Mucho Gazpacho

As a kid, there were two things I hated, tomatoes, and my fifth-grade Math teacher (whose name escapes me. Although I'd be inclined to call her an ill bred, blustering old windbag . . . if I knew what that meant).

Anyway, I have since recovered. And today...I love tomatoes.

I've been guzzling this refreshing liquid salad by the gallon. It's helped get me through a very busy, very hot summer.
This soup has also given me enough fuel to keep up with Thumper, about 15 to 20 MPG.
Your mileage may vary.

I prefer this soup smooth, rather than chunky. Some chefs would probably toque-slap me for pureeing Gazpacho until homogeneous. They would insist I carefully cut several pounds of tomatoes, cucumbers and onions, by hand.
Ha Ha. Those wacky culinary experts.

Well, I denounce their rigid ways. And I suggest you do the same. Prepare this soup whichever way you like.

Gazpacho

2 pounds Roma tomatoes
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
1 English cucumber, peeled and chopped
1 small red onion
1 small jalapeño, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
2 cups tomato juice
¼ cup Italian parsley
Juice of one lime
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Topping suggestions: crabmeat (my choice), shrimp, diced cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, sliced avocados, and the list goes on.

Place all ingredients (except toppings) in a blender, or food processor, and purée until smooth. Transfer to a bowl, or pitcher, and refrigerate until very cold, 4 to 5 hours. Makes 6 to 8 servings.



By the way,   I didn't limit my Gazpacho consumption  to the traditional ingredients. I found this dessert-y Gazpacho in a book by a favorite cookbook author, which includes summer berries, as well as a variety of tropical fruits that would make Carmen Miranda chica-chica-boom-chica-boom-boom back to stardom.
Of course, she's no longer with us, but if she were...well, that'd be downright creepy.


Again, I puréed all the ingredients in this soup. Topping each serving with homemade strawberry, kiwi and mango sorbets.
If you want to try making Mango Sorbet here is a really good one from a few years back.
And while I'm not one to over-hype things, I will say that if you try this soup, all your dreams will come true ;-Þ

Exotic Fruit Gazpacho

1-1/2 cups water
3/4 cup sugar
2 pints fresh strawberries, hulled
1 pint fresh raspberries
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons finely chopped mint
1 mango, peeled and diced
1 papaya finely diced
1 kiwifruit, peeled and diced

Garnish with:
Fruit sorbet and fresh mint leaves

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the water and sugar. Simmer until sugar dissolves. Reserve.

Set aside 1/2 pint of the smaller strawberries for garnish and combine the rest with the raspberries and lemon juice in a blender or food processor, fitted with the metal blade.
Purée them until smooth. Strain the mixture into a large (non-aluminum) bowl, and add the reserved sugar syrup and chopped mint. Mix well, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

To serve, dice the reserved strawberries. Ladle soup into 6 shallow soup bowls, then arrange the fruits on top. Place a scoop of sorbet in the center of each bowl and garnish with fresh mint leaves. Serve immediately. Serves 6.
Adapted from: The California Cook, by Dianne Rossen Worthington.




With a nod to Spain and its wonderful cuisine, I'm also including my recipe for a buttery, crumbly cookie, similar to shortbread, called, Polvorones. I think these cookies complement the fruity Gazpacho very well.
And I should confess that, where I'm from, Polvorones are made with lard!
Sorry, I don't normally use that kind of language.
However, you'll be happy to know I broke with tradition by using a combination of butter and shortening.

Polvorones

½ cup unsalted butter
½ cup vegetable shortening
1 cup granulated sugar, plus more for dredging
2-¼ cups AP flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a large mixing bowl, beat shortening and butter, the sugar and salt, about 3-5 minutes. Add flour, all at once, and gently blend, just until dough starts to cling together. Shape tablespoons of dough into balls. Roll in granulated sugar, and, with your thumb, make a slight indentation in the center. Place cookies on parchment lined baking sheets  1½-inches apart. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.  Polvorones should be pale in color
Makes  4½ to  5 dozen cookies.




In other news, Thumper started Middle School this year. No, I will not cry.
But here's a photo of my precious little playmate  which pretty much sums up my feelings at the moment...

Let me also take this opportunity to apologize to my foodie brigade, for having disappeared for four months. 
There were some health issues within our family, and amid the chaos, our beloved pet Louie passed away. This was two months ago, and I miss him.

This Boston Terrier, will forever remain the most amazing little friend I've ever had the pleasure of knowing, and sharing pizza with.

He was so intelligent, I know he could've balanced our checkbook if we let him. But, he was head over heels in love with a Boxer next door, so he couldn't be fully trusted with our finances.

