salmon with mustard dill crust

2 8 oz salmon fillets, skin-on, about 1" thick
1 c panko
1 oz thick-cut potato chips, crushed into rough 1/8" pieces
1 green onion, white part only, minced
1 1/2 T chopped fresh dill
1/2 t olive oil

adjust one oven rack to 3-4" from heat source and second rack to upper middle position. toast panko in 300 degree oven on lower rack until light brown. combine with crushed chips, dill and green onion. set aside.

increase oven setting to broil. line baking sheet with foil and place salmon on foil. rub each fillet evenly with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. broil salmon on upper rack until surface is spotty brown and outer 1/2" of thick end is opaque when gently flaked with paring knife, 7 to 9 minutes. remove fish from oven, spread each fillet evenly with mustard, and press bread crumb mixture onto fillets. return to lower rack and continue broiling until crust is deep golden brown, about 1 minute longer. use spatula to transfer salmon to serving plates, leaving skin behind on foil.

creamy peas with tarragon

2 T unsalted butter
1 shallot, minced
1 T minced fresh tarragon, or 1 t dried tarragon
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 c heavy cream
1 lb frozen peas
2 t sugar
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

melt butter in 12" nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. add shallot, tarragon, and garlic, and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. stir in heavy cream and simmer until thickened, about 2 minutes. add peas and sugar. cover and cook until peas are heated through, about 4 minutes. season with salt and pepper to taste.

african ginger soft drink

6 cups boiling water
1 cup grated fresh peeled ginger root (yes, 1 cup. that is not a typo)
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons whole cloves
4 cinnamon sticks
1/2 cup lime or lemon juice
1 cup orange juice (or pineapple, or guava)
8 cups cool water

Pour the boiling water over the grated ginger root, sugar, cloves, and cinnamon in a large pot or bowl. Stir. Cover and let sit in the sun for an hour.

Strain the liquid through a fine sieve or cheesecloth. Add the juices and water. Throw all that grated ginger your worked so hard on into the garbage. Let the mixture sit for another hour. Store in fridge.

strawberry rhubarb cobbler with gingered biscuit topping

adapted from Sara Moulton

cobbler:
4-5 pints strawberries, hulled, rinsed and quartered
1-1.5 lbs rhubarb, peeled and cut into .5-1" wide pieces
1/3 cup sugar, or to taste
2 T all-purpose flour
2 t finely grated lemon zest
generous pinch of salt
1 T unsalted butter, cut into slivers

topping:
1 c all-purpose flour
3 T sugar
1 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
4 T very finely chopped crystallized ginger
4 T unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 c buttermilk, plus more for brushing

Put rhubarb in a large, heavy saucepan. Add a tablespoon or two of the sugar and stir over high heat until the sugar has started to dissolve, 1-2 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring often, until the fruit has exuded some of its liquid, about 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the strawberries and sugar, then add the rhubarb mixture (if the rhubarb has given off a lot of liquid, you may not want to add all the liquid here), lemon zest, the rest of the sugar, and the salt. Let cool a bit, then pour into a lightly buttered baking dish, and dot with the slivers of butter.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. use a pastry blender or your fingertips to mix in the ginger and to cut in the butter until the mixture resembles the texture of small peas. Quickly stir in the buttermilk to form a soft dough. Turn out onto a well-floured work surface, knead into a ball, and roll out to a thickness of about .5". Cut out biscuits using a cookie cutter or thin rimmed glass about 2" in diameter.

Arrange the biscuits tightly over the fruit. Brush lightly with additional buttermilk, sprinkle with demarera sugar, and bake until cobbler is bubbly and biscuits are golden brown, 35-45 minutes. Serve hot, possibly with vanilla ice cream.

Almost any variety of brined or oil-cured olive works in this recipe, although we preferred a mix of both green and black olives. Instant yeast is commonly labeled rapid-rise yeast. Use a spray bottle filled with water to mist the loaves. The bread will keep for up to 2 days, well wrapped and stored at room temperature. To recrisp the crust, place the bread in a 450-degree oven for 5 to 10 minutes. The bread will keep frozen for several months when wrapped in foil and placed in a large zipper-lock bag.

1 3/4 c water (14 oz, room temperature)
2 t instant yeast
2 T honey
3 1/2 c bread flour (19.25 oz), plus extra as needed for dough and counter
1/2 c whole wheat flour (2 3/4 oz)
2 t table salt
2 T chopped fresh rosemary
1 1/2 c pitted olives (6 oz), rinsed, chopped roughly, and patted dry

Whisk water, yeast, and honey in bowl of standing mixer. Add flours and mix on low speed with dough hook until cohesive dough is formed, about 3 minutes. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Remove plastic wrap; make well in center of dough and add salt and rosemary. Knead dough on low speed (speed 2 on KitchenAid) for 5 minutes (if dough creeps up attachment, stop mixer and scrape down). Increase speed to medium and continue to knead until dough is smooth and slightly tacky, about 1 minute. If dough is very sticky, add 1 to 2 tablespoons flour and continue mixing for 1 minute. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and pat into 12 by 6-inch rectangle. Press olives evenly into dough. Starting at long side, roll rectangle into tight log. With seam side facing up, roll log into coil. Transfer dough, spiral side up, to oiled container or bowl, at least 2 quarts in volume, and cover with plastic wrap. Let dough rise in warm, draft-free location until it increases in size by 50 percent, about 1 hour.

