I am somewhat obsessed with rosemary. I will put it in anything. Exhibit A: these waffles here. Add rosemary? Why not. It actually went really well with the maple syrup and crisp prosciutto (exactly what I was hoping for). And as an added bonus, it came together very quickly on a chilly Sunday morning.

As long as you have buttermilk (or can make a substitute with milk and lemon or vinegar), you should have everything to throw these waffles together. Especially if you have a 4-foot rosemary plant growing steps from your front door like we do. Okay, yes, you would also have to have a waffle iron, smarty.

Rosemary Buttermilk Waffles with Crisp Prosciutto Adapted from a recipe in Gourmet magazine. Vegetable-oil cooking spray 1 cup AP flour 1 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 2 Tbsp Melted butter + 2 Tbsp olive oil 1 cup well-shaken buttermilk 1 . . . → Read More: Rosemary Buttermilk Waffles with Crisp Prosciutto]]>

I am somewhat obsessed with rosemary. I will put it in anything. Exhibit A: these waffles here. Add rosemary? Why not. It actually went really well with the maple syrup and crisp prosciutto (exactly what I was hoping for). And as an added bonus, it came together very quickly on a chilly Sunday morning.

As long as you have buttermilk (or can make a substitute with milk and lemon or vinegar), you should have everything to throw these waffles together. Especially if you have a 4-foot rosemary plant growing steps from your front door like we do. Okay, yes, you would also have to have a waffle iron, smarty.

Rosemary Buttermilk Waffles with Crisp Prosciutto
Adapted from a recipe in Gourmet magazine.
Vegetable-oil cooking spray
1 cup AP flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp Melted butter + 2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 tsp (heaping) chopped rosemary leaves (plus a couple of small sprigs for garnish)
1 large egg
1 tsp olive oil
4 thin slices prosciutto
Maple Syrup for serving

Preheat oven to 250°F. Spray an unheated nonstick waffle iron with cooking spray and preheat iron.

In a large bowl sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the chopped rosemary and mix to combine. Whisk the melted butter and olive oil in a small bowl with the buttermilk and egg until combined. Stir the egg mixture into flour mixture briefly but until fairly smooth (batter may be thick).

Spoon batter into waffle iron, using 1/2 cup batter for four waffles and spreading evenly, cook according to your waffle maker’s instructions. When done, transfer waffles to a baking sheet and keep warm, uncovered, in middle of oven. Make more waffles in same manner (do not respray iron).

In a large heavy skillet heat 1 teaspoon olive oil over moderate heat and cook prosciutto slices until crisp and golden, about 1 minute on each side.

Drain on paper towels briefly and serve waffles with prosciutto, and maple syrup. Garnish with small sprigs of rosemary.

The original recipe says this serves two, but I got 4 almost-plate-sized waffles out of the recipe. If you had fruit and a few other things in a brunch-type situation, you could probably serve 3-4 with this recipe.

I am becoming quite the experimenter with the strange and wonderful flours I’ve come across lately. This time – green pea flour. Yes, it’s just ground peas. Yes, it’s green. I was so intrigued when I first saw it that I knew I just had to do something with it. Crackers were the first thing I thought of, although I’ve since found myself wondering about making a savory tart shell with a little of the pea flour. That’s probably next. But for now, it’s crackers!

And yeah, if you don’t have green pea flour you could totally just use 1 1/4 cups AP flour. They would just be Parmesan Herb Crackers then and sadly, not green.

Pea, Herb and Parmesan Crackers Adapted from a recipe by Ina Garten 1 stick unsalted butter, slightly softened 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 cup pea flour 1/4 tsp kosher salt 1 tsp chopped fresh . . . → Read More: Pea, Herb and Parmesan Crackers]]>

I am becoming quite the experimenter with the strange and wonderful flours I’ve come across lately. This time – green pea flour. Yes, it’s just ground peas. Yes, it’s green. I was so intrigued when I first saw it that I knew I just had to do something with it. Crackers were the first thing I thought of, although I’ve since found myself wondering about making a savory tart shell with a little of the pea flour. That’s probably next. But for now, it’s crackers!

