budino

remember when we just told you about a great trip to philly and the delicious salted caramel budino at barbuzzo? well you can imagine how happy we were to see the recipe printed in the september issue of bon appetit! a great make ahead dessert and the perfect ending for our lovely evening with matt, adam & linda a few weeks ago - we all just about licked the jar clean. find the recipe here.

we both have lots of work out right now in mags like every day with rachel ray, food network and a cooking light special issue but the knotted dinner rolls and ragus i styled for the oct/nov issue of Fine Cooking were really delicious recipes that stick out in my mind- especially this one.

it was a beautiful new york day on governors island yesterday for pig island. a few favorites were maple bacon sticky buns from print & lechon nam khon from ducks eatery. hope you had a great weekend!

preserved lemons

preserved lemons were a typical moroccan ingredient i'd heard about but wasn't familiar with the taste until now. seeing them while wandering through the isles of this amazing market sparked my interest and then i found a recipe to easily preserve them at home in an old issue of gourmet. ok, now i've got a beautiful jar of opaque sliced lemons, what do i do with them? roast a chicken and make a relish sounded like a good plan to me! this salty tangy herb salad would be great on grilled fish or roast lamb as well - an easy way to dress up any protein. they also add great flavor to soups and salads and will be good in your refrigerator, covered in their juices and a little oil, for about a year.

Preserved Lemons & Relish

6 lemons

2/3 cup kosher salt

1 to 1 1/2 cups lemon juice

olive oil

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1/4 cup chopped mint

1 shallot, finely chopped

5 slices of preserved lemons, rinsed & rind only, pulp discarded

bring a large pot of water to a boil and blanch whole lemons for about 5 minutes, then drain. when cool enough to handle, cut each lemon into 1/4-inch thick slices, discarding the seeds. toss lemons with salt in a bowl and then pack lemons and salt into a glass jar. add enough lemon juice to cover sliced lemons completely. cover with a tight fitting lid and let stand at room temperature for 5 days, shaking gently once a day. after 5 days, cover with a little olive oil and refrigerate.

to make preserved lemon relish, combine cilantro, parsley, mint, shallot and diced rind in a small bowl. add a few tbs of olive oil to moisten the mixture and a little black pepper. stir to combine and serve at room temperature. enjoy!

salty & sweet

have you ever noticed that the best and most loved cookbooks in a collection usually include oil stains, chocolaty fingerprints, and stuck together pages? we've mentioned this amazing cookbook before and if you haven't already added Baked to your library, you really must! it's well on its way to being covered in gooey sweet deliciousness and is one of our favorites for creative baking. their signature salty & sweet cake was the grand finale of urban family easter and was a huge hit. we devoured it so quickly that we didn't even think to take a photo of the whole cake! guess, we'll just have to make it again sometime. the combination of chocolate, caramel and fleur de sel is absolutely amazing. you can watch matt lewis bake the sweet & salty with martha way back in 2006 here. does anyone else have a favorite recipe they've baked from this great cookbook yet?

that time of year

i have loved the combination of chocolate and salt since my first bite of Recchiuti's fleur de sel caramels and finally found a recipe that comes close to that heavenly taste. i found it in the december 2006 issue of gourmet and it is now a gift i like to give for Christmas every year. don't be intimidated by candy making! just be careful and have fun. i'll be making holiday gifts all week so check back in to see what other things you might find under the tree.

Salty Chocolate Caramels

2 cups heavy cream

10.5 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1 3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/4 cup water

1/4 tsp kosher salt

flaky sea salt, such as Maldon for garnish

line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper. bring cream to a boil over medium high heat. add chocolate and let stand 1 minute, then whisk until smooth. bring sugar, corn syrup, water and salt to a boil in a heavy pan over medium high heat. boil for 10 minutes without stirring until deep golden brown. carefully add chocolate mixture - it will bubble and steam. continue to boil, stirring frequently, for 15 minutes until mixture reaches 245 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Pour immediately into prepared pan and let cool 10 minutes. sprinkle generously with sea salt and cool completely on a rack for about 2 hours.

carefully invert onto a clean cutting board and peel parchment off the bottom. lightly oil the blade of a knife and cut into 1-inch squares. wrap in squares of wax paper and store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.