Flour's Tortilla with Chorizo, Peppers & Potato

I've been making liberal use of my oven during the recent snowstorms and "polar vortex," the better to warm up the house. Icy, grey mornings call for a hearty breakfast or brunch like this tortilla.  Red peppers are sauteed and potatoes get browned before pouring in an egg mixture laced with Parmesan, and then the skillet is thrown in the oven to finish.  You can keep the recipe vegetarian as is, or add some chorizo like I did.  It adds a nice, salty bite.

Sprinkle on some chopped scallions and parsley for freshness, then slice into wedges.  I like that the tortilla can be served hot or at room temperature, and that you can make it a day or so in advance and reheat when serving.  Perfect if you want to get a head start before house guests arrive, or for getting one weekend brunch dish out of the way.

Making a Spanish tortilla usually involves flipping the eggs, hot skillet and all, onto a plate, and then sliding the filling back into the skillet to cook the other side.  I'm not a fan of inverting piping-hot cast iron skillets with ingredients that could still be runny, so I'm glad this recipe involves no flipping!  When the next snowfall hits, I hope this is in my oven.  It'll sustain us through lots of shoveling.  Stay warm, friends!

Pumpkin Fritters with Rosemary and Cheese

There's not a rule against eating pumpkin any time of the year, but like a lot of people I gravitate toward it in the fall.  I bookmarked this recipe months ago and imagined what it would look and taste like.  Then I realized before cooking it that reality wasn't matching up with my imagination.  I had pictured these fritters as golden, crusty orbs, but it sounded like they were meant to be pancake-shaped.  Well, I just couldn't let go of the image in my head, so I changed up the recipe.  It makes more sense to follow a recipe that's tried and true, and for health reasons one that's pan-fried rather than deep-fried, but sense doesn't always get through to me.

I increased the amount of baking powder in the recipe to help the fritters puff up, and substituted rosemary for the parsley because I thought it sounded more flavorful.  The half-inch of oil in the recipe became a few inches in a saucepan for deep-frying.  I scooped tablespoons of dough into the oil, and watched them fry up golden.  Like doughnut holes, they will flip in the oil on their own when one side is done.  In the end, I had my golden fritters -- crispy outside, flecked with rosemary, cheesy inside and very moist because of the pumpkin.  Vision fulfilled.  Will I make them again?  Probably not, because I don't deep-fry much and I got them out of my system.  But maybe I'll give the original recipe a whirl next.

On a side note, my backyard tomato crop is still going!  These are Brandywines, an heirloom tomato.  We've made and eaten a lot of fresh salsa in the past two months.  I also used them in this recipe for Baked Orzo with Eggplant, making no changes except substituting ditalini for the orzo, and basil for the oregano because that's what I have in my garden.  That dish was so good, I was too busy eating it to snap a photo for you.  But take my word for it, especially you, Jacob.  The mire a poix gives it wonderful depth of flavor, the sauteed eggplant is awesome, and the dish is like a lighter baked ziti that doesn't weigh you down.

I also found these interesting berries at the farmers market.  They taste like the ordinary darker raspberries but with the tartness toned down.  I tried them in Raspberry Crumble Muffins from Sarabeth's Bakery: From My Hands to Yours, but was disappointed.  So let down that I didn't bother giving them their own post.  There wasn't enough crumble topping or raspberry flavor, and it tasted like a corn muffin with a strangely light interior structure.  Not awful, but not worth making again either.

Back to those pumpkin fritters . . .

Parmesan Thyme Twists

A few years ago I blogged about turning homemade puff pastry dough scraps into cinnamon sugar twists, and included a cheese variation as an afterthought.  This time the cheese version gets the spotlight.  I chose parmesan and thyme here, but try different cheese and herb variations.  Or use multiple cheeses and herbs, or throw in some cayenne for a kick.  The recipe is very adaptable.

Before you possibly panic about the difficulties or fussiness of making puff pastry, I'm going to add that these are made from the storebought variety!  I find making it from scratch time-consuming and messy, but the recipe I used back then is here with step-by-step photos if you want it.

And as a bonus, I'll also throw in the Cinnamon-Sugar Twists recipe, updated with a tad more sugar because in retrospect the original wasn't sweet enough.  According to my stats, the original post has been a sleeper hit, which was a surprise to me.

Parmesan Thyme Twists: The puff pastry is brushed with egg, then sprinkled with cheese and herbs.  The dough is folded over and lightly rolled to seal the edges, then strips are cut with a pastry wheel and twisted before baking.

These are also really easy to throw together for a quick party snack.  Joe loved both varieties, though parmesan isn't my favorite cheese.  But we both enjoyed the cinnamon sugar twists.

Pane Bianco

I couldn't help but be impressed with the shape and layers on this bread the first time I saw it on King Arthur Flour's blog, Baking Banter.  The one on the bottom is mine, filled with sundried tomatoes, basil, and cheese.  The one on the top is better -- I'm annoyed to admit -- and made by Joe.  It's got the same ingredients in different proportions, plus ham and pepperoni.  They're like our pizzas -- I'll scoff when he goes for the meat lover's variety, and I'll choose tomato and basil or eggplant and caramelized onion.  I do love meat, just not a whole barnyard of it.  But this time it just made the bread so moist and flavorful.  Although this bread may look complicated, it's actually a cinch to pull off.  Honest!

Bottom row: The risen dough; after spreading the filling, the dough is rolled up and then snipped to reveal the layers; my loaf is shaped into a figure-8.  Top row: The dough was rolled out and spread with cheeses, sundried tomatoes, and basil; the baked loaf had layers of the filling, pepperoni and ham, and bread.   

I'm not a fan of garlic powder, so we spread half a head of mashed roasted garlic on each bread.  And in addition to the cheese blend, we added chunks of fresh mozzarella.

Gougeres

I've been afraid to try my hand again at pate a choux ever since most of my eclairs deflated upon coming out of the oven.  But I'm glad to say no such thing happened with my Gougeres!  They're French cheese puffs, flavored here with Gruyere and Parmesan.  Have them with a glass of wine in the afternoon.  The taste reminds me of cheese straws, but they're simpler to make than puff pastry made from scratch.