[recipe review] eli's chicago-style cheesecake

I usually buy my books online since they are typically much cheaper than in the stores, but my wife got a gift certificate to Borders for Christmas so we were walking though one the other day. They usually have some clearance cookbooks up front but they aren't typically my style. On this day, though, there was a copy of Cook's Illustrated's "Restaurant Favorites" for $4.95. I scooped it up and immediately began flipping through when I got home.

The first thing I noticed was the recipe for Eli's Chicago-Style Cheesecake. My wife is a native Chicagoan and always extolled the virtues of Eli's over any other cheesecake, so I had to give the recipe a try. I served it to a bunch of cheesecake aficionados and they were thoroughly impressed, especially with the shortbread crust. Dare I say that we preferred its lighter texture to the very dense and rich versions from New York? The recipe was terribly easy to put together, so I suggest you give it a try for yourself!

eli's chicago-style cheesecake

crust
6 TB unsalted butter, softened and cut into chunks
1/4 cup (1 ounce) confectioners' sugar
1/8 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup (3 3/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
pinch of salt

filling
1 1/2 pounds cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) granulated sugar
zest of 1 lemon (my addition -- optional, but delicious)
1 TB all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
2 large eggs
melted butter for greasing the pan

1. For the crust: In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and confectioners' sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Ass the vanilla and mix until combined, about 30 seconds. Add the flour and the salt and beat on low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds.

2. Empty the mixture into an 8-inch springform pan (I used an 8 1/2" pan with no problems) and press it evenly into the bottom of the pan. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Wash the mixer bowl and paddle.

3. Meanwhile, adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Prick the chilled crust several times with a fork and bake until golden, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Adjust the oven rack to the middle position, maintaining the oven temperature at 350.

4. For the filling: In a standing mixture fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium-low speed to break it up and soften it, about 1 minute. Scrape down the bowl and paddle. Add half the sugar and the lemon zest (if using) and beat on medium-low speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape the bowl. Beat in the remaining sugar, flour, and salt until combined, another minute. Scrape the bowl. Add the sour cream and vanilla and beat for a minute. Add the yolk and beat for another minute. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and beat for a minute after each addition, scraping down the bowl and paddle as necessary.

5. Brush the sides of the cooled springform pan with melted butter. Set the pan on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any spills. Pour the filling onto the cooled crust and bake until the cheesecake is firm around the edges and barely jiggles in the center, around 50-60 minutes (check at 40 if you are using a larger pan). An instant-read thermometer should register 150F. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 3 hours then wrap tightly with plastic and refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to 4 days.

6. Unmold the cheesecake about 30 minutes before you want to serve it. Enjoy with a dollop of whipped cream and/or some fresh strawberries.

medici bread pudding

When my wife and I visited Seattle, I took Rachel Ray's advice and visited Caffe Ladro (twice). The first time I went, I tried a standard latte -- the coffee by which I judge coffeehouses. It was very, very good -- smooth and sweet with a great mouth feel brought about by an expert barista who really knew how to froth the milk and pull a shot. The second time I went, I took RR's advice again and tried their Medici coffee, which is essentially a mocha spiced up with a bit of orange zest. That, my friends, was ethereal. I don't normally "do" sweetened coffee, but this was harmony in a cup.

So it was with this cup of coffee in mind that I decided to create a bread pudding recipe -- a way for me to both memorialize the trip and re-enjoy the simple but wonderful flavor combination of coffee, chocolate, and orange. A word of caution: if you try this, you may find yourself wanting to hop on a plane to Seattle to try the original. They are both that good.

medici bread pudding
7 large egg yolks
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp table salt
6 cups whole milk or half-and-half (I prefer the richness of the half-and-half)
2 tsp powdered espresso (try Medaglia d'Oro brand if you can find it)
12 oz. package of bittersweet chocolate chips (Guittard or Ghirardelli work well)
1 TB finely grated orange zest
1 TB pure vanilla extract
1 1-pound loaf of challah , cut into 1-inch cubes preferably stale)

If your bread cubes aren't stale, dry them out in a 250F oven for 20-30 minutes -- not so much that the cubes turn into croûtons, but enough so that they seem drier and stale. Set aside in a large bowl.

Whisk yolks, eggs, sugar, and salt together until thick and pale and set aside. Warm half-and-half in a saucepan until steaming but not boiling (about 180F). Add chocolate chips, powdered espresso, and orange zest to half-and-half and stir until chocolate is melted and completely mixed with milk.

Slowly whisk the half-and-half into the egg mixture until thoroughly combined. Add the vanilla extract. If you have a touch of OCD, you may want to strain the custard at this point, but if you were careful not to add the milk too quickly, you probably don't have to.

Pour the custard over the dry bread cubes, making sure that the bread is submerged as much as possible. Set aside for about an hour to cool to room temperature. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan and pour the bread/custard mixture in. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 5 (but up to 24) hours. This allows the custard to penetrate the bread cubes completely so that you have no dry patches in your dessert.

About two hours before you want to serve it (if you want it served hot), cover the pudding with foil and bake in a preheated 325F oven for 70 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until no liquid is visible when you test with a paring knife (maybe 20-30 minutes).

