Sweet Cream Butter

Saturday Night
Sweet. Cream. Butter. These are three words that go ridiculously well together on paper and spoken out loud. I smelled real sweet cream butter tonight, and I think I actually swooned. The best part is that it was in my own kitchen. I made my very first batch of real butter.

This week, I received my first Saveur magazine (my favourite cooking magazine) in the mail and, of all things, they are featuring butter. You've got to check out the articles on butter, written by some great cookbook authors, Naomi Duguid ("Flavours & Flatbreads" plus many more) and Nick Malgieri (author of many great baking books), just to name a couple. They also show "30 Great Butters" from around the world, of which two are made in Ontario and two are made in Quebec.

There is also a recipe for "homemade butter" with comprehensive pictures beside it. I read through the steps and there is nothing complicated about it. I think that organic cream is key to the best butter you can make. I have been asking myself lately, why I only buy organic milk, and then turn around and use any old butter. The Harmony cream that I bought to make the butter had two ingredients; cream & milk. Have you checked out the ingredients on regular creams lately? Depending on the brand, there can be several extra ingredients included in the carton, most of them probably extending an otherwise short shelf-life.

At this point, I haven't had any of my butter on toast. I did lick my fingers a couple of times and the sweet and salty were fabulous. Technically, this butter isn't sweet because of the addition of the salt. However, the fleur de sel, being the creme de la creme of all salts, doesn't add a salty taste exactly. It makes the butter flavourful; alive on your taste buds. And the aroma from the butter is exactly what sweet cream butter smells like. I'm shaking my head right now; it is that unbelievable.

Sunday Morning
I found a butter glossary online and it said that "sweet cream butter" is lightly salted. "Sweet butter" is unsalted. Thank goodness, because I don't think I could have changed the name of this recipe; I want, no, I need to see "Sweet Cream Butter" on this blog.

I pulled the butter out of the fridge this morning and let it warm up (slightly). First, I pulled out the last of a package of Saltines. I proceeded to butter each one of the crackers. This was a favourite snack at our house when I was growing up and this homemade butter just took it over the moon! Next, I toasted a sesame bagel and applied the fresh butter. I took a couple bites and I couldn't stop myself from adding more butter to each piece before I popped them in my mouth. Then there was the issue of the kids wanting some bagel. This butter is not the kind of thing that should be given to people who will not appreciate it thoroughly. Sorry kids, I think this butter is for adults only!

Later in the day, my father-in-law came over for lunch. I quietly made him a little piece of toast and buttered it well. I passed it to him and Alan explained that I had made butter. He ate it and then he said, "It's better than any butter you can buy in the stores nowadays." So, there you have it. A glowing endorsement from one of my toughest critics.

Now, here's a thought - instead of making Christmas cookies this year or buying birthday gifts, make them some sweet cream butter. Who wouldn't love that??? And if they don't, well, don't feel bad about sneaking it out in your purse!


Sweet Cream Butter
1. Start with a half litre (500 ml) of the best quality organic whipping cream you can find. Pour it into bowl from your KitchenAid mixer*, cover with plastic wrap, and leave on the counter for 6 hours. The cream will begin to sour slightly, making for tastier butter. Before starting to make your butter, line a colander/strainer with cheesecloth and set it inside another clean bowl.

2. Using the whisk attachment, start stirring the cream on the slowest speed of your mixer. As the cream reaches soft peaks, speed up the whisking a notch or two. Very quickly, the butter & milk will separate. Stop whisking when the butterfat granules are around the size of peas.

3. Pour the entire contents of the bowl into the cheesecloth-lined strainer and let the mixture drain for several minutes.

4. Gather the ends of the cheesecloth together and squeeze, pushing downward to extract as much liquid as possible. Unwrap the butter solids but leave them on the cheesecloth. (The author suggests saving the buttermilk and using it in something like biscuits).

5. Pour cool water over the butter and rinse, carefully squeezing and folding the mass in on itself, until the water runs clear. Put the butter into a bowl and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of fleur de sel or kosher salt.

6. Using a wooden spoon, smear the butter repeatedly against the side of the bowl to aerate it and thoroughly incorporate the salt. Pour off any additional liquid the butter might release.

