Here are the tastingspoons players. I’m in the middle (Carolyn). Daughter Sara on the right, and daughter-in-law Karen on the left. I started the blog in 2007, as a way to share recipes with my family. I’m still doing 99% of the blogging and holding out hope that these two lovely and excellent cooks will participate. They both lead very busy lives, so we’ll see.
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BOOK READING (from Carolyn):
Music of Bees, Eileen Garvin. Absolutely charming book about a woman in midlife, lonely, who raises bees, also makes unlikely friends. Heart-warming and very interesting about beekeeping.
A Postcard from Paris, Alex Brown. Really cute story. Dual time line, 1940s and present day about renovating an old apartment in Paris, things discovered.
Time of the Child, Niall Williams. Oh such a good book. Very small village in Ireland, 1960s. A baby is left on the doorstep. The town all whispers and helps. I listened to an interview of the author, which made me like him and his books even more.
Sipsworth, Simon Van Booy. If you like animals you’ll swoon. An old woman who really wants to die finds a tiny mouse in her house and befriends it and finds a reason to live. Utterly charming book.
The Forger’s Spell, Edward Dolnick. True story. For seven years a no-account painter named Han van Meegeren managed to pass off his paintings as those of Johannes Vermeer.
If You Lived Here, You’d be Home by Now, Christopher Ingraham. Could hardly put it down – about a journalist who takes on a challenge to move to small town in Minnesota and write about it. He expects to hate it and the people and place, but he doesn’t. Absolutely wonderful true story.
The River We Remember, William Kent Kreuger. 1950s, Minnesota. A murder and the aftermath. Could hardly put it down. Kreuger has such a vivid imagination and writing style.
How the Lights Gets In, Joyce Maynard. An older woman returns to New Hampshire to help care for her brain-injured son. Siblings and family, lots of angst and resentments.
The Filling Station, Vanessa Miller. Every American should read this book. A novelized retelling of the Tulsa massacre in 1921. Absolutely riveting.
The Story She Left Behind, Patti Callahan Henry. Love this author. Based on a true story. A famous author simply vanishes, leaving her husband and daughter behind. She had invented a mystical language no one could translate. Present day, someone thinks he’s solved the riddle, contacts the family. Really interesting read.
The Girl from Berlin, Ronald Balson. Love anything about Tuscany. An elderly woman is being evicted from a villa there, with odd deed provenance. Two young folks go there to help unravel the mystery. Loved it.
The Island of the Colorblind, Oliver Sacks, M.D. Nonfiction. The dr is intrigued by a remote Pacific island where most of the inhabitants are colorblind. He also unravels a mystery on Guam of people born with a strange neurological problem. Medical mysteries unveiled. Very interesting.
The Bookbinder, Pip Williams. Post 1914 London. Two sisters work at a bookbindery. They’re told to not read the books. One does and one doesn’t. One has visions beyond her narrow world; the other does not. Eventually the one gets into Oxford. Lovely story.
The Paris Express, Emma Donoghue. 1895 on a train to Paris, a disaster happens. You’ll delve into the lives of many people who survived and died in the crash.
A Race to the Bottom of Crazy, Richard Grant. This is about Arizona. Author, wife and child move back to Arizona where they once lived. Part memoir, research, and reporting in a quest to understand what makes Arizona such a confounding and irresistible place.
The Scarlet Thread, Francine Rivers. A woman’s life turned upside down when she discovers the handcrafted quilt and journal of her ancestor Mary Kathryn McMurray, a young woman who was uprooted from her home only to endure harsh frontier conditions on the Oregon Trail.
A Place to Hide, Ronald Balson. 1939 Amsterdam, an ambassador has the ability to save the lives of many Jewish children. Heartwarming.
Homeseeking, Karissa Chen. Two young Chinese teens are deeply in love, but in China. Then their families are separated. Jump to current day and the two meet again in Los Angeles.
North River, Pete Hammill. He always writes such a good story. A doctor works diligently healing people from all walks of life. His wife and daughter left him years before. One day his 3-yr old grandson arrives on his doorstep.
A Very Typical Family, Sierra Godfrey. A very messed-up family. Three adult children are given a home in Santa Cruz, Calif, but only if the siblings meet up and live in the house together. A very untypical scenario but makes for lots of messes.
