TWD: Cornmeal Ricotta Cake

Caitlin of Engineer Baker chose the Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake as this week's recipe. In many ways this is completely up my alley, as much to my family's chagrin, I LOVE cornmeal/polenta (and even grits :)). We also had a long-planned dinner party with some old acquaintances from the St. Louis days, so here was dessert. What better way to welcome relative strangers for dinner than to serve dessert containing corn and figs. For the record, Adam was a-ok with figs, while Jolie left them behind.

My cake whipped up in a flash, after I chose to lengthwise half my figs for ease of cutting. After benefiting from the recommended 24 hour trip at the counter top spa, fluted polenta and ricotta cake was ready to serve. As I cut it, I noticed that the figs had spent a substantial portion of their sauna time migrating toward the outer edges of the pan, leaving them pushed up against the outer edge. Below is the written recipe, and the pedestrian photo I took of my cake.

Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake

About 16 moist, plump dried Mission or Kadota figs, stemmed
1 c. medium-grain polenta or yellow cornmeal
½ c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 c. ricotta
1/3 c. tepid water
¾ c. sugar
¾ c. honey (if you’re a real honey lover, use a full-flavored honey such as chestnut, pine, or buckwheat)
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 large eggs

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 10 ½-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom and put it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.
Check that the figs are, indeed, moist and plump. If they are the least bit hard, toss them into a small pan of boiling water and steep for a minute, then drain and pat dry. If the figs are large (bigger than a bite), snip them in half.
Whisk the polenta, flour, baking powder, and salt together.
Working with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the ricotta and water together on low speed until very smooth. With the mixer at medium speed, add the sugar, honey, and lemon zest and beat until light. Beat in the melted butter, then add the eggs one at a time, beating until the mixture is smooth. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are fully incorporated. You’ll have a sleek, smooth, pourable batter.
Pour about one third of the batter into the pan and scatter over the figs. Pour in the rest of the batter, smooth the top with a rubber spatula, if necessary, and dot the batter evenly with the chilled bits of butter.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. The cake should be honey brown and pulling away just a little from the sides of the pan, and the butter will have left light-colored circles in the top. Transfer the cake to a rack and remove the sides of the pan after about 5 minutes. Cool to warm, or cool completely.

One Clever Girl

This afternoon, I left K happily crafting "happy hearts" at the kitchen table, and ducked to the basement to check my email. A few minutes later, she came down to tell me that our neighbor, Q was coming over to play. Assuming that she had made a pretend phone call, I thought nothing of it, until the dog started barking. Sure enough, Q was at our house. K had dialed the number a few times in the past week or so, remembered it and placed the call all by herself. Maybe she's too clever for her own good!

TWD: Carrot Cake

knitting baby gift+weekend at college roommate's baby shower= no carrot cake (this week) for us.

A is very sad. Looking forward to next week!

McQuade's Chutney

I've been reading the Blake Makes blog for quite a few weeks. About two weeks ago, readers were offered the chance to win a jar of McQuade's Fig 'N Ginger Chutney by submitting their intended use for it. Recently, I've been craving a bagel from my college days -- whole wheat, with melted brie cheese and raspberry jam. My suggestion was to swap the brie for goat cheese and use the chutney in place of the aforementioned jam.

I had the chance to try this after my chutney arrived in the mail the other day. I stopped by the local bagel shop, and popped into Zingerman's Deli in search of some fresh goat cheese. Just minutes later, I had my bagel. It was chewy, and creamy, and the balance of the goat cheese with the piquancy of the chutney was perfect. After half a bagel, I had another...

TWD: Marshmallow Bravado

This week's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe was Marshmallow, chosen by Judy of Judy's Gross Eats. Easy, I thought, as I first made these marshmallows after hearing Dorie on NPR (probably The Splendid Table) in December 2006. Yes, it contains somewhat finicky meringue and involves the use of a candy thermometer, but I can just whip out those marshmallows like a pro.

