Cooking is Messy https://www.cookingismessy.com messy kitchen, yummy food Fri, 06 Jul 2018 18:45:26 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.22 Tourist Tuesday: Tea at the British Museum https://www.cookingismessy.com/2015/08/04/tourist-tuesday-tea-at-the-british-museum/ Tue, 04 Aug 2015 18:34:57 +0000 http://www.cookingismessy.com/?p=4819 On Sunday my friends took me out for afternoon tea at the British Museum. It was a present to celebrate my 30th birthday. I don’t know what you think when you read those sentences. Maybe “oooo” or “nice” or “how British” or even, “yawn.” But for me, it meant everything. One year ago I had been...

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Elderflower & Lemon Tea

On Sunday my friends took me out for afternoon tea at the British Museum. It was a present to celebrate my 30th birthday. I don’t know what you think when you read those sentences. Maybe “oooo” or “nice” or “how British” or even, “yawn.” But for me, it meant everything. One year ago I had been permanently in London for a month (we moved in March but then I had to go back to DC to do some stuff so I was permanently here in London starting last summer). After a month I was enjoying London but also feeling a little lost. I was thinking about finding friends, work, and a new life in London. And I hoped very much that I would make some lovely British friends who would want to do afternoon tea. Sure, it’s probably a stereotypical dream, but it was the dream I had.And then I got the job at the Science Museum and I made fast friends with Sarah, who I actually met during the interview process. She is bold, smart, and honest. She’s warm, not shy, generous, and the kind of person you want in your corner when the chips are down. And then we started our induction week and met Abbie, who is kind and friendly with a lovely smile. She’s clever, easy going, optimistic and brushes off frustration with an ease and grace that I envy. Then when we properly started work we met Charlotte who has the most piercing blue eyes and the best deadpan humor. She’s an excellent storyteller, she’s quick witted, good at taking charge and making decisions, and is an absolutely no-bullshit kind of person which is refreshing and fantastic. We started as just work friends and then became a crew. And even though they were my besties I didn’t tell them about my afternoon tea fantasy. I didn’t want them to laugh at me for being a silly American with cheesy dreams.

The girls

But, that’s the thing, best friends just know. On my actual birthday they said they wanted to take me out for a surprise and I didn’t bug them about it too much. This was big for me, I’m terrible about ruining surprises. We arranged to get together on Sunday and met at Euston station. From there, we walked through Russel Square which was filled with sun dappled tree and people having picnics, and we went on to the British Museum where they had arranged for us to have tea. YAY!

We had tea at the Great Court Restaurant. If you enter the museum through the main gates you walk into the main atrium of the museum, go up the curved staircase and you’ll  be in front of the restaurant. The skylights of the ceiling make it feel like you’re eating outside and the silhouettes of the birds flying outside overhead make really pretty shadows. The restaurant is pretty cute, and it’s sort of exciting to be surrounded by fantastic art. It’s a lovely setting – and obviously the company was perfection too.

Champagne Toast

Afternoon Tea Menu

We had the Prosecco afternoon tea. For me, tea is already fancy and lovely but adding Prosecco just bumps it up a huge notch. Also, I think all champagne glasses are elegant but I especially enjoy champagne saucers. I think it’s because they’re like a rare bird – I hardly ever see them in the wild. To me, they’re just for the movies. Sarah said maybe they’re modeled after Marie Antoinette’s breasts. I did a tiny internet search and it seems like maybe not. If you’re curious read about it here.

While I’m on the subject of glassware, let’s also talk about dishes. I love the pattern on all of the crockery. First, green is my favorite color and I think it looked original but still classically fancy. I also loved the combination of floral and bird prints. It was intricate but not over the top. I’m at the age when I look at nice dishes like these and actually think about wanting to own a set. And even, one day being the kind of person who has everyday dishes and good dishes. The picture immediately below isn’t the greatest, but you can see the pattern. Also, I like that Abbie’s pinkie’s sticking out as she picks up her tea. Clearly she’s posh.

