The JOY Kitchen Blog

Habañero-Ginger-Peach Cheesecake

Posted 09/02/2010 10:16 AM by Megan

There is a longstanding myth that baking is difficult. Don’t misunderstand me, there are certainly baking recipes that require fidelity to the exact quantities listed. For instance, ganache, while simple to the point of requiring only two ingredients, will suffer from a little too much chocolate or a little too much cream. However, most baking recipes are fairly supple and can be altered to suit the whims of the baker, the ingredients on hand, or what happens to be in season. Small alterations can be made with little to no adjustment, and large alterations can be made that require more adjustment, but nothing that a little kitchen sense and common sense can’t make up for.

Many people find themselves inhibited in the kitchen simply because of the fear of failure. The most important thing to remember, though, is that home baking is remarkably forgivable. Did your cake fall in the center? Cut it into cubes and make a trifle out of it. Does your cheesecake have a Grand Canyon-sized crack in it? Cover the top with a sweetened sour cream topping. And something doesn’t need to be especially beautiful to be delicious.

The following recipe is an example of just how flexible baking can be. Essentially, it is an adaptation of the Cheesecake Cockaigne from the Joy of Cooking. I had a large amount of local goat cheese in the freezer that desperately needed to be used, and, since the flavor of the chèvre was habañero-ginger-peach, I thought a cheesecake might be the best way to use it.

Adapted from the Joy of Cooking’s Cheesecake Cockaigne
Serves 12 to 16

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. In a 10-inch springform pan combine until the crumbs are moistened:
1 1/2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan to form a crust. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes and allow to cool before filling. Have all cheesecake ingredients at room temperature, about 70˚F. Preheat the oven to 300˚F. Beat in a medium bowl until creamy, about 30 seconds:
1 1/2 pounds chèvre (soft goat cheese)—mine was already habañero-peach flavored, but plain or any sweet goat cheese would work here as well
Gradually beat in:
1/2 to 1 cup sugar—I used 1/2 cup as my goat cheese was already slightly sweet
Beat in one at a time just until incorporated, scraping the sides of the bowl and the beaters after each addition:
3 large eggs
Fold in:
1/2 cup chopped candied ginger
Scrape the batter into the crust and smooth the top. Place on a cookie sheet. Bake until the center just barely jiggles when the pan is tapped, 45 to 55 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a rack for at least 1 hour. Combine and spread over the cake:
1 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup sugar

Refrigerate at least 3 hours, preferably 24 hours, before unmolding and serving. Garnish, if desired, with droplets of raspberry jam and chopped dark chocolate.

Note: Goat cheese is amazingly versatile. Play with flavorings without fear. Try sweetening goat cheese with honey and mixing in a little crushed rosemary or thyme. Add a small jar of fig preserves or lemon curd (really any preserve will do). And remember: goat cheese made in small batches in a clean environment with fresh milk from healthy animals will not have an off or “goaty” flavor. If you can, try the cheese before you buy it.

Tomato-Ricotta Tart

Posted 08/17/2010 08:41 AM by Megan

The tomato is perhaps the quintessential summer fruit. It’s the big, bright, round orb of summer sweetness that we all look so eagerly for at farmers’ markets. We’ve waited, after all, a whole year to taste these succulent beauties. A hothouse tomato just isn’t the same, no matter how red it is or how ripe it is. To the tomato connoisseur, eating a tomato any way but au naturel, maybe with a little salt and pepper, is heresy. But this recipe is an offering to those of us with far more tomatoes than we can possibly consume before they wrinkle on the windowsill and wind up on the compost heap. The principle is simple: tomatoes, ricotta, and a light crust. It is an ode to the ripe tomato.

