“What joyous Feasting winter brings, what benign satisfaction! The senses purr with delight”---James Beard
As a cook, I love the winter with its appetite-increasing sharpness. I tire of summer foods quickly and I often long for the cold days with bread in the oven and guests coming. We are nearing the end of this long winter, and it’s a perfect time to entertain in hearty style before you start having backyard barbeques. St. Patrick’s Day gives us an excuse to really whoop it up. Of course, you’ll want to stick to tradition and serve corned beef and cabbage and end with Irish coffee. Or maybe you’re adventurous and want to try a dinner of lamb and champ (mashed potatoes with green onions and butter).
Either way, your dinner on St. Patrick’s Day wouldn’t be complete without Irish Soda Bread.
But what kind of soda bread? There are as many variations of this Irish staple as there are cooks, or at least nearly. Just to illustrate, owners of one of the Bed and Breakfasts in town give an annual St. Patrick’s Day Party featuring wonderful corned beef and cabbage, accompanied by soda bread. One year the hosts asked some of the guests to bring a loaf of soda bread. I had no idea there were so many ways to make it. In her book, Land of Milk and Honey, author Brid Mahon quotes an English traveler in Ireland in 1600. “In cities they have such bread as ours, mingled with aniseeds and baked like cake, and that only in houses of the better sort.” Round cakes of soda bread rarely have seeds these days. When they do, caraway is the seed of choice and then the finished product is called a seedy cake. Other add-ins found in many cook books are cheese, raisins or currants. Soda bread can be made from dark flour or white and whichever you traditionally bake, that’s the right way.
I dug up at least 5 different recipes for Irish Soda Bread and I am including two for you to try. I invite anyone who has a different and “better” recipe to e-mail it to me. Oh, and let me know which one of these you like best.
White Seedy Cake (Soda Bread)
3 and one-half cups flour Three-fourths teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons caraway seeds One and one-half cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly flour baking sheet. Mix flour, caraway seeds, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Mix in enough buttermilk to form moist clumps. Gather dough into ball. Turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead until dough holds together, about one minute. Shape dough into 6-inch by 2-inch round. Place on baking sheet. Cut 1-inch-deep X across top of bread, extending almost to edges. Bake until bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on bottom, about 35 minutes. Cool completely on rack.
Cheese Soda Bread
4 cups flour
6 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
Three-fourths teaspoon baking soda
1-and-one half cups buttermilk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 1 and one-half quart, 3-inch-deep round baking dish. Mix flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda in large bowl. Cut in better until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in cheese. Beat eggs to blend in bowl, reserve 1 tablespoon for glazing bread. Blend buttermilk into beaten eggs. Stir into flour mixture; dough will be sticky. Turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead until blended 2 or 3 minutes. Shape into round and fit into prepared dish. Cut one-fourth inch deep cross in center of dough. Brush with reserved egg. Bake until tester inserted in center comes clean, about 75 minutes. Cool in pan on rack 15 minutes. Invert onto rack and cool.
And don’t forget that Irish coffee
One-fourth cup sugar
Hot black coffee
2 cups Irish whiskey
One-half cup (generous) whipped cream
Place one and one-half teaspoons sugar in each glass. Stir in enough coffee to dissolve sugar. Add one-fourth cup whiskey. Fill to within 1 inch of rim with more coffee. Top with whipped cream to float and serve.
Makes 8 servings.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
The Plight of the Bean
The plight of the lowly bean has really done a turn around. It was notorious as a food that came in cans with pork and tomato sauce and best known for the food of the poor or those who can’t do much more cooking than opening a can. Its best known culinary partner used to be the hot dog. Now beans are touted as the best nutritional bargain in the market—but more importantly perhaps—also delicious.
Beans were one of the first crops cultivated by prehistoric man. Bean remains dating back to 4,000 B.C. have been found in caves near Ocampo, Mexico. Mesopotamia and China follow about 2,000 years later. And beans are prepared more or less the same way today as they were then. The green version of the bean is usually the pod or the immature seeds within the pod. The seeds when mature and dried are the legumes that we soak and slow cook in liquid for from 45 minutes (split peas) to four hours (chick peas).
These slow cooked dried beans are the greatest convenience food imaginable. They are always available, they are cheap, they store practically forever and they are very high in protein, minerals and fiber.
Yes, in spite of the reputation of being a bother to cook from scratch, with a little planning, beans are at your fingertips ready to go any time. Of course, you can buy them canned, already cooked. But I don’t like the amount of salt that is added, the tinny taste they sometimes have—and I have found them so easy to cook and freeze that I just do it from time to time. If you really dislike cooking, go ahead and get the canned beans. But if cooking is enjoyable for you and time is the only problem, pick a weekend and make beans—they’ll last you a year or so and it really isn’t hard. There are only a few steps and then like yeast bread, there is a lot of waiting time. The third alternative is to use a pressure cooker if you have one.
There are several different methods of preparing beans. First, they must be soaked. You can use the long method which means to cover the beans with water and leave them overnight. In the morning, they’re ready to cook. Some people advise draining the soaking water and re-covering the beans with fresh water or vegetable stock. It does reduce the gas-producing properties. But it also causes a loss of flavor and vitamins—and I don’t recommend it. Our bodies get used to beans and don’t suffer from flatulence as much if we eat them often (and we should), but if it is a persistent problem, the product Beano will alleviate it.
A quick method of soaking beans is to cover with water and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes; cover and let sit for 1 hour off heat. Then proceed to cook as other soaked beans.
I like to buy several varieties of beans: usually black, pinto, red, navy beans and chickpeas, in one-pound packages. I pick them over for little bits of mud or stone. Rinse them well while sorting through them. Put them to the desired soaking method. Following the time directions on the package (each variety needs a little different time to cook), cook in plain water or vegetable stock (not really necessary, as the beans are so flavorful by themselves). When completely cooked and cooled, divide into 2-cup portions and freeze in rigid freezer containers. Label them by type and date them. There they are; just as handy as canned and much cheaper and more nutritious.
The ways to use your supply of beans are too numerous to list, but some ideas are: soups, of course (my favorite), salads, sandwiches, spreads, baked bean pots, casseroles, etc.
Here’s a solid recipe that is sure to please almost anyone.
