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Zingerman’s Gingerbread Coffee Cake

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The ultimate gingerbread cake.
The ultimate gingerbread cake.

It may be called “Gingerbread Coffee Cake,” but it boasts no mountain of crunchy streusel on top like you might imagine.

Instead, this coffee cake actually has brewed coffee in it.

Along with a bountiful array of invigorating spices.

So much so, you won’t even miss the absence of a crumb topping.

This cake is so extraordinary that when Zingerman’s Bakery made the decision not to include it in its first cookbook, “Zingerman’s Bakehouse” (Chronicle Books, 2017), regulars were aghast.

Fortunately, the beloved 30-year-oled, Ann Arbor, MI bakery rectified that omission by featuring it in its newest cookbook, “Zingerman’s Bakehouse’s Celebrate Every Day” (Chronicle Books), of which I received a review copy.

The book is a collaborative project by the team at Zingerman’s that includes managing partner Amy Emberling, marketer Lindsay-Jean Hard, editor Lee Vedder, and marketing manager and food photographer Corynn Coscia.

The idea for this cookbook grew out of the pandemic, when people were eating out less, and desiring to cook and bake more at home. The Zingerman’s staff used that time to write down more of its best-loved recipes to share.

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Eats & Treats, Part II

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It sure looks like caviar -- but it's not.
It sure looks like caviar — but it’s not.

Caviart

They are tiny and black, boast a briny taste, and look for all the world like caviar.

But these are not sturgeon roe by any means. In fact, they are vegan and made from seaweed.

Caviart was developed by Danish Chef Jens Moller, who sources sustainable seaweed in France to make these plant-based pearls in Denmark that are free of gluten, soy, cholesterol, and fat. They have no calories, either.

I had a chance to try a sample. The pearls glisten and are more minuscule than typical caviar. They don’t necessarily have the initial crunchy pop of real caviar, but they have a delicious sea taste that’s a little earthy and a lot savory. There’s also a depth of flavor, thanks to the additions of turmeric, cayenne, leek, dill, tarragon, and laurel. So, it’s not solely salinity that you taste.

Use it any way you would the real deal.
Use it any way you would the real deal.

The mock caviar is a perfect way to dress up the holiday table because it makes any dish more festive. It’s ideal for vegetarians and vegans, and tasty enough to pass muster with gourmet carnivores.

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Eats & Treats, Part I

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50Hertz Tingly Peanuts get a real pop from green Sichuan peppers.
50Hertz Tingly Peanuts get a real pop from green Sichuan peppers.

50Hertz Tingly Foods

Nope, this company has nothing to do with rental cars, but everything to do with the famously tingly and mouth numbing Sichuan peppers.

50Hertz Tingly Foods sells an array of dried peppers, pepper oil, and pepper snacks. The company is named for the number of units of frequency per second that one experiences tingling from Sichuan pepper, according to scientists at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London.

It was founded by Yao Zhao, a former green energy specialist at the World Bank in Washington, DC, who used his own savings to do so after becoming inspired by a pepper oil he brought back after visiting his mother in China. Last year out of thousands of entries, 50Hertz was selected as one of 14 newly established food brands by Target’s Forward Founders accelerator mentorship program.

Dried green and red Sichuan peppers.
Dried green and red Sichuan peppers.

Most people are familiar with the traditional red Sichuan peppers, which are most commonly available in Asian grocery stores. But 50Hertz also sells green Sichuan peppers, which are not an immature version but an entirely different plant. 50Hertz’s web site neatly sums up the two by comparing them to red and white wine: “Flavor-wise, the green is brighter, more aromatic, and pairs better with fish, seafood and vegetables, just like white wine, while the red is more full-bodied, woodsier and pairs better with tofu, red meat, like red wine.”

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A Chicken Dish For Cocktail Lovers

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Plenty of sage and a splash of gin make this a winning chicken dish at this time of year.
Plenty of sage and a splash of gin make this a winning chicken dish at this time of year.

Imagine donning your best “Mad Men” pearls while standing at the stove nonchalantly sauteing chicken when — oops — you accidentally splash some of your gin martini into the pan.

That’s the happy accident Amy Thielen, a James Beard Award-winning food writer and cookbook author, aptly envisions when she makes her delicious “Crispy Smashed Chicken Breasts with Gin-and-Sage Jus.”

Whether you envision a martini or a favorite gin-and-tonic like I did, this dish delivers the herby, woodsy tastes of mint, menthol, and eucalyptus, along with a surefire technique for cooking moist chicken breasts on the stovetop.

The recipe is from her new cookbook, “Company” (W.W. Norton), of which I received a review copy.

Thielen lives in wooded, remote Northern Minnesota, where there are only three restaurants in town — a 25-minute drive away. As such, when she gathers with friends and families for a meal, it’s usually at her own home.

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The Lamb Dish You Crave On A Cold Night

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Lamb shoulder braised with tomatoes and garnished with bodacious burrata.
Lamb shoulder braised with tomatoes and garnished with bodacious burrata.

How can one possibly make low and slow-braised, fall-apart tender lamb any better?

Try topping it with a big ol’ ball of burrata, that’s how.

You’ve probably enjoyed many a meaty stew or ragu dolloped with creamy ricotta. But when you swap that out for voluptuous burrata whose luscious creamy center spills out to add dreamy, milky sweetness to anything it touches, you’ve just about attained nirvana.

“Braised Lamb with Burrata and Herb Oil” is that dish.

It’s from “Okanagan Eats” (Figure 1), of which I received a review copy. A collection of recipes from British Columbia’s Wine Country, it was written by Dawn Postnikoff, co-founder of Edible Vancouver Island; and Joanne Sasvari, a food writer and Canadian Wine Scholar.

Learn about this fertile region, which comprises three valleys, two river valleys, and the Okanagan Valley.

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