True Confessions

I'm an only child.  That meant family dinners with just three of us around the table when I was growing up, so it was always pretty calm, punctuated usually with conversation about what transpired that day.  We were too polite to talk with our mouths full, or interrupt one another.  And heaven forbid if we raised our voices at the table.

Not so with Henry.  He grew up with three siblings (in addition to a slew of others who took up residence in the house from time to time) and their family dinners were loud, raucous affairs.  The first time I was initiated, everyone was gnawing on huge veal chops sporting appendages that looked like dinosaur bones and his sisters were (loudly) comparing notes about their menstrual periods.  I am not kidding.  And when someone asked for a dinner roll, it was pitched to them from the opposite end of the table.  Then they all started yelling arguing about politics.  It was definitely a scene straight from "Annie Hall."

Oh, and his mom was wearing a t-shirt that said, "Beam me up, Scotty.  There's no intelligent life on earth."

All of this probably explains my addiction to the now-canceled :-( television series "Brothers and Sisters."  It gave me a great glimpse into a crazy dysfunctional family and I got to live vicariously through the relationships between the various sibs.  Of course, that's exactly the reason Henry hated to watch it and considered it a soap opera.

Which it clearly was, as evidenced by the fact that they are now airing reruns of it on "The Soap Network" (one of my also-addicted friends clued me in on this).  I recently watched one of the Valentine's Day episodes and cracked up when Justin (who reminds me an awful lot of my son, Eric) wonders aloud "what is it about this holiday that drags estrogen out of men?"

I wouldn't know.  I'm not a Valentine's Day kind of gal, as I have told you before.

http://nevertrustaskinnycook1.blogspot.com/2011/02/v-word.html

We had a non-celebration of it (with like-minded friends) this year and I made a fabulous dinner for the four of us.  I slipped a little with dessert, though.  It involved raspberries.  Red raspberries.  Oops.

RED RASPBERRY GRATIN  (from” Cucina Simpatica”  by Johanne Killeen & George Germon

3 cups mascarpone custard (recipe follows)

4 ½ cups fresh raspberries

Confectioner’s sugar

Preheat oven to 425-degrees.  Place ¼ cup of the custard in each of six shallow ceramic gratin dishes (1-cup capacity).  Divide raspberries among them and sift confectioner’s sugar (to taste) over each one.  Top with remaining custard and sift additional confectioner’s sugar over the top of each one.  Bake for 5 – 7 minutes until custard is just heated through and berries have given off some juice.  Remove gratins from oven and change oven setting to “broil” then brown custards for 1 minute or until tops are golden and bubbling slightly.  Serve immediately.

Serves 6

For the custard:

1 cup whole milk

2 egg yolks (I used extra-large)

½ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup unbleached flour

¾ cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup mascarpone

Scald milk in a heavy saucepan and set aside.  In electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat egg yolks until light and pale in color, about 5 minutes.  Add sugar by tablespoons, beating well after each addition.  Change to a paddle attachment and add flour, beating on low until just incorporated.  Pour hot milk into yolk mixture in a slow stream, beating on low speed until smooth.

Return the mixture back to the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until it comes to a boil.  Boil for 2 minutes, remove from heat and transfer to a mixing bowl.  Cool slightly, then refrigerate, covered, for at least 1 hour or until well-chilled.

Whip the heavy cream with the vanilla extract until it holds its shape.  Whisk the chilled yolk mixture until it is smooth  and gently fold in the mascarpone then the whipped cream.  Chill until ready to use (can be made up to 2 days in advance.  This yields approximately 3 cups of custard (enough for 6 gratins).

*  You could actually make this with just about any type of berry - I think it would be delicious with blackberries - but you may need to add more or less confectioner's sugar, depending upon the sweetness of the fruit.  Golden raspberries would work also, just not for Valentine's Day!

*  Watch the custard carefully when you put it back on the heat.  Make sure your burner is on medium-low and stir constantly so it doesn't scorch.  If you do end up with a few browned bits or lumps, you can always strain the custard before chilling.

*  I apologize for the lack of and quality of photos in this post.  I totally forgot to take pictures of the custard-making process and I didn't get any good shots of the finished dessert, either.  So shoot me.

