Cooking and Baking

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Emmy Fare

August 30, 2010 in Cooking and Baking, Watching by Colleen | 2 comments

Good Morning!

Jimmy Fallon, cutie patootie of my television set, you did a terrific job as host of the Emmy Awards last night (I like your show, too).  I’d go so far as to say that Billy Crystal probably thought you looked mahvelous, and that’s saying a lot.  What a hoot that was, especially seeing Jimmy’s imitations – he’s good!  Not to mention the belly tickling humor, all the touching speeches, and the great opening number.  Jon Hamm, let’s be square dance partners some time.  You can toss me up in the air.  Yes?  Okay!

Of course, the handsomeness of the tuxedos and the gorgeous gowns made me swoon.  And they were mostly good too, pretty and sparkly and fine.  Save a few, of course.  I don’t think ladies should look like they are draped in blue plastic or are in the process of imitating a Victorian lamp, no, no, no.  But who am I to judge, really?  If you feel pretty and your boat is afloat, I should keep my lip buttoned.  It’s not like I’ve ever had to choose a dress for the world to see.

As I am well aware that I become rather like a child once an award show comes on (as in, do not talk or distract me in any way unless there is a commercial), I thought ahead and made a simple supper that could easily be eaten directly in front of the television – Cauliflower cheese soup and our go-to green snack, crispy kale (recipe here).  This soup is good, my friends, and for it’s mind boggling simplicity, it’s truly hard to beat.  How about that crazy cauliflower color, too?  Orange like cheetos, but totally natural, certified organic even.  Mmm hmm.  Here’s the recipe -

Cauliflower Cheese Soup

1 head cauliflower florets

1 quart vegetable stock

4 ounces cheese, grated fine – I used colby jack, but cheddar or gruyere would work nicely, too

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

dash cayenne pepper

salt, to taste

Place the florets in a soup pot (mine is 3 1/2 quarts) and add the stock.  Unless your florets come from a very small head of cabbage, the stock won’t cover them all, so don’t fret.  Turn the heat to medium-high, and cook, covered, for about 30 minutes, until very soft.  Puree with an immersion blender until smooth – or you could leave some of the floret pieces whole if you like it chunky.  Taste and add salt as necessary.  Add the cheese, paprika, and cayenne pepper.  Stir until cheese is melted and well incorporated, about one minute.  Serve.  We had ours with the kale, rye crisp and a little butter, but crusty bread would be nice, too.

Enjoy!

Pie!

August 23, 2010 in Admiring, Cooking and Baking, Eating by Colleen | 1 comment

Good Monday to you all!

I hope the weekend treated you well.  Ours was a slice of pie – heavenly and ever so good.  The fact that I actually made a pie being the veritable cherry on top of it all, indeed.

Our weekend began in earnest on Thursday evening, as my former students and their friends came for dinner, an ever so brief game of gnome bowling (much more boring than anticipated), and lots and lots of top notch conversation.  Broken record alert – I am so very proud of these young men!  They are  unremittingly kind, smart, thoughtful, and funny.  I feel ever so lucky to have them in my life.  Oh, and Matt, if you’re reading, you were the inspiration for the pie.  After talking about it, I just had to have some, though mine is nectarine, not peach.

We spent our Saturday with new friends who feel quite old (but not at all elderly).  We have so very  much in common (crafting, gardening, a love of nature and more) and the conversation was just so easy, the best combination, really. They have a gorgeous place in the country, full of flowers, wildlife, and beautiful vistas, the very place I’ve imagined when I fancy a Cooper-Sohn retreat in the woods.  Add to that the fact that we had delicious food, the company of adorable and sweet children, and a fire under the stars, well, you know.  It doesn’t get much better.  Thank you Twists!  Oh, and p.s., if you’d like to see their lovely home and the beautiful things Beth makes, I’ve added the link to their blog – My Heartstring under friends.

