*** Scroll down for update***

Hosted by Peabody, at Culinary Concoctions by Peabody, another Daring Baker with a fun and drool-worthy blog!

As is clear from the picture above, we had to slice into the cake – we couldn’t wait until Saturday, but there’s plenty left for a virtual housewarming. The recipe is adapted from yet another Ina Garten winner from her book, Barefoot Contessa at Home: Everyday Recipes You’ll Make Over and Over Again.
I used buttermilk instead of plain milk, and increased the amount of almond extract in the frosting. I also decided to make my own passion fruit (lilikoi) curd using Goya brand frozen passion fruit pulp, which some of you may be lucky to find in your frozen food section under its Spanish name, maracuya. In my opinion, ambrosia, that legendary food of the gods, must taste like passion fruit. I know I’m right on this, so there’s no sense arguing about it!

Instead of putting frosting between the layers, I used the passion fruit curd. I actually had enough curd to make the cake, despite spooning it into my mouth at any given opportunity. “Oh, I’ve opened the refrigerator – I’d better check on the curd,” or “I see it’s a full moon out tonight – I’d better check on the curd.” And the always popular, “I’ll go on a diet tomorrow. I’d better check on the curd.”

In the end, the result: a dense but moist layer cake, laced with almond and coconut, sharpened by the brilliant, intense flavor of the passion fruit. For what it’s worth, Master Chow dislikes coconut, and he really liked this cake. He could taste the coconut, but it was not overpowering. And, hey, who doesn’t like ambrosia? See you at Peabody’s!

Note: My recipe for the lilikoi (passion fruit) curd came from The Hali’imaile General Store Cookbook: Homecooking from Maui, which I can’t seem to find in my pile of books at the moment. When I do, I promise to update this post with the recipe. Please do not think that you can use a lemon curd recipe and substitute passion fruit for the lemon – it won’t work. Passion fruit needs more sugar. If you absolutely can’t wait and want to make this immediately, look for some bottled curd (Heidi vouches for one on her blog), or you may consider using this recipe. Now, I haven’t used that recipe, but the restaurant from which it comes, Chef Mavro, is considered by some to be one of the best in the nation.
continue reading "I’m Going to a Housewarming Party! I Hope Everyone Likes Coconut Cake with Lilikoi Curd"

Behold, my lopsided cranberry orange bread, another winning recipe from Beth Hensperger, this time from her classic tome,The Bread Bible: 300 Favorite Recipes. I confused the cooling instructions with another one for a different bread, which said to cool the bread on its side. This resulted in my tasty but deformed loaf.

This is a wonderful little bread that takes advantage of the cranberries, oranges, and walnuts that are filling our markets this time of year. It is not too sweet, and the flavor of the cranberries really comes through, despite the presence of the zest of two whole oranges in the batter. The bread freezes very well, if you wrap it carefully. I wrapped it in plastic wrap, then foil, and then put the whole packet in a freezer-safe plastic storage bag.

I was out of ground ginger, so I substituted very finely minced crystallized ginger, which dissolved in the batter. This bread is definitely on my repeat list. And take a look at the batter – isn’t that a beautiful pink color?

Cranberry Orange Bread

Adapted from The Bread Bible: 300 Favorite Recipes by Beth Hensperger
Makes one 8 1/2 inch-by-4 1/2 inch loaf

1 1/2 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen (if frozen, do not thaw)

1 cup sugar

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 T baking powder

1/4 t salt

1/2 t freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 t finely minced crystallized ginger

grated zest of 2 oranges

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

3/4 cup fresh orange juice

2 large eggs

1 t pure vanilla extract

4 T unsalted butter, melted

Position rack in the center of the oven, and preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a 8 1/2 inch-by-4 1/2 inch loaf pan.

In a food processor, coarsely chop the cranberries and set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and ginger, and mix well. Add the orange zest and walnuts, and toss to mix well.

In another bowl, combine the orange juice and eggs, and mix until frothy. Add the vanilla and cranberries. Pour over the dry ingredients, and then drizzle with the butter. Stir until just moistened (do NOT over mix) and the cranberries are evenly distributed.

Pour batter into the loaf pan. Place pan on a rack in the center of the oven. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. The top should be crusty and golden, and a skewer inserted into the center of the loaf should come out clean.

Transfer to rack to cool. Wrap in plastic wrap and let bread sit overnight before serving. Believe it or not, I actually was able to do this last step!

As I’ve said before, I am on a mission to purge my pantry, refrigerator, and freezer. It’s so easy to buy this or that, and the next thing you know, it’s five years later.

Recently, I was cleaning out my cupboards, and replacing some spices. Lo and behold, I found a stash of garlic that I’d forgotten about, and some of the bulbs were starting to sprout. What is one to do when faced with a huge amount of garlic that must be used, and quickly?

I turned to Ina Garten, and made her Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic. Much to my surprise, Master Chow liked this dish (I thought it might be a bit too fancy for him). I think the loads of garlic won him over.

