Apple Cake

Apple Cake

4 large apples

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 cups plus 5 tablespoons sugar

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

4 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

¼ cup orange juice

2 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a Bundt pan.

2. Peel and slice the apples. Mix the cinnamon and 5 tablespoons of sugar. Set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

4. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the eggs; add the oil, 2 cups of sugar, the orange juice and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and beat a low speed just until mixed.

5. Spoon one third of the batter into the prepared pan. Top with half of the apples and half of the cinnamon sugar. Cover with another third of the batter. Add the rest of the apples and cinnamon sugar. Top with the remaining batter.

6. Bake for 1 ¼ hours or until the cake shrinks slightly from the sides of the pan. Remove from the pan and cool on a rack.

Fajitas

Betty loves yellow rice- the kind in the metallic bag. We usually don’t eat it with dinner, but it is good with the leftover meat and veggies for lunch the next day because hauling the tortillas and sour cream all to work to make fajitas is too much trouble.

1 Yellow Rice package

1 pound London Broil or some other kind of 1” thick flat meat

Fajita Rub

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 large jalapeno chiles, stemmed, seeded, and minced

1 teaspoon chili powder

½ teaspoon ground cumin

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

about same amount corn (we prefer frozen)

tortillas

Toppings:

Guacamole (avocado, juice of 1 lime, and a little salt)

Sour cream

Cheese

Fajitas Timeline:

1. Put Yellow rice on.
2. Preheat broiler for steak. Rub steak and put in broiler until cooked to desired degree of doneness. I’ll figure all this out and add the specifics later. Let meat stand 10 minutes until slicing thinly.
3. Heat oil in a heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onions and chiles; sauté until onion is translucent, about 8 minutes. Add chili powder and cumin; stir 30 seconds. Add beans, corn, and lime juice. Cook until heated through and corn thaws, about 4 minutes. Remove from pan.

Put tortillas in bean/corn pan and cook on both sides until warmed.

Sara Foster's Cranberry Apple Pie

McIntosh or Empire apples are best for this pie.

Recipe by Sara Foster

MAKES: 1 (9-inch) pie (about 8 servings) PREP: 40 minutes CHILL: 10 minutes BAKE: 1 hour STAND: 1 hour Easy Piecrust (below) 2 cups fresh cranberries, rinsed and drained 3 large apples (about 1 3/4 pounds), peeled and thinly sliced (I put more for a really tall pie) 1/4 cup apple cider (used apple-cranberry juice, because that's all I had) 2 tablespoons dark rum (omitted) 1 cup sugar 3 tablespoons cornstarch 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger Pinch of ground nutmeg Pinch of ground cloves 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces Egg wash (1 large egg beaten with 2 tablespoons milk) Pinch of sugar (optional) Garnish: Spiced whipped cream or vanilla ice cream 1. Roll half of Easy Piecrust dough to 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface (about a 13-inch circle). Fold in half, and transfer to a 9-inch pie plate. Unfold and drape over pie plate, pressing bottom and sides into pan. Roll remaining dough about same thickness and size; place on a baking sheet. Chill both piecrusts in freezer 10 minutes. 2. Preheat oven to 375°. Combine cranberries and next 3 ingredients in a large bowl, and toss to coat. Add 1 cup sugar and next 5 ingredients, and toss to coat. Pour mixture into chilled piecrust in pie plate; dot with butter. 3. Cut chilled dough on baking sheet into 3/4-inch strips. Place 5 to 7 strips over filling in one direction; add remaining strips in perpendicular direction, folding back alternating strips in a crisscross fashion. Trim strips even with edges of crust; fold edges under, and crimp. Place pie on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet; brush pastry with egg wash, and sprinkle with sugar, if desired. Bake at 375° for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes or until filling is bubbling and crust is golden brown. (If top is browning too quickly, lightly shield with aluminum foil.) Let cool about 1 hour before slicing. Garnish, if desired. Easy Piecrust With minimal ingredients and fuss, you can make your own crust in less time than it takes to go buy one. MAKES: 2 (9-inch) piecrusts or 1 double-crusted pie PREP: 10 minutes 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes 1. Combine flour and salt in a large mixing bowl, and cut in butter with a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) until dough resembles coarse meal. Add 3 tablespoons ice water, and stir, adding 2 to 4 more tablespoons water until dough forms a ball and leaves side of bowl. 2. Form into 2 flat, round discs (or balls), cover with plastic wrap, and chill until ready to use. Adapted from Cottage Living Magazine

Macaroni and Cheese

For topping (it made way too much topping- I'll half it next time)
1/2 stick unsalted butter
2 cups panko (coarse Japanese bread crumbs) or 3 cups coarse fresh bread crumbs (from 6 slices firm white sandwich bread)
1/4 pound coarsely grated extra-sharp Cheddar (1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

For macaroni and sauce (made enough to fill 9x13 pan all the way to the top)
1 stick unsalted butter
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 cups whole milk
1 pound coarsely grated extra-sharp Cheddar (6 cups)
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 pound elbow macaroni

Preparation

Make topping:
Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle.