Yesterday, oh yesterday I spent harvesting lavender.  Which sounds much more pedestrian than it was, I assure you.  Maybe harvesting isn’t the word I want.  Picking?  I don’t know.  In any case, I spent ten hours (no exaggeration) removing the fragrant spent buds from the stems clipped in our back garden so that I might make some sachets.  I never imagined it would be such an undertaking.  I watched  bad television, four movies, wore holes in the thumbs of a pair of rubber gloves, and felt as sweet and sleepy as Dorothy and the gang in that field full of poppies.  Cross your fingers that the end product will be worth all the labor.  I will most definitely post pictures if it is.

For now, it is a picture of pie, another blissful weekend gone by, and a happy week to come.  Let’s enjoy it!

Another p.s. – this is post 401!  How about them apples?

Chipotle Cream Sauce

August 18, 2010 in Cooking and Baking, Remembering by Colleen | 3 comments

Hello Peeps!

I don’t suppose that expression is in vogue any longer, or that last one for that matter, but I am terribly inept at keeping up with such things, and I suppose, rather tragically unhip.  It’s okay.  I am also feeling summer slip through my fingers, along with keeping up with the blog.  We’ve had so many activities in our normally quiet life that I am having a hard time balancing anything.  Today, however, I am making a little extra effort, one that you can capitalize on, too.  Believe me when I tell you that this recipe can change lives and elevate dinner parties to great heights.  I can’t tell you how many people swoon over this.  The best part?  Two ingredients!  Three if you need salt.  No kidding!

Greg and I first had this mighty fine sauce at Juanita’s Uptown (sadly it disappeared years ago) in Denver with our super fun and rather cosmopolitan friends the Dews.  They lived in an apartment straight out of Dynasty, complete with an elevator.  The fun part (aside from their ebullient personalities and crazy personal histories) was the consternation on the part of the elevator operator when Susie hollered, “Beam them up Scotty!”

Anyway, the sauce came as an accompaniment to steamed mussels, which I love.  But it tasted so totally yummy that had I not been on good behavior (despite one of Bill’s stellar and killer margaritas in my belly) in the company of friends and strangers, I could have forgone the mussels and warm tortillas, eaten the sauce with a spoon, and licked the bowl.  I kid you not.

I tried for ages to replicate the magic concoction with dried chipotles, cheese, flour, and just about everything else I could think of.  Then I was lucky enough to have one of the waitresses in a Geography class (hello college days) and she divulged the not so secret ingredients.  Chipotles in adobo sauce and whipping cream.  Seriously?  After all my hard work?  That was it?  Yup.

Whipping Cream

Chipotle Chiles in Adobo Sauce (available in the Latin section of the market)

In a small saucepan, add some cream.  You decide how much – I use anywhere from 1/2 cup to 1 1/2 cups, depending on how many people will be eating it.   Add a little bit of the chipotles (I blend the entire contents of a can, as it is usually whole chiles, in a food processor until fairly smooth and store in a jar in the refrigerator), stir, and taste.  Add more if the flavor seems too creamy or you want more spice.  It’s really up to you.  Heat the sauce over medium until bubbly.  Allow it to reduce until thick.  Pour it over whatever strikes your fancy – chicken, pork, beef, mussels, enchiladas, a firm white fish, or a bowl full of beans.  You could also stand next to the stove, grab a stack of tortillas, dip them in the pan, and go to town.  It’s all good.

Enjoy!

First Quilt and a Pretty Breakfast

July 12, 2010 in Cooking and Baking, Making by Colleen | 4 comments

Last week was pretty hot here.  Super, retreat to the basement kind of hot.  And what does one do in the basement besides row on the machine or watch the old television, the one with the screen that occasionally turns bright red?  Why make a quilt, of course!

I had never made one before, and I, like many other people I know, have what seems to be a giant stash of fabric begging for just such a project to be made with it.  In particular, this beautiful Japanese cotton (running down the center of the quilt)  that Sarah bought me on one of her trips there.  I’d been contemplating what to do with it for ages.  A dress?  A blouse?  A bag?  When I started putting pieces of fabric together to decide what to quilt, I knew this was just the right use for it.

