Saint Joe gets invited to Easter...

Jeesh! Spring Break just flew by, bookended by major holidays. It seems like we had hardly finished St. Patty's corned beef before it was time to make the Easter ham! And in the middle, I tried (but failed) to celebrate La Festa di San Giuseppe (St. Joseph's Feast). I am neither Catholic nor Italian, so this was a new one on me. But when I read about zeppole di San Giuseppe on my favorite Montreal blog, I knew I had to try and make them myself. Of course, they are a Lenten pastry, but I wasn't able to make them on the official day (March 19) as I had run out of heavy cream, and Cyd couldn't be bothered to bring some home from town! So I made them for our Easter dessert on Sunday, which I do understand is completely inappropriate. Regardless, they were tasty and quite festive. This type of zeppola is basically like a cream puff; it's made from the same kind of pate a choux but fried, like a Italian version of a crueller. And it's either filled with sweetened ricotta or, more traditionally, with pastry cream (I opted for the latter as I consider pastry cream to be its own food group). Then it's topped with a cherry and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Pretty basic elements, but delightful nonetheless. Mine kind of mutated and became all crazy-looking as I fried them, but it just gave them a whimsical, Seuss-like quality that I found enchanting. Plus, the mutant ends were extra-crispy and delicious! ;-)

As for the rest of our Easter dinner, we whetted our appetites with devilled eggs with a few minced pickled jalapeno slices and a little zucchini relish mixed in. The main attraction, of course, was a spiral-sliced ham glazed with an absolutely delicious mixture of a quarter cup of brown sugar, a tablespoon of Dijon mustard, and a half-cup of my homemade honeybell marmalade. YUM! I also cooked some Italian Romano (green) beans in the crock pot all day with bacon, onions, and chicken broth. And the piece de resistance was the ultimate three-cheese scalloped potato dish! I don't always have the best of luck with homemade scalloped potatoes--mainly, because it's often so hard to get the potatoes done all the way through. But this recipe was super-easy and super-delicious. I found it on Epicurious, and since it had nearly 300 positive reviews since 1999, I felt confident that it would turn out well. Indeed, I declare it the definitive Easter side dish which definitely warrants a repeat appearance on a future holiday table.

Scalloped Potatoes with Three Cheeses
(Source: Rick Rodgers, Bon Appetit, November 1999 via Epicurious)
Makes 12 servings

3/4 cup (packed) grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese (about 4 ounces)
3/4 cup crumbled Danish blue cheese (about 4 ounces)
1/3 cup (packed) freshly grated parmesan (about 1 1/4 ounces)
4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds (I used Yukon Golds)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
3 cups whole milk

Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly butter 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Mix cheddar cheese, blue cheese and parmesan in small bowl.

Arrange half of potatoes in prepared baking dish, overlapping slightly. Sprinkle with teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Sprinkle onion over, then flour. Dot with 2 tablespoons butter. Sprinkle half of cheese mixture over. Top with remaining potatoes, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 2 tablespoons butter. Reserve remaining cheese.

Bring milk to simmer in medium saucepan (I did this in a Pyrex measuring cup in the microwave). Pour milk over potatoes (milk will not cover potatoes completely). Cover baking dish tightly with foil. Bake 45 minutes. Uncover dish (liquids in dish may look curdled); sprinkle potatoes with reserved cheese mixture. Bake uncovered until potatoes are tender and cheese is deep golden brown, about 45 minutes longer. (Can be prepared 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Cover and rewarm in 375°F oven about 20 minutes.) Remove from oven; let stand 15 minutes before serving.

St. Joseph's Day Zeppole (Zeppole di San Giuseppe)
(Source: Sal Joseph Scognamillo of Patsy's Italian Restaurant)
Makes 12

2 cups water
1 tablespoon butter
pinch of salt
2 cups flour, plus extra for dusting
6 eggs
vegetable oil for frying (Scognamillo uses peanut oil)
2 pounds ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
12 maraschino cherries

Bring water, butter and salt to a low boil. When boiling, add flour and stir for about 1 minute until thoroughly mixed. Take off fire, move to mixing bowl and let cool 10 minutes. Mixing at a low speed, add 1 egg at a time (this is important, says Scognamillo), allowing each egg to completely blend in. Put batter in a pastry bag or a freezer bag with a hole cut into a corner.

Cut wax paper into 3-inch squares and lightly dust with flour. Pipe dough into round doughnut shapes onto wax paper (the hole should be about 1 inch wide).

Heat oil to 350. Carefully slide batter off the paper into the oil, frying 3-4 doughnuts at a time, making sure not to crowd the pan. Fry for 7-8 minutes, turning every couple of minutes, when the bubbling of the dough stops. (They're done when both golden brown and double in size and all bubbling ends, says Scognamillo.) Allow to cool and slice horizontally.

Mix ricotta, sugar and vanilla extract in another mixing bowl on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add chocolate chips and mix for 10 seconds. (Or, if you prefer, make your favorite pastry cream instead.)

Put cream in pastry bag and fill center of zeppole. Press the top of pastry onto the bottom. (Scognamillo also puts a dollop of cream over the hole to serve as a base for the cherry.) Top zeppole with a cherry, then sprinkle with powdered sugar.

More Marmalade Madness, or Why Cyd is My Hero

I have been remiss in sharing some really great news. My roommate recently got a raise at Dunder-Mifflin...and it was a BIG one! She really deserved it, plus it sure helped get us through this skyrocketing fuel oil season, let me tell you! So we are very grateful for the serendipitous timing of that raise. CONGRATS, Cyd! :-)

Shortly after this financial blessing, I sent her a silly email like I do, saying, "You buy me this!" with an accompanying link to an extravagant item. Now you must understand, we always do this, and it's just a joke. Like she'll send me a link to a brand-new Nissan Murano, or I'll send a link to a fabulous house for sale in the area, etc. Again, I reiterate, it's just a joke. So I sent her an email with a link to a French hand-hammered copper preserving pan that I have always longed for. I found it on Amazon for about half price, but half of an astronomical amount is still ridiculous. Yet when I went to pick her up from work that night, she handed me a printout. I thought, oh no, she's bought herself yet another pair of overpriced shoes! But when I read it more closely, I started to get all choked up when I realized that she had ordered the Mauviel pan for me! I said, fighting back my tears, "It was just a joke! I was just kidding! You didn't have to do this! You shouldn't have done this!" She just laughed and said, in all sincerity, that she was happy to be able to do it, and that she knew I would get a lot of use out of it. Can you believe that? Is that the most amazingly generous gesture ever? Cyd ROCKS! And just LOOK at it! Bask in its warm, coppery glow! Feel its hypnotic power!

So since it's Spring Break, and I have some free time, I thought it was time to return to my Marmalade Madness mode. I still need to make another batch of the wonderful honeybell marmalade, but to break in my GORGEOUS new preserving pan, I decided to try yet another June Taylor recipe--Grapefruit and Meyer Lemon Marmalade. Doesn't that just sound incredible? Well, it must have been my magical copper Mauviel, but this may have been my best batch of marmalade so far! Even if you only have a humble kettle made of some modest metal, I urge you to give this one a try. It offers a puckery burst of bittersweet sunshine when winter still lingers.

Grapefruit and Meyer Lemon Marmalade
(Source: June Taylor, via The New York Times, Feb. 13, 2005)

5 pounds grapefruit, rinsed (I used an entire eight-pound bag, which held nine medium-sized fruits)
5 Meyer lemons or small regular lemons, rinsed (I used Meyer lemons)
1/2 cup lemon juice (from 2 to 3 additional lemons--again, I used Meyer lemon juice)
2 1/2 pounds sugar (I pushed this to 3 pounds=personal taste)

1. Remove the grapefruit skin with a vegetable peeler. Cut the peel into 1/8-inch slivers; stop when you have 3/4 cup. Slice off the ends of the grapefruit and the remaining grapefruit peel and pith. Remove grapefruit segments, reserving membrane. Stop when you have 5 cups of segments. (I ended up using nine grapefruits to get enough segments, when five pounds was less than six grapefruits...hmm, curious).

