DOUBLE-CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT & ORANGE TORTE

I’m hanging out with friends for an impromptu Sunday Funday and wanted to bring along something sweet… and chocolatey. A quick scan of my pantry zeroed in on three of my favorite ingredients: Semi-Sweet Chocolate, hazelnuts, and an orange liqueur that I love… Cointreau! 

Combine those three ingredients with a big help from my Double Chocolate Brownie Mix, and new special dessert has come to life! It is a decadent amount of chocolate, the flavor and texture from roasted hazelnuts, and a slight hint of orange which pairs perfectly with rich dark chocolate. Look out, Ina Garten… Something fabulous is hitting the web! 

My Double Chocolate Brownie Mix and Roasted Ground Hazelnuts... Heaven! 

For The Brownie Hazelnut Crust 

Ingredients: 

In The Kitchen With Scotty “Double Chocolate Brownie Mix” 

1 cup roasted and peeled Hazelnuts, ground 

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted 

2 large eggs, beaten  

1 teaspoon hazelnut or almond extract

For The Chocolate Orange Filling 

Ingredients:  

Orange Zest and the Orange Flavored Liqueur, Cointreau

6 ounces Semi-Sweet Chocolate, Chopped 

2 ounces Bittersweet Chocolate 

12 tablespoons butter 

Kosher salt, a small pinch

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed 

3 large eggs 

1 (packed) teaspoon fresh orange zest, microplaned

1 tablespoon Cointreau liqueur 

1 tablespoon flour

Powdered sugar for dusting

extra whole roasted hazelnut  

Make:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray the bottom and inside of a 9” springform (cheesecake) pan. 
2. In a mixing bowl add the In The Kitchen With Scotty “Double Chocolate Brownie Mix”. To that add the melted butter, extracts, and beaten egg. Mix until combined. Next, add the roasted ground hazelnut * and fold in. The dough will seem stiff, and that is okay. It will be the base/ “crust” of this torte. 
3. Press the hazelnut brownie dough into the bottom of your prepared springform pan, making sure it is even and the dough reached to the sides of the pan. Place the pan into the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool while you make the filling. 
4. While the brownie base is baking start working on the filling. In a double boiler add both chocolates, brown sugar, and butter to the bowl or top portion of your double boiler. (If you do not have a double boiler you can create one by fitting a metal bowl on top of a pot of simmering water.)  Mix the butter chocolate and sugar together until everything is melted and smooth. 
5. Remove the top portion form the double boiler to cool, 15 minutes. One at a time and whisking quickly, add each egg. When one has been mixed in thoroughly add the next egg and repeat until all of the eggs have been added. 
6. Add the orange zest, the Cointreau liqueur, salt, and flour. Gently mix in until thoroughly mixed in. 
7. Pour the batter into the springform pan on top of your brownie base. Gently tap the pan on the counter to release any trapped air bubbles. Place into the oven and bake 30-35 minutes or until the center is just set (slight “jiggle” in the center). Remove from the oven and cool. 
8. Once cooled place in the fridge to finish setting up at least 3 hours or overnight. This is basically a “truffle/ganache like”  filling on a chewy brownie crust. You will want it chilled before slicing.
9. Dust the top with powdered sugar and extra hazelnuts you may have. Enjoy!   

*To Roast and Peel Hazelnuts: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place the hazelnuts on a small sheet pan or dish. Roast the nuts until fragrant and golden brown. Remove from the oven and pour the nuts out onto the center of a dish towel. Ball up the towel like a sachel, twisting the top firmly. With the palm of your hand cupping the ball end of the sachel, rub the hazelnuts together... this helps to peel the papery skin away from the hazelnuts. Open the sachel and pick away the perfect peeled hazelnuts. Repeat the process again if necessary. 

Roasted Hazelnuts

Roasted Rubbed and Peeled Hazelnuts 

PLUM TART WITH ORANGE SHORTBREAD CRUST

Beautiful beautiful black and red plums were bountiful today at my local groceria. If “groceria” isn’t a word, it is now. 

Anyway, there is enough Persian in me to know, DO NOT PASS UP THE PLUMS… so I didn’t.

Going back to my weekend in New York ( Yes, I’m bringing that weekend back up again. See the “Rise and Shine” episode July 28) my cousin Ali was telling me how much he loves plum tarts. Voila, Plum Tart is on the menu! 

Crumbly shortbread into the tart pan!

For The Orange Shortbread Crust

Ingredients:

8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed

1 1/4 all purpose flour 

1/4 cup sugar 

2 teaspoon orange zest, microplaned 

1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt 

1 large egg yolk 

Blind Baking The Tart Shell

1 teaspoon vanilla 

Make: 

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a fluted tart pan, with baking spray or rubbing the inside with butter. 
2. In a food processor add the flour, salt, orange zest, and sugar, then give it a few pulses to combine. Next, add the butter and use until the flour is crumbly. Add the egg yolks and vanilla to the mix and give a few long pulses until the mixture is combined. It will not come together as a pie dough pastry does, so don’t freak out. 
3. Pour the shortbread crust into your prepared tart panned evenly spread out along the bottom and up to the sides. Press the dough down firmly and press the mixture into the fluted sides. Use the bottom of a measuring cup, dipped in flour, to evenly smooth out the bottom and sides
4. Blind bake your crust by pricking the dough all over with a fork. Spray the bottom of a sheet of parchment paper with cooking spray and lay it on the inside of the crust. Add dried beans, rice, or pie weights on top of the parchment paper. 
5. Place the tart crust into the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the paper and weights carefully from the tart and continue baking the bottom of the crust until golden brown, around 7-8 minutes. Remove the tart shell from the oven to cool.  

For The Plum Filling

Ingredients: 

6-8 ripe red plums (I also used black plums), halved, stoned, and sliced 

1/2 cup packed Light Brown Sugar 

2 tablespoons cornstarch 

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 

1/2 cup plum jam 

Make: 

1. In a large non metal bowl add the slices of plum. To that add the brown sugar, lemon juice,  and cornstarch. With your clean hands or wooden spoon, toss the plums with the brown sugar lemon juice, and cornstarch. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour to macerate and extract the natural juices.
2. Place a heavy bottom sauce pot onto the stove with a hand strainer over the top. Pour the plums and juice into the striker and let it drain into the pot thoroughly. 
3. In a small saucepan add the plum jelly, and heat slowly. Meant the jelly down to a sauce. With a pastry brush dip into the liquid jelly and begin painting the inside and sides of the tart shell with the liquid jelly. You do not have to use all of the jelly, just enough to coat the inside. 
4. Remove the hand strainer from the pot along with the plums. Begin to gently heat the juice and cook until thickened. 
5. Arrange the sliced plums into the tart shell in a circular pattern (A concentric circle) . Pour the thickened juice over the top. Give the tart a gentle shake and place into the oven. Bake an additional 30-40 minutes or until the tart is bubbly and caramelized . 
6. Remove the tart from the oven and let it cool. Slice and serve with a huge dollop of Chantilly cream… or nothing at all. Enjoy!

CANTALOUPE-MINT SORBET

One of my most favorite childhood memories, shockingly enough, is centered around food… and summer. 

Growing up in Sapulpa, Oklahoma, a sleepy little side-town right outside of Tulsa, hearing cicadas chirp right around sunset and the smell of fresh cut grass anywhere you went on any given summer evening was pretty common. Common enough that you don’t really notice or maybe it’s just the fact that you’re a kid... thinking about kid things. It isn’t until adulthood, when you’re living in a larger “town” and can only focus on the sound of your air conditioner unit, wondering if it has even kicked off once today, and the crazy summer electric bill you’ll receive next month. It isn’t until those adult things, that you miss those kid things… like summer nights and a drive with dad, to go get a watermelon. 

Driving around those summer evenings, when summer evenings in eastern Oklahoma were still middle 70’s with little humidity, and you knew you had escaped “town” entering the “country" because cooler air was suddenly rushing in from the rolled down window of your father’s drivers-side window. Freedom from the summer sun’s constant radiating heat off brick buildings and tar covered streets, the "country" of my childhood, had wet grass and hay, cool breezes, stars in the sky, and watermelon stands. 

