Recipe from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything.

Coffee cake muffin with pecans and cashews.

Topping:

Mix 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 cup finely chopped nuts, 2 Tbsp melted butter

Muffins:

Mix 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 Tbsp baking powder in a bowl. Add 1/2 of the topping mixture and stir to blend.

Beat together 3 Tbsp melted cooled butter, 1 cup milk, 1 egg in a separate bowl.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and fold to blend. Do not overmix.

Spoon into 12 well-greased muffin tins, filling about 2/3 full.

Top with the remaining brown sugar mixture.

Bake at 400F for 20-30 minutes, until browned and passes the clean toothpick test.

Serve with sustainably-sourced, locally-roasted coffee.

Bon appétit!

An easy all-purpose bread recipe you can make several times a week even with a needy infant in the house. Scratch cooking is still a priority in the Pelanne household; writing about it is another story…

In a large bowl combine 1.5 c water, 0.75 Tbsp salt, 0.75 Tbsp yeast. Swirl to mix. Add 1 cup of whole wheat flour, stir to mix. Add 1.75-2 cups of either bread or all-purpose flour (or a combination). Stir just to combine (no kneading necessary), the dough should be fairly wet, but pull away from the sides of the bowl. Cover with a towel and let rise for at least two hours.

Place a container with 1-2 inches of water on the bottom rack of the oven and preheat to 450F. The steam from the water will help the bread develop a nice crust.

Pour the dough out onto a surface liberally coated with additional flour and/or cornmeal (adds a nice crunch as well). Coat the dough with the flour/cornmeal mixture to prevent sticking and shape into a loaf. Slash the top to allow steam to escape and  sprinkle with coarse sea salt.

Bake for 45-50 minutes to develop a nice brown crust. Let cool on a rack for a few minutes before slicing.

Bon appetit!

This recipe is from the Williams-Somona Thanksgiving 2003 collection.

Biscuit tips: keep ingredients cold and handle the dough as little as possible to result in light, flaky biscuits.

Combine 2 cups flour, 1 Tbsp baking powder, and 1 tsp salt in a large bowl.

Cut 8 Tbsp cold butter (cut into small pieces) into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or knives (not your hands!) until it resembles coarse meal.

Add 3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese and 2 tsp sage (I used chopped fresh, they call for crumbled dry) and stir to combine.

Add 2/3 cup milk (I used whole milk, and ended up adding a bit more) and stir until liquid is just absorbed.

With lightly floured hands, knead the dough just until it comes together in a flaky ball.

Roll or pat the dough out on a lightly floured surface to 3/4-inch thick. Cut 2-inch rounds out with a biscuit cutter or a glass. Re-roll and cut again. The more the dough is handled, the tougher the biscuits will be.

Brush the biscuits with butter (optional). Bake at 450F on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for 15 minutes until the biscuits are golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes. Serve warm or room temperature.

Bon appétit!

Wine pairing: An oaky, buttery chardonnay would be a decadent pairing with these biscuits. We enjoyed ours with a slightly more crisp Macon-Villages Bourgogne. Sparkling wine would be lovely as well. Cheers!