Not your standard German Chocolate Cake

(photo from bettycrocker.com)

Probably most of you have heard and/or made a German Chocolate Cake. You know the kind - two layers with a coconut brown sugar filling and frosting. A very popular cake back in the 70's, as I recall. This ISN'T one of those cakes. And I don't know the origin of this. I've never seen it in any of the cookbooks that come from the cake mix craze, either years ago and recently.

A family friend gave me this recipe way back then, but bears no resemblance either in taste or appearance. Although it IS made with a cake mix. This is baked in a 9x13 pan and requires little more than mixing up the cake mix box. Cake mixes were introduced to the world in the 1960's or 70's. What a boon they were to the home cook. And my recollection is that nearly every homemaker was baking all varieties of cakes from the mixes. Back then it was just the standard white, chocolate, German chocolate, and marble. Later came lemon and other mixes for brownies, angel food, etc. And later yet, the ones with pudding inside. So if you can find it, use a German Chocolate mix without any additions to it. Just the plain, regular stuff. But actually, the pudding inside works just fine too.

Back then, it took a year or two before cooks began to come up with variations on cake mixes - not even mixing them up like a cake, but using them as streusel on top of fruit, or combining different ones. And it was a year or two before they introduced the frosting in a can. I never liked that stuff - way too sweet for me and cloying.

So, when my mother's friend Mary served the cake that day (there were four of us who had a Mah Jong group back then and each time we met the hostess served lunch and dessert), I just went crazy for this cake. It was light and flavorful, but not overly rich. No frosting. But then I'm a nut when it comes to chocolate anyway. There were some chocolate chips in it and nuts. And this elusive sprinkle on the top. It was so simple - just some cinnamon and sugar.

In years following that, my former husband and I used to go camping in the Colorado mountains (we lived in Denver then) during the summer months. This cake was a staple in the camping or picnic category for me. My daughter Dana has always loved this cake, and she makes it herself now, but for many, many years, growing up, this was her most requested cake for her birthday.

This recipe came to the forefront of my mind this week because my friend Cherrie phoned me a couple of days ago and asked, since they're going cabin camping this weekend, if I had a different recipe for garlic bread (I do, will post at a later date) and when she mentioned needing something for dessert my mind leaped to this cake. This cake is so EASY, and I've yet to have anyone not like it. You can serve it with vanilla ice cream, but it's not necessary, really.

The photo from Betty Crocker shows a drizzle of caramel on the top. That would be a nice addition to this cake, even though I've never done it. Give it a try and let me know how THAT tastes.

German Chocolate Chip Cake
Recipe: From Mary Wilfert, a friend of my mother's, about 1970.
Serving Size : 12
1 pkg German chocolate cake mix
12 oz chocolate chips
1/2 c walnuts -- chopped, or pecans
4 tsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1. Heat oven to temperature indicated on package.
2. Prepare cake mix as specified on the box. Pour into a greased & floured 9 x 12 inch cake pan. Sprinkle the chocolate chips and nuts over the top of the batter. Then sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top of that. Bake as directed on cake box and set on a wire rack to cool.
3. Cake will keep in a sealed cake tin for several days, if it lasts that long.
NOTES : Cake mixes were new in the 1970's, so almost every dessert was made with them. Once I had this cake, it became one of our family's favorites. In fact, my daughter Dana usually requests this cake on her birthday. I have used regular chocolate cake mix if I didn't have the German chocolate variety.
Per Serving : 289 Calories; 14g Fat (40.4% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 43g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 189mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 3 Fat; 3 Other Carbohydrates.

To view a printable recipe, click on title at top.

Crostini with Blue Cheese, Apples & Watercress

(photo from crostini.com)

I really need to get a photo of this appetizer for you all. The above photo looks sort of like it. Wish I could prepare this right now and could photograph it for real. Soon. Hopefully. The broken bone in my foot is improving, thank goodness.

Crostini is an Italian word - I think it means little toasts, or something similar. That's exactly what these are. The recipe calls for a nut or fruited bread. Here in Southern California we can buy bread from La Brea Bakery (Nancy Silverton's famous bakery, although it's been sold to a big baking conglomerate). They have a raisin and pecan baguette that is perfect for this crostini. Otherwise find some kind of nut bread or fruit bread if at all possible. You slice and lightly toast the pieces, spread on a little bit of the cheese mixture containing mascarpone and blue cheese, some thinly sliced apples, then you top each one with some watercress leaves, THEN you lightly drizzle the top with honey. Oh. My. Goodness. Delicious. This recipe is going into my TOP FAV's over on the right column.

Last Fall Cherrie and I attended a cooking class at Our House South County, in San Juan Capistrano. It was all about apples. The cooking school had about 10 varieties of apples from New England shipped to them and they developed recipes all around them. We did a tasting of 6 different apples with 6 different artisanal honey varieties. Gosh were those good. Many of the apples are varieties we can't buy here in California. They're never available in our local markets. So they have to be shipped.

Remember my adage about cooking classes - if I come home from a cooking class with even one special recipe that I'll make, then I count that class as successful and worth the class fee. THIS is the recipe from that class, and I've made them several times.

With apples, you sort of have to cut them up just before you eat them or they will turn brown. If you want to get everything ready before you serve them, you could toss the apples with lemon juice, but I'm not crazy about the lemon juice taste on the crostini. So maybe just acidulated water (a bit of lemon juice in a cup of water) would be better. You can leave the skin on the apples - in fact the crostini look prettier with it on, especially if you're using a red skinned apple. Everything else can be prepared ahead and then it's just a matter of assembling them. I've been known to ask a guest to make them for me. But, you may want to make one and taste it so you know the proportion of cheese to watercress, apple and honey. The honey helps everything stick, so usually you layer the cheese, then the apples, then a bit of watercress, then honey on top.

This is one of those recipes that had I read it in a magazine or a cookbook, I probably would NEVER have made it. Why? Well, I'm not sure I can say. There isn't anything I don't like in this combination, but I don't know that I would have bothered to layer everything up, toast the toasts, etc. Lots of detail work. And yes, that's true, there is a bit of fussy work to be done to serve these. But the end result is extraordinary. And worth it. Absolutely everyone I've served this to has raved about it. So will you, if you try it. I guarantee it.

Crostini with Blue Cheese, Apples & Watercress
Recipe from: Our House South County Cooking School
Servings: 30
BLUE CHEESE SPREAD:
1 cup mascarpone cheese -- softened
2 tablespoons heavy cream
4 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons fresh thyme -- minced and crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper -- freshly ground
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
2 cups blue cheese -- crumbled
CROSTINI:
30 slices baguette bread -- nut or raisin, toasted lightly
2 large apple -- thinly sliced
4 teaspoons honey
3 cups watercress -- leaves only
1. CHEESE: Mix mascarpone, cream, lemon juice, thyme, salt, pepper, cayenne together in a medium bowl. Gently stir in blue cheese. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
2. CROSTINI: Allow cheese spread to warm to room temperature, then spread it onto the toasted bread slices. On half of the blue cheese spread, place thin apple slices, and on the other half lay a few pieces of watercress, pushing it on slightly so it will adhere. Drizzle the honey over the top and serve.
Serving Ideas : You can't assemble this ahead, but it doesn't take much time to assemble if you have everything ready in small dishes. A tray of these will keep at room temperature for about an hour. AND, leftovers the next morning are just fine. NOTES : This sounds kind of ho-hum. But the combination of the mild blue cheese spread with the fresh, crispy apple slices, the watercress for crunch, and the drizzle of honey makes it sublime. I buy La Brea Bakery's pecan and raisin bread, slice it thin, toast it for about 8-10 minutes at 350. This is best with some kind of fruited bread.
Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 123 Calories; 5g Fat (38.1% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 15g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 12mg Cholesterol; 280mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 1 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.
To view a printable recipe, click on title at top.

