03.30.08
Posted in Cake, Dessert, Foodblog Events, Fruits at 12:05 am by julie
I’ve had a pretty bad record of procrastination when it comes to Daring Bakers challenges. The rapid decline of strawberry season last July meant that I really had to rush in order to make my Strawberry Mirror Cake, but since then, I’ve taken a much more leisurely approach to the deadline. With our own little sticky bun due to finish baking at any moment, however, I knew it would probably be a bad idea to put off baking the March challenge: Dorie’s Perfect Party Cake in Baking: From My Home to Yours
, a white layer cake with lemon buttercream, coconut and raspberry preserves. It looked so fresh and cheerful in the photos that I thought it would be a perfect fit for our baby shower on March 7th, and the timing couldn’t have been better. Plus, I’m not big on lemon, so I figured that it was the perfect occasion to get a bunch of folks to help us eat it up.
A few days before the shower, we went to Costco, and while Jeremy was poring over the muffin options, I meandered over toward the fruit aisle and delightedly discovered bags of Cara Cara oranges on display. I’d never even heard of them before this year, but I took the rave reviews on faith and lugged a huge bag of oranges into our shopping cart. That night I tried one out and found them absolutely delicious, if a little hard to peel and section (or maybe I’m just too used to satsumas now). In case you aren’t familiar with them, Cara Caras are a pink-fleshed orange known for being especially sweet and only mildly acidic, with a flavor reminiscent of a cross between oranges and ruby red grapefruit. As soon as I took a bite, I knew that I wanted to flavor and garnish my challenge cake with these oranges, so after some consideration, I ended up making a Cara Cara creamsicle cake with cherry preserves and candied orange slices.
The cake itself was incredibly easy to make. My only adjustment was using vanilla paste rather than lemon zest rubbed into the sugar. They came out pale and tender and gently domed, the latter counteracted by cooling them on the rack upside down. I’ve never done a real layer cake before (unless you count Jeremy’s German chocolate skyscraper cheesecake from last month), so my biggest concern was cutting the layers in half without mangling them or coming out all crooked. Somehow it all worked out beautifully, though.
The buttercream was the next hurdle to tackle, but I had more confidence in this arena after making two flavors of Swiss meringue buttercream for my Yule log in December (which, incidentally, feels like just a few weeks ago… where has the time gone??). I followed the directions and didn’t hover in the kitchen while my stand mixer did its thing, and lo and behold: perfect satiny smooth buttercream with nary a curdle in sight. My buttercream was flavored with fresh Cara Cara orange juice and zest, plus the vanilla extract called for, and it ended up delicately colored and scented with orange.
The third element, which I actually started working on first, was the candied orange slices. At first I intended to just candy the peels, but that pink-tinted fruit was so lovely that it seemed a waste to scrape it all out. Also, the process for candying whole slices was a little less onerous in terms of blanching, so I was able to spend a little less time on my feet, always an important consideration when you’re 38 weeks pregnant and counting. My orange slices simmered away in sugar syrup while I made and baked and cooled the cake layers, then continued soaking while I whipped up the buttercream. Before assembling the cake, I laid the slices out on a rack to drain, and strained the orange-infused syrup that remained. I couldn’t bear to let the latter go to waste, so I brushed each cake layer with some syrup before spreading on the cherry preserves (pureed to a smooth, spreadable consistency with my hand blender) and buttercream.
I had to assemble my cake on an ordinary dinner plate, due to limited storage and presentation options. That was actually the most challenging part of the whole challenge, because the cake was nearly the same size as the plate. The waxed paper I used to keep the mess down was very effective at that job, but got in my way while trying to frost the bottom portion of the cake. Fortunately for me, coconut disguises a host of frosting ills, and looks pretty to boot! The frosted, but ungarnished, cake went in the refrigerator overnight, and the candied oranges were left out to air-dry. I turned them a few times to make sure they weren’t gluing themselves to the rack, and at lunchtime on party day, I coated them with granulated sugar and fanned them out on top of the cake. As Dorie recommended, I gave the cake a few hours to come up to room temperature before the shower.
