Seville Orange Cake

A perfect slice of cake to go with a cup of Irish Breakfast Tea.

Hot out of the oven, flipped and spread with warm marmalade.

Once cooled, spoon icing over the top of cake.

This cake is moist and goes great with tea.  Perfect to have on hand if friends stop by.

8 inch round cake pan, greased and lined

3/4 cup butter at room temperature

3/4 cup + 2 Tbs. sugar

3 extra large eggs, beaten

1 1/4 cups self rising flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

7 Tbs. Seville orange marmalade, gently warmed

2 Tbs. milk

ICING

1 cup confectioners sugar

2 Tbs warm water

Preheat oven 350 degrees

   Beat the butter until creamy.  Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, beating well after each addition. Sift the flour and baking powder and gently fold into the mixture. Add half the marmalade and milk and gently fold in.
   Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Spread to level.  Bake 45-50 minutes or golden and firm to the touch.  Turn out onto a wire rack and immediately brush with the remaining warmed marmalade.
Let cool completely.
     Mix the sugar and warm water, until smooth and lump free. Spoon over the top of cake and let it run down the sides.  Let set about one hour.  Store in an airtight tin, eat within 4 days.

Recipe courtesy of THE BAKING BOOK by Linda Collister
   

Spelt Trofie with Carrot-Top Pesto

Lightly floured trays filling up with hand rolled trofie pasta.

A steamy saute pan bubbling away with the carrots and trofie.

Trofie pasta with pesto and hazelnuts on top.

The carrot-top pesto blended into the trofie pasta with some additional 

toasted hazelnuts on top.

This was an extensive recipe, but well worth the effort.  The pasta was delicious.  A bit garlicy but good balance between the sweet,nutty taste of the spelt flour pasta, the multi herb/greens pesto, and the caramelized carrots with red pepper flakes. 

Since this recipe requires preparation of three elements of the dish, I highly suggest some of the tasks to be completed a day or two ahead.  Pesto keeps very well in the refrigerator for a few days, or freeze it if you like, but definitely make this ahead.  The carrots could be sliced ahead and the hazelnuts, toasted ahead as well.

On the day you choose to prepare this dish your main task should only be creating the pasta shapes. They are really fun and easy to make, if you have young children, they can help out as well.

As Always,

ENJOY!

recipe courtesy of Tasting Table

INGREDIENTS

For the Pasta Dough:

2 cups (9 ounces) spelt flour

¾ cup water, plus more as needed

For the Carrot Stems and Leaves:

8 cups boiling water

1 tablespoon salt

1 bunch carrot stems with leaves attached, cleaned (4 ounces)

For the Carrot-Top Pesto:

½ cup toasted hazelnuts

1½ teaspoons roughly chopped garlic (1 clove)

1 cup roughly chopped blanched carrot leaves

1 cup packed basil

1 cup packed parsley

½ cup finely chopped blanched carrot stems

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

¼ cup grated Parmesan

¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt, to taste

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the Trofie Pasta:

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 cups 1-inch carrot pieces (5 to 6 medium carrots)

Kosher salt, to taste

1 garlic clove, thinly sliced

½ teaspoon crushed red chile flakes

3 cups spelt trofie

¼ cup packed grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

¼ cup basil

½ cup carrot-top pesto

2 tablespoons chopped toasted hazelnuts

DIRECTIONS

1. Make the pasta dough: In a medium bowl, mound the spelt flour and create a well in the center. Pour the water into the well and use your hands to mix until a dough forms. Transfer the dough to a clean work surface and knead to form a smooth, elastic dough ball, about 10 minutes. Wrap in plastic and let rest 30 minutes to 1 hour.

2. Meanwhile, blanch the carrot stems and leaves: Make a small ice bath. In a medium saucepan over high heat, bring the water to a boil and season with 1 tablespoon of salt. Add the carrot stems with their leaves attached and blanch until they turn bright green and soften, about 2 minutes. Shock immediately in the ice bath for about 3 minutes, then dry and roughly chop the leaves, yielding about 1 cup. Finely chop the stems, yielding about ½ cup.

