• 2 leeks (white and pale green parts only), finely chopped
• 3/4 cup French green lentils
• 6 oz (5 slices) bacon, cut into 1/4-inch strips
• 2 celery ribs, finely chopped
• 1 large carrot, finely chopped
• 2 tb red wine vinegar
• 1 tb chopped fresh tarragon
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 tb olive oil
• 8 eggs
• 1 cup baby spinach

Wash leeks in a bowl of cold water; drain well in a sieve.

Put lentils in 2-quart saucepan, cover with 2 inches of water, and bring to a simmer; simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook bacon in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat until crisp; remove from skillet to a paper-towel lined plate.  Add leeks, celery, and carrots to fat remaining in skillet and cook just until tender, about 5 minutes, and scrape up brown bits in skillet with a wooden spoon.  Add vinegar and boil until evaporated, then remove pan from heat.  Stir in tarragon, bacon, and salt and pepper.  Drain lentils and stir into vegetable mixture, then stir in spinach; set aside and cover to keep warm.

Wipe out skillet and add olive oil, heating over medium until hot (but not smoking).  Crack four eggs into skillet, and fry to desired doneness; remove to a covered plate and season with salt and pepper.  Cook remaining four eggs.

Divide lentil mixture among four plates, and top with two eggs each.

Meringues are so French to me; one of my favorite things about Paris is looking into the windows of pastry shops and seeing huge meringues piled on top of each other in the display cases.  I had never tried making them because they seem so high-maintenance–you can’t make them on a humid day, they take a long time to bake, and you have to beat the egg whites very thoroughly.  However, these are really easy, and a good way to use up extra egg whites.

Chocolate Chip Meringues (adapted from smittenkitchen.com)

• 2 egg whites, at room temperature
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 6 oz chopped chocolate or chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat egg whites until foamy; add salt and cream of tartar and beat on medium-high speed until they hold soft peaks.  Continue beating on medium-high and stream in sugar gradually; beat until mixture holds stiff peaks, about 5 minutes.  Fold in chocolate.  Spoon mixture onto a lined baking sheet (you can make them small or very large), and bake at 300 for 10 minutes.  Reduce heat to 250 and bake for another 45 to 50 minutes, or until the bottoms are slightly brown.  The outsides will be firm and the insides will be hollow, with a marshmallow-y filling.

Makes 12 2-inch-in-diameter meringues.

I am especially attracted to recipes that bill themselves as “even better the next day”–as a baker who doesn’t always have a crowd to bake for, it helps being able to extend the life of a dessert (and if it is eligible to become breakfast, all the better).  So when I found this recipe in Dorie Greenspan’s Baking, I figured it would be practical enough.  And healthy (bananas)!  And, as much as I like it a day or two old, it is AMAZING right out of the oven.  Even though it was 10 pm by the time I finished making this, I kept sneaking back into the kitchen to  trim slivers as it was cooling.  After a day or two, the texture changes from fluffy–almost bouncy–to dense, closer to pound cake, with a more concentrated, banana-y flavor. 

I served this accessorized with slightly-sweetened whipped cream and sliced strawberries, which added a sweet-tart element–really good.  You could also dust it with powdered sugar, and I don’t think you would get any complaints if you served it plain.

Classic Banana Bundt Cake (from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking:  From My Home to Yours)

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 4 very ripe bananas (1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups), mashed
• 1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter and flour a 9- or 10-inch Bundt pan.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Beat in eggs one at a time, for about a minute after each, then mix in vanilla.  Reduce mixer speed to low and mix in mashed bananas.  Keeping the mixer on low, add half of the flour mixture (batter will likely appear curdled), the sour cream or yogurt, and the rest of the flour mixture, just until flour disappears–do not overmix.

Bake 65 to 75 minutes, or until inserted cake tester coes out clean.  Start to check the cake after 30 minutes, and if it is already a dark-gold color, cover the cake with a piece of tented foil to prevent an overly-browned exterior.  Cool the cake in its pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes, then unmold the cake onto the rack to finish cooling.  Store tightly wrapped in plastic.

