Whole-y Grains!

I'm sure that like me, many of you have heard the buzz surrounding whole grains. How nutritious they are (packed with protein and fiber among other things), and how our diets lack these grains. Along with the steam engine, running water and refrigerators the modernization of America brought about processed food, to extend its shelf life. To preserve our breads and starches, wheat is stripped of their more perishable and nutritious outer germ, making them void of any nutrition. It seems as though unless your parents were hippies, you probably grew up like me, and the millions of other people in America, on a diet of white bread, white rice and white pasta, with little if any exposure to other grains. When eaten in excess, these foods can contribute to a laundry list of physical ailments.

It wasn't until these last few years that I noticed the nutritional error of my ways. Everywhere I turned someone was touting the benefits of oats, barley, mullet, spelt (aka farro), and quinoa (pronounced 'keen-wah'). Some of these immediately turned me off, sounding like grains eaten by the poor in third world countries (which they probably are). While others were more familiar (like oats and barley), but relegated to either a tasteless breakfast porridge or beef mushroom soup. If I was going to get the most bang for my nutritional buck, though, I couldn't just sprinkle a little grain in my soup, I would need to eat and serve substantial quantities of it, more like a side dish.

I introduced myself to some of these new grains by just boiling it in water (or broth if I was feeling adventurous), and using it in place of my Uncle Ben's. Boy was I in for a surprise. I had gotten so used to barely-flavored and almost mushy white rice, that the more assertive whole grain flavor and texture put me off a bit. I didn't realize that some of the grains benefit from being well rinsed before cooking to remove bitterness. Granted, I like the toothiness of some grains, but they also take a really long time to cook, making them a challenge to make during the week. Not to mention, I have a husband who treats anything healthy as an affront to a good meal. How could I make these grains flavorful enough that even my husband will want to eat them and how can I make them quickly enough to incorporate into weekday meals?

First thing, I started combing though cookbooks and magazines looking for potential recipes, with mixed success. Some recipes seemed healthier, like cous cous and bulgur, but further research revealed they weren't much (if any) better than what I have been eating. My first success was tucked away in the pages of Mario Batali's Babbo cookbook. He created a scallion barlotto (barley risotto). I always suspected Mario omits many of the secret steps and ingredients needed to make a successful recipe, since I have to find a keeper recipe, as written. The scallion barlotto was no exception. It sucked! It tasted very bitter and the scallion was way too strong. But like they say, you can always learn something from even your mistakes. What I learned was that you could cook barley like risotto, with a pleasant effect. Granted I would pair it with something else, like mushrooms, but the technique was definitely a keeper. Cooking the grain with the chicken broth and finishing it with grated Parmesan cheese, made it that much more flavorful and appealing.

Anther one of my favorite barley recipes came to me by accident. In discussing the challenge of making tasty whole grains with my friend, Carleen, she mentioned Mark Bittman addressing the very issue in the New York Times. Like mine, his challenge was to make whole grains super tasty and appealing to please even "meat and potato eaters". He came up with a delicious warm bulgur and lentil salad with tomatoes and cumin (recipe at the very bottom). The cumin gives the dish a wonderfully exotic flavor. The only catch was that I misread the bulgur to read barley (perhaps I was in a bulgur state of mind...) and I skipped the lettuce. I didn't have so much a salad as a warm starchy side dish. The recipe was still delicious and a keeper in my book. A big plus was that I found quick cooking barely at the market, so I can make this recipe during the week. It also freezes well, so I can make large batches on the weekend.

From there I tried to incorporate white whole wheat flour into more of my recipes. This works really well with pizza/bread dough and quick breads. I can often substitute 1/4 - 1/3 of the all purpose flour with white whole wheat flour without compromising taste or texture. I even discovered quick cooking brown rice, which is super easy to prepare and a no-brainer substitute for white rice. To make it more interesting, I'll add some (frozen) peas, herbs and toasted pine nuts, and no one misses the white of the rice. Whole Foods even carries fully cooked brown rice in the freezer section, while Trader Joe's sells fully cooked brown rice in vacuum sealed pouches. Perfect for weekday meals!

