Scones for Breakfast

I love my coffee maker.  For one reason I'm not a morning person so now I can make coffee the night before using the auto setting.  When I get up the next morning the coffee is waiting.  And I don't want a big breakfast!  My favorite breakfasts are small bites that require little morning preparation.  The dough for scones can be made ahead and frozen.  In the morning I cut off enough dough for 2 or 3 and let them thaw while I preheat the oven and drink my first cup of coffee. 

Cinnamon Scones

My favorite scones are Cinnamon Scones from my BOUCHON Bakery cookbook and Lavender Lemon Scones served with Lemon curd.  I have a batch of both in my freezer in anticipation of my son, Dave coming next week to tile my kitchen floor.  It was my Mother's Day present.

The Cinnamon Scones are made with buttermilk and  cinnamon/honey butter cut into the dough.  Before going in the oven, they are brushed with clarified butter and honey.

I make the Lavender Lemon Scones with culinary lavender.  Sometimes I have trouble finding it.  A year ago I couldn't find it anywhere.  So I went to my favorite culinary store- Surfas in Culver City.  They have everything!  As I searched the area where I thought it should be an employee asked me if I needed help.  She said, "It should be here" and checked her inventory list.  "It's in the warehouse", she said, "but you can pay for it here and pick it up across the street."   I wanted to make sure I had enough (as I live in Mammoth Lakes) so I ordered 2 packages.  It turned out to be 2 pounds worth and a year later I still have a full package  plus I got a gift of lavender from my niece in Utah.  I'm not going to run out any time soon.

Lavender Lemon Scones

Lavender Lemon Scones on the Terrace

3 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 tablespoon culinary lavender

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut in 1/4-inch cubes

1 cup buttermilk plus extra for glaze
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

White sanding sugar 

Lemon Curd for serving

Whisk flour, and next 5 ingredients in a large bowl.  Cut in butter using a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal.  

Whisk buttermilk, zest and vanilla in a small bowl.  Add to dry ingredients and stir until dough forms.  

Transfer to a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth.  Pat into a 10 X 6-inch rectangle and mark using a bicycle cutter for even size.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap and freeze until ready to use.  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees while dough is being thawed.  Place each scone on a baking sheet lined with a Silpat or parchment paper.  Brush on buttermilk and sprinkle with sanding sugar.  Bake until scones are golden, about 30 minutes.  Serve warm with lemon curd. 

Spa Problems

Tim left on Monday.  One of his jobs while he was here was to get my spa going again.  The spa was one of the reasons I bought my unit in the first place.  The spa is in a solarium off the living room upstairs.  He scraped old paint, re-stained, cleaned the solarium windows, and worked on the heater and pump.  When he left the spa was filled and swirling with clear water.  The only thing left was for the water to heat.  By Tuesday, the water was still cold- same on Wednesday.  The plan now is for him to return- hopefully soon and fix the heater.  Oh, well.  

Tonight for dinner I made one of my favorite dishes.  Cooking alone can be a challenge.  Although I love to cook, I don't enjoy making a gourmet meal every night.  One of the solutions is to make a meal that can be frozen for another time or to serve several nights in a row.  This is one of those dishes.

  

Italian Sausages & Peppers

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

5-6 sweet, Italian sausages, casings removed and cut into 1-inch pieces

2 large red peppers or 2 cups mini-peppers (assorted colors), cleaned and seeded

Peppers just added to return to the oven

1/2 bottle red wine (Cabernet or Pinot Noir)

1 12-oz package fresh spinach pasta or RANA-Ravioli Caprese Duet (at Von's and other markets)

Grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Saute peppers in oil over medium heat. Remove from oil and set aside. Saute Italian sausages in same oil until browned on all sides.  Add red wine to cover and bring to a boil.   Transfer sausages and wine to a baking dish and cover with a lid or foil.  Bake 30 minutes.  Remove from oven. Remove lid or foil and add peppers.  Return to oven for an additional 30 minutes.  Meanwhile prepare pasta according to directions on package.  

Serve sausage and peppers over drained pasta.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese to taste.

The Closeup

RANA Ravioli Caprese Duet

The Finished Dish

Sausage Apple Turnovers

From my proposed Book....

Since I retired from teaching foods one of my projects has been to compile a cookbook of favorite recipes from class.  I call my proposed book, "Wild and Restless in the Kitchen".  My focus reader would be young men from ages thirteen to mid-twenties who want to learn to cook.  I chose a male focus due to the enthusiasm of many of my former male students.  

I have one anecdote from class to share which demonstrates the young male teen at his best to impress his female counterparts.  I had invited a male teacher, Mr. Di Paolo into class to demonstrate.  He was an excellent cook and specialized in Italian fare.  He brought in a dozen fresh squid from a local fish market and proceeded to clean them in front of the class in the process of making a Squid Salad.  The class was co-ed.  The girls in the front row moved their chairs back as he pulled the innards with his hands from the slimy catch. Mr. Di Paolo then boiled the squid and cut them up leaving the heads on to add to tomatoes for the salad.  When he finished he offered his audience a chance to taste one of the heads.  The girls pushed their chairs back but one young male strutted forward and volunteered.  Opening his mouth wide, he dropped the head in whole and swallowed.  It caused such a reaction from the girls that two more boys came up front to eat a head.  I had some concerns before the demonstration whether the class would be averse to the choice of recipes but it turned out to be the most successful demonstration of the semester.  I no longer have the salad recipe or I would include it.  Below though is a breakfast recipe from "Wild & Restless..." that was also a hit in class.

