all a wonderful new year, and hope you had a wonderful christmahannukwanzukah. or solstice. i have a pretty fantastic new years dress picked out, so i think i'll be back sooner than later.

xo audrey

one fish, two fish

blackfish, bluefish. sam took monday to head down to new jersey to do some fishing, and came home that night with a big, gorgeous blackfish, which he deftly filleted and packaged up, telling me to do with it what i would. i've been pretty overwhelmed lately - coming up with menu ideas, testing recipes, trying to wrap up my work here while searching for a replacement - but i spent a significant amount of tuesday dreaming up ideas for what to do with that beautiful piece of meat when i got home. and i mean the fish, not sam. (ha-cha!) i found a recipe that sounded complicated enough to take a few hours and use most of our pots and pans, and knew it was the one.

so i took this recipe and tweaked it to what ingredients i had handy - cherry tomatoes, some baby chanterelles and lots of thyme. my variation is below.



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sauteéd blackfish with corn & roasted red pepper pudding


2 blackfish fillets (preferably with skin still on, but sam had removed the skin and they still held together pretty well.)
1/2 lemon wedge
1 T olive oil
salt & pepper

1/2 roasted red pepper (cut in half, splash with olive oil, wrap in aluminum foil and blast at 450 until the skin starts to blacken. let cool entirely then remove seeds, stem and peel off the skin [this should be easy if it's fully roasted.])
1 1/2 cups corn kernels (recipe calls for fresh; i cheated and used some good frozen corn. still delicious.)
1 cup heavy cream
4 eggs + one egg yolk
salt & cayenne to your liking

1 1/2 cups chicken broth (vegetable broth will do to if you're pescetarian.)
4 thyme stalks
1/2 cup corn kernels
1 T butter
salt & pepper
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

a few sauteed mushrooms, for garnish


preheat your oven to 275. spray six ramekins with cooking spray (for real. i tried brushing mine with butter instead and the buggers did not want to budge out of their molds.) start cream, red pepper, and corn in a small pot; bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes. pour into a blender and puree until totally smooth, then add the eggs, one at a time, while the blender is still going. add cayenne & salt. pour this mixture into the ramekins, and then set them all into an oven safe dish big enough to fit them. pour hot water in, halfway to the top of the ramekins, and bake for at least 20 minutes. mine took closer to 40 to fully set. once they don't jiggle anymore, set them to the side.

while they're cooking, start another small pot with the chicken stock, thyme, and corn. let it simmer at a low temp.

now start the olive oil in your pan. if the skin is still on the fish, score it and squeeze lemon juice in; otherwise just squeeze lemon juice over the fish, salt and pepper it, and toss it on the pan once it's good and hot. cook the fish on medium heat for about 4 minutes on each side, until it has a nice sear and is cooked all the way through. set on a paper towel to rest.

at this point, strain the chicken stock so that only the liquid remains; add the butter, and whisk until it's nice and foamy. invert the corn pudding into a bowl, pour the foamy sauce around and add the tomatoes; top with the blackfish, mushrooms, and some thyme. voila! it's a lot of work, yes, but really nothing too complicated, and the result is a beautiful, delicious, restaurant quality meal. and the savory pudding was such a great base for the fish - i'll definitely be trying some variations on it for other dishes.








xo audrey

pipettes

good morning! last night was my first calm, quiet night for what feels like ages. i've been eating more than my share of chinese takeout and cereal-dinners, so i was excited to finally come home and make a nice, big dinner. i'd been saving a bottle of champagne since my birthday back in june, so i told sam to put it in the fridge, fillet the perch he'd caught and be home in time for supper.

i'd been wearing uncomfortable pants all day, so i was pretty determined to make dinner with whatever i had in the fridge, and nothing more, so that i could remain in sweatpants-and-barefeet mode for the remainder of the night. i ended up having sam pick up a couple of things on his way home, but for the most part managed a dinner of convenience.