The Dairy Hollow House Cuban Black Bean Soup
Pam cooking spray
5 cups cooked black beans and their liquid
5 cups vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
½ fresh jalapeno pepper, seeds and membrane removed, chopped
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1-1/2 large onions
1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
Salt to taste
1 cup cooked white rice, for serving
½ cup chopped onion for serving.
Spray a large heavy soup pot with the Pam and add beans, stock and bay leaf, broken up a bit. Heat through. Meanwhile, heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the onions, green peppers and jalapeno pepper. Sauté until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook a few seconds more. Add to the beans and season with salt. Let simmer about 20 minutes. Serve with rice and chopped onion.
Beans were one of the first crops cultivated by prehistoric man. Bean remains dating back to 4,000 B.C. have been found in caves near Ocampo, Mexico. Mesopotamia and China follow about 2,000 years later. And beans are prepared more or less the same way today as they were then. The green version of the bean is usually the pod or the immature seeds within the pod. The seeds when mature and dried are the legumes that we soak and slow cook in liquid for from 45 minutes (split peas) to four hours (chick peas).
These slow cooked dried beans are the greatest convenience food imaginable. They are always available, they are cheap, they store practically forever and they are very high in protein, minerals and fiber.
Yes, in spite of the reputation of being a bother to cook from scratch, with a little planning, beans are at your fingertips ready to go any time. Of course, you can buy them canned, already cooked. But I don’t like the amount of salt that is added, the tinny taste they sometimes have—and I have found them so easy to cook and freeze that I just do it from time to time. If you really dislike cooking, go ahead and get the canned beans. But if cooking is enjoyable for you and time is the only problem, pick a weekend and make beans—they’ll last you a year or so and it really isn’t hard. There are only a few steps and then like yeast bread, there is a lot of waiting time. The third alternative is to use a pressure cooker if you have one.
There are several different methods of preparing beans. First, they must be soaked. You can use the long method which means to cover the beans with water and leave them overnight. In the morning, they’re ready to cook. Some people advise draining the soaking water and re-covering the beans with fresh water or vegetable stock. It does reduce the gas-producing properties. But it also causes a loss of flavor and vitamins—and I don’t recommend it. Our bodies get used to beans and don’t suffer from flatulence as much if we eat them often (and we should), but if it is a persistent problem, the product Beano will alleviate it.
A quick method of soaking beans is to cover with water and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes; cover and let sit for 1 hour off heat. Then proceed to cook as other soaked beans.
I like to buy several varieties of beans: usually black, pinto, red, navy beans and chickpeas, in one-pound packages. I pick them over for little bits of mud or stone. Rinse them well while sorting through them. Put them to the desired soaking method. Following the time directions on the package (each variety needs a little different time to cook), cook in plain water or vegetable stock (not really necessary, as the beans are so flavorful by themselves). When completely cooked and cooled, divide into 2-cup portions and freeze in rigid freezer containers. Label them by type and date them. There they are; just as handy as canned and much cheaper and more nutritious.
The ways to use your supply of beans are too numerous to list, but some ideas are: soups, of course (my favorite), salads, sandwiches, spreads, baked bean pots, casseroles, etc.
Here’s a solid recipe that is sure to please almost anyone.
The Dairy Hollow House Cuban Black Bean Soup
Pam cooking spray
5 cups cooked black beans and their liquid
5 cups vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
½ fresh jalapeno pepper, seeds and membrane removed, chopped
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1-1/2 large onions
1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
Salt to taste
1 cup cooked white rice, for serving
½ cup chopped onion for serving.
Spray a large heavy soup pot with the Pam and add beans, stock and bay leaf, broken up a bit. Heat through. Meanwhile, heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the onions, green peppers and jalapeno pepper. Sauté until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook a few seconds more. Add to the beans and season with salt. Let simmer about 20 minutes. Serve with rice and chopped onion.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Make Your Own Mixes
People who know me sometimes lament, “But Lynette, you cook for a living and besides, you love to cook—what about someone like me who hates to cook but loves to eat and has a family to cook for every day after work? I need to eat out or buy convenience foods to survive.”
Well, yes, we all do need time off from cooking from time to time and I am no exception, but with budgets tightening and health concerns rising, convenience foods on a regular basis are difficult to justify, especially when it isn’t really necessary.
I am talking about making your own convenience foods in the form of “mixes” for lack of a better all-encompassing word. By making your own mixes you can have scrumptious meals for less than half the price of store mixes, plus you have control over the ingredients you put into them. Most of them are a cinch to make and really don’t take much time—just a few hours set aside once a month and the quantities of ingredients needed for the mixes you are planning to make.
An old book (1978) called Make-A-Mix Cookery by Karine Eliason, Nevada Harward and Madeline Westover has been in my possession since it was new and I was raising a family. I used it then to cut costs and yes, convenience as well. Later as our family size dwindled down I found that the mixes that I had been making made it easy to make a small cake or a small batch of cornbread—or any of the dishes I made huge batches of in the old days.
Then there is the matter of health—which has really come to the forefront since this book was written. Most everybody is trying to avoid the partially hydrogenated fats, the food colors, artificial flavors and preservatives that are listed on every box or package—most of them unpronounceable and foreign to us non-chemist types.
A perfect example of this is the ordinary cake mix. Most people who make cakes at home do use mixes and they are good! Plus, at anywhere from $.99 to 1.50, they don’t seem very expensive. But just compare the list of ingredients. First, Duncan Hines’ Moist Deluxe Classic Yellow Cake in order: sugar, enriched bleached wheat flour, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, propylene glycol mono- and di-esters of fats, mono and di-glycerides, leavening, wheat starch, salt, dextrose, poly-glycerol esters of fatty acids, cellulose gum, artificial flavors, xanthan gum, maltodextrin, modified cornstarch, colored with yellow 5 lake, red 40 lake. Now, the homemade mix: cake flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, 0-trans-fat vegetable shortening. The total cost for this mix, enough to make a 2-layer cake (same as the packaged) is $.40. The mix has you add two eggs, and vegetable oil; the cost of the add-ins of the homemade mix (eggs, milk, vanilla) are included in the $.40.
There are basically three kinds of homemade mixes: 1) Dry which are good for about 6-8 months; 2) Semi-Dry which can be stored for 10-12 weeks; 3) Freezer-Refrigerator (variable, long-term).