3. Make the pesto: In a food processor, pulse the hazelnuts and garlic to a fine meal, about 20 seconds. Add the carrot leaves, basil, parsley and carrot stems, and pulse to chop, another 20 seconds. Add the white wine vinegar and Parmesan and, with the machine running, add the olive oil in a slow and steady stream, stopping and scraping the sides as needed. Continue to pulse until the mixture is smooth, not chunky, yet not quite a purée. Season with salt and pepper, cover and store in the fridge for up to 5 days. Makes about 1½ cups.

4. Roll the pasta dough: Line a sheet tray with parchment paper and dust it heavily with spelt flour. Using a rolling pin on a spelt-flour dusted surface, roll the pasta dough to a 1/16-inch thickness. Cut into ½-by-¼-inch pieces. Working one piece at a time, use the palm of your dominant hand and roll each piece on the flat kitchen surface forward and into the shape of a slightly twisted toothpick with pointed, tapered ends. Transfer to the floured sheet tray. Makes about 5 cups uncooked trofie.

5. Make the trofie pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In a separate, 10-inch sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the carrots and season with a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until charred, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and chile flakes, and cook until fragrant, another 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and keep warm.

6. Add the trofie to the boiling water and cook until just shy of al dente, 4 to 5 minutes. Drain the cooked trofie, reserving about 1 cup of the pasta water. Add the trofie and 3/4 cup of the reserved pasta water to the carrots, adding more water as needed. Return the skillet to medium-high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the trofie is cooked through and the liquid has reduced to a sauce, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the Parmesan and basil, taste and adjust seasoning. Transfer to a platter and top with the pesto and chopped hazelnuts. Serve.  

Green Salad in Winter

In Winter time, most folks are not thinking of going to a farmer's market.  I feel very fortunate though, to live in a climate, that the farmer's markets are year round, and I have several good ones on different days of the week that are not too far from my location. 

If you do have a farmer's market near your home, I suggest you go even in winter to find all those fruits and vegetables that are so different and wonderful. 

Our bodies seem to crave all these citrus fruits in the winter that are so high in Vitamin C. Right now the markets are full of them.  So incorporate some of these into your salads.

For the salad pictured above, I used Butter Leaf lettuce, Red D' Anjou pear, toasted Pecans, and Kumquats.  The dressing was very simple, good Extra Virgin Olive Oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

It is the culmination of all these flavors that make this salad great.  

Do a little experiment for yourself.  Make a deconstructed salad one step at a time. Test for yourself, how the balance of a lettuce salad comes together  Different fruits, different nuts, which do you really prefer?

Step 1.  Wash lettuce and spin dry.  Tear by hand(don't chop) the lettuce into small bite sized pieces.

               TASTE

Step 2. Drizzle good Extra Virgin Olive Oil on to greens, toss

              TASTE

Step 3.  Squeeze a bit of lemon juice onto greens, toss

               TASTE

Step 4. Sprinkle with Salt, toss

              TASTE

Step 5. Sprinkle with pepper, toss

              TASTE

Step 6. Slice 2 or 3 fruits of choice, Place one lettuce leaf with one bite sized piece of fruit.

              TASTE

Step 7  Toast 2 or 3 types of nuts. Place one lettuce leaf with one chopped nut.

              TASTE

       Now that you have tasted each element of a salad, in a deconstructed manner, I hope that gives you an idea of what the accumulation of all the flavors do to your pallet.  Pick your favorite winter fruits and nuts and make a salad. Find something interesting and unusual at your Farmer's market to add to your winter salad.  Once combined it will bring a bit of sunshine to your plate.

As Always,

ENJOY!

Cauliflower with Tandoori Chicken Skin

This cauliflower recipe not only looks great, but is so delicious!

This recipe can seem daunting, but it is well worth your efforts.  With three separate elements, it does take some time and planning.  It may not be your weeknight recipe, but with some planning you could easily cut your prep time on the night you will serve it.

In my opinion, I think the Raita could be made a day ahead. You could also have your cauliflower cut and put into a ziplock the day ahead as well.  I have not tested the idea of cooking your chicken skin the day ahead, but to remain crispy it would have to be in an airtight container, if prepared the day ahead.  Just allow yourself enough time and then enjoy your end results.  

Once you taste the Raita, I am sure you will find many other uses for this amazing sauce!

As Always,

ENJOY!

