It’s been one of those weeks and it’s nice to have a cloudy Sunday morning to reflect back on things. There was a bit of big news: we bought a car. Now, for most people, it’s kind of a no-brainer to have a car. But I’ve never owned or really even wanted a car. We live pretty much in the centre of things and I love exploring on foot, by bike or even by bus. But now we own a 2005 silver little hatchback and it’s like our world has opened up exponentially. We can, at the drop of a hat, head out into the mountains for a hike or cross the border to visit friends. Freedom and cars always seemed like such an advertising ploy or a teenage fantasy, but it’s true! I didn’t think I’d be so much in love with the idea of car ownership, but I’m smitten. While I do have my license, I actually haven’t driven in 20 years, so I’ll need a bit of practice to brush up and get over my fears. After biking through traffic and scowling at cars who don’t pay attention to cyclists, I’ve got quite a bit of fear to get over. Baby steps and parking lot practice, here I come!

Then came Valentine’s Day and if you didn’t know it already, I’m a sucker for love. I don’t care that it’s a greeting card holiday one bit. I love pinks and reds and flowers (though tulips over roses, please). And I love fussing over my husband. I always make a card from scratch and this year I even made a little 8 song mix over at 8tracks that you are more than welcome to listen to. But it was our dinner that night that was so fantastic and perfect. There was a perfectly seasoned steak that I cooked in the oven at very low heat (200F) for 10 minutes per side before searing on the stove. Perfect medium-rare insides and a lovely crust outside. Yum. Oven roasted herbed potatoes that were crisp on the outside and soft and perfect inside. A raw mixed vegetable asian slaw and steamed brussels sprouts completed our plate. But it was dessert that gilded the lily.

My favorite brownie recipe plus a small scoop of buttermint ice cream put the biggest smile on Cornelius’ face. The thing is, I had spied the ice cream recipe quite a while ago on the kitchn, but I was put off by the addition of butter extract. Butter extract, really?? It sounded gross and I’m generally against single-use tools and ingredients. So I had pretty much made up my mind that I’d be giving this recipe a pass. But when I found myself in the baking section of my favorite kitchen shop the day before Valentine’s Day, I grabbed the little bottle of butter extract and that was it, buttermint ice cream, here I come.

The original recipe calls for turmeric to stain the ice cream yellow which sounded all fine and good. Except that I was making this for Valentine’s Day and I was jonesing for pink. Plus, it makes sense as it recalls the pastel buttermint candies that I loved as a kid with their pale pinks, greens and yellows. The recipe itself is super simple and I like that it doesn’t contain eggs. It does require a bit of cream cheese which adds to the creamy texture. It’s a good trick – the ice cream didn’t get rock hard after spending a couple days in the freezer which is a good thing. Another discovery was drizzling melted white chocolate (I used Callebault…the good stuff here) while the ice cream churned, adding thin shards of crispy chocolate ribbons throughout. Incredible! And because I was already preheating the oven at a low temperature (200F), I decided to melt the chocolate in a small cast iron pan in the oven. The chocolate melted perfectly and quickly….no fussing with a double boiler! Genius!

Yup, I’ll be making this again. Tinted pale green for St. Patrick’s Day? Why not!

One more thing, today is this blog’s 7th birthday. Seven years of Everybody Likes Sandwiches! Not bad run, I think. I’ve learned a lot of new things here in this public space – about cooking and myself. Here’s to seven more years! Anyway, thank you so much for reading and commenting and sending me emails. I don’t think my life would be quite so awesome without this space for me to vent and share. I’m grateful.

elsewhere: Earlier this week at Poppytalk, I baked up a big dish of comfort. Creamy mac and cheese with cauliflower and chard. Delicious and simple. Go check out the recipe!

 savannah buttermint ice cream
(recipe adapted from the book Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home via the kitchn)

2 1/4 c whole milk
1 T plus 1 t cornstarch
3 T cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 t sea salt
2-4 drops red food colouring
1 c heavy cream
scant 2/3 c sugar
2 T light corn syrup
3 oz white chocolate, chopped
4-5 drops butter extract
4 to 5 drops pure peppermint extract

1. In a small bowl, use a fork to mix together 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch. Set this aside. Whisk together the cream cheese, salt and food colouring together and set aside. In a large bowl or stock pot, fill with ice and cold water – set aside.

