Cornmeal-pistachio biscotti and going back to dramaville

I try not to be such a creature of habit sometimes but apparently I fail miserably at it. After watching dark drama after dark drama, I felt I needed to take a breather – it was time for a comedy. To avoid repeating the mistake of months ago, I asked the lovely Amanda for some tips on comedies, and despite being a drama kind of gal like me she commented something about Community, Parks and Recreation (that one I already adore) and 30 Rock – I’ve read tons about the latter but never watched it, so I decided to start with it.

I watched the pilot and found it funny and clever; however, by the end of it I felt there was something missing – maybe the tight muscles or the teeth clenching, I don’t know. One day later I was back to dramaville, this time accompanied by Hellboy and Peggy Bundy – if that isn’t sheer perfection I don’t know what is. :D

Every time I feel like baking cookies I have to fight the urge of making biscotti – they are easy to make, taste great and can be kept in an airtight container for a good while – what’s not to love? I sometimes manage to vary a little but end up going back to my addiction – this time I was lured in by the addition of cornmeal to the dough, which turned out to be a delicious idea.

Cornmeal-pistachio biscotti
slightly adapted from The Zuni Cafe Cookbook

125g pistachios
¼ cup (56g) cold unsalted butter
½ cup + 2 tablespoons (125g) granulated sugar
1 large cold egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons Amaretto
1 ¼ cups (155g) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons fine cornmeal – I used corn flour (not corn starch)
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon table salt

Preheat oven to 165°C/325°F. Line a large baking sheet with baking paper.
Roast the pistachios on a small baking sheet until they are fragrant. Finely chop ¼ cup of the nuts; coarsely chop the remainder.
In a medium bowl, barely cream the butter with the sugar. Beat in the egg, vanilla and Amaretto.
In a separate bowl, combine the nuts, flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Add to the butter mixture and mix until homogenous.
Divide the dough in half. Roll the dough into logs about 2.5cm (1in) in diameter. The dough should be cold enough to handle without difficulty, though you may need to dust the counter with a little additional flour if the logs start to stick.
Place the logs on the baking sheet, spacing them at least a few inches apart; they will swell considerably. Bake until slightly brown and firm on the surface, but yielding to light pressure, 15-20 minutes. Rotate the pan if they are browning unevenly. Don’t underbake, or the baking powder will not complete its job, and the cookies will be hard and dense rather than crisp and with a great coarse texture.
Slide the paper with the logs to a wire rack and let cool for 5-8 minutes. Turn the oven temperature to 180°C/350°F.
Slice the logs on an angle about 1.25cm (½in) thick. Line the warm baking sheet with baking paper. Place the biscotti cut side down on sheet and bake for another 5 minutes or so to brown lightly. Cool completely, then store in an airtight container.

Makes about 30

Honey cake, relating to characters and "Philomena"

I believe it’s part of movie/TV show watching to relate or not to characters, to analyze if we would act like them or not in certain situations – for instance, I would never spend time in a cabin in the middle of the woods and I would certainly never enter a dark attic (or basement) all by myself holding nothing but a lit candle. :D

Speaking of a more serious subject, I watched Philomena yesterday and by the end of the movie I thought it could have been called “Pollyanna”.

Judi Dench is spectacular in the movie – just for a change – and there are several funny moments developed by her character (which reminded me of my paternal grandmother – she’ll say anything that comes to her mind). However, it bothered me much how Philomena deals with the situations she faces, I couldn’t understand it therefore I could not relate – I actually saw myself as the journalist, I would have behaved pretty much like Martin Sixsmith did or worse, I believe. SPOILERS I would have trashed that convent from top to bottom and would have slapped that nun like there was no tomorrow – there would be no forgiving of something so cruel and monstrous. END OF SPOILERS

There is a scene in the movie in which Steve Coogan’s character is having some tea and goes completely bonkers for the cake he’s eating – I felt the same way about this honey cake: it’s extremely simple – no frosting, no filling, nothing – and yet its flavor and texture are absolutely divine. A perfect match for a cup of tea or coffee.

