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Gail Watson

5 Days of Coffee and Sweets with Irene’s Beans: Crumb Cake Donuts

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Coffee was never a drink that was associated with my friends Irene and Andy. Wine yes, beer definitely! But now they are in the coffee bean roasting business, Irene’s Beans– and even though Irene is late to the coffee drinking party- her beans are quite delicious and her passion as intense.
After a full adult life without coffee, a chance cup post dinner in Mexico opened the heavens for Irene, and got her onto this new path. Her beans come from many different places, including Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Barundi and from where I am writing now, Antigua, Guatemala.
Irene sent me 5 different beans, all with very different flavor profiles. They are all so yummy that I felt it best to showcase them all. So for the next 5 posts I will feature a different sweet to go with each of Irene’s Beans.
The first of the five coffees is the Mexican Altura which started the craze. It has a fruity, caramel aroma with a hint of chocolate. I paired it with a baked cake donut, that has a hint of brightness from the buttermilk in the recipe and a simple, crunchy, crumb sugar topping that offsets the bitterness in the coffee.
Though I truly adore donuts- and fresh out of the grease is truly the ONLY way to go- but they can be such calorie bombs, which is only insulting because who can eat only one? This baked version is surprising and light for the heftier cake version, as opposed to a yeasted version. The cake part itself is also not terribly sweet, so the sugar topping adds a nice texture and zap of sugar.
To make these I purchased a donut pan Though I am not a fan of kitchen gadgets with a singular purpose, this pan is so worth it. The donuts turned out perfectly and slipped out of the pan with ease. I’m also going to confess, that the fact that the pan only made 6 donuts was a blessing- small batches are the way to go, and even sticking to eating two is difficult.
Baked Crumb Cake Donuts
(adapted from Wilton Recipe)
makes 6
 
1c all purpose flour
6T granulated sugar
1t baking powder
.5t salt
6T buttermilk, room temperature
1 large egg, room temperature
1T neutral olive oil
1t vanilla
 
6T granulated sugar
3T all purpose flour
2 T neutral olive oil
pinch of salt
 
.5c Confectioner’s sugar for dusting
 
Preheat oven to 425˚
 
In large mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, bp, and salt. Stir to combine.
 
In separate bowl, combine buttermilk, egg, olive oil and vanilla.
 
Similarly to making pancakes, pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir swiftly and only until incorporated. The acid in the buttermilk will react with the bp immediately and you don’t want to beat that down.
 
Carefully spoon the batter into each of the rings and using the back of a spoon, spread evenly.
 
In a separate bowl combine the flour, sugar, salt and oil for the topping. Mix together with your fingers and pinch into lumps. Feel free to adjust ratio here to get that effect.
 
Distribute the crumb topping over the donuts evenly. These are not the traditional heavy crumbs, they are more of a crusting and not a heavy layer like in a coffee cake.
 
Place the pan in the middle of the oven and bake for approximately 12 minutes. The donuts should spring back to the touch when pressed.
 
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 2 minutes. Then remove the donuts onto a cooling rack. Wait another 2 minutes and then dust with powdered sugar.
 
 
 

Lasagna, as Individual as Mom is….

