From Cooking Light:
Butter, a classic ingredient in pound cake, contributes to the flavor and tender texture of this dense, rich dessert. Slices of leftover cake are good toasted and garnished with fresh fruit.
Yield
12 servings (serving size: 1 slice)
Ingredients
Cake:
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (about 6 3/4 ounces)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
1/2 cup spiced rum (such as Captain Morgan's)
Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons spiced rum (such as Captain Morgan's)
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
To prepare cake, coat an 8 x 4 inch loaf pan with cooking spray; dust with 2 tablespoons flour.
Lightly spoon 1 1/2 cups flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk until blended.
Place granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 5 minutes). Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture and 1/2 cup rum alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350° for 50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack. Run a knife around edges of pan; remove cake from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.
To prepare glaze, combine powdered sugar and 1 1/2 tablespoons rum, stirring until smooth. Drizzle glaze over the cake.
RESULTS: I was a bit distracted when I was making this the other night because "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" was on TV, and I put in 1/2 lb of butter instead of 1/2 c. For those of you keeping score, that's twice as much. I didn't realize I had put too much in until I was lying in bed, calculating the tablespoons of butter per serving of my nice golden brown (and delicious) pound cake cooking on the counter, thinking to myself, how on earth was that in Cooking Light? And then I realized. Sigh! Chris figured that probably brought the butter content up to about what a normal pound cake is. So much for being healthy.
That said, a few of the reviewers online were disappointed that they could neither taste the butter nor the rum. I had no trouble with tasting the butter. I was a little worried about the rum because the recipe called for spiced rum and all we had was dark rum, but I thought it came through, albeit mostly in the icing. So, I can't speak for the actual recipe tasting good, but the pound cake I made tasted REALLY good.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Alton Brown's Turbo Hummus
Ingredients
2 to 3 cloves garlic
1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and liquid reserved
2 to 3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
A handful fresh parsley leaves
1 lemon, zested and juiced
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
Pinch kosher salt
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Directions
Chop the garlic finely in a food processor. Add the beans and 1/2 of the reserved liquid and process finely or to desired consistency. Add the peanut butter, parsley, lemon zest and juice, black pepper, and salt. Process until it forms a paste. Drizzle in the olive oil and process until it reaches the consistency of mayonnaise.
Results:
I tried this recipe out because lately I've been consuming a large amount of store-bought hummus, and decided it would save money if I did it myself. The recipe is especially appealing because it replaces the very elusive tahini with peanut butter, and who doesn't have peanut butter in their cabinet? Actually, the only ingredient I didn't already have was a lemon and fresh parsley, so the total cost for this was: $1.50.
Anyway the results: first off, because I don't have a food processor, I used a stick blender (my favorite kitchen appliance next to Mr. Coffee). Well, it did the job, but not without occasionally sending globs of hummus flying around the kitchen, and I never could reach the "consistency of mayonnaise." Also, I used a large handful of the parsley because I figure I have smaller hands then my man Alton. Don't do that. The hummus is good, but is a very unappealing pea-green color. Finally, some comments have suggested using 1/2 olive oil and 1/2 sesame oil to make it taste more like tahini (which is paste make from sesame seeds). It also doesn't taste like store-bought hummus in the way that cookies from the store and cookies from the stove taste differently. They both taste good, but different. It would be interesting to see what the difference tahini would make. All-in-all, it was very quick, easy, and good, but I don't think this recipe would satisfy someone looking for an authentic-tasting hummus.
2 to 3 cloves garlic
1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and liquid reserved
2 to 3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
A handful fresh parsley leaves
1 lemon, zested and juiced
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
Pinch kosher salt
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Directions
Chop the garlic finely in a food processor. Add the beans and 1/2 of the reserved liquid and process finely or to desired consistency. Add the peanut butter, parsley, lemon zest and juice, black pepper, and salt. Process until it forms a paste. Drizzle in the olive oil and process until it reaches the consistency of mayonnaise.