This can be served hot, warm, room-temp, or chilled -- every way has its own advantages. Its flavor is most intense just a few minutes out of the oven, but the custard is firmest when cooled. Any way you do it, dress it up with some whipped cream and a good cup of coffee.

quadruple dairy noodle kugel

Not being Jewish myself, some of my friends look at me funny when I share my passion for certain Jewish delicacies. Latkes, tzimmes, challah -- this goy loves 'em. It probably stems from my Grandmother growing up in Brooklyn in the early to mid-20th century, where Jews and Italians shared neighborhoods and traditions. So as a nod to my Jewish friends this Hanukkah, I offer my recipe for noodle kugel, a baked custard that is rich and satisfying on its own or as an accompaniment to a holiday meal:

1 12 oz. bag wide egg noodles
2 TB unsalted butter, cut into cubes
8 oz. cream cheese
4 TB sugar
2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
8 oz. sour cream
1 cup whole milk
6 large eggs
8 oz. cottage cheese
1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 350F and prepare a 13 x 9 baking pan with no-stick spray.

Boil the noodles in salted water according to the package directions. Err on the side of underdone, as they will continue to cook in the oven later. Drain and toss with butter to prevent sticking. Set aside.

With a whisk or hand mixture, cream together the cream cheese, sugar, salt, and nutmeg until noticeably lighter in texture. Add the sour cream and mix until combined. Add the milk and eggs and beat for another minute or so. Add the drained noodles and stir until moistened. Fold in the cottage cheese.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and sprinkle with cinnamon. Place on a middle rack in the oven and immediately decrease the temperature to 325. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the center is just set and no longer jiggles. Remove from the oven and serve warm or allow to cool to room temperature.

This dish can be eaten as a side or, if you double the sugar and add some dried fruit (raisins, apples, apricots, etc.), it makes a great dessert. It can be made a bit healthier by using reduced fat versions of the dairy products with no major problems. Happy Hanukkah!

[recipe review] simple, crusty bread from the NY Times

I got a chance to make Jeff Hertzberg's simple bread recipe from his book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day that was shared on the NY Times website. It is billed as being even quicker than Jim Lahey's "No-Knead" recipe that appeared in the NY Times about a year ago and it lives up to that billing -- you can follow this recipe and have a decent loaf of bread in about 3 hours.

But that's just it -- the bread is only passable. I can make very good sandwich bread in three hours. This, however, is supposed to be "artisan" bread. It isn't artisan bread by any stretch of the imagination.

When I think of artisan bread, I imagine a slightly sour, very crusty, open-holed bread with wonderfully chewy insides. This bread is more related to white sandwich bread in texture -- maybe slightly chewier due to the wetness of the dough. The flavor was almost too "yeasty," as the recipe requires quite a bit of yeast (1 1/2 TB) to raise 6 cups of flour in two hours.

I prefer doughs (and the breads that come from them) that use less yeast and more time -- the flavor of bread made in this way is tangy and wheaty instead of having an overly fermented taste and smell. Also, time is necessary in order to truly accomplish the "no-knead" trick.

Kneading bread develops gluten, a protein matrix which acts like sheets of rubber than can be blown up like balloons. Gluten can also be developed by the metabolic byproducts of yeast (gas), which slooooooowly stretches the proteins in the dough. Trying to accomplish this quickly leaves one with an under-developed dough. This, in turn, produces small, dense loaves -- exactly what I got when I followed the recipe precisely.

It seems we are still left with two options for bread -- kneaded sandwich-style bread (which can be quite good) or lightly kneaded, long-rising artisan-style bread. Quick artisanal breads still live in the realm of unicorns and ogres -- fantasy.

One more note -- the recipe says that you can make the dough and keep it in the fridge for up to two weeks. This option probably produces a bread that is closer to artisan-style in texture. But I imagine the flavor would still be very "yeasty."

Overall, if you have never baked bread before and don't own a stand mixer, give the original no-knead bread recipe a try. If you're also in a pinch and rushed for time, try the Hertzberg variation just for kicks. You'll quickly be swept up in the joyful meditation of baking your own bread and will summarily graduate to recipes where a little (happy) effort is required!

the ny times loves simple bread recipes

This is the second "simple" bread recipe I've seen in the NY Times food section in a year. I've made Bittman's no-knead bread dough with success and look forward to trying this one, too. Both require a bit of special equipment -- Bittman's needs a dutch oven and Dr. Hertzberg's needs a pizza or quarry stone. Anyway, bread can be daunting for some. These recipes help to bring good, simple, home-baked bread to the table of anyone who has five minutes here and there...

Adapted from “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day,” by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François (Thomas Dunne Books, 2007)

Time: About 45 minutes plus about 3 hours’ resting and rising

1 1/2 tablespoons yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
6 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, more for dusting dough
Cornmeal

1. In a large bowl or plastic container, mix yeast and salt into 3 cups lukewarm water (about 100 degrees). Stir in flour, mixing until there are no dry patches. Dough will be quite loose. Cover, but not with an airtight lid. Let dough rise at room temperature 2 hours (or up to 5 hours).

2. Bake at this point or refrigerate, covered, for as long as two weeks. When ready to bake, sprinkle a little flour on dough and cut off a grapefruit-size piece with serrated knife. Turn dough in hands to lightly stretch surface, creating a rounded top and a lumpy bottom. Put dough on pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal; let rest 40 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough or refrigerate it.

3. Place broiler pan on bottom of oven. Place baking stone on middle rack and turn oven to 450 degrees; heat stone at that temperature for 20 minutes.

4. Dust dough with flour, slash top with serrated or very sharp knife three times. Slide onto stone. Pour one cup hot water into broiler pan and shut oven quickly to trap steam. Bake until well browned, about 30 minutes. Cool completely.

Yield: 4 loaves.

Variation: If not using stone, stretch rounded dough into oval and place in a greased, nonstick loaf pan. Let rest 40 minutes if fresh, an extra hour if refrigerated. Heat oven to 450 degrees for 5 minutes. Place pan on middle rack.