December 12th, 2008
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I’m not surprised that baking is a soothing enterprise for me. It calms and centers me and usually it’s because I always feel my Mom’s presence when I bake. She gave me my baking gene and my love for all things flour and butter and it channels my inner child to get out my K5 and open the pantry. This time of year is especially hard for me, as Christmas was such a favorite of hers, but I find that the very act of cookie making can be like entering a zen mode and it takes some of the grief away to see all the delightful baked discs on my counter, and feel the spirit of my Mom’s beaming proud smile.
Plus, I just HAVE to get my cookie in to Susan!!
 For the second year in a row, Susan of Food Blogga is hosting this event and getting a mountain of responses in return. Last year I was ambitious and submitted three recipes, but this year I have only this one. But I have to warn you, this is a killer cookie recipe.
May I present the Lemon Ricotta Cookie.
This cookie in it’s basic form, was a winner in the Holiday Cookie Contest held by our local paper. Although I love the idea of a cookie chock full of ricotta cheese, I imagined that by adding the tart and heady scent of lemon that it might just add something magical to this recipe.
Magic indeed! While the cookie itself was pillowy, moist, tender and rich, the added element of lemon and the tang of a little zest gave it so much more character. It’s like the cheesecake cookies I made last year for this same event, but lighter and fluffier, and lately I just can’t get enough of anything lemon. And although I might be asking for it by consuming ricotta cheese, the stomachache I get from the dairy in these would be well worth it. And so far, it hasn’t happened, but I also haven’t OD’d on them either.
LEMON RICOTTA CHEESE COOKIES
For cookie:
4 c. flour
2 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 (15.-oz) container ricotta cheese
1 tsp. lemon extract
2-3 t. fresh lemon juice + 1-2 t. fresh lemon zest
2 eggs
For icing:
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
3 tbsp. milk
Red and green decorative sugars, optional
Directions
To prepare cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt and reserve. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat sugar and butter until creamy, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to medium, add ricotta cheese, extract, juice, zest and eggs and beat until well-combined. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, mixing just until dough forms. Drop dough in small mounds on prepared baking sheets. Bake until cookies are very lightly golden, rotating trays halfway through, for about 15 minutes (cookies will be soft). Remove from oven and cool 2 minutes on baking sheets before transferring cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
KATE’S NOTES:
I initially wanted to make these an Almond Ricotta cookie, with almond extract and finely chopped almonds, and sometime I do intend to try out that version, but my almond extract had evaporated so I went with lemon. Be sure to really whip the butter and sugar for a while- the loftiness you achieve makes the cookie very fluffy. Thoroughly scrape the bowl at least once during the mixing of the cheese and egg; you want to really blend the wet ingredients well. The dough, while not very stiff, should ONLY be mixed until the flour is just incorporated. Do not overmix at this point. Once the flour is mixed in, turn it off and give the dough a few turns, gently, with a rubber spatula in case there is any flour in the bottom of the bowl. I made two batches of this, and inadvertantly let both of them sit after the dough was ready. Whether it made a difference, I have no idea, but that’s what happened with mine. I did not use the icing.
November 21st, 2008
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It’s another great food holiday today, if you’re me that is; it’s National Gingerbread Day! I love gingerbread.
Again, it’s a Mom thing as is nearly all of my baking love; something I got from having a mom who loved Gingersnap cookies and would make them regularly when I was little. That molasses tang, the bite of ginger- I couldn’t wait until the first batch came out of the oven. Although we always (always) had an ongoing debate over the merits of a firm crispy cookie versus a chewy moist one, I didn’t really care when Gingersnaps were on the docket. Chewy or crisp, I loved them madly and could eat them any day.
I still love making my mom’s Gingersnaps and Griffin and I have pooled our willingness to get them from batter to oven to hand on several occasions. I roll out the dough balls and he takes care of the sugar coating. Then, like me and my mom did, we wait in eager anticipation for the first batch to be cool enough so we don’t burn our mouths.