Calabacitas con Crema

(photo from piercecollege.edu)

Ever heard of Calabacitas? I hadn't until a few years ago when DH and I traveled to New Mexico and the mountains of Colorado. Dear friends from England joined us and we took a late September driving trip. We met up in Denver, rented an SUV and headed out. It took us 10 days to do the mountains of Colorado, then we headed south to New Mexico, ending up in Santa Fe. Our last night there we had dinner at the restaurant in the Inn at the Anasazi, and with my entree came this vegetable side. of zucchini, corn and poblano chiles. I was in heaven. I nearly licked the plate. Asked the waiter to tell me all about it, which he did.

So once I reached home I started searching around the internet for recipes for Calabacitas. It's quite common in southwest cuisine - it's just a combination of some typical vegetables of southwest but the seasoning and chiles from Mexico. Found several recipes, and have made a couple of different versions. But once I found this one from Rick Bayless (from the internet, but it's from his cookbook Authentic Mexican), I've reverted to it more times than not. Most calabacitas versions are served without cream - traditional calabacitas just combine those three vegies -corn, zucchini and poblano chiles (that have been blackened over the gas range or under the broiler). But with the addition of the cream (or fat-free half and half as I've used also) it's just meltingly delicious in the mouth. I really do plan to make this as my full meal one night. It's that good. Or, I could just add to the dish some chicken broth and make it a great soup. The calories come from the cream, so really, do use the fat-free product instead and it'll be nearly healthy.

Poblano chiles are quite mild - don't be tempted to use any kind of hot chile in this recipe. If you can't get poblanos, you could use a hotter chile but in very reduced quantity. Adding poblanos is not about heat, but about the depth of flavor poblanos bring to any dish. Since corn is on the wane these days, I want to enjoy this one more time before the season is completely gone.

Calabacitas con Crema
Source: Rick Bayless, restaurateur, from his book Authentic Mexican
Servings: 8
1 lb zucchini -- (about four small)
1 1/2 cups corn kernels, fresh if possible
1/2 whole onion -- thinly sliced
2/3 cup heavy cream (or use fat-free half and half) - optional
1 whole poblano pepper -- roasted, seeded, peeled and cut in thin strips
1 tsp salt
1 Tb butter
1 Tb vegetable oil -- or vegetable oil
1. Chop the zucchini in large chunks (about 3/4 inch to 1 inch) and set aside. Prepare onions ahead and set aside. Grill the poblano chile directly on a gas flame, cool, remove skin, then cut into small strips.
2. Using a very large skillet, heat butter and oil until very hot. Add zucchini and toss until tender. Remove the zucchini from the pan with a slotted spoon, allowing it to drain well. In the remaining oil and butter, fry the onion slices until soft and sweet, then add the corn and pepper slices. Add the zucchini and cream and cook until nice and hot. Taste for salt and pepper and serve.

Per Serving: 449 Calories; 46g Fat (89.9% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 9g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 58mg Cholesterol; 395mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 9 Fat.
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Bifteck Hache a la Lyonnaise - aka French Hamburgers

(photo from tallgrassbeef.com)

I probably should start out this posting with the sentence: I love thyme. It is this recipe that introduced me to its virtues. And I've been a frequent user ever since.

My memory served me poorly on this recipe. I've been making it for so long, and it's been written into my old recipe binder for so many years that I didn't remember who gave it to me. When I did a search for the title (in French) sure enough, I found it. This is Julia Child's recipe from her first major tome, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1. I found a write-up about the recipe on the Julia-Julie Project (the young woman who decided to methodically cook the entire contents of Julia's book in a year, all the while blogging about it, and she subsequently wrote a book based on her blog). I tried to read her blog a couple of years ago (after I read Julia's memoir, My Life in France, written by her nephew, which I just loved), but this woman, named Julie, has such a foul mouth I just couldn't continue. (I'm not even going to insert a link to her site because I disliked it so much.) I don't understand why people feel they have to use the f and s words in every sentence.

But, I also found the recipe on one of my favorite blogs, Sweet Napa. If you want to see what these French Hamburgers look like when finished, click on over to her blog to see it.

So, obviously, this isn't anything original. This has been a staple in my cooking repertoire for 40 years. I've even served it to guests (I double the sauce in that case), and whenever I do make these I make extra and freeze at least 4 patties so I can make them just by defrosting. They aren't difficult. Not in the least, although they do take a bit more time than just making patties from raw meat and cooking them.

Since I haven't read Julia Child's take on using minced beef (raw), I don't know the origin of this either. But she recommends using lean beef, then you ADD butter to the raw meat. Interesting, huh? Most current chefs and cooking magazines recommend using nothing leaner than ground chuck. But, realize that when you cook these, if the cold butter is in the middle, when the heat finally reaches the butter, it melts right into the meat, not out into the pan. That's what gives the meat it's richness. But first you saute some onion and butter, cool it, then combine that with egg and thyme to make thick patties. It's necessary to allow these to chill a little bit (with the egg to hold it together). That's an important step. Then you dredge them in flour, then fry them up until done to your liking.

You remove them from the pan and set in a warm oven while you make the sauce. Then you drain the fat from the pan, and add wine or broth. I usually use red wine, but have also used sherry. You can also use broth, or white wine for that matter. You deglaze the pan, scraping up any of those pan juices and little sticky parts, until the wine has evaporated some. Remove from heat and add some additional butter, in bits. Pour into a HOT little pitcher to serve at the table. The recipe says pour the sauce on the burgers, but then most of the sauce ends up on the platter, not on the burger, so I prefer a pitcher.

I like serving this with pasta, just simple buttered pasta. Because some of that sauce tastes great with the pasta. Then with a bright colored veg - like broccoli, or green beans perhaps. And a salad. This used to be - back in the days when nobody thought anything of eating beef 3-4 nights a week - a frequent visitor on my regular family menu. Now it's a treat.

French Hamburgers
(aka Bifteck Hache a la Lyonnaise)
Recipe: Julia Child, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. 1
Servings: 4
BEEF PATTIES
3/4 c onion -- minced
2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 lb lean ground beef
2 tbsp butter -- softened
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp thyme
1 whole egg

DREDGING MIXTURE:
1/2 c flour

1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp vegetable oil

SAUCE:
1/2 cup red wine -- or sherry or port or broth
2 tablespoons butter
1. Cook minced onion slowly for 10 minutes in butter, until tender, but not brown. Pour into a mixing bowl. Add the ground beef, additional butter, and seasonings to the onions and beat just until combined. Form into 4 patties, 3/4 inch thick. Cover with wax paper and chill several hours.
2. Just before sauteeing the patties, gently roll them in the flour. In a large, heavy frying pan, melt butter and oil, bring to a moderately high temperature and add patties. Sear them until they're brown on both sides, then reduce heat until they're done to your liking. This usually takes longer than I think - about 15 minutes.
3. Remove patties to a heated oven. Pour fat out of the pan and add sherry (or other wine), scraping up the pan juices, until it's reduced to a thick syrup. Take off the heat and add the butter and serve in a small pitcher to pour over the patties.
4. Note: the original recipe calls for red wine, white wine, vermouth or beef stock for the sauce. Use either red wine, sherry or light port.
NOTES : Originally this dish was called "Bifteck Hache a la Lyonnaise" but we always called them French Hamburgers. I believe it is a Julia Child recipe from way-back, when we didn't care (or know) much about watching fat. But, it's a wonderful company meal. I've altered the original a little by reducing some of the butter. When making these I usually buy extra beef and make additional patties to freeze.

