Butter & Oil

creme brulee, originally uploaded by butter & oil.

8 egg yolks (@ room temperature) whisked
1 1/3 cups heavy (whipping) cream
6 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp creamy peanut butter
coarse ground sugar (for topping)
2+ cups boiling water (to line baking dish)
1 small culinary torch
*4 oz. dark chocolate (optional for grating)

serves 6
6-6 oz ramekins filled 3/4 way full
300 degrees F
30-40 minutes in a water bath

separate eggs

heat cream over low heat
whisk in sugar

in separate bowl:
add peanut butter
over the peanut butter, whisk in 1 cup of cream mixture
strain peanut butter over sieve
add back to stove and the rest of the heated cream
temper eggs

pour entire mixture into large pyrex
(or heat safe container with spout)

pour 1/2 water into dish
(first add dish towel if you don’t have a creme brulee tray)
add ramekins
pour in mixture 3/4 way full
pour in rest of water
bake for 30-40 minutes

once cooled, wrap in cellophane and chill
in the refrigerator overnight

take the ramekins out of the refrigerator
30 minutes before serving

coat the top of each ramekin lightly with sugar

use a culinary torch on low till the sugar “hardens”
into a uniform film

*as an optional topping, grate dark chocolate
over top as a finishing touch

strawberry trifle, originally uploaded by butter & oil.

Pound Cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

 

2 cups flour

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp salt

-whisk to incorporate

 

 

 

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/3 unsalted butter (at room temp)

1 egg

1 tsp. of vanilla extract

-cream together

 

1 cup whole milk

add to wet ingredients

add dry to wet in additions

(whisk with electric hand mixer)

 

place in greased 8 in round baking dish

bake for 20-25 minutes

(or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted in center)

flip onto wire rack to cool

once cool, cut into small cubes

 

Whipped Cream (for piping):

2 pints or 16oz of heavy (whipping) cream

(put in freezer for up to an hour before use)

1 1/2 tsp (approx) of sugar

Whipped with electric mixer on high till forms firm peaks

 

Strawberries:

2 quarts of strawberries washed, hulled and sliced approx. 3/8 inch thick

(reserve 6-8 strawberries whole)

Macerate in 1/2 cup sugar (6 hours or ideally overnight)

 

Vanilla Pudding:

2 packets of Dr. Oetker* vanilla pudding (follow directions)

4 cups of milk

heat as directed and let cool in refrigerator for 6 hours (or overnight)

 

In Trifle (Dish):

Layer cake, strawberries, and pudding, repeat until full

(mind the side of the bowl for presentation purposes)

 

 

Take chilled whipped cream and

(using a plastic spatula) scoop into pastry bag

Pipe whipped cream with a small to medium star tip making rosettes

 

Then you can add whole strawberries to the top and it’s done!

 

 

*you can use any brand of pudding and follow the directions accordingly*

 

How rude of me. I’ve never quite explained what Butter & Oil is all about.

Firstly, I’m Becca- Hi!

Secondly, this is not just another foodie blog (although I gawk at my fair share while surfing the interweb).

Butter & Oil is my way of exploring the origins of food and the people connected to said food. Over the past few years, I have looked into going back to school for a culinary degree. I sat in on some amazing classes, but I wasn’t inspired. I expected to be bursting at the seams at all the possibilities before me, but frankly I wasn’t. After a fair amount of ruminations and a ridiculous amount of foodie talk with friends I realized what I was missing… THE HOME! I’m a home body by nature.

I grew up watching my grandmother and mother cook for their families.

I would patiently cut cucumbers with my little hands and wash lettuce brought in from my grandfather’s garden for the evening meal. Now as an adult, cooking and feeding the ones that I love brings me an infinite amount of pleasure.

(Insert lightbulb here!)

I wanted to increase my culinary skills, but I didn’t want to lose the heart and intimacy that I have in my own kitchen. Butter & Oil is a documentation of my journey. I am going around the US of A, learning from real home cooks of all ages. Learning their techniques, their secrets and most importantly their stories.

Take a look, and see what sparks your interests.

Thanks so much for your time and feedback.

Best,

“Butter & Oil” Becca

Recently Cathy Erway, of Not Eating Out in NY, recalled the comforting fragrance of Hong Shao Gi, or Red Cook Chicken that her mother would make in the wintertime. Below is Cathy’s interpretation of this classic Chinese dish.