SconesBeside Prosecco, we of course had tea. Three out of four of us has elderflower & lemon tea which I loved and thought was the right amount of fruity and floral flavors. Sarah had ginger & lemon. There were also non-herbal options. The tea bags were great with big fat leaves in each sachet. Love that because it makes the flavor so much better. For food, we had a raisin scone and a plain scone. They came with jam and a big jar of clotted cream for the table. Clotted cream is an indulgent revelation. It’s luscious and it’s so easy to dollop a huge helping on to your scone. I should learn what else I can use clotted cream for because it’s tasty.

Sandwiches & Cakes

The sandwiches were small and dainty but full of fresh flavor. My favorite was the smoked salmon in part because the fresh dill was so vibrant. It gave the sandwich a good pop. The cucumber sandwich had the thinnest cut cucumbers and it was perfectly crunchy and refreshing. There was also an egg and a ham sandwich. I thought the cakes were the best part. There was a really rich, nearly bitter dark chocolate cake, an almond cake with a fruity surprise inside, a lemon tart, and then the cream puff. Everyone was beautiful to look at except the cream puff (which is behind the lemon tart with the raspberries on it). Sarah said it looked like the character from Fantastic Four. However, it was very nice – light, soft, and filled with lots of delicious cream. It more than made up for its funny looks.

British Museum

Reading Haikus

After lots of food and chatting we went to the shop below. The shop is a lot of fun. There are books, figurines, scarves, jewelry, and all kinds of cool things for gifts. There’s also cheesy stuff like pens that look like soldiers and stuffed toys of Egyptian cats. Whether elegant and beautiful or cheesy and touristy – I think it’s all great. I love taking home a piece of a museum. Charlotte found a really intense connect-the-dot book. All the images were of big buildings and were color coded. I found a cookbook I wanted (of course), it was called A History of Food in 100 recipes. I had some self restraint though and didn’t buy it. Sarah and Abbie read some haikus. And here’s a haiku for them to summarize the day.

Surprise birthday tea
Great friends, yummy cake, and booze
Some dreams do come true

My crew

 

Afternoon Tea at the British Museum - beautiful setting and a tasty experience

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Cranachan https://www.cookingismessy.com/2015/07/13/cranachan/ Mon, 13 Jul 2015 16:19:23 +0000 http://www.cookingismessy.com/?p=4614 When Ryan and I were in Edinburgh we bought a bottle of whisky. Because, you know, that’s one of the things you do (according to the guide books) when you go to Scotland. We picked out a cute shop along the Royal Mile and browsed around. I asked a woman who worked there what she recommended...

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Cranachan

When Ryan and I were in Edinburgh we bought a bottle of whisky. Because, you know, that’s one of the things you do (according to the guide books) when you go to Scotland. We picked out a cute shop along the Royal Mile and browsed around. I asked a woman who worked there what she recommended for people who wanted to have some whisky but aren’t regular whisky drinkers. After giving us some helpful advice she showed us a few bottles. We chose the one that she said was light, had a nice flavor, had no burn, and wasn’t too expensive. It was exactly what I wanted. 

Since then, we’ve had some – but not much because in general we aren’t big drinkers. At least, we’re not at the level of having Scotch on the rocks to unwind after a long day at the office (à la Mad Men). So we have this beautiful bottle and I wanted you use it. Mainly, I wanted to see if I could cook with it. I looked up some recipes, found some things, but everyone said don’t cook with single malt whisky because you’re just wasting it. Ugh, fineCranachan Photos

Finally I stumbled onto a Scottish recipe called cranachan, which is a dessert that uses whisky but doesn’t cook it. Ideal, right? Even better, it’s so easy to make. It’s cream, oats, raspberries, whisky and just a few other ingredients. Blended all together the whisky flavor is smooth and harmonious alongside some honey and vanilla. It was so good that from now on the only way I want to have whisky is with whipped cream and sugar.

In the photos I assembled the cranachan in these cute glass espresso cups – but I also made some in regular disposable clear plastic cups. And if you did that, I think this dessert would be perfect for a barbecue. Simply assemble the cranachan ahead of time, pop them in the fridge, and then whip them out when it’s time have dessert. A sweet boozy treat for your guests, it’s simple and cooling for eating outside, and it looks cute and fun too.

