Caramel Cake with Brown Sugar Buttercream Frosting from Jubilee

 Ingredients for the cake:

3 C all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 C buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla

2 sticks butter at room temp

2 C white sugar

4 eggs

Directions for the cake:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour 2 9 inch cake pans or 13 x 9 baking pan.

2. Combine dry ingredients. In small bowl combine buttermilk and vanilla.

3. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Add flour alternating w/buttermilk, 3 additions each. 

4. Bake 30-35 min. 

Ingredients for frosting:

12 Tbsp butter at room temperature

1 C packed light brown sugar

1/2 C whole milk

3 C sifted powdered sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

1/4 C half and half

Directions:

1. Melt butter, stir in brown sugar and milk. Boil for two minutes. 

2. Remove from heat and beat in powdered sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat until cool and thick. Can add half and half only if needed if too thick. 

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

 from Jubilee by Toni Tipton-Martin

Ingredients:

1 lbs elbow macaroni

2 C shredded cheddar cheese

2 C shredded Jack cheese

1 stick butter, melted

1/2 C sour cream

3 large eggs, well beaten

12 oz can evaporated milk

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp white pepper

1/4 cayenne pepper

Paprika

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter a 13 x 9 baking pan.

2. Boil your pasta until al dente and drain.

3. Combine cheeses, measure out 1 cup and set aside. Layer cheese and noodles in the baking dish, beginning and ending with macaroni. 

4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sour cream, eggs, milk, salt, pepper and cayenne. Pour the cream sauce over the mac and cheese. Top with the reserved cup of cheese and sprinkle with paprika (I also used nutmeg and added 1 tsp mustard to the sauce). 

5. Bake until the cheese is bubbling and the top is browned and crusty, 30 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand 10 min before serving. 

Panettone French Toast

Sounds really really bad for you but very delicious. Maybe I'll eat it once in my life to be fancy. From AdriBarrCrocetti.com. Serves 4.

Ingredients

1 lbs of Panettone
6 large eggs
1 C heavy cream
1 C milk
1/4 C granulated sugar
1 T brandy
Zest of one orange
Pinch of salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Unsalted butter, softened
Confectioner's sugar, for dusting
Pomegranate seeds, for garnishing

Directions

1. Remove the discard the paper from the panettone. Cut the top from the panettone and cut remainder of panettone into 1-inch thick slices, cutting the very large inner slices in half.

2. Place the eggs, cream, milk, sugar, brandy, orange zest, salt and nutmeg in a low baking dish and whisk until blended.

3. Place the panettone slices in the mixture, 2 or 3 at a time. Soak, turning once, about 10-15 sec per side.

4. Heat a griddle over medium heat and brush lightly with unsalted butter. Cook panettone until golden brown, 4-5 min per side. Can keep cooked slices in warm 200 degree over.

5. Serve topped with butter, sugar and pomegranate seeds.

Castagnole

Another Italian newspaper recipe, this from mapleandsaffron.com. Castagnole are the deep fried dough balls served at Italian Carnival.

Ingredients

600 g flour
150 g sugar
150 g olive oil
4 eggs
1 small glass of anise-flavored liquer (optional)
Grated peel of one lemon
8 g baking powder
Icing sugar
A pinch of salt
Vegetable oil for deep-frying

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients together until you get a soft and smooth dough. Let it stand for a few minutes. Cut the dough into smaller pieces and roll them into strips, then using a knife, cut the dough into small pieces.

2. Shape each piece into a smooth little ball. Deep fry the balls in vegetable oil. When they are golden, take them out with a skimming ladle and dry them.

3. Let them cool for a few minutes and then sprinkle with icing sugar. Good for three or four days.

Caramel-Almond Torte with Spiced Mango Compote (for Passover)

Disclaimer: I haven't actually made this yet. Occasionally a recipe shows up on this blog before I've made it because someone sends it to me in hard copy or e-copy and I've nowhere else to store it and I feel compelled to keep it rather than throw it away. This is what my family ate for Passover dessert last year and my mother copied out the recipe on the back of some study materials and mailed it to me, and it looks delicious. Perhaps I'll make it for Passover this spring, if we get the chance to celebrate it (e.g. I am not on the night float.)

From Bon Appetit April 2002 by Jayne Cohen. 

Ingredients:

For the compote:

1 1/4 C. sugar

1 1/4 C. water

1 1/2 T. chopped peeled fresh ginger

1 T. orange zest

1 T. fresh lemon juice

1 cinnamon stick, broken in half

3 1-pound mangoes, peeled, pitted, cut into 3/4-inch pieces

For the torte:

2 1/4 C. slivered almonds (approx. 9 oz.), toasted, cooled

8 T. sugar

1 T. potato starch

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

4 large eggs, separated

1 tsp. almond extract

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 C. pareve kosher-for-Passover margarine

1/4 C. packed golden brown sugar

Directions:

1. Make the compote: Combine the first six compote ingredients in a medium heavy saucepan. Bring the syrup to boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Boil syrup five minutes then pour into a medium bowl and cool for 30 minutes. Stir in mangoes. Cover and chill at least two hours and up to four days.