Three Days in June, Anne Tyler. The usual Anne Tyler grit. Family angst. This wasn’t one of my favorites, but it was entertaining and very short.
Saved, Benjamin Hall. Author is a veteran war reporter. Ukraine, 2022, he nearly loses his life to a Russian strike. Riveting story – he survives, barely.
Grey Wolf, Louise Penny. Another Inspector Gamache mystery in Quebec. She is such an incredible mystery writer.
All the Colors of the Dark, Chris Whitaker. A missing person mystery, a serial killer thriller, a love story, a unique twist on each. Could hardly put it down.
Orbital, Samantha Harvey. Winner of 2024 Booker Prize. I don’t usually like those, but I heard the author interviewed and she hooked me. This is not a normal book with a beginning, a story and an end. It’s several chapters of the day in the life of various astronauts at the ISS (Int’l Space Station). All fictional. She’s been praised by several real astronauts for “getting it” about space station everyday life.
The Blue Hour, Paula Hawkins. An island off Scotland. Inaccessible except when the tide is out. Weird goings on. An artist. A present day mystery too.
Iron Lake, William Kent Krueger. A judge is murdered and a boy is missing. Riveting mystery.
Tell the Wolves I’m Home, Carol Ricks Brunt. 1980s. A 14-yr old girl loses her beloved uncle. Yet a new friendship arises, someone she never knew about.
Four Treasures of the Sky, Jenny Zhang. 1880s, a young girl is kidnapped in China and brought to the United States. She survives with many hurdles in the path.
The Boy Who Fell out of the Sky, Ken Dornstein. Memoir, 1988. The author’s brother died in the PanAm flight that went down in Lockerbie, Scotland. A decade later he tries to solve “the riddle of his older brother’s life.”
Worse Care Scenario, T.J. Newman. Oh my. Interesting analysis of what could/might happen if a jet crashed into a nuclear plant. Un-put-downable.
Song of the Lark, Willa Cather. Complicated weave of a story about a young woman in about 1900, who has a gifted voice (singing) and about her journey to success, not without its ups and downs.
Crow Talk, Eileen Garvin. Charming story which takes place at a remote lake in Washington State, about a few people who inhabit it, the friendships made, but also revolving around the rescue of a baby crow.
The Story Collector, Evie Woods. Sweet story about some dark secrets from an area in Ireland, a bit magical, faerie life, but solving a mystery too.
A Sea of Unspoken Things, Adrienne Young. A woman investigates her twin brother’s mysterious death. She goes to a small town in California to figure it out, to figure HIM out.
The King’s Messenger, Susanna Kearsley. 1600s England, King James. About one of his trusted “messengers,” and his relationship with a young woman also of “the court.” Lots of intrigue.
In the Shadow of the Greenbrier, Emily Matchar. Interesting mystery in/around the area of the famous resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.
Isola, Allegra Goodman. Hard to describe, survival story on an island in the 1600s.
Save the Date, Allison Raskin. Rom-com, witty, LOL funny. Clever.
The Sirens, Emilia Hart. Numerous time-lines, Australia. Mysteries abound, nightmares, abandoned baby, weird allergies.
Red Clay, Charles Fancher. LOVED this book. Mostly post-Civil War story about the lives of slaves in Alabama during Reconstruction.
Stars in an Italian Sky, Jill Santopolo. Dual time line, 1946 and recent time. Love stories and a mystery.
Battle Mountain, C.J. Box. Another one of Box’s riveting mysteries. Love his descriptions of the land.
Something Beautiful Happened, Yvette Corporon. A memoir of sorts in Greece, tiny island of Erikousa, where the locals hid Jews during WWII. All elusive stories told by the author’s grandmother.
The Jackal’s Mistress, Chris Bohjalian. 1860s Virginia, about a woman who saves the life of a Union soldier. Really good story.
Song of the Magpie, Louise Mayberry. Really interesting story about Australia back in the days when it was mostly a penal colony. Gritty strength of a woman trying to thrive with her farm.
