Sweet Short Cake

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This is the basis of what is called "shortcake." My mother makes the kind with no sugar, and I think she uses Bisquik. It was by accident that I ended up with this recipe. I was having a group of people over one evening, but during the afternoon I was frantically sewing something. So I asked my girls to help me out. I told them that as I sewed I would tell them what to do. Well the shortcake that evening was a huge hit, but I quickly realized that something about the cake was different. Upon investigation it was realized that the girls had misheard me on the sugar. They added considerably more than the recipe called for, but we all decided that we liked it a lot that way, and we've done it ever since.

2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter, cut into many little pieces
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Butter the bottom of a 7 or 8 inch spring form pan.
Mix the dry ingredients.
Add the butter, and using your fingers work the butter into the flour.
Stir in the milk using a fork. Don’t over mix, mix just till combined.
Put into pan and gently flatten out.
Bake about 20-25 minutes. It mustn’t jiggle.

Cool the cake, split in half and on the cake plate put cake, fruit, whipped cream, cake fruit whipped cream, and lastly a bit more fruit. I add some sugar to the fruit to bring out the juices, but not too much sugar.

Hard Boiled Eggs

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My grandmother, Nana, taught me how to make perfect hard boiled eggs, and it has worked every time. You take a pan just big enough to gently hold the amount of eggs that you want to cook and carefully place the eggs into the empty pan. Cover the eggs to just above the eggs with cold water. Place on the stove on a hot element and bring the water to a boil. As soon as the water boils turn off the heat and cover the pot with a tight lid and let sit for 25 minutes. When the time is up carefully pour off most of the water and run cold water over the eggs. Leave the eggs to cool down a bit, then transfer out of the water to whatever you want to put them in. The eggs will store nicely for several days.

What to do with hard boiled eggs

For Easter I like to dye eggs solid colors, especially blue, or an array of colors. I don’t worry if the eggs are cracked when dying them because the dyed bits of egg look terrific in egg salad sandwiches. To make the egg salad mixture I use the egg slicer to cut up the eggs. Put the egg in the slicer, slice the egg, lift up the handle, carefully turn the egg 90 degrees, then slice one more time. This gives more substance to the mixture. I then salt and pepper the eggs, and for the best eggs of all, peel and slice them while warm and moisten the mixture with butter. Otherwise, stir in a little mayonnaise, sour cream, and some Dijon mustard. 

The same two approaches can be used in making stuffed eggs. Though of course after peeling the egg you just cut it in half.  I don’t know why everyone insists upon calling them deviled eggs. I like to keep mine simple, and with the egg yolk as the main stuffing ingredient. And they don’t need to be dressed up, people like them simple.  But then, that's just how I do it.  I have been known to pipe the egg yolk filling into the egg white shells.  It makes it go faster, but it takes quite a bit of effort to clean the piping bag afterwards.

When I was a kid, and my Mom made lots of eggs for the eight of us to find, and each one of us assumed that we had rightful possession of the eggs we found. We didn’t expect the eggs to get turned into anything. What you did was peal the egg, cut it in half, salt and pepper the egg, and eat it. Well actually, I don't think my brothers bothered with "the cut it in half" part.

My House Dressing

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1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/3 cup water
1 clove garlic
1 to 2 tablespoons sugar
a good pinch of salt
several grinds of black pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons red onion, this is a rough measure of a hunk.
1 teaspoon dijon mustard

Put everything but the olive oil into the blender and turn the blender on. After a bit, slowly add the olive oil. Place in a large cream pitcher and insert a ladle for stirring and serving. the water makes the dressing thinner, thus not clumping to the lettuce. If you put too much dressing on the salad it ends up on the plate. This is good

Scrambled Eggs

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I'm rather picky about scrambled eggs.  I learned how to cook them from my amah Lita in Hong Kong.  It's a very simple and clean method, and if you do it right the pan is practically clean when you are done.  You can use this method for doing one egg or up to 8 or 9.  If more eggs are used you do need a BIG pan, as the eggs will cool down the pan.

eggs, at room temperature preferably (not more than seven at a time)
salt and pepper
1 to 2 tablespoon of oil

Stir up the eggs using a fork. Heat the oil on medium high in a frying pan or saute pan if going a big batch.  Do not use a non-stick pan for this method of making scrambled eggs. The oil must come to the point where it starts to have a rainbow effect as you look at it, but is not smoking.  In other-words you want the oil to be as hot as is reasonably possible.  Have the eggs and a fork ready to go in at the right moment.  With the fork in one hand and the dish of eggs in the other slowly pour in the eggs, stirring with the fork as they go in.  Stir stir stir with the fork, flipping the eggs around to get all the bits cooked.  As soon as the eggs look mostly cooked tip the eggs back into the bowl they came from.  The heat will continue to cook the last bit of uncooked eggs.  And at this point the pan should look almost clean.  There should have been absolutely no sticking of the egg to the pan.

