Chocolate Loaf Cake from Dorie Greenspan's "Baking"

Apple Pie Season

A Good Little Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1/2 cup cocoa (not Dutch process)
Dissolve in cup hot coffee
Add 2 tsps vanilla
Cool to room temp

Cream 12 tbls unsalted butter with 1 1/4 cups sugar
until fluffy

Add 2 large eggs 1 at a time, beat until well combined about a minute. The eggs should be at room temperature.

1 1/4 cups flour (tblsp or two less if its King Arthur flour)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Mix the dry ingredients together

Add dry ingredients & cocoa/coffee mix alternately in three stages combining well after each addition. Beat at the end for about a minute until well combined.
Bake in two 8 inch pans for about 25 minutes

For frosting cream 1/2 lb butter with two cups confectioners sugar, 1 tbsp vanilla until creamy.

I found this basic recipe in Cook's Illustrated years' ago. I hope they don't mind my posting it here, escpecially if I recommend the magazine as a fine resource for recipes, general cooking advice and testing of food and food preparation items. It can be recognized by what is generally an attractive cover.
Cook's Illustrated

Oysters and Sweet Potatoes NYT

October 18, 2006
Recipe: Fried Oysters and Sweet Potatoes

Time: 45 minutes

¾ cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup white cornmeal
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
36 freshly shucked oysters with their liquor
2 eggs, separated
4 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons rice vinegar
4 tablespoons grated daikon (white radish)
About 4 cups vegetable oil for deep-frying
1 sweet potato, peeled, halved lengthwise and cut in 24 pieces
1 lemon, in 6 wedges.

1. Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Drain oysters well, reserving oyster liquor. Strain, then measure the liquor. Add water, if needed, to make 1 cup. Mix with egg yolks and add to dry ingredients. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form, and fold in.

2. Combine soy sauce, rice vinegar and daikon, and divide among 6 small dishes for dipping. Set aside.

3. Heat oil for deep-frying in a wok or saucepan to 360 degrees. Dip sweet potato pieces in batter and deep-fry until golden, turning as needed. Fry in batches to avoid crowding and let oil return to full heat each time. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with oysters.

4. Pile oysters and sweet potatoes on a platter, surround with lemon wedges, and serve with sauce for dipping.

Yield: 6 servings.

New York Times Recipe Finnish Meatballs

October 18, 2006
Recipe: Finnish Meatballs

Time: 1 hour

¾ cup whole milk
3 slices white bread, crusts removed
6 ounces Valley Shepherd Califon Tomme, Cato Corner Dutch Farmstead or other mild
and buttery Gouda-style cheese
1½ cups loosely packed fresh parsley leaves, finely minced
¾ cup finely minced onion
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon ground white pepper
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon ground allspice
1 pound lean ground beef
1 pound ground pork
½ cup flour
¾ cup chicken or beef broth
¼ cup vegetable oil, or as needed
½ cup heavy cream.

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the milk just until steaming. Remove from heat and press bread into the milk; set aside.

2. Grate cheese on large holes of a box grater and place in large bowl. Add parsley, onion, eggs, salt, white pepper, black pepper and allspice. Stir well to combine. Add ground beef, ground pork and milk-soaked bread. Knead by hand or mix with a large wooden spoon until well-blended.

3. Spread flour on a plate. Roll meat mixture into 1½-inch balls, and roll in flour to coat. Place a Dutch oven over very low heat, and add broth. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering.

4. Working in batches, add enough meatballs to loosely fill pan. Sear for about 1 minute, then shake pan to turn meatballs. Continue until well browned on all sides, adding more oil to the pan as needed. Transfer meatballs to Dutch oven and allow them to gently simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring carefully from time to time. Add cream and heat just until warmed. If desired, serve with small potatoes or egg noodles that have been tossed with butter and parsley.

Yield: 8 servings.