Here are a few examples of mixes you can make in each category:
Dry mixes: Hot Roll mix, Pancake Mix and Pudding and Pie Mix. Semi-dry: Wheat Mix, Basic Cake Mix and Gingerbread Mix. Freezer-Refigerator mixes: Braised Beef Cube mix, Mexican Meat mix and Moist Pie Crust Mix.
The most important factor, however, is taste—and these mixes really pass the test. The cake mix is fantastic and makes many desserts for which the recipes are in the book. There are actually 56 mixes and about 200 recipes.
Here is an easy, quick and delicious cake you can make in a jiffy; it’s small so works well for the smaller family or a snack cake.
Master Cake Mix
8 cups cake flour (you can substitute 7 cups unbleached all-purpose flour and 1cup cornstarch
6 cups sugar
¼ cup baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
2-1/2 cups vegetable shortening
In a large bowl, sift together cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix well. With a pastry blender, cut in shortening until evenly distributed. Put in a large airtight container. Label. Store in a cool, dry place. Makes about 16 cups of basic cake mix.
Sunny Citrus Cake
1-3/4 cups basic cake mix
Scant 2/3 cup milk
1 egg
½ tsp. vanilla
Orange Butter Cream Frosting (below)
Preheat oven to 375. Spray 8-inch square baking pan with baking spray. Combine basic mix and milk in mixer bowl. Beat at medium speed 2 minutes. Scrape bowl and beaters. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat 2 more minutes. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 25-30 minutes until tests done. Cool. Frost.
Orange Butter Cream Frosting
2 ½ Tbsp soft butter
1 ½ cups powdered sugar (sifted)
2 tsp. grated fresh orange peel
1 ½ Tbsp orange juice
Beat all ingredients until smooth and of spreading consistency, adding a few drops of hot water if necessary.
Well, yes, we all do need time off from cooking from time to time and I am no exception, but with budgets tightening and health concerns rising, convenience foods on a regular basis are difficult to justify, especially when it isn’t really necessary.
I am talking about making your own convenience foods in the form of “mixes” for lack of a better all-encompassing word. By making your own mixes you can have scrumptious meals for less than half the price of store mixes, plus you have control over the ingredients you put into them. Most of them are a cinch to make and really don’t take much time—just a few hours set aside once a month and the quantities of ingredients needed for the mixes you are planning to make.
An old book (1978) called Make-A-Mix Cookery by Karine Eliason, Nevada Harward and Madeline Westover has been in my possession since it was new and I was raising a family. I used it then to cut costs and yes, convenience as well. Later as our family size dwindled down I found that the mixes that I had been making made it easy to make a small cake or a small batch of cornbread—or any of the dishes I made huge batches of in the old days.
Then there is the matter of health—which has really come to the forefront since this book was written. Most everybody is trying to avoid the partially hydrogenated fats, the food colors, artificial flavors and preservatives that are listed on every box or package—most of them unpronounceable and foreign to us non-chemist types.
A perfect example of this is the ordinary cake mix. Most people who make cakes at home do use mixes and they are good! Plus, at anywhere from $.99 to 1.50, they don’t seem very expensive. But just compare the list of ingredients. First, Duncan Hines’ Moist Deluxe Classic Yellow Cake in order: sugar, enriched bleached wheat flour, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, propylene glycol mono- and di-esters of fats, mono and di-glycerides, leavening, wheat starch, salt, dextrose, poly-glycerol esters of fatty acids, cellulose gum, artificial flavors, xanthan gum, maltodextrin, modified cornstarch, colored with yellow 5 lake, red 40 lake. Now, the homemade mix: cake flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, 0-trans-fat vegetable shortening. The total cost for this mix, enough to make a 2-layer cake (same as the packaged) is $.40. The mix has you add two eggs, and vegetable oil; the cost of the add-ins of the homemade mix (eggs, milk, vanilla) are included in the $.40.
There are basically three kinds of homemade mixes: 1) Dry which are good for about 6-8 months; 2) Semi-Dry which can be stored for 10-12 weeks; 3) Freezer-Refrigerator (variable, long-term).
Here are a few examples of mixes you can make in each category:
Dry mixes: Hot Roll mix, Pancake Mix and Pudding and Pie Mix. Semi-dry: Wheat Mix, Basic Cake Mix and Gingerbread Mix. Freezer-Refigerator mixes: Braised Beef Cube mix, Mexican Meat mix and Moist Pie Crust Mix.
The most important factor, however, is taste—and these mixes really pass the test. The cake mix is fantastic and makes many desserts for which the recipes are in the book. There are actually 56 mixes and about 200 recipes.
Here is an easy, quick and delicious cake you can make in a jiffy; it’s small so works well for the smaller family or a snack cake.
Master Cake Mix
8 cups cake flour (you can substitute 7 cups unbleached all-purpose flour and 1cup cornstarch
6 cups sugar
¼ cup baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
2-1/2 cups vegetable shortening
In a large bowl, sift together cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix well. With a pastry blender, cut in shortening until evenly distributed. Put in a large airtight container. Label. Store in a cool, dry place. Makes about 16 cups of basic cake mix.
Sunny Citrus Cake
1-3/4 cups basic cake mix
Scant 2/3 cup milk
1 egg
½ tsp. vanilla
Orange Butter Cream Frosting (below)
Preheat oven to 375. Spray 8-inch square baking pan with baking spray. Combine basic mix and milk in mixer bowl. Beat at medium speed 2 minutes. Scrape bowl and beaters. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat 2 more minutes. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 25-30 minutes until tests done. Cool. Frost.
Orange Butter Cream Frosting
2 ½ Tbsp soft butter
1 ½ cups powdered sugar (sifted)
2 tsp. grated fresh orange peel
1 ½ Tbsp orange juice
Beat all ingredients until smooth and of spreading consistency, adding a few drops of hot water if necessary.
Friday, March 5, 2010
School Days 2
Speaking of peanut butter sandwiches and bread and butter sandwiches--bread was a huge part of my early life. We always had bread; sometimes homemade but more and more often the fluffy, white bread known as "Wonder Bread." My dad started his own business, Dean Castings, Inc. and it took a lot more of his time. It was hard going and my Mom went to work there part-time to help out. These work days were the first time my brother and I had ever been by ourselves after school and we had a lot of fun eating. We would hunt up a full loaf of Wonder Bread and begin toasting it--two slices at a time; buttering each slice while it was still hot and downing them as quickly as we could put two more slices in the toaster until the whole loaf was gone. This was the only time in our lives that both of us got quite chubby.