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arugula & duck confit crepes with tangerine buerre blanc

crepes:

1/2 cup flour
1/4 t salt
1/2 cup whole milk (i just mixed half and half and 2%)
3 T water
1 egg

sift or whisk together flour & salt. now whisk milk, water, and egg together until mixed, slowly add flour mixture while whisking. strain through a seive, pour into a cup measure, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

simply shred the duck confit and toss it around in a pan for a few minutes, until nice and hot. turn off heat and add arugula, stirring to coat it with the duck fat.

to make the crepes: melt about 3 tablespoons of butter. i like to use clarified butter, so i melt it at a high heat and simply spoon off the fat that rises to the top. brush just enough butter to coat the pan you're using; pour the crepe filling while turning the pan to coat it completely. i got about 10 crepes from this batter. once the crepe starts to bubble along the edges, flip and cook it for another thirty seconds or so, until browned. repeat until you run out of batter.

for the filling:

1 leg duck confit
about 2 cups baby arugula

tangerine beurre blanc: (i adapted this from a recipe found here)

1/2 cup freshly squeezed tangerine juice (about 2 tangerines)
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
1 stick unsalted butter, cold and cut into tablespoons
a couple pinches cayenne pepper
1 T lemon juice
salt to taste

put tangerine juice in a small pot and bring it up to a boil; let it cook down for a few minutes, until it's thickened and only about 1/4 cup remains. add garlic and bring heat down to very low, and add one tablespoon of butter, whisking until almost melted; add another, and whisk. add half the butter this way, whisking and adding another just before the other one has entirely melted. then remove from heat and add the remaining butter one piece at a time. whisk in cayenne, lemon and salt to taste.

to serve, i simply filled up three crepes each for us, and topped each one with half a cherry tomato; the purpose of that was mostly to hold in place the pipettes, which i filled with the beurre blanc. i'd been looking for some pipettes for cooking ever since we ate out on our honeymoon, and a place served raw tuna cubes with a pipette of soy sauce puncturing it; i thought it was such a cool, playful presentation. i lucked out and a friend of mine was able to score me a box of 500 from a manufacturing plant that apparently thinks he works for a hospital. score! (thanks, brad!) so prepare to see a lot of these in the coming weeks. and months. and possibly years.






it seems gimmicky, but this was actually kind of perfect for the dish - the pipettes held the perfect amount of sauce for each crepe, and waiting until the last second to dress them meant they stayed crisp until the last second, and didn't get all soggy while i took photos of them before we dug in.

i also made a tomato bisque variation of our honeymoon soup, using some fresh perch sam caught this weekend. de-licious.



we toasted with the veuve cliquot i'd been holding on to, scarfed down our food and retreated to bed to snuggle up with breaking bad, which sam has taken a liking to at last. how was your night?

man, i'm out of practice. i feel like i can't remember how to write a blog anymore! i'll get better, i swear.

until next time,

xo audrey

walking dead

good afternoon! sam and i rushed back from portland yesterday morning, and i went straight from the airport to work. . . it always sounds like such a great idea to save $50 and get an extra night with your friends when you're buying the plane tickets, but i'll tell you, waking up at 4 am after a late-night sushi party is ROUGH. and working through it is rougher. i spent yesterday in major zombie mode.

before we left for portland, i made a batch of extra-large macarons. when i was in school, we were taught to make them about the size of a quarter - petit four size - and it has been a really hard habit to break, maybe because you get so darn many out of a batch and they're so tiny and cute that way. i decided it'd be easier to travel with extra large macs rather than a box full of delicate little guys, so i made them about three times their usual size, and i will never go back.



raspberry vanilla macarons with dark chocolate ganache

100 g aged egg whites, preferably at room temperature
28 g sugar
5 g egg white powder
1 t bakto vanilla ground vanilla beans (or vanilla bean paste, or just plain vanilla if that's what you have on hand)
1/2 t bakto raspberry extract
a few drops of deep red food coloring
120 g almond flour
200 g powdered sugar

for ganache:
200 g dark chocolate
about 3/8 cup (or 6 T, or 1/4 cup plus 2 T. it's a clumsy amount.) heavy cream

as always, get everything measured out and a nice big space cleared. i like to go ahead and prep 3 baking pans by trimming parchment to fit them and securing them down with butter before i start, and get a piping bag ready with a tip about the size of a pencil eraser.

sift together the almond flour and sugar and set aside. now combine the sugar and egg white powder. using a handmixer, whip the egg whites until they are foamy and no longer yellow; slowly add the sugar mixture and beat until you have a nice meringue, with peaks that will still droop a touch. before you're finished, add the extracts and color and mix until they're evenly combined. the egg white powder does a good job of preventing an over-mix, but you want to make sure not to under beat it, too - it should be nice and shiny.



