Things we know how to do...

Sometimes it's all about doing simple things well. And learning to do them well takes trial and error and lots and lots of practice. Years later, it may dawn on you that...hey, I've got this thing down!

One of the things that is bordering on perfection in my house is my roommate's method of making oven-roasted potatoes. I have made them myself many times, of course, but Cyd's always come out SO much better! So I finally pinned her down and made her describe her technique in as much detail as she could muster. Simple, but simply delectable! Here are her directions:

Cyd's Oven-Roasted Potatoes

Wash but do not peel your potatoes. Cut into big but still bite-sized chunks (for an average-sized potato, in half, then in sixths). Throw them into something like a glass oblong baking dish, and toss the potatoes with enough olive oil to coat. Then add some stock (preferably, vegetable but whatever you have on hand will do) about halfway up the potatoes. Season liberally with coarse salt and pepper (or your favorite seasoning blend) and lots of minced garlic. Also, feel free to throw in any herbs that you like--fresh thyme is a favorite here or rosemary. Just squish the whole herbs down into the broth.

Roast uncovered at 450 degrees for about an hour or until fork-tender inside and browned outside. (Keep adding a little stock as it cooks off, until the potatoes are almost completely tender, then let them finish roasting until they are as crispy as you want them to be.) Cyd says the "secrets" are the vegetable broth for extra flavor and the high roasting temperature to get them all lovely and browned.

The second thing that I've decided is ready to be shared with the world is my method of making a pork roast. We've all had a lot of dry, flavorless pork roasts in past, and I am making it my business to rid the world of the inedible lot of them! Now, parts of my "recipe" may sound a little weird--like ill-advised Asian-German fusion perhaps--but please trust me when I say that this combination of flavors is divine and perfectly enhances the succulent porkiness of the roast. Here's what you do:


Gina's Slow-Braised Fusion Pork Roast

You start with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a 5-qt. stock pot. (You could also do this in a large skillet and then transfer to a slow cooker.) Rub a 3-4 lb. pork SHOULDER roast (avoid the loin roast...it is usually dry no matter how long you braise it) all over with salt, pepper and granulated garlic, or your favorite seasoning blend plus extra garlic and pepper. Brown in the olive oil on all sides. Chop up a large onion, and once the roast is browned, toss the onion in and cook until translucent in the fond (the browned bits on the bottom).

At this point, you could transfer this to a crock pot and then continue with the following instructions. To the pot, add two cups of stock (vegetable or beef), and a pound of sauerkraut. (Even if you think you don't like sauerkraut like I used to believe, add it anyway! You won't be sorry!) Also shake on about a tablespoon each of worcestershire sauce and soy sauce--I usually use reduced sodium.

Cover the pot, and braise in a low oven (275 degrees) for about 2 1/2 hours. Halfway through, turn the roast, and I like to coat the top with some of the juicy sauerkraut to keep everything moist. After 2 1/2 hours, I flip the roast again, cover it, and put it back in the oven which I then turn off. I let the roast sit in the still-warm oven for about a half an hour while I get on with my sides. Homemade mashed potatoes are a must, topped with some of that savory sauerkraut, and then a green veggie to give you the illusion that you're eating healthy. ;-)

*Just the most delicious, most comforting meal EVER that will surely warm you up now that the weather has become brisk. Make one for yourself soon, and then leave a comment to thank me for my gastronomical genius. Tee hee.

Anne's Appetizing Autumnals

Food Network strikes again! There I was, minding my own business, watching an episode of "Secrets of a Restaurant Chef," when that Anne Burrell goes and makes the most FABULOUS autumnal menu that I had to try and recreate immediately! The entree was a chicken and butternut squash pot pie, but as I had sweet potatoes on hand and some kale (left over from the kale chips), I made chicken, sweet potato and kale pot pies. YUM!

And though it's extra work to make the crust yourself, Anne's recipe is made decadent and delectable with cream cheese, and almost comes out like a cross between pie crust and a biscuit--flaky and DEE-LICIOUS! Only one word of caution: I ended up with enough filling for four small pies, one double-sized one, and I had the remaining cup or so over rice for lunch at work one day. Sheesh! But no biggie. The pies freeze beautifully, so you might as well make several while you're in the making mode.

Autumn Chicken Pot Pie(s)
(Source: Food Network, "Secrets of a Restaurant Chef" with Anne Burrell)

For the crust:
1 stick butter, cut into pea-size pieces
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, cut into pieces 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading
pinch kosher salt
1 egg yolk
1 to 2 tablespoons cold water

For the filling:
extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 ribs celery, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 large or 2 small carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
kosher salt
2 cloves garlic, smashed and finely chopped
3 pounds skinless chicken legs and thighs (I used boneless/skinless thighs)
4 cups rich chicken stock (preferably homemade)
2 cups butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice (I used sweet potatoes)
1 1/2 cups 1/2-inch pieces haricots verts
*I also added a couple of cups of kale, stemmed and chopped
6 sage leaves, finely chopped
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 egg beaten with 2 tablespoons of water, for egg wash

To make the crust: In the bowl of a food processor, combine the butter, cream cheese, flour and salt. Pulse to combine. Pulse, pulse, pulse until the ingredients start to come together and resembles Parmesan. Add the egg yolk and one tablespoon of water. Pulse a couple of more times until the ingredients start to form a ball. If the mixture is exceedingly wet, add some more flour. Or conversely, if the mix is dry, dry, dry, add in a few more drops of water.

When the mixture has come together into a ball, turn it out onto a floured work surface and knead it a couple of times to help it come together. Dust it with flour, form it into a disk and wrap it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until ready to use. This can be done a day ahead.

Cook's Note: When ready to use the dough, remove it from the refrigerator about 20 minutes before rolling, to allow it to warm up and soften.

To make the filling:

Coat the bottom of a stock pot lightly with olive oil put over medium heat. Add the onions, celery and the carrots and sprinkle with salt, to taste. Saute the vegetables for 7 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and sweat for another 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt, then add the chicken and the chicken stock. If the stock doesn't cover the chicken, add water until it does. Bring the stock to a boil, over high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

While the chicken is simmering, add the butternut squash to a large bowl, drizzle with some olive oil and add salt, to taste. Toss to coat the squash with the oil and transfer to a baking sheet. Roast until the squash is cooked but still has some texture, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and reserve.

Remove the chicken and vegetables from the stock and put into a large bowl. Reserve the stock. When the cool enough to handle, remove the bones from the chicken and stir into the vegetables. Add the roasted squash to the chicken and vegetables. Stir to combine and season with salt, if needed. Stir in the haricots verts and the chopped sage.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Add the flour and stir to combine with melted butter. Cook stirring frequently until the mixture is the consistency of wet sand and is starting to turn a little beige, about 6 to 7 minutes. Gradually whisk in the reserved chicken stock. Taste and adjust seasoning, if needed. When the stock is combined into the roux, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until it has a gravy-like consistency, about 20 to 25 minutes. If the gravy reduces too much and becomes too thick, whisk in a little more chicken stock or water.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Add the chicken mixture into a 2-quart casserole dish or 4 individual (2 cup) crocks. Ladle the "gravy" over the chicken mixture until the dish(s) are 3/4 filled. (I combined the chicken filling and the sauce, and then filled my dishes.)