Results:
I tried this recipe out because lately I've been consuming a large amount of store-bought hummus, and decided it would save money if I did it myself. The recipe is especially appealing because it replaces the very elusive tahini with peanut butter, and who doesn't have peanut butter in their cabinet? Actually, the only ingredient I didn't already have was a lemon and fresh parsley, so the total cost for this was: $1.50.
Anyway the results: first off, because I don't have a food processor, I used a stick blender (my favorite kitchen appliance next to Mr. Coffee). Well, it did the job, but not without occasionally sending globs of hummus flying around the kitchen, and I never could reach the "consistency of mayonnaise." Also, I used a large handful of the parsley because I figure I have smaller hands then my man Alton. Don't do that. The hummus is good, but is a very unappealing pea-green color. Finally, some comments have suggested using 1/2 olive oil and 1/2 sesame oil to make it taste more like tahini (which is paste make from sesame seeds). It also doesn't taste like store-bought hummus in the way that cookies from the store and cookies from the stove taste differently. They both taste good, but different. It would be interesting to see what the difference tahini would make. All-in-all, it was very quick, easy, and good, but I don't think this recipe would satisfy someone looking for an authentic-tasting hummus.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Things I did today at work:
Went to a staff meeting, proofread, some website work, worked on a profile of a new prof, talked on the phone with the (unsuccessful) 2007 presidential candidate of South Korea. You know. The usual.
He called ME by the way, and this wasn't just some Joe-blow-Nadar guy, he would be the John Kerry of South Korea, a candidate for a major party. He's coming to give a talk next month. I sort of halfway but not really scolded him over email because he hasn't been writing me back, so instead he calls me. Yeesh, embarrasing. A few weeks ago, I also sort of email-scolded the secretary of one of the university's vice presidents because he backed out of an event I had invited him to months beforehand (I didn't really scold her, I just wanted to make sure there hadn't been a mixup and that we were talking about the same date), and to clarify and apologize for reneging the VP himself called me to explain, with his charming British accent. That was embarrasing too. I never imagined I had such a forceful email voice! If only my vocal voice could learn from my email voice...
Went to a staff meeting, proofread, some website work, worked on a profile of a new prof, talked on the phone with the (unsuccessful) 2007 presidential candidate of South Korea. You know. The usual.
He called ME by the way, and this wasn't just some Joe-blow-Nadar guy, he would be the John Kerry of South Korea, a candidate for a major party. He's coming to give a talk next month. I sort of halfway but not really scolded him over email because he hasn't been writing me back, so instead he calls me. Yeesh, embarrasing. A few weeks ago, I also sort of email-scolded the secretary of one of the university's vice presidents because he backed out of an event I had invited him to months beforehand (I didn't really scold her, I just wanted to make sure there hadn't been a mixup and that we were talking about the same date), and to clarify and apologize for reneging the VP himself called me to explain, with his charming British accent. That was embarrasing too. I never imagined I had such a forceful email voice! If only my vocal voice could learn from my email voice...
The grand canyon's plateau point
I just posted this because it's raining outside, and there's really nothing else to do! :)
Beth
Sunday, October 26, 2008
I changed the label section in the sidebar to be a word cloud. It might not work if you're not running Java, or it just might not work (I'm still an HTML novice and had to copy and paste from someone else), so if not let me know and I can change it back. I also fiddled with font colors and sizes. Good times.
Goooo 'Skins!
EDIT: I forgot to say, I wanted to try out the word cloud to see what the visual relationship between Harper and all things cooking was. I'm a little shocked, actually, to see that I've had very few Harper posts, and even less than cleaning. Also surprising is that I've had more posts on vegetables than dessert. Must work on that.
Goooo 'Skins!
EDIT: I forgot to say, I wanted to try out the word cloud to see what the visual relationship between Harper and all things cooking was. I'm a little shocked, actually, to see that I've had very few Harper posts, and even less than cleaning. Also surprising is that I've had more posts on vegetables than dessert. Must work on that.
