Roasted Monkfish with Potatoes, Olives, and Bay Leaves

Roasted monkfish is delicious for fall. This simple recipe from Mark Bittman for roasted monkfish with potatoes, olives, and bay leaves makes a wonderful one pot meal. Below, I have deviated slightly from Bittman's instructions to create an equally tasty dish.

First, over medium heat, saute some generously salted potatoes in enough olive oil to cover the potatoes, flipping them every so often so that they soften but do not burn:

Next, add a handful of olives, the seasoned monkfish, and handful of bay leaves to the pan. Some chopped thyme would also be a nice addition. Put the pan in a 400F oven and roast until the fish is cooked through, about ten minutes:

Finally, slice the fish into equal servings and serve it with the potatoes. I accompanied the fish and potatoes with Swiss chard that I sauteed with bacon:

Cinnamon Rolls

I have always considered my hands too heavy and too clumsy to prepare even the simplest of breads and pastries. Nonetheless, with some free time on my hands and a raging sweet tooth, I decided to try my hand at cinnamon rolls. I used a simple recipe from Bittman's How to Cook Everything to make the rolls and topped them with a cream cheese icing. Aside from keeping the rolls in the oven for a minute too long, my foray into pastry was surprisingly delicious. Coming up next, croissants?


Cinnamon Rolls
Makes 12 rolls

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 packet instant yeast
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup plus 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup plus 3 tbsp milk
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup of sugar and the cinnamon. Set aside.
   
2. In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, yeast, salt, and 1/3 cup of sugar. Pulse a few times to mix.
3. Add butter and egg to food processor and process until well blended.
4. With the food processor running, gradually pour 1/2 cup of milk. Process until the dough forms a ball.
5. Remove dough from processor and place on a floured surface. Knead for a few minutes, until the dough is smooth. If the dough is too sticky, add flour. If it is too dry, add milk.
6. Place the dough in a buttered bowl and cover it. Allow it to to rise for an hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.
7. Roll out the dough to 1/2 inch thickness.
   
8. Brush the dough generously with melted butter and top it with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Roll the dough into a log, then cut the log into 1 inch pieces. Place the pieces on a greased baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Let the unbaked rolls rise for another hour.
9. Preheat the oven to 400F.
10. Uncover the rolls and brush them with melted butter. Sprinkle the tops with sugar and bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve warm, topped with cream cheese icing (see below for recipe).
11. To make the icing, combine cream cheese and 3 tbsp milk in a small bowl and whisk until well blended. While continuing to whisk, gradually add the powdered sugar, and whisk until the icing is smooth. Serve immediately or refrigerate.
    

Chocolate Mousse

This chocolate mousse recipe, adapted from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything, is delectably rich. It's worth it to splurge on good chocolate to make this dish (Scharffen Berger is my go to brand). For presentation, spoon the mousse into homemade or store-bought pastry shells and top it with chocolate shavings. As an added treat, you can make a delicious semifreddo by simply freezing the mousse.

Chocolate Mousse
Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. butter
• 4 oz. bittersweet chocolate
• 3 eggs, separated
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Using a double broiler set over gently simmering water, met the butter and chocolate together and mix well. Let cool.
2. In a medium bowl, beat the egg yolks. Once the chocolate has cooled enough to touch, add it to the eggs and mix well. Refrigerate until mixture is chilled.
3. In a small bowl, beat the egg whites with 1/8 cup sugar until they hold stiff peaks. Do not over mix.
4. In another small bowl, beat the cream with the remaining sugar and the vanilla until it holds soft peaks.
5. Add a few spoonfuls of the egg whites to the chilled chocolate mixture. Gently mix with a spoon, being careful to keep the egg whites light in texture. Gently, fold in the remaining egg whites. Finally, fold in the cream and refrigerate for at least an hour.
6. Serve the mousse in bowls or pastry shells, topped with shaved chocolate and/or freshly whipped cream.

Sunday Morning in the Studio: Pancakes

No matter how busy I may be, I always try to find time to cook a big breakfast on Sunday morning. A big pot of french press coffee at my side, the Sunday Times in my hands, and a spread of breakfast food on my plate; to me, there is no better way to mark the beginning of the end of the weekend. I usually prefer savory breakfast dishes, but every now and then I enjoy a stack of pancakes doused in warm maple syrup. For those days, I always turn to Mark Bittman's recipe for basic pancakes from How to Cook Everything. There are recipes that will produce a lighter, fluffier pancake (the book even includes one), but for my infrequent pancake cravings, the simplicity of this recipe hits the spot.

Basic Pancakes
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsbp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 2 eggs
  
• 2 cups milk
• 2 tsbp. butter

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
   
2. In a small bowl, beat the eggs. Stir in the milk.
3. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until just mixed. Do not over mix, as this will result in a tough pancake; leaving a few clumps of flour in the mixture is fine.
4. Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium heat.
   
5. Add the butter to the skillet. Once the butter is melted and has stopped foaming, use a ladle to pour in the pancake mixture. The size of the pancakes is up to you, but smaller pancakes are easier to flip.
6. Cook the pancakes until golden, about 2 to 4 minutes. If necessary, increase or decrease the heat to produce a nice golden color.
7. Using a spatula, flip the pancakes, and cook until the other side is golden, approximately 2 more minutes. Serve stacked on a plate with warm maple syrup.

Granola

I have been trying to reduce the amount of processed food in my diet. Not only is it not healthy, but processed food is unnecessarily expensive, especially when you factor in that most of the costs is not going towards the food, but to the packaging, marketing, and grocery store storage space of the said food. Cereal is one of the worst culprits, especially in New York, city of the $5 box of Cheerios. I've easily reduced reduced my consumption of processed cereals by substituting oatmeal and homemade granola in my morning routine. My granola recipe of choice has been this one from Mark Bittman. It's easy to make, healthier than most granola recipes, and perfectly crunchy. It's very versatile, too; I like to make it with chopped dates and almonds.