masala-laced carrot macaroons

i've probably told this story before,

but i can't find it anywhere on this blog,

so i'll just write about it and apologize

if you've heard this 3-second tale before.

it was senior year of college and i was

sitting in the living room of my college apartment,

talking about how i'm always looking for something

that's different, something that you don't see

coming and going, just something. (to be honest,

i remember that part, but i have no idea what i

was talking about.) my friend turned to me and said,

brooke, sometimes there's nothing wrong

with a plain potato chip. (note: i know we weren't

talking about food.)

i know what he was saying.

sometimes life is not about being different.

sometimes it's about the familiar.

it's about the classics.

the thing is, i never want a plain potato chip.

it's plain. i've seen it before. it offers me very little.

i always want the chip that's coated with

craziness.

and so when i buy a cookbook,

i want one that offers me something new.

yes, i want to one day make

chocolate chip cookies

and

brownies that are classic,

but so good that my kids constantly wish

they're eating mine when snacking on someone

else's (am i nuts? yes.).

but, for now, i want the crazy. i want the recipes

that make me look at food and ingredients

differently, while resulting in desserts that are

surprising and unforgettable

(they should taste good, too).

this, it should be noted, is my philosophy

when finding a restaurant, too, which is why

it takes so long for us to find a place to

eat dinner and why it takes me hours

to research places to eat while on vacation.

surprisingly, when i decided to take home

alice medrich's newish book,

chewy

gooey

crispy

crunchy,

it was for both reasons:

this book is full of the classics

and it offers really interesting twists

on recognizable recipes.

still, the first one that i decided i had to make,

spicy carrot masala meringues, fell into the second

category. they looked pretty simple, but

provided several things that i love:

carrots (reminiscent of my favorite cake, carrot),

garam masala (a new love)

and shredded coconut.

i think - if you are glancing quickly and in a rush -

you might look past this recipe.

it involves grinding almonds,

shredding carrots,

giving the recipe 10 minutes to hydrate,

stirring while set in simmering water,

and ultimately, baking.

but, thanks to my food processor and

a decent mise en place,

i think it took me less than 30 minutes

to get these cookies in the oven.

and, then, i let them be,

worrying about the next thing that

i was making, when really, i should

have focused on making sure these

teeny bundles didn't burn their

bottoms in the oven.

so of course, they got a little too

dark underneath. and i got a little

angry. but then i calmed down and

tried one. and here's what i learned

from these cookies:

1) the carrots really taste like carrots.

while that might sound like a charlie

and the chocolate factory rip off,

i was really surprised to find that i could

taste the strands of carrots in a very different

way than you can when the veggies are

baked into a cake. i'm not a huge carrot lover,

so my first bite worried me, but i persevered.

2) you really can taste the garam masala.

i - someone who wants to jam pack everything

she eats with spice and flavor - worried that

1 teaspoon wouldn't be enough to make an

impression, but i was wrong. the spice comes

after and lingers, slightly spicy, cinnamon-laced

and faintly indian-influenced. (i would say the spice

was most pronounced on the second day and decreased

in intensity on each day forward.)

3) they were a little bit sticky, which is something

i'm not crazy about. i did find that the ones that were

closer to burnt on the bottoms were slightly less

sticky, which made me think that my oven might

need to be adjusted. but, i digress.

4) my family, when offered slightly weird cookies -

with carrots and indian spices woven throughout -

at the same time as brownies, will eat an equal

amount of both. and, i'm pretty sure that at least

some of them, if given a choice,

would reach for a plain potato chip.

