Shrimp Dip

Riley LOVES shrimp dip. Today I made him some for the Super Bowl Party we had at Heidi's house with Christian. It really turned out pretty darn good, so I making note of it.

8 ounces cream cheese, sort of room temperature
6 ounces of baby shrimp, fresh not canned
2 Tbls milk
1 tsp Sunny Paris (a herb mix from Penzeys consisting of shallots, chives, green peppercorns, dill weed, basil, tarragon, chervil and bay leaf), if you can't get this, improvise.
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp Tabasco green pepper sauce, or more if you like
juice of 1/2 lemon

Put the cream cheese into a medium mixing bowl, and whip with electric mixer until well mixed.
Add the milk and beat it in.
Add the shrimp and beat until smooth. At first you think they won't break down, but they do.
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
Serve with anything you like to dip into it.

Austrian Bangers and Mash

This is traditionally an English meal. But I learned to make it from my first husband, who was 100% German in his ancestry. The differences are slight, but key. But then, my Germanic heritage is Austrian, so I'll go with that.

sausages, like banger or bratwurst, or any fat sausage you like that does need to be cooked.
mashed potatoes
corn
sauerkraut
good mustards
butter

Preheat oven to about 350 degrees.
To cook the sausages I put a big piece of tin foil into a baking dish big enough to hold the sausages into. Put in the sausages and add about a 1/2 cup of water and seal up the tin foil gently and put in oven. After about 15 or 20 minutes check on the sausages and maybe turn them. At this point you probably don't need to seal them back up again, as you want them to brown. The reason for the tin foil is to prevent the dish from becoming very hard to clean. The sausages should cook for maybe 25-30 minutes. I confess, I've never given the time any thought. You just want cooked sausages.

In the mean time, peel and boil your potatoes. I like to use one medium potato per sausage. I'm assuming most people know how to boil potatoes. When they're done and ready to mash, you want them to be a nice smooth mashed potato. Add butter and hot milk and salt and pepper as desired.

Right towards the end, maybe just before mashing the potatoes, cook up the corn.
Serve it all with the good mustards (I always put on at least two kinds), sauerkraut, and butter. Actually, put a nice dollop of butter onto the corn in it's serving dish.

It's the corn and sauerkraut, and possibly German mustard that makes this a German meal. The English would serve it with peas.

Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies

These are really yummy. My daughter Sarah first came up with them. I'm sure you can use other 'chips' if you want. And of course, you don't have to use cinnamon, any other spice or no spice. What you want to keep is the ratio of butter/flour/oats/eggs to remain the same.

6 oz butter, softened

3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups flour, 6 ounces

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups quick-cooking or regular rolled oats, uncooked

1 3/4 cups Butterscotch Chips, that's about 11 oz.

1/2 cup chopped nuts, (optional)

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Cream butter, white sugar and brown sugar in large bowl until well blended.

Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.

Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in oats and butterscotch chips; mix well.

Drop by heaping teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.

I use a scoop to ensure that I have even cookies and cooking.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool slightly and remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

About 4 dozen cookies.

Oatmeal Raisin Buns

1 Tbls yeast
1 Tbl sugar
1/2 cup lukewarm water

12 oz unbleached white flour
6 oz whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
2 Tbls sugar

1 1/4 cup milk
2 oz butter
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup oatmeal
2-4 Tbls sugar

extra water to get dough just right

Put the yeast and sugar into a small bowl, add the lukewarm water, and let sit for about 10 minutes to gat all bubbly. If it doesn't bubble up, you need new yeast.

In a Kitchenaid bowl put the flours and salt and sugar.
In a saucepan put the milk, butter, oatmeal, and raisins and put over medium heat until it starts to bubble just a bit. Turn off the heat and let it sit for about 10 minutes, stirring to make sure the butter melts. Pour into the flour bowl and give it a good stir with a wooden spoon. Then add the yeast mixture. Put about 1/2 cup of lukewarm water into the yeast bowl to be used for adding to the dough to get it just the right consistency.

