Gingerbread Cake

This delightful cake recipe is from the February 2000 issue of gourmet magazine.  This winter I was inspired by this amazing photo (left side, middle) and knew I had to make a ginger cake that would stand up to the beautiful topping.  When Jill brought the cake to a party, I knew I had found my cake.  I should have consulted the picture a little more, because the final result wasn't nearly as pretty.  We can try again next year.  I've made a slight modification of the recipe because, as I discovered, beer and molasses can boil over quickly - got to keep a tight eye on them.  Otherwise this recipe is as posted.

I used a generous portion of Wilton's Cake Release and had no trouble with the bundt pan or the springform (yes, I made two).  I made them 12/23, so that the flavors could meld for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  The cake is very tender, yet hearty and rich and it does improve with age.

Ingredients

1 C. Oatmeal Stout or Guinness Stout
1 C. Dark Molasses (not blackstrap)
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
2 C. All-purpose Flour
1.5 tsp. Baking Powder
2 Tbsp. Ground Ginger
1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Ground Cloves
1/4 tsp. Grated Nutmeg
Pinch of Ground Cardamom
3 lg. Eggs
1 C. Packed Dark Brown Sugar
1 C. Granulated Sugar
3/4 C Grapeseed Oil
Confectioners sugar for dusting

Accompaniment: Unsweetened whipped cream

Instructions: 

Bring stout and molasses to a boil in a large saucepan watching carefully as it can boil over quickly. Once boiling remove from heat. Whisk in baking soda, then cool to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously butter bundt pan and dust with flour, knocking out excess.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and spices in a large bowl. Whisk together eggs and sugars. Whisk in oil, then molasses mixture. Add to flour mixture and whisk until just combined.

Pour batter into bundt pan and rap pan sharply on counter to eliminate air bubbles. Bake in middle of oven until a tester comes out with just a few moist crumbs adhering, about 50 minutes. Cool cake in pan on a rack 5 minutes. Turn out onto rack and cool completely.

Serve cake, dusted with confectioners sugar, with whipped cream. Do ahead: This gingerbread is better if made a day ahead. It will keep 3 days, covered, at room temperature.

Sole with Brown Butter Lemon Sauce

It's not every day that a four-year-old asks for Sole A La Meuniere, but you know when he does that it must be something special.  My kids aren't big eaters.  I've said it before, but it's true.  This is the ONLY recipe I have that everyone wants more of.  The last few times I've made it I have noticed the disappointment on my husband's face when the boys say they'd like seconds leaving none for him.  So, next time we'll be making a double batch and there will be seconds for everyone!

Ingredients

1 lb. Dover Sole fillets

Grapeseed Oil

1 1/4 tsp. Salt

6 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter

1/2 tsp. Black pepper

2 oz Fresh Lemon Juice

1 C. Flour

1/4 C. Flat-leaf parsley

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 300°F.

Dry the sole fillets. Mix flour, 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper in a large flat dish (I use a pie plate).  Dredge the fillets in the flour and shake off the excess. Stack layers of fish between wax paper.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large sauté pan over a medium high flame. When the oil smokes, add 2 fillets and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side (depending on thickness). Transfer to a baking sheet and place in the warm oven; repeat with the remaining fillets. Add oil as necessary, heating to the smoking point before adding the fillets.  

Meanwhile, in a saucepan melt butter over a medium flame, stirring frequently. It will melt, foam, subside, and then begin to bubble again and turn a nutty brown.  Remove from heat immediately as it burns quickly at this point.   If you feel like you need more help with the brown butter, see this tutorial: How to Brown Butter.  Add the lemon juice, parsley, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and several grindings of white pepper to taste. Serve the fillets on warm plates with the sauce spooned over.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

 The trouble with most pumpkin cookies is that they are gooey - not in a decadent way, but in a "I can't let these touch each other or they will all stick to each other" kind of way.  A while back I came upon the Cook's Illustrated recipe for Pumpkin pie, where you cook some of the liquid out of the pumpkin to help improve the texture.  I thought maybe that would help with pumpkin cookies a bit.  The base for this recipe is based on these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies and I really love the result.  To me brown butter and fall go hand-in-hand.  To be sure they are still soft, especially if you are not careful to cook them thoroughly, but especially right out of the oven they have a nice crispy exterior.  They tend to soften more as they are stored.

Ingredients 

1 C. (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter
1 C. White Sugar
1 C. Light Brown Sugar
2 Lg. Eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 C. Canned Pumpkin Puree
3 C. All-purpose Flour
2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Ground Ginger
1/4 tsp. Ground Nutmeg
1/4 tsp.Ground Cloves
12-ounce bag Milk Chocolate Chips, not semisweet
Nonstick cooking spray, parchment paper or stoneware baking sheet

Instructions

Slice butter into smaller chunks and place in a saucepan or skilled over medium heat, stirring frequently.  Do not use a dark bottomed pan and it will be hard to tell when the butter is adequately browned.   See How to Brown Butter for a photo tutorial.   Remove butter from heat immediately and allow to cool for about 20 minutes.

While you are browning the butter, on a separate burner, place pumpkin puree in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Bring to simmering and reduce temperature.  Cook stirring frequently until the mixture has reduced and thickened slightly and looks glossy.  About 10 minutes.  Allow to cool for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.

