Justa Pasta Cheesecake

I should, but do not, have a picture of this. I have made it several times and each time am flabbergasted by how good it is. It is not like other cheesecakes (flash of Michael Jackson saying, "I'm not like other guys" in the Thriller video), and no one ever leaves any on his or her plate, no matter how much they might not usually like cheesecake. The one change I might possibly suggest would be to use the juice of half a lemon instead of a whole.

Justa Pasta's Cheesecake
as printed in the Oregonian in September 2004 (thanks to Sara Perry for sending it to me after I struggled accessing the archives!)

Makes one 10-inch cake, serving 14 to 16 (or more; 21 1.5" slices have 386 calories each)

Crumb Crust
3 cups graham cracker crumbs (19-20 whole cracker sheets)
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

Filling
Four 8-ounce packages (32 ounces total) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar, preferably baker’s
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 egg, at room temperature

Topping
2 cups sour cream
3/4 cup granulated sugar
Juice from 1 medium lemon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Drop of almond extract

Do not preheat the oven.

To make the crumb crust: Mix together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter until well blended and crumbly (my Cuisinart had the softening cream cheese in it, so I put the crushed-slightly-with-my-fingertips crackers in my Kitchenaid with the butter and brown sugar, and it worked just great to break them down further). Transfer to a 10-inch springform pan and firmly press the mixture onto the bottom of the pan (I use my straight-sided metal one-cup measure). Chill the crust while making the filling.

To make the filling: In a food processor, combine the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and almond extract until creamy and smooth, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary. Beat in the egg until fully blended. Pour into the springform pan and place it in the center of the cold oven. Turn on the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 40 minutes.

To make the topping: Meanwhile, mix together the sour cream, sugar, lemon juice, vanilla and almond extract until blended. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and gently (very! one time I made this I wasn't so gentle, and made a big divot in the filling from the topping waterfall) spread the topping over the cake. Lower the oven to 300 degrees and bake for 15 additional minutes. Transfer to the refrigerator to chill at least 4 hours or overnight. Using a paring knife, loosen the sides from the inside edge of the pan. Slice and serve.

Witches' Fingers

I almost couldn't find the paper this recipe was written on, leading to a moment of panic as I realized I hadn't yet posted it here, and I really, really wanted to make them.

Witches' Fingers
courtesy of Arta Johnson

1 C butter, softened
1 C powdered sugar
1 egg
1/2 t almond extract
1 t vanilla
green food coloring
2 3/4 C flour
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
3/4 C whole blanched almonds
1 tube red decorator gel

Cream butter and sugar, then add egg, extracts, and food coloring, scraping bowl so color distributes evenly. Stir in dry ingredients until well mixed. Cover and refrigerate (not too long--the dough breaks apart during shaping if it's too cold).

Roll a small ball (heaping teaspoon) into a snake about three inches long and no more than half-inch in diameter. Bend to oblique angle as shown, pushing dough a little toward bend, so the knuckle is slightly fatter. Press almond into one end for fingernail, then use paring knife to slash wrinkles at the knuckles.

Bake on parchment paper 20-25 minutes (uninsulated v insulated baking sheets) at 325. Let cool on trays 3 minutes, then carefully lift almond, squeeze a dab of decorator gel underneath, and press back in place so the gel just squeezes out around the edges. Remove from sheets and let cool completely on racks.

Happy (Belated) Purim!

Purim fell during spring break, and though I had grand plans of making Smitten Kitchen's hamantaschen at my mother-in-law's house, it just didn't happen. I finally got around to making them a couple of days ago, and yum! I omitted the lemon zest from the dough, because I just wanted to taste the butter, and used two fillings I had on hand: Nutella topped with a few diced roasted hazelnuts, and homemade rhubarb-ginger jam. Deb from Smitten Kitchen recommends baking 15 minutes, but on insulated sheets and after refrigerating the shaped cookies, mine weren't nearly done after that long. The jam-filled ones, the paler ones in the picture below, were in for 20 minutes, and the Nutella batch probably five minutes more than that. I recommend really letting them get golden for optimal flavor and texture. For ease in handling the dough, let it warm back up almost to room temperature before rolling, but still try to minimize handling.

Smørbrød, or, Something to Eat When You're Tired of Turkey

I hosted a dinner party on Thanksgiving weekend and wanted it to resemble turkey and trimmings as little as possible. So, a Scandinavian theme! We started the evening with gjetost on Kavli with butter and honey, and then four different smørbrød. Smørbrød (this is the Norwegian spelling; the Danes say smörrebröd) literally means "buttered bread," but has come to mean small, fancy open-faced sandwiches. Web research and cookbooks told me a smørbrød layout usually starts with fish and eggs, proceeds with liver, and then moves on to red meat, so that's what we did.


First up (ingredients in order of assembly): rye bread (I found small loaves of thinly sliced bread at the grocery store, labeled "party slices"), butter, spinach, cucumber, scrambled eggs, herbed chèvre, ivory smoked Chinook salmon, dill. To make perfect scrambled eggs, whisk 8-10 eggs with 2 oz softened cream cheese, salt and pepper until cream cheese is in small bits, then cook in a nonstick skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, until just set.


Next: sourdough, butter, forgot the spinach, Chop chicken liver pâté with pistachios and brandy-soaked currants, homemade cranberry sauce (thanks to J's mom!), crispy onions.


Aaaaah: pumpernickel, butter, spinach, havarti, thinly-sliced rare-side-of-medium steak (this was the last steak from our 1/16, a cube steak, but I think any steak would work), tomato, plain or pickled thinly sliced red onion, minced flat-leaf parsley.

I made my own pickled red onion: halve onion pole to pole, peel, then slice very thin with a mandoline. Toss sliced onions in a small bowl with a tablespoon of kosher salt, top with a cup or two of ice cubes, then let sit for a couple of hours. Meanwhile, make a sugar-vinegar solution. I think I started out with a cup of sugar and a half-cup of vinegar, and then added another half-cup of vinegar when it seemed too syrupy and not like the refrigerator pickles I remembered my dad making when I was a kid. I think next time I'll try replacing half the vinegar with water, to make them a tad less potent. Anyway, you'll probably need to heat the vinegar some for the sugar to dissolve completely, and a quick zap in the microwave did the trick for me. Once the sugar is completely dissolved, set it aside to cool while the onions sit. After a couple of hours, pick out the ice cubes and drain the onions well, then stir them into the sweet brine. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight.


Finally: Trader Joe's European-style whole grain bread, butter, forgot the spinach, jarlsberg, Swedish potato sausage, sour cream, chives. This was the only combo that wasn't spot-on perfect. I think the bread was a bit dense, and the whole thing needed something to moisten and tang it up. Or maybe it just seemed bland after the very exciting steak sandwich that came before it.