*  Just in case you have any doubts, the friends to whom I served this are very successful restaurateurs here in Atlanta.  One of them made the pronouncement that this was one of the best dessert she'd ever had!

*  By the way, if you can ever get your hands on a copy of "Cucina Simpatica," go for it!  It was first published in 1991 and it has always been one of my very favorite cookbooks.

Just Add Water

This is my basement right now.  Although it never leaked before, that changed dramatically last week after a day of torrential rains. Since we live primarily on the main floor of this house,  it was flooded for 4 days before we discovered it.  Let's just say that a gas mask would have been a good idea before venturing down there.

Ha, and it's about to get worse.  In order to deal with the problem, I found out today that WE HAVE TO TEAR OUT ALL OF THE SHEETROCK.  Oy veh.  This is going to be a l-o-o-o-o-n-g and miserable process.  I hope we can save the carpet, but it's doubtful.  Crap.

I figured I could either start drinking when I found out this morning, or consume chocolate.  I chose the latter.  At least until 5 o'clock.

The good news is that there was actually something good and chocolate-y around here (for a change) to assuage my woes.  That's because I had just baked up a beatiful batch of brownies for a friend's birthday.  I figured she wouldn't miss just one.

Now here's the thing:  my friend maintains a gluten-free diet.  Hey, I'm all in support of that but I am not a gluten-free baker and I didn't have time to figure out how to make a delicious gluten-free birthday cake.  Instead I happened upon this recipe from pastry chef extraordinaire David Lebovitz.  Folks, these are seriously good.  My friend texted me after she tried one and here is what she said,"OMG, you nailed the brownies!  Amazing!  I've had three so far.  I need the recipe, please!"

Here it is.  Don't wait to start a gluten-free diet to try them.

ABSOLUTE BEST BROWNIES (which just happen to be gluten-free), adapted from David Lebovitz's "Ready For Dessert"

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, broken into pieces
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 eggs, room temperature (I used extra-large)
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup good quality chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350-degrees.  Line a 9-inch square pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil to overhang sides of pan.  Spray pan with nonstick cooking spray or grease with butter.

Place the butter in a medium saucepan and melt over medium heat.  Add the bittersweet chocolate, reduce heat to low and stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.  Remove from heat and stir in the sugar and vanilla.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time.

Sift the cocoa powder, cornstarch and salt together in a small bowl.  Add to the chocolate mixture.  Using a wooden spoon, beat vigorously for 1 full minute, until the batter loses its graininess and becomes smooth and shiny.  It will pull slightly away from the sides of the saucepan.  Stir in the chocolate chips and scrape into the prepared pan.  Bake for 20 minutes, or until just barely set.  Do not overbake.

Remove from oven and let cool slightly, then refrigerate for at least one hour before removing from pan and cutting into squares. 

Yield:  9 to 12 brownies

*  Don't even think about skipping the "beat for a full minute" step.  It's crucial to the success of this recipe or your brownies will be dry and crumbly.  David describes it as "a life-changing minute."

*  I like to store these in the refrigerator, then take them out to warm up slightly before devouring serving.

Unfortunately, these didn't cure the disaster that is now my basement, but they did help to improve my disposition.  Stay tuned for construction updates!

No Carbs? There's an App for That

I know, I know. It’s resolution time. Our gym is crowded with people who have good intentions, but they get in the way when I’m dancing around in my favorite step class and they just don’t get it. Grrrrrr! I can’t wait until March when they will all be gone and we can get back to the business of our “normal” gym.

And friggin' everyone is on a diet right now.  Including me, but that’s my norm anyway (of course, it doesn’t help when I go to Leon’s Full Service on a Saturday after that intense, highly choreographed step class and eat my favorite fries with smoked tomato mayo, but what the hell, we won’t talk about that). Although I believe that moderation is the best strategy, for many folks, dieting still means eliminating the carbs. Sigh.

So here is a killer appetizer for those of you who eschew carbs these days. If you are like me, you could eat a couple of these for dinner and call it a day. Yeah, it’s carb-less, but that’s not the point. It’s delicious. Trust me. It comes from Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry Cookbook.

