CAKE ANXIETY: CHOCOLATE ALMOND TORTE & POUND CAKE TO BOOT

When I was invited to Paulie Gee's for a special pizza tasting, I offered to bring dessert. I have a few go-to crowd pleasers, like the Almond Olive Oil Cake, but I get bored with the same old cakes. Whenever I try a new recipe out on my family I always say, "I hope its good, if not they can just suck it!" But its not a good idea to try out new recipes on non-family people because of inevitable cake anxiety. So I freaked when I made this Chocolate Almond Torte to bring over to Paulie Gee's house.

I chose this particular cake because its flourless and we were going to be eating a lot of dough during the pizza tasting. The cake requires 7 egg whites, to be whipped until they have soft peaks. That right there can cause major cake upset but everything was fine until I realized I didn't add salt to the cake. Crap! So I just added sea salt to the top. Should be fine right? I couldn't be sure unless I tasted it. It was delicious and moist. But I couldn't bring a cut cake to the party. So I had to make another cake. This time I decided to use only 5 eggs, because they were XL not L like the recipe called for. The peaks didn't quite get there because I got a little yoke into the mix. Oh no! But I did add the salt. After all that I think the first one turned out much moister and better, and I really like the sea salt on top, but the one I brought was still pretty good. Now that Mommy gave me a new Food Processor for Christmas I will be making this torte again. Its so chocolatey and divine. And I love that its just chocolate, almonds, sugar and egg whites.

That left me with 12 egg yokes. Pound Cake! This recipe turned out amazingly. I ate one and froze one. This recipe is perfect. Even the defrosted pound cake was delicious.

Chocolate Almond Torte* from Unfussy Fare

*My only change would be to add sea salt to the top of the torte instead of in the batter.

1 cup (5 ounces) unsalted, unblanched whole almonds.
7 ounces good quality bittersweet chocolate, broken into big pieces (no need to chop)
3/4 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
7 large egg whites (about one cup), room temperature

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a nine-inch springform cake pan.

Combine the almonds, chocolate, ½ cup of sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse until the almonds and chocolate are very finely chopped but not completely pulverized. Set aside.

Beat egg whites with remaining ¼ cup sugar until stiff peaks form when the beaters are lifted.

Gently fold one third of the nut mixture into the egg whites until just incorporated. Repeat with another third of the nut mixture, then once more with the last third.

Scrape batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, or with just a little melted chocolate, about 30-35 minutes.

Cool cake completely and remove from pan. Cover or wrap tightly, and store for up to 3 days at room temperature. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Orange Pound Cake Adapted Diana Rattray's Lemon Pound Cake

6 TBSP butter

2/3 C. sugar

4 egg yolks

1 1/4 C. cake flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

1/3 C. soy milk

1 TBSP grated orange zest

1 TBSP orange juice1/2 tsp vanilla etxract

1 TBSP cointreau or other orange liquor

Preheat oven to 35 degree and grease a loaf pan.

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter with sugar until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks until light and fluffy then blend thoroughly into creamed mixture.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to the cream mixture, alternating with the milk. Beat well.

Blend in the orange zest and juice and extracts. Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean and the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 45 to 50 minutes. Cool in pan on rack for about 45 minutes; remove from pan and cool thoroughly.

EMMA'S CREAMY PASTA WITH BROCCOLI

Traveling is rough on the digestive system. Airplane food is a bad way to start off any trip. And on a road trip options are slim short of fast food. Even if I am eating out at great restaurants for most of a vacation, there is nothing I miss more (besides my kitty cats) than home cooked meals.

When I was in college Mary and I visited our friend Alia who was studying abroad in Florence. I am not going to bash Tuscan cuisine; all I have are good food memories from that portion of our trip, especially the lardo smeared on crunchy bread. When we headed to Rome we shamefully dined on McDonald's hash browns every morning. (Italians don't do breakfast so we weren't missing anything.)

The last leg of our journey was to Genoa, to visit some of my family. And thats where I had one of my most memorable meals that I have recreated countless times since that visit.

My Aunt Emma besides being one of the most beautiful women I know, is one of the most nurturing and caring individuals I have ever met. During summers spent in Sicily, just Rocco and I, Emma treated me like her own. Rocco would stay in campagna, the country, and I would stay in town with Emma and her family and she gave me all the love and affection and food I needed to battle the weary homesickness I endure whenever I go away, but especially as a very young girl who was away from her mother. So after not seeing Emma in over 10 years, nothing changed. She was her same lovely fun self and she prepared for us this unbelievable delicious Pasta in Creamy Broccoli Sauce that made me feel right at home again. I remember she used Gemelli, the little twisted pasta for this sauce. Mouth shovels ready? Go!