Once everyone had polished off the assembled sandwiches, I hauled out all the raw ingredients (there were leftovers of almost everything other than the tomato) and let my guests build their own smørbrød until they couldn't eat any more (I was fine with just the four!):


For dessert? Riskrem, aka Norwegian Christmas Rice Pudding. I can't give you an exact recipe on this, since I didn't measure anything. Essentially, though, you cook arborio rice (maybe 1 1/2 C?) in whole milk (6 C?) with a little salt until the rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed (there should still be some, though, as the rice will continue to soak it up as it cools). Then you stir in sugar (1/2-3/4 C) and vanilla (2 t) and let cool. Then you whip a cup or so of cream and fold it in, along with (if you want) the prize almond (I skipped it this time). Serve with jam (I had rhubarb-ginger, tayberry and cloudberry) and cookies (ginger thins + Danish butter cookies).

Copenhagen Butter Cookies
from Sheila Lukins' All Around the World Cookbook

1 C unsalted butter, softened
2/3 C superfine sugar
1 t vanilla
1/2 t salt
2 C flour

Mix butter, sugar, vanilla and salt until thoroughly combined, but not fluffy. Mix in the flour just until it's fully incorporated. Form the dough into a log, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight. Either cut dough log into scant-1/4" slices, or let the dough warm up just a little before rolling and cutting. Bake at 350 until the edges are golden brown, 15-20 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes on baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Basil Treats

I realize it's a bit late in the year for these, since it's now frigid cold outside, but I did still see bags of fresh basil available at the local Co-op. For these two recipes, I used a large bunch of basil purchased at the farmers' market, probably half as big as my head. I've had herb and flower-flavored ice creams in the past, but the more immediate catalyst for my foray into basil desserts was a pair of French macarons I bought from Two Tarts Bakery's booth in the Portland Farmers' market. The first, purchased in early July, was a basil macaroon with fresh strawberry buttercream filling. It was transporting. In September, they still had the basil macaroons, but filled with basil buttercream. Strawberries no longer being readily available, this is the version I tried to re-create.

I started with Tartelette's basic macaron recipe, as published on Bakerella, then adapted for my circumstances (unground almonds) and preferences (basil!).

Basil Macaroons with Basil Buttercream

90 grams aged egg whites (from not-the-freshest eggs, at room temperature)
2 T granulated sugar
110 g blanched slivered almonds
200 g powdered sugar
pinch salt
leaves from 2-3 stems of basil (I used more than this, and they were very very strong)

Beat egg whites until foamy, then gradually add granulated sugar and keep beating until it forms a glossy meringue. The peaks should be fairly stiff, but it should still be shiny and wet-looking.

Process remaining four ingredients in food processor until almonds are finely ground and basil manifests itself as tiny green flecks.

Fold almond mixture into meringue, without being too gentle--you don't want little peaks to stand up when you squeeze the batter from the pastry bag onto the cookie sheet.

Put batter in a large ziploc bag or pastry bag and squeeze 1.5" circles onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Let batter-filled sheets sit at room temperature for an hour before baking at 300 degrees for 20 minutes. Let cool completely before peeling off parchment.

Make your favorite buttercream (I'm not entirely happy with mine yet), only make it in the food processor or mini-prep, and add the leaves of a sprig or two of basil.

Basil Ice Cream
adapted from Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream and Dessert Book

2 large eggs (or 3-6 yolks, if you want to save the whites for the macaroons)
3/4 C sugar
2 C heavy cream
1 C milk
pinch salt
leaves from half a large bunch (about 6 stems) of basil

Put cream in a small saucepan and bring to a bare simmer. Submerge basil, remove pan from heat, and let steep 30 minutes. Strain, pressing leaves to get all the cream, then set aside to cool.

While the basil-cream mixture is steeping, whisk eggs (or yolks) until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Gradually add sugar and salt and keep whisking until completely blended, light yellow and glossy. Whisk in milk, then transfer mixture to a medium-size saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture reaches 180 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Whisk into cream, let whole mixture cool (I sometimes speed this part of the process by nestling the bowl in a larger bowl filled with crushed ice), then refrigerate in the coldest part of your refrigerator overnight. The next day, freeze in an ice cream maker. Makes about a quart.

Chocolate Cheesecake

Just in time for those of you considering less-traditional Thanksgiving desserts.

Killer Chocolate Cheesecake
from Luscious Chocolate Desserts by Lori Longbotham

Crust:
9-oz package chocolate wafers, broken into large pieces with your hands
6 T unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

1 lb bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped (no more than 70% cocoa--I used a mixture of half 60% and half 70%)
1/4 C unsalted butter
2 T unsweetened cocoa powder
3 8-oz packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 C sugar
4 large eggs
pinch of salt
1 1/2 C sour cream, at room temperature
2 t pure vanilla extract

Before starting anything else, get the cream cheese, sour cream and eggs out so they can come to room temperature for a couple of hours. Then melt the chocolate and butter for the filling in a double boiler or bain-marie (steel bowl set over barely simmering water), whisking until smooth, then whisking in cocoa powder and removing from the heat to cool to room temperature.

Make sure the rack is in the middle of the oven, and preheat it to 350. Butter a 9-inch tall (3" deep) springform pan and wrap the outside with a double layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Have a roasting pan (big enough to hold the springform pan in about an inch and a half of water) ready, and put a kettle of water on to boil for the water bath.

Pulse the chocolate wafers in a food processor until finely ground. Add the melted butter and process until just blended. Press mixture into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until set, then let cool on a wire rack.

Beat the cream cheese and sugar in a stand mixer, starting on low speed and increasing to medium-high, until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Add salt, then beat in the chocolate mixture until just smooth. Add the sour cream and vanilla and beat until smooth, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure all ingredients are fully incorporated. If you aren't too nervous about the raw eggs, find a helper to lick the beater.

Transfer the filling to the springform pan. Set the pan in the roasting pan, place it in the oven, and carefully pour in enough boiling water to reach halfway up the sides of the pan.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until the center is almost set but still slightly jiggly; do not overbake, as the cheesecake will firm as it cools. If you really, really think it's too jiggly, bake for an additional five minutes but no longer (I did an extra 10 and regretted it). Remove the roasting pan from the oven and let the cheesecake cool in the water bath for 15 minutes.

Remove the springform pan from the water bath and let cool completely on a wire rack.

Remove the foil and refrigerate the cheesecake, loosely covered, until thoroughly chilled, 12 hours or overnight.

To serve, let the cheesecake stand at room temperature for 20 minutes. Remove the pan sides, smooth the sides of the cheesecake with a butter knife, and cut into wedges. Very small wedges--this thing is RICH. An inch is about perfect, so this cheesecake can serve at least two dozen people.