Melt butter, then stir together with panko and topping cheeses in a bowl until combined well.

Make sauce:
Melt butter in a heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat and stir in flour. Cook roux, stirring, 3 minutes, then whisk in milk. Bring sauce to a boil, whisking constantly, then simmer, whisking occasionally, 3 minutes. Stir in cheeses, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper until smooth. Remove from heat and cover surface of sauce with wax paper.

Make Macaroni:
Cook macaroni in a pasta pot of boiling salted water (2 tablespoons salt for 4 quarts water) until al dente. Reserve 1 cup cooking water and drain macaroni in a colander. [I skipped adding the water.] Stir together macaroni, reserved cooking water, and sauce in a large bowl. Transfer to casserole dish.

Sprinkle topping evenly over macaroni and bake until golden and bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes.

Cooks' notes:
• Topping can be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.

adapted from epicurious.com
Full post to come

Seared Pimentón -Crusted Tuna with Chickpea Artichoke Salad

Yellow rice goes well with this dish.

Rating: 4
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 5 minutes
Servings: 2

1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon good-quality Spanish paprika (pimentón)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 (8-ounce) tuna fillets
Chickpea Artichoke Salad

1. Whisk together olive oil and next 3 ingredients in a small bowl.

2. Coat tuna with oil mixture, and sear in hot (slightly smoking) cast-iron skillet for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes* per side or until rare to medium-rare. Serve over Chickpea Artichoke Salad.

*Note: The tuna fillets in the original recipe must have been sliced much thinner than the ones we usually get. We find it takes 3-5 minutes per side, according to your taste.

Chickpea Artichoke Salad

Note: In this photo, we substituted grape tomatoes for the artichokes (either to add color or because we didn’t have any artichokes on hand).

1 (6-ounce) jar marinated artichoke hearts
1 (15.5-ounce) can cooked chickpeas, drained
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian or flat-leaf parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl; cover mixture, and chill.

These recipes were originally published in the March 2005 issue of Cottage Living magazine.

Shrimp Risotto with Fresh Herb Butter

This tasty dish also looks very pretty plated.

Rating: 4
Preparation Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 4-6

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, room temperature, divided
1 pound uncooked large shrimp, peeled, deveined
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 cup arborio rice (or medium-grain white rice)
3/4 cup Riesling or other white wine
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 pound fresh asparagus
1 cup frozen peas
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, divided

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add shrimp; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté until almost opaque in center, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer shrimp to bowl.

2. Add 1 tablespoon butter to same pan. Add onion, and cook until nearly translucent. Add rice; stir 1 minute. Add wine. Stir until wine is absorbed, about 2 minutes. Add chicken broth and bring to boil. Reduce heat. Simmer until rice is tender and risotto is creamy, stirring often, about 18 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, blend remaining 2 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon basil, and tarragon in small bowl. Season herb butter to taste with salt and pepper. Snap asparagus stalks to remove bottom portions. Cut remaining upper portions into 1-inch pieces. Steam in microwave 3-4 minutes, or until almost tender. Remove peas from freezer to let thaw.

4. Mix asparagus, peas, shrimp, any accumulated juices, and 1 tablespoon basil into risotto. Simmer 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon risotto into shallow bowls. Swirl some herb butter into top of each. Serve, passing cheese separately.

Cajun Fried Dill Pickles

A Southern Delicacy

My aunt sent me a ton of recipes. This one was really easy (if a little messy) and a definite crowd-pleaser for my displaced Southern cohorts.

Rating: 4
Servings: Varies

1 egg
8 ounces milk
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
5-6 drops of hot sauce
2 cups, 1 tablespoon flour (divided)
Salt
Pepper
Dill pickle slices*
Vegetable oil

1. Heat oil in frying pan at medium heat.

2. Mix egg, milk, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and 1 tablespoon flour in bowl.

3. Mix salt, pepper (to taste), and 2 cups flour in bowl.

4. Dip pickles in egg wash, then flour, then egg, then flour, then drop in hot oil and fry until golden. Remove with slotted metal spoon and drain on paper-towel lined plate.

Serve immediately.

* We tried two kinds of pickles, hamburger slices and kosher dill slices. I liked the kosher better because they were a little thicker and seemed a bit saltier, but this is likely all personal preference.