masala-laced carrot macaroons

adapted from chewy gooey crispy crunchy by alice medrich

this is how i tackled the recipe: i ground the almonds in the food processor, then transferred them to a bowl. next, i used the shredder attachment on the food processor to shred the carrots into the bowl, which i did not bother wiping clean of almonds, since they were ultimately going into the same bowl anyway. the only thing i struggled with with these cookies was how long i really needed to stir the mixture over boiling water. the recipe said 5-7 minutes, or until the mixture had thickened slightly. i went for the full 7 and the mixture did seem thicker, but when it came time to scoop them into the cookie sheet, the ingredients did not hold together, instead, functioning like separates, coated in something wet. i placed the bowl back over the simmering water and stirred until the mixture was scoopable and was able to form something closer to a batter that kept its shape.

ok, i will tell you this. i read this recipe about 10 times before and while making it. and just now, when i went to type it out, i realized it says, "set the bowl directly in a wide skillet of barely simmering water." that's not what i did. instead, i read "set the bowl directly in" as "place the bowl over a double boiler." most likely, that was where i went wrong. below, i'll write as intended.

also, the recipe called for (a generous 1/4 teaspoon of) lemon zest, but i'm never crazy about lemon in baked goods - save for lemon bars - so i omitted it.

3/4 cup whole almonds

2-3 carrots, peeled

2 large egg whites

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon garam masala (alice also offers that you could use cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice)

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup shredded unsweetened dried coconut

position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. heat oven to 325˚f.

in food processor, pulse almonds 10 times, or until chopped (you're looking for almonds that are both large chopped and finely chopped). set aside.

on box grater or using shredder attachment on your food processor, grate carrots. measure 1 1/3 cups lightly packed carrot (reserve remaining for another use).

in medium stainless steel bowl, whisk egg whites until frothy. stir in sugar, garam masala and salt. stir in carrots, coconut and almonds. set aside 10 minutes, to hydrate the mixture.

bring a large wide skillet of water to a very low simmer; place bowl in skillet. cook 5-7 minutes, or until the mixture is very hot and the liquid turns from opaque to translucent, stirring constantly with a silicone spatula, making sure to scrape the bottom.

use 1 heaping teaspoon measure to drop cookies on two parchment-lined baking sheets. bake 20-25 minutes, or until the cookies are deep golden on the bottom (check by turning up the corner of the parchment paper), rotating the pans top to bottom and left to right midway through baking.

place pans on cooling racks and cool completely. remove from parchment paper and store cookies, loosely covered, 3-4 days.

recovering from self sabotage

sometimes going to the farmer's market

can be a test of willpower.

you spend several minutes trying

to decide if you need the

large or small container

of sugar plums,

when really, do you need any?

you stare at apple cider for

an extra minute, wanting

to bring it home, but

realizing that if you were

in the store, facing a refrigerated

shelf, you never would have

even considered the purchase.

and, sometimes, even though you

may dislike carrots, shun almost

any dish except carrot cake

that utilizes them

and rarely even choose to snack

on them, when you come to a table

boasting not only those in orange,

but also ones that are

yellow,

red,

rainbow and

white,

instead of walking away,

you ask yourself:

which color do i want?

after staring for a few minutes

and then unearthing a hidden

bunch that is actually

none of those colors,

but instead

a deep, dark purple,

you know you've found your

find of the day.

you pay for them,

place them in your car,

thinking the whole way home:

i bought purple carrots,

they're purple,

they're pretty,

they're mine.

and then, when you get home

and are about to place them

in the fridge, it hits you:

you don't like carrots.

or maybe that's just me.

for the first time last sunday,

i regretted a farmer's market purchase.

i kept thinking about different

ways to use them,

quartering and roasting,

grating into a salad,

cutting them slim and

tossing with pasta,

but every time, it came down

to the same thing:

they were still carrots.

then, yesterday, as i was about

to leave work, heading home to

make dinner, i realized my solution:

chips. baked chips, to be precise.

i'm not really sure where the idea

came from or why it took a week

to pop into my head,

but i was so relieved that it did.

without a recipe,

it was a gamble, but i dove in

head first anyway.

after peeling the carrots,

i debated different ways to

cut them thin without a mandolin.

see, i've managed to resist the gadget

up until now. i was always mildly

afraid of them, but then an unfortunate

incident in culinary school with

another student, sealed my beliefs.

