Strawberry Rhubarb Tall Cake

Rhubarb syrup and filling
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup water
1 tsp lemon juice
1 lb rhubarb, cut into 1-in pieces
2 whole star anise
8 medium basil leaves
3 3-in thin strips of lemon zest
1/4 tsp vanilla

Cake
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 cups sugar
8 oz. unsalted butter, softened
4 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla

Topping
1 pint fresh strawberries, divided
8 oz. crème fraîche
2/3 cup heavy cream

Prepare the rhubarb:
Combine the sugar and water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil to dissolve sugar. Add the remaining ingredients except the vanilla. Return to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until rhubarb is soft. Strain the solids, reserving the syrup. Return the syrup to the pan bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for approximately 30 minutes, or until the volume is reduced to about 1 1/3 cups. Add the vanilla. Cool to room temp and then refrigerate.

Remove the whole spices from the rhubarb solids. Puree the solids in a food processor. Refrigerate.

Prepare the cake:
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease 2 9-in round cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper.

Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl. In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar until light. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Combine the buttermilk and vanilla in a small dish. Add 1/3 of the buttermilk mixture to the butter mixture and mix until liquid is absorbed. Add 1/3 of the flour mix. Mix just until combined. Alternate buttermilk and flour for 2 more additions ending with the flour. Divide the batter between the 2 prepared pans and level.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Cool the cakes in the pan for 10 minutes. Turn the cakes out onto racks. Cool completely.

Assemble the cake:
Cut 3/4 of the stawberries into thick slices. Add 1/3 cup rhubarb syrup to strawberries and stir to coat.

The remaining 1/4 of the strawberries can be halved or left whole as they will be decoration for the top of the cake. Combine the halved strawberries with 2 T - 4T (enough to coat the berries) rhubarb syrup.

Once the cakes are cool, cut the cakes in half horizontally with a serrated knife to create four layers.

Whip the crème fraîche and heavy cream. Gradually add about 1/3 cup rhubarb syrup. Taste the cream and add a little more syrup if necessary. Whip the cream until firm but not stiff peaks form.

Place the bottom of one of the cakes onto a plate. Layer 1/4 of the cream, 1/3 of the pureed rhurbarb, and the 1/3 of the sliced strawberries and syrup on top. Add the next layer and repeat filling layers. Add the third layer and repeat filling layers. Add the top layer. Evenly spread the remaining cream on the top layer and decorate with syrup coated halved strawberries.

Refrigerate until ready to server. Let stand at room temp for 20-30 minutes before serving.


This cake is best eaten the day assembled. The rhubarb syrup and puree can be made up to a couple of days in advance. The cake can be made a day ahead, cooled, and wrapped.

Extra rhubarb syrup can be used in beverages, on ice cream, etc.

chocolate macadamia bars

I found this recipe in a Carres Gourmets, which is a cookbook in french. Now, my french is sketchy these days, but this recipe turned out all right. They are more like candy than a bar cookie.

Crust
13 T butter, melted
200 grams nilla wafer crumbs
1/3 cup cocoa powder

Filling
1 396 g can sweetened condensed milk
2 T Lyle's Golden Syrup (molasses works too)
3 T butter

1 cup toasted macadamia nuts

Topping
200 g dark chocolate
3 T butter

Line a 8x11 (a 9x 13 would work too) pan with wax paper. Mix the cookie crumbs, cocoa powder and melted butter together. Press mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Refrigerate. While that's chillin', make the macadamia caramel filling. Heat the sweetened condensed milk, molasses and butter over medium heat. When the butter is melted, reduce the heat and simmer for about 8 minutes. The mixture will be slightly thicker and golden brown. Stir in the macadamia nuts. Spread this mixture over the crust and return the pan to the refrigerator.

Make the topping. Melt the 3 T. butter and dark chocolate together. Spread chocolate mix over the caramel. Refrigerate for at least a couple of hours. Cut into bars. Keep the insulin handy, eat and enjoy!

Coffee Toffee Bars

No pics, so sorry. They were pretty tasty though.

Coffee Toffee Bars

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 T strong coffee
2 tsp vanilla
4 tsp espresso powder
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups light brown sugar
3 eggs
8 oz heath toffee bits

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9x13 glass baking dish with foil. Lightly grease the foil.

