caramel cake

Preheat oven to 350ºF
grease 8-inch sq. pan and line with parchment
bake 35-40 min

beat with mixer:

• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) 
• 1 c sugar 
• 2 lg eggs 
• 1 c buttermilk 
• 1 tsp vanilla 

Sift together:

• 2 c flour 
• 1 tsp bkg pdr 
• 3/4 tsp bkg soda 
• 1/2 tsp salt 

Add flour in thirds to liquid mixture until incorporated. Spread in pan and rap on counter to eliminate bubbles. Bake til golden & passes toothpick test.

Glaze:

• 1/2 c brown sugar 
• 1 c cream 
• 1 Tbs corn syrup 
• 1 tsp vanilla 

Cook brown sugar over med heat in heavy-bottomed saucepan. When brown and nutty-smelling, whisk in lukewarm cream, gradually at first, incorporating fully so sugar doesn't seize. When all cream whisked in, add corn syrup and vanilla. Pour over warm cake.

ham and bean soup

Use a good quality, non-glazed, preferably uncured ham for this. I like Beeler's.

All measurements are estimated. Total cook time up to 4 hours. Prep time 30 min. Makes about three quarts, enough to feed a crowd or freeze for later.

You'll notice there is no additional salt in this recipe: the bouillon and the ham are quite salty enough on their own.

2 cups (1 lb) dried pinto beans
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 chopped sweet yellow onion (1 cup)
1 small shallot, minced
2-3 cups diced ham
2-3 tsp chicken bouillon powder (adjust to suit your salt preference)
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp white pepper
2-3 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried tarragon
1 tsp dried thyme
1/4 cup Dijon mustard

To prep the beans, put in a large stock pot with plenty of cool water. Cover and bring to boil. Boil 5 min, then turn off heat, leave covered on the stove 1 hour.

After an hour, drain the beans and rinse in warm water until clear. Add more clean water to more than cover the beans and return to stove on medium heat. Add all other ingredients, cover and simmer for 90 minutes, stirring occasionally. After about 90 minutes you can test the beans for doneness: scoop up a spoonful and blow on them; if their skins split and curl they are done enough to eat.

However, for a nice thick porridge-like soup and tender beans, let simmer another hour. I find 2.5 to 3 hours cook time gives the nicest texture. Stir now and then and add water in increments if necessary.

ramos gin fizz ice cream version 1.0

So, a Ramos Gin Fizz is an amazing old-timey cocktail that is sweet, tart, fragrant, and dreamy. I love 'em. I love 'em to the tune of the five extra pounds they put on me last year. I am reminded of why alcohol is not good for you.

Still, I thought this combination of flavors would make for good ice cream, and I went looking for a recipe. Didn't find one, but I've made a lot of custards in the past few years and I figured it was a short step from custard to frozen custard. And, I can get juniper berries from my local health food store, which will substitute for the piney flavor of the gin.

This is attempt number one. It's good--light and creamy, but I want more intensity of flavor and sweetness and there's not quite enough volume here to make a good 1.5 quarts that seems to freeze optimally in my ice cream maker.

2 1/4 cups heavy cream
2 Tbs juniper berries.
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup lime juice
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 Tbs cornstarch
pinch salt
1 tsp Fiori di Sicilia oil from King Arthur Flour

Basic method is:
Heat the cream in a saucepan and crushed the juniper berries, then let them sit in the hot cream, covered, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile beat the eggs with the cornstarch, whisk in the milk, salt, and Fiori. When the juniper is done infusing, strain the cream into a saucepan, whisk in the citrus juices and the egg/milk mixture, and heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens. Strain again, if desired, into a large bowl, press plastic over the top, and chill thoroughly before freezing in the ice-cream freezer.

==========

The above recipe gave me a faint juniper after-note, that I could detect *slightly* in the warm custard, but not in the finished ice cream. Cold desserts seem to require more intensive flavors and more sugar to seem balanced. The sugar ratio also plays a part in the end texture. I think for my next attempt I will do something like this:

3 cups cream
4 Tbs juniper berries, crushed
1/2 c lemon juice & zest
1/2 c lime juice & zest
~3/4 cup sugar (will have to taste this to gauge sweetness)
3 eggs
3 Tbs flour (so far I have used flour, cornstarch, and arrowroot starch as thickeners, and the flour won hands-down for texture)
1 tsp vanilla cognac
1 tsp orange flower water

I like the Fiori a lot, but because it's an oil I don't think it works well in cold desserts. Likewise the zest of the citrus fruits needs to infuse with the juniper, and they all need to infuse for longer.

I also want to try adding xanthan gum to improve the texture; with this high level of water in the mix, there's a danger of ice crystals forming.