Put the Kitchenaid bowl into the mixer. Put in the dough hook, and start mixing. Add water or flour as needed, to get the mixture to be well mix and moist, but not gooey and sticking to the bowl. Just sticking a little bit to the bowl. Mix it for maybe five minutes. Then put a big handful of flour onto the bread board (or counter, if you don't have a big bread board). Spread the flour around somewhat and dump the dough onto the flour. Knead for just a bit, to get the dough into a nice ball. rinse out the Kitchenaid bowl and the put the ball of dough into the bowl, cover with a damp towel and let sit for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Turn the dough out onto the bread board, knead just a little bit, then cut the dough into about 16 pieces. Form each piece of dough into a ball, and place the balls of dough onto a parchment covered baking sheet. Cover with the damp towel and let sit for about 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 370 degrees, and bake the rolls for about 15 minutes. Now since all ovens are different, keep an eye on the rolls. They want to be golden brown, not dark brown. They will be nice and soft because of the milk and butter. Let cool for about 5 to 10 minutes before eating.

4th of July Organic Brownies

9 ounces of organic semi-sweet chocolate chips

4 ounces of organic butter - 1 stick

3/4 cup organic sugar

2 ounces organic white flour

a pinch of salt

scant 1/2 tsp baking powder

2 organic free-range eggs

scant 1/2 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

3 tablespoons brandy

4 ounces of organic walnuts, well chopped

Preheat oven to 367 degrees.

Grease a 9x9 baking pan, and put into a big piece of parchment paper.

Put the chocolate chips and butter into a porcelain dish and zap for about 1 1/2 minutes. Stir go mix well, making sure the chips are reasonably melted.

Stir in the sugar.

Then stir in the flour.

Then stir in the eggs, one at a time.

Add the vanilla and brandy.

Add walnuts.

Pour into the pan and bake for about 30 minutes.

Spring Onion Vinaigrette

This came about one day while making vinaigrette and realizing I had a bunch of spring onions in need of being used.

1/2 cup light olive oil
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons sugar
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 green onion, chopped up a bit
1 clove garlic, cut in half

Put everything into the blender, and put on full wack until everything is liquid.
Put into a small pitcher with a ladle, and Bob's you uncle.
I might have added a pinch of Italian herbs, but I'm not sure.

L'Opera

Adapted from Dalloyau from Paris Sweets: Great Desserts from the City's Best Pastry Shops by Dorie Greenspan (Broadway Books, 2002). Copyright © 2002 by Dorie Greenspan.



This is the recipe I use for making l'opera, and I think it is fabulous, and I would recommend Dorie's book for any one. It's not only for cooking, it's a good read, and fun to look at. I first bought the book because I thought it was soo cute. The following words are from Dorie's book. No point in messing with what really works. I found the words on the Splendid Table site. But the above picture is of a cake made by me.

It is hard to say exactly who invented the Opera Cake. Some sources claim there was a type of Opera Cake sold in Paris as long ago as 1890, and some think the Parisian specialty was created closer to 1950. But the point about which there is no controversy is the only important point: The greatest Opera Cake is made at Dalloyau. There, executive pastry chef Pascal Niau makes a cake as sleek and smooth as an opera stage and as gloriously delicious as La Boheme is affectingly beautiful.

The classic Opera Cake is a work in six acts. There are three thin layers of almond cake, each soaked in a potent coffee syrup; a layer of espresso-flavored buttercream; one layer of bittersweet chocolate ganache; and a topping of chocolate glaze. Traditionally, the cake is decorated with its name written in glaze across the top and finished with a piece of shimmering gold leaf. It is obviously a rich cake, but it is surprisingly not a filling cake, and I'm convinced this is because Maestro Niau has orchestrated the cake's elements so perfectly.

A note on size: This recipe makes a square Opera Cake that is a festive - and impressive - 10 inches (25 cm) on a side. If this is more cake than you need, don't cut down the recipe - you won't be successful with some of the cake's components, particularly the buttercream, if you reduce the quantities. Instead, make the full cake, cut it into smaller size cakes and stock them in your freezer.