Cranachan Dessert

This recipe is adapted from Harper’s Bazaar. The only adaptation is this: they said whip the cream until it comes to soft peaks and I didn’t do that. I totally intended to do that, but I walked away from the mixer for a minute and when I returned it was proper thick whipped cream. I didn’t have another pot of cream, so I went with it. And actually, I’m glad I did. Because after you beat the cream you’ll need to add liquid ingredients to it, which will soften the cream up a bit anyway. If the cream had been soft already, I think adding the liquid would have made everything too drippy. Making the cream thick also means that you can be a little less careful when folding in the other ingredients. All in all, I was pretty pleased that my inattention led to such great results.

one spoonMessy level: Pleasingly quick and mess free. Very few dishes are needed, nothing is sticky, and that’s just wonderful.

Cranachan
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Serves: about 6 depending on size of cup
Ingredients
  • 60g/3/4 cup of oatmeal
  • 200g/about 1½ cups of raspberries, divided (can be more than this amount)
  • 1 tablespoon of confectioner's sugar
  • ground black pepper, to taste
  • 600ml/ 2½ cups of double cream
  • 4 tablespoons of clear runny honey
  • 3 tablespoons of malt whisky
  • ½ vanilla pod
Instructions
  1. Heat a medium sized skilled over medium heat. Toast the oats for about 5 minutes, or until they start to smell toasty and are a little bit brownish.
  2. Measure out 2 tablespoons of oats to use for garnish. Set all the oats to the side to cool while you prepare everything else.
  3. Put the raspberries, confectioner's sugar, and a little bit of pepper together in a small bowl. Using a fork, or a potato masher, mash up the fruit until you have a fairly smooth puree. Taste and add a little more sugar or pepper depending on your preferences. Once to your liking, set aside.
  4. Put the cream in a large bowl and using a mixer (or your arm!) mix over medium speed until the cream is thick, set, and looks like whipped cream.
  5. Cut open the vanilla pod. [Need help? See how to do it here} Using your knife scrape out the insides and dump them into the cream. Gently fold the vanilla into the cream.
  6. Add the honey and whisky and gently fold them into the cream.
  7. Add the oats to the cream and gently mix them throughout.
  8. Finally, add the reserved raspberry puree. Mix it into the cream so you can a gorgeous pink ripple. Don't mix it all the way otherwise the whole thing will be pink.
  9. Line the bottom of a clear cup or ramekin with the whole raspberries you set aside at the beginning. Top with your cream mixture. Alternate layers of cream and raspberries until you cup is full. Make sure the top layer has at least 1 or 2 raspberries.
  10. Using the 2 tablespoons of oats you set aside at the beginning, sprinkle the oats on top of your cranachan for garnish.
  11. Serve and be delighted.

Cranachan is a Scottish dessert using whisky, raspberries, and cream. It's light, cooling, and delicious. Easy to make and perfect to make ahead.

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Apple, Strawberry and Elderflower Cobbler https://www.cookingismessy.com/2015/04/23/apple-strawberry-and-elderflower-cobbler/ Thu, 23 Apr 2015 14:45:25 +0000 http://www.cookingismessy.com/?p=4173 I’ve become obsessed with these apple and elderflower gummies from Candy Kittens that are shaped like cats (update as of March 2016 they don’t make this flavor anymore but everything else they make is amazing!). They are delicious and juicy, but slightly too expensive and the bag is slightly too big for me to be...

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Cobbler

I’ve become obsessed with these apple and elderflower gummies from Candy Kittens that are shaped like cats (update as of March 2016 they don’t make this flavor anymore but everything else they make is amazing!). They are delicious and juicy, but slightly too expensive and the bag is slightly too big for me to be eating on my own. Regardless, they are delicious and I’ve been eating a ton. I’ve become so enamored with this flavor combination that I had to see what else was out there that I could make at home.

The choices seemed to be either drinks or desserts. I’ve been making a lot o beverages recently and I have a crazy sweet tooth so I chose dessert. I decide to throw in strawberries too after Tesco made a substitution in my grocery delivery and gave me a large container of strawberries than I had order. It was perfection, and the apples, strawberry and elderflower cobbler was born. It might not be beautiful to look at, but it’s so darn good. 