7. Transfer the butter to a piece of waxed paper and roll it into a log or form it into a brick. Wrap the butter tightly in the wax paper and refrigerate it overnight before you use it, to allow its flavour to develop. Keeps for about 3 weeks. A half litre of cream yielded somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 lb. of butter.

*The recipe in Saveur called for the cream to be whipped by hand. I started off doing this and quickly realized I didn't have enough time to finish the job before the kids needed to go to bed. The mixer made quick work of it and the butter looked great to me.
*I'm really going to have to dig deeper into the world of butter. There is so much to learn!

Chicken Stew with Herbed Biscuits

On Sunday morning, my neighbour, Carmen was over having coffee. As we chatted, we were looking through some of the Barefoot Contessa cookbooks. We came across the "chicken stew with biscuits" recipe, and we both agreed that it was the perfect day for a comforting dinner like that. Icy, snowy, and cold. Carmen suggested we pool our resources and have dinner together and I was quick to jump at the idea. I love the idea of really good recipes inspiring get togethers. I wanted to try it, she wanted to try it; let's have a party!

The stew turned out beautifully. The biscuits were my favourite part. They were crisp on the outside and warm and soft on the inside. I made sure not to over-mix the biscuit dough and we were rewarded with the perfect winter's dish. My sister mentioned that she made biscuits recently and was careful to not over-mix hers as well. She said that she could see little chunks of butter in the dough, and that is exactly what you want. The same goes for any scone recipe. The less handling, the better. I think Lori said that she made the biscuits to go with soup, one night when she had run out of bread. Quick and easy and what a treat. In similar circumstances, I usually turn to the Buttermilk Skillet-Sizzled Cornbread (Nov. 2007).

When I worked at Meinhardt Fine Foods in Vancouver, we made several batches of chicken pot-pies every week. We used the 3 or 4-inch individual pie shells and scooped the chicken pot-pie mixture into the shell. Then we piped (using a large piping bag) mashed sweet potatoes on top of the tart and baked them for probably around 40 minutes in a 350 degree oven, until the bottom of the tart shell was cooked. You could use this idea with the chicken stew mixture below. I like this method because instead of having a pastry top on your pot-pie, you get all the goodness of sweet potatoes. My friend Tracy, who also worked in Meinhardt's kitchen, still makes these and freezes them for easy dinners. I should really try to think back to some other recipes from the kitchens of Meinhardt's. Their gourmet-to-go was unbelievably busy and I know for a fact, that while Tracy and I were there, the food was very good (if I do say so myself...)!

Chicken Stew with Herbed Biscuits

6 chicken breasts, cooked, and cubed into bite-sized pieces (without the skin), between 4 to 6 cups
5 c. chicken stock, preferably homemade but use what you have
1 T. chicken bouillon (or two bouillon cubes)
12 T. butter (1 1/2 sticks or 3/4 cup)
2 c. chopped onions
2 c. chopped leeks, washed well
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. heavy cream
2 c. carrots, cut in coins, blanched in boiling water for 2 minutes
2 c. frozen peas
1/2 c. minced parsley

For the Biscuits:
2 c. flour
1 T. baking powder
1 t. kosher salt
1 t. sugar
1/4 lb. cold unsalted butter, diced
3/4 c. half & half cream
1/2 c. chopped fresh parsley
2 T. chopped fresh chives
1 egg mixed with 1 T. water, for egg wash

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon in the stock. In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions and leeks over medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes, until translucent. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick. Add 2 t. salt, 1/2 t. pepper, and the heavy cream. Add the cubed chicken, carrots, peas, and parsley. Mix well. Place the stew in a 10x13x2 inch baking dish. Place the baking dish on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the biscuits. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is the size of peas (don't mix for too long!). Add the cream and combine on low speed. Mix in the parsley. Dump the dough out on a piece of parchment paper on the counter. With your hands, pat the dough gently into a circle, until it is about a 1/2-inch thick. Cut the circle into 8 triangles.

Remove the stew from the oven and arrange the triangle biscuits on top of the filling. Brush them with the egg wash, and return the dish to the oven. Bake for another 30 minutes, until the biscuits are brown and the stew is bubbly.

*The Barefoot Contessa says that if you are making the stew in advance, refrigerate the stew and the biscuits separately. Bake the stew for 25 minutes, then place the biscuits on top, and bake for another 30-35 minutes, until done.