Serves 4 as a main dish; 6 or more as a side dish or appetizer

Have ready:
8 ounces frozen phyllo dough, thawed
Preheat the oven to 325˚F. Unroll phyllo dough and cover with a damp kitchen towel to keep dough soft and pliable. Combine in a small bowl:
3 tablespoons olive oil
Dash of salt and pepper
Have ready a 14 x 5-inch tart pan or a small, rectangular rimmed baking dish. Gently lift one sheet of phyllo dough, immediately recovering the stack of phyllo dough sheets with the damp kitchen towel, and place it in the tart pan, pressing the dough into the contours of the pan. Brush the dough with the olive oil. If the dough isn’t long enough to cover the entire bottom of the tart pan, simply overlap sheets of dough in the center of the pan. Place another sheet of dough on top of the first, brushing with the oil. Repeat this process ten times, and brush the top sheet of dough with the oil. In a medium-sized bowl, combine:
One 15-ounce package whole milk ricotta
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
Zest of 2 lemons
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
Stir this mixture until the eggs have been completely incorporated. Spread the ricotta mixture on top of the phyllo dough. Cut into ¼-inch slices:
2 ripe tomatoes
Arrange tomato slices over ricotta mixture so that the slices overlap slightly. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove tart from oven and sprinkle on:
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Bake 10 more minutes. Remove the tart to a wire rack and allow to cool 15 minutes before serving.

*Note: This filling is very versatile. Try some chopped garlic and fresh basil in it, or even incorporate a couple tablespoons of pesto for a green-tinted filling.

The Joy of Playing with Food and Fire, Part Four

Posted 08/05/2010 10:28 AM by John Becker

After spending so many summers facing the grill, do you have a favorite creation that really stands above the rest? A personal best that you come back to often?

Lamb Popsicles

They have been a part of my summer menu for years now and my love for them remains undiminished. Over the years I have tweaked the recipe many times, and I encourage all who venture into Lamb Popsicle Land to experiment to their heart’s content. Adding a cup or two of dry red wine to the rub and turning it into a marinade is also a favorite.

Rinse and pat dry:
2 to 3 pounds Lamb chops, either frenched rib chops (for the true popsicle effect) or loin chops
Pat each side with:
2 tablespoons. lemon zest
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoons kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Let sit for one hour at room temperature or three hours in the refrigerator. Fire up the grill and get it very hot (450 to 500°F). Grill chops until medium-rare, 3 to 5 minutes a side (Loin chops, depending on how thick they are cut, may take a little longer). Let rest and serve.

If they are part of an appetizer course, try pairing them with:
Tzatziki
Spanish-Style Marinated Olives
Spinach and Feta Triangles

For a main course, try serving them with:
Becker Five-Minute Polenta Rustica
arugula greens and ripe, quartered tomatoes tossed with Sherry Vinagrette

The Joy of Playing with Food and Fire, Part Three

Posted 07/28/2010 09:19 AM by John Becker

This is a continuation of the blog post from below:

If you have grill space to spare, or don’t mind adding more charcoal before you start grilling the meat, serve with:
Grilled Vegetable Salsa:

Halve 5 large, ripe tomatoes scoop out the flesh and reserve in a large bowl. Slice one large onion into ½ inch thick rings. Skewer each slice separately so that they are easy to flip on the grill (putting multiple slices on one skewer is very frustrating). Lightly coat tomato halves and onion slices, as well as one whole yellow bell pepper and two whole jalapenos with olive or vegetable oil.

Chop off the upper ½ inch of one head of garlic so that all of the cloves are exposed, wrap it in aluminum foil, and drizzle a little olive oil on top before closing.

Place the foil-wrapped garlic head in or next to the coals of a very hot grill (500 degrees; if using gas, just put the garlic on the cooking grate while you’re prepping everything else) and, if possible, place the grate fairly close to the coals (2 to 3 inches). If your grill does not have an adjustable cooking grate height (like my kettle grill), you can raise the charcoal bed by purchasing charcoal rails or fuel holders (which are usually used to keep coals on the side for indirect grilling) and a replacements charcoal grate to sit on top of them. Place all of the other ingredients on the grill and cook until the tomatoes are flecked with carbon, the onions are fairly soft and nicely charred, and the peppers are completely blackened on all sides.