I didn’t have any cream, which the recipe calls for, but I did have some creme fraiche that I needed to use up. Yahoo! Another item that needed to be used, crossed off my list! And I didn’t have two whole chickens, but I did have a package each of chicken breasts, thighs, and legs, sitting in my freezer. I felt very efficient and frugal after making this dish. Peeling the garlic wasn’t too bad either, after briefly boiling the garlic cloves – the skins slipped right off. If the bulbs are sprouting, just cut out the green shoot before you use the garlic.

Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic

Adapted from a recipe by Ina Garten, from Barefoot in Paris: Easy French Food You Can Make at Home

3 whole heads garlic, about 40 cloves

2 (3 1/2-pound) chickens, cut into eighths, or 6-7 pounds of chicken parts

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons Cognac, divided

1 1/2 cups dry white wine (I used the remnants of a bottle of rose, and it worked just fine)

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons creme fraiche (or heavy cream, but do not use sour cream because it will curdle)

Separate the cloves of garlic and drop them into a pot of boiling water for 60 seconds. Drain the garlic and peel. Set aside.

Dry the chicken with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat the butter and oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium to medium-high heat (you don’t want the oil and butter to burn, so keep an eye on it). In batches, saute the chicken in the fat, skin side down first, until nicely browned, about 5 to 6 minutes on each side. Use tongs to turn the chicken, as you don’t want to pierce the skin with a fork. If the fat is burning, turn the heat down.

When a batch is done, transfer it to a plate and continue to saute the rest of the chicken.

Remove the last chicken to the plate and add all of the garlic to the pot. Lower the heat and saute for 5 to 10 minutes, turning often, until evenly browned. Add 2 tablespoons of the Cognac and the wine, return to a boil, and scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Return the chicken to the pot with the juices and sprinkle with the thyme leaves. Cover and simmer over the lowest heat for about 40 minutes, until all the chicken is done. Remove the chicken to a platter and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.

In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup of the sauce and the flour and then whisk it back into the sauce in the pot (do NOT just add the flour to the pot, or you will end up with a lot of lumps). Raise the heat, add the remaining tablespoon of Cognac and the creme fraiche, and boil for 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Pour the sauce and the garlic over the chicken and serve hot.

“What’s going on in the kitchen? We want in!”

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone, from a rather tired Madam Chow. We will be joining a dear friend for a celebration with thirty other people whom we’ve never met, and we are sure looking forward to it. Of course, that meant I had to bake two different pecan pies, and a coconut cake with lilikoi (passionfruit curd). I will definitely let all of you know how it goes.

I saw Ina Garten make this on her show, Barefoot Contessa, a while back, and it was one of those recipes that intrigued me and just sort of percolated in the recesses of my brain. I watched a rerun of the same show, and this time I decided to make it. Master Chow usually likes meats with strong flavors, like lamb and venison, so I thought, “why not?” Well, this was a hit. He loves it, and when I take the lid of the container, the dogs go crazy. I took a little taste, and even I thought it was good! It tastes a lot like liverwurst.

Some thoughts: First, use organic chicken livers, which I get at my local Whole Foods. The liver is the filter of the blood, and every hormone or drug given to an animal ends up there, so you want to get as clean and pure a source as possible.

Second, if you keep kosher, have some chicken fat (schmaltz) on hand before you start. The original recipe calls for a cup of it, but I ended up using about 5 Tablespoons of clarified butter.

Third, cleaning the liver can be rather time consuming and messy.

Fourth, do not overcook the livers – they should be a pale pink inside.

Finally, this spatters a lot when you’re frying the livers, so cover up and move anything out of the way that you don’t want to get covered in grease.

Chopped Liver

Adapted from Barefoot Contessa Parties! Ideas and Recipes for Easy Parties That Are Really Fun

2 pounds chicken livers
5 Tbsp. clarified butter
2 cups medium-diced yellow onion (2 onions)
1/3 cup Madeira wine
4 extra-large eggs, hard-cooked, peeled, and chunked
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tspp. cayenne pepper

Drain the livers and saute them in 2 batches in 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium-high heat, turning once, for about 5 minutes, or until just barely pink inside. Don’t overcook the livers or they will be dry. Transfer them to a large bowl.

In the same pan, saute the onions in 3 tablespoons of the butter over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes, or until browned. Add the Madeira and deglaze the pan, scraping the sides, for about 15 seconds. Pour into the bowl with the livers.

Add the eggs, parsley, thyme, salt, black pepper, and cayenne. Toss quickly to combine. Transfer half the mixture to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse 6 to 8 times, until coarsely chopped. Repeat with the remaining mixture. Season, to taste, and chill. Serve on crackers or matzo.

I am on a mission: to use up food items in my pantry and freezer. Like most people, I will buy this or that to use for a specific dish, then I forget all about it. Or I shop for produce, and loose a cucumber in the back of the refrigerator.

Not one to waste food, I discovered said English cucumber tucked away in a corner of the “chill chest,” to coin a phrase from Alton Brown. I also had some feta cheese to use up, as well as a bag of orzo that had been sitting around for a while. Oh, yes, and that red onion. And a lemon or two. What to do?