2. Combine the rest of the milk, along with the heavy cream, sugar and corn syrup into a medium sized sauce pot and bring to a boil. Let boil for 4 minutes then remove from heat. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and then bring back to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook for one minute and then remove from heat. Whisk in the cream cheese mixture and beat until well incorporated. Pour the mixture into a large ziplock bag, seal tightly and then dunk mixture into the bowl with the water and ice. Put in the fridge and chill until cold, about 30 minutes.

3. Melt white chocolate. I had the oven at 200F so I just melted it in the oven & it worked like a charm. Otherwise, use a microwave or use a bain-marie.

4. Pour ice cream mixture into your ice cream maker and start churning. Add in drops of butter extract and peppermint. Taste and adjust, if needed. Slowly drizzle in the melted chocolate. Churn until the mixture gets thick and creamy. Pour ice cream into a lidded glass container and freeze for 4 hours.

Possibly related posts:

• coolio: coconut chocolate chunk ice cream + mexican chocolate ice cream
• 3 of my favorite words: bourbon ice cream

My husband’s birthday is January 2nd and while I love my husband dearly, I’m not so keen on celebrating the day of his birth so close to the holidays. After a month of chocolates and sweets, I’m eager to get on with whole grains, raw vegetables and the like. But after years of birthday pie and cake making, I’ve discovered the solution to coping with sweets right after the holidays. And that answer, my friends, is citrus. Seriously, it’s light and bright and I think most deserts made with lemons and limes can’t be too heavy and cloying. Plus, it has the added advantage of making us look ahead towards summer and in the middle of winter that can only be a good thing.

Previous January birthday treats for Cornelius have included lemon meringue pie, a coconut lime cake and a coconut-banana cream pie. Light and tropical! And then there were other birthdays that included a chocolate chip banana bread and ginger loaf and a red ale chocolate cake (yes, beer birthdays are the best). But I think this lime tart has been my favorite birthday baking treat so far and I’m just itching to make it again.

When most people think of lime tarts, a key lime pie is the thing that comes to most minds. It’s got a lovely retro pull and it just sounds refreshing. But the thing about those itsy-bitsy tiny little limes is that you have to juice every single one of them. I’ve heard tales of people using garlic presses to make the juicing of those little green fruit easier, but for me, I like the plain ol’ limes. Every store has them and if you pick right, you can get some juicy little buggers. The trick is to let them come to room temperature and then press on them with your palm just before juicing. Some say use a microwave to heat them up first, but we got rid of ours ages ago, and a good press against the countertop does wonders.

The truth is, I was a little worried because I goofed while mixing up the filling. I used my favorite recipe which calls for yolks only. But as I was whisking away the yolks and the condensed milk, I mistakenly tossed in the egg whites along with the lime juice. But you know what, despite my initial shock that I had done something terribly wrong, it ended up making the perfect pie! The photo above is the the pie just before going in the oven. It looked pretty dang wonderful. I was concerned that the pie filling would be too stiff but the resulting filling was soft and creamy with the added bonus of not wasting any egg whites! My plans on trying out a seven-minute frosting were shot to hell, but I remedied that with some rum-soaked whipping cream which I think made for a perfect dollop of sweetness to contrast against this tart lil’ tart.

I tend to have a heavy hand when it comes to pouring booze. One of our friends who partook in this pie thought my whipped topping was pretty rummy indeed (I, however, thought it perfect). If you did want to make some sweet rum whipping cream, just whip most of a small container of heavy cream and add a tablespoon of powdered sugar (more if you like it sweet) and a glug of good dark rum (Goslings Black Seal is my fave). If free pouring scares you, start off with a teaspoon and taste – adding more if needed. And if you think like me, more is needed.

