Micah's Read of the Week, Vol. 123
A very special holiday season Recipe Corner, New Yorker Cartoon of the Week, and more.
Hello, and welcome to Micah’s Read of the Week.
This is a newsletter filled with things Micah Wiener finds interesting. Check out the archive of previous newsletters here.
Hi. It’s Tuesday of Christmas Week and nobody wants to do anything. Myself very much included. We flew to New York yesterday. We’ll be here for the next eight days.
Everyone has some version of the flu. Or COVID. Or something else. The airports are crazy. For some reason, we decided to fly with our dog, Charlie. She was heavily medicated on the plane and acted like the pampered princess she is.
Anyway, I am excited about a little end-of-year recharge. I hope you get the chance to rest and relax as well. Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukkah, etcetera, etcetera.
Next week, I’ll write a little bit about our hopes for the new year and perhaps feature some best-of-2022 content.
Today though, we’ll keep it light and feature some recipes to delight and impress your family this week.
Thanks,
M
New Yorker Cartoon of the Week
Recipe Corner
OK, so we went all out for the Thanksgiving recipe extravaganza. For Christmas, we’ll spotlight some party foods for hosts and guests. Enjoy!
Fried Feta with Sesame and Spicy Honey
Cooked feta crowd-pleasing appetizer, let’s go!
Fried Feta
1 (7 ounces) block of feta
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons white sesame seeds
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
2 tablespoons panko
2 tablespoons olive oil, for frying
crusty bread or pita chips for serving
Spicy Honey
5 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon crushed chipotle peppers, or red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon each: cumin seeds, salt
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, grated
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
Prepare 3 shallow plates or bowls. Add flour to the first plate, crack the egg into the second and beat with a fork. Into the third plate, add the sesame seeds and panko, and give it a quick stir.
Pat the feta dry with a paper towel. First, dredge in flour, Then dip into the beaten egg. Finally, cover all over with the sesame seeds mixture. Set aside.
Add all spicy honey ingredients to a heat-proof bowl (except for the oil). Set aside.
Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium and add feta. Fry the feta until nicely colored on all sides, 1-2 minutes per side. Reduce the heat, if needed. Transfer the feta to a serving plate.
In the meantime, heat the oil for the spicy honey until sizzling hot, about 1 minute. Carefully pour the hot oil over the prepared honey mixture.
Serve the feta immediately drizzled with spicy honey, when still warm. Enjoy with pita chips or some crusty bread.
TAYLOR SWIFT’S CHAI SUGAR COOKIES
I don’t like Taylor Swift. But these cookies seem like a great way to use the leftover eggnog.
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
Pinch of fresh cracked black pepper
1 large egg
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract or the seeds of 1 vanilla bean pod
2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Cinnamon sugar for rolling
For the Glaze:
1 1/2 cups (180 grams) powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, plus more for sprinkling the top of the cookies
3 tablespoons whole milk or eggnog
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
Using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter in a large bowl on medium speed for about 1 minute. Add the vegetable oil. It may not fully incorporate with the butter, but that’s ok. Add the granulated sugar, powdered sugar, and all of the spices. Beat to combine.
Add the egg and vanilla, beating on medium speed until completely incorporated.
Stir in the flour, baking soda and salt all at once using a wooden spoon or the mixer set on low.
The dough will be soft. Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour or freeze for 15 minutes just so it’s easier to handle.
For large cookies, dollop 2 Tablespoons of cookie dough onto the cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. For smaller cookies use 1 Tablespoon for each cookie. Press the dough evenly with your fingers or palm to 1/4-inch thickness. Roll each cookie dough in a small bowl of cinnamon sugar.
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes for larger cookies or 8 to 10 minutes for smaller cookies. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes before transferring to racks to cool completely.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the glaze ingredients to thick but spreadable. Spread each cooled cookie with graze just over the center, leaving the edges of the cookie free of glaze. Sprinkle with a bit of fresh nutmeg if you have it. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Mexican Wedding Cookies
Let’s keep the cookie party going. These are my favorites. And you don’t need a big mixer to put them together.
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter cut into chunks
1/2 cup vegetable shortening or double the butter
1/2 cup pecans ground or finely chopped
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar plus more for dusting
1 egg
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a large cookie sheet.
In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, pulse the pecans until they are finely chopped. Add the powdered sugar, flour and salt, and pulse again. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula if necessary.
Drop in the butter and shortening chunks, and pulse a couple of times. Add the egg and pulse again, just until the mixture starts to come together. Roll the dough into 1- to 1 1/2″ balls with your hands.
Place the balls on the baking sheet, spacing them 1″ apart; give them a light pat on the top. Bake until the cookies are golden brown, about 15 minutes. You may need to bake two batches.
Generously, really super generously, dust extra confectioners’ sugar over the top of the cookies.
Salted Cookie Butter Millionaire's Shortbread
Here’s another one that requires even fewer kitchen tools.