Dust a clean work surface with flour and roll the dough into the shape of the casserole dish or large enough to cut circles to cover the individual casserole dishes. Whichever dishes are being used the dough needs to have generous overhang of dough on the edges of the dish. Brush the outside edges of the dish with a little of the egg wash to help "glue" the dough to sides of the dish. Fold the edges of the dough under and press it onto the edges of the dish. Brush the top of the dough with the remaining egg wash. Cut a couple of vents in the top of the dough to allow the steam to escape.

Bake in the preheated oven until the dough is golden brown and the inside is hot and bubbly, about 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve hot.

I also made a version of Anne's Butter Lettuce Salad with Crispy Prosciutto, Oyster Mushroom Chips, Cabrales and Pears from the same episode, but I swapped out so many of the main ingredients, it's hardly recognizable as the same dish. Mine was sort of a lower-rent version of her salad based on ingredients that I had on hand. But let me tell you, it was just incredibly flavorful, and one that I will be making again and again during apple season!

My salad was comprised of butter lettuce (my favorite!), sauteed baby portabellas instead of the oyster mushrooms, bacon swapped for the pancetta, domestic bleu cheese instead of the fancy Spanish, and Macintosh apples instead of pears. And I made a creamy blue cheese vinaigrette for the top because I wanted something to coat the apples (in the Waldorf fashion). I must say again, the resulting salad was EPIC! Don't you just love fall and all of these wonderful harvest-time ingredients? :-D

APPLES, APPLES, APPLES!

What a GORGEOUS fall we're having, and despite the moonsoon we had this past Friday (leaving miniature lakes in everyone's yards!), the weather has been crisp and lovely. In fact, a few weekends ago, a friend from work invited a gang of us over to their house (just down the road from the old house in Sciota) for a day of apple cider-pressing and baking with her multi-talented husband in the fantastic wood-fired brick oven that he built out back. There was a smattering of rain on the way to their house, but once that front had passed, it was a beautiful, sunny, autumnal day.

We worked hard all day sorting, washing, chopping, and pressing the apples. But we took breaks along the way to make delicious individual pizzas for lunch in the wood-fired oven, and also to bake loaves of homemade bread (my favorite was the molasses bread). And even though I got a wicked blister on my hand from cutting up apples, our labors were rewarded with about seven gallons of sweet, tangy, refreshing, fresh-pressed cider from 100-year-old heritage apples. YUM! Here are a few miscellaneous pictures from the day, which I certainly hope becomes an annual fall event:

Since it is the High Holy (Apple) Season, I would also like to share a recipe for a terrific apple bundt cake from Smitten Kitchen that I made for my friend Vicky's birthday. I took more than a few liberties with the original recipe as is my way, the most significant of which was to convert the recipe for use in a bundt pan. But the very best amendment was the buttered rum glaze that added to the top! This very moist, flavorful cake is a must-make at this glorious time of year!

Apple Cake with Buttered Rum Glaze
(Source: Smitten Kitchen)

6 apples, I used Macs and Spartans
1 tablespoon cinnamon
5 tablespoons sugar (I used 3 T white + 2 T brown)
2 3/4 cups flour, sifted (I used 1 1/2 C white whole wheat, the rest AP)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar (I reduced this to 1 1/2 C and used 1 C white + 1/2 C brown)
1/4 cup orange juice (I used our fresh apple cider!)
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional, but I used them)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a tube pan (I used a bundt pan sprayed with flour-added spray). Peel, core and chop apples into chunks. Toss with cinnamon and sugar and set aside.

Stir together flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, orange juice (or cider), sugar and vanilla. Mix wet ingredients into the dry ones, then add eggs, one at a time. Scrape down the bowl to ensure all ingredients are incorporated. (I whisked the wet ingredients together--including the eggs but not the cider--for two minutes, then added half the dry ingredients, the cider, then the rest of the dry stuff in the traditional manner. Then I stirred in the chopped walnuts.)

Pour half of batter into prepared pan. Spread half of apples over it. Pour the remaining batter over the apples and arrange the remaining apples on top. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours, or until a tester comes out clean. (In the bundt pan, I alternated 1/3 of the batter, 1/2 apples--and juice--1/3 batter, the remaining apples, and the last of the batter.)

Bake for about 90 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. (You may need to tent the top with foil if it gets too brown before the end of baking.)

Buttered Rum Glaze:

4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup dark, spiced rum

In a small saucepan, combine the butter, sugar and water, and bring to a boil for five minutes. Remove from the heat, then add the rum. Bring back to a boil for a minute. When the cake comes out of the oven, poke it all over with holes using a long wooden skewer, and apply about half the glaze to the bottom with a pastry brush. Once the cake has cooled for about a half hour (until the pan is not hot to the touch, just warm), turn it out onto a rack and use the rest of the glaze all over the top and sides of the cake.

Meatless Mondays

I have a dear friend and colleague whose husband is struggling with his weight and diabetes that was off the charts. His doctor had a serious come-to-Jesus meeting with him back in July, and around the time of my own health crisis, he and his wife decided to take extreme measures and adapt a strict vegan diet, at least until his diabetes was under control. Six or seven weeks later, and he'd lost a lot of weight and inches (down more than 30 pounds and several pants sizes), and his diabetes went from a reading of 12 (the scale goes to 12) down to 7 (6 or below is considered normal)!

My roommate and I were both very impressed at the changes in our friend's appearance and health, and we vowed to start incorporating some meatless entrees into our own weekly menus. One of the dishes my friend suggested that her entire Italian family enjoys (even before the vegan conversion) is pasta and lentils. Strange combo, you say? I thought so, too, but the lentils are sort of meaty in and of themselves, so you don't feel unsatisfied eating a vegetarian meal. And this recipe makes a TON! Like other hearty dishes of this nature, they taste better the next day (and the day after that), so this makes great leftovers to take for lunch at work. I took enough to share with my officemate one day, and she concurred that you don't even miss the meat.

There isn't a proper "recipe" for this. My friend described the process for me as she was teaching an afternoon chem lab. LOL! And of course, I took a few liberties, like adding a can of fire-roasted tomatoes and a chopped up sweet pepper that I had on hand, plus a pinch of red pepper flakes for zip. It's healthy, hearty, and tasty--what more do you really need?

Pasta e Lenticchie

1/4 cup olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 large stalk celery, chopped
1 sweet pepper, seeded and chopped
pinch of red pepper flakes
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 15 oz. can diced (preferably, fire-roasted) tomatoes
1 lb. lentils, rinsed
5 to 6 cups vegetable stock
salt and pepper, to taste
1 lb. (preferably, whole-grain) spaghetti, broken into fourths

Garnishes: vinegar (white wine vinegar or the brine from a jar of pickled peppers) and shredded Parmesan cheese

Heat the olive oil in a deep skillet (I used a 3.5 quart). Add the onion, carrots, celery, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Cook over medium heat until vegetables are soft and just starting to color. Add the garlic and saute for another minute or two. Add the tomatoes (with the juice), lentils and five cups of stock and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the lentils are almost completely tender.

In a separate pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta almost to al dente then drain (rinse with cold water to hold for awhile, if necessary). When the lentils are almost done cooking, add the pasta to the skillet and combine. Continue to simmer until lentils and pasta are completely tender. Add more stock if needed. Taste to adjust seasonings. Serve with a good splash of vinegar and an ample sprinkling of cheese (which, of course, would make it vegetarian, not vegan).

Oh, and I have another healthy, vegan, super-cinchy treat to share with you! I first heard about this crazy idea from my friend (and super-skilled cook), Mike. He had been raving about his new favorite snack on Facebook, and though I was skeptical, anything Mike swears by always turns out to be fabulous! Ladies and gentlemen, I give you....KALE CHIPS!


