In 1999 this was the Cornerstone "house favourite," I am informed by "Recipes to Remember," our wedding collection of tasty things to eat. I don't think "Never Fail" has slipped below house favourite in the last 10 years, and I think it is gaining similar status at The View, if our last experiment is any indication.
New friends from the building, S, M and I came for tea the other day, and Patrick has been begging for a white cake for weeks, so I thought I'd make the famous Never Fail. Although I often make it in a rectangular pan and ice it with butter frosting, I was too late to frost it properly, so made it in a bundt pan and glazed it with a lemon and icing sugar drizzle with lots of zest.
The cake was actually yellow (rather than its traditional white) from our beautiful local Kingbird Farm eggs and it was truly divine: moist and perfect. Everyone had at least two pieces (!) and we only had enough left for a piece each the next day, so I am making it again tonight for our other new friends, K & Sh.
In any case, it has been far too long that I have gone without posting this fabulous recipe.
Never Fail Cake
1. Cream 1 1/2c. white sugar, 3 eggs, a glop of vanilla and 3/4 c. Becel (or butter).
2. Add, alternating in 3-4 batches (mixing after each), 1 c. milk and 2 c. white flour mixed with 2 heaping tsp. baking powder.
3. Bake in 350 degree oven for at least 30 minutes (use a toothpick - when clean, the cake is done).
Simple and fabulous. I'm starting to think I should always have this cake around!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Picadillo
Now that things are slowly getting back to normal, we are determined to do more cooking of the original and interesting variety. So, last night we went grocery shopping and picked up materials for a lovely Italian tuna salad (greens, tomato, cucumber, basil), makings for picadillo and the necessary ingredients for the Rebar huevos rancheros (tomorrow's dinner).
Tonight, P made his famous pico de gallo (tomatoes, white onion, cilantro, lime and salt), and I made picadillo (adapted from Jane Milton's Mexican Kitchen) to eat with tortillas:
Brown a pound of ground beef in a pan; add a few cloves of finely chopped garlic and a finely chopped red pepper. Mix in 1/4 c. sherry, a dollop of tomato paste, black pepper, cloves, cumin and cinnamon to taste. Add a few sprinkles of toasted almond slivers and raisins. Sour cream would have topped off our little soft tacos delightfully - next time!
Tonight, P made his famous pico de gallo (tomatoes, white onion, cilantro, lime and salt), and I made picadillo (adapted from Jane Milton's Mexican Kitchen) to eat with tortillas:
Brown a pound of ground beef in a pan; add a few cloves of finely chopped garlic and a finely chopped red pepper. Mix in 1/4 c. sherry, a dollop of tomato paste, black pepper, cloves, cumin and cinnamon to taste. Add a few sprinkles of toasted almond slivers and raisins. Sour cream would have topped off our little soft tacos delightfully - next time!
Saturday, February 7, 2009
The Best Corn Chowder Ever
We decided to make some chowder this week, so I came to Dúnedain to get the recipe and, wonder of wonders, it wasn't here! I am remedying the situation immediately, since this is a superb corn chowder recipe, adapted from Gourmet.
Ingredients
2 oz. (about 2 thick slices) diced bacon, quality crucial (we used to use Applewood smoked from the Bowl in Berkeley)
1 diced large sweet yellow onion
2 large carrots, diced (all veggies should be diced to 1/4 inch)
1 celery rib, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
3 small Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
1 medium sweet potato (1 medium), peeled and diced
5 cups good chicken broth (40 fl oz)
2 fresh thyme sprigs
3 cups corn (from about 6 ears)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream (I often start with just 1/2 c. and add more to taste)
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Cook bacon in a wide 6- to 8-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain, then add onion, carrots, celery, and bell pepper to bacon fat and cook, stirring, until onion is softened, 8 to 10 minutes.
Add all potatoes, broth, and thyme and simmer, covered, until potatoes are just tender, about 15 minutes. Add corn and cream and simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes. Add sea salt and pepper, then stir in bacon.