2. Make the torte: Preheat the oven to 375F. Blend 1 3/4 C. almonds, 2 T. sugar, starch, and cinnamon in a processor until nuts are finely chopped, about 45 seconds. 

3. Using electric mixer, beat egg yolks, 2 T. sugar, and almond extract in a large bowl until very thick and pale in color, about three minutes. Fold almond mixture into yolk mixture.

4. Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites and salt in a medium bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 4 T. sugar, beating until stiff but not dry. Fold large spoonful of whites into yolk mixture to lighten. Fold in remaining whites.

5. Transfer batter to 9" springform pan. Bake torte until puffed and golden brown and tester inserted into smooth and thick, about three minutes. Mix in remaining 1/2 C. almonds. Spoon topping over torte. Cool one hour. (Can be made six hours ahead, let stand at room temperature).

6. Cut around pan sides to loosen torte; release pan sides. Place torte on platter and serve alongside compote. 

Plum Clafoutis

And just like that, my little cooking bug returns. I guess the oven has room in it again.

But it's hard, you know, to cook and to care for a little lion at the same time. Still, I wanted to bake something again just because I wanted to bake and to prove I was more of a human again and less of an incubator. I've been on this fruit kick something serious during pregnancy, so I had lots of plums and I lot of buttermilk I had the Robber buy thinking I would make biscuits-- and I had some milk-- but what I didn't have was flour, cream, or time. What does that all add up to? In this case, clafoutis. And as always, this was easy and delicious, a perfect post-pregnancy treat.

Oh, and the Robber liked it too.

Notes: I made a second one tonight but I forgot to add the sugar to the fruit layer, let's see how it turns out eh? Because if it doesn't need it, that would cut down on the calories a little and make it even more appealing.

Adapted from Julia Child, available here on Gratinee:
http://gratineeblog.com/2009/09/julia-childs-plum-clafouti/

Ingredients:

1 lbs firm, ripe plums (I used three medium-ish plums cut in round cross-sections)

1 1/4 C. milk (I used buttermilk)
1/3 C. sugar
3 eggs
1 T. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 C. sugar

1/3 C. extra sugar

Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 350 F. Cut plums in half (or in slices, like I did, I think it's easier to cut through that way) and sprinkle with some sugar. Set aside.

2) Add all of the ingredients except the fruit and the additional sugar in a blender in the order listed. Blend for 1 minute on high.

3) Pour of layer of the batter until it covers the bottom of your baking dish (I use a large glass pie plate). Place in the oven for about five minutes or until a film of the batter has set in the bottom of the dish.

4) Spread the fruit over the batter with skins up (if using halves). Sprinkle with the extra sugar (optional). Pour the rest of the batter over the fruit.

5) Bake for an additional hour or until the clafouti has puffed and browned and a tester placed in the center comes out clean. If desired, sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving. Can serve hot or cold (I prefer cold, the next day).

Additional notes: Julia Child notes you can use either 1 1/4 lbs apples or 3 C pears. To make this Julia's way way, drop the plums in boiling water for ten seconds and then peel and slice them. Next soak the fruit in 1/4 C. orange liquer, kirsch, or cognac and let stand for one hour. Then substitute this liquid for part of the milk in the recipe and omit the final 1/3 C. of sugar.

Swedish Sticky Chocolate Cake (Kladdkaka)

I saw this recipe on my friend R.G.'s Facebook page a while back and tagged it, feeling like R.G. ought to know what was good and what was not. She is down to earth, reliable, smart, and used to live in Sweden. The cake is somewhat opposite-- gooey and sweet, runny and soft, but so tempting... I made it for our Valentine's celebration this year and the Robber ate and ate of it. Definitely a treat for two.

I realized I didn't have cocoa powder so I subbed in Ghiradelli hot cocoa mix which was good but I think created a sweeter product. To tone down the sweetness I served it with some tart and creamy Greek yogurt just barely sweetened and with strawberries mixed in. I preferred to eat it that way, while the Robber ate his along with some swallows of whole milk. Either way, it was delicious.

Barely adapted from AllRecipes.Com.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/swedish-sticky-chocolate-cake-kladdkaka/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=kladdkaka&e8=Quick+Search&event10=1&e7=Home+Page

Ingredients:

1/2 C. all-purpose flour

1/4 C. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 pinch salt

2 eggs

1 1/3 C. white sugar

1 T. vanilla extract

1/2 C. butter, melted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 F. Heavily grease and flour an eight inch pie plate.

2. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, and salt, set aside. In separate bowl, combine eggs and sugar and beat until thick and smooth. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture (or vice versa) and mix until thoroughly combined (but avoid over beating). Add in the vanilla and melted butter and stir until homogeneous. Pour into the prepared pie plate.

3. Bake on the lower rack of a preheated oven (to avoid burning the top) until the center of the top had a set crust-- about 35 min. The remainder of the cake may still appear gooey at the edges. Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for at least one hour before serving. Can serve either warm or cold.