Summer Goodies

Over the last month and a half or so, I've made some yummy stuff--some repeats from before I had this blog, and one new recipe. The first two I made for a book group brunch in mid-June, and the last in two different iterations for birthday parties: strawberry in mid-June for me and my sister-in-law (our birthdays are three days apart), and raspberry at the end of June for my sister The Laundry Queen.

Strawberries in Lavender Syrup with Crème Fraîche and Lemon Sugar, from Bon Appétit, April 2005. I first came across this recipe when the magazine was new, and we were staying with Mavis's sister's in-laws in Los Angeles. I madly typed it and its companion recipes (notably Bacon-Wrapped Eggs with Polenta) into my PDA for future use at a book group brunch. I did serve them for book group in June 2005, making the strawberries the starter with small, freshly-baked scones, and serving carrot cake for dessert. This time I also served the strawberries as the starter, with fresh scones (with jam and devon cream), and for dessert we had:

Butterscotch Budino with Salted Caramel Sauce. Divine. I had this dessert at Nostrana and was transported. Imagine my delight to find the recipe online. One note--whatever you do, don't look at the version published in the LA Times, which also has the nutrition information. Really, just don't look. You don't want to know. My one quibble with the recipe was the amount of cornstarch. It seemed like a lot, and the pudding seized right up when I stirred the tempered cornstarch-egg yolk mixture into the hot saucepan. Maybe I needed to add more hot pudding to the egg yolk bowl before mixing it into the main pot, or maybe it would work with a tad less cornstarch. I'll try the first possibility before making any ingredient adjustments.

Berry Cream Cake (why type it in when someone else has gone to all the trouble?)




I got the recipe from Cook's Illustrated, but it has a lot in common with the classic Norwegian birthday cake bløtkake (check out the picture!)--maybe why I like it so much. I made it a few years ago with mixed cane berries (raspberries, marionberries and boysenberries), and I think that was my favorite of the three (7 adults polished off the whole cake with no difficulty). One note--don't stick to the weight of berries recommended in the recipe when you're making it with cane berries. I did for the raspberry version I made for my sister's birthday, and the berry : cake/cream ratio was a bit high (and the cake a bit soggy as a consequence).

Still Hung Up on Bananas

Seriously, do I need more potassium? Or maybe it's just that my rhubarb is a little on the slow side this year, because of our cool spring (though I did finally make rhubarb tartlets following this recipe, omitting the ginger because I'm out at the moment). Anyway, two recent banana trials were delicious.

Banana-Chocolate Bread
adapted from The New Best Recipe

As you can see from the picture, I made half a recipe (because that's how many overripe bananas I had) in two small loaf pans. Here is the recipe for one large loaf or 3-4 small loaves:

2 C flour
1 1/4 C walnuts or other nuts, chopped coarse (optional) (I omitted)
2 1/2 oz bittersweet chocolate, grated or chopped fine
10 T sugar
3/4 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
3 large overripe bananas, mashed well (about 1 1/2 C)
1/4 C plain yogurt (I used whole-milk maple, but I bet buttermilk would have worked, too)
2 large eggs, beaten lightly
6 T unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 t vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare pans with butter and flour or baking spray. Toast nuts, if using and they aren't already toasted. Whisk together dry ingredients, including chocolate and nuts if using, in a large bowl. Mix liquid ingredients in a medium bowl. Lightly fold wet ingredients into dry with a rubber spatula until just combined, then put into loaf pan(s). Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes for a large loaf. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Next up was banana cream pie. Yes, banana cream pie!!! I initially called my sister-in-law to get the recipe of a friend she had used for a pie she brought to a church function, but it turned out that that particular pie recipe included a special brand of boxed pudding that could only be acquired at Albertson's. Once I got over my shock that this friend would rely on a mix, I decided I'd rather go it alone and make it from scratch from ingredients I already had on hand. It was sooooo, so so good.

Banana Cream Pie
adapted from The New Best Recipe

For the crust, I decided I wanted a pâte sucrée rather than a traditional pie crust, and I wanted it in a tart pan instead of a deep-dish pie pan (I don't own any regular pie pans). So I used the crust part of the Cook's Illustrated recipe for Poached Pear and Almond Tart (Sept/Oct 2002).

Pâte Sucrée

1 large egg yolk
2 T heavy cream
1/2 t vanilla
1 1/2 C flour
3/4 C powdered sugar
1/4 t salt
10 T very cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Whisk together liquid ingredients in a small bowl. Combine dry ingredients in food processor with a few pulses, then scatter butter pieces over the top and pulse until the mixture looks kind of cornmeal-y and there aren't any pieces of butter larger than a small pea. Sprinkle liquid over the top and pulse until dough is just coming together. Turn dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, form into a thick disk, wrap tightly, and refrigerate for at least an hour or up to 48 hours.

When you're ready to bake the shell, roll out the pastry (letting it warm up just enough to become malleable if it's been in the fridge longer than an hour) and transfer it to the pan, then freeze for 30 minutes while the oven heats up to 375. Line the dough-filled pan with greased heavy-duty foil and fill it with pie weights, place it on a baking sheet, then bake until the edges are just beginning to color, about 20 minutes. Remove pan from oven, very carefully remove foil and weights, and return to oven to bake another 10 minutes or so, until edges are golden. Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature.

Cream Filling

1/2 C plus 2 T sugar
1/4 C cornstarch
1/8 t salt
5 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
2 C milk (2% or whole)
1/2 C evaporated milk
1 t vanilla
2 T unsalted butter

2 medium-large bananas, perfectly ripe (no green, no brown)

1 C chilled heavy cream
1 T sugar
1 t vanilla

Whisk dry ingredients in a medium saucepan. Add the yolks, then immediately but gradually whisk in the milks. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently at first, and then constantly as the mixture heats up. Once it begins to simmer, cook for one minute more (I didn't check to be sure, but based on other recipes I've seen for pastry cream, which are also thickened with egg yolks, I'm pretty sure that this would be about 200 on an instant-read thermometer). Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the butter and vanilla. Pour the filling into a pie pan or other shallow pan and put plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the filling. Let cool 20-30 minutes.

Scrape half of the pudding into the cooled shell, smoothing into an even layer with a spatula. Slice banana 1/4-inch thick and arrange on surface of filling. Top with other half of pudding, replace plastic wrap on surface of filling, and refrigerate until completely chilled, at least three hours.

Whip cream, sugar and vanilla together until it forms soft peaks, then spread on top of filling. Cut and serve immediately. Swoon with delight.