PARMESAN CRISPS WITH GOAT CHEESE MOUSSE

(adapted from Thomas Keller’s “The French Laundry Cookbook”)

For the crisps:
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 empty egg carton

Preheat oven to 325-degrees. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat (silicone liner) or use a nonstick baking sheet.

Place a 2 ½ -inch ring mold in one corner of the Silpat and fill it with 1 tablespoon of the grated cheese. Use your finger to spread into an even layer. Repeat to make 6 to 8 rounds, leaving at least 1 inch between each one.

Bake for 8 – 10 minutes or until they are golden brown. Remove pan from oven and let cool for about 30 seconds to just firm up. Remove crisps one by one and gently press into a hollow in the egg carton to form a tulip shape. After a few minutes, remove them to a baking rack to cool completely and continue making additional crisps.

For the mousse:
6 oz. fresh goat cheese at room temperature
4 to 6 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon minced Italian parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a small bowl and use a fork or small whisk to combine until smooth and creamy (alternatively, you could do this in a food processor). Taste to adjust seasonings.

Spoon or pipe about 2 to 3 teaspoons of mousse into each crisp and serve.

Yield: approximately 16 crisps

*  If you want to be lazy, just bake up the crisps, cool them on a baking rack and eat "as is."  A big basket of these and a lovely white wine will make any of your dinner guests happy and they will never miss the filling.  Consumed this way, they are a darned good substitute for potato chips!  I'm not saying these have a place at your Super Bowl spread, but they do stand in pretty well for a salty snack. 

*  You can also get creative with the filling.  Instead of the goat cheese, think about using fresh ricotta or, in a pinch, herbed cream cheese (like Boursin).  You could also add stuff like crumbled bacon, smoked salmon, caviar, slivered sundried tomatoes and basil ... whatever works for you. 

*  One word of caution:  work quickly when the crisps come out of the oven.  If you wait too long, they will not be pliable and you will not be able to press them into the egg carton (or muffin tin, if you prefer).  In that case, you're back to the "potato chip" option.

So why my interest in the French Laundry?  Perhaps that would be because I managed to score a reservation there next month.  Woohoo and Skinny Cook be damned!!!!!!

Krispy Kreme Cake

When my dear friends Stephen and Mark came over the other day to help me with a house project, at one point we ended up in our garage.  Stephen glanced around in amusement at the the bountiful collection of my catering and baking equipment stored there.  "Okay, Liz," he said, "I'm lookin' around in here and all I see is cooking stuff.  Where are the tools?  Now I know a Jewish guy lives in this house!"

Haha, Stephen, you were right!  I live with a man who admits he has 10 thumbs and he knows I will run away in terror the minute he picks up a hammer or (even worse), an electric drill.  Hell, I can't even trust him with a pair of scissors (I won't talk about the time he chopped off Andy's hair when Andy was a toddler and we were about to travel to NYC to introduce our firstborn to the extended family).  Tools + Henry = not a good combination.  No further elaboration needed.

Unfortunately, I seem to keep adding to that cooking collection in the garage.  When we moved to this house 5 years ago, I purged just about everything and vowed to keep acquired stuff to a minimum.  Oops, I blew it.

Especially when it comes to cake pans. 

I've written enough in this blog about retro recipes and retro bundt cake pans.  Click on the cake recipes here and you will get an overload.  But honey badger don't give a shit and honey badger just wants more cake pans.  Honey badger went online and scoured the internet to find a bad-ass, killer cake pan.  For the moment, honey badger is happy.

That's because honey badger found this fabulous cake pan.  Tragically, it's out of stock right now, but keep trying.  You won't be sorry.  Honey badger concurs.

http://www.nordicware.com/store/products/detail/bavaria-bundt-pan-10-cup--commercial/2211DFE4-7C89-102A-B382-0002B3267AD7

Our spin instructor, Jorge, had a big birthday the other day.  Unbeknownst to him, we decorated the spin room before he arrived, complete with yellow "do not enter - restricted area" tape and happy birthday banners.  Ribbons and birthday horns festooned each bike and Jorge was (almost) speechless when he showed up. 

My contribution was a birthday cake.  Made in that fabulous pan, of course.  Jorge took one look at it and exclaimed "Wow!  A Krispy Kreme Cake!" 

