Crime Rib (Food Lovers' Village) (27 page)

(Max gets his vinegar from a domaine near his hometown in Provence, but Erin found a great substitute, Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar, at Trader Joe’s.)

Halibut in Brown Butter

Max serves this with Parmesan-saffron risotto and seasonal vegetables, tender-crisp or roasted.

½ cup (one stick) butter

fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 halibut filets, 4–6 ounces each

salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a saucepan and cook until lightly browned; it will foam, then foam a second time and brown. Add a squeeze of lemon juice to stop the browning. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Season the fish with salt and pepper on both sides and place in the hot pan. Fry 4 minutes, then flip the fish, cover, and fry 4–6 minutes. Plate and sauce with the browned butter. Serves 4.

•  •  •  •  •

A T
OAST
TO
N
ATIONAL
S’
MORES
D
AY
!

Officially August 10, it’s a holiday you can celebrate anytime! And oh, the options! Once you’ve eaten Wendy’s homemade graham crackers, you may never buy a box again. And Candy’s homemade marshmallows are, well, divine. The sandwich cookies Wendy and Erin created take a little time, but they’re worth it.

Alternatives abound: Try tossing a handful of baby marshmallows into your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. (Erin’s fav: the classic recipe on the back of the Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chip bag.) Rather not bake? Toast your marshmallow and sandwich it between two Pepperidge Farm Geneva Cookies—the brown sugar cookies coated with chocolate and chopped walnuts.

Homemade Graham Crackers

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

½ cup whole wheat flour

1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed

1 teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt

7 tablespoons butter, cold, cut in pieces

1⁄3 cup mild-flavored honey, such as clover

5 tablespoons milk

2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

TOPPING (OPTIONAL)

1½ tablespoons granulated sugar

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Make the dough:
Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt in the bowl of a food processor or an electric mixer. (Use a paddle attachment for your mixer if you have one.) Pulse or mix on low to mix. Add the butter and pulse, or mix on low, until the dough reaches a coarse consistency.

In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, milk, and vanilla extract. Add to the flour mixture and pulse a few times or mix on low until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and sticky. Dust a large piece of plastic wrap lightly with flour, then turn the dough onto it and pat it into a rectangle about 1-inch thick. Wrap and chill until firm, about 2 hours or overnight.

Make the topping:
Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.

Roll out the crackers:
Divide the dough in half; keep the dough you’re not working with in the refrigerator. Flour your work surface and roll the dough into a long rectangle about 1/8 inch thick. The dough will be sticky, so flour as necessary. If you want a traditional cracker, trim the rectangle to 4 inches and cut every 4½ inches. For squares, cut the rectangle in half and cut every 2 inches. For rounds, use a cookie cutter or a glass dipped in flour.

Place crackers on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicon sheet; sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar if you’d like. Chill until firm, about 30–45 minutes, or freeze 15–20 minutes. Repeat with the rest of the dough and any scraps.

Bake:
Adjust the oven rack to the upper and lower positions and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. For traditional crackers, use a toothpick or a fork to mark a vertical line down the middle of each cracker, careful not to cut through the dough.

Bake 15–18 minutes, until browned and slightly firm to the touch, rotating the sheets halfway through to ensure even baking. Don’t overbake—these will crisp up as they cool.

M
AKES
10 (4-
BY
-4.5-
INCH
)
GRAHAM
CRACKERS
.

Handcrafted Marshmallows

Yummy and not supersweet. They toast to a lovely golden brown.

¼ cup powdered sugar

¼ cup cornstarch

vegetable oil, for pan

2 envelopes (¼ ounce each) unflavored gelatin

1½ cups white sugar

2⁄3 cup light corn syrup

Use a wire mesh sieve to sift together the powdered sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl; set aside.

Brush the bottom and sides of an 8-inch-square baking pan with vegetable oil. Line the pan with parchment paper, and brush with the oil. Using the sieve, coat the parchment and pan with half of the powdered sugar mixture. Set aside.

Pour ½ cup of cool water into a large mixer bowl and sprinkle with gelatin; set aside.

In a medium saucepan pot fitted with a candy thermometer, combine the granulated sugar, corn syrup, and ½ cup water; bring to a boil over high heat (about 5 minutes). Mixture will foam at this stage. Reduce heat to medium and cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees, about 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Using your electric mixer, beat the gelatin mixture on low about 30 seconds, until it becomes creamy. Pour the sugar–corn syrup mixture into the gelatin mixture, in a slow, steady stream down the side of bowl. (This cools it slightly.) Increase mixer speed to high and beat until very thick and ribbony, about 12 minutes.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Oil a scrap of parchment paper and use it to smooth and flatten the top. Use the sieve to sprinkle the remaining powdered sugar mixture over top. Let rest, uncovered, in a cool, dry place, about 4 hours or up to overnight.

To cut, invert the pan onto a piece of waxed paper or parchment, and dust the excess sugar off the marshmallow onto the paper, using your fingers or a clean, dry brush. Then move the marshmallow onto your cutting surface. Dust a chef’s knife in the leftover sugar and cut the marshmallow into squares. Dip the cut edges in the excess sugar; it’s helpful to dust your fingers at this stage, to prevent sticking. You may need to rinse the knife and dust it again while cutting, to cut clean edges.

M
AKES
12–24
MARSHMALLOW
S
,
DEPENDING
ON
SIZE
.

S’more Sandwich Cookies

Make the graham cracker recipe above, but instead of cutting the dough into rectangles, use a floured glass or a cookie cutter to cut circles. Dust lightly with cinnamon sugar and bake on parchment paper or a silicone sheet at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. Cool.

Meanwhile, make your filling and get your chocolate ready to melt. Erin loves buttercream, but for a more traditional s’more flavor combo, marshmallow cream is just as easy.

VANILLA BUTTERCREAM

3 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

1¼ cups powdered sugar

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1½ tablespoons milk or more

With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla. Stir in enough milk, starting with 1½ tablespoons, to make the mixture smooth but thick. You’ll want it to spread easily, but set up as the cookies sit.

MARSHMALLOW CREAM

1 cup water, room temperature (divided)

2 envelopes (¼ ounce each) unflavored gelatin

1½ cups white sugar

2⁄3 cup light corn syrup

Pour ½ cup water into a large mixer bowl and sprinkle with gelatin; set aside.

In a medium saucepan fitted with a candy thermometer, combine the granulated sugar, corn syrup, and remaining ½ cup water; bring to a boil over high heat (about 5 minutes). The mixture will foam at this stage. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees, about 5 more minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Using your electric mixer, beat the gelatin mixture on low about 30 seconds, until it becomes creamy. Pour the sugar–corn syrup mixture in, in a slow, steady stream down the side of bowl. (This cools it slightly.) Increase the mixer speed to high and beat until very thick and ribbony, about 12 minutes.

Make the cookies:
Spread the filling on the bottom side of one cookie and sandwich with a second cookie. Let the cookies sit a few minutes for the filling to set up, so it doesn’t squish out when you hold them.

Melt a 12-ounce bag of semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks about 40 seconds in the microwave, or in a double boiler. Dip each cookie in the chocolate, or spoon the chocolate onto one third of the cookie, on both sides. Lay the cookies on parchment paper until the chocolate hardens, about 30 minutes. Makes about 4 dozen, depending on how many you eat before they’re done.

In a pinch—or a craving—Erin may make an open-faced version, spreading her filling on one round cookie or a half graham cracker and topping it with a partially melted chocolate kiss or a treat-size bar leftover from Halloween.

(A note from Erin: My author created this cookie based on one she
devoured
discovered at Madeleine’s Cafe & Patisserie in Spokane, Washington.)