Griffin loves Gingerbread as well, and when I was taking the pan out of the oven, his eyes glazed over in delight. This is the second, or maybe third showing of this recipe and it’s so perfect that I have no desire to look anywhere else. It’s dark, rich and loaded with molasses and ginger, perfect next to ice cream or vanilla yogurt and amazing with a scoop of warm cranberry compote on top.
Ginger Spice Cake
(anonymous food network star)
2 c. AP flour
1 t. baking soda
1 T. ground ginger
2 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground cloves
1/2 t. allspice
1 egg
1/2 c. molasses
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. unsalted butter, melted
1 c. buttermilk
Preheat oven to 350 and coat a 8″ square pan with cooking spray.
Stir together dry ingredients. With electric mixer, blend egg, molasses, sugar and melted butter until thick and very smooth. Gradually mix in dry ingredients, alternating with buttermilk, mixing each addition thoroughly. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake center comes out clean.
KATE’S NOTES:
I had some soy eggnog on hand and used that instead of the buttermilk, giving the finished cake a nice richness. And since I tend to be slightly forgetful in the kitchen sometimes, I overbaked this a bit and the edges got rather firm. It did not alter the taste of the product at all, in fact, the firm edge stood up so well to the moistness of yogurt and ice cream that it was almost beneficial.
And the cranberries?? Well, that’s coming up on Sunday so venture back then for all things Cranberry!
November 18th, 2008
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It’s National Vichyssoise Day; a chilly November day and we will be honoring cold soup.
Something just isn’t right about this picture. Like Ice Cream Sundae Day, it should be during one of those scorching months of summer where appreciating a cold food is actually a fun prospect, not one to make you shiver.
Vichyssoise- say Vee shee swaz, or Veesh eee swaz– sounds like one of those incredibly complicated dishes that require time and focus, but in truth, it’s a simple potato leek soup that is pureed smooth and served chilled. There is nothing hard about it, nor time consuming. And it’s delicious in either form- hot and chunky (which food snobs would argue that it’s NOT Vichyssoise in that regard but I couldn’t care less about that) or smooth, silky and ice cold. Julia Child’s recipe was so simple that it didn’t even include chicken stock- it was just potato and leek simmered in water and seasoned with salt and pepper. You can’t get much simpler than that.
The origin of the soup is questionable in whether it’s genuinely French or an American creation. Both countries claim to be the first to produce the dish, but the credit is generally given to Louis Diat, a chef at the Ritz-Carlton in New York City. He produced the soup based on a memory of his childhood where his mother and grandmother would make a potato leek soup and his older brother often poured milk into his bowl to cool it off. Diat thought the soup tasted wonderful and in the summer of 1917 he recreated it for the hotel patrons. Diat was French and his hometown in France was Montmarault, not far from the town of Vichy which became the moniker for his creation. The original menu at the Ritz was French, and the soup was named Creme Vichyssoise Glacee, then changed to Cream Vichyssoise Glacee. Other culinarian historians debate that the soup was first made by French chef Jules Gouffe and published in a French cookbook in 1859. Regardless of who can be credited with the invention, Vichyssoise has a reputation for high class finesse despite being little more than peasant food. Anthony Bourdain lists Vichyssoise as a catalyst for his lifelong passion with food; having been served the soup on a trans-atlantic voyage at the age of 9, he recalls falling in love with the “delightfully cool, tasty liquid.”
I really love potato leek soup, and the simplicity of the preparation. For added flavor, you can roast the potato and the leek until golden brown, then add them to simmering chicken stock. I love using Yukon Gold potato for this soup as it gives it such a gorgeous yellow tone, and eaten as a chunky version or blended smooth, it’s a perfect and soothing soup for a cold day as well as a delicious and light chilled soup in the midst of steaming July. The usual garnish is chives or parsley, and a tiny pat of butter in a hot bowl gives it a nice rich decadence. The milk or cream is entirely optional too; the soup is divine just plain. It’s one of those items where more is definitely not better.
November 15th, 2008
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Fifteen posts down for NaBloPoMo and fifteen more to go. So far so good.