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 766 Calories; 60g Fat (73.4% calories from fat); 34g Protein; 15g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 235mg Cholesterol; 1160mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 4 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 9 Fat.

To view a printable recipe, click on title at top.

Chicken Bamako - what's that you ask?

(photo from Food Network, Canada)

This photo, above, is about as close as I could find to my Chicken Bamako. This shows chicken drumsticks. I use boneless breasts or thighs. And the photo doesn't show all the jillions of herbs sticking to the chicken.

This is another one of those tried and true recipes I've been making since about 1970. Some friends, an older couple, served it one night. Ruth Cormack (now deceased) was a very good cook, and she inspired me to try any number of different food dishes when I was still a young bride. Believe it or not, this is a recipe that she acquired from one of her weight loss diets, likely a precursor to the all-protein diet. I have no idea where, so I can't give credit to anyone. I looked up the recipe on the internet and came up empty-handed. There is a place called Bamako in Africa (on the Niger River), but this kind of chicken combo doesn't sound African to me. So I really don't know its origin.

But nevertheless, it's very easy. Incredibly easy. Even my DH who is cooking these days, could make this. I'll have to remind him about this one, which he likes a lot. Very flavorful. You all know I like bacon already. You can vary the herbs you use - whatever suits your fancy, although the recipe calls out specific ones. If you don't like rosemary, leave it out. Put in what you like. But use lots of herbs. Lots and lots. I never seem to make enough of the dry herb mix, no matter how much I concoct, and always have to sprinkle out some more to go around. So, in other words, be generous with the herbs.

It can be thrown together in a big hurry. If you don't have time to marinate the chicken meat in the lemon juice, that's okay too. Marinate it as long as you can and add the lemon juice to the pan, dribbled over the chicken instead. If you are concerned about the fat and calories in bacon, use 2 pieces instead of 4 and cut the bacon into small squares and toothpick those pieces to the top of the chicken instead of using a half slice each. Or use turkey bacon instead. Usually I serve this with rice and a veg. If you marinate overnight, don't allow it to sit any longer than 24 hours or the chicken will start to become mushy.

Generally I use this vacuum box, pictured below, when I marinate - providing the meat is small enough to fit in the thing. It won't do a roast or tall things or a lot of pieces of anything, but it would do 6-10 boneless chicken pieces. You put the chicken pieces inside, place the lid on top, then pop that tall handle on top and pump the handle, which sucks all the air out of the box, thereby creating a vacuum. Supposedly this forces the marinade to be absorbed into the meat faster than otherwise. It's called a Vacu Multi Dish, made by VacuVin, and I bought it at Sur la Table some years ago when it was demonstrated in a cooking class. Allow it to sit in the refrigerator for an hour or so. If you don't have this box, just use a ziploc plastic bag.

Then you drain the chicken, dry it off with a paper towel and slick some olive oil (using your hands) over each piece, then dip and roll in the multitude of herbs. Mound the meat up a little bit and place on a foil or Silpat lined cookie sheet or baking pan and top with bacon. That's it. Ideally you should cook the thighs longer than the breasts, so to have them come out perfectly juicy, add the breasts later. Usually I use either breasts OR thighs, so I don't have to make those adjustments. Obviously thighs take the longer cooking time - the 30-35 minutes noted in the recipe. Happy herbing.

Chicken Bamako
Recipe from: Ruth Cormack
Servings: 6
4 each skinless boneless chicken breasts
4 each skinless chicken thighs
1/2 cup lemon juice, fresh squeezed

salt and pepper -- to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon rosemary
1 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon bay leaves -- powdered
1/2 teaspoon sage
1/2 teaspoon tarragon
2 tablespoons parsley -- minced
4 slices bacon
1. Place the chicken pieces into a plastic bag and add the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate a few hours, or at the most overnight. Drain well before continuing.
2. On a large piece of waxed paper combine the dry herbs. If time permits, combine the herbs in a mortar and pestle and grind them together to release their flavors a little. The measurements are estimates - you may need more.
3. Rub the chicken pieces with a little oil, then roll in the herbs and place a half slice of bacon on the top, securing it with a toothpick. Place the chicken pieces in a baking dish in one layer and bake in a 350 oven for 30-35 minutes, or until tender, but not dry.
Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 299 Calories; 10g Fat (32.3% calories from fat); 47g Protein; 2g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 133mg Cholesterol; 210mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 6 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 1 Fat.
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Baked Fennel with Parmesan Cheese

About 5 years ago our friends Joan and Tom decided to rent an old villa in Tuscany for a week. In a little village called Bucine (pronounced BOO-shin-ay, which is contrary to normal Italian pronunciation). The place had come recommended to them by mutual friends, and was exceedingly inexpensive. Between them and us we invited other friends. We had 12 people on that trip. We actually rented the house again 2 years later too. About 2 weeks before our first departure all of the group gathered to talk logistics, timing, tour planning, and to share a delicious potluck Tuscan dinner. Joan brought this succulent fennel dish, which has become a regular on my menus ever since.

(photo from wholefoodsmarket.com)

Fennel is not an everyday vegetable. Lots of people profess to not like it because of its anise/licorice flavor. Indeed, it does have a little bit of that. And I'm not a licorice fan at all. But I like fennel raw or cooked. . . I love it raw, cut in small slivers, or shaved with a vegetable peeler. I can eat it like eating a stick of celery. But I also l-o-v-e it in this format too. When cooked, it's a different vegetable altogether First you remove the tops and nearly all the stems, cut each fennel bulb in either wedges or slices, simmer in water briefly, then bake with chicken broth, butter, parsley sage and Parmesan cheese on top. It becomes not quite soft, but sort of silky, but still with some substance to it. Italians love fennel and use it in many different ways. Obviously it's one of those vegetables that thrives in the Tuscan climate.

Joan said this recipe came from a cookbook she picked up when she and Tom lived in Rome for a few years when their daughters were young. The book is Five Brothers: A Year in Tuscan Cooking. It's available in used copies through Amazon for a ridiculously low price, in case you're interested. From what I read about it, Five Brothers is a brand of tomato sauce and other Italian canned products, and one criticism of the book was that the recipes called out the family's products too often. Another review simply said just substitute those ready-made products with your own. One nice aspect of this dish is that any leftovers are easily reheated in the microwave. DH and I made this last week. He schlepped stuff for me and I did most of the prep work on it from my little card table "kitchen" that I can reach. Even DH, who said some years ago that he didn't think he liked fennel, loves this preparation. You might like it too.