Watermelon stands were basically some open structure on the side of the road, at night lit with a pull chain/one bulb light, or even battery powered lamps. In the shack was usually one large stock tank, once used to water cattle, filled with gallons of water and big blocks of ice. Floating in that tank were the local farmer’s watermelons. All different varieties and sizes with names like Starlight and Starbright, Sugar Baby, and the most popular in Creek County, the Black Diamond watermelon. 

The fun part was reaching in those ice cold tanks and pulling out the most perfect specimen to take home and crack open. Your hands and arms numb from the chilly water and the front of your "Batman" t-shirt soaked to the skin. If we got a cantaloupe that was floating along with the Black Diamond Watermelons, well those got cut open with my dad’s pocket knife and eaten on the way to the car! Ice cold and sweet those cantaloupes were… “just like candy!” Pops would say. “Just like Candy.” I would repeat, with sweet sticky juice running down my arm to my elbow.  

Having the luck of finding one of those road-side produce stands recently, I discovered a lot of my favorites. The first harvest of summer yellow squash, and zucchini. Always onions of every size and variety.  A few cherry tomatoes but no big bright juicy beefsteak tomatoes yet. I was actually a little surprised to find cantaloupes. Still warm from the field...  Big ones too, with the textured skin and the “give” from the stem-end when you push on it lightly. It is only the end of June you know, but the farmer told me “It’s been rainy...and hot.” 

Some night in the middle of July, here in Uptown OKC, I’ll wander out to my front porch and hear the faint sounds of summer cicadas singing. Hopefully, someone has just mowed their grass, and I’ll stand and wait for one hint of a cool breeze to blow across my nose… like I was sitting in the back seat of my dad’s car driving down some country road. Not sure where an old-fashioned Watermelon Shack might be set up in one of our downtown districts, but probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to ask the universe for one. It is summer in Oklahoma, after all. 

Cantaloupe- Mint Sorbet

Ingredients: 

1 large cantaloupe, peeled and seeded (about 5 cups, medium diced)

1 cup sugar 

2/3 cup water 

1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, tightly packed 

1/3 cup fresh lime juice 

Make: 

Chilled and ready to freeze in the ice cream maker.

1. In a sauce pot add your sugar and the 2/3 cups of cold water. To that add the packed mint leaves, and slowly bring the mixture to a simmer. Give the pot a stir, ensuring the sugar has dissolved and a nice minty syrup is forming. Simmer slowly for ten minutes and remove from the heat. Pour the syrup into a small bowl, and place it over a larger bowl filled with ice. While the syrup cools and the mint steeps, give it a stir once and a while until is cold. You may make this night before and chill in the refrigerator. 
2. While the syrup is chilling, go ahead and peel/seed your cantaloupe. Dice to medium size pieces and place into a food processor. Process the cantaloupe to a pulp. Add the lime juice and process more. 
3. Now you have the option of two things: If you enjoy and nice traditional icy sorbet, you may pour the mixture through a fine sieve/strainer, and removing the pulp by squeezing the juice through into a clean bowl with a rubber spatula. I, however, enjoy a “meatier” melon sorbet, so skip this part. Whatever you do just make sure the mixture is ice-cold (place in the freezer for 20 minutes) before processing in your ice cream maker. 
4. Once the cantaloupe lime mixture is ice cold, stir in the cold minty syrup. Mix well to ensure that it is evenly sweetened and flavored. If you taste the mixture now you will notice it’s really sweet! It should be! once something freezes the sweetness decreases. That is why melted ice cream is always sweeter. 
5. Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer's directions. Remove from the ice cream maker and place in the freezer at least one hour (depends on the ice cream maker and size of your bowl) to set up firmly. 
6. Serve your sorbet when ready.. and enjoy a taste of summer! 

CHOCOLATE-WALNUT CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE GLAÇAGE

I love this cake! On its own, it has that classical European chocolate walnut torte taste… not too sweet, and really loaded with chocolate flavor, with a bit of texture from ground walnuts mingled in with the crumb of the cake.  Adding a chocolate glaçage, or “mirror glaze” to the cake, really heightens the flavor and appeal. It’s just hands-down sexy!

So let’s talk GLAÇAGE. What makes a mirror-glaze… a mirror-glaze? It’s the gelatin found in most recipes. Unflavored gelatin gives the glass/mirror-like reflection. Some recipes call for corn syrup instead go the gelatin, but I think I prefer this way more. The shine is definitely heightened and gives whatever you’re glazing a high drama effect. Do you have to glaze with a glaçage? Absolutely not… this is your cake so dress it as you will. A smooth chocolate butter-cream icing or even a simple dusting of powdered sugar along with fresh berries would be wonderful! 

Ground walnuts, and double chocolate... pretty awesome to me! 

Chocolate-Walnut Cake 

Ingredients: 

Adding rich bittersweet chocolate to the cake batter.

4 ounces Bittersweet Chocolate, chopped 

1 cup All-Purpose Flour 

1 cup finely ground walnuts (measure after the walnuts are ground), plus extra for garnishing 

2 tablespoons cocoa powder 

1 teaspoon espresso powder 

1/2 teaspoon baking soda 

1 stick (1/2 cups) unsalted butter 

1/2 cup golden brown sugar, packed tight 

1/2 cup granulated sugar 

2 large eggs, room temp 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1/2 cup whole buttermilk 

Make: 

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a microwavable dish add the chopped chocolate. Using the defrost mode or low power mode gently heat the chocolate until melted. You may use a stop top double boiler as well. Butter and flour the inside of a springform pan or angel food cake pan and set aside. 
2. In a mixing bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, 1 cup ground walnuts, and baking soda. Stir to combine evenly. 
3. In a separate mixing bowl using a stand mixer with paddle attachment or your trusty hand mixer, begin creaming your softened butter until fluffy. Add the two sugars and mix. Next, one at a time ensuring that each is mixed in well before adding the next, add your eggs. Scrape down your bowl and add the vanilla and espresso powder. Mix again until everything is fully combined. Add the melted bittersweet chocolate and mix one more time.  
4. To the wet mixture add 1/3 of the dry mixture and mix in. Next, add half of the buttermilk and continue mixing. Add the second third of dry, followed by the last half of the buttermilk. Finally, mix in the last third of dry giving the cake batter one more scrape down and mix until evenly combined. 
5. Pour the mixture into your buttered and floured cake pan. Smooth batter out evenly throughout the pan. Place the cake nap the oven and bake approximately 35 minutes or until your tried and Tre cake tester draws out clean. 
6. When the cake has baked remove it from the oven to cool, approximately 15 minutes. Loosen the sides and center if using an angel food cake pan. Invert the cake onto a wire rack to cool completely. 
7. Once cooled, glaze with a chocolate glaçage/mirror glaze. 

Chocolate Glaçage (Mirror Glaze) 

Cooling the mixture over ice before glazing the cake.

Ingredients: 

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons water 

2 cups sugar 

3/4 cup heavy cream 

8 tablespoons cocoa powder 

2 envelopes (1/4 ounce each) unflavored gelatin 

Applying the mirror glaze.

Make: 

1. In a saucepan add 1 cup of water, the sugar, and cocoa powder. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until the mixture is slightly thickened. 
2. In a small bowl add the 2 tablespoons of water and sprinkle the unflavored gelatin on top to “bloom”. It will thicken and get rubbery… that’s okay. 
3. Add the bloomed gelatin to the chocolate mixture and mix in well. Next, add the heavy cream and mix in well. 
4. Set the sauce pot over a bowl full of ice and whisk the mixture until it is slightly warmer than room temp.. around 80 degrees. 
5. Place the cooled cake on a wire cooling rack. Place the rack over a clean jelly roll pan. Pour the glaçage over the top and sides of the cake ensuring that it is completely coated. You may have to remove the wire rack and cake from the pan, pour the used glaze back into the pot, place the wire rack back over the jelly roll pan, and add a second glazing, to get that evenly coated effect. 
6. Let the glaze cool until it set. Garnish your cake with the remaining ground walnuts and/or whole pieces… do not add too much… you worked hard to show-off that glaçage finish and you do not want to mask the mirroring! Enjoy!