The Boomerang, Robert Bailey. A thriller that will have you gripping the book. About a lot of secrets surrounding the president (fictional novel, remember) and his chief of staff and about cancer. A cure. Such a good story.
Care and Feeding, Laurie Woolever. Really interesting memoir of a woman driven to succeed in the restaurant business. She worked for Mario Batali and then Anthony Bourdain. Gritty stories.
Everything is Tuberculosis, John Green. Maybe not a book for everyone. A real deep dive into the deadly tuberculosis infection, its history. I heard the author interviewed and found the book very interesting.
The Book Lovers Library, Madeline Martin. Fascinating read about Boots’ drug stores’ lending library. And the people who worked in them.
The Arrivals, Meg Mitchell Moore. LOL funny, about a middle-aged couple whose children (and their various family members) return to the family home and the chaos that ensues.
My Life as a Silent Movie, Jesse Lee Kercheval. About grief. A big move to Paris, finding herself a new life with a new set of real blood family.
Escape, Carolyn Jessop. Another memoir about a woman really in bondage in Utah, Mormon plural marriage.
My blog's namesake - small, old and some very dented engraved silver plated tea spoons that belonged to my mother-in-law, and I use them to taste my food as I'm cooking.
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Certainly I hope you’ve visited your local Costco and purchased some of the fabulous in-season peaches. They’re fabulous. That’s all I can say. Outstanding. I allowed them to ripen a bit out on my kitchen counter (about 4 days), and made this delicious peach cobbler with 8 of the 12. If you like cobblers, you’ll enjoy this one too.
Posted in Desserts, on June 15th, 2010.
Julia Child did know a thing or two about baking and cooking. She went to the Cordon Bleu school in Paris, after all. And if you remember from the movie, Julie and Julia, she wasn’t exactly a shoe-in in the beginning. Not only because she was over six feet tall, but a woman. And an American besides! Who spoke little or no French. Grudgingly, though, the chefs and instructors came to know her and respect her. Then she took on the challenge of writing a cookbook, and another, and another. But most of her dishes are complex. Requiring many steps, lots of pots and pans, cooling, chilling, stirring, sautéing. You know what I mean, I’m sure.
After a Julia Child retrospective cooking class with Phillis Carey a couple of weeks ago, my friend Cherrie and I lamented that we didn’t think we’d make any of the dishes. They’re all too much work. But I did tell you that I’d share this recipe, just because the tart was very good. But good enough to make it? For me, no. For you – well, I don’t know.
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Recipe By: Julia Child recipe, adapted by Phillis Carey
Serving Size: 8
TART SHELL:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cake flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter — chilled, diced
2 tablespoons shortening — (Crisco), chilled (yes, chilled)
3 tablespoons ice water — or up to 4 T, as needed
LEMON FILLING:
3/4 cup sugar — divided use
4 large eggs — separated zest of one lemon
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 pinch cream of tartar
powdered sugar for garnish
sugared fresh raspberries
lightly sweetened whipped cream
1. TART SHELL: Put flours, sugar, salt and diced butter in food processor and pulse 5-6 times to break up butter. Add shortening and pulse again. Immediately add the ice water, then pulse 2-3 times. Remove cover and feel the dough – it should look like a bunch of small lumps and will just hold together in a mass when you press a handful together. Do not overmix. If too dry, pulse again with more water.
2. Turn dough out onto work surface and press into a rough mass. With the heel of your hand, push egg-sized clumps of dough out in front of you in a 3-inch smear.
3. Form dough into a cake shape. Dough should be fairly smooth and pliable. Wrap in plastic wrap, place in a sealing plastic bag and refrigerate for 2 hours or up to 2 days.
4. Remove dough from refrigerator and working quickly, roll dough out into a 1/4 inch thick circle, 1 1/2 inches larger than the removable bottom tart pan. Roll dough up on rolling pin and lay over pan. Lightly press dough in place. To make sides more sturdy, fold excess dough over the inside vertical edge to form a thicker crust. Cover shell and refrigerate for 30 minutes, or freeze for 15 minutes.
5. FILLING: Preheat oven to 325°. With a mixer gradually beat 1/2 cup of sugar into egg yolks in a stainless steel bowl, beating until mixture is thick, pale yellow and forms a slowly dissolving ribbon. Beat in the lemon zest and juice. Set bowl over not-quite simmering water and stir until mixture is too hot for your finger (about 165°) and is thick enough to coat a spoon lightly.
6. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar and salt until it reaches soft peaks. Gradually beat in remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Add about 1/2 cup of the whites to the egg yolk mixture, then add all whites. Pour into tart shell and smooth top.
7. Bake tart about 30 minutes. When tart has begun to puff and color lightly, sprinkle top with powdered sugar. It is done when top is lightly brown and a toothpick plunged into the center comes out clean. Remove and cool slightly before serving. Filling will fall somewhat. Serve warm, or cold, but it’s best served warm. Serve with sugared raspberries and whipped cream, if desired.
Per Serving: 254 Calories; 12g Fat (40.6% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 33g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 122mg Cholesterol; 70mg Sodium.
A year ago: Charred Eggplant Salad
Two years ago: New Potato Salad with Chipotle Vinaigrette
Three years ago: Bacon and Tomato Dunk (a dip)
Posted in Desserts, on June 11th, 2010.
Last weekend we had a 3-hour choir rehearsal on Saturday morning. And that night we planned an impromptu dinner for family and friends. No planning went into it, really, other than I defrosted a big piece of salmon. My dear DH went grocery shopping for me while I started in on making some sides. I’m going to write up a separate post about those. Almost all of them were things I’ve made before, and knew were easy to throw together. My friend Cherrie brought an appetizer and a side dish too, which really helped. I could have just served ice cream for dessert (store bought – I didn’t think I had time to make some) but luckily I found one dessert recipe in my to-try file that I thought would be easy and good. We still have a few Meyer lemons on our trees here, so making lemon pudding seemed like a perfect fit.
Posted in Desserts, on June 1st, 2010.
At yet another cooking class last week, when Tarla Fallgatter was making this streusel cake, it sounded familiar. Like maybe she’d made this for a previous class, perhaps. When I got home I checked my recipe software and sure enough, she had made this before, but with slightly different fruit. The one from 2007 used mostly peaches. This one was mostly apricots and plums. But the cake is the same. The streusel is the same. And it’s very good. Altogether good. Also quite easy too. It was served warm with a nice scoop of vanilla ice cream. I think everyone at the class did everything possible except lick the plate. This is going on my favorites list, if it’s not already there.
There’s a cake batter. There’s a streusel mixture that’s made in a food processor. And there’s chopped up fresh fruit (mostly stone fruit, or you can use whatever fruit you’d like in this case). You add half the fruit TO the cake batter, spread it in a 9×9 (or something close to that size) pan, then sprinkle the top with the remaining fruit, then add the streusel. Bake. Easy. Quick. And extra tasty. Tarla happened to use plums, which are in season at the moment. And I used them too. She used apricots too (I didn’t). We both used raspberries and blackberries too. Do make the preponderance of the fruit stone fruit. She also said you could add lemon zest to the batter. And if you like nuts in this kind of dish, substitute about 2 T. of nuts for 2 T. of the flour in the streusel mixture. The dish full will serve a lot of people, actually, as you serve relatively small portions. Do note that it’s more fruit than it is cake. I like that part, and there’s only 1 1/3 cups of sugar in the whole thing. The recipe says it’ll serve 10; I think it’s more like 12, but with smaller portions. Use a large spoon to scoop a serving onto a plate, then add the ice cream on the side. Then dig in.
Recipe By: From a Tarla Fallgatter cooking class, 2010
Serving Size: 10
NOTES: If you like nuts, substitute some of the flour in the streusel for chopped nuts. This can be made with any stone fruit and different berries. Whatever is available in season.
STREUSEL:
1/3 cup all-purpose flour — minus one tablespoon
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter — cut in small pieces, chilled
CAKE:
1 1/3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter — softened
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
3 large eggs
1/4 pound apricots — cut in 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 pound plums — cut in 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 pound raspberries
2 1/2 cups vanilla ice cream
1. Position rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 375. Butter a 9-inch square baking pan, or an oval pan of a similar size. (Make sure there is sufficient room in the dish for all the cake and fruit – you don’t want it to overflow in the oven.) Butter the pan.