Bob Andy Pie

Like milk in a pie, and nothing else. I made this just because. It went down like nothing and somehow emotionally, if not physically satisfied. I would say the chances of this getting made again are pretty low given the sheer number of fabulous pie choices, but I wouldn't count it out on a cloudy day.

From Recipe Girl:

http://threemanycooks.com/recipes/sweet-treats/bob-andy-pie-2/

Ingredients:

1 9-inch pie shell, unbaked

3 large eggs

2 C. whole milk

1 C. granulated sugar

2 T. flour

2 tsp. ground cinnamon (prolly used at least three plus some nutmeg)

1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 325 degrees. 

2. Crack eggs in a medium bowl; brush pie shell with a little of the egg whites. 

3.  Whisk eggs until thoroughly mixed; whisk in milk. 

4. Mix sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt in a separate bowl, then whisk into milk mixture.

5. Set pie shell on oven rack and pour filling into shell. Bake until custard has set and crust is golden, about 50 minutes.

6. Cool and serve room temperature or chilled.

Momofuku Crack Pie

This pie was nominated best pie in New York City in 2009, which is when I ran across it at pieloveyou and thought certainly I will have to make this pie for myself. How could you not make something called a crack pie if you are living in San Francisco? I mean really? Except that it requires that you first make cookies, and then crust, and then pie... and you know that all is too much even if your name is Momofuku. I put it off and put it off and put it off until finally in a bit of residency whatnot stress-relief I needed to be heroic in my pie making and vowed to make it. I only made half the recipe for the cookie and the pie, which I will record here, but the original recipe makes two pies. This pie is actually as delicious as people make it out to be-- I would call it salted caramel in a pie more than a pie-- and worth the effort but very rich. Don't bother whipping cream or getting icecream to serve with it, it packs all the punches on it's own!

Originally printed in the LATimes but comes to me from PieLoveYou:

http://pieloveyou.blogspot.com/2010/05/momofuku-crack-pie-22.html

Ingredients for the cookie:

1/3 C. all-purpose flour

1/16 tsp. baking powder

1/16 tsp. baking soda

1/8 tsp. salt

1/4 C. softened butter

1/6 C. light brown sugar

1 1/2 T. white sugar

1/2 beaten egg

1/2 C. rolled oats

 

Directions for the cookie:

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar and sugar until light and fluffy.

4. Whisk the egg into the butter mixture until fully incorporated.

5. Stir in the flour mixture, a little at a time, until fully combined. Stir in the oats until incorporated.

6. Spread the mixture onto a 9-inch-by-13-inch baking sheet and bake until golden brown and set, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to the touch on a rack. Crumble the cooled cookie to use in the crust.

 

Ingredients for the crust:

1 crumbled cookie recipe

2 T. butter

2 tsp. brown sugar

1/16 tsp. salt

 

Directions for the crust:

1. Combine the crumbled cookie, butter, brown sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse until evenly combined and blended (a little of the mixture clumped between your fingers should hold together). 

2. Press the crust into a 10" pie plate to form an even layer along the bottom and sides. Set the prepared crust aside while you prepare the filling.

Ingredients for the filling:

3/4 C. sugar

1/2 C. light brown sugar

1/8 tsp. salt

1/6 C. milk powder

1/2 C. butter, melted

1/2 C. heavy cream

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

4 egg yolks

 

Directions for filling and pie assembly:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, brown sugar, salt and milk powder. Whisk in the melted butter, then whisk in the heavy cream and vanilla.

3. Gently whisk in the egg yolks, being careful not to add too much air.

4. Scoop the filling into the prepared pie crust gently.

5. Bake the pie at 350F for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 325 degrees and bake until the filling is slightly jiggly and golden brown (similar to a pecan pie), about 10 minutes. Remove the pies and cool on a rack.

6. Refrigerate the cooled pie until well chilled. Serve the pie cold.  

Deb's Favorite Brownies

In a moment of extreme weakness during my medicine rotation, when I needed something to keep going, I made these brownies and put cut up Andes over one half and stuck Rolos all over in the second half and they were probably mostly sinful, but they hit the spot, you know?

The Robber really liked these and I thought well they tried too hard to like brownies you would make from a mix and I thought honestly, if you are going to make brownies from scratch good heavens they should not be like the box! But then the box brownies have their way of just being gooey chocolate in a not elegant, but satisfying way, so I ate a bunch of these anyway and figured why not just give in and enjoy it. Wouldn't call these my personal favorite, but they are very easy to make and in a pinch, are much better quality than the box. 

From Smitten Kitchen:

http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2012/08/my-favorite-brownies/

Ingredients:

3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped

1 stick unsalted butter, plus extra for pan

1 1/3 C. granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. flaky sea salt or 1/4 tsp. table salt

2/3 C. all-purpose flour 

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour an 8×8-inch square baking pan.

2. In a medium heatproof bowl over gently simmering water, melt chocolate and butter together until 

only a couple unmelted bits remain. Off the heat, stir until smooth and fully melted. 

