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).

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.