And yeah, if you don’t have green pea flour you could totally just use 1 1/4 cups AP flour. They would just be Parmesan Herb Crackers then and sadly, not green.

Pea, Herb and Parmesan Crackers
Adapted from a recipe by Ina Garten
1 stick unsalted butter, slightly softened
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup pea flour
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/4 tsp dried mint
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2-3 tbsp fat free milk or water

Place the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix until creamy. Add the Parmesan, pea and AP flours, salt, thyme, basil, mint and pepper. Mix to combine.

Add enough milk or water until the dough comes together (sort of like a pie crust would). It will still be a bit crumbly, but you’ll be able to wrangle it up and it’ll hold its shape.

Place the dough on a lightly floured board and roll into a long log. Wrap the log in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 30 minutes to harden.

While you’re waiting for the dough in the freezer, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Then, cut the log crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices.

Place the slices on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and sprinkle just a small pinch of Parmesan cheese on the top of each slice.

Bake the crackers for 22 minutes. Let cool briefly and then you’re ready for serving.

They are really good on their own or even with a little goat cheese. Or any other sort of dip available to you.

So, I recently took a Cultured Chevre making class through Urban Cheesecraft & the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability* and it was a lot of fun. And super inspiring! So inspiring that just one day later I was buying goat milk and hoping for the best.

The class that I took demonstrated making a culture chevre, which uses a culture + vegetarian rennet (and probably other stuff). You can also make a simpler, milder version that uses citric acid (or you can sub 1/8 cup cider vinegar for the 1 tsp. citric acid). Here’s a link to that recipe: Simple Creamy Goat Cheese.

Since I did take the class though, I purchased some culture, which you can find online at New England Cheesemaking Supply or also in Portland at the Urban Farm Store on Belmont, in SE Portland.

Before I start with the step-by-step, here are a . . . → Read More: Adventures in Beginner Cheesemaking: Cultured Chevre]]>

So, I recently took a Cultured Chevre making class through Urban Cheesecraft & the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability* and it was a lot of fun. And super inspiring! So inspiring that just one day later I was buying goat milk and hoping for the best.

The class that I took demonstrated making a culture chevre, which uses a culture + vegetarian rennet (and probably other stuff). You can also make a simpler, milder version that uses citric acid (or you can sub 1/8 cup cider vinegar for the 1 tsp. citric acid). Here’s a link to that recipe: Simple Creamy Goat Cheese.

Since I did take the class though, I purchased some culture, which you can find online at New England Cheesemaking Supply or also in Portland at the Urban Farm Store on Belmont, in SE Portland.

Before I start with the step-by-step, here are a few things:

1. If you are making the cultured version, you can’t use ULTRA-pasteurized Goat Milk. Some of the organisms you need for the cheese have been killed in the “ultra”-ization. Pasteurized Goat Milk is fine, though. I used Summerhill Dairy (carried by Trader Joe’s) and it seemed to work great. I think she said in class that ultra-pasteurized would work for the citric acid/cider vinegar simple goat cheese (but don’t hold me to that statement, I could be remembering it wrong).

2. The holes in normal cheesecloth are too big and you will probably lose some curds if you use that type. The fine cheesecloth that I used is also called butter muslin and you can machine wash it and re-use it. Just rinse it in cold water right after you remove the cheese. You can buy it online and at the Urban Farm Store.

3. Your kitchen will smell like sour yogurt while you are making the goat cheese. I found it a slightly unpleasant but jwa liked the smell.

4. If you let it drip down into a pitcher while you are gone, make sure there’s LOTS of room for the whey to accumulate. I almost didn’t have enough space and was about 1/4 inch away from my cheese hanging into the whey. Either check on it periodically to make sure you have enough space or use a very tall pitcher/container to accumulate the whey.

5. I tend to use the term chevre and goat cheese indiscriminately. I’m just lazy like that.

6. This makes a good amount of cheese. Next time I make a batch, I will weigh the chevre after unwrapping so I can say definitively that using 1/2 gallon of goat milk will give you “____” oz chevre. Should have thought of that this time, I was just way too excited to discover actual goat cheese after unwrapping my bundle!

Okay, I think that’s it. Let’s do it! I’ll list any special equipment below with the recipe.

