A Resolution About Resolutions. And Some Cake.

It's a new year: resolutions abound. Taking my friends at their word, 2011 will see the end of lateness, the renewal of grammar anal-retentiveness, and loads of meat. I won't complain about any of that. But I admit, I'm overwhelmed. So many promises! So much good intention! So much...pressure! That's no way to start the new year.

When I posted about my kitchen resolutions last September, I was fired up. I figured that publicizing my goals would make them real, make me most likely to achieve them. Now, I take a peek at those resolutions hovering in the corner of this space, and struggle not to cower in their presence.

That duck prosciutto, for instance. No time like now for duck prosciutto; my friend Cathy has teemed up with Kim Forster, aka the Yummy Mummy, to launch Charcutepalooza, a celebration of home-curing. First up? Duck prosciutto, of course. And were it not for the fact that I'm working minimum 60-hour weeks, lacking any curing space (no yard, no garage, no wine fridge), and trying to keep up this blog in the meantime, I'd totally take the plunge.

Alas, duck prosciutto will have to wait. It's still a resolution, and I do hope to do it, but today just isn't that day. Perhaps this will be the year in which I finally learn to say no.

That's the thing about resolutions. When they're motivators, they're great. When they're threats, I lose interest.

Not to fear, though -- I haven't abandoned my duck ambitions entirely. I've got a full bird thawing in the fridge right now, and I rendered two pounds of skin this past week. Stay tuned for instructions on how to render that fat, how to use the cracklings, and -- finally -- how to confit the legs. One resolution: check.

For now, amid the crazy talk of more time at the gym and less food in the stomach and other bloated promises, I'm dreaming of simpler things. Like cake.

Cake! This here loaf is a total winner. For shock points, I'll tell you that it's from Food52. (Seriously, ya'll should start taking bets on how many recipes I'll make that aren't from that site.) It's a browned butter and butternut loaf whose modest appearance belies its complexity. The brown-butter icing, which I skipped for simplicity's sake, would elevate this cake from plain jane to star of the show, and I think it makes the perfect host gift. I've got one on the counter for tomorrow, one in the freezer for another time, and I've already resolved to stick this recipe in my regular rotation. That's a promise I'm likely to keep.

Brown Butter and Butternut Squash Loaf adapted slightly from fiveandspice via Food52

2 cups pureed roasted butternut squash 1 cup unsalted butter 3 large eggs 1 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar 3 cups all purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (preferrably freshly ground) 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Glaze (optional): 5 tablespoons salted butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 1/2 cup or so of confectioner's sugar

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and grease two (9 inch) loaf pans.

In a medium saucepan, heat the butter over medium-high heat. It will melt first, and then start to foam. Turn the heat down to medium. As the butter browns, the dairy solids will start to stick to the bottom of the pan. Scrape these browned bits back into the butter from time to time. After about 7 minutes, the butter will have turned a nice brown color will smell rich and nutty; remove it from the heat and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat eggs and sugars on high speed for several minutes, until the color has lightened. Scrape in the browned butter and beat for another couple of minutes, starting on low and raising speed to medium-high, until the mixture is smooth.

Add the pureed squash to the wet ingredients and beat until smooth and uniformly mixed in.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and cloves. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, and mix on low until fully incorporated. Do not overmix.

Divide the batter evenly into the 2 prepared loaf pans and bake for about 50 minutes, until a tester comes out clean. Take the bread out of the loaf pans and allow to cool completely.

To make the optional glaze, brown and cool butter as described above (it will take shorter since there is less). Add cooled butter to a mixing bowl. Whisk vanilla into butter.

Sift the confectioner's sugar to remove lumps and whisk it into the butter mixture until the glaze is spreadable.

Spread the icing onto the loaves, and allow to set for about 30 minutes before slicing.

Dutch Babies and New Years Day Brunch Ideas

updated from the archives: with New Years Day quickly approaching, I'm starting to think about breakfast in a serious way. Here's a smattering of good ideas to make on my favorite lazy morning of the year.

December 31 is nearly upon us! I'm expecting thousands of drunken belligerent psychos to descend on my neighborhood next week, and if you think I'm excited, I'm actually going elsewhere. Nothing I hate more than Adams Morgan on New Years Eve. But New Years morning is another story entirely. The streets are quiet, the air is cold and still, the oven is on and the coffee is brewing. I love waking up on New Years Day to total silence, enjoying yummy but easy breakfast and hot tea in my bathrobe, and being altogether lazy.

