Mother’s Day Almond Cake December 12, 2010

This is a great cake, delicious and easy. It was first introduced to the family when Uncle Danny brought it to Avalon and we sat on the back deck having an extravagant dinner celebrating my mother’s birthday or some other summer occasion. After a delicious dinner and of course a cheese course, Danny brought out the almond cake with whipped cream,  fresh peaches and berries and a bottle of Sauternes. As we ate the dense and delicious almond cake and drank the deliciously sweet Sauternes, my mother exclaimed “its a marriage!”

Since this cake is a staple for all occasions. You can make it ahead of time and then keep it in the fridge or even freeze it if you are not going to eat for a few days.

Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees and grease a 9″ cake pan

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup Almond Paste
10 oz butter (2 and 1/2 sticks), softened to room temperature
6 large eggs
2 tps vanilla extract
1/2 tps almond extract
1 cup flour
1 tps baking powder
1/4 tps salt 

Beat the sugar and the almond paste in a mixer. Add the butter and beat until fluffy, pushing down the sides once or twice while mixing.

In a separate bowl beat the eggs with a fork until combined and then beat into batter. Add the vanilla and the almond extract.

In a separate bowl mix the dry ingredients. With a spatula, stir/fold the dry ingredients into batter until just incorporated. Be sure not too over stir.

Bake for one 1 hour.

Enjoy for desert with whipped cream or ice cream, fresh berries and/or peaches and a glass of Sauternes.

Warm and Hearty Winter Soup – White Bean and Kale December 12, 2010

We got this simple recipe out of Cookie Magazine (which doesnt exist anymore…) I think it was the in the last published issue of Cookie Mag…We made it over the long weekend, it was delicious and got better every day it sat in the pot.

1 onion chopped
2 carrots chopped
2 parsnips chopped
1/2 lb thick cut bacon cut into pieces
3 cloves garlic chopped
sal y pepe to taste
3 cans white Canellini beans drained and rinsed
1 large can (28 oz) of peeled, plum tomatoes
1 32 oz can of chicken stock
5 sprigs of thyme
5 sprigs of rosemary
1 bunch of kale, thick stems removed, washed and cut up into bite sized pieces
toasted bread crumbs
good quality olive oil
grated Parmesan cheese

In a large soup pot or dutch over, sautee the first five ingredients on the stove top with 2 tablespoons olive oil for 10 minutes, add sal y pepe.
Add the beans, plum tomatoes and chicken stock and stir.
Let the soup come to a simmer, add the thyme and rosemary and the kale.
Cover and let simmer for at least 1 hour stirring occasionally, until the beans start to break down.
You can always add more broth or another small can of tomatoes if the soup is too thick.

When ready to serve, ladle the soup into soup bowls, sprinkle with toasted bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and drizzle with olive oil.

This is one of the best hearty winter soups we have made in a while.
Enjoy!

Auntie Lynn’s Tomatillo Salsa December 12, 2010

This summer in our CSA share we got a boatload of tomatillos, so I called my auntie Lynn to ask for her secret recipe for her fresh tomatillo salsa. It is delicious, fresh and green and a little spicy. I remember vividly that food moment, the first taste of something really delicious, so good and SO different than anything else I ever had eaten, I was probably 12 or 13 years old. These were tomatillos fresh from her garden. I was a little disapointed when she told me to get it out of a cookbook that we both have, thinking it was her secret family recipe, but I am still happy to have it here in my family recipe archive! I made it this year at my daughter’s second birthday.

From Field of Greens – the Greens Restaurant Cookbook
1 lb tomatillos, husked
1 green jalapeno or serrano chilies, seeded – half if you dont want it too spicey
1/4 cup finely diced red onion
rice wine vinegar
1/2 red or yellow bell pepper, finely diced (about 1/2 cup)
1 tablespoon lime juice
salt
cayenne pepper
2 spoonfuls of sugar
1 tbs cilantro

Coarsly chop 3/4 of the tomatillos and puree them with the jalapenos, this makes the base of the salsa.
toss the onion with the vinegar
chop the rest of the tomatillos and the pepper and add it all to the puree.
season to taste with the salt, cayenne and sugar
add cilantro just before serving

so good!!

