BLUEBERRY UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

This cake brings rave reviews and is a nice change from the predictable pineapple upside-down cake. The cake is sweet, very light and tender and the berries keep it deliciously moist. We ate it warm, with ice cream after dinner tonight and our neighbor took home several pieces (guarding the dish on his lap as he left on his tractor...ha ha ha).

Preheat your oven to 350F and spray a round 9" x 2" cake pan with vegetable spray. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and then spray it again.

BOILED SYRUP TOPPING
1 cup white sugar
¼ teaspoon lemon juice
¼ cup cold water
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3 cups blueberries (thaw and drain if frozen)

Arrange the blueberries in the bottom of the parchment lined cake pan, set aside. In a heavy bottomed 2 quart sauce pan, stir the sugar, lemon juice and cold water together. Bring to a boil over medium high heat (occasionally brush the walls of the pan with a wet pastry brush to wash down any sugar crystals). Boil on medium heat, stirring once in a while, until it starts to turn amber. Watch carefully, because once it starts to turn color, because it will darken quickly. Pour evenly over the blueberries and set aside.

CAKE
1½ cups all purpose flour
1¾ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup butter (room temperature)
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
.
In a small bowl, mix flour, baking powder, ginger and cinnamon together, set aside. In another small bowl, mix milk and vanilla extract, set aside.
.
With electric mixer, beat the room temperature butter for one minute, or until it is light and fluffy; add brown sugar and beat on high for 3 minutes. Reduce speed and add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Make sure you scrape down the sides of the bowl once in a while.
.
Now you need to mix in the milk mixture and the flour mixture, but make sure you alternate (dry...milk...dry...milk etc.). Scrape down the bowl and give it one final mix but don't mix too long. Pour the batter over the blueberries.

Bake at 350F for 35 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean (it takes 45 minutes in my oven). Remove from oven and let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Run a thin knife around the edge to loosen, then invert on a serving plate and peel off the parchment paper. Cool, this is excellent with ice cream.

NOTE: Do not make this in a springform pan because the sauce might leak out.

NOTE: The berries appear quite wet when you first invert the cake, but as it cools off, the sauce thickens considerably.

Read More

BARBECUE SAUCE

We love this barbecue sauce; I can't remember exactly where I found it, but it is a keeper. I usually double this recipe then store it in mason jars in the fridge. It lasts for weeks. It is a thinner sauce than some of the ultra-thick commercial sauces, but we like that. It is light, smokey, sweet and delicious. It is awesome for pulled pork too.

2 cups ketchup
1 cup water
½ cup apple cider vinegar
5 tablespoons white sugar
5 tablespoons brown sugar (I use dark brown sugar)
1½ teaspoons black pepper
1½ teaspoons dry mustard powder
1½ teaspoons dry onion powder (not onion salt)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon liquid smoke

Mix well and simmer (uncovered) for 1½ hours, cool before using. This sauce smells a little vinegar-y while cooking, but the final product is on the sweet side. I like making it a day ahead and storing it in the fridge to let the flavors blend, but that isn't totally necessary.

NOTE: If you like "heat" in your barbecue sauce, just add a little red pepper flakes to the recipe.

NOTE: I often cook this in the crockpot, on high for about 3 hours with the lid propped open a little, with a spoon.

This recipe makes 3 cups of sauce.

Read More

EASY CHOCOLATE PUDDING

I have been trying chocolate pudding recipes for several months now.  Today's chocolate pudding post is deliciously smooth and creamy, it is perfect. Even picky-picky husband gave it a thumbs up!!

 

1/2 cup brown sugar (I used dark)
3 rounded tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup cornstarch
pinch salt
(2) 12 ounce cans evaporated milk  (not low fat) (see note below)
1 tablespoons strong coffee
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips (or peanut butter chips)

In a bowl, whisk all of the dry ingredients together until there are no lumps (this will also help incorporate it into the liquids).  Whisk in the evaporated milk and coffee, until smooth.

Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly with rubber spatula. When the mixture starts to thicken, turn the heat down to medium low. Once it starts to bubble, continue cooking, stirring constantly (in figure 8 motion), for one minute.

Remove from heat and stir in butter, chocolate chips and vanilla; stir/whisk until chocolate is melted. Pour into dessert dishes and place plastic wrap or waxed paper directly on the surface of the hot pudding so it doesn't form a "pudding skin" while it is cooling.  Chill completely and serve with whipped cream.


NOTE: This recipe can be made using whole milk, but the evaporated milk gives it a much creamier taste and texture, I was very surprised at the difference it makes.

NOTE: As a child, my mother used evaporated milk a lot (even in our cereal!!), so I don't have many fond memories of that taste. However, there is NO evaporated milk "taste" in this final pudding, instead, the creaminess really comes through (so much more so than with regular milk).

NOTE: The chocolate intensity of this pudding is what I would call  "medium". If you like a pronounced chocolate flavor, I suggest you use HEAPING tablespoons of cocoa powder instead of rounded tablespoons.

Read More

INDIVIDUAL POTATOES AU GRATIN

Whether you are "empty nesters", newly weds or single, this scaled down recipe is easy, tasty and reheats well too!! The ingredients listed below make six individual au gratins. We found that two of these were perfect for each adult, but the recipe can easily be doubled or tripled.

2 large russet potatoes
1/2 cup grated Colby Jack cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 tablespoons heavy cream (per portion)
1/2 cup finely chopped ham or crisp bacon

Peel the potatoes and put them in the food processor along with the ham (or bacon). Pulse the potatoes and ham just until you get pieces about the same size as medium hashbrown chunks. Remove from the food processor and stir in the cheese and salt and pepper.



Spray your cupcake pan with cooking spray and fill each section to the top (patting down VERY lightly). Pour 2 full tablespoons heavy cream over each portion. Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 40 minutes (take the foil off the last two or three minutes and put under the broiler to give them some color).

Remove from oven and let them sit for about 5 minutes before lifting them out of the pan with a large spoon.


These are deliciously creamy, cheesy and "ham-y"; they will go with almost anything. Recipe makes six portions. One portion is perfect for children, but adults can easily eat two portions.

IMPORTANT: If you are using a standard cupcake tin, put a baking sheet under the pan because the cream tends to bubble up a little during cooking.

Read More

SUPER QUICK BBQ SAUCE

I have an admission to make and, in a round about way, it has something to do with today's recipe. The last few years I have suffered from agoraphobia. I panic at the thought of going out in public. I used to love shopping for groceries every two or three days, now I have to force myself out of the house every 7 to 10 days (and then it ends up being a speed trip out and back). There is no reason for this (late in life) development; it is what it is, I guess; I try not to worry about it.

Because of this "disorder", I find myself running out of key recipe ingredients more than I care to. That's where today's recipe comes in.  We planned on cooking outdoors yesterday and I was out of BBQ sauce, so I  tried this recipe. It is made out of common, everyday ingredients,(a good thing for ME) and it is delicious!! I highly recommend it.

1 cup ketchup
2 to 3 tablespoons brown sugar (I used dark brown)
2 tablespoons cider vinegar (I used red wine vinegar)
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon DRY mustard powder
¼ teaspoon salt

Simmer all of the ingredients for a couple of minutes, then cool.  It couldn't be easier!!!

NOTE: Recipe calls for 2 to 3 tablespoons brown sugar. Hubby likes a sweeter BBQ sauce, so I used 3 tablespoons.

Read More

Entertaining All'Italiana

It is no big secret that I collect cookbooks. Unfortunately for me, I do not have unlimited funds to procure said cookbooks, so I always have a list of items that I am looking for with the caveat that they must fall on $20 range. Many of them I can find, but alas, I cannot afford them, so there is an eternal quest for certain grail. One such grail was Anna del Conte’s Entertaining All'Italiana. There have always been a few copies of this elusive book on the market, but they tended to be priced between $100 and $300. That is a lot of tomato sauce and garlic!