It was pretty simple, a total of ten pieces, including the batting, as I had no intention of drawing it out or starting something I would not finish because I bit off more than I could chew.  I am very pleased with the looks of it (the hubster likes it, too).  Not to mention, it’s just the right size for cozying up on the living room sofa on cooler days.

Now that I have the confidence, along with much more fabric in my stash and a piece of batting, don’t be surprised if you see another quilt here soon.  It is summer, after all, and there are bound to be more hot days requiring time in the cool basement.

Oh, and the beautiful baked good up there?  That’s a clafoutis, made from the recipe I posted here.  I used the Raven’s Heart plums that are in season now.  Aren’t they gorgeous?  They taste delicious, too.  I might add.

Have a lovely week!

Hello Cupcake

July 7, 2010 in Cooking and Baking, Remembering by Colleen | 2 comments

When I was in high school and college, I worked at an Italian family restaurant.  It was very homey, decorated for every holiday, and served really good food.  It was red sauce galore, pizza, great steaks, pepperoni on the salad, and one of the best sandwiches in the world – The Sausage Special.  Made on garlic bread with green chiles and just a touch of that sauce,  it made me ever so happy.  Whenever I visit my parents, a visit must be made to indulge.

It was the eighties, and there was lots of drama at the restaurant, not to mention make-up, big hair, big clothes, and personalities to match, save one.  The sister of the owner, Aunt Liz, was a hostess on one of the shifts I worked.  I loved her.  She was soft spoken and kind, beautiful without a stitch of make up, had great style, close cropped hair, and made this awesome strawberry cake.  She brought it in a 13×9 pan with a metal lid that slid across the top, like the lip gloss that I loved.  To be honest, the cake could have been pretty average, and I may still have liked it, just for the sake of the container.  I am that kind of person.  But, it wasn’t just the tin, the cake was gorgeous and delicious.  So strawberry!  So summer!

I got the recipe from her but never made it, but it has been on my mind lately.  The memories of it have been clearer.  So yesterday, when I got an awesome deal on organic strawberries (three pounds for two dollars!) I made these cupcakes in homage to her.  They aren’t Aunt Liz’s recipe – hers were the frozen in syrup kind – but boy oh boy are they delicious and cute as a button.  We shared them with the neighbors, but mum’s the word if you want to eat them all yourself.  You just might.

Adapted from 1 Mix, 100 Muffins, by Susanna Tee

Strawberry Cupcakes

1 cup flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup milk

6 tablespoons sunflower or other mild oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup strawberries, hulled

Preheat the oven to 400.  Grease or line a 12 cup muffin pan.  Sift the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt, in a large bowl.  Puree the eggs, milk, oil, vanilla, and strawberries (I used a large measuring cup and my trusty hand blender).  Pour over the dry ingredients, and stir gently until just combined.  Do not overmix.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.  Bake for about 20 minutes, or until well risen, golden brown, and firm to the touch.  Allow to cool for five minutes in the pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Strawberry Frosting

1/4 cup strawberries, hulled

4 tablespoons butter, slightly softened

1/4 cup shortening

pinch salt

1 1/2 – 2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Puree the strawberries (again, the hand blender in a measuring cup – or mash with a fork), set aside.  Beat together the butter, shortening, and salt, until light and fluffy.  Reduce mixer speed and slowly add 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, beat until combined.  Add the strawberry puree and mix just until blended.  You may need the extra 1/2 cup of powdered sugar here, if the frosting is too wet.

Frost your cooled cupcakes and top with strawberry halves, if you like.

Enjoy!