Makes 8 servings.
Ingredients
2 oz. (about 2 thick slices) diced bacon, quality crucial (we used to use Applewood smoked from the Bowl in Berkeley)
1 diced large sweet yellow onion
2 large carrots, diced (all veggies should be diced to 1/4 inch)
1 celery rib, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
3 small Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
1 medium sweet potato (1 medium), peeled and diced
5 cups good chicken broth (40 fl oz)
2 fresh thyme sprigs
3 cups corn (from about 6 ears)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream (I often start with just 1/2 c. and add more to taste)
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Cook bacon in a wide 6- to 8-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain, then add onion, carrots, celery, and bell pepper to bacon fat and cook, stirring, until onion is softened, 8 to 10 minutes.
Add all potatoes, broth, and thyme and simmer, covered, until potatoes are just tender, about 15 minutes. Add corn and cream and simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes. Add sea salt and pepper, then stir in bacon.
Makes 8 servings.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Super Salmon
E. came for a collaborative dinner last night and made us beautiful wild-caught salmon. Here's the simple and delicious recipe:
Take four salmon fillets and slice them lengthwise into two thin halves (i.e. so that they can be stuffed). Spread half of each fillet with a mixture of sour cream and chives, top with sliced tomatoes, salt and pepper, and with the other half of the fillet. Season as desired (I imagine a little squeeze of lemon would be nice). Put each salmon "sandwich" in its own foil packet and bake at 360 for about 20 minutes.
We had one packet left over, so we flaked it up and tossed it with butter and campanelle and had salmon pasta. It was very, very good.
Take four salmon fillets and slice them lengthwise into two thin halves (i.e. so that they can be stuffed). Spread half of each fillet with a mixture of sour cream and chives, top with sliced tomatoes, salt and pepper, and with the other half of the fillet. Season as desired (I imagine a little squeeze of lemon would be nice). Put each salmon "sandwich" in its own foil packet and bake at 360 for about 20 minutes.
We had one packet left over, so we flaked it up and tossed it with butter and campanelle and had salmon pasta. It was very, very good.
Antje's Beef
Well, I posted Enrico's recipe, so I'll post Antje's as well. It is very, very simple, and excruciatingly delicious. Here goes. . .
Take a thin cut of beef (1-2 lbs.) and pound it even thinner (to about 1/8" - 1/4"). Spread it thoroughly with good mustard and roll it up into a beef "jelly roll." Put the rolled up meat into a large pan on medium heat with a little bit of water in the bottom. Cook, covered, for hours and hours, adding just a bit of water as the pan dries out, and turning the meat, until there is a beautiful, thick brown gravy at the bottom of the pan and the meat is tender.
I would serve this with boiled potatoes and vinegar, though I think on the day in question, we ate strozzapreti!
Take a thin cut of beef (1-2 lbs.) and pound it even thinner (to about 1/8" - 1/4"). Spread it thoroughly with good mustard and roll it up into a beef "jelly roll." Put the rolled up meat into a large pan on medium heat with a little bit of water in the bottom. Cook, covered, for hours and hours, adding just a bit of water as the pan dries out, and turning the meat, until there is a beautiful, thick brown gravy at the bottom of the pan and the meat is tender.
I would serve this with boiled potatoes and vinegar, though I think on the day in question, we ate strozzapreti!
Strangolapreti
Way back in 2001, right after we moved to Berkeley, we met two international students, Enrico and Antje, with whom we enjoyed a few round-the-world dinners before they left after only a semester. Enrico's recipe was for strangolapreti (or strozzapreti, priest-chokers), lovely bready dumplings served in sage butter. We served them for the first time in years last night, and they were a great success.