Comfort Food

Tried a couple of recipes from Smitten Kitchen this week: Sweet Potato-Sausage Soup and Chocolate Soufflé Cupcakes (I left the mint out of the cream because the boys don't like it). The soup (I added white beans to this) was a big hit at a potluck. The cupcakes were a big hit with everyone in the family, but Very. Messy. Without any flour to hold them together, they were pretty crumbly. It's also possible that I overcooked them by a minute or so. And although Deb of Smitten Kitchen said the recipe was for 9 and maybe a half cupcakes, I had 10 very full cups.

Tonight's new recipe was pulled from my stack of January/February Cook's Illustrateds. When I first get an issue, I use small flags to mark the recipes I want to try some time. I may never get around to trying everything I've marked, or, as with today's recipe, it just may take a few years for the recipe, craving and ingredients planets to align. In any case, it was DELICIOUS. All the kids liked it, too, and (almost best of all) there are leftovers for sandwiches!

All-Beef Meatloaf
adapted from Cook's Illustrated Jan/Feb 2006

3 oz Monterey Jack cheese, grated on small holes
1 T unsalted butter
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 celery rib, chopped fine
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
2 t minced fresh thyme leaves
1 t paprika
1/4 C tomato juice (I used the Knudsen's Very Veggie I bought for the minestrone)
1/2 C low-sodium chicken broth
2 large eggs
1/2 t unflavored powdered gelatin
1 T soy sauce
1 t Dijon mustard
2/3 C crushed saltine crackers
2 T minced fresh parsley leaves
3/4 t table salt
1/2 t freshly-ground black pepper
1 lb ground sirloin
1 lb ground chuck (if you can't find specific cuts, go with any 85% lean ground beef; I used a bit less than 2 lbs ground grass-fed, dry-aged Black Angus from Highland Oak Farm)

Glaze
(I skipped this step for lack of time, and didn't miss it; but then, I ate my meatloaf with a little of my mom's chili sauce, which fills the same flavor niche the glaze would have)
1/2 C ketchup
1 t hot pepper sauce
1/2 t ground coriander
1/4 C apple cider vinegar
3 T packed light brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spread cheese on a plate and freeze. Fold heavy-duty foil to make a 6x10-inch rectangle, and put it on a metal cooling rack over a baking sheet. Poke holes in the foil every half-inch or so. Spray with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Heat butter in skillet over medium-high heat until foaming; add onion and celery and cook until translucent and beginning to brown. Add garlic, thyme, and paprika and cook another minute or so. Reduce heat and add tomato juice, scraping up browned bits and simmering until thickened. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

3. Whisk broth and eggs in a large bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over liquid and let stand 5 minutes. Stir in soy sauce, mustard, saltines, parsley, salt, pepper and onion mixture. If cheese is sufficiently frozen, crumble it into a coarse powder and sprinkle it over the top. Add beef and mix gently with your hands until thoroughly combined, trying not to overwork it. Transfer meat to prepared foil and pat into an oval loaf about 2 inches high. Bake until center of loaf reaches 135-140 degrees, about an hour. Remove from oven and turn on broiler.

4. While loaf cooks, combine glaze ingredients in small pan. Bring to simmer over medium heat and cook until thick and syrupy. Sprad half of glaze evenly on meat with a rubber spatula, then broil until glaze bubbles and starts to brown at edges, about 5 minutes, then repeat. Let meatloaf cool 15-20 minutes before cutting.

Other recent recipe tests

Two from Cook's Illustrated Jan/Feb 2010 issue:

Hearty Minestrone

Table salt
1/2 lb dried cannellini beans
1 T extra-virgin olive oil
3 oz pancetta, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
2 medium celery ribs, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 3/4 C)
1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 3/4 C)
2 small onions, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 1/2 C)
1 medium zucchini, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 C)
2 medium garlic cloves, pressed (about 2 t)
1/2 small head green cabbage, halved, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 2 C) (I substituted lacinato kale here)
pinch red pepper flakes
8 C water
2 C low-sodium chicken broth (I used homemade)
1 piece rind of Parmigiano Reggiano, about 2x5 inches (this is too much! Half this much would have been better)
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 C V8 juice (I used Knudsen's Very Veggie)
1/2 C chopped fresh basil (forgot to put this in!)
freshly-ground black pepper
grated Parmesan for serving

1. Dissolve 1 1/2 T salt in 2 qts cold water in large bowl or pot. Add beans and soak at room temperature for 8-24 hours. Drain and rinse well.

Now, I had issues with my beans. After all this soaking time (probably at least 12 hours), some beans had plumped up, but others were almost exactly the same size they had started out. I don't know if this was because the beans were too old (they were newly purchased, but may have been sitting in the bulk bin for a while, who knows?), but it made the cooking time for the beans enough longer than I had planned that the soup had to be served the following night for dinner instead (I think we filled in with Taco Bell). Annoying. Next time I'll monitor the soaking beans more closely, stirring and checking during the soaking time.

2. Heat oil and pancetta in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until pancetta is lightly browned and fat has rendered, 3-5 minutes. Add celery, carrot, onion, and zucchini; cook, stirring frequently, until veggies are softened and starting to brown, 5-9 minutes. Stir in garlic, cabbage (/kale), 1/2 t salt, and red pepper flakes; cook until cabbage (/kale) starts to wilt, 1-2 minutes more. Transfer veggies to plate and set aside.

3. Add soaked beans, water, broth, cheese rind, and bay leaf to same pot and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat and vigorously simmer, stirring occasionally, until beans are fully tender and liquid is starting to thicken, 45-60 minutes.

I simmered vigourously, and even the beans that hadn't plumped up during soaking did eventually become tender, but it took more like two hours, and the liquid never got appreciably thicker. Grr.

4. Add reserved veggies and V8 juice to pot; simmer until veggies are soft, about 15 minutes. Discard bay leaf and cheese rind, stir in chopped basil, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with a drizzle of EVOO and grated Parmesan.

The final product was pretty tasty, though overly cheesy because I used as much Parmesan rind as they called for, and probably because I simmered that huge chunk of cheese rind for twice as long as contemplated in the original recipe. Mavis and I liked it just fine, but none of the kids would really eat it.

The other trial was a much more unqualified success:

Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

[I made this without any lemon at all--I didn't want anything to detract from the almond-cheesy goodness.]

Lemon Sugar-Almond Topping
1/4 C sugar
1 1/2 t finely grated lemon zest
1/2 C sliced almonds

Mash sugar and lemon zest together in a small bowl until the sugar is somewhat moistened. Stir in almonds. (Next time--since I'll almost surely never make it with the lemon--I'll figure out some way of adding moisture to the sugar, maybe a teaspoon of softened butter. Without any moisture the sugar just sits on top of the cake and falls off when you invert the pan to get the cake out.)