Strong Opinions

June 21, 2010 in Cooking and Baking, Learning, Remembering by Colleen | 1 comment

Two bits of deliciousness for you this morning, pizza and cake.  I read an article on pizza in one of the fancy food magazines.  It was rather long and somewhat interesting and highlighted a small town back east that has two very famous pizza joints that have been there a terribly long time.  I guess there is quite an either/or dichotomy going on.  You aren’t, apparently, allowed to like the pizza at both places.  I have to say that I abhor (strong word, I know) rules like this.  I don’t like being told whether or not I should have certain feelings.  This is not up to other people.  It is up to me.  Anyway, as I was reading, I had this rather cinematic a-ha moment.  She and Him was playing in the background and I swear Zooey Deschanel hit a high note when I read this sentence: Let the pizza dough rise for twenty-four hours.

I don’t know how many of you make your own thin crust pizza and wondered why it just isn’t as good as those places in the article, or for the hubster and I, Lombardi’s in Manhattan, and Grimaldi’s at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge.  I am savvy in the kitchen, but ever since taking a bite of that gooey, chewy deliciousness on an idyllic summer day, I was pretty stumped.  The crust never tasted as good as theirs, never had that wonderful texture.  Then that sentence jumped off the page, and I had it.  The secret wasn’t in the yeast or the flour or the water.  It was all about time.  Give it time. So, the day before you want your pizza, make your favorite dough.  Punch it down the next morning and let it rise again, until the oven is smoking hot (we put ours at 500) and your ingredients are ready.  Then wait for the magic moment when you slide that bad boy out of the oven and you take your first bite.  Heaven.

Though we didn’t follow our pizza with dessert – we were too full of cheese for that, I am following my thoughts on it with this delicious upside down cake.  There is a restaurant in town, which shall remain nameless, that actually has the gall to put instant butterscotch pudding as the brown sugar and butter layer.  Words cannot describe the horror of my first bite.  This is not cake; it is a travesty.  This recipe is the real deal, and, to be honest, it is probably easier and cheaper than buying that instant stuff, seriously.  You can make it with pineapple, peaches, apricots, nectarines, plums, or apples.  It’s really hard to go wrong.

Fruity Upside Down Cake

adapted from the Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book, 75th Anniversary Edition

2 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon water

Enough fruit to cover the bottom of the pan – I used two sliced nectarines and three maraschino cherries

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

2/3 cup milk

1/4 cup butter, grated with the small holes of a cheese grater

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350.  Melt two tablespoons of butter and 1/3 cup brown sugar in a small saucepan.  Add the water and stir until combined.  Pour into an ungreased 8″ square pan. Carefully arrange your fruit in a pretty pattern over the syrup.

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, and baking powder.  Add the milk, butter, egg, and vanilla.  Stir until combined.  Spoon the batter over the fruit in the prepared pan.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool for five minutes.  Run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen, and invert onto a plate.  This is best served warm.

Enjoy!

p.s.

When I called the hubster down to have some cake, he said, “Wow!  That’s pretty.  Did you take a picture?”  This coming from the guy who likes to tease, “Um can I eat, or do I have to wait for the camera?”

Peposo and Heat

June 7, 2010 in Cooking and Baking by Colleen | 2 comments

I just finished reading the book Heat by Bill Buford.  It chronicles the time he spent learning everything about cooking from Mario Batali’s kitchen at Babbo to learning the art of pasta making and butchering (more than that – an appreciation for quality meat) in Italy.  It is a pretty good, and not surprisingly, rather hedonistic read.  These people don’t just make food, they eat it in mass quantities and wash it down with plenty of wine!  Though there aren’t any actual recipes included, there are descriptions of them.  The following is my best approximation of one.  Five ingredients, phenomenal flavor.

You may also be pausing a moment, thinking stew?  Really?  In June?  Well, non-Portlanders, the weather has been wet, very wet, even for us, and something that simmers in the oven all day is really not out of line but quite appropriate.

Peposo

1 1/2 pounds stew meat – mine was diced, but you could easily buy one shank and shred it at the end.