Sift flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl.

In a small bowl, mix coffee, vanilla and espresso powder until espresso powder is dissolved.

Cream butter and brown sugar. Add eggs, one at a time. Mix well after each addition. Add the coffee mixture and mix until blended. Add the flour mixture and mix until almost blended. Stir in toffee bits.

Using a wooden spoon or spatula spread the batter evenly in the baking dish. Bake for 40 minutes, or until a tester come out clean but not dry. Do not overbake or they'll be too hard.

Cool completely. Cut into squares.

Bolludagur!

It's Bun Day in Iceland! We're having gluten-free and wheaty cream puffs with butterscotch pastry cream and coffee pastry cream. There's bittersweet chocolate sauce. There's vanilla whipped cream. It's mix and match for the whole family!

Gluten-free cream puffs
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 T sugar
3/4 cup + 1 T white rice flour
1/4 cup + 1T sweet rice flour
1/4 cup + 2 T tapioca flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3/4 cup butter
8 eggs, room temperature

Preheat oven to 400F.

Combine salt, sugar, white rice flour, sweet rice flour and tapioca flour in a small bowl. Bring milk and butter to a boil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. While stirring constantly, add all of the flour mix to the boiling liquid. Stir over the heat for a minute or so. The mixture will separate from the sides of the pan and become stiff enough to leave an indentation with a spoon. Remove from heat and let cool for 2 minutes.

Add the eggs, one at a time mixing thoroughly after each addition.

Put the dough into a strong pastry bag fitted with a large tip. Pipe the dough onto a baking sheet.


Bake for 9 minutes at 400F. Reduce heat to 350F and bake for 9 more minutes until golden.

This batch made approximately 85 2-in cream puffs.

Chocolate Peanut Spread

2 cups raw shelled peanuts
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 + 1/8 tsp salt
4-5 T peanut oil

Roast peanuts at 400F for 8-10 minutes until lightly browned. Cool peanuts.

Whiz peanuts in the food processor until liquified. This took about 7-8 minutes in my food processor. Don't stop at paste, you want the oil to start to separate.


Add powdered sugar, salt, cocoa powder and 4 T of peanut oil. Process until well mixed. Add additional peanut oil to thin mixture, if necessary.


Transfer to a jar and store in the refrigerator. Makes about 2 1/2 cups.

Cupcakes!

Two great discoveries this week:
1. Best devil's food cupcakes ever! Make these immediately. Rinse and repeat. Seriously just do it.
2. Lyle's golden syrup.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of MTP

Here are some cakes made for MTP's big 3-0. Cakes are gluten and dairy-free. I used regular buttercream between the layers and under the fondant. Paige actually free-handed the letters. Go, Paige! And she claims she's never done this before...

Start your engines!



Gluten-free Chocolate Coconut Cake
Makes 1 x 9 in square or 2 x 8 in round or 2 x 9 in round cakes
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup coconut oil
4 eggs
1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder, sifted
1/3 cup potato starch
8 tsp. tapioca flour
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 T. baking powder
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 1/3 cup coconut milk
2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven. (350F for 9 in square, 375 for 8 or 9 in rounds) Grease a parchment lined cake pan(s). In large bowl, beat coconut oil and sugar until light. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add remaining ingredients. Beat for about a minute. Pour batter into pan(s) and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 20-23 minutes for 9 in rounds, 22-25 minutes for 8 in rounds, and 35 minutes for 9 in square.

Cool for 5-8 minutes. Turn cake out onto rack to cool completely.

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Gluten-free Coconut Cake
Makes 1 x 9 in square or 2 x 8 in round or 2 x 9 in round cakes
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup coconut oil
4 eggs
1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/3 cup potato starch
8 tsp. tapioca flour
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 T. baking powder
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 1/4 cup coconut milk
2 tsp vanilla extract

See instructions for chocolate coconut cake above.

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Fondant
Makes approx 1/2 cups fondant.

1 3/4 tsp powdered egg white
2 T water
2 T. Corn syrup
3 1/4 cups powdered sugar
cornstarch

In food processor, combine egg white powder and water. Pulse a couple of time to combine. Allow mixture to stand for 5 minutes or so. Add remaining ingredients. Pulse until mixture is the texture of coarse breadcrumbs. Dust work surface with small amount of cornstarch. Pour fondant onto work surface and knead until smooth (1-2 minutes). If mixture is too dry add a drop of water (a little goes a long way), if it is too wet add a bit more cornstarch.