Put on a large pot of water with salt to boil; put on a small pan of butter (about a stick) to melt. Defrost or blanch 300g. spinach; squeeze out all the water and chop finely, if desired. Crumb 2 panini worth (about 3 cups) of firm, slightly old white bread and wet it slightly with milk. Add two eggs, 2 tbsp. flour and a tsp. of salt to the bread crumbs and mix well. Add the spinach, mix well, and form the mixture firmly into 2" balls (about the size of a walnut). Add a dozen sage leaves or so to the melted butter, and fry them gently. Gently boil the strozzapreti, a few at a time, in the salted water until the dumplings rise to the surface. Remove them with a slotted spoon into a bowl coated with butter. When all the dumplings are done, pour the sage butter over top. Eat topped with grated parmesan.
Put on a large pot of water with salt to boil; put on a small pan of butter (about a stick) to melt. Defrost or blanch 300g. spinach; squeeze out all the water and chop finely, if desired. Crumb 2 panini worth (about 3 cups) of firm, slightly old white bread and wet it slightly with milk. Add two eggs, 2 tbsp. flour and a tsp. of salt to the bread crumbs and mix well. Add the spinach, mix well, and form the mixture firmly into 2" balls (about the size of a walnut). Add a dozen sage leaves or so to the melted butter, and fry them gently. Gently boil the strozzapreti, a few at a time, in the salted water until the dumplings rise to the surface. Remove them with a slotted spoon into a bowl coated with butter. When all the dumplings are done, pour the sage butter over top. Eat topped with grated parmesan.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Ful Medames
Way back in the fall of 2007, when I was speaking at my first "big" conference, P and I had dinner at a North-African restaurant just up the street from our hotel in Minneapolis.
Our (enormous) appetizer was a place of what they called "Fool Madame," and what I have more recently discovered is usually referred to as "ful medames." A few months ago, when we had our Moroccan chicken, I served this as an appetizer, and the guests scarfed it.
Since I've had requests for it since, here is my version, adapted from what we had in Minneapolis plus several on-line recipes.
Ful Medames
Soak 1.5 cups of dried beans (I use a mix of cranberry/borlotti and rosa) in water for a few hours or overnight. Pick over, drain and thoroughly rinse the beans until the water runs clear. Boil, just covered, until firm and mashable but not mushy. While the beans are cooking, mash a few cloves of garlic in a mortar and pestle with salt. Mix the garlic and salt with the juice of one or two lemons, 2 tbsp. olive oil and 1 tsp. cumin or zataar.
Once the beans are cooked, gently crush 2/3 of them to a coarse paste. Stir in the remaining beans and the garlic mixture. Add more oil, salt and lemon juice for taste and texture; garnish with (I actually stir these next items in) finely chopped fresh tomatoes, white onions, scallions, mint and cilantro (these last three are optional, but lovely when possible).
This makes for an excellent, nutritious and hearty dip, which we serve with pita. Yum!
Our (enormous) appetizer was a place of what they called "Fool Madame," and what I have more recently discovered is usually referred to as "ful medames." A few months ago, when we had our Moroccan chicken, I served this as an appetizer, and the guests scarfed it.
Since I've had requests for it since, here is my version, adapted from what we had in Minneapolis plus several on-line recipes.
Ful Medames
Soak 1.5 cups of dried beans (I use a mix of cranberry/borlotti and rosa) in water for a few hours or overnight. Pick over, drain and thoroughly rinse the beans until the water runs clear. Boil, just covered, until firm and mashable but not mushy. While the beans are cooking, mash a few cloves of garlic in a mortar and pestle with salt. Mix the garlic and salt with the juice of one or two lemons, 2 tbsp. olive oil and 1 tsp. cumin or zataar.
Once the beans are cooked, gently crush 2/3 of them to a coarse paste. Stir in the remaining beans and the garlic mixture. Add more oil, salt and lemon juice for taste and texture; garnish with (I actually stir these next items in) finely chopped fresh tomatoes, white onions, scallions, mint and cilantro (these last three are optional, but lovely when possible).
This makes for an excellent, nutritious and hearty dip, which we serve with pita. Yum!
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