This New York Times recipe makes the perfect chocolate chip cookie.  The downside:  it’s pretty fussy.  The amount of cookie dough it yields is quite large, and not easily divisible; it uses two types of flours (bread and pastry), neither necessarily a pantry staple; and must rest at least 24 hours, 72 to produce the best results.    I rejiggered a recipe for White Chocolate-Butterscotch Cookies, from the Martha Stewart Baking Handbook, into fast, easy chocolate chip cookies.  These may lack the caramelized and more complex flavor of the NYT recipe, but they are plenty buttery, soft-with-crispy-edges, and delicious.  And easier.

Fast and Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 8 oz chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line two baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.

In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Scrape down sides of mixer and beat in egg until well-combined.  Reduce mixer speed to low and mix in dry ingredients just until combined; mix in chocolate chips. 

Drop rounded tablespoon-fuls of dough 2 inches apart on cookie sheets; bake just until edges turn golden brown, and the middles are slightly underdone (about 9 minutes).  Cool for 5 minutes on sheets, then remove to a cooling rack.

A more descriptive name for this could be Cookie Dough Pie.  The filling is composed of very basic ingredients (eggs, sugar, a little flour, butter) and accessorized with chocolate chips, walnuts, and whiskey; when it comes out of the oven, it’s not exactly custardy (due to the flour) and not exactly cakey, with the sweetness of pecan pie filling but not the gelatinous texture.  It is also surprisingly easy to make, especially if you have pie crusts on standby.  The most important part of the process is achieving volume while beating the eggs, dry ingredients, and butter to make the filling; this will ensure a rich, but not-too-dense, end result.

To get clean slices, this pie definitely needs to set for a couple of hours, but try to be patient–it is easily revived by doing as the authors suggest and popping it into the microwave for 15 seconds; the filling gets soft, and the chocolate chips turn warm and melty.

Baked’s Tuscaloosa Tollhouse Pie

• 1/2 recipe pie dough, chilled
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened and cut into pieces
• 1 tb whiskey (I used Southern Comfort)
• 3/4 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
• 1 1/4 cups chocolate chips

On a lightly-floured surface, roll out dough to form a 12-inch round.  Press into a pie dish, folding under edges.  Freeze crust while you make the filling.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a bowl, whisk together flour and sugars; set aside.

Fit an electric mixer with its whisk attachment, and beat eggs on high speed until foamy, about 3 minutes.  Switch to the paddle attachment, and mix in flour and sugars on low.  Turn mixer to high and beat for 2 minutes; add butter and beat on high until combined.  Scrape down sides, add whiskey, and beat on high for another minute, then fold in walnuts and 3/4 cup of chocolate chips. 

Pour filling into chilled pie shell, scatter remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips across the top, and bake for 25 minutes.  Cover edges of crust with foil and bake for another 25 minutes; remove from oven when inserted knife or pie tester comes out clean.  Cool on a cooling rack completely (at least one hour) before serving.

Biscotti are my favorite cookies to make–and to eat.  They are easily customizable, the dough tastes amazing, and they are addictively crunchy.  I eat them in multiples, unabashedly.  This recipe comes from Dorie Greenspan’s Lenox Biscotti in Baking:  From My Home to Yours, but I have omitted the cornmeal and taken some liberties with the mix-ins.  You could also substitute chocolate chips or chunks for the dried cranberries in this recipe, for a less-virtuous version.

Cranberry-Hazelnut Biscotti

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 stick (8 tb) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F; line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone liner.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.  In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes, until light in color and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time, then vanilla, mixing well after each.  Reduce mixer speed to low and add flour mixture, beating just until combined.  Fold in hazelnuts and cranberries.

Divide dough in half and shape each into a 12″ x 2″ log on either side of the baking sheet.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until tops is slightly golden and cracked.  Carefully transfer logs to cooling racks, and let cool for at least 30 minutes.  

If you turned off the oven, turn it back on and let it reach 350.  Cut each log into 1/2″-thick slices; place each slice upright on the baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes.  Let cool to room temperature.

Lately, my favorite snack has been a toasted baguette with butter and jam; how serendipitous, then, that this Daily Candy email should show up in my inbox.  I am now obsessed with Lemon Bird jams, and incredibly frustrated that their stock appears to be sold out.  Made in California with local fruits, these jams come in a range of thoughtful and delicious flavor combinations, housed in small jars tied with a delicate ribbon (an assortment, or their jam-of-the-month club, would make a lovely gift).