2. Cut the ends off the Meyer lemons, deep enough so you can see the flesh. Leaving the peel on, remove the segments of lemon and reserve the membrane. Cut the segments crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces. (Not being a fan of super-bitter marmalade, I decided to remove the Meyer lemon skin as with the grapefruit, slice it very thinly, cut off the rind from the lemons and discard, supreme the segments, and reserve the membranes for pectin.) Put membranes from the grapefruit and Meyer lemons in a jelly bag and tie closed. (In the jelly bag--my trusty Bed Bath and Beyond cheesecloth tied up with kitchen twine--I also added the leftover grapefruit peels and the Meyer lemon halves that I juiced but did not peel.)

3. In a wide and deep pot (or a fabulous French copper preserving pan if you're lucky enough to have one!), combine the grapefruit segments, grapefruit peel, lemon pieces and jelly bag. Add lemon juice and 2 1/2 cups water. Simmer until the grapefruit peel is tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool. (For me, this is usually the end of day one. It makes it much more humane to split the work over two days.)

4. Preheat the oven to 225 degrees. Working over a bowl in your sink, squeeze the liquid from the jelly bag; keep squeezing and wringing it out until you extract 1/3 to 1/2 cup of pectin. Add pectin and sugar to the pot. Place over high heat and boil, stirring now and then, until marmalade is between 222 and 225 degrees and passes the plate test*. (Spoon a little onto a plate and put in the fridge for 3 minutes. If it thickens like jam, it is done.)

5. Meanwhile, put 6 (to 8) sterilized 8-ounce canning jars and lids on a baking sheet and place in the oven (I just keep mine in the water bath canner as it comes to a boil). When jam is done, remove jars from the oven. Ladle jam into the jars, filling them as high as possible. Wipe the rims. Fasten the lid tightly. Let cool. If you don't get a vacuum seal, refrigerate the jam**. Makes 6 8-ounce jars of marmalade. (I got 8!)

*My marmalade, as usual, never did get past 218-219 degrees (perhaps it's time for a new candy thermometer?). So I rely on how it looks and if it crinkles on a cold plate when pushed with your finger. Despite Ms. Taylor's warnings to not go much past 45 minutes, my marmalade is always runny if cooked for less than an hour. Usually it's about an hour and ten minutes on my stove, even with the fancy French cookware!

**Again, I like to play it safe, so I avoid the "open kettle" method. After jarring up the marmalade, I processed it in a boiling water bath for ten minutes. (This also ensures that I may legally sell the product in New York State if I feel compelled to part with any!)

Top o' the...er...Evenin' to Ye!

I trust that everyone had their fill of green beer and such shenanigans today? Being that I'm trapped in Obers' Corners without transportation this week, I didn't go anywhere or do anything special today--unless you count walking with Prunelle up to the mini-mart this afternoon to get some brown sugar. (Yippee.) But staying home was fine by me, truth to tell. I had grand plans for a most excellent meal in celebration of St. Pat's, and I worked on it (off and on) all day. But DANG if everything didn't turn out fabulously delicious!

Basically, I made the same dinner as last year (more of a roasted than boiled dinner, but with all the traditional elements). In addition to roasting parts of the "boiled dinner," the other key to success that I have learned is to not skimp on the quality of the corned beef! Now I am a budget shopper and can pinch pennies with the best of them, but I implore you: do yourself a favor and pony up for a better quality (yes, more expensive) corned beef. It makes all the difference--it really does. And if you don't know which one to choose, ask your butcher. The fine fellow at Hannaford (grocery store) led us to a really great one this year.

Then to go along with the corned beef and cabbage and roasted root veggies, I made another version of beer bread, this one with the savory additions of sharp cheddar, mustard and dill. Yum! Thanks to Zabby over at GardenWeb's Harvest Forum who alerted me to the recipe. It came from a recent issue of Toronto's Globe and Mail, so please blame them for the cultural stereotyping, not me. But I got another great beer-laden recipe from the same article, a Chocolate Guinness Cake via Nigella Lawson. It's a real winner--crisp on the outside, incredibly moist on the inside and with a bit of a tang from the beer and from a good amount of sour cream. You don't need a mixer to make this cake, so it's easy. And it's so moist, it doesn't even require frosting, just a sprinkling of powdered sugar, a dollop of whipped cream, or a sidecar of ice cream. I opted for the latter, and I spied the perfect recipe on Smitten Kitchen for homemade butterscotch ice cream, which was the ideal companion for this lush, chocolate cake. (Okay, I suppose my theme is ruined because it's butterSCOTCH not Irish, but then again, if it's no' Scottish, it's crrrrappp!)

Cheesy Beer Bread
(Source: Toronto Globe and Mail, March 15, 2008)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon salt (sounds like a lot, but you need it)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 cup chopped dill (I used one tablespoon of dried)
1 cup grated aged/sharp Cheddar cheese
12 ounces wheat beer or lager (avoid a dark beer--use something mild in flavor)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 350 F. Generously butter a loaf pan and line the bottom with parchment paper (I used a glass pan and didn't need the paper).

Combine all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Add the dill and cheese and stir to coat with flour. Stir in beer and mustard until mixture forms a dough. You may need to knead dough with your hands to bring it together.

Turn the dough into a buttered loaf pan and use a damp hand to smooth the top. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until light golden and firm to touch (more like 50-55 minutes!). Makes 1 loaf. This is great toasted!

Chocolate Guinness Cake
(Source: Toronto Globe and Mail, March 15, 2008, adapted from Nigella Lawson's Feast)

1 cup Guinness beer (actually, I used a local caramel porter that was perfect for this)
1 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I swapped out 1/4 cup of dark/black cocoa here)
2 cups sugar
2/3 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Garnish: icing sugar or whipped cream

Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter a 9-inch spring-form pan and line bottom with parchment paper. Pour Guinness into a large saucepan over medium heat. Add butter and heat until melted. Remove from heat, whisk in cocoa powder and sugar and reserve.

Combine sour cream, eggs and vanilla in a separate bowl and beat until uniform. Add sour cream mixture to Guinness mixture and whisk to combine. Whisk in flour and baking soda. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until a cake tester comes out with crumbs clinging to it.

Place tin on a rack and leave to cool completely. Before serving, dust with icing sugar or lightly sweetened whipped cream, or serve with ice cream.

Serves 8 to 10

Butterscotch Ice Cream
(Source: Smitten Kitchen, adapted from Sunset Magazine)
Makes one quart

1 cup firmly-packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 teaspoons bourbon (optional)
pinch of salt (optional)
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
2 cups half-and-half
6 large egg yolks

1. In a 1- to 2-quart pan over medium heat, stir brown sugar and butter until butter is melted, sugar is dissolved, and mixture is bubbly, 3 to 4 minutes. Whisk in 1/2 cup whipping cream until smooth; remove butterscotch mixture from heat. Add vanilla and bourbon, if using. Also, add a pinch of salt (optional).
2. In a 3- to 4-quart pan over medium-high heat, combine remaining 1 cup whipping cream and the half-and-half; bring to a simmer.
3. Meanwhile, in a bowl, beat egg yolks to blend. Whisk 1/2 cup of the warm cream mixture into egg yolks, then pour egg yolk mixture into pan with cream. Stir constantly over low heat just until mixture is slightly thickened, 2 to 4 minutes. Immediately remove from heat.
4. Pour through a fine strainer into a clean bowl and whisk in butterscotch mixture. Chill until cold, stirring occasionally, about 2 hours; or cover and chill up to 1 day. (To fast-track the chilling, use an ice bath for about 20 minutes.)
5. Freeze mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Serve softly frozen, or transfer ice cream to an airtight container and freeze until firm, at least 6 hours or up to 1 week.

WELCOME "SPRING!"

Ok, so it's still ridiculously icy outside, and we have had one snowstorm after the next for months now. But as of today, I'm officially on Spring Break, so I declare it to be spring, regardless of the calendar or the stupid weather! My students clearly agree, because some of them are already rocking the shorts and flip-flops on the days when it gets up to 40 degrees! (It's a North Country thing.) Moreover, Daylight Savings Time has VASTLY improved my spirits. It is so wonderful, for example, to get done with my office hour at Plattsburgh State on Mondays at 6:45pm and then walk to my car in broad daylight! Of course, it's a little harder to watch movies for the first hour of my Wednesday night film class now (even with the shades closed, the room is BRIGHT), but you won't hear me complain. And look who else apparently got the springtime memo?