i may get braver and crack one day,

but not yet.

after imagining myself cutting

them into all different sizes

with a knife,

thinking they wouldn't be thin

enough with the slicing blade

on the food processor or the

mixer attachment, i realized

i was holding my solution:

the vegetable peeler.

i started peeling off slices

and before i knew it, i had

just thicker than whisper-thin

triangular slices, purple on the

outside, white in the middle.

who knew?

once tossed with a drizzle

of olive oil

and a sprinkling of kosher salt,

i placed the slices flat on

two baking sheets, barely

fitting them all on,

and then roasted them.

10 minutes later,

they had shrunk significantly,

which makes sense:

they were losing all

of their water and moisture.

i flipped them over,

and baked them for

5 minutes more.

when they came out,

they were even smaller.

hmm...i thought they

would make a good side,

but now they kind of were

more of a garnish.

but then i tasted one:

they were crisp,

with just the right amount

of crunch and while

there was certainly

a defining carrotness

that lingered,

somehow, i did not feel overpowered.

i think that when i shrunk

the vegetable slices,

i shrunk their overwhelming and

intense flavor

as well.

ok, ok, i know that for most people,

carrots don't have such an intense

flavor, but for me, they do.

i can't explain it.

they were actually quite

nice to enjoy alongside the

turkey burgers that i had made.

and in a small bowl,

the portion looked plentiful

and enough for two people.

but, i couldn't stop myself

from thinking how else to use

them - and i've decided,

they would be delicious

on a salad instead of croutons,

tortilla chips or those

crunchy fried onions that chefs

like to add in restaurants.

i could also imagine them

in a sandwich or on top

of chicken, meat or fish

as, yes, a pretty, tasty

and surprising edible garnish.

i'm surprised that i would

even say this,

but they were good enough,

that i can actually imagine

myself buying carrots again

from the farmer's market,

to recreate the chips.

but, i'm still not

buying apple cider

in august.

baked purple carrot chips

i didn't measure anything - i wasn't quite sure that i was going to write about these, when i started (i'm glad i actually took pictures). so while the amounts are an approximation, i feel pretty good about them. if the carrots look too dry, drizzle in a little bit more olive oil. also, if you take them out to test a baked one and it seems like the carrot is on the brink of crunchy, leave the whole tray out for a minute and see if the rest crisp up. if not, put them back in. and, if you can't find purple carrots, use whatever color strikes your fancy.

4 medium purple carrots, peeled

1 tablespoon olive oil

kosher salt

adjust racks to top and bottom thirds of oven. heat oven to 400˚f. using vegetable peeler, cut carrots into thin ribbons. you most likely will not be able to use the whole carrot before the shape will change. flip the carrot over and cut as many ribbons as possible. snack on the carrot centers, or, if you're like me, find someone else to eat them for you.

in bowl, toss carrot ribbons with olive oil and a healthy sprinkling of kosher salt. one at a time, lay carrots flat on two parchment paper-lined baking sheets, very close together, but not touching.

roast carrots 10 minutes. flip carrots and place baking sheets back in the oven, switching the top tray to the bottom and the bottom to the top. roast 5 minutes more, or until the carrots are crispy, but not burnt. sprinkle with kosher salt. let cool completely before serving.

a week in cupcakes: july 21

my father spent the last year

in texas, and his july 17 birthday

was no exception.

so the next local celebration

was my mother's the tuesday

following blair's.

there was nothing i could do

about the fact that her birthday

fell on a tuesday

(in fact, when it comes to birthdays,

mine, my mom's and blair's always

falls on the same day of the week),

but this time i had learned from

my mistakes.

there was no way that i was

getting caught in a meeting,

coming home from work

late or tossing (delicious)

sauteed cabbage on the table

after 10 pm

and calling it

dinner.

yes, i had matured,

lived to see some things that

weren't pretty about my behavior

and set out to

change them.