And the bonus of fluffy dollops of whipped cream is that it hides those tell-tale candle holes left in the pie. We do birthdays up right in our house. Thankfully, we only went with 6 candles instead of the 30-plus candles that would have been necessary for a proper birthday send-off!

elsewhere: Not interested in dessert just yet? Head over to Poppytalk where you’ll find a delicious recipe for Salsa & Black Bean Tortilla Soup. Perfect for warming up the endless January chill.

lime tart
Note that condensed milk must come in different sizes depending where you’re from. I used a 300 ml can but you can easily use a 400ml can just as easily without subbing a thing. If you do use a larger can, you’ll get a sweeter pie. Can’t find sweetened condensed milk in your country? Google a recipe, there’s many out there.

tart shell
1 1/4 c graham cracker crumbs
2 T white sugar
5 T melted butter

filling
3 eggs
1 can sweetened condensed milk (300 ml)
1/2 cup lime juice (about 4 limes)
2 t grated lime zest

1. Preheat oven to 350F and place oven rack in the centre. Butter a tart pan (sides and bottom) and set aside. Mix together the crumbs and sugar until well blender. Stir in the melted butter with a fork and then firmly press the crumbs into your prepared tart pan with your hands – up along the sides and the bottom of the pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool.

2. While the crumb crust is baking, in your electric mixer, whisk together the eggs until frothy. Slowly pour in the condensed milk and beat for 5 minutes until fluffy. Pour in lime juice and zest and beat until mixed.

3. Pour filling into crust and bake for 10-15 minutes or until filling has set. Place on wire rack to cool completely. Cover and refrigerate for an hour or two – or overnight. Serve slices with a dollop of  lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Possibly related posts:

• burnt nectarine tart (but not on purpose)
• tart it up: simple tomato phyllo tart

This year I took the slow boat towards Christmas and only started really thinking about holiday baking and decorating this past weekend. Friday night we put up our shiny little tinsel tree, drank a few amaretto sours and basked in the glow and shimmer of pink lights and oodles of vintage ornaments. My favorite holiday movie, The Shop Around the Corner, has been watched and my cupboards and fridge is now full of flour, butter, sliced almonds and chocolate. Time to start the all important holiday baking!

A couple of years ago, I compiled a mighty list of great holiday baking ideas and gifts and figured I’d provide a compendium to my original list filled with great seasonal treats from 2010 + 2011. And because that older list also included a lovely little gift tag set to print off and use, I figured I’d add another one for the collection! All you need is a PDF reader and a printer. Just download the PDF, print onto card stock and cut out your cheery checked circles! Use them to top mason jars filled with treats, or use a hole punch and tie on some ribbon to tag your edible gift! The design matches the recipe cards in my etsy shop, you know, in case you were curious.

Now, onwards with the holiday baking, candy & kitchen book ideas!

Bars & Squares
Butterscotch confetti squares - a Canadian classic aka “marshamel”.
Butterscotch cashew bars - buttery & delicious.
Cranberry lemon squares - tart & festive.
Seriously intense cocoa nib brownies - for serious chocolate fanatics!

Cakes & Loafs
Walnut & cranberry zucchini bread - a favorite!
Banana espresso chocolate chip bread - a classic combo of flavours!
Coconut lime cake - tart & tropical.
Coffee & spice cupcakes - spicy and dark.

Candy & Nuts
Candy Cane Crisp Bark – white chocolate, rice crispies & crushed candy canes do Christmas up right!
Chocolate coconut almond bites – like little balls of Almond Joy!
Last-minute peanut brittle – Today I saw a small box of peanut brittle on sale for $14. It’s a snap to make, so make it yourself!
Salted caramel pretzel almond popcorn – what a tasty mouthful!
Salty sweet candied peanuts – what’s not to love?
Spiced caramel corn with pepitas, almonds & pecans - just a little spicy…

Cookies
Cranberry rum shortbread cookies – slice and bake & perfect for the holidays!
Chocolate puddle cookies - decadent!
Salted butterscotch oatmeal cookies - in 2011 I discovered a serious love of butterscotch!
Vegan-ish sandwich cookies - like oreos, but better!
Bittersweet chocolate cookies - holy moly.
Vegan garam masala cookies - like gingerbread, only more interesting.