at this point, shake off the beaters and grab a good, flexible rubber spatula. grab the sieve you used to sift together the flour & powdered sugar, and add the flour/sugar mixture to the meringue in five additions, sifting it through the sieve again each time to evenly distribute it. gently fold the flour each time until you don't see streaks anymore.





all right! pour all this into your eagerly awaiting piping bag; i usually fit mine over a quart container, twisting the tip, so i can pour it in there with both hands and get every bit out of the bowl.

move to your trays. the trick we were taught in school was to count as your piping, a quick "one-two-three," so that they all turn out the same size; err on the size of giving yourself too much space between cookies, because they'll spread a bit after being piped and even a bit more when baking. after you pipe a sheet, tap them once, hard, on the table to release air bubbles.

then just let 'em sit. while this is happening, turn your oven to just under 300; i'd definitely get a thermometer, if you don't have one already, as my busted old brooklyn oven actually burns at 375 when i have it set to 300, so i have to watch it and adjust accordingly.

let them rest, preferably not somewhere super hot or humid, until they develop a skin, and you can poke them gently without the batter coming off on your finger. pop them in your preheated oven and set a timer for six minutes, then rotate them and bake for six more - this is perfect for my oven, but yours might need a bit more or less time, so watch for them to start to barely turn light brown on their feet and take them out then.

let them cool entirely before peeling them off the parchment; you can refrigerate or freeze the shells if you don't want to fill them immediately, otherwise melt 2/3 of the chocolate with the cream over low heat on the oven, and mix in the rest of the cold, chopped chocolate after it's all melted. this should give you a good consistency for piping; pipe a dollop onto one sandwich, match it with a mate, and voila. these things only get better with a day or two in the fridge, so don't be afraid to make them ahead of time.

i know i've done macarons to death, but i continue to be delighted with them; as a pastry chef with a seriously stunted sweet tooth, i never tire of the mix of textures and the fact that you can make any flavor combination under the sun with these things. the raspberry flavor in this is as good, or better, than when i've tried pulverizing dried raspberries to use - i highly recommend all the flavors bakto offers. the woman behind the company is a scientist really does an incredible job of extracting the most natural tasting flavors. give 'em a try.

that's all from me for today. we had such a fantastic time up in maine and have lots to show for it, as soon as i've rested up and gotten my act together a bit.

xo audrey

squid sausage

good morning! forgive my little sabbatical - i started feeling pretty sick thursday afternoon and have basically spent the last few days sleeping, working, and not much else-ing. i started to feel better this monday, but i still can't get past this super sleepy feeling that's been preventing me from waking up early enough to take any outfit photos.

despite my sleepiness, i've had a pretty good week so far; monday night sam and i finally got to see tune-yards, after a couple of failed attempts, and last night a good friend came over for some hang time (sam is off fishing & foraging with a buddy for a couple of days) and i made us a super delicious dinner, inspired by this post i saw on the tasting table. i read over the recipe, thought about what i had in my fridge, and made a few adjustments; here's how it turned out.



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chorizo & yellow onion-stuffed squid

6 squid, tentacles removed & cleaned
2 links of chorizo
1 t olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, diced
about 1 t thyme leaves
1/3 cup panko
12 or so cherry tomatoes
8 stalks of asparagus
salt & pepper
olive oil or bacon fat for cooking

heat olive oil over medium heat in a medium sized pan; once hot, add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until transparent. while cooking onion, start a small saucepan of water boiling; drop in cherry tomatoes, cooking for a minute or so, until skins start to burst. rescue them out with a slotted spoon and plop them in an ice bath for a minute or so; set aside.

next tackle the asparagus; with a very sharp peeler, carefully slice it into thin shreds of asparagus. drop this into the still-hot water from the blanched tomatoes for 30 seconds or so, then strain out and set aside.

at this point your onions should be ready. take the chorizo out of its casing and add it to the pan, using a wooden spoon or spatula to stir and break up the meat as much as possible; cook until it's thoroughly browned. at this point add the tentacles of the squid and cook just until they're opaque; take the pan of the burner and dump its contents into a bowl. add the panko & thyme.

now take your squid bodies; make sure anything that feels like cartilage has been removed and they are well-cleaned, them simply use your fingers to stuff them full of the chorizo mixture like they are little sausage casings. fill them about 3/4 of the way full, then use a toothpick to seal them up.