Nevertheless this is an intriguing project!

tilapia and shellfish creole with asparagus, and garlic mashed potatoes

Potatoes

Peel & dice 2-3 medium red skinned spuds. Boil together with 2 cloves peeled garlic until spuds & garlic are soft. Mash lightly and stir in 1/2 stick butter, seasoning salt, California pepper, and a dash of cayenne.

Fish and Seafood Creole sauce

Melt 1/2 stick butter in large skillet. Chop 2 cloves garlic, 1/4 sweet onion, 1/2 red bell pepper, and 1 stalk celery. Add seasoning salt, black pepper, basil, parsley, and 3 dashes cayenne. Sauté until soft, then remove. Do not clean skillet.

Season-salt & cali pepper** 4 tilapia fillets, then dredge in flour. Add 2-3 Tbs olive oil to the skillet with the goodie* and quickly sauté the fish until done through and edges are crispy. Remove to a plate. 

Return the veg-roux mixture to the skillet and throw in a handful each of frozen scallops and frozen cooked cleaned shrimp. Chop a medium tomato and throw in. Take 2 servings of asparagus and cut into bite-sized pieces and add to veg-seafood sauté. Cover and cook over med-low heat until asparagus is done and seafood is thawed/cooked through. 

At the last minute, add a couple pinches of gumbo filé powder, just enough that it thickens slightly.

Plate the fish and potatoes. Serve the chunky veg & seafood sauce alongside.

*"Goodie" is our household word for the cracklin's/roux/drippings or any other flavorful yuck that's left in the pan after you cook something. Used to flavor the next something.

**"Season-salt" is a verb. So is "cali-pepper." California pepper is a mixture from Penzey's that contains, among other things, black pepper and dried bell pepper. Very useful flavor shortcut, especially in Mexican, Italian, or Cajun dishes.

witch's brew

For the last year or so I've been doing some semi-serious research into herbal medicine, mostly to fortify my writing but a little bit out of practical reasons as well.

As I've gotten older I've developed some skin problems. I saw a dermatologist and he went the predictable route: gave me some samples for a VERY expensive topical cream (which made me very dry and uncomfortable) and wanted to put me on a testosterone inhibitor--without checking my hormone levels, and despite the fact that I had none of the other symptoms of high testosterone, just acne. I said no, thank you.

There's an herb called Vitex (chaste tree berry/chaste berry) that reputedly has hormone balancing properties; there have been a few clinical studies to indicate that it can alleviate PMS symptoms. It's also one of the two major ingredients in a commercially available "acne tea" which I have used before, with good results.

Problem is, the tea's expensive, and not available locally. So I could order it in bulk, and have lots of little stupid overpriced tea bags and steel canisters clogging my pantry (and recycling bins) or I could make my own. Luckily I have access to an amazing natural foods store that sells dried herbs in bulk.

The place looks like the aunts' conservatory in Practical Magic. They sell all kinds of stuff that even I, with my casual knowledge of herbal medicine, know to be potentially harmful. They stock at least three abortifacients, ready to scoop into little baggies for $1.49/oz.

I copied down the ingredients from the back of the commercial tea's packaging and went to the store. I started pulling down jars and lining them up in a row, checking them against my list: Vitex, burdock, chamomile, and a handful of florals for flavoring.

"Are you making a spell?" my husband said, in a delighted kind of way.

After a second's thought I said, "Yes, actually."

I will confess something now that will probably have my mother throwing Holy Water at me, if she ever hears of it: I've always wished I was a witch. Not a touchy-feely-new-age-mother-earth-gaia-goddess kind of witch, but somebody with real power, like in the fantasy stories. I have never tried to be one because I don't believe in magic or higher powers that mortals can harness to their benefit. Religious rituals are a waste of time, to my mind. Nevertheless, the last few weeks have been stressful and I've been writing about my characters doing magic, and complaining that it's a pity such powers don't exist, because I could use a bit of influence over the world right now.

But last night I made my tea, with the help of a food processor to chop some of the dried herbs (I tried using my mortar and pestle but those hibiscus flowers are tough, dude). And I was drinking it for breakfast--it had the familiar scent and flavor of the commercial stuff, but stronger--and I thought to myself, This is the kind of knowledge wise women used to have, before the Church decided they were a threat and declared them heretics. By researching and mixing these herbs I have successfully circumvented both the priests of pharmacology and the acolytes of marketing.

So I say what the hell: Blessed be.

white cake with berries

Here's a delicately flavored, pretty white cake with berry filling, good for bridal/baby showers or just when you want to show off.

This recipe is adapted from Restaurant Eve's white cake. It's the only treatment of a cake batter I've seen in which the butter is melted and combined with the flour first, and it works wonders. It's also, as far as I can tell, pretty much foolproof. I have beaten this batter within an inch of its life and it came out fine.

Cake:

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temp.
2 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. (I HIGHLY recommend using the paper. This batter is delicate and sticks like crazy.)