You GO, girls! My faithful next-door neighbor discovered these treasures in the coop last weekend. So we enjoyed a special homegrown omelette with lots of cheese and thinly-sliced spring onions. (See? A theme!) Along with our savory eggs, I unearthed the other loaf of Dorie Greenspan's brioche from the freezer and made her FAAAAAABULOUS bostock with it. It's perfect for breakfast or brunch--even for dessert--as it is made with brioche or challah or any other similarly eggy bread slathered with a luscious almond cream, topped with sliced almonds, and baked for just 10-15 minutes until the top is puffed and golden and the bottoms of the slices are also browned. Easy and SO YUMMMM-MY!

Dorie Greenspan's Bostock
(Source: Baking: From My Home to Yours, Dorie Greenspan)

6 tablespoons butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 ground blanched almonds
2 teaspoons flour
1 tsp cornstarch
1 large egg
2 teaspoons dark rum or 1 teaspoon vanilla

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice challah or brioche into 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick pieces. (Slightly stale is okay, and perhaps preferable.) This recipe makes eight slices of bostock.

Cream the butter and sugar in a food processor or stand mixer. Add the ground almonds until blended. Add the flour and cornstarch and mix until incorporated, then add the egg. Process for about 15 seconds so the cream is homogenous. Add either the rum or the vanilla, pulse or mix just until blended.

Put about three tablespoons of almond cream on each slice, leaving a little border around the edge. Scatter some sliced almonds on the top, and bake for 10 to 15 minutes until the tops are puffed and golden. Serve warm.

A Tale of Two Dogs

No, no, I'm not talking about these dogs...

...or even this old lady...

I'm talking about the kind of dogs you eat--more specifically, hot dogs and Devil Dogs! I am really embarrassed to post my recipe for Quesadilla Dogs, but confidentially, it may be one of my more ingenious creations, and every time I make them (only once in a blue moon, I swear!), Cyd ooh's and ahh's and says that I should post about them and share this culinary marvel with the rest of the world. It's not even a recipe, just a method of nuking and assembling. Again, I don't advocate these as a mainstay of a healthy diet, but once in awhile won't kill ya, especially on those nights when you crawl home, exhausted and demoralized by a rough work week, and you just can't face any real cooking. On those desperate occasions, this might just get you through in a pinch. I'm not sure how I originally came up with the idea, but it may be because I used to live near Chicago where they love to throw everything on a hot dog but the kitchen sink! And using tortillas probably comes from me never remembering to buy hot dog buns. ;-)

Ok, to make the infamous Quesadilla Dog, you slice up your favorite melty cheese (I like co-jack for this), and place the thin slices haphazardly all over a burrito-sized flour tortilla (I suppose that pre-shredded cheese would make this even easier, wouldn't it?). Deposit said tortilla in the microwave and nuke it for about 30 seconds, or until the cheese is mostly melted. Carefully remove the tortilla to a work surface, and then nuke two hot dogs for about 90 seconds until hot but not exploding. On the surface of the quesadilla (on top of the cheese), squirt some yellow mustard, spread on about a good tablespoon of zucchini relish (this may be the key ingredient!), a generous sprinkling of finely-chopped red onion, and some banana peppers (I like these chopped up a bit, too). Slice the tortilla in half, and roll up one hot dog on each side, weiner wrap-style. And VOILA! I give you, the Quesadilla Dog in all its trashy fabulousness! Believe you me, this is the best hot dog you'll ever eat--sweet, tangy, zesty, goopy, and all-around DEE-LICIOUS!

To extend the motif, you may wish to complete your elegant hot dog meal with a slice of homemade Devil Dog Cake. There was a recipe for this in last month's issue of Gourmet magazine, but I liked Smitten Kitchen's riff on it. She recommended that we use the wonderful chocolate cake recipe from Epicurious (circa 1999), and instead of just topping it with marshmallow frosting, we could make any manner of snack cake simulations, from something like a Hostess cupcake to a Ding Dong/King Don(g)/Ring Ding to a Devil Dog or Little Debbie Devil Square. As I was making this for Cyd who loves nothing so well as a King Dong (that's Ding Dong to those of you didn't grow up in the eastern U.S. or Canada), I decided to fill the cake with marshmallow frosting and then top it with chocolate ganache. The original recipe calls for the cake to be baked in two 10-inch pans (who has that size?), but don't be tempted to use 9-inch pans, as it will spill over. I baked mine in three 8-inch layers instead. And to get the right creme-to-cake ratio, Cyd suggested that I do each layer as a separate filled and glazed cake. What a fine idea! That way I was able make one for Cyd and one for my officemate, Lee Ann, and her sweet little girls, K and E, and keep one layer in the freezer for the next time that Cyd craves a ginormous, mutant snack cake. At least, that was my plan...until June came by my office yesterday and overheard me talking about the cake with Lee Ann and became instantly saddened at the news that I did not bring enough to share (apparently, Devil Dogs are a special weakness of hers). So what else could I do? I defrosted the last layer last night, made another half-batch of marshmallow filling and ganache, and brought the last Ding Dong Cake in for my beloved friend June today. Meanwhile, Lee Ann reported that her kids got a real kick out of the cake (even though I suppose that I should have taken the time to make the iconic white loops on top!), and that the adults licked their plates clean, too! The recipe follows...


Ding Dong Cake
(Sources: Gourmet, February 2008 and Epicurious, but mostly Smitten Kitchen)

Chocolate Cake Layers:
3 ounces fine-quality semisweet chocolate such as Callebaut (I used Guittard bittersweet chips)
1 1/2 cups hot brewed coffee
3 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
3/4 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 300°F. and grease pans. Line bottoms of 2 10-inch* round cake pans with wax paper and grease paper (I prefer parchment for this).

Finely chop chocolate and in a bowl combine with hot coffee. Let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.

Into a large bowl sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another large bowl with an electric mixer beat eggs until thickened slightly and lemon colored (about 3 minutes with a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a hand-held mixer). Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to eggs, beating until combined well. Add sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined well.

Divide batter between pans (I used three 8-inch pans) and bake in middle of oven until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Cool layers in pans on racks. Run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert layers onto racks. Carefully remove wax or parchment paper and cool layers completely. Cake layers may be made one day ahead and kept, wrapped well in plastic wrap, at room temperature.

* Note: This cake will overflow if baked in 9-inch cake pans. If you only have 9-inch pans, you might want to 2/3 the cake recipe instead, as following: 2 ounces chocolate, 1 cup coffee, 2 cups sugar, 1 2/3 cup flour, 1 cup cocoa, 1 1/3 tsp. baking soda, ½ tsp. baking powder, 2 eggs, ½ cup oil, 1 cup buttermilk, ½ tsp. vanilla, etc. and reduce the baking time by at least ten minutes.

Marshmallow, or Seven Minute Frosting:
2 large egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Combine frosting ingredients with a pinch of salt in a metal bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water and beat with a handheld electric mixer at high speed until frosting is thick and fluffy, 6 to 7 minutes. Remove bowl from heat and continue to beat until slightly cooled. Mound frosting on top of cake. Dust with additional cocoa powder.

Ganache Frosting
(Used in the first and second options below)

1/2 pound fine-quality semisweet chocolate such as Callebaut (I used Guittard bittersweet chips)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/4 stick (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter

Finely chop chocolate. In a 1 1/2- to 2-quart saucepan bring cream, sugar, and corn syrup to a boil over moderately low heat, whisking until sugar is dissolved. Remove pan from heat and add chocolate, whisking until chocolate is melted. Cut butter into pieces and add to frosting, whisking until smooth.

Transfer frosting to a bowl and cool, stirring occasionally, until spreadable (depending on chocolate used, it may be necessary to chill frosting to spreadable consistency). I found that stirring this over a bowl of ice water did a great job of cooling it off quickly and evenly. Spread frosting over top and sides of cake. Chilling the cake will harden the chocolate coating.

Make Your Own Hostess Cupcake, Ding Dong, Ring Ding, King Don(g) Cake: Bake two cake layers as directed. Halve one layer horizontally into two thin layers. Place the first one on a cake plate. Take the second cake and cut a large hole out of the center, about 6-inches across—you won’t be using this. As carefully as possible, place this on top of the halved cake layer on the stand. Fill the entire cut-out area with frosting, leaving a half cup aside if you wish to pipe the signature loops or a message across the top. Lay the second halved layer on top of this, sealing the filling in. Spread the ganache coating over top and sides of cake. Once ganache is firm and chilled (the fridge does a great job of this, quickly), you can decorate it with a piping bag or a makeshift one, a sandwich bag with the corner snipped off.

Make Your Own Little Debbie Devil Square Cake: Proceed as above, but bake the two layers in square cake pans.