RHUBARB GINGER WATER

Rhubarb and summer seem to go hand and hand with me.  Because it is so plentiful this time of year, and because we are all looking for new ways to cool off and quench the thirst of summer, I thought it would be fun to play around with a little rhubarb water. 

Fresh ginger is always a plus-plus when it comes to quenching thirst. The citrusy notes, the peppery finish that gets the blood circulating, and the all-around flavor, really complements any ice cold beverage. 

Knock this drink out at home the day before you’re ready to enjoy it, and have it ready for any get-togethers, parties, or just you and a great summer afternoon by the pool. Cheers! 

Ingredients:  

2 pounds fresh rhubarb, washed and sliced into chunks

2-3 fingers of ginger washed and sliced into coins, skin left on

1 quart (4 cups) filtered water, boiling 

1/2 cup sugar 

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 

Make:  

1. In a nonmetal bowl add the rhubarb and ginger. Pour the boiling water over the top. Once the water has cooled and stopped steaming, cover and place in the refrigerator overnight. 
2. The next day, remove the sliced rhubarb and ginger. Strain off and solids so that all you have left is a lovely and fragrant pink water. 
3. Add the sugar and lemon juice to the water and mix until dissolved. You may use natural sugars like agave nectar and honey (to taste), but be aware that it will change the flavor and color. 
4. Store the water in the fridge and always serve ice cold. Add a sprig of mint or rosemary for added flair. Enjoy! 

GREEK POTATO ROLL

NO,  not a roll like a dinner roll (because Y'all know I love the bread!) … but a roll like.. a roll of thinly sliced potatoes, stuffed with creamy-lemony-ricotta, ground meat sauce, and rolled up into a log, baked, and sliced! 

So I saw something similar perusing the Facebook, but they made it more Italian.. which I love as well. It was filled with the same idea of ricotta, and oh yeah spinach, and was loaded with tons of mozzarella that just melted and oozed all over the place. Pure heaven!

But I was wanting something more on the greek side. That same flavorful ground meat and tomato sauce but with a hint of oregano and anisette thrown in for that Greek feel. I also added fresh lemon zest to the ricotta that really made the whole dish pop. And was so glad I did! 

Try it out, and by all means, load it with whatever you and yours would enjoy. This is just how I rolled! (did you see what I did there?) 

Shingles potatoes. Add Parmesan and pop into the oven until golden brown and cheesy. 

Ingredients: Feeds 6-8 depending how hungry

3 pounds russet potatoes, cleaned and peeled, sliced thinly 

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 pound lean ground hamburger or turkey 

1 medium onion diced

3 garlic cloves smashed and chopped 

1 1/2 cups tomato sauce 

Like icing a cake!

8 ounces whole milk ricotta 

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/2 cup shredded parmesan 

6 cups fresh baby spinach 

Zest of a large lemon 

In The Kitchen With Scotty “Cook’s Line Seasoning”

3 teaspoons dried oregano

2-star anise 

Lemons cut into wedges for serving 

Make: 

1. Begin by preparing a medium sheet pan (I used an 11x17)  by lining it with parchment paper. This will help with the rolling later. Brush the paper with olive oil and set aside. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. 
2. Slice the potatoes thinly and evenly. Preferably with a mandoline, or your one good eye and a sharp knife. Either way, watch your fingers! You may not need all of the potatoes but you will have back up for size and consistency if needed. Begin shingling (overlapping) the potatoes on the parchment paper in even rows. Do this until the entire pan is one nice fish-scale” looking layer. Sprinkle the entire layers with the shredded parmesan and pop into the oven for approximately 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove and let cool. 
3. Now for the filings: While the potatoes are cooking, begin heating a frying pan with a little olive oil. Add the chopped onion and garlic and cook until tender. Next add your ground meat and brown, season with a pinch or two of the Cook’s Line Seasoning, or your own salt and pepper. Drain off any excess fat. 
4. To the frying pan add the tomato sauce, oregano, and star anise. Stir to incorporate everything, cover and let it slowly simmer for 15 minutes. Taste for seasoning then Remove from the heat and let it cool. 
5. In another pan add a glug of olive oil and begin to heat gently. Add the fresh baby spinach, a dash of Cooks Line Seasoning, and sauté the spinach to a nice soft bright green consistency. Drain off any excess water. 
6. IN a mixing bowl add the ricotta cheese, lemon zest, and feta cheese. Mix well to incorporate all of that flavor. Then add the sautéed spinach. Go ahead and give it a taste, and add Cook’s Line or your own salt and pepper to taste. Everything seasoned properly, guys! 
7. Okay, now that everything is made let’s build the roll! Start by speeding out the ricotta and spinach mixture over the cooked potatoes… just like you were icing a cake. Follow that up with the cooled meat mixture (don’t forget to remove the star anise). Spread it out over the ricotta evenly and to the edges of the potatoes. The starting at the bottom of the pan, lift up the parchment paper and gently fold in the potatoes… starting your roll. Use the paper to help lift and evenly roll the potatoes to the top of the pan. Once rolled it should resemble a log. Tighten the roll with your hands if need be, and carefully center it to the middle of the pan. 
8. Place the roll back into the oven to let it bake and brown on the outside. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. 
9. Remove the potato roll from the oven and ket it cool at least 10 minutes before slicing. Cut a slice at least 1 inch thick and serve with fresh cut lemon for the extra kick if citrus. Creamy, hearty, flavorful, deliciousness!

Right out of the oven! 

ORANGE-PISTACHIO BUTTERMILK SCONES

So it seems I woke up this fine Sunday morning, after having a great night out with friends… craving scones… which looking back on my other scone recipes seems to be a recurring thing. Out with friends having a great time the night before equals new scone recipe the next morning! You're welcome.  

Having not planned a Sunday morning scone bake-off, I used what was available to me in my kitchen.. which how all good recipes start off, right? The three magical ingredients for this venture were Orange, Pistachios, and Buttermilk. The rest of the recipe is just my basic scone ingredients and a lot of finger crossing. 

Introducing Emily to my new favorite "watering hole", Ponyboy...  or as I like to call it "The Sunday Scone Enabler". 

I hope you enjoy this version… and please, go out and have a great night with friends! 

Coffee helps... and Jazz in the background. 

Ingredients:  Makes 1 dozen 2-inch scones 

2 cups All-Purpose Flour 

What I had on hand, mad e a delicious morning treat... with lots of coffee.

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

1 teaspoon baking powder 

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

8 tablespoon (1 stick)  unsalted butter, cubed

1 large egg, beaten 

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons whole buttermilk 

1 tablespoon fresh orange zest 

1 teaspoon vanilla 

1/4 teaspoon almond extract 

For The Glaze 

1 cup powdered sugar 

2 tablespoons fresh orange juice 

1/4 teaspoon almond extract 

1/4 cup finely chopped or ground roasted pistachio 

Cutting In the butter. 

Brush the tops with Buttermilk or heavy cream!

Ready for the oven!

Make: 

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and prepare a baking sheet with baking spray or Silpat liner. In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, salt, sugar, baking soda, and powder. Stir around to combine. 
2. In a liquid measuring cup pour in the buttermilk to measure out one-half cup. Add the whole egg, vanilla, almond extract, and the fresh orange zest. Mix until the egg is beaten and all the ingredients are combined. Set aside. 
3. To the dry mixture add in the cubed butter. With a pastry cutter, a fork or your hands, cut/rub in the butter with the dry mixture. The butter should be cut in enough to resemble a coarse meal texture. 
4. Pour in the buttermilk mixture and with a spoon gently mix in until you have a nice wet dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly. Turning the dough over until it is slightly firm and less sticky. Roll the dough out to half or three-quarter inch thickness. Using a 2” cutter, dip the cutter into flour and cut the scones out as you would cutting biscuits. Place the scones on your prepared baking sheet. 
5. For extra richness and color, brush the tops of the scones with buttermilk or heavy cream. Place the scones in the oven and bake 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the scones from the oven and allow to cool before glazing.
6. For The Glaze:  In a mixing bowl add the powdered sugar. To that add the t tablespoons of fresh orange juice, vanilla and almond extract. Mix vigorously until smooth and flowing. Add one teaspoon of glaze to the tops of each cooled scone and allow it to drizzle over the sides. Sprinkle the tops with the chopped or ground pistachio. Serve the scones on a platter, plate, or pastry tier, and enjoy!

