tasting memories

Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

If you are planning a Three Kings Day party to mark the end of the holiday season, try this savory appetizer. Chicken escabeche (pollo en escabeche) is delicious, easy to make and can be prepared days ahead of a party.

Escabeche refers to a marinade of fragrant olive oil, vinegar (or citrus), onions, garlic, black peppercorns and bay leaves. It originates from Spain and can be found throughout Latin America. There are many different applications of the escabeche marinade. You can use escabeche to poach fish, seafood or chicken for juicy entrées. Another application is to add the prepared escabeche marinade to cooked starchy vegetables like yuca and green bananas to make a savory side dish like yuca escabeche (yuca en escabeche) or green banana escabeche (guineos verdes en escabeche - a personal favorite). Most escabeche recipes are best served after marinading for a day and served at room temperature.

The recipe I share with you today is for a chicken escabeche appetizer. You will poach chicken breasts in the escabeche marinade, then shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces to serve on crackers. It's a perfect party appetizer as you can prepare it a day or two ahead. Serve the escabeche at room temperature with a simple cracker. My favorite cracker to serve it with is the most humble saltine cracker. It's also great with matzos or cracked wheat crackers. Try it, your guests will love chicken escabeche.

Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

Chicken Escabeche Appetizer (Pollo en Escabeche)
2 boneless chicken breasts
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 large onions, sliced across into thin rounds
4 garlic cloves, sliced
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt

1. Heat olive oil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until it simmers. Add the chicken, bay leaves, peppercorns and salt. Top with the sliced onions, garlic and white vinegar. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

2. Remove the chicken breasts and cook the escabeche marinade in low heat until the onions are clear (don't allow the onions to caramelize). Use two forks to shred the chicken into bite size pieces and return the shredded chicken to the escabeche marinade.

3. Transfer the chicken escabeche to a glass container and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for 24 hours to allow the flavors to develop. Serve at room temperature with your choice of crackers.

Makes 4 cups of escabeche.

Video by Giant Ant Media

Another great video by Giant Ant Media.

Happy Three Kings Day to all!

Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

This winter we traveled to Colorado and Wyoming to visit our family. During our visit we were treated to a truly special breakfast with a New York twist: homemade bagels. Our nephew and young chef, Keith, woke up early in the morning and, with his dad's help, prepared us the best homemade bagels we had ever had. We enjoyed an assortment of warm bagels right out of the oven, including asiago cheese, everything, garlic, salt, sesame, poppy seed and chocolate chip. Sharing this breakfast with our talented nephew was one of the highlights of a restful and healing vacation.

Keith uses Emeril Lagasse's Homemade Bagel recipe. The bagels are soft and chewy on the inside and crusty on the outside. Our nine year old nephew impressed us with these fantastic homemade bagels and inspired me to try to make these at home.
According to Keith, they are time consuming, but easy to make.

Emeril's Homemade Bagels
2 cups warm water, about 110 degrees F
2 (1/4-ounce) packets active dry yeast
3 tablespoons granulated sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
5 to 6 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
Optional Toppings:
1/2 cup lightly toasted chopped onions (2 teaspoons each)
2 tablespoons poppy seeds (about 1/2 teaspoon each)
2 tablespoons sesame seeds (about 1/2 teaspoon each)
1 tablespoon kosher salt (about 1/4 teaspoon each)

1. Combine the water, yeast, and 3 tablespoons of the sugar in the bowl of an upright mixer fitted with a dough hook. Stir and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Gradually add 4 cups of the flour and the salt, and mix until the mixture comes together.

2. Add 1 to 1 1/2 cups additional flour 1/2 cup at a time to make a stiff dough, either stirring with the wooden spoon or working with your hands. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and no longer sticky, about 5 minutes, adding just as much flour as needed. (Dough should be heavier and stiffer than regular yeast bread dough.)