Make Your Own Devil Dog Cake: Bake two cake layers, in an oblong or long rectangular pan (you can round the edges after you bake it) if you have. Use the frosting only between the cake layers.

Make Your Own Chocolate Layer Cake with Marshmallow Frosting and Filling: Double the frosting recipe and use it as filling and coating on a two-layer round chocolate cake. Set about one cup aside if you wish to tint it and pipe decorations on the cake, either it with a piping bag or a makeshift one, a sandwich bag with the corner snipped off.

And while we’re at it, because it is in a similar vein–Make Your Own Devil's Food White Out Cake in the style of the stunning one on the cover of Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours. Halve each cake layer horizontally, creating four thin layers. Break one into small crumbs; set crumbs aside. Using a double recipe of the marshmallow frosting, spread some between each cake layer, stacking as you go, and then cover the exterior in the remainder. Press the crumbled cake crumbs into the sides of the iced cake, and just over the top of the cake in a one-inch ring.

Lemon is the New Crack

Ok, people...gather around. I have something of the utmost importance to tell you. In fact, I hesitate to share it publicly for fear of inciting a gold-rush-type panic and consequent shortage of my new favorite food product on the planet. Are you ready? Wait for it....wait for it. No, perhaps before I give it name and summon its hypnotic powers, I will share a pornographic picture--mind you, try not to gum up your laptop with drool.

I stole this image from a lovely gal with the handle of dearbarbz366 over on Flickr. I would have taken a picture of my own, but something mysterious happened to my cookies, and they DISAPPEARED before I was able to snap one shot. Friends, you are looking at the newest offering in the Girl Scout cookie lineup, the Lemon Chalet Creme. HEAVEN...HELP....ME!! These are the best things since, well, the Thin Mint! In fact, for several years now, I have only bought Thin Mints, because the other varieties did nothing for me--they just didn't hold a candle. But this year, I am prepared to boldly say that this is the only Girl Scout cookie ever to give the Thin Mint a run for its money. In fact, as I am not a chocoholic myself, and as enchanted as I am by the combination of lemon and vanilla, I would have to say that, for me, these edge out the Thin Mint! (Yes, I know what an extreme statement that is, and I'm willing to stand strong on that controversial position.)

The cookie has a very similar taste and texture to, of all things, the McDonaldland cookie. (Do they make those anymore? You know, in the shapes of Ronald McDonald and all of his friends?) It's a crispy vanilla cookie but with a bit of spice...cinnamon and ginger, maybe? And then it's sandwiched together with three cute blobs of extremely tangy, lemony filling, much like a lemon version of an Oreo's filling, but much creamier. In short, if you are a lemon lover, they are TO DIE FOR! (But not literally, as they have no trans fat. Ok, let's not discuss calories...) My only gripe is that each box comes with only one tray totalling a mere 14 cookies. That's a quarter apiece! I am going to have to go to the bank and take out a loan to support my new habit throughout the spring (aka Girl Scout Cookie Season)! But it may be well worth it.

Now, anyone reading this in the greater Plattsburgh area, don't you DARE go buy up all the Lemon Chalet Cremes before I can get some more! Girl Scouts, be advised that I will be outside of Sam's Club/Wal-Mart today around 6pm. Please have your mothers bring their mini-vans full of said product for me to buy. Better yet, if one of my work colleagues is reading this and you have a Girl Scout in the family, send her my way ASAP! I'm jonesin', and she's guaranteed a sale! ;-)

Comfort Foods for a Busy Work Week

WOW! Check it! I placed my book order to Amazon on Monday when I got back from the weekend in NYC, and these arrived yesterday...all the way up to the boonies where I live in only four days! Very impressive, Amazon, very impressive! I haven't even had a chance to look through the books yet--or even take the wrapper off of the Ferber volume--but I am excited about crawling into a hot tub with them over the weekend.

Until I have recipes to share from my new cookbooks, allow me to offer some ideas from recent dinners that I've made. After being gone all weekend, and not being able to do any big cooking or baking projects like I do, I was itchin' to get back in the kitchen. Plus, when you're road-tripping, you tend to eat too much crappy food, and I wanted something good and homemade. So I was quite proud of myself this week for taking more initiative in proper meal planning. I work long, late hours, and sometimes, I admit, I succumb to the siren's song of the pizzeria or make do with just a sandwich eaten off of the kitchen island. :-( But this time, I actually shopped like the Frenchies do, choosing things that looked good in the market that day and selecting recipes accordingly. Please celebrate this week's menus with me:

Sherried Cream of Tomato Soup with Buttery Thyme Bread
Cubed Pork Steaks with Golden Mushroom Gravy over Egg Noodles
Spicy Szechuan Noodles with Carrot-Cucumber Relish
Carne Picada Burritos (Steak Ranchero)
Macaroni and Cheese with Smoked Sausages

I know, right? I am greatly to be praised as a fully self-actualized weekday cook! And the secret is that most of these dishes use a few pre-fab, shortcut ingredients (i.e. a can of golden mushroom soup to enrich a pan gravy or some Emeril-brand "Kicked-Up" smoked sausages to go alongside homemade mac and cheese), but there is still a sufficent homemade quotient, enough to satisfy your need for "real food" during the busy work week. For instance, we got home very late Monday night after my choir rehearsal, but I still managed to pull off a freshly-made pot of soup and some indecently scrumptious bread to go with it. These are dishes from the delightful Pioneer Woman, and though they may come off like "cheater" recipes made with canned goods and French bread from the grocery store, they are quite delicious and very satisfying, especially on these still-frigid days. Besides, as Nigella says, there's something very satisfying about cooking with cans. ;-)

I made a few adaptations to this soup recipe, so here's my take on it:

Sherried Cream of Tomato Soup
(Source: adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks!)

6 tablespoons melted butter
1 medium onion, diced (I would use one very large onion or two smaller ones myself)
*I would also throw in 4-6 cloves of minced garlic, as is my way
1 46-ounce bottle or can tomato juice (Instead of tomato juice, I swapped out a can of tomato paste and 4-6 cups of chicken stock, depending on how thick or thin you want your soup)
2 14 ounce cans diced tomatoes (I used one 28-oz. can of crushed tomatoes)
2 tablespoons chicken soup base
3 to 6 tablespoons sugar (I used 4--but taste to see how much you need to counteract the acidity of the tomatoes)
pinch of salt
black pepper to taste
1 cup cooking sherry (ACK! Never use cooking sherry--'tis an abomination. I used a drinkable dry sherry but only 1/2 cup of it, personal preference)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
chopped fresh parsley**
chopped fresh basil**
**fresh herbs would better, of course, but I substituted one tablespoon dried parsley, one teaspoon dried basil, plus one teaspoon dried oregano and a good pinch of red pepper flakes
Saute diced onions in butter until transluscent. (Add minced garlic and the herbs if using dried, and saute another minute or two.) Add canned tomatoes. Add tomato juice, sugar, pinch of salt, and lots of black pepper and stir. Bring to a near boil, then turn off heat. Add in sherry and cream and stir. Add in herbs (if using fresh), adjust other seasonings, and serve with crusty bread, or ideally, the buttery thyme bread linked to above. (Though, as with most of the Pioneer Woman's recipes, you may want to clear it with your cardiologist first!)

This soup is also delicious with cheese. For dinner, I sprinkled some pecorino romano over each bowl, though parmesan or asiago would do just as well. And then the next day for lunch, I dropped a handful of cheese curds into my hot bowl o' soup, and it was amazing! The little blobs of cheese didn't fully melt, but became soft and squooshy and dee-licious floating around in there!

Before I wrap this up, I want to highlight one other recipe above, the Spicy Szechuan Noodles with Carrot-Cucumber Relish. I spied this one on another blog that I read faithfully, Culinary in the Country, though the original source is Cooking Light (May 2007). GOOD HEAVENS! I LOVED this stuff! Most of the time, when I make Asian cuisine at home, it's never as good as going out for it. But this is truly fabulous! The only fussy thing about the recipe is making the relish, as you have to salt-cure your cucumber first and let it drain for an hour, then add the carrots and other ingredients and let it chill for yet another hour. So I decided to shred and salt the cucumber in the morning, let it drain in the fridge while I was at work, then finish the relish when I got home, letting it chill while I got on with the rest of the dish. I originally thought, why not just throw those veggies in with the rest of the stir-fry and save yourself some hassle? But I came to realize that the dish is pretty much all tan in hue, and the relish adds nice colors on top, not to mention a freshness and crispness since it's not cooked. And the sugar and rice vinegar add a wonderful tangy compliment to the gentle heat of the noodles. I won't reprint the recipe (the link is above), but I used whole-grain spaghetti instead of udon noodles (the store I went to didn't carry them), and the only other change I made to the dish was adding some chopped peanuts to garnish, as I thought that it could use something crunchy. SO YUMMY! You have to try it!