Carbohydrates were a favorite, of course, and another meal that I remember really chowing was spaghetti. We didn't make the sauce separately and pour it over the spaghetti on our plates; rather we mixed it all together in a casserole dish and baked it with some cheese grated over. I can remember piling that spaghetti on my plate in a large mound, grating more cheese over it and going back for seconds. I felt as stuffed as I did on Thanksgiving. Of course, it was usually right out the door (at least in summer) to play neighborhood games.
Do kids still play neighborhood games? We played Free Eagle, Mother-may-I, Statues, Red Rover, and some I can't remember any more. We played until everyone's mother called us in (sometimes for the second or third time). Another summertime pursuit was Metho.
Metho was a language that I made up. I named it after my religion, Methodist. I must admit, that I was rather smitten with Mary Anne's Catholicism. It seemed she had so many special things in her religion that really appealed to a 9-year-old girl. For one thing, she received these great holy cards at school when she did well--and, of course, she had medals. Every May, she fixed a table in her room as a shrine to Mary and decorated it with crepe paper, statues and flowers. It was beautiful and I was jealous. So, having the teaching gene, I devised a language of my own, complete with a country (a Pacific Island, discovered by Captain Cook after the Hawaiian Islands), with a history that I taught as well. I worked hard on that language--it had characters--sort of a combination of Chinese characters and Arabic letters. Then, somehow, I convinced most of the kids in the neighborhood to come to "school" on our back-yard picnic table for a couple of hours every morning. For awhile, some of us could speak it rather well.
Another summer occupation was going to my grandparents'. My father's parents lived in Magnolia, Minnesota--a small town between Adrian and Luverne in the Southwest corner of the state. Magnolia was best known then for its steak house and as being the birth-place of Cedric Adams. Actually, there was a sign as you entered the town that said, "Magnolia, home of Cedric Adams" I wonder if anyone still remembers Cedric Adams? He was a columninst for the Minneapolis Star (or Tribune?--separate papers back then) and even more well-known as a radio announcer on WCCO. Cedric had a rich, bass, "radio" voice and was dearly loved. Grandpa Dean would come back from his blacksmith shop (about 100 yards from his house) at noon to have "dinner" and then lie down on the floor in front of Grandma's desk and usually blocking the doorway to have his nap and listen to "Cedric Adams and the noontime news."
We kids knew better than to bother him then.
When we arrived for our annual two weeks' visit, the first thing we did was head for the refrigerator for pop. Grandma stocked up on pop, which we rarely had at home and she usually had Dr. Pepper which I loved and I only had at Grandma's.
Grandma also had a great big garden full of vegetables and bordered by raspberry bushes. It was my happy job to pick peas and raspberries. When I picked peas, I shelled them for Grandma and many went straight into my mouth. Sweet, tender, young peas, just picked from the garden and eaten raw still linger in my memory as one of the great culinary treats. What she made for supper was even better: freshly dug new potatoes, boiled with their thin, tender jackets on and topped with freshly-picked, barely cooked peas in a light and buttery cream sauce. All summer our meals consisted of delights from Grandma's garden and the best part was the fresh raspberries, either crushed and poured on ice cream (from a near-by creamery) or just plain with cream and sugar.
My Grandfather was the oldest of 12 children, most of whom lived in or around Magnolia. My father was the oldest of his family and therefore, I had a lot of "cousins" who were my age and lived in town. I remember when I was very small and Grandma sent me overtown to get the mail and something at the General Store. When I went into the postoffice, the postmistress addressed me by name and asked me how my Dad was. Then I went next door to the General Store and the storekeeper knew my name too, and also asked about my family by name. I went back to the house thinking I must be very famous that everyone knew me.
One of those "cousins" was Sharon Dean who was just my age and lived across the street from Grandma and Grandpa. We were constant companions in the summer. I remember the summer that I was nine, my brother held court in the ditch in front of Grandma's house, telling Sharon and I his newly-learned information on the birds and the bees. He strung it out for several days and had a fascinated and captive audience. I didn't believe a word of it.
Carbohydrates were a favorite, of course, and another meal that I remember really chowing was spaghetti. We didn't make the sauce separately and pour it over the spaghetti on our plates; rather we mixed it all together in a casserole dish and baked it with some cheese grated over. I can remember piling that spaghetti on my plate in a large mound, grating more cheese over it and going back for seconds. I felt as stuffed as I did on Thanksgiving. Of course, it was usually right out the door (at least in summer) to play neighborhood games.
Do kids still play neighborhood games? We played Free Eagle, Mother-may-I, Statues, Red Rover, and some I can't remember any more. We played until everyone's mother called us in (sometimes for the second or third time). Another summertime pursuit was Metho.
Metho was a language that I made up. I named it after my religion, Methodist. I must admit, that I was rather smitten with Mary Anne's Catholicism. It seemed she had so many special things in her religion that really appealed to a 9-year-old girl. For one thing, she received these great holy cards at school when she did well--and, of course, she had medals. Every May, she fixed a table in her room as a shrine to Mary and decorated it with crepe paper, statues and flowers. It was beautiful and I was jealous. So, having the teaching gene, I devised a language of my own, complete with a country (a Pacific Island, discovered by Captain Cook after the Hawaiian Islands), with a history that I taught as well. I worked hard on that language--it had characters--sort of a combination of Chinese characters and Arabic letters. Then, somehow, I convinced most of the kids in the neighborhood to come to "school" on our back-yard picnic table for a couple of hours every morning. For awhile, some of us could speak it rather well.
Another summer occupation was going to my grandparents'. My father's parents lived in Magnolia, Minnesota--a small town between Adrian and Luverne in the Southwest corner of the state. Magnolia was best known then for its steak house and as being the birth-place of Cedric Adams. Actually, there was a sign as you entered the town that said, "Magnolia, home of Cedric Adams" I wonder if anyone still remembers Cedric Adams? He was a columninst for the Minneapolis Star (or Tribune?--separate papers back then) and even more well-known as a radio announcer on WCCO. Cedric had a rich, bass, "radio" voice and was dearly loved. Grandpa Dean would come back from his blacksmith shop (about 100 yards from his house) at noon to have "dinner" and then lie down on the floor in front of Grandma's desk and usually blocking the doorway to have his nap and listen to "Cedric Adams and the noontime news."