3. Whisk in sugar, then eggs, one at a time, then vanilla and salt. Stir in flour with a spoon or flexible spatula and scrape batter into prepared pan, spread until even. 

4. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out batter-free. If desired, dust the brownies with powdered sugar before serving.

Dimply Plum Cake

Just when you thought we couldn't possibly have more plums-- we did. The plum ginger crumble didn't quite use up all my mom's plums, so we turned to this recipe to finish them out. (There is another plum cake recipe on this site worth trying out also, the crunchy topped whole wheat plum cake.) Weirdly enough, when I took my first bite I was ho-hum and then the Robber-- that same Robber who is always trying to convince me to make old things he likes not new things-- took his first bite and LOVED it. And then proceeded to eat most of it quickly and to say again and again how much he liked it. So ok. I guess we'll be making this again. The flavor of the cake is quite pleasing, but I found it a bit dry so how to work around that? Also, the plums need to be quite small (I put in some larger store plums too and they didn't work as well as my mother's small plums). I made mine in a 9" cake pan which worked quite well. Smitten Kitchen says you can use apricots or other stone fruits also and mix up the zest and the spices and whatever so maybe I will try making a pear or a cherry cake some time just for kicks. Also the Robber wants me to make it without any fruit at all. Hrrrmmm. We'll see.

Originally from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home To Yours, by way of Smitten Kitchen:

http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/08/dimply-plum-cake/

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C. all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon (the original calls for 1/4 tsp.)

5 T. unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 C. (packed) light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1/3 cup flavorless oil, such as canola or safflower

Grated zest of 1 orange (I used 1 tsp. dried valencia orange peel)

1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

8 purple or red plums (or even Italian prune plums, when they are in season), halved and pitted

Directions:

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan, dust the inside with flour, tap out the excess and put the pan on a baking sheet.

2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon together.

3. Working with a mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until it’s soft and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the sugar and beat for another 3 minutes, then add the eggs, one at a time, and beat for a minute after each egg goes in. Still working on medium speed, beat in the oil, zest and vanilla; the batter will look smooth and creamy, almost satiny.

4. Removing the mixer, add the dry ingredients in thirds, mixing in by hand until they are incorporated.

5. Run a spatula around the bowl and under the batter, just to make sure there are no dry spots, then scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Arrange the plums cut side up in the batter–Dorie says she usually makes four rows of four plum halves each–jiggling the plums a tad just so they settle comfortably into the batter.

6. Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes, or until the top is honey brown and puffed around the plums and a thin knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a rack and cool for 15 minutes during which time the plums juices will seep back into the cake then run a knife around the sides of the pan and unmold the cake. Invert and cool right side up.

7. Optional: Dust the top with powdered sugar. (It soaks into the plums, but keeps the cake a speckly white.)

Note: You can wrap the cake and keep it at room temperature for up to 2 days, during which time it will get softer and moister.

Peanut Butter Cookies

I still have some old recipes written out on index cards that I look up the old-fashioned way-- in a recipe box. These peanut butter cookies are one of them, and I guess I haven't made them or blogged them since this Vegetable Tuesdays blog began. In my nights-to-days-to-nights haze I got a huge craving for peanut butter (I have been craving protein like crazy lately) and thought that I must have these cookies or else I would perish. So I made some and took them to my call day last night and thank goodness, what a little bit of happiness they provided.

Note: This time when I made them I made a half batch and I used 1/4 C. white sugar, 1/4 C. brown sugar, and 1/2 C. raw turbinado sugar and I really liked what it did for the texture and flavor.

From Somewhere. It's the recipe my mom has used as long as I can remember.

Ingredients:

1 C. yellow shortening

1 C. peanut butter (I prefer crunchy)

1 C. white granulated sugar

1 C. brown sugar 

2 eggs

2 1/2 C. flour (sift before measuring)

1 tsp. baking powder 

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. In a medium sized bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix thoroughly. 

2. In a large together, cream together the shortening, peanut butter, and sugars with an electric mixer until thoroughly combined and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. 

3. Remove the mixer. Add the flour mixture into the egg/sugar mixture 1/3rd at a time, beating in the flour mixture by hand (using the mixer will make for tougher cookies.) 

4. Form cookies into approximately 1" diameter mounds. Using a fork, gently press down twice, with the second press perpendicular to the first, making a cross-hatch pattern, so that the cookie dough is approximately flattened 1/2 way down from its initial height. 

5. Bake 10-12 minutes at 350F. Remove from oven before the cookie is completely done, while the middles are still soft (they will finish setting up outside the oven.) Allow to cool one minute on cookie sheet, then transfer to wire rack for the rest of the cooling process-- although you should feel very welcome to eat these warm.

