Cranberry Orange Scones

Scones often get a bad rap. They have a reputation of being similar to a hockey puck. Too dense, too sweet, too buttery...the list of grievances goes on. I've had some bad scones in my day. And some good ones. I saw a recipe in the New York Times for classic scones, along with a corresponding article by Mark Bittman which begins by saying that scones in the U.S. (vs. those in England) are often weighed down by too many extra ingredients like fruit, nuts, chocolate, etc. He appreciates a simple, light scone. As do I. I thought - I need to make these. So I did. But...I did the unthinkable and added extras.



I know, I know. It's against everything the article says. As you may know, I like cranberry orange things. Cranberries are in season! Only a couple farmers markets left! I had to seize the day! Besides, I have all winter to hibernate in my apartment and make plain scones with a side of butter and jam. Here's the original recipe. And, with my additions:

2 cups cake flour, more as needed
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
1 egg
1/2 cup heavy cream, more for brushing
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons orange zest
1 pint cranberries

Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Put the flour, salt, baking powder and 2 tablespoons of the sugar in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles cornmeal.



Add the egg and cream to form a slightly sticky dough. Add the orange juice and zest, and just mix until incorporated. The dough should start to form a big ball in the food processor. If the dough is too sticky, add a little flour, but very little; it should still stick a little to your hands. Remove dough from food processor and put into a mixing bowl. Mix the cranberries into the dough gently with your hands until spread evenly throughout.



Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and press it into a 3/4-inch-thick circle and cut into 2-inch rounds with a biscuit cutter or glass, or cut into 8 equal triangles.




Put the scones on an ungreased baking sheet. If you made circles, gently reshape the leftover dough and cut again. Brush the top of each scone with a bit of cream and sprinkle with a little of the remaining sugar.



Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, or until the scones are a beautiful golden brown. Serve immediately.



I think I ended up baking them for closer to 13 minutes. The original recipe yields 8-10 scones, so since I ended up with 8 they were a little bigger.



Light, fluffy, and tart. I used a lot of cranberries. You could easily use less than a pint and be fine. Half or 3/4 would do it. But, I like a lot. Just make sure you do a good job of incorporating them into the dough so you don't end up with some very cranberry-ish scones, and some less cranberry-ish.

New York Weekend - An Assortment of Assorted Foods

We ate a lot last weekend. A lot. And I didn't even get to everything I wanted to eat - I never made it to Grandaisy Bakery for cauliflower pizza, or Levain Bakery for cookies, or Russ & Daughters for bagels and lox. Sigh. But we did make it some of my favorite spots.

We went to Landmarc (Tribeca) for dinner on Saturday. At risk of making it sound boring, Landmarc is really reliable. I always know I'll get a great meal there. I don't want to say it's a steak place because they have so many other options, but it is a focus of the menu. They have several seafood dishes as well, a daily pasta special, and their menu changes a bit seasonally. I've been so many times I already knew what I wanted before seeing the menu - a filet with green peppercorn sauce. Steaks come with green salad and fries.



And...a milk chocolate ice cream cone.



The weather couldn't have been more perfect all weekend, and Sunday we decided to have lunch outdoors at Fig & Olive (Meatpacking District). The real reason we decided to eat there was because my sister couldn't stop thinking about their chicken salad, and once she mentioned it my mom and I couldn't stop thinking about it either. I'm actually just realizing that the three of us discovered this salad after a day of wedding dress shopping, because they have another location next to the place I got my dress. Anyway...we started with crostini. Two of the manchengo, fig spread, and almond, two of the prosciutto, ricotta, fig, olive, and walnut, and two of the mushroom, artichoke, and truffle parmesan.



I'm pretty sure the chicken salad has changed a little bit since the last time I had it, but it was just as good. Here's the description on the menu - "Provencal Vegetable Chicken Salad: free range rotisserie chicken marinated with Herbs de Provence, lemon, garlic, grilled zucchini, eggplant, tomato, asparagus, red onion, avocado, arugula, parmesan, pine nut, 18 year balsamic vinegar - Picholine Olive Oil".



And now, the crown jewel of the weekend. Scarpetta spaghetti.



I knew as soon as I made the reservation a few weeks ago that I would order this dish. It's so good, I don't even know what to say. It's just simple perfection. I've tried to replicate it a couple times, but nothing compares to the real thing.