Jewish Coffee Cake

I don't know what makes this Jewish, except maybe the sour cream. Aunt Pat brought this home from work one day about 50 years ago, and it has been a family favorite ever since.
Here's the recipe:
Pre heat oven to 375 degrees
Cream
1/4 lb butter
1 cup sugar
Add 2 eggs

Mix together
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups flour

add to creamed mixture; beat just until combined
Stir in 1/2 pint sour cream
1 tsp vanilla

Mix 1 cup chopped walnuts
1 Tbls brown sugar
1 Tabls cinnamon
1/4 cup white sugar

Grease and flour a 10 inch tube pan; put half of batter into pan; sprinkle half of nut mixture on batter; cover with remaining mixture; sprinkle remaining nut mixtureon top.
Bake for @ 45 min, until cake tester comes out clean.
Picture to follow.

One More Book

The new Dorie Greenspan. I keep promising myself I won't buy another cookbook until I've tried a significant number of recipes from my collection. I couldn't resist this one, however. That chocolate cake with marshmallow frosting on the cover is alone worth the price. Shop around before purchasing, as it can be had for more than 1/3 off the cover price.

There's a New Chef in Town

Faith tried her hand at making the salad for dinner, and it was pretty enough to blog.
Her secret? A handy fruit and veggie tool purchased from the dapper English vendor, often in the precincts of the Union Sqaure Greenmarket, although I believe she bought it uptown. She whipped though the carrots, made short work of the red cabbage and switched to a knife for the cucumbers and green pepper. A great salad; I can't wait to see her take on apples.

Rachel Ray

I'm certainly not a food snob, and don't actually detest Rachel Ray, but I confess that I do find her hard to take. Her food is banal, and she is just too darn cute, in a cloying, corny way.
Linner, as a meal between lunch and dinner
has no place in my life. Why not dunch?
Did she really ask a guest: "What's the story, morning glory?"
I must be getting old, but that didn't work for me, and it was old when I was younger than Rachel. Some things just can't come back.
I think I've seen way too much of Rachel already, between $40 a Day and 30 Minute Meals, I'm up to here (indictaing a place high on the neck) with the woman.
Don't feel too sorry for her; with her TV shows, cookbook and magazine she's worth a mint, and I don't mean the chocolate kind.

Bamn! Damn!

I went to the new automat on St. Mark's Place. Just made me miss Horn & Hardart.
The snacky foods didn't look very appealing, maybe I was too hungry for little snacks, and should go there when I just want finger food. The counter didn't look very clean.
In the end I tried nothing.

The September 65th Anniversary issue of Gourmet reminds me why I fell in love with the magazine as a child,and have had so much trouble parting with a single copy: the covers. The current cover is nice, but the magazine reproduces several vintage covers, most from before my time as a reader. You are invited to vote on your favorite, and there will be psoters awardedas prizes to some voters. I briefly accessed some vintage folders on this site (not from the current issue) but they seem to have disappeared. Anyway, buy or at least peruse the issue, vote, and try some of the great recipes offered this month.

A Very Good Lunch

I must comment on a very good lunch I enjoyed yesterday at Benjamin on 2nd Ave and 32nd. It was blackened salmon and zucchini on a soft bun with jalapeno mayonnaise. The side was a very tasty cole slaw vinagrette. It was an excellent conception, tasty and well presented. I think they must have a new chef, because the menu is vastly different this was much tastier than anything I've had there in recent years.
Wish I'd brought my camera along.

Snow Soda? Snow Thanks

Yesterday on 8th St. I accpeted a sample bottled soft drink: Snow.
It is mint flavored. What other mint flavored liquid do you put in your mouth?
Mouthwash?
You bet, and that's just what it tastes like.
The manufacturer suggests mixing it with vodka. I can't imagine wanting to drink that mixture. I briefly considered mixing it with tea, but mint leaves would give a cleaner, better fresher taste.
I can't imagine this catching on.