I even tried whole wheat pasta, thinking I could hide the taste in a sea of meat sauce. But the mealiness was even more than I could bare. My friend, Carleen, did offer a tip, to use non-traditional 'sauces' with the grain pastas, so there is no memory comparison of what it is supposed to taste like. Instead you are creating a new flavor combination. She likes to pair bitter greens (sauteed in garlic and oil) and pine nuts with her grain pasta. I admittedly am not ready to make the leap.

Quinoa had always been my greatest challenge. For those of you not familiar with this one, quinoa is a tiny round grain that when cooked, sprouts tiny curly cues (think pig tails). I love that it is quick cooking (about 15 min.), but could never figure out what to flavor it with to make it not only palatable, but tasty. Then I stumbled on a recipe (see below) from the June 2008 Food & Wine that uses quinoa in a tabbouleh styled salad with roasted peppers. Thanks to this recipe, I learned that quinoa needs to be thoroughly rinsed to rid it of the the bitterness I experienced when I first made it. My husband loves roasted peppers. So I thought, if I can get him to eat this, then we definitely have a keeper. The recipe turned out delicious, and my husband admitted that he would gladly eat it again.

What is great about this recipe is that you can really play around with what you add to it. I added chopped baby spinach, but you could add different veggies (raw or grilled), herbs, or even cubes of cheese. The salad is so light and refreshing that it is perfect as a side dish for a BBQ or on a picnic. This is also a good way to try other grains like millet or spelt.

I highly recommend you try both of the recipes below. You'll start to enjoy the added flavor of whole grains, and hopefully reap the benefits of eating them. Sorry, no pictures, but you'll have to trust me on these.

Quinoa Salad with Roasted Peppers and Tomatoes
Food and Wine, June 2008

¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups quinoa, rinsed and drained (this helps remove the soapy bitter coating)
2 cups fresh orange juice
2 cups water
Kosher salt
2 large red bell peppers
½ cup pine nuts
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 large beefsteak tomato, seeded and finely diced (heirlooms would be great here)
¼ cup finely chopped basil
¼ cup finely chopped mint
Freshly ground black pepper

In a medium saucepan, heat the 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the quinoa and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add the orange juice, water and generous pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat until the liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Fluff the quinoa with a fork and spread on a baking sheet to cool.

Meanwhile, roast the red peppers directly over a gas flame or under the broiler, turning occasionally, until charred all over. Transfer the peppers to a bowl, cover and let steam for 10 minutes. Peel and seed them and cut into ¼-inch dice.

In a medium skillet, toast the pine nuts over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Transfer the pine nuts to a plate to cool.

In a large bowl, whisk the remaining ¼ cup of olive oil with the vinegar. Add the quinoa, peppers, pine nuts, cucumber, tomato, basil and mint and toss well, breaking up any lumps of quinoa. Season the salad with salt and pepper and serve.

Serves 6-8 as side dish


Like I say above, I used barley instead of bulgur for the following recipe, and loved the taste and texture the barley provided. Depending on the kind of barley you have (quick-cooking or not), allow for enough time to cook when adding it to the pot. It takes some time to overcook this grain so don't be afraid to add it earlier than necessary or pre-cook before adding to this dish. I also didn't used the salad or the yogurt topping, even though my friend, Carleen, loves it.

LENTIL WITH BULGUR AND HERB SALAD
NYTimes, 2/19/2005, Mark Bittman

1/2 cup brown or green lentils, washed and picked over
1/2 large red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
salt and pepper
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 tsp cayenne or dried red chili flakes (or to taste)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 cup medium-grain bulgur
3 cups chicken, beef or veggie stock or water
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 or 3 cups chopped mesclin greens or romaine
lemon juice
1 cup low-fat yogurt (if you like tang, try Greek or sheep's milk yogurt)

1. If time allows, soak the lentils in cold water for an hour or more. Drain.Soak onion in salted water until ready to serve

2. Put 1 tbsp oil in a deep saucepan and turn heat to medium. A minute later add garlic and cook until fragrant, another minute or so. Add tomato, cayenne and cumin and cook until tomato is soft, 2 to 3 minutes.

3. Add bulgur and cook, stirring, 3 to 4 minutes, then add liquid and lentils. Bring to a boil, then cover and adjust heat so it simmers steadily. Cook 20 - 30minutes or until lentils and bulgur are tender and all liquid is absorbed. (You will def. need to add liquid if you didn't soak the lentils, according to Mark.)