Directions Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray cookie sheets with nonstick spray or line them with parchment paper.

Pour browned butter in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Beat in the white and brown sugars, a little at a time, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time, then mix in the vanilla and pumpkin puree.  Slowly beat the flour mixture into the batter in thirds. Stir in the chips.

Scoop the cookie dough by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared cookie sheets and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cookies are browned around the edges.  Adjust time for stoneware. Often people want their cooking a little softer, so they take them out while they are still soft in the middle.  Pumpkin cookies will be naturally softer and so you really do want to make sure they are cooked in the center.  Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let them rest for 2 minutes. Take the cookies off with a spatula and cool them on wire racks.

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

My kids love the packets of apple cinnamon oatmeal, but I always feel funny about them.  Like, what is really in them?  And, oatmeal is so easy to make, does it really need a shortcut?  I get the whole traveling, camping utility of oatmeal packets, but I also like knowing I can spell everything in the food I serve my family.  So, I came up with this recipe as an alternative.  This is super quick and tastes so fresh.  Right away you'll notice the true apple taste is nothing like the store bought flavor.

Ingredients

2 Apples

2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar

3/4 tsp. Ground Cinnamon

1 C. Oatmeal

2 1/4 C. Water

2 pinches Salt

Instructions

Peel apples and grate them over a medium sauce pan.  Add brown sugar, cinnamon, oatmeal, water and salt and stir to combine.  Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to medium low.  Cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes or until water is absorbed.

Makes 2 large servings, 4 kid-size.

Fried Eggs and Asparagus

Last weekend Scott and I were in a mountain town celebrating my birthday without kids.  We stopped into a place that is renowned for breakfast.  Admittedly, I wasn't in a great mood.  But, when a breakfast place can't get the coffee right, weeeeell...  I had considered just going for the bread pudding because, hey, it was my birthday and there are eggs in it, right?  I decided to behave and get the two eggs, bacon and potatoes instead, but when I asked the waitress to cook the eggs sunny-side-up, but make sure the white was cooked, while the yolk is runny...  (I know what you're thinking.  I am that person.)  Suffice it to say we had a disagreement about what can and cannot be done with eggs and before things escalated I settled on the bread pudding and decided to mooch bacon from the man who doesn't dine on the swine.

Growing up we called fried or sunny-side-up eggs "dip eggs" because they are so good to dip your toast in.  Remarkably many of my childhood memories center around soft-yolked eggs and eating them with family members and neighbors I love.  Without question they fit into my comfort food category.  These days they go by the name flat-eggy and my middle child gobbles them up.

Now, I love cooking - it's often the quiet part of my day when school is done and the kids are playing outside or entertaining themselves and I get to huddle in the kitchen and cook and putz around mostly in peace.  But there are some days when I am lacking the energy, time, or creativity to whip up something fancy.  On these days I love resorting to breakfast for dinner and one of the easiest and most balanced ways to do this is to cook up some veggies and throw a fried egg over the top of it and serve it with toast.  I love how the soft yolk runs over the veggies.  

Fried Eggs and Asparagus

Serves 2

This isn't so much a recipe as an idea - adjust the quantities of asparagus and eggs to suit your needs.  

1 bunch Asparagus

4 Eggs

1 Tbsp.(ish) Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Rinse and trim the dry ends off the asparagus.  Place on a dishtowel and blot dry then transfer to a cookie sheet.  Pour olive oil over the asparagus and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Rotate the asparagus and make sure it is coated with the oil and seasoning and arrange in a single layer on the cookie sheet.  Roast for about 20 minutes, or until your desired tenderness.

Meanwhile, when you have about 5-10 minutes left on the asparagus, heat up a non-stick skillet over medium heat and spray with non-stick spray or a touch of oil.  Crack eggs into skillet and reduce heat to low.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and allow them to slowly cook until they reach desired firmness.  As we now know, my preference is for them to have a runny yolk, but firm white that isn't burnt on the bottom, which can best be achieved by cooking them low and slow.

To serve: place 1/2 portion of asparagus on each plate and top with two eggs.  Don't forget the toast.

Cold Brewed Iced Coffee

It's been a couple years since I've started making iced coffee.  The truth is, this is my favorite way to drink coffee.  This recipe is adapted from one I found on pinterest.  Typically, I don't like sweetened coffee, but this cup is served best with a little milk and the little bit of sugar goes a long way.  You'll need a french press some means of filtering the coffee after it has finished the cold brew.  This is what we use: http://bodum.bodum.com/us/en-us/shop/detail/K11081-01/

Ingredients

1 1/4 C. Coarsely Ground Coffee (French Press or Percolator setting)
1/2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
Cold Water (I just fill to the top of the french press, but I am assuming it would be somewhere around 40 oz)

Instructions

Guys, this is a really complicated process.
Place ground coffee in the bottom of the coffee press.  Add cinnamon, brown sugar and water.  Stir with wooden or plastic spoon (according to Bodum - do not use metal).
Place flat cover on (or cover with plunger kept up) and set on counter to brew for 4 hours (8 hours in fridge).
Press the plunger down.
Get a glass with ice (preferably something cute), pour coffee over leaving room for cream.  Add milk or cream.  Enjoy.
Store coffee in the refrigerator.