1/2 bottle Chianti

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper – or more, if you like

3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced

Combine ingredients in a covered oven proof pot.  Place in 400 degree oven for 15 minutes.  Reduce the temperature to 200 and continue cooking for another 10-12 hours.  The final product will be melt in your mouth tender and ever so yummy.

Serve with crusty white bread, generously spread with butter, a glass of  the remaining bit of wine, and the company of a good friend.

Enjoy!

A Whole Day of Eating

May 25, 2010 in Cooking and Baking, Drinking, Eating by Colleen | 4 comments

I’ve got a slew of recipes to tantalize your taste buds today.  Plus, apparently, a little alliteration.  Silly me.  I also have a whopper of a headache, a slight fever, an earache, and swollen tonsils, so if this wanders off into the territory of the bizarre, don’t be surprised.  I am not myself.

First off, oatmeal (sorry Sarah – I think you’ll like the rest!), but, though it may look it, it is no ordinary oatmeal.  No sirree, this is something special brought on by hunger, of course, a lack of bacon, an ugly banana, and a need for protein.

Ginger Banana Oatmeal

oatmeal

water

salt

powdered ginger

banana(s)

egg(s)

milk

Start making the oatmeal – add some salt and ginger, to your taste.  While that is going, puree a banana (I used my hand blender in a large measuring cup), add an egg (more if you’re making it for more than two people), and some milk.  Make it as thick or thin as you like.  Just make sure you mix it thoroughly.   Once the oatmeal is finished, add about one third of it to the banana mixture, and, again, mix thoroughly.  Then add this to the original pot of oatmeal, and stir, stir, stir.  If your banana was as ugly and sweet as ours was, you won’t need much sweetener, if any.  This is sooo good, like a breakfast pudding, but loaded with fiber.  A happy start to the day.

Now it is lunch time and spring time!  Perfect for asparagus, and mushrooms, and exclamation points!

Grilled Asparagus, Mushroom, and Cheese Sandwiches

Sliced Bread

mayo

Greek yogurt

creamy horseradish

Dijon mustard

salt

pepper

bite sizes of asparagus (cooked however you like – mine was roasted with EVOO, salt, and pepper)

sliced mushrooms (sauteed in a little butter or EVOO)

Havarti Cheese, grated (I learned this from Sarah – it melts so nicely!  I can’t believe I hadn’t thought of it before.)

Start heating up your pan over medium heat.  I use a Le Creuset that covers two burners.  It is the tops!  Make the spread -  I mix equal parts of mayo and yogurt (this makes it light and creamy), then add little bits of the rest until it tastes just right, being careful with the mustard and horseradish, unless you like to cry while eating.  Save when they are tears of joy, I am not keen on this.  Construct your sandwich, heat, and eat.  It tastes great with potato chips and a crisp apple.  Some sparkling apple juice or wine probably wouldn’t be bad either.

Tastes Like Sunshine Salad

One lovely Friday evening, we weren’t terribly hungry, and I had a small but beautiful assortment of produce in the fridge, but no lettuce or tomato, and stale heels of bread.  It’s a sunshine salad!

Tear up stale bread into bite sized pieces.  Toss in olive oil (not too much).  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and crushed dried rosemary.  Toast in the oven until golden brown.  Allow to cool.

I roasted the orange bell pepper over the burner and put it in a brown bag to sweat.  Meanwhile, I diced an avocado and sliced some radishes.  Rub the skin off the bell pepper and dice.  Arrange everything nicely on a plate, drizzle with vinegar (I like white balsamic), EVOO, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Drink with the next recipe – we did, and it was marvelous.

We had half a bottle of red wine that had been sitting for a few days, not exactly good to drink on its own, so I made a zippy sangria-type beverage.  I got out a pitcher and muddled frozen blueberries and raspberries (about 3/4 of a cup?) with a little frozen apple juice concentrate (a tablespoon?), then I added some Grand Marnier (splash!), brandy (splash!), the red wine, and a can of sparkling water.  Man was it good!