Cultured Chevre
Adapted from a recipe by Urban Cheesecraft.
1/2 Gallon Goat Milk (NOT ultra-pasteurized)
1/2 a culture packet
Supplies:
stainless steel or enamel coated pot
stainless steel spoon
stainless steel or enamel coated colander
large bowl
food thermometer
chopsticks or skewers
fine cheesecloth (butter muslin)
a container or pitcher for draining
16-24 hours
Optional:
cheese salt or kosher salt (no iodine or anti-clumping agents, just salt)
fresh or dried herbs, black pepper, preserves, or anything else you’s like to mix in, place on top, or coat your chevre in

Making the Cultured Chevre:
Heat the goat milk in the stainless or enamel coated pan to 86 degrees F.

Sprinkle 1/2 the packet of chevre culture on the milk and all to sit on the surface for about 2 minutes. Stir or whisk into all the milk. Cover and allow to sit at room temperature (70 – 72 degrees F) for 6 – 12 hours. The less time it sits, the milder it will be. I let mine sit for about 10 hours and I was pleased with the results.

Line a colander with fine mesh cheesecloth (butter muslin) and place a large bowl beneath to catch the whey.

Gently ladle the separated curds into the the lined colander. I think the amount of whey you have on top can vary depending on the temperature of your kitchen and the amount of time you let it sit.

Gather up the four corners of the cheesecloth and tie it into a bundle, as if you were a cheese-loving hobo and hang the bag to drain. Chopsticks or skewers are great to hang the bundle onto and then let it drain into your tall container or pitcher.

You don’t want the bundle to sit down into the whey so make sure you have plenty of room to accumulate the whey. It’ll lose quite a bit of liquid. Let it hang and drain for about 12 hours.

Open up your bundle and transfer to a clean bowl for salting. Salt to taste.

At this point you can use cheese molds to shape the cheese, or roll it into a log, coat some in herbs, or just eat it out of the bowl with a fork. I chose to roll about 2/3′s of my cheese into a log for later and shaped the rest into a mound.

Then, I rolled and coated the mound of chevre in chopped fresh thyme and chives. Almost too pretty to snack on. Almost…

The other night, we had a pizza that I topped with discs of the cheese (from my rolled chevre), Parmesan, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh thyme, garlic and onions and mushrooms I had sauteed in olive oil and glazed with a little port wine.

We topped the hot pizza with some micro greens that I had tossed in some olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Oh my, so delicious!

* I probably would not have tried making cultured chevre on my own without taking the class. I totally recommend it! It’s led by Claudia from Urban Cheesecraft. I think I’m going to try and take the feta one too.

This is now my favorite Brussels Sprouts recipe ever. As a late convert to sprouts, I thought I had done almost every delicious thing with them so far — braising, roasting, shredding & tossing with tasty things, but this roasting + tossing with tasty things has them all beat!

The original recipe was for frying, but due to the other items I was making for dinner (salmon w/ a feta and artichoke topping and couscous) and the attention they would need, I opted for roasting, since I know that produces a fairly golden, crunchiness that would work just as well here. And, most importantly, I was able to just pop it in the oven, while leaving the stovetop and my hands free for other things. Yeah, it worked well.

My substitution are included below in the recipe ingredients. Originally, the dressing was chopped/minced and whisked together and . . . → Read More: Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Walnuts and Capers]]>

This is now my favorite Brussels Sprouts recipe ever. As a late convert to sprouts, I thought I had done almost every delicious thing with them so far — braising, roasting, shredding & tossing with tasty things, but this roasting + tossing with tasty things has them all beat!

The original recipe was for frying, but due to the other items I was making for dinner (salmon w/ a feta and artichoke topping and couscous) and the attention they would need, I opted for roasting, since I know that produces a fairly golden, crunchiness that would work just as well here. And, most importantly, I was able to just pop it in the oven, while leaving the stovetop and my hands free for other things. Yeah, it worked well.