Cake
1 1/4 C unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/8 t baking powder
1 1/8 t baking soda
1 t table salt
10 T unsalted butter, softened but still cool
1 C plus 7 T sugar
1 T finely grated zest plus 4 t juice from 1-2 lemons
4 large eggs
5 t vanilla extract (or 4, plus 1 t almond extract if you're leaving the lemon out)
1 1/4 C sour cream
8 oz cream cheese, softened

1. Spray 10-inch tube pan with nonstick cooking spray. Whisk dry ingredients together in a medium bowl and set aside. In stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat butter, 1 C plus 2 T sugar, and lemon zest at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping sides of bowl as necessary. Add 4 t vanilla (or 3 plus 1 t almond extract) and mix to combine. Reduce speed to low and add dry ingredients in three additions and sour cream in two, alternating dry and wet ingredients, mixing after each addition until incorporated. Remove bowl from stand and mix in any unincorporated flour with a few strokes of the spatula.

2. Scoop out 1 1/4 C batter and set aside. Spoon remaining batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Return empty bowl to mixer stand and beat cream cheese, remaining 5 T sugar, lemon juice, and remaining t vanilla on medium speed until smooth and lightened, about 1 minute. Add 1/4 C reserved batter and mix until incorporated. Spoon evenly over batter in baking pan, staying one inch away from sides of pan. Smooth top. Spread remaining reserved batter over the top and smooth. Gently swirl batter in a figure-8 motion using a butter knife, being careful not to push filling to edges of pan. Bang pan on counter 2-3 times to dislodge bubbles. Sprinkle sugar-almond topping evenly over top and press gently to adhere.

3. Bake until top is golden and just firm, and skewer inserted into cake part comes out clean, 45-50 minutes. Remove pan from oven and bang on counter again to release air around filling. Cool cake in pan on wire rack 1 hour. Carefully double-invert cake, using a rimmed dish or plate, ending up with it back on the wire rack to cool completely for about 1 1/2 hours. Cut into slices and serve.

Catching Up, at least a little

I've actually been cooking quite a bit lately, just not posting about it. I made caramels and mailed them to people who responded to my something-homemade challenge on Facebook:


This afternoon, I made this tart to give to one of my preschool auction dessert-a-month winners. I adapted the crust (since neither I nor my intended recipients have gluten issues), using 1 1/4 C all-purpose flour and 1/4 C white rice flour.


By using a 9-inch tart pan instead of an 11-inch one, and rolling the crust on the thin side, I was also able to make 3 four-inch tarts for my family to eat. It was pretty good. If I were ever to make it again, I might do some things differently. Maybe my bananas were too large and too ripe, but the banana overpowered both the peanut butter and chocolate flavors in the filling. Also, the recipe called for cooling the caramel to room temperature before adding the peanut butter and banana. At room temperature, the caramel I made was quite gooey, and I was only able to mix the three components together by using my immersion blender. The crust was also just okay. I need to find a good chocolate sablé crust recipe.

Cindy Lou ate every last bite of her serving, with relish. The Wizard rejected his. Newton ate all his, but said he would have preferred it to be less banana-y. I like banana-chocolate desserts, but much prefer the ones I've made in the past: the Banana Layer Cake and Banana-Chocolate Bread Pudding.

Classic Stuffed Turkey

We had a small, quiet Thanksgiving dinner, with just our family and J&J's. It was my turn to host, so I was in charge of turkey, stuffing, gravy, potatoes and one dessert, with J bringing sides, rolls and another dessert. I love stuffing, so I made two whole batches, not realizing that J&J's kids wouldn't eat any (!). I was thinking about the copious amount usually consumed by my brother Rib. I love having at least part of the stuffing cooked inside the bird, so I wanted a recipe for a stuffed turkey that would still turn out moist and delicious, and decided to try the latest turkey guidance from Cook's Illustrated.


Table setup with kissing corn (kids' table visible through doorway at center-right).



Table setup with pressed-glass turkey candle holders and linens and silver from my grandmother.

Wild Rice, Apple and Dried-Cranberry Stuffing from Gourmet (made by me)


This stuffing was very good--it's pretty much just a basic bread stuffing with sautéed celery and onion and fresh parsley, sage & thyme, then some cooked wild rice, diced apple and dried cranberries stirred in. I would recommend either cooking this in the bird or keeping it covered the whole time it is in the oven--the wild rice on the edges got a bit crunchy/chewy.

Rolls rising (made by J from my great-grandmother's recipe).


Swiss Chard and Sweet Potato Gratin from Smitten Kitchen (made by J). This was delicious but very rich. Half a recipe would have been plenty for our small two-family group (again, the kids didn't eat much of it).


Old-Fashioned Stuffed Turkey from Cook's Illustrated's November-December 2009 issue.



This recipe calls for a 12-15 lb turkey, and mine was near the upper limit of that range (I did want some leftovers). A sidebar in the magazine lists the "secrets" to a great old-fashioned stuffed turkey:

1. Dry brine (rubbing turkey with salt under the skin and in the cavity 24-48 hours ahead of cooking)
2. Stab the fat deposits with a skewer to aid the rendering of fat
3. Dry rub with baking powder and salt just before roasting to encourage browning (I did not do this step, as in an earlier recipe trial of a roast chicken recommending this technique, it imparted a slight chemical taste)
4. Bard the turkey by draping strips of salt pork on its back while roasting
5. Combine stuffing cooked inside and outside the turkey (doesn't everyone do this anyway?)
6. High-heat finish for the last 45 minutes to crisp the skin.

Now, there were a couple of other small ways (in addition to number 3 above) in which I deviated from the recipe. Nevertheless, the turkey was moist and flavorful, giving off lots of fat and basically no juices during its roasting time (I poured off the grease and scraped up the brown bits to dissolve as much as I could into the gravy, straining to get out the undissolved bits; my brother pronounced it the "best gravy ever"). Here's how I did it:

Old-Fashioned Stuffed Turkey
adapted from Cook's Illustrated Nov-Dec 2009
Serves 10-12

1 12-15 lb turkey
3 T kosher salt
12 oz salt pork, cut into 1/4"-thick slices and rinsed

onion, celery, carrot and a few sprigs fresh thyme for gravy neck stock, chopped roughly

Your favorite stuffing recipe (besides the wild rice one linked above, I made a traditional stuffing with sautéed onions and celery and fresh parsley, sage and thyme. I did not make homemade bread for the stuffing this year, and missed it.)

Now, two days before Thanksgiving, having already put the turkey in the fridge to thaw several days before, you go to pull out the giblet/neck packet and salt the turkey according to the recipe. After having removed it from its wrapping, you discover that the bird is still frozen solid in the middle and completely unwilling to birth its packet. You panic and put the turkey on a rack over a broiler-pan bottom in the fridge, hoping that the direct contact with the fridge air will thaw it sufficiently by the next day.