Apple-strawberry-elderflower cobbler

I wasn’t familiar with elderflower before I moved here, but it’s a flavor I see on drink menus at restaurants and in the juice or tea aisles of the super market. Specifically, what’s being used is elderflower cordial, which is made from the elderberry. This plant is native to Europe and parts of northwest Africa and southwest Asia. So, since it’s not from the Americas it might be why I’m not familiar with it. Anyway, the cordial is made from the flowers of the elderberry, water, sugar, and a bit of lemon. It’s sweet and just a bit tart and floral. All in all, it’s very nice.

Something else I wasn’t so familiar with before I moved here is cordial. Also called squash. Basically it’s concentrated syrup – usually fruit juice though sometimes herbal or floral. It’s everywhere here and you buy squash/cordial and then dilute it with water. I like it because then I feel like I’m getting more beverage for my money because one bottle of squash is about the size of one bottle of juice. The closest thing I ever had to it in the U.S., was when I was a kid we sometimes had frozen juice concentrate and I always liked to make pink lemonade. But I digress.

Apple Strawberry Elderflower Cobbler

The cordial is lovely and as it simmers together with the apples and strawberries it is delightfully sweet and bright. Apple pie is my absolute favorite food, but this version is like summer time apple pie. I like the addition of strawberries because it makes everything a gorgeous blush pink. The strawberries then lose their color a bit, but it’s ok because it makes the juice have a jammy flavor. I was worried that this is a little too liquidy and juicy – and maybe it is as I haven’t made cobbler before – but I like it because it helps moisten the biscuit on top. Everything becomes appropriately soft and chewy.

The vanilla cream on top is also really gorgeous. I was tempted to forgo making it, but it’s worth it. I’ve never used a vanilla pod before and the flavor the comes through is the most luscious vanilla I’ve ever tasted. It’s better than store bought, better than extract. It was so good, I’m tempted to try and make my own extract. Finally one of the ingredients is for a cheese! I thought it would be so weird but the flavor is mild and once it cooks it’s just creamy. Don’t ever let cheese throw you off because it only makes things better.

Adapted from BBC Food Recipes

4 spoon squareMessy level: I am sure a person can do this and not make a gigantic mess, but that person isn’t me. Basically you’re making three small recipes for this one whole recipe – which means lots of dishes and lots of spills and mess.

Apple, Strawberry and Elderflower Cobbler
 
Ingredients
Filling
  • 5 medium Pink Lady apples, peeled and cut into wedges
  • 2 cups quartered strawberries
  • 1 cup elderflower cordial
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
Topping
  • 1 cup flour
  • 3 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 tablespoons demerara sugar
  • 100g/3½oz/7 tablespoons cold butter, cut into cubes
  • ¾ cup buttermilk
  • less than ½ cup crumbled wensleydale cheese
Cream
  • 1¼ cup milk
  • 1 vanilla pod, split, seeds scraped out
  • 4 free-range egg yolks
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • ½ cup double cream
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.
  2. In a large sauce pan, mix together the apples, cordial and sugar. Place the pan over medium heat and bring to a simmer cook for 4 minutes. Then add the strawberries and cook for another 3-5 minutes or until the apples and strawberries are just beginning to soften, but are still holding their shape.
  3. Pour the apple-strawberry mixture into an oven proof dish. I used one that is 10x10".
  4. Now start on the topping. Place the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and butter into a food processor and blend until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
  5. Add the buttermilk to the food processor. Pulse the mixture, until it comes together as a thick batter/dough.
  6. Spoon the batter over the apple-strawberry mixture. I used my fingers to spread it evenly, but you can leave gaps if you'd like the fruit to bubble through.
  7. Sprinkle the cheese over the top of the dough.
  8. Transfer to the oven to bake for 25 minutes, or until the top is a bit puffed and golden.
  9. While the cobbler is baking, start on the custard. In a medium saucepan, place the milk, vanilla pod, and seeds. Heat to scalding point (when it's starting to show steam and is just about to boil). Remove from the heat and set aside for two minutes. This is to infuse the vanilla flavor.
  10. Place the eggs and sugar into a clean bowl and whisk together to make a thick paste.
  11. Gradually pour the vanilla milk onto the egg mixture, whisking constantly.
  12. Once it's all mixed return the custard to the saucepan. Place the pan over a low heat. Simmer and stir until the custard thickens.
  13. Once it's thick stir in the cream.
  14. Spoon cobbler into bowls and then pour cream over the top.