Recipe courtesy of: Tasting Table

My personal prep tips: If you do not want to fry the cauliflower, try tossing it lightly with some cooking oil and putting it under the broiler, to get a nice crisp brown outside.   If chicken skin is not your thing, or you don't want to spend the time( it is the most time consuming factor of the recipe)  Try a different spicy, crispy type snack that can be added as your flavor topping.  If wanting to stick with the tandoori idea, but not the chicken skin, then maybe add tandoori seasoning and oil to panko, or thin bread slices, or thin potato slices, or basically anything that is going to crisp and brown in the oven.  Crumble this topping over your cauliflower.

INGREDIENTS

For the Tandoori Chicken Skin:

Chicken skin from one 3½-pound chicken

1 tablespoon canola oil

2 tablespoons tandoori masala spice

½ teaspoon kosher salt

For the Raita:

½ cup packed cilantro leaves, plus more for garnish

½ cup packed mint leaves

⅓ cup buttermilk

⅓ cup whole-fat Greek yogurt

1 small garlic clove, roughly chopped

¾ teaspoon garam masala

¼ cup canola oil

Kosher salt, to taste

For the Cauliflower:

Canola oil, for frying

1 small head cauliflower, cut into 1½-inch pieces (10 cups cauliflower florets)

Kosher salt, to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Make the tandoori chicken skin: Place the chicken skin onto a cutting board, skin-side facing down, and use the back of a large knife to scrape away the fat. Lay the cleaned chicken skin onto a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet and chill in the fridge to dry out, uncovered, for 1 hour or up to 24 hours.

2. Preheat the oven to 300°. Place the air-chilled chicken skin in a large bowl and massage with the oil, masala and salt. Return the skin to the wire rack, laying it flat and skin-side up, and and bake until crisp, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Cool for a few minutes before cutting into large pieces.

3. Make the raita: In a blender, mix the cilantro, mint, buttermilk, yogurt, garlic and garam masala on medium speed until smooth. Lower the speed and add the oil in a steady stream until emulsified. Adjust the seasoning to taste with salt. Makes 1 cup and can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

4. Fry the cauliflower: In a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, add enough oil to fill to a 2-inch depth and bring to 400° over medium-high heat. Working in batches of 3, fry the cauliflower, flipping occasionally with a large slotted spoon or spider, until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Transfer the cauliflower to a paper towel-lined sheet tray and immediately season with salt. Repeat with the remaining florets.

5. To serve: Spoon 3 tablespoons of raita into the bottom of 4 serving bowls and place the cauliflower over top. Garnish with chicken skins and cilantro leaves, and serve with the extra raita.

Recipe courtesy of: Tasting Table

Eggnog Chocolate Chip Bread with Brown Butter Eggnog Glaze

Now that the holidays are over, not much eggnog drinking is going on.  So ... what do you do with that leftover eggnog in your refrigerator?  Make a custard or a french toast or this delicious bread, perfect with a hot cup of coffee!  I made 4 mini loaves instead of 1 large loaf.  Perfect for giving one away or putting in the freezer for another day.

As Always, 

ENJOY!

ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 1/8 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup eggnog
2/3 cup chocolate chips tossed in 2 teaspoons of flour

glaze
1/4 cup brown butter
1/2-3/4 cup powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons eggnog

directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan and set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, powder, nutmeg and salt until combined. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk cooled butter with sugar until smooth. Add in vanilla extract, mixing until combined, then whisk in each egg one at a time until totally combined. Add half of the flour mixture, stirring with a large spoon, then stir in the eggnog until smooth. Add remaining dry ingredients and stir until just combined and smooth. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour in the greased loaf pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes, until top is golden and cake is just set. Let cool completely, then cover in glaze.

To make glaze, whisk together brownie butter, sugar and eggnog, stirring well for 1-2 full minutes until combined. If it still doesn’t appear glaze-like, add in eggnog 1/2 tablespoon at a time and mix again. Don’t worry if it becomes too liquidy – just add a tiny bit of powdered sugar until you get the desired consistency. Spoon glaze on bread then serve.

Chunky Applesauce

Steaming hot chunky applesauce.  Yum!

   When you have a few odd apples of different varieties, the ones no one will take in their lunch, it is time to make some delicious applesauce!  Homemade chunky applesauce, smells so good while simmering, and tastes so much better than anything you could buy at the store.  

     If you don't have a few odd apples at home, check your local farmer's market for the very discounted "visually distressed" apples.  Bring them home, peel, core, chop and get cooking.