There wasn’t much time for photography during the shower, since I was busy serving cake and chatting and opening gifts. I managed to snap a few quick photos after the party, and it was a good thing I did, because my cake disappeared in the blink of an eye. I think it is safe to say that it was the best-received dessert I’ve ever brought to work. Everything about it worked perfectly, as I suppose I should expect from a Perfect Party Cake. The cake itself was fluffy and light; the orange buttercream was silky-smooth and not overpowering, which I find can be the case with citrus desserts; the cherry jam, which I would ordinarily snub my nose at for cake filling, blended perfectly with the orange and vanilla flavors, and presented no textural problems for my palate; and the candied oranges were just the right touch on top, soft enough to cut through easily while I was doling out slices and completely edible. I liked it so much better than I expected to, that I was actually very disappointed to find that only a single slice was leftover for us to take home. But there were still 8 egg yolks in the fridge crying out to be made into pierogies and butterscotch pie, so I didn’t mourn for long. 
Many thanks to Morven for choosing a great March recipe; you can find the original version on her blog. I’ve had the cookbook for several months, and would likely never have chosen this recipe to bake for myself. Even though I fooled around with the flavorings, it was a rousing success, so I tip my hat to the Daring Bakers for pushing me, once again, out of my comfort zone. That’s why I’m a member, after all! Be sure to check out the hundreds of other Perfect Party Cakes (as if you could miss them!) on the Daring Bakers Blogroll, to see how everyone else fared.
Perfect Party Cake
For the Candied Orange Slices
1 Cara Cara orange
1 1/3 C water
2/3 C sugar, plus more for coating the slices
For the Cake
2 ½ C cake flour
1 T baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 ¼ C buttermilk
4 large egg whites
1 ½ C sugar
2 tsp vanilla paste
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
For the Buttercream
1 C sugar
4 large egg whites
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ C fresh Cara Cara orange juice
1 tsp orange zest
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
For Finishing
2/3 C cherry preserves, pureed with a stick blender until spreadable
About 3/4 C sweetened shredded coconut
Getting Ready
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.
To Make the Candied Orange Slices
Using a sharp knife, cut the orange into 1/4-inch thick slices, removing any pips. Meanwhile, bring the water and sugar to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the orange slices to the pot, cover and reduce the heat so that the syrup simmers gently. Cook, turning the slices every so often, until they are completely soft, translucent, and candied; start checking for doneness after about half an hour. Remove the slices from the syrup and drain on a rack; strain and reserve the syrup. Allow candied slices to dry overnight, then toss in a bowl of sugar until coated; shake off any excess sugar.
To Make the Cake
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and egg whites.
Whisk together the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant.
In a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar with the paddle or whisk attachment at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until they are very light.
Beat in the vanilla paste, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients. Finally, give the batter a good 2-minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated.
Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unfold them and peel off the paper liners. Invert and cool to room temperature, right side up (the cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to two months).
To Make the Buttercream
Put the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl or another large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a plan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like shiny marshmallow cream. Remove the bowl from the heat.
Working with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes. Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the butter a stick at a time, beating until smooth. Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes. During this time the buttercream may curdle or separate – just keep beating and it will come together again.
On medium speed, gradually beat in the orange juice and zest, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, and then the vanilla. You should have a shiny smooth, velvety, pale orange buttercream. Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the buttercream and set aside briefly.
To Assemble the Cake
Using a sharp serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, slice each layer horizontally in half. Put one layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper. Spread it with one third of the preserves. Cover the jam evenly with about one quarter of the buttercream. Top with another layer, spread with preserves and buttercream and then do the same with a third layer (you’ll have used all the jam and have buttercream leftover). Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake and use the remaining buttercream to frost the sides and top. Press the coconut into the frosting, patting it gently all over the sides of the cake. Decoratively arrange the candied orange slices on top of the cake.
