a little zaftig » Recipes for Summer

Italian Cream Cake

Laura — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 00:09:02 +0000

Work is so engrossing for me that, when my Sweet Boy is away, I often realize I am sitting in total darkness, the sun has set, the black sky has swallowed up the day, and the moon has appeared out my window. The television set in my neighbor’s window flickers across the way and lights up the bare branches as they sway in the wind. It’s time to cobble together a dinner for one, tonight tuna with olive oil and mayonnaise, picholine and nicoise olives, little cubes of feta, whole pink peppercorns, thyme, and a little lemon zest. And then to bake a cake, for when the house is full and lively again.

This cake has made so many appearances at our table in the last 14 years since I first made it that I couldn’t count them. My friend Diane made it for my 30^th birthday party and shared her recipe, but it always brings to mind my Honey Girl now, who loves it best. And since I’m missing her and anticipating our quiet week together in Ireland, I’ve been thinking about it, and about her smiling face across the table, at all of her ages, eating it, with and without front teeth. This is for you, my Honey Girl.

Italian Cream Cake
Yield: one three-layer 8-inch cake, about ten to twelve servings
From Dianne Libero, Tokyo, 1998

Ingredients:
1 c. buttermilk
1 t. baking soda
5 eggs, separated
½ c. unsalted butter
2 c. sugar
½ c. shortening
2 c. all purpose flour (I prefer King Arthur.)
1 t. vanilla extract
7 oz. angel flake coconut
1 c. pecans, chopped (optional)
additional coconut or white chocolate shavings or whole pecans for garnish (optional)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Lightly butter and flour three 8” cake pans.

Mix the buttermilk and the baking soda in a small bowl and set it aside.

In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff and glossy and set them aside.

In another large bowl, cream the butter, shortening, and sugar.

Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating each thoroughly.

To the butter and sugar, add the flour and the buttermilk alternatively, mixing gently.

Add the vanilla, the coconut, and the pecans if you are using them.

Fold the egg whites in gently with a spatula as not to deflate them.

Divide the batter evenly between the three cake pans and smooth the tops.

Bake until the cakes are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out nearly clean, about 35 minutes. I rotate the position of the cakes halfway through baking so that they bake evenly. This cake is incredibly tender and moist, a real charmer, when it’s perfectly baked, so don’t wait for a perfectly clean toothpick. You don’t want wet batter, but don’t be afraid of a few moist crumbs clinging.

When the cakes are cool, make the frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:
12 oz. cream cheese at room temperature
¾ c. unsalted butter at room temperature
1 ½ pounds confectioner’s sugar, sifted or whisked to remove any lumps
1 ½ T. vanilla

Method:

Beat all of the ingredients together until smooth and creamy.

To frost the cake, place a dab of frosting on a cake plate and place the first cake layer on top, flattest side up.

Smear about ½ c. of frosting on the layer and spread it evenly. An offset spatula works best here, though any knife will do.

Continue stacking and frosting the next two layers, always placing the flattest side of the cake up.

When your stack is finished, put a very thin layer of frosting on the top and sides of the cake and place the cake in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Keep the remaining frosting at room temperature.

Remove the cake from the refrigerator and frost the sides generously.

You may cover the cake with coconut or with shavings of white chocolate or stud it with whole pecans if you wish. A combination is also nice.

The cake should be refrigerated. You may bring it towards room temperature before serving if you wish, but don’t let it sit out too long. It cuts best if it’s cool.

Nectarine Lemon Balm Tipple

Laura — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 13:31:55 +0000

We are in the throes of quite a peculiar summer: cold nearly ‘til July, and wet, relentlessly wet. And now steamy—literally. This morning I can see nothing from the windows of the house, save through the trickles, as it is wrapped in a dense and ghostlike condensation. They say that according to the heat index it will feel something like 115 degrees here for what is sure to be an excruciatingly drawn out week. I am accustomed to cozying in for the winter during stretches when more than the dash between car and door or to the mailbox is a little painful. But this? It’s getting old. I want my Minnesota summer. Nights outdoors picnicking and lolling on the grass or on the beach at Lake Minnetonka. Long temperate night walks with bats wheeling overhead. Long suppers on the patio until the sun wanes at 9:30 and the mosquitoes chase us indoors again. One day my Honey Girl and I decided to buck the heat and do our usual walk, and we both suffered mild heat stroke. So much for fortitude. We’re settling in to wait it out now. Taking refuge in movie theatres and libraries. Staring out the wiped window at the rising heat with our paws at the sills like dogs, like toddlers waiting for playtime. Here, thank the Lord for refreshment, is the sweet and ice-cold antidote.