6. Store in an airtight container. Cookies will stale if uneaten after 48 hours.

Mango-Coconut Clafoutis

We had left over coconut milk and left over whipping cream, so why not make a clafoutis? The real problem was that I didn't actually know what a clafoutis technically was-- should have read Wiki beforehand-- so I bought too much mango and filled up my dish and consequently it was too liquidy, but whatever! It was delicious all the same. I had some extra batter that I used to fill some ramekins with strawberries and make extra clafouti and those were even more delicious than the mango kind. Plus this was all very very easy as you just have to throw everything in the blender. Next time the Robber wants coffeecake for breakfast (we made this on a Saturday morning) I will make him a clafoutis instead (although because he is the Robber he likes coffeecake better). Oh well. What is nice about this is you can probably swap out the coconut milk for real milk or additional cream and the mangos for any old fruit you want. Voila! Clafoutis.

From the NYTimes:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/09/11/magazine/mag-11eatpie.html?ref=magazine#Mango-Coconut_Clafoutis

Ingredients:

3/4 C. heavy whipping cream

3/4 C. coconut milk

1/2 C. sugar

3 eggs

1/3 C. flour

1/2 tsp. cinnamon (I doubled this of course)

1/2 tsp. vanilla (could try almond or coconut extract!)

1 lb. mangoes, peeled and cut into chunks

Directions:

1. Combine heavy cream, coconut milk, sugar, eggs, flour, vanilla extract and cinnamon in a blender; blend until smooth.

2. Put mangos in a buttered and floured 8- or 9-inch pan. (I used a pie pan, maybe a cake pan would have been better as it would have been deeper and thus held my extra fruit.)

3. Pour the batter over the mangos.

4. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Serve warm or cold. (We ate it with a little extra sweetened condensed milk sprinkled over the top. Some toasted coconut would be nice with this as well.)

Strawberry & Lemon Curd Easy Summer Pie

So there was this time when I saw an "easy summer pie" recipe in the New York Times and I wanted it SO BADLY to be the best summer pie because not only did it have strawberries and lemons, but the crust had vanilla wafers and saltines, something I first was introduced to by SLB when she was SLO but have never tried myself. So I was so excited to try this! I was!....

But oh dear. What a disaster it was. Not all the recipe's fault, but certainly parts of it were. For starters, the crust was so salty the Robber and I couldn't even eat it, we scraped all the curd off and threw the crust away. I think it is salvageable, so I'll post the recipe here sans extra salt anyway, just in case I get bold enough to try it again in the future. Secondly, I ended up dumping almost half the curd on the kitchen floor. And then, the berries. Well. Call me boring, but I like them better just plain with sugar. Gah. But what I am posting is the original recipe sans salt in the crust so here you have it, if after all my comments, you (the future me) still want to try.

From Millicent Souris' new cookbook "How To Build A Better Pie" by way of the NYTimes:

http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/01/bookshelf-how-to-build-a-better-pie/?ref=dining

Ingredients:

For the saltine vanilla wafer cracker crust:

½ sleeve saltine crackers (16)

16 vanilla wafers

1 stick unsalted butter

¼ C. granulated sugar

1 egg white 

For the lemon curd (yield: 2 cups):

Juice & zest of 3 lemons

1 stick unsalted butter

1 C. granulated sugar

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

For the strawberry topping:

1 pint strawberries (the smaller the better)

2 T. raw sugar

Zest and juice of one lemon

½ tsp. salt

3 sprigs of tarragon, or 4 sprigs of mint, or 4 sprigs of chervil

Optional: a scraped vanilla pod

Directions:

For the crust: 

1. Melt butter in a small pan. Pull from heat before it browns and let cool. 

2. Toss the crackers and wafers in a food processor and pulse until crumbs begin to form. Gradually add the butter, sugar, salt and egg white. Turn the food processor off, and turn the mixture into the pie plate. With a level, steady hand lightly press the crust into the plate. Evenly tap the crust across the bottom of the plate and up the sides about half an inch. It should be even in thickness. 

3. Place crust in refrigerator to rest for at least 20 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Once the crust has rested, bake it in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Pull and cool. While the crust is baking, make the lemon curd.

For the lemon curd:

1. Fill a medium-size sauce pot about a third way with water and heat. Use a bowl that will fit atop the pot, or nestle down a bit, without touching the water. Cut the butter into small chunks and toss in the bowl with the sugar. Place on the pot so it starts to melt as you zest the lemons, keeping the zest separate to add at the end. 

2. Whisk the melting butter and sugar together and add the lemon juice, whisking together well.

3. Lift your bowl and make sure the water is gently simmering (not boiling). Gently beat the three eggs in a separate bowl. Add the eggs to the bowl over simmering water, whisking everything together. 4. Once the mixture is combined, use a rubber spatula to continuously scrape the bowl around the sides (especially the bottom) so everything cooks evenly. The mixture will thicken in 7 to 10 minutes, and should become more cohesive as it firms up along the edges of the bowl.

5. Add the lemon zest and salt. Mix. 

6.Turn into another bowl and place cling wrap flush across the top of the curd (this prevents a “skin” from developing). Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

For the strawberry topping:

1. Hull the strawberries, then cut in half lengthwise (if they are bigger than the tip of your fingers). Toss them with the raw sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt. 

2. Pick the herb of your choice and chop. Gently bruise the stems and toss the them, the herbs and vanilla pod with the fruit. Let the mixture macerate at room temperature, while everything else cools.