Serving
The cake is ready to serve as soon as it is assembled, but I think it’s best to let it sit and set for a couple of hours in a cool room – not the refrigerator. Whether you wait or slice and enjoy it immediately, the cake should be served at room temperature; it loses all its subtlety when it’s cold. Depending on your audience you can serve the cake with just about anything from milk to sweet or bubbly wine.
Storing
The cake is best the day it is made, but you can refrigerate it, well covered, for up to two days. Bring it to room temperature before serving. If you want to freeze the cake, slide it into the freezer to set, then wrap it really well – it will keep for up to 2 months in the freezer; defrost it, still wrapped overnight in the refrigerator.
Source: Adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan (p. 250-252, 468).
Permalink
03.29.08
Posted in Cake, Chocolate, Dessert at 12:17 am by julie
It’s hard to believe, but our little guy is already a week old. I think that constitutes a reason for New Orleans sheet cake! Since it is my personal favorite birthday cake, I had planned to bake this cake on Nolan’s original due date of the 13th and freeze most of it to eat after he was born—but amid other preparations, I never got the chance. Fortunately, however, my parents are still here visiting and they graciously offered to bake it for us today.
Nolan won’t be eating any cake for a while yet, but we’ve been eating extra slices on his behalf, never fear. We’re currently working on building his appetite so that he can regain his birthweight, and he appears to be making some good progress.
New Orleans Sheet Cake
I think most of the country knows this cake as a Texas sheet cake, and I’m not quite sure the origin of my family’s name for it. For those who aren’t familiar with it, it is moist, gooey and fluffy at the same time, and only about as thick as a brownie. It freezes beautifully, and is at its very best alongside a scoop of good vanilla ice cream.
1 stick unsalted butter
1 C water
4 T cocoa powder
1/2 C canola oil
2 C sugar
2 eggs
2 C AP flour
1/2 C buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
Grease a 15×10x1″ jelly roll pan.
Mix and bring to a boil in a heavy saucepan the first 4 ingredients. Add remaining ingredients in order and mix well. Pour into the jelly roll pan, and bake for 25 minutes at 375F. Watch not to overbake. Cool and frost.
Frosting:
6 T milk
4 T cocoa powder
1 stick unsalted butter
1 lb. sifted powdered sugar
4 tsp vanilla
1 C chopped pecans or walnuts
Bring to a boil in a heavy saucepan the milk, cocoa and butter. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. It is better to ice the cake while it is still a little warm.
Permalink
03.25.08
Posted in Persnickety Bits at 8:48 am by julie
…before I post again. Our little sticky bun is finally out of the oven. Meet Nolan Michael:
Born March 22, 2008 at 12:17 a.m. after just 7 hours of unmedicated labor. 7 lbs 2.3 oz and 20″ long. We just got home from the hospital yesterday because, true to form, we already have another persnickety palate in the house: Nolan wasn’t much interested in eating anything for the first day or two and lost 9% of his body weight. But he is starting to get the hang of how “hungry” feels, and we’re making forward progress with the assistance of a breast pump.
There will be more photos of Nolan at our main blog, JcSparks.com. I’ll post again here once we’ve got our schedule a little more worked out. Good thing I didn’t put off my Daring Bakers challenge this month!
Permalink
03.20.08
Posted in American, Beef, Cuisines, Dinner, Meats at 4:09 pm by julie
We got a huge packet of beef chuck roast for making pot roast late last week, with the intention of making it for dinner on Saturday, and freezing all the leftovers for future meal insurance. Problem is, since last Thursday, our schedule has been pretty packed: dinner with friends on Thursday and Saturday, my mom’s arrival and our last childbirth prep class on Sunday. I thought I could squeeze the roast in on Monday night, even if we didn’t have time to eat it until the next day, but even though I seasoned and wrapped the meat before work in the morning, a doctor’s appointment and an evening vacuum-shopping trip (we got a pretty purple Dyson that laughs in the face of dog hair mountains) ate up all my time and we ended up with fast food instead. It couldn’t wait anymore, though, so on Tuesday, even though my aunt came down from Portland for a visit and I had one last ante-partum meeting with my doula, I made sure to get the roast going as soon as I came home from work.