Kale chips, you say? Blech! Bitter greens as a snack food? TRUST ME, dear readers...have I ever led you astray? And I profess to not even like kale, except in soups and such. But by some miracle of the Maillard reaction, once you mix them with a little olive oil and bake them, they go from leafy to soggy and wilty to amazingly crisp in the span of about 15 or 20 minutes. And even more remarkably, they taste very like potato chips! I have no explanation for that, but I can vouch for how yummy they are--especially when we dipped them in a little homemade garlic blue cheese dressing. ;-)

To make your chips, start with a big bunch of kale. In the regular size bunch that you get from the grocery store, I used about half. Wash and spin your greens to get rid of any grit. Remove the stems and tear the leaves into potato chip-sized pieces. Toss the pieces of kale with a tablespoon of olive oil, a tablespoon of the vinegar if your choosing (I liked seasoned rice vinegar here), and a couple of good pinches of salt. Lay the pieces of kale in a single layer on two large baking sheets (I prefer to use Silpats underneath the chips), and bake for 15-20 minutes at 350. You want the chips to be crisp, but they taste bitter if allowed to brown. So keep a close eye on them!

As usual, I blame the Food Network....

It is a well-established fact that I watch far too much Food Network, and now The Cooking Channel as well. And this compels me to fall under evil influences like Paula Deen and friends, and I end up making things that I probably shouldn't! Recently, Miss Paula had a guest on her show named Cheryl Day who is the proprietor of Back in the Day Bakery in Savannah, and Paula talked the nice lady into making her famous "biscones" on her show. "Biscones" is Cheryl's nickname for these luscious, fat-filled creations that are halfway between a biscuit and a scone. Happily, they are easier to make than either one, as there is no rolling and cutting, just scooping the dough right onto a pan.

Now I made my biscones to fashion some egg sandwiches out of them for Sunday brunch, but they would also be wonderful to accompany a big pot of soup, chili, or beans. And you could add lots of different things to the dough to make endless tasty variations (mine were garlic, black pepper and parmesan).

Back in the Day "Biscones"
(Source: Cheryl Day on "Paula's Best Dishes," Food Network)

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus 2 tablespoons to toss onto dough before baking
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt *optional for savory scones
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 cup cold butter, cut in cubes
1 1/2 cups cold buttermilk
1/2 cup grated sharp white Cheddar (I used parmesan)
*I added about a teaspoon of granulated garlic as well.

egg wash

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Add all the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Cut in the cold butter with a fork or pastry blender until the butter is the size of peas and some larger pieces. Gradually add in the cold buttermilk until it is just combined. Stir in the cheese. Do not overwork the dough.

In the same bowl, pat down dough and dust the top with the remaining two tablespoons of flour. Using an ice cream scooper, arrange scoops of the biscone mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the tops with egg wash and bake, turning halfway through, until the tops are golden brown about 18 to 20 minutes.

It used to be just the Food Network that I was addicted to, but now we have their spin-off, The Cooking Channel, too. My favorite show on that sister network is called "Foodcrafters," where we learn about small, independent food businesses around the country. It was because of that show that I discovered things like Laloo's goat's milk ice cream out of Petaluma, CA--SO delicious, creamy but with half the fat and a delicious hint of tanginess, also more digestible for the lactose intolerant. If you can find it (check your local health food co-op), try the Rumplemint which is awesome!

And though I'd heard of them before, The Cooking Channel's segment on Rancho Gordo heirloom beans compelled my roommate to place a small order of three different kinds of beans: yellow-eye, Rio Zape, and Ojo de Cabra (goat's eye). The yellow eyes were cousins to the navy bean, so I decided to make a big pot of savory ham and bean soup with those. And when I was invited to a "True Blood" finale party that would also be attended by vegans, I made some zesty red beans and rice with the meaty Rio Zapes. I haven't tied the goat's eyes yet, but if they are anything like the first two varieties, they will be wonderful! Who knew beans could have so much more flavor and texture than those dry old dusty things we usually get in the supermarket?

For those of you that are hesitant to cook beans from their dried state, the basic cooking method is pretty simple. First, you rinse the beans well, and cover by about an inch with cool water. Soak them for at least a couple of hours and (preferably) up to six. Do NOT drain the beans. The prevailing wisdom these days is that many of the vitamins and nutrients leech out into the soaking liquid.

Toward the end of the beans' soaking time, cut and chop a basic mirepoix of onions, celery and carrots. You may also consider some sweet or hot peppers and a few cloves of garlic. Saute everything except the garlic in a little olive oil until the veggies are tender and just starting to color. Add the garlic and saute for another minute or two.

Add the beans, their soaking liquid, and the softened veggies--and perhaps a meaty ham bone or a couple of smoked turkey wings--to a large, heavy-bottomed pot. If the liquid doesn't cover the beans by at least an inch, add more water or, better yet, some flavorful stock. Bring to a vigorous boil for five minutes, then lower the heat, cover the pot, and let it simmer until the beans are tender, which will probably take a couple of hours. If the liquid starts to disappear along the way, add more water or stock as necessary.

At the end of the cooking time (say, the last twenty minutes or so), season the beans and add anything acidic like tomatoes, citrus juices or vinegars. If you add salt or acids at the beginning of the cooking process, it may toughen the beans. And that's it...a perfect--and perfectly delicious--way to cook beans! Serve your savory, rib-sticking beans with some homemade biscones, and you have a surefire recipe for surviving the chilly days ahead.

Clean-Out-Your-Garden Soup

I'm not sure how things are where you live, but fall seems to have come early here in the Northeast. It is downright nippy, and we have started making a fire in the woodstove in the evenings. Consequently, this is PERFECT soup weather, and I have discovered the best recipe for this time of year when the backyard gardens and farmer's markets are replete with bountiful harvests.

It did take 2 1/2 hours of cutting and chopping and cooking, but I made this AWESOME Italian soup from Ina Garten called ribollita. It has a little pancetta and every veggie on the planet in it (plus, I added zucchini that wasn't even called for). And at the very end, you throw in chunks of bread that become like little dumplings floating in there, and serve it topped with shredded parmesan. So rib-stickingly comforting and flavorful! It's a great weekend project (as it is time-consuming to make), but it will feed a crowd AND give everyone lunches for the following week, or you could freeze the leftovers for an easy warm-up in the coming chilly weeks. (Conversely, you could halve this recipe and make a more reasonable portion.)

Photo Credit: Food Network

Ribollita
(Source: Ina Garten, Food Network)

1/2 pound dried white beans, such as Great Northern or cannellini (screw that...use canned beans, make your life easier!)
kosher salt
1/4 cup good olive oil, plus extra for serving
1/4 pound large diced pancetta or smoked bacon
2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
1 cup chopped carrots (3 carrots--I used 4)
1 cup chopped celery (3 stalks)
*I added one small zucchini, cut in eight pieces, then sliced thinly
3 tablespoons minced garlic (6 cloves)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 (28-ounce) can Italian plum tomatoes in puree, chopped (I used two cans, and I just crushed them with my hands)
4 cups coarsely chopped or shredded savoy cabbage, optional (I used Napa cabbage because it's milder, removing the hard spines)
4 cups coarsely chopped kale (I removed the stems)
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
6 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
4 cups sourdough bread cubes, crusts removed (I used ciabatta)
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan, for serving

In a large bowl, cover the beans with cold water by one iinch and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to soak overnight in the refrigerator.