*The Barefoot Contessa calls for using frozen small whole onions; I think she means pearl onions. Unfortunately, I have never found frozen pearl onions in Canada. She uses them in quite a few dishes and I wish they were available here. Because I didn't have any, I used the leeks instead, adding lots of flavour and a little more colour to the stew.

French Olive Bread

Yeast has always amazed me. I still hold my breath as I wait for bread dough to rise. Sometimes it works for me, sometimes it doesn't. On those occasions that yeast hasn't cooperated with me, I am sure that it has been the extreme temperature (either way) that killed any chance of that yeast coming back to life. One great thing about this recipe (original recipe can be found on epicurious.com) is that it gives you the exact temperature that you want the liquid to be at when you add the yeast. This is where your trusty candy thermometer comes in handy. Have you bought one yet? I just clip the thermometer onto the side of the bowl and watch as the liquid comes down to the temperature necessary to activate the yeast.

The other great thing about this recipe is that there is no kneading needed. There seems to be a trend towards these breads that don't require kneading. In Nov. 2006, the New York Times published a recipe for No Knead Bread that turned bread baking on its end. One of my favourite cookbook authors, Rose Levy Beranbaum, has picked up on it and her blog makes for very interesting reading on the subject of No Knead Bread. http://www.realbakingwithrose.com/2006/11/holy_bread.html

I have made this bread three times now and I must say, the last time I made it was the best. Don't forget to let the unbaked loaves sit for 15 minutes before putting them in the oven. I didn't the first two times I made the bread and it really made a difference to the finished product (I must be impatient?). Another must in this recipe is the spraying of the oven with water. When Julia Child perfected her baguette recipe in "Mastering the Art of French Cooking: Volume One", she used this method. I don't know if bakers in France spritz their ovens, but if they don't, they probably have some other trade secret that gets them crusty, golden loves. Oh, before I forget, make sure to check your oven for before you turn the temperature up to 500 degrees. If you have any old spills on the bottom, you will have a house full of smoke in no time. Scrape up any old messes and wipe them away (don't use oven-cleaner and then bake this bread, or anything else for that matter).

By making this bread, you are going to look like a super-star, plus you will have the absolute pleasure of making your own bread. Enjoy and have lots of salted butter on hand!

French Olive Bread

1 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons butter
2 teaspoons sugar
1 cup water, room temperature
2 teaspoons quick-rising dry yeast
3/4 cup chopped pitted Kalamata olives or other brine-cured black olives (about 4 ounces pitted) 2 teaspoons salt
4 cups (or more) all purpose flour
Olive oil
1 egg white, beaten to blend

1. Bring milk to simmer in small saucepan. Add butter and sugar; stir until butter melts. Pour mixture into large bowl. Add 1 cup room-temperature water and cool mixture until lukewarm (85°F to 95°F), about 10 minutes.
2. Add yeast; stir to blend. Stir in olives and salt. Add 1 cup flour. Using wood spoon, stir until flour is incorporated. Add 3 cups flour, 1 cup at a time, and stir vigorously with wood spoon until incorporated after each addition. If necessary, add up to 1/2 cup more flour until dough is smooth and begins to pull away from sides of bowl.
3. Oil large bowl. Transfer dough to bowl; turn to coat with oil. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 45 minutes (do not punch down dough).
4. Position rack in centre of oven and preheat to 500°F. Oil large baking sheet. Turn dough out onto floured work surface (to avoid deflating, do not punch down dough and do not knead dough). Divide dough into 2 equal pieces. Gently form (do not knead) each piece into baguette 15 inches long by 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 inches wide (dough will not be smooth).
5. Transfer baguettes to prepared baking sheet, spacing evenly apart. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise in warm draft-free area until slightly puffed, about 15 minutes.
6. Brush top of each loaf lightly with egg white. Generously spray inside of oven with water (about 8 sprays); immediately place loaves in oven. Bake 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 400°F and continue to bake until loaves are deep golden and sound hollow when tapped, about 30 minutes. Cool on rack.
*The original recipe calls for fresh thyme. Add 2 teaspoons, if you like.