WHITE CHOCOLATE SWEDISH BROWNIE

So I ran across a recipe for a moist (if you know me, you know that word was painful for me to type) cake popular in Sweden called Kladdkaka. Knowing you “ITK’ers”, I knew keeping a straight face when presenting a Kladd-kaka to you would be difficult, so I threw in a little “word salad” and came up with a much less snickering title of, “Swedish Brownie”. Brownie in texture… that dense yet…moist…cake that we know all too well. This beats something called "Kaka", right?

Traditionally the Kladdkaka is made with dark chocolate…. This recipe’s play on tradition turned out to be a triumph, and so I thought I would share. Adding the cardamon was my idea, mainly because Swedish deserts, all Scandinavian desserts, love a little cardamon thrown into the mix. The cardamom also tightens the lemon experience, which in turn, showed off the substitution of white chocolate instead of dark chocolate. See guys? There is a method to my madness. 

Pair this deliciously rich cake with fresh berries, this spring, to “cut the sweetness”. Blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries work really well. If you’re thinking a more “exotic” fire substitute orange peel (about one tablespoon) instead of lemon, plus a splash of rose water or orange blossom water. Orange loves cardamom and blackberries!

Play around with it and let me know what you think. In the mean time I’m going to sit down with a nice slice of Kladdkaka, I mean Swedish Brownies. Scotty out. 

Ingredients: 

12 tablespoons ( 1.5 sticks) unsalted butter

1 3/4 cups good quality white chocolate chips 

2 large eggs, room temp 

1 cup granulated sugar + extra for prepping the pan 

2 teaspoons vanilla (or orange blossom water) 

1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 

3 teaspoons ground cardamom 

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Zest of a large lemon (at least a tablespoon worth) 

Powdered sugar for dusting 

Fresh berries (blackberries or raspberries) 

Make: 

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and spray the inside of a 9” round cake pan or fluted tart pan with baking/cooking oil. Coat the inside with granulated sugar and set aside. In a sauce pot begin melting your butter slowly. Once melted and off the heat and the white chocolate chips. The residual heat from the melted butter will melt the white chocolate. Add the microplaned lemon zest and stir the mixture to a smooth finish. Set aside to cool. 
2. In a small bowl combine the flour, salt and ground cardamom. Stir around to combine.  In a second bowl combine the eggs and sugar. With your stand mixer or hand-held mixer whip until light and fluffy. You’ll want the egg and sugar mixture light, fluffy, and glossy. Almost like making a chiffon cake batter. 
3. Once the eggs and sugar mixture is pale and fluffy fold in the white chocolate, lemon, and butter mixture a little at a time. The idea is to keep the volume of the beaten egg and sugar up, so be careful not to over-mix! Everything added, here on out, will be folded in! Fold the white chocolate and butter to completion. 
4. Next, sprinkle a little of the flour mixture on top and begin folding that in as well. Repeat this until all of the dry mixture has been incorporated. You will notice the batter begins to stiffen up and become viscous… this is an ooey gooey good thing. 
5. Pour the batter into your cake pan or tarte pan. Scrape out the bowl well… this stuff is sticky. Smooth out the top and edges evenly, and tap a few times on the counter to release any trapped air bubbles. Place in the oven and bake 20-25 minis depending on your oven, or until the center is just set. 
6. Remove the brownie from the oven and cool. Flip out onto a plate or platter, and peel back the parchment paper. Once completely cool and before serving, dust the top lightly with powdered sugar. Serve with fresh berries. 

Six-Twelve Blue Ribbon Cake Winner 2018: FRENCH ALMOND TORTE WITH CITRUS GLAZE

Recipe and Blue Ribbon Winner: Chelsea (C.C.) Berry

Congratulations to Chelsea (C.C.) Berry for winning the 2018 Blue Ribbon at the Six Twelve Cake Off held Saturday, March 31. Chelsea is the Pastry Chef for Saint Mark’s Chop Room and En Croûte in Nichols Hills Plaza and has kindly donated her time and talent to Six-Twelve in the past with her delicious creations. Thank-you so much, CC! You rocked it! 

I don’t know about you but I am all over this recipe and will be making this delicious torte very soon! 

Thanks again to all of the participants in the “Cake-Off” and to everyone who came out to bid on the cakes and "walked" in our Third Annual Cake-Walk. All proceeds go to the Six-Twelve Kitchen Fund that helps build out and stock up the kitchen. 

Happy Baking and we will see you Next Year!

French Almond Torte with Citrus Glaze

Yield: 1 -9-inch cake round

Cake:

¾ cup     Crème Fraiche

1 ½ cup Granulated Sugar

4 Large Eggs

1 ½ cup All Purpose Flour (sifted)

¾ cup     Almond Flour

3 Tbsp     Baking Powder

¾ Tsp    Salt

1 Tsp    Almond Extract

2 Tsp     Vanilla Extract

¾ cup    Canola Oil

1. Whisk together the crème fraîche, sugar, and whole eggs. Set aside.
2. Sift the all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, and salt together.
3. Sift the dry ingredients into the wet in 3 parts. Whisk thoroughly between each addition. 
4. Add the almond and vanilla extracts. Whisk in the canola oil in a slow stream.
5. Line a 9x3 inch cake pan with parchment and spray thoroughly. Pour Batter in and smooth.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

*Bakers note: If you don’t have time or access to crème fraîche you may use sour cream. 

Glaze:

1ea.    Zest of whole Orange

1ea.    Juice of whole Orange

1 Tsp    Vanilla Extract

½ Tsp     Almond Extract

¾ cup    Powdered Sugar

1. Whisk together all ingredients. 
2. While the cake is warm, make several holes on the top of the cake with a skewer.
3. Pour the glaze onto the warm cake and allow to drip down the sides.

Garnish:

½ cup     Sliced Almonds, Toasted

¼ cup    Powdered Sugar 

¼ea.     Orange with peel and pith removed

1. Toast the almonds in a 350-degree oven until golden brown, then cool.
2. Arrange the almonds on top of the cake in a single layer. Lightly sift powdered sugar onto the almonds, you may not use it all. Cut three slices of orange sphere and orange in the middle of the cake.

FIRE ROASTED POBLANO PEPPERS WITH CRAWFISH CORN STUFFING

My friend Allison Dake of Brown Egg Bakery, and fellow writer/recipe contributor with Edible OKC Magazine ,was showing off her magic via social media the day I came up with this “keeper” of a recipe. Allison is working on new recipes for the upcoming May/June issue and was charring/blistering vegetables. I was so inspired that I wanted to try something out combining something wonderful I had while traveling the “Redneck Riviera” 

Remembering a chance pitstop at a restaurant while driving through the panhandle of Florida a few years ago, I recalled something I have been dying to recreate…. A crawfish cornbread! The crawfish cornbread I had was the size of a brick, and light as a feather. Big huge chunks of fresh crawfish, peppers, aromatics, exploding with flavor. The cornbread was served alongside a man-sized bowl of red-beans and ham and I was in heaven! 

What a perfect marriage of two ideas… and fortunately for my clients a delicious lunch! 