Putting it all together:

1. After 30 minutes, fill the crust with the curd. Refrigerate again until the curd settles and tightens.

2. Cut the pie into 8 slices, soaking the knife into hot water after each slice and wiping it clean. Plate the slices, then take a spoonful of the dressed strawberries to top the pie. Finish with a drizzle of strawberry juice and enjoy.

Old-Fashioned Meatloaf

So the Robber Man had been hankering after a meatloaf for quite some time, and the hankering only grew all the more intense after two weeks of chicken and rice in Thailand. So for our "American" celebration of our two-year anniversary, I made him a real down-home traditional American meal-- the kind any real husband back in the 50s would have had all the time. Meatloaf. Homemade rolls. Mashed potatoes. Green beans. Watermelon. Pie. And it took me ALL DAY to make, and by make I mean the meatloaf, rolls, and pie (the Robber had to make his own beans and potatoes.) Seriously. How did the women back then do it? 

I used this recipe from Epicurious because it a) said old-fashioned and b) used lots of veggies which the Robber loved. And it was good, and the Robber has gamely been trucking through two whole meatloafs (we doubled the recipe, which made three meatloafs oddly enough-- we froze the third unbaked). He enjoys eating it with mashed potatoes and on hoagie rolls as a meatloaf sandwich.

Instead of the topping it suggests, I made a modified topping which I record down below so the recipe is not entirely as original. Oddly enough, I think meatloaf for me has always been pure beef so having the pork made it different. Not bad. Just not "hit the spot" since it wasn't the meatloaf of my childhood. Oh how we are shaped and fashioned by the things that we love. 

From Gourmet April 1994 by way of Epicurious:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Old-Fashioned-Meat-Loaf-11676

Ingredients:

2 C. finely chopped onion (about one large onion)

1 T. minced garlic

1 celery rib, finely chopped

1 carrot, finely chopped

1/2 C. finely chopped scallion

2 T. unsalted butter

2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/3 C. ketchup plus 1/4 C. 

1 1/2 lbs. ground chuck (beef)

3/4 lbs. ground pork 

1 C. fresh bread crumbs (I used panko)

2 large eggs, beaten lightly

1/3 C. minced fresh parsley

2 T. brown sugar

1 T. apple cider vinegar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. If using bread pan, line with parchment paper.

2. In a large heavy skillet cook onion, garlic, celery, carrot and scallion in butter over moderate heat, stirring, 5 minutes. Cook vegetables, covered, stirring occasionally, until carrot is tender, about 5 minutes more. 

3. Stir in salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and 1/3 C. of ketchup. Cook, stirring 1 minute more.

4. In a large bowl, combine vegetables, meats, bread crumbs, eggs, and parsley.

5. In smaller bowl, combine additional 1/4 C. ketchup, brown sugar and vinegar to create sauce for topping.

6. In a shallow baking pan (or bread pan), form mixture into a 10x5 inch loaf and spread sauce over loaf.

7. Bake meat loaf in over 1 hour, or until a meat thermometer inserted in center registers 155F. 

Note: You can freeze a meatloaf before or after baking. If you freeze before baking, wrap formed meatloaf tightly in plastic wrap. When you go to bake it, don't thaw it first, just cook it for 1.5 - 2 times the normal cooking time.

Thai Coconut Icecream

Everyone in Thailand eats icecream. It makes sense. It is always hot and never cool and icecream and the 7-11 where the icecream is sold is your only chance for relief. About a week into our trip we came to a little local icecream shop where, in a brochure, I saw a picture of coconut icecream with peanuts and sweetened condensed milk on it and it looked like heaven in a dish to me. Subsequently the Robber and I tried the remainder of our time in Thailand to find and purchase this dessert, with little success due to either a) no peanuts, b) no coconut icecream, c) a preference for putting creamed corn (creamed corn!) instead of peanuts on coconut icecream, d) no baht. Finally I determined I would have to make this myself when I was back in the States. So make it I did. I found this recipe among many on the internet and who knows if it is the best or the most authentic-- I suppose not, as it uses cream and eggs, cream being a non-Thai ingredient, although the milk in Thailand is very very creamy. But it's flavor is excellent and it is not too sweet, a winning truth about Thai coconut icecream. The texture too is similar, and it froze beautifully overnight without an icecream maker in my freezer, a plus for any icecream recipe in my opinion. And I ate it with salted peanuts and sweetened condensed milk and was happy.

From Group Recipes by some guy named Shine:

http://www.grouprecipes.com/56004/thai-coconut-ice-cream.html

Ingredients:

2 3/4 C. coconut milk 

1 1/4 C. heavy whipping cream

3/4 C. sugar

2 large eggs

Directions:

1. In a saucepan, bring the coconut milk, cream, and sugar to a boil while stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let it cool slightly in the pan.

2. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs well.

3. Slowly add the coconut mixture to the eggs while constantly whisking the eggs (going slowly avoids crippling the eggs.) Continue adding the coconut mixture until half of it has been added to the eggs. At that point, you can add the remaining half in directly while whisking the eggs.