Drain the beans and place them in a large pot with 8 cups of water, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes. Add one teaspoon of salt and continue to simmer for about 15 minutes, until the beans are tender. Set the beans aside to cool in their liquid.

(Or ignore all of the above and use three cans of cannellini beans!)

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large stockpot. Add the pancetta and onions and cook over medium-low heat for 7 to 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent. Add the carrots, celery, zucchini (if using), garlic, one tablespoon of salt, the pepper, and red pepper flakes. Cook over medium-low heat for 7 to 10 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Add the tomatoes with their puree, the cabbage, if using**, the kale, and basil and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for another 7 to 10 minutes.

Drain the beans, reserving their cooking liquid. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, puree half of the beans with a little of their liquid (or one can with its liquid). Add to the stockpot, along with the remaining whole beans. Pour the bean cooking liquid into a large measuring cup and add enough chicken stock to make 8 cups. Add to the soup and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.

Add the bread to the soup and simmer for 10 more minutes. Taste for seasoning and serve hot in large bowls sprinkled with parmesan and drizzled with olive oil (I omitted the olive oil here).

**I am generally anti-cabbage myself, but I recommend you use it in this soup. It adds another layer of flavor that is very nice, and it does not overpower anything else if you use Napa cabbage (just the soft, mild leaves, not the spines). Savoy cabbage would be nice, too.

Before you put that grill away....

WAIT, WAIT! Before you roll the grill into the shed for the winter, before the last ear of corn disappears, and while there are still a few herbs growing in your garden, I have a delightful menu for you: jalapeno beer-brined pork chops, oven roasted new potatoes with garlic and rosemary, corn on the cob...and if that weren't enough, homemade chocolate peanut butter cake for dessert! Doesn't that sound fab? I won't bother to share detailed recipes for the potatoes (washed, chunked, tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper, minced garlic and herbs, and roasted at 400 degrees until tender) or the corn (shucked, boiled for ten minutes, buttered and seasoned), but I will tell you about the pork chops and the cake.

Some months ago, I bought a whole bunch of really cheap pork chops, and I guess you get what you pay for, because they always come out tough and dry, even if you don't overcook them. So I really needed a way to tenderize them, and I remembered something my friend, Chris, told me about a beer brine. I couldn't find the specific recipe that he gave me, but I found the following, which was very flavorful and gave the pork chops a nice kick. I didn't have any fresh ginger on hand, so I threw in some sliced onions instead. Yummy! (Sorry, no pictures.)

Jalapeño-Beer Brined Pork Chops
(Source: Cooks' Recipes)
Makes 4 servings

2 1/2 cups water
1 (12-ounce) can beer (I used a dark beer and the flavor was very pronounced--next time, I might use a lager, as I am not a beer drinker)
1 (4-ounce) can diced jalapeños
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons kosher (coarse) salt
6 quarter-sized slices fresh ginger
6 cloves garlic, crushed
4 center or rib-cut pork chops, 1-inch thick

Combine water, beer, jalapeños, sugar, salt, ginger and garlic in medium bowl. Stir until sugar and salt are dissolved. Add pork chops; cover. Refrigerate for 24 hours, turning pork chops occasionally.

Heat grill to medium-high or preheat broiler. Remove pork chops from brine and rinse with cold water; discard brine. Pat pork chops dry. Sprinkle with ground black pepper.

Grill pork chops for 12 to 15 minutes or until no longer pink, turning two to three times during grilling.

I wish I could give proper credit for this tasty, homey dessert. It comes from my cousin Mandi's blog, and she got it out of one of her wife's grandmother's cookbooks, but I don't know which one. I can tell you that it is quite delicious, though the cake was a bit thick for my tastes. I might scale down the batter a bit next time to make a better cake-to-frosting ratio, but it's a recipe well worth revisiting! (Photo credit also goes to Mandi...pictured is the cake that she made. I forgot to take any of mine!)

Peanut Butter Cake with Chocolate Frosting
(Source: Mandi Munches)

Peanut Butter Cake:
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (I prefer crunchy!)
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup milk

Combine butter and peanut butter in large mixing bowl and cream well. Add sugar and beat well. Add vanilla and mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat well after each addition.

Sift together flour and baking powder, gradually adding to creamed mixture, alternately with milk, beating well.

Spoon into greased 9x13 pan. Bake for 45-50 min at 350 or until cake tests done.

Chocolate Frosting:
6 oz. semisweet chocolate morsels
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Combine chocolate and milk in medium saucepan, place over low heat, stirring until melted. Stir in sugar. Beat until smooth.

Post-Surgical Culinary Therapy

Yes, I am still playing catch-up on blogging (and will be for quite some time), but this is worth sharing. When I was about two weeks out of major abdominal surgery and could sit comfortably and stand for small stretches at a time, my dear friend, June, invited me over to help her bake a special dessert. She professed to need my help, but I think she knew I just needed to get out of the small, dark room that I was convalescing in at home and enjoy a change of scenery. Then again, she did choose one of the most involved cakes that I have ever made--the opera cake. You see, she had had it before several times at various restaurants and wasn't very impressed, but then she tried it again when she toured Paris this past May and fell in love. So she decided the only way to get a decent one at home was to make it herself. But she asked me along for moral support. Don't let anyone tell you different--opera cake is kind of a B*TCH to make (and we made TWO because June had guests coming)! However, the end result may be well worth it...especially for the mocha fiends out there!











For those of you unfamiliar with L'Opera, it's comprised of layers of almond sponge cake (jaconde) soaked in an espresso syrup and held together with ganache and coffee buttercream then covered with a bittersweet chocolate glaze. Finally, you slice off all of the edges to show the lovely layers. DELICIOUS stuff, but certainly time-consuming. I will simply reprint Dorie's recipe below, but offer some tips first:


1) We used almond flour in the cake instead of ground blanched almonds, and that worked fine.
2) When making the almond cake, make sure to spread the rather thick batter evenly in the pan to get a more level cake.
3) The cake batter would be helped by a good pinch of salt.
4) Instant espresso is preferable to instant coffee (bolder flavor), and use ALL the liquid to soak the cake. It won't be overkill, I promise.
5) It was quite hot the day we made this cake, and I think our butter for the buttercream got too warm. It would not whip up as it should. So to rescue it, we popped the mixing bowl full of frosting back in the fridge until it firmed up again, then rewhipped it, and it was perfect. Indeed, the buttercream is the best thing about this cake--I'm going to have to make it for other uses, like as the frosting for a rich, chocolate cake. YUM!
6) When layering on the ganache, keep the layer very, very thin or else it will overpower other flavors in the cake (you don't need to use ALL the ganache).
7) It does add time to your project, but freezing the cake for ten minutes or so between each step really helps it all hold together while you're spreading on the next layer. And freeze it for about a half hour before attempting the final glaze. You'll be glad you did.
8) If I made this again, I would do as Dorie sometimes does and add sliced almonds on top of both the buttercream and the ganache, to add some crunch.
9) Have courage--YOU CAN DO THIS! (But inviting a friend over to help, like June did, is a fine idea!)