Chicken Soup with Rice

The rice thickens this up so by the second day you'll have more of a stew-like consistency. I'd say it makes 6-8 servings.

12 cups chicken stock
1 1b boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 cup jasmine rice
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups sliced crimini mushrooms
2 T butter, divided
3 carrots, sliced
2 yukon gold potatoes, chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste


In a stock pot, bring stock to a boil. Add chicken thighs. Simmer until chicken is cooked, approx 15 minutes.

While chicken is cooking, saute onion in 1 T butter until transparent, 5-8 minutes. Add garlic to onion and saute for another minute. Remove from heat.

When chicken in cooked, remove it from stock and set aside to cool. When it's cool enough to handle tear chicken into bite size pieces.

Meanwhile, add rice mixture, onions, carrots and potatoes to the stock. Simmer until rice and vegetables are cooked. While vegetables are cooking, saute mushrooms in remaining 1 T. butter. When rice and vegetables are cooked, stir in mushroom, chicken and parsley. Adjust seasoning if needed.

Pear Rhubarb Compote Shortcakes

Alrighty. So today I really, really, really wanted shortcake. Guess what? It's too early for much of the tasty summer fruit. Sigh. Luckily rhubarb is abundant!

So I started with this shortcake recipe from epicurious. I used a 2.5 in cutter, and it made about 8-9 shortcakes.

Pear Rhubarb Compote

1 1/3 cups cabernet sauvignon
3/4 cup sugar
zest of about 1/3 of a large orange
2 Bosc pears, peeled, halved and cored
1 lb rhubarb, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces

Combine wine, sugar and zest in a saucepan. Stir to dissolve sugar. Bring to a boil. Add pears to wine, lower heat, cover and simmer for 3 minutes. Add the rhubarb. Return to a simmer. Cook for another 7-9 minutes until pears are tender.

Remove fruit with a slotted spoon, and reduce liquid to about a 1/3 the original amount. Pour liquid over the fruit and cool.

Serve 1/4 of a pear and a some of the rhubarb and syrup mixture on each shortcake. Top with whipped cream.

Serves 8

Passion fruit curd

4 egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
9 T passion fruit puree, divided
4 T. unsalted butter
pinch salt
2 tsp lemon zest, finely grated

Put 2 T passion fruit and lemon zest in a medium bowl. Have a fine mesh strainer available to fit over the bowl. Combine egg yolks and sugar in a medium saucepan. Add 7 T passion fruit, butter and salt. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Do not boil. Pour curd through strainer into the bowl with lemon zest and puree. Discard egg solids. Stir curd mixture to combine. Cool slightly and then refrigerate until set. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Passion fruit syrup

I use this syrup to moisten layer cakes and also for mixed drinks.

1 cup passion fruit puree
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar

Bring all ingredients to a boil, stirring only until sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat and simmer 12 minutes until slightly thickened.

Coconut macaroons

This recipe is extraordinarily similar to a recipe from an old Sunset magazine, but I've given people that recipe and they say the results are different. So here's what i do. I think the main differences are that I add more coconut, cook them for longer, and omit the chocolate coating from the original recipe.

The coconut seems to come in bags varying from 12 to 14 oz. Whichever it is, I just add the whole bag. If there's not enough coconut, the egg white runs a bit while the cookie is baking and you end up having to trim the finished cookie.

I make cookies that range 1.5-3 inches, and the cooking time does not change that much.



4 egg whites
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 12-14 oz bag sweetened angel flake coconut

Preheat oven to 325F.

In a large bowl, whisk egg whites until frothy. Add the flour and vanilla and stir to combine. Stir in coconut. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or silpat (I know that people say this and don't mean it, but this is serious. These things will stick even to the silpat, so don't skip this step.) On the cookie sheet, lightly press the coconut mixture into a cookie cutter. While gently pressing the coconut mixture, lift the cutter leaving the shaped cookie behind. Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes or until deep golden. Edges should look like toasted coconut. Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the pan and then transfer them to a rack to cool completely.

