Dessert Redemption

After The Horror, I stayed away from the oven for a few days. I didn't think it needed more punishment. While in the supermarket, I developed an intense craving for cinnamon raisin bread. So, tonight, I tried this recipe and it was fantastic. What I didn't count on was that it was a triple recipe. Who among us owns THREE loaf pans? Certainly not me. The only reason why I own one at all is for a terrine recipe we made last Passover.

But, as the above picture shows, this recipe makes a ton of batter. It rose to the size of a basketball, and rolled out huge too.


So, I cut the batter into thirds. One third went to make a loaf. Here it is, before baking:


And of course, what does one do with extra swirled bread dough? Rolls. I managed to wait a full 20 seconds after taking them out of the oven before I dove in and took one down like a lion takes down an antelope on the Discovery Channel. Here they are, before baking:


And here they are baked. (Does anyone else hear the singing of angels?)

The Horror, The Horror

This is dessert gone bad. Really bad. Do not adjust your monitors: This is a chocolate dessert so disgusting that it turned lava black.

Jeremy is alarmed.

It's based on a recipe my mother-in-law gave me. It's called "Al Hughes' Chocolate Thing" which is a title that makes me blush a little, but nonetheless... You make a batter and then pour liquids over it, don't mix, and bake. It comes out this amorphous blob of liquid and solid chocolate. Sounds great, right? Even better with a dollop of raspbeerry jam added into the viscous chocolately mix.

The first time we made it, it turned out nicely. Not super-flavorful, but interesting textures and not too much butter. So what the hell happened the second time? This recipe's mood swings are giving me whiplash.

Al Hughes' Chocolate Thing
In a bowl, mix:
2 tbsp melted butter
1/c milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
2 tbsp baking powder
3/4 c sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder

Put into a greased 8x8 pan. In another bowl, mix:
3/4 c brown sugar
4 tbsp cocoa powder
1 3/4 cup hot water

Pour over the batter in the pan. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Ending 1: Enjoy chocolate-filled house smells. Let cool (optional) and devour. Crave more.

Ending 2: Wait for house to smell really good and then wonder why it smells like burning tires. Taste, recoil.

Food for Food's Sake: Smileyfood in Paris!

I am just back from four days in Paris with my mother and sister. I have found all the cliches about French food to be true: Ubiquitious crepes, croissants, and baguesttes; red wine at every meal, a preponderance of nutella, affected waiters. But especially true is this: Eating is something that is done with purpose in Paris. There is no food-as-fuel multitasking nonsense- I didn't see one to-go container or a styrofoam coffee cup. I call this Food for Food's Sake.


Here's my mom and I enjoying a Kir Royale on the Champs d'Elysses. It's champagne with cassis, a currant liquer. Drinking mid-day was somewhat new to me but I managed to adjust.

This was my dessert at the Louvre cafe: currant sorbet with berries and whipped cream. I'm finding that I am not a fan of rich desserts, and this was a perfect hot-day sweet. My family and I had all run out of steam and just couldn't deal with the lines and seat-searching at the cafeteria. It turned out to be a lovely meal. Below is the chocolate pyramid that my sister ordered. It was light and chocolatey and not at all cloying or over-rich.
What in the world is that fruit on top? We couldn't figure it out.
My mother ordered a rhubarb tart that had a surprisingly strong mojito ice. It was almost too beautiful to eat. Almost.
My sister, ever the carnivore, ordered steak, which came covered in butter. No complaints were heard. Actually, she said very little until her plate was empty.

At the Champs d'Elysses we had a lovely salad that was described on the menu as "Small assortment of vegetables." It was actually a large pile of delicious hearts of palm, carrots, corn, olives, green beans, peppers, corn, and lentils. It was fantastic on the hot, humid day!
There were very few candy bars or packages of candy. Bakeries like this, however, were pretty ubiquitous. The pastries were like little pieces of architecture.