Junior's Cheesecake: A Return to Gotham

AGAIN?? You went to the City AGAIN? TWICE in as many weeks?? How shamefully decadent!! Who do you think you are...the Queen? Did you inherit untold wealth and are, thus, made of money? And right after an unexpected and enormous car repair following the last sojourn downstate? What gives??

Yes, yes, it's true. I am freshly back from trip #2 to NYC over the weekend. Honestly, I didn't mean to go...it just kind of...happened. You see, before the fan fell out of my car and everything, I was considering attending a dog show, and an acquaintance of mine (who bred Fairchild, the number one PBGV and number two hound in the country last year!) was trying to put together a major, which are very hard to come by in my region. (Sidebar: In order to complete an AKC championship, a dog has to earn a total of 15 points including two "majors"--a win of three, four or five points--basically, by beating several dogs all at once. So with a rarer breed like PBGVs, you often have to work together to organize the entries at a show to have enough dogs to make a major. Got it? Good.) So my friend and I had hatched a scheme to make a major at the shows in Rockland County, though I had only ever been to those shows years ago when my first PBGV was still a young'un, and I was still foolishly trying to show her. The shows were at a different location then, in Walkill, which is closer to me, kind of between Poughkeepsie and Newburgh. I do remember the venue being hideous--a completely tiny and horribly overcrowded little gymnasium somewhere. Poor Prunelle almost got trampled to death, so I had to carry her everywhere just to keep her alive! They have since moved the shows to Suffern at Rockland Community College's Field House, which was very nice, but quite a bit further south. In fact, after I'd already entered the shows and started surfing the 'net to book a hotel room, I realized that it was just a half an hour from the Big Apple. Well, you know me. I wasn't going to be that close and not make a quick trip in to see a show!

What I really wanted to do was see Spring Awakening again, but I figured that would be inappropriate and a inexcusable squandering of funds. So I went on a tip from a colleague who teaches American Musical Theatre here at my school and got a cheapo preview ticket to In the Heights (only 30 bucks even after all the screw-you fees!). The show had enjoyed a terrific off-Broadway run, and is now moving up to the big time (like George and Weezy). Well, friends, maybe it was just me, as the crowd seemed to adore the show, but it just didn't do much for me. The sets were amazing, the lighting design was cool, the performances were solid, the dancing was hot, and the show was admirably fresh and energetic. It was also great to see a show on Broadway with salsa infused with hip-hop, things you don't usually see on The Great White Way. However, I'm sorry to say that I found the story to be trite and the songs forgettable, which leaves you kind of nowhere for a musical. And maybe I've just become cynical in my old age, but I guess I like my musicals with a dark, gritty underbelly. I want my characters afflicted with homelessness and AIDS (Rent), I want incest, abortion, sexual abuse and masochism (Spring Awakening), or I want to see the fabulous but saccharine Wizard of Oz story turned on its head and made into a treatise on the nature of good and evil and the oppression of minorities that are "different," with a dollop of sex and violence on top (Wicked). That is to say, I am not interested in white-washed stories of displacement due to urban gentrification, especially if they don't make me feel compelled to run right out of the theatre and immediately buy the cast recording. Surprisingly, the NYT agreed with me, saying that it was like a Disneyfication of the barrio, like "Sesame Street without the puppets." It's very funny that they should have written that, because when I was watching the show, the whole thing just struck me like a big-budget version of Villa Allegre. (Remember that one, Gen X-ers? It was that PBS show that taught kids Spanish, and it came on right after one of my favorite shows, The Electric Company. SING IT: "La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la...Villa Allegre!) Then again, maybe I was grumpy because I didn't have enough leg room, and I really just wanted to be seeing Spring Awakening again!

So I didn't dig the musical, and my boy, Grady, only got reserve at the dog shows (that's like second prize in a beauty contest, without the ten bucks of Monopoly money). But I did have one excellent thing that came of the weekend, and it is food-related. (Took you long enough, food blogga!) While wandering around waiting for In the Heights to start, I found myself in front of Junior's Most Fabulous Cheesecakes and Desserts. Though I have been to New York many times over the years, I had never been there. However, I tried their chocolate mousse cheesecake once when a friend ordered one over the internet to celebrate an office birthday. It was truly heavenly, but at about 40 bucks a pop (without shipping!), I decided--as is my way--to make my own version at home. This led to the development of the recipe below, which is perhaps among the best desserts that I make. It honors the Junior's cheesecake that was its inspiration, but it also reminds me a bit of Olive Garden's Black Tie Mousse Cake. So I call this creation, Black Tie Cheesecake. It takes awhile to make, so plan accordingly. But most of it is passive cooling/chilling time, and it's darn well worth it!

Black Tie Cheesecake

First, crush about half a package of Oreos (about 25) in a food processor until fine. Mix in 4-5 tablespoons of melted butter and press into the bottom of a 10-inch spring form pan.

Cheesecake Layer:
2- 8 oz. packages of cream cheese, at room temperature
scant cup of sugar
2 tablespoons corn starch
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
1 large egg
3/8 cup heavy cream

Place one package of cream cheese, a scant 1/2 cup of sugar, and the corn starch in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on low until creamy, about three minutes, scraping the bowl as necessary. Beat in the remaining package of cream cheese. Increase the mixer to high and add the remaining scant ½ cup of sugar. Blend in the egg, beating well after adding it, then mix in the heavy cream. At this point, mix the filling only until completely blended—be careful not to over mix. Gently spoon the cheese filling on top of the Oreo layer. Bake the cheesecake at 350 degrees until the center barely jiggles when you shake the pan, about 40-50 minutes. Cool the cake on a wire rack for one hour.

Chocolate Mousse Layer
9 oz. (about 1 1/3 to 1 1/2 cups) bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate
4 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups whipping cream, divided

Melt finely-chopped dark chocolate over hot water. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until pale. Heat 1/4 cup of the whipping cream just to the boiling point, then remove from heat and whisk in the egg yolks. Fold in the melted chocolate. The mixture will immediately thicken. Cool to approximately 100 degrees. Whisk the remaining cup of whipping cream until stiff. Fold with the egg and chocolate mixture--one tablespoon at a time--until the filling becomes soft, then fold in the remainder of the whipped cream. Spoon the mousse on top of the completely cooled cheesecake, level it with a spatula, and place in the refrigerator for several hours or, preferably, overnight.

When the mousse is completely cold and much firmer, it’s ready for the ganache topping. Melt about a half cup of bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate with a half cup of cream (whipping cream will make it softer, heavy cream will set up firmer—your choice). Cool to lukewarm—not so hot as to melt the mousse, but still loose enough to pour and spread on top of the mousse layer of the cheesecake.

Return the whole thing back to the fridge for a few more hours or overnight or until you can’t stand to wait anymore!


To finish my Junior's anecdote, I bought a GINORMOUS piece of the chocolate mousse cheesecake that I remembered so fondly, though I eyeballed the carrot cake cheesecake longingly (isn't the very idea of it inspired?). But as one piece costs almost seven bucks and would feed a small village, I just got the one slice and lovingly hand-carried it on planes, trains and automobiles all the way home to Plattsburgh (well, maybe not planes) to share with Cyd. Wasn't that nice of me? ;-) But before I left Junior's, I had spotted a display of cookbooks in the restaurant window. When I got home, I looked it up on Amazon, and the index indicates that both the chocolate mousse cheesecake AND the carrot cake cheesecake recipes, along with 48 tasty others, are included in the volume. YAY! And as I was browsing other books to try to bump up to $25 and get the free shipping, I discovered another wonderful surprise. Christine Ferber's Mes Confitures is finally back in print, and can be yours for the reasonable price of $19.77! YIPPEE!

So now I am going to try...TRY...to stay away from NYC for a few months until my coffers can be replenished (saving up for The Little Mermaid or Xanadu, maybe? tee hee). In the meantime, I will console myself and ease the separation anxiety by making many authentic Junior's cheesecakes!

