The Essential James Beard Cookbook (73 page)

6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the cookie sheet

½ cup sugar

1 cup sliced almonds

2 large egg whites

¹
⁄
₃
cup sifted all-purpose flour

Pinch of plain salt

Beat the butter and sugar together in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until well blended. Mix in the almonds, egg whites, flour, and salt.

Working with one cookie sheet at a time, butter a heavy cookie sheet and drop the batter by teaspoonfuls 1½ inches apart, leaving enough room to allow the cookies to spread. Bake in a preheated 400°F oven for about 10 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges and slightly yellow in the center. Remove the cookies from the sheet with a spatula and drape and press them over a rolling pin while they are still hot and pliable. Leave to set for a few minutes and remove to a cake rack to cool completely. Repeat with a cool baking sheet and the remaining batter until all of the cookies are made.

BUÑUELOS

MAKES ABOUT 36

Similar forms of this deep-fried pastry are found in Europe and in Latin America. In France they are known as
galettes à l’huile
, and in Italy, where they are shaped into bow knots, they are called
farfallette dolci
. Paper-thin and crisp, they are absolutely marvelous when sprinkled well with cinnamon and confectioners’ sugar. Sometimes they are made into a dessert by adding a cream or a syrup to them. This version comes from Mexico.

4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon plain salt

2 large eggs

1 cup whole milk

4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted

Vegetable oil, for deep-frying

Confectioners’ sugar, for sprinkling

Ground cinnamon (optional)

Sift 4 cups of the flour, the granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt together into a bowl. Whisk the eggs thoroughly and then beat the milk into the eggs. Gradually combine the egg-milk mixture and the dry ingredients, and finally add the melted butter. Turn out on a floured board and knead until quite smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. (I then like to divide the dough into about 36 tiny balls and roll them out individually, but you can roll the dough and cut it into 4- to 6-inch rounds or squares.) Fry the pieces in deep oil heated to about 370°F. When done they will curl somewhat and become golden brown and crispy. Drain well on paper towels, and sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar and ground cinnamon or just with confectioners’ sugar.

BLOND BROWNIES

MAKES ABOUT 24 BROWNIES

Editor: White chocolate is the secret ingredient in these moist and chewy “blondies.” Be sure to use a top-notch brand that has cocoa butter in the ingredients, and skip any white chocolate that contains palm oil.

5 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut up

2 cups sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, pecans, or unsalted macadamia nuts

½ teaspoon plain salt

Softened butter, for the pan

Melt the white chocolate and butter together in a medium saucepan over very low heat. [
Editor: Be careful, as the chocolate is very delicate, and scorches easily.
] Remove from the heat and stir well. Stir in the sugar, then beat in the eggs and vanilla. Add the flour, nuts, and salt and stir just to lightly mix. Spread in a well-buttered 11 by 8-inch or 13 by 9-inch baking pan. Bake in a preheated 325°F oven, 35 minutes for the smaller pan, 30 for the larger. Do not overbake or they will lose their nice chewy texture. Remove the pan to a wire rack to cool. While slightly warm, cut into squares with a buttered knife.

LEMON MERINGUE BARS

MAKES ABOUT 2 DOZEN BARS

This rather rich cookie, good with tea or with ice cream, is not difficult to make.

1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted

½ cup confectioners’ sugar

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, at room temperature

2 large eggs, separated, at room temperature

Freshly grated zest of 1 lemon

½ teaspoon plain salt

½ cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Put together in a bowl the flour, confectioners’ sugar, butter, egg yolks, lemon zest, and salt. Rub together with your fingertips until the mixture is smooth and the color evenly distributed. Press into a 9-inch-square baking pan. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 10 minutes, until the edges of the dough look dry. Remove from the oven and allow to cool while making the meringue.

Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff. Gradually add the granulated sugar and beat until very stiff and shiny. Beat in the lemon juice. Spread on the dough. Return to the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until nicely browned. Cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into bars.

LINZER BARS

MAKES ABOUT 30 BARS

Editor: There are many recipes for jam-filled Linzer bars, all based on the famous specialty torte of Linz, Austria, although most, unlike Beard’s authentic version, leave out the nuts, cocoa, and spices. These are beautiful additions to the holiday cookie tray.

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup packed light brown sugar

1 cup toasted and very finely chopped sliced almonds or skinned hazelnuts (see Note)

1 large egg, beaten, at room temperature

½ cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon cocoa

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon ground mace or nutmeg

1 cup raspberry jam

Freshly grated zest of 1 lemon

Beat the butter and sugars together in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth, about 2 minutes. Beat in the chopped almonds and the egg.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, and mace. Gradually beat into the butter mixture. Press two-thirds of the dough into a 13 by 4½-inch tart pan with a removable bottom or an 8-inch square baking pan. Combine the jam and lemon zest in a small bowl, and spread over the dough in the pan.

Roll out the remaining dough between 2 pieces of waxed paper into a square about ¼ inch thick. Refrigerate the dough in the waxed paper and the dough-filled pan for 30 minutes. Remove from the refrigerator. Discard the top sheet of waxed paper and cut the rolled dough into ½-inch-wide strips. Place diagonally on the jam, creating a lattice top. Bake in a preheated 375°F oven until the lattice dough is lightly browned, about 30 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into squares.

NOTE:
To toast the almonds, spread out on a baking sheet, and bake in a preheated 350°F oven, stirring occasionally, until they are fragrant and toasted, 10 to 12 minutes. To toast the hazelnuts, spread on a baking sheet, and bake in a preheated 350°F oven, stirring occasionally, until the skins are cracked and the flesh underneath is lightly toasted, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the hazelnuts to a kitchen towel, let stand 5 minutes, and then rub off the skins with the towel while the nuts are warm. Let both nuts cool before chopping in a food processor or blender.

BASIC STOCKS AND SAUCES

Chicken Stock

Beef Stock

Fish Stock

Vegetable Broth

Béchamel Sauce

Caper Sauce

Mustard Sauce

Sauté Velouté

Sauce Suprême

Quick Brown Sauce

Bordelaise Sauce

Madeira Brown Sauce

Sauce Diable

Hollandaise Sauce

Anchovy Hollandaise

Béarnaise Sauce

Mustard Hollandaise

Sauce Mousseline

Tomato Hollandaise (Sauce Choron)

Mayonnaise

Green Mayonnaise

Rémoulade Sauce

Mustard Mayonnaise

Tartar Sauce

Aïoli

Tapenade Mayonnaise

Sauce Gribiche

Clarified Butter

Mantequilla de Pobre (Poor Man’s Butter)

Pesto

Freezer Pesto

Pesto with Walnuts

Pesto with Parsley

Basic Vinaigrette Sauce

CHICKEN STOCK

MAKES 2½ QUARTS

Editor: Chicken stock is one of the most essential ingredients of good cooking, and no canned broth will ever be better than the homemade version. If you wish, substitute chicken wings, cut apart at the joints, for the gizzards.

2 pounds chicken gizzards

2 pounds chicken necks and backs

1 medium yellow onion, peeled and stuck with 3 whole cloves

1 leek, white and pale green part only, well washed to remove grit

1 carrot, scraped

2 garlic cloves, peeled

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 bay leaf

1 sprig fresh flat-leaf parsley