2. STREUSEL: In a food processor combine flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Add cold butter and pulse in until the butter pieces resemble small peas. Set aside.
3. CAKE: Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together. Beat butter and sugar in a food processor until creamy. Add vanilla and almond extracts. Add eggs, one at a time. Add flour and pulse just to combine. Gently fold in HALF of each of the three fruits into the batter and spread batter into the prepared pan. Distribute the remaining fruit evenly on top.
4. Sprinkle streusel over the fruit and bake until the cake springs back in the center when lightly pressed, about 45-55 minutes. Let cake cool in its pan on a rack. Serve warm with ice cream.
Per Serving: 443 Calories; 24g Fat (47.7% calories from fat); 6g Protein; 53g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 128mg Cholesterol; 244mg Sodium.
A year ago: Oven Fried Chicken
Two years ago: Frosty Strawberry Squares
Do not, I mean it, do not turn up your nose at this combination! Do you like chocolate? Do you like peanuts? Do you like bacon? Do you like salted caramel? Well then, you’ll like this. Caramel isn’t in this bark, but I’m talking about the taste combination of caramel and salt. The bacon provides the salty taste. You can see a bit of the bacon on the left piece in the photo – the kind of rusty brown color sticking up a bit in the middle. The bacon gives the bark a chewy crunch. The bacon isn’t really crispy, but it’s chewy. That’s when you get the salty taste.
Phillis Carey made this bark at the cooking class about bacon. She happened to use milk chocolate, but if I make it I’ll use some dark chocolate too. Making it is super easy. Really. First you cook up some chopped bacon (using thin bacon like Farmer John’s, and not maple flavored). You can microwave the chocolate (Trader Joe’s bar chocolate is great), then you add the peanuts and bacon, pour it out onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and refrigerate. See, I said it’s easy. Very do-able. And a great taste.
This note added later: my friend Cherrie, who went to the class with me, made the bacon bark, but with dark chocolate and macadamia nuts. And the bacon, of course. It was outstanding. For me, better than the milk chocolate. The photo of the dark chocolate/macadamia ones are on the right.
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Recipe By: Phillis Carey
Serving Size: 12
NOTES: You can also add some chopped dried apricots or dried cranberries to this mixture if that sounds appealing. If the nuts you use are not salted, add some salt to the chocolate mixture.
8 slices bacon — not thick type, not maple flavored
1 pound milk chocolate — or dark, if preferred, chopped
1 cup roasted peanuts — or hazelnuts — salted
1. Cook bacon over medium heat in a large nonstick skillet, until crispy and browned. Remove to paper towels to drain. Chop bacon finely.
2. Place chocolate in a large glass or pottery bowl and place in microwave on high power for one minute. Stir and cook another minute longer, and stir until smooth. Stir in bacon and peanuts.
3. Pour mixture over a parchment-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate at least one hour or until firm. Break (preferably) or cut into pieces to serve. It’s best served at room temp.
Per Serving: 290 Calories; 20g Fat (58.2% calories from fat); 7g Protein; 25g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 12mg Cholesterol; 197mg Sodium.
A year ago: Grilled Flatbread with Lamb & Feta, and Mini-Muffins with Apple, Sage and Goat Cheese
Two years ago: Syrian Pita Bread Salad (a green salad with pita chips)
Posted in Desserts, on May 20th, 2010.
With friends coming over for a Scrabble-fest, I needed a morning kind of bread. I had mis-filed this recipe in the “bread” section. It was only after I’d gathered all the ingredients together that I read – oh, this is actually a dessert, even though it says corn bread. But, well, maybe it would be okay anyway, I hoped. And yes, it was! Clearly, it is a dessert – it’s sweet (although it’s certainly not as sweet as I’d anticipated) and crunchy from the cornmeal. It was very easy to make.
I’d read the recipe over on FoodGal’s blog last year. It’s from Sherry Yard’s cookbook Desserts by the Yard: From Brooklyn to Beverly Hills: Recipes from the Sweetest Life Ever
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Recipe By: From “Desserts By the Yard” by Sherry Yard, via Foodgal blog 7/09
Serving Size: 12
CAKE:
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cake flour
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 large eggs — at room temperature
3 ounces unsalted butter — (3/4 stick)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup milk
1/2 cup buttermilk
GLAZE:
3 ounces unsalted butter — (3/4 stick)
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup water
1. Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-by13-inch baking pan with aluminum foil and spray foil with baker’s spray.