I had quite a bit of tomato juice to use up, so I did a Yankee-style pot roast based on this recipe, originally taken from a Barefoot Contessa cookbook. I pretty much just used the ingredients as a guide and didn’t measure anything out. Rather than letting the meat sit at room temperature for an hour, I seasoned and wrapped it in the fridge for what ended up being a day and a half. Once it was seared and the veggies were sauteed, I poured on that tomato juice and had enough to nearly cover the meat. It went in a 350F oven for 3.5 hours, and I flipped the meat every so often to keep an eye on things. Once it was done, I removed and roughly shredded the meat—which required no more than gently poking at it with my tongs—and pureed the veggies and remaining braising liquid with my stick blender. I’d considered adding potatoes to the pot in the last hour or so, but didn’t want to fish them out of the liquid again for that last step, and mashed potatoes were perfectly satisfactory. The meat was fork-tender, succulent and flavorful, and I thought the gravy was fantastic, but then I’ve always been a gravy girl. We’ve got another meal or two stashed away in the freezer now, and while it was in the oven, I was able to take care of everything else that was on my plate for the night: that’s why I love braising!
Contessa’s Yankee Pot Roast
5 to 5 1/2 lb. pot roast or brisket, washed and patted dry
2 T kosher salt
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
4 large garlic cloves, finely minced
2 tsp dried oregano
About 1 cup flour for dredging
2 T olive oil
4 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
4 stalks celery, roughly chopped
2 yellow onions, peeled and sliced
2 tsp sweet paprika
3 bay leaves
Tomato juice to cover (at least 32-40oz)
In a small bowl, mix the salt, black pepper, garlic and dried oregano. Rub all of this mixture all over the roast. Cover tightly in plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for an hour (or overnight in the fridge).
Preheat oven to 350F.
Unwrap the roast and sprinkle the flour all over the roast, patting away any excess. Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed dutch oven over medium high heat. When hot, add the roast and sear for several minutes per side, until you have a golden crust on the roast. Immediately remove meat from pan and set aside; add the carrots, celery, onions, paprika and bay leaves. Saute until the onion is translucent, then place the seared roast on top of the veggies. Pour tomato juice over everything until it comes up nearly level with the top of the meat, and cover tightly with lid.
Braise for 3 1/2 hours or until meat is tender and falling apart. Gently remove the roast to a serving platter and tent with foil. Remove the bay leaves from the braising liquid and use a blender or immersion blender to puree into a smooth gravy. If desired, pass mixture through a sieve. In the meantime, slice meat across the grain or pull into serving-sized chunks; serve slices of meat with the sauce and some sort of starch and green veggies.
Source: Adapted from Armida Cooks.
Permalink
03.14.08
Posted in Chocolate, Dessert, Pies & Tarts at 1:03 pm by julie
Have you ever seen the book Gator Pie? It’s a cute little children’s story about two alligators named Alvin and Alice who come across a pie in the swamp and plan to share it, but more and more gators start showing up and wanting their own fair share. Essentially it’s a non-threatening way of introducing fractions to kids, with pie and reptiles.
I was bound and determined to celebrate Pi Day (today, 3/14, for those of you without math geek tendencies) with an actual pie this year. Since Gator Pie is out of print and I couldn’t get my hands on a copy to remember just what sort of pie all those alligators were fighting over, I had to come up with another alternative. I considered taking another crack at my great-grandmother’s recipe for butterscotch pie: my mother, grandmother and I have all been trying unsuccessfully to make it for years. It always tastes great, but has the consistency of creme anglaise, which doesn’t work so well when you’re trying to cut it into slices. (I suspect we were all using milk with a lower fat content than she did.) That will have to wait for another day, though; butterscotch is not Jeremy’s favorite, and I’m not about to consume an entire pie on my own, even if I totally could at this point in my pregnancy.