Fold partially risen dough over itself. Turn bowl 90 degrees; fold again. Turn bowl again; fold once more. Cover with plastic wrap (illustration 5) and let rise 30 minutes. Repeat folding, replace plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes.

Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface, being careful not to deflate. Divide dough in half (illustration 6), loosely shape each piece into ball, and let rest 15 minutes. Flip each ball over and, starting from top, roll into tight oval shape (illustration 7). Using palms, roll each oval (seam side down) from center outward until 12-inch loaf is formed (illustration 8). Poke any olives that fall off into bottom seam, then pinch seam closed. Transfer each loaf, seam side down, to 12 by 6-inch piece of parchment and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours (dough is ready when it springs back slowly when pressed lightly with finger). Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to lower-middle position, place baking stone on rack, and heat oven to 450 degrees at least 30 minutes before baking.
Slide parchment sheets with loaves onto peel or back of inverted baking sheet. Starting and stopping about 1 inch from each side, use razor blade or sharp knife to cut 3 1/2-inch-deep slashes on diagonal along top of each fully risen loaf (illustration 9); spray loaves lightly with water. Carefully slide parchment with loaves into oven using jerking motion. Bake 15 minutes, spraying loaves with water twice more in first 5 minutes, and then reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Continue to bake until bread is deep golden brown and instant-read thermometer inserted into center of loaf registers 210 degrees, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to wire rack, discard parchment, and cool loaves to room temperature, about 2 hours.

salt roasted salmon

adapted from a recipe by Virginia Willis

2 c coarse Kosher salt
3-6 cinnamon sticks, broken into 1" pieces
1-2 T whole fennel seeds
1 T black peppercorns
4 6 oz salmon fillets

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine the salt, cinnamon, fennel, and peppercorns in a medium bowl. Spread spice mixture evenly over the bottom of a heavy-duty or enamelware baking dish. Place the salmon, skin side down, one inch apart on spice mixture. Cover salmon with parchment paper, cover dish with aluminum foil to seal. Bake until desired doneness. Remove salmon from oven, allow to rest 3 minutes. Remove the foil and parchment paper. Using a spatula, remove fillets, leaving skin behind, serve immediately.

[try adding whole cloves, or whole juniper berries. also try sprinkling some of the spice mixture over the top of the filets before baking]

chocolate-orange Guinness cake

8 oz butter, room temperature
8 oz dark brown sugar
10 oz self-rising flour
1 t baking powder
pinch of salt
2 T cocoa (heaping)
grated rind of one orange
4 eggs
1/2 c Guinness

8 oz icing sugar
4 oz butter
freshly squeezed orange juice

preheat oven to 375F. grease two 8" cake pans. cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. sift the flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa into a bowl. add the orange rind to the creamed butter and beat in the eggs, one at a time, including a spoonful of the measured flour mixture with each one, and beating well between additions. gently mix in the Guinness, a tablespoonful at a time, including another spoonful of flour with each addition. if there's any flour left over, fold it in gently to mix; blend thoroughly without over-beating. divide the mixture between the tins, smooth down, and put the cakes into the center of the preheated oven. reduce the heat to 350F and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the cakes are springy to the touch and shrinking slightly in the pans. turn out and cool on a wire rack.

meanwhile, make the icing. cream the softened butter and icing sugar together thoroughly, then blend in the grated orange rind and enough juice to make an icing that is soft enough to spread. when the cakes are cold, use half the icing to sandwich them together, and spread the rest on top.

polish raspberry treats

2 c all-purpose flour
1 c brown sugar
1 c rolled oats
3/4 c walnuts, ground
1 c coconut
3/4 t salt
12 T unsalted butter, melted
1 lb raspberry jam

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a large rectangular pan (13x9" or thereabouts) with foil and butter the foil.

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Break up any clumps of sugar with your finger tips and work the ingredients to mix them. Add the melted butter and work with fingers to combine well (if the mixture is too dry and doesn't stick together easily, add up to 2 T butter). Press half of dough in the foil-lined pan, working well into edges and pressing down to compact. Spread out the jam evenly to within 1/2" of edges of pan.

Take handfuls of remaining dough mixture and crumble it over pan, distributing evenly. Press down with palms of hand to compact - but not too hard. Bake until golden-brown, about 45 minutes.

Cool completely before cutting. Cut into 12 pieces.

caramel corn

18 c popped corn
2 c brown sugar
1 c butter or margarine
1/2 c light corn syrup
1 pinch salt
1/2 t baking soda

mix sugar, butter, syrup, and salt. boil over medium heat for 5 minutes. add soda and mix well. pour over corn, stir until evenly coated. spread on cookie sheets and bake for 1 hour at 205-225 degrees F, stirring every 15 minutes. spread on wax paper sheets on counter to cool.

refried beans

2 15oz cans pinto beans
3/4 cup chicken broth
3-4 strips bacon
1 small onion, minced
1 medium jalapeno, minced
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t salt
2 cloves garlic, minced

food process pinto beans and broth for 15 seconds, then a series of 1 second pulses to achieve desired consistency

brown bacon in non-stick skillet, remove all but one tablespoon of fat, add the onion and jalapeno, cumin, salt. add garlic after onion begins to soften, cook another couple of minutes.

add the bean mixture and continue to cook, mixing it all together with a wooden spoon. if mixture is too thin, just continue to cook the extra liquid off.