tasting memories

Plate by Scott Bartolomei Edmonds. Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

Personal chef and colleague, Peter, is probably up late tonight making a gorgeous thousand layered crêpe cake. He saw the cake in the latest Dean and Deluca catalog and, despite the fact that he is halfway through his fruit-only detox, he will be making this cake tonight.

I have to thank Peter for inspiring me to make this dish. When I told him I had some leftover buckwheat to experiment with, he suggested I make a stuffed chicken breast. "It's easy!" he said. I was skeptical about how easy it would really be, but his enthusiasm inspired me to try it anyway.

To make the stuffing I started with day-old cooked buckwheat groats (also known as kasha). To that, I added some onions, finely diced carrots, roasted almonds, fresh thyme, fresh Italian parsley and some finely chopped orange rind. Then, I sliced the chicken breasts, stuffed them, and browned them in a skillet. These were finished in the oven in a parchment paper pouch with oranges and wine.

As complicated as stuffed chicken sounds, I have to say it is a moderately easy meal to make. I encourage you to try it. Give yourself about 45 minutes to prepare it. It's also a good idea to cook the buckwheat groats the day before. Fresh cooked buckwheat tends to be on the delicate side and you risk mushy stuffing if using it straight from the pot.

Herbed Buckwheat Stuffed Citrus Chicken
1 1/2 cup cooked buckwheat groats (kasha)
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup onion, diced
1 carrot, finely diced
1/4 cup toasted almonds
2 teaspoons thyme, stems removed plus 4 sprigs
1/2 teaspoon orange rind
1 tablespoon Italian parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons Canola oil
4 chicken breasts, skinless and boneless
1 orange, thinly sliced
1/2 cup white wine
salt and pepper to taste

1. Melt butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat and add onion, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add carrot, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Stir in cooked buckwheat, almond, orange rind and thyme to warm. Remove from heat and set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 425°F. Place a 15" long sheet of parchment paper in a 9" x 13" roasting pan to create a shallow bowl. Set aside along with a second 15" sheet of parchment paper and some kitchen string.

3. Pat chicken dry and arrange, skinned sides down, on a work surface. Cut a pocket in each breast by slicing the breast horizontally, stopping about 1 inch from opposite end. Open the breast to create a pocket. Pack one quarter of the stuffing into each pocket. Use a toothpick to seal the opening.

4. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat. Brown chicken in 2 batches, about 2 minutes on each side, transferring to the parchment paper in the small roasting pan as browned.

5. Add the wine and arrange orange slices and a thyme sprig on each chicken breast. Place the second sheet of parchment paper over the chicken and fold the long edges of parchment paper together to seal the sides. Gather a short end and tie with kitchen string, repeat with the other end. Make sure that the juices will not seep through the seams in your parchment pouch. Place chicken in the middle of the oven and roast for 15 minutes.

6. Let chicken stand for 5 minutes in the pouch, then carefully open the pouch and remove each breast. Slice and serve.

Makes 4 servings.

Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

These are a favorite holiday cookie in our household, so well liked that, when I make them, Angelica spontaneously gives me a hug. Not that I bake to win people's affection, but getting a spontaneous hug from my teenage daughter is all the encouragement I need to make these cookies.

Chocolate ginger crackles are little mounds of moist chocolate cookie studded with bittersweet chocolate chips and candied ginger pieces and covered in powdered sugar. They are delightfully easy to make. The dough can be made ahead of time and refrigerated for a few days until ready to bake. They can be stored in an airtight container for up to three days.

This recipe first appeared in Food and Wine magazine, October 1997.

Chocolate Ginger Crackles
1 cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
2 large eggs
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup minced candied ginger
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

1. In a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the granulated sugar with the butter. Mix in the eggs, then add the cocoa and vanilla; beat at medium speed until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the bowl and add the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix the dough for 2 minutes. Stir in the chocolate chips and ginger. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

2. Preheat the oven to 350°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or foil. Form the dough into 1 inch balls and coat them generously with the confectioner's sugar. Arrange the balls 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until the tops look cracked. Transfer to wire racks to cool.
You can store these in an airtight container for up to three days.

Makes 30 cookies.

Photo by Francesco Tonelli, The New York Times.

The New York Times article "Butter Holds the Secret to Cookies That Sing" by Julia Moskin is a fantastic resource for home bakers seeking the perfect holiday cookie. It talks about the importance of softening butter correctly to maximize it's ability to hold air that will later give cookies and cakes their structure and texture. It even goes into the differences between domestic butters and imported cultured butters and features some buttery recipes, including one for Orange Butter Cookies by Amy Scherber and Toy Kim Dupree from "The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread"

Here are a few buttery tips that I found helpful:

• "butter should be creamed... for at least three minutes"


• "The best way to get frozen or refrigerated butter ready for creaming is to cut it into chunks. (Never use a microwave: it will melt it, even though it will look solid.) When the butter is still cold, but takes the imprint of a finger when gently pressed, it is ready to be creamed."


• "For clean edges on cookies and for even baking, doughs and batters should stay cold -- place them in the freezer when the mixing bowl seems to be warming up. And just before baking, cookies should be very well chilled, or even frozen hard."

Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

A Puerto Rican Christmas is all about families and friends gathering to dance, drink and eat. At the center of all Puerto Rican holiday festivities is coquito. This silky, sweet, coconut milk-based drink spiked with rum and spices is Puerto Rico at it's best.

Coquito is often referred to as the "Puerto Rican eggnog" even though the traditional drink contains no eggs at all. Each family has their own version of coquito. Most versions use some proportion of coconut milk, cream of coconut (Coco Lopez), sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and rum.

If you do an online search for coquito you will find an abundance of recipes that all call for egg yolks. If you are looking for a traditional Puerto Rican recipe, then stay away from these egg yolk recipes.

The recipe I share with you today is my grandfather Pito's recipe. It's the best coquito recipe I've tried. It's Pito's twist on the traditional coquito recipe by adding salt and lime rind and omitting the sweetened condensed milk to cut back on the sweetness.

Coquito is best served as an after dinner drink. Keep it refrigerated in a glass bottle and serve it very cold in small sherry glasses with extra ground nutmeg. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to a month.

For a non-alcoholic coquito, Pito suggests substituting the rum for some tropical fruit juice such as pineapple or guava. Simply holding back on the rum also makes a great non-alcoholic coquito. As a child I remember sticking around the kitchen so I could taste the coquito before they added rum and it is simply delicious.

For another Puerto Rican holiday recipe, check out Pito's pernil roasted pork recipe.

Feliz Navidad to all!

Pito's Coquito
1 can cream of coconut
6 ounces coconut milk
2 12 ounce cans evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon lime (limón) rind
1 pinch salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
2 cinnamon sticks, broken into smaller pieces
2 cups Bacardi rum

1. Mix all ingredients (excluding the rum) in a large bowl. Add rum to taste.

2. Transfer the mixture to a glass bottle and refrigerate for 24 hours to allow the flavors to develop. Serve chilled in small sherry glasses and garnish with fresh ground nutmeg.