First, let me say that Anna del Conte is not well known in America. In England, however, she is cross between Julia Child and Lidia Bastianich. Sure, now there is big food movement in England, but thirty years ago, English food was a bit of a joke. Imagine what it was like when Elizabeth David and Anna del Conte put forward fresh spicy, Italian creations. Del Conte married an Englishman and that is what lead her from her Italian kitchen to England. Del Conte wrote the first complete compendium of Italian food for and English speaking population, Gastronomy of Italy.

Finally, it didn’t hurt that Nigella Lawson stated emphatically that Entertaining All'Italiana was probably her favorite cookery book. (Click here to read Nigella's touching tribute to del Conte.)Published in the early 1990’s, Entertaining All'Italiana is a throwback to older cookbooks, featuring a handful of line drawings for chapter headings, but no pictures of the food.

So finally, I saw a copy of Entertaining All'Italiana. I knew it immediately as I had memorized its blue jacket with the painting of the plums and walnuts. I knew it would be out of my price range, but surprisingly it was under my $20 limit and I practically hyperventilated at the pristine book and fine jacket.

When I got it home, I admired it for several days before I even cracked the spine. The very first recipe was for Linguine coi piselli alla panna, a flat spaghetti with peas and cream. That very morning I picked peas in the garden and had a small bowl sitting on the counter. It was kismet.

Linguine coi piselli alla panna

450 r/1 lb linguine
salt
freshly grated Parmesan for serving

For the sauce

45g/1 1/2 oz unsalted butter
4 shallots, very finely chopped
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
225g/1/2 lb fresh garden peas, podded, or frozen peas, thawed
1 tbsp flour
6tbsp dry white vermouth
120 ml/1/4 pint single cream
freshly ground pepper

If you are using fresh peas, plunge them in a saucepan of boiling water and cook them for 5 minutes, Frozen peas do not nee this blanching.

Choose a large sauté pan or frying pan into which you can later transfer the drained pasta. Put the butter and shallots in the pan and sprinkle with the sugar and salt. Saute the shallots until soft and then add the peas. Coat them in the butter for 1 minute, sprinkle with the flour and cool for a further minute, stirring the whole time, Stir in the vermouth, boil for 1 minute and then add the stock. Cover the pan and regulate the heat so that the liquid will simmer gently for the peas to cook. They must be tender, not just al dente. Stir in the cream, cook for a couple of minutes. Add pepper , taste and check seasoning.

Meanwhile, put a large saucepan of water on the heat and bring to the boil. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of cooking salt and when the water has come back to a roaring boil, slide in the linguine, a ll at once, pushing them in gently with your hand. Stir with a long fork, putting the lid back on the pan until the water is boiling again, then remove the lid and cook at a steady boil until the linguine is done. Drain, but do not overdrain, and transfer immediately to the pan with the sauce. Stir-fry, using two forks, and stirrings with a high movement so that all the pasta strands are well coated with the sauce.

Now, if your frying pan is a good-looking one, bring the pan directly to the table. The less pasta is transfer from the container to another , the better; it keeps hotter. But if you do not like to bring sauce pans to the table, tun the pasta into a heated bowl and serve, handing round the Parmesan in a bowl.

For my version, I added a bit of ham. It was wonderful. And I can't say enough about how much I love this book. Perhaps it was the quest, perhaps it was Nigella, perhaps it was the first recipe being for peas, but I love it. Frankly, I have long been a fan of Anna del Conte after finding her Gastronomy of Italy. This book is a much more personal journey. Check out our review of Amaretto, Apple Cake and Artichokes,

In the meantime, be on the lookout for you own copy of Entertaining All'Italiana.

Read More

SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Everyone is familiar with commercial bakery "buttercream" which is commonly made with shortening and it leaves a greasy or waxy film in your mouth, yuck!!  Todays recipe is for a light and fluffy frosting (almost the consistency of whipped cream) called Swiss meringue buttercream. It is the creme de la creme of all frostings and it is slightly sweet and extremely stable.