3. Grease a large bowl with 1 teaspoon of the oil. Place the dough in the bowl, turning to coat. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until almost doubled, about 1 hour.

4. Remove from the bowl and punch down the dough. Divide into 12 equal pieces, about 2 to 3 ounces each, measuring about 4 inches across. Form each piece of dough into a ball. Roll each ball into a 4 to 6-inch log. Join the ends and place fingers through the hole and roll the ends together. Repeat with the remaining dough. Place on a lightly greased surface, cover with a clean cloth, and let rest until risen but not doubled in a draft-free spot, 20 to 30 minutes.

5. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet with the remaining teaspoon of oil.

6. In a large, heavy pot, bring 12 cups of water and the remaining tablespoon of sugar to a boil. In batches, add the bagels to the water and boil, turning, for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Flip bagels onto the prepared sheet pan. Bake for 5 minutes, turn over and cook for another 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.

Makes 12 bagels

Plate by Roger Baumann. Photo by Marta Bartolomei Edmonds.

These wholesome bars have been a favorite in our home for the past fifteen years. Crispy brown rice treats are a healthier version of the Rice Krispies Treats you might have grown up with. We got rid of the marshmallow and butter and replaced it with toasted almond butter and the gentle sweetness of brown rice syrup. For fun, we've also added some carob chips. These bars are well balanced and lightly sweet, making them a healthy snack any time of the day. What's best is that they are super easy to make.

Crispy Brown Rice Treats
1/2 cup brown rice syrup*
1/2 cup almond butter*
2 cups crispy brown rice*
1 cup carob chips (optional)*
1 teaspoon vanilla
oil for greasing

1. Oil a 9" x 13" pan and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the brown rice syrup, almond butter, vanilla and cinnamon. Add the Rice Crispies and carob chips and fold into the brown rice syrup mixture.

2. Pour the rice crispy mixture into the oiled pan . Rub a little oil in your hands and press down firmly to flatten the mixture. Cut into 1.5" squares and enjoy.

Makes 48 bars

*Visit your local health food store for these ingredients.

The Ghirardelli semi-sweet baking chocolate wrapping that this recipe was printed on is completely crusted with dried batter, chocolate prints and a generous dusting of flour. I've kept it in a folder labeled "cakes" that is stuffed full of great recipes, but nine out of ten times when I want to make a chocolate cake, this is the recipe I reach for. It is the best chocolate cake recipe, period. It's rich yet super moist and light with just the right amount of chocolate and not too sweet. I have made it many times with very stable and delicious results, even at high altitude in Montana.

This chocolate cake is heavenly on its own and needs no frosting. I enjoy it most with a light dusting of confectioner's sugar. If you are making a birthday cake, consider frosting it with a good buttercream frosting. Or, what about filling it with raspberry preserves and frosting it with chocolate ganache for Valentine's day?

The secret to this cake is whipping the egg whites to stiff peaks and folding them into the batter just before baking. The egg whites create air pockets that are going to make this cake light and delicious. This video from epicurious.com has some good tips on beating the egg whites to stiff peaks. Fold the egg whites in two installments is key. Chef John Mitzewich demonstrates proper folding techniques in this video.

The Best Chocolate Cake
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup water
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
4 large eggs at room temperature, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups unsifted flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk or strong cold coffee
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Line three 8" or 9" round cake pans with parchment paper, set aside. Chop the chocolate and place in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Add the water and stir until melted. Set aside until cooled to room temperature. Cream butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating after each addition. Mix in the melted chocolate and vanilla.

2. Sift flour with soda. Add dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk or coffee to the chocolate mixture. Mix until smooth.

3. Beat egg whites with salt until stiff peaks form. Fold one third of the egg whites into chocolate batter until well incorporated. Fold in the rest of the egg whites until well incorporated.

4. Spread into the prepared round cake pans. Bake at 350° F for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on rack for ten minutes. Remove cake to cool completely.

Makes 3 cakes or one triple layered cake