4. Cool the mixture completely and chill in the refrigerator.

5. Transfer to your ice cream maker to freeze, or pour the chilled mixture into a small loaf pan, cover it with cling wrap, and remove any air between the wrap and the mixture. Freeze for about two hours until it starts to get firm throughout.

6. Remove from freezer and mix with a spoon, then place the mixture into a food processor or blender and beat until smooth (I skipped this step and it was fine.)

7. Pour back into pan and put the cling wrap back over the pain, again removing any air, and freeze for several hours. 

Note: This icecream freezes up very hard, so place it in the refrigerator to soften for a few hours prior to serving. Serve with peanuts (and sweetened condensed milk, if you want. The salted peanuts are the real key.)

Blueberry Boy Bait

So once I had made Smitten Kitchen's rhubarb snacking cake, you knew it was only a matter of time before we had to try all of the "summer everyday cakes", right? I had left over blueberries from the lemon yogurt blueberry cake and so it was perfect timing to move on to the blueberry boy bait and I made it for my Robber boy. Predictably, he loved it and was super happy to eat all of it, and weirdly I didn't love it and felt it rather boring and burdensome calorically. This could be because it was a) super hot in the Cubby and I was very very sweaty and b) I had just re-weighed myself and found that I had gained two pounds since the last time I weighed myself perhaps over a month ago and c) I'm just harder to impress these days for whatever reason and d) the blueberries didn't pop out to me so I felt they were wasted. But all the reviewers on Smitten Kitchen loved loved this recipe as do their boys and my boy so maybe there is just something wrong with me? Sadly for the Robber, I may need a little time before I move on to the raspberry buttermilk cake and strawberry summer cakes.

Notes: Due to the few (and very far between) reviewers on Smitten Kitchen who felt the cake itself was bland and too sweet, I reduced the white sugar by 1/4 C. and added 1 tsp. vanilla, about a 1/2 tsp. lemon zest, and a few generous dashes of nutmeg to the batter which probably helped and certainly didn't hurt. I also tripled the cinnamon (it's one of my basic rules of cooking.) One reviewer added cardamom which sounds intriguing as a possibility but I wasn't that bold this time. The recipe below is as it is written on Smitten Kitchen, not as above.

Originally from a 1954 Pillsbury Bake-Off, adapted by Cook's Country, and most recently by way of Smitten Kitchen:

http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/07/blueberry-boy-bait/

Ingredients:

For the cake: 

2 C. plus 1 tsp. all-purpose flour

1 T. baking powder

1 tsp. table salt

16 T. unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened

3/4 C. packed light brown sugar

1/2 C. granulated sugar

3 large eggs at room temperature

1 C. whole milk or buttermilk

1/2 C. blueberries, fresh or frozen

For the topping:

1/2 C. blueberries, fresh or frozen (do not defrost)

1/4 C. granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 13 by 9-inch baking pan.

2. Whisk two cups flour, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl. 

3. With electric mixer in a second large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium-high speed until fluffy, about two minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just incorporated and scraping down bowl. 

4. Reduce speed to medium and beat in one-third of flour mixture until incorporated; beat in half of milk. Beat in half of remaining flour mixture, then remaining milk, and finally remaining flour mixture. (I don't use the mixer for this step, but rather mix it by hand.)

5. Toss blueberries with remaining one teaspoon flour. Spread 1/2 batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Add 1/2 C. blueberries to remaining batter and gently stir in. Add remaining batter to pan and spread evenly. 

6. Scatter additional 1/2 C. blueberries over top of batter. Stir sugar and cinnamon together in small bowl and sprinkle over batter. 

7. Bake until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. 

8. Cool in pan 20 minutes, then turn out and place on serving platter (topping side up). Serve warm or at room temperature. (Cake can be stored in airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.)

Coconut Banana Bread

After years of dreaming of this recipe, my mother finally re-found it among her archives and we made it not once, but twice! while I was there for a week last month. The coconut-banana bread of my memories was the only banana bread I really ever wanted (although I did find a thoroughly delicious commercial banana cake at the 7-11s in Thailand) and now that I have this recipe, banana bread may not be baked in my oven any other way. So happy to finally have it.

From Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads, as originally written.

Ingredients:

1 C. flaked coconut

1/4 C. butter or margarine, at room temperature

2/3 C. sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

3 T. milk

1 tsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. almond extract

2 C. sifted all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 C. mashed ripe bananas (about 2 medium bananas)

Directions:

1. Prepare a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan, greased or Teflon, by lining with greased wax paper cut to size.

2. Toast the coconut on a baking sheet in a moderate over (350F) until lightly browned, 15 minutes. Stir the flakes occasionally and keep a watchful eye on them so they don't burn. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Leave the oven on.

3. In a large mixing or mixer bowl fitted with the flat beater cream together butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the milk, lemon juice, and almond extract. 