The honeybells are here! The honeybells are here!

Actually, my first honeybell shipment came a couple of weeks ago, but it was a very disappointing batch. Several had bad/soft spots, about a third were unripe/green, and most were horribly scarred (too ugly to make a pretty preserve). I was initially very sad, but I contacted Cushman's, and they were extremely pleasant about it, offering to replace my entire order, no questions asked. Thus, batch #2 arrived two days ago, and it was MUCH improved! So I promptly set about my marmalading tasks. I learned several important lessons when making the blood orange marmalade recently, the most important of which is that making marmalade takes pretty much FOREVER! So I cleverly hatched a plan to spread out the work. I washed and prepared the fruit the first evening, did the initial cooking the next morning, and then the final cooking off and canning the second evening. This was a MUCH better, more humane schedule.

To prepare the fruit, I decided to try and avoid all pith and go for a less bitter preserve more suited to my wimpy American palate this time around. I used a vegetable peeler to just take off the outer skin of 12-14 washed honeybells, and then julienned the peels very finely. Then I removed the outer pith from the rest of the fruit (it came off in big pieces, just like when you peel an orange). Next, I TRIED to supreme the honeybells, but the fleshy innards clinged to the membranes so much that it proved impossible! So I took off as much of the tougher parts of the membrane as I could, then just roughly chopped the fruit segments. After all, I thought, many orange marmalade recipes have you used the whole orange, either thinly-sliced or finely chopped. Of course, this was a RIDICULOUSLY messy job, as honeybells are RIDICULOUSLY juicy! (In fact, Cushman's sends a package of plastic bibs with every order--pictured above! Tee hee.) But after the requisite three hours of work, I had a pot-full of honeybell pulp, shreds of peel, and plenty of juice, including that of two lemons. Having learned my lesson about trying to use a flour sack towel as a jelly bag, I added all of the pith and membranes and seeds and lemon rinds to four layers of cheesecloth tied up with string ("these are a few of my...." oh, never mind). I added water to cover the fruit mixture, submerged the bag of pectin-y bits, brought the pot to a boil, and simmered everything for five minutes before covering and letting it sit overnight.

The next morning, the pot was brought back to the boil and cooked (uncovered) for 25-30 minutes to soften everything. Then I put the lid back on and left it to sit until I got home that night. I must confess, I had become a bit agitated that, instead of dissolving as I had hoped they would, the chopped membranes (good grief--that sounds very Hannibal Lecter or maybe one of those Saw movies, doesn't it?) seemed to have swelled up and become far too prominent in my preserve. So I decided to press the softened fruit through a strainer. Happily, the shards of peel held their shape, but I pressed the membrane bits right through the collander, yielding more of a mush, and that seemed a fine solution. However, next time, I think I may just take off the outer peels and juice the rest of the fruit by hand. That way, I'd get the juice and most of the flesh, but leave the membranes with the rinds. Note to self: don't try to supreme honeybells next time! After dealing with the membranes, I kneaded every drop of pectin that I could get out of my cheesecloth satchel, which worked great, by the way--not one tear or rip! And when I measured everything, I had about 11 cups of pulp, juice, peel, and pectin. This time, I decided to follow June Taylor's guideline of 50-60% sugar for marmalade, which was between six and a half and seven cups on the higher end. You may recall that, for the blood orange marmalade that had the pith included, I upped it to 75% sugar to counteract some of the bitterness. But as sweet as the honeybells are, and as I had removed most of the pith, I found nearly seven cups of sugar to be plenty!

After adding the sugar, I brought the whole mess to a rolling boil and set the timer for 30 minutes. On average, the final cooking down process takes anywhere from 30-45 minutes--longer than 45 minutes and you risk carmelizing the sugar, thus ruining the color and fresh fruit flavor of your marmalade. So imagine my panic when, after an hour of cooking had elapsed, it STILL wasn't to a sufficient jelling stage! I cooked it another ten minutes until my nerves couldn't take it anymore, and I pulled it off of the heat. Mind you, it was still only at about 215-218 degrees on my candy thermometer (you want 220-221), and the color and flavor were still bright, but I didn't want to chance it. (Plus, it was getting to be past my bedtime!) So I went ahead and filled ten half-pint jars and processed them in a boiling water bath for ten minutes. This morning I checked them, and although the marmalade was a little looser than I might like, they certainly weren't syrupy or runny. So I'll check them again in a week or two (sometimes if you give them some time, they'll continue to set up for you), and if they are still too loose, I may open up the jars and boil them down a little longer. But I have a hunch that they'll be fine. I enjoy a more tender marmalade (as opposed to one that is the consistency of Jello), and besides, they'll set up more when you open a jar and then store the leftovers in the fridge.

What I can report, though, and this is the most important thing, the marmalade tastes AMAZING! It is sweet and sunny and slightly tangy, and it's just GORGEOUS to boot! It is the most vibrant yellow-orange color, and though it may have been a mistake, those softened, smooshed-up membranes added a wonderful body to the preserve, whereas many marmalades are more like clear jelly with slivers of peel floating around in it. This has more character and texture, which I like, though not as much as the kind of marmalade made with whole slices of citrus. I think it's a very happy medium, plus, it's so delicious, I might just have to make another batch!

My Tardy Valentine...

I was going to post about this little Valentine's Day treat for my co-workers, not to mention, a fabulous Valentine's dinner menu, but Thursday became a total nightmare. No, no, it was not the embittered cynicism of an aging single woman that marred the day, but an automotive catastrophe which was far more upsetting. When we were in the Big City last weekend, I scraped a curb in the front as I was parking at the Meadowlands. It must have broken something at that point, and then I drove over some icy snow in the road on Wednesday, and that was the final straw. As I was driving home that night, I heard something begin to drag and scrape, and it got louder as I neared home. But it was too dark to see what was wrong that night. The next morning, we were horrified to see the whole fan had been ripped out of the car! What's worse, as we were heading out to take it to my kindly repairman down the road, we got stuck in the (unplowed) driveway, and my longsuffering neighbor had to come push us out. Thank God for him, because he loaned us his car for two days to get to work while mine was being repaired. (YES, he is the best neighbor in the whole world!) So the bottom line is, the car needed a new fan, and of course, no used ones could be found. Wanna guess how much one of those stupid plastic things cost from the dealer? $330! And that was before the labor charges. Again, I am thankful to have an awesome guy down the road that charges next to nothing for labor, or it surely would have been twice the cost of the part. Still, after being in NYC and overspending as one always does, this car repair came at a terrible time, and it was especially aggravating because it was my dumb mistake that caused the damage. UGH! Happy Valentine's Day to me!

However, the Valentine's treats (pictured above) that I made for my division the night before the great auto debacle turned out very cute and VERY delicious! I used a recipe for German Chocolate Mini-Cakes from King Arthur Flour, and I made them in those little Reynolds Fun Shapes Baking Cups, in heart shapes, of course. I don't even like German Chocolate Cake (I don't care for coconut), but this cake was awesome! The cake itself was luscious--Cyd and I licked the batter bowl clean! I swapped a little Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa to make the flavor and color even deeper. Then it's frosted with a simple but heavenly ganache, and topped with a wonderful toasted coconut, pecan and caramel mixture that is good enough to eat by itself as candy! I will definitely be making this recipe again, perhaps next time as a layer cake.

German Chocolate Mini-Cakes
(Source: King Arthur Flour)

Cake:
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks, 6 ounces) unsalted butter*
1 3/4 cups (12 1/4 ounces) granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons espresso powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (2 1/4 ounces) Dutch-process cocoa (I swapped out 1/4 cup Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa)
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) cool water
*If you use salted butter, reduce the salt in the recipe to 1/4 teaspoon.

Icing:
1 cup (6 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used bittersweet)
1/2 cup (4 ounces) heavy cream

Topping:
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (2 ounces) half and half or milk
1 cup (7 1/2 ounces) light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon pecan flavor or pralines & cream flavor, optional (I used princess cake flavoring)
1 cup (2 1/2 ounces) shredded or flaked coconut, sweetened or unsweetened, toasted*
1 cup (3 3/4 ounces) chopped pecans, toasted**

Toast the pecans and coconuts until golden brown in a 350°F oven. This is most easily done if you place each in a 9" round cake pan, and put them in the oven as soon as you pull out the finished cake. Bake for about 10 minutes, watching carefully towards the end, as the coconut will brown quickly. Remove from the oven, and stir the coconut to distribute the less-browned and more-browned pieces together evenly.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan.