One day before Thanksgiving, the giblet/neck packet is just barely able to be pried out of the cavity. You heat a little oil in a saucepan and brown the snot out of the neck, then sauté the chopped vegetables in the same pan, scraping up browned bits. Add the neck back in, add water to cover, and simmer for a few hours. Return to still very, very cold turkey, and rub 3 T kosher salt in cavity and under skin of breasts and legs, trying mightily not to tear it where it's become slightly dried-out and fragile from its uncovered overnight fridge stay. Cover it with plastic wrap, put it back in the fridge, and hope for the best.

Thanksgiving morning, get the turkey out of the fridge, remove plastic wrap, and hope it comes to something resembling room temperature by roasting time. Use a skewer to poke lots of little holes (1" apart) in all the thick, fatty parts of the skin on the breasts, thighs, legs and back. Prepare stuffing, then line cavities with cheesecloth and put in as much stuffing as will reasonably fit, leaving the rest in a bowl in the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place turkey breast-side down on a rack in a roasting pan and drape back with slices of salt pork.

Roast breast-side down until thickest part of breast measures 130 degrees, 2-2.5 hours. Remove from oven, close door, and increase temperature to 450 degrees. Transfer turkey in rack to another pan, remove and discard salt pork, remove stuffing bag, and turn turkey breast-side up. Empty stuffing back into reserved stuffing in bowl and mix together, then put in large casserole dish. Pour drippings from pan into strainer over fat separator, scraping pan with a silicone spatula.

When oven is up to temperature, return turkey in rack to roasting pan and roast until skin is brown and crisp, thickest part of breast is 160 degrees, and thickest part of thigh is 175 degrees, about 45 minutes. Transfer turkey to carving board and let rest 30 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 400 and bake stuffing until it reaches 165 degrees in the center. Make gravy from defatted drippings, neck stock, and a well-mixed slurry of flour and water, plus some of the potato cooking water if desired, seasoning to taste (probably won't need much salt!).

This was a fabulous turkey, in spite of the stressful moments that occurred in its preparation. That overnight uncovered fridge stay that dried out the skin some made it roast up perfectly, cracklingly crisp--my brother said it was like pork rinds only better--but left the flesh moist and delicious. This is a great, easy, non-chemical-y way to get the skin really, really crisp. It did make it quite a bit harder to rub the salt under the skin, but if I'd been able to do the salting before the drying of the skin, maybe that would solve that problem? Next time will tell.

For dessert, J brought a perfectly-delicous Costco pumpkin pie and her homemade pecan dacquoise pie. and I made Banana Chocolate Bread Pudding, using leftover challah from previously having made Pumpkin Pie Bread Pudding with Bourbon Toffee Sauce for a friend. The challah wasn't left over, per se, because I did use a whole loaf for the first bread pudding, but it was left over because, after searching high and low for already-baked challah, I made my own. I guess in the middle of Thanksgiving week, all the bakeries are turned over to dinner rolls, and there wasn't any challah. I suppose I could have substituted, but I wanted to follow the recipe as closely as I could, so there I was, two nights before Thanksgiving, madly making challah late in the evening and about killing my KitchenAid in the process. Anyway, both of them turned out delicious, though I should definitely have used less than the whole loaf for the banana pudding.

And after all that effort over the bread, I couldn't muster up a couple tablespoons of bourbon for the toffee sauce, so I used Kahlua instead. Next time for the bourbon.

Happy Halloween!

Growing up, Halloween was one of our favorite holidays. Not only did we get to go trick-or-treating, my parents would make donuts! Well, spudnuts, really, made with mashed potatoes in the dough. These are traditional yeast-raised, deep-fried goodies, with a simple powdered-sugar glaze. Tonight I made a double batch, 7 dozen plus a few using the smaller of my two cutters, and we ended the evening with just five left. Several bags were delivered to friends and neighbors, and adults chaperoning trick-or-treaters also got lucky.

I don't use a deep-fat fryer or a cast-iron dutch oven to fry my donuts. I use the same tool my parents used back in the 1970s: an electric frying pan. Mine is bigger than theirs was, which speeds the process some, but not too much--it's still crucial to let the oil come back up to temperature after every panful. This built-in refractory period means adding another kitchen worker doesn't speed stuff up much, if at all.

Spudnuts
adapted from a recipe submitted to the Salem Fourth Ward cookbook, Garden of Eatin', by Pat Youngberg

2 eggs, beaten slightly
1/2 C cooled mashed potatoes
1/2 C potato water
1 C scalded milk
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C light corn syrup
1/2 C unsalted butter, softened
2 t salt
3 T yeast, dissolved in 1/4 C warm water
6 C flour, plus more for kneading and rolling

Glaze:
1 lb powdered sugar
1/2 C boiling water

Mix ingredients to make a soft, sticky dough. Turn dough into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let sit in a warm-ish spot (I use my oven with just the light on) for two hours (don't let it go too much longer--I couldn't get back to mine for nearly an extra hour, and the dough had overflowed the bowl onto the baking stone and floor of the oven!). Knead just a little, adding flour to make the dough less sticky and workable, then roll 1/2 inch thick. Cut with a donut cutter, and put cut donuts on cookie sheets lined with waxed paper, with just a little space between, saving and rerolling the holes and other dough scraps. Let rise until doubled, just about an hour (again, not longer--those last few donuts pictured above are misshapen because the longer they rise, the stickier they get, and the harder it is to get them off the waxed paper). A half-hour before the first ones will be ready to fry, start heating the oil in your electric frying pan, with the temperature set to halfway between 350 and 375 (this helps ensure that the temperature doesn't drop much below 350; at temperatures below 350, the donuts absorb oil and turn greasy and heavy). Measure powdered sugar in a flat-bottomed bowl, and put measuring cup with water in microwave ready to heat. Arrange cooling racks over waxed paper on table for glazed donuts.

When oil is hot and donuts have risen, start frying them. Gently place dough into oil, taking care not to overfill pan (in my extra-large frying pan, I try not to do more than about 10 at a time). Turn (I use a dinner fork) when bottom side is deep golden to fry on second side. In the mean time, heat water in microwave and whisk into powdered sugar to make a smooth glaze. It should be about the consistency of olive oil. As donuts finish cooking, lift them out of pan, let some oil drip off, then place on brown paper bags or paper towels to soak up grease. When they're all out of the oil, drop one at a time into the bowl of glaze, swirling around and then flipping (I use a bamboo skewer) to get a nice coating. Lift donut with skewer in the center hole and let some glaze drip back into bowl, then place on cooling rack. Check to make sure oil has come back up to temperature while you were glazing, and then repeat until all donuts are fried and glazed.

When you are all done and the oil is cooled down to just warm, strain it (using a coffee filter or a couple of paper towels) back into its original jug and put it in the fridge. It can be used a few more times if you have another frying project within three months (latkes, anyone?), otherwise take it to be recycled into biodiesel (here in Portland you can take it to the Metro transfer station, if you don't have a regular relationship with a biodiesel processor).