 

 

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Amazing Corn Chowder https://www.cookingismessy.com/2014/09/25/amazing-corn-chowder/ Thu, 25 Sep 2014 11:15:38 +0000 http://cookingismessy.wordpress.com/?p=2448 I’ve had a bag of frozen corn in my tiny freezer for two months. This is unacceptable because the freezer is tiny and if it is full of corn, there isn’t any room for ice cream. I have my priorities. I bought the corn when I made barley succotash and I’ve had the leftover bag ever...

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soup and breadI’ve had a bag of frozen corn in my tiny freezer for two months. This is unacceptable because the freezer is tiny and if it is full of corn, there isn’t any room for ice cream. I have my priorities.

I bought the corn when I made barley succotash and I’ve had the leftover bag ever since. When I need to add a vegetable for dinner, I often tell myself I’ll just heat up the corn, but I never do. I like corn on the cob, corn bread, and corn in things. But plain corn on the side isn’t very interesting to me and so the bag languished in the freezer. 

Then I saw a fairly recent post from Amateur Gourmet for corn chowder. I thought this would be perfect, but then he said it wasn’t worth doing with frozen corn. Sigh. It’s the end of the summer and corn season is over so I moved on.

Until it was Monday. On Monday nights I like to go to Zumba. I like to eat before Zumba so I don’t feel faint and famished but I can’t eat too much or I’ll feel sick. But, I also need to make something hearty enough so Ryan has a real dinner and not rabbit food. So I thought back to corn chowder, and advice be dammed, I was going to try it with frozen corn!

editedI’m so glad I did because this soup is freaking delicious! The soup is wonderfully flavorful. This is one of the best soups I have ever had. The corn gives it sweetness and the cayenne pepper (which is my personal addition) gives just the whisper of heat. And the cream makes it feel so rich, but with only one cup in the whole pot you don’t have to feel too guilty. It is hearty but not heavy (seriously, I went to Zumba and felt fine and thought about the soup the whole time). Ryan gave it a 9 out of 10. I kept loudly saying, “this soup is so good!” I was mad when I had to leave for class and couldn’t have a second bowl. Try it, this is a wonderful soup.

Adapted from Amateur Gourmet who adapted it from Jasper White.

2 spoon

Messy level: There is a lot of cutting prep work for this recipe, that’s the only reason I will give it a 2 spoon rating. Otherwise, it’s just dump it all in the pot and wait for it to get delicious.

Amazing Corn Chowder
 
Ingredients
  • 3-4 cups of frozen corn
  • 4 oz of slab bacon, cut into ⅓" dice
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 5 sprigs thyme, leaves removed and chopped
  • ½ tsp ground cumin
  • ⅛ tsp turmeric
  • ¼ tsp ground cayenne pepper
  • 1 lb Yukon gold potatoes peeled, and cut into ½" cubes
  • about 5-6 cups of chicken stock (enough to cover everything)
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 2 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 tbsp cold water
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2 tbsp minced chives
Instructions
  1. In a large heavy pot, cook the bacon over medium heat. Cook until the bacon is crisp. Spoon out all but a tablespoon of the bacon fat.
  2. Add the butter, onion, bell pepper, thyme, cumin, cayenne pepper, and turmeric. Look at the pretty spices! They will make the soup pretty too. Add a pinch of salt. Cook for 8 minutes, stirring every so often.
  3. Add the corn, potatoes, and stock. Turn the heat to high and bring to a vigorous boil. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
  4. Using a wood spoon, smash some of the corn and potatoes against the side of the pot. This will help thicken the chowder. Reduce the heat to medium and taste for salt and pepper.
  5. Stir in the corn starch mixture.
  6. Bring the soup back to a boil and stir until the chowder has thickened to your liking.
  7. Turn off the heat and add the cream. Adjust for salt if you need to.
  8. Serve and top with chopped chives.