 

The recipe has a few steps, but it is well worth the effort and as long as you follow a few tips, it is NOT hard to make.

5 egg whites (from large eggs)
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
1 pound of UNSALTED sweet cream butter (room temperature)
Small pinch of salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract

Place the egg whites and sugar in a glass or metal bowl (whisk together until well mixed) and place the bowl over a gently simmering pan of water (don't let the bottom of the bowl touch the water).

Now here is a tip; right after you mix the sugar into the egg whites, press some of the mixture between your fingers and you will feel a grainy texture (remember that feeling). Heat the egg white-sugar mixture (whisking every 30 seconds or so) for about 3 to 5 minutes or until it reaches 140 degrees on an instant read thermometer.  NOTE: If you do not have an instant read thermometer, just heat the mixture until it feels nice and warm (not hot) and you can no longer feel that grainy texture when you press some of it between your fingers. Remove from heat.

Pour the warmed egg white - sugar mixture into the bowl of your stand mixer and attach the wire whisk. Beat the mixture on medium high for 5 to 7 minutes or until the mixture forms a thick and fluffy meringue that is cool to the touch. It is VERY IMPORTANT that the mixture AND the outside of the bowl have cooled down to room temperature.

Stop the mixer and change to the paddle attachment. With your stand mixer at medium speed, start adding the ROOM TEMPERATURE butter, two tablespoons at a time, beating 20 to 30 seconds after each addition. Stop the mixer occasionally and scrape down the sides to make sure everything is mixing well.

After you have added all of the butter, add the extracts and beat on medium high until light and fluffy (another minute or two). Use immediately.

TIP: You want the butter to be at room temperature but not super soft/melty(very important). I cubed the butter when it was COLD and then let it sit on the counter for an hour to insure it would be at room temperature (of course that depends on how warm your house is). Do NOT warm up your butter in the microwave.

This frosting is a dream to work with!!! It is EXCELLENT for borders and trim work (it is VERY stable) and it is very forgiving when doing flat work (smooths easily with a knife).

 

NOTE:  If you start adding your butter too early (while the meringue is still too warm), the frosting will separate or look curdled.  Don't panic, just keep beating on medium high and it will eventually come back together and whip up correctly, I promise!!

NOTE: Do not use SALTED butter, I tried that once and I was amazed how salty the frosting tasted!!!

 



Read More

Heart of the Artichoke

David Tanis is a chef. Granted he is the head chef at Chez Panisse, which has a more laid back, ingredient vibe than say... The Four Seasons, but he is still a head chef so you have to think, big old complicated recipes. Here is where Tanis is brilliant. The recipes really do feature the food. The clean, only slightly fussed with, fine ingredients that one really wants to eat. Heart of the Artichoke is Tanis' second book. It follows up on his first book A Platter of Figs which shares the same clean edible and "cookable" recipes.

While I am the first to embrace immersion circulators and having a huge tank of liquid nitrogen in my kitchen, there is something remarkable to be said for some one who can look a a beautiful pile of green beans (how pedestrian) and turn them into Green Bean Salad with Pickled Shallots, a dish that is one the one hand so simple and on the other so complex and beautiful, not to mention it a dish that even the most challenged cook cold pull off with total aplomb.

Don't get me wrong, while I adore the Stand Around Melon with Mint, your basic melon balls with mint sprinkled on the top, there are some very involved recipes, like Pho with its nearly thirty ingredients. But for the most part, these recipes are easy to do and would make even the most finicky eater happy.

How could I resist my favorite poached pears. Tanis says that he often finds poached pears in spice end up coming off like a really bad mulled wine. Here he takes a light and delicate approach.

Spiced Pears in Red Wine

8 slightly under ripe small Comice or Anjou pears
1 (750-ml) bottle medium-bodied red wine, such as Côtes du Rhone
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
2 whole cloves
A wide strip each of lemon and orange peel

1. Peel the pears top to bottom with a sharp vegetable peeler, leaving them whole, with stems attached and the core intact.