Baked Fennel with Parmigiano-Reggiano
Recipe from my friend Joan, from a cookbook called: Five Brothers: A Year of Tuscan Cooking

Servings: 8
6 whole fennel bulbs
2 tablespoons butter -- cut in pieces
1 tablespoon Italian parsley -- chopped
1 tablespoon fresh sage -- divided

salt and ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup Parmegiano-Reggiano cheese -- grated
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Cut off the tops, clean and quarter the fennel bulbs. Or, if the bulbs are irregularly shaped, they can be cut in wide, flat slices. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a splash of salt and cook the fennel quarters for 5 minutes only. Drain and pat dry.
3. Lightly oil a baking dish then layer half the fennel inside. Dot with butter, half the parsley, sage, salt and pepper. Top with remaining fennel and seasonings. Pour broth over fennel and sprinkle with the cheese. Cover the dish with foil or a lid and bake for 45 minutes. Remove lid/foil and continue baking for another 10-15 minutes until the cheese is golden brown. If you're in a hurry, increase the temperature to 400° and it may take less time to brown.
NOTES : The fennel's delicate anise flavor actually sweetens when cooked. It's a staple in the Italian vegetable repertoire.
Per Serving: 104 Calories; 5g Fat (38.0% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 13g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 12mg Cholesterol; 238mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 1/2 Fat.
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Scallion Goat Cheese Muffins

Sometimes it just seems that a dinner requires a different kind of bread. I love ciabatta loaves - they're so tasty and so easy. Buy them, serve them. But, once in awhile for a company meal or for breakfast I will serve some different kind of bread. I think the first time I served these it was for a breakfast for my group of girlfriends along with fresh fruit, juice, coffee and yogurt. They were a big hit.

The recipe came from Gourmet Magazine, back in 1999, according to my notes. I've made them several times and never been disappointed. The goat cheese adds a little zing to the texture and the flavor. Sometimes I have chives in my garden, which makes it particularly easy to throw together. Make these when you have a simple protein and sides, not with something like a hearty lasagna or beef Stroganoff which would overwhelm the subtle goat cheese and chive flavors of the muffins. Instead, serve it alongside a simple grilled pork chop, or chicken breast. Or quiche. Or chili. Or make them for Sunday breakfast, which is my favorite.

Scallion Goat Cheese Muffins
Recipe By: Gourmet Magazine, January 1999
Servings: 12
1 cup whole milk
4 ounces soft goat cheese
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large egg -- slightly beaten
1 bunch scallions
1. Preheat oven to 400°. Butter 12 small muffin cups. In a small bowl stir together the goat cheese and 2 T. of the whole milk until combined. It helps if the goat cheese is left out at room temp awhile before you try to do this.
2. In a medium-sized bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Melt the butter. Remove from heat and add the remaining milk and the egg to the butter. Finely chop the scallions to measure one cup. Add them to the flour bowl with the butter mixture and stir gently. Don't overmix.
3. Kind of estimate how much is half of the biscuit batter and scoop a large tablespoon of the biscuit mixture into each muffin cup and spread with the spoon to fill the bottom. Place a spoonful of the goat cheese mixture into the center (if possible) of the muffin, then cover that with the remaining biscuit mix.
4. Bake in the middle of the oven until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Serve while hot.
NOTES : These are really delicious - and easy to make. They would go well with a nice salad, or even with a traditional meat and potatoes dinner.
Per Serving: 155 Calories; 9g Fat (52.2% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 14g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 40mg Cholesterol; 263mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 1 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.
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Food Genes - are there such things?

I was reading a blog over at Tea and Cookies a few days ago about the blogger's younger years and how she developed a love of cooking. It's a cute story, if any of you want to click over to read it. She poses the question in her posting about how it happened that she ended up with a food gene since her mother doesn't really like to cook and rarely cooked when she was growing up. She wonders how she and her brother ever developed their love of cooking with that kind of background. Good question!

So this got me to thinking about the food gene in my DNA. In the last week or so I've mentioned my mother's cooking a couple of times. Maybe a bit disparagingly. I'm having some guilt pangs about that, although my mother died 10 years ago. I've written some of this before - my mother and father both grew up during the Depression. Money was very hard to come by. Both families were farmers in the San Joaquin Valley of California. They grew some of their own food. Both families had chickens. Neither had cows. One family had pigs. One family grew tomatoes some years. The other grew hay and tomatoes. Or corn. Remember - crop rotation. Can't grow the same crop year after year as the soil is leeched of nutrients that way. My mother and father, both in their 20's, actually met one summer, in line, in their respective family's trucks, waiting to deliver the tomato crop to market, to a group cooperative, I think it was, actually. My mother was accompanying her father to the market that day. The trucks were in side by side lines, and a conversation began, chatting from one truck to the other. Finally, my mother climbed onto my dad's family truck and the two talked and got to know one another. A romance was born atop a truck full of tomatoes. Awww.

So that brings me to my early years . . . my mother never really complained about the cooking she had to do. She was a housewife and stay at home mom when that was the accepted profession for every wife. We had simple meals. Entertaining usually meant gathering in our backyard over a simple picnic table with my dad wielding the tongs and spatula at the grill. We ate hamburgers and hot dogs, home made potato salad and cole slaw and strawberry shortcake. Bisquick was one of my mother's favorites. Along with Minute Rice. We had some canned vegetables and some fresh. Frozen vegetables came into existence during the 50's, I think, and my mom was a happy consumer of frozen spinach, corn, peas which we ate in rotation with occasional fresh zucchini or yellow squash inserted. I think you get the picture!

My recollection about how food piqued my interest started in 7th grade when I took Home Ec. I looked forward to the class, but retain no memories whatsoever of the food we made with the exception of the one meal I made at home. We'd done chicken sub gum and egg fu yung with white rice. So I asked my mother if I could recreate the meal at home. I made it all alone and I was so proud I could hardly contain myself. I was 13. The chicken was quite bland, considering how much I enjoy spices and seasonings now, but my mom and dad gave me all the praise I needed to nurture that little gene somewhere.

I don't remember cooking full meals much at home even after that success. My mother did the cooking. She did enjoy baking, though. She made great pies. She was quite well known in her circle of friends for her great pie crusts. She tried her darndest to teach me her technique (she of the Crisco, ice water type) to no avail. She made great apple, berry and stone fruit pies. And she baked cakes from scratch and other desserts as well. So I learned how to do some of those, but I never got the pie crust thing down. (Now, I use a butter-based crust that whips together in the food processor and succeeds well enough. I still can't do the Crisco type.) So, I began helping her with baking, and I suppose that's a gene I did inherit from my mother.

When I got married the first time I was 20, and cooking was what was expected of me. I didn't resent it - I looked forward to it. I suppose it was a form of relaxation. I worked for some years, stayed home when my daughter was young, then went back to work full time in the 1970's and worked continuously until I retired in 1995. During that time I shed one husband and married the love of my life, who also really enjoys food and entertaining. We're a good match.

Generally, when I'm not down with a broken foot like I am now, I do all the cooking and he does the dishes. Although in recent years he took on breakfast. He enjoys doing that, although we eat the same breakfast every single day, by choice. It used to be fruit smoothies (mango, to be exact), but we're eating more low carb now, so have our single sausage link, half a piece of toast (usually with a tad of peanut butter on top) and a very small scoop of Greek yogurt. Coffee, but no juice.

In all those years I've derived a huge amount of satisfaction from cooking. I love entertaining (although I will say that now that I'm in my mid 60's, cooking a full dinner is a lot of work . . . rarely can I put on a dinner that meets my satisfaction anyway, in less than about 6-8 hours of preparation) and probably the most important thing to me is what people say about the food when it's served. Hopefully they enjoyed it. I cook what I like and not everyone's tastes are like mine.