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Bagel Bombs https://www.cookingismessy.com/2013/08/29/bagel-bombs/ Thu, 29 Aug 2013 09:55:53 +0000 http://cookingismessy.wordpress.com/?p=734 A few months ago my aunt suggested that I try out Christina Tosi’s cookbook Milk. It took me awhile to get around to it, but I’m so glad I did, and today’s recipe comes from the book. Let me tell you, I was absolutely enthralled by the book. I found it both intimidating and exciting. I...

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photo (13)

The blue things on the side of the book are the post-its for all the things I want to make!

A few months ago my aunt suggested that I try out Christina Tosi’s cookbook Milk. It took me awhile to get around to it, but I’m so glad I did, and today’s recipe comes from the book. Let me tell you, I was absolutely enthralled by the book. I found it both intimidating and exciting. I really couldn’t wait to dive in and make a half-dozen recipes.

But let me back up. Momofuku Milk Bar is basically a bakery in New York City. But their cookies, and cakes, and pies, aren’t run of the mill. The use unexpected ingredients to make delightful treats. They use breakfast cereal, salty snacks, and of course sugar, to make amazing baked goods.

At first I was intimidated, and I still am a little bit. Baking is about precision and Tosi takes it pretty seriously. She strongly advocates for measuring ingredients in grams and for using specific ingredients. After the introduction, there is a whole section on ingredients and another section on equipment. This was where I got intimidated because she uses ingredients like glucose, freeze dried corn, and both brown and clear vanilla extract. Tosi recommends buying what you can’t find in stores on Amazon. Whew. For some reason, no matter how amazing a recipe looks, I’m averse to buying an ingredient if I’m not sure I’ll ever use it again. Why can’t I use what I already have?

oozeBut what is clear from all these instructions is that Tosi loves Milk Bar and loves what she does. And so most of the time when I get a celebrity or restaurant cookbook it doesn’t feel like these are the real recipes, but instead are instructions altered for public consumption. But, here it feels like these are the true recipes and she’s sharing it with us, her readers, and letting us know that it might be scary but we can make amazing baked goods. And so, why not push myself? If the purpose of my blog and my cooking adventures is to try something new, then I should suck it up and figure out where in the world I can buy malt powder.

What really got me excited about the book is how the recipes are exciting and vivacious. There’s no plain sugar cookie in this book. Every recipe has great personality. Throughout the book there’s a great mix of sweet, salty, crunchy and gooey. I was so inspired by the idea of using rainbow sprinkles, or cornflakes, or crushed pretzel bits. I rented this book from the library, but I’m definitely going to buy a copy on my own because there’s too much I want to try. My only true gripe is there are not enough pictures of the food. I want more drool worthy images!

Look at all the gooey yummy cream cheese!

Look at all the gooey yummy cream cheese!

Anyway, I decided to start out with the bagel bomb recipe. This recipe would push me out of my comfort zone because I hardly ever make bread, but it doesn’t require any hard to find ingredients. To describe this recipe, it’s like a bagel the shape of a dinner roll, baked, and filled with oozy gooey cream cheese. Amazing right? I made them on Saturday for breakfast and Ryan and I had to hold back so we didn’t devour them too fast and burn ourselves on the very hot cream cheese.

What is great about this recipe is that there is so much room for innovation with this recipe. As is, the recipe is for an everything bagel with scallion cream cheese.  But, you could easily knead chocolate chips in the dough and use plain cream cheese. You could also knead in raisins and cinnamon, or dried cranberries. Or you could fill it with salmon cream cheese! Oh the possibilities!