     I love applesauce on top of hot oatmeal with a few golden raisins and maybe even a few walnuts.  With these type of toppings you will not need brown sugar and cream, and it will be oh so satisfying!

As Always, 

ENJOY!

6-8 apples, peeled, cored and chopped

2Tbs. sugar

2 Tbs. lemon juice

       In a large sauce pot, add the apple chunks and 1/2 cup of water.  Cover.  Heat on medium-high until a boil just begins.  Turn down to low and cook for  30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Once apples have cooked down to the chunky stage, add the sugar and cook just another 2 minutes to dissolve through.  Turn off heat and add the lemon juice.

      

I love lemon juice with the apples because it gives them a nice fresh taste and a good balance to the sweetness of some apples.

Thai Style Sticky Rice, BBQ Pork Ribs, and Cucumber Salad

Ribs, rice and salad, plated together

The special Thai sticky rice cooker, a funnel shaped basket with a necked pot.

   This is always a highly requested dish, when my kids come home for their school break!  The combination of these flavors and textures is amazing.  

    The pork with its rich, salty barbecue taste and the rice with its sweet taste and super chewy texture, balanced off with the crisp crunch and vinegary dressing of the cucumber salad, makes a meal with perfect harmony!

  I purchased this rice cooker at a Thai market, many years ago.  With the internet these days, you can buy almost anything online.  So if you do not have a Thai market in your neck of the woods, search for one on the internet. 

As Always, 

ENJOY!

6-8 pieces, boneless country style pork ribs

Thai fish sauce

Thai Golden Mountain Soy Sauce

3-4 cups sweet rice

water for soaking

1 cucumber, diced

1 carrot shredded

cilantro

rice vinegar with salt and sugar, or sushi rice seasoning (vinegar with salt and sugar already added)

    Add pork ribs to ziplock bag, Drizzle in fish sauce and soy sauce to cover meat.  Seal bag and marinate several hours or over night.  Preheat grill and cook ribs until tender but cooked through. 

    For rice, place in large bowl and cover by an inch with water.  Let soak for 4-5 hours.

Fill pot with water, just below basket level.  Bring to a boil, covered  with lid.  Once boiling, remove lid, and add basket to pot, as shown in photo.   Drain rice of its soaking water.  Add wet rice to pot, and cover with lid.  Cook 15 min, and then flip rice mass, so top is at bottom and bottom is at top. Gently with wooden spoon break open the top of rice.  Cover with lid and repeat two more times, so rice cooks a total of 45 minutes.  

While rice is cooking prepare the salad.  Add peeled, diced cucumber with shredded carrot and chopped cilantro to a bowl.  Sprinkle with sushi seasoning rice vinegar until vegetables are lightly coated.  If using regular rice vinegar, add a sprinkling of salt and sugar to the vinegar, stir to dissolve and then add to cover vegetables.

   Serve meat and rice hot, along side the cool crisp and crunchy cucumber salad!

Farmer's Cheese Soup

The cooked vegetables and broth added to the soup bowl.

The toppings added: bacon pieces, browned bread, and Gouda cheese!

The recipe, with darling Dutch graphics!

   This recipe comes from and old Dutch cookbook that belonged to my Dutch Grandmother.  This is one of my favorite recipes in the cookbook, and I have been making it in the cold winter season for over 30  years!  As my Grandmother would say, it is "Hartelijk" meaning "Hearty".  

     It is so full of vegetables, that have a simple clean taste.  The addition of the toppings, being bacon, fried or browned bread, and Gouda cheese, give it an elevated decadence!  It is very filling and very satisfying!

    I have modified the original recipe slightly to my own personal preference and ease of preparation.

Instead of bacon slices, I cook bacon pieces. It makes it easier to handle in the bowl, and gives a bit of bacon with each bite.  I also shred the cheese instead of slice, because it melts quicker.  The bread, I like to brown and butter instead of fry in the bacon grease, it is a bit more heart healthy that way! Add as much of the vegetables as you like for a filling veggie soup!

As Always,

ENJOY!

4 Tbs. butter

1 1/2 cups onion chopped

3 carrots, diced

2 potatoes, diced

1/2 lb. cauliflower florets

1 qt. chicken stock

7 slices bacon

4 slices hearty white bread

1/4 lb. Gouda cheese

   In a heavy pan melt the butter, add vegetables and cook 5 min. stirring frequently. Add the soup stock and bring to a boil. Then lower heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender.  Meanwhile in a skillet, fry the bacon until browned, remove and drain on paper towels.   In the bacon fat in the skillet, fry the slices of bread (I toast and butter the thick bread slices). Homemade bread, or uncut bread is best, then sliced into 1/2-1 inch slices. 

