Fresh Doughnuts with Dulce de Leche glaze

There is something about a doughnut that is so hard to resist. Sure they may seem innocent enough, just some fried dough and a sprinkling of sugar, but there’s much more to them than that.These are yeast doughnuts, so they take a while because the yeast needs to proof and rise. Also, you never really know what are getting with yeast, it's a crapshoot. Making doughnuts may take a little bit of practice and patience, but they are well worth the effort. Once you get the hang of it, you will be a doughnut making pro. There’s nothing super difficult about the whole process, but as I said before, when you’re working with yeast, anything can happen.

So I had some friends over for a afternoon doughnut party, and let's just say there weren't any leftovers.

Yeast Doughnuts

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (plus additional for rolling)
1 envelope (about 2 ¼ teaspoons) instant yeast
6 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup milk, at room temperature
2 large eggs, beaten lightly
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces, softened but still cool
Vegetable oil or shortening for frying

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 Tbsp cream

2 Tbsp Dulce de Leche

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together 3 cups of flour, the yeast, sugar and salt. Set aside.
2. Place the milk and eggs in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed for 3 to 4 minutes, or until a ball of dough forms.
3. Add the softened butter, one piece at a time, waiting about 15 seconds after each addition. Continue mixing for about 3 minutes longer, adding flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, if necessary, until the dough forms a soft ball.
4. Place the dough in a lightly oiled medium bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise at room temperature until nearly doubled in size, 2 to 2 ½ hours. Place the dough on a floured surface and roll it out to a thickness of about a ½ inch. Cut the dough using either a doughnut cutter, or a round cutter with a smaller size cutter for the hole in the center. Gather the scraps and reroll if necessary.
5. Place the doughnut rings and holes on a floured baking sheet. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until slightly puffy, 30 to 45 minutes.
6. Fit a candy thermometer to the side of a large Dutch oven. Add the oil or shortening until it reaches about a 2-3 inch depth. Heat over medium-high heat to 375 degrees. Place the rings and holes carefully in the hot oil and fry until golden brown, about 30 seconds per side for the doughnuts. Drain doughnuts on a paper towel lined baking sheet, or wire rack.

The Black Label Burger at Minetta Tavern; Worth it?

Pat La Frieda, Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson ( the latter two being of Minetta Tavern) worked many late nights and weekends getting the perfect blend for the Black Label Burger. Everyone knows it as the pricey $26 burger. It cost that much because it's made with the best prime beef possibly: dry-aged ribeye. The funky dry aged flavor is blended with skirt steak and brisket. It's topped with deeply caramelized onions, whose sweetness are a perfect balance to the beefy burger.

The burger came beautifully cooked: medium rare, fatty beef juice glistening in the well marbled beef. The texture is velvety, it's like butter, broken by the salty crust developed by the flattop. The dry aged beef adds a unique funkiness most notable in dry aged beef. Its unlike any burger I've add before, taste wise. While it's very very pricey at 26 dollars, it's definitely and experience worth having because the guys at Minetta Tavern are the only ones doing the Black Label.

The fries really get lost in all the media about the burger. They are the same as the world-renown Balthazar fries. They first get blanched, they fried at a much higher temperature to get that crisp exterior and fluffy interior. They are doused with salt, and very addictive!

Peter's Eats Night 5

Tonight was the pre-finals feast for Peter's Eats fans. Man, was it a feast for sure. The main course being the vaunted Momofuku inspired Bo Ssam; a 8 pound, fat laced pork butt roasted for hours. I made 3 sauces to go with the Ssam and the lettuce cups. The first was a Sriracha-mayo, a ginger-scallion sauce and Hoisin sauce. The sweet and salty pork went well with each of the sauces in their own way which I liked, and I wanted everyone to have options.The other three dishes were hits too! I started off with a dish I call "three degrees of pepper" with a cream cheese stuffed jalapeno, wrapped in bacon, a pink peppercorn gougere and an arugula salad. The second course was old-bay shrimp over Thomas Keller creamed corn, it was very well recieved.The Final course; Momofuku's heralded Crack Pie which my friend Lauren has been begging me to make for weeks. It did not disappoint. One of my guest even asked for the recipe.

I can honestly say the food for Peter's Eats 5 was some of the best I've made collectively for Peter's Eats.

Here is a copy of the menu my brother designed:

The first course: "Three Degrees of Pepper" with a cream cheese stuffed jalapeno, wrapped in bacon, a pink peppercorn gougere and an arugula salad.

The second course: Old-Bay shrimp over Thomas Keller creamed corn.

The third course: Bo Ssam: Whole roasted pork butt, lettuce cups, Sriracha mayo, Hoisin, Ginger Scallion sauce.

The final course: Momofuku Crack Pie with a cinnamon semi-freddo I whipped up.

Lemon Curd Tart

I saw this recipe on OuiChefCook.com last week, and was enthralled by it. I absolutely love lemon, especially lemon curd because the eggs and sugar really cut the sourness of the lemon, making it less tart and more delicious! If your a fan of lemon, you'll love this tart, if not, then this is not the tart for you. I had some leftover olive oil semifreddo, so I topped the tart with a quenelle of it and some lemon zest.

Lemon Curd Tart

1 stick butter

1/3 cup sugar

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp vanilla

3 Tbsp ground Almonds

1 tsp salt

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

4 lemons worth of juice

Zest of 1 lemon

1/2 stick butter, cut into 8 pieces

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375˚F with the rack in the center.

2. Combine the flour, salt and ground almonds in a medium mixing bowl.

3. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Add the sugar and vanilla and mix to combine.

4. Add the butter mixture into the dry ingredients and combine until a dough is formed. If the dough is too hot to handle, allow it to cool slightly.

5. With your hands, press the dough into a 9-in tart pan. When it comes to working up the sides, a measuring cup can help.

6. Bake the shell for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown. Set aside to cool.

1. Place the pot of water on the stove and bring to a light simmer.

2. In the mixing bowl with a whisk attachment, whip the eggs and sugar at high speed until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. While whisking, add in the lemon juice and zest.

3. Set the bowl into the pot over the stove and cook the mixture, constantly whisking, making sure to lightly whisk against the bottom and all sides of the bowl to avoid scrambling the eggs. Cook and whisk until the mixture thickens, like a loose pudding or custard. It should be smooth. This will take several minutes.

4.Remove the bowl from the pot to the counter, turn off the heat and whisk the butter into the curd, piece by piece (congrats, you’ve just made an emulsion). Pour the curd into the tart shell, spreading it evenly. Allow the tart to set at room temperature. Once the curd is stable enough to safely transport the tart, place it in the fridge to completely settle it before slicing.

Shaved Asparagus Pizza

I had some left over asparagus from the poached egg dish I make last week. I also found a really simple recipe for pizza dough from Smitten Kitchen. I wanted to add a lot of different flavors, so I went with some traditional pizza toppings: minced garlic, prosciutto, ricotta and mozz. This is a pizza that can easily be throw together on the go for a quick meal.

Shaved Asparagus Pizza

1/2 pound shaved asparagus

1 pizza dough, recipe here

Around 1/2 pound mozzarella

1/2 cup ricotta

2 garlic cloves, finely diced

2 pieces prosciutto, finely diced

Olive oil

salt and pepper

Directions

1. Shaved the asparagus and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper.
2. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
3. Stretch dough on a pizza stone brushed with corn meal.
4. Top dough with Mozz, ricotta, prosciutto and garlic.
5. Toss asparagus onto pizza, sprinkle with oil, salt and pepper.
6. Bake for 10-15 minutes until crust is golden brown. Enjoy!