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Olive Oil Carrot Cake

April 5, 2010 By kellypea
Carrot Cake

67/365: Cake

I can’t remember the first time I had carrot cake, but I’m sure it wasn’t until I was well into my adult years.  It’s strange now that I think about it because my mother used to make a mean carrot salad.  The basic ingredients aren’t all that different except for the mayonnaise she’d dollop in the huge bowl of grated carrots and raisins before stirring in some sugar, and I’ll bet I can find more than one recipe for carrot cake that calls for mayo, too.  Mind you, this would be much to the complete horror of my husband who steers clear of anything that suggests mayo is an ingredient.

Other than cheesecake or an occasional pineapple upside down cake made in a skillet, my mother’s cakes came from a box, as did mine for years.  Can carrot cake actually be made from a box mix?  Perhaps that’s why I don’t remember ever tasting one.  I could blame it on family members more inclined to request chocolate cake:  chocolate peanut butter, German chocolate, and even a chocolate mint cake that unfortunately reminded more than one of us of toothpaste.  Sadly, there were no requests for carrot cake.

In the years since, I’ve learned that everyone seems to have made carrot cake but me and relies upon a favorite recipe.  I, on the other hand, have only made it twice:  the first time, I used a good friend’s recipe (sans the crushed pineapple she says she never adds) which was delicious;  the second time, I decided to look for a recipe that was made with olive oil.  Most of the recipes I’ve considered use from 3/4 to 1-1/2 cups of oil, so if  oil is going into a cake, why not make it monosaturated?

Perhaps it might soothe concerns about butter, mascarpone and sugar as one bites into this fabulously luscious cake.

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Filed Under: Baked, Cake, Dessert, For Brunch, Method, Seasonal, Special Occasion, Spring Tagged With: , , , , ,

Spiced Upside-Down Apple Cake

November 22, 2009 By kellypea

Spiced Upside-Down Apple Cake

The very last issue of Gourmet sits in a stack along with the most recent issues of Saveur, Bon Appetit, and Food & Wine — all barely touched.  Holiday catalogs I’d rather not receive lay scattered in the mix as well reminding me that I should probably pay attention.  How can it be the end of November?  The month has flown by and with it my favorite season of the year, leaving only a few days to think about recipes I’d like to try this year for Thanksgiving.  Outside of making a simple list of traditional dishes and leaving it to sit on the kitchen counter, I’m still not prepared.

I’ve accepted that this just won’t be the year to try yet another way to mash and flavor potatoes with the likes of parsnips or roasted garlic, white truffle oil or black truffle shavings.  I won’t have to wonder why a stuffing recipe calls for freshly made cornbread that has to sit on the counter for a day before it can be cubed and tossed with other ingredients to make an herby stuffing.  And I’ve decided that deep-frying a ton of microscopically thin onion rings to flavor a new spin on the classic green bean casserole won’t be happening, either, even though it was quite a fabulous recipe.  No, we’re going to be relatively conservative this year which is why I was able to spend some time in the kitchen today trying a new recipe with some of my favorite flavors:  apples, pecans, and cinnamon with a hint of orange.

David Guas’ Spiced Upside-Down Apple Bundt Cake was perfect from the moment I saw it in Food & Wine’s “Last Bite.”  Even though I’ve never owned a bundt pan, it was the least of my worries because the recipe calls for buttermilk.  Whenever I buy buttermilk,  it gets pushed to the back of the fridge and is forgotten until long after the date stamped on it, then ends up down the drain.  Not this time!   I found it with a day to spare — not that I could tell given its characteristic pungent smell.

How does one tell whether buttermilk is sour when it always smells badly?  It’s a very good thing that it works so nicely as a cooking ingredient, don’t you think?

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Filed Under: Baked, Cake, Cookbooks and Magazines, Dessert, Fall, Food and Wine, For Brunch, Fruit, Holiday Food, Method, Nuts, Seasonal, Special Occasion, Tea Time Tagged With: , , , , ,

Tomato Herb Tarts

July 20, 2009 By kellypea

First San Marzanos About this time last year, I was editing the nearly 800 photographs I took while on vacation in Italy and as much as I can say that I enjoyed reviewing our trip in front of my Mac, one photo in particular stood out.  It was taken the first day we were in Rome from the kitchen window of the apartment we rented.  We’d visited the farmer’s market in the Campo di Fiori directly after arriving because I swore I was going to cook on vacation.  The market was near closing time so the vendors were busy packing up their product when we arrived rushing to gather the ingredients for our dinner. Of all the items still displayed, the tomatoes caught my eye.  Red, plump, shiny tomatoes.  I recognized their shape as something I’d only seen on the label of cans in select stores until that time.  More elongated than a Roma,  definitely thinner in the center, and a deep, deep red.  I knew they were San Marzanos, so of course I had to buy some for our pasta that evening.