Actually, the last time I asked Jeremy what he had been craving in terms of desserts, he asked for a chocolate coconut pie, and I just so happened to have some undedicated egg yolks crying out to be custardized in the fridge. Sounded like fate to me! There are a few different ways of approaching chocolate coconut pies: One of these days I’ll have to make a haupia pie again, for the blog’s sake, but I knew Jeremy was thinking more along the lines of the German chocolate pie from Marie Callender’s, which is awfully tasty too. In the end, I settled on Dorie Greenspan’s chocolate cream pie recipe because it used up all those yolks. Dorie actually has a chocolate-coconut variant with flaked coconut simmered in cream until it gets all thick and gooey, but I didn’t have quite enough cream on hand, so I just tossed coconut right into the chocolate custard.
This pie was delicious and easy as—well, you know what—to make. I started out the day before by making up some pate brisee from my usual recipe (I believe it is the Martha Stewart one, which works pretty reliably but produces more of a tender crust than a flaky one) in the food processor. I love making crust by hand with my pastry cutter, but it tends to take me so much longer than when I use the Cuisinart that the butter starts warming up. On the other hand, with the latter, you have to make darn sure that you don’t over-process, which can happen in the blink of an eye. The little disks of dough rested overnight in the fridge, and got the usual blind-baking treatment (pricked with a fork, weighted under parchment paper; baked at 375F for 15 minutes, then weights removed and the crust continued baking until golden). While the crust cooled, I whipped up the filling, using Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips and adding a big handful of coconut at the end. I took Dorie’s suggestion of an ice bath to speed cooling time, piled it in the crust, and that was that! Chocolatey-coconutty goodness with a dollop of fresh whipped cream! I personally think it was better than the Marie Callender’s version, because it was super-creamy and not too sweet. If I were an alligator, I would definitely fight for a slice.
Chocolate Cream Pie
2 C whole milk
4 egg yolks
6 T sugar
3 T cornstarch, sifted
1/4 tsp salt
7 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted
1/2 C (or more!) sweetened shredded coconut
2 1/2 T unsalted butter, cut into pieces, at room temp
1 pie crust, blind-baked
Bring the milk to a boil (I heated mine in the microwave). Meanwhile, in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk the yolks together with the sugar, cornstarch and salt until well-blended and thick. Whisking without stopping, drizzle in about 1/4 C of the hot milk in order to temper the yolks; then, still whisking, add the remainder of the milk in a steady stream. Put the pan over medium heat, and continuing to whisk constantly, bring the mixture to a boil; boil for 1-2 minutes, then remove from the heat.
Whisk in the melted chocolate and coconut. Let sit for 5 minutes, then whisk in the bits of butter, stirring until fully incorporated. Press surface with plastic wrap and refrigerate; or place the pot in a large bowl of ice cubes and cold water and stir occasionally until the custard is chilled, about 20 minutes. (Store up to 3 days in the fridge at this point if convenient.)
When ready to assemble the pie, whisk the custard vigorously to loosen it up and spoon into the cooked pie shell, stopping just short of the rim. Smooth the top and serve chilled slices with a dollop of freshly whipped cream.
Source: Very slightly adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan (p. 352-353).
Here are a few more pie options, just in case chocolate cream doesn’t tempt your inner gator:
* Mom’s Grape Pie
* Cinnamon Crumble Apple Pie
* Paradise Pumpkin Pie
* Lemon Meringue Pie
This post is my entry for Kitchen Parade’s Pi Day event. I love pie, and don’t make it nearly often enough, so I’m very excited to try some of the other recipes submitted.
Permalink
03.13.08
Posted in Dinner, Fish, Nuts, Grains & Legumes, Seafood at 11:09 pm by julie
At long last we were able to track down some decent wild salmon, and I took advantage of our returning wintry (cold, windy, rainy) weather to make a meal I’ve had my eye on for some time: salmon with lentils and bacon. An unusual combination, to be sure, but it really sounded like it could work. My only adjustment to the recipe was the method I used to cook the salmon: rather than pan-searing it and finishing it off in the oven, I simply roasted it skin-side up at 450F until it flaked. I’ve cooked much of my salmon in this fashion since trying a broiled miso-citrus salmon dish from my Simply Ming cookbook, although I save myself the aggravation of attempting to use my oven’s faulty broiler anymore. The skin protects the fish and keeps everything nice and moist, and since my husband and I don’t eat the skin, we like the fact that it peels off easily when served.
