The Saffron Saga Continues

This is another recipe that should have been posted while I was in Durham but wasn't. As some of you know, I've been on somewhat of a saffron binge since I bought it for one recipe and haven't quite been able to get rid of it (and that shit is expensive).

Bell Pepper Soup
Adapted from Power Foods.

3 cups chicken broth
generous pinch of saffron
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 celery stalks, diced
4 large bell peppers, diced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 tsp cumin
2 tbsp half-and-half or milk
salt
cayenne pepper
plain, low-fat yogurt (garnish)

Bring broth to a boil - and say it five times, fast. Add saffron (and really, be generous) and stir to dissolve. Turn off heat to let it steep.

Heat butter in a large saucepan. Cook onion and garlic in said pan, stirring frequently, until they're softened and starting to caramelize. Add celery and bell peppers. Cover and cook until everything has softened, about 20-25 minutes.

Add wine, stirring every so often until it's evaporated. Add broth, 1 tsp (or more) salt and cumin. Simmer and cook until vegetables are nearly falling apart, about 10-15 minutes.

Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. (I didn't do this thinking I could save myself a few minutes and definitely ended up with some pepper soup burns down my arms. Go read a book chapter or something before you move on. Unless you have an immersion blender in which case a) I hate you because I'm jealous and b) you may proceed immediately.) Puree soup (in the pot if you have the tools or) in batches in a blender or food processor until smooth.

Return puree to saucepan, stir in half-and-half or milk, and reheat gently - if you let this boil it will curdle so, you know, watch it. Season with cayenne pepper. Sure immediately warm, or allow to cool in the refrigerator for 2+ hours and eat cold. Either way, garnish with yogurt (I used Greek).

Notes

• I'm not in love with this recipe. It turned out fairly bland and was more of an excuse for me to eat a bowlful of saltine crackers than it was anything else. Adding salt helped, but only because it made it saltier and salt is delicious. More saffron probably would have been better, but since I used more in this recipe than I have in any other, I thought it'd be safe. Not so.
• I preferred this warm, but I'm also not a fan of cold soups in general, so you serve it as you see fit. Also, as it's at least 30 F warmer in El Paso than it was in Durham, I might have felt differently had I made it here.
• As should be fairly obvious, I used orange bell peppers. The original recipe calls for yellow but as was the case more often than not, the ingredients I was supposed to use looked rather pathetic at the market.

Cost

• As will be the case for all of my leftover Durham recipes, I have no idea how much this cost. If you're trying to use up your saffron as I was, it's pretty cheap. I would not recommend going out and buying saffron just for this recipe though, unless you have some sort of intense bell pepper fetish.
• Health-wise, this soup is pretty great. Only 96 calories per serving (this makes 6) with under 2 g saturated fat (if you use the half-and-half) and 13 carbs.
• This took about an hour which could probably have been better spent. C'est la vie.

Damn My Hot Oven

Hello friends and lovers (*wink*)! I had started a draft way back in June (when I was still living in Durham), so the following paragraph of commentary is from that time. I am currently making dinner with my new oven in El Paso and will undoubtedly be comparing it to my previous oven in the next post.

I know what you're thinking: "But Kristine, if you know your oven runs hot, why don't you just set it lower? Cook your goodies for less time? Stop being such an idiot?" And those are good questions, provided we're talking about baked goodies and not my, you know, goodies. Ahem: I did set my oven on a lower temp, but it didn't seem to make a difference. There is some bizarre calibration curve that maybe, if I really really wanted to, I could sit down and figure out but I haven't and I won't. I'm moving in a month [sic] and hopefully my shiny new apartment will be have an accurate and shiny new oven. Despite my knowledge of the hot oven, I had to make cinnamon buns, been-craving-for-a-week kind of had-to. So I did. And they're yummy, even if the outer-most layer is crunchy.

