Lemon Yogurt Cake & Reminiscing

I got the recipe for the delightful cake from one of my favorite cooking Divas, Ina Garten. This recipe is in her book: The Barefoot Contessa At Home. The recipe is made lighter than a lemon pound cake by replacing butter with yogurt, but is still sweet and decadent enough to satisfy a craving. Excellent with a cup of fresh brewed coffee in the morning!

The only change I made to the recipe, was using 2% greek style yogurt rather than whole milk regular yogurt. The result was a real crowd pleaser this weekend when we visited a dear old friend and her family.

Our friend and neighbor from our days on Churchill Drive in Charleston, WV, Roberta Allison, was visiting her daughter in Newport Beach. We drove up and spent a fabulous afternoon with them. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to chat with Roberta again and listen to her stories from her years in Charleston and of growing up in Monroe County. The day was topped of with an unbelievable sunset and a cozy dinner with the family. What a perfect way to spend a Saturday!


*******************************************
Lemon Yogurt Cake:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plain yogurt
1 1/3 cups sugar, divided
3 extra-large eggs
2 teaspoons lemon zest (about 2 lemons)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2–3 lemons)

Glaze:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350º. Grease and flour a 8.5x4.25x2.5 inch loaf pan.

Sift together flour, caking powder and salt. In another bowl, whisk together yogurt, 1 cup sugar, eggs, lemon zest and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the oil into the batter, making sure it is all incorporated. Pour the batter io to the greased loaf pan and bake for about 50 minutes or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Meanwhile, cook 1/3 cup of lemon juice and remaining 1/3 cup of sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully transfer to a wire rack over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. Cool completely.

For the glaze, combine the confectioners' sugar and lemon juice and pour over the cooled cake.

*******************************************

Chatting with Roberta

Sunset from Balboa Pier in Newport Beach, CA

Holiday Food Adventures

I can hardly believe another Christmas and 2009 have come and gone! It was a quiet, peaceful holiday here, filled with family and friends and good food and wine. Today's entry is a photo tour of some of the goodies I made over the holidays.

Homemade Italian Bread!
After talking to my cousin Nick about how his mother, my Great Aunt Katie, used to make her bread, I tweaked my usual recipe to make bread more like hers. It turned out great — crusty on the outside, soft and tender on the inside. Steve got me a great book about the art and science of baking artisan breads for Christmas. I can't wait to do some more bread baking!

*******************************************************


Cookies!
Chocolate Chip, Orange Cookies, Thumbprints, Pizzelles and Gallettes. I also made Penuche (an old-time candy that my grandmother used to make for my mom and aunts years ago) and Peanut Butter Fudge. All of these are family favorites and the recipes have been handed down through the years.

*******************************************************


Homemade Mushroom Ravioli —
Using my grandfather's antique pasta machine!

*******************************************************

Knead...

Divide...


Roll...


Fill...

... Shape!

Pita Piata — a family classic!
These large nut and raisin rolls are time consuming and require a lot of kneading an rolling. The dough is tender and flaky and has whiskey in it. I add a touch of whiskey to my filling as well, even though that isn;t in the original recipe. I made a hug batch this year and sent them as gifts. I was a little too generous with my filling (a mixture of regular and golden raisins, chopped walnuts and pecans, sugar and cinnamon) and I ran out, so I had to get creative with the last two. I made a mixture of dried figs, walnuts, brown sugar and cinnamon and they turned out really great. I think I will make half traditional and half with the new filling next year.

*******************************************************

Brined, Herb-Butter Rubbed Roasted Chicken
I decided to brine a chicken like I brined my Thanksgiving turkey. The result was a tender, juicy chicken that was full of flavor. I make a mean roast turkey the traditional way and have always considered it one of my go-to/signature meals. This just takes the flavor up a notch. I have roasted several chickens in this manner since. Drop me a line if you'd like to see the recipe.

*******************************************************

Homemade Pasta drying in my living room, waiting to be packed and shipped to family back East. This is the night my friend Erin stopped by and called the operation "Santa's Workshop for Food" between the pasta making and the cookie and bread baking. Love it! What a compliment!

*******************************************************

Frying Shrimp and Calamari on Christmas Eve
I usually fry the traditional Italian Smelts on Christmas Eve, but I couldn't find them this year and decided to go with shrimp and calamari. I cleaned and prepared both and then soaked them in milk for about an hour. I dredged them in a mixture of flour, cornmeal, seasoned salt, pepper, garlic and a dash of cayenne before frying them in canola oil in my electric skillet. They were perfectly crispy and seasoned on the outside, and tender and juicy on the inside.

Pasta!

I have been consumed with holiday baking and cooking the last several days. I am tired and have a lot left to do, but it is such a satisfied kind of tired. This weekend, I tried my hand at homemade pasta using my my grandfathers amazing old past machine that I had the honor of inheriting. The machine was one of the first pasta machines ever made and is solid as a rock, making quick work of rolling the dough, even after all these years.

I made two kinds of ravioli and also a little bit of regular pasta with the remaining dough. The texture and flavor was outstanding all around.