Note: Do not eat the dough while cutting out the donuts. Trust me when I say you will be sorry.

Hail, Gourmet!

I had printed off a couple of recipes from Gourmet, based, on recommendations of friends and other food bloggers, and have finally got around to making them. I hope they don't disappear from the web any time soon, but if the links stop working, let me know and I'll type them in.

First up, Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Fried Sage & Chestnuts. Based on my experience with adding sweet potatoes to traditionally all potato recipes (as in Orange Mashed Potatoes, Orange Potato Gratin, and Orange Latkes), I had an inkling it would be good. I made it almost exactly as written, except that I didn't roll the dough into tiny balls before rolling down the back of a fork (I didn't care if they weren't that uniform). Plus I didn't shave the chestnuts, because my chestnuts (which I had roasted, peeled, and frozen) didn't shave, but crumbled. Oh well! Anyway, this recipe was fantastically delicious, and snarfed up by all eaters, especially my mother-in-law.


Then I made not just one, but twoPear Butterscotch Pies. For my all-butter pastry, I used my adapted version of the Cook's Illustrated foolproof vodka pie crust. It was really, really good, and not nearly as sweet as the name might make you think. The brown sugar and pear juices combined to bake into a brown, almost custardy, goo. A la mode, this pie was darn-near divine.

Creepy Treats, anyone?

Witches' Fingers

1 C butter, softened
1 C powdered sugar
1 egg
1 t almond extract
1 t vanilla extract
green food coloring
2 3/4 C flour
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
3/4 C whole blanched almonds
1 tube red decorating gel

Beat together butter and sugar, then beat in egg, extracts and food coloring. Stir in dry ingredients, then chill.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Roll one-inch ball of dough into a finger shape--thin with a thick knuckle. Press almond into one end for fingernail. Cut wrinkle slashes into knuckle with sharp paring knife.

Bake on parchment-lined cookie sheets 20-30 minutes (longer time for insulated sheets), until just starting to color. Let cool five minutes, then lift almond and squeeze gel underneath. Let cool completely (and gel set) before moving into a tin for storage.

Inspired by Africa

My book group most recently read Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. When I think of African food, I recall a memorable meal cooked for my family when I was a girl by Kwame, a Ghanaian student at Willamette University. It was a spicy and savory stew with chicken, tomatoes, vegetables, and what seemed to me at the time a most improbable ingredient, peanut butter. My recipe book collection completely failed me, but I found this recipe. I replaced half the sweet potato with cubed butternut squash, used a small can of diced tomatoes (drained), and browned the chicken (boneless, skinless thighs) before the onion, but otherwise stuck pretty close to it. It was delicious.

We had Como bread from Grand Central Bakery, a green salad with dried cherries, toasted slivered almonds, and chèvre with balsamic vinaigrette, and then finished with Peach Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting. They were delicious. The one thing I would change would be the cornstarch in the frosting, which I found a little distracting.

The Last Gasp of Summer

We had beautiful summer weather last weekend, so I wanted to take advantage of our bounteous local harvest and have one last patio meal. Pulled pork, buttermilk coleslaw, sautéed zucchini and corn, roasted heirloom tomato tart (this time with chèvre!), and plum cake and Honey-Caramel Peach Pie à la mode for dessert. Corn, zucchini, tomatoes and peaches--can't get much more summer than that!

The tomato tart:

Buttermilk Coleslaw
adapted from Cook's Illustrated Jul/Aug 2002

I doubled the recipe, using a whole small head of lavender cabbage that weighed just under 2 lbs.

1 lb cabbage, shredded fine (quarter, core, then shred in food processor)
Salt
1 medium carrot, shredded (I used my julienne peeler)
1/2 C buttermilk (I was just shy and used a little plain whole-milk yogurt to make up the difference)
2 T mayonnaise
2 T sour cream
1 small shallot, minced (about 2 T)
2 T minced fresh parsley leaves
1/2 t cider vinegar
1/2 t sugar
1/4 t dijon mustard
1/8 t freshly ground black pepper

Toss shredded cabbage and 1 t salt, then put in a colander over a bowl. Let stand 1-4 hours until cabbage wilts (it never seemed all that wilty to me, and it didn't express any water). Rinse cabbage under cold running water, then press gently and pat dry with paper towels (don't wring). Put cabbage and carrot in a large bowl.

Stir remaining ingredients together in a small bowl, then pour over cabbage and toss to combine. Refrigerate until chilled, then serve.

Sautéed Zucchini & Corn
adapted from recipes in Cook's Illustrated and Cook's Country
makes a side dish for 8-10


a bunch of zucchini (like, 8 small--I used 2 large and 1 medium)
3 T unsalted butter
1 medium shallot, minced
4 ears sweet corn, kernels removed with a serrated knife
2-3 T chopped fresh basil
1 T olive oil
salt & pepper

Grate zucchini (I used the food processor). Toss with 1 t salt, and put in a colander over a bowl. Let sit for 30-45 minutes. It will give off a lot of water. Then squeeze out even more water by wrapping zucchini in a triple layer of paper towels and wringing (in two batches if necessary). Toss with olive oil and corn in a large bowl.

Heat butter over medium-high heat in a nonstick skillet. When foaming subsides, sauté shallot until just soft. Add zucchini and corn and sauté until tender. Top with basil and salt and pepper and serve.

The pie (my brother said it was the best crust he's had in his whole life!):

Blackberry Pie

So, I made the blueberry pie recipe with blackberries instead. The berries were pretty tart, so I increased the sugar to 1 C. I remembered the egg wash on the crust this time, and the lemon juice (I still left out the lemon zest, which I almost never care for).

YUM. I've never been a pie person (except for pumpkin), but this is almost enough to convert me. In any case, it's something I'll be adding to my seasonal rotation. And other times, too (since I froze enough blackberries for another two pies).

One note to emphasize in the original recipe: they weren't kidding about letting it cool down all the way before slicing it. When first cut while still warm, the filling was pretty loose and ran out into the pie plate. But left over the next day, it sliced neatly with no big oozing.

Blueberry Pie with Vodka Crust

I'd heard a lot from friends about the fabulous vodka pie crust from Cook's Illustrated. Finally I had a chance to try it for myself! At the peak of blueberry season, a local blueberry farmer sells gallon-sized zipper-lock bags FULL of blueberries at the farmers' market for a good price. I had Mavis pick one up with the idea that I would (finally) try this recipe, even though I don't personally care for blueberries. We took it to a potluck with a can of whipped cream (easier than ice cream) and it was a HUGE hit. No leftovers.