So the salmon tasted great, and hit the spot since I’ve been wanting some for what seemed like weeks. The lentils were simmered with bacon and garlic and all sorts of good stuff, and we could tell just by the smell that they were going to be delicious. And they were. I’m just not sure how well the two elements combined for my taste. Every time I took a bite of lentils, I wished we were eating it with kielbasa or something instead of the salmon; and every time I ate a bite of salmon, I wished I had made some sort of rice or quinoa or pasta. The lentils were so savory that they made the salmon taste extra-fishy or something, and it just wasn’t working for me in combination.
It wasn’t a failed meal by any means, however. The lentils really were delicious, and I’ll use that recipe again, just not with salmon. I’m very tempted to mix the leftovers together with some stock and tomatoes and have a little makeshift lentil soup for lunch.
Roasted Salmon with Lentils and Bacon
4 strips bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
1 small onion, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 carrot, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 rib celery, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/4 C lentils
2 1/4 C canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock
1/2 C canned crushed tomatoes in thick puree (I used diced tomatoes and half-pureed them with my stick blender)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp fresh-ground black pepper
1 3/4 lb skinless center-cut salmon fillet, cut into 4 pieces
1 T cooking oil, more if needed
In a medium saucepan, cook the bacon until browned. Pour off and reserve all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the pan. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic. Cook over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until golden, about 5 minutes.
Add the lentils, broth, tomatoes, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, the thyme, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, covered, until the lentils are just tender, about 30 minutes. Discard the bay leaf and stir in the bacon bits and 1/8 teaspoon of the pepper.
Meanwhile, heat the oven to 450°F. Sprinkle the salmon with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper, and rub with some of the reserved bacon grease. Place the fish, skinned-side up in a roasting pan, and roast in the oven until it flakes when pierced with a fork, or to desired doneness, 6-10 minutes depending on thickness. Put the lentils on plates and top with the salmon.
Source: Food and Wine
Permalink
03.10.08
Posted in American, Cuisines, Dinner, Italian, Lunch, Pastas, Quick Breads, Soups at 1:49 pm by julie
These are some meals I made a while back. For some reason I hadn’t gotten around to posting them, so I’ve decided to consolidate a bit, just to do some cyber-cleaning and get them out of the Drafts queue. First up is a pot of soup I made to use up the last few vegetables in the crisper prior to a grocery trip. We were entirely out of onions, which removed most recipes as options: what I did have access to at the time was one tiny carrot, some elderly celery (I never manage to use up all my celery before it goes limp; it’s just not one of my favorites), part of a Napa cabbage, and some leek tops that I had been saving to use for stock (for this meal, I stripped off the dark green outsides and used the lighter insides). With the addition of some diced pancetta and garlic, a cubed baking potato, a box of chicken stock, and a can each of tomatoes and kidney beans, it actually manifested into a respectable pot of soup.
Minestrone
1 can kidney beans, low sodium
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 lb pancetta or sliced lean bacon, chopped
1/3 C olive oil
1 C leek, pale parts only, rinsed and chopped
1 large carrot, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 rib of celery, cut into 1/2-inch dice
3 garlic cloves, chopped fine
1/2 lb boiling potatoes
4 C shredded green cabbage (preferably Savoy)
1 14.5-ounce can tomatoes, chopped coarse and drained well
4 C chicken broth (preferably low-salt)
In a heavy kettle cook the pancetta in the oil over moderate heat, stirring, until it is crisp and pale golden, add the leek, and cook the mixture, stirring, until the leek is softened. Add the carrot, celery and garlic and cook the mixture, stirring, for 4 minutes. Add the potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch dice, and cook the mixture, stirring, for 4 minutes. Add the cabbage and cook, stirring, until the cabbage is wilted. Add the tomatoes and broth and simmer the soup, covered, for about an hour.