Kitchen books
And because I’m an avid reader (you can follow me here on GoodReads – though be wary, I do read a lot of YA), here are just three great kitchen books that I read this past year:

Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef – Honest, open, no BS memoir. Loved it.
Heart of the Artichoke and Other Kitchen Journeys – A gorgeous cookbook that I think is a must in anyone’s collection.
Boozehound: On the Trail of the Rare, the Obscure, and the Overrated in Spirits – This book will make you want to drink more (not necessarily a bad thing).

elsewhere: After all this sweetness, maybe you want to curl up with something a bit more healthy. And maybe you want a tutorial on how to shred cabbage. Well, you are in luck! Over at Poppytalk, I make a fantastic apple cabbage slaw and show you the proper way to shred cabbage (no finger loss!).

Possibly related posts:

• holiday baking & gift ideas
• let’s call them rustic: brown butter cookies & other holiday goodies

First up, broccoli crunch slaw. This is one of the most popular recipes on this blog & for good reason too. It’s not heavy (thanks to the yogurt in the dressing) and it’s very festive with the dried cranberries and the crunchy roasted almonds. Even slaw-haters and raw-broccoli naysayers will love this one.

My mom always made a soup for Thanksgiving and I’m happy to carry on the tradition. While she would usually make vichyssoise, I tend to think sweet & spicy. I love love love this sweet potato, corn & jalapeno bisque (which is just a fancy way of saying soup) and despite how easy it is to make, it’s fancy enough for your frilliest guests. Got more adventurous friends, this spicy African yam & peanut soup is incredible.

Who doesn’t love a good cranberry sauce? Apples, cranberries and fresh rosemary co-mingle to make something really wonderful. Tasty with turkey, stuffing and all the fixings – and also delicious over biscuits and mac and cheese. It’s utilitarian-ly delicious. This cranberry chutney is another delicious alternative.

Everyone always finishes their stuffing, right? I personally think it’s the one thing that everyone loves. I love my mom’s traditional sage-onion-celery stuffing but I’ve made it a bit more exciting with the addition of chopped apples and walnuts. A keeper.

I can’t get enough of vegetables on the Thanksgiving table. I was a vegetarian for 10 years and old habits die hard. These braised vegetables are a godsend for busy holidays because they are so simple to prepare. Trust me, these braised turnips, onions and carrots will knock your socks off. Want to braise some more? Try this braised cabbage, cumin and apple dish or give milk-braised cauliflower & carrots a go.

Who could argue with a good pumpkin dessert? This pumpkin and apple crumb cake is made for Thanksgiving, though I’d happily eat it all year round.

But you can’t forget pie! Last year I made a fantastic apple & sour cherry pie with a crumb topping. I still dream about that pie. And if you can’t forgo pumpkin pie, why not give this retro looking pumpkin chiffon dream pie a try!

Please don’t forget that after Thanksgiving it’s not about eating leftover pie for breakfast (though a little slice never hurt anyone). Give yourself a hearty & wholesome breakfast and try this pumpkin spice bowl of steel cut oats.

Now take a deep breath, because now you’re Thanksgiving day ready. Just remember to breathe and the rest will be easy. Do you have any Thanksgiving favorites? Share them with me in the comments, I’d love to hear about your own dinner traditions.

Possibly related posts:

• thanksgiving is pretty much all about food.
• thanksgiving pt. 2: cranberry chutney + pumpkin chocolate chip cake

Blackberry and peaches have a short life span. They appear in local markets and entangled in bushes wanting to be seen, heard and tasted and then just before you’ve had your fill, they seem to vanish. I have a tendency to hoard and my freezer space suffers because of it. But this year, I didn’t stash away buckets full of berries. Instead, I found joy in their freshness and honoured their fleeting nature. I ate them out of hand and I also made these tasty squares.

But first, I wanted to talk about summer. It is also fleeting. Summer didn’t really seem to start here until August and it doesn’t seem to be letting up anytime soon either. This summer I attended a horse race where I came out pretty much on par. You win some, you lose some and then you drink a cold one. I played croquet in suburban backyards and went on bike rides around the city. I discovered a beautiful new park close to my neighbourhood and I appeared on the radio. I even went to an afternoon baseball game!

I rode a wooden roller coaster, ate a corn dog and realized that I’m getting too old for those spinny rides at the fair. With friends in tow, I spent a few afternoons and evenings in a tiny island in the middle of the city, usually with a picnic and a beer in hand. We drove out to the semi-desert of this beautiful province and saw hoodoos and peered down at tiny prickly pear cactuses that grew underfoot. We camped by rivers and had campfires and ate ‘smores.