Enjoy!

Classic Home Desserts

May 7, 2010 in Cooking and Baking, Reading, Spotlighting by Colleen | 2 comments

This, my friends is a slice of terrific banana cake.  I’ve adapted it from what I think is a pretty terrific book, Classic Home Desserts, by the late Richard Sax.  My number one favorite in this department, and one that I’ve had since 1994, longer than any other, of any kind, I might add.  As someone who is a great purger, this is saying a lot.  This book, no doubt, will be with me until it is coming apart at the seams, all 688 glorious pages.  It is full of great stories and historic recipes, not only a treasure to bake from but one to read, as well.  I’ve made countless recipes from it, all went off without a hitch and tasted even better (two other examples are here and here).  How is that for a product endorsement?  Fortunately, the book is not out of print, but the latest edition, from 2000, is, in my opinion, prohibitively expensive, at least on Amazon ($45 used – $99 new, zoiks!), so, if you’d like to give it a try, head to Powell’s (I’ve seen used copies for $25), your local library, or cross your fingers that they print another edition.

Anyway, to the recipe.  I’ve adapted it from his original, of course, for it is my way, but I honestly don’t think he (or you) will mind.  An additional bit, part of my love for this cake stems from the fact that it is made in a Bundt style pan.  Have I ever spoken of my love for the Bundt pan?  Dessert is somehow elevated when it comes out of a pan shaped like that, truly.

Banana Cake

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 sticks butter, softened or, if you are short on time, grate it fine with a cheese grater

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

3/4 cup ripe mashed banana (about 2)

1/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons sour cream or plain yogurt

Preheat the oven to 350.  Generously butter a 10″ tube or Bundt pan.  Sift the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a small bowl.  Set aside.

Beat the butter with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until very light.  Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until fluffy.  Beat in the eggs, one by one; beat in the vanilla.  Put mixer on the lowest speed and add half of the flour mixture, alternating with the banana.  Add the remaining flour, alternating with the sour cream or yogurt, in batches.  Do not overmix.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50-55 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes.  Carefully unmold the cake and cool to room temperature.  Eat plain, dust with powdered sugar, or frost.  This is great with a caramel, vanilla, or chocolate frosting.  I’ll bet it would be great with a cream cheese frosting, too.  You can’t go wrong!  Like the picture, it also tastes great with coffee.

Enjoy!

Zippy Red Pepper and Tomato Soup or Sauce

May 4, 2010 in Cooking and Baking by Colleen | 1 comment

Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble!  Sorry, it was SO called for here.

Hi there!  I’ve got another quick recipe for you, and it is quite delicious.  I initially made it as a pasta sauce, but then, as I was reheating it one day, realized it would be equally good as a soup.  Two for one!

Red Pepper and Tomato Sauce or Soup

1 large or 2 small red bell peppers (I’ve never used orange or yellow, but I think they’d work)

1 large or 2 small garlic cloves, peeled

1 pint jar of peeled tomatoes or a 14 oz can (whole or diced, with the juice)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (omit if you don’t like spicy)

salt, to taste

Roast the bell pepper(s) over an open flame (I do it over a stove burner) or under the broiler, until nice and black.  Place in a bowl with a lid or a brown paper sack to cool.  Once cool enough to handle, peel off as much of the skin as you can, then remove the seeds and stem, compost or discard.  Place the garlic in the jar of a blender; let it whirl around on high until it is nicely diced.  Don’t worry if there is a chunk left.  Add the peeled bell pepper, the tomatoes, olive oil, red pepper flakes, and salt.  Whirl until smooth.  Correct the seasoning, if necessary, and place in a sauce pan and heat until hot for the soup.  If you’ll be using it as a sauce, let it reduce a bit, as you’ll want it thicker, at least I do.  Like I said, zippy.  This makes about 24 ounces, enough for two big bowls of soup or pasta but would double nicely.

Enjoy!

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