Butternut Squash Soup with Parmesan and Fried Sage Leaves
To continue with the soup theme, from Epicurious.com:
Fried sage leaves make a crispy garnish. Try them also crumbled on mashed potatoes and sautéed vegetables.
Servings: Makes 8 servings.
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
1 2 3/4-pound butternut squash, halved, peeled, seeded, chopped (about 5 cups)
5 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
24 fresh sage leaves
Directions:
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onion; cover and cook until soft, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes. Add chopped sage; stir 1 minute. Add squash and broth. Increase heat to high and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until squash is tender, about 25 minutes. Cool slightly. Puree soup in batches in blender until smooth (or use immersion blender). Return soup to pot. Mix in cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly, then cover and refrigerate.)
Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add sage leaves and sauté until brown and toasted, about 2 minutes. Bring soup to simmer. Ladle into bowls. Garnish with fried sage leaves.
RESULTS: Very tasty! You may need less than 5 cups of broth, I would start with 4. Or, you can use all five and then boil some off to thicken. I threw in some toasted almonds that I had leftover from the barley soup with the sage in the frying pan, and I used the parmesan more of a garnish than mixed in. Either way, it's a good soup. Can you make a bad soup with butternut squash? I don't know...
Fried sage leaves make a crispy garnish. Try them also crumbled on mashed potatoes and sautéed vegetables.
Servings: Makes 8 servings.
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
1 2 3/4-pound butternut squash, halved, peeled, seeded, chopped (about 5 cups)
5 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
24 fresh sage leaves
Directions:
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onion; cover and cook until soft, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes. Add chopped sage; stir 1 minute. Add squash and broth. Increase heat to high and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until squash is tender, about 25 minutes. Cool slightly. Puree soup in batches in blender until smooth (or use immersion blender). Return soup to pot. Mix in cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly, then cover and refrigerate.)
Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add sage leaves and sauté until brown and toasted, about 2 minutes. Bring soup to simmer. Ladle into bowls. Garnish with fried sage leaves.
RESULTS: Very tasty! You may need less than 5 cups of broth, I would start with 4. Or, you can use all five and then boil some off to thicken. I threw in some toasted almonds that I had leftover from the barley soup with the sage in the frying pan, and I used the parmesan more of a garnish than mixed in. Either way, it's a good soup. Can you make a bad soup with butternut squash? I don't know...
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Thai Chicken-Coconut Soup
Katie, I see your chicken barley soup, and raise you....Thai Chicken-Coconut Soup!
(from Epicurious.com)
They said it makes 4 servings, but I would estimate 5-6
Rice noodles (the recipe never actually says how much, but eyeball it and you can't go wrong)
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1–2 red Thai (or jalapeño) peppers, seeded and finely chopped (plus slices for garnish)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon grated ginger
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon grated lime zest
1/4 cup fresh lemon (or lime) juice
4 tablespoons Thai fish sauce, divided
1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, sliced (3 cups)
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 5 ounces each), cut into 2 1/2-inch-long by 1/4-inch-wide strips
1 cup light coconut milk
2 cups baby spinach
2 tablespoon chopped cilantro (plus sprigs for garnish)
Place noodles in a bowl; add enough warm water to cover and let sit until soft, about 15 minutes. Drain. Combine broth, pepper, garlic, ginger, lemon zest, lime zest, lemon juice and 3 tablespoon fish sauce in a large pot. Season with salt. Bring to a simmer, add noodles and cook 3 minutes more. Using tongs, transfer noodles to a bowl and cover with foil to keep warm. Add mushrooms to broth; season with salt, if desired; simmer 3 minutes more. Add chicken and coconut milk and simmer, stirring, until chicken is just cooked, about 3 minutes. Stir in spinach until it begins to wilt, about 1 minute. Add chopped cilantro and season with remaining 1 tablespoon fish sauce. Using tongs, divide noodles among 4 bowls. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with sprigs of cilantro and slices of pepper.