I love hearing stories from friends about their cooking experiences. About the history of a certain family meal. About the failures too. Those are always good for a few laughs. And believe me, I've had my share of them too. I probably won't share recipes here from something that doesn't taste good or that was an abject failure. I've read other bloggers who do post such recipes. I doubt I'll do that. Since I still have about 300 recipes to go (to post here) I'll be at this a good long time giving you recipes that are GOOD, rather than things that aren't.

So, I know I have people who come visit my blog now and then. Rarely do people comment, though. But, I'd love to know how you happened to get a food gene. Surely you have one since you read this blog, right? Tell me about your food gene.

Spinach Salad with Mango, Strawberries and Candied Pecans

(photo from wholefoodsmarkets.com)

Is a salad just a salad? Or can it be lifted to some higher elevation of flavor. Well, obviously I think the latter. Why didn't I think of this combination myself? I just never would have thought to put fresh mango in a salad. But putting it with spinach is just a marriage made in heaven. Strawberries aren't too unusual in salads these days - I've seen them listed often in magazines and cookbooks.

I've mentioned Phillis Carey before - the cooking instructor. She's another one of Cherrie's and my favorite teachers. This is one of her recipes. And a lovely one it is. Nothing difficult. You can make the candied pecans ahead of time, the fruit can be sliced and refrigerated a few hours before, and Trader Joe's carries baby spinach pre-washed. So it's a cinch to put together with the balsamic and orange juice dressing. It's the mangoes, though, that "make" this salad in my view. Mangoes have such a unique piquant, tart and sweet taste all at the same time.

Remembering the first time I ate fresh mango transports me to the Philippines in 1965. How I got there and why will make for another story when I tell you about how to make lumpia, a sensational appetizer that is ubiquitous (to me, anyway) with that country. Mangoes are as everyday there as perhaps apples are to us. And those were the most juicy succulent mangoes I've ever had in my life. Because of that introduction to mangoes, I've enjoyed the fruit ever since. So I just loved this salad when it was served to me and have made it many times since.

Spinach Salad with Mango, Strawberries and Candied Pecans
Recipe: Phillis Carey
Servings: 8
Balsamic Dressing:
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 dash Tabasco sauce
3 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Spinach Salad:
12 ounces spinach leaves -- baby spinach if possible
1 whole mango -- peeled and cubed
1 cup strawberries, sliced
3 tablespoons green onions -- minced
Candied Pecans:
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 cup pecan halves
1. Dressing: Whisk vinegar, orange juice, Tabasco and sugar in a small bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside for 30 minutes at room temperature of chill up to 24 hours.
2. Pecans: Preheat oven to 350°. Place pecans on a large baking sheet and toast them for just a few minutes, about 3-5 at the most, until they are just barely toasted. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
3. In a medium sized skillet with a heavy bottom, stir together the sugar, oil and vinegar over medium heat until the sugar melts and the syrup bubbles. Meanwhile, prepare a large baking sheet with a sheet of parchment paper in it and have it ready near the range. Add the pecans and stir continuously until the nuts are warmed through and the syrup coats the nuts evenly, about 3 minutes. When the color of the shiny syrup begins to dull, or you smell the sure sign of burning, remove the nuts and pour out onto the parchment lined pan. Using a fork, separate the nuts and allow to cool completely. These will store for 2 days in an airtight container.
4. Salad: Place spinach in a large salad bowl and top with mango cubes, strawberries and green onions. Pour on half of the dressing and gently toss to combine, adding more dressing just to coat the leaves. Divide salad among plates and sprinkle each with a few candied pecans.
Per Serving: 253 Calories; 20g Fat (67.5% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 20g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 28mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 1/2 Fruit; 4 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.
To view a printable recipe, click on title at top.

Strawberry Gazpacho - yes, really

March, '08: I'm updating this recipe with a new photo. But it's timely, since strawberries are just in season where we live.

I know. You're going to think I'm nuts. Strawberry Gazpacho? What more unlikely combination could there be? Savory tomatoes with sweet, juicy strawberries? Well, trust me on this one. It was served to me at one of the cooking classes I attended in Coto de Caza. And Tarla Fallgatter, the instructor, said we'd really like it. And like it we did. I liked it so much I made a batch the next day. And another batch a week after that. And the week after that.

It makes a lovely little respite on a hot summer night. It's quite refreshing. It could be served in plastic cups, even, for people to enjoy before an outdoor meal. Or you could make it a sit-down course, but I like the appetizer idea better. It's not difficult, although you will likely need to go shopping first - it's not like you're going to have all the ingredients on hand. But it's worth doing so. And this is very low calorie too. Surprising - once you try this, you'll be surprised too, as it's very rich tasting.

Strawberry Gazpacho
Recipe: Tarla Falgatter
Serving Size : 6
SOUP:
1 quart strawberries -- lightly crushed
1/2 cup white onions -- thinly sliced
1/2 cup red bell pepper -- chopped
3/4 cup hothouse cucumber -- peeled, seeded, thinly sliced
1/2 whole garlic clove -- crushed
1/4 cup fresh tarragon
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil salt and pepper to taste
GARNISH:
1/2 cup strawberries -- hulled and finely diced
3 tablespoons chives
1/4 cup red bell pepper -- minced
1/4 cup hothouse cucumber -- peeled, seeded, finely diced
6 sprigs chervil -- optional
1. Combine all the soup ingredients except salt and pepper in a plastic or non-reactive bowl (or plastic bag), cover and chill overnight. Place the ingredients in a blender and puree, adding cold water(about 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup, no more) to thin it to a light soup consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper and chill. Chill the soup bowls, if possible.
2. Mix together the garnish ingredients in a non-reactive bowl. Pour each portion of soup into a small bowl and add the garnish to the center, trying to mound it in the center.
Serving Ideas : If you're serving this on a warm day, chill the soup ahead, in a bowl that will nest into another bowl that you fill with ice. Then set out the soup on the ice and put the garnish bowl next to it with a ladle and soup bowls and let people help themselves. Be prepared for people to take seconds.
NOTES : There are layers of flavors in this soup - you can't quite pick it out, but it just mellows in your mouth. The riper the strawberries the better. If you use mostly unripe ones the flavors just don't come through. The overnight marinating is important so don't skip this step.
Per Serving : 133 Calories; 10g Fat (60.1% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 12g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 4mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Vegetable; 1/2 Fruit; 2 Fat.

To view a printable recipe, click on title at top.

Update, sort of, on my foot, and my new "kitchen:

This doesn't look much different than it did 2+ weeks ago, but thought I'd take another photo of my foot anyway. The upper calf is NOT as big around as the photo appears. Nothing's really changed since the last picture 3 weeks ago. The bone isn't healing very fast (according to the dr.). When people say how are you? my response is: the bone is still broken. I may be in this boot longer than I'd planned because it's slow healing. Probable reason: I had too much movement in the boot during the first 2 weeks, so what little movement I did make (not knowing) probably kept reopening the fracture a little bit. So, now my foot is wrapped in an ace bandage, THEN it goes into the boot. My foot has much less ability to rattle around inside it. My foot and ankle still swell every day. Especially if I don't lie down some a couple of times a day, which is ever so boring.

