Saturday, December 30, 2017

Scandanavian Almond Cake


Scandinavian Almond Cake

Ingredients:



½ cup salted butter, melt and strain through cheese cloth (or coffee filter).  Throw away milk solids and use only clarified part

1-1/4 cups sugar

1 egg

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon almond extract

2/3 cup half-and-half

1-1/4 cups flour

¼ cup sliced almonds (optional)



Directions:



1.      Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.      Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray and line the long side of the pan with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.

3.      Mix the sugar with the egg in a bowl.  Beat them together until fluffy.

4.      Add the baking powder and almond extract.  Mix well.

5.      Add the cooled clarified butter to the sugar mix.  Add half of the cream and mix it in.  Add half of the flour and mix it in.  Now add the rest of the cream and mix; then add the rest of the flour and mix thoroughly.

6.      Put the almonds in the bottom of the loaf pan and then pour the batter over it.

7.      Bake the cake for 50-70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

8.      Let the loaf pan sit on a wire rack or a cold burner for 15 minutes.  Then loosen the cake from the short sides of the pan with a metal spatula or knife.  Tip the cake out onto a pretty platter, and then remove the parchment paper.

9.      Let cake cool and then dust the top with powdered sugar (optional).


Sunday, October 1, 2017

Mrs. Hudson's Tea Room Blueberry Loaf

I had some blueberries just sitting in my freezer. I had the urge to bake something with them.  I found a recipe for Mrs. Hudson's Tea Room Blueberry Muffins from the Cinnamon & Sugar website. I didn't want to make muffins so I decided to put the whole batter into a 5 x 10 inch loaf pan.  I had to bake it longer, of course, but it was basically perfect.  I also made few changes to the recipe to make it with less gluten and less sugar.  Here is what I came up with.

Mrs. Hudson's Tea Room Blueberry Loaf

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose gluten free flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar (I substituted 1/3 cup plus 1-1/2 tablespoons Truvia)
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
2 cups fresh blueberries (I used frozen)

Topping

1/4 cup sugar (I used sugar in the raw)
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees (I turned oven down to 350 degrees halfway through baking).

2. Generously butter a 5 x 10 inch loaf pan and dust with flour, tapping out excess; set aside. You can also line pan with parchment if you like.

3.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.  Working over the bowl, toss blueberries in a fine sieve with about 1-1/2 teaspoons flour mixture to lightly coat; set aside the flour mixture and the blueberries.

4.  In the bowl of an electric mixer or using a handheld mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

5.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined.

6.  Mix in the vanilla extract.

7.  With the mixer on low speed, add reserved flour mixture, beating until just combined. Add milk, beating until just combined. Do not over mix.

8.  Using a rubber spatula, fold in the blueberries.

9.  Use spatula to put batter evenly into loaf pan. 

10. For topping mix together 1/4 cup sugar and nutmeg.  Sprinkle sugar mixture on top of loaf batter.

11.  Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until loaf is golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean, about 50 minutes.

12.  Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!


Saturday, September 2, 2017

Golden Yellow Beets

This post is my ode to the golden or yellow beet.  I'm not giving you a recipe.  I was scrolling through my Facebook feed a few weeks ago when I saw my cousin had posted a meal she made. I'm not usually one to look at other people's dinners but this one looked interesting.  When I saw her description of it, I knew that I had to taste it for myself.  She described a lemony concoction of chicken, green beans and golden beets.  Well, I had never even heard of golden beets but they sounded like a root vegetable that I needed to try.  I'm so glad that I did.  I even got my 89 year old mother to try them which wasn't easy.  She is very picky.  I made the meal in a very similar way to my cousin's description but instead of chicken thighs, I used chicken breast.  It was fantastic. 

My cousin told me that she didn't have an actual recipe so I basically "winged" it (excuse the pun).  My dish was made in the oven with peeled and sliced golden beets on the bottom of an oiled baking tray, on top of that I put the chicken breast, then I added the green beans.  I had par boiled the beans first.  I poured some olive oil and lemon juice on top.  I also minced up a few garlic cloves and added them to the mix.  I added some spices (just go for the obvious: salt, pepper, Italian basil, oregano, onion, etc.).  I wished that I had added a few onions - white or even Vidalia.  That could have added a little more sweetness to my dinner. 

In any event, my mom and I really loved this meal. We loved it so much that I have been experimenting with Golden Beets and so has she. You have to understand that neither my mom nor I have ever been particularly fond of any type of beet.  In fact, I didn't really know there was any other type of beet than the red, kind of bloody looking beets. That ordinary beet kind of disgusts me. I can't even take the smell of them.  I know, I know, many people love them but I am not one of them.  I have been trying to get away from eating potatoes. As much as I love them, they aren't really as healthy as I would like. I did go low carb for about two years. I wish I had known about yellow beets when I was doing my low carb diet.  In fact, I want to start that again soon. I will be adding yellow or golden beets to my repertoire frequently now that I know and love that ugly root vegetable.  Please try them. You may have to search for them at a grocery store. We had to go to several different stores but if you go to a farmers market or Whole Foods, you shouldn't have any problem finding them. 

Enjoy!


Monday, August 14, 2017

Zucchini Marinara

This is definitely NOT my own personal recipe. It comes from the Proietti's who own a fantastic Italian restaurant in Rochester, NY called Proietti's.  They serve this as an appetizer.  It is fantastic as a side or as an appetizer. Enjoy!

  • Approximately 2 medium zucchini
  • 4 oz. 100% Olive Oil
  • 1 oz. Sweet Basil
  • ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
  • 1 tablespoon Chicken Base
  • 1 tablespoon Sugar
  • 1 28 oz. Can Whole Peeled Tomatoes (drained & smashed)
  • 1 clove Fresh Garlic chopped
Cut ends off zucchini and discard.  Cut zucchini in half lengthwise.  Slice zucchini in pieces approximately 1/4” wide.  In a medium size frying pan, combine all of the ingredients except the tomatoes.  Saute’ on medium high heat until the zucchini starts to soften, approximately 5 to 6 minutes, mixing often.  Add the tomatoes and cook an additional 20 minutes mixing often, being careful not to over cook.  If desired you may skim off any excess oil.  May be eaten hot or warm, as an appetizer, or over your favorite pasta. Serves 4-6