But I know my furry baby is happily gallivanting somewhere up in Heaven with Socks, our tuxedo cat.
Needless to say, these were some of the reasons I hadn't felt motivated to blog, but that's slowly changing. Besides, I've missed you all, and couldn't stand being away much longer.


Here's an older " picture of  our gentle coach, "training" Thumper for the 2007 skateboard championship.

Who's a good boy!?!

Lemon Curd Marbled Cheesecake

Well, I just finished 1½ hours on the treadmill. Oops. Typo. I meant, I just finished half a cheesecake for lunch.
I developed a craving for a simple lemony dessert, something befitting my simple tastes. And on a fickle whim, I went with Lemon Curd.

Then, Thumper upped the ante by claiming I hadn't made his favorite cheesecake "in like, forever." And the idea for a cheesecake, infiltrated with amorphous blobs of lemon curd was born. Far be it from me to impugn his request...

I  cut out individual servings  from the chilled 9-inch cheesecake with a biscuit cutter,  in the hopes that  no temptation would befall my diet, and overall good intentions.  Is my sarcasm showing?

By the way, the (botanically-incorrect) hyacinth on the plate was made by rolling fondant into an egg shape, if you will. Next, the stem and leaves were added. Then I cut out gazillions of tiny flowers and glued them onto the fondant egg with a paste made from Gum Arabic.
(If you're convulsing in your chair  because you don't know what the hell kind of thing I speak of, then forget about  the Gum Arabic,  and use Royal icing instead).

Actual size not shown.


Lemon Curd Marbled Cheesecake with Blueberry Sauce

Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup  packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt
14 tablespoons  unsalted butter, diced

Lemon Curd:

4 large egg yolks
½ cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
3 ounces lemon juice
4 tablespoons (2 oz) unsalted butter, softened
Pinch  salt

Filling:

1 pound cream cheese, softened
¾ cup sugar
½ cup sour cream
3 large eggs, room temperature
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Blueberry Sauce:

1 pint fresh blueberries
¼  cup  sugar
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice


Preparation

Crust: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Combine flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter and vanilla extract, and process until a dough forms. Press the dough into a 9-inch Springform pan and bake 10 to 15 minutes, or until it just begins to turn color.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Lemon Curd:
In a heavy  saucepan, beat the  egg yolks and sugar until blended. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Don’t allow the mixture to boil or it will curdle.  Press a piece of wax paper right on the lemon curd, to prevent a crust from forming, and  set aside to cool. (If  lemon curd will not be used right away, cool completely, and then, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 weeks).

Filling:
Combine  softened cream cheese, sour cream and sugar in the bowl of a food processor, and process until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and process  until incorporated.
Pour half  of  the filling mixture in the prepared crust.  Spoon half the lemon curd onto the filling. With a knife,  swirl lemon curd through filling, taking care not to disturb the bottom crust. Repeat with the remaining cheesecake filling and lemon curd.
Bake in a 350° F oven until set, about 45 minutes. The  center should still jiggle when gently shaken.  Run a knife around the sides of the pan to loosen, and allow  to cool, about 1 hour. Refrigerate uncovered cheesecake  for several hours. Then, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate  overnight.


Blueberry Sauce:
In a medium saucepan combine all ingredients and cook until   blueberries begin to break down and the sauce is slightly  thickened, about 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.


Enjoy. For tomorrow, some of us will recite  three hail Marys, followed by a strict diet...for the rest of us, there's always next Monday.

White on White Buttermilk Cake with Jack Daniel's Buttercream

This time of year I tend to reminisce about my childhood friend, Caridad (I called her Cari), who used to push me fierce hard, and even dared to  wake me up at an ungodly hour, every Sunday morning,  to drag my heathen carcass to church.

“C’mon, I know you’re in there! I’m not leaving until you open the door!” Cari demanded. 

One thing about Cari, she was no quitter.

I would ceremoniously wait 10 minutes, before answering the door, allowing myself ample time to fabricate another  alibi, in order to stay in bed...if I played my cards right.

 Once, desperation led me to blurt out that I had come down with  Beriberi. An open-and-shut case, I thought. 
There was a long, awkward pause, as it became glaringly-obvious that Cari wasn't biting.
Look, I was 10 years old  at the time.  It didn’t seem wildly absurd then.

 And, as luck would have it,  Cari was  a few years older—and wiser—than me. But,  she meant well, so  I will never forget the  kind, thoughtful, and punctually-persistent little twerp that she was.
Besides,  it was her  persuasiveness that  often  led me to pray,  and selfishly implore…“Please, make Cari take a hike, and relieve me of my suffering.”