I ordered three flavors ($6 each):  plum and vanilla bean and rose water, strawberry with mint and black pepper, and cherry with star anise.  Plum is my hands-down favorite:  it’s filled with pieces of fruit that retain their shape, rather than devolving into mush, and the whole vanilla beans add an aromatic quality without extra sweetness.  Perfection on toast or as an accessory to plain Greek yogurt.  The strawberry is very good too, though has a thinner consistency and bigger chunks of fruit, so would be better, in my opinion, as a topping for ice cream or cheesecake.  Finally, cherry has a more savory undertone, due to the star anise, and so would be a better companion to meat or cheese–check out the website for pairing suggestions.

Although Lemon Bird is not taking orders through the website at present, you can sign up for their newsletter to be notified of new stock (Kumquat & Tangerine with Vanilla!).

I knew I had to make these cakes when I opened up my January issue of Gourmet; what I did not know was that it would turn into a prohibitively expensive venture.  The recipe calls for 2/3 cup of vin santo, which, as a novice dessert-wine drinker, I had no idea costs at least $40 per bottle.  Fortunately, my local wine store is staffed with people who are incredibly knowledgeable when it comes to both wine and food, and they led me to a tawny port, which would ideally replicate many of the vin santo’s qualities for about $15.  Now, if you happen to have a bottle of vin santo in-house, or are a fan of dessert wines and don’t mind investing, I would love to hear how these turn out when made as intended by Gourmet.  

However, for the non-oenophile, tawny port seems to do the job.  The flavors of the orange zest and the grapes blossom in the oven, and the port produces a warm, baking-bread fragrance that permeates the entire apartment.  The mini cakes, baked in a muffin pan, are tastefully spare and unadorned, and would make a chic counterpoint to a substantial winter dinner of pasta bolognese or cassoulet.  The only caveat:  these are best served warm and fresh from the oven; after a day or so they lose their lovely aromatic quality and fluffy texture.

Port-Spiked Grape Cakes (adapted from January 2009 Gourmet)

• 1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 2/3 plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 2 large eggs
• zest of one orange
• 2/3 cup tawny port
• 1 1/4 cups seedless red grapes (7 oz)

In a bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  In another bowl, rub zest into 2/3 cup sugar with your fingers, until sugar is damp and zest is well-incorporated.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Butter and flour a muffin tin.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter with the zest-and-sugar mixture on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with wine, beginning and ending with flour and mixing until just incorporated.

Toss grapes with remaining tablespoon of flour, then fold into batter.

Divide batter among muffin cups. Sprinkle with remaining 2 Tbsp granulated sugar. Bake until golden and springy to the touch, 18 to 20 minutes. Cool in pan 5 minutes, then loosen with a knife and remove. Cool to warm, 5 to 10 minutes more (tops of cakes will sink a bit when cooled).  Makes 12 cakes.

I love this cake!  Falling somewhere between angel food and pound cake, it has a sweet, crunchy outside and fluffy inside.  It tastes both tropical and comforting, thanks to the complimentary flavors of coconut and cinnamon. Although not mandatory, I recommend toasting the shredded coconut, just for a couple of minutes, in a dry skillet before mixing it into the batter; the added toastiness really amplifies the coconut flavor and lends itself especially well to the cinnamon.  This is the perfect cake to serve in the afternoon alongside coffee or tea.

Cinnamon-Coconut Tea Cake (from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking:  From My Home to Yours)

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• 3/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk (shake well before opening)
• 4 tb (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 4 large eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter a 9- or 10-inch Bundt pan.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

In a small, dry skillet, toast the shredded coconut over medium heat until golden-brown, 2 to 3 minutes.  Remove from heat and let cool, then whisk into flour mixture.

In a small saucepan, combine the coconut milk and butter; heat over medium, stirring occasionally, until butter is melted.  Remove from heat.

In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat the eggs and sugar on medium-high speed until pale and nearly doubled in volume, about 3 minutes; beat in vanilla.  Reduce mixer speed to low and add dry ingredients, mixing just until combined.  With mixer running, stream in coconut milk mixture and beat until batter is smooth.  Pour into pan and bake for 60 minutes, until top is golden and inserted cake tester comes out clean.

Let cake cool 10 minutes, then invert onto cooling rack to come to room temperature.