Drain the beans and stir into the soup. Simmer the soup, uncovered, for 15 minutes, and season it with salt and pepper. The soup may be made 3 days in advance and kept covered and chilled. Reheat the soup, thinning it with water as desired.
Source: Freely adapted from Epicurious.
Jeremy always likes some sort of bread or biscuit with his soup—really, who doesn’t?—so I made corny corn muffins to go with it. I’d never made the recipe before and actually wanted to follow it, but I nearly had to physically constrain my hands from adding cheddar cheese to it. It just sounded really good, and maybe I’ll try that out next time. They were delicious and easy to make, so there will definitely be a next time. The only adjustment I’ll admit to was the use of buttermilk powder rather than the fresh stuff, out of necessity.
Corniest Corn Muffins
1 C AP flour
1 C yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground
6 T sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 C buttermilk (I used dry buttermilk and water)
3 T unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 T corn oil (I used olive oil)
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 C corn kernels–fresh, frozen or canned
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400F.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt. In a large glass measuring cup, whisk the buttermilk, melted butter, oil, egg, and yolk together until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and use a rubber spatula to gently but quickly stir. Don’t worry about being thorough–lumps are to be expected. Stir in the corn kernels. Divide the batter evenly among the 12 cups of a silicone muffin pan.
Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a thin knife inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool for several minutes before removing from the mold.
Source: Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan (p. 4).
Once the soup was all eaten up, we still had a few corn muffins leftover. As yummy as they were when fresh, stale cornbread just isn’t that great, but I hated to just throw them away. City Bakery to the rescue! From somewhere in the depths of my mind, I dredged up a recollection that City Bakery’s recipe for macaroni and cheese called for a cornbread crumb topping. I followed their proportions, but made a few slight adjustments for our personal mac and cheese tastes: pancetta added to the roux; a combination of sharp cheddar, gruyere, parmesan and pecorino cheese grated together in the Cuisinart; and a splash of Worcestershire added to the cheese sauce. It tasted great, but was rather fattier than our usual recipe (not that mac and cheese is ever health food) so I made sure to serve it with lots of broccoli. The original recipe is written out below, as I was unable to find the online source when I went back to look for it.
City Bakery Macaroni and Cheese
6 T butter, plus extra for the pan
1/4 C corn bread crumbs (or more, depending upon pan size)
1 pound elbow macaroni
1 qt whole milk
6 T flour
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 1/4 C (5 ounces) grated Gruyere cheese, divided use
1 1/4 C cheddar cheese, divided use
1 1/4 C (5 ounces) grated Grana Padano or parmesan cheese, divided use
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a 3 1/2-quart deep baking dish or a 13-by-9-by-2-inch baking pan. Spread the crumbs in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake until golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the macaroni until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes, drain, and place in a large bowl. (To prepare up to a day ahead, mix in a small amount of canola oil, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to use.)
Bring the milk to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the 6 tablespoons of butter, add the flour, and mix well with a wooden spoon or spatula. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Whisk in the hot milk and continue whisking until smooth. Raise the heat to medium and cook, stirring continuously, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the spoon. Season with salt and pepper and strain through a fine strainer.
Add the sauce to the cooked macaroni. Add 1 cup each of the Gruyere, cheddar and Grana Padano, and mix well. Taste, and season with salt and pepper if necessary. Pour the macaroni mixture into the baking dish and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Sprinkle the toasted corn bread crumbs evenly over the casserole and cover with foil.
Bake on the middle shelf until heated through, about 20 minutes; remove foil and continue baking until the top is golden brown, an additional 10 minutes. Allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Permalink
03.07.08
Posted in American, Cuisines, Dinner, Greek, Seafood at 11:35 pm by julie
We’ve been eating lots of fish around here lately. I keep wanting salmon, but all we keep finding is farmed Atlantic salmon, and that’s just a no-go since we’ve been spoiled by wild Pacific Northwest salmon. So Pacific cod and farmed tilapia have been on the menu instead.