What does any of this have to do with a baking blog? Not a blessed thing.
But I’m doing the Bunny Hop because now that I’m  (allegedly)  an adult, I’ve taken back Sunday.

 And here is a cute birdhouse cake I made for Easter Sunday.   This Buttermilk Cake is light, both in texture and in color, it's also  very moist, and pairs well with an array of  buttercreams, but  a simple  glaze would be just as good.
This cake is unparalleled served buck-naked, with fresh, summer berries.


White on White Buttermilk Cake with Jack Daniel’s Buttercream
Yield: 12 to 14 servings

1½  cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/3 cups sugar
3 large egg whites
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups cake flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ cups buttermilk

Place baking rack one-third from the bottom of the oven, and the second two-thirds from the bottom. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line three 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper, and lightly grease.
Using a mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar in a large bowl on medium speed about 2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the egg whites and vanilla, about 1 minute.
Combine cake flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Add  one-third of the flour mixture to the batter and beat on medium speed until incorporated. Add about half of the buttermilk and beat on medium speed until incorporated. Continue adding dry and wet ingredients alternately, scraping the bowl down and beating until incorporated after each addition. End with the dry ingredients.
Pour the batter evenly into the cake pans. Stagger the pans on the oven racks so that no layer is directly over another. Set two layers on one rack and the third on the other. Bake  25 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Monitor the cakes for doneness; each one may be done at a different time.

Cool the cake pans on wire racks  for 10 minutes. Invert the cakes onto the racks and cool completely before frosting.  At this point,  the cakes can be  wrapped in plastic, and a layer of aluminum foil and frozen up to 3 weeks.


Jack Daniel’s Buttercream

Using a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the eggs and yolks in a large bowl on high speed about 5 minutes. In a medium saucepan, combine the water and sugar; simmer until it reaches the soft-ball stage, registering between 234-f degrees and 240-f degrees on a candy thermometer. Immediately transfer the syrup to a large heatproof liquid measuring cup.
In a slow, thin stream, add the sugar mixture to the egg mixture, mixing on low speed the entire time. Increase the speed to medium and beat about 7 minutes, until the syrup has cooled (the bowl should be barely warm to the touch). Add the butter, half a stick at a time, beating on medium speed about 20 seconds after each addition. Once all of the butter has been added, beat on medium until the frosting thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Stir in the salt and whiskey.

Place 1 cake layer on a serving plate and spread a thick blanket of frosting on top. Add the second layer and spread with frosting. Add the third layer and cover the top and sides of the cake with an even layer of frosting. The cake will keep several days at room temperature.

Variations: Grand Marnier or Amaretto can be substituted for the Jack Daniel’s in the buttercream.  For chocolate buttercream, substitute 8 oz. of melted bittersweet chocolate for the Jack Daniel's. Make sure to cool the  chocolate  at least 15 minutes before adding it to the buttercream. The Pastry Queen, by Rebecca Rather.

The birdhouse cake was slightly carved and tapered toward the bottom. Because I used three layers I inserted a wooden rod right through to the bottom of the cake to keep it stable while frosting it. The large marshmallow helped anchor the flower.

The large Bluebell is made of sugar. Petals were cut rather thick and rolled out very thinly, to wrap around a large paper cone (see below). Remember the paper hats you made in Kindergarten? Same principle applies here. Make sure to cover the cone with plastic wrap, and dust it liberally with cornstarch to keep the flower from sticking. Allow to dry overnight.

Well, Easter is just two shakes of a bunny’s tail away, and I want to wish my homebunnies  a very wonderful day!

Gumbo, and National Pig Day

Apparently, my order for a brief, mild winter got lost in the shuffle. So, while I wait for winter skies' shade of ugh to lift, I'll console myself with this stew. More precisely, Cajun Seafood Gumbo.



This dish originated in Louisiana, and it is a deliciously thick and spicy pool of shrimp, crab, and my favorite vegetable, andouille sausage.



However, the heart and soul of this Gumbo is the roux.

Wait! Come back!

This is not the whisk-until-your-arm-falls-off roux you've heard about. This roux goes from blah to a rich, chocolate brown in 20 minutes.
O,'tis true. And haven't I always told you some version of the truth?



Whether you use seafood, chicken, beef, pork, or vegetables, this dish will satisfy. Fact.
And, as is the case with most soups and stews, Gumbo will taste even better the following day.