Combine sugar, flour, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Use an electric mixer to beat in melted butter in 3-4 stages. Beat for about 2 minutes; the texture will resemble cornmeal.

In a separate bowl, combine eggs, vanilla extract and milk. Add to the flour-butter mixture in two batches (scraping the bowl once), and beat until smooth.

Distribute the batter evenly between the two prepared pans. Bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 20 minutes. Remove cakes from pans to cool completely.

Berry filling:

1 cup strawberries
3 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs lemon juice
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 cup blueberries
1 cup raspberries
1 cup blackberries

In a food processor or with a potato ricer, mash strawberries with the sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla until you have pulp. Mash the other berries lightly (best to do the blueberries alone, or they don't get mashed well) and then combine all. Let sit a bit for the flavors to mingle.

Icing:


This is probably my favorite icing ever. It has a wonderful light texture and is not nearly as sweet as a buttercream. The cooking can seem intimidating, but it's really a simple two-step process. Just keep a close eye on the cooking roux; it can scorch very quickly. 

5 Tbs flour1 cup milk1 tsp vanilla1 cup butter1 cup granulated sugar (NOT powdered sugar!)

In a small saucepan, combine flour and milk over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it thickens. This will happen suddenly, but don't panic; keep whisking until very thick, like brownie batter, then remove from heat immediately and put into your mixing bowl. Stir in vanilla. Resist the urge to taste it; it will be fairly weird at this point.

Now set the gravy aside to cool to room temperature. You can cover it and put it in the fridge for a bit, but if it gets hard it will be difficult to blend. It must be completely cool before the sugar/butter are added.

While the mixture is cooling, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. You don’t want any sugar graininess left. Then add the completely cooled milk/flour/vanilla mixture and beat until uniform and fluffy, like whipped cream at the stiff stage.

Speaking of whipped cream:

I like to cut my filling-frosting with whipped cream to reduce the sweet and stretch the amount, so you may also want 2 cups of hard-whipped cream on hand.

To assemble cake:

Cut each layer in half horizontally (I don't have to explain what this means, right?) so you end up with four cake layers. A long serrated bread knife works well enough for a home kitchen.

Take out about 1/3 of the frosting mixture and fold the whipped cream into it.

On the first cake layer, smear on a generous coating of the berry mixture with a large spoon (not so much that it will ooze out the sides). Spread the icing-whipped-cream combo on top of the berries.

Repeat with layers 2 and 3.

Put the top on the cake, and frost the sides and top with the uncut frosting. Refrigerate promptly. This cake is probably best after it has chilled and the layers have set up a bit.

lavender cookies with rosewater icing

This one is circulating the net lately. I, of course, tweaked it a little. Most versions of this call for 2 tsp of baking powder, which I thought was way too much for a batch this small. Also I used my beloved Fiori di Sicilia for the icing instead of straight rosewater, since my bottle is a little old.

I've had lavender in chocolate bonbons before, but never in baked goods, so I was a little concerned about the lavender being overpowering here. It wasn't, even though my dried lavender buds were very fresh and smelled perfumey as I was processing them. When combined with the butter and sugar they create a lovely almost-sharp flavor, rather like basil, or the sweet overtones of black pepper.

This is some of the best cookie dough I have ever tasted. I love me some vanilla, but it is much richer and stronger than the delicate flavors featured here. My writers group ate the whole two dozen I took; luckily for me I kept a few in reserve at home. :-)

Bake at 375 for 11-13 minutes.

Lavender cookies with rosewater icing

1/2 c unsalted butter, softened

1 c sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp lavender buds, crushed

1 1/2 c flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

*some recipes call for grapefruit zest to be added to the batter, which I think would be delightful but I haven’t tried it yet.

Preheat oven to 375º F. 

Crush lavender buds with a morter and pestle, and/or process them with the sugar for a few seconds until finely crushed. Cream butter & sugar together; add eggs. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl; beat into the butter mixture in 3-4 stages. This makes a very soft dough, almost a batter. I chilled mine for a half-hour or so to make it more manageable, but it’s not necessary.

I strongly recommend using parchment paper to line your baking sheets for these. They are quite delicate.

Drop small spoonfuls (1-inch diameter) on the cookie sheet, spaced well apart. Bake 11-13 minutes or until barely browning around the edges. Remove promptly and let cool before drizzling on the icing.

Makes about 30 cookies. I think they would be just fine without icing, but YMMV.

Icing

1 cup powdered sugar, more or less

2-3 drops rose water

2-3 drops Fiori di Sicilia (optional)

milk

Combine sugar, flavorings, and just enough milk to get a consistency that will drizzle off the end of a fork. Drizzle away, preferably over the parchment paper on which the cookies were baked. Store tightly covered.