Today will be a fun post as it’s National Bundt Pan Day. In Minnesota, we can boast not just the amazing four-season changes in weather coupled with temps that can range over 130 degrees in a single calendar year, but we can brag that Nordicware’s inspired Bundt pan was built and sold from the non-descript factory that stills resides on the south side of Highway 7 in Minneapolis. The pan, created in 1950 by H. David Dahlquist, was designed as a request by the Hadassah Society’s chapter in the Twin Cities who were looking for a sturdy pan to bake a traditional Austrian/German coffee cake called bundkuchen, also known as kugelhopf, or gugelhupf. The sturdy pan made out of aluminum may have been destined for anonymity had a bundt-style cake not won second place in the 1966 Pillsbury Bake-Off; the be all to end all of baking contests. The winning design prompted a mad scramble for the pans, and in 1970, Pillsbury itself licensed the name for a line of cake mixes. It was a meteoric rise for the pans, resulting in an introduction to the Smithsonian Museum in early 2007 and an estimated 60 million pans in kitchens from coast to coast. The fluted and grooved sides of a Bundt pan are considered one of the most recognizable kitchen items ever, and since the inception of the original design, Nordicware has created a multitude of new designs and functions to this once simple pan, including loaf style Bundt pans, miniatures, pans in different shapes and designs such as Fleur-de-Lis, Cathedrals, Hearts, Spirals, Castles, Stadiums, a Pirate Ship and a new Kugelhopf pan specifically for that first ever bundt cake created. There’s holiday style pans depicting pumpkins, snowmen, Christmas trees, wreaths and Santa Claus all created in heavy duty cast aluminum.
I grew up with bundt cakes and the sight of one always makes me think of my mom. Other than the layer cakes she baked for our birthdays, every cake she made was done in a bundt pan and I can still envision her old dark-orange pan, slightly chipped and worn as she would pull it from the cupboard. After I was on my own and had a decent sized kitchen again, I sought out and purchased a bundt pan for myself as I couldn’t imagine not having one, even if I didn’t use it as much as Mom did. Just being able to pull it out to bake a cake gives me a surge of nostalgia and I always hang on to the bundt cake recipes I come across. I don’t know if it’s just the memories or something else, but no cake tastes quite the same to me like one made in a bundt pan.
This recipe came from Adam at Baking with Dynamite. I like his loose and casual style and he can put up some pretty killer looking posts. What I love about this cake recipe is that it’s not a super overload of oil and eggs and with the addition of apple and carrot it can actually pass for something reasonably good to eat. And of course, it’s just delicious.
Apple Carrot Cake
Recipe by Adam (Baking with Dynamite)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup AP flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
Pinch (or two pinches if you’re like me) cloves
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup canola or neutral flavored oil
1/2 pound carrots, peeled and grated (about 3)
1/2 pound apples, peeled and grated (about 3 small ones)
Preheat your oven to 350*. Grease a large 13×9 pan, or any pan you like. I used a round pan, because I really like round bundt type cakes 🙂 <——my thoughts exactly
In a medium bowl, combine the flours, baking soda and powder, and spices. Stir with a spoon so they are all mixed evenly, and set this bowl aside.
In a large bowl, place the sugars together, and stir with a wooden spoon so they are all mixed up. Add the 3 eggs, and mix well, so they form a nice sugary, liquidy type glaze. Pour in the oil and mix by hand or hand mixer for a few minutes, so they emulsify.
Add the dry flour mixture into the wet sugar one, and mix well. If you are using a wooden spoon, you are going to get a workout on this one. I even had to switch hands, and I rarely ever do that 🙂 The resulting batter is very thick, but don’t worry… it’ll be all better soon. Once the batter is smooth, brown, and no lumps remain, fold in the carrots and apples. I think the moisture from the fruit adds a bit more liquid to the batter, and it becomes much easier to work with.
Pour the batter into your prepared pan, and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the cake springs back lightly to the touch, and a toothpick comes out clean. Baking times depend on the pan you use. (my bundt pan required an hour of cooking time)
Bake a Bundt!!
November 7th, 2008
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Unbeknown to me, yesterday’s post about Men Making Dinner and Nacho Day was my 500th post on this blog. That kind of blows my mind; I’ve been at this a long time- yes, 2 1/2 years to be exact- and I’m rather prolific with words so really, it shouldn’t come as any surprise.