Makes about 20 servings

The cake:

6 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 tablespoons (30 grams) granulated sugar
2 cups (225 grams) ground blanched almonds
2 1/4 cups (225 grams) confectioners' sugar, sifted
6 large eggs
1/2 cup (70 grams) all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons (45 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled briefly
The coffee syrup:

1/2 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons (7 grams) instant espresso or coffee

The coffee buttercream:

2 tablespoons (10 grams) instant espresso or coffee
2 tablespoons (15 grams) boiling water
1 cup (100 grams) sugar
1/4 cup (30 grams) water
Pulp of 1/4 vanilla bean
1 large whole egg
1 large egg yolk
1 3/4 sticks (7 ounces; 200 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

The chocolate ganache:

8 ounces (240 grams) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup (125 grams) whole milk
1/4 cup (30 grams) heavy cream
4 tablespoons (2 ounces; 60 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

The chocolate glaze:

5 ounces (150 grams) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 stick (115 grams) unsalted butter

1. To make the cake: Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Line two 12 1/2-x15 1/2-inch (31-x-39-cm) jelly-roll pans with parchment paper and brush with melted butter. (This is in addition to the quantity in the ingredient list.)

2. Working in a clean dry mixer bowl fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Add the granulated sugar and beat until the peaks are stiff and glossy. If you do not have another mixer bowl, gently scrape the whites into another bowl.

3. In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the almonds, confectioners' sugar and whole eggs on medium speed until light and voluminous, about 3 minutes. Add the flour and beat on low speed only until it disappears. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the meringue into the almond mixture, then fold in the melted butter. Divide the batter between the pans and spread it evenly to cover the entire surface of each pan.

4. Bake the cakes for 5 to 7 minutes, or until they are lightly browned and just springy to the touch. Put the pans on a heatproof counter, cover each with a sheet of parchment or wax paper, turn the cakes over and unmold. Carefully peel away the parchment, turn the parchment over and use it to cover the exposed sides of the cakes. Let the cakes come to room temperature between the parchment or wax paper sheets. (The cakes can be made up to 1 day ahead, wrapped and kept at room temperature.)

5. To make the syrup: Stir everything together in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Cool. (The syrup can be covered and refrigerated for up to 1 week.)

6. To make the buttercream: Make a coffee extract by dissolving the instant espresso in the boiling water; set aside.

7. Bring the sugar, water and vanilla bean pulp to a boil in a small saucepan; stir just until the sugar dissolves. Continue to cook without stirring until the syrup reaches 255 degrees F (124 degrees C), as measured on a candy or instant-read thermometer. Pull the pan from the heat.

8. While the sugar is heating, put the egg and the yolk in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat until the eggs are pale and foamy. When the sugar is at temperature, reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly pour in the syrup. Inevitably, some syrup will spin onto the sides of the bowl - don't try to stir the spatters into the eggs. Raise the speed to medium-high and continue to beat until the eggs are thick, satiny and room temperature, about 5 minutes.

9. Working with a rubber spatula, beat the butter until it is soft and creamy but not oily. With the mixer on medium speed, steadily add the butter in 2-tablespoon (30-gram) chunks. When all the butter has been added, raise the speed to high and beat until the buttercream is thickened and satiny. Beat in the coffee extract. Chill the buttercream, stirring frequently, until it is firm enough to be spread and stay where it is spread when topped with a layer of cake, about 20 minutes. (The buttercream can be packed airtight and refrigerated for 4 days or frozen for 1 month; before using, bring it to room temperature, then beat to smooth it.)

10. To make the ganache: Put the chocolate in a medium bowl and keep it close at hand. Bring the milk and cream to a full boil, pour it over the chocolate, wait 1 minute, then stir gently until the ganache is smooth and glossy.

11. Beat the butter until it is smooth and creamy, then stir it into the ganache in 2 to 3 additions. Refrigerate the ganache, stirring every 5 minutes, until it thickens and is spreadable, about 20 minutes. (The ganache can be packed airtight and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for 1 month; bring to room temperature before using.)