Tapas-style meatballs in sherry cream sauce

I've made meatballs before, but this flavor combination was inspired by some I had at Café Sevilla in San Diego. The paprika and the cumin make them seem exotic. 

All measurements are estimated; I tend to make meatballs by the seat of my pants, as it were. Don't omit the shallot in the sauce; it really makes a distinctive difference.

Meatballs:

1 lb ground beef

1 chub of seasoned pork breakfast sausage (I use R.B.Rice Mild or Medium)

1/4 onion, minced

2-4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced

2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 pinches cumin

salt or seasoning salt to taste

1 egg

(optional) about 1/2 cup of texturizer; I used cold cooked rice, but rolled oats or bread crumbs may be used instead.

Mush everything together thoroughly in large bowl. Melt a couple tablespoons each of butter & olive oil in a heavy skillet. Drop small meatballs in the hot skillet and cook over medium heat; don’t let them get browned too much before they are cooked through. As the batches of meatballs are cooked, remove them to paper towels to drain.

Sauce:

1 Tbs butter

1 Tbs olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1 small shallot, minced

optional: 1-2 tsp. beef bullion powder

1/3 c sherry

1/2 c half & half

1 Tbs tomato paste

thickener: 1 Tbs flour, or 2 tsp. cornstarch or arrowroot starch (I use arrowroot lately)

When all the meatballs are cooked, scrape up the browned bits and add the additional fats. Saute the garlic & shallot over med-low heat until well softened. Add the beef bullion power if using (Note: bullion powder can be very salty, and if you’re using cooking sherry, which already has salt, the result can be overpowering). Add the sherry, cream, and tomato paste and cook until bubbling. Dissolve the thickening starch in a bit of cool water and quickly stir into the sauce. As soon as it thickens, reduce heat to low, return meatballs to the pan and cover to simmer for 5 minutes.

These are fantastic with green peas.

pasta estate stir-fry with brown rice pasta and baked chicken breast

We'll just call this "summer pasta" for short. I had a hankering for alfredo sauce and vegetables yesterday, after one of my pen pals was talking about pasta primavera on Facebook. I rarely eat pasta (as in, once a year, maybe, if you twist my arm) so when my honey came home he demanded to know who I was and what I had done with his wife. But after the first bite he declared it good and light. I myself was very pleased with it. You can't hardly go wrong with olive oil, lemon, and Italian seasonings.

I am not gluten intolerant per se, but I have noticed I feel better and my skin is clearer when I avoid wheat. Luckily there are plenty of options these days. I used Field Day Organic brown rice fusilli which was very satisfactory. The spiral shape is my favorite for collecting the sauce.

(Just FYI, I mostly post recipes here for my own benefit, so what follows is more casual method than strict recipe.)

For the chicken breasts:

Trim and slice in half through the thickness; lay in single layer on (olive) oiled baking dish. Melt & brown 1/2 stick of butter; add equal amount of lemon juice. Pour over chicken breasts. Season well with salt & pepper, or Italian dressing mix & pepper. Sprinkle generously with Italian herbs for crust. Bake at 325-350 for about 30-40 minutes or til done.

Chop and prep vegetables as if for stir fry:

1/3 onion
3 cloves garlic
1 broccoli crown
1 large carrot
1/2 red bell pepper
1 small yellow squash
1 small young zucchini
2 large button mushrooms
2/3 cup frozen peas (save out to add with sauce, below)

Melt butter & olive oil together in skillet. Sautee vegs, in stages, in the order given, til almost tender. Remove to bowl after each stage. Salt and pepper lightly if desired (although the butter and the sauce are almost salty enough, so be careful).

Start pasta cooking while you make the sauce.

Pseudo-Alfredo Sauce:

After vegs are removed from skillet, pour in:

1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 - 2/3 cup of grated parmesan and/or mixed parm and peccorino cheese
1 cup cream
1 cup half & half
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup white wine, (or a little more lemon juice and chicken broth, if preferred)
generous amount of black pepper
2 pinches ground nutmeg

Let simmer, stirring often, until cheese is melted and it cooks down to be slightly velvety. Throw in the frozen peas at the last moment.

Drain pasta and add to veg mixture in large bowl. Pour sauce over all. Top with fresh basil chiffonade, and more pepper and grated cheese if you like. Toss together, spoon serving into soup plate and top with sliced chicken breast. Would also be good with seared blackened shrimp.

rum drinks and snark: a book review

I am not a big drinker. My recent infatuation with gin and tonics is an anomaly. Nevertheless I am interested in cooking, and history, and through one quirk and another I found myself wondering what people--specifically poor people in 1880's New Orleans--would drink to unwind. Rum, I figured. But rum isn't such a popular drink these days, aside from rum-and-cokes, and though I, my husband, and the bartender at Blanc on the Plaza racked our brains, we couldn't think of any commonplace, traditional drinks that featured rum.