J and K thought that we should experiment a bit. J read through "playing around," and wanted to make Mango Marshmallows. K falls right in my camp and thought that we should try a cinnamon marshmallow.

First batch: Mango. Things went so smoothly. I was concerned after reading the comments of other TWD bakers about the stickiness of the marshmallows. I set them in a 8x11 pan. They were fluffy, pale yellow and separated beautifully from the parchment after I cut away the outer edge. Unlike my 2006 batch of marshmallow, these even had only a dusting of corn starch around them.

Second batch: The sugar is boiling away, the gelatin is gelling. K over whips the egg whites a bit, so they aren't as smooth and shiny. I decide that they will still work. The doorbell rings, the dog goes a bit bananas, and I take off to answer it. By the time I return, (it was just K, trying to make the dog bark) the sugar is past 290 degrees, and rapidly caramelizing. I move it off the burner to try and cool it. When the sugar cools down slightly, I mix it with the egg whites. The entire mixture separates rather than mixes, but eventually seems to come together well with the gelatin added. To add the cinnamon/chocolate combination K and I had decided on, I fold in 3 tbsp melted bittersweet chocolate, 2 tbsp cocoa powder, and the substantial shake of cinnamon that K had added to the mix. My mixing bowl now has large amounts of sugar hardened on the sides, making it nearly impossible to evenly fold in the cinnamon/chocolate mixture.

As best I can, I pour the marbleized marshmallow mixture into another prepared 9x13 pan, pulling up the parchment to contain the marshmallow in half the pan.

Saturday night: We're having dinner with some friends, and the dessert is my contribution. I've made strawberry shortcakes in addition to my less traditional offering of mango and cinnamon/chocolate marshmallows. The mango marshmallows, while beautiful, are less compelling than their cinnamon/chocolate counterparts. The cinnamon/chocolate mixture sank toward the bottom of the marshmallows, and hardened into a moderately stiff chocolate stripe. The contrast of the stiff chocolate and the fluffy (although not nearly as fluffy as the mango ones) marshmallow brought out the best of both components.

What's underfoot?

When we moved into this house in 2004, I was excited about the hardwood floor in the kitchen. What an upgrade from the linoleum in the last house! It took all of a week, after I spilled the bottle of infant vitamins on the floor, for me to begin cursing the floor. My hardwood kitchen floor has ridges between each board --big infant vitamin, flour dust, toast crumb fitting ridges. The aforementioned baby vitamins took weeks of scraping with a toothpick to finally disappear. Our family of four can make a lot fill those ridges, and the rare days where I decide to clean the floor at floor level rather than with a mop leave me strangely dissatisfied, since I feel as though the last Play-Doh bits are forever embedded under K's chair, eight ridges from the family room carpet.

It was a Real Simple kind of week

In general, J and K are pretty adventurous eaters. As long as it doesn't contain chunks of tomatoes, they'll give it a fair shake. Running out the door for J's music lesson last week, I knew that the dinner shopping for the rest of the week had to be done in under 20 minutes. My May issue of Real Simple was lying there, and inspiration it became.



While I really enjoy reading Real Simple, I go hot and cold on their weeknight dinners column. Some months are fab, others head straight to the recycle bin. Two of the most recent recipes are definite keepers for us.

Thursday we ate the Risotto With Edamame, Lemon Zest, and Tarragon. http://food.realsimple.com/realsimple/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1728834 . (The photo below comes from their website as well.)




Risotto With Edamame, Lemon Zest, and Tarragon

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 cups Arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc)
4 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups shelled edamame, thawed
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, chopped
1 cup grated Parmesan
Kosher salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 4 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the wine and cook, stirring frequently, until the liquid is absorbed.Stir in the broth, 3/4 cup at a time (waiting until each addition of broth is absorbed before adding the next), and cook, stirring occasionally. It should take about 25 minutes for all the broth to be absorbed.Remove from heat and stir in the edamame, lemon zest, tarragon, 3/4 cup of the Parmesan, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.Spoon into individual bowls and top with the remaining Parmesan.