Seafood Gumbo

2 medium onions, finely chopped (about 2 cups)
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped (about 1½ cups)
2 small stalks of celery, trimmed and chopped (1 cup)
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste (add additional salt only toward end of cooking)
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper*
1 tablespoon dried thyme, or 2 tablespoons fresh thyme
1½ teaspoons dried oregano, or 1 tablespoon fresh
2 tablespoons fresh basil
¾ cup canola oil
1 cup AP flour, or more if needed
5 to 6 cups homemade fish stock, but chicken stock will do**
1 pound andouille (or other spicy sausage), sliced
1 pound crabmeat
2 pounds shrimp or crawfish
Cooked rice

In a Dutch oven, brown the andouille sausage, or meat of your choosing. Remove the sausage from the Dutch oven, and set aside.

To make the roux, heat the canola oil in the same Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add the flour. Whisk constantly, until roux reaches a dark brown color, resembling chocolate buttercream. The whole process will take about 20 minutes.
When the roux is dark and thick, add the vegetables and spices. Stir for a few more minutes to soften vegetables.

Stir the fish (or chicken) stock into the roux and vegetable mixture. Bring to a simmer. Add the sausage, and simmer with the pot mostly covered for about 1 hour.
Gently stir in the crabmeat, and shrimp (or crawfish) during the last 3-5 minutes of cooking.

*You can substitute Kielbasa for the spicy Andouille sausage. If using the former, you might want to increase the cayenne pepper. But taste first, before adding more heat.

**Introduce flavor whenever possible. If you're out of fish stock, use chicken, or vegetable stock.

"Water? Never!" Marysol cried, recoiling in horror.

Adapted from the River Run Cookbook by Jimmy and Maya Kennedy.



Btw, did you know March 1 is National Pig Day?
My sources (Google) tell me this is an event most often celebrated in the Midwest.



...and this is what my Hamrietta thinks about this holiday...



Preach it, sister!

Clementine Cake

At first I was afraid, I was petrified...when I learned of Nigella Lawson’s Clementine Cake, via the singing praises of her many fans.
To me, the idea of combining five, whole clementines with almond flour, seemed like a recipe for disaster.

The many hurrays (with only a few harrumphs) garnered by this cake over the years, finally convinced me to try it.

It was, with Open Arms, that I followed the lead of two culinary giants, Nigella Lawson, and Pierre Hermé, to create a festival of flavors in one dessert, lovingly concocted for the Wind Beneath my Wings.

Nigella’s book, How to Eat, describes this cake as "an easy to make, wonderfully-damp and aromatic flourless cake."
Hey, Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad.


The First Time I baked this cake, it turned out rather boring, unlike its lovely creator. Suspecting error on my part, I tried baking the cake again.
Surely a glug of Grand Marnier, a drape of chocolate ganache, and a supporting cast of delicately-crisp orange tuiles would be Almost Paradise.

Well, sadly, the cake never lived up to its superlatives. It was heavy, with a soggy texture, and it still lacked in flavor. A Total Eclipse of the Heart.

Btw, the reason I'm not including the recipe is because friends don't let other friends waste a perfectly good clementine. Not to mention, the recipe is all over the internet.

On the other hand, the Orange Tuiles from My Boo, Pierre Hermé, were light, citrus-y confections.



Only downside, the tuiles spread too much in the oven. And what started out as heart-shaped tuiles, emerged from the oven resembling the state of Mis . . . Mississip . . . Texas.

So, I had this brain flash to spread the tuile batter onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, and use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out the tuiles as they came out of the oven.
Success! But I had to work quickly, while the tuiles were HOT! Ouch. Let me tell you, it was More Than a Feeling.

But, I Will Survive...

This experience was just a minute failure. And, for the record, I still love Nigella and Pierre. And I Would Do Anything For Love. But I Won't Do That . . .again.

The silver lining? This whimsical frog prince. He started with about 4 ounces of tinted marzipan. The body weighed almost 3 ounces, which left enough marzipan for the legs, feet and eyes.



Shape the largest piece into an oval for the body. Then gently roll the neck as shown, and prop the head on a sponge roller, for about 1 hour, to help maintain that pose.
Divide remaining marzipan (2 for the hind legs, 2 for the webbed feet, 2 for the front legs, and 2 for the eyes). Roll the two largest pieces into 2-inch long sausages, for the hind legs. Fold in half as pictured. Make the webbed feet, and front legs with the leftover marzipan.
With a wooden skewer, mark the nostrils. Attach all the pieces with edible glue made from Gum Arabic and a few drops of water. A mixture of powdered egg whites and water will work as well.

The crown was just a thin strip of gum paste, wrapped around my index finger, ends overlapped and glued. Painted gold using Gold Petal Dust, and a few drops of clear alcohol (gin, vodka, tequila), or lemon extract.



May your Valentine's Day be filled with chocolate, and favorite love songs.