(Yes, yes--that's why we have the iPhones and the Internet. Don't jump ahead of me.)

Then I remembered I had acquired a copy of "Steamdrunks: 101 Steampunk Cocktails and Mixed Drinks" a couple of months ago on a whim. And sure enough, when I opened my Kindle I saw there were plenty of historically-accurate and shudder-inducing mixological concoctions featuring rum.

And I should mention, the book itself is a hoot:

"Rum is the saucy drink of choice for your Steampunk sky pirate. Those of you seeking an authentic Victorian flavor need to search the cheapest, bottom rotgut shelves of your local liquor store. The $6 gallon bottle will still be too refined and palatable, so try adding a nice mix of rat droppings, sweat scraped from a homeless man's armpit, and the bitter white citrus interior you've thrown away from all the other recipes in this book. It'll still be too pure for the sake of authenticity, but you'll start to get a feeling for why every rum cocktail of the 19th century was blended with citrus, sugar, and crushing regret."

After reading that, I also understand why not so many rum cocktails have remained popular into the current day.

I recommend this book if you're into booze, or hosting, or history, or any combination thereof.

slightly spicy homemade ketchup

We don't eat a lot of ketchup in our house. About the only thing I like it on is fried potatoes or pork chops; however on those two things ketchup is mandatory, so I was pretty bummed last night when, after frying up a batch of chops, I opened the fridge to discover we had none.

Luckily I had a couple cans of tomato paste, and luckily I have made homemade ketchup a couple of times before. I have a recipe I've been tweaking, and this batch didn't come out half bad.

This is much less sweet than most store brands; the dominant flavor is tomato with a touch of sour from the vinegar, followed swiftly by salt and spice. It was great on the pork chops; I suspect it will be best with meats, but I may fry up a batch of skillet potatoes just to be sure.

6 oz. can of tomato paste
2 tsp sugar (feel free to substitute honey or sweetener)
1 tsp Italian dressing mix (I used Penzey's)
about 1/2 tsp seasoning salt or to taste
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/8 tsp allspice
pinch or 2 of cayenne pepper


1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup water

Combine tomato paste and spices. In a separate measuring cup, combine vinegar and water, and add to tomato paste mix in increments until desired consistency is reached. For best flavor, let sit for an hour or overnight in fridge. Apple juice can be used in place of water butI think that makes it too sweet.

coconut sour cream cookies recipe

This is one of my mom's recipes. I have no idea where she got it, but it's been in the family at least three generations, maybe four. So there is nothing low-calorie, or low-fat, or low-carb, or remotely redeemingly healthy about this recipe. Those who attempt to healthify it will be flogged with a wet noodle.

Seriously, though, this is a HUGE recipe. It makes about 6 dozen cookies, which is perfect for making at Christmastime because they freeze pretty darn well and you can give them away. I have made half a batch on occasion, and that works pretty well, too. Two things that don't work: baking them in the summer –I once tried it and was rewarded with a gooey block of cookie that we had to keep in the fridge and scoop out with a spoon– and, trying to leave the coconut out of the recipe. Coconut has a lot of natural fat, and the sweetened shredded kind adds necessary sweetness and moisture to the recipe. This is a rich, cakelike cookie with a delicate flavor.

Grandma Rebecca's Coconut Sour Cream Cookies

Cream together:

1 cup butter, softened

2 c granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

Stir together:

5 cups sifted flour (either sift before measuring, or fluff and scoop lightly into measuring cup)

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt (may want to increase if using unsalted butter)

1 12-oz carton full-fat cultured sour cream (Daisy or Knutson brand--Land O'Lakes has starch fillers.)

1 packed cup sweetened shredded coconut, such as Angel Flake.

Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients in 3-4 stages, alternating with the sour cream, beating after each addition. Makes a very stiff, sticky dough. Stir in coconut with a stout spoon. Cover dough and chill 3-4 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 375º F, and if necessary raise the oven rack to a slot just above center. An insulated aluminum cookie sheet is excellent for these, because they should not be browned. No need to grease cookie sheet, although a parchment liner is useful. 

Scoop out small balls of dough (about 1 in. diameter). The recipe says roll between palms but this dough is so sticky I usually just pat it into shape with a finger on the cookie sheet. Give them some space on the sheet; they will spread a bit.

The cookie balls can be dipped in more coconut before baking, in which case the coconut browns and gives a nice toasty crunch on top. I like them sprinkled with colored sugar.

Bake at 375º for 10-12 minutes or until the tops are just resilient to a touch, like little cakes. DO NOT BROWN. Remove promptly from the baking sheet to a cooling sheet of parchment, or other flat surface.

Cool the cookie sheet completely before mounting the next batch. When fully cool, cover tightly and store at cool room temperature. These are fine out of the oven, but are best on the second or third day. They can also be frozen in plastic baggies for a week or two with no harm done.

goat cheese vinaigrette vegetable dip

This is a tangy, savory dip I made up. It's especially suited to raw vegetables.