Later in our trip while window shopping one morning in Sorrento, I saw packages of San Marzano seeds, but I resisted buying them.  I pictured the passive-aggressive customs officers pulling them from my bags as if they were dangerous contraband, and glaring at me for my indiscretion, so decided to wait until I returned home to order them on line.

New Tomatoes

Procrastination is my middle name, so it wasn’t until this past March that I accompanied my good friend to Tomato-mania, an event held at the Quail Botanical Gardens in San Diego.  While there, I chose five tomato plants:  1 heirloom, 1 yellow cherry, and 3 Super San Marzanos.  My friend chose several varieties as well.  Although I do consider myself a gardener, I’m a bit out of practice and have very little space to plant anything.  Therefore, I knew the tomatoes I’d purchased would end up potted, and in spite of my better judgment, I decided to plant them all in one large pot.   I knew the pot would be far too crowded, but the real experiment was to judge whether there was enough sunlight on the side of my house to actually grow tomatoes.  I thought that if my experiment worked, then I’d be willing to pull out the perennials in one of my flower beds and plant tomatoes the next year.  (Although this is somewhat true, I’ve decided it’s as good an explanation as any, and if you believe me, then I have swamp land in Florida you may be interested in.)

Tomato Pot

My tomatoes did grow as plants have a tendency to do if watered and fed occasionally, and the San Marzanos were the first to show fruit.  Unfortunately they were also the first to show evidence of blossom rot, which is caused by over-watering, under-watering, over-fertilizing, under-fertilizing, or a combination of any or all above.  I do appreciate that Andrea of Andrea’s Recipes who provided me with that information on a day when as much as I knew that the growing conditions for my tomatoes weren’t great, that having tomatoes that were plump and a gorgeous color of red did excite me until I saw the darkish bottom on several.

San Marzanos

And then there were my friend’s tomatoes…

On July 4th, I finally picked quite a few to make two tomato herb tarts.  My friend had invited us over for the holiday and so I thought it was the perfect appetizer to share before she said, “Don’t bring tomatoes.”  This was actually code for I have a zillion trillion tomatoes coming from my gifted tomato plants and we’ve been eating tomatoes like there’s no tomorrow.

I did end up making my tomato herb tarts and if you’re like my friend who has so many tomatoes she gives them away,  then this recipe is definitely for you.  It’s extremely easy to make, you can make it ahead of time, it travels well,  and I promise the shell won’t be soggy.

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Filed Under: Baked, For Brunch, Herbs and Spices, Make Ahead, Meatless, Method, Quick & Easy Meal, Special Occasion, Summer, Tarts, Tomatoes, Vegetables Tagged With: , ,

Mixed Berry Bakewell Tart

July 4, 2009 By kellypea

Bakewell Tart 3 It’s becoming very apparent that I’m a complete failure at this business of working and trying to keep a food blog. I’m surprised, actually, because for years and years I managed to work a ridiculous number of hours and still have time to occasionally pretend that I might be Martha — sans the income, of course.  I’ve figured out that because I used to have so little time to do anything, I took quite a few shortcuts, or completely gave up what I enjoyed.

A few nights ago, I was yet again trying to explain to my very patient husband what the problem is;  I find solace in quiet activities that are often solitary in nature and often have a tangible product.  They’re things that keep my hands and mind busy and are often of a creative nature that can also be considered practical. Of course writing here packs several of those interests all into one nice product, so it makes sense that I’d enjoy it.  Unfortunately, for me it’s not very practical.

Therein lies the rub.

This would be the enormous excuse for why I’m just now getting around to posting The June Daring Bakers’ Challenge, hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart….er….pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800’s in England.

Making a Bakewell Tart isn’t all that difficult if you’ve had lots of practice making pie crust.  It’s perfect with a cup of tea or coffee and a good book enjoyed on a sunny morning patio, or near a fireplace on a chilly day.  In fact, making a Bakewell Tart isn’t all that time consuming, either.  No, it’s more the time needed (and enjoyed) to read the forum at the Daring Kitchen to see what creative ideas others are using to make the experience more challenging, or to sit at my Mac on reveal day, clicking from one blog to the next, enjoying the stories and photos that accompany each baker’s experience.  I seem not able to manage both.