4. Toss herbs and lettuce with remaining olive oil and lemon juice to taste, add salt and pepper to taste. Serve lentil-bulgur mixture topped with dressed greens. Use a dollop of yogurt and onion as condiments

Serves 4

Spring Carbonara

I know what you're thinking, "carbonara is thick and creamy, and has nothing to do with spring." It's no wonder Americans think carbonara is a heavy cream sauce, thanks to the likes of Olive Garden and Macaroni Grill. These restaurants (just to name a few) bastardize Italian cuisine by making it more than it should be by adding more ingredients and sauce than necessary. If I see one more commercial about Olive Garden's chef training school in Italy (which I think is real because I saw a guy wearing a t-shirt touting its Culinary Institute in Tuscany), and their adding grilled chicken to pasta dishes, I'm going to lose it. In all my travels throughout Italy, I have yet to see chicken added to pasta, the way so many American restaurants like to do. Instead, the grilled chicken should be served as a second dish after the pasta...NOT together. But back to the carbonara...

In general, Italian cuisine involves taking really good fresh ingredients, and not doing too much to hide or disguise them. In essence, it is a simple cuisine, and carbonara sauce is no exception. The sauce itself is a bit creamy, yes, but as a result of adding eggs, Parmesan cheese and pasta water to the sauce, and not cream. I usually see this dish made with pancetta (cured pork belly), which is a good start to any dish, and peas. I made it a little more fresh and spring-y by adding leeks and fava beans. You could really go crazy with the veggies here - pea shoots or asparagus would also be nice. If you can, definitely keep the pork, even if you substitute it with bacon, as it lends a nice meatiness and depth to the dish.

Springtime Carbonara

8 slices pancetta (or bacon), diced
3 medium leeks (white and pale green parts only), halved lengthwise, then sliced crosswise
1 pound fresh fava beans, shelled, blanced, and peeled
1 pound farfalle (bow tie-shaped pasta) or other small shaped pasta
4 large eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus additional for serving
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
Salt
Freshly ground pepper

Cook pancetta in large skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer pancetta to paper towel to drain. Pour off all but 4 tablespoons fat from skillet, or add olive oil if not enough. Add leeks and sauté over medium heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the fava beans and saute for just a minute or two for the favas to heat through. Set aside.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking liquid.

Whisk eggs and 3/4 cup Parmesan in medium bowl to blend; gradually whisk in 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid. Add pasta to leeks and favas in skillet (or add leeks & favas to pasta in pot if skillet not large enough) and stir to heat. Remove skillet from heat. Pour egg mixture over pasta and stir until sauce is just creamy and eggs are no longer raw, about 2 minutes. (Return skillet to very low heat if egg mixture is runny; do not overcook or eggs will curdle.) Add some of remaining 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid to pasta if needed to moisten. Stir in pancetta, parsley and black pepper, to taste. Serve pasta, passing additional cheese separately.

Serves 6

Chocolate Souffle Cookies...Kosher for Passover

As my cousin, Teresa, who lives in Italy recently informed me, I've never posted any cookie recipes on my blog. That surprised even me, since I have a bit of a reputation for industrial scaled cookie baking, especially around the holidays. Over the years I've tried almost every kind of cookie known to man, crispy, chewy, sandwich style, hand shaped, dipped, topped and decorated cookies...with mixed results. But, I have had enough winners I could have easily blogged about, and why I haven't is beyond me.

In Italy, cookies run the gamut of being rock hard (like biscotti) to crumbly hard (think butter cookies), with not much variation in between. This can be a little disappointing for someone with a sweet tooth like me, spending weeks at time in Italy. So, it became my mission to bring American cookies to Italy (well, to my family there anyways). I schlepped bags of chocolate chips, oatmeal and American measuring cups and spoons to make the classics. It shouldn't surprise you to know that Teresa, and her family, fell in love with American cookies. I passed the recipes and measuring tools onto her so she could make them for her friends, who have also fallen for our cookies. Teresa, having exhausted the few recipes I had given her some years back, looked to me again for a new cookie recipe to impress her family for her daughter's birthday party next week.