Dutton Family Christmas Cookies January 4, 2010

For years I baked Christmas cookies with my mom. We had Mimi’s cookies (my paternal Grandma) and then there were the raspberry shortbread cookies that Mere-Mere loved (my maternal grandma) and the meringue mushrooms and chocolate truffles.

For hours I would help my my mom roll out Mimi’s cookies and sprinkle them with colored sugars to fill cookie plates and tins as gifts. I became known in the family to roll out the thinnest versions of these cookies. I always was sure to sprinkle some with cinnamon sugar, that is what my grandpa always liked and we were sure to always cook a few trays, extra well-done, for my dad.

I continue to make these cookies, they are simple but excellent and fun to make with kids because they can help roll the dough or decorate the cookies. I have also included the recipe for the raspberry shortbread cookies and a new recipe for a new cookie (daring!!) that I made for the first time this year. Maybe this will be my token cookie recipe, but that will be decided by the test of time.

Mimi’s Xmas Cookies
1/2 lb. butter
2 C suagr
2 eggs
4 C. flour
pinch salt
1 tlb. vanilla

Cream butter and sugar in mixer really well, beat in eggs one at a time add vanilla. Add flour it will be very thick beat well.
Divide into 2 parts then divide into 3rd’s and refrigerate for 24 hours.
Roll out on a floured baking cloth with a rolling pin cover. Roll very thin.
Transfer to a cookie sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar or colored sugars
Preheat oven to 350 bake for about 7 min. or until light golden brown.
Store in cookie tins.

RASPBERRY SHORTBREAD COOKIES
1 lb. unsalted butter (4 sticks)
2 C raw sugar
1 tlb. vanilla
4 C flour

Melt butter and sugar in a heavy saucepan over very low heat, stirring regularly. You have to watch this very closely as the sugar needs to melt completely until it is not granular at all. May take 20-30 minutes over moderate heat.
Take the pan off the heat and add vanilla, continue to stir to make sure that it does not separate.
Let this mixture cool, occasionally stirring, try and keep it thick not separating.
Add the flour a bit at a time, stirring again trying not to let it separate. This has a tendency to separate but you can work with it either way. There is really no telling what needs to be done to avoid this from happening.
Make into small balls and put on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, press with your thumb and then fill with a dollop of raspberry jam. I recommend using little spoons to do this.
Preheat oven to 350 bake for about 10-12 minutes until golden brown.

Christmas Chocolate Peppermint Bark (from Bon Appetit Dec. 09)
2 cups flour
big pinch of salt
1 cup (2 sticks) sweet cream butter softened
1 cup sugar
1 tps vanilla
1 egg yolk
6 oz dark chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped peppermint candy canes
2 oz white chocolate melted in a double boiler

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Spray the bottom of a 9×13 inch pan, with a 2 inch lip and line with parchment paper, make sure the paper comes up both sides of the pan, you will need these edges to get the cookie out of the pan when it is done.

Whisk flour and salt together, keep on the side

Cream the butter in a mixer about 2 minutes. Add the sugar and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes, scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally to be sure that it is well incorporated. Beat in the vanilla, then the egg yolk.

Gradually add the flour mixture, beating on low speed just enough until blended.

Drop dough by the tablespoons onto the pan, using moistened fingers, press dough to evenly cover the bottom of the pan. Prick with a fork all over.

Bake in the over until golden brown and the edges pull away from the pan, about 30 minutes.

Take out of the oven and plan on the rack, immediately sprinkle the dark chocolate on top of it. When it melts, about 2 minutes, use a rubber spatula to spread the chocolate evenly. Sprinkle the chopped peppermint candies.

Melt the white chocolate in a bain-marie. Use a fork to drizzle the white chocolate all over the cookie pan.