Even if you're like me and breakfast/brunch is your thing, I'm sure you feel me that cooking on New Years morning isn't exactly an appealing thought. Especially if you're hosting tomorrow morning, surely you want something easy to make, but with big wow-factor. A Dutch Baby is just the thing. It's a big, floppy, eggy pancake that puffs up beautifully in the oven; pull it out, top with some stewed fruit and a dusting of powdered sugar, and ta-da! Perfect breakfast entree. It takes 20 minutes to bake and about 15 seconds to mix up. Can't complain about that prep time, now can you?

Just in case a hot, fluffy, fruit-topped pancake isn't your thing (but really, who are we kidding?) I've included links to some other good New Years brunch recipes below. Have yourselves a safe and rockin' evening, and a very Happy New Year!

New Years Day Brunch Ideas:

Rich and creamy apricot-stuffed french toast Lazy, boozy french toast casserole Easy vintage breakfast biscuits Ever-popular and dead easy shakshuka Any kind of frittata, any kind at all Blackberry and pear clafoutis -- perfect for winter

There are plenty more where those came from -- just run a quick search through my breakfast-and-brunch category and see what pops up.

Dutch Babies basic recipe adapted from Lara at Cook and Eat serves 2-4 (if it's a main course for 4, double the recipe and make in two separate pans)

4 eggs generous pinch of salt 1/2 cup flour 1/2 cup milk 2 T unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 425F.

Whisk the eggs with the pinch of salt until they just begin to get fluffy. Gradually whisk in the milk and flour and continue whisking until there are no lumps.

Melt the butter in a 8-inch cast iron pan. Then, pour the egg mixture over the butter. Move the pan immediately to the hot oven. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until it puffs up over the edges of the pan and is a rich golden brown on the edges.

Top with any kind of stewed fruit, or even good-quality preserves, and finish with a dusting of powdered sugar. I used poached quince that I had leftover -- delicious.

Buckwheat Cornmeal Scones

Alternative grains are all the rage these days. Joy the Baker made some buckwheat pine nut biscuits from my favorite new cookbook. David Lebovitz had the scoop on some tempting Italian cornmeal cookies. And Deb made oatmeal pancakes from the cookbook that clinched a well-deserved win of the Piglet, if you ask me.

I haven't yet bought Good to the Grain. Until I do, I'll have to wait on those oatmeal pancakes. (Also Strawberry Barley Scones, Buckwheat and Pear Pancakes, Gingersnaps, and now you see why I'm buying this book). But I can be patient. Very patient. See, I've got Alice Medrich.

Medrich's Pure Dessert is no stranger in my kitchen. I've lavished praise on this much-loved cookbook on many occasions. I've made about 1/3 of the recipes contained within, and I've rarely, if ever, been let down. But I'm back to tell you more about Pure Dessert, because it seems to me that it is, in many ways, the mother of cookbooks like Good to the Grain. It contains an entire chapter on the flavors of grains. It offers recipes like Kamut Poundcake, Nibby Buckwheat Cookies, Corn Tuiles, and this: a humble batch of scones that surprises in its lovely, flaky texture and rich, buttery flavor. Unlike most scones, which I feel compelled to slather with homemade jam or creme fraiche, these were best uncondiment-ed. In fact, the one I ate just out of the oven may have been the best scone I've ever had.

I say all this knowing that many of you don't keep buckwheat flour in your kitchens. For the sake of full disclosure, I'm on your team: the last time I bought buckwheat flour, half a sack sat untouched in my pantry for enough months (read: >12) that I felt like I had to toss it. I vowed I'd never buy the stuff again, since clearly I didn't use it enough to make the purchase worthwhile. But the on my last trip to Whole Foods, the efficiency angel on my right shoulder was overpowered by the curious little devil on my left. I pictured blini with sour cream and gravlax, perhaps homemade injera (um, haha?) and at least one of those whole grain recipes from Alice Medrich. The first two may be pipe dreams, but considering how good these buckwheat scones turned out, I think the flour was worth buying. Next up? Alice's buckwheat sables. (Maybe. One thing at a time, y'all.)

Buckwheat Cornmeal Scones adapted from Alice Medrich's Pure Dessert

1 egg 1/2 cup whole milk 1/4 cup heavy cream 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup buckwheat flour 1/3 cup cornmeal 1/3 cup sugar 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter 3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts extra milk or cream, for brushing scones

Whisk egg, milk, and cream in a small bowl. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, buckwheat flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and add to the flour mixture. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut butter into flour, tossing flour to coat butter as you go. When largest pieces of butter are the size of peas, stop. (Alternatively, use a food processor for this step. If you use a food processor, mix flours and other dry ingredients together first, then add butter, and stop cutting when butter pieces are the size of lima beans. Thanks, Melissa Clark!)