Nor should it be any surprise that when you roast root vegetables that include beets, everything will be PINK!
Pretty pink and richly colored, in fact; staining your couscous and your bowl, but filling your tummy and taking the edge off the raw wind that came up.
And the national food holiday today? It’s Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day and I thought about seeking out this concoction and spending copiuos amounts of time bestowing praise on such a delicious combination but then I spotted this roasted vegetable dish and all thoughts of chocolate scampered out the window. I should be declared something- possibly certifiable?- when veggies take precedence over chocolate.
But like I said, the wind turned raw and the rain was pouring down and after our early week flirtation with the 70’s in November– temperatures, not the decade mind you- the chill and damp that came over us was harsh and required not a candy to bring relief but something warming, deeply satisfying and a hot oven.
The original recipe, found here in our local paper’s award-winning Taste section, caught my eye and made me drool; an array of vegetables roasted to tender melting goodness and served over super-simple couscous. With my little carnivore heading out with his beloved Uncle Mike to the Gopher basketball game, it would be a welcome dinner for us- no meat yet tons of flavor.
Beets, rutabaga, parsnips, eggplant, carrots and tomato were my combination, doused with olive oil, a sprinkle of thyme, salt and pepper and a long roast in a 400 degree oven. I knew the outcome even before I started, but the beets were small and tender and I didn’t care if they bloodied my dish. The chopped beet greens added a nice color and tons more nutrients-don’t ever throw those away!! They taste like spinach and are SO good for you. And the nicest part about the whole dish was, as we sat down with steaming bowls in front of us, Mike declared with a high amount of enthusiasm “I love beet greens!” which was the smallest little detail ever, but after six years of marriage, I never even knew this about him. Imagine that! This was, by and large for the blustery night, a much better option than chocolate.
To roast your own:
Take one eggplant, one rutabaga, three parsnips, three carrots and one bunch of beets (mine had three in it) and cut them into uniform chunks. Place them in a roasting pan and pour about 1/3 cup of oil over them and add seasoning of choice. Stir to coat. Roast at 400 degrees, stirring after about a half hour. Roughly chop three tomatoes (minus the seedy pulp) and scatter over vegetables at the 30 min. mark. Continue roasting for 15-20 more minutes, then stir. Everything will be PINK. Saute the cleaned and chopped beet greens separately and stir into the veggies before serving, or serve on the side.
Prepare quick-cooking couscous, polenta or another base of choice and serve roasted veggies over this, sprinkled with some fresh grated parmesan cheese.
Delicious additions to the veggies could be: garbanzo beans, kalamata olives, celery root, turnips…..really the sky is the limit, or your personal taste. Leave out the beets if you don’t like PINK.
October 20th, 2008
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Skordalia- (skor DAHL yah) A greek condiment made from pureed baked potato, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, vinegar, parsley and sometimes breadcrumbs or ground nuts. Eaten as a dip with breads or vegetables, it can also be used on top of broiled meats.
Potato Cake- (po TAY to kayke) A hearty and delicious meal made from leftover skordalia (or other mashed potato type item) that is fried in a hot skillet until crispy and browned.
Mmmmm….I love mashed potato cakes. I originally found a procedure to make them in a Sara Moulton cookbook and now I often will hide the leftover mashed potatoes in an effort to save them for a crunchy potato cake breakfast.
Then along came Skordalia. I had a small plateful at a local greek restaurant and wanted to lick the thing clean, it tasted so good. But I was in public so I restrained myself. The next day I hit the internet search to find a recipe to make for myself. The result wasn’t too bad- it wasn’t like the restaurant version- but it was palatable after the ingredients were allowed to hang in the fridge to get cozy and acquainted after being rapidly introduced in the food processor. The longer the stuff sits, the better it seems to taste, but like all potato leftovers in my house, I dreamed of a hot and tasty cake.