When cool, put in the fridge for 30 minutes to cool further and harden.
Using the parchment paper, lift from the pan. On a cutting board, cut the cookie into irregular pieces. Store in an airtight container between layers of parchment paper in the fridge. These also freeze well.

I found that the cookie bottom was a bit thick, if I made them again, I would use a slightly large pan so the bottom was thinner, but be sure to keep an eye on it in the oven so it does not burn. It will probably cook for 20 minutes.

Fall Pumpkin Ravioli December 6, 2009

I saw fresh pumpkin ravioli (on special!) on Fresh Direct, that is something delicious for this time of year and that keeps well in the freezer. I like to keep different kinds of frozen ravioli in the freezer, it is a nice change from pasta for an easy one plate meal.

We have had lots of squash and pumpkins from our farm share this fall – acorn quash, butternut squash, delicata squash, ambercup squash, and spaghetti squash. They have all been delicious and flavorful and for the most part we just enjoy them fresh baked out the of the oven with butter and brown sugar, see recipe below.

But the other night with some mushrooms and swisschard we enjoyed a lovely fall pasta dish with butternut squash.

Oven Baked Squash
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Wash the outside of squash and cut in half
Scoop out the seeds and pulp
Cook in the microwave for 2 to 5 mintues, until it is soft
Place the squash on a cookie tray that is lined with aluminum foil
Place a pat of butter, a teaspoon of brown sugar, salt and pepper in the center of each squash
Bake for 30 minutes in the oven until soft and bubbly

Fall Pumpkin Ravioli with Swisschard, Mushrooms and butternur squash
Prep the squash -
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Rinse off one large or 2 small butternut squash
Cut in half and scoop out the seeds and pulp
Cut off the rind and cut the flesh in a small dice
Place in a baking dish and toss with olive oil and sprinkle with sal y pepe
Bake in the oven for 30 mins or until soft and juicy

Meanwhile, place a pot of salted water on the stove to boil.

Wash the swisschard, dry it and roughly chop
Cut up an onion and sautee it in a pan with a little olive oil, sal y pepe, about 3 minutes
Add the swisschard and let it cook down
Add about 6 button mushrooms, that have been cleaned and sliced
When everything is cooked until soft, keep warm on the stove until the squash has cooked.

Cook the Pumpkin Ravioli
When finished cooking, toss with olive oil and place in the individual pasta bowl
Spoon some of the squash on top of the ravioli and the swisschard sautee. Be generous with these vegetables, this is the sauce.
Sprinkle with chopped parsley and freshly grated Parmesan.

This is delicious with a fresh glass of Riesling.

Apples! November 1, 2009

Apples!

The fall is all about apples. We went apple picking on a cold fall day when we wre up in Boston visiting Gar and Aiden. It was so fun although we were a little late for apple picking up there, it was ground collecting only. I was a bit wary at first, but when we got out into the orchard, there were a ton of apples on the ground, recently fallen and that were perfect for the taking.

We filled a bushel and enjoyed the farm. I figured if there were a tiny bit bruised it would not matter anyway because I was going to cook with them. As soon as we got home I made a big pot of apple sauce, the next day was apple crisp and a few days later, apple cake. Three recipes that are so simple and delicious. We cant get enough and are thinking about apple picking in Jersey, but now being November 1st, I think we are way too late. Next year we will go a bit earlier.

Apple Sauce
Peel and core as many apples that fit into your big pasta pot (about 10)
Cut them into large chunks
Add about 2 cups of water
Cover and bring to a boil
Simmer for about 30 mins stirring occasionally
If you want to add cinnamon or sugar do so before you start cooking the apples.
Keep enough for a few days, the rest will keep in the freezer for months

Apple Crisp
Topping:
3/4 cup quick cooking Quaker Oats
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
1 stick of butter, melted
Mix together in a bowl and set aside
Preheat over to 350 degrees

Apples:
Peel and core 5 apples and slice thinnly
toss in a bowl with
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons sugar
juice of half a lemon

Put the apples in a baking dish, generously sprinkle the topping on
Bake in the oven for about 1 hour
Enjoy warm with vanilla ice cream, this is the best desert ever!!

