I have friends who have a house full of picky eaters and stick to basically the same meals that everyone in their family can deal with.  This makes weekly shopping from a list even easier, but  my children were reasonably adventurous as eaters, and so there has always been a lot of variety in our diet.  Very occasionally I try a new recipe and think, “I could eat this every week!”  This is one of those recipes, especially since it is so easy to substitute whatever vegetables you happen to have on hand.  I actually prefer this salad without the chicken, but my student athlete needs that protein.  It would be simple to substitute tofu for the chicken, if you prefer.

She had a fryer which sat next to her stove, and I remember home-made french fries with home preserved spicy ketchup, lots of preserved things.  She also made scones, not the English variety, but essentially fried dough which I was allowed to shake in a brown paper bag containing either powdered sugar, or granulated sugar with cinnamon.  She made delicious triticale bread which we ate with a smear of honey and a slice of Tillamook cheddar cheese.  This is a Grandma sandwich.  She also made very straight bread sticks, not wobbly at all.

And then there were cookies.  I remember baking peanut butter cookies with her once.  When I bake, I use a scale to measure ingredients, whenever possible.  She was more of a pinch-and-jigger cook, just estimating quantities, based on literally decades of experience.    The recipe was in her handwriting on a scrap of paper; I had no idea, or thought really, of where it originated.  Now that is confidence!

There were also chocolate chip cookies, a drop cookie with browned butter frosting, but mostly I associate snickerdoodles with my grandmother.  I don’t bake snicker doodles all that often, chocolate chip being the standard here, but whenever I see one, I think of her.  Recently I heard a story on NPR about shared cooking space for start-ups and a baker mentioned a browned butter snicker doodle, I immediately sat down at my computer and began a search.  After a little testing, I worked out the recipe I like and I share it here:

This last summer while we were on a family reunion vacation, my daughter Jane, a terrific cook,  baked cream scones for us one morning, with raspberries and white chocolate.  Popular demand had her mixing up another batch the following morning, and again the morning after that.  It was as though we were rediscovering a forgotten favorite.  The basic recipe comes from The New Best Recipe Cookbook from the editors of Cook’s Illustrated, and it can be adapted to numerous variations.  White chocolate and raspberries is always a good idea.  Although today, in the absence of any fresh raspberries, I am using chopped crystallized ginger.

Start by cutting cold unsalted butter into quarter-inch cubes.

It is fastest to use a food processor, 12 one-second pulses to mix the cold butter into the dry ingredients.  This can also be done with a pair of knives or a pastry blender, or even your fingers if you are quick and keep the butter bits insulated from the heat of your fingers with a layer of flour.  Pass your thumbs over the pads of your fingers in quick movements to flatten the butter bits.

If you have used the food processor, pour the resulting mixture into a bowl for the next step.  The bits of butter should still be apparent and slightly smaller than peas.  Add mix-ins at this point (like nuts or chocolate chips or dried fruit or crystallized ginger or berries).  Pour the cream into the bowl and mix gently until the mixture begins to come together, then turn it out onto a counter, floury bits and all and knead just a few times gently to bring the dough into a cohesive mass.  This takes extreme care if you are using fresh berries to prevent excessive crushing of the fruit.

This is half a cup finely chopped crystallized ginger, yum.  Just try not to snitch.  If you want to make the raspberry and white chocolate chip variation, add 1/2 cup fresh or frozen, but not thawed, raspberries and 1/2 cup white chocolate chips.

Pat the dough into an 8-inch square about 1/2 inch thick.

Cut the dough square into individual scones.  Normally, this quantity of dough would yield 8 triangular scones, although 9 squares is just as easy.  Because I am talking about tea parties, I decided to cut each of the eight scones in half to get 16 smaller scones.  I like to brush the tops of the scones with cream and sprinkle with a bit of raw sugar.

Invite a friend to share.

Everything here is delicious.   Together, Alec and I ordered a whole chicken which was served in two separate courses and we both committed a crime against French restaurant etiquette  in failing to eat every last morsel and drip of sauce on our plates.  I am sure Chef Rostang must have been shaking his head and cursing Americans when our food-laden plates were returned to the kitchen.   The first course was sooo delicious, I actually contemplated eating it ALL, but knew there was more coming and was trying to pace myself.