We kids knew better than to bother him then.
When we arrived for our annual two weeks' visit, the first thing we did was head for the refrigerator for pop. Grandma stocked up on pop, which we rarely had at home and she usually had Dr. Pepper which I loved and I only had at Grandma's.
Grandma also had a great big garden full of vegetables and bordered by raspberry bushes. It was my happy job to pick peas and raspberries. When I picked peas, I shelled them for Grandma and many went straight into my mouth. Sweet, tender, young peas, just picked from the garden and eaten raw still linger in my memory as one of the great culinary treats. What she made for supper was even better: freshly dug new potatoes, boiled with their thin, tender jackets on and topped with freshly-picked, barely cooked peas in a light and buttery cream sauce. All summer our meals consisted of delights from Grandma's garden and the best part was the fresh raspberries, either crushed and poured on ice cream (from a near-by creamery) or just plain with cream and sugar.
My Grandfather was the oldest of 12 children, most of whom lived in or around Magnolia. My father was the oldest of his family and therefore, I had a lot of "cousins" who were my age and lived in town. I remember when I was very small and Grandma sent me overtown to get the mail and something at the General Store. When I went into the postoffice, the postmistress addressed me by name and asked me how my Dad was. Then I went next door to the General Store and the storekeeper knew my name too, and also asked about my family by name. I went back to the house thinking I must be very famous that everyone knew me.
One of those "cousins" was Sharon Dean who was just my age and lived across the street from Grandma and Grandpa. We were constant companions in the summer. I remember the summer that I was nine, my brother held court in the ditch in front of Grandma's house, telling Sharon and I his newly-learned information on the birds and the bees. He strung it out for several days and had a fascinated and captive audience. I didn't believe a word of it.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
March in Minnesota
I don’t know about you, but I think March in Minnesota is the worst month of the year. There are a few reasons for this; first among them—the weather. We are weary (especially this year) of cold, dark and dreary days—I received a mass e-mail entitled “You know you’re a Minnesotan if…” and one of the ways was: “The temperature in March is above freezing for three days in a row and you think it’s summer.” Add to this that March is traditionally snowy and exacerbated with lots of wind.
Then there’s the landscape. Of all the months, this one is the ugliest. Except right after a new snow, what snow still remains is dirty and pocked with melting spots filled with sand from the roads.
It is also the season of Lent, a long period lacking joyful celebrations of any kind, in Christendom, at least. And after the great Christmas, New Year, Valentine, Carnival and Mardi Gras celebrations, it may add to the sun-starved sense of the doldrums.
And then I stumbled upon a poem by William Cullen Bryant that made my spirits rise:
The stormy March is come at last,
With wind, and cloud, and changing skies;
I hear the rushing of the blast,
That through the snowy valley flies.
Ah, passing few are they who speak,
Wild, stormy month! In praise of thee;
Yet though thy winds are loud and bleak,
Thou art a welcome month to me.
For thou, to northern lands, again
The glad and glorious sun dost bring,
And thou hast joined the gentle train
And wear’st the gentle name of Spring.
I suddenly remembered that this is the month of daffodils (at least in the store), of the first robin hallmarking the first day of spring. March is the month of the lighthearted St. Patrick’s Day celebration and sports tournaments for those so inclined. It is the month that reminds us that spring and warm weather and rebirth are right around the corner.
To help my spirits along, I baked a lovely Daffodil Cake. I have put this recipe in this column before, but it is worth a second time. If you didn’t try it—do! It is easy, beautiful and guaranteed to lift your spirits.
Daffodil Cake (Betty Crocker Cookbook)
1 cup cake flour
¾ cup plus 2 Tbsp. sugar
12 egg whites (1 ½ cups)
1 ½ tsp. cream of tartar
¼ tsp. salt
¾ cup sugar
6 egg yolks
1 ½ tsp. vanilla
½ tsp. almond extract
Lemon Glaze
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Stir together flour and ¾ cup plus 2 Tbsp. sugar; set aside. In large mixer bowl, beat egg whites, cream of tartar and salt until foamy. Add remaining ¾ cup sugar, 2 Tbs. at a time, beating on high speed until meringue holds stiff peaks. In small mixer bowl, beat egg yolks about 5 minutes or until very thick and lemon colored. Gently fold flavorings into meringue. Sprinkle flour-sugar mixture, ¼ at a time, over meringue, folding in gently just until flour-sugar mixture disappears. Pour half the batter into another bowl; gently fold in egg yolks. Spoon yellow and white batters alternately into ungreased tube pan, 10x4 inches. Gently cut through batters to swirl. Bake on bottom shelf of oven about 40 minutes or until top springs back when touched lightly with finger. Invert pan on funnel; let hang until cake is completely cool. Spread cake with glaze.
Lemon Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
½ tsp. grated lemon peel
1 tsp. lemon juice
About 2 Tbsp. milk
1 drop yellow food color
Mix all ingredients until smooth.
If you’re not sure what to do with the rest of those egg yolks, try making lemon curd (or purchase already prepared lemon curd) and then make these cookies.
Lemon Dimples (adapted from Woman’s Day March 3, 2009)
1 ½ sticks butter, softened
½ cup powdered sugar, plus extra for dusting
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. grated lemon zest
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups flour
1 scant cup lemon curd
Beat butter and sugars in large bowl with mixer until fluffy. Beat in egg, lemon zest and juice and vanilla. On low speed, beat in baking powder and flour until mixed. Cover; chill dough 1 hour. Place lemon curd into a small ziptop food-storage bag; seal bag. Heat oven to 350. Spray baking sheets with Pam. Shape scant tablespoonsful of dough into balls; place 2 in. apart on prepared sheets. With index finger, make a deep indentation in center of each. Snip a tiny corner of ziptop bag and pipe lemon curd into dough indentations to fill completely (about 1 tsp per cookie). Bake 15 minutes or until cookie edges just begin to lightly brown. Cool completely on baking sheet on wire rack. Dust cookie edges with powdered sugar before serving.