If the coals flare up too much, try filling a clean spray bottle with tap water and dousing the trouble spots. Peel and seed the peppers, carefully squeeze the roasted cloves out of the garlic head with an oven mitt if they are still hot, and chop all of the ingredients until they are the desired consistency (I like salsa to be fairly chunky). Combine in the bowl with the reserved tomato and add:
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste
(1/4 cup roughly chopped cilantro or parsley)
Let sit for fifteen minutes so all of the flavors can get to know each other and serve with the tacos. Hopefully, the salsa will not disappear before they are done.

The Joy of Playing with Food and Fire, Part Two

Posted 07/24/2010 11:21 AM by John Becker

Do you have any general rules of thumb for cooking the perfect steak, or tips on grilling chicken?

For Steak (at least one inch thick and boneless): Always use very high heat (500°F or more), cook on one side for 5 minutes (with top on and vents open if you're at all concerned that the fire is not hot enough). Turn, and cook for another five minutes. Check doneness. If they require more cooking time, reduce heat on a gas grill or move to indirect heat on a charcoal grill and cover, turning every two minutes until desired doneness has been achieved. Bone in steaks (porter house, bone-in rib-eye) are much harder to cook accurately because the bone acts as an insulator. If you are cooking a cut that has the bone on one side (bone-in rib eye), arrange the steaks so that side is closer to the coals. Remember to check them frequently by feel or with a thermometer and cut into them close to the bone before you take them off to ensure doneness. If you want a perfect medium-rare, you need to start with the steak at room temperature. If you want to have a rarer steak with a nice crust—“burnt on the outside, blue on the inside”—take them straight from the refrigerator and slap them on the grill.

For Chicken: The flavor is always best when you have bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces. I always start with the bone side down, since that’s always the hardest side to get the heat to penetrate and you want to get that started early. I have always loved bone-in, skin-on breasts for grilling, but I do it all now because Susan loves the flavor and moistness of dark meat. Ever since Susan got me to start grilling other cuts, I honestly think the best cut for grilling is the thigh. They offer the most flavor and they are more forgiving than breasts because their moistness keeps them tender even if they are slightly over-cooked. Breasts are the most convenient however; the meat’s easier to get at and they’re usually more acceptable to picky eaters. What have you been most happy with in your grill travels recently? I’d never really grilled meat that was specifically intended for Mexican cuisine. Which is ridiculous, because anyone that knows me well knows that I have been searching for the perfect taco carne asada for the better part of two decades. Over that time I have been to many tacquerias and restaurants throughout the United States, especially Arizona, New Mexico, and California.

Only recently did I actually try to concoct some at home. Here’s what I came up with:

I started with 2 pounds each of New York strip steaks (total overkill, but that’s what was in the refrigerator when the asada urge consumed me, top sirloin roast works well too) and pork roast. After cutting them into 2-inch chunks—big enough to not fall through the grill grate—I tossed them in separate bowls with:
1 ½ tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon Mexican-style chili powder 1 tablespoon chipotle chili powder
1 tablespoon ancho chili powder
2 tablespoons salt

I let the mixture sit at room temperature covered with a towel for an hour and a half before firing up the charcoal and proceeded to grill them directly over the flames (grill temperature should be around 500 degrees) turning frequently with tongs until the insides were pink and the outside was nice and crusty (about 5-8 minutes).

I took it off the heat, let it rest, sliced it very thinly (you can also pulse it in a food processor until it is a rough 3/8 inch dice) and served immediately on corn taco shells (corn tortillas briefly warmed on the grill are also nice) with:
Lime wedges
Fresh Tomato Salsa
Avocado Slices or Guacamole on the side. Garnish with:
Roughly chopped cilantro or curly-leaf parsley

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