Ingredients:  Serves 2-4

4 large poblano peppers 

Grapeseed oil or olive oil 

1 pound crawfish tail meat 

1 medium onion, diced 

1 red bell pepper seeded and diced 

2 tablespoon In The Kitchen With Scotty Barbacoa Seasoning

3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped 

1 cup yellow cornmeal 

1 teaspoon baking soda 

1 teaspoon In The Kitchen With Scotty Cook’s Line Seasoning 

2 large eggs, beaten

1-15 ounce can Creamed Corn 

1 cup plus extra shredded cheddar cheese 

Make: 

1. Start out by roasting/charring your poblano peppers. Place them on the open flame of your gas stove, an outside grill, or rub with oil and blister them in your oven with the broiler. Your best bet if this is new to you, would be to YouTube this process and watch how it is done. Once the peppers are blistered and charred, place them in a ziplock bag to steam. Once cooled remove the peppers from the bag and rub off the charred skin with a paper towel leaving the flavorful smokey poblano behind. Set aside and start working on the stuffing. 
2. Now for the crawfish corn stuffing: In a mixing bowl add the cornmeal, baking soda, and Cook’s Line Seasoning or salt and pepper to taste. Mix to combine and set aside.
3. In a large sauté pan add a little olive or grapeseed oil and begin to heat. To the pan add the diced onion and pepper and begin to cook. Sprinkle in the Barbacoa Seasoning, or you may season with a combination of chili powder-cumin-salt and pepper to taste. Cook until tender and fragrant. Set aside. 
4. In the same mixing bowl as the dry ingredients, add the two beaten eggs and the entire can of creamed corn. Mix to form a sticky batter.  Next scape in the sautéed onion and pepper mixture from the sauté pan along with three tablespoons of finely chopped cilantro. Mix once more completely. 
5. Add the crawfish tail meat along with the shredded cheese and fold into the batter evenly until you have a proper batter.
6. Remove the charred poblanos from the ziplock bag and rinse under cool water while rubbing off the charred skin. With one slit lengthways down the pepper, rinse out the seeds and remove the white (pith) membrane. Hopefully, you knew to wear latex gloves while doing this BEFORE you got to this part of the recipe. If you did not just don’t rub your eyes, nose, or any other “vulnerable” part of your body for a while. 
7. Once the peppers are cleaned, and in a relatively whole piece, fill each pepper with the crawfish-corn batter. With four large peppers, you may have a little leftover batter. Bake the remaining batter in a cupcake tin (oiled on the inside first) for a little extra treat.
8. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Place the stuffed peppers into a well-oiled casserole dish so they’re closely nuzzled in next to each other. Top with extra shredded cheese and cilantro. Place the dish into the heated oven and bake uncovered 18-20 minutes or until the crawfish corn stuffing is firm to the touch and fully baked… like a cornbread. 
9. Remove the peppers from the oven and serve warm with a crunchy slaw or beans. Enjoy!

Walnut & Irish Cheddar Soda Bread

A good … like really good.. quick-bread that I came up with last minute to enjoy with Dublin Coddle

Ingredients: 

4 cups AP flour + extra for working 

1 tablespoon sugar 

2 teaspoons In The Kitchen With Scotty “Cook’s Line Seasoning” or just Kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

5 tablespoons butter, cubed 

1 3/4 cup whole buttermilk 

2 large eggs

2 cups Irish Cheddar, shredded  

1 cup rough chopped walnuts, lightly roasted 

Adding the Irish cheddar 

Work in the walnuts.

Make: 

Ready for the oven!

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees, and prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place your rough chopped walnuts in a baking dish and lightly roast them in the oven approximately 10-12 minutes. Remove the wallets and let the cool.  
2. In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, Cook’s Line Seasoning or kosher salt , baking soda and sugar. Mix around to combine. 
3. Add in the cubed butter and “rub” or “cut” into the dry ingredients like you would when making biscuits. You want pea-sized butter cut into your flour 
4. Measure out your buttermilk in a liquid measuring cup, Crack both eggs into the buttermilk and whisk. 
5. Toss the shredded cheese into the dry/butter mixture. Pour in the buttermilk and eggs, and mix with your hands or a large wooden spoon. Mix until all the dry is combined and you have a nice wet sticky dough. 
6. Flour your work surface lightly and pour the dough out onto the work surface. Kneed a few times, adding more flour to your dough and surface to prevent sticking. Sprinkle the walnuts on top and kneed them into the dough evenly. Do not work the dough too much, just have a light touch with it. 
7. Form your dough into an oblong ball and slightly flatten. Transfer the dough to your prepared baking sheet. With a sharp knife cut an X into the top. Brush the top and sides with a little buttermilk… this will “caramelize” the top and give the soda bread a bit of a shine.  
8. Place the soda bread into the oven and bake 50-55 minutes or until the center is baked. Remove once baked and let it rest at least 20 minutes before slicing. Add butter….a honey butter or a compound/whipped butter with fresh sage.

Tah-Dahhhhh!

SHOLEH ZARD: PERSIAN SAFFRON-RICE PUDDING

Sholeh Zard is a traditional Persian dessert used in holidays like Persian New Year (Nowruz), but I just happen to like it around the Christmas holiday as well. 

Traditionally made with long grain fragrant rice, like basmati, saffron for color and flavor, sugar for sweetness, and rosewater (used in many Persian and middle eastern desserts), it truely is an easy and beautiful treat. 

Like a lot of my cooking I tend to take a twist on the classic. My Sholeh Zard doesn’t deviate much from the traditional rice saffron and rosewater concoction.. but it does differ. 

I like using orange blossom water in my rice pudding.. only because I am not a huge fan of rose water in all my Persian sweets. Kind of like how I am not a fan of Poultry seasoning in all of Thanksgiving recipes. It’s expected and after awhile all the desserts start tasting the same... namely grandma’s fancy hand soap she only put out when company came. 

So I deviate a bit with Orange Blossom Water... and I add chopped dried apricot to the rice while cooking. The result is a slightly beautiful twist on a delicious classic, perfect for this time of year. A little In The Kitchen With Scotty seasoning doesn’t  hurt either. 

Sholeh Zard: Persian Saffron-Rice Pudding 

serves 10-12 

Ingredients: 

Cardamom pods. The green things... not my chubby fingers.

2 cups dried Basmati rice, rinsed and soaked in cold water for 1 hour

1/2 cup chopped dried apricot 

3 cardamom pods cracked open (optional)

1/4 cup Orange Blossom Water 

6 cups water + 2 cups boiling water to add towards the middle of cooking

Pinch of Kosher salt 

2 cups sugar 

1/4 teaspoon ground saffron 

Garnish: 

In The Kitchen With Scotty “More Than Pumpkin Pie Spice” or ground cinnamon 

Slivered or chopped pistachio 

Slivered or chopped blanched almonds 

Dried rose petals (at any Mediterranean store or in OKC at Savory Spice Shop on Western Ave.)

Make:

1. Rise and drain your rice several times with cold water until the water is clear. Cover with cold water and let the rice soak for one hour. After an hour drain the water. And set aside.
2. In a heavy bottom pot, add the 6 cups of water and pinch of kosher salt. Bring to a boil. Add two cups of the soaked rice and cardamom pods. Mix around once just to break up the rice and do not mix again. Turn the heat way down and let the rice gently cook uncovered for 45 minutes or until the water is all but gone and the rice is fluffy, long, and tender. Remove the spent cardamon pods of used. 
3. Add the additional 2 cups of boiling water to the pot of rice, followed up with the ground saffron, chopped apricot, sugar, and orange blossom water. Raise the heat up slightly just enough to simmer the rice. Stir gently often so that the rice does not stick to the bottom. Gently simmer 8-10 minutes or until the pudding is thickened, golden, and fragrant. 
4. Pour into a large high sided dish, or individual bowls, and let cool to slightly room temp. You may refrigerate after it cools to room temp or start decorating the pudding then serve. If you let it chill in the fridge, decorate the pudding after you remove it from the fridge and are ready to serve. Do not decorate then chill before serving… the nuts and rose petals will become soggy. 
5. Decorate your pudding with scrolls or lines of More Than Pumpkin Pie Spice (or ground cinnamon). Next with the slivered pistachio and/or almonds, followed up with the dried rose petals.  Serve and get ready for an exotic explosion of holiday wonderfulness in your mouth! 