These are sure to put a smile on everyone’s face. And take a word of advice from James Barrie: “Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.”
Then there’s the landscape. Of all the months, this one is the ugliest. Except right after a new snow, what snow still remains is dirty and pocked with melting spots filled with sand from the roads.
It is also the season of Lent, a long period lacking joyful celebrations of any kind, in Christendom, at least. And after the great Christmas, New Year, Valentine, Carnival and Mardi Gras celebrations, it may add to the sun-starved sense of the doldrums.
And then I stumbled upon a poem by William Cullen Bryant that made my spirits rise:
The stormy March is come at last,
With wind, and cloud, and changing skies;
I hear the rushing of the blast,
That through the snowy valley flies.
Ah, passing few are they who speak,
Wild, stormy month! In praise of thee;
Yet though thy winds are loud and bleak,
Thou art a welcome month to me.
For thou, to northern lands, again
The glad and glorious sun dost bring,
And thou hast joined the gentle train
And wear’st the gentle name of Spring.
I suddenly remembered that this is the month of daffodils (at least in the store), of the first robin hallmarking the first day of spring. March is the month of the lighthearted St. Patrick’s Day celebration and sports tournaments for those so inclined. It is the month that reminds us that spring and warm weather and rebirth are right around the corner.
To help my spirits along, I baked a lovely Daffodil Cake. I have put this recipe in this column before, but it is worth a second time. If you didn’t try it—do! It is easy, beautiful and guaranteed to lift your spirits.
Daffodil Cake (Betty Crocker Cookbook)
1 cup cake flour
¾ cup plus 2 Tbsp. sugar
12 egg whites (1 ½ cups)
1 ½ tsp. cream of tartar
¼ tsp. salt
¾ cup sugar
6 egg yolks
1 ½ tsp. vanilla
½ tsp. almond extract
Lemon Glaze
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Stir together flour and ¾ cup plus 2 Tbsp. sugar; set aside. In large mixer bowl, beat egg whites, cream of tartar and salt until foamy. Add remaining ¾ cup sugar, 2 Tbs. at a time, beating on high speed until meringue holds stiff peaks. In small mixer bowl, beat egg yolks about 5 minutes or until very thick and lemon colored. Gently fold flavorings into meringue. Sprinkle flour-sugar mixture, ¼ at a time, over meringue, folding in gently just until flour-sugar mixture disappears. Pour half the batter into another bowl; gently fold in egg yolks. Spoon yellow and white batters alternately into ungreased tube pan, 10x4 inches. Gently cut through batters to swirl. Bake on bottom shelf of oven about 40 minutes or until top springs back when touched lightly with finger. Invert pan on funnel; let hang until cake is completely cool. Spread cake with glaze.
Lemon Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
½ tsp. grated lemon peel
1 tsp. lemon juice
About 2 Tbsp. milk
1 drop yellow food color
Mix all ingredients until smooth.
If you’re not sure what to do with the rest of those egg yolks, try making lemon curd (or purchase already prepared lemon curd) and then make these cookies.
Lemon Dimples (adapted from Woman’s Day March 3, 2009)
1 ½ sticks butter, softened
½ cup powdered sugar, plus extra for dusting
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. grated lemon zest
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups flour
1 scant cup lemon curd
Beat butter and sugars in large bowl with mixer until fluffy. Beat in egg, lemon zest and juice and vanilla. On low speed, beat in baking powder and flour until mixed. Cover; chill dough 1 hour. Place lemon curd into a small ziptop food-storage bag; seal bag. Heat oven to 350. Spray baking sheets with Pam. Shape scant tablespoonsful of dough into balls; place 2 in. apart on prepared sheets. With index finger, make a deep indentation in center of each. Snip a tiny corner of ziptop bag and pipe lemon curd into dough indentations to fill completely (about 1 tsp per cookie). Bake 15 minutes or until cookie edges just begin to lightly brown. Cool completely on baking sheet on wire rack. Dust cookie edges with powdered sugar before serving.
These are sure to put a smile on everyone’s face. And take a word of advice from James Barrie: “Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.”
Appetizer Tasting
We had a recipe tasting at the Candlelight Inn. Our guests tasted some low-calorie, low-fat appetizers in an effort to find some that really taste good.
I, like most of you I’d wager, have tried low-calorie recipes time and time again and have come to the conclusion that most of them are just not good. If food isn’t good, what is the point of eating it? For me, that is medicine. Now eating is a true, bona fide pleasure for almost all of us. Most of us get three or four times a day to indulge in this pleasure—but why would we turn it into a nose-holding operation done to survive? So, while I am very conscientious about health and weight, I am not willing to give up on pleasure in food. Therefore, I am looking for healthy, light dishes that really taste wonderful and satisfy me.
Our guests at the inn participated in testing and rating seven appetizers and three wines. The wines were selected by Kip Earney from West End Liquor. Here are the results and the recipes for the top three:
Sweet potato butter with pita chips scored 2.7 out of a possible 4.0
Black Bean and Mango Salsa scored 3.3
Jalapeno Pepper rings scored 3.0
Festive Cheese Log scored 3.5
Hot spinach-Artichoke Spread scored 2.8
Mozzarella melts scored 2.9
Mini Spring Rolls with plum sauce scored 3.6 and was a hands down favorite.
These recipes were adapted from two cookbooks: 12 Best Foods Cookbook by Dana Jacobi and More Healthy Homestyle Cooking by Evelyn Tribole.
Mini Spring Rolls with Plum Sauce
Plum Sauce
2 jars (4 ounces) baby food strained plums with apples
3 Tbsp packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 piece fresh ginger (1” thick), peeled
1 garlic clove, minced
Spring Rolls
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 cup finely shredded Napa cabbage
1 small carrot, shredded
1 celery rib, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ pound ground turkey
8 sheets phyllo dough
To make plum sauce: In small saucepan, combine the plums, brown sugar, vinegar, ginger, and garlic. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. When cool, remove and discard the ginger.
To make the Spring Rolls: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly coat 1 large baking sheet with nonstick spray. Coat a large skillet with nonstick spray. In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce and sugar until smooth. Set aside. Set the skillet over medium-high heat. Add cabbage, carrot, celery and garlic and cook until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Remove the vegetables and set aside. In same skillet cook the turkey and stir for 5 minutes until no longer pink. Add the soy sauce mixture and mix well. Stir in the cooked vegetables and remove from the heat.