While unsuccessfully trying to track down a recipe for Greek lamb chops (the very same I just wrote about the other day) in my Food and Wine of Greece cookbook, I instead came across psari plaki, a baked fish recipe first called to my attention by Barbara of Tigers and Strawberries. I was intrigued and decided to give it a go, with a few adjustments for what I had on hand, namely half an onion, some scallions, and canned tomatoes. It was pretty tasty, but I am still tempted to try Barbara’s variation, which calls for slices of lemon and appeared to pack a bigger punch flavor-wise. I served it with some garlic-olive oil couscous, tossing a handful or two of torn baby spinach leaves into that as it steamed, as a way to sneak a few more veggies into the meal.
Once the cod was eaten up, we promptly went back out and bought an even bigger package of tilapia fillets, which turned out to be fodder for a good three meals. For a start, I did a simple pan-saute with a mushroom-mustard sauce and served with pancetta peas (courtesy Marcella) and a wild rice blend. This was a quickie meal, which I am really appreciating at the moment. Jeremy liked it a lot, and tried to come back for seconds, but I stuck his plate in the dishwasher while he was feeding the pup her dinner. Oops. (I blame it on preggo-brain. At least I didn’t put his dirty plate in the fridge and the leftovers in the dishwasher… yet.)
Tilapia in Mustard Cream Sauce
I pretty much followed the recipe this time, though I made sure to really oil my skillet because I know how delicate fish can stick to the stainless. I used rehydrated chopped mushrooms for convenience, and whole grain mustard because I just like it better. It made the most sense to me to finish cooking the tilapia—which didn’t take long at all—and remove it before adding the broth and mushrooms to start the sauce, so that’s what I did. This sauce could certainly be used with chicken also, or even pork, I would imagine.
4 (6-ounce) tilapia fillets
1/2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
Cooking spray
3/4 Cfat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 oz portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 T whipping cream
2 T Dijon mustard
Sprinkle fish with thyme, pepper, and salt. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add fish; cook 1 minute on each side. Add broth, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Add mushrooms; cook, uncovered, 1 minute or until mushrooms are tender. Remove fish from pan; keep warm.
Add cream and mustard to pan; stir with a whisk until well combined. Cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Serve sauce over fish.
Source: Adapted from Epicurious.
We still had like 2 pounds of fish to eat up after that, and of all things, Jeremy requested fish sticks for dinner the next night. I based mine on a straightforward recipe from Eating Well. I must admit we ate slightly less “well,” however, because I used fresh pugliese bread crumbs instead of whole wheat ones and omitted the whole wheat cereal flakes. I dredged them in whole wheat flour, at least. I also used my own blend of spices, but no longer recall what all I threw in. Remember, as you’re dredging, to keep one hand for dry operations and one for wet—it cuts down on the need to scrub gooey crumb build-up from your fingers! To go with the fish sticks, I microwaved some small russets and made twice-baked potatoes with bacon, cheddar and broccoli. They went in the oven just before the fish and completed our finger-food dinner nicely, especially since they served as a vehicle for vegetables.
Tilapia Fish Sticks
Canola oil cooking spray
1 C whole-wheat dry breadcrumbs (see Shopping Tip) or 1/2 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
1 C whole-grain cereal flakes
1 tsp lemon pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 C all-purpose flour
2 large egg whites, beaten
1 lb tilapia fillets, cut into 1/2-by-3-inch strips
Preheat oven to 450°F. Set a wire rack on a baking sheet; coat well with cooking spray. Place breadcrumbs, cereal flakes, lemon pepper, garlic powder, paprika and salt in a food processor or blender and process until finely ground. Transfer to a shallow dish.
Place flour in a second shallow dish and egg whites in a third shallow dish. Dredge each strip of fish in the flour, dip it in the egg and then coat all sides with the breadcrumb mixture. Place on the prepared rack. Coat both sides of the breaded fish with cooking spray.
Bake until the fish is cooked through and the breading is golden brown and crisp, about 10 minutes.
Source: Loosely adapted from Eating Well.
Permalink