Emma's Creamy Pasta with Broccoli

1 head of broccoli, trimmed of stalks, cut into small crowns and steamed (don't overcook)

1 shallot or 1/2 onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

Peperoncino to taste

1 C. vegetable broth

1/2 C. milk or heavy cream

1/2 C. parmesan or pecorino romano cheese

Salt and Pepper to taste

1/2 lb. gemelli pasta

Sautee shallots and garlic with peperoncino in olive oil. Add the brocolli and sautee for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the vegetable broth. Reduce. Add the milk. Reduce until the sauce is a nice creamy thickness and the broccoli is broken down completely. Turn the heat off and mix in the parmesan cheese. Serve over gemelli pasta.

BLACK BEAN BARLEY VEGGIE BURGERS

When I visited my cousin Sally she prepared delicious homemade veggie burgers. I was inspired. Since then I have been trying to come up with a good recipe. She gave me some helpful pointers and after a few trials I came up with this recipe that formed really tasty and nicely held together burgers and it was a great excuse to use my new food processor. Since I was using black beans I wanted them to have a latin flavor so I used cumin, cayenne, paprika, fresh cilantro and roasted peppers. I used barley because its very glutenous and helped the patties stick together, but brown rice would do fine as well. And I just love mushrooms and thought the celery and carrots would pack the burgers with nutrients. Markus' roasted garlic mayonnaise was the perfect topping. And these babies are great to freeze and a perfect lunchy food!

Barley Black Bean Veggie Burgers

1 C. dry black beans, soaked for 8 hours then boiled for 3o minutes or 2 C. canned black beans

3/4 C. uncooked barley

2 roasted peppers (red or green), seeded and peeled

1 package of mushrooms

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

1.5 onions, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 eggs (optional)

Cumin

Turmeric

Paprika

Cayenne Pepper

Soy Sauce

Salt

Pepper

1/2 C. fresh cilantro leaves

Presoak and cook the black beans. Set aside.

Prepare barley. Combine 3/4 C. uncooked barley with 1.5 C water in a rice cooker or on stove top with salt pepper and olive oil. Set aside.

Under broiler carefully roast 2 peppers until skins are black. Cool, peel and remove seeds then roughly chop. Set aside.

Clean and stem 1 package of mushrooms and sautee in olive and 1/2 onion until soft. Season with salt and pepper at the end. Set aside.

In a large skillet sautee celery, carrots, onions and garlic with turmeric, paprika, cayenne pepper and salt and pepper. Add the mushrooms, roasted peppers, barley and beans. Sautee until all flavors are combined. Turn off heat and add cilantro. Add some soy sauce to taste.

Let mixture cool slightly then pulse in a food processor. Do not pulverize. Transfer to a bowl and mix eggs into mixture. (optional)

Heat oil for frying. Form patties and fry until golden on each side. Serve with salad and roasted garlic mayonnaise.

Move Over Rover: 2009 Best of List - Revised

Just a quick note: Van Leeuwen got booted off the 2009 Best Of List because I remembered how much juicy sausage and brisket I enjoyed at Fette Sau this past year. Sowwy ice cream, I like you but I love BBQ better. And Fette Sau serves Manhattan Special, my favorite local coffee soda beverage. The sides there still leave much to be desired but who needs to fill up on sides when there is all that juicy meat to enjoy!

10 SIMPLE STEPS FOR EASY VEGGIE SOUP

Everyone at work always oohs and aahs at the "gourmet" lunches I bring in. Usually its some simple homemade vegetable soup I grabbed out of the freezer. Soups are the easiest to make and freeze so well for meals on the go. And, they are really hard to screw up. While I usually freestyle all my soups, these are the basic steps I always follow when I make a vegetable soup:

1. Extra virgin olive oil goes in a heavy pot with some garlic and onions or shallots.

2. Consider your spices: red pepper flakes, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, curry, bay leaf, turmeric, ginger zest, rosemary, nutmeg - all of those ingredients should go into the onion garlic mix. This will be the base flavor of your soup. Sautee until soft.

3. Now your main vegetable goes in, squash, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, leeks, etc. Chop them up for quick cooking and season with salt and pepper. Sautee a few minutes.

4. Potato time. Skin on or off. Dice them small and let them sautee for a few minutes. They will lend a creamy thickness to your soup.

5. Vegetable Broth, enough to cover the veggies. Bring this to a boil then simmer until everything is soft. Usually 20 minutes is perfect. You can also use a bouillon with enough water to cover, or even concentrated broth packets.