Nectarine Lemon Balm Tipple
Yield: one tall drink

Ingredients:
1/3 c. nectarine puree (recipe below)
2 shots lemon balm syrup (recipe here)
1 shot vodka
club soda

Method:

In a tall glass filled with ice, stir together the nectarine puree, lemon balm syrup, and vodka. Top up with club soda. Garnish with a lemon balm leaf if you wish.

Nectarine Puree
Yield: one quart of puree

Ingredients:
8 ripe nectarines

Method:

Bring a covered pot of water over high heat to a rolling boil.

Fill a large bowl with ice water.

With a sharp knife cut an X in the bottom of each nectarine.

Lower the nectarines carefully into the boiling water.

Boil until the skin of the nectarines is pulling away at the cut, about one to two minutes.

Transfer the nectarines from the boiling water to the ice water.

Beginning at the X, peel the skin from the nectarines.

Slice the nectarines in half and remove their pits.

Puree the fruit in a blender or food processor until it is a smooth and silky puree.

English Summer Strawberry Trifle

Laura — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 14:58:16 +0000

When the house is helter-skelter, the list is too long, and my energy is flagging, the best thing I can do for myself is to invite friends for a meal. The cleaning and the cooking have to be done anyhow, I figure, so why not have the happy reward of their company at the end? Step one for a summer supper: make trifle. If you’re unfamiliar with trifle, it’s a quintessentially English dessert: layers of sturdy sponge cake soaked with sherry, lush custard, bright jam, and fresh fruit, all topped with a crown of softly whipped cream. This one is the epitome of an English summer afternoon. In fact, when I moved to England the first time, I arrived at the end of summer, to hot afternoons, sherry in the garden as the sun waned, and strawberries with a pour of cream. I’ve made dozens of trifles, but it’s never occurred to me to translate those afternoons. I’m so happy I finally did.

English Summer Strawberry Trifle
Yield: about 12 servings (plus delicious leftover custard and jam)

One recipe génoise (below)
1/3 c. good sherry
A double recipe of vanilla custard (recipe here)
One recipe of strawberry lemon verbena refrigerator jam with candied lemon slices (recipe here)
Two pounds fresh strawberries, washed, hulled, and sliced
One cup heavy cream, softly whipped with 2 T. sugar

Make the jam first and get it chilling in the refrigerator.

Make the custard and chill it.

Make the sponge cakes and allow them to cool.

Take a little break. Trifle is a bit of a project, but you’ll be so happy you made each element when you’re tucking in later with gusto.

With a long serrated knife, trim the edges from your cakes and slice off a thin layer of the top. This will pretty them up and allow the sherry to soak in.

Place one cake layer in the bottom of your trifle bowl, trimming the cake if necessary to snuggle in nicely.

Pour half of the sherry onto the cake, distributing it evenly.

Spread the cake layer with jam, a fairly generous smear.

Top it with a pour of custard, perhaps about ¼ “ deep.

Top it with half of the strawberries.

Repeat the process once again: cake, sherry, jam, custard, berries.

Cover the trifle with cellophane and keep it in the refrigerator until it is time to serve.

Whip the cream, spoon it over the top, and serve.

Génoise
Adapted from Larousse Gastronomique
Yield: two 8-inch cake layers

Ingredients:
½ c. unsalted butter
8 eggs
1 1/3 c. superfine sugar
¼ t. salt
1 t. vanilla extract
2 ¼ c. all purpose flour

Method:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F and butter two 8-inch cake tins.

In a small saucepan over the lowest possible heat, melt the butter and set it aside.

Bring a large pan or the base of a double boiler filled with water to a simmer over high heat. Lower the heat so that the water is not actively simmering.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, the top of a double boiler, or a medium heatproof bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla.