Dorie Greenspan's Opera Cake
(Source: The Splendid Table)
Makes about 20 servings

The cake:
6 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 tablespoons (30 grams) granulated sugar
2 cups (225 grams) ground blanched almonds
2 1/4 cups (225 grams) confectioners' sugar, sifted
6 large eggs
1/2 cup (70 grams) all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons (45 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled briefly

The coffee syrup:
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons (7 grams) instant espresso or coffee

The coffee buttercream:
2 tablespoons (10 grams) instant espresso or coffee
2 tablespoons (15 grams) boiling water
1 cup (100 grams) sugar
1/4 cup (30 grams) water
Pulp of 1/4 vanilla bean
1 large whole egg
1 large egg yolk
1 3/4 sticks (7 ounces; 200 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

The chocolate ganache:
8 ounces (240 grams) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup (125 grams) whole milk
1/4 cup (30 grams) heavy cream
4 tablespoons (2 ounces; 60 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

The chocolate glaze:
5 ounces (150 grams) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 stick (115 grams) unsalted butter

1. To make the cake: Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Line two 12 1/2-x15 1/2-inch (31-x-39-cm) jelly-roll pans with parchment paper and brush with melted butter. (This is in addition to the quantity in the ingredient list.)

2. Working in a clean dry mixer bowl fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Add the granulated sugar and beat until the peaks are stiff and glossy. If you do not have another mixer bowl, gently scrape the whites into another bowl.

3. In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the almonds, confectioners' sugar and whole eggs on medium speed until light and voluminous, about 3 minutes. Add the flour and beat on low speed only until it disappears. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the meringue into the almond mixture, then fold in the melted butter. Divide the batter between the pans and spread it evenly to cover the entire surface of each pan.

4. Bake the cakes for 5 to 7 minutes, or until they are lightly browned and just springy to the touch. Put the pans on a heatproof counter, cover each with a sheet of parchment or wax paper, turn the cakes over and unmold. Carefully peel away the parchment, turn the parchment over and use it to cover the exposed sides of the cakes. Let the cakes come to room temperature between the parchment or wax paper sheets. (The cakes can be made up to 1 day ahead, wrapped and kept at room temperature.)

5. To make the syrup: Stir everything together in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Cool. (The syrup can be covered and refrigerated for up to 1 week.)

6. To make the buttercream: Make a coffee extract by dissolving the instant espresso in the boiling water; set aside.

7. Bring the sugar, water and vanilla bean pulp to a boil in a small saucepan; stir just until the sugar dissolves. Continue to cook without stirring until the syrup reaches 255 degrees F (124 degrees C), as measured on a candy or instant-read thermometer. Pull the pan from the heat.

8. While the sugar is heating, put the egg and the yolk in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat until the eggs are pale and foamy. When the sugar is at temperature, reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly pour in the syrup. Inevitably, some syrup will spin onto the sides of the bowl - don't try to stir the spatters into the eggs. Raise the speed to medium-high and continue to beat until the eggs are thick, satiny and room temperature, about 5 minutes.

9. Working with a rubber spatula, beat the butter until it is soft and creamy but not oily. With the mixer on medium speed, steadily add the butter in 2-tablespoon (30-gram) chunks. When all the butter has been added, raise the speed to high and beat until the buttercream is thickened and satiny. Beat in the coffee extract. Chill the buttercream, stirring frequently, until it is firm enough to be spread and stay where it is spread when topped with a layer of cake, about 20 minutes. (The buttercream can be packed airtight and refrigerated for 4 days or frozen for 1 month; before using, bring it to room temperature, then beat to smooth it.)

10. To make the ganache: Put the chocolate in a medium bowl and keep it close at hand. Bring the milk and cream to a full boil, pour it over the chocolate, wait 1 minute, then stir gently until the ganache is smooth and glossy.

11. Beat the butter until it is smooth and creamy, then stir it into the ganache in 2 to 3 additions. Refrigerate the ganache, stirring every 5 minutes, until it thickens and is spreadable, about 20 minutes. (The ganache can be packed airtight and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for 1 month; bring to room temperature before using.)

12. To assemble the cake: Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper. Working with one sheet of cake at a time, trim the cake so that you have two pieces: one 10-x-10-inches (25-x-25-cm) square and one 10-x-5-inches (25-x-12.5-cm) rectangle. Place one square of cake on the parchment and moisten the layer with coffee syrup. Spread about three-quarters of the coffee buttercream evenly over the cake. (If the buttercream is soft, put the cake in the freezer for about 10 minutes before proceeding.) Top with the two rectangular pieces of cake, placing them side by side to form a square; moisten with syrup. Spread the ganache over the surface, top with the last cake layer, moisten, then chill the cake in the freezer for about 10 minutes. Cover the top of the cake with a thin layer of coffee buttercream. (This is to smooth the top and ready it for the glaze - so go easy.) Refrigerate the cake for at least 1 hour or for up to 6 hours; it should be cold when you pour over the glaze. If you're in a hurry, pop the cake into the freezer for about 20 minutes, then continue.

13. To glaze the cake: Bring the butter to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove the pan from the heat and clarify the butter by spooning off the top foam and pouring the clear yellow butter into a small bowl; discard the milky residue. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over—not touching—simmering water, then stir in the clarified butter. Lift the chilled cake off the parchment-lined pan and place it on a rack. Put the rack over the parchment-lined pan and pour over the glaze, using a long offset spatula to help smooth it evenly across the top. Slide the cake into the refrigerator to set the glaze and chill the cake, which should be served slightly chilled. At serving time, use a long thin knife, dipped in hot water and wiped dry, to carefully trim the sides of the cake so that the drips of glaze are removed and the layers revealed.

Keeping: Each element of the cake can be made ahead, as can the assembled cake. The cake can be kept in the refrigerator, away from foods with strong odors, for 1 day, or you can freeze the cake, wrap it airtight once it is frozen, and keep it frozen for 1 month; defrost, still wrapped, overnight in the refrigerator.

Appearances can be deceiving...

Ok, so the cake I want to share with you today may not win any beauty prizes, but it should not be overlooked just because of its humble appearance. I ran across this recipe on Baking Bites a few months ago, and even though the picture didn't dazzle me, I had a feeling that this simple little cake would be right up my alley! This recipe is so great, because it's easy and quick, but yields a moist and tender little cake with terrific flavor--like a Creamsicle in cake form! As a matter of fact, I whipped this up on a weeknight, and it took no more time than making something (full of chemicals) from a boxed mix. While my dear roomie was throwing something together for dinner, I focused on dessert, and both were ready in under an hour! This one is a keeper to be revisited again and again...

Orange Sour Cream (or Yogurt!) Cake
(Source: Baking Bites)
Serves 8 (um...or maybe 6! tee hee)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon orange zest
2 large eggs
1/2 cup orange juice, preferably fresh
1/2 cup sour cream (I swapped out some thick, homemade yogurt)
*I also added a teaspoon of vanilla for more of that Creamsicle quality!

Topping
1/2 cup sugar (granulated, not confectioners’)
3 1/2 tbsp orange juice, preferably fresh
*I added 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla to the glaze, too.

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.

In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar and orange zest (and vanilla!) until light. Add in eggs one at a time, and beat mixture until smooth and well-combined. Mix in one third of the flour mixture, followed by the sour cream. Mix in another third of the flour mixture, followed by the orange juice. Stir in all remaining flour, mixing until no streaks of dry ingredients remain. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

When the cake has finished baking, whisk together glaze ingredients in a small bowl. Use a spoon to drizzle the glaze evenly over the cake (I poked holes all over mine with a skewer first). Allow glaze to soak in while cake cools. Allow cake to cool completely before slicing. (I added a big dollop of whipped cream!)