12. To assemble the cake: Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper. Working with one sheet of cake at a time, trim the cake so that you have two pieces: one 10-x-10-inches (25-x-25-cm) square and one 10-x-5-inches (25-x-12.5-cm) rectangle. Place one square of cake on the parchment and moisten the layer with coffee syrup. Spread about three-quarters of the coffee buttercream evenly over the cake. (If the buttercream is soft, put the cake in the freezer for about 10 minutes before proceeding.) Top with the two rectangular pieces of cake, placing them side by side to form a square; moisten with syrup. Spread the ganache over the surface, top with the last cake layer, moisten, then chill the cake in the freezer for about 10 minutes. Cover the top of the cake with a thin layer of coffee buttercream. (This is to smooth the top and ready it for the glaze - so go easy.) Refrigerate the cake for at least 1 hour or for up to 6 hours; it should be cold when you pour over the glaze. If you're in a hurry, pop the cake into the freezer for about 20 minutes, then continue.

13. To glaze the cake: Bring the butter to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove the pan from the heat and clarify the butter by spooning off the top foam and pouring the clear yellow butter into a small bowl; discard the milky residue. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over—not touching—simmering water, then stir in the clarified butter. Lift the chilled cake off the parchment-lined pan and place it on a rack. Put the rack over the parchment-lined pan and pour over the glaze, using a long offset spatula to help smooth it evenly across the top. Slide the cake into the refrigerator to set the glaze and chill the cake, which should be served slightly chilled. At serving time, use a long thin knife, dipped in hot water and wiped dry, to carefully trim the sides of the cake so that the drips of glaze are removed and the layers revealed.

Keeping: Each element of the cake can be made ahead, as can the assembled cake. The cake can be kept in the refrigerator, away from foods with strong odors, for 1 day, or you can freeze the cake, wrap it airtight once it is frozen, and keep it frozen for 1 month; defrost, still wrapped, overnight in the refrigerator.

An American in Paris: I rarely play around with this classic, but when I do, it's to add a little crunch to the mix by pressing toasted sliced almonds onto both the buttercream and the ganache.

For more details on how I made this cake look here and here.

ELEPHANT TOMATO ORANGE SOUP

I absolutely adore this soup. Ever since I've been so sick this winter, this has been one of the few things that always tastes so good. Who knows, maybe when I totally get back my senses of taste and smell this might not be as good, but I don't think so.

It comes from Elephants Deli down town on the same block as Banana Republic, and right next to the Fox theatre.

1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick) (less could be good, maybe)
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 - 1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)

In a saucepan, melt butter; add onion and saute until translucent. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper, baking soda and thyme. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered about 15 minutes or until slightly thickened.

Puree in a food processor or blender; strain through a sieve or food mill.  Return to saucepan and stir in orange juice. At this point, the soup can be refrigerated until ready to serve.

At serving time, add the whipping cream if wanted and heat gently, stirring constantly, bringing to a simmer and adjust seasonings if necessary. Extra cream maybe drizzled on top of the soup immediately before serving for decorative effect.

Scalloped Potatoes

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This is a recipe for a large dinner party. We had 12 for dinner, actually 15 with late comers, and almost all was eaten.


5 pounds of yukon gold potatoes, peeled and sliced rather thinly,

about 1/8th inch thick.
1 stick of butter, diced up into little bits
salt and pepper
3 - 4 cups of half and half
cheese, like Gruyère or Ementhal or Jarlsberg


Preheat the oven to 330 degrees (my oven will not go to 325).
Get a big baking dish, I got mine at IKEA, and butter the dish.
When the potatoes are done being sliced, after each potato, place the slices into cold water.
Then when all sliced, drain off as much of the water you can and pat them dry a bit.
Don't get too carried away with the drying, I actually put mine in the salad spinner a bit at a time.
Then as you've got some dried start working on arranging the potatoes artistically in the dish, in concentric circles. After each layer, put some dabs of butter over the potatoes, and some salt and pepper.
It used my micro-plane to shred a little cheese over the potatoes between layers. This was not a lot of cheese, just some.