But today a "bone stimulator" was delivered to me that I will use once or twice a day until the bone heals. A little plastic boxy thing, about 5" x 1" x 1" with an attachment that wraps around my foot and showers ultrasound waves to stimulate bone growth. Costs $3,000. Can't rent it. Insurance will pay 80%. It better work, that's all I have to say about it!

So, DH said about an hour ago, I'll go shopping and maybe I'll make grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. Okay, he asked? Sure, hon. When he got home, I said, why don't you go get the Cuisinart electric frypan. I'd asked him at least 2 weeks ago to go dig it out of the shelves in the laundry room where it lives, but he hadn't done it. I bought it last year when our kitchen was being remodeled, and cooked with it and a 2-burner hotplate for the 4-month construction of the new kitchen. He dug that out, then brought in our ancient card table from the garage and voila, I have a kitchen setup that will maybe, just maybe, work for me. So here's a picture of it. It helps that DH will be my schlepper - get this please, get that please, but he's content to do that rather than cook. I'd far rather cook than schlep, so it's a good combo!

I know, doesn't exactly look exciting to you, but after not cooking for a month, this is a big deal for me. Now I'll have to rethink our menus - what dishes can I cook in this frypan - and photograph them, since that's been my biggest problem posting my tried and true recipes to my blog! One or two of my cookbooks have sections titled Skillet Dishes. I think I need to go research that, AND look through my entire main MasterCook cookbook and see what recipes will adapt to this. Bye now. I have a new project for the afternoon.

If you can't go to Bombay, at least try Bombay Chicken

For a year or so, my friend Linda has talked about her Bombay Chicken. About how good it is. About how great it is for guests. Just overall fabulous. So instead of waiting for me to get around to making it myself, she came up to visit us on Sunday and fixed it (remember, I'm still not cooking at all because of my fractured foot). We were delighted - not only to have her stop for a visit, but to fix this great dish. DH was thrilled that once again, he didn't have to cook dinner! She made it with 6 chicken breasts, and we enjoyed 3 full meals out of it with another in the freezer because the chicken pieces were so big. This is worth making. It's delicious and would make a great company meal. You can make it ahead, too, except for baking.

The rice is so tasty - I love all the additions - mandarin oranges, coconut, golden raisins, almonds. And the curry flavor is subtle - not overwhelming at all. And you could make it without the curry if you are averse to it. Linda says she got this recipe about 1974 from her Aunt Ida. What a winner. Thank you, Linda!

Bombay Chicken
Recipe: From my friend Linda, from her Aunt Ida, circa 1974
Servings: 8
8 pieces chicken breast halves -- with skin and bone in
2 teaspoons paprika
2 whole onions -- sliced thin
7 cups water -- boiling
2 cups long-grain white rice
1 cup coconut -- flaked
16 ounces mandarin oranges -- canned, drained
1 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup almonds -- toasted
2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
8 chicken bouillon cubes -- or use "Better Than Bouillon"
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon curry powder
1. Mix flour, salt, dash of pepper and paprika. Dredge chicken pieces in flour mixture and brown in butter in large frying pan. Once browned, remove from pan and drain. Add onion slices and cook in the remaining butter until tender but not brown.
2. Spray a large (9x13) baking dish (glass or ceramic, not metal), sprayed with Pam. Pour in raw rice first, then drained mandarin oranges on top. Sprinkle raisins and coconut over the top. Place browned chicken breasts on top of rice. You can prepare it up to this point and refrigerate, covered.
3. Preheat oven to 350°. Dissolve the bouillon cubes in boiling water and add to the onions. Add the curry powder and any browned bits in the bottom of the skillet. Pour this hot mixture over the rice and chicken.
4. Bake chicken for 1 1/4 hours or until chicken is cooked through. Test the rice for tenderness before removing.

Serving Ideas : Tastes just wonderful with green beans as a side dish and a salad.
NOTES : If you make this ahead, reheat the bouillon mixture before pouring over the rice. And it may take longer to bake if the dish has been refrigerated, so take that into consideration when planning the sit-down time.
Per Serving: 721 Calories; 33g Fat (41.6% calories from fat); 38g Protein; 68g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 124mg Cholesterol; 756mg Sodium. Exchanges: 3 Grain(Starch); 4 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 1 1/2 Fruit; 4 Fat.
To view a printable recipe, click on title at top.

Green Beans with Roasted Shallots and Balsamic Glaze

Sometimes the simplest of ingredients can make the most magnificent of tastes. Such with this easy vegetable. It was only in the last 15 years or so that I have come to appreciate the flavor enhancements, the joy, of cooking with shallots. They have a kind of elusive taste. Not an onion. Not garlic, either. But somewhere in between. And you most likely know they're expensive. Certainly more than onions. And since you usually use more quantity of shallot than of garlic, they can add up if you use very many of them. But I try to keep a few in my pantry all the time now. So I have them when I want them and don't have to make a special trip to the market.

As with onions, once you cook them for awhile they develop this lovely seductive smoothness, and if allowed to caramelize, so the natural sugars in them darken and nearly burn, they have a whole other taste. Unforgettable, really.

And then there's the simple green bean. I go through spells of like and dislike with them. Sometimes I love them dearly, when they're smooth and tender. Other times, after I've prepared some and they've been tough and stringy (even fresh) I've sworn off them for a season. I particularly like Blue Lake green beans. And don't mind paying the price if the market carries them, as they more than likely will be tender. I also absolutely L-O-V-E haricot verts (heh-ree-co-verr), the tiny little green beans originally made popular in France, hence the French name. They're merely young green beans. If you grow beans yourself, just pick them very young and you're most likely guaranteed of a tender mess of them. They're available sometimes at Trader Joe's, although they've been spotty as far as how fresh they are and the tenderness. But if I find them at our local farmer's market, I fall for them every time.

My mother used to make green beans quite often, and the usual method was to boil the heck out of them, until they were nearly mushy and quite gray. Sometimes she added a little onion, and some bacon. They're really not too bad that way, but I prefer my green beans to be a little firm to the tooth, al dente, as they say. And I like them to be truly GREEN, not gray.

In this dish, the shallots and the oil and vinegar are popped into a foil package to roast for an hour. You'll want to serve this dish immediately when they're done, so during that time you'll cook the beans (the photo above is a combination of green beans and sugar snap peas) at the very last minute and combine them, pile them into a serving bowl and the beans will still be nice and green. Do be sure to scrape every last bit of shallots and balsamic glaze out of the foil package. If you're not a real lover of green beans, this might convert you.

Green Beans with Roasted Shallots and Balsamic Glaze
Recipe: From a cooking class at ourhousesouthcounty.com
Servings: 6
12 ounces shallots
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
8 ounces green beans
salt and pepper -- to taste
1. To roast shallots: Peel the shallots and cut in 1/2 inch pieces. Place in the middle of a large piece of aluminum foil. Pour oil and vinegar over the shallots, then sprinkle with salt and pepper, tossing the shallots to coat. Fold and seal the foil, place on a large baking sheet and bake at 375° for about one hour.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the cleaned and trimmed green beans. Cook until they are just barely done (al dente). Remove from water and plunge into cold or iced water to stop the cooking. Drain for a few minutes.
3. Open the foil and stir to loosen some of the caramelized bits on the foil, then add the green beans and stir and toss to coat the beans thoroughly. Season with additional salt or pepper as needed.
Serving Ideas : This can be served hot, room temp, or cold.
NOTES : These are really very easy. The beans may be cooked ahead, but bake the shallots near to the time to serve.
Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 131 Calories; 9g Fat (59.0% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 12g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 9mg Sodium. Exchanges: 2 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 2 Fat.
To view a printable recipe, click on title at top.

