Playing Games
Photos by Shana Novak, Styling by Lisa Lee
Shortbread for Dice and Dominos
Makes about 27 cookies
This recipe is one of the reasons I love to use organic and European butter in baked goods: the flavor of the butter is really prominent in the dough. The better the butter, the better the cookie.
Because the dough is so rich, it absorbs fragrant oils from fresh herbs and grated citrus zest beautifully. The recipe below is a straightforward version of shortbread. Try adding half a teaspoon of finely chopped thyme, rosemary or lavender to the dough along with half a teaspoon of grated orange or lemon zest.
Basic Shortbread
1 cup salted organic or European butter, softened & cut in small pieces
½ cup sugar
2 ½ cups flour
¼ cup coarse sanding sugar for decorating and extra crunch, optional
2 tablespoons bittersweet chocolate chips for dominoes, optional
1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor, pulsing until the mixture is uniform, then run the machine until the mixture comes together in a ball.
2. Pat the dough into a 1 ½ inch thick 6x6 inch square, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour. See below remaining steps for each cookie shape
For Dice:
One recipe makes 9 cookies
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Remove dough from fridge, slice into 1 ½ -inch squares. Use a toothpick or the back of a wooden match to press the dots of different numbers ¼ - inch deep into all sides of the dice. Roll each die in sanding sugar and place on the prepared sheet pan. Pop the pan into the freezer for 15 minutes while the oven heats to 325 degrees.
4. Bake dice for about 40 minutes, rotating the pan front to back every 10 minutes, until the cookies edges just begin to color. Allow to cool on baking rack for 10 minutes before you move them.
For Dominoes:
One recipe makes about 27 cookies
Roll the dough to a 6x10” rectangle, refrigerate 1 hour.
Cut the dough into 1 x 2 inch rectangles. Use a butter knife to score a line across the center of each domino. Place dominoes on a sheet pan, 1 inch apart. Use a toothpick or the back of a wooden match to press the dots of different numbers ¼ inch deep into both halves of the dominoes. Pop the pan into the freezer for 15 minutes while the oven heats to 325 degrees.
4. Bake 35 minutes, rotating pan front to back half way through baking, until the cookies edges just begin to color. Allow to cool on baking rack for 5 minutes before you remove them to a rack to cool completely.
5. Melt the chocolate in the microwave or in a bowl set over a simmering pan of water. Scoop the chocolate into a pastry bag or resealable plastic bag. Cut a tiny hole in one corner of the bag and squeeze drops of chocolate into the holes you made for the numbers.
For Checkers or Backgammon (not shown):
One recipe of dough makes about 40 small cookies
Roll dough to a generous ¼ inch thickness. To do this really evenly, you may want to tape one chop stick down on either side of the dough as a guide for the rolling pin to run evenly along. As shown in the previous story.
Use a round biscuit cutter to cut dough into a 1 1/8th inch circles.
Score an inner circle with the back of a # 11 round pastry tip, then use the tip to score another circle in the center. Set the checkers on a sheet pan, 1 inch apart. Pop the pan into the freezer for 15 minutes while the oven heats to 325 degrees.
Remove pan from freezer, bake for 14 minutes, or until edges are just beginning to brown.
Cocoa Shortbread
Makes 12 card cookies
2 cups flour
½ cup dark, high quality cocoa, such as Valrhona
1 cup salted organic or European butter, softened & cut in small pieces
½ cup sugar
Blend the cocoa and flour together in the bowl of a food processor by pulsing until the mixture is uniform. Add the butter pieces.
Run the machine until mixture stops looking like sand and begins to clump together. Remove the mixture to a clean countertop and knead the dough together quickly with your hands, until the mixture is well combine.
For Cards:
Cut the dough in half, roll each half to a thickness measuring a generous ¼ inch, 7.5x7.5” square. To do this really evenly, you may want to tape one chop stick down on either side of the dough as a guide for the rolling pin to run along, as shown in the previous story.
Cut the dough in half, dividing each half into 3 even rectangles(about 2 ¼ by 3 ½ inches) Place them on a parchment lined sheet tray. Pop the pan into the freezer for 15 minutes. Working with one card at a time, leaving the others in the fridge, use aspic cutters to cut designs into the cards. Use a sharp paring knife to carve linear designs. Once all the decorations have been done pop the sheet tray into the freezer until they are firm, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile heat the oven to 325 degrees. Remove cards from the freezer and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until firm and dry looking. Allow to cool on the sheet pan for 10 minutes before removing them to a rack to cool completely.