1/2 brick of cream cheese,
1 small package (3 oz) goat cheese
2 Tbs mayo
juice 1/2 lemon
salt & pepper
1-2 tsps Penzey's French Vinagrette dressing mix*
extra pinch of both rosemary and thyme (optional--I like the piney flavor of the rosemary with the lemon)
dash cayenne

Allow cheeses to reach room temp. Blend together cheeses and mayo. Add salt, pepper and herbs. Add lemon juice and stir well. Keep cool.

*this vinagrette mix includes salt, pepper, sugar, rosemary, thyme, garlic, onion, scallions. Using the real thing fresh would probably be even better!

oatmeal peanut butter cookies

I made these by combining a few different recipes. Depending on the bake time, you can either get a chewy, peanut-butter-textured cookie, or you can overbake them and cool for a crisp granola-type cookie.

Preheat oven to 350º F.

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 c flour
1/2 c granulated sugar
1/2 c dark brown sugar
1/4 c coconut flour (optional--adds fiber and makes a drier, crisper cookie)
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
pinch salt

1/2 c butter, melted
1 c peanut butter
2 eggs, room temp
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 bag chocolate chips

Combine dry stuff in large bowl. Melt butter, remove from heat and stir in peanut butter til semi-combined. Make a well in the dry ingredients, pour in butter & peanut butter. Add 2 eggs and vanilla. Stir by hand until well combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Mixture will be crumbly and tend to shed.

Scoop pingpong-ball sized balls of dough onto cookie sheet and flatten slightly into disks with the back of  a spoon. If you have used the coconut flour, cookies will NOT spread as they bake.

Bake 10-12 minutes for chewy cookies. Let cool on sheets 5 minutes, then cool on racks for another 10.

For crispy cookies, bake 10-12 minutes, then turn off oven, crack door open, and let the oven cool until cookies are dry and crispy.

Makes about 3 dozen thick cookies. Very filling--eat slowly!

secrets of apple pie from scratch

This is awkward for me to admit, but my standard for good apple pie is a vague memory of the fried apple pies McDonald's had when I was a child. The ones they sell now aren't nearly the same. I'm pretty sure the old ones were fried in lard, because this was pre 1984/animal-farms-are-bad/it's-a-brave-new-world of-corn-oil days.

Anyhoo, in my mind apple pie filling should have a perfect balance of sweet/tart/spicy; it should be juicy, but not runny or gummy, and the crust should have a flaky top and a cooky-chewy underside.

Keeping in mind that pie-baking is more art than science, so your mileage may vary. 

crockpot beef ragout

Melt 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter in heavy skillet. (not non-stick)

Chop 1/2 of a sweet onion (or more) and saute in the butter over medium heat.

Take about 1 pound skirt steak, or other long-grained beef with minimal fat. Cube small. When onions are wilted and beginning to brown, add steak and increase heat to medium-high. Brown all over, stirring as necessary, until the liquids are gone and the sugars start to caramelize and stick.

Meanwhile, peel and chop small: 1 parsnip, 2 carrots, 2 medium red potatoes, 2 stalks celery and 1 smallish shallot. Put in slow-cooker on high heat with enough water to let vegs swim freely.

When the beef and onions are well-browned, add them to the slow cooker. Return skillet to heat and add about 1 cup water to deglaze, scraping up all the brown bits. Add to crockpot. Add about 1/2 cup red wine, or cooking sherry and a dash of balsamic vinegar.

Season with 2-3 beef bouillon cubes (take care not to make it too salty), salt and pepper (I like Lowry’s seasoned salt and seasoned pepper), 1/2 tsp rosemary, 1/2 tsp thyme, and a pinch cayenne. If you don’t use the Lowry’s, add also a dash of sugar and 1 teaspoon of paprika.

Melt the other 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter in the skillet and add 1/4 cup flour. Cook and stir over med-high heat until it turns a nutty brown color. Add to pot.

Leave in the slow cooker on High for about 3.5-4 hours. 

southwestern tuna steaks with avocado salad

I made this up, based on a fish tacos recipe for the marinade. This is one of our favorite quickie dinners lately; we've been having it once a week. Takes about 10 minutes and serves 2. All amounts are estimated--I never measure. :-)

Fish
2 servings tuna steak (or swordfish, or mahi mahi--any firm-textured fish you like, really)
3 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs honey
1 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro
juice of 1/2 lime
2 tsp taco seasoning
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
dash of cayenne
salt & pepper

Fish should be thawed and at room temperature. Mix together honey, oil, lime juice & seasonings. Salt & pepper fish, place in a shallow dish and pour oil mixture over. Let sit while you chop up the salad.

