Original Plum Torte

I haven't made this recipe, but it is the plum torte recipe from Marian Burros that made the rounds of Jewish homes for two decades after its publication in the 1980s. R. made it last year and it was very good, if not as interesting as her plum-ginger torte. I am blogging this recipe here for future use and variation on the plum theme.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup unbleached flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• Pinch of salt (optional)
• 2 eggs
• 24 halves pitted purple plums
• Sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon for topping

Directions:

1.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.

Cream the sugar and butter in a bowl. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and eggs and beat well.

3.

Spoon the batter into a spring form of 8, 9 or 10 inches. Place the plum halves skin side up on top of the batter. Sprinkle lightly with sugar and lemon juice, depending on the sweetness of the fruit. Sprinkle with (about) 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, depending on how much you like cinnamon.

4.

Bake one hour, approximately. Remove and cool; refrigerate or freeze if desired. Or cool to lukewarm and serve plain or with whipped cream.

5.

To serve a torte that was frozen, defrost and reheat it briefly at 300 degrees.

YIELD

8 servings

• NOTE

  To freeze, double-wrap the tortes in foil, place in a plastic bag and seal.

• NOTE

  Nutritional analysis per serving: 278 calories, 13.3 grams total fat, 7.6 grams saturated fat, 99 milligrams cholesterol, 56 milligrams sodium, 3 grams protein, 38 grams carbohydrate

Here's a link to the best cake recipes from the NYTimes of the past couple years, for future perusal:
http://www.nytimes.com/info/cake-recipes/?inline=nyt-classifier

Crunchy-Topped Whole-Wheat Plum Cake

From the NYTimes Rosh Hashanah section (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/08/dining/08apperex.html?ref=dining.) I made this for lunch with friends and ate the remainder the rest of the week. I am on a plum kick recently in a major way, and loved every minute of this. So plummy. So good.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more to grease pan

1 1/2 pounds plums, preferably several varieties, pitted and sliced

1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons whole-wheat flour

1/2 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons Cognac or brandy

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 large egg

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons Demerara sugar, for sprinkling

Whipped cream, for serving (optional).

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.

2. Place the plum slices in a bowl and gently toss with 2 tablespoons whole-wheat flour. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining whole-wheat flour with the baking powder and kosher salt.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together 1/2 cup butter, sugar, Cognac or brandy and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat until thoroughly combined.

4. Add half the flour mixture and beat until just combined. Pour in the milk and continue beating, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Add the remaining flour mixture and beat until just combined.

5. Scrape the dough into the pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Scatter on the plums in an even layer. Sprinkle the Demerara sugar on top. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before serving, with whipped cream if you like.

Yield: 8 servings.

Happy New Year!

Tomato-Watermelon Salad with Feta and Toasted Almonds

See link below. I made this for Mormon med school dinner. I added in some plums and pears, which I really loved in the salad, used grape tomatoes cut in half, and substituted balsamic for the red wine vinegar. I also omitted the arugula with no regrets. I venture to say that this was probably much, much better without it. Fabulous, but very watery so it is best eaten all in one sitting!

Ingredients:

• 8 cups 1 1/4-inch chunks seedless watermelon (about 6 pounds)
• 3 pounds ripe tomatoes (preferably heirloom) in assorted colors, cored, cut into 1 1/4-inch chunks (about 6 cups)
• 1 teaspoon (or more) fleur de sel or coarse kosher salt
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons chopped assorted fresh herbs (such as dill, basil, and mint)

• 6 cups fresh arugula leaves or small watercress sprigs
• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese (about 5 ounces)
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted

Directions:

1) Combine melon and tomatoes in large bowl. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon fleur de sel and toss to blend; let stand 15 minutes. Add 4 tablespoons oil, vinegar, and herbs to melon mixture. Season to taste with pepper and more salt, if desired.

2) Toss arugula in medium bowl with remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Divide arugula among plates. Top with melon salad; sprinkle with feta cheese and toasted almonds and serve.

I tossed the watermelon with regular salt and placed it in a colander for some time while I cut up the plums, tomatoes, etc. I think this helped to reduce a little bit of the extra liquid, but even then it was still a pretty liquidy salad!

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Tomato-Watermelon-Salad-with-Feta-and-Toasted-Almonds-235588#ixzz0yavoNMRa

Apricot Bread

From Beard on Bread, a book I picked up at the library book sale lo these many years ago.

Because I had dried apricots, and because I am on a freezing-bread-and-eating-it-later-because-I-have-a-whole-freezer-to-myself kick.

James Beard says of this bread: Like all of the fruit breads made with baking powder, the apricot loaves are quite rich and have beautiful color and rather tight texture. They also have a wonderful bouquet. Don't be disturbed if the loaves crack slightly in the middle as they bake. This seems to be par for the course.

Ingredients:

1 cup boiling water
1 1/2 cups dried apricots
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp double-acting baking powder
1 cup chopped nuts

Directions:

1) Pour the boiling water over the apricots and let stand until just tender, don't oversoak them. Drain off the water and reserve it (if you don't have enough, add more water until you have one cup.) Roughly chop the apricots.

2) Pour the liquid into a large mixing bowl, add the baking soda, sugar, and eggs, and mix well with a wooden spoon. Then add the apricots, flour, baking powder, and nuts and mix well again.

3) Butter and flour two 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf tins. Divide the batter into two equal parts and pour into the tins. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for about 45 minutes, or until the breads have risen, are dark in color, and a straw or knife comes out clean when inserted in the center. Cool on racks and serve.