Red Cook Chicken (Hong Shao Gi)

Serves 3-4

• About 2 lb of chicken pieces with bones–legs, wings, thighs
• 1 or 2 scallion shoots, coarsly chopped
• 2-3 Tbsp sliced ginger root
• 1/4 cup soy sauce (depending on how dark it is)
• 1/2 cup rice wine
• 1 cup or more water
• 1 Chinese five-spice satchel (or a spice sack containing star anise, nutmeg, cinnamon, cumin, and basil)
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 hard-boiled egg

1. In a medium-large saucepan, heat the oil.
2. Brown the chicken for a few minutes along with the sliced ginger.
3. Add the scallion, soy sauce, rice wine, spice satchel, water, and shelled hard-boiled egg.
4. Make sure contents are decently covered, adding more water if necessary.
5. Cover and simmer for an hour or longer.
6. Serve over steamed rice with a generous helping of broth.

for step-by-step photos go to:

http://www.tabblo.com/studio/stories/view/253209

What do you call your’s step-mother’s mother? It’s not a riddle, its a question that I’ve grappled with since I met Mrs. Elisa Sheffield. She is a mother of three, a grandmother of eight, a great-grandmother of four, a wonderful cook and an amazing woman. When she was growing up in Brooklyn, her mother used to make her signature dish, Spiedini (which translates roughly to “skewered meat”). Generations later, Spiedini has become a Sheffield family favorite. Spiedini Serves 4

• 1 lb. top sirloin beef, sliced thin
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced fine
• 1/2 cup parsley, minced
• 1 cup Romano cheese, grated
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 1/2-2 cups of plain bread crumbs
• metal skewers

1. Sirloin beef, placed between two pieces of plastic wrap and pounded thin with the flat side of a meat tenderizer, or mallet.
2. Cut into 2″ long and 1″ wide pieces. Set aside.
3. Combine Romano cheese, garlic and parsley.
4. On a large cutting board lay pieces of beef. Butter each piece generously.
5. Sprinkle cheese mixture over top. Salt & Pepper.
6. Starting at one corner, tightly roll beef and place on skewer. Each skewer can fit 6-8 pieces.
7. Spread butter over each full skewer.
8. Dip each skewer into mound of bread crumbs.
9. Heat a large skillet with olive oil and remaining butter.
10. Brown meat on a medium heat. Rotating once golden.
11. Place skewers on paper towel to cool.
12. Serve with capellini and early peas.

for step-by-step photos go to:http://www.tabblo.com/studio/stories/view/247458/

When I first met J.’s family in the summer of 2002, I fell in love with his grandmother.

When J. was in high school, his grandmother moved into his parent’s house. Since then, J. has always had a close bond with her. Nana was an amazing seamstress, Portuguese cook and American baker. The dessert she was best know for is her pie.

J.’s grandmother taught him how to make her renowned Apple Pie. Like many home cooks, she never wrote down her recipe or used exact measurements. Below is an approximation of her recipe. Enjoy!

Nana’s Apple Pie

• 2 Pillsbury Pie Crusts*
• 3lb. of Cortland, Fuji or Gala Apples peeled & roughly chopped
  
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. cinnamon
• dash of nutmeg
• 3 Tbsp. flour
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 egg yolk


*FYI- Pillsbury Pie Crusts contain partially hydrogenated lard*

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F)
2. Peel and chop apples. (Nana could peel an apple with a knife all in one piece… can you?)
3. In a large bowl, add apple pieces, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, flour and lemon juice.
4. Mix to incorporate. (Nana used her hands to mix everything together, so J. does too.)
5. Unwrap one of the pie crusts and place in a 9 inch, glass pie pan.
6. With a small rolling pin, smooth out any bubbles so that the dough is flush with the pan
7. Add filling
8. Gently place the top crust over the filling
9. Cut off the excess dough from the sides of the pie pan
10. Gently fold dough under on lip of pan
11. With knuckles of index finger, pinch the folded dough on a diagonal
12. Whisk the egg yolk; brush a thin layer over top of the pie
13. Fork holes on top
14. Bake for 30 minutes or until light golden brown
15. Cool on a wire rack
16. Serve and enjoy!

for step-by-step images go to:

http://www.tabblo.com/studio/stories/view/239254/

to mention where I get my beloved Iced Americano. Gimme Coffee on Lorimer Street in Brooklyn.

http://www.gimmecoffee.com/locations_brooklyn.php

Gimme is my favorite place to hang out a read a book (right now its The Art of Eating by M.F.K. Fisher) and imbibe some caffeinated goodness.

So its that time of year again. The weather is warming up. For me one of the first signs of Spring is the changing of beverages from hot to cold. Recently friends have mentioned that once they make the switch from hot coffee to iced coffee they don’t change back until the Fall. But when global warming sends temperatures on a climatic roller coaster, can we really stick to our liquid druthers or will we be forced to adapt?