Summer, I’m glad we became fast friends. Luckily, blackberries and peaches make wonderful playmates. Sweet and tart and much less fussy than a pie, these bars make a lovely wrap up to the fading summer sun.

blackberry & peach shortbread bars
(adapted from Smitten Kitchen and this recipe)
3 c all-purpose flour
1 c white sugar
1 t baking powder
1/4 t cinnamon
1/8 t freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 t sea salt
1 c cold unsalted butter
1 large egg
1 t vanilla extract
2 peaches, pitted and thinly sliced
2 cups blackberries (if using frozen, no need to defrost)

Preheat oven to 375F. Butter a 9×13″ pan.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices. Add the butter and use your hands to crumble the dough into small pieces. Add in the egg and vanilla. Stir to combine. Press 3/4 of the dough into the prepped pan and set aside the remaining dough for the topping.

Add the sliced peaches over top and then scatter the blackberries. Crumble the remaining dough over top . Bake for 35 minutes or until the top and sides are golden. Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting into bars. Makes 24 squares.

Possibly related posts:

• i’m hooked on blackberries: cornmeal pate brisee & blackberry-peach galette
• raspberry/blackberry oat breakfast bars

A couple weeks ago, I received a phone call from someone at CBC radio. The “On the Coast” program hosted by Stephen Quinn was doing a short segment about blackberries and had a few questions for me. A google search by their researchers revealed that I’m not only a forager of local blackberries but I’m a big fan of the fruit. I was asked a few questions and then asked to go to the CBC studio the next day. Needless to say, I was a big bundle of nerves. What if I stumbled or said “ummmm” every few seconds? Well, it turned out that the whole thing was really fun and a great experience. And you can listen to me right here defend this wonderful fruit and hear my nervous giggles! Thanks again to CBC Radio & On the Coast for letting me post this clip here!

Over at Poppytalk I’ve been busy whipping up some fantastic things! On Wednesday I wrote about a super simple – but totally elegant – peach tart using the best local fruit. It can easily be made vegan too! And last week I made a stack of buckwheat pancakes which are gluten-free and totally delicious. Light and fluffy and wholesome? Check!

Possibly related posts:

• i’m hooked on blackberries: cornmeal pate brisee & blackberry-peach galette
• blackberry & peach shortbread bars

A couple of years ago, I had great luck making a cherry buttermilk sherbet. The only ice cream maker I had at the time was a large and clunky (but beautiful) turquoise vintage hand-crank one. I didn’t pull it out of our storeroom and instead just froze it and whisked it a bit and as luck would have it, it was a tasty success. But now I’ve got an electric ice cream maker and it’s so easy to try out crazy flavour combinations on a whim. So far I’ve had great luck with Mexican chocolate ice cream, coconut cherry chocolate frozen yogurt and bourbon buttermilk ice cream. So when the BC Blueberry Council came a-knocking at my door with containers of fresh, local BC blueberries I figured I’d try my hand at another wacky but elegant flavour combination. Thanks BC Blueberries!

The previous evening we had cracked open a bottle of riesling and we had a bit left in the bottle so I figured I’d add it to the mix. The rosemary came about because the rosemary growing on our balcony was looking full and lush so I plucked off a stem and got to work. I whipped up a quick sugar syrup and added in the rosemary to infuse for a couple of hours. This recipe doesn’t use up all the rosemary syrup, so go ahead and use it in a cocktail – I think this would be perfect in a Pimm’s Cup or blackberry smash (here’s a recipe for something similar).

The fresh blueberries get blended along with the rosemary syrup and the white wine. I chose to strain out the blueberry skins for a smoother texture, but that’s up to you, but I like the strained version much better. The mixture then heads to the fridge for a bit of a chill before churning. I liked this best right out of the machine – it’s soft and smooth and it gets a little sloppy in the best way. But you might want to give it an hour or two in the freezer to firm up a bit. So how did it tastes? Pretty wonderful and quite elegant. The rosemary is subtle but definitely there – if you want a stronger flavour, let the sugar syrup infuse longer. The riesling is quite nice with the blueberries and I’m sure a chardonnay would be lovely too. Just use a nice wine, one you’d use for drinking.