Macaroons will keep a week or more if refrigerated. Refrigeration will soften the cookies, but most of my tasters seem to prefer that.

Oatmeal Cookies

I've been tweaking this oatmeal cookie recipe for a while now. It's so far removed from the original recipe at this point that I'm going to call it my very own. Sometimes I add a cup of toasted pecans or walnuts. Sometimes I substitute dried tart cherries for the raisins.

1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cup rolled oats
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp clove
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup butter
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 325F. In a medium mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients, flour, oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, salt, baking soda, baking powder. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and brown sugar. Mix in molasses, egg and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and raisins. Stir to combine. Scoop heaping tablespoons of mixture onto a cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cookies may look a little bit wet in the cracks, but will be set and lightly golden around edges.

Ham and spinach bread pudding

The housemate really wanted me to write this one down, so here it is. 4 cups of half and half can be substituted for milk and cream.

1 large onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 oz ham, cut into 1/4 cubes
1 T canola oil
10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed
3 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3/4 tsp kosher salt
pepper to taste
1 baguette, cut into 1 inch cubes
3/4 cup shredded gruyere
1/2 cup shredded parmesan

Preheat oven to 350F.

In large frying pan, cook ham over medium heat until lightly browned. Remove ham from pan. In same pan saute onion, bell pepper and celery until onion is translucent. Add garlic and continue sauteing for another minute or so. Mix in spinach and ham and remove from heat.

In a large mixing bowl, combine cream, milk, eggs, nutmeg, salt, pepper, and half each of parmesan and gruyere. Add bread and stir to combine.

Layer bread mixture with vegetable mixture ending with bread mixture ina 13x9 glass baking dish. Top with remaining cheeses.

Bake at 350F for 45-50 minutes until puffed golden brown.

Popular peanut dip

More or less the recipe from a really old issue of Eating Well magazine. They probably used low fat something or other which I've never really been good at. Double it, you won't be sorry. It's great with veggies or even on noodles.

Don't have a lemon? Use a lime. It's equally good.

2 crushed garlic cloves
2 T peanut butter
2 T reduced sodium soy sauce
2 T mayonnaise
1 T brown sugar
1 T lemon juice
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

Mix all ingredients together. Stir until smooth. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to blend.

Makes about 3/4 cup.

Spiced candied pecans

There are two totally different varieties of 5 spice available out there. One has ginger, cloves, pepper, anise (or star anise) and cinnamon. The other is a blend of fennel, star anise, pepper, cinnamon and cloves. I imagine that either would be fine for this recipe, but I used the latter combo. I had a hard time finding the version I wanted so I made my own using
this recipe. And yes, I have Sichuan peppercorns sitting around. Doesn't everyone?

3 cups raw pecans
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
1.5 T canola oil
2 T water
1/4 tsp ground cayenne
1.5 tsp. five spice

Mix first 6 ingredients in a large frying pan. Bring to boil over medium heat. Cook 7-9 minutes until nuts begin to smell slightly roasted, stirring occasionally. Add cayenne and five spice. Mix well. Turn out mixture onto parchment lined baking sheet, separating nuts. Cool at room temperature. Seal in air tight container.
Makes approximately 5 cups.

These will keep for at least a few minutes if Scott is around.

Pambiche

Pambiche is a regular stop for me. I've been there a fair number of times, with only one real miss. They have one of the two best mochas in town. They have amazing desserts. The entree portions are insanely large. The food is rarely off. The empanadas are good, the salads are good. The pollo croquetas are lovely. The fried yuca is awesome. The wait is just a tad long, though much improved when the outdoor seating is available during the summer. If you haven't been, it's worth a trip.

Last night, we started with the yuca con mojo. I love yuca. The tangy sauce was a lovely compliment. Did I say that I love the yuca?

I had the plato cubano, a favorite of mine. The pork, red beans, rice, and tasty, tasty yuca. Mmmm yuca. The pork was perfect this time. From time to time, it's been a little overdone and a tad chewy, but this time, it was succulent. I had te helado which is an iced combination of fruit and hibiscus tea, which was perfect for my mood.

PG had the lengua en salsa, the pork served in creole sauce over rice was pretty tasty. She was more than pleased.