So late, I'm right on time!

I am SO tardy blogging about what to do with June strawberries, that it's time for the fall crop! See how, as my beloved mother used to say, things have a way of working out? Tee hee.

A few months ago, I was watching an episode of "Throwdown with Bobby Flay," and he was challenging NYC's Clinton Street Baking Company to a blueberry pancake throwdown. Now I have never made a superlative pancake at home, but after watching this show, I was inspired to try, try again. Even though it's a pain, I think the secret to ethereally light pancakes is to separate the eggs and whip the whites, as you do for waffles, and as is the Clinton Street Baking Company's method. Moreover, they top all of their pancakes with this decadent maple butter that is butter and real maple syrup melted and sort of whipped together to form a lusciously sweet emulsion. Man oh man, were these pancakes DIVINE! And as it was strawberry season and too early for fresh blueberries, I converted the copycat recipe that I found on a lovely British blog called Let Her Bake Cake to include a deliciously tangy strawberry-lemon compote. This is a MUST for your next brunch!

Buttermilk Pancakes with Strawberry-Lemon Compote and Maple Butter
(Source: Let Her Bake Cake, inspired by Clinton Street Baking Company)
Serves 3-4

Buttermilk Pancakes

2 eggs
1 scant cup buttermilk
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Separate the eggs so that the yolks go into a large bowl and the whites go into the bowl of a stand mixer or a bowl large enough to fit a hand held electric mixer.

Add the buttermilk and melted butter to the yolks in the bowl and beat together. In another bowl mix together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda.

With a stand mixer or electric mixer, whip the egg whites to hold soft peaks.

Now pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients and stir lightly until just combined. Some lumps are OK. Fold in the egg whites until just combined. It's okay if some of the whites aren't fully incorporated.

Rub a nonstick frying pan with a bit of butter and heat over medium-high heat. Add batter to pan to make whatever size pancake you want (I made four smallish ones at a time in my 10-inch skillet). Pancakes are ready to flip once a few bubbles appear on the surface and and the tops are starting to look dull. Flip and cook another minute or two.

If you wish, you can keep the pancakes warm in a very low oven while you cook the remaining batter.

Strawberry-Lemon Compote

1 1/2 cups strawberries, hulled and halved or quartered
2 tablespoons sugar
strips of peel from one lemon (no pith!)
juice of one lemon
1 split vanilla bean (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract*)
1/4 cup water

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Turn down heat and simmer until mixture is thickened, about 10-12 minutes. Stir occasionally during cooking time. Fish out the lemon peels and vanilla bean, and spoon compote over pancakes while still warm.

*If you are using vanilla extract, wait until the compote is done cooking, then add the vanilla at the very end.

Maple Butter

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup maple syrup

In a small saucepan, warm the maple syrup over low heat, then add the butter, one tablespoon at a time, whisking in thoroughly before adding the next pat. Serve immediately over pancakes.

Day late and a berry short?

Jeez! I've been so out of touch with everything lately--including this blog--that I have quite a backlog of recipes that I still want to share. The problem is, some of them are from so long ago, that the foodstuffs on which the dishes are based are out of season! Oh well...still, I will forge ahead and try to get caught up on my summer (that wasn't) recipes.

Let me start with an excellent raspberry-rhubarb pie that I made earlier this summer. Maybe you stashed some fresh raspberries in the freezer to make a pie or jam in the off-season? This pie might be worth busting them out for! Or you could always use frozen raspberries instead. As for the rhubarb, it was such a mild summer, that it is still thriving around these parts, so you might be in luck there. The best thing about this recipe, though, is the crust. Ever since I made that coconut cream pie awhile back, this has been my new go-to standard. It's buttery and incredibly flaky and just DELICIOUS! Homemade pies are not the quickest or easiest things to throw together, but this is definitely a culinary project worth undertaking! Raspberry and rhubarb is an excellent flavor combination; if you like strawberry-rhubarb, you'll like this. However, you could also substitute blueberries or blackberries--it's all good!

Raspberry-Rhubarb Pie
(Source: the crust is from Bon Appétit, the filling was my own concoction)

Double Crust:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
6 tablespoons chilled solid vegetable shortening, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup (or more) ice water

Filling:
2 cups fresh (or frozen) raspberries
4 cups rhubarb, sliced
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup thickener (any combo of flour, corn starch or tapioca)
1 tablespoon butter, in small pieces

Egg Wash:
1 egg
1 tablespoon cream or milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Fit pie plate with bottom crust rolled out from half of the (chilled!) dough. Gently mix together the raspberries, rhubarb, sugar, lemon juice, vanilla, and thickener(s). Pour into bottom crust and dot the filling with butter. Top with the other crust, cut vent holes or form a lattice. Brush with egg wash.

Bake at 425 for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another hour, or until the middle of the pie bubbles. (Cover the top of the pie with tin foil if the crust starts to get too brown.) Cool for at least two hours to let the juices thicken before cutting and serving.

Sweet comfort...

I can't believe that I haven't blogged about this before, but it seems a little...mundane. Then again, I have gone through at least three extended, obsessive love affairs with this ordinary breakfast food since The Pioneer Woman posted about it back in April. I'm sure it dovetailed with the stresses of finals and the end of the year at school, and most recently, with my health drama. And it is so simple and comforting, it's certainly worth a mention on this here blog. Ladies and gentlemen,I give you: CINNAMON TOAST! Not just that cinnamon toast that everybody has made since childhood where you sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on buttered toast, but an ingenius new methodology from a desperate mother of four...BROILED cinnamon toast! When you mix the butter and cinnamon and sugar together and add a splash of vanilla then pop it under the broiler for a couple of minutes, you get a bubbly, caramelized, brûléed toast treat!

As is my way, I took a few liberties with PW's recipe. First of all, I only make half of her recipe at a time--one stick of butter is enough for eight large pieces of toast (or four breakfasts, which usually tides me over until my next attack!). Also, I prefer to toast my bread first for crispiness all the way through. Thirdly, I find 1/2 cup of sugar to one stick of butter a bit too sweet, so I take it down to 1/3 cup. And I also like to swap out half or even all of the white sugar for brown sugar, which gives you caramel cinnamon toast! NOM NOM NOM! You must try this, my people.

Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Toast "The Right Way"
(Source: The Pioneer Woman Cooks!)

16 slices bread (whole wheat is great!)
2 sticks salted butter, softened
1 cup sugar (I prefer 2/3 cup, and I prefer brown sugar)
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon (use GOOD cinnamon, PLEASE! I like Vietnamese from King Arthur)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (again, life is too short to use cheap, crappy vanilla!)
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional--I don't prefer this flavor here)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. (I turn mine on broil, and while it's preheating, I toast my bread in the toaster.)

Smush softened butter with a fork. Dump in sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg, if using. Stir to completely combine. Spread on slices of bread, completely covering the surface all the way to the edges.

Place toast on a cookie sheet. Place cookies sheet into the oven and bake for 10 minutes (I skip this step, as I toast mine first). Turn on the broiler and broil until golden brown and bubbling. Watch so it won’t burn! (Note: this only takes 2-3 minutes.)

Remove from oven and cut slices into halves diagonally. (I don't see the need to slice the toast myself, but you do as you see fit!)

Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated...

...but once you hear my story, you could see how people might have been misled. This hardly seems the right forum for my tale, but as most of my posts are inflected with every little thing that's going on in my life, I don't see how to avoid the subject. So here goes...