6. Time to puree. A hand blender works best. If you use a blender be very careful.

7. Going creamy? This is the time to add the milk or cream. Coconut Milk is a great alternative to cream and amazing with curried soups. Continue to simmer on low until you have the desired consistency.

8. Salt and pepper to taste. Always taste your soup. Its easy to make bland soups.

9. Add butter to punch up the richness right at the end or some type of fancy oil, like truffle oil or hot chili oil.

10. Garnish with parsley or cilantro, croutons or toasted nuts, sour cream, yogurt.

GO CRAZY! SOUPS ARE FUN!

EASIEST CARROT GINGER SOUP (VEGAN)

1/2 onion

1 clove of garlic

4 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 potatoes

cayenne pepper to taste

grated nutmeg

1 TBSP fresh grated ginger

1 Bay Leaf

2 Cups of vegetable broth, or enough to cover

Toasted Pecans for garnish

Follow above directions.

SPRING CLEANING: CARNIVORES OUT OF THE CLOSET

Vegetarians are funny. Most vegetarians I know aren't vegetarians because they don't like meat, its usually for more ethical, environmental or health reasons. They agree that meat is tasty. Because of this often times vegetarianitis is a temporary condition. How many of you, raise your hands, at one point have been vegetarians? This year alone I was a vegetarian probably eight times. My intentions are good, but bacon usually evilly lures me back to the dark side.

For some people being a vegetarian is like being in the closet. The meat is out there, and you wants it. So instead of giving up the act, you takes secretive nibbles here and there, hoping no one will find out, but everybody knows you're a carnivore at heart. Did you see how he is walking? He is totally a vegetarian.

When my "vegetarian friend," and I went to the New Amsterdam Market, the local meat offered was unbelievable. I thought I was making a joke when I asked, "Let's make duck for dinner?" His eyes widened. "Duck it is!" Then he went crazy and bought a couple of dozen mussels! Duck and mussels: maybe a weird combination, but when there is good meat for the taking you have to get it while the getting is good.

I had never made either duck or mussels before. Why? Why? Why? So easy and so delicious!

The duck man recommended a duck confit. Thats made with a duck leg that is salt cured overnight then cooked in a small pot at 250 for 3 hours in its own fat. We didn't have time to cure it, so I rubbed it down with sea salt and seasoned it with pepper, olive oil and rosemary. Thats it.

While that was cooking we worked on the mussels. After a quick rinse they were ready to go, no beards to scrub off. We sauteed shallots in olive oil, added some white wine and water, then the mussels to steam for five minutes. We topped them with fresh parsley and served them with Italian Bread and a side of melted butter (which was in my opinion unnecessary but its butter, so its good.) Meat appetizer out of the way. But this "vegetarian" was not done.

After 3 hours that duck was falling off the bone and my vegetarian friend was drooling over the exquisite aroma in the air. We ate the Duck Confit with Sauteed Bok Choy and Broccoli Rabe over Carrot Linguini.

Next time we agreed: two duck legs or maybe an entire duck. It was one of the most delicious meats I have ever prepared. And so easy. You just let the duck fat do all the work for you.

And what was also lovely is that I was left with a vat of duck fat that I can use for other things like muffins or frittatas or braising greens. Ducks go a long way. And they are a great way to lure a vegetarian over to the dark side.

I know I am a meanie but to be fair, this local "good meat less" lifestyle, which I 100% support and try to live by myself, makes a lot of healthy sense. Good quality, locally and healthily raised , grass fed and unprocessed or wild meat eaten seldom and never any poor quality, ammonia treated, inhumane factory raised meat EVER! If you want to find "local good meat" in your area visit, Eat Wild.

CROSNES: rare tubers and other fun Farmer's Market finds

Whenever I see a weird veggie at the Farmer's Market I have to try it. I am now hooked on sunchokes or jerusalem artichokes and can only find them there. If you just roast them with salt and pepper and olive oil in their skin at 450 degrees they melt like butter inside and are really delicious. Although my favorite way to prepare sunchokes is to make Sunchoke Bruschetta.

On my weekly search for sunchokes I saw a bin of Crosnes. The sign reads: "Crosnes (crow'nz) A rare tuber often grown in France. Radish-like crunch. In the mint family. Water chestnut flavor. Not a potato. Similar to jicama. $16/lb. Sautee quickly in butter. Good raw in salads."

I sauteed them in olive oil with some rosemary. They were good. They were a mix between a radish in crunchy texture and potatoes in flavor. Its not a potato!