************************
Pasta Dough
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
2 eggs
water as needed starting with 1/3 cup

************************

I used an electric stand mixer for my dough and made sure to drizzle small amounts of water until the dough just came together. It made a beautifully satiny dough that was easy to work with.

For some of the ravioli, I made a filling of homemade pesto and fresh ricotta cheese. For the others, I created a filling of finely chopped fresh cremini mushrooms, dried porchinis that I reconstituted and chopped, a touch of butter, a little chicken bouillon, some grated Romano and a sprinkling of bread crumbs. They were delicate and delicious tossed with a little olive oil and Romano cheese!

Last night I was up until 2 am baking Pita Piatas, large nut and raisin rolls kissed with cinnamon, sugar and whiskey. These are a Calabrese tradition and a family favorite. I learned how to make them from my Aunt Rosie last year. Mine turned out really nice again this year. I will post some pictures of them soon. In the meantime, happy holiday baking!

Thanksgiving, Family Visits & Cookbook Writing

The last few weeks have been busy. The week and a half before Thanksgiving, I went on a multi-city trip to see my family. First to my hometown, Fairmont, WV, to visit my parents, grandmothers and great aunts; and then on to Houston, TX, to visit my aunts, uncles and cousins. I spent some time on both places collecting family recipes and interviewing family members for my cookbook. It is going to take time to do all the recipe testing, writing, photography and design, but it is a labor of love and it feels good to have a start on the project.

I spent some time in Aunt Rosie's kitchen, always a highlight of my trips to Fairmont, and talked to my greats aunts (Aunt Rosie, Aunt Mary and Aunt Irene) about making traditional Italian cookies, homemade pasta, gnocchi, cutlets, you name it! I can't wait to start holiday recipe testing and sharing all the goodies with my friends.

I also spent a lit of time talking recipes and traditions with my family in Houston. In fact, some of my aunts and cousins and I canned peppers in sauce the way my grandparents did every year in the fall. We had a great time and canned over 40 pints of delicious peppers. For more pictures of our canning adventures, check out my Mobile Me gallery: http://gallery.me.com/stephanie.vannoy#100073.


I got back home just in time to prepare for Thanksgiving. I cooked for 10 people and everyone seemed to really enjoy the food. The turkey was exceptionally juicy and flavorful this year. I think the brine I created this year is a definite keeper recipe.



***************************************

Savory Turkey Brine
1 gallon water
8 vegetable bouillon packets
4 chicken bouillon packets
1 cup kosher salt
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 large bunch fresh rosemary
1 large bunch fresh thyme
1 head garlic, broken apart and cloves smashed (no need to peel)
1/2 cup peppercorns

Stir ingredients together well and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool fully. Place Turkey in a large container or brining bag. Place in fridge or on ice overnight before roasting.

***************************************

Our Thanksgiving appetizer was the pumpkin fondue I wrote about in my last blog entry. It was a huge hit again this year. To accompany the turkey, I made mashed potatoes, wild mushroom-rustic bread stuffing, pork and rice stuffing (a family recipe), lemon roasted Brussels sprouts, Parmesan roasted winter squash (butternut, kabocha and sugar pumpkin), French style green beans and homemade Parker House Rolls. For dessert, I made a pumpkin pie from scratch and our guests brought apple crisps and a pumpkin cheesecake. It was a true Thanksgiving feast!


***************************************

Parmesan Roasted Winter Squash

1 small baking Pumpkin
1 small-medium Butternut squash
1 small Kabocha squash
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Preheat oven to 350º. Peel all three squash and cut them into bite size cubes. Toss squash with cream and 3/4 of the cheese. Top with remaining cheese and bake for 45 minutes to an hour — until squash is fork tender and top is light golden brown. Serve hot.

Leftover note: Make patties of leftover squash, coat them with a light layer of flour and fry in butter like a potato cake for breakfast the next day.

***************************************


Stephanie's Homemade Pumpkin Pie
Crust:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
3 tablespoons ice water

Filling:
4 large eggs
1 15-ounce can pumpkin
2/3 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup heavy cream
4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
pinch of salt

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar and salt. Use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Add ice water one tablespoon at a time and mix until dough just comes together.

Pat dough into a ball and transfer to a lightly floured work surface. Press dough into a flat disk and gently roll out with a few pushes of the rolling pin in all directions, turning dough as necessary, until you have a 12 inch circle of dough. Place dough in pie plate and crimp edges as desired. (I am not great at pie crust edges yet, but the crust always tastes good regardless!) Chill in refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375º. Line crust with a sheet of parchment paper and fill with pie weights, dry beans or dry rice. Blind bake the crust for about 20 minutes, until lightly golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

While the crust blind bakes, prepare the filling. Separate one of the eggs, reserving the yolk and discarding the white. In a large bowl, combine, pumpkin, brown sugar, cream, egg yolk, remaining whole eggs, flour, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt and whisk until smooth. Pour filling into partially baked pie shell. Place pie in middle of preheated oven and bake about 50 minutes, until filling is set, but center is still slightly jiggly. Let cool completely on wire rack. Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.