If you don’t have an ice cream maker, don’t fret! This makes perfectly elegant popsicles for the grown-up set (just skip the cool-down stage). And you can make sorbet by freezing the mixture in a metal tray and giving it a whisk every now and then until it gets to the texture you like best.

elsewhere: Check out this summery Sweet Pepper & Cauliflower salad recipe over at Poppytalk. The recipe is adapted from David Tanis so you know it’s delicious.

blueberry sorbet with riesling & rosemary
1/2 c water
1/2 c sugar
1 medium stem of rosemary
3 c fresh blueberries
1/3 c riesling
pinch black pepper

In a small saucepan, heat water and sugar until sugar melts. Add rosemary and let the mixture cool. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, though 4 might be just right. Remove rosemary.

Add the blueberries, riesling and black pepper to a blender and give it a whirl. Pour in 1/3 cup of the rosemary sugar syrup and blend again until well mixed. Strain mixture into a bowl using a fine mesh strainer and let the mixture cool, covered, in the fridge for about an hour, where it will become strangely gelatinous. If you are making popsicles, skip the cooling part and just pour into your popsicle maker & freeze overnight.

Pour blueberry mixture into your ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer’s instructions. Eat immediately if you like a soft sorbet or freeze for 2 hours before eating.

Possibly related posts:

• cranberry rosemary apple sauce
• summer holiday: cannellini bean dip with lemon & rosemary

First, I want to thank all of you for your NYC comments and emails packed full of suggestions. I received so much good stuff that I’m sure I’d have to spend another month to get to try everything. Thank you for your kindness and tips. But now, let’s talk about spring. Spring came to a slow start here in Vancouver. April and May were cold and rainy with only a couple sunny days to spare. The sad thing is that the past few months have been so busy that I haven’t made it out to our local farmer’s markets and so I felt that all the bounty of spring produce: asparagus, ramps and rhubarb were passing me by. Luckily, I found some gorgeous stalks of rhubarb in my local Chinatown market and remembered a recipe passed along by my amazing friend in Seattle. The original recipe calls for blood orange and vanilla bean in the rhubarb compote. My friend subbed in ginger and my god, ginger! I did the same, but snuck in meyer lemons instead of orange because that’s how I roll. So the meyer lemon and ginger? Revelatory!! So damn good.

I should warn you that this recipe is a bit of a time suck. First you make the compote. Then you make the brown butter crust which requires you to freeze the brown butter before you go any further with the rest of the crust directions.But wait, there’s more! There’s the brown butter filling which requires more brown butter but thankfully no more freezing. So don’t be like me and decide to make these bars at 10pm because you won’t be pulling the final result out of the oven until nearly 1am. Also, if it isn’t obvious from the recipe, there is a ton of butter involved which makes these bars super rich. So slice ‘em small and give them away. A few small slices fit nicely into a pretty jam jar and your friends will be thankful for the treat.

But if you want to skip the hassle and time of making these bars as is, I have a suggestion. One, make the rhubarb-ginger compote. Put it over ice cream. Dollop it over yogurt and granola. Eat it with a spoon. It’s pink and it’s perfect, it really is. Second suggestion, the brown butter crust is amazing. It smells like Christmas and tastes even better. It’s crisp and brown-buttery. See the close up photo above? Flecks of vanilla bean in the filling but the brown butter is flecked with it’s own magic too. Magic you can see and taste.

elsewhere: Over at ReadyMade I’ve got 2 recent posts. Hanger steaks – what are they? I’ve even got a recipe that includes a whiskey sauce. Yup. And I know I’ve got a lot of granola recipes already, but who couldn’t use another? Salty & sweet and oh-so delicious. Get the recipe.

brown butter rhubarb ginger bars
(adapted from the The Big Sur Bakery Cookbook)
rhubarb compote:
1 scant cup sugar
Grated zest and juice of 2 meyer lemons
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
4 rhubarb stalks, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar along with the lemon juice and zest together over medium high heat until it starts to bubble and slightly caramelize (ie, faintly turns golden). Add in the ginger and rhubarb and let bubble and melt for 15 minutes, turning down the heat to a simmer. Set aside to cool.