Blueberry Pie with Foolproof Vodka Crust
adapted from Cook's Illustrated Jul/Aug 2008

Foolproof Pie Dough
2 1/2 C flour, plus more for work surface
1 t salt
2 T sugar
2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch slices (Cook's calls for 3/4 C butter and 1/4 C shortening, but I don't DO shortening, ever)
1/4 C cold vodka (absolutely necessary to this recipe; do not omit; if you can't stand to use it, switch to a different recipe)
1/4 C cold water

Process 1 1/2 C flour, salt and sugar in food processor until combined. Add butter (and shortening if you're using it) and process until homogenous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds. Scrape bowl with spatula and redistribute dough around work bowl. Add remaining 1 C flour and process 4-6 quick pulses to break up clumps. Empty into medium bowl.

Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. Use rubber spatula to fold and press mixture into itself until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Divide into two evenly-sized balls and flatten into 4-inch disks. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 45 minutes to 48 hours.

Remove 1 disk of dough from refrigerator and roll out on generously floured work surface to 12-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and transfer to pie plate, easing dough down into bottom of pie plate. Refrigerate while preparing filling.

Blueberry Filling
6 C fresh blueberries
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and grated on large holes
2 t grated zest and 2 t juice from one lemon (I omitted this and it didn't kill it)
3/4 C sugar
2 T instant tapioca, ground in spice grinder or mini food processor
2 T unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

egg wash (egg lightly beaten with 1 t water) (I omitted this too, just because I forgot, and it didn't kill it)

Adjust oven rack to lowest position (oops, forgot that too), put rimmed baking sheet on rack, and preheat oven to 400. Put 3 C berries in medium saucepan over medium heat. Mash with potato masher to start releasing juices. Cook, stirring and mashing occasionally, until mixture is thickened and reduced to 1 1/2 C. Let cool slightly.

Put grated apple in clean kitchen towel and wring dry. Put in large bowl. Add cooked berries, uncooked berries, lemon zest and juice, sugar, tapioca, and salt. Toss to combine, then put in dough-lined pie plate and scatter butter pieces over filling.

Roll out second disk of dough on floured work surface to 11-inch circle. Cut 7 small circles out of dough with 1 1/4-inch cutter. Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll over pie. Roll top layer of dough over bottom layer of dough, crimp and flute. Brush with egg wash. Put on heated baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Reduce oven to 350 and bake until juices bubble and crust is golden, 30-40 minutes more. Cool on wire rack to room temperature, cut into wedges and serve.

Next up--I'll try this same recipe with blackberries. Don't know why it shouldn't work.

DIVINE Chocolate Cake

We celebrated the Wizard's birthday tonight in the back yard. Once again we had pulled pork sandwiches* with cole slaw, corn on the cob, watermelon, a few chips, and some delicious baked beans brought by friends (need to get that recipe!).

Dessert, though, oooooohhhhhhh. I made a recipe that's been in my queue for quite a while: Chocolate-Buttermilk Layer Cake. It appeared in Portland Monthly in February of 2008. Instead of both filling and frosting it with ganache, I cut the cake into four layers and used ganache for all three layers of filling, and frosted the top and sides with Fluffy Cream Cheese Frosting. We also had The Cupcakes, also with cream cheese frosting, because we had enough guests that just one dessert I thought would not be sufficient. As it turned out, just the cake would have been enough if I had cut it in the small pieces its richness warranted. The size pictured is too big even for a chocoholic like me, and even with vanilla ice cream to cut the richness.

Chocolate-Buttermilk Layer Cake
adapated from Portland Monthly Mag

3 C unbleached all-purpose flour
2 1/2 C sugar
1 1/2 T baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 C cocoa powder, sifted
1 1/3 C canola oil
1 1/2 C buttermilk
3 large eggs
1 1/2 C freshly-brewed, extra-strong hot coffee (I made instant coffee at about 150% the strength recommended on the jar)
1 t vanilla
16 oz bittersweet chocolate (24 oz if using for one layer of filling and top and sides of cake)
1 C heavy cream (1 1/2 C if using for one layer of filling and top and sides of cake)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat two 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray and line the bottoms with parchment paper.

2. Put dry ingredients in bowl of stand mixer, and mix with paddle attachment at low speed to combine. Keep mixer on low speed and add oil, buttermilk, and eggs one at a time. Add hot coffee in a thin stream, pouring down the side of the bowl. Add vanilla, scrape sides of bowl with rubber spatula, and mix just until smooth. Divide between pans and bake until a toothpick comes out of the center with moist crumbs, 40-45 minutes (original recipe says 30-35, but the cake wasn't close to done at that point). Let cool in pans 10-15 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely, peeling parchment off bottoms of layers but putting cakes right side up on rack.

3. Put cream and chocolate (chopped if necessary) into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for one minute. Stir well, then microwave for an additional 30 seconds. Stir until all the chocolate is melted and the mixture is glossy and dark, zapping another 15-30 seconds if absolutely necessary. Let cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.

4. Trim cooled cakes just a little, so they're not too domed, then carefully cut in half horizontally with a serrated bread knife. Before separating the layers, cut a small notch in the side to line up when reassembling the layers after filling, since almost no one cuts that perfectly. Put one bottom layer on a cake plate, placing strips of waxed paper under the edges. Top with one-third of the ganache, and spread to within one half-inch of the edge. Place matching top layer, lining up notch, and top with another third of the ganache. Repeat with second split layer of the cake. Put filled layers of cake in fridge for 15-30 minutes to set ganache a little before icing.

5. Apply crumb coat of cream cheese frosting to sides and top of cake. Refrigerate for 15 minutes more, then spread remaining frosting on top and sides of cake. Refrigerate a couple of hours before serving.

*You don't need a recipe for the pulled pork, right? I bought a boneless Boston butt (big pork shoulder roast) from our favorite farmers' market pork purveyor, and coated it with a little oil and salt and pepper. I made a big fire in one side of the grill (charcoal, of course) and seared the snot out of it last night, then moved it to the cool side for 60-90 minutes. Around midnight, I put it in a roasting pan, covered it tightly with foil, and moved it into a 250-degree oven overnight. At 9 this morning I wrapped it tightly in foil and put it into a cooler to rest and cool slowly until this afternoon. It was just cool enough to handle, so I separated out the fat and the crispy parts with my fingers, then shredded the meat with two forks. I mixed in a little sauce, and served more on the side. This time the sauce was bottled (Cook's Illustrated's top choice, Bulls-Eye, now made without HFCS!), but last year I made a ketchup-based sauce from a Cook's Illustrated recipe. The coleslaw was made using the recipe on the side of the bagged coleslaw package. Maybe for a future year (we'll have this for the Wizard's birthday every year as long as he goes along) I'll make a fancier scratch coleslaw, and bring back that scratch sauce.