Avocado salad
1 ripe avocado, peeled and chopped
1/2 medium tomato, chopped small
2-3 Tbs minced sweet onion
juice of 1/2 lime or to taste
1 Tbs minced fresh cilantro
salt & pepper to taste

Mix and let stand while the fish cooks.

Heat nonstick skillet over medium heat; add a generous drizzle of olive oil and put the fish in. Add any leftover marinade. Cook the fish about 3-4 minutes on each side or to desired doneness. Remove to 2 plates, divide the avocado salad between them, and add a dab of Greek yogurt or sour cream to each.

chicken and dumpling soup with vegetables

For most of my adult life I've been on a quest for chicken soup that tastes like Campbell's Chunky Chicken Noodle, which they made back in the 80's and has, alas, gone the way of the dodo.

This is not that soup. However, it's built on some of the more interesting previous attempts.

The 'dumplings' referred to here are sort of a feather-light steamed biscuit. They are very fluffy, and full of butter and chicken flavor. This is serious comfort food.

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Take a smallish stewing chicken (about 2 lbs.) and put in a stockpot. Add enough water to submerge the bottom third, a generous dollop of olive oil, and the juice of one orange. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, about 90 minutes. You can do this early in the day, then turn it off and leave covered on the stove until dinner-prep time.

Remove chicken from broth. Strain broth if desired and return to pot.

Peel and chop 3 carrots, 3 stalks of celery, 1/2 yellow onion and 1/2 sweet red bell pepper. Add to broth. Throw in about 2 tsps salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, and 1 or 2 teaspoons each: parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, adjusting the herb quantities to your own taste. Add about a tablespoon of chicken bouillon granules (or 2 cubes).

Strip the chicken meat, chop and return to pot. Cover and let the vegetables simmer about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix the dumplings: Cut 4 tablespoons butter into 1.5 cups Bisquick* mix. It doesn't have to be perfectly blended. It's like making biscuits or pie crust; you want it incorporated but still lumpy. Dribble in milk a tablespoon at a time, stirring after each addition, until you have a shaggy dry dough, like Play-Doh that is nearing the end of its usefulness. (See note at the end.)

Make sure your soup is at a low boil, and there is enough liquid to let the solids swim freely. The dumplings will soak up a lot of liquid and you don't want to run dry. Add water if necessary.

Stir about 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1/4 cup of cool water to make a thin gruel. Beat in 1 egg yolk. Beat in about 1/3 cup of heavy cream. Whisk into the hot soup and immediately reduce heat to a low simmer.

Drop golfball-sized forkfulls of dough into the hot broth. (They will float, and expand as they cook.) Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, then cover tightly and cook for 10 more.

Serve hot in soup plates. Getting the liquid quantities right can be tricky, but the end result should be a thick stew or ragout. This is extremely comforting food, but not too filling if you can manage to control your intake.


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*Note: I use Bisquick because it's fast and easy. Any basic biscuit recipe will do, but you'll leave out the acid (lemon juice, vinegar, buttermilk, whatever) and add less milk. Boiled dumplings are perverse: the dryer they go into the pot, the lighter they will cook up. Too much liquid in the batter makes them gluey and heavy.

instant-karma pizza

I haven't posted a recipe in a long long time (or much of anything else, either) but I felt compelled to brag/bemoan the pizza we had for dinner last night.

It started with some basil. I adore basil. I hit the farmer's market on Wednesday to get some tomatoes, and this woman had a pile of gorgeous heirloom tomatoes in every color of the rainbow, plus a bouquet of basil that I could smell from six feet away.

I bought a bundle, which looks pretty and summery in a straight glass vase on my kitchen counter, and announced I was going to make pesto with it.

"Ooo," said my husband, the enabler. "Pesto flatbreads. Pesto flatbreads!"

And because I can't say no, either to him or to the craving for pizza I'd had the last couple weeks, I said, "Okay, what else do you want for toppings?"

"Carmelized onions," he said without hesitation. "Pork. Brie."

"Brie??" I said incredulously.

"Brie. And maybe some crumbled feta."

It sounded like a strange combination to me, but I set out to make it work. Clearly this was not a pizza that would need or want tomato sauce. The pesto would serve for the oil and the salty flavor, plus I was already looking at 3 cheeses (given the parmesan in the pesto) so I could skip the mozz, too.

I got some pork sausage at Steve's Meat Market in DeSoto. It's mild, breakfasty, and full of good pig fat. I browned it in a little olive oil, with balsamic vinegar, rosemary, pepper, parsely and bay leaf.

For the pesto I used a recipe that Sifu Sit provided. He'd made some the night before, and claimed it was superior to many recipes because it had a dab of butter added. Y'know, he was right?