Apple Cake
I searched the interet and got this recipe with a few changes from recipeczar.com – Jewish Apple Cake. It is easy and proved to be really good
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Spray a bunt pan with Pam

Apples:
Peel and core 4 apples and slice thinnly
toss with a bowl with
4 teaspoons of cinnamon
5 tablespoons of sugar

Batter:
2 cups flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups sugar in the raw
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons basking soda
1/2 good quality salt (fleur de sel)
1 stick melted butter
1/2 applesauce
1/4 cup oil
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs unbeaten
1/2 cup orange juice

In a stand mixer, mix all the dry ingredients together.
In a bowl put all of the liquid ingredients together but do not mix them.
With the mixer on low, add all the liquid ingredients to the dry in gredients and mix just until blended.
Layer the batter with the apples in the bunt pant, beginning with the batter and ending with the batter.
Put in the hot oven and cook for 1 hr.

This is good and lasts on the counter for a few days.


Roasted Red Peppers October 3, 2009

It has been awhile, that is my fear of blogging the need for content and writing regularly and often…anyways I am still going to make this work (hopefully).

Something I have been wanted to write about recently, is peppers, roasted red peppers. They are delicious and now is the time of year to make them in large quantities and often. In our farm share we have been receiving our fare share of bell peppers – red, green, yellow, white, purple and most recently chocolate. When I have the choice of color I always go with red and yellow (or orange) I feel that they are always the sweetest and most flavorful, and they roast well.

Easy Roasted Peppers
Line  a cookie tray with aluminum foil
Place 2 to 6 peppers on the tray
Place under the broiler (high) and as close as they can be with out touching the flame/element
Keep an eye on the peppers, when the skins start to bubble and get charred carefully turn the peppers so that all sides get well done
Place them in a brown paper bag, close it and let them cool
When cool enough to handle, clean out the piths and seeds, and scrape the skin off. If they are nice and charred the skins will come right off
Slice the peppers in strips and place them in a dish
Cover with olive oil
Finely chop 1 clove of garlic and mix in with the peppers
These will keep in the refrigerator for a few days.

A few ideas to enjoy them -

Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Omelet
Beat a few eggs together with sal y pepe.
Put some peppers with the garlic and olive oil in a small omelet pan, when hot add the eggs.
When they are almost cooked, sprinkle some goat cheese and flip over.
Sprinkle with chopped fresh basil or parsley and enjoy

Spaghetti with Pesto, Capers and Roasted Peppers
In a small pan sautee some roasted peppers with the olive oil and garlic
Add 3 teaspoons of capers with a little of their vinegar
Add 1 teaspoon of sugar
Heat until bubbly and let sit
Boil pasta
Toss with Pesto, olive oil and a little of the pasta water
Dish out onto a bowl, spoon the capers and peppers with the cooking liquid over the pasta.
Grate fresh parmesan, sprinkle with sal y pepe and add chopped parsley on top.

Enjoy! This was really good last night!!

Grilled Whole Fish Shanghai Style with Ginger Rice September 14, 2009

Jersey City is full of great finds, small local purveyors of some very fresh goods, but not always the most obvious of places. There is the Italian bakery, Toricco’s ice cream, the Dominican cake shop to name a few. Our recent find has been the Lee Fish House. It took me awhile to garner up the courage to go in Lee Fish House and then to actually go back and buy something, but I am glad I finally did because now we have a great fish monger in the neighborhood. And not to mention prices that can’t be beat!

The other night I went over just before they close at 7pm and picked up 2 small whole bass. They were small, about 1 1/4 lbs each. Total came to $4.75! and I was on my way to cooking up a good dinner.

With the help of epicurious.com I found some cooking techniques and this recipe idea that was definitely different than my usual palate of flavors. I decided to go with Asian falvors, but I rarely do this in my cooking. It ended up being a very successful experiment, hope you enjoy it.