all in one week.

i've talked before about

our love for carrot cake and

how sadly we were never

given the recipe to our favorite

one ever. yes, we're people who

like to cook, enjoy food that

comes out of our kitchen and like

little italian bistros, japanese joints

and tiny seafood restaurants

over the chains. but years ago,

my sisters and i loved friday's.

for the most part, i have

no idea why and i won't even

bother to try to explain it.

while i'm sure that the vanilla coke

and pizzadillas and salads

and sandwiches are nowhere near

what i remember, i am positive

that their carrot cake - which we

were only allowed on birthdays (yes,

that's where we chose to go) and after

dance recitals - was

delicious.

a big part of the reason i'm sure?

my mom still swears it was

amazing too,

and she is not clouded

by blurry childhood memories.

she knew what she was tasting:

a cake, ultra moist from the pineapple,

very orange from all

the carrots,

dotted with toasted nuts,

coconut

and juicy raisins,

then smeared with sweet

cream cheese frosting.

the huge piece, so loaded

with ingredients, was impossible

to trim into a perfect square,

but instead, always looked like

it had been cut by a child with

a plastic knife and, in turn,

was uneven in shape

and ragged around the edges.

it was the best carrot cake ever.

it hurt just a little when they

refused to give us the recipe,

and years later, when as i've already

told you, i tasted a cake just as good

and again, i was refused the recipe.

and we've had good carrot cakes

over the years, but never one

that has matched the quality -

or that we were made privy

to the recipe.

we try. a few years ago for my

mom's birthday, i made one

from emeril and while it

was ok and frosting, probably

the best i've ever had,

it wasn't it. but it did teach me

one thing, i like carrot cakes made

with oil, not butter.

i made these a year or two

later and they were very good,

but obviously not a cake.

and so this time, while in

cupcake mode, i knew

that it was time to give a

new recipe another try.

this one had pineapple,

coconut, nuts (and i could add raisins),

plus it received 4 forks

from a combined 129 reviewers -

who was i to argue?

i immediately decided that i would

change a few things, like swap the

macadamia nuts for pecans,

leave out the crystallized ginger,

add the aforementioned raisins

and add nutmeg.

plus, it was oil-based.

it looked pretty straightforward.

and delicious.

the monday before my mom's

birthday, i followed my rules:

i left at 5:30 on the dot,

shopped for the pineapple,

pecans and cream cheese

and was home before 6:20.

the hiccups were few -

actually just one, sad thing:

i really thought that i had

coconut leftover from a batch

of marshmallows, but after

emptying the cabinets,

i had an epiphany, one hour too late:

no coconut. i had toasted the whole

bag last time. it was a bummer,

but we were pushing on.

with larry's help,

i toasted the pecans

and ground them with the flour

he had just sifted, while he filled

the muffin pans with liners.

then, as he

whisked together the dry

ingredients (and turned me into

his sous chef, responsible

for putting the baking powder,

salt, cinnamon and baking soda

away), i was able to measure

raisins, drain the pineapple

and mix together the oil,

sugar and eggs.

it was synergy in the best way.

we were so efficient, however,

that the pictures are not

plentiful. the first time i

remembered to pull out the camera,

the batter was divied out.

the frosting came together

well - a traditional cream cheese

base with a cream of coconut

swirl. i loved that the mixture

had the flavor of coconut,

without the texture

that for some, can be off-putting.

i do wish, that i had the coconut

extract that most likely, took

the whole mixture to another

level. i've just never been able to

find a natural coconut extract

locally.

they rose beautifully,

but i did notice right away

that instead of the orange color

that sings true delicious carrot cake

to me, they were a golden brown,

more of a spice cake ringer.

as they cooled and the frosting

chilled, i actually had

time to make a real

honest to goodness dinner,

which larry cleaned up as

i frosted the cake. i had intended

to use a different tip than i had

for blair's, but unfortunately,

my other piping tips seemed

to have gathered together for

a summer strike - they were

nowhere to be found.