Beard also says: With baking powder or soda breads you will notice that very often the bread cracks across the top, although otherwise it gives you a beautiful even crumb and slice. Don't worry! Such breads are wont to break during the baking period because they are usually somewhat heavier. If you find doughy or hard lumps in the slice it is certain that you did not mix the original dough well.

Teatime Popovers

From Epicurious: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Teatime-Perfect-Popovers-351609

Ingredients:

2 T. unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces
2 large eggs, lightly beaten, at room temperature
1 C. whole milk, at room temperature
1 C. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 400F. Place 1 piece of butter in the bottom of each of cup of a six-cup popover tin (or six 1/2 custard cups). Place the popover pan on a baking sheet.

2) In a smaller bowl, lightly whisk the eggs until they change color. Whisk in the milk.

3) In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and the salt until well blended. Gently whisk the egg mixture into the flour mixture until only small lumps are left, and set aside.

4) Place the popover tin and the baking sheet into the oven for 4 minutes. At 3 minutes, give the batter a light whisk. Using an oven mitt, remove the popover tin and baking sheet from the oven and immediately divide the batter into the six cups equally. Bake for 25 minutes without opening the oven door. The popovers will be puffy, with crisp brown crusts and hollow, moist interiors. Serve immediately.


Note: I make these in 9 muffin tin cups using the above recipe. I also think the amount of butter can be reduced, as these popovers come out quite buttery and drippy. I also made them once with heavy whipping cream instead of milk, and they did not pop at all, but were rather dense but entirely delicious and in fact the Robber prefers them that way.

Chicken Pilau

From Baljekar et. al, the Indian cookbook I am borrowing from Rebekka. We made this recipe together. We used brown basmati rice and subsequently had to adjust the timing of the cooking and things didn't turn out 100% correctly. The rice was too wet and the potatoes not quite done enough, but the dish was still good. I expected it to be more interesting, and wished it had a higher chicken:everything else ratio, but it is nice to have dishes that provide everything all in one place. Meat, vegetables, carbs. These pack well for lunch and are keeping me alive in medical school. So I suppose I will be making this again because it is fairly easy and is nutritiousy.

Ingredients:

2 cups basmati rice
6 T ghee or unsalted butter
1 onion, sliced
1/4 tsp. mixed onion and mustard seeds
3 curry leaves
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger root
1 tsp. crushed garlic
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. chili powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 tomatoes, sliced
1 potato, cubed
1/2 C. frozen peas, thawed
6 oz. chicken breast fillets, skinned and cubed
4 T chopped fresh cilantro
2 fresh green chiles, chopped
3 cups water

Directions:

1) Wash the rice thoroughly under running water, then let soak for 30 minutes. Drain in a strainer or colander and set aside.

2) In a pan, melt the ghee or butter and fry the sliced onion until golden.

3) Add the onion and mustard seeds, the curry leaves, ginger, garlic, ground coriander, chili powder, and salt. Stir-fry for about 2 minutes over low heat.

4) All the sliced tomatoes, cubed potato, peas, and chicken cubes and mix everything together well.

5) Add the rice and stir gently to combine with the other ingredients.

6) Add the cilantro and chiles. Mix and stir-fry for 1 minute. Pous in the water, bring to a boil and then lower the heat. Cover tightly and cook for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, leaving the lid in place, and let the pilau stand for 6-8 minutes. Serve.

Serves 4.

Nutrition Notes per serving

Energy 603 cal
Fat 16.8 g
Saturated Fat 10 g
Carbohydrate 91.9 g
Fiber 2.1 g

Nutty Salad

From The Best Ever Indian Cookbook by Baljekar et. al.

I started making this salad and looked into the bowl dejectedly. "This will never make enough!" I thought to myself. "I think I will double it." "Heck," I thought, "I will triple it!"

A few minutes later when I had a huge entire pot full of salad, I realized that after marrying the Robber my life will never be the same. I have already forgotten how to cook for myself.

It is now one week later and I still have a half-pot of salad left.

Ingredients for the salad:

5 ounce can red kidney beans, drained
1 medium onion, cut into 12 rings
1 medium zucchini, sliced
1 medium yellow squash, sliced
2/3 C pasta shells, cooked
1/2 C cashew nuts
1/4 C peanuts
fresh cilantro and lime wedges, to garnish

Ingredients for the dressing:

4 ounces low-fat ricotta cheese
2 T. plain low-fat yogurt
1 fresh green chile, chopped
1 T. chopped fresh cilantro
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp. crushed dried red chiles
1 T. lemon juice

Directions:

1. Drain the kidney beans. Arrange them with the onion rings, kidney beans, zucchini slices, and pasta in a salad dish and sprinkle the cashew nuts and peanuts over the top.

2. In a separate bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, yogurt, green chile, fresh cilantro, and salt. Beat well using a for until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined. You may find it easier to add the cilantro leaves a few at a time and mix in to let their flavor permeate the mixture and ensure the resulting dressing is smooth in texture.

3. Sprinkle the crushed peppercorns, red chiles, and lemon juice over the dressing. Garnish the salad with fresh cilantro and lime wedges and serve with the dressing.

Serves 4.

Nutritional notes from the book, per portion:

Energy 199 cal
Fat 11.6 g
Saturated Fat 2.63 g
Carbohydrates 15.2 g
Fiber 2.9 g