For Checkers:
One recipe of dough makes about 40 small cookies
Use a round cookie cutter to cut dough into a 1 1/8th inch circles.
Score an inner circle with the back of a # 11 round pastry tip, then use the tip to score another circle in the center. Set the checkers on a sheet pan, 1 inch apart. Pop the pan into the freezer for 15 minutes while the oven heats to 325 degrees.
Remove pan from freezer, bake for 14 minutes, or until until firm and dry looking.
Some Cooking Equipment You may want to use in this recipe:
Have you ever tried to roll out a pie or cookie dough into an even layer?
Impossible! Unless you have tons of experience with dough.
Except.. if you cheat.
When I (one day this summer) open my online store, you’ll see I’ve got a rolling pin with the cheat built in, but until then try laying or taping some chopsticks to your counter top.
They will stop the rolling pin at a good 3/8”-ish, creating an even layer that looks better and bakes more evenly.
Let me know how it goes!
photo by Shana Novak
Most of my jobs involve playing with food, but this shoot waspurely play! Photographer and friend Shana Novak wanted to shoot food as jewelry. I was on board right away!
Olive Oil Walnut Cookies
Makes about 4 dozen cookies
This is a cakey – cookie. Great with a cup of tea.
2 ounces walnuts, toasted plus about 48more for center of cookie
¾ cup sugar
½ teaspoon dry lavender
2 large eggs
½ cup olive oil
½ cup Nocciolo, or walnut liquer
¼ cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ½ cups flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon sea salt
Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the 2 ounces of walnuts and sugar together until walnuts are well ground. Add eggs, pulse to combine. Slowly drizzle in the oil, liquer, vanilla and milk. Add the flour mixture at once, pulse until just combined.
Drop the cookies 2 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet. Place a walnut half into the center of each cookie. Bake for 15 minutes, until cookies are firm and the edges are tinged golden brown.
Bittersweet Chocolate Olive Oil Cake
Serves 8
This cake tastes very Italian to me.
It’s not very sweet but nicely balance and full flavored.
I love it with coffee in bed on a weekend morning.
2 large eggs
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup Merlot
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon Orange Liquer
zest of 1/2 lemon, finely grated
3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cups cocoa
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground fennel seed
1 cup peeled chopped Bartlett pears,1 lg, cut into ½” pieces
1. Heat oven to 350˚. Line the bottoms of 1 nine inch pan with parchment paper. Butter parchment paper and dust the pans with cocoa powder, tap out excess. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the eggs and sugar until pale and thick, about 3 minutes. Add the oil, wine, vanilla extract and orange liquer, and mix until blended. Beat in zest.
3. In a separate bowl mix the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt and ground fennel with a dry whisk to aerate and eliminate lumps. Add the mixture to the bowl of batter in three additions, stirring after each, until mixture is uniform.
4. Stir pears into the batter with a rubber spatula. Divide the batter evenly between pans, smooth out the top, bake, rotating position of pans half way through baking. Bake until cakes begin to pull away from the sides of pan or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 22 minutes. Invert onto wire rack to cool. Remove parchment paper.
Olive Oil Waffles
Makes 4 Belgian style waffles
These waffles are based on the Liege waffle, a Belgian classic. Pearl sugar gives it crunch on the inside and caramelizes on the outside of the waffle as it cooks. You can find pearl sugar at specialty baking shops. I found it at NY Cake and Baking in New York City.
I won’t lie to you: these waffles are a labor of love.
Remember that you not only get the labor, but the love, too.
1 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
¼ cup warm milk(110 degrees)
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons warm water (110 degrees)
2 cups bread flour
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¾ cup pearl sugar such as Lars own, available at specialty shops
In the bowl of a mixer, stir together the yeast milk and water. Let the mixture stand 5 minutes. Add the egg and 2/3rd cup flour, stir to completely combine. Let mixture rise for 90 minutes at room temperature.
Add the remaining flour, brown sugar, salt, and vanilla to the bowl. Stir with the paddle attachment until just combined. Add half the oil and stir on medium low speed until the oil is fully incorporated. Add the remaining oil in a slow drizzle, stirring to fully incorporate the oil before adding more. Continue to stir until the paddle forms the dough into a ball. Sprinkle the top of the dough with flour and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let sit 4 hours at room temperature.
Turn the dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Poke it all over with your fingertips to deflate it and form it into a flat rectangle. Fold the dough into thirds, letter style. Place the dough in the bottom of a large bowl, cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Remove the dough from the fridge, add the pearl sugar and use your hands to incorporate it into the dough. Once it is fairly evenly distributed, divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Form the dough into smooth, taut balls, set on a sheet tray, loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rise 90 minutes more at room temperature.