Now that wasn't my intention but he wasn't wrong.  If you've ever been to Krispy Kreme (well, who hasn't?), then you are familiar with their "crullers."  In fact, they could have been cloned from this cake pan.

http://www.krispykreme.com/doughnuts

So go and find yourselves one of these pans and mix up a batch of that Million Dollar Pound Cake I told you about in my last post.  Leave out the cranberries and bake it up naked, omit the brown sugar sauce and brush it with a light glaze of confectioner's sugar, milk, vanilla and almond extracts instead.  You will end up with a simple, luscious, beautiful cake that even honey badger might give a shit about.  Well, maybe not.....

Oh, and if you are one of the two people on the planet who hasn't viewed the honey badger video on You Tube, here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIyfCtYQz6s

Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

Stupid question, I know. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be a millionare?

However, since that’s not likely to happen for most of us (especially given our current economy), then let me offer an alternative:

Million Dollar Pound Cake.

I can’t lay claim to this recipe. It’s been around for more years than I can count, which means it is pretty damn old (crap, why do I know these things ? Sometimes I hate being a Baby Boomer). I remember clipping it out of a newspaper a million (no pun intended) years ago and thinking it would never work because it didn’t have leavening like baking soda or baking powder.

What the hell did I know back then, anyway?

(As an aside, I believe the name has its genesis in the idea that it is a one-in-a-million kind of cake. Not sure I would venture that far, but I will allow that it is pretty damn good).

But let me digress. How was your holiday? I did not leave any of those Toffee Crunch Cookies out for Santa (I ate them all myself), but we did entertain a few widows and orphans on Christmas Eve. Since my kosher-keeping kid and his younger brother were not in attendance, we dined on lobster mac and cheese and too many bottles of well-chosen wine. Oh, and that Million Dollar Pound Cake too, gussied up a bit for the occasion with fresh cranberries and a warm brown sugar sauce. Trust me, it was a delicious way to celebrate!

Christmas Eve table, complete with mini Christmas tree and menorah.

Equal time!

MILLION DOLLAR POUND CAKE WITH CRANBERRIES AND WARM BROWN SUGAR SAUCE

For the cake:
1 pound unsalted butter, softened
3 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt (I used kosher)
6 eggs at room temperature (I used extra-large
3 ½ cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, divided
¾ cup whole milk or half-and-half
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pure almond extract
2 cups fresh cranberries

Preheat oven to 300-degrees. Grease and flour a 10-cup tube or bundt pan.

In an electric mixer, cream butter, sugar and salt on high speed until light and fluffy, scraping down bowl frequently. This will take approximately 10 minutes. Add eggs one by one, beating on medium speed until each one is well-incorporated. Reduce mixer speed to low and add 3 cups of the flour in 3 parts, alternating with the milk or half-and-half. Mix only until just blended then finish batter by hand, using a rubber spatula. Fold in the vanilla and almond extracts.

Place the cranberries in a small bowl and toss with the remaining ½ cup flour. Gently fold into the cake batter. Turn batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 1 ¼ hours or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Remove from the oven to a rack and let cool for one hour. Shake to loosen or run a knife around edges and turn out onto a cake plate or serving platter. Serve with warm brown sugar sauce on the side.

For the warm brown sugar sauce:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt (I used kosher)
1 cup heavy cream

Place all ingredients into a medium saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Cook and stir until butter melts and mixture is smooth and sugars are dissolved.

Serves 12 - 16

*  Didn't remember to leave out your butter to soften?  If you have a metal bowl for your mixer and a blowtorch, you are in luck.  Put the butter in the bowl and warm up the bowl with your blowtorch.  This is a nifty trick I learned when I was baking at Star Provisions.  http://www.starprovisions.com/

*  Don't have room temperature eggs?  Just place them in a bowl of hot water and let sit for 5 minutes.  Next?

*  This cake is great when just made, but it's even better several days afterwards (something about the massive amount of butter in it, I suppose).  If you want the raw truth, I kept it on a cake plate covered with plastic wrap and it was equally good a week later.  Can't believe I didn't consume it all before then.

* Same with the brown sugar sauce.  Make it ahead and reheat when you are ready to use.  If you refrigerate it, just put it back in a saucepan and smooth it out again over medium heat.

