I normally only bake when there is a special event, but I made an exception today because 1) Big J is leaving tomorrow for 10 days, and 2) I've been wanting to make this cake since I read the recipe. The cake, in the March/April 2009 issue of Cook's Illustrated, is based on a wartime cake developed when butter and eggs were in short supply.
And how do the butter and eggs get replaced you ask? Mayonnaise. Yes, it's true. Ordinarily I wouldn't even consider a chocolate cake recipe, but this was too intriguing to pass up.
It took me less than ten minutes to put the batter together. It bakes in about 30 minutes. And, friends, it is delicious! It has a deep chocolate flavor and is incredibly moist and tender. This is one chocolate cake I can get behind!
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Crispy Black Bean Tacos
This is one of the easiest and quickest meals I have made in a long time. Big J and I loved them! I got the recipe from the latest issue of Bon Appetit. Actually just now that I re-look at the recipe I realized that I totally forgot the feta. Oh well.
I changed the recipe a little. I didn't cook the beans in the tortillas, but fried the tortillas, warmed up the black bean filling, and let people put them together at the table. I also put out diced avocado which added a nice creaminess to the dish.
One of the best things about these tacos was the slaw that went along with it: a simple mixture of cabbage, green onion, cilantro, olive oil and lime juice. It would be delicious with other tacos, and most especially fish tacos.
All in all, this is one vegetarian dinner that will be making a repeat performance.
I changed the recipe a little. I didn't cook the beans in the tortillas, but fried the tortillas, warmed up the black bean filling, and let people put them together at the table. I also put out diced avocado which added a nice creaminess to the dish.
One of the best things about these tacos was the slaw that went along with it: a simple mixture of cabbage, green onion, cilantro, olive oil and lime juice. It would be delicious with other tacos, and most especially fish tacos.
All in all, this is one vegetarian dinner that will be making a repeat performance.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Some Recent Food Thoughts
Vegetarian Meals
Over on That Girl I mentioned that we are going to try more vegetarian meals during the week. To me, more meant 4 a week, to the Js more meant 2 a week. Ummm.....right now we generally have one or two, so two wouldn't necessarily mean more. So far, this week we have had none -- that is unless you count fish as vegetarian, which I really don't. However, I have two planned: Crispy Black Bean Tacos, and Lima Beans with Wild Mushrooms and Chard. Both recipes are Big J approved. In fact, he went out of his way to mention the lima beans the other night, so I am particularly happy about making that. I'll let you know how both recipes turn out.
Food Fight
Apparently Gorden Ramsay called Mario Batali "Fanta Pants" and Mario retaliated by not allowing Gordon to eat in any of his restaurants. Really? Grow up boys. (Although I must admit that Fanta Pants is pretty darn funny.)
Why Big J is the Perfect Partner
When he found out I bought a $50 bottle of wine his response wasn't, "You did what?" It was actually, "I'm glad you didn't drink it without me!" Awesome!
Cravings
It's clearly mid-winter because Big J and I are both craving comfort food--specifically lasagna. But I've also been thinking about this terrific ragu from one of Mario's cookbooks, it's so spicy that you think you might not be able to eat it, but in the end you really don't want to stop eating it. Now that's good food!
Pancakes
I'm not a big fan of pancakes because they are usually hit or miss in terms of fluffiness. I prefer a light pancake as opposed to one that settles in your stomach like a brick. There are a few recipes out there -- including a fabulous oatmeal pancake (I'll share that recipe sometime). Recently I discovered that the real key to a light pancake is beating the egg whites and folding them into the batter. Heaven on a plate my friends!
Great-Grandma's Food
My great-grandma used to have all sort of sweets when we would visit. But mostly I remember the cookies: pink coconut covered marshmallows; pink, white and chocolate wafer cookies; and some sort of mallomars. She also made amazing peanut butter cookies and icebox cookies. Her peanut butter cookies were always much larger than my grandmothers who swore that the only reason that was so was because it didn't take as long to bake a whole batch and my great-grandma didn't like to cook. Perhaps that was true, but her cookies were still better. Whever she fixed me dinner we had fish sticks and mashed potatoes from a box. (Another clue that she disliked cooking?) And for breakfast it was oatmeal with half and half -- so decadent and creamy that to this day I will only have it on special occassions.
Over on That Girl I mentioned that we are going to try more vegetarian meals during the week. To me, more meant 4 a week, to the Js more meant 2 a week. Ummm.....right now we generally have one or two, so two wouldn't necessarily mean more. So far, this week we have had none -- that is unless you count fish as vegetarian, which I really don't. However, I have two planned: Crispy Black Bean Tacos, and Lima Beans with Wild Mushrooms and Chard. Both recipes are Big J approved. In fact, he went out of his way to mention the lima beans the other night, so I am particularly happy about making that. I'll let you know how both recipes turn out.
Food Fight
Apparently Gorden Ramsay called Mario Batali "Fanta Pants" and Mario retaliated by not allowing Gordon to eat in any of his restaurants. Really? Grow up boys. (Although I must admit that Fanta Pants is pretty darn funny.)
Why Big J is the Perfect Partner
When he found out I bought a $50 bottle of wine his response wasn't, "You did what?" It was actually, "I'm glad you didn't drink it without me!" Awesome!
Cravings
It's clearly mid-winter because Big J and I are both craving comfort food--specifically lasagna. But I've also been thinking about this terrific ragu from one of Mario's cookbooks, it's so spicy that you think you might not be able to eat it, but in the end you really don't want to stop eating it. Now that's good food!