The procedure is pretty simple; form leftover mashed potato into a uniform sized cake and dust each side with flour. Heat a combination of oil and butter in a skillet, and when hot, gently place the cake in the pan. Don’t move it or disturb it until the bottom has achieved a nice crunchy browned crust- it could take 10 minutes or more- then carefully turn it over and allow the other side to brown as well. Keep the heat around the medium mark. Once cooked, allow to cool before eating- if it’s like some of mine, the center of the cake becomes a creamy molten flow of cooked potato and can be painful if your patience is lacking. Try it with a slice of seared ham, some eggs and a cup of strong coffee. Breakfast just can’ t be beat when there’s a potato cake on the table.
(jump for recipe and notes)
Come in to my kitchen…
October 6th, 2008
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Foolproof Pie Dough
Cooks Illustrated, November 2007
Makes enough for one 9-inch double-crust pie
2 1/2 cups (12 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons sugar
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into small bits
1/4 cup cold vodka
1/4 cup cold water
1. Process 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about 2 one-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until homogeneous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds (dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour). Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.
2. Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until it’s slightly tacky and sticks together. Divide dough into two even balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.
September 29th, 2008
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Overnight Apple-Date Muesli
By Robin Asbell, The New Whole Grains Cookbook
1/2 c. slivered almonds
2 medium apples
1 1/2 c. nut milk, or other milk
2 T. maple syrup
1 1/2 c. thick rolled oats
1/4 c. soy protein powder (optional)
1/2 c. pitted dates
Preheat oven to 325 and spread almonds on a baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden. Let cool.
Get out a large storage tub or bowl with a lid. Quarter the apples and core, then shred right into the bowl, skin and all. Add remaining ingredients, including almonds, and stir well to combine. Cover tightly and place in refrigerator overnight.
In the morning, stir thoroughly. Spoon desired amount into individual bowls and serve cold, or warm in the microwave for up to 2 minutes per bowl.
KATE’S NOTES:
I tried this the first time with the protein powder and decided I didn’t care for it, but that’s just me. I always, always, always add in about 2-3 tablespoons of ground flaxseed to this, regardless. I double it and we enjoy it for several days. It will get softer and a bit less flavorful the longer it sits, but if you’re like us, it rarely lasts that long.
I am not a fan of dates but I. Love. Figs. so I chop those up into it instead. The variations on this, like I said, are infinite. Use raisins, currants, dried cherries, craisins, dried apricots or any type of dried fruit you like in any combination; vary the apple flavor by going tart or sweet; add in a multitude of nuts, use other cereal flakes, like barley. Skip the maple syrup or use an alternative, like raw or maple sugar sprinkled over the top before you eat it. Give it your own fingerprint and I’m sure it will also become a favorite for you.
September 16th, 2008
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Harvest Tea Bread
1 c water
1/2 c. dried cranberries
2 T. dried currants
1 T. orange juice concentrate
1 t. balsamic vinegar
Bring water to a boil. Add fruit, concentrate and vinegar and allow to simmer to a thick paste- approximately 10 minutes. Remove from heat and spread on plate to cool to room temperature.
Zest and squeeze juice from one medium orange and reserve
In a large bowl, stir together:
1 c. sugar
1 c. chunky applesauce
1/3 c. oil
2 eggs
3 T. milk
2 medium sized tart apples, shredded
1 T. fresh orange juice
1 T. orange zest
Combine:
2 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
Gently stir dried ingredients into wet until just combined. Fold in cooked fruit until loosely swirled.
Topping:
1/4 c. rolled oats
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease & flour two 9″ x 5″ loaf pans.
Pour batter into loaf pans. Sprinkle with topping and drizzle 1 T. orange juice on each pan
Bake for 50 – 55 mins.or until toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 20-30 minutes then turn onto cooling rack. Can be wrapped well and frozen.
September 8th, 2008
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Kate’s Fruit Sauce
2 bags frozen fruit of choice or 4 c. total
1/2 c. dried fruit of choice
2 c. water
1 c. sugar (or to taste)
2 T. cornstarch
Dissolve sugar and cornstarch in water and add both fruits. Bring to a boil and simmer until thick, about 10 minutes. Cool and chill.
The particular batch shown has frozen cranberries and blueberries, about a half pint of fresh strawberries and golden raisins. It’s delicious on pancakes, waffles, ice cream, yogurt, cereal, muffins……you name it.
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