*  I like to serve this by cutting the cake into slices, then passing around a pitcher of the warm brown sugar sauce.  Comfort food!

*  Don't forget to enjoy this for breakfast (sans the brown sugar sauce).  Toast up a slice or two, slather with butter and start your day off right.  Who needs Fiber One, anyway?

What I have given you is a basic fabulous recipe that you can adapt in a million (gotta get that word in there again) different ways.  Think of it as a blank canvas.  Omit the cranberries and bake it up "naked."  Fold in some fresh blueberries, add lemon zest and lemon extract and glaze with a thin mixture of powdered sugar and lemon juice.  Fold in some chocolate chips and drizzle the thing with a chocolate glaze and maybe some roasted, salted almonds.  I'm just winging this, throwing ideas out of my head at you, but you get the idea.

Happy January!  I have a lot of nerve posting a dessert recipe, I know.  What the heck.   Make this cake anyway and take it to your friends at the gym!

Saber wants to know why I am giving this cake away, instead of giving it to him. 

Check out that face!  Jewish guilt, Saber?

HO HO HO. No More Oreos.

Admittedly, it’s been a few thousand years since Santa made an appearance in this household. Okay, I’ll admit that he used to show up, along with a Christmas tree or two, when the kids were little. I have fond memories of our late-night hours on Christmas Eve, scrambling to assemble everything, ably assisted by Baba and Grandpa Ed.

Henry and I still laugh over that massive GI Joe aircraft carrier which was situated next to the bucolic Care Bears village. Suffice it to say that within a couple of hours, the Care Bears were targets of the missiles next door. Oh, the joy of having boys…

Perhaps I should mention that I had not yet converted to Judaism in those days.

If Santa still visits your house, perhaps you need to cut him a break this year. I mean, how many Oreos can he face? Do him (and yourself) a BIG favor and make these toffee crunch cookies instead. I made them today and I confess that I consumed a few more than I should have. (Oh hell, I think I devoured about 6 of the damn things – so much for my 17-Day Diet). Yep, they are THAT good – crunchy, crispy, buttery and brown sugar-y. Serve a few to Santa, hoard a few for yourself and keep some of the dough in your freezer so you can bake them off whenever you need a fix. You will thank me for this!

Happy Holidays from my sweet dogs.  Lucy and Roxy (top 2 white dogs) have health issues right now.  I'm just happy to have them here for one more holiday.

TOFFEE CRUNCH COOKIES   (adapted from Jeannie Eddy)

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs (I used extra-large)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose, unbleached flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 10-oz. bag toffee candy chips (like Heath Bar)
1 cup regular oatmeal
1 cup sweetened, flaked coconut
1 cup whole, blanched and skinned almonds, chopped

Place butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat until creamy, then add both sugars and the salt. Beat until well-combined and fluffy, about 5 minutes, scraping down bowl several times. Add eggs and vanilla and continue to beat until mixture is well-combined and creamy.

Add flour and baking soda. Mix on low speed until just combined. In another bowl, stir together the toffee chips, oatmeal, coconut and almonds. Add this to the mixer and blend briefly to combine.

Place the dough on a sheet of plastic wrap and pat into a round. Wrap well and refrigerate for at least an hour until dough is chilled. Scoop dough into balls (I used a 1-inch ice cream scoop) and place on a baking sheet. Freeze until ready to use.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350-degrees. Place balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing 2-inches apart. Bake for 12 – 14 minutes, or until just golden. Remove from oven, cool slightly, then place cookies on a baking rack to cool completely.

Yield: 100 small cookies (using a 1-inch scoop)

• These things are GREAT! Santa will love you, I promise!

• The chopped almonds are crucial to this recipe. Don’t be tempted by slivered almonds. The chopped-up ones give these cookies great texture and crunch.

So here’s the thing about Christmas and Chanukah. We sort of celebrate both. Henry was out last night at a Christmas party (first night of Chanukah) while I stayed home, lit candles and watched “A Very Glee Christmas.” Oy veh.  Oh, and I also decorated a VERY small Christmas tree which now resides on the buffet in my dining room.  Don't tell my kids ...