Peanut-Brown Butter Blondies

Call me a contrarian. I grow my hair long in summer, cut it in winter. Order the fish at a steakhouse. Make salads in the winter... and bake in the summer. I don't know why!

Forget for a moment about the heat factor. To me, summer is about easy improvisational meals. Something on the grill. A picnic of finger foods. A cocktail of two ingredients, tops. 

Baking, of course, is not improvisational. It's precise and fickle. You have to plan ahead because you can't easily substitute ingredients. But for some reason, I've had the urge to bake this summer. Just this past month I've made this tahini banana bread, these cornmeal currant thyme cookies, this "life-changing loaf", and now these -- peanut-brown butter blondies, like a cross between peanut butter cookies and toffee cake (ie: good in any season). 

I adapted this from Martha Stewart's Cookies which organizes its chapters in the same way I think about cookies: light and delicate, chunky and nutty, crisp and crunchy, cake and tender, and so on. 

Maybe one of these summer days I'll make these into ice cream sandwiches or sundaes (with some butter pecan ice cream as a comp... or strawberry ice cream for contrast). But for now, they're great au natural. 

RECIPE: (adapted from Martha Stewart Cookies) 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 9" x 13" pan with parchment, then butter and flour. Melt 2 sticks of butter until a golden brown. Remove from heat and cool. 

Whisk 2 1/4 cups flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer, use a wooden spoon to mix the brown butter with 2 cups of brown sugar and 1/4 cup of granulated sugar. Add the paddle attachment and turn mixer on medium-high speed, adding three eggs. Mix until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add 2 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract while beating. Slowly add flour mixture, then add 1 cup of roasted unsalted peanuts until thoroughly integrated. Pour into pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. 

Excellent warm, room temp, or cold (we've been keeping them in the fridge... steamy weather mold is no joke!) 

Spiralized Zucchini Noodles with Peanut Sauce

This is for those times when you don't want your zucchini noodles to taste like diet noodles. The key is really cooking the noodles down in the sauce. The noodles become the vehicle for the fatty flavor of the peanut-sesame sauce. It's a beautiful thing. 

Another key: some brightness in the form of lime, ginger, and cilantro. You don't want to feel like you're eating straight peanut butter (save that for eating straight peanut butter). 

RECIPE: 

Spiralize 4 zucchinis on the largest setting. Slice 1/3 of a cabbage into 1/4-inch ribbons. Add cabbage and zucchini in wok with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Saute on high uncovered for 3 minutes until fragrant. Turn stove to low and cover for 5 minutes, to sweat out the veggies.

In the meantime, make peanut sauce and the veggies you don't want to overcook. Mix 2 heaping tablespoons of peanut butter, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, 1 1/2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar, and 1 teaspoon of chopped ginger. Chop two bell peppers and spiralize one carrot. Add veggies and peanut mixture to the veggies. You'll have to break up the peanut butter. Resist the urge to water it down because there's plenty of water in the wok. You don't want the sauce too watery. 

Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Add juice of 1 lime, cilantro, and toasted peanuts before serving. 

Singapore Slaw

Susur Lee makes this insane slaw that's often said to have 19 ingredients. It actually has over 30, if you count all the components that make the components. 

In my book, that makes this salad true restaurant food. Even though there's barely any cooking (as defined by applying heat to comestibles), there's a whole lot of prep. An impressive amount, if you eat it while dining out. A masochistic amount of prep, if you're dining in.

And yet. I had this dish more than five years ago at the now-shuttered Shang*, and I'm still thinking about it. It's a chaotic mix of flavors and textures, more cacophonous Asian night market than Brooklyn farmer's market. It's Asian without relying on easy shorthands of soy and sesame. 

I make a salad almost everyday, and was cursing the fact that I spent so much time on this. But the truth is: you can taste the difference.

Here's the full recipe, if you're jonesin' for a challenge. My version is way abbreviated, definitely inferior, but a delicious addition to your dinner table. 

RECIPE: 

Quick Pickled Onions: Using a mandoline, slice two red onions. Add to bowl and add one heaping tablespoon of salt and one teaspoon of sugar. Cover with vinegar and let rest for at least one hour in the refrigerator. 

Salad: Get slicing. The upside is that you'll get to practice all your knife skills. The key here is to choose veggies of varying bite and juiciness. Cut for visual and mouthfeel contrast. I used: bean sprouts, snow peas, jicima, tomatoes, carrots, cucumber, scallions, mint and basil. Other ideas: raw beets, napa cabbage, radish, chayote. 

Crispies: Slice and deep-fry shallots, garlic, and lemongrass. Drain on paper towels. Toast peanuts and sesame seeds. 

Dressing: Mix pickled ginger, fish sauce, rice vinegar, a little bit of the oil from the crispies, and a little bit of the pickling juice from the onions. 

Now, mix everything together, making sure to add that crispies at the last moment so they stay...crunchy. 

* Shang is actually featured in BAD TASTE. The fictitious restaurant Panh Ho is a cross between Shang and SHO Shaun Hergatt (both shuttered, I'm afraid).