Results:
I'm eating the results right now, and it is heavenly. Much like the other soup I did (Lemon Chicken Soup), this combines salty, citrusy, and creamy flavors. This one just has a little bit of a kick behind it with the ginger and hot peppers. This recipe is a little more labor-intensive then the others I usually use, expecially with the hokey-pokey, in-and-out of the pot with the noodles (necessary b/c rice noodles are fragile and will break up in the hot soup if left in for too long), but start-to-finish was still under 1& 1/2 hour. My changes: I ended up not finding anything but canned green chiles, instead of whole peppers, and I used the entire 4 oz can in this soup. Other variations: I used 2 cups of coconut milk (1 can) instead of 1 cup, and decreased the chicken broth by 1 cup. I also used low-sodium chicken broth. Between that and the fish sauce, I did not need to add any additional salt. I did add, however, additional ginger because you can never have enough ginger in my book. Finally, I saved 1 of the 2 cups of coconut milk until the very end because then you have a fresher taste to the milk.
By the by,
For those interesting in pairing this soup with a wine, might I suggest a brighter white wine, such as Yellow Tail's Pinot Grigio. It's strong enough to stand up for itself, but accents the ginger and citrus without overpowering just beautifully.
(from Epicurious.com)
They said it makes 4 servings, but I would estimate 5-6
Rice noodles (the recipe never actually says how much, but eyeball it and you can't go wrong)
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1–2 red Thai (or jalapeño) peppers, seeded and finely chopped (plus slices for garnish)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon grated ginger
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon grated lime zest
1/4 cup fresh lemon (or lime) juice
4 tablespoons Thai fish sauce, divided
1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, sliced (3 cups)
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 5 ounces each), cut into 2 1/2-inch-long by 1/4-inch-wide strips
1 cup light coconut milk
2 cups baby spinach
2 tablespoon chopped cilantro (plus sprigs for garnish)
Place noodles in a bowl; add enough warm water to cover and let sit until soft, about 15 minutes. Drain. Combine broth, pepper, garlic, ginger, lemon zest, lime zest, lemon juice and 3 tablespoon fish sauce in a large pot. Season with salt. Bring to a simmer, add noodles and cook 3 minutes more. Using tongs, transfer noodles to a bowl and cover with foil to keep warm. Add mushrooms to broth; season with salt, if desired; simmer 3 minutes more. Add chicken and coconut milk and simmer, stirring, until chicken is just cooked, about 3 minutes. Stir in spinach until it begins to wilt, about 1 minute. Add chopped cilantro and season with remaining 1 tablespoon fish sauce. Using tongs, divide noodles among 4 bowls. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with sprigs of cilantro and slices of pepper.
Results:
I'm eating the results right now, and it is heavenly. Much like the other soup I did (Lemon Chicken Soup), this combines salty, citrusy, and creamy flavors. This one just has a little bit of a kick behind it with the ginger and hot peppers. This recipe is a little more labor-intensive then the others I usually use, expecially with the hokey-pokey, in-and-out of the pot with the noodles (necessary b/c rice noodles are fragile and will break up in the hot soup if left in for too long), but start-to-finish was still under 1& 1/2 hour. My changes: I ended up not finding anything but canned green chiles, instead of whole peppers, and I used the entire 4 oz can in this soup. Other variations: I used 2 cups of coconut milk (1 can) instead of 1 cup, and decreased the chicken broth by 1 cup. I also used low-sodium chicken broth. Between that and the fish sauce, I did not need to add any additional salt. I did add, however, additional ginger because you can never have enough ginger in my book. Finally, I saved 1 of the 2 cups of coconut milk until the very end because then you have a fresher taste to the milk.
By the by,
For those interesting in pairing this soup with a wine, might I suggest a brighter white wine, such as Yellow Tail's Pinot Grigio. It's strong enough to stand up for itself, but accents the ginger and citrus without overpowering just beautifully.
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