COOKIE CRAVINGS: THE NEW YORK MASHUP COOKIE

It’s real easy: 

Client request cookies and I’m never one to pass up a good cookie baking (and eating) moment… so I did a mashup of two of my favorite cookies. 

Levain Bakery’s Chocolate chip Walnut and Momofuku’s Milk Bar Bakery Cornflake Chocolate chips and Marshmallow. New York is in my kitchen!! 

Ingredients: makes 1 dozen-ish

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup granulated sugar 

2 large eggs 

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 

1 teaspoon cornstarch 

1 teaspoon baking soda 

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips 

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped 

2 cups cornflakes 

1 cup mini marshmallows 

Make:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. I know it may seem like a high temp, but the idea is to blast the large dense cookies to caramelize the outside and keep the inside moist. Also if you know me you know I hate the word “moist”… but you can’t escape it when baking. So preheat the oven and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or Sil-Pat (silicon baking liner)

1. In a stand mixer ( or bowl with hand mixer) begin creaming your butter along with the brown sugar and granulated. Cream until light and fluffy. One at a time add the eggs…one at a time, mixing thoroughly after added. 
2. In a separate bowl combine the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and kosher salt. Stir together to combine evenly. 
3. In separate batches and without over-mixing add in the dry mixture to the “wet” mixture. Mix just enough to combine then add in another batch. After all the flour has been mixed in start stirring in the good parts. 
4. Good Parts: Stir, fold, press in the chocolate chips and the walnuts. Sprinkle in a bit of the cornflakes and stir/fold in. Do this until all the cornflakes are in. Finally, stir in the marshmallows. 
5. Some cookie connoisseurs will suggest refrigerating cookie dough a few hours or overnight. I get it! I do that with some cookie doughs.. it makes a better tasting and structural cookie. But not with this recipe. The cornflakes (on my first attempt) got chewy… even after cooling. Mix, scoop, and bake. 
6.   Scoop out dough about the size of a large lemon; Bigger is better with these cookies. Ball the dough and place on a cookie sheet. 6-9 balls per sheet depending on the size of your pan. Bake 10-12 minutes or until you cant stand it now because they look and smell so good. 
7. Let the cookies rest on the cookie sheet around 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack. 

MY BASIC PIE CRUST

The recipe for my basic pie crust has pretty much been burned into my brain. Anyone from a passerby in the grocery store, to my esthetician, a buddy on Instagram, to my own mother, has “out of the blue” asked me for my pie crust recipe. 

Why I have never singled the recipe out for this blog and you… no idea, but as the holidays approach and you’re warming up your pie making skills I thought it time to finally get it down on paper. Or keyboard. Or screen… whatever this is. 

The key factor and number one MUST when making pie crust? Making sure everything is 

C-O-L-D !

Frozen butter, frozen shortening, and ice water, please. I always keep a stick or two of butter in the freezer along with sticks of solid shortening. Chilling the dough for an hour to overnight before rolling it out is another must *see Gluten*. The small little chunks of butter and shortening in your dough need to stay solid. When the crust bakes in the oven, those small chunks melt and cause tiny little layers and pockets. This is what gives your crust “flakiness” and “crispness” and keeps the whole crust flavorful and tender. 

Get your mise-en-place ready. This moves quickly! 

The steam/moisture that rises from the small chunks of fat also gives way to leavening and layers. When your recipe calls for you to pre-bake your crust, or “blind-bake”, you can either lay parchment on the inside of your dough that has lined the pie pan and fill it with dried beans or pie-weights… or you can prick the dough with a fork like our mothers did to allow the steam to escape and prevent it from rising and bubbling.  

Pulse the shortening and butter along with the flour resembling a coarse meal. 

Another rule when rolling out your dough and lining the inside of your pie plate…. Do not stretch the dough! Always fit the rolled dough in the pan loosely, then trim off the excess. Why? Because your dough naturally shrinks when baking. If you stretch the dough and not fit in loosely, the dough will snap back while baking. No snap-backs, please. 

After the ice water is added and with the processor running, let the dough form into a ball on its own. 

Okay, now that you’re even more intimidated by the “make your own pie crust” challenge, let's get to the recipe. 

Gently and quickly work the dough to a nice satiny ball, then flatten. Wrap and chill for one hour or more before using. 

Ingredients:  Makes two standard sized crusts or one “deep-dish” crust

2 cups All-Purpose Flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt 

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, FROZEN and cubed 

5 tablespoons solid shortening, FROZEN and cubed

5-6 tablespoons ICE WATER 

This is just a BASIC crust… all-purpose if you will. I use it for anything from Pecan Pie to Chicken Pot Pie… cobbler, galettes, quiche, Shepherd’s Pie, turnovers… whatever. 

Depending on what you are making you may add a teaspoon of sugar for a lightly neutral to sweet crust… or even a large egg yolk like I do when making Apple Tarte Tatin for a richer tasting crust. 

Make:

1. In a food processor add the flour and salt. Give it a pulse or two to combine. 
2. Add in the frozen shortening and butter cubes. Pulse 4 to 5 times until you get a nice course cornmeal consistency. 
3. With the processor running add in the ice water one tablespoon at a time. I always seem to land on 5 tablespoons, but understand some people may need to add an additional tablespoon depending on climate and humidity. Keep the processor running until the dough balls up inside the processor on its own. 
4. Remove the dough to a lightly floured surface. Without handling the dough too much, shape into a nice smooth ball and then flatten. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for one hour to overnight. 
5. Roll the dough out when ready.    
6. It takes practice… don’t freak out if you haven’t nailed the crust the first time. After a while your hands will just know when the dough is perfect. Go get’em Tiger! 

CRANBERRY-PEAR CRISP

You can always tell Holiday "Food Seasons” are upon us, when the produce sections in our local grocery stores start carrying more butternut and acorn squash, different varieties of sweet potatoes and yams, and the pièce de resistance…. Fresh cranberries. 

Today there was a large center trough laden with bags and bags of fresh cranberries at my local grocer. 

Pears are also abundant this time of year... pears and apples actually. I mean, they’re abundant year round but they are especially flavorful and bright during the fall season. So I figured I had to do something. Something delicious! 

I’m sure I have had a cranberry-pear "something" in my day. Maybe even a Cranberry Pear Crisp in my day, as it just came to me while seeing all the delicious goods in the produce section my grocer had laid out. So I took a stab at it.. and man, was I glad I did! 

Keep this recipe and file it away in your holiday section. It definitely is a keeper! Enjoy! 

Ingredients: Serves 5-6 big eaters

12-ounce bag fresh cranberries 

2-3 firm and ripe Bosc pears

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest, microplaned

1/2 vanilla bean, split

2 cups water 

Lightly whipped (pourable)  and sweetened heavy cream. 

For The Crisp Topping: 

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup whole oats 

1 teaspoon Kosher salt 

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cubed (plus 2 tablespoons) 

Make: 

1. Place the cranberries in a large nonreactive pot. Add the sugar, split vanilla bean, lemon zest, and water. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook until the berries have popped and are tender. About 20 minutes. 
2. Peel, cut in half and scoop out the center seed area of each pear. Slice thick then dice thick. You will need about 2 full cups of diced pear. 
3. After the cranberries have softened and the mixture is becoming thick, remove the vanilla bean and scrape out the caviar. Add back to the compote along with the pears. Stir around to coat and combine the pears in along with the vanilla. 
4. Set the mixture aside to cool a bit and start working on the “crisp” topping: In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, brown sugar, salt, and oats; mix to combine. Add in the cubed butter and with your clean hands “rub”  the butter into the mixture making a nice crumble topping. 
5. Butter the inside of your favorite baking dish, top and sides,  with the remaining two tablespoons of butter. Pour the cooked cranberry and pear mixture. The pears will cook off in the oven. Loosely pour in the crisp topping making sure its laid in evenly and touches all sides of the dish. 
6. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 50 minutes, or until bubbling on the sides and the topping has browned. 
7. Let the cranberry-pear crisp rest and set for at least 15 minutes before scooping out. Drizzle on the sweetened cream, then throw your mouth around some pre-holiday (or actual holiday) goodness!