For the crust, I used this recipe, which truly is perfect in my mind. I mixed it up Wednesday night, let it sit in the fridge all day Thursday, and it was ready to go when I got home. I like a tad more salt and sugar in the dough than they call for here, but YMMV. If you spread the dough quite thin, it makes a 10 or 12 inch, crackerlike crust with a bit of chew. I made two balls of dough, each one mixed separately (which takes, like, 5 minutes) and then put in the same bowl to rise.

So: onions sliced thin and gently sauteed in the pig fat. Sun-dried tomatoes from the pantry, diced and warmed with the onions. Tony wilted some spinach to go on his flatbread. I found a shrivelling red pepper in the fridge and elevated it to divine roasted status. Thin slices of brie, sprinkling of feta, dashes of fresh pesto.

I'm embarrassed to admit I ate the whole thing. A whole 10-inch flatbread, by myself. Tony managed to hold back a slice of his, which he had for breakfast.

My fingers were so swollen this morning I could hardly get my ring on. It'll probably take me the rest of the weekend to undo the damage of all that wheat and salt.

But hey, if you're gonna sin.... at least make it worth the while.

donut-cake

I've had this long-running mission to recreate a flavor from my childhood: the "buttermilk crullers" Dad used to bring home from the grocery store on Sundays. I don't know who made them; some local bakery now defunct. But they were tender and sugary-moist, dripping with crusty syrup and tangy with buttermilk. Krispy Kreme's cake donutholes are similar, but at the same time nothing like--there's too much artificial stuff in the Krispy Kremes, and they don't have the sour note. Also there was an elusive perfume in the buttermilk cruellers--some subtle spice that I couldn't identify.

This week, I got close.

It was kind of an accident. Couple years ago, I was messing around with a Madeleines recipe that was too dry for my taste. In my kitchen, everything baked can be improved with a dollop of sour cream (except pie crust--don't go there). Sadly, when you add sour cream to Madeleines they are no longer Madeleines--they don't get that nice crumbly edge, or the spongy quality.

What I ended up with was something more interesting. And Saturday night I was jonesing for something sweet, so I pulled out this recipe and decided to try it again. I wanted something that could be baked in little cakes, you see--because frying is a nuisance, and because individual cakes can be wrapped up and frozen and I needn't eat them all at once, or let them go stale and wasted.

Here's the recipe. The batter itself is rich, rather than sweet. You could probably reduce the amount of sugar further, to 1-1/4 or 1-1/3, without damage. The glaze will add sweet as needed.

• 1 cup (1/2 lb) butter (I used salted; if you use unsalted you will need to add a pinch of salt to the dry ingredients)
  
• 1-1/2 cup sugar
  
• 2 large eggs
  
• 1-1/2 to 2 tsp vanilla extract (preferably the kind made with bourbon)
  
• 2-1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  
• 1-1/2 tsp baking powder
  
• 1/2 cup full-fat sour cream
  
• 1/2 cup whole milk yogurt, plain
  
• about 1 tsp ground spices (read on)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
   
   
2. Cream together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
   
   
3. In a measuring cup, combine yogurt and sour cream.
   
   
4. In another bowl, combine the dry ingredients, including your desired spices. This time, I started with a combination of Penzey's Cake Spice, which is nice, but not quite what I wanted. I think the winning combination here is a touch of cinnamon, nutmeg or mace, and cardamom. I used about 1 to 1-1/2 teaspoons total ground spices. This gave the cake a perfumy quality without tasting "spicy." Use a mild cinnamon like Vietnamese.
   
   
5. Alternate adding the dry stuff and the sour cream to the batter in 2-3 stages, blending well after each addition. This batter is fairly thick and fluffy, especially after the baking powder and acids in the dairy go to work on either other.
   
   
6. Let it sit for a couple of minutes, while you generously butter and flour your pans. I have a pan with six mini-bundt wells, which left a bit of batter left over that I put in a mini-springform pan. I'm sure you could also bake this in a loaf or full-sized bundt, but it would take forever.
   
   
7. Spoon batter into prepared pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes (mini pans) or 45-60 minutes (full sized pans) or until a knife comes out clean. They will be pale on top, but the cake should be slightly brown at the edges and pulling away from the pan.
   
   
8. Turn off oven, crack door, and let sit inside for another 5 minutes.
   
   
9. Remove from oven, let sit in pans for 5-10 minutes while you mix up a glaze from 1 cup powdered sugar, a dash vanilla, and enough milk (2-4 Tbs) to make it pourable.
   
   
10. Turn out cakes onto cooling rack with foil or parchment underneath. Set Cakes right-side-up and pour glaze lavishly over them. (If you want them super-sugary, you can set them in a jelly-roll pan, pour the glaze over, and let them soak up the excess. This is the way the buttermilk cruellers were glazed, but I am no longer ten and I don't need all that sweet.)

These are good warm, but I think they are best the day after. Wrap them up tightly after they are cool. They should freeze well.