once frosted, they were pretty,

but i felt they needed just a bit

more. a gentle sprinkle of

clear crystals from my sugar

stash made them sparkle.

for the third time in less

than 10 days,

we pulled out the cupcake

carrier and carefully loaded

the cupcakes inside.

the whole thing was tucked

into its faithful spot in

the fridge, ready and waiting

for the next day.

this time, larry and i were

able to drive down together

making me happy for me

and the cupcakes.

last minute,

we ended up at a different

restaurant and we were there

first. i handed the large

carrier to the hostess, with

a candle, asking her to fridge

them for us until they were

ready.

after a good, fun dinner that was

somewhat different than

we expected - who knew that

they only serve large pizzas

for takeout? - they carried out

the carrier (i learned my lesson

this time and just left the cake plate

in the car), holding cupcakes

that looked kind of wilted,

and one candle lit.

we sang happy birthday twice.

the cupcakes were good.

they made me remember how much i

love pineapple in carrot cake,

which was probably worth it,

just for that.

i think that if it was our first

exposure to carrot cake,

we probably would have

considered them very good.

but there was something missing.

yes, they were void of coconut,

but i think it was more than that.

for me, i could have left off the frosting

and called them a hearty muffin.

so, i'm still looking for the ultimate

carrot cake recipe.

but, for one night, it didn't really

matter.

we still were together,

celebrating another birthday

with another round of cupcakes.

and that's worth more than

all of the best recipes,

huddled together,

mocking us, in our pursuit

for carrot cake perfection.

loaded carrot cupcakes with cream of coconut cream cheese frosting

adapated from bon appetit magazine

i did make quite a few changes to this recipe, which i suppose could have contributed to the final this-is-not-the-cake-we've-been-searching-for-cake, but i know in my heart, that this is just not the one. that being, said, i have to express that it's still a yummy cupcake or muffin - it's just in its own category. as i already said, i switched the nuts out, left out the crystallized ginger, accidentally had to leave out the coconut (which i would have loved), added raisins and sprinkled in some nutmeg.

2 1/3 sifted all-purpose flour (sift, then measure)

1 cup pecans, toasted

1 tablespoon, plus 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups finely grated peeled carrots

3/4 cup golden raisins

1 can (14 ounces) crushed pineapple, juice drained

heat oven to 350˚f. line 24 wells of muffin pan with cupcake liners. set aside.

in food processor, combine 1/3 cup flour and pecans until just chopped; you still want pieces of the pecans; set aside.

in bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, salt and baking soda; set aside.

in bowl of an electric mixer, beat sugar and oil until completely blended. add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. add vanilla extract; beat until combined. add flour mixture in two parts, stirring slightly to combine before beating the mixture. beat to completely combine. add pecan mixture; beat to combine. stir in carrots, raisins and crushed pineapple.

divide cupcake batter among muffin liners, filling 2/3-3/4 of the way full. bake 18-22 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in cakes comes out completely clean. let cool in pan on rack 10 minutes.

transfer cupcakes to rack; let cool completely.

when cool, frost cupcakes with frosting, using offset spatula or piping bag (i used a large plain tip). sprinkle with clear sugar crystals, if desired.

cream of coconut cream cheese frosting

to use the frosting for cupcakes instead of the cake, i reduced the amounts by one-third and it was the perfect amount. i didn't add the coconut extract, because i didn't have any, but i think that if you have it on hand, the 1/2 teaspoon would add a really delicious element.

2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, at room temperature

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup well stirred cream of coconut, like coco lopez

2/3 teaspoon vanilla extract

in bowl of electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter until completely combined, making sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl with a spatula. stir in confectioners' sugar; beat to completely combine. add cream of coconut and vanilla extract; beat just until combined. adjust confectioners' sugar, if necessary, for flavor and texture. chill 30 minutes, or until firm enough to spread.