Pumpkin Fondue!

Looking for a fabulous idea for a Thanksgiving appetizer? Try Pumpkin Foudue. I found this recipe in Gourmet Magazine last year and my Thanksgiving guests absolutely loved it and are already asking for it again this year. The pumpkin roasts to a beautiful golden brown and the filling if perfectly cheesy.

Pumpkin Fondue

1 french baguette (about 15 inches), cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 medium size pumpkin (about 7 pounds)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (preferably freshly grated)
2 1/2 cups coarsely grated Gruyère
2 1/2 cups coarsely grated Emmental
1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat oven to 450º with rack in lower third of oven.

Toast baguette slices in 1 layer on a baking sheet in oven until tops are crisp (bread will still be pale), about 7 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Remove top of pumpkin by cutting a circle (3 inches in diameter) around stem with a small sharp knife. Scrape out seeds and any loose fibers from inside pumpkin with a spoon (including top of pumpkin; reserve seeds for another use if desired). Season inside of pumpkin with 1/2 tsp salt.

Whisk together cream, broth, nutmeg, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper in a bowl. Mix together cheeses in another bowl.

Put a layer of toasted bread in bottom of pumpkin, then cover with about 1 cup cheese and about 1/2 cup cream mixture. Continue layering bread, cheese, and cream mixture until pumpkin is filled to about 1/2 inch from top, using all of cream mixture. (You may have some bread and cheese left over.)

Cover pumpkin with top and put in an oiled small roasting pan. Brush outside of pumpkin all over with olive oil. Bake until pumpkin is tender and filling is puffed, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours.

Pumpkin can be filled 2 hours before baking and chilled.

Source: Gourmet Magazine, November 2008

Updated Pumpkin Spice Cake Recipe

I've made my Pumpkin Spice Cake a few more times since posting the recipe and have an update to fix the pumpkin/buttermilk ratio issue. I've been using Libby's Pumpkin which is a lot drier than the original organic canned pumpkin I used, so I upped the buttermilk as noted in this updated recipe.

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin*
2 cups low fat buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 light brown sugar
2 large eggs
canola oil spray

Icing:
1/4 cup low fat buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 — 2 cups confectioners' sugar

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350ºF. Spray bundt pan lightly with canola spray and set aside.

Whisk flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, whisk together pumpkin*, 1 cup buttermilk and vanilla.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugars on high — until light in color and fluffy (about 3 – 5 minutes). Add eggs and beat another minute. Reduce speed to low and alternate adding flour and pumpkin mixtures (be sure to start and end with flour). Mix until just combined and smooth.

Pour batter into pan, smooth out the top and bake 50 — 55 minutes, until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool cake in the pan for about 15 minutes, then invert onto a rack and allow to cool completely.

While the cake cools, whisk together buttermilk, cinnamon and vanilla. Add enough powdered sugar to make the icing pourable, but not runny. Pour over cake and allow to harden slightly.

Serves 12

Okra Gumbo

Rows of okra at Tierra Miguel Farm in Pauma Valley, CA

A few weeks ago, I saw an okra plant for the first time. I was stunned by it's beauty. Okra grows on a tall stalk and has blooms similar to a hibiscus. I was inspired to make a big pot of gumbo with the bag of okra I brought home with me that day. I pulled some ideas from a few of my favorite cookbooks and here is what I came up with. This gumbo is perfect for a cold fall or winter night. You can use frozen okra if fresh is not available.




Gumbo

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
6 tablespoons canola oil
2 cups fresh okra, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
6 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow or orange bell pepper, chopped
4–5 cloves garlic, diced
1 can (14.5 ounce) diced tomatoes, with their juice
5 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 tablespoons Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried)
dash of cayenne pepper (optional)
1 pound andouille sausage, sliced into 1/4 inch discs
1 pound shrimp
Brown Rice

In a large heave pot over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add okra and sauté until golden brown and softened, stirring occasionally (about 15 minutes). Using a slotted spoon, remove okra and reserve in bowl.

Add 2 more tablespoons of olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, sauté until lightly browned all over (3-5 minutes). Remove using a slotted spoon and reserve in another bowl.

Add the canola oil and heat for about 2 minutes over medium-high heat. Add the flour, stirring until incorporated to make the roux. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon, cooking the roux until it gets nice and golden brown (about 4–6 minutes). Reduce heat to medium and add onion and peppers. Cook until softened, stirring occasionally (8–10 minutes). Add the garlic and cook 1–2 minutes more.

Add the cooked okra, diced tomatoes with their juice, chicken stock, creole seasoning, smoked paprika, thyme and cayenne. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer until slightly thickened (about 20 minutes). Add the browned chicken and allow to cook through (about 10 minutes more).

Add the sausage and shrimp, cooking until sausage is heated and shrimp is pink and cooked through (about 3–4 minutes). Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Serve over steamed brown rice, topping each bowl with a couple cracks of fresh ground black pepper and a sprinkle of fresh thyme leaves.

Serves 6