Arrange the sheets of phyllo dough in a single stack. Cut crosswise into 3 strips. Transfer 2 stacks of the strips to plastic wrap and cover with a damp dish towel to prevent drying out as you work. Place 1 strip of phyllo on a work surface and lightly coat with nonstick spray. Place 1 tablespoon of the filling at the short end of the strip, centering it between the edges. Roll up the strip and filling one-third of the way. Fold the left and right sides of the phyllo over the filling and continue rolling to the end. Place the roll, seam side down, on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining phyllo sheets and filling. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden. Serve hot with the sauce.
Makes 24 spring rolls; 1 ½ cups sauce. Per spring roll with 2 teaspoons sauce: 41 calories
Festive Cheese Log
4 ounces goat cheese
4 ounces fat-free cream cheese, at room temperature
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh basil
½ tsp cracked mixed-color pepper
½ tsp. poppy seeds
In food processor, using metal blade, process goat cheese, cream cheese and garlic until smooth. Scrape onto a sheet of plastic wrap and form into a log about 10” long. Wrap well and chill for at least 2 hours or until firm. Sprinkle the basil, pepper and poppy seeds evenly over a sheet of waxed paper. Unwrap the cheese log and roll it in the seasoning mixture, pressing gently so that the seasonings adhere on all sides. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Per 2 Tablespoons: 33 calories
Black Bean and Mango Salsa
1 (15-oz) can black beans, drained
1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped
1 jalapeno chile pepper, seeded and finely chopped
½ cup finely chopped fresh mango
½ navel orange, peeled and chopped
Juice of ½ lime
3 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Combine the beans, tomato, jalapeno, mango and orange in a bowl. Add the lime juice and cilantro and toss to combine with the other ingredients. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Per 1 Tbsp: 14 calories
The wines: Bogle Merlot, 2005; Forest Glen White Merlot, 2005; Sebastiani Chardonney, 2005.
The Merlot scored 3.1; the White Merlot, 3.9; the Chardonney 2.6
I, like most of you I’d wager, have tried low-calorie recipes time and time again and have come to the conclusion that most of them are just not good. If food isn’t good, what is the point of eating it? For me, that is medicine. Now eating is a true, bona fide pleasure for almost all of us. Most of us get three or four times a day to indulge in this pleasure—but why would we turn it into a nose-holding operation done to survive? So, while I am very conscientious about health and weight, I am not willing to give up on pleasure in food. Therefore, I am looking for healthy, light dishes that really taste wonderful and satisfy me.
Our guests at the inn participated in testing and rating seven appetizers and three wines. The wines were selected by Kip Earney from West End Liquor. Here are the results and the recipes for the top three:
Sweet potato butter with pita chips scored 2.7 out of a possible 4.0
Black Bean and Mango Salsa scored 3.3
Jalapeno Pepper rings scored 3.0
Festive Cheese Log scored 3.5
Hot spinach-Artichoke Spread scored 2.8
Mozzarella melts scored 2.9
Mini Spring Rolls with plum sauce scored 3.6 and was a hands down favorite.
These recipes were adapted from two cookbooks: 12 Best Foods Cookbook by Dana Jacobi and More Healthy Homestyle Cooking by Evelyn Tribole.
Mini Spring Rolls with Plum Sauce
Plum Sauce
2 jars (4 ounces) baby food strained plums with apples
3 Tbsp packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 piece fresh ginger (1” thick), peeled
1 garlic clove, minced
Spring Rolls
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 cup finely shredded Napa cabbage
1 small carrot, shredded
1 celery rib, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ pound ground turkey
8 sheets phyllo dough
To make plum sauce: In small saucepan, combine the plums, brown sugar, vinegar, ginger, and garlic. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. When cool, remove and discard the ginger.
To make the Spring Rolls: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly coat 1 large baking sheet with nonstick spray. Coat a large skillet with nonstick spray. In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce and sugar until smooth. Set aside. Set the skillet over medium-high heat. Add cabbage, carrot, celery and garlic and cook until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Remove the vegetables and set aside. In same skillet cook the turkey and stir for 5 minutes until no longer pink. Add the soy sauce mixture and mix well. Stir in the cooked vegetables and remove from the heat.
Arrange the sheets of phyllo dough in a single stack. Cut crosswise into 3 strips. Transfer 2 stacks of the strips to plastic wrap and cover with a damp dish towel to prevent drying out as you work. Place 1 strip of phyllo on a work surface and lightly coat with nonstick spray. Place 1 tablespoon of the filling at the short end of the strip, centering it between the edges. Roll up the strip and filling one-third of the way. Fold the left and right sides of the phyllo over the filling and continue rolling to the end. Place the roll, seam side down, on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining phyllo sheets and filling. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden. Serve hot with the sauce.
Makes 24 spring rolls; 1 ½ cups sauce. Per spring roll with 2 teaspoons sauce: 41 calories
Festive Cheese Log
4 ounces goat cheese
4 ounces fat-free cream cheese, at room temperature
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh basil
½ tsp cracked mixed-color pepper
½ tsp. poppy seeds
In food processor, using metal blade, process goat cheese, cream cheese and garlic until smooth. Scrape onto a sheet of plastic wrap and form into a log about 10” long. Wrap well and chill for at least 2 hours or until firm. Sprinkle the basil, pepper and poppy seeds evenly over a sheet of waxed paper. Unwrap the cheese log and roll it in the seasoning mixture, pressing gently so that the seasonings adhere on all sides. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Per 2 Tablespoons: 33 calories
Black Bean and Mango Salsa
1 (15-oz) can black beans, drained
1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped
1 jalapeno chile pepper, seeded and finely chopped
½ cup finely chopped fresh mango
½ navel orange, peeled and chopped
Juice of ½ lime
3 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Combine the beans, tomato, jalapeno, mango and orange in a bowl. Add the lime juice and cilantro and toss to combine with the other ingredients. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Per 1 Tbsp: 14 calories
The wines: Bogle Merlot, 2005; Forest Glen White Merlot, 2005; Sebastiani Chardonney, 2005.