Sausage Apple Turnovers

The recipe makes 2 large turnovers which will produce 4 large servings from each.  One can be frozen and baked later if desired.  

• 1 (17 1/2 oz pkg frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 1 lb sweet Italian sausage links (remove casings; cut into 1/2" links)
• 1/2 green bell pepper, washed- seeds & membranes removed, diced
• 1/2 sweet onion, skinned and sliced
• 2 Pink Lady apples- peeled, cored & chopped into 1/2" pieces
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

On a lightly floured board, roll out one pastry sheet into a 10 X 12" rectangle.
In a large skillet, brown the sausage pieces over medium heat until no pink color remains.  Add the green pepper, onion, and apple pieces and saute until the green pepper is tender (about 10 minutes). Pour off excess drippings.

Spoon half the mixture onto the lower half of the rolled out pastry sheet leaving a 1-inch border.  Wet your finger and run it over the open border.  Fold over the other half of the pastry and press the edges together to seal.  Trim off any excess pastry.

Place on an ungreased baking sheet.  Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Repeat with remaining pastry and filling.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve warm.

   

Son #2 Tim arrived from LA yesterday.  We had meatloaf for dinner and my second place apple pie for dessert.  Tonight we decided to eat out.  One thing I like about living in Mammoth Lakes is that it has a small town feeling yet it has many great restaurants with talented chefs nearby- many of the restaurants have great views.  Since I live alone, I miss going out to dinner of an evening.  I don't mind eating alone at lunch but dinner is another story.  One of my food heroes is MFK Fisher.  I have read many of her books.  She seemed to relish eating along and I try to think that way but I just can't do it.  I need a male companion or two who likes to eat out.   

Tonight Tim and I drove to June Lake to the Double Eagle Restaurant for dinner.  It's about 20 minutes from Mammoth and a beautiful drive.  We arrived about six and the restaurant was not yet crowded although there was a large party in the middle of the room.  The host asked us where we wanted to sit.  On one side of the room the booths have views of the mountain terrain and waterfalls. The other side has views of the stream and trees next to the restaurant.   We sat on the stream side.  My favorite first course here is Baked Brie in a pastry shell with an apricot glaze served with fresh fruit and bread.  For our main course tonight Tim had a flat iron steak (he is a steak lover) and I ordered Trout Piccata which was very tasty.  The trout was butterflied and covered with the traditional Piccata sauce and capers.  Just before the main course arrived, Tim glanced out the enormous window next to us and pointed to one of the pine trees.  Climbing up the trunk was a huge raccoon.  His trunk was about 3 feet long not counting the tail. The top of the tree was above the roof of the restaurant and he climbed until we couldn't see him anymore..  We were elated to have had a ringside seat. 

My Second Place Apple Pie

Yesterday I made an apple pie.  My son, Tim is coming up for a week.  Peeling the apples takes some time so I pulled up a bar stool to the kitchen sink.

I love making pies but I only do it now when I am expecting company.  My apple pie recipe once won second prize in a Mother's Day apple pie contest.  I entered the contest because first prize was a Cuisinart food processor and I didn't have one but wanted one in the worst way.  Second prize was described as an entourage of kitchen linens and third prize was a year's supply of apples. I had three sons at home so even third prize looked good to me.  A couple of weeks after Mother's Day I got word I had won second prize.  It arrived two days later.  The entourage of kitchen linens turned out to be an pot holder, an apron, and a tea towel.

The recipe I submitted for the crust was made by cutting the butter into the flour with a pastry blender (since I didn't have a food processor).  Now, years later I have a food processor so I use Martha Stewart's recipe for Pate Brisee on page 198 from her book, Pies & Tarts.  I love her philosophy that it should only take 45 seconds to make a pie crust.

Second Place Apple Pie

Make the dough for the pie crust and refrigerate it while the apples are being peeled and sliced.  I make the top crust as lattice strips (1/4 inch wide).  It takes time but I find it self-satisfying and the results are so beautiful.  I use a bicycle to cut the strips.  A bicycle is a cutting tool which can be adjusted to the width of the strips you want.  It is sold in specialty food shops and food equipment catalogs.  It is pricey but I think if you love making pies it is worth the money.  I bought mine at Surfas in Culver City.  It is a favorite shop for chefs and food lovers like me.

Filling and Glaze

Filling:

8 large Granny Smith Apples, cored,  peeled and sliced

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 tablespoons Calvados (apple brand
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

Mix apples, sugar, flour, cinnamon, heavy cream, and Calvados in a large mixing bowl.  Add to bottom crust which has been rolled out to fit 9-10 inch pastry shell which is slightly overlapping the pie pan.  Dot with the butter evenly over the filling.

Strips can be cut to desired width.  If you don't 
have a bicycle, use a straight edge to cut the 
strips.  Start from the center to braid the 
pastry across the filling overlapping the edge.
Crimp the edges and trim off the excess.
Bake at 375 degrees for 45-50 minutes until
golden brown.

May be served with ice cream and Calvados
Sauce:

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons Calvados
Pinch cinnamon

Combine all in a small pan over low heat until almost boiling.  Serve with pie.