Honey cake
slightly adapted from the delicious and beautiful National Trust Simply Baking

115g mild honey
115g unsalted butter, softened
115g granulated sugar
2 medium eggs*
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
225g all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
about 100ml full-fat milk, room temperature, as necessary
icing sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to fan 180°C/350°F. Butter a 20cm (8in) square pan, line the base with baking paper and butter the paper as well.
If your honey is thick, gently warm over a low heat, then set aside until tepid but still runny.
In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Gradually beat in the honey, followed by the eggs, a little at a time. Beat in the vanilla. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg over the mixture and fold in, using a rubber spatula. If necessary, add a little milk: the mixture should drop from the spoon in soft blobs (I used only 60ml of the 100ml called for in the recipe). Spoon into the prepared pan and smooth the surface.
Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden, risen and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 30 minutes, then carefully unmold, remove the paper and turn the cake back onto the rack. Cool completely. Dust with icing sugar to serve.

* I always buy large eggs, so I chose the smallest 2 in the package to use in this recipe

Makes 16

Coconut and apricot bars to shake off the sadness

My sister and I take turns choosing the movies we watch together at the theater, and last Saturday it was her turn to pick it: I wanted Robocop, but she went with The Book Thief.

I haven’t read the book, therefore can’t verify if the movie is faithful to it, but in general I liked the story and I’ll watch anything with Emily Watson and Geoffrey Rush, actually. However, the movie made me feel really sad at the end – movies about the Nazism are never easy to watch, but I’d seen more graphic ones on the subject, and up to now I haven't been able to figure out why Liesel’s story had stuck in my head like that.

I went home thinking about it and tried to shake it off by spending some time on the treadmill, with no success. Then I decided to bake something, something sweet, and all that sugar and coconut and apricots took my mind off the sadness for a while – by the time I removed the cake pan from the oven I was feeling a little lighter already, and then I had something tasty to munch on while I watched another episode of House of Cards – the Underwoods make me so nervous I could have chewed all my nails off.

Coconut and apricot bars
slightly adapted from a Bill Granger recipe published by The Independent

Crust:
120g unsalted butter, melted
120g granulated sugar
50g sweetened flaked coconut
150g all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
180g ready to eat dried apricots, chopped

Topping:
150g sweetened flaked coconut
50g granulated sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons apricot jam

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20cm (8in) square cake pan, line it with foil leaving an overhang on two opposite sides and butter the foil as well.
Crust: in a large bowl, mix the melted butter, sugar, coconut, flour, baking powder, salt and egg. Spoon into the pan and spread the mixture out into an even layer. Dot the chopped apricots over the top. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until slightly golden around the edges.
Make the topping: in a medium bowl, mix the coconut, sugar, egg, salt and vanilla until combined. Remove the pan from the oven, spread over the jam and use 2 spoons to spread out the coconut mixture in a rough, even layer.
Return to the oven and cook for a further 20-30 minutes or until top is golden. Cool completely in the pan, then cut into bars to serve.

Makes 16

Hazelnut, cinnamon and coconut cake, a great mini-series and a truly deserved Golden Globe

I like watching award shows basically for two reasons: it is great to see my favorite actors and directors get awarded – which, unfortunately, doesn’t happen as often as I would like – and I also love seeing the dresses and hairdos worn by the stars (to later comment on the hits and misses). :D

There is, however, another really good reason: TV shows or movies I haven’t heard of, interesting things to look up and maybe add to my already long “to watch” list.
It was because of Elisabeth Moss’ win at this year’s Golden Globe that I learned of Top of the Lake, and what a great mini-series it is: a dark story created and director by Jane Campion – a badass director whose work I admire –, it is set in beautiful locations in New Zealand, with great writing and acting. I already liked Elisabeth Moss as Peggy Olson – probably the best thing in Mad Men – and here she’s even more fantastic. She truly deserves the GG she took home, and I don’t know how the Globes ignored Peter Mullan, absolutely amazing as the terrifying Matt.

As does The Fall, Top of the Lake discusses violence against women and its consequences – not an easy subject to watch but completely necessary to be portrayed (and here it is done in a very realistic way).

