Recipe test: Moist Orange Cake

I guess this is a quote of a quote--I found it on Simply Sweet 'n Savory's blog, but they cited Magali March's blog as the original source.  At any rate, it's a lovely cake, with a faint dreamsicle flavor to it.  It's not too sweet and compliments a lot of different cuisines (Magali March is Mexican, but I served this at the end of a New Orleans-style brunch.

In keeping with my long-term goal to break my New Year's resolution as soon as possible, I made a couple of very slight modifications, just to make the ingredient list less fussy and keep the dirty dishes to a minimum. I do recommend sticking with the fresh orange juice, though--it has a much smoother flavor than the acidic stuff we buy ready-to-drink.

Magali March's Moist Orange Cake

Serves 8

Cake :

1 1/4 cups plain flour
2 tsp.  baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp.  vanilla extract
1/3 cup fresh orange juice (squeeze it from the oranges--it's better)

Glaze:

1/4 cup white sugar
1/3 cup fresh orange juice

Make the Cake :

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Grease and lightly flour an 8-inch round cake pan.  In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add in eggs, one at a time, and beat well. Beat in vanilla. Stir in orange juice, flour, salt, and baking powder and blend well. 

Pour the batter into prepared cake pan. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from the oven & transfer to a serving plate. Peel off paper, let cool. While the cake is cooling, prepare syrup.

Make the Orange Syrup : 

Combine sugar and orange juice in small saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until sugar dissolves. Prick top of cake with a fork, pour the syrup over warm cake. Set aside for 30 minutes, so the syrup is absorbed into the cake.  Cut the cake into wedges and serve.

Mung Bean Hot Pot

I got turned on to mung beans after reading Heidi Swanson's book, Super Natural Every Day, and I've been trying to find ways to incorporate their light, earthy flavor. I'm also trying to detox after the boozy brunch I had a couple of days ago with friends, and this both appeases my guilt makes me happy to eat.

Is hot pot the correct term for this recipe?  I don't know--this meal involves part boiling, part quick stir-fry, so I'm not sure what fancy-schmancy label you want to give it.  Whatever you want to call it, this dish copies some Asian flavors, some Californian ingredients, and it's gooooood...

Mung Bean Hot Pot

Serves 4

You could use any type of small, quick-cooking beans (split peas, lentils) and substitute whatever vegetables you like, but I particularly enjoy this overload of green vegetables and the refreshing, light yet earthy taste of the mung beans.

½ cup mung beans
2 cups water
1 tablespoons miso paste
1 tablespoon freshly ground ginger
1 cup dried shitake mushrooms, roughly chopped
1 large russet potato, peeled and chopped into large bite-size pieces
1 cup chopped broccoli
1 tablespoon peanut oil
½ cup red onion, thinly sliced
1 large garlic clove, thinly sliced
1 cup button mushrooms, trimmed and quartered
2 cups shredded cabbage
1-2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 cups cooked brown rice for serving

Bring the 2 cups of water to boil in a large pot; stir in the miso paste, ginger, and mung beans.  Cover and lower heat to a simmer; cook 20 minutes, or until beans are al dente.  Add the potatoes, and dried shitakes and cook another 15 minutes, until potatoes are firm but tender.  Finally, stir in the broccoli and cook another 5 minutes, or until broccoli is bright green and crisp-tender.

Meanwhile, in a frying pan or wok, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the red onion and mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until onions become soft, about 10 minutes.  Add the cabbage and garlic, lower heat to medium-low, and continue to saute until cabbage wilts, about 5 minutes.  Season with soy sauce and add to mung bean mixture.  Stir in lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve with brown rice and hot sauce on the side.

Recipe test: "Silky Eggplant Soup"

In 2013, I resolve to try new recipes without mucking up the directions and experimenting at the last minute with off-the-wall additions.  Armed with my subscriptions of Food & Wine, Vegetarian Times, and La Cucina Italiana, I'll fill you in on what I think works and what doesn't.

First up, Mourad Lahlou's Silky Eggplant Soup with Baby Peas and Radishes.  This is from the January 2013 issue of Food and Wine (click for recipe), and it claims to be an homage to the fresh salads and eggplant puree traditionally served at the beginning of a meal in Lahlou's native Morocco.  I was particularly interested to try it because I am rarely bowled over by eggplant, but sometimes it's a great deal at the grocery store and I always want to take advantage.

Bad news--didn't work for me.  It is an atrocious amount of work, for starters.  You roast the eggplant for 45 minutes (too long, by the way--it was rather charred, and I think 25-30 minutes would have been plenty).  Then you have to push it through a sieve, which yields surprisingly little material.  Or perhaps I would have gotten more if my eggplant wasn't so blackened on the flesh side.

The heated half-and-half sits with garlic and a cheese rind in it for an hour.  Seems clever, but with my ingredients, anyway, it was far too subtle in flavoring.  Added to the barely-there eggplant goo and lemon juice, the soup basically tasted like warm milk before the peas and radishes were added.  Afterwards, it tasted like warm milk with peas and radishes in it.  They did add an ascetically pleasing touch, though...

If anyone else tries it and likes it, please share your tips!

Cookie recipes for leftover cranberry sauce

Remember that ridiculously simple cranberry sauce I told you about last week? It packs a punch, so you may have some left.  You can use it as a relish in sandwiches made with the leftover ham or pork you grilled, stir it into yogurt or oatmeal for breakfast,OR you can make some scrumptious cookies with it.  Here are my two favorites (one is simple, one obscenely gluttonous):

Fatty-Fat-Fat Layered Cranberry Bar Cookie

Buttery shortbread, cranberry sauce, and a chocolate chip-oatmeal cookie on top--better make a plan to resume jogging after you make these.  


Shortbread:

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy; gradually stir in flour until well blended. Spread or pat in an ungreased 13x9x2-inch baking pan and pierce with a fork. Bake at 300° for 20 minutes, until dough is still blond but getting flaky and firm. Remove shortbread from oven, cover in a layer of about a cup of leftover cranberry sauce (you could also do this with any flavor of fruit preserves or a sweet chutney), and then top with 

Oatmeal cookie dough:

 1/2

cups packed brown sugar

1/2

cup butter or margarine, softened

1

teaspoon vanilla

1

cup quick-cooking oats

 1/2

cup unbleached flour

1/2

teaspoon baking soda

1/4

teaspoon salt

1/3

cup semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, stir brown sugar and butter until blended. Stir in vanilla and egg until light and fluffy. Stir in oats, flour, baking soda and salt; stir in chocolate chips and nuts.
Onto ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart.
Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

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Cranberry Thumbprint Cookies

Makes about 2 dozen

This is a simple riff on traditional Scandinavian thumbprint cookies; the dough gets replaced with the shortbread dough from above, and the fruit preserves get replaced with leftover cranberry sauce. Simple, rich, and addictive. 

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

about 3/4 cup leftover cranberry sauce

Preheat oven to 325 F.  Line two cookie cheets with parchment paper.

Cream butter, almond extract, and sugar until light and fluffy; gradually stir in flour and salt until well blended. Roll into tablespoon-size balls and flatten slightly with palms; place on cookie sheet.  With your thumb, create a well in the middle and fill with leftover cranberry sauce.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly browned.