2. Sift together cornmeal, all-purpose flour, cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt 2 times. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs. Melt butter and immediately whisk into eggs in a slow stream. Whisk in oil, milk, and buttermilk. Whisk in dry ingredients just until combined.
4. Scrape batter into the pan and bake for 30 minutes. Rotate pan from front to back and continue to bake for 10 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. To make the glaze: While corn bread is baking, melt butter in a medium saucepan. Add honey and water, and whisk until blended.
6. When corn bread is done, remove from oven and poke holes all over the bread, about 1/2 inch apart, with a toothpick. Brush with the glaze and allow to cool.
Per Serving: 372 Calories; 20g Fat (48.4% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 43g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 105mg Cholesterol; 557mg Sodium.
A year ago: Stewed Eggplant and Tomatoes
Two years ago: Almond Pound Cake with Limoncello
Three years ago: Mister Charlie (casserole)
Posted in Desserts, on May 17th, 2010.
My mother’s recipes were all collected in the 3×5 card era. My mother’s recipe-collecting years were from about 1938 (when she was married) to about 1992 (when she and my dad moved into a retirement home and she stopped cooking altogether). And I’ve shared before, I think, a photo of my mom’s recipe box (below). I think she bought this metal card box – a huge one – at a garage sale, or a rummage sale. It barely held all of her recipes. It was so full I had to go through and throw out some of the less-interesting recipes, mostly newspaper clippings with no notes, so I knew she’s never made them. Most of the treasured ones that I remember I’ve already shared on this blog. The inside of the box says “The American Home menu maker.” It also has a list of weights and measures and a section of equivalents like 1 tablespoon of flour = 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch. Or 1 cup honey = 1 to 1 1/4 cups sugar and 1/4 cup liquid. Hmm. That’s an interesting one.
The other night was our son’s birthday, and I took a good part of the dinner to their house. Karen made a lovely roast chicken and I made Brussels sprouts with orange brandy and dried cranberries, a green salad with some of the Rose’s Vinaigrette from a week ago, and dessert.
Last weekend we were in No. California and at a winery tasting room I bought a bottle of Earth & Vine’s Black Raspberry Elixir. It’s a bottled fruit concentrate (see photo below right) you can use mostly for beverages, I’d suppose. Although you could probably add it to fresh fruit, or on top of yogurt. The recipes on the bottle are all beverages, some with liquor, some without. The elixir has no alcohol in it – it’s just the straight fruit (both black and red raspberry purees), sugar and lemon juice.
There was no recipe for a float on the label, but it just sounded like something you could do with this, so I made it up in my head. I bought some Haagen-Dazs vanilla bean ice cream, brought along some Chambord and chilled club soda. That’s all there was in it. I looked up a few recipes for root beer floats and then just winged it. For each drink I used about a tablespoon of Chambord, about 2 tablespoons of the black raspberry elixir, about 6 ounces of club soda, then plopped in a nice rounded scoop of the ice cream. A straw was all that was needed. Do make sure the ice cream is really solidly frozen, though. Ours was a bit on the melting side so it oozed into the drink faster than we liked. Still mighty tasty, though. You might have to hunt for the elixirs (there are other flavors, but you can read all about them online at Earth & Vine). Then make up your own combination.
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Recipe By: My own concoction.
Serving Size: 1
1 tablespoon Chambord liqueur
2 tablespoons Earth & Vine black raspberry elixir
6 ounces club soda
1 scoop vanilla ice cream
1. Into a tall glass (chilled if you have time and space) pour the Chambord, then the elixir.
2. Pour in 6 ounces of club soda, stir to combine, then add the scoop of well-frozen ice cream. Add a straw and serve immediately.0
One Year Ago: A photo of a riddling rack made into an herb garden
Two years ago: Lemon Oregano Vinaigrette
Three years ago: Caramelized Carnitas Tacos
Posted in Desserts, on April 22nd, 2010.