Coincidentally, Reno and I were invited to a Seder dinner by our friend, Andrew, and his family. We wanted to bring something appropriate, and our first instinct was Kosher wine. We had seen countless suggestions in various food and wine articles, but we couldn't find anything in our neighborhood other than Manischewitz...argh! Sure we could bring flowers (which we did), but I wanted to stick with the "something appropriate" for the occassion. I figured, an extra dessert is usually welcomed, and can be pretty easily added to a meal. Like the chocolate chip cookies I brought to Italy, I wanted to provide an uncommon dish for a traditional Passover, while still following Kosher guidelines.

Whenever I read about Passover meals in food magazines, not much differentiates the desserts. It's usually a meringue/macaroon number or macerated fruit. I knew I could follow Kosher rules (even if my kitchen wasn't Kosher), and make something more interesting. I have a bunch of good oil based cake recipes, but "damn it!", they've got baking powder (which is not kosher). Okay, maybe this will be a little more challenging than I thought.... I've seen a few crumbly nut cake recipes, but nothing stood out. Then I remembered a recipe for chocolate souffle cookies that I first saw in the Winter 2004 issue of Fine Cooking magazine that would be perfect. Dairy? No. Leavening agents? No. Chocolaty? VERY! Perfect!

It's been awhile since I've made them but this is a keeper recipe for me, since they always turn out well. Thankfully, everyone seemed to enjoy them at the Seder. I just hope that Teresa's guests will like them too.

This recipe is a take on meringue, being whipped-egg-white based, but it is the melted chocolate and nuts that make them chewy, crunchy and yummy. You won't even miss the butter! And, I don't say that lightly.

Chocolate Souffle Cookies

6 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 large egg whites, at room temp
1/8 tsp. cream of tartar (which is kosher, I checked!)
½ tsp. vanilla extract
¼ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup finely chopped walnuts

Position oven racks in the upper and lower third of the oven and heat the oven to 350. Lightly grease two baking sheets or line them with parchment.

Melt the chocolate and set aside. Using a hand or stand mixer, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until soft peaks form. With the beaters running, gradually add the vanilla and sugar until the egg whites hold stiff peaks but don’t look dry. Pour the nuts and melted chocolate over the whipped whites. Gently fold the mixture with a large rubber spatula, trying not to deflate the egg whites, until the color is just uniform. Immediately drop level measuring tsp. of the batter onto the baking sheets, leaving at least 1 inch between the cookies. Bake until the cookies are shiny and cracked, 10-12 minutes; they should be firm on the outside but still gooey inside when you press them. Slide the parchment liners onto racks or use a metal spatula to transfer the cookies to racks and let cool completely.

Makes about 34 – 2 inch cookies

Spring in my step

We have many things to be excited about this time of year; longer days, warmer weather and best of all, the new bounty of produce. I can pretty much find standard, thick asparagus year-round at my market. But, the start of spring is marked by the growing number of vendors selling it.

What a pleasant surprise for me to find tender thin asparagus hiding amongst the bundles of asparagus logs at the farmers' market the other week. This was a first for me. These were skinnier and even more delicate than pencil asparagus. Where have these babies been my whole life? Why haven't I ever seen them before? Are they usually just sold out by 8am, the official opening of the market and my general arrival time? Should I start showing up at 7:30am, while the vendors are still setting up? Argh!

What's the big deal you ask? Smaller fruit, veggies & meats are generally more tender and flavorful than their larger counterparts. Like people, young food hasn't yet had the chance to grow up to be callous and jaded. Because the super skinny asparagus is so young, you don't have to spend a lot of time prepping and cooking the stalks to get them tender and edible. Peeling the stalks of the big boys can take quite a bit of time.

My mind went crazy with the possibilities. I could serve it with fettucine (a long, wide pasta) and shrimp. An asparagus frittata with salad could make a nice light dinner. I could even just dress them with a light vinaigrette, so the asparagus could be the focus. Would asparagus ice cream be out of the question? Ok, maybe that was going a little far, but I couldn't help myself.

I've been snatching up bundles every week I'm lucky enough to find them. Since it will be a short season, I have to squeeze in all my crazy new asparagus ideas before the show is over. And, so should you!

Below is the recipe for the pasta dish I made that night. You're own your own for the rest of the season.