Don't put cheese on the top of the last layer of potatoes, leave that for later.
When all the potatoes are in the dish, pour in the cream, and place in the oven for 70 minutes.
Then, turn the heat up to about 375 and cook for another 15 minutes or so, adding some cheese to the top layer. You do want to check the potatoes for doneness. This is not an exact science.
Serve immediately.

French Chocolate Cake

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I first made this cake because Emily had tried to help me with bringing in the groceries, and she chose help carry the eggs. Five eggs were broken by the time I got to her. They were cracked, rather than smashed, so I put the broken ones in a bowl.

1 cup (2 sticks) of butter, softened
2 cups sugar
5 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

8 ounces of flour (scant 2 cups)
2 ounces of cocoa (1/2 cup)
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup sour cream


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Grease and flour 1 large, or 2 small bundt pans.
If you like, you can also use either 2 8" or 2 9" or 3 7" pans. When using the flat pans, you'll want to paper the bottoms of the pans.

Cream the butter and sugar. Then add the eggs, and beat until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla.
Combine the dry ingredients, and put them through a sieve or strainer to make sure all the lumps are out.
On low speed, mix in the dry ingredients alternately with the sour cream.
Spoon the batter into the pans, and gently level it out.
Bake until a tooth pick comes out clean. It will look rather moist, but that's okay.

I served this with ice cream.

Smashed Potatoes

These were a really big hit.



5 pounds of russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 tablespoon corse salt

2/3 cup sour cream
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1/4 + cup of cream
2 green onions, finely diced
fleur de sel
pepper

Put the potatoes into a pot and cover with cold water, add the corse salt, and bring to a boil and boil until the potatoes are done. I check by sticking a pointy knife into a potato. If the knife goes in easily then the potatoes are done.

Using a large slotted ladle, lift the potatoes out and place into a large flat-bottomed dish that you want to serve the potatoes in. Now understandably you might not have such a dish. So maybe then you can put them into a large pot. The reason for the flat-bottom is to make it easy to smash the potatoes.

Put in the butter first, and using a potato masher, smash a bit to start the butter melting. Add the rest of the ingredients and gently smash until nicely mixed. You do not want to make "creamed" potatoes, they need to still have a bit of texture. Taste for salt and pepper, adjusting as necessary.

Chocolate Pear Tarte

Note: This is a completely unfinished recipe. I know what it should be, and I'll be getting around to it one of these days.

This recipe came about on accident, but it really turned out nicely. I was making cookies invented by Pierre Herme, my favorite dessert chef. But I was making the cookies with Emily under my left arm, as she was being so much trouble, and was into absolutely everything - dragging chairs about, sticking her hands into whatever she could get her hands on. It was for a Tuesday with Dorie project. I got the dough made, and the rolled it into two rolls like I was supposed to, and put it into the refrigerator to chill for 3 hours. Well eventually, not necessarily that day, I got one of the rolls out to slice up and cook. All the dough would do was crumple. I eventually cooked up a few very crumbled up bits, but I was quite discouraged, and left the rest of the dough sitting on the cutting board. Eventually daughter #1 and her son Christian showed up and they made light work of that remaining dough. Well the next day while thinking about the cookie dough problem it struck me that I better look at the recipe. Well sure enough I had omited 1/3 of the needed butter. At that I didn't give the dough any more thought.

On the following Wednesday Riley had requested that I arrange to have a small dessert soiree for our house group. It was all a bit overwhealming to me, but I began by making up the batter for a chocolate cake, putting part into mini cupcakes, and the rest into a five inch springform pan. Next I thought maybe I would make a pear tart, and I went to the refrigerator to find the needed ingredients. There, on top of the egg carton, was the remaining chocolate cookie dough, and immediately I decided to use it for the crust of the pear tart. I turned on the oven, selected a tart dish, and the put the dough into the cuisanart, and processed it into a crumbly mixture and poured it into the tart dish, smoothed it out, patted it down, and put it into the oven for about 12 minutes.