Grandgirl's Fresh Apple Cake

My friend Linda emailed me one day just to tell me about this glorious apple cake. With the most unlikely name: Grandgirl’s Fresh Apple Cake from Georgia. Huh? She mentioned it again a few weeks later. We do share recipes all the time, and she’s a good cook. She still works full time, so can’t go to cooking classes much, if at all.

She has the MasterCook software also, and I’ve taught her how to use it, how to capture recipes off the web and easily import them into the software. It’s really quite easy. MasterCook is not expensive software, but it’s a very powerful program that accomplishes nearly everything I need to do to save my recipes. I have over 400 recipes in My Cookbook within MasterCook 9. It has a lot of functions that aren’t exactly "advertised," but are subtle enhancements the program offers if you learn how to use them. Like scaling recipes. You’re having 10 for dinner and the recipe serves 6? No problem. Two keystrokes and you have the recipe re-sized for 10.

One of the things I like the best is the fact that I can create my own custom cookbook design. In other words, I’ve set up a pretty design for all of my recipes. If you have printed out one of the recipes from my blog, the recipe was entered into MasterCook 9, then I converted it to a PDF file (for Adobe Acrobat) so you can print the exact recipe, with picture, in the format I’ve chosen.

I love working with MasterCook. One of its better features is how easy it is the copy and paste a web-based recipe into the program. It takes about 3 keystrokes to get to the import assistant, a small help screen that requires very little to get the recipe into MasterCook. I move a few things around sometimes (the program likes the recipe to be in a certain order), I hit a couple more keystrokes and the recipe is there. Sometimes a photo is available; if so, I import that too. I never forget that adage - a picture speaks a thousand words. Or, I use a fairly new feature called the Web Import Bar which will help you transfer a web recipe into the program. Also very easy. I highly recommend MasterCook 9. You can buy it here at Valusoft for $19.99 or here at Amazon for $18.99.

So back to the fresh apple cake. Last weekend Linda drove up to our house (she lives about 50 miles south of us) on Sunday JUST to fix a wonderful dinner for us. Bless her heart! DH was delighted not to have to cook. I was delighted to finally eat two of Linda’s favorites that I’d not gotten around to trying. Grandgirl’s Apple Cake from Georgia was one of them. We’re still eating off the cake 5 days later. It’s SO SO good.

The recipe came from Paula Deen, and unfortunately it’s no longer available online at the food network, but you can find it at a couple of other sites if you do a search on the web for the title. It doesn’t need any changes or embellishments. It’s perfect just the way it is. It’s a dense, nutty cake. Just overflowing with apple flavor. And once the cake is baked, you pour over it this luscious buttermilk sauce that takes a bit of time to soak in. Please try this recipe. It doesn’t need anything to serve with it, but it’s good with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or even a drizzle of heavy cream too. So, thanks Linda, for another winning recipe.

Grandgirl's Fresh Apple Cake from Georgia
Recipe By: Paula Deen via my friend Linda
Servings: 20
CAKE:
Butter -- for greasing pan
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 ½ cups vegetable oil
1/4 cup orange juice
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups apples -- peeled and finely chopped
1 cup coconut -- shredded
1 cup chopped pecans
SAUCE:
½ cup butter -- (1 stick)
1 cup sugar
½ cup buttermilk
½ teaspoon baking soda
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Generously grease a tube pan.
2. For the cake: in a large bowl, combine the sugar, eggs, oil, orange juice, flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and vanilla extract; and mix well. Fold apples, coconut, and pecans into batter.
3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a tester comes out clean, about 1 ½ hours.
4. Shortly before the cake is done, make the sauce: Melt the butter in a large saucepan, stir in the sugar, buttermilk, and baking soda, and bring to a good rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute. Pour the sauce over the hot cake in the pan as soon as you remove it from the oven. Let stand 1 hour, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.
To view a printable recipe, click title at top.

Wicked Pineapple Upside Down French Toast

(photo from King's Hawaiian bread)

Whenever the family (our kids and the grandkids and/or other relatives) come to visit over the holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter), I try to have something in mind for breakfast on the holiday morning. Some kind of a breakfast casserole, so I don't have to become a short order cook for all the varied appetites. As I've mentioned before, I have a variety of brunch casseroles in my repertoire, and this is another one that competes for first place.

The original recipe for this came from Gourmet Magazine some years back. I adapted the recipe just a little - I couldn't find brioche or challah bread the first time I made this, and King's Hawaiian bread was available. If you don't have that where you live, it's just a very soft, eggy and SWEET bread. It's too sweet for sandwiches. But it makes great toast. And it's probably wickedly bad for you because it's made with white flour and contains a fair amount of sugar. But it makes wonderful French Toast - by this recipe or any other.

But, because Hawaiian bread IS so sweet, I knew I needed to reduce the sugar. So if you use different kinds of bread, you'll want to adjust the sugar accordingly.

The pineapple, just the crushed, canned type, is what makes this different. There isn't all that much in it, so you really can't SEE the pineapple much - but you can taste it. You can serve this with syrup if you choose, but it's already so sweet and flavorful - and moist - it doesn't really need anything. Maybe some fresh fruit, fresh juice, hot steaming coffee and you're done. As with many of my brunch recipes, I get all the ingredients ready the night before so it's very easy to make this the morning of.

Pineapple Upside-Down French Toast
Recipe Adapted from Gourmet Magazine
Serving Size : 4
1/4 cup unsalted butter -- (1/2 stick)
1/4 cup brown sugar -- firmly packed
3/4 cup crushed pineapple -- pack & drain well
1 whole egg
1/4 cup egg substitute
1 1/2 cups 2% low-fat milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 slices egg bread -- or Hawaiian bread
1. Preheat oven to 400. In a saucepan melt butter over moderate heat and stir in sugar and pineapple, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
2. In a shallow bowl whisk together eggs, milk and salt.
3. In a baking dish, 9 x 13 inches, spread pineapple mixture evenly over bottom. Dip bread slices into milk mixture in batches and arrange in one layer on top of pineapple mixture. If you have spaces in the pan, just mush the bread a little to squeeze in some more slices. It's fairly easy to mix up a little more egg/milk mixture to make the dish feed more people.
4. Bake French Toast in middle of oven for 20-25 minutes, or until bread is golden brown. Cool in pan for one minute and serve.
NOTES : The original recipe didn't use any low-fat ingredients, so I adapted it some. You can cut down even more on the butter if you wish, and can use all egg substitute if you would prefer. The original called for challah or brioche bread, but since I couldn't find itve any of that I used Hawaiian bread. It's quite sweet and rich, so that's why the sugar has been reduced by half. If you're going to prepare this for breakfast and don't have much time, just get all the ingredients ready the night before, including mixing up the milk, eggs, etc. It doesn't take long to put it together.
Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 424 Calories; 20g Fat (41.7% calories from fat); 12g Protein; 50g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 122mg Cholesterol; 527mg Sodium. Exchanges: 2 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Fruit; 1/2 Non-Fat Milk; 3 1/2 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.
To view a printable recipe, click on title at top.