You are almost there.
And it is rewarding there.
Heat your waffle iron to high. Place a ball of dough on the iron, close the lid and let cook for about 2 mins, or until the outside of the waffle is a deep golden color. It’s best to cook the waffles in rapid succession so the caramelized sugar from the last batch forms a nice crust on the next batch. Serve plain and immediately.
Olive Oil Desserts
In the great continuation of my love of fat, I couldn’t resist hanging these recipes together for you.
I love using olive oil in desserts. It’s a surprising addition, and contrary to what may be your gut reaction, it can have quite a refined effect in desserts.
All Olive Oil Dessert photos by the lovely Miss Addie Juell
Olive Oil Lemon Ice Cream
Serves 6
6 large egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
2 cups whole milk
2/3 cup heavy cream
zest of lemon, finely grated
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon sea salt, plus more for serving(opt’l)
In a mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the yolks and sugar together until thick and pale, about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the milk, cream and zest to a simmer in a sauce pan. Remove from heat.
Trickle the milk into the yolk mixture, running the mixer on low speed. Pour the mixture back into the pot and heat over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon. It will be custardy. If you have an thermometer, remove the mixture from the heat once the mixture reaches 175 degrees.
Strain the custard through a fine sieve, stir in the olive oil and salt. Chill the mixture completely before churning it in your ice cream maker. Serve with a sprinkling of sea salt.
Using the Extra Fat
It’s a cook’s thing, really. It’s a heartbreaking idea to take the fat of a well roasted chicken and just put it in the trash. Most of your modern friends won’t just spread it on toast (I do)
I have the same feeling for the fat you skim off the top of a homemade stock, the extra (abundant!) fat in braised short ribs. I love to use that fat in another dish, carry an undercurrent of the flavors from a Sunday roast to a new dish later in the week.
But Where to Use the Fat?
Use leftover fat in place of the olive oil when you are cooking down the onions and garlic at the beginning of a sauce or sauté. Use it to base a roasting chicken or turkey. Use the fat from your chicken to replace half the olive oil in your pesto. Fry your potatoes in rendered bacon fat.
If you have a go-to recipe that you think could use a little extra fat, don’t be shy (clearly this idea is not for fat-shy people) melt the leftover beef fat from a roast or a nice strip steak and add to your grilled bread the next time you make crostini. Stir bacon lard into your cooked beans. Just go lightly with the salt, bacon fat is pre-seasoned.
I’ve found that the easiest transition from leftover fat to dinner is an Aglio e Olio (garlic, red pepper flakes and oil sauteed and tossed with pasta) or a robust tomato ragu. Use the melted fat in place of the olive oil when starting the onions and or garlic. If there is extra juice from the roasting pan, or sauce from the stew, you can throw that into the sauce as well.
I love the granola in the morning. It’s really easy to make. There are a million variations, but this is its’ current form in my kitchen. Substitute any nuts you’d like for pistachios and pepitas, combine different dried fruits in place of the dry cranberries.
Granola
Makes 4 cups
1 tablespoon rice or canola oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons honey
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ Cup pepitas
½ Cup pistachios
1/2 Cup coarse wheat bran
1 Cup rolled oats
3 tablespoons malted milk powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup dry cranberries
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine honey, maple syrup, oil and vanilla in a small pan over low until runny. Combine next 6 ingredients (through salt) in a medium bowl. Add honey mixture and toss to coat very thoroughly. Spread on a baking sheet lined with non stick foil or a silpat mat.
Bake for 15 minutes, then stir , bake for 25 more, until the mixture is deep golden. It will still feel a bit damp, but will crisp up as it cools. Allow to cool completely, break pieces apart to desired texture, add dry cranberries. Will keep about 3 weeks in an airtight container in the fridge, longer in the freezer.
No You Didn’t!
Wrap a burger in Prosciutto.
BUT I DID.
In my defense, it was a grass fed beef burger with a low fat content.
A burger should always be juicy, run down your elbow juicy.
Wrapping lean meat in a fatty cover is an old technique called larding.
It was popular for roasting lean birds like pheasant over an opened flame.
I think there will be a return to the trend as more artisanal cured meats come on the market.
The burger, by the way was succulent.
Just wrap each burger in a couple of pieces of prosciutto before you throw them on the grill.
I bet it wouldn’t hurt a bare boneless chicken breast, either.