Hidden Fruits of Murray Hill

FIG Fruit Facts

The fig is prominently mentioned in the Bible. Some believe it may have been the fruit Eve gave Adam which started this whole miserable existence outside the Garden.
I was surprised to see this hearty fruit growing on East 36th Stree, clinging to a patch of ground high above the exit street for the Midtown tunnel. The tree produces fruit, and starlings, at least, come to feast.

Coincidentally or not, just on the other side of the tunnel divide a peach tree in a small, enclosed courtyard is bearing fruit. I'm embarrassed to say how many years I passed by these two marvels without noticing. I wonder what else I'm missing.

Restaurant Inspection Information

Shake Shack Violations

Restaurant Inspection Information

I won't stop eating Shackburgers, but I'm not surprised by these violations. I always thought a restroom was required, but none was in evidence, and the crowded food preparation area seemed conducive to the sorts of things mentioned here.

Trencherman's Breakfast

Not a breakfast for the sedentary:



My standard pancake recipe 1 cup flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt 2 tbls sugar. Mix dry.
1 egg, 3/4 cup milk 2 tbls melted butter. Mix wet.

Mix dry and wet together and cook on hot griddle.
Variations: drop a few blueberries or kernels of fresh corn, or both onto the uncooked side beofre flipping.
Served here with butter, syrup, bacon and two eggs. (I do have to share with two dogs, you know.)
Now I had better do something vigorous and calorie-burning to justify that meal.

Shake Shack Success

Clear, moderately warm, good company (Aunt Patty)and time and room for dessert after the shackburger. Pictured above, a cup of chocolate custard and creme brulee custard, a good combination, even though the creme brulee topping is sharp enough to slice your tongue to ribbons.

Shake Shack Hazard

I went to Shake Shack this afternoon, early, expecting to beat the showers forecast for later in the afternoon. I didn't. The clouds burst at the moment my shack burger and iced tea were handed to me. I ate as fast as I could. The burger was consumed so quickly I barely recall eating the thing. The iced tea seemed superflous in the presence of so much liquid. My companion didn't even get a bite during the shower which soaked the park for about 30 minutes. When the rain let up enough we left our meager shelter under the ivy and walked home. My friend asked for a replacement bun for her plain hamburger; she was given a new burger entirely.
At least I didn't have to agonize over whether to wait on line a second time for a concrete.

Ambrosia
The peanut butter and bacon sandwich. Pictured here on Trader Joe's whole grain white bread, toasted. Honey and/or your favorite preserves make a nice addition. I like strawbery or apricot.

Tuck Shop

This is the Tuck Shop, on 1st St btw 1st and 2nd Aves in Manhattan. It is reputed to be an outpost for Aussie food. Not being Australian and never having been to Australia, I can't vouch for the authenticity of the food, but the meat pie I had was mighty tasty. The pie was ground beef in puff pastry. ($5) Others are available,chicken and leeks and vegetarian. I think I'll try the chicken next.(I might just make my own.)





I skipped dessert; the vanilla slice (puff pastry with vanilla custard inside and topped with vanilla icing) would have been just one serving of puff pastry too many, and the lamington (Cake, jelly ((most versions I've seen don't seem to have jelly)), chocolate icing and coconut) looked rather lame. I've never had one, but when I do, I want it to be really good.



Lamington recipe

"Report Says Sugary Drinks Pile on Pounds"

Breaking news from AP!

Sugary drinks

Well, duh! Ya think?