To make the cake: In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, salt, espresso powder, baking powder, and vanilla till very smooth and creamy, beating for 5 minutes. Add the eggs to the butter mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition and stopping to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl after you’ve added the first 2 eggs. Add one-third of the flour to the creamed mixture, then add half the water, another third of the flour, the remaining water, and the remaining flour. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl occasionally throughout this process. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. (I divided the batter into 21 baking cups instead.)

Bake the cake in a preheated 350°F oven for 35 to 40 minutes (my cupckaes took only 30 minutes), until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, and the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan. Remove the cake from the oven. Cool the cake for 10 minutes, then run a table knife all around the sides of the pan to loosen the edges. Use a spatula to gently lift the cake free of the pan all around the edges; you’re going to turn it out of the pan, hopefully without sticking. Place a piece of parchment or waxed paper on a cookie sheet, put the sheet, parchment-side down, atop the cake pan, pick up the cake pan/cookie sheet, and turn the whole thing over. The cake should settle down atop the cookie sheet. Lift off the pan, and allow the cake to cool for 5 minutes. Use a 2 ¾" to 3" round biscuit or cookie cutter to cut 12 circles out of the cake. Or use whatever shape cutter you want: hearts or scalloped flower shapes are nice, too. Whatever you use, it should be around 3" in diameter. Carefully transfer the cakes to a cooling rack, right side up, and allow them to cool. As for the leftover scraps, snack on them (baker’s privilege!), or stir into instant pudding for an easy dessert. You’ll have about 4 to 5 cups of coarse cake chunks, just in case you have a recipe calling for that amount.

To make the icing: Heat the chocolate chips and cream till the cream is very hot; this is easily done in the microwave. Remove from the heat, and stir till the chocolate melts and the mixture becomes smooth. Don’t panic; it’ll look very sloppy at first, but keep stirring and it’ll become a smooth, rich glaze.Working with one cake at a time, grasp it in the center with thumb and forefinger, and roll it through the chocolate like a wheel, to coat the sides. Place the coated cake onto a piece of parchment paper, to catch any drips. Repeat with the remaining cakes.To make the topping: Combine the butter, salt, half and half, and sugar in a medium-sized saucepan. Bring to a simmer, and cook gently, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, and stir in the flavors, coconut, and pecans. Spoon the topping evenly atop the cakes; you’ll use about 2 1/2 tablespoons for each. A tablespoon cookie scoop is perfect for this task.

Yield: 12 servings (I got 21 cupcakes!)

Because Thursday was such a nightmare, we just ate some leftovers for dinner and called it a night. But this weekend, I finally prepared the Valentine's menu that I had originally planned. As an appetizer, I made these utterly appalling, ridiculously fattening, but incredibly tasty little abominations that I am ashamed to either describe or picture here. But I will link you to the highly amusing Pioneer Woman's website (remember, she's the one who almost killed us with her heart-clogging but scrumptious mashed potatoes at Christmas!) where you can see pictures of the whole process--but skip the "parmesan" in the green can, I beg you, and grate your own! For the main course, I made roasted Cornish game hens stuffed with herbed rice. And for dessert, Valentine's Day demanded the ultimate chocolate pie! This recipe comes from the American Pie Council, and it was last year's winner in the chocolate cream division at the 2007 National Pie Championships. (Why don't they show that on the Food Network anymore? I lived for it!) Anyway, this is way more than a chocolate cream pie--more in the French Silk category, I'd say. It has an Oreo crust, then a thick layer of ganache, and finally, a light, Nutella-based filling. OH MAN, OH MAN! It a chocolate lover's ultimate fantasy! Of course, you should top it with whipped cream and perhaps some chocolate shavings, and I did that, but I am picturing it "naked" so you can get a better view of the different layers. DELISH! It will put the most amazing sweet finish to your next Valentine's Day or any other special occasion, and it will surely do much to soothe and comfort you if the fan happens to fall out of your car!

Evette Rahman's Oh My Ganache! Chocolate Cream Pie
(Source: American Pie Council)
Serves 8

Crust:
1 1/2 cups Oreo cookie crumbs
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix crust ingredients and press into a deep-dish pie plate. Bake for eight minutes, then cool completely.

Filling:
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 extra large eggs
3/4 cup chocolate hazelnut spread (Nutella)
1/2 cup whipping cream, whipped to firm peaks
additional sweetened whipped cream

Heat cream in a small saucepan until hot. Place morsels in a small bowl. Pour hot cream over morsels and let stand for five minutes. Stir gently to combine. Let cool. Chill until very thick but still spreadable. Spread evenly over bottom and sides of prepared pie shell. Chill.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, salt, and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating two minutes after each addition*. Add Nutella and beat again for about five minutes, scraping down the sides as necessary. Fold in the whipped cream, then chill the mixture for an hour. Fill the prepared pie shell with the Nutella mixture, and chill again for at least four hours. Serve with additional whipped cream, and any chocolate garnishes as desired.

*When I beat in the eggs, the butter separated into little chunks floating around in eggy goo, and I thought it would never come back together. Also, my Nutella was rock-hard because my house is always so cold. So I softened it a little in the microwave before mixing it in (it was only tepid to lukewarm at most, not hot), and I think that helped bring it all together. It became very smooth and glossy, so don't worry if yours starts off looking lumpy.

Warning: As with other traditional French Silk Pies, this recipe contains raw eggs. So children, the elderly, and those with compromised immune systems should be careful. Everyone else should be okay, as long as you trust the source of your eggs. (My producers are out back in their coop!) But you could always use eggs pasteurized in the shell if you're nervous about it.

Blessings of Bread and the Big City

I once told the story of my sweet friend June who showed up on my doorstep (an hour round-trip from town, I should note!) one evening with warm, fresh-baked bread to give me. I thought that this magnanimous gesture could never be topped, but my boys out in Oregon may have done it. When we got home from work last Thursday night, there was a package by the back door. We didn't even get the box opened before the enticing scent of its contents assailed our senses.

Though I am extremely jealous of John and Keith (Keith is pictured below, all smug and pleased with himself!) and harbor much ill will against them because of their new, monolithic wood-fired brick oven, I am compelled to set aside my envious and vindictive feelings because they sent me this most wondrous care package! Inside was a long sunflower-encrusted baguette of some sort, a country levain boule, a good-sized ciabatta, and even a sticky bun, lovingly prepared from natural/sourdough starters and pulled from the fiery mouth of their own backyard oven before being hustled off to the post office. Oh, and as a bonus, they tucked in some wonderfully moist, tender and flavorful sun-dried tomatoes. Could there possibly be better friends on this planet? I think not!

Unfortunately, we were going out of town the next day, so I had to park the sunflower loaf in the freezer, but we managed to quickly consume half of the levain before dinner that very night. I sliced it thinly, buttered the slices and broiled them until crisp. Then I rubbed the slices with cut garlic and topped them with mozzarella, popped them back in the oven to melt the cheese, and then served the cheesy toasts with a big spoonful of my homemade roasted red pepper spread. MERCY, MERCY, and again I say it, MERCY!

Cyd took the sticky bun to work the next day for her breakfast or coffee break or whatever, and she reports that it was wonderful! (Naturally, I didn't have any of it because it involved raisins....shudder!) And as for the ciabatta, I decided to make a pressed, Italian, muffaletta-type sandwich out of it to take on our weekend road trip into the Big City. I sliced it in half and spread one side with mayo, then layered on sliced mozzarella and every cold cut I could find in the fridge, including pastrami, turkey, ham and salami, then topped that with a finely-chopped veggie mix of mushrooms, black olives and red peppers marinated in olive oil, vinegar, and minced fresh garlic (trust me, this MAKES the sandwich...any sandwich!). Of course, I had to add a layer of banana pepper rings, like I do, then I squirted some vinaigrette on the other half of the ciabatta and closed her up. I double-wrapped the big bitch, and let it rest overnight in the fridge, weighted down by random heavy things like a big tub of sour cream (what did you call me?) and a Tupperwared vat of mysterious leftovers. Somehow smooshing the sandwich layers together and letting those flavors all mingle makes for a magical outcome. YUM!