Belle liked her arroz con pollo as well. I think she might be a bit of a ho (a southern ho) for the saffron, but the chicken was also tender and juicy.

You won't be hungry following the main course, but don't let that stop you from checking out the dessert display case. If you've ever been to Pambiche, you know that the dessert list is intimidating to say the least, and to make it more torturous, there are more desserts on the list than are available that day. So, you get to read all the descriptions and match them to the desserts on display. Don't get me wrong, I'm not sure you can make a mistake picking from the display, but don't get your heart set on something and then realize they don't have that day.

This time, they had a dessert I'd never actually seen in the glorious display case, papagayo. A delightful combination of passionfruit mousse, chocolate canela mousse, separated by layers of macadamia nut meringue, covered with whipped cream and topped with an adorable chocolate macaw! Wowsa! Belle and PG shared with me so as not to suffer any internal injury.

RATINGS
Food: 9
Drinks: 9 that tea hit the spot on a warm day!
Scene: 8, busy, busy. you'll probably have to wait
Service: 7

I'll be back.

Pimiento Cheese

1 lb sharp cheddar, shredded
1/2 cup mayonnaise
4 oz. diced pimiento w/liquid
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. mustard powder
1/2-1 tsp. cayenne

Mix 'em together; it'll be kind of pasty. That's pretty much it.

Remember, recipes are suggestions, not the law. If you like mayo more than I do, add more to make it more traditional (I'm guessing closer to 3/4-1 cup -- eek!) I imagine you could even mix in some different types of cheeses for variety. I like the cayenne, but you could probably leave it altogether.

Wine Tasting September 2007 - Rhone Revels

Let me start by saying that I have nothing against the French. I like butter and cream in my food as much as anyone. I like cheese, glorious cheese, stinky cheese, moldy cheese, the lot. However, the French and I have never seen quite eye to eye on wine. I like my wine with less barnyard, less dirt, and um, well less French than the French seem to do. Go figure. On the other hand, for the first time ever, my rankings were right in with the group. I do not understand, not one itsy bitsy tiny bit. One of these wines should only be used for cleaning paint brushes. Three of them were quite drinkable and the last was a bit all over the map.

Here's how it works: rank the wines from 1 to however many (generally 5 to 6 bottles) after tasting both with and without food. Go around the room and talk a little about the wine and share your rankings. Total the score. Tada. Lowest score is the winner. This time we had a tie, so don't get too confused on the numbering...

You're probably wondering what we drank? Well here it is:

THE WINES:

In the order they were ranked by our intrepid tasters (my rank in parentheses):

1. Domaine le Goubert 1995 Gigondas "Cuvee Florence"(1) - Grenache less than 80%, Syrah an/or Mourvedre
2. Domaine Rabasse Charavin 2000 Cairanne "Cuvee D'Estevenas"(2) - Corinne Couturier top reserver wine
2. Domaine de l'Oratoire St. Martin 2000 Cairanne "Haut-Coustias"(3) - Mourvedre 60%, with Syrah and Grenache
4. Bosquet de Papes 1998 Chateauneuf-du-Pape (4) - Dominant Grenache
5. Domaine Rabasse Charavin 1995 Rasteau (5) - blend of 70 year-old vines, Grenache 60%, Mourvedre 40%

The warm-up wines were:
Clos des Papes 1996 Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc - This was by far one of the strangest whites I've had. It tasted something like a watered down whiskey, which I'm told is the characteristic "butterscotch" of aged Grenache Blanc. I didn't dislike it, but I'm not sure what to do with it either.

Chateau Pradeaux 2005 Bandol Rose - This was listed, but I think I missed it altogether. Oops. My bad.

Picklefest 2007!

364 jars!!! More to come.

Dills, Pat's, and sweets were only the beginning



Packing the green beans. Now there's a way to keep them from sticking out above the rim of the jar.



The potmaster at work! Yes, that steam burns, but he's tough! If you're going to try this at home, you might want to wear shoes and gloves.



Salsa, carrots, beets, and more dills -- and this is only the second plywood landing.



Nearing the finish line... The beans have been in for processing, and we've started on our third landing platform.



And last, but not least -- or should I say butt not least? Yes, that sweet relish was the end of the run and that is 364 jars total. If you're doing a booty shakin' dance in celebration, you have to know you're going to make the blog...