Chef in Residence - Catherine Graham

Catherine Graham has a fascinating success story in two fields. As a child she wanted desperately to be a chef or baker. Her parents were not as enthusiastic about the idea as she was, however, and so instead of culinary school she earned a degree in "Aesthetic Studies," and focused on journalism and film.

Over the years, however, she developed a recipe that everyone said she should make professionally. Finally she decided to give it a go, and went to the Cabrillo College culinary program and launched Flipper Fanny's Cookies. The name itself is fun, based on a story about her mother in 1940. You can find out more about the story and Catherine's business at www.flipperfannyproducts.com.

Catherine's cookies are really, really good! Her chocolate chip oatmeal cookie is her "million dollar recipe." She will make up beautiful holiday or other celebratory packages of cookies to order, and there are several types of cookie to choose from, including a divine gluten-free peanut butter cookie. Because these cookies are not made in production baking, they are just like homemade but without burned edges or too-thick centers.

When I asked Catherine to comment about what she likes about vanilla in baking she wrote the following:

Why I Am Made For Vanilla

When I was a girl I read "Little Women" for the first time. One scene that has always stayed with me is one in which the March sisters are in the kitchen baking with their mother. Vanilla was regarded by this humble family as something of a luxury, and as I recall, one of the characters dabs on a bit like perfume.

Growing up in a household with what I now know to be imitation vanilla, this passage bewildered me. What was the big deal? The vanilla my mother bought at Kroger's in the 1960's smelled nice, sure, but the aroma was light and never lasted more than a moment on my wrist or behind my ears.

When I grew up to be a professional baker, I met Patricia Rain and was introduced to Real Vanilla! Rich, thick brews with names of exotic places like Tahiti and Madagascar.
Now, every time I bake with vanilla, I dab on a little Rain's Choice!

Hopefully you will be inspired to try Catherine's recipes that celebrate vanilla. You might even want to dab a on a little Rain's Choice too!

Bastilla

Ingredients
1 whole chicken
5 garlic cloves
1 Tbsp. salt
1/2 lb. butter, melted
1 onion, chopped finely
2 Tbsp. Rain's Choice Madagascar vanilla, plus additional to use during assembly
1 Tbsp. freshly-grated ginger
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. cayenne powder
1 tsp. turmeric
3 cinnamon sticks
3 cups water
Juice from half lemon
10 eggs
3/4 lb. blanched almonds
1 lb. filo dough
1/3 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp. Cinnamon powder

Instructions
Note: The first six steps before assembly can be done in advance.

1. Make a paste of the garlic and salt; slip under the skin of the chicken and rub the insides with the remainder. In a Dutch oven, melt cup butter. Add the chicken and brown, turning often.

2. Remove the chicken and set aside. Add the onions and cook until translucent. Add the vanilla, ginger, cumin, cayenne and turmeric and cook briefly, about 1 minute.

3. Add cinnamon sticks and water to the pot; bring to a boil, stirring often. Put the chicken back into the pot, cover, and simmer for about 1 hour.

4. Meanwhile, toast the almonds until slightly brown. Set aside to cool then crush with a rolling pin until coarsely ground. Combine the almonds with powdered sugar and cinnamon.

5. When fully cooked, remove the chicken from the pan and reduce the broth to 1- cups. Add the lemon juice and set the heat back to low. Beat the eggs until frothy then pour into the simmering broth. Stir continuously until the eggs cook and congeal. (They should be curdy, stiff, and dry.) Turn off the heat and set pan aside to cool.

6. Remove meat from the bones and shred the meat.

Assembly:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Brush the bottom of a pizza pan with melted butter. Unroll the filo dough and place a damp towel over the sheets to keep them from drying out. One at a time, lay 6 sheets of dough across the pan brushing each in turn with melted butter and criss-crossing the sheets. No cheating; each sheet must be individually brushed with butter or else at the end you'll wind up with a mouthful of unappetizingly mushy dough!

Brush 6 more sheets of dough with butter and fold them to create a base at the bottom.

Sprinkle with half of the almond mixture then half of the egg mixture. Neatly arrange the chicken into a flat layer, then sprinkle with additional vanilla. Top with the remaining almond and egg mixtures.

Fold the overhanging dough to the center and brush with butter. Criss-cross another 8 layers of filo across the top, brushing each sheet with melted butter.

Place another pizza pan or similar-sized pan on top and invert. Remove the top pan and again fold the overlapping dough to the center and brush with melted butter. Pat to form a nice round package. Place pan back on top and invert again. Remove pan that is now on top. Criss-cross 2 more sheets of dough over the "package", brushing each in turn with the melted butter. Tuck the overhanging edges underneath.

Place the bastilla on its pizza pan in a pre-heated 325-degree oven and bake for 25 minutes. Check, drain any excess liquid, and make an additional 20 minutes.

Sift powdered sugar and cinnamon on top and serve. Can be cut into wedges and eaten by hand.

GLAZED ROOT VEGETABLES

Ingredients
2 pounds white pearl onions
1 pound parsnips, peeled
1 pound baby carrots
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Ω cup sugar
Ω cup water
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons Rain's Choice Madagascar Vanilla
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
Peel the skin off the outer layer of pearl onions (if you soak them in boiling water
for one minute the skins will come off easily). Cut the parsnips in quarters
lengthwise, and then cut them in half again so they're about the size of the baby carrots.

Blanch the vegetables in a large pot of hot water until almost tender (about 5 minutes).

Melt the butter in a 5 or 6 quart Dutch oven. Add the sugar, water, and 2 tablespoons vanilla and the vegetables. Cook until the water is evaporated. Add 2 tsp. vanilla and continue cooking until the vegetables are nicely browned, about 20 to 30 minutes total. Season with salt and pepper (optional).

MEXICAN CHOCOLATE BROWNIES WITH KAHLUA ICING

This is one of my most treasured recipes! Ibarra brand chocolate can be found in the Mexican foods section of most supermarkets. As a substitute add 1 level tablespoon cinnamon to melted sweet chocolate. These are very rich so one 8 X 8 inch pan goes a long way!

Ingredients
Brownies
4 oz. Ibarra chocolate
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1/3 cup unsalted butter
1 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons. Rain's Choice Mexican Vanilla, divided
2 large eggs
cup unbleached white flour
Ω teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons Kahlua

Icing
2 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon Rain's Choice Mexican Vanilla,
2 tablespoons Kahlua
2 teaspoons half and half (light cream)
1-1/3cups powdered sugar, sifted

Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter an 8 inch square pan; line bottom with parchment paper and butter again.

Melt chocolates and butter over low heat, stirring constantly. Add sugar and 2 tablespoons vanilla.

Pour into a medium size bowl to cool. Add eggs, one at a time, then add the additional tablespoon vanilla and stir until completely blended. Fold in flour and salt; mixing only long enough to moisten ingredients.

Pour into prepared baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out slightly sticky. Cool pan on wire rack. Evenly pour Kahlua over top of still-warm brownies. Ice when completely cool, then cut into small squares.

Icing:
In a saucepan, heat butter until slightly browned. Remove from heat. Add vanilla, Kahlua, half-and-half and sifted powdered sugar; beat until smooth.