Fettucini with Asparagus and Shrimp in a Pink Sauce
serves 2-3

1/2 pound fettucini pasta (penne rigati would also work here)

3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 pound medium shrimp (or large ones cut in half), peeled and deveined
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch pencil thin asparagus, ends snapped off then cut into 3" long pieces
1 large ripe tomato, diced along with its juice
1/4 cup cream
2 tablespoons chopped herb (ie - parsley or basil)
Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta, and stir. Lower heat, and continue to gently boil until al dente (tender to the tooth). You can use the package timing as a guideline, but you should always taste it first! Frequent stirring at the beginning of cooking will help keep the pasta from sticking, not adding oil to the water (which will just end up on top, while the pasta is on the bottom of the pot).

Meanwhile, place a large skillet over medium high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the olive oil, giving it a swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Quickly add the shrimp - you don't want your oil to burn. Season the shrimp with salt & pepper. Shrimp only take a few minutes to cook, so be sure NOT to overcook, otherwise, they'll be rubbery. Add the garlic, being carful not to let it brown. Once the shrimp has become opaque on one side flip them to finish cooking the other side. Add the asparagus and tomatoes. Cook for just a minute or two, until the shrimp has cooked through and the asparagus is tender. Add the cream, and stir until heated through, then stir in the herb. Season the sauce with salt & pepper, and remove from heat.

This is a very quick sauce, and should be done while the pasta is cooking. Use a glass measuring cup or coffee cup to scoop out a cup or so of the pasta water before draining the pasta. Drain the pasta and return to the pot. Either add the sauce to the pot of pasta, or add the pasta to the pan with sauce (depending on which is bigger), and cook for a minute over medium high heat to bind the sauce to the pasta. If the sauce seems a bit dry, add some of the pasta water to get the right creamy consistency.

Serve immediately.

Winging it with short ribs!

Perhaps it was the frigid temperatures here in LA (mid-50s) recently, that got me craving fall-off-the-bone braised beef short ribs. Or, perhaps it was the delicious braised, then grilled, short ribs we had at Table 8 last month. Either way, I needed ribs. I love this dish for a number of reasons. Aside from the obvious taste, texture and just plain satisfying reasons, it is super easy to make for a crowd. And, since it can be made ahead of time, it's perfect for a stress free dinner party. Also, you can season and spice it as you wish and customize the veggies to your liking. This dish is even better re-heated. So, you should definitely make extra, so you can have a great mid-week meal.

I don't have a precise recipe for you this time, because I didn't use one myself. But I will walk you through it step by step. The most difficult thing about making this dish, is waiting the few hours of braising time to eat it.

I confess, I am a recipe whore. Like my mother before me, I too have amassed an extensive collection of recipes, pulled from magazines, that I plan on making...someday. I have cookbooks numbering in the hundrededs. And I often look to the internet for recipes to cross reference what I already have. I love trying new recipes, even if it is for a dish I already know how to make. Why would a formally trained chef even bother with recipes you ask? For one thing, you never know where you'll learn a new tip, technique or method. For another thing, you never know when you'll find a better recipe than your own. Having worked for many great chefs, each proclaiming their methods best (and yet each very different), I quickly realized that there is no one best way to doing anything. You can only hope to find what's best for you. Like most things in life you benefit from being open to new ideas.

Despite all this, I haven't been in the mood to wade through my many folders of recipes. Besides, there is something to be said for improptu creativity. I've got the meat braising technique down pat. I've already tried a number of different recipes, so this could be my chance to take the best from all prior versions, and make it my own. Here, I'll go through the (very detailed) steps involved in creating the dish and give you some ideas to make it your own.

Full ribs come about 6-9" long with a thick strip of beef attached. You can ask your butcher to cut these down for you, or you may find them already portioned into 4" (or so) pieces. For our purposes we want to use beef ribs that look like little bricks of meat and bone, and NOT the Korean BBQ variety where multiple ribs and the in-between meat are cross cut into thin slices.

Portion-wise, I find that 1 piece per person is perfect, especially if you have a side salad and dessert. Some pieces usually turn out bigger than others, so you can give the larger pieces to the bigger eaters.

The best pot to use for this dish is a dutch over (think Le Creuset), which is deep and heavy over-proof pot that comes with a lid. This type of pot allows you to brown and braise (cooking meat in liquid) in the same pot. If you don't have a dutch over, or if you don't have one that can fit all your ribs, there is a way around it. You can brown your meat in a frying pan, then braise it in another deep oven-proof pot/pan that you can cover (I've even used a large roasting pan with foil).