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Early May is a busy time for celebration in my family. It’s my Mother’s birthday, my eldest baby’s birthday (now 25!!) and, of course, Mother’s Day. These events come in rapid succession and sometimes overlap.
We are a family of eaters and celebration, and getting together is always delicious. Whomever is at the helm of the stove for the day gets full reign over what is to be served- though additions of sweets and treats are always welcome. There is no competition, just a welcoming platform of besting ourselves for everyone else’s enjoyment. You never know what’s going to appear on the tables and counter- but it’s all so wonderful.
My take was to do something classic, but slightly different, and also a little lighter. I love lasagna with it’s gooey drippiness, but this version is so lovely and simple, that you can taste the nuances before they get drowned in melty cheese. The best part is they don’t weigh you down, so there is plenty of room for dessert!
Individual Lasagne with Fresh roasted tomato
 serves 4
2 14oz boxes of crushed tomatoes
1 container of tomatoes on the vine
2 cloves of garlic, smashed and minced
2T olive oil
S & P and a pinch of sugar
20 oz container of Fresh Ricotta, or freshly made
1.5 oz freshly grated parmesan
2 healthy pinches of fresh oregano leaves, whole and slightly bruised
12 oz fresh pasta sheets or freshly made
S&P
Olive Oil for pan
Preheat oven to 375˚
In a saucepan combine the crushed tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and seasoning. Cook over a low heat to reduce slightly and meld the flavors. Set aside.
In a bowl combine the ricotta, parmesan, oregano and S&P and stir to combine.
Cut the sheets of noodle into 16- 4″ squares, as evenly as possible.
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook the squares a few at at time to al dente. Drain and rinse in a bowl of cool water, then set aside until all are done.
In a shallow roasting pan add a T or two of olive oil onto bottom of pan and a spoonful or two of sauce. Lay a set of squares on the bottom. Spoon some of the ricotta mixture onto each and continue to layer for 4 layers.
Top the individual lasagnas with the sauce and place washed tomatoes on the vine on top.
Set into the oven and bake for 35-40 mins. The tomatoes will deflate and the edges of the pasta will brown just a touch.

A Girl and Her Pig

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I had thought as my school semester wound down that my calendar would free up a bit, but it hasn’t in the least.

I spent my first free weekend at the NYC Food Book Fair, held at the newly minted Wythe Hotel in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It was an amazing assembly of food centric folks from all corners of the kitchen. The weekend kicked off with Marion Nestle, one of the topmost respected Nutritionist and advocates of our time, and from there the quality and intensity did not stop. There were three days of panels such as artists, and media and chefs and, and, and… well- it was just a stunning accumulation of talent and vision like I’ve never seen.

To top it all off, I was invited by The Daily Meal to attend on their behalf and write about it, which I did here. I was in hog heaven, especially when Chef April Bloomfield and her ghost writer JJ Goode spoke about her book, A Girl and Her Pig (pun intended). During the discussion April put into words what I had been thinking for the previous two days- There are many approaches to food, but what separates the men from the boys- or the women from the boys- is a certain strain of passion.

The question was asked, “Why are there not more women chefs?” A few ideas were bantered around, but what April said about her own cooking chimed the most true to me.

She spoke about cooking from her stomach, meaning- not just from the taste and feeling of food in belly, but also from the visceral soul. It’s the weight of the knife in your hand as it slices and gives yield to the onion. It’s the smell and the touch of food, the beauty of mis en place, the ballet and rhythm in a kitchen, the delight of the colors and textures. It’s the magic of technique and heat and then, ultimately- truly the ultimate- to place a dish before someone, for their pleasure and enjoyment, and then to ease back pleased- pleased, because you know in your gut that the dish is good.

Most chefs in restaurants are producers. Long heavy hours, in heat and tension is not for the faint hearted or weak of spirit. But this is not what we are talking about. A chef, a true chef, is driven by passion and perfection- and there is room for only those who are capable.

I’ve been busy in the kitchen, cooking and shooting for upcoming posts. I’ll be traveling the better part of the next month, so I have been compiling dishes to share over that time.

The beauty of this time is I’ve been able to capture that rhythm again- to move and groove in my space, to cook and create with joy. It’s been a blast, and my neighbors have been reaping the bounty of my whirring, stirring ways, which is making everyone happy around here.

The salad above is a simple one- ribboned zucchini, sugar snap peas, mushrooms and toasted almonds, all tossed in a lemony vinaigrette. It’s not an award winning recipe, but it’s an accumulation of tastes and textures that are simple and sublime.

Thank you for reading me here. Thank you for coming back each week and supporting me. I am blessed to have your table to place these dishes upon, it truly nurtures and sustains me. For that I promise to continue to bring you food that is from my visceral soul, food that is good.