With a glove-style hot pad on one hand, place the bowl over the barely simmering water. If you are using a double boiler, the hot pad is unnecessary.

Whisk the egg mixture vigorously, taking care not to tip the bowl, until it is voluminous, pale, and thick, about 30 minutes. You may need to wrap your whisk handle with a towel or hot pad as it heats up, so keep one nearby.

Wipe the bottom of the bowl with a towel.

If you are using the bowl of an electric mixer, hook it up and continue to beat it using the wire whip.

If you are using a double boiler or other bowl, transfer the egg mixture to a bowl in which you can continue to beat air into it with an electric mixer or handheld mixer.

Beat the egg mixture continuously until it reaches room temperature, about 15 minutes.

Ever so gently, fold in the flour using a spatula.

Pour the tepid butter gently into the side of the bowl, and ever so gently fold it in.

Divide the batter into your cake tins and give the tops a bit of a smooth if necessary.

Bake until they are golden and they spring back when pressed lightly in the center, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Lemon Balm Syrup

Laura — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 13:04:37 +0000

It’s my birthday today, so I’ll be brief. I’ve got celebrating to do! I made this lemon balm syrup the other day with a summer tipple in mind (recipe soon), but I think it would nice in iced tea or brushed onto cake layers, too. Lemon balm is a member of the mint family and is known as a calming herb. It has a heady lemon scent much stronger than lemon verbena. The syrup is softly sweet, softly lemony, and ready in minutes.

Lemon Balm Syrup
Yield: one pint

Ingredients:
1 c. water
1 c. sugar
1/3 c. fresh lemon juice
½ c. loosely packed lemon balm leaves, bruised and chopped

Method:

Place all of the ingredients in a small saucepan over high heat.

Bring the liquid to a simmer, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.

Remove the syrup from the heat and, using a funnel, ladle it into a clean quart jar.

Allow it to come to room temperature and then store it in the refrigerator.

Strawberry Lemon Verbena Refrigerator Jam with Candied Lemon Slices

Laura — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 15:23:31 +0000

Yesterday morning I went out to the hen house in my pajamas at six o’clock in the morning to open the door to the coop. Instead of the usual parade, Beatrice emerged first. She needs a minute or two, thank you very much, to sort out this whole business. When you’re second to last to come down the ladder, well, you can take your time. Florence who comes last is happy to have company a little longer before she has to face the whole teeter, crouch, falter, fall, and recover. But when you have Edna, Clementine, and Edith waiting, well, you had better get yourself moving. There was a hubbub in the coop as they waited and then, one by one, four heads popped out around Beatrice, the center of a parti-colored chicken flower. “Go!” they peeped and clucked and nudged, until Beatrice had no choice but to wobble forward. Of course, once Edna and Clementine got out they overtook her, knocking her sideways off the ladder; patience is not one of their strong suits. Edith came behind, sweetly happy to wait for this slow driver. And Florence waited at the top to watch it all unfold, and then a bit longer; no need to rush these things. Morning with the chickens is one of my favorite parts of the day now, a few quiet minutes just watching them and talking to them. Little Annie, our terrier, curls up in the grass under a chair and waits for me until it’s time to head back into the house to start the day properly, to make oatmeal and a pot of coffee for my Dear Husband. Of course, I planned the placement of the hen house so that its entrance is the shortest path possible from the house when it is 30 degrees below zero with a howling wind that’s even colder. That seems a long way off now, though.

Yesterday it was a beastly hot day here, but somehow I couldn’t resist making jam. We cranked up the air conditioning for a couple of hours and made a big batch. In truth, it’s one of the few days it has really felt like summer here this year, so making jam felt like a long overdue ritual. We skipped the hot canning process and just made a refrigerator jam. It will keep for a couple of weeks, but it will be long gone by then at our house. The best part of this recipe is the candied lemon slices. I love candied fruit and make it quite often, but I was quite surprised by it in this jam: not a trace of bittersweetness, just summer sweetness and light. I think it’s cooking with the strawberries and all that sugar. It’s brilliant, really.