brown butter shortbread crust
1 c unsalted butter
1/2 c powdered sugar
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 t kosher salt

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat the butter separates and the milk solids turn brown, stirring occasionally. Don’t let the butter over-brown, you want it to smell nutty and turn golden. Turn off heat and pour into a shallow dish to freeze until solid, about 30-45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Meanwhile, whisk together the powdered sugar, flour and salt. When the brown butter has solidified, cut into small pieces and use your hands to mix the butter into the flour mixture until well blended and the mixture resembles oats. Press this mixture into a buttered 9×13″ baking dish and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Then, bake in the oven until golden – about 20 minutes, and let cool, but keep the oven on.

brown butter filling
3 large eggs
1 c sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 T all-purpose flour
1/2 t salt
1 vanilla bean
1/2 c unsalted butter

Tired yet? Keep going we’re almost there! Whisk together the eggs, sugar, flour and salt together in a bowl. This will be a gorgeous sunny, silky lemon colour (beautiful, right?). Set aside.

In a small sauce pan, heat the brown butter and the scrape the inside of the vanilla bean into the butter. Add in the pod too and let the whole shebang get brown and nutty. Since the mixture is already dark because of the vanilla, keep a close eye on things so the butter doesn’t burn. Remove from heat and remove the vanilla pod. Slowly whisk the butter into the egg mixture, stirring constantly until combined.

Pour half the filling onto the crust and spread just over half of the compote mixture over top with a rubber spatula in a relatively even layer. Pour the remaining filling overtop and use a spoon to drop small dollops of the remaining jam randomly over the top of the bars. Bake for 30 minutes or until the top is golden and the filling has set. Let cool completely before cutting into squares.

Phew!!

Possibly related posts:

• it ain’t pretty, it just tastes that way: rhubarb-ginger chutney
• a rhubarb schlump: strawberry-rhubarb pudding cake

I made this ice cream a while ago and I think its time for a repeat double scoop. This ice cream is actually low in fat and is adapted from a Mark Bittman recipe called “cornstarch ice cream”. When you call it cornstarch ice cream, you’re probably not going to get many takers – in fact when I told my husband what I was making, he grimaced. But throw in bourbon, buttermilk and a whole lot of mix-ins like sour cherries, toasted coconut, roasted almonds and dark chocolate? Well, then it gets seriously awesome.

Clearly, I’m suffering from lack of restraint but it’s not a bad thing here at all. Years ago, Cornelius and I were discussing our dream ice cream flavour and we came up with the name “Crazy Go Nuts”. I was imagining something with a cinnamon base, lots of roasted nuts, coconut and some dark chocolate for good measure. This comes close to my idea of crazy but kicks it with way more deliciousness because of the addition of bourbon. Bourbon! And because I do go whole hog here, you might wonder if anything gets lost, but I’m proud to say that every flavour adds something special. The boozy warmth of the bourbon, vanilla and cinnamon, the roasted bits of coconut and almonds and the tart freshness of the sour cherries all add up to a very good thing indeed. I’m not even going to mention the dark chocolate. However, I should talk about the buttermilk because it does add a slight tang to the whole thing. The texture is nubbly from all the bits but it’s oh-so-creamy without the heavy cream. Which means it’s time for a double scoop, please.

Oh, and if you don’t have an ice cream maker, don’t fret! You can make this! Just pour the mixture into a shallow metal pan, freeze it, whisk it every 30 minutes or so until it begins to thicken, add in the mix-ins and continue stirring.

elsewhere: I make a whole wheat cookie in my fishy cast iron skillet. Find out more over at ReadyMade. And at Poppytalk, I declare my love for (soy) chorizo and make a breakfast skillet hash.

bourbon buttermilk ice cream
(adapted from Mark Bittman)
2 1/2 c whole milk
scant 1/2 c sugar
Pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split in two and seeds scraped
1/2 t cinnamon
3 T cornstarch

1/2 c buttermilk
1/4 c bourbon (I like me some Maker’s Mark)

mix ins:
3 T roughly chopped frozen sour cherries
2 T finely chopped semi-sweet chocolate
2 T c finely chopped roasted almonds
2 T freshly toasted coconut

Put the 2 cups of whole milk into a saucepan over medium heat (reserve the last 1/2 of milk for use later), along with the sugar, salt, cinnamon and vanilla bean seeds and the pot. Cook until the mixture begins to steam, whisking occasionally, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix together the cornstarch with the remaining milk. Remove the vanilla bean pod and whisk in the milk/cornstarch mixture. Stir until the mixture thickens and barely reaches a boil, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to very low and whisk for another 5 minutes until thick.