The last meal of the weekend was breakfast at Bubby's. Blueberry pancakes. Wow.



So long, New York. Until next time.

Landmarc
179 West Broadway, New York NY (between Leonard St. and Worth St.)

Fig & Olive
416 W. 13th Street, New York NY (between Washington and Greenwich)

Scarpetta
355 W. 14th Street, New York NY (between 8th and 9th Avenues)

Bubby's Pie Company
120 Hudson Street, New York NY (between N. Moore and Franklin)

New York Weekend - Eataly

Walking into Eataly last weekend is how I imagine my 10-year-old self would have felt walking into Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, if it really existed. I always compare Italian import markets to BuonItalia in Chelsea Market, but Eataly is like BuonItalia x 1000. No offense B.I., I still love you.



Eataly is the brainchild of Mario Batali, Joe Bastianich, Lidia Bastianich, and Oscar Farinetti. The 50,000 square foot Italian food emporium is across the street from Madison Square Park, and just opened last week.

Upon entering on 23rd street, we first walked through the produce section.



As we were slowing walking through and taking everything in, a guy from Baldor cut open a fresh fava bean pod and gave me one. Yum! And take a look at these mushrooms:



Next we came upon a big open area with tall tables to stand at, and waiters/waitresses serving meat and cheese plates, raw bar items, and wine. Right by the tables were the fresh mozzarella counter, and this:



I think next year for my birthday I just want a wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. There's nothing better than eating a fresh piece just cut from the wheel...and did that guy give us samples? Of course! Soft and crumbly with little crunchy spots of salt...mmmm.

We then took a right past the tall tables and came upon a couple aisles of meat and cheese. So many wonderful kinds of cheese. I must have been walking through there with a huge grin on my face, looking like a fool. Cheese makes me so happy. Not to mention these guys:



Past the meat and cheese are the coffee and sweets. A tiny little espresso bar with room for a few people to stand, rows and rows of chocolates and candy and jams, a pastry counter, a gelato counter, and past that a bigger coffee bar with some tables.



Making a u-turn, we walked back past the tall tables to take a look at the butcher and seafood counters.



It was a really beautiful display - Manila clams, langoustines, in-shell scallops, huge shrimp...not to mention all the filets of fish in the other counter.

Near the fish and meat was the pasta department. Rows upon rows of dried pasta, an unbelievable variety of types and shapes I had never seen before.



There was also a counter with fresh pasta and ravioli priced by the pound. There were a couple guys working with this big, crazy ravioli maker that had huge rolls of pasta dough being cranked through a machine and little raviolis popping out the bottom on a mini conveyor belt.




And of course, there's a bakery too.



I didn't even get pictures of the Italian craft beer section, the kitchen supplies and dishes, or the Kartell chairs and lamps they also sell - the same chairs used in the restaurants. Oh yeah, did I mention there are restaurants inside? 7 of them! And a rooftop beer garden opening in November.

Ok, time to eat! We went back to the tall tables. It was a little busy. Just a little.



After some stalking and careful maneuvering, we got a table. We ordered a meat and cheese plate, as well as a separate order of housemade mozzarella and prosciutto.




You can barely see it in the picture, but the meat and cheese spread comes with another little plate of honey, figs, and candied orange peel. Pecorino + honey = perfection. The mozzarella was amazing, drizzled with a little extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and pepper.

Our trip to Eataly was a really amazing experience. Except, ughhh...why does this place have to open when I don't live in New York anymore? All the grocery items, except for some of the beers, are imported from Italy. It's as authentic as you can get. Eataly really lived up to all the hype...actually it more than lived up, it totally exceeded any expectations I had walking in. Just when I thought it couldn't possibly get any better...look who showed up!



WHAT?! Anthony Bourdain?! We had perfect seats to see Bourdain waiting in line to buy some cheese with his wife and daughter. I kind of felt like a stalker taking pictures, so I snapped just a couple. But then...Mario Batali came over too. Worlds were colliding. And we were all legitimately freaking out. So Peter grabbed my camera and got a couple more shots.



Batali left for a minute, and came back to present Bourdain with a meat and cheese plate.



Does it get any better than that? Well done, Eataly, well done.

Eataly
200 5th Avenue, New York NY (between 23rd and 24th Streets)

New York Weekend - 'ino

Last time we went to New York we made a beeline for 'ino, and this time was no different. 'ino is one of my favorite restaurants in New York - it's the tiniest restaurant you'll probably ever see, about 15 feet by 30, with 8 small tables and a few seats at the bar.