Luckily The Magic Cabinet is stocked with garlic, ginger and soy sauce. These were the key elements to the success of this dish.

Garlic Ginger Sauce
finely chop up 3 cloves of garlic
finely chop 2 tablespoons of fresh ginger
1 teaspoon of sugar
1/2 cup of olive oil
Put all of these ingredients in a small sauce pan. Simmer over medium heat until bubbly and aromatic. About 5 minutes. Turn off and let sit.

Ginger Rice
make rice as you normally would – basmati, brown rice, white rice – what ever you have
add 2 tablespoons of coarsely chopped fresh ginger before you add the broth (hopefully you don’t use water, if you do switch now and you will actually enjoy rice this time!)
This is a delicious side dish that is a nice change from regular, plain rice

Whole Grilled Fish
prep the fish by rinsing them under cold water and pat dry
cut diagonal slits in the fish on both sides about 2 inches apart
rub with olive oil on both sides
sprinkle sal y pepe on the inside

Spray the grill with cooking spray
Get the grill good and hot
Grill the fish 5 minutes per side

Before plating the fish, heat the Garlic Ginger Sauce until it is hot and bubbly.
Sprinkle the fish with 2 teaspoons of soy sauce and spoon the Garlic Ginger sauce over the fish and the rice.

Delicious and fresh! Enjoy

Nothing Like Fresh Roasted Potatoes September 3, 2009

Growing up potatoes were a staple side dish to any fish dish that my mom put on the table for dinner. My mom’s signature preparation was simple – thinly sliced potatoes, spread out onto a cookie sheet, sprinkled with salt and drizzled with olive oil and roasted in the oven.

This summer one, to my surprise, one of the veggies that we have been enjoying the most from our CSA share, have been the farm fresh potatoes. We have gotten red skinned, white and all-blue potatoes, all have been 100 times more delicious than any store bought potatoes I have ever had. Amazing how “farm fresh” makes such a difference. This summer with our farm-fresh spuds, we have enjoyed many simple dinners of roasted potatoes and a house salad.

Here is how we prep the roasted potatoes at home:
pre-heat the oven to 375°
brush a cookie sheet with olive oil
thinnly slice the potatoes and spread them out on the cookie sheet slightly overlapping them – this allow for some crunchy chips and others to be soft. You can use a mandolin or a knife, imperfection is a good thing!
drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with good salt (rock salt, fleur de sel)
Roast in the oven for 30 to 45 minutes – depends on how crispy you like them.

If you like you can put fresh ground pepper, chopped garlic, pimenton (Spanish paprika) or fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme or summer savory) – this is up to you. We generally just like salt…

Serve them hot out of the over. A little Dijon mustard is always a welcome addition.

A note on mustard – Dijon Mustard is a key staple in the Magic Cabinet. We like Maille because it easy to get in the supermarket and it is not too salty, pretty spicy and not too vinegary. Good mustard is important!

Enjoy!

Pesto – one…two…three… August 29, 2009

Pesto is an easy-to-make condiment, that is a good thing to have on hand in the magic cabinet (although it is kept in the freezer). In the summer, we make big batches with fresh basil from the garden and keep in the freezer to have on hand all year long.

The other day at our veggie pick up we got a great load of fresh veggies – tomatoes, ground cherry tomatoes, lettuce, eggplant, wax beans, rattlesnake beans, red onions, potatoes, and a big bunch of fresh, fragrant basil.

One the way home I stopped at the deli and picked up a thing of pine nuts, all I could think about was the big batch of yummy pesto I was going to make. I walked into the door, gave Pilar to Juan and took to making pesto. It is easy -

In the food processor -

2 cloves of garlic – pulse until minced

add the bunch of fresh basil – washed and stems removed, pulse until chopped

add 1/2 cup olive oil

add 1 cup of pine nuts

sal y pepe to taste

Add more olive oil or pine nuts to get the right texture

Et voila, what could be easier.

I like to split this up into small containers and put it in the freezer. That night we smothered it on grilled eggplant and cut up tomatoes.

Enjoy!