My substitution are included below in the recipe ingredients. Originally, the dressing was chopped/minced and whisked together and anchovy fillets and serrano chili were used. I chose to utilize my food processor because I am a bit lazy. I also made just a half recipe of what’s listed below, but next time I’ll know better. Make a full recipe. It’s awesome!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Walnuts and Capers
Adapted from the cookbook, Michael Symon’s Live to Cook.
2 tbsp olive oil
1 (big) clove garlic, minced
2 tsp anchovy paste (or 4 salt-packed anchovy fillets, rinsed, filleted and minced)
1-2 tsp jalapeno Tabasco sauce (or 1 serrano chile, seeded and minced)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tbsp honey
2 scallions, white and green parts
1/2 cup walnut pieces, toasted and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and quartered lengthwise (if your sprouts are small, you may want to just halve)
2 cups loosely packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
2 tbsp salt-packed capers, rinsed and patted dry
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Add the garlic, anchovies (or paste), serrano (or jalapeno Tabasco), red wine vinegar, honey and scallions to the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Stream in the olive oil, it should emulsify a bit.

Remove the dressing to a bowl large enough to toss all of the Brussels sprouts and add in the walnuts. Set aside.

Toss Brussels sprouts with the 1 tablespoon of remaining olive oil and give a sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for about 15 minutes. Check for brownness and crispiness. They should be getting both.

Add the parsley and capers to the pan and return to the oven for another 5-10 minutes. Add the sprouts, parsley and capers directly in the bowl of dressing. Toss to coat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Oh my god, so good!

Sprouts on the side of some salmon with artichoke & feta topping.

I have dreamed of making a ham ever since I saw Alton Brown, on an episode of Good Eats, slather a country ham with mustard and crushed ginger snaps, and then squirt the whole thing down with bourbon. Wow, I thought. I want to do THAT! But, seriously, what do two people do with a WHOLE HAM? We would be eating ham every day for months.

But then, I saw this wonderful thing at Trader Joe’s. The ham steak. But it’s so little! It’s perfectly two-person sized! It’s awesome! I promptly bought one and then had to find something to do with it. The mustard-cookies-bourbon thing didn’t seem quite feasible, so I searched and searched. And then I found a delightful sounding glaze on epicurious.com. Although the recipe was for a whole ham, it seemed easily adaptable for a smaller version.

Oh, my ham was from Niman Ranch . . . → Read More: Honey-Thyme Ham Steak]]>

I have dreamed of making a ham ever since I saw Alton Brown, on an episode of Good Eats, slather a country ham with mustard and crushed ginger snaps, and then squirt the whole thing down with bourbon. Wow, I thought. I want to do THAT! But, seriously, what do two people do with a WHOLE HAM? We would be eating ham every day for months.

But then, I saw this wonderful thing at Trader Joe’s. The ham steak. But it’s so little! It’s perfectly two-person sized! It’s awesome! I promptly bought one and then had to find something to do with it. The mustard-cookies-bourbon thing didn’t seem quite feasible, so I searched and searched. And then I found a delightful sounding glaze on epicurious.com. Although the recipe was for a whole ham, it seemed easily adaptable for a smaller version.

Oh, my ham was from Niman Ranch and it was smoked (fully-cooked). I believe it is possible to find uncooked ham steaks. If you have one of those, you will want to adjust the cooking time to make sure you are….well, actually cooking it. I just had to get mine hot, really.

Honey-Thyme Ham Steak
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp chopped thyme
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1/4 cup mild honey
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 ham steak
olive oil for pan
A couple sprigs of thyme for garnish

Melt butter with thyme and let stand until ready to use.

When ready, add vinegar, honey, Worcestershire sauce and mustard. If the honey is hard to get mixed in, you can pop the dish in the microwave for about 30 seconds.

Let ham steak come to room temperature. I took mine out of the fridge about an 45 minutes before cooking it. Oil a grill pan or regular pan over medium-high heat.

We had to try the ham to make sure it was okay. It was…

Add the ham and brush the glaze over the side facing up. After about 3-4 minutes, flip the steak over and glaze the cooked side. After a couple more minutes, flip the steak over again to warm up the new glaze.

You can also add the thyme sprigs to the pan to get them crispy. When done, the ham should be nicely golden but not burnt (be careful about burning because of the honey).

Remove the steak from the pan and pour any remaining glaze over the ham. Garnish with the crispy thyme sprigs. Dig in!