Preheat oven to 280 degrees. Season the ribs with salt and pepper (you could also add other spices/seasonings here if you're feeling adventurous). You could even flour the ribs before browning. The flour will help thicken the sauce, but be sure to shake off any excess before adding to the pan. Heat your dutch oven/frying pan over medium high heat. Once hot, add enough olive oil to lightly coat the bottom. Add the ribs and brown on all sides. Remove ribs, and set aside. In the rib pan add your chopped vegetables and cook over medium heat. You can really go crazy here. I would start with a mirapoix (classic onion, carrot & celery combo), and add some of the following: celery root, parsnips, fennel, leeks, turnips, etc. Saute the vegetables until they are cooked through, and season them with salt and pepper. I like to add a few tablespoons of tomato paste for a deep touch of sweetness. Cook it with the veggies until it browns a little.

Generally, the braising liquid consists of any combination and proportion of alcohol, broth and diced tomato in its juices. I've seen recipes that just call for red wine or beer, and others that just call for beef broth. If you're using alcohol, add it to the pan and deglaze by scraping up all the brown bits. Boil until the alcohol evaporates (reduce by about 1/2 the volume), even if you plan on only using alcohol, as this will take the edge off. I personally like to use no more than a bottle of wine (depending on how many ribs). If not using alcohol, you can deglaze with some broth before continuing. Then add the ribs back to the pot (or put everything into the final braising pan) to see how much more total liquid you'll need to add to cover the ribs. Along with the remaining liquid to cover the ribs, this is a good time to add some salt and pepper, any herbs (ie - thyme, bay leaf, rosemary) and other flavorings (ie - worstershire sauce, sugar).

Cover the pan, and place in the oven to braise for 2 1/2 - 3 hours. You could also braise the ribs on the stove top over low heat. The idea is to maintain a gentle simmer. But I prefer the ease of the oven, since it also frees up cook top space.

Once the meat looks fall-off-the-bone tender, remove the pot from the oven, and uncover. Remove the ribs from the liquid, set aside and cover to keep warm. Place the pan over high heat, and reduce the liquid until it has a syrupy consistency. Skim the top of fat as the sauce reduces. Then taste for seasoning.

The ribs are great served with mashed potatoes or noodles, and topped with sauce.

Icing on the Cake

As a child, I loved eating the buttercream frosting roses on my birthday cake. (That is until I learned they were made out of Crisco.) I know the trend now is for simple, home-style cupcakes, but I love pretty, decorated cakes, whether by simple dots or an all out floral & basket weave motif. I even took a cake decorating class. With a few tries, I can even make those "buttercream" roses I now refuse to eat. But after spending hours piping royal icing on my Valentine's cookies this year, (with mediocre results, I might add) I've lost my piping mojo. My other problem is that I LOVE whipped cream, but it is impossible to get it to hold its piped shape without adding gelatin as a stabilizer. How do bakeries do it, you ask? They use non-dairy whipped cream. I'm not exactly sure what that is, but I do know it has lots of corn syrup. Ick!

Then it hit me, I don't have to go to all the effort of frosting and decorating a cake, just to enjoy some. Instead, I could serve it simply deconstructed, much like restaurants do. This way, you can still make a variety of classic frosted cakes, and with less restriction on toppings and garnishes. How liberating! In the above shot I made a simple chocolate cake, and served it with berries macerated in framboise, and fresh whipped (vanilla) cream. For a throw back to childhood birthday parties, you could serve cake with ice cream, or make it like a cake/brownie sundae topped with nuts. Ah, the options are endless, and the effort minimal.

The cake itself can be made a day or two in advance, and many of the sides/toppings can be prepared ahead of time too. Sure whipped cream is best served fresh, but at least it doesn't take more than 5 minutes to make. For those of you who don't know, whipped cream is simply heavy cream "whipped" (either by hand with a whisk or with a mixer) to light to stiff peaks (depending on preference), and flavored with sugar and vanilla extract. You could also top with zabaglione (sugar & liquor whipped egg yolks cooked over boiling water) or a pudding.