SHARP CHEDDAR PIE CRUST

Down home cooking comes in many flavors… that includes pie crust. Some folks are “BUTTER ONLY!” When it comes to making their pie crust. Some are “SHORTENING!” or “BACON FAT!”… or any combination of those. 

There is nothing more down-home than homemade apple pie. I’m sure we can all think of other things, but to me Apple Pie is it. Now when you throw a nice slice of sharp cheddar cheese along with that slice of warm apple pie, I have floated off into another realm of bliss. So since we’re choosing camps with our pie making ingredients, I’m going to go ahead and throw another dynamic into your stance… “CHEDDAR CHEESE!” 

This idea of combining sharp cheddar cheese in with my standard pie dough recipe was amazing and delicious.  It ended up making an extra flakey crust, deeper flavor, with just a bite of cheddar you would expect to go along with a perfect apple pie. Cheddar pie crust has been around a long time, but I just happen to like mine the best, and I hope you do as well. 

I think it would be as equally delicious with a shepherd’s pie, quiche, or a pot-pie. You can also experiment with other firm or hard cheeses to bring out different flavors for your sweet or savory recipe. 

Keep this one in your recipe file. I’m holding on to it forever! Enjoy! 

For a standard size pie dish, double crust (top and bottom)

Ingredients: 

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt or pinch of table salt 

8 tablespoons frozen unsalted butter, cubed 

5 tablespoons frozen shortening, cubed 

1 packed cup (about 6 ounces) sharp cheddar cheese, shredded 

5 tablespoons ice water 

Make: 

In a food processor add the flour and salt. Give the processor a pulse or two to combine the ingredients. Add the frozen cubed butter and shortening and pulse the mixture four or five times until you have a nice coarse meal… resembling coarse cornmeal. Add the shredded cheddar and pulse a few more time to break it all down into the coarse mixture. With the processor running add the five tablespoons of ice water and let the dough roll into a ball on its own inside the processor. 

Remove the dough to a lightly floured surface. Form a nice satiny ball (don’t work the dough too much). Flatten the ball into a round disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for an hour or longer. 

When you’re ready to use with your recipe this dough will make a bottom and top crust in a standard size pie dish, or a large bottom crust in a deep dish pie dish. 

Now…. If you need an easy apple pie recipe, I’ll toss my GO-TO recipe in the mix too. Nothing fancy, but always delicious! 

SCOTTY’s Easy Apple Pie

3 pounds Honey Crisp Apples, skin on and sliced 1/4” thick 

1 cup granulated sugar

1 heavy tablespoon In The Kitchen With Scotty “More Than Pumpkin Pie Spice” or any apple pie spice blend 

3 tablespoons cornstarch 

Add the sliced apples into a large mixing bowl. Toss in the sugar and More Than Pumpkin Pie Spice. Let the mixture set and the natural juices to flow free. 

Roll your dough out, be it a single or double crust. Toss the apples with the cornstarch, clump-free and evenly. Pour the apples into the dish. Add the top layer of dough and crimp your pie edges. Brush with an egg wash (1 egg 1 tablespoon water, mixed) and bake your pie in a 400-degree oven for 15 minutes. Lower the temp of the oven to 350 degrees and bake an additional 35-40 minutes or until golden brown and the smell is driving you crazy. 

Let the pie rest at least 45 minutes before slicing, and serve warm.

CHEESE SOUFFLÉ

I recently purchased a Charlotte mould, one: because I’m a freak for any kind of cooking/baking ware and two: because I was up late one night watching old Julia Child’s The French Chef programs on YouTube. 

This particular episode featured her Cheese Soufflé. I don't know about you guys, but when something stays in my head for over an hour, that means my inner “me” is saying “DO IT!”. 

So I did it… and IT was wonderful. 

A few things to remember that Julia pointed out and I recalled while working this recipe out… 

Do generously butter and line the inside with grated cheese. I used parmesan (I think she did too). It not only helps prevent the soufflé from sticking but also gives the sides and bottoms a nice “crust”.  

Do use a smaller in diameter and taller in height container, like a charlotte mould. This allows the soufflé to grow and climb up the sides. Shorter and wider (like myself) spreads (again, like myself.). 

While baking the soufflé in a non-commercial oven I used the Convention (no fan) setting. I’ve made soufflé before in a commercial oven, happens all the time in restaurants, but prefer the standard oven setting at home. If you do choose to use the Convection (with fan) setting you might want to reduce the temperature 25 degrees to 350 degrees.  

Mise en Place... get everything ready to go!

The Aluminum foil collar is your friend! Prepare the collar as part of your mise en place and butter/cheese it well. 

For those that have not made a soufflé before, as with all first time attempts in the kitchen, don’t lose hope if your soufflé “flops”. Try again! The soufflé, any soufflé, is a wonderful kitchen flashback recipe. It’s delicious, interesting, and is not as intimidating as you would expect. 

Oh… and don’t open that oven! Let it do it’s thing for a good thirty minutes before your curiosity gets the best of you or it will deflate and never come back. Use the oven light if you must! 

Ingredients: 

8 large eggs (room temp) separated: 6 yolks and 8 egg whites 

3 ounces Gruyère cheese, shredded 

2 ounces Emmental Swiss Cheese, shredded 

1 1/2 cups whole milk, heated 

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus extra to coat the inside of your mold

4 tablespoons flour 

1 teaspoon In The Kitchen With Scotty “Cook’s Line” Seasoning (or kosher salt and black pepper to taste) 

1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg 

1 teaspoon Sriracha 

1 teaspoon Cream of Tartar

grated parmesan cheese 

Buttered and cheesed... ready to be filled. 

Make: 

Ready! Remove the collar and make a mad dash to the table! 

1. Prepare an aluminum foil collar for the container you’re baking the soufflé in. The soufflé will rise and the collar prevents it from spilling out into the oven. Butter the inside of the collar and coat with grated parmesan cheese. Just like you would do when buttering and flouring a cake pan. Pin or paper-clip the sides if needed… tape will melt. 
2. Shred the two cheese with a box shredder and combine together. You need about 1 1/2 cups total of shredded Gruyère and Emmental. 
3. Preheat your standard (convention) oven to 375 degrees.
4. Separate your eggs and let them come to room temp. 6 egg yolks in one bowl and 8 egg whites in a separate clean bowl. Remember, just a small drop of egg yolk or any kind of fat will prevent the egg whites from whipping up… pay attention while doing this. 
5. Make your thick white sauce: The white sauce is your base for the soufflé. Add the butter and flour to a sauce pot to make a roux. Cook the roux for five minutes. Gradually add in your milk, nutmeg and Cook’s Line Seasoning. Cook the sauce until thickened. Cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a “skin”. 
6. Begin whipping your egg whites. In the nice clean mixing bowl that your egg whites are in, begin beating the whites until frothy. Add the Cream of Tartar and continue beating to a nice glossy stiff peak. 
7. Pour the thick white sauce into a large separate clean mixing bowl. You will be folding in the egg whites to this bowl so make sure it is large enough. A few at a time, vigorously mix the egg yolks until all have been combined. Add the Sriracha (or a few shakes of Tabasco sauce) and mix in. 
8. Scoop out a large spoonful of the whipped egg whites and mix it in with the white sauce. This loosens up the white sauce to make folding in the reaming egg whites easier. Add the rest of the whipped egg whites to the bowl and carefully FOLD. With a rubber spatula start in the center of the bowl, go down, then slowly bring the sauce up from the bottom and over the whipped eggs whites. Sprinkle in half the shredded cheese and fold it in as well. Continue folding in the whites and cheese orating your bowl as you go. Sprinkle on the rest of the cheese (reserving a few pinches) and again fold in completely. 
9. Carefully pour in the soufflé into your buttered mould. Even out the top and draw a trench around the outer center of the soufflé with your spatula. Sprinkle the top with the small amount of remaining shredded cheese. While baking this will create a center peak and give it a nice hard fried cheese flavor. 
10. Bake the soufflé 45-50 minutes. Ovens vary, and my soufflé needed 50 minutes. If unsure check it like you would a cake. Insert (carefully!) a skewer or knife in the center to see if it draws out “clean”. 
11. Have everything and everyone ready to go before you serve the soufflé… that is if you want your efforts in soufflé making to make a visual impact. Soufflés will deflate after a short time once out of the oven. 
12. This wonderfully cheesy, flavorful, dish is great for a seated brunch or lunch. Perfect with fresh fruit! Have fun with this and enjoy!  It truly is a delicious dish.