Sorry to overshare, but I had been having some "female trouble" for some time, and I finally went to see a gynecologist about it. She found that I had a very thickened uterine lining, so she scheduled me for a D&C. I truly expected that she would then put me on some hormones after that, and send me on my way. But the test results of the tissue that she removed were very, very bad. :-(

Apparently, at the age of only 42, I had uterine cancer--an unusual and aggressive type at that. I saw an excellent oncologist right away, and he took very swift and radical measures to treat me. Just a week after I saw him for the first time, I was admitted to Fletcher Allen Hospital across the lake in Burlington, VT for three days to have a total abdominal hysterectomy (uterus, ovaries, tubes--all of it). I had a lot of friends praying for me and/or sending good thoughts out into the universe on my behalf, and I know that I am very blessed. Despite the aggressiveness of the type of cancer, it was only stage one, and had not yet spread to the lymph nodes or any surrounding tissues or organs! HALLELUJAH!! Nevertheless, it is the kind of pernicious cell that likes to return to the scene of the crime, so the doctor has prescribed six treatments of chemotherapy, mainly as a precautionary measure. I had my first session yesterday, and despite a bit of queasiness (nothing that a root beer Frosty float and an anti-nausea pill couldn't fix!), it pretty much went off without a hitch. Of course, they have me so pumped full of steroids, I don't think I'm capable of feeling much of anything right now! They say if you're going to have the fun side effects, they usually kick in 2-3 days after treatment. So I guess we'll have to wait and see.

In the meantime, I am healing well, and I have a lot of support locally and across the miles. My beloved roommate used her two-week vacation to care for me right out of the hospital, I have had a small army of cooks bringing me casseroles and such for weeks, and my long-distance friends are sending cards and emails and Facebook messages and lovely gifts. So things are as good as to be expected, andI hope to be rarin' to go by the time school starts again at the end of the month.

By this point, you're probably thinking, hey, I just came here for a recipe, not all this medical drama! And I actually have one for you. Truth to tell, I have quite a few posts in the hopper (the ones I should have completed in July when all the, erm, crap went down), but I think I'll work in reverse chronological order today, just because it fits my theme. Now I don't know what the etiquette is when you're the new girl on the chemo block, but I figured bringing cupcakes wouldn't hurt to ingratiate myself with the other ladies and the staff! But I wanted to bring something somewhat healthful, and one of my friends had recently brought me some zucchini from her garden, so I made zucchini cupcakes from a recipe in Everyday Food. They turned out pretty well--anything with cream cheese frosting has to be good--but I made a few changes, as is my way, and you might want to make a few more if you try them yourself. Other than the frosting, these are actually fairly low-fat and quite healthy, especially if you use some whole grain flour and add in some extra veg, as I did. Recipe follows...sorry for the crappy cell phone pics, but they give you the idea.

Sweet Zucchini Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
(Source: Everyday Food, May 2007)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled (I used half whole wheat pastry flour)
1 cup packed dark-brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I doubled this, and it still needed more spice, IMHO)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts (I increased this to 3/4 cups)
1 zucchini (10 ounces), coarsely grated, 1 1/2 cups (I added another 1/2 cup grated carrots for color, making 2 total cups of veggies)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (I doubled this)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cups of a standard (12-cup) muffin tin with paper or foil liners. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Mix in nuts. In another bowl, combine zucchini, oil, eggs, and vanilla; add to flour mixture, and mix just until combined (do not overmix).
Divide batter evenly among cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool in tin on a wire rack for 10 minutes; turn cupcakes out, right side up, and cool completely.

Meanwhile, make frosting. Using an offset spatula or butter knife, spread frosting on cupcakes. The frosted cupcakes are best eaten within one day.

Cream Cheese Frosting
(Makes more than enough for 12 cupcakes)

4 tablespoons room-temperature unsalted butter (I used salted)
4 ounces room-temperature bar cream cheese (I swapped out neufchatel, worked perfectly)
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, with an electric mixer, beat butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla extract; beat until light and fluffy. Refrigerate until ready to use, up to one day.

In the Markets Now: New Potatoes

I love potatoes. And I especially love local, organic, newly-dug potatoes that are so tender and flavorful, that they need little to no adornment. We have been getting some amazing yellow-fleshed potatoes from a local farm since early spring, and last week, we made our first visit of the season up to St-Chrysostome, QC, to the Friday night farmer's market where we procured, among other things, several pounds of lovely new (white) potatoes.

We prepared some of them old-school style--drizzled in olive oil, wrapped in foil and baked in the oven. Yum! But I also wanted to make a potato salad with some of them, and I didn't want the sort that was so laden with various veggies and eggs and a heavy, mayo-based dressing that you couldn't taste the simple, wonderful sweetness of the potatoes themselves. So I went searching for a simple, but still very flavorful potato salad. What I found was an heirloom recipe from Ruth Reichl, former editor-in-chief of the much-missed Gourmet Magazine, her Aunt Birdie's famous potato salad. With only five ingredients (not counting salt and pepper, of course), it's downright spartan, but it's simply delicious. It has a sweetened, vinegar-based dressing in the Germanic tradition, and it's the type of dish that gets better the longer it sits--the next day for sure, and day three is best, if it lasts that long!

The only thing I would add to Aunt Birdie's fine recipe is something fresh and herby. I have used parsley and also dill, which are readily available at this time of year, and both are lovely additions to the salad (chives would be good, too). And this is another fine picnic/potluck/BBQ recipe, as it's wonderful hot, room temperature or cold, and you don't have to worry about mayonnaise spoiling in the hot summer sun (if YOU have any of that phenomenon--we haven't seen much of it yet this year, and in point of fact, as I write this post, we have a fire burning in the wood stove, at the end of June!).

Aunt Birdie's Potato Salad
(Source: adapted from Mmmmm: A Feastiary, by Ruth Reichl)

3 pounds small potatoes
1 or 2 onions, chopped (2 onions?? half of one onion was enough for me!)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon sugar (I doubled this=2 T)
1/2 cup white vinegar (I think apple cider vinegar would be good, too)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
*Optional: add 1/4 cup or so of chopped fresh herbs of your choice

Boil potatoes in jackets. When cool enough to handle, peel and slice. (Slice rather thickly, and don't cut the slices further. They will break up too much as you mix the salad...as you can see in my pictures.)

Cut onions and mix into the potatoes. Season with salt, pepper and sugar. Over this, add oil and mix.

Dilute vinegar with a little water (I didn't dilute--I think this is a holdover from "the old days" when vinegar was a lot stronger), bring to a boil and add this while hot over the potatoes. Add herbs, if using, and mix well. You may serve immediately, but it is much better if you let it sit overnight!

A very sexy story of PBGV love...and pie.

I don't think I ever taxed you poor readers with the somewhat salacious tale of trying to breed my dog, Grady. But today is your lucky day! Ha ha. My story starts last November, the week I was to leave for my 20th college reunion, the week I was ultimately struck down by the swine flu. This was also right before I moved into the new house, and in the midst of all of this, I was driving back and forth to a little village near Ormstown, Quebec, trying to make some PBGV babies! But that was easier said than done. Lord knows they were both willing, but they just weren't connecting, if you know what I mean. Finally, we took them to the vet, and she detected some physical strictures in the female that made it impossible for them to do the deed the old-fashioned way.