As for the City, it was a quick but satisfying trip that included specialty dog shows Saturday and Sunday at the Meadowlands in Secaucus, NJ, dinner Saturday at the Carnegie Deli where the world's most ridiculously large sandwiches and creamiest cheesecake are served (I had the "Woody Allen"--that's corned beef and pastrami), an amazing Broadway musical* where we encountered SNL's Amy Poehler who had come to see the show, a requisite trip to the Sullivan Street Bakery, and our last, most glorious meal Sunday at AmyRuth's in Harlem. I had "The Rev. Al Sharpton"--that's chicken and waffles to the uninitiated, though I gave serious consideration to "The Ludacris" (wings and waffles). Cyd had fried chicken with sides of potatoes and gravy, string beans, and we shared a simply divine mac and cheese and a heavenly slice of sweet potato pie for dessert. Truthfully, everything is amazing there--the best soul food north of the Mason-Dixon Line! We squeezed a lot of fun and good eats into two days in Gotham, but we're older now, and we're really dragging this week at work. Thank goodness we still have homemade bread baked by loved ones to sustain us. :-) THANKS, Keith and John!

*On a semi-related tangent, I beg of you, if it is in your power, get yourself to NYC and go see the Tony award-winning musical, Spring Awakening. It is just the most incredible show with absolutely gorgeous music! It is based on a German play that is over 100 years old, but has banned from being performed for most of that time for its surprisingly fresh and obviously timeless issues surrounding teenage sexual exploration and maturation. Its themes are dark, but it is, at the same time, remarkably uplifting. Indeed, I haven't been so moved by a show since Rent, and that is saying something for me, as Rent is my all-time favorite. And if you can't make it to New York, at the very least, get the cast recording. You will never regret it. The haunting songs (by Duncan Sheik--remember the song "Barely Breathing?") will seep inside you and infuse the fibers of your being.

Super Bowl Spread

YIKES! Where does the time go? I have been meaning to post about our Super Bowl feast all week, and here it is Thursday afternoon, and this is the first free moment I've had! In any case, I hope everyone enjoyed the big game on Sunday. I loathe sports, but even I thought that last touchdown was awfully exciting! And I think it's neat that the Manning brothers won in back-to-back years, both MVP's. That's very very cool. Usually I hide in the kitchen making snacks, only watching the commercials and the halftime show, but was it just me, or were they less than spectacular this year? None of the commercials were particularly fabulous, and though I like Tom Petty, he ain't no Prince or Paul McCartney or Michael Jackson...or Janet Jackson, for that matter! And I shudder to think about Mr. Petty having any kind of "wardrobe malfunction." Ewww. So I actually tried to watch the game this year, but I didn't even make it through the first quarter before I passed out on the couch! ;-) It was a good thing that I had much of our Super Bowl eats prepared in advance, and Cyd even made dessert--imagine that!

Though Super Bowl Sunday demands manly, heart-clogging, trashy foods, our pre-function nibbles were strangely genteel. We had jumbo shrimp with a spicy dipping sauce, as is our way, and another cute little tidbit that was a quick and easy version of Paula Deen's brie en croute, or brie in puff pastry. Unfortunately, we gobbled them all up before I thought to take a picture, but I will explain my method nevertheless. First, I toasted a half cup of chopped walnuts in two tablespoons of butter (4-5 minutes until the butter and the nuts begin to brown). Then I mixed in two tablespoons of brown sugar (up to 1/4 cup if you want it sweeter) and a sprinkle--oh, a mere whisper--of cinnamon and a pinch of salt. Next I took those little pre-fab frozen phyllo cups (15 in a package) and filled each with a spoonful of the nut mixture and topped with half of a Babybel cheese. Then I baked them for about ten minutes in a 350-degree oven to crisp up the shells and melt the cheese. Easy, delicious, and rather sophisticated!

For a main dish with more testosterone, I tried a recipe that has been languishing in my "to-try" pile since last year when the Bears played the Colts. It was an Italian Beef sandwich from Tim, a prominent presence over at the Cooks Illustrated message boards. Though I swapped out flat-iron steaks for chuck roast and cooked it all in the crock pot instead of the oven, the sandwiches turned out great! And then, of course, we had to have our annual seven-layer dip. My version involves refried beans mixed with homemade salsa to make them softer for dipping into and imminently more flavorful. I top that with a double layer of guacamole (that's the secret!), a thin layer of sour cream, a ton of shredded cheese, chopped black olives, and green onions on top. It's the best! But I always end up making too much, so I brought the leftovers into work this week, and within a few hours, the dip had disappeared! TOUCHDOWN! Ok, so sports metaphors don't work for me. Fine. Here's the Italian Beef recipe:

Chicago Bears Style Italian Beef
(Source: Tim of the Cooks Illustrated Message Boards)

5 pound bone-in chuck roast (I used about five pounds of flat-iron steak instead)
salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon paprika (I used smoked)
1 tablespoon Greek oregano
1 tablespoon garlic powder or one head of garlic crushed (I opted for the latter)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 or more minced pepperoncini
1/4 cup pepperoncini juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice (from two lemons)

1 chopped onion (optional, but why wouldn't you want it?)
2 cups excellent beef stock
5 bay leaves (I used ground for this)

Combine all spices into a paste with some pepperoncini and lemon juice. Rub on roast.

In a Dutch oven, add all liquids and the seasoned roast. Cover and roast at 350 degrees for 2-3 hours until meat is falling from the bones. (I cooked it in the crock pot for 10-12 hours on low.)

Remove roast, let cool and shread into bite size pieces. Place back into pot to reheat. Serve with toasted hoagie rolls, horseradish mayo and more pepperoncini. Some people also add mozzarella cheese, but I went with Swiss. Chicagoans may balk at the faux pas, but it was darn good eats!

Finally, for dessert, Cyd made an excellent pineapple upside-down cake. We found some lovely golden specimens at Sam's Club for three dollars apiece, and she wanted to do something that would really showcase the fruit. Of course, she usually makes grand plans to make a special dish, but ends up just eating the fresh pineapple quickly before it goes bad and has to be thrown away. But to my shock and awe, she took herself into the kitchen this weekend, tackled the onerous job of deconstructing the pineapple, and then actually made a cake from scratch! And in making a few substitutions to the original recipe, she may have made the cake better than anyone thought possible! Instead of a yellow cake base, this was more of a light spice cake laced with dark rum whose tropical flavors perfectly complimented the caramelized pineapple on top. Bravo, Cyd! (We'll make a proper cook of her yet! Tee hee.) Here's that recipe:

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
(Source: Gourmet via Food Network)

For topping:
1/2 medium pineapple, peeled, quartered lengthwise, and cored
3/4 stick unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

For batter:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 to 3 teaspoons ground cardamom (we were out of cardamom, so we substituted 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, a pinch of cloves and a quarter of a nutmeg, grated)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon dark rum (don't omit this, even if you think you don't like rum--it's not enough to make the cake "boozy," but it adds a wonderful depth of flavor)
1/2 cup unsweetened pineapple juice (we used orange juice, which was yummy with the other tropical flavors)
2 tablespoons dark rum, for sprinkling over cake (optional--we omitted this)

Special equipment: a well-seasoned 10-inch cast-iron skillet (we used a Dutch oven)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Topping:
Cut pineapple crosswise into 3/8-inch-thick pieces. Melt butter in skillet. Add brown sugar and simmer over moderate heat, stirring, 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Arrange pineapple on top of sugar mixture in concentric circles, overlapping pieces slightly.

Batter:
Sift together flour, cardamom (or other spices), baking powder, and salt. Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, then gradually beat in granulated sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and rum. Add 1/2 of the flour mixture and beat on low speed just until blended. Beat in pineapple (or orange) juice, then add remaining flour mixture, beating just until blended. (Batter may appear slightly curdled.)

Spoon batter over pineapple topping and spread evenly. Bake cake in middle of oven until golden and a tester comes out clean, 45-50 minutes. Let cake stand in skillet five minutes. Invert a plate over skillet and invert cake onto plate (keeping plate and skillet firmly pressed together). Replace any pineapple stuck to bottom of skillet. Sprinkle rum over cake and cool on plate on a rack. (I slid the cake from the plate onto the rack to cool. Otherwise you will steam the bottom of the cake to mush!)

Serve cake just warm or at room temperature.

Cooks' Notes:
• Some of the food editors found 3 teaspoons of cardamom to be too much, but others loved the intense flavor. • Cake may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Gina's Note: You may want to use a propane torch or run the cake under the broiler for a minute or two to caramelize the topping a bit more after turning it out of the pan. Just an idea...