Stir walnuts into flour-butter mixture. Add egg mixture to dry ingredients, and use a fork or a strong rubber spatula to incorporate wet and dry ingredients. Stop when the dough looks shaggy -- you're not going for smooth here.

Gather the dough into a ball and knead against the side of the bowl a few times, until the dough just holds together.

Turn dough onto lightly floured board or workspace and, using lightly floured hands, gently pat into an 8-inch round or 7-inch square. If dough is round, slice into 8 as you would a pie, or use a 2-inch round cutter to make about 9 round scones (gather the scraps that remain and gently gather them into a round shape without kneading). If dough is square, make three horizontal cuts and three vertical cuts to create 9 square scones. Transfer scones to a plate and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425˚. Line a baking sheet with two layers of parchment paper. Place scones 1 inch apart on lined baking sheet. Brush with milk or cream and sprinkle lightly with sugar. Bake until golden brown, 12-15 minutes (mine took 13). Cool on rack; serve warm or at room temperature.

If not serving the same day, reheat scones in a warm oven (200˚) for about 5 minutes before serving.

Mozzarella in Carrozza

For food lovers, Hanukkah is an eight-day period in which to justify that guilty pleasure, deep-fried food. Latkes and sufganiyot (jelly donuts) might be the most traditional Hanukkah fare, but they are the tip of the iceberg when it comes to things improved by a hot oil bath.

The reason we eat fried foods on Hanukkah is well-known, if not entirely logical. Because a one-day supply of oil kept the menorah in the Temple lit for eight full days, we have the tradition of consuming as much oil as we can, in remembrance of the miracle. So let's fry some stuff, shall we?

Armed with a legitimate excuse to deep-fry, I took to the kitchen in search of the perfect recipe for one of my favorite weekend lunches, Mozzarella in Carrozza. In Carrozza is Italian for "in a carriage." The name is apropos: fresh mozzarella cheese is sandwiched between slices of white bread and cradled in a cloak of flour and egg, then fried golden-crisp in a bath of butter and olive oil. After a turn over the heat, the mozzarella melts, the bread crisps up, and the sandwich becomes the sort of thing you must eat, immediately, and possibly a few times in a row.

After making a straightforward version of this sandwich a few times, I decided to change it up. Inspired by a recipe for salt and pepper French toast on Food52, I’ve taken the sandwich in a more overtly savory direction, adding cilantro, chives, scallions, and sriracha to the egg batter. The result is plenty spicy, and the herbs bring freshness and levity to an otherwise indulgent dish. The original is good, but this version is downright addictive.

So if you've had your fill of latkes and your looking for something else to dunk in an oil bath, take a swing at Mozzarella in Carrozza. Let Chanukah be your excuse.

Mozzarella in Carrozza Serves 2

6 slices white bread, crusts removed 1 ball fresh mozzarella, sliced 1/2 cup whole milk 3 Tablespoons flour 1 egg, beaten 1 scallion, chopped 5 chives, chopped 1 sprig cilantro, chopped 3 Tablespoons butter 3 Tablespoons olive oil Salt and pepper 1 teaspoon sriracha

Dipping Sauce 2 tablespoons ketchup 1 teaspoon sriracha

Lay 3 slices of bread on a cutting board or work space. Distribute mozzarella slices on the bread. Top each with another slice, and crimp or pinch the edges of the two slices together to form a pouch around the cheese. You should have three sandwiches.

Put milk in one bowl, flour in a second bowl, and beaten egg, herbs, and sriracha in a third bowl. Add salt and pepper to the egg mixture.

Dunk both sides of each sandwich in the milk, then in the flour, and finally, in the egg. Meanwhile, heat 1/2 tablespoon of butter and 1/2 tablespoon oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. When butter starts to sizzle, place one sandwich in the pan. (If your pan is large enough to hold two at once, add twice the butter and oil, and place a second sandwich in the pan.)

After 2 minutes, check the underside of the sandwich. When it is golden brown, flip and cook the other side another 2-3 minutes, until golden. Repeat with remaining sandwiches.

Meanwhile, make dipping sauce by combining 2 tablespoons ketchup with 1 teaspoon sriracha. Serve sandwiches as soon as they’re ready, with dipping sauce on the side.