So the vet did two artificial inseminations, and amazingly enough, even though we were at the tail end (har, har) of her season, it worked! Three weeks later, they did an xray, and they saw at least four viable embryos. However, at some point after that, she must have spontaneously aborted, because she didn't carry the litter to term. It was mysterious and disappointing, but the breeder told us that it was quite common in her lines for the bitch to lose her first litter, but then go on to have healthy puppies the next time around.

So at the beginning of June, the breeder contacted me to let me know that Bianca was in season, and that she's like to try again to breed her to my Grady. But this time, she wanted to take the happy couple back to her house near Ottawa and do the A.I.'s herself. So one Sunday, we all met at the approximate halfway point, which is Cornwall, Ontario, for the doggie swap. She kept Grady and Bianca for the week, and I will spare you the gory details, but we are hopeful that all the lurid activities that occurred behind the velvet curtain will finally yield a litter of little PBGVs come August! Keep your fingers and paws crossed for us!

But what does this have to do with FOOD, you may rightly ask? Well, the route to Cornwall, ON takes you right through the Akwesasne Reservation, and on the res, there is a fine little diner called the Bear's Den. I always stop when I'm passing through, because they make a chocolate cream pie there that I'm overly-find of. But my roommate's favorite is their coconut cream pie. In fact, we weren't more than a few miles down the road before she had finished her slice-to-go, and demanded that I turn around so that she could go buy a whole pie to bring home! I was eager to get back home (it was a school/work night), so I didn't want to backtrack, but I promised that I would soon make her a homemade coconut cream pie. I found a recipe that looked excellent on Epicurious, and I read through all the reader comments, and chose to make some key changes that yielded a pie that Cyd declared the best coconut cream pie she'd ever had!

First of all, I made 1 1/2 times the original amount of filling, as other reviewers recommended, and as they also reported, it perfectly filled a deep-dish pie plate. When I increased the filling, I did not increase the sugar, and I used four whole eggs and five tablespoons of flour. Then I substituted a can of coconut milk (=1 2/3 C), and the rest whole milk to make a total of 2 1/4 cups. I also added a pinch of salt, and omitted the coconut extract. When the custard had finished cooking, I removed it from the heat and added the vanilla and also a tablespoon of butter. I chilled the filling over an ice bath until it was cold to the touch before putting it into the cooled crust and getting it into the fridge. That REALLY cut down on the time it took to set. I think we cut into it about four hours after I made it, and it was PERFECT. For the whipped cream topping, I used powdered sugar instead of granulated, omitted the coconut extract, and swapped out 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. WHEW! I think that's it. Ok, I realize now that my pie barely resembles the original recipe--tee hee--but it turned out GREAT! I hope you agree. My version of the recipe follows...


Coconut Cream Pie
(Source: adapted from Bon Appétit, September 2002)
Yield: Makes 8 servings (I would say 6...ha!)

Crust:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3 tablespoons chilled solid vegetable shortening, cut into small pieces
4 tablespoons (or more) ice water

Filling:
1/2 cup sugar
4 large eggs
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
1 can (1 2/3 cups) coconut milk
1/3 plus 1/4 cup whole milk
2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon butter

Topping:
2/3 cup sweetened flaked coconut

1 1/4 cups chilled whipping cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For crust:
(Ok, I confess--this time, I cheated and used a refrigerator crust, pricked all over with a fork and blind-baked for 12-15 minutes at 400 degrees, then set aside to cool completely.)

Blend flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add butter and shortening; using on/off turns, cut in until mixture resembles coarse meal. Drizzle four tablespoons ice water over mixture. Process just until moist clumps form, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic. Chill one hour.

Roll out dough to a 14-inch round. Transfer dough to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Fold overhang under. Crimp edges decoratively. Pierce bottom of crust all over with fork. Freeze crust 15 minutes. (Can be made one day ahead. Keep frozen.)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line crust with aluminum foil. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake 20 minutes. Remove weights and foil. Bake until golden and set, about 10 minutes. Cool. (Crust can be made one day ahead. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Let stand at room temperature.)

For filling:
Whisk 1/2 cup sugar, eggs, flour, and salt in a medium bowl. Bring milks and flaked coconut to simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Gradually add hot milk mixture to egg mixture, whisking constantly. Return to same saucepan; cook until pastry cream thickens and boils, stirring constantly, about four minutes. Remove from heat. Mix in vanilla extract and pat of butter. Transfer pastry cream to medium bowl. Press plastic wrap directly onto surface to prevent formation of skin. Chill until cold, at least two hours and up to one day (or chill it quickly over an ice bath, as I did). Transfer filling to crust. Cover; chill overnight (if you get it cold in the ice bath, you can chill it for just four hours before serving).

For topping:
Toast coconut in heavy small skillet over medium heat until lightly browned, stirring occasionally, about three minutes. Cool completely.

Using an electric mixer, beat cream, sugar, and vanilla extract in medium bowl until peaks form. Spread whipped cream all over top of filling. Sprinkle evenly with toasted coconut. (Can be prepared four hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate.) Serve cold.

Perfect Picnic Pasta Salad

So, as is my way, I was watching the Food Network recently, and I caught an episode of Giada at Home, starring everyone's favorite Italian bobblehead doll. (I kid, Giada, I kid!) And on this particular episode, she made an intriguing pasta salad that really looked more like an entrée, but that's probably because we don't expect pasta salads to have tomato-based sauces/dressings. What I can tell you is that this dish is excellent served hot for dinner, just as good at room temperature for a snack later on (when cleaning the kitchen and putting food away...tee hee), and awesome cold the next day for lunch, once the flavors really had a chance to mingle.

Hence, I think this would be the PERFECT thing to take to a picnic, potluck, or BBQ, because it can make use of fresh, seasonal tomatoes and herbs, it's yummy at any temperature, and you don't have the safety concerns of mayonnaise-based dressings baking in the hot summer sun. Plus, it's a great make-ahead dish to give the flavors time to develop further. Now, I know the combination of tuna and tomatoes may sound a little weird to some of you, but TRUST ME, PEOPLE, it is DEE-licious! And, my apologies to lovely Giada, but I think my twists on her recipe made it even more delectable. ;-)


Tuna and Campanelle Salad (Gina's Way!)
(Source: adapted from Giada De Laurentiis and Food Network's Giada at Home)

1 pound campanelle pasta (I used some huge imported radiatore)
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small or 1/2 medium red onion, chopped (I used a whole medium onion)
2 cloves garlic, minced (um, or SIX!)
1 (6-ounce) can Italian tuna in oil (I used 2 cans)
1 pint (2 cups) cherry tomatoes, halved (I used one can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes)
8 ounces frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and quartered (I used a 14.5 oz. can, drained and coarsely chopped)
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained (I omitted these and used about a half cup of sliced burgundy olives)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (I used fresh basil)
salt and freshly ground black pepper

*In addition to the above, I also added perhaps a half teaspoon of red pepper flakes, the juice of half a lemon, and about 3/4 cup shredded parmesan.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and reserve about one cup of the pasta water.

In a 14-inch skillet, heat olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds until aromatic. Add the tuna to the skillet and, using a fork, break into chunks. Add the tomatoes, artichoke hearts, olives, thyme, red pepper flakes, and lemon juice. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes begin to soften, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the pasta and the parsley or basil, and toss until all the ingredients are coated, adding a little pasta water, if needed, to thin out the sauce.

Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and sprinkle on the shredded parmesan. Transfer the pasta to a serving bowl and serve warm or at room temperature (or cold!).