   To serve, preheat broiler, pour soup into oven proof  tureen. Add the bacon pieces, then the bread, and add the cheese slices, or shredded, to cover the surface.  Place under broiler until cheese is melted and lightly browned. Serve hot.

Roasted Kabocha Squash Soup

Cold weather always inspires me to make soups.  The delicious smell of a pot of soup cooking in the kitchen gives me a calming and satisfying feeling. Not only do I love the smell of soups cooking, but I also love sitting at the table with a hot bowl of soup in front of me, watching the steam rising.   With each spoonful, the warming sensation drives every bit of chill away.

This soup is extremely simple to prepare, and very nutritious.  A small bowl is a great starter for any meal, especially on a wintry day!

As Always,

ENJOY!

INGREDIENTS

1 Kabocha squash

1 32 oz. carton chicken broth

grated parmigiano cheese

    Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cut the squash in half, and lay cut sides down in a large roasting pan. Roast for 45-60 min.  Remove from oven and cool completely.  Carefully scrape out all the seeds and connecting fibers. This is very easily done once the squash is cooked.  Now gently scoop out the cooked flesh of the squash, being careful to remove all loose skin.  

   In a food processor, puree all the roasted squash.  Put pureed squash in a sauce pot, and slowly add half the chicken broth. Whisk together, and begin heating soup.  As the soup heats through add more chicken broth to desired consistency.  I like my soup slightly thick so that is about 20 oz. of the broth.  If you like it thinner add more broth.  

   Ladle hot soup into bowls and sprinkle on the grated parmigiano cheese.  Serve immediately.

Caramel Crunch Bars

These may not be on your new January diet, but they are an amazingly delicious, crunchy cookie,  that in my opinion, go perfectly with vanilla ice cream!  

Any recipe that is fairly easy, quick, and can be made ahead, is a keeper, especially one like this that is such a crowd pleaser. 

This recipe comes from Baking, by Dorie Greenspan.  It is one of my favorite cookbooks, and I use it frequently, because it has some of the best recipes ever!

The only thing I would change about this recipe is the title.  I think it is deceiving, because they don't necessarily have a caramel taste.  The topping is chocolate and toffee bits and the crust is buttery with bits of chocolate enhanced by espresso powder.  I guess you will just have to try the recipe and decide for yourself!

As Always,

ENJOY!

Recipe:
Caramel Crunch Bars (Recipe by Dorie Greenspan)

For the Base

1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp instant espresso powder
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp cinnamon
2 sticks butter, at room temperature
½ cup brown sugar (packed)
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

For the Topping
6 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
¾ cup Heath Toffee Bits

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 375F. Butter a 9×13 inch baking pan and line with foil or parchment paper.
2. In a bowl, whisk together flour, espresso powder, salt and cinnamon.
3. Beat butter until smooth. Add the sugars and beat for another 3 minutes or until the mixture is light and creamy. Beat in vanilla. Add dry ingredients and mix until almost incorporated.
4. Add the chopped chocolate and mix only until dry ingredients disappear.
5. Using spatula or fingertips press dough into buttered pan into a thin, even layer.
6. Bake for 20-22 minutes until base is bubbly. Remove pan and turn off oven.
7. Scatter chocolate evenly over hot base.
8. Return pan to hot oven for 2-3 minutes until chocolate is soft.
9. Remove from oven and immediately spread chocolate over bars using small off-set spatula.
10. Sprinkle toffee bits over chocolate and allow to cool to room temperature.
11. If chocolate hasn’t set by the time the bars are cool, place in refrigerator briefly until chocolate firms up.
12. Cut bars into rectangles or squares.

Happy New Year 2016

Happy New Year! 

 Start your morning and your year off the right way, with a delicious Mimosa!

Whether your breakfast will be elaborate or simple, this is the perfect way to celebrate.  If in p.j.'s watching the Rose Parade, or getting ready for a bowl game party, take a moment to enjoy this iconic breakfast cocktail and you will be starting the year with a fabulous tradition and a very happy outlook for 2016.