Strawberry Lemon Verbena Refrigerator Jam with Candied Lemon Slices
Yield: 2 quarts

Ingredients:
3 lemons, sliced as thinly as possible (lop off and discard the ends)
1 c. sugar
½ c. water
¼ c. fresh lemon juice

3 pounds strawberries, washed, hulled, and sliced
1 c. loosely packed lemon verbena leaves tied with string into a cheesecloth bundle
3 c. sugar

Method:

In a small saucepan, stir together the lemon slices, 1 c. sugar, water, and lemon juice.

Bring it to a simmer over high heat. Then lower the heat and simmer gently until the lemon slices are soft and translucent, about 10 minutes.

Place the strawberries, lemon verbena, 3 c. sugar, the candied lemon slices and all of their cooking liquid in a large pan.

Bring it to a simmer over high heat. Lower the heat and simmer gently, giving the lemon verbena pouch a good bashing with a wooden spoon, and skimming the foam from the top and discarding it.

Cook the jam until the fruit is soft, the liquid syrupy, and a small amount placed a cool saucer gels nicely, about 30 minutes.

Fish out and discard the pouch of lemon verbena. Using a funnel, ladle the jam into clean quart jars and top them tightly with lids.

Allow the jam to come to room temperature. Then store it in the refrigerator. It will keep for a couple of weeks.

Quick Chicken Fricassee with Olives and Broken Cherry Tomatoes

Laura — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 23:58:35 +0000

This quick chicken fricassee is a perfect lazy night’s cook up. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs are rich and ready quickly, and the sauce is three simple ingredients: white wine, briny olives, and the best cherry tomatoes you can find. By the time they simmer down to a pan sauce, the chicken thighs are fall-apart tender and full of flavor. Serve it over a few new potatoes, smashed on a plate.

Tips:
Use a delicious wine you would enjoy drinking. The flavors of the wine will intensify with reduction. Please, please no cooking wine! I like an un-oaked chardonnay or a sauvignon blanc in this dish.

This is also delicious made with bone-in chicken thighs, or any other cut of chicken. Just increase the cooking time.

The olives add quite a bit of salt to this dish, so season your meat judiciously.

If you crowd the pan when you brown the chicken, you will steam the chicken rather than browning it and a fond will not develop on the bottom of the pan. The fond, or browned bits of meat and juice, leads to a more flavorful sauce.

If the chicken is sticking to the pan, it just needs to cook a bit longer. Don’t tear it off the bottom of the pan.

Boil a few new potatoes up and smash a few on each plate. Then plate the chicken, two thighs per person, on top, with a few olives and tomatoes and a drizzle of the pan sauce over the top.

Quick Chicken Fricassee with Olives and Broken Cherry Tomatoes
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:
a little olive oil for the pan
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, seasoned judiciously on both sides with salt and pepper
¾ of a bottle of delicious white wine
1 small clamshell of nice cherry tomatoes (heirloom if you can find them)
a handful of kalamata olives

Method:

Heat a Dutch oven or enameled cast iron pot over medium heat. When it is hot, drizzle a few turns of olive oil around the pan.

When the oil is hot, using a tongs place the chicken thighs into the pan in a single layer, leaving space between them.

Brown the chicken for a few minutes. Turn it over and brown the other side.

Pour in about ¾ of a bottle of white wine and toss in the olives and cherry tomatoes. With a wooden spoon, scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan into the sauce.

Reduce the heat a bit and simmer, uncovered, until the sauce is thickened and the chicken is tender, about 20 to 30 minutes.

Pickled and Candied Brown Turkey Figs

Laura — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 15:54:04 +0000

This summer I was treated to a storybook week in Santa Fe: beautiful meals, four delicious operas, and charming company. It was my first time in the city, and I was overwhelmed by the quality of the light, the vastness of the sky, and the lavender mountains at sunset. It was an unexpectedly beautiful place, and I fell in love with the desert. I also fell for pickled figs while there. At a pre-opera party one night, amongst a spread of albondigas with saffron sauce, marcona almonds, Iberico ham, and Drunken Goat cheese, the pickled mission figs were a standout. This week, when brown turkey figs reappeared in my market, I decided to play. We are enjoying Indian summer, meteorological technicalities aside, and the loveliest and warmest October in memory, so I decided that, despite the fact that this is my busiest season, and perhaps especially because it is, it was time to lift my head from work for an afternoon for a little cooking project and a little relaxation. I wondered if I could create a pickled fig that also had a candied quality. I think this worked! The skin of the figs has a candied, slightly toothsome chew, which gives way to the sweetness of the figs with a prick of vinegar and spice.