The menu consists of panini and tramezzini, bruschetta, and a few other little things like meat and cheese plates.



That's actually half a meat plate and half a cheese plate. It's not on the menu, but you know, if you just ask...

And of course, we had to order the asparagus, truffle oil, and parmesan bruschetta.



I realized the difference from when I made it, is that they do cook their asparagus. Theirs is still so bright and crisp, they must just blanch it quickly.

And for my sandwich, I ordered my old faithful: half green salad, half panini - soppressata, fontina, and rucola.



Ahhh, 'ino makes me so happy. You can't go wrong with anything you order. And the bread they use for paninis, and for toasts with the meat and cheese plate is so good. Add a half bottle of white wine to your lunch order...pure heaven.

'ino Cafe and Wine Bar
21 Bedford Street, New York NY (between Houston and Downing)

Levain Bakery

Peter went out to the Hamptons over Memorial Day weekend, and as soon as he made his plans to go I told him he had to bring me a cookie from Levain Bakery. It wasn't a polite request, it was a demand. Where do I start...Levain Bakery cookies are easily the best cookies I've ever had. Without a doubt. They come in four flavors - chocolate chip walnut, dark chocolate chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, and dark chocolate peanut butter chip.




If I only he could have figured out a way to get that whole cart on the plane...



Yes, the cookies are $4. That may seem a little steep, but these cookies are HUGE. I think they probably weigh half a pound each. I usually eat them in stages, not all at once. Besides, can you really put a price tag on the best cookie you'll ever eat in your life? Here's one of their cookies next to one of the chocolate peanut butter cookies I made last week.



They are barely crispy on the outside, and unbelievably soft in the middle - almost raw once you get to the center.



Seriously, seriously the best cookie ever. They make me so happy. They have lots of other goodies like bread, little pizzas, and cinnamon buns that won some kind of cinnamon bun contest on Oprah last year. Levain has locations in East Hampton and in Manhattan on West 74th Street. And for those of you not in New York, you can order their cookies online.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Yes. Chocolate.Peanut.Butter.Cookies. Not peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. Think peanut butter cookies, with a chocolate infusion.

You know how you move into a new place, survey all the cute bars/restaurants/stores right by your apartment, make a mental note to visit soon, and before you know it you're moving out and realize you never went? It's happened to me more than once, and this time I am really kicking myself. I used to walk by Peanut Butter & Co. on my way to and from work when I lived on Thompson Street in the Village. It's a little restaurant that serves only peanut butter sandwiches, and their brand of peanut butter. This isn't your ordinary peanut butter though. Check out the selection they sell in the grocery store in my building:



I'm an idiot for never going. And now I always see their fun peanut butters in the store, but put them in the same category as buying a whole cake - do I really need an entire jar of chocolate peanut butter? The answer was no, until I saw this recipe on cakespy.com, which turns regular peanut butter cookies into chocolate peanut butter cookies just by using Peanut Butter & Co.'s Dark Chocolate Dreams. How could I say no to that?



Here it is:

1 1/4 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter
1 large egg, at room temperature

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a stand mixer, beat together the butter, sugars, and peanut butter on medium speed just until smooth.



Beat in the egg. Add the flour mixture and mix just until the dough comes together. It will be a thick, solid mass of dough.



Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least two hours, but up to overnight.

Remove the dough from the fridge and let it come to room temperature. Preheat oven to 350. Break off pieces of dough and roll them into 1-inch balls. Place on prepared (parchment-lined) baking sheets. Leave 3 inches between cookies. Lightly flatten and make a crosshatch pattern on each cookie using the tines of a fork.





Bake, rotating the sheets midway through baking, until the cookies are dull and lightly browned around the edges but still lightly glossy/undercooked-looking in the middle (as they cool on the sheet they'll finish up). The bake time will be between 9-10 minutes.

Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the sheet (they will crumble if you try to remove them right away) and then transfer to a wire rack using a spatula. These cookies will keep for up to 3 days in an airtight container.



Needless to say, these cookies are delicious. I'm sending most of them with Peter on his weekend trip, while I stay here and work through the weekend. Hear that? Someone is playing the world's saddest song on the world's smallest violin...