Thyme and Lemon Zest Cookies

I longed for the variety and the weekly surprise of super fresh Ranui CSA produce all winter–how great it was to get John’s call yesterday morning to tell me that Ranui’s CSA is starting up for the season this week—yippee!

This blog, Muffintalk, is 3 years old this summer season. It began as a way to compile the recipes I write for Ranui, to help us all enjoy our produce more. I’d like to say that I add recipes in the winter, chronicling what we are having for dinner, but work and skiing seem to get in the way. As long as we receive our weekly boxes, each Tuesday I will post a couple of recipes featuring the ‘pick’, and I encourage you to Search the archives to find more recipe ideas.

Since lacto-ovo vegetarian is my diet, the recipes include butter and eggs. This is the food Robbie and I cook at home. I work as a pastry chef, though, so enjoy the occasional sweet recipe—like today’s cookies.

Thyme and Lemon Zest Cookies

These cookies are from Peggy Knickerbocker’s Simple Soirees: Seasonal Recipes for Sensational Dinner Parties. They were a perfect light and flaky treat to finish the decadent, five-course brunch we served at Deer Valley last weekend.

The lemon oil bumps up the flavor but you certainly don’t need it to make a tasty cookie. LorAnn lemon oil can be found in Park City at No Place Like Home. Freeze one of the logs for a quick dessert later, tomorrow, this weekend or next month.

½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

½ cup sugar (take away 1 tablespoon at higher altitudes)

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon of lemon oil, optional

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves

1 tablespoon finely chopped lemon zest

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla and lemon oil, if using, and mix well. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Sift together the flour and baking soda. Mix into the creamed butter, scraping the bowl again.

Divide the dough into 2 equal portions. On a piece of parchment or waxed paper, pat each portion into a 12-inch log. Use the parchment to roll smooth, even logs, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Refrigerate 2 hours or freeze 45 minutes, until firm.

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a couple of large baking sheets with parchment paper or oil them lightly with canola oil. Slice each log into 1/8-inch rounds and arrange on the baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Bake 10 to 15 minutes, until the cookies are slightly golden brown.

Makes about 100 small cookies.

Read Full Post »

Grilled Zucchini with Walnut Sauce

I tore this recipe out of Food & Wine Magazine in June, I now know it was to manifest our new grill. When shallots came in our CSA box a couple of weeks ago, I braided the stems together and Robbie hung them above the kitchen sink, so we have a shallot; that same week I tucked the thyme in a jelly jar with water and a plastic baggie in the fridge so we have thyme; and well, John keeps sending the “zukes”. Of course this sauce goes with all kinds of grilled veggies—the magazine recipe uses shiitake mushrooms, asparagus and red onion as well a zucchini.

2 pounds zucchini, large or small

Extra virgin olive oil, as needed

Real Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup walnuts

1 shallot, very finely chopped

1 teaspoon thyme leaves

½ teaspoon grated lemon zest

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Light a grill. Spray a double-folded sheet of aluminum foil or a cold small ovenproof skillet with cooking spray. Heat the foil or skillet; add the walnuts and toss until nuts are golden brown. Set aside.

Cut the zucchini crosswise, on the diagonal for eye appeal. Sprinkle both sides with salt and let stand for about 10 minutes. Brush with olive oil and season with pepper. On a vegetable grilling accessory tray, grill over high heat, turning occasionally until lightly charred in spots and tender, 15 to 18 minutes. Transfer the grilled vegetables to a serving platter.

Put the toasted walnuts in the work bowl of a food processor. Add the minced shallot, thyme, lemon zest and juice and the olive oil. Pulse until the nuts are chopped, not too large but not ground. Season the sauce with salt and pepper and drizzle over the grilled zucchini.

Makes about 4 servings.

Read Full Post »

Caramelized Three Onion and Thyme Pizza with Fontina Cheese

On the Grill

This is pizza on the grill; even though it has cooled down a bit I am still avoiding turning on the oven, especially to pizza baking temperatures. Earthy-flavored Italian Alpine Fontina goes really well with the onions so try to find the original cheese, stamped with the DOP stamp and words Val d’Aosta on the label. The aromatic and also earthy thyme marries with and accents both the onions and cheese.

My family makes a Thanksgiving side dish called Onions Parmesan–I remember it being made in the electric fry pan—so as not to take up stove-top space at the gravy-making crunch time just before the meal went on the table. Our family recipe calls for lots of sliced onions sautéed in lots of butter, glazed with sherry and dressed with the Parmesan cheese. For this pizza topping I cook the onions longer, to the point that they shrink and begin to caramelize, and glaze them with the vinegars for bright flavor.

The pizza dough:

¾ cup warm water

¾ teaspoon instant dry yeast

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

¾ teaspoon Real Salt

1 cup whole-wheat flour

1 cup to 1 ¼ cup all purpose flour

The pizza toppings:

1 large red onion

3 small yellow onions

4 shallots

3 tablespoons plus 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons sherry wine vinegar

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Real Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon chopped thyme leaves

12 ounces Val d’ Aosta Fontina cheese, grated

2 cloves garlic, minced

To make the dough:

In a medium bowl, mix the warm water, yeast and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the salt and one cup of the flour, stirring with a wooden spoon. Add the remaining flour, a cup at a time, stirring until it all comes together. You can work the dough in the bowl with your hands, turning it over to knead. Or you can turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead. Either way, work the dough folding it over and pushing with the heels of your hands until the dough is well mixed, 3-5 minutes. Add sprinkles of four as needed to keep the dough from being too sticky to work.

Place in an oiled bowl at least twice the volume of the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, about 1 hour. While the dough is rising prepare the onion topping and grate the cheese. After the dough has risen an hour, turn the dough onto the counter and divide into 4 balls. Cover and let these rise for another 15 minutes.

For the topping and grilling:

Cut the onions in half and slice them crosswise about 3/8-inch thick. Trim the shallots and cut them in half lengthwise, then slice thinly. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add the onions and shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are very soft, have shrunk to half of their original volume and have begun to turn brown on the edges. Add the vinegars, stirring to mix well. Season generously with salt and freshly ground pepper and the thyme leaves.

High heat bake with grill marks

Pre-heat the grill to high heat. Mix the remaining olive oil with the garlic and set aside. Flatten one dough ball at a time, and on a lightly floured work surface, using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll it into a circle, about 7-inches around and ¼-inch thick. You can pick it up with your hands and gently stretch it. Brush lightly with some of the garlic oil and invert onto a very hot grill. Bake 1 or 2 minutes until there are light grill marks. Turn over and cook the other side a minute. Remove to a clean work surface. When all the crusts are par-baked, lower the grill heat to medium.

Brush the baked crusts with any remaining garlic oil. Sprinkle with a tablespoon or so of the Fontina cheese, and divide the onions between the crusts. Scatter the remaining cheese over the onions and sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper. Return the pizzas to the grill. Bake about 5 minutes, to melt the cheese and heat the onions.

Serve hot. Makes 4 small pizzas, great appetizers for 4 to 10 persons.

Read Full Post »