NYC - February 2008

After a busy weekend in New York City, I am finally caught up on my sleep, and I can't wait to tell you about all the great food I had! I stayed with my cousin Beth, and her fiance, Matt. Lucky for me, they both love food and know all the great spots.

Thursday night, we went to "Mary's Fish Camp" in Greenwich Village. It is a small restaurant that specializes in fish and seafood. We started with raw Malpeque oysters, fried Canadian smelt, and salt-crusted shrimp. Then we split a breaded cod sandwich with a celery root remoulade. We still had wine to drink, so we ordered a lump crab gratin. Everything was scrumptious, especially that cod sandwich. Wow!

The wine of the weekend was Gruner Veltliner, a white Austrian wine that was beautiful before, during, and even after dinner. Casually known as "Gru-Vee", I don't know what the availability is like here in Ontario, but there was no shortage of it in NY! If you can find it, try it.

For breakfast the next morning, Beth had made granola and we had that with Greek yogurt and Tasmanian honey. After a morning of shopping, we went to Bouchon Bakery for lunch. I had a braised beef brisket sandwich with parsley pesto on grilled farmhouse bread. For dessert we shared three tiny brownies with cherry ice cream and cherry compote. After lunch, I zipped over to Kitchen Arts & Letters, a well-known cookbook store. I was very giddy to be there and enjoyed every minute. They had every cookbook you could ever imagine, and then some. Unfortunately (and fortunately), I didn't see any book that I couldn't live without, so I wasn't tempted to spend my trip budget on books.

For dinner on Friday night, we walked up the block to an Italian restaurant specializing in regional cuisine of Florence. The restaurant was called La Cantina Toscana. For starters, we had two portions of spinach & ricotta "gnudi". You are not the only one questioning what these might be. Here's what I found out...
"You may not have noticed, but we are in the midst of a gnudi craze. Gnudi (a.k.a. ignudi, nudi, or nudi ravioli) are what Florentines call the loosely packed spinach-and-ricotta dumplings that look like slightly overgrown gnocchi. They’re called gnudi ravioli (naked ravioli) because the poor little lumps are essentially doughless, like lost ravioli fillings with no place to call home. Which is not to say they aren’t delicious" - New York Magazine
These little gems were absolutely delicious. It didn't hurt that they were floating in sage butter. For my main course, I had braised rabbit with a soft polenta. And then we shared a tiramisu for dessert. When it was time to walk home, I seriously considered just laying down on the sidewalk and rolling down the hill. Imagine living within walking distance of this little gem.

Saturday night, we had reservations at a restaurant called Blaue Gans (Blue Goose), located in Tribeca. An Austrian restuarant isn't all that common, in fact I don't recall having ever been to one before. We started with a bottle of Gruner Veltliner (again) and two orders of raw oysters from Long Island. Mmmmm. For my main, I had the calves liver special, served with apples and cippoline onions (sweeter, flat, Italian onions). The big surprise of the evening was walking into Blaue Gans, and seeing my friend Annie and her husband, enjoying dinner. Complete coincidence. What are the odds of running into my friend from Harrow, in a restaurant, in NYC? We probably should have went out and bought lottery tickets that night!

Sunday morning was here before I knew it, and I was heading for home. It was a great weekend and the food was definitely a highlight. Thanks again B & M!

Uzbek Lamb Stew

When my friend Elaine mentioned that she was having a Russian New Year's party in mid-January, I was intrigued. When she told me how the party unfolded, I was enthralled! The menu was extensive and included iced vodka shots and champagne, no less. Most of the recipes came from a book called "Please To The Table" by Anya Von Bremzen, and Elaine sent me a copy not long after the party. I was not at this party, but believe me, I will walk over coals to be there next time!

This lamb stew was on her menu and she spoke so highly of it, I had to try it. It was delicious. Uzbek is short for Uzbekistan, a republic in the southwestern part of the former Soviet Union, near the border of Afghanistan and China. This area is apparently one of the most ethnically diverse in the world and this recipe seems to combine many ingredients that are familiar to me, yet produces a fresh, new style of curry-like stew.

I served the lamb stew with Basmati rice, with frozen green peas thrown into the rice once it started to boil. I didn't have much lamb and it still worked out beautifully. That is why I have given a range in the quantity of the lamb. In the cookbook, they call for a pound of lamb neck and a pound and a half of lamb shoulder. I checked with Elaine to see if she uses lamb neck, and she was quick to assure me that she does not. She uses the President's Choice leg of lamb, of which she said there is no waste. I believe it has most of the bone removed before it is sold, making it very easy to cut up.