Belloc on Breakfast

Online Reader - Project Gutenberg:
"Dogs eat the first thing they come
across, cats take a little milk, and gentlemen are accustomed to get
up at nine and eat eggs, bacon, kidneys, ham, cold pheasant, toast,
coffee, tea, scones, and honey, after which they will boast that their
race is the hardiest in the world and ready to bear every fatigue in
the pursuit of Empire. But what rule governs all this? Why is
breakfast different from all other things, so that the Greeks called
it the best thing in the world, and so that each of us in a vague way
knows that he would eat at breakfast nothing but one special kind of
food, and that he could not imagine breakfast at any other hour in the
day?"
Belloc The Path to Rome

Alton Brown's Mac & Cheese

Haven't tried it yet:

Baked Macaroni and Cheese Recipe courtesy Alton Brown
Show: Good Eats
Episode: For Whom the Cheese Melts 2

1/2 pound elbow macaroni
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon powdered mustard
3 cups milk
1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 large egg
12 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Fresh black pepper
Topping:
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente.
While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes and remove the bay leaf.
Temper in the egg. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.
Melt the butter in a saute pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.
Remember to save leftovers for fried Macaroni and Cheese.

Fritters for Breakfast

I won't give the recipe (FoodTV Sara Moulton) because I would modify the recipe, or choose a new one entirely before I make these again. They were not bad, but could be better, I think. They were sort of like funnel cakes on steroids, chock full of corn, but rather stodgy, even when slathered with butter and doused with syrup. They do look nice, however.
My mother of blessed memory was on a never ending quest for the corn fritters her mother, of similarly blessed memory used to make. (Also her chili sauce, but that's another post.) I had great hopes for these, based on my mother's description alone, but somehow I doubt if they would have passed muster. My sister Annie tells me that my grandmother made corn fritters one year at a vacation home in Point Pleasant, NJ. Having been reminded of this now I have a vague recollection of the event, but can't really recall the fritters.

Broadway Panhandler

For kitchenware in the NY metropolitan area, try Broadway Panhandler. I only buy there when they have a big sale (yard sale in the Spring). They are moving from Soho to the West Village, and I don't know whether they will continue that event.
477 Broome St. corner Broome and Wooster (currently).
They carry a rather complete line of cookware and bakeware, plus many items for the table. If you can afford it (and I hope you can), it's the place to go in Manhattan.

Alton Brown

He's no Julia Child, but I must say that watching Alton Brown is an education. I have never (?) (I think thats true)finished an episode without knowing something about food and/or cooking that I didn't know before.



The Good Eats episode on cubed steak was my introduction to the
Jaccard 48-Blade Meat Tenderizer.
If you have any reason at all to make your meat more tender, or extend the price range of meats you buy that are still tender, please check this out:




I got a good price at Amazon, but Google it and see what comes up.

A Green Market Kind of Day

The Green Market at Union Square is overflowing with the harvest of Summer.

Apples, peaches, pears and plums, love when the days of Summer come!

You say corn, I say fritters.



You say peacher, I say cobbler.



You say apples, I say pie.




You tomatoes (or tomahtoes), I say "Pass the salt."


It's been too hot to bake, too hot to want blueberry pancakes or corn fritters, but with lovely peppers in salad, sauteed summer squash and always, tomatoes, Summer is tasting mighty fine.





Put flowers on the table and fresh food in your belly. Walk the dogs and sleep well.

A Joy of Summer

Vine ripened Tomato
Sprinkled with salt and pepper
Whole grain white bread (Trader Joe's)
Mayo
Chopped pimento stuffed olives
Enjoy

God made lemons for a reason. This is it:

Lemon Meringue Pie

1 cup sugar*
1/4 tsp salt*
3Tbls corn starch*
2 cups water
3 eggs separated, yolks beaten
1 Tbls butter
1/2 cup lemon juice
Grated rind one lemon
Bakednine inch pie shell

*Combine in sauce pan, stir in water. Cook, stir constantly until thickened and smooth. Stir into beaten egg yolks a bit at a time. Return to low heat; cook stirring 2 minutes. Stir in butter, lemon juice, rind. Cool slightly, pour into shell. Top with meringue and brown at 450 degrees

Meringue topping:
Beat three egg whites until soft peaks form. Add 3 Tbls. sugar, one Tbls at a time; beat well after each.

My Hero

What, where, why and Sometimes How I Cook and Eat

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