PS: As it is with all leaven breads, this one will take a while. If you're trying to have these ready for a Sunday brunch or some such business I would make everything Saturday evening and leave the last rise to happen overnight, then throw them in the oven about forty minutes to an hour before you want them in the morning.

Cinnamon Buns
Adapted from Bon Appétit via Epicurious.com.

1 cup whole milk
3 tbsp unsalted butter
3 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour (divided)
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
2 1/4 tsp rapid-rise yeast
2.5 tbsp cinnamon (divided)
1+ tsp salt
non-stick spray
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (divided)
4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Microwave milk and butter together until 120-130 F (about 30-45 seconds depending on your microwave's wattage). If you have a stand mixer, use its bowl as the bowl in the next set of directions and fit it with the paddle attachment. If you're a member of the baking proletariat (as I am), you're going to have to make due with a wooden spoon when it comes to the mixing - electric beaters really don't get the job done. Add 1 cup flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Beat on low or with spoon for about 3 minutes. Keep beating until all the flour is absorbed - you're trying to get a thick dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl as you move it; it will likely be super sticky when you first finish mixing, but continue to add more flour by the tbsp until it reaches the right consistency.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Kneed until smooth - adding more flour if you need - at least eight minutes. Form into a ball.

Get a clean bowl (or the clean the bowl you just used). Grease the inside of it (butter, oil, spray, whatev). Put the ball into the bowl (that's what she said? ... god I hope not) and turn it to coat in grease. Cover with plastic wrap, throw a kitchen towel over the top, and allow to sit until doubled in size (about 2 hours).

Mix brown sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl. If you double the amount of these ingredients I won't judge.

Before rising

After rising (no zoom)

Once dough is sufficiently large, punch it down. Transfer to floured work surface. Roll it out into a rectangle, approximately 15x11 inches. Spread butter over dough leaving a 1/2-inch or so border. Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar over butter. Starting at a long side, roll the log tightly, pinching gently as you go. With seam side down, cut crosswise into thin (less than 1-inch wide), equal slices - you'll have 18 at the end.

Spray two glass baking dishes; if you have two 9-inch square pans, use them. I have a mishmash of glass ovenware that does not include duplicates so I ended up baking mine in a 9x11 pan and a 9.5-inch pie plate. It worked fine. Pack dough slices tightly into ovenware and cover with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let rise until doubled in volume again, about an hour (or overnight if this is the night before).

Preheat oven to 375F. Bake rolls until golden, about 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and immediately invert pans to release rolls. Allow to cool for 10 minutes and then turn them right-side up.

Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and vanilla in a medium bowl. Beat until smooth with an electric mixture (now you get to use it). Spread glaze over rolls and enjoy. Mmmm.

Notes

• I brought these into work about two days after I made them and nobody even realized they were there until about two days after that. They kept great, but my suspicion is because I didn't frost them. Frost to order and these should be quite store-able.
• Also, pro-tip, make sure you heat your roll up for about 20-30 seconds in the microwave if you're not eating it fresh from the oven.
• Have milk on hand.

Cost

• I have no idea where in the hellish mess of a move my recipt ran off to (probably the apartment complex's trash bin), but these weren't expensive. The most costly thing you'll be buying that you might not already have is the cream cheese which is about ... what? $3 for 8 oz.?
• SO MANY CALORIES. SO WORTH IT.

A Brief And Incomplete Update

Hello my friends! I am immensely sorry for my absence over the past several weeks, but moving two time zones across the country kind of takes it out of a person (that person being me). I have started my cultural medical school courses - not all medical schools have this, but since 60% of the population of El Paso speaks only Spanish, the school thought it best that we understand the Mexican culture and language. Science business starts on August 1st and I can't wait. My white coat ceremony was this past weekend, so I have one of those now.

In the move some things got misplaced, as things do during moves. Namely, my camera. I have no idea where it is. I've been looking and will continue to do so because I have some fabulous meals and treats I want to post for you. For now, though, I just wanted to let you know that I am still alive, in one whole piece, and miss you terribly.