The Johnstontron

Jul
5th

Sun

Coffee Crunch Bars

I wanted to make something sweet for Ely’s barbecue, and had had my eye on the recipe for Coffee Crunch bars ever since they appeared in February’s Bon Appetit. Then I read a little about the Coffee Crunch Bar Controversy over at the Bitten Word. Apparently the recipe was contributed by Molly Wizenberg (of the great blog Orangette), but the Bon Appetit editors modified the original recipe to reduce the baking temperature and increase the cooking time. The results, the Bitten Word guys (and Epicurious commenters) found, were burnt and hockey puck-ish.

I followed Molly’s original recipe (thanks to the Bitten Word for posting it), and I’m glad I did. At first, I was expecting something like a blondie, but because there aren’t any eggs in the recipe, the bars were crispy and without any give. As the bars cooled, they grew on me. The coffee, almond and chocolate flavors melded into a nice mocha treat. Kind of like the Jamoca Almond Fudge ice cream my dad used to get when he took us to Baskin Robbins when we were kids. The bars went fast at the party, and I’ll be making them again. Maybe I’ll experiment with eggs to make the bars more cake-like. Or maybe not. I, as the Bon Appetit editors learned, probably should not mess with a good thing.

(p.s. Excuse the blurry photo… real camera is all out of batteries, and can’t find the battery charger. It’s in a box somewhere.)

Jul
4th

Sat

Happy 4th!

Howdy readers. I haven’t posted in awhile due to massive life events, which include taking Level I of the Cerftified Financial Analysts exam, then moving from Manhattan back to Brooklyn (Prospect Heights!), then starting a new job in which I work 10+ hours a day. During this long 4th of July weekend I’m finally starting to feel a little settled. Mostly because the aroma of coffee crunch bars are wafting from the kitchen that I’m making for Ely’s barbecue. More on that later tonight….

Jun
1st

Mon

Crab cake sandwich from Tidewater Grille in Havre de Grace, Md. I was in town yesterday for my cousin Robyn’s baby shower with Heather and her mom. Tidewater Grille’s crab cakes weren’t as good as my Baltimore-native dad’s, but when in Maryland, you eat crab.

May
27th

Wed

There were no Memorial Day barbecues for me this year. I was stuck inside studying for an exam. But there’s nothing better than distracting myself from converting forward rates into spot rates and discounting cash flows than cooking. I decided to make a pizza, albeit one with lots of shortcuts. I started out by caramelizing an onion. I thinly sliced a vidalia and threw it in a hot pan with some olive oil, salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar.

Next I rolled out the dough. I was at Matt’s apartment, where I don’t have any of my cooking equipment, so I had to improvise. I also cheated by buying frozen dough at the store. I had wanted to try making Jim Lahey’s (of Sullivan Street Bakery and Co.) no-knead dough (here’s the recipe), but I realized belatedly that I would’ve needed 12-24 hours to start it. Oh well.

The pizza before going into the oven. The pie was light on sauce because there was barely half a cup of tomato sauce remaining in a jar that had been in the fridge for almost forever. Pizza, I realized, is an awesome fridge- and cupboard-cleaning meal. I also sliced up a spare red pepper. I threw the pie into a 450-degree oven for about 15 minutes.

Here are the finished onions. When the onions started sticking to the bottom of the pan, I deglazed it with some balsamic vinegar, which added to their sweetness.

Et voila, the finished product. All in all not bad, and super easy. Matt seemed to like it and asked why we don’t have caramelized onions with every meal.

My one complaint was the crust, which was kind of flimsy in the middle but too crispy on the ends. Perhaps Mr. Lahey’s crust will be better. We’ll see.

May
22nd

Fri

Where I ate lunch just now. I’m in lovely Hazleton, Penn. visiting my Pop Pop with my mom. Byorek’s Knotty Pines is a local institution, founded in 1937. My Grammy, who died in February, worked here briefly in the early 1960s as a cook. The menu is mostly dinerish. On the off chance that you’re passing through the Poconos, stop by for the barbecue sandwich.