The original recipe called for cumin seeds and coriander seeds, both of which I was out of. I used pre-ground cumin and coriander and the results were fine. I definitely think using the whole seeds would elevate the flavour that much more, but don't run out on a cold night just for those things. I loved the way the naan soaked up the juices; reminded me of my childhood delight - bread & gravy.

So, imagine this stew with a pomegranate and red onion salad, a glass of your favourite wine, and a table full of friends. Life is good.

Uzbek Lamb Stew with Cumin, Coriander & Bread

1/3 c. olive oil
1-2 lbs. lean lamb shoulder or leg of lamb, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
3 large carrots, peeled and chopped thin
2 sweet red peppers, cored, seeded, and cut into strips
2 t. tomato paste
4 to 6 black peppercorns
1 t. ground cumin
1 1/2 t. ground coriander
1/2 t. sweet Hungarian paprika
1/4 t. cayenne pepper, or more to taste
2 c. beef stock (homemade or canned), or more if needed
4 garlic cloves, minced
Salt to taste
1/4 c. finely chopped fresh cilantro, plus additional for garnish
2 pita breads or naan, toasted and quartered

1. In a large cast-iron pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the meat in batches and brown on all sides, stirring often. With a slotted spoon, remove the meat to a platter. 2. Add the onions, carrots, and peppers to the pot and sauté, stirring, until deeply coloured, about 12 to 15 minutes. Drain off most of the fat.
3. Return the meat to the pot and stir in the tomato paste, peppercorns, cumin, coriander, paprika, cayenne, garlic, and enough stock to barely cover the lamb. Reduce the heat to low, then cover and simmer until the lamb is tender, about 1 hour.
4. Add salt and the remaining broth and simmer, covered, for about 20 to 25 minutes.
5. Stir 1/4 c. cilantro and the bread into the stew and cook for 1 more minute.
6. Sprinkle with cilantro to serve.

*For those of you who don't remember, I worked for Elaine in Windsor about 10 years ago, when she owned Elaine's Bistro. She has since moved home to Newfoundland, opened and sold another restaurant, and cooks more than anyone I know. She is truly an inspiration to me!

The Creamiest Rice Pudding

This rice pudding surprises me every time I make it. There is only a half of a cup of short grain rice and six cups of liquid. Seems like the rice will never soak up that much milk but it always does. The pudding takes up to an hour to cook on the stove so I have started making it in double batches. I even made a triple batch once, when I had lots of milk that needed to be used up. The only problem with making so much in the same pot was making sure it didn't boil over! Keep an eye on the pudding until you are sure that it is nicely simmering away, at a temperature that won't make the milk expand out of the pot and all over your stove.

This recipe comes from Bonnie Stern and it has been published in at least two of her cookbooks, under different names and with slightly different ingredients (one has cinnamon and the other nutmeg). I don't add either to mine and I also use currants instead of raisons. I like the way the currants plump up but they aren't over-powering for people who don't love raisons.

The Creamiest Rice Pudding

1/2 c. uncooked short-grain rice (I have used Arborio and Japanese sticky rice)
1 c. boiling water
1/3 c. white sugar
1 t. cornstarch
5 c. milk
1/3 c. currants (or raisons), optional
2 egg yolks, optional
1 t. vanilla

1. Place rice and boiling water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook gently, covered, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the rice has absorbed the water.
2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine sugar and cornstarch. Whisk in 1 cup of milk. Add this mixture to rice along with the remaining milk. Add the currants.
3. Bring the pudding to a boil, being careful that it doesn't boil over. Partially cover and cook gently for 45 to 60 minutes, stirring occasionally, until very creamy and thick. (Fiddle with the temperature. If it is too low it will take a long time to cook and if it is too high it will boil over. Best to be on the low side but it should still be bubbling a bit.)
4. Stir in the egg yolks, if you are using them. I always do and it just adds a nice richness to the pudding. Cook gently for one minute. Stir in vanilla. Transfer to a serving bowl or individual bowls. Serve warm or cold. Store in the fridge.