Caramel Cake with Brown Butter Frosting
February 13, 2012
It is (one of many) “birthday months” at our house. My husband, who resisted the idea of the birthday month for years, finally sees the beauty. Of course it is his birthday month, and a big one at that. Celebrating for an entire month allows for a thorough celebration. Why choose between a party, an outing, a nice dinner, a trip? With a birthday month you can do it all!
Our festivities began with a few good friends, lots of (still eating the leftovers!) good food, a backyard fire, and of course a birthday cake! My husband is a caramel guy, so after trying to tempt him with cake after cake that featured the power duo of chocolate and caramel, we finally settled on a cake that did away with the distractions and featured the caramel promptly.
Caramel Cake with Brown Butter Frosting is my adaptation of a cake from Maya Angelou’s cookbook, Hallelujah. It is a basic butter cake infused with caramel. So there was no mistaking the caramel, I added an extra layer between the cake layers and drizzled it over the top of the cake.The frosting is the kicker. The standard American buttercream is blown into complete deliciousness, by browning the butter and then chilling it back to proper temperature before whipping it up with powdered sugar and cream. Yes, this frosting is outstanding! All in all, they are a great match and the cake was very well received!
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Last summer I was adamant that our house needed a pasta maker. Scott and I made gnocchi years ago, but I had still never made rolled pasta. For one reason (or many), I did not make the purchase: the pasta makers were more expensive than I imagined, our kitchen cabinets are full to the brim with an assortment of other cooking gear, it was sunny and I wanted to spend time swimming at the river with the kiddos instead of cooking. Anyhow, thanks to Caroline at Grow it, Cook it, Can it for giving me the little push I needed to tackle the pasta project. She is hosting Cook It! 2012, a month-by-month inspiration of sorts to tackle new challenges and try new techniques in the kitchen. This month: fresh pasta.
Originally when I signed onto the challenge, I intended to buy a pasta roller, but again, not wanting to shell out the money and feeling a bit like sticking it to the man- “I don’t need your stinkin’ pasta roller to make fresh pasta at home” I rolled it by hand instead. It was not easy. The pasta dough comes together much like a pastry dough. Beaten egg is poured into a seasoned flour, the trick is to keep moisten the dough just enough to make it come together, but not so much that the dough is wet, which would make the pasta stick together. After a knead and an hour or more to rest, my dryish dough was looking pretty good. It had a mild sheen to it and though firm, gave gently as I firmly pushed it into disc. My rebel spirit suffered as I rolled and rolled. This was seriously hard work, I broke a sweat. Perhaps a pasta roller does have a true purpose. After rolling and flipping and rolling and flipping the dough, I reduced it to an 1/8 of an inch thickness and called it good. Since the dough was still a little on the thick side, I opted to cut the pasta rather thin using a cutting board as a straight edge and a circular pizza cutter.
The recipe for Fresh Rosemary Linguine with Caramelized Onions, Walnuts, and Blue Cheese is adapted from The Greens Cookbook. The caramelized onions are incredibly flavorful thanks to the addition of sage, rosemary, and bay. I made a little extra and they tasted tremendous on an asparagus pizza. The toasty walnuts add a nice crunchy texture and I love how the blue cheese partially melts lending a creamy funk to the whole dish. Yum! This dish is pretty rich tasting, so small servings were perfect with a crisp salad and crisp wine. I will definitely be making more pasta in the coming months (hopefully with a pasta maker), but I am glad to know that it is possible to make a delicious dish without the purchase. You could also make this easily with purchased pasta, but then you miss out on your kids saying, ” Mom, you MADE the pasta?!?!? YUM!”
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Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread
January 29, 2012
My search for the perfect banana bread ended years ago. There are plenty of recipes out there, but none that fit my tall list of criteria. So many have a dead bland banana flavor, others are too dry, or full of overpowering seasoning. This recipe, which is my standby banana bread, is to my taste, the best. It has just the right amount of sweetness (not a lot), a crispy , crunchy, buttery crust, a moist bananay interior, and a delightful tang from the baking soda. Chunks of dark chocolate melt into the bread making it just a little more special.
This is why, though I attempted to give another recipe a try last weekend, I simply could not find another one worth baking. Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread, developed from years of tinkering, is the one for me. We ate this bread for dessert after a disappointing football game, the rest served as a happy surprise in my son’s school lunch.
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Curried Mango Rice with Cashews
January 22, 2012
The first time I ate this rice was at a park potluck picnic. A number of families gathered with our very small children trying to eek out some semblance of a dinner party while our children ran wild over, under, and around the play structure. It truly is the perfect potluck dish- full of interesting flavors and textures, stays well at room temperature, and is quite easy to whip up in advance. Since that night, this dish has become my secret weapon. It starred at not one, but three baby showers that I threw over the last few years, pairing beautifully with an Asian chicken salad. It has also been a hit at multiple potlucks.
Curried Mango Rice with Cashews could not be easier to make. Cook up some brown rice and let it cool. Mix together a dressing with curry paste and lime juice. Then toss it all together with diced mango, toasted cashews, and crunchy pepitas (pumpkin seeds). Since the dressing is not cooked, it is important to use curry paste, instead of dry curry. The paste has been cooked a bit in oil in advance. Regarding the mango, this time of year it is easy to find fresh mangos in the market, but to save time or make this out of season, look for mango chunks in the freezer section. We buy them at Trader Joe’s to make in this rice and add to smoothies or oatmeal.
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Breakfast Pizza
January 15, 2012
Pizza for breakfast is nothing new, but generally it conjures up images of bleary-eyed rifling through the refrigerator for something to eat after a late night. Since we make pizza nearly every Friday night, it is not uncommon for someone in our family to nibble on a slice while waiting for the “real” breakfast to be served. “Real” breakfast at our house is more commonly pancakes, waffles, eggs of some incarnation, or perhaps a muffin or scone. (We eat our fair share of cereal as well).
Friday nights are usually pizza night at our house. However last week, our Friday night plans changed at the last minute and all I could think of was how we could make pizza for breakfast instead! The dough was already in the refrigerator, we have frozen pesto in the from last summers’ garden basil explosion, and a lug of bacon I could not pass up at the store the other day. Pizza for breakfast was inevitable.
Breakfast Pizza earns its sincere place at the breakfast table because it boasts both eggs and bacon, quintessential breakfast foods. On the tossed dough round, pesto creates a base of flavor and color. The cheese is somewhat lightly scattered, to allow the egg to take center stage. Cook the bacon until crispy before chopping it and tossing it on the pie. The eggs are not cooked in advance, simply crack them on top. I used four which seemed to fit nicely on both the pizza and our plates (there are four of us). For those of you who do not equate broccoli with breakfast (like half of my family) feel free to leave it off. I like any chance to toss veggies into every meal and our garden is overflowing with broccoli right now. Like any pizza there are a million variations. Pesto could easily be replaced with roasted garlic sauce, tomato-based pizza sauce, or simply a brush of olive oil. Change out sausage for the bacon or leave them off altogether for a vegetarian meal. Not into broccoli? Try asparagus in the spring or tomatoes in the summer. Nothing even says you have to eat this for breakfast, it would be a great lunch or dinner as well.
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My Pantry Shelf 