2. Put the pears in a large wide nonreactive pot (enameled or stainless steel) in one layer. Stir the wine and sugar together in a bowl to dissolve the sugar, pour over the pears, and add the aromatics. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Poach the pears for about 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted encounters no resistance. Remove from the heat and let cool, in the poaching liquid, overnight.

3. The next day, with a slotted spoon, transfer the pears to a platter. Heat the poaching liquid over high and boil down until it is reduced by half. Strain this syrup into a bowl and let cool.

4. Use a paring knife to cut a small slice off the bottom of each pear, allowing them to stand up straight. Stand the pears in a deep rectangular glass or plastic container large enough to contain them in one layer.

5. Pour the cooled syrup over the pears. Refrigerate for up to several days. Serve chilled, putting each pear in a soup plate and spooning over a little syrup.

Today is a steamy, muggy summer day. What a lovely end to any meal.

Read More

Pig

For more than thirty years, James Villas has devote his life to food. It's a tough job but someone has to do it. Twenty-seven years of his career were as Food and Wine Editor of Town & Country. He has also written about his food endeavors for a slew of other publications including Esquire, Saveur, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Bon Appétit, Life, The New York Times, and don't forget the cookbooks, two of my favorites with his mother, Martha Pearl Villas, who died several years ago. Miss Martha Pearl always traveled with her White Lily Flour, a custom I understand, but I digress...

Usually, when writing books one moves from the general to the specific. James Villas, who wrote the ever popular book, Bacon, moved from this particular cut of pork to whole hog in his book Pig. Leave it to a good old Southern boy to call his book simply Pig. Really, does one need further info? There are, of course, a few bacon recipes and standards like ham steak and red eye gravy. There is a traditional spiced stuffed hams seen on every buffet South of the Mason-Dixon, and some fancier fare. Still, no one can give a better explanation of how to make a great fried pig's ear.

Recently I made some great double-fried french fries for a cookout. A guest went on and on about how good they were. He never got his fries to taste like that. I told him to double fry them and he looked a bit stunned. "You made these?" he said. "you cut them and everything?" Well duh! Why do think they were so good!

For the next few days, I got e-mails from "friends" outlining how bad potatoes were for one's diet. I got potato chip, french fries and just plain old baked potato warnings. Let me just say that if I have the choice of living to be a hundred without fries or living to eighty with a big bowl of cheese fries covered in bacon and ranch dressing... no contest...but I digress.

Back to Pig.


So I decided to share a recipe featuring pork AND potatoes. And not just pork but Virginia Ham, with a salt content that blows the USDA standards right out of the water. Here is Villas' take on such a dish.

"Scalloped potatoes with lots of butter and cheese have been a staple in Southern homes for centuries, but only in Virginia have I encountered the dish made with the state's incomparable country-cured ham -- simply called "Virginia ham" in the Old Dominion. Do remember that you need to use dry russet potatoes for any gratin, and if the potatoes seem to be drying out after 35 or 40 minutes, just add a little whole milk, basting them slightly to produce a golden crust."

Old Dominion Scalloped Potatoes with Country Ham

4 medium russet potatoes (about 2 pounds), peeled and sliced 1/8 inch thick
1 cup finely diced cooked country ham
1/2 cup chopped fresh chives
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
1 cup half-and-half

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Butter a 1 1/2 to 2-quart gratin or baking dish and arrange alternate layers of overlapping potato slices and ham, sprinkling a few chives over each layer and seasoning with salt and pepper. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the cheese over the top, dot with the butter, pour the half-and-half over the top, and bake till the potatoes are tender, about 45 minutes, basting from time to time with the liquid. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and bake till golden brown, about 10 minutes longer.

3. Serve piping hot directly from the dish.

Ham and potatoes. I'm ready to meet my maker or my Maker's Mark, which ever comes first.

Read More