Shortcut: To thaw edamame and other frozen bagged vegetables quickly, place them in a colander or a mesh strainer and run them under cool water.
Yield: Makes 4 servings



I had the tarragon on hand from the previous week, and added lemon juice and touch of extract to the recipe. I also added celery and garlic with the onions.


Last night was an even better success. We had Shrimp Cakes with Carrot Slaw. The original published version of this recipe is here. http://food.realsimple.com/realsimple/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1728843 The version below incorporates my changes.

Shrimp Cakes with Carrot Slaw

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
pinch sugar
Kosher salt and pepper
6 medium radishes, grated
4 large carrots, grated
2/3 large cucumber, grated

2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1 jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
1 tsp cajun seasoning
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 egg
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup fresh cilantro sprigs

Combine the lemon juice, cumin, 2 tablespoons of the oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl. Add the radishes and carrots and toss to combine; set aside. Pulse the shrimp in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Add the jalapeno, orange zest, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and pulse to combine.Place the flour in a shallow bowl. Shape the shrimp mixture into 8 patties and dredge in the flour, tapping off the excess.Heat the remaining oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the patties until golden brown and cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Divide the shrimp cakes among individual plates and serve with the carrot slaw, and cilantro.


Make Ahead: The uncooked patties can be shaped (but not dredged in the flour), placed on a baking sheet in a single layer, covered, and then refrigerated for up to 24 hours or frozen for up to 3 months. Dredge the patties in the flour before cooking.


Yield: Makes 4 servings

I actually ripped out stitches :)

My Monday night knitting group knows about my willingness to live with my mistakes. My sweater can tolerate a dropped stitch, as I have a greater fear of making the error worse in trying to fix it.

For the first time, though, I am working on a baby gift for a dear friend (no pics 'till it's done). When a youngster ripped my needle out of the work, I went scampering for help in fixing it. Friday night, while picking up sleeve two during the Woodlands episode of Planet Earth, I accidentally started at the wrong end of the sleeve. Several rows later, it was just too obvious, that even in garter stitch, it was wrong. I ripped out six rows, got every single stitch back on my needles and started again.

I'm proud of my small success, although frustrated by a very slight difference in the dye lot of my Sugar N Cream (yep, I forgot to check as I bought the last two skeins.)

TWD: Lemon Tart

For the first time this year, it feels like spring. I was ready to celebrate with the Lemon Tart.












I pulsed my crust. I patted it. I froze it.

I zested. I extracted the lemon oil from the zest. I juiced 5 lemons and removed the seeds.

I whisked, I whisked, I whisked. I needed 5 hands at one point to hold the bowl, whisk, thermometer, and camera. I strained. I blended, I blended, I blended.

When it was assembled, I had a very beautiful tart, with a room temp crust and a cold filling. The filling wasn't as sturdy as I had hoped. I topped it with a dollop of whipped cream. A took his plate and remarked, completely on target, "This smells really lemony and buttery." He was right. It is super-rich, super-buttery. So much so, that I would have enjoyed the tart better had I not known about the vast quantities of butter that went into it. (I'm hoping that other TWD bakers might have played with the amount of butter :)

After making three Baking... recipes this week, I am growing ever more appreciative of Dorie's comments about the visual or auditory response of the food over the course of preparation. They really add a lot to the process of baking.

Whew!

It's been quite a birthday for K, and quite a lot of baking for me. First, there were 2 dozen chocolate cupcakes for preschool (recipe from Baking...). When the second dozen didn't separate from the baking cups, however, there was a third dozen. Gussied up with pink piped on frosting and sprinkles, they were all a girl could want.