I know I don't make cakes as often as I'd like because of the time and effort needed to decorate them. But, by serving them "deconstructed," I can easily serve them anytime. I also find it a refreshing change from the fruit crisps, and fresh-from-the-oven desserts I often serve this time of year.

So, let them eat cake!

Cozy Winter Dinner for Four

I cannot believe that it is now February and I've been meaning to write about this particular meal for well over four weeks. Since I am bedridden and miserable with a horrid cold, now seems just about the right time to recall this happier weekend not that long ago...

The first weekend of our new year was spent at home in Brooklyn. I had invited friends of ours who were weeks away from getting married and moving to a new apartment to join us for dinner, in hopes that a blazing fire, some good scotch and my husband's ridiculously delicious mac and cheese might help soothe their weary souls.

In recent years, I've tried to keep my meal planning for company simple, but with a decadent flourish here and there. The evening's menu was pretty much in keeping with that spirit:

Welcome Nibbles
--------------------
~ Country Olives
~ Sliced Watermelon and Green radishes from the green market, with sea salt and sweet butter
~ Roasted Almonds (which are an excellent source of calcium, don't you know.)
~ Single malt scotch on the rocks (which is just excellent...who cares about calcium, anyway.)

There isn't much to say here except that I am kicking myself that our camera battery conked out, as the radishes were insanely green and beautiful. They have a bit more bite to them compared to the pink and white varieties, but the butter and sea salt pulls it all together.


Dinner
-----------
~ "Totally Not Orange" Mac and Cheese
~ Pea shoot salad
~ A red wine I cannot remember...sorry


My husband makes the best mac and cheese I've ever had. If you were wondering, this is the decadent part of the meal. It is rich and filling and generally people can't get enough of the stuff. The basic recipe is from THE JOY OF COOKING (1998 edition), with four important changes:

#1 Use good cheese -- and mix it up!
He tends to use anywhere from three to five cheeses in his dish. This depends mostly on what we have around the house or what struck his fancy at the cheese shop that day. Manchego, piave, soft blues, vacheron, epoisse...you name it, he uses it. His one exception: cheddar. In spite of his being half English -- and it being the traditional cheese of choice for the dish -- it is just not his speed. I cannot argue.

#2 No puny elbow pasta.
Go for something at least an inch long, hollow and maybe curved, so that the sauce really gets soaked up. We often just use whatever leftover pastas of the similar size we have in the pantry, which adds more texture to the dish and makes it feel more like a main course rather than a side.

#3 Don't forget to top it off with toasted breadcrumbs.
I can't stress this enough...it is essential. Just make sure that they are from a white bread. Otherwise, you might be adding an unneeded extra flavor into the mix. We are just going for crunch here.

#4 Always make a double recipe.
Even our fittest of friends go in for seconds...so make extra. And if by some strange act of the cosmos, you just happen to have leftovers, it freezes very well. There is nothing like the joy of discovering some in the freezer at the end of a particularly draining day. We've actually danced in the kitchen on at least one such occasion.


Since this dish is so rich, I always serve it with some kind of light, crisp salad. For this evening, I selected some lovely pea shoots at the green market that were grown in a hoop at a local farm. (As you can imagine, fresh, organic greens are not plentiful in these parts this time of year.) I am a big fan of the pea shoot as a simple salad. They are crunchy and fresh tasting and add a wonderful touch of the pea flavor without the starch of an actual pea. I usually dress them in something more Asian-inflected, but considering our main course, I chose a simple champagne vinaigrette, since it would cut through the cheese madness without conflicting with the star of the meal. Yum.


Dessert
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~ Poached local pears
~ Fresh whipped cream
~ Coffee, Tea
~ Port and a little dark chocolate, if memory serves

The pears (from Tree-Licious Farms, also purchased at the green market) were poached in red wine using the recipe from Alice Waters' THE ART OF SIMPLE COOKING. As for the whipped cream, it was made with no sugar or other flavorings. And this isn't my being lazy...I just like the straight up flavor with the sweet, soft fruit.


And there you have it: a rather simple meal that most definitely delivered on cozy and reviving, if our happy guests are to be believed.

I think what thrilled me the most about this meal was that a rather fair share of it came from the Grand Army Plaza Green Market -- in January! Needless to say, there will be a post on this very topic shortly. Until then, just make the mac and cheese and enjoy!