Well, I turned to Rachael Ray after seeing her whip up a Pine Nut Orzo salad on her show, 30 Minute Meals. Master Chow and I thought it was nice on its own when we had it at lunch, but it really shone when we paired it later that evening with a rib eye steak (for him) and some scallops and shrimp (for me). Since I have half a pound of orzo left in the cupboard, I’ll be making this again!

Pine Nut and Orzo Salad
Adapted from a recipe by Rachael Ray
4 to 6 servings

Drain orzo and add to the onions and lemon juice, along with the pine nuts, parsley, feta crumbles, about 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Top with the olives, tomatoes, and cucumbers.

Recently, Ivonne, of Cream Puffs in Venice, had a thoughtful post on the comforts of baking. I have to agree – my life has been so hectic the last few months, I’ve barely had a chance to catch my breath. The weather has cooled a bit, and the leaves are finally changing colors. And I find myself wanting to spend my free time cooking and taking care of my family as much as possible.

So, a few days ago, I passed several happy hours in the kitchen, baking up a batch of cornbread and Tomato and Goat Cheese Muffins from Beth Hensperger’s, Muffins. Master Chow loved the cornbread, and I thought the muffins, which included garbanzo flour (!), were wonderful. A tossed green salad, some sauteed broccoli rabe, and a bowl of soup made a wonderful meal. As I write this, I have a batch of Hensperger’s Cranberry-Orange Bread baking in the oven (more on that in a future post). And I have a faithful companion on my lap:

Life doesn’t get much better than this.

Like many out there in the culinary blogosphere, I have an overburdened bookshelf, creaking under the weight of all the cookbooks I fully intend to use, but rarely get around to doing so. One of my reasons for starting this blog was to pull some of these tomes down and take them for a test drive.

The winner this month? The Williams-Sonoma Collection: Muffins (Williams Sonoma Collection), by the wonderful and prolific author, Beth Hensperger. It’s a little book, but the recipes are clear, easy to follow, and obviously thoroughly tested because they work. There’s a picture for every recipe, which makes it even more fun to read the book. I always wonder why publishing houses skimp on food photography, when a little more effort in that direction would help the book fly off the shelves!

The book is divided into six categories: Classics, Fruit Muffins, Vegetable Muffins, Savory Muffins, Coffee Cakes, and Quick Loaf Breads. I made the Spiced Apple Coffee Cake you see at the top of this post, as well as the Blackberry Muffins (for which I substituted blueberries and orange zest, and they turned out fantastically well).

I didn’t have cream cheese on hand for the coffee cake, so I substituted Neufchatel with no problems. When I put the batter together, it appeared to be a mass of apples, and I wondered where the “cake” part would come in. I shouldn’t have worried! Here is the golden goodness:

The cake was intensely flavorful, and so moist that I could eat it frozen (and I did), and it still had a soft texture. It froze very well, retaining all its flavor and a pudding-like texture. Dang, I just made myself hungry again. To freeze, I recommend wrapping in plastic wrap, then foil, then placing in a freezer storage bag. The original recipe includes a vanilla glaze, which I eliminated because the finished product was sweet enough.

I also tried the luscious blackberry muffin recipe, but substituted blueberries, and orange zest for the lemon zest. Master Chow loved these. They didn’t hold up quite as well in the freezer, but I suspect that may because I didn’t wrap them in foil, a mistake that I won’t repeat.

The recipe called for a whopping 2 cups of blueberries, but there was enough batter to hold them together well. The orange was a wonderful complement to the berries, and each muffin was topped with a walnut crumb mixture. Delicious! Tonight, I’m going to try either the Polenta Muffins with Fresh Herbs, or the Tomato and Goat Cheese Muffins. Hhhm. Decisions, decisions!

One final note: if your spices are old, do yourself a favor and treat yourself to some new ones. It will make a world of difference in your baking!

Spiced Apple Coffee Cake
Adapted from The Williams-Sonoma Collection: Muffins (Williams Sonoma Collection)

Makes one 9-inch cake

1-3/4 cups all purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3 tart cooking apples, such as Granny Smith, about 1 lb., peeled and cored
2 Tbsp. strained fresh orange, lemon, or apple juice (I used orange)
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1-1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
8 oz. Neufchatel cheese, room temperature
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Thoroughly grease and flour a 9-inch square baking pan, or a 9-inch round spring form pan. This is a very wet batter, and if you slack off on this step, a lot of your cake will end up sticking to the bottom of the pan!

In a bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In another bowl, toss the apples with the juice. In a third bowl, stir together the brown sugar, cardamom, and cinnamon. Add to the apples, toss to coat, and set aside.

In another bowl, using an electric mixer set on medium, cream the butter, Neufchatel cheese, granulated sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add the dry ingredients in two or three increments, beating well until just smooth. Don’t over beat the batter. Using a spatula, gently mix in the apples, just until they are incorporated. You want things to be mixed, but not over mixed, or you will have a tough cake.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 60-70 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean. Cool on a cooling rack for about 5 minutes, then carefully remove the cake from the pan.

Enjoy!