The Merlot scored 3.1; the White Merlot, 3.9; the Chardonney 2.6
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Cherry Berries in a Cloud
I love food; not just eating it, but preparing it, reading about it, shopping for it and everything, perhaps, but cleaning up after it. I’m Lynette Gudrais, innkeeper at the Candlelight Inn and a self-confirmed foodie. Oh yes, I will be writing here about food.
My qualifications? Well, I started young, when given a choice between cooking and cleaning on Saturdays, I chose cooking (hello!) I was soon taking responsibility for the family’s dinner once a week and getting lots of positive feedback. I believe that’s the secret to making a foodie—pile up the compliments when they’re young and you’ve got a lifer. Just lie a little at first and soon you won’t have to. It didn’t hurt that my mom was a great cook (and her mom-and her mom…) and that she taught me a lot. She also had great cookbooks which I loved to read. I still do and now I have my own 3000 volume collection of cookbooks that have their own room at the inn. In addition, I have taken and taught cooking classes at Byerly’s Cooking School in St. Louis Park and Community Education in School District 196. I also had a catering business for several years before coming to Red Wing to operate the Candlelight Inn with my husband.
So, in addition to writing about food, I would invite everyone to e-mail questions about food and with the help of my library, I will attempt to answer them—or, perhaps, other readers will e-mail in their answers. What kind of questions? Anything, from can you find a recipe for __________ to how do you cook _______, or tips and suggestions of your own.
As I was having lunch with some friends last week, the conversation turned to my new column and one asked about the Scandinavian Almond Cake recipe going around. Her question was why when she made it, it turned out fine, but for her sister it wouldn’t finish baking and was underdone no matter how long she baked it. Intrigued, I went to the Uff Da shop, bought the special pan and the recipe. At home I discovered I already had a pan like it but had not known its use or origin. On to another search, revealing it to be a German “Rehrucken” pan which means “saddle of venison.” The German version is chocolate with almonds stuck in after frosting to look like a saddle of venison with garlic cloves in the classic German presentation. Leave it to the Scandinavians to make something buttery and sweet—and white! I baked two (one in each pan) and it was delicious. Never did find out why my friend’s sis’s didn’t bake. Did she turn the oven on?
Valentine’s Dayis past but if you own a special heart-shaped cake pan or a heart mold for Coeur a la Crème, you can undoubtedly get it out and make a special treat. But if you don’t own these items and don’t want to resort to the usual heart-shaped box of chocolates, why not make old-fashioned cherry berries on a cloud? (Gratis Betty Crocker). It doesn’t use any special equipment and is very easy. The only caveat is: make it the day before as it takes awhile to bake and gets better from sitting awhile.
My qualifications? Well, I started young, when given a choice between cooking and cleaning on Saturdays, I chose cooking (hello!) I was soon taking responsibility for the family’s dinner once a week and getting lots of positive feedback. I believe that’s the secret to making a foodie—pile up the compliments when they’re young and you’ve got a lifer. Just lie a little at first and soon you won’t have to. It didn’t hurt that my mom was a great cook (and her mom-and her mom…) and that she taught me a lot. She also had great cookbooks which I loved to read. I still do and now I have my own 3000 volume collection of cookbooks that have their own room at the inn. In addition, I have taken and taught cooking classes at Byerly’s Cooking School in St. Louis Park and Community Education in School District 196. I also had a catering business for several years before coming to Red Wing to operate the Candlelight Inn with my husband.
So, in addition to writing about food, I would invite everyone to e-mail questions about food and with the help of my library, I will attempt to answer them—or, perhaps, other readers will e-mail in their answers. What kind of questions? Anything, from can you find a recipe for __________ to how do you cook _______, or tips and suggestions of your own.
As I was having lunch with some friends last week, the conversation turned to my new column and one asked about the Scandinavian Almond Cake recipe going around. Her question was why when she made it, it turned out fine, but for her sister it wouldn’t finish baking and was underdone no matter how long she baked it. Intrigued, I went to the Uff Da shop, bought the special pan and the recipe. At home I discovered I already had a pan like it but had not known its use or origin. On to another search, revealing it to be a German “Rehrucken” pan which means “saddle of venison.” The German version is chocolate with almonds stuck in after frosting to look like a saddle of venison with garlic cloves in the classic German presentation. Leave it to the Scandinavians to make something buttery and sweet—and white! I baked two (one in each pan) and it was delicious. Never did find out why my friend’s sis’s didn’t bake. Did she turn the oven on?
Valentine’s Dayis past but if you own a special heart-shaped cake pan or a heart mold for Coeur a la Crème, you can undoubtedly get it out and make a special treat. But if you don’t own these items and don’t want to resort to the usual heart-shaped box of chocolates, why not make old-fashioned cherry berries on a cloud? (Gratis Betty Crocker). It doesn’t use any special equipment and is very easy. The only caveat is: make it the day before as it takes awhile to bake and gets better from sitting awhile.
Here’s the recipe with the lighter version for us perennial dieters in parentheses:
Cherry Berries on a Cloud
Meringue Shell (recipe follows) One and one half Cup chilled whipping cream (1 16-oz container Lite Cool Whip)
1 (3-oz) package cream cheese (1 3-oz
Package Neufchatel Cheese) 1 cup miniature marshmallows
One-half cup sugar Cherry Topping (recipe below)
One-half teaspoon vanilla
Bake meringue shell in heart shape. Blend cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Whip
cream, if using. Gently fold two-thirds of the whipped cream or Cool Whip and the
marshmallows into cream cheese mixture. Pile into shell. Top with cherry filling,
leaving a two inch rim around outside of heart. Make a border of extra whipped cream
around outside of cherries. Cover; chill at least 12 hours.
Meringue Shell
Heat oven to 275 degrees. Cover baking sheet with parchment paper. Beat three egg whites and one-fourth teaspoon cream of tartar until foamy. Beat in three-fourths cup sugar, one tablespoon at a time; continue beating until stiff and glossy. Do not underbeat. On parchment, shape meringue into large heart shape (approximately nine inches across widest part), building up side. Bake for one and one-half hours. Turn off oven; leave meringue in oven with door closed for one hour. Remove and cool away from draft.
Cherry topping
Stir together one can (one pound, five ounces) cherry pie filling (lite) and one teaspoon lemon juice
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)