One last note before we get started…  I’m going to give you the ingredient list using cups and spoons, not grams. I know it’s less authentic, I’m sorry! I didn’t use grams because my kitchen scale isn’t sophisticated enough, and I only want to share with you what I actually did. Also, I changed up Tosi’s cream cheese recipe because she used bacon in it and I didn’t feel it was necessary. And finally, “everything bagel topping” calls for black sesame seeds but I didn’t use those. I already had white sesame seeds and I just couldn’t bring myself to buy more sesame seeds. It still tasted good. However, if you make this and decide on using both types of sesame seeds, I’ll be super proud of you.

Ingredients:

Bagels –

3 1/2 cup flour

1 tbsp salt

1/2 packet or 1 1/8 tsp of active dry yeast

1 3/4 cup water at room temperature

grape seed oil (although I used vegetable)

Cream Cheese –

7 ounces cream cheese (buy the kind that’s in a square package, ounce measurements will be on the outside)

3-4 scallion greens thinly sliced (I used the food processor)

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

Everything Bagel Topping –

3/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp white sesame seeds

2 tsp black sesame seeds

2 tsp poppy seeds

1 tbsp dried onion

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder.

Other

1 egg

1/2 tsp water

Directions:

1. Start with the cream cheese because it takes the longest. Chop up the scallions into small pieces. Put the cream cheese in a bowl and beat until lighter and smooth. You can beat it a.) by hand (ouch! my arm would be tired) b.) electric hand mixer c.) Tosi’s recommendation, stand mixer with paddle attachment on medium.

In case you don't know what yeast looks like... at the store it comes in packets and you can find it in the baking aisle

In case you don’t know what yeast looks like… at the store it comes in packets and you can find it in the baking aisle

2. Add the scallions, sugar, and salt to the cream cheese and beat until well mixed.

3. On a parchment lined baking sheet, put 8 lumps of cream cheese. Freeze until hard, about 1-3 hours. I left mine in 1.5 hours.

image_1

4. Now move on to the dough; that takes the next longest. Tosi recommends a stand mixer, and that’s the directions I’ll use, but I’ve made bread dough before completely by hand, so if you don’t have a stand mixer, I am confident you can still do this recipe. ANYWAY. Put the flour, salt, and yeast in a bowl. Hold the dough hook in your hand and mix. Basically pretend the dough hook is a spoon.

5. Slowly add the water. Continue mixing, by hand, using the dough hook. Tosi says it should be a “shaggy mass,” which to me meant the dough was a little shredded looking and not smooth.

image_2

6. Attach the dough hook to the machine. Mix on the lowest speed for 7 minutes. At about 3.5 minutes in you can stop and check the progress if you feel so inclined. Tosi says it should “look like a wet ball.” Mine didn’t look wet, but it was sticky and when I poked it the dough slowly bounced back into place (which she said it should). If yours looks really wet, then add a little flour.

7. Grease a large bowl with oil. To do this, I poured a little oil in a bowl then used a paper towel to coat all the sides. Put your dough in the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Let it sit for 45 minutes.

image_3

8. Mix all the ingredients for the everything bagel topping in a small bowl. Set aside.

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9. Heat oven to 350°.

10. Lightly flour your work surface. Put the dough on your surface. Punch down the dough to flatten it. Using a dough cutter (or a ruler, or something that shape) divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Using your hands and gently stretch the dough pieces to be about 3 inches wide.

11. Put a frozen cream cheese lump into the center of each piece of dough.

12. Bring the edges of the dough up and around the cream cheese. Pinch the dough shut, then roll the ball gently in your hand to seal it up.

13. Put the bagel balls on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Give 3-4 inches of space between bagels.

roll (1)

14. Whisk the egg and 1/2 tsp of water. Brush each bagel with a generous coating of the egg mixture.

15. Generously sprinkle the everything bagel topping over the bagel. Cover it as much as you can!

16. Bake for about 25 minutes. You want it to be a light golden brown and the cream cheese should be exploding and oozing out of some the bagels. Looks great right? I want to run home and make this right now. Thank you Milk Bar!

done

2 spoonMessy Level:  This recipe is more time consuming than it is messy. I’ll call it a 2 spoon recipe. You need to use a few bowls, but nothing flies all around or gets sticky or crazy. Yes, the cream cheese oozes, but then you just dip in the bagel. This recipe cleans itself. YUM.

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