So here I sit well past June 27th, just now showing my tart.  It’s the first day of the July 4th weekend and the start of our family vacation time.  The sky is cloud free for the first time in more than a week and blue as blue can be.  It figures.

I’m sure there’s a lesson in this somewhere, so perhaps I’ll take my book out on the porch, stretch my legs and turn my face to the sun to doze a bit and wonder what I can do to avoid giving up something I truly enjoy yet again.

In the meantime, here’s my delicious Mixed Berry Bakewell Tart.

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Filed Under: Baked, Berries, British, Daring Bakers Challenge, Dessert, For Brunch, Fruit, Method, Nuts, Other Cultures, Special Occasion, Tarts, Tea Time Tagged With: , ,

3-Onion Leek Tart

May 17, 2009 By kellypea

3-Onion and Leek Tart Time has just flown by lately and with it, my opportunities to not only write as much as I have, but cook the way I’ve always enjoyed cooking — experimenting with new recipes.  Since coming back from Mexico, I’ve been mulling over an opportunity that has taken on a life of its own and me with it.  For the next year or so, I’ll be out of the house again for most of the day so will have to learn to adjust to writing here in the time I have left.  I know there are many of you who do this successfully, so I’ll look to you for inspiration and perhaps a schedule!  By all means, share your secrets with me so I can find a good balance.

In the meantime, I wanted to share a tart I made recently inspired by yet another tart made with some lovely vegetables from Specialty Produce. Although the brief and somewhat elusive season for ramps is close to ending (April – May) , I was able to sample them for the first time.  Ramps are wild leeks harvested by foraging in wooded, mountainous areas, and from what I’m learning, quite the reason to celebrate since they’re a sign of spring.  Ramps are a member of the allium family, so I decided to sample them with green garlic and shallot shoots knowing that whatever I ended up making would be delicious.  Unfortunately, the first tart was prepared for a dinner party, and since I’m challenged to find a way to shoot great photos while entertaining, I decided to recreate the tart using a different collection of vegetables from the onion family.

Because I was home alone that evening, I was thrilled not to have to share this amazing tart with anyone.

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Filed Under: Baked, Cheese, For Brunch, Make Ahead, Meatless, Method, Special Occasion, Starters and Tapas, Tarts, Vegetables Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Pastry Ring with Dark Chocolate and Cardamom

March 29, 2009 By kellypea

IMG_2163 One of the techniques I’ve shied away from has been making puff pastry.  Although I can be fairly tenacious, when I feel like I’ve worked diligently on something and it doesn’t turn out, I’m not willing to jump back to the task to get it right.  Let me adjust that — when it comes to something that isn’t important in the grander scheme of things, that is.  Making puff pastry would fit into that category.  If you’re a pro at making puff pastry, then you’re most likely thinking, “What a quitter.  It’s not that challenging…” and I would agree temporarily, but being the contrary person I am by nature, I’d come back with, “Yes, but when’s the last time you tore down a fence in your pajamas on the spur of a Monday morning moment while enjoying your first cup of coffee?“  And then I’d go inside and start a not quite puff pastry dough, but yeasted laminated dough all the same.

I think what annoys me most about my failings as a cook is the waste.  Yes, I absolutely learn something in the process of failing and know it to be an extremely important aspect of learning, but it’s the time invested when I’ve put off doing something else.  It’s the waste of product if it’s not eaten, and therefore, a waste of money as well.

Sounds grand, doesn’t it?  It’s really because I don’t like having my butt kicked by a recipe.

A good strategy after a colossal failure is to break down the task.  Perhaps begin again with something similar, but not quite as involved.  After success once, give it another go and pat yourself on the back.  Bask in the glow of your accomplishment and then instead of tackling the dreaded initial failure again, try another recipe, again similar, but a bit more involved.  Practice developing patience with copious amounts of deep breathing.   Think about those turns and all that butter nestled between those layers.  Still not quite puff pastry, but getting close.

So very close.  And some chocolate never hurts in the process, right?

I’ll get there.  I will.  You wait.

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Filed Under: Baked, Breakfast, Chocolate, Dessert, For Brunch, Herbs and Spices, Method, Special Occasion Tagged With: , , , , ,
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