Pancakes
I'm not a big fan of pancakes because they are usually hit or miss in terms of fluffiness. I prefer a light pancake as opposed to one that settles in your stomach like a brick. There are a few recipes out there -- including a fabulous oatmeal pancake (I'll share that recipe sometime). Recently I discovered that the real key to a light pancake is beating the egg whites and folding them into the batter. Heaven on a plate my friends!
Great-Grandma's Food
My great-grandma used to have all sort of sweets when we would visit. But mostly I remember the cookies: pink coconut covered marshmallows; pink, white and chocolate wafer cookies; and some sort of mallomars. She also made amazing peanut butter cookies and icebox cookies. Her peanut butter cookies were always much larger than my grandmothers who swore that the only reason that was so was because it didn't take as long to bake a whole batch and my great-grandma didn't like to cook. Perhaps that was true, but her cookies were still better. Whever she fixed me dinner we had fish sticks and mashed potatoes from a box. (Another clue that she disliked cooking?) And for breakfast it was oatmeal with half and half -- so decadent and creamy that to this day I will only have it on special occassions.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
An Evening Alone
Big J is out of town and little j is spending the night with a friend, so I have the house to myself all evening. It's been about 2 1/2 years since that has happened. I thought about going to a movie or going out to dinner, but in the end, I decided to stay home and watch two movies that I have from Netflix (The Visitor and Cache) and make myself dinner.
I went to the store and picked up a nice New York strip steak and a couple other dinner essentials. I also bought a bottle of wine. And here's where it gets a little funny. I was looking at the wine and I found this nice bottle that was a little more than I usually spend, but not outrageous.
I got home to my potato baking and got everything ready for dinner and then went to open the wine and realized that HOLY SHIT! I just spent almost $50 on a bottle of wine. Well, you can be sure I did not open the wine. I decided to keep that bottle of wine for an evening with Big J and opened another bottle that was nice . . . but not $50 nice.
I grilled the steak using the new All-Clad grill pan I received for Christmas and it was nearly perfect: 90 seconds on each side and then 4 minutes in the oven at 425 degrees.
I had that with my baked potato and a simple salad of greens, olive oil, fresh squeezed lemon juice, and shaved Parmesan.
An easy but delicious dinner for one.
I went to the store and picked up a nice New York strip steak and a couple other dinner essentials. I also bought a bottle of wine. And here's where it gets a little funny. I was looking at the wine and I found this nice bottle that was a little more than I usually spend, but not outrageous.
I got home to my potato baking and got everything ready for dinner and then went to open the wine and realized that HOLY SHIT! I just spent almost $50 on a bottle of wine. Well, you can be sure I did not open the wine. I decided to keep that bottle of wine for an evening with Big J and opened another bottle that was nice . . . but not $50 nice.
I grilled the steak using the new All-Clad grill pan I received for Christmas and it was nearly perfect: 90 seconds on each side and then 4 minutes in the oven at 425 degrees.
I had that with my baked potato and a simple salad of greens, olive oil, fresh squeezed lemon juice, and shaved Parmesan.
An easy but delicious dinner for one.
Monday, January 12, 2009
A Quick and Most Delicious Salmon
I'm a big fan of salmon. I think this partially comes from being a Northwest native, maybe from growing up having fish every Friday. Whatever the reason, when I see good salmon I generally buy it.
With Big J out of town our dinners are pretty simplistic, and I was looking for a new quick and easy way to prepare a small salmon fillet. I turned to the Bitten Blog -- always a good resources for simple ways to prepare good food.
Sure enough I found an absolutely perfect way to cook salmon: Salmon Roasted in Butter. Decadent, sure. But Mr. Bittman also gives variations using olive oil, which would cut down on the saturated fat.
I served the salmon with wild rice and roasted cauliflower and asparagus.
With Big J out of town our dinners are pretty simplistic, and I was looking for a new quick and easy way to prepare a small salmon fillet. I turned to the Bitten Blog -- always a good resources for simple ways to prepare good food.
Sure enough I found an absolutely perfect way to cook salmon: Salmon Roasted in Butter. Decadent, sure. But Mr. Bittman also gives variations using olive oil, which would cut down on the saturated fat.
I served the salmon with wild rice and roasted cauliflower and asparagus.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Cooking With little j
With Big J out of town for three weeks I've had to think creatively about keeping dinners interesting. little j would be happy with pasta every night. I, on the other hand, would not.
Last Christmas I gave little j a copy of Cooking Rocks! Rachel Ray 30-Minute Meals for Kids. We've made a few things out of it over the past year, but now little j is really into it. I also gave little j her own knife (thanks again Rachel Ray!) this Christmas, so she can really get into chopping, which she absolutely loves.
So when I was planning out meals for the week, little j and I went through her cookbook and she picked out three meals for the week: Alphabet Soup with Parmesan Toast Dippers, Middle Eastern Rice Bowl, and Green Noodles and Ham. We've made two dinners so far and both have been delicious, totally healthy, and food she will eat . . . even when it's mixed together!
But the best thing isn't the food, it's the time we spend together in the kitchen. She loves cooking and I love cooking with her. A lasting connection for sure.
Last Christmas I gave little j a copy of Cooking Rocks! Rachel Ray 30-Minute Meals for Kids. We've made a few things out of it over the past year, but now little j is really into it. I also gave little j her own knife (thanks again Rachel Ray!) this Christmas, so she can really get into chopping, which she absolutely loves.
So when I was planning out meals for the week, little j and I went through her cookbook and she picked out three meals for the week: Alphabet Soup with Parmesan Toast Dippers, Middle Eastern Rice Bowl, and Green Noodles and Ham. We've made two dinners so far and both have been delicious, totally healthy, and food she will eat . . . even when it's mixed together!
But the best thing isn't the food, it's the time we spend together in the kitchen. She loves cooking and I love cooking with her. A lasting connection for sure.
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