I got addicted to Top of the Lake after minutes only and watched the seven episodes in a matter of days (unfortunately there won’t be additional seasons); every time I saw the characters walking near that cold water I felt like having a cup of tea – and a slice of cake wouldn’t hurt, either. :D

This is a recipe I made because I found the combination of hazelnut, cinnamon and coconut an unusual one, and it turned out to be a delicious one (and the yogurt makes the cake moist and tender to boot).

Hazelnut, cinnamon and coconut cake
slightly adapted from the always wonderful Delicious UK

Cake:
4 medium eggs*
2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
230g all purpose flour
50g corn starch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
185ml canola oil
420g plain yogurt
1 cup (100g) sweetened flaked coconut
100g hazelnuts, lightly toasted, cooled and finely chopped

For dusting the cake:
50g icing sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Generously butter a 12-cup nonstick capacity Bundt pan – if using a regular pan without nonstick coating, butter and flour it (I was stubborn and used a 10-cup capacity pan, so I had to bake the excess batter in a 1-cup mini pan).
Using an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the eggs and sugar together until thick and pale. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, corn starch, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir in the oil, yogurt, coconut and hazelnuts until combined. Stir in the egg mixture.
Pour into prepared pan and bake for 1 hour/1 hour 20 minutes or until golden and risen and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 15 minutes, then carefully unmold onto the rack. Cool completely.
In a small bowl, combine the icing sugar and cinnamon, then sift the mixture over the cake.

* I only buy large eggs, so I chose the smallest 4 in the package to use in this recipe

Serves 10-12

Lime, vanilla and poppy seed madeleines and a very interesting character

The young ones reading me today won’t remember it, but back in the 90s a pop group called the Spice Girls became a huge hit and their main motto was “girl power” – I was about eighteen when “Wannabe” was released and, back then, I didn’t think there was anything empowering to women in what the group sang or did (and to be honest I’m 35 now and still don’t get it).

Cut to many years later: because of what I’d been watching, Netflix suggests The Fall, and I got immediately interested in the series both because of its dark nature and of Gillian Anderson – that is how I’m introduced to Stella Gibson, the most feminist character I’d seen on TV shows and definitely one of the most interesting ones. As I watched the five episodes of The Fall – and thought of how much I wanted those five to be fifteen, twenty –, the more I liked Anderson’s character and the more I thought of her as the personification of girl power, so much more than an empty slogan shouted at the top of a hotel in Cannes.

The way Stella behaves and the things she says on the show are truly amazing – I believe she’s sending a message to everyone watching, and it’s a very positive one. That kind of strong female character is a delight to watch and Gillian Anderson is sheer perfection portraying Stella Gibson – the good news is that there will be a second season, so there’s more real girl power coming our way. \0/

And because this is a feminist post about a feminist character, nothing better than a baked good with a woman’s name to go with it.

Lime, vanilla and poppy seed madeleines
slightly adapted from the always stunning Gourmet Traveller

80g unsalted butter
finely grated zest of 1 large lime
65g granulated sugar
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise, seeds scraped with the back of a knife
½ tablespoon light brown sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
½ tablespoon mild honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
115g all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
½ tablespoon poppy seeds
melted butter, extra, for brushing the molds
icing sugar, for dusting

Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat, add lime zest and set aside until cooled to room temperature but still liquid (2-3 minutes).
Place the granulated sugar and vanilla beans in the bowl of an electric mixer and rub them together with your fingertips until sugar is fragrant. Add the brown sugar, eggs, honey and vanilla extract and beat until light and fluffy (4-5 minutes). Sift over flour, baking powder and salt, add the poppy seeds and fold through.
Fold in butter mixture a little at a time until just incorporated, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate (4 hours or up to overnight).
Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F. Brush twenty two 2-tablespoon capacity madeleine molds with melted butter and refrigerate for 10 minutes. Brush the molds again and refrigerate for another 10 minutes. Divide the mixture between the molds (do not spread it out). Bake until golden and cooked through (8-10 minutes), then immediately unmold onto a wire rack.
Dust with icing sugar. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 22