Gosh, isn’t that just gorgeous? I can say that because I didn’t make it, but enjoyed a slice of it. Our daughter-in-law Karen made this delicious cake for Easter Sunday dinner, and we all thought it was fantastic. That’s blood oranges there (Karen got them from her Uncle Ron who grew them), and this cake was a perfect way to show them off. The color was just as brilliant as you see in the photos.
I can’t speak much for the making of this, but Karen said she had no problems with it. It’s made in a 10-inch cast iron frying pan – first the caramel with the wafer-thin blood orange slices, then the cake is spooned in on top of the oranges (after you’ve nicely arranged them, slightly overlapping in concentric circles) and baked. Then you turn it out, upside down and those lovely orange slices take center stage. Karen said her oranges were not consistently red all the way through, so she used the darker slices in the middle and worked outward with the slices that were more orange.
The texture was lovely – the cake has just a few tablespoons of polenta (cornmeal) in it, which gives the cake just a little bit of toothsome crunch. I made a lemon upside down cake about a month ago, which was also really good, but it didn’t contain any polenta or cornmeal. Upside down cakes, which were all the rage back in the 1950’s, maybe even the late 1940’s, have suddenly become very popular again. Back then the only kind anyone made contained canned pineapple slices and a maraschino cherry plopped in the center of each pineapple ring. I’m enjoying the current variations. And this cake was a winner – we all thought it was wonderful.
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Recipe By: Bon Appetit, 3/2010
Serving Size: 8
NOTES: The cake gets baked in the same skillet you use to make the caramel. Here are a few key assembly points to keep in mind after you follow the recipe to make the syrup. (1) As soon as the syrup turns golden amber, take the skillet off the heat; (2) Arrange the orange slices as pictured, overlapping slightly, in concentric circles atop the caramel; (3) Mix the batter and drop it by large spoonfuls atop the orange slices in the skillet, then spread evenly. (Don’t pour the batter; you risk jostling the oranges.)
CAKE:
7 tablespoons sugar — divided, plus 3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons water
8 tablespoons unsalted butter — (1 stick) room temperature, divided
3 whole blood oranges — unpeeled, small to medium sized
3/4 cup all-purpose flour — plus 3 tablespoons
3 tablespoons polenta — or coarse yellow cornmeal (preferably stone-ground)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt — coarse
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs — separated
6 tablespoons whole milk
WHIPPED CREME FRAICHE:
1 cup creme fraiche — chilled
2 tablespoons sugar
1. CAKE: Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Combine 6 tablespoons sugar and 3 tablespoons water in 10-inch diameter ovenproof skillet with 8-inch diameter bottom and 2 1/2-inch-high sides. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil without stirring until syrup is golden amber (not dark amber), occasionally brushing down sides of skillet with wet pastry brush and swirling skillet, about 4 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and whisk 2 tablespoons butter into caramel. Set aside.
2. Cut off both rounded ends of each orange so that ends are even and flat. Using sharp knife, cut oranges into 1/16- to 1/8-inch thick rounds. Remove and discard any seeds. Arrange orange slices, overlapping slightly, in concentric circles atop caramel in bottom of skillet.
3. Using electric mixer, beat 3/4 cup sugar, remaining 6 tablespoons room-temperature butter, and vanilla in another medium bowl until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with milk in 2 additions, beating batter just until incorporated.
4. Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites in large bowl until soft peaks form. Add remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and beat until stiff but not dry. Fold 1/3 of egg whites into batter to lighten, then fold in remaining egg whites in 2 additions. Drop batter by large spoonfuls atop orange slices in skillet, then spread evenly.
5. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool cake in skillet 10 minutes. Run small knife around cake to loosen. Place platter atop skillet. Using oven mitts, hold platter and skillet firmly together and invert, allowing cake to settle onto platter. Rearrange any orange slices that may have become dislodged. Cool cake completely at room temperature.
Crème Fraîche:
1. Using electric mixer, beat chilled crème fraîche and 2 tablespoons sugar in medium bowl until mixture thickens.
Cut cake into wedges and serve with dollop of whipped crème fraîche.