Brown turkey figs are pale green and ruby with a pink to light red interior. With the warmth of aromatic spices and the rosy hue they take on as they bob in balsamic syrup, they are a lovely summer sunset in a pan, and marry end-of-summer sweetness with impending fall. Enjoy some now, and pull out a jar when summer is a memory.

Serving Suggestions
Any of the three versions below would be yummy with a wedge of manchego, a Spanish sheep’s milk cheese, or with a nice and creamy goat cheese; I’m especially partial to Cana de Cabera in the Bucheron style from Spain. A glass of lightly chilled Sauternes or a glass of oloroso sherry would be a happy pairing; my favorite is Lustau East India Solera. These figs would be nice slivered into an apple pie in the fall. And in the winter, they would be delicious warmed and spooned over crème fraiche or buttermilk ice cream—but I guess I’m the kind of person who eats ice cream in the wintertime!

Pickled and Candied Brown Turkey Figs
Yield: four small jars

Ingredients:
32 ounces ripe but firm brown turkey figs
2 c. water, divided
2/3 c. white vinegar, divided
2/3 c. cider vinegar, divided
2/3 c. balsamic vinegar, divided
6 c. sugar, divided
cheesecloth or a coffee filter
string
2 cinnamon sticks
1 T whole cloves
2 T allspice berries
2 star anise
1 T pink peppercorns

Equipment:
Four small canning jars with screw bands and new lids
Jar lifter or tongs
Wide mouth canning funnel
Ladle
Water bath canner or a large soup pot with lid
Clean towels

Method:

In a large pan, stir together 3 c. sugar, 1/3 c. vinegar, 1/3 c. cider vinegar, 1/3 c. balsamic vinegar, and 1 c. water. Bring to a simmer.

Put all of the spices into a piece of cheesecloth or a coffee filter, and tie securely into a bundle with string. Add to pan.

Add clean figs to the pan and simmer gently for 30 minutes, or until the spiced balsamic syrup is reduced and thickened.

Cover and rest 24 hours in the refrigerator.

Remove from the refrigerator.

In a medium pan, stir together 3 c. sugar, 1/3 c. vinegar, 1/3 c. cider vinegar, 1/3 c. balsamic vinegar, and 1 c. water. Bring to a simmer.

Pour over figs and warm slowly to a simmer. Simmer 10 minutes.

Wash all canning equipment in hot, soapy water.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and submerge the jars and the funnel, and rest the jar lifter or tongs and a ladle in the water for ten minutes.

Bring a small pot of water to a boil and submerge the screw bands for ten minutes.

Remove the jars, funnel, jar lifter or tongs, ladle, and screw bands to a clean towel.

Rest the funnel on the top of a jar and ladle figs and enough liquid to fill the jar. Leave ½ “ headroom. Continue to fill the jars in this manner.

Wipe the rim of each jar clean if there are any splashes.

Place a lid on each jar and tighten on a screw band.

Bring a water bath canner or large pot of water to a boil. Make sure you have enough water to completely cover the jars by two inches.

Lower the jars into the canner or pot gently using the jar lifter or tongs.

Boil for 45 minutes.

Remove the jars to a towel and allow to cool.

I used processing times based on recommendations for figs in Canning and Preserving for Dummies by Amelia Jeanroy and Karen Ward. Please also refer to the following site: National Center for Home Food Preservation, http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/publications_usda.html

You don’t need to officially can these figs. If you wish, you may simply ladle them into clean jars or other containers and eat them immediately. They will keep in the refrigerator for a week.

Candied Brown Turkey Figs

Follow the method above, substituting water for the vinegars.

Reduce the syrup a bit longer on the second cook before canning.

This version yields sweet, treacly figs with a glossy syrup.

Pickled Brown Turkey Figs

Follow the method above, but mix all of the syrup ingredients without dividing into two batches.

This version yields softer figs that are slightly less sweet.