Bruschetta with Artichokes & Garlic

(photo from artichoke-festival.org)
One of the things - - that I may have mentioned before - - is that when I attend a cooking class, even though I usually know what the menu is before I go, a class will often open my taste buds to something different. Not necessarily a different food. There aren't many American foodstuffs I haven't eaten (except deep fried insects, and most organ meat). No, I mean that the chef/instructor makes something with a different twist. Or, makes something that would not have appealed to me if I'd just read the recipe. But at a class, it's there, he/she is making it and I eat it. And I find that I enjoy it. It's one of those a-ha moments. Like wow, this is really good. That's what keeps me going back to cooking classes.

So, this recipe came from a class several years ago, and I wrote on the recipe handout that it was "really good." I have my own culinary shorthand for note-taking at cooking classes. I scribble all over the handout, adding little notes here and there, describing cooking techniques, alternatives to ingredients, and even food additions the chef mentions. You'd be surprised how frequently the chef forgets to write in an ingredient or has the wrong measurement. Then, when the dish is served I have my hierarchy of (adverb) superlatives that I scribble in larger writing after the dish is served:

• no superlatives means it's not worth making
  
• "Good" means it's okay, probably not worth making
  
• "Very good" or "really good" means better than average and probably worth making
  
• "Excellent" means it was really very, very good
  
• "Fabulous" or "outstanding" means I must make this dish

So this one was a Very Good on my scale. Worth making, but maybe won't gain "oh my gosh" kinds of comments at a dinner party. But still worth doing. You can't have every single dish be the recipient of the highest of superlatives.

The chef/instructor was Nadia Frageri. She's a native Italian who lives in San Diego, and still has a very pronounced accent. In fact her speech is so thick you must pay very close attention to her speaking, or you'll miss things. She's a very accomplished cook. Doesn't have her own restaurant. Doesn't even have a website. I don't think she does computers. I don't think she does catering. Hasn't written a cookbook, either. But she teaches lots of classes in the San Diego area, and some in our area of Orange County. Nadia isn't flamboyant or a comedian like some instructors are - she doesn't have a running glib commentary to offer; she's just a very good cook and wants you to go home with some of her family recipes.

So this is one of Nadia's recipes. She recommended buying the artichoke hearts frozen at Trader Joe's. The last time I checked they weren't stocking them, however. You don't want marinated ones for sure. If you can't find frozen, then use canned. But still don't use marinated. The goat cheese is the trump card here. It gives the artichoke hearts and garlic and cheese mixture a softness it wouldn't otherwise have. It's quite easy to make, the mixture can be made up ahead, and you just have to have the Italian bread on hand. French bread will work, but it has a much firmer crust, which you don't want. And a smaller loaf - smaller around that is - is what you want, rather than a 4-inch diameter loaf. Or buy 2 smaller loaves. The larger slices are too hard to handle as finger food. Try it and let me know what superlatives you'd give this one.

Bruschetta with Artichokes & Garlic
Recipe By : Nadia Frigeri
Servings: 16
12 ounces artichoke hearts -- Trader Joe's frozen
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup Italian parsley -- chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 cloves garlic
6 ounces soft goat cheese -- crumbled
1 whole Italian bread
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 whole garlic cloves -- peeled and sliced
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1. Defrost the artichoke hearts and drain. In a medium skillet add olive oil, parsley and artichoke hearts. Season with salt and pepper and sauté about 3-4 minutes, adding a little water or chicken broth if necessary to keep the vegetables from browning. Remove from heat, cool, pour out onto a cutting board and chop coarsely. You may also pour mixture into the food processor and process just until the hearts are minced, but do not puree the mixture.
2. Add a little olive oil to the same pan and cook the garlic slowly. Do not brown; in fact, add chicken broth to prevent it from browning. Cook until the garlic is soft. Then, in a bowl combine the artichoke mixture, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper. You may make this ahead to this point. When ready to proceed, add the crumbled goat cheese and the first portion of Parmesan cheese. 3. Meanwhile, slice the bread in 1/3 inch slices. Brush them with olive oil and quickly grill or bake until barely toasted on the edges. Do not overbake these or they become too brittle. Allow to cool briefly, then with the pieces of sliced garlic, rub each slice with it. Mound the bread with the artichoke mixture, then sprinkle them with the additional Parmesan cheese and dust with additional Italian parsley.
Serving Ideas : If you're watching the calories, you can reduce the amount of cheese, or eliminate it altogether, and add sun dried tomatoes, minced, instead.
NOTES : Italian bread is quite soft, and doesn't have a firm crust like French bread does, but you can use French bread instead. Just be careful not to overbake the slices.
Per Serving: 126 Calories; 11g Fat (73.9% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 4g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 8mg Cholesterol; 145mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 1 1/2 Fat.
To view a printable recipe, click on title at top.

Peppered Pecans

I suppose seasoned and/or sugared nuts have been around for a long time. Nut companies surely try to devise any way they can to entice us to buy more of their product. And I've tasted a variety of caramelized nuts, either walnuts or pecans, that go onto different dishes, most often salads. I've even tried the packaged ones from the grocery store. Didn't like them. Too sweet.

So when Cathy Thomas, the Food Editor of our local daily newspaper, The Orange County Register, gave a cooking class at Sur la Table several years ago, I signed up. I've taken several of her classes - she's fun and entertaining. She even leads food tours in our local Vietnamese community a couple of times a year. I've done that too.

But this particular class she prepared some kind of salad with THESE nuts. The only thing I remember about the salad is that it had sliced pears and blue cheese crumbles in it. But I'll tell you, my taste buds were all over these nuts. You know the word addicting. Addiction: at dictionary.com it's explained as the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming.

Oh my. That's me with these nuts. If you can stay out of the nuts, you're a better person than I am.

I've made them dozens and DOZENS of times. I usually start out with the original recipe size, thinking oh, these will be enough to last for several salads. DH loves them too. We'll enjoy having these for a week or so. WRONG. After I've made them I have to taste them to make sure they're not too hot (what kind of lame reasoning is that for snacking?) Usually I'm cooking other things, making the salad. You know, the usual kitchen detail for any dinner. One more nut. Set the table. Another nut. Maybe two. Start the vegetable. Another nut. Measure out the 1/4 cup I think is appropriate for the salad and leave the rest to continue to rest on the foil. Another nut. And so it goes. I think you've got the picture.

These are not overly sweet, although they surely do have some sugar in them. The pepper is what's a bit different. Addicting. Spicy. Lovely. And I highly recommend you double the recipe!

Peppered Pecans
Recipe: Cathy Thomas, Food Editor of the Orange County Register
Servings: 8
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper -- coarsely ground
1 cup pecan halves

1. Place a baking sheet or jelly roll pan next to your range before you start.
2. In a small bowl combine sugar, salt and pepper, and stir to combine.
3. Heat a large wok or heavy skillet over high heat. Add pecans and toss until pecans are warm, about 1 minute.
4. Sprinkle pecans with HALF of the sugar mixture and toss until the sugar melts. Add remaining sugar mixture and toss again until sugar melts, then IMMEDIATELY pour out onto the baking sheet. Spread nuts out and allow to cool. These will keep, stored in a plastic bag, for about 3-4 weeks. (They'll never last that long.)
NOTES : These nuts were served in a lovely green salad garnished with blue cheese crumbles and pears at a cooking class I attended.
Per Serving: 115 Calories; 9g Fat (67.4% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 9g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 235mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 2 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.

To view a printable recipe, click on title at top.