I also saw these strange alien green balls called Osage Orange that look like a decoration from Pier 1. They are roach repellents. I don't have roaches, (thank god!) so I didn't buy any. There are no roaches in Queens.

BUTTER, YOU DID IT AGAIN!

After our "Can't Say No Country Tasting Menu," AKA "Butterfest," I solemnly swore that I would avoid butter on our New Year's Weekend Menu. While packing the groceries I took some gorgeous shrimp out of the freezer to make a fast hot chili tomato sauce for pasta with shrimp for New Year's Eve dinner. Things didn't go down how I had planned.

He took a look at those shrimp and after a call to his mom in Florida, Markus was on his way to buttering up our dinner with her traditional New Year's Eve special shrimp dish. I saw him eyeing the butter in the fridge.

"Butter?"

"At least half a stick..."

The last time we were up we left poor Rocco with a measly pat of butter, which Charlie the dog ate off the table and Rocco had "no choice" but to spread olive oil on his scone. I was fearing the same fate after this weekend.

"Let's do this!" High five to butter.

Thats a whole lot of butter with a whole lot of garlic. Add the shrimp and broil for 5 minutes.

Look how good those little suckers look! And they tasted even better over some spaghetti with a side of broccoli rabe.

Move over Rachel Ray. This was a 10 minute meal. Plenty of time to watch the ball drop.

For brunch on New Year's day we made Latkes with runny farm eggs. They were so oniony and fried to perfection and a great sopping device for over easy yokes.

We also made another family recipe, Markus' Mom's Stuffed Mushrooms. Boy, were these special. We ate them with a side of roasted carrots and fennel. Yes, there were butter in these Stuffed Mushrooms. I couldn't escape the butter no matter how hard I tried. (Note: I didn't try very hard.)

As the days grew colder, we needed to warm things up. I stole this awesome party idea from Melissa. Its zero degrees outside so have a beach party inside! We made Beer Battered Fish Tacos with some Alaskan halibut and Tim's Special Margaritas! Pardon the wine glass; it is salt rimmed.
The special creamy spicy sauce is key on proper fish tacos. I didn't have chipotle peppers so I roasted a red pepper and added plenty of cayenne. We also topped them with homemade salsa, fresh guacamole and cilantro. I was craving fish tacos and these totally hit the spot. I will be making these again soon. Next time I will make my own corn tortillas from scratch.

Happy eating in 2010! And lay off the butter... (Yeah right!)

New Year's Eve Buttery Garlic Shrimp

2 dozen medium shrimp, clean and deveined

Half stick of butter, at least

2 cloves of garlic chopped finely

1/4 C. chopped fresh parsley

Add all ingredients to a baking dish and broil for 5 min. Do not overcook the shrimp!

Serve over pasta.

Mama Koelbl's Shrooms

1 large basket of mushrooms (or 2 small)

1 1/3 cup Italian style breadcrumbs

½ onion chopped very finely

3 big cloves garlic chopped finely

½ cup parmesan cheese

½ cup oil

½ cup water

½ stick butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Remove stems and set aside.

Cook stems 4-5 min in water. (We sauteed them in olive oil.) Drain and cool.

Chop up stems and mix with the rest of the ingredients (except butter) and add water as needed. Shouldn’t be too wet or dry. Let stand 10 min.

Butter a baking dish and cut up the rest of the stick into pats for the bottom of the dish.

Stuff mushrooms liberally (you will have plenty of stuffing). Line mushrooms in buttered baking dish.

Baking time varies. Could be 25 min, depending on oven. You want the mix to have a nice crust on top and the mushrooms dark brown.

Its Getting Cold Outside Fish Tacos, adapted from Baja Fried Fish Tacos

1 Can Beer

1 C. of flour

Salt and pepper

2lbs of halibut or other white flakey fish, cut into strips

Cayenne to taste

Paprika to taste

Special Creamy Sauce (recipe to follow)

Corn tortillas

Homemade Salsa

Homemade Guacamole

Cilantro

Combine beer, flour, salt and pepper in a bowl. Season fish with salt and pepper, cayenne and paprika. Coat fish in beer batter and fry in vegetable oil until golden.

Serve on corn tortilla with salsa, guacamole, special creamy sauce and cilantro.

Special Creamy Fish Taco Sauce adapted from Chipotle Tartar Sauce

1 Red Pepper Roasted, peeled and deseeded

1/4 C. onion relish

1 C. mayonnaise

Cayenne pepper

Paprika

Salt and Pepper

Combine in a food processor. Season to a taste.