This omelette had the most lovely texture: crunchy, chewy, gooey.
At the same meal, my sister ordered a salad with baked goat cheese. It tasted as good as it looks.

One of the more exciting discoveries was a restaurant called La Table d'Erica. I had read about it in my guidebook and was so sad to find that it was closed. But it did allow for some great photo ops. Here's a close-up:

Green Tea Cake with Orange Glaze and Crystallized Ginger

Finally, I have baked something with green tea that is worth eating. After the genoise cake disaster, I was determined to prove that green tea cake is possible. So, my friends- Don't adjust your monitors: The cake is green. Here it is, unadorned:

This was successful on many levels. It was an angel food cake, so it's cholesterol free. It was also my first successful dismount from a Bundt pan. I used extensive dis-adhering methods and it popped right out. The glaze was incredible- just frozen orange juice, confectioner's sugar, and a drop of almond extract to counteract the acidity of orange. I sprinkled crystallized ginger on top, which gave it a nice spicy zing.

The Cake:
12 egg whites (freeze the yolks and make pudding or a custard sometime)
1 cup flour
1 tsp cream of tartar
2 tbsp matcha green tea powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tbsp water

Beat egg whites with the water and cream of tartar until stiff-ish. Beat in 3/4 cup sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk together remaining dry ingredients. Gently fold into egg whites. Pour into a well-greased pan and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

The Glaze:
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1/8 tsp almond extract
1 tbsp frozen orange juice concentrate

This will be very thick. If it's too thin, it will pool in the middle and on the sides. Sprinkle on the ginger while the glaze is still sticky.

Sweet and Savory Barbecue

Around mid-summer, I start to get tired of the usual barbecue staples. Last weekend in the Berkshires, I made a delicious sweet and savory barbecue which resulted in some fantastic quesadillas. The savory was the usual zucchini and summer squash; we also added peaches and pineapple. The peaches were on their way out when they were in the fridge, but grilled, they tasted delicious grilled- smoky, caramelized, with a deeper flavor. Try it!

Cupcake Bread Pudding

Last night my husband was making pizza dough and he used a package of gelatin instead of a package of yeast.

If you know my husband, this may not surprise you. And you may also be unsurprised to hear that on Sunday he made bread pudding from cupcakes. He's been crazy about bread pudding since he had one made out of Krispy Kremes in Connecticut last year.

Anyway. Remember the July 4th cupcake fail? We made chocolate Guiness cupcakes that kind of fell apart due to their general delicious gooiness. That's what led to his brilliant idea. Because I hate to waste food, we took the broken, decapitated cupcakes and froze them. Then, a few weeks later, he took them out and soaked them in a mixture of milk, eggs, and vanilla and let it all bake. He tells me that he just used a bread pudding recipe and cut down on the sugar. And ultimately, what looked like brownies was actually a super-moist, ultra-rich chocolaty concoction.


Which was perfect for our friends' brunch garden party. It was 2/3 gone before I got my camera.

The Loveliest Flower is the Cauliflower

This post is for Jess Solomon, who saw fit to praise this much-maligned veggie on Facebook yesterday. Cauliflowers everywhere thank you!

The recipe is from Didi Emmons' Entertaining for a Veggie Planet.

1 16-oz block tofu
3 tbs oil
kosher salt
1-2 chile peppers, minced (optional)
2 tbsp peeled and grated ginger
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tbs ground coriander
1 medium head cauliflower, chopped
7 plum tomatos, chopped
1/2 c plain yogurt
3 tbs chopped cilantro (if you enjoy the evil weed)
1 tbs butter

Basmati rice

Fry tofu in hot oil until it gets nice and crusty. Set aside and drain on paper towels. Heat a little more oil and add spices for 2 minutes. Add cauliflower and salt and brown. Add tomatos and 1/2 cup water , cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer until veggies are tender, stirring occasionally. Just before serving, add tofu, dairy, and cilantro. Stir until heated and serve with rice. Don't boil or the yogurt will curdle!