Pour the mixture into a bowl and cover. Refrigerate until cold – 3 hours or overnight. Add in the buttermilk and bourbon and give it a good stir. Pour into your ice cream maker and when it just starts to really thicken up and look like soft ice cream, add in the mix-ins. Eat immediately or freeze until firm.

Possibly related posts:

• coolio: coconut chocolate chunk ice cream + mexican chocolate ice cream
• seven more years: savannah buttermint ice cream

I like to think that I’m relatively level-headed when it comes to sweets. Sure, I love baking but I don’t really go overboard with recipes that use a ton of butter or cream. Or butterscotch chips. But I happened to read this post on Just Cook NYC and I couldn’t get those orange-hued cashew bars out of my head. Luckily, my local grocery store must have been conspiring because there was a super sale on butterscotch chips! My fate was sealed.

The only problem was that there was no recipe in Justin’s post. No matter, that’s what Google is for (uh, or a bookstore where I could purchase the cookbook) and I found a kind of cockamamie recipe over at Serious Eats. It’s cockamamie because it isn’t complete – one entire step regarding the bottom cookie layer is gone and the rest of the recipe seems a bit off. So I just used my skills honed from the cranberry lemon bars and it worked out just fine. Making the butterscotch topping couldn’t have been simpler. Melt the chips with some butter and water and corn syrup before adding in the cashews.

And can I mention that every time I use corn syrup, I squee! Seriously, look at the little red elephant spout on my bottle of Korean corn syrup! Too cute. I guess it’s a good thing, that I only use corn syrup about once a year.

Recently I mentioned that I rarely make layered squares or bar cookies because they seem like to much work. Many people disagreed with me and I guess it just took a little practice to get comfortable. These squares were easy to make, they were easy to cut and totally easy to share with friends. And they go perfectly with a cup of coffee. Even my butterscotch-hating husband couldn’t help but grab seconds.

Please note that the bars were a bit gooey in the very middle which wasn’t a bad thing. If you wanted a firmer centre, you could bake them for another 5 minutes or so – but watch them closely because I’m guessing that they could burn quickly around the edges.

elsewhere: It’s feeling like spring here in Vancouver, so why not get festive and celebrate the longer days! Over at Poppytalk, I make some creamy green salsa. It’s unusual and full of flavour and totally vegan, so get your dip on.

butterscotch cashew bars
(adapted from Serious Eats)

base:
2 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 c firmly packed brown sugar
1 1/2 t kosher salt
1 c cold butter
1-2 T cold water

topping:
1 2/3 c butterscotch chips
1/2 c + 2 T light corn syrup
3 1/2 T unsalted butter
1/4 t kosher salt
2 T water
2 c salted cashew pieces, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly butter your 9×13″ pan and cut two strips of parchment. Lay one lengthwise and the other widthwise with the paper long enough to go outside the pan (this provides you with handles to lift the bars out when you are ready to cut into them). Butter up your parchment too.

Combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the butter and use your hands or a food processor to crumble the dough into small pieces. Move crumbles to a mixer and add in the water and blend until the dough comes together. Press the dough into your prepped pan and bake for 5 minutes. Remove and poke the dough all over with a fork and bake for another 20 minutes or until it gets lightly golden brown around the edges. Remove from oven and let cool.

In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt butterscotch chips, along with corn syrup, butter, salt and 2 tablespoons of water. When it’s all melty and smooth, stir in the cashews and spread evenly over the cookie base. Bake for 15 minutes or until the butterscotch gets nice and bubbly. Remove from the oven and cool. Cut into squares. Makes 24 2″ squares.

Possibly related posts:

• in the eye of the beholder: butterscotch confetti squares
• brown butter rhubarb ginger bars – spring, finally.