Willard tries to eat in this restaurant every time he is in Paris, which is at least a few times each year, and every single time, he orders molten chocolate cake for dessert.  I have worked at perfecting my recipe, and it is nearly there.  But there is something about eating it in Paris after an uncommonly tasty meal that is difficult to replicate at home.  Still, we keep trying, and whenever I ask Willard what we should have for dessert, his answer is invariably molten chocolate cake.  So here, in honor of his birthday, is our recipe.

Butter and lightly flour five to six 4-ounce molds, ramekins or custard cups.  Tap out excess flour and set aside.

Melt butter and chocolate together either in a double boiler over simmering water, over very low heat, or in the microwave in 30 second intervals.  Using high-quality chocolate and unsweetened butter makes a difference.  These are Callebaut bittersweet chocolate callets.

Beat eggs, egg yolks, and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer for several minutes until light and thick.

Add the melted chocolate and flour and stir to combine.  This can be done using the paddle attachment, but is faster using a spatula because the chocolate/butter is heavier than the egg/sugar mixture and tends to sink to the bottom of the bowl.  Using a spatula, you can lift the chocolate over the egg mixture.  This takes just a few strokes.

Divide batter evenly among the molds or ramekins.  I love to use these little brioche molds, but ramekins work equally well: Chef Rostang uses ramekins.  The recipe can be made to this point hours ahead of when you want to serve them.  Just hold them in the refrigerator, or cool room temperature until you need them.

Bake the cakes at 450 degrees for 6-9 minutes.  In my oven, it takes 8 minutes for the cakes to be done on the outside, but still liquid in the middle.  Experience and repetition will help you know how long it takes to bake these in your oven.  This repetition will not be a chore; your family will enjoy your efforts to discover the timing in your oven.  Watch for the edges to be slightly risen and set and for the middle to still be slightly depressed and show some movement.

As soon as you remove the cakes from the oven, invert the cakes onto the serving plates.  Once they are all inverted, carefully lift the mold from each cake.  If you have buttered and floured well, the molds will lift right off.

Serve with a dollop of whipping cream or a small scoop of ice cream and a few berries.

There have been just a few indications that winter might be losing its grip: One of my friends spotted a robin the other day, another reported that the crocuses are starting to pop up at the school, and  just this last weekend marked the beginning of the farmer’s market in our town.  I walked through the market with my daughter and saw mostly root vegetables which have spent the winter in cold storage, some jams and preserves, and a few baked goods.  With the ground still frozen here, it will be many weeks before the farmers have fresh produce to sell.

Even though the weather still says winter, we have had enough of hearty winter fare, and long for the fresher, lighter options that are sufficiently satisfying in more temperate weather.  One of our favorite lighter soups is chicken ramen, not the college dorm room staple, but a broth fragrant with ginger and rich with vegetables and chicken.  It won’t be as quick to prepare as the package, but can be composed in about 30 minutes, and will be well worth the effort.

This soup is great for picky eaters as it is composed in the bowl rather than cooked all together, and the vegetables are easily identified and avoided.  Their mere presence in the bowl satisfies me that they are imparting some of their goodness to the whole, even if they are still there when I rinse the leavings away.

The recipe is for chicken ramen, but I made it recently with some leftover soy-glazed pork which I sliced thinly as a tasty and more flavorful substitute for the chicken.

Be sure to clean the leek carefully:  cut in half the long way, and use your fingers to fold the leek back on itself so that the layers open up.  Then hold the leek under running water for several seconds so that and sand is washed away.  Then cut the leek along its length again before cutting into half-inch lengths.

I had to buy a bundle of three leeks.  Since leeks are nearly always cooked in recipes, the extra leeks can be washed, diced, and stored in the freezer until you have another recipe that calls for leeks.  In addition, you will have lots of bamboo shoots left from the opened can.  These may also be frozen until the next time you make ramen.