For decades now, our family birthday cake has been the Baked Alaska recipe from Saucepan and the Single Girl. I'll write more about this cookbook in another post. At some point in my childhood, my mother tired of left behind cake frosting and began making this as a birthday cake. I've carried on the tradition with my family, although I think, in his heart of hearts, A would rather have Carrot Cake any day. I made Katie's Baked Alaska with Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia Ice Cream, and, in place of the brownie base, the crumbled batch of cupcake, pressed into the springform pan. The result was better than the original - not as sweet, with a chocolate base that was neither gooey nor rock hard.

For her party with friends, we reprised the success of last year's cake. Turning again to Dorie Greenspan's Baking... for the Cocoa Buttermilk Cake. A single layer 9x13 was transformed into a wrapped gift with frosting, spree candies and Fruit by the Foot. Delicious and hard to resist for the kiddie set.

I've enjoyed my week of cake baking, but glad to return to a pattern of everyday life!

TWD: Gooey Chocolate Cakes part 2

As a family of four, we had two of the chocolate cakes leftover from Saturday night. Surprisingly, they had remained hidden in the back of the fridge ever since. A and I broke them out tonight, after kiddos were in bed, of course.

While the microwave warm up wasn't the same as "hot from the oven" goodness, they held up well. The saltiness of the cake really highlights the chocolate in all the best ways. To A, this is the best part of the Toll House Cookie as well. I didn't notice the saltiness the first time we ate them, but tonight it was yummy :)

a Birthday Bash

Birthday dinner, age 4

baked white fish
Trader Joe's shells and cheese
red grapes

And to think that I asked my mom to cook a Thanksgiving dinner for my birthday for I don't know how many years. She was a saint to do it on a weeknight, for certain.

TWD: Gooey Chocolate Cakes

It's my first TWD post! I'm excited about this project and also made the chocolate cupcakes from Baking... for K's preschool tomorrow. More on that later.

My sous chef, K and I rustled these up after dinner on Saturday evening. She's a willing helper, and rapidly becoming quite adept in the kitchen. Like Little Chef in Ratatouille, however, she feels free to open the spice cabinet and experiment. (Penzey's Bicentennial Rub in the Zucchini Bread, anyone) Fortunately, this recipe didn't leave my back turned.

Instead of Ramekins ( as I have only three unbroken remaining), I chose to make these in coffee cups (not mugs). My assumption was that they would still look cute if the cakes didn't actually turn out of the dish. The cups worked quite well, and turned out onto the cookie sheet beautifully.

Ghiradelli Chocolate -- the best available in my trip to Meijer, subbed for more decadent chocolate. After eating the result I believe that this is one of those recipe that is really "made" by the quality of the ingredients.

After 13 minutes in the oven, mine seemed a bit more "done" than I would have liked. Clearly no error of my own, though, it's the oven's fault.

I served the cakes with vanilla ice cream. The whole family found them tasty, although J pronounced the serving to be "quite small".

Gooey Chocolate Cakes

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon salt
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate (4 ounces coarsely chopped 1 ounce very finely chopped)
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
6 tablespoons of sugar

Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. butter (or spray – it’s easier) 6 cups of a regular-size muffin pan, preferably a disposable aluminum foil pan, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Put the muffin pan on a baking sheet. Sift the flour, cocoa and salt together. Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, put the coarsely chopped chocolate and the butter in the bowl and stir occasionally over the simmering water just until they are melted – you don’t want them to get so hot that the butter separates. Remove the bowl from the pan of water. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and yolk until homogeneous. Add the sugar and whisk until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add the dry ingredients and, still using the whisk, stir (don’t beat) them into the eggs. Little by little, and using a light hand, stir in the melted chocolate and butter. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups and sprinkle the finely chopped chocolate over the batter.
Bake the cakes for 13 minutes. Transfer them, still on the baking sheet, to a rack to cool for 3 minutes. (There is no way to test that these cakes are properly baked, because the inside remains liquid.) Line a cutting board with a silicone baking mat or parchment or wax paper, and, after the 3-minute rest, unmold the cakes onto the board. Use a wide metal spatula to lift the cakes onto dessert plates.

I took a picture, but I'm not up with Flickr yet -- next week:)