HOMEMADE CHEDDAR CRACKERS

I am a huge fan of snack cracker… well, most any kind of crackers actually. Be it when I’m feeling peckish, with soups or salad, or if I’m having friends over for drinks and we need a little snack, crackers for me cover all the bases. 

What I am not a fan of is paying for them. I mean seriously.. they’re over priced, under flavored, and loaded with a bunch of stuff that I have to Google to find out what they are. It is much easier for me to knock out a batch of crackers than it is to go out and find something familiar, natural, and without throwing $5-$7 bucks on hoping they’re not all crumbled by the time I get then home. PLUS…. there’s more interest from guests when you say “I made the crackers!”. Who makes their own crackers, anyway? You do! 

Ingredients: Makes approximately 3 dozen small crackers 

2 cups all purpose flour

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter 

1 cup shredded aged cheddar cheese (I used a 2-year-old sharp white cheddar ) 

1/2 teaspoon In the Kitchen With Scotty “Cook’s Line” Seasoning

1/4 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper (cayenne works too) 

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric 

5 tablespoons ice water 

Make: 

Getting ready to bake!

1. In a mixing bowl combine the flour, Cook’s Line seasoning (or kosher salt), ground chipotle powder, and turmeric together. Stir around to combine. 
2. Cut the butter into cubes and add to the dry mixture. Either cut/rub in by hand or place everything in a food processor and pulse to a mealy crumb… like you would do when making pie crust. 
3. Toss in the shredded cheddar and combine. Add the ice water and mix the ingredients by hand to a stiff dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and kneed a few times until satiny and stiff in feel. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for one hour. 
4. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and prep 2 large sheet pans with parchment paper or nonstick cooking spray. Remove the dough to a floured surface and begin to roll out as evenly as possible. Roll to 1/4 “ thickness making sure to dust the underside of the dough so it does not stick to the surface. 
5. With a small 11/2- 2-inch cookie cutter cut the dough into round crackers. Remove the cut crackers the parchment pepper or sprayed cookie sheets. Collect the dough scraps, ball up again, and roll out as you did before and cut more crackers. 
6. With a fork or blunt end of a bamboo skewer “Knock” holes into the cent of the cracker for appearance and/or prevent from puffing up too much while baking (letting the steam out). Bake for 12-15 minutes or until crisp and golden brown. 
7. Remove the crackers from the oven and cool on the pan. Once cooled for 20 minutes, remove the crackers to a plate. ONLY BAG or cover the crackers when completely cooled, else they will steam inside making them soggy and “stale” in texture.

PERSIAN SALAD WITH DRIED CHERRY & PINE NUTS

Salad Shirazi is one of my favorite Persian salads. Recently I made homemade falafel for a client and thought a nice quick salad would be great to accompany the falafel. I had all the ingredients for Shirazi, plus a few extras, and threw them all together. The result was fresh, sweet, tart, and delicious! I hope you love this salad as much as we did. 

Ingredients: 

3-4 small Persian cucumbers or 1 English cucumber, diced 

2-3 fresh mini sweet peppers, or 1 red bell pepper, diced 

1 cup heirloom cherry tomatoes, quartered  

3 ounces dried cherries, plumped with boiled water

2 ounces toasted pine nuts 

1 rounded tablespoon dried mint 

1/4 cup red wine vinegar 

1 tablespoon light agave nectar 

1/2 cup grapeseed or olive oil 

In The Kitchen With Scotty “Cook’s Line” Seasoning to taste 

Make: 

1. Prep the cucumber, peppers, and tomatoes. Place in a nonmetal mixing bowl. 
2. In a separate bowl whisk together the vinegar, oil, agave nectar, and dried mint. Taste the dressing for seasoning and add Cook’s Line or salt and pepper to taste. 
3. Drain the plumped cherries from the water and add to the salad. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss/coat. Chill and allow the flavors to combine in the fridge for 20 minutes.
4. Before serving sprinkle on the toasted pine nuts and toss in. 
5. Enjoy! 

CURRIED OKRA

Summer is starting to wind down a little early here in Oklahoma… and I am okay with that… so that means the summer garden is starting to wind down too. 

My okra did really well this year, and I have plenty of jars of the pickled goods, had my fill of the southern styled fried goods, but now I wanted to try a little something different… so I went the Asian route. Before we get into all that, let’s talk about the makeup of okra. Okra is one of those “vegetables” I receive a lot questions on, so let’s knock that all out In The Kitchen With Scotty style. Short and to the point. 

Yes, Okra (as far as the United States goes) is a “southern” tradition. Why? Well okra thrives in warmer climates. There are varying disagreements on where okra originated, so I am going in the direction of how I think it got to be part of the southern US foodscape. That direction being that it was brought over with slaves from Africa and the Caribbean. The seeds were able to be dried out, then soaked over night, and planted in the warmer southern area of America. After about a week they germinate and new okra sprouts up. If the slaves were allowed to cultivate their own gardens, or even if they weren’t and had the okra hidden away in secret gardens, they indeed grew and were incorporated into new recipes. Eventually, okra weaved its way into the American southern diet where it remains to this day. 

Mise en place ready, Chef!

What is the “slime” in okra, and is it preventable? The slime is “mucus” (as gross as that sounds) much like the aloe vera plant. It’s basically a break down of the natural sugars in the plant, combined with plant based protein. The slime or mucus comes about when okra is gently heated. So preventing the slime? Cook hot and fast. An instructor at Oklahoma State mentioned soaking cut okra in vinegar first as well, which makes sense since acid coagulates proteins, but I have never tried this method. The slime is also beneficial as a thickening agent. A lot of people are familiar with the Louisiana creole goodness of “Gumbo”. Gumbo is actually a shortened version of an African name for okra, ki Negombo. When the cut okra is added to the soup, the proteins are extracted helping to thicken up the soup. Along with Filé (ground sassafras root) these two are a must for flavoring and structure of Louisianan gumbo. 

So putting my southern dining roots aside, I crossed the oceans for another side of Okra… a curried flavor side. Okra is also found in Asian, east Asian, Middle Eastern, and Mediterranean dishes. Remember… okra likes to grow in warm/tropical like environments. When preparing this dish it’s important to cook hot and fast, so oil also matters. Using an oil with a high smoke point (can cook hotter) with minimal flavor to compete with the spices of this dish is ideal. Oils like grapeseed oil or canola oil is a good choice in my opinion. If you do not mind lighter flavors added try peanut oil or avocado oil too!

Ingredients: Serves 2-3 generous portions 

4 cups sliced fresh okra 

3-4 tablespoons grapeseed oil 

1 medium yellow onion, diced 

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced

2 fresh garlic cloves smashed and minced 

1 tablespoon yellow curry

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander 

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom 

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon  

In The Kitchen With Scotty “Soul Licious” Seasoning or Salt and Black Pepper to taste 

SO GOOD!

Make:

1. It’s important to have all of your mise en place (ingredients prepped and ready to cook) together because this recipe moves fast.  In a heavy bottom skillet or even a high temp wok, begin heating the grapeseed oil until it starts to shimmer. Add in the dry spiced ingredients all at once and “fry in the pan”.
2. Add the diced onion and cook until tender. Next, add the minced garlic and ginger and fry until fragrant. 
3. Turn up the heat, careful not to burn, what is in the pan. Add in the sliced okra and quickly cook until tender, coated, fragrant, bright. Sprinkle in the Soul-Licious seasoning or season with salt and pepper to taste. 
4. Serve immediately as a side dish… or as in a meal on its own. Enjoy!