Shortbread Base
1 2/3 cups (214g) all-purpose flour
1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks/170g) unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Salted Speculoos Caramel
3/4 cup (175 grams) packed light brown sugar
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick/57g) unsalted butter
1/4 cup (59 ml) light corn syrup
1 14-ounce can (414 ml) sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup (90 grams) speculoos cookie butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Topping
1/2 cup (about 3 ounces/85 grams) semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup (about 3 ounces/85 grams) white chocolate chips
4 tablespoons (59 ml) whole milk, divided
2 tablespoons (36 grams) speculoos cookie butter, divided
Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
Make the shortbread base: Heat the oven 325°F. Grease an 8- by 8-inch baking pan with nonstick pan spray and line with parchment paper, leaving overhang on all four sides. In a large bowl combine the flour, granulated sugar, and salt. Add the melted butter, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and stir together until a soft dough forms. Transfer the dough into the lined baking pan and press into an even layer. Prick the top several times with a fork and bake until the shortbread is slightly puffed and golden brown in the center, 33 to 38 minutes. Remove from the oven and use the bottom of a measuring cup or a metal spatula to press down on the shortbread to compact it slightly. (This will prevent the bars from crumbling when sliced.) Let the shortbread cool for 30 minutes.
While the shortbread is cooling, make the caramel: In a medium saucepan fitted with a candy thermometer, combine the brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, sweetened condensed milk, speculoos cookie butter, vanilla, and salt. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often to prevent burning, until the mixture is smooth, glossy, and registers 240°F on the candy thermometer, about 8 to 11 mins. Pour over the shortbread base, spread into an even layer, and transfer into the fridge. Let cool for 1 hour.
As the caramel is cooling, make the topping: Place both the white and semisweet chocolate chips in two separate medium, microwave-safe bowls. Add 2 tablespoons whole milk and 1 tablespoon cookie butter to each bowl. Microwave each bowl on high power in 10 second increments, stirring between each, until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth, about 30 seconds total. Transfer the white chocolate ganache into a piping bag or zip-top baggie.
Working quickly, pour the dark chocolate ganache over top of the caramel and spread into an even layer. Pipe thin, straight lines of the white chocolate ganache all going the same way. (You might not need all of the ganache.) Use a toothpick to drag it through the lines, alternating the direction you go each time to create a rough chevron pattern. Transfer the bars into the fridge and let set for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. Sprinkle the top of the bars with flaky sea salt and cut into a 3 by 8 grid to make 24 bars. (For cleaner edges, feel free to trim off the border of the pan before slicing.) Serve chilled or at room temperature.
Apple Pecan Pie
Apple pie is good. Pecan pie is very good. If both are on the table, you want to try them both. But, who really wants two slices of pie after several days of football and all these cookies?
1 recipe All Buttah Pie Dough (https://food52.com/recipes...), prepared and chilled
4 tablespoons (56 grams) unsalted butter
1 cup (212 grams) dark brown sugar, divided
2 tablespoons (15 grams) all-purpose flour
2 cups (240 grams) peeled and diced apples, such as Cosmic Crisp, Honeycrisp, or Fuji (about 2 large apples)
3 (170 grams) large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup (78 grams) maple syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons (7 grams) vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon (3 grams) fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups (200 grams) pecan halves, roughly chopped
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to ¼-in/6 mm thick, rotating it as you work to prevent it from sticking to the work surface. Use the rolling pin to transfer the dough to the pan, gently rolling it up, wrapping it around the pin, then unfurling it into a 9-in/23 cm pie plate.
Use scissors to trim away the excess pie dough, leaving about ½ in/1 cm of excess all the way around the outside edge of the pie plate. Tuck this excess dough under itself, pressing gently to make it flush with the outside edge of the pie plate. Crimp the edge as desired.
Dock the base and sides of the dough with the tines of a fork, then refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Towards the end of chill time, preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C.
Cut a square of parchment paper slightly larger than the diameter of a pie plate, and press it into the base of the pie plate. Fill with pie weights to the top inner rim of the pan. Bake until the edges begin to lightly brown, 15 to 17 minutes.
Remove the parchment paper and pie weights, and return to the oven until the lower portion of crust appears dry and set (it shouldn’t brown), 2 to 3 minutes more. Cool completely before filling. Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F/190°C.
In a medium pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Place ½ cup (106 g) brown sugar in a small bowl, and use your fingers to rub the flour into it until well combined. Add the apples to the pot, and sprinkle the sugar mixture over it and stir well to combine.
Cook, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves and the apples start to become tender; continue to cook until the “sauce” that forms from the sugar and apple’s juices thickens slightly, fully coating the apples, 4 to 5 minutes.
Pour this mixture onto a baking sheet or shallow casserole dish and spread into an even layer. Cool for 10 to 15 minutes.
In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs well. Add the remaining ½ cup (106 g) brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon and whisk well to combine.
Add the apple mixture and pecans to the bowl and stir well to combine. Gently pour the mixture into the cooled pie crust.
Transfer the pie to the oven and bake until the custard appears just set in the center when the pan is slightly moved back and forth, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely before slicing and serving.
Did Micah practice yoga this weekend?
Yes. 60 minutes Saturday at Searsana Dripping Springs.
That’s 47 in-person weekend classes in 50 weeks this year.
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