using the same pan you used for the onions & chorizo, add your bacon fat (or olive oil, if you're using that) at medium heat; once hot, place the squid in the pan and let them cook for about 3 minutes on each side, until the skins are totally opaqued and a bit crispy in parts. you don't want to overcook at this point or they'll get really rubbery.

and that's it! to plate, i carefully peeled back the skins of the blanched tomatoes but left them attached at the stem, then plated the asparagus, topped with a touch of olive oil, a sprinkling of parmesan cheese, and a liberal shake of salt & pepper, then topped off with the squid. the asparagus provided a nice background to the greasy meatiness of the chorizo, and the texture of the squid makes a perfect container for this filling. this looks a lot tricker than it is, and i think it's a good dish to impress a somewhat adventurous eater.














how was your weekend? cooked anything delicious lately? i'm always on the hunt for new recipes!

xo audrey

i'm blue for you

good morning! i'm struggling to form sentences today - last night around 11 i was home, snuggling in bed with a bowl of cereal and my macbook (sam's off on a couple-day-long fishing expedition) when my phone rang. twice. it was a friend of mine, and i am slightly ashamed to say that i didn't want to answer while i was eating cereal (soggy cereal is the worst) so i called him back and was somehow convinced to put on pants and head to the brooklyn inn for a couple of beers. three hours later i was back in bed, but i'm a bit worse for wear.



blouse: c/o loehmann's, via gifted gift card
skirt: thrifted
pin: thrifted
shoes: miu miu, BUT i bought them on ebay for $12. REALLY.
satchel: cambridge satchel company

i was invited to attend an event at loehmann's last week; i hadn't heard of it before attending the event, but it's basically a tj-maxx type place - plenty of variation of expensive designers and more affordable basics, all at a pretty heavily discounted price. i picked out this top because i love the shade - i think royal blue is going to play a big part in my fall wardobe, especially now that it's one of the few shades i feel works well with my new hair color. (unforeseen consequence of dying my hair: where before i really felt like i could wear just about any color, now several favorites completely wash me out; happy trails, mustard yellow, until we meet again.) the kind folks at loehmann's, aside from providing me some great pieces for fall, also let me pick out an accessory to gift my readers; i selected this bag, which i hope you all like. i'm not much of a bag person, but it seemed utilitarian while still being chic; i love the color.



if you'd like this bag for your very own, simply leave me a comment letting me know what fall pieces you're itching to buy. i really want to find a muff to keep my hands warm this winter, but i'll tell ya, googling "muff" is not working out so far. i'll close the contest and announce the winner on tuesday september 6 after the long weekend. good luck!

anyhows, i'll leave you with a recipe that i think i'll be making again and again this fall & winter - chicken pot pie. you can really put whatever veggies you want in here - i used potatoes, carrots & corn because that's what we had, in excess, and i wanted to try to use it up.




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chicken pot pie

1 yellow onion, diced
1 T butter
4 ears steamed corn, kernels cut off the cob
2 potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces
one carrot, peeled (or scrubbed) and cut into bite sized pieces
1 1/2 - 2 cups cooked chicken, torn into bite sized pieces*
1/3 cup flour
1 cup (or more) chicken broth
1 - 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 T thyme leaves
salt & pepper to taste
1 sheet puff pastry dough

*if you don't have already-cooked chicken - again, i made this up mostly as a way to use up leftovers - you can use a breast or two, cut up into smaller pieces, and added in with the potatoes and carrots and cooked until done.

turn the oven to 375. melt butter in a large pan with highish sides; turn heat to medium high, and add onion. sautee until it turns transparent, then add the flour. stir until flour is browned, then slowly add about half the chicken broth, stirring as you go, so it creates a thick gravy. add almost the rest of the broth, then add the potatoes and carrots. add cream - enough to nearly cover the veggies - and cover the pan. uncover and stir occasionally, checking on the vegetables and insuring nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan - if the veggies start to stick, add a bit more chicken broth to release them. once the potatoes and carrots are cooked, remove from heat; the sauce should be good and thick, and everything inside cooked until soft.

stir in corn, thyme, and chicken and dump it all into a casserole dish. salt & pepper. cover the top with the puff pastry, tucking the corners in. bake for about 30-35 minutes, until the puff pastry has totally puffed up and is golden all the way through. i'd stick a sheet pan underneath while baking, just in case - as you can see, mine leaked out the sides a bit. let it cool for 5-10 minutes then enjoy! SO tasty.



xo audrey