Per Serving: 354 Calories; 22g Fat (54.6% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 36g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 112mg Cholesterol; 189mg Sodium.
A year ago: Pickled Grapes
Two years ago: Yucatecan Pickled Onions
Posted in Desserts, on April 21st, 2010.
Our friends, Sue & Lynn, invited us over for dinner the other night, and I always offer to make something. After Sue told me she was making a Persian dinner I read about this recipe at David Lebovitz’ blog. It sounded like a perfect ending to a Persian meal. Although the recipe is actually Moroccan. But the pantry of a Persian kitchen is probably much like one in Morocco, so I hoped it would work.
Anyway, if you don’t already read Lebovitz’ blog, you should. He’s written several cookbooks, but lives in Paris and makes the most interesting things. This recipe came from a cookbook from the Moro Restaurant in London. And perhaps there are lots of similar recipes out there. This one was relatively easy, and so much comfort-food-like.
First you toast the noodles in butter. I measured out the correct amount on my hand-dandy scale. Then they were broken into jillions of pieces. And if there is anything I’d add to the recipe directions (I did below) it’s to break the noodles into smaller pieces. It’s not like you’re eating pasta to twirl around on your fork. So you want the pieces to be small enough to curl into the bowl of a spoon.
It doesn’t take long to brown the noodles, and you do need to watch them so they don’t burn. This step is much like making pilaf – when you brown both raw rice and raw pasta. Anyway, once the noodles are properly browned you add the whole milk and evaporated milk (with sugar, salt and ground cardamom). That mixture is simmered for about 10-15 minutes. Keep tasting the pasta until it’s just barely cooked through then remove from the heat. Then you add the orange oil. The original recipe calls for orange flower water, or rose flower water. I had one of those, but it was old, and had zero taste, so I opted for Lebovitz’ other option, which was orange (olive) oil.
So there’s the photo of the cooked pudding. After it had cooled some, I put a piece of plastic wrap directly on the noodles so the milk/pudding part wouldn’t get a film. Once it had cooled to room temp, then it went into the refrigerator for several hours. The pudding thickens during this process – it seems to be quite milky at first, but I suppose the pasta thickens it some naturally.
David Lebovitz suggested topping the pudding with some reconstituted sour cherries. I was going to do that, but remembered I had some wine-cooked plums (a Plum Compote) in the refrigerator that I’d made a couple of weeks ago. They weren’t overly sweet, so I used those, which gave the dish some vivid color, that’s for sure. And then I chopped up some pistachios to sprinkle on top. It wasn’t in the recipe, but I added a mint leaf also just for color.
This went so well with Sue’s dinner of beef and onion shish kebabs over Persian rice, a lovely green salad and green beans too.
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Recipe By: Adapted from Moro East (Ebury) by Sam and Sam Clark
Serving Size: 6 (small servings)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 ounces vermicelli noodles — or angel hair
2 3/4 cups whole milk
3/4 cup evaporated milk — plus 2 tablespoons
1/2 cup sugar
1 pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 teaspoons orange oil
2 tablespoons pistachio nuts — coarsely chopped (unsalted)
plumped sour dried cherries (or a brightly colored plumped fruit)
Garnish: mint leaves
1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan or skillet. Break the noodles into small pieces and add them to the pan (if using nests, break them up first), then cook over moderate heat, stirring vigilantly, for about five minutes, until well-browned.
2. Add the whole milk, evaporated milk, sugar, salt, and cardamom and cook, stirring occasionally, for about ten minutes or so, until the noodles are completely cooked through.
3. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Add the orange oil (or rosewater or orange flower water). Cover with plastic wrap, allowing it to cling to the pudding itself, then refrigerate until thick.
4. Spoon the pudding into individual bowls or glasses and top with coarsely chopped pistachios and plumped dried plums or cherries, if you like. Garnish with fresh mint.
Storage: The pudding will keep in the refrigerator for up to three days. If it becomes too thick, once cool, stir in a little milk to loosen it up.
Per Serving: 309 Calories; 13g Fat (37.6% calories from fat); 9g Protein; 40g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 35mg Cholesterol; 113mg Sodium.
A year ago: Lemon Buttermilk Pie
Two years ago: Herb Crusted Beef Tenderloin
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