4. Sift the flour again into the mixing bowl with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Blend thoroughly.

5. Work the bananas into the mixture and gently fold in the toasted coconut. (Reserve a large pinch of coconut to sprinkle on the top of the loaf.)

6. Pour the mixture into the loaf pan, pushing the dough into the corners and leveling the top with a rubber scraper.

7. Bake until light brown, 1 hour. A metal skewer or wooden toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf should come out clean. (If using a convection oven, reduce heat 40 degrees.)

8. Remove bread from the oven. Let the loaf cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before carefully turning it out onto a wire rack. Allow it to cool completely before serving.

S. Olsen's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

My visiting teacher HW made these for me a few months back and gave me extra to take back to the Robber, which I did, and which he loved and I loved as they were excellent. So when I wanted to make some cookies to take on the plane to Thailand I thought of this recipe and got it from HW. I don't know S. Olsen, but that is the name that came with the recipe so there you have that. I have had quite a bad attitude about cookies in general lately and specifically my ability to make cookies and was hoping that this recipe would rescue it. However, when I was mixing the dough it was terribly dry and not nearly wet enough and I was despairing as I hadn't any milk and I was barely able to form small cookies together, not the big giant ones Heather had made. Alas! And yet-- oddly enough-- the cookies, baked, were quite soft! And the Robber ate them all over Thailand. Who knows. I think if I do make this again I will skip all the silly heaping-ness of the dry ingredients and see if that helps the too dry-ness of the dough out for me. Also, the big Guittard chocolate chips are really a must.

A gift from HW.

Ingredients:

1 C. margarine or butter

1 C. packed brown sugar

1 C. white sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2+ cups flour (heaping the cups, for a total of 1/8 - 1/4 C. more flour)

1 heaping tsp. salt

1 heaping tsp. baking soda

3 heaping C. instant oatmeal

2 C. large milk chocolate Guittard chocolate chips (comes in the silver bag)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

2. In medium mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, and oatmeal. 

3. In a large bowl, cream together margarine/butter and sugars until fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla.

4. Add in dry ingredient mixture to creamed mixture 1/3rd at a time, stirring thoroughly by hand. Stir in chocolate chips.

5. Scoop on to cookie sheets in desired size. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350F. Take the cookies out of the oven when the edges are slightly tanning and the middles don't look quite done. Let cool for a few minutes on the sheet before transferring to a wire rack for complete cooling. Will be quite soft when done. 

Rhubarb Snacking Cake

Another Smitten Kitchen recipe that I made for visiting teaching outside in the summer sun. I will admit to not knowing what a snacking cake is, but this cake was snacked on during the teaching session so I suppose it served its purpose. When I made this the bottom was a little overdone oddly enough, maybe I baked it for too long? The rhubarb is delightful, but I think I always like rhubarb when it is more of the main affair. Rhubarb pie or rhubarb crisp-- no cake to dilute the rhubarb-ness. There are other snack cakes by Smitten Kitchen and this was good enough for me to perhaps try out the others later this summer. Oh, and also I tripled the cinnamon and of course wanted even more. So it goes.

From Smitten Kitchen:

http://smittenkitchen.com/2012/05/rhubarb-snacking-cake/

Ingredients:

For the cake:

1 1/4 lbs. rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch lengths on the diagonal

1 1/3 C. granulated sugar, divided

1 T. lemon juice

1/2 C. unsalted butter, softened

1/2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest

2 large eggs

1 1/3 C. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. table salt

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1/3 C. sour cream

For the crumb:

1 C. all-purpose flour

1/4 C. light brown sugar

1/8 tsp. table salt

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

4 T. unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Coat the bottom and sides of a 9×13-inch baking pan with butter or a nonstick cooking spray, then line the bottom with parchment paper, extending the lengths up two sides. (It will look like a sling). 

2. Stir together rhubarb, lemon juice and 2/3 cup sugar and set aside. 

3. Beat butter, remaining sugar and lemon zest with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at at time, scraping down the sides after each addition. 

4. Whisk together flour, baking powder, 3/4 teaspoon table salt and ground ginger together in a small bowl. Add one-third of this mixture to the batter, mixing until just combined. Continue, adding half the sour cream, the second third of the flour mixture, the remaining sour cream, and then the remaining flour mixture, mixing between each addition until just combined.

5. Dollop batter over prepared pan, then use a spatula — offset, if you have one, makes this easiest — to spread the cake into an even, thin layer. Pour the rhubarb mixture over the cake, spreading it into an even layer (most pieces should fit in a tight, single layer).

6. Stir together the crumb mixture, first whisking the flour, brown sugar, table salt and cinnamon together, then stirring in the melted butter with a spoon or fork (would make this before the cake.) Scatter evenly over rhubarb layer. 

7. Bake cake in preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes. The cake is done when a tester comes out free of the wet cake batter below. It will be golden on top. Cool completely in the pan on a rack.

8. Cut the two exposed sides of the cake free of the pan, if needed, then use the parchment “sling” to remove the cake from the pan. Cut into 2-inch squares to serve. 

Note: Cake keeps at room temperature for a few days or in the fridge, covered tightly.