Sweet Dough

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This is used for sweet rolls and tea rings and bolotchki and what ever else I might come up with that wants a sweet dough. I prefer to make the dough, form the bread product desired and then leave it all night to raise. No raising prior to forming the pastry. It really works. You can leave it for at least ten hours if you like.

1 tablespoon yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1 pound of flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 stick of butter
1 egg
3/4 cup warm milk

Proof the yeast with the tablespoon of sugar and lukewarm water for about 10 minutes. In the meantime put the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and give them a bit of a stir and lest rest a bit. When the yeast has bubbled up add to the rest of the ingredients and mix with the kitchenaid mixer for about five minutes. If the dough is too soupy gradually add some more flour. If the dough is too stiff, gradually add some more milk. If mixing this by hand I hope you know what you are doing because it's going to be very sticky. That's the nature of sweet dough. The dough should even be somewhat sticky when you are done kneading, but not to worry. Put a big handful of flour onto a board, spread it around and dump the dough onto the flour. Knead for just long enough to have a dough you can handle. If you like, you can leave this to raise for about two hours before forming the pastries. But if you have till the next day don't bother.

You can put whatever you want into this dough. The exact proportions are not that important. It just needs to look like bread dough when you're done. But the one pound of flour is fairly important if you are wanting to use this for a recipe that calls for a batch of sweet dough.

Pate Brisee - Pie Crust

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When making a pie, the most important thing you have to get right is the crust. Now I'm not saying that that's the only thing you need to get right, but it's really crucial.  But in my world, if you have a good crust and then you put something like a boxed pudding mix into it, then you are still a bit behind.  This recipe makes either two or three crusts, depending on what you are doing.

2 cups flour
1 tbl sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 sticks butter, cut into small pieces, cold
3 tbls shortening
1/4 cup iced water

Put the flour and salt into a medium sized sturdy bowl and stir up.  Add the butter and shortening and using a party blender, or your fingers and a fork mix until it looks like cornmeal. You can also use a food processor using short bursts.  It should look like coarse cornmeal when you are done.

Drizzle the ice water over the mixture and stir together with a fork or a few short bursts with the processor. Don’t over mix at this point. If you were using the processor, dump out the crumbly looking mixture into a mixing bowl. Then, using the palms of your hands and fingers, compress the mixture into a nice smooth consistency. Resist the urge to add more water. It will mix right up.

Divide in half, and wrap each half in a piece of plastic wrap, and flatten into nice compact discs, about six inches across. Chill for about 15 to 30 minutes before rolling out. If it’s too cold when you finally get to it, let it warm up a bit so you can roll it. Sometimes I divide the mixture into three discs, which produces thinner crusts.


To roll out the crusts, get the chilled disc completely well dusted in flour. Then place onto a piece of waxed paper for rolling. I use a french rolling pin. Roll the dough starting at the center and then rotating around. Then roll gently at the edges to smooth it all out. Turn the crust using the waxed paper. If a hole develops gently coax it closed, even maybe use your fingers.

To transfer the rolled out crust to the pie plate place your hand under the waxed paper with the crust on it, lift up and turn it over onto the plate and gently coax the dough into the pie plate. Then with quick gentle tugs, pull the paper loose. At this point, if there is going to be a top crust, as in an apple pie, I add the filling, then roll out the top crust and place it on top, and then I crimp it and trim it.
I always roll out the crusts as thin as is reasonable. I don’t like a thick crust. Also, I never use a metal pie plate because it really lacks class at the table and I am not convinced it cooks as nicely.

The reason I use the shortening in the crust is to ensure that it doesn’t shrink oddly on me, but it is also just fine to use all butter, either omitting the shortening and adding more butter or not.