A Late Summer Feast

 It is still harvest season . There are markets and back yards that still offer up tomatoes and watermelon. Think of these for a late summer feast that features a spicy shrimp curry as the main course.

Regular contributor and chef David Tanis gave these recipes in yesterday's New York Times Food  Wednesday section. He presents a perfect summery meal that's a bit more substantial than the average hit weather dinner. The main meal is from the great Indian chef Madhur Jaffrey's Goan shrimp curry. The creator herself taught him to make it.It starts by adding chopped shallots, black pepper and the fiery red kashmiri chili pepper.It's made into a paste with the addition of olive or vegetable oil. There's also turmeric and ginger added for more zing and bite. They're simmered with coconut milk The shrimp is cooked into it before serving. The seafood should be large and already deveined and peeled.Lemon juice is added later in the cooking just before finishing .(Lime juice can be subbed in for this. It does have a sharper , tangier flavor) . Taste. The seasonings  may need to be adjusted.  Add a small pinch of the pepper or Kashmiri red chili pepper. Serve with steamed basmati or jasmine rice.

As for the side Mr. Tanis has a cooking tomato and cucumber salad to offset the shrimp's fieriness. Again the recipe is from MS. Jaffrey and it's the perfect foil for the main course.Use yellow or gold cherry tomatoes. Try to buy firm ones. However if these can;t be found then used slice Roma or beefsteak ones. The cucumbers. Cut them into batons or spears and arrange them with the halves cherry tomatoes.Salt and pepper them first then add a dusting of  toasted cumin and cayenne pepper.There,s a quick tadka, basically cooking of mustard seeds and curry leaves finishes the dish as a dressing. The dessert is a Sicilian one that involves mixing lemon juice watermelon juice and sugar. It's adapted from another culinary idol of Mr Tanis, Fabrizia Lanza.It's a tale on an Arabic sweet that's also found in Indian and Persian cuisines. Pistachios and mint leaves decorate it but jasmine flowers are the usual ornamentation, a nice nod to the end of summer.

This meal is the perfect way to celebrate the waning days of summer. It features the best of the harvest as well as a nod to the sea. Make the meal to celebrate the end of the season.

Junior's Cheesecake Your Cheesecake

 One of New York City's institution is Junior's cheesecake. This treat is the signature dessert of the Juniors chain that many New Yorkers - and tourust's flock to. Now you don;t have to rush to Mnhattan or any of the other locations across the country. You can create this delight at home.

Regular contributor and chef Eric Kim wrote about this in yesterday's New York TImes Wednesday Food section. He creates his version of the classic cake, including their famed sponge cake bottom. Cheesecake has been a part of the city's cuisine since the mid 1800's when German immigrant brught the first recipes over. They were a bit different than today's with the cheese being cottage cheese and the bottom layer being pastry crust. Tis was the standard recipe for kasekuchen  - cheesecake until 1872 when William A.Lawrence a dairyman from Chester, New York in Orange COunty started manufacturing what he called "cream cheese" a variation of the famed  Nuefchatel a crumbly French cheese. He linked this new invention to the fine dairy being produced in Philadelphia which at the time was outstanding.Even today Philly Cream Cheese is being made in upstate New York. Fast forward to the late 1920's and early 1930's when Jewish bakers and deli owners started subbing in the cream cheese for cottage..It made the final product creamier .

Junior's took the recipe to another level. The original owner, Harry Rosen went all over the city ,trying and tasting variations of the cake. He finally created a recipe with his baker Eigel Peterson.It';s still made today , according to Rosen's grandson and current Junior's owner Alan.There is also Eileen's Special Cheesecake that has a similar recipe.It has the airy sponge cake bottom as opposed to the usual dense graham cracker crust one.It's not too lemony as to not overpower the cheesecake's delicate flavor.Preparing the etims can be labor intensive. The sponge cake ones do have to be buttered and then wrapped in foil to prevent water from the water bath seeping in. The whole cake is cooked in a water bath. For the filling use two large eggs and , of course ,Philly cream cheese.It does need a lot of sugar , around a cup and two thirds, almost two cups.  There is also a quarter of a cup of heavy cream added for body and cornstarch is added for binding.The spring form does have to be placed in a large roasting pan with an inch of water.Teenty minutes in the pan has to be rotated. Can you add extras like chocolate chips or coffee for a different flavor? It's best to stick to the original recipe. Serve fruit and if you want chocolate sauce on the side.

Happiness is a good cheese cake.Make Junior's version for a home baked slice of goodness.It's the perfect  dessert for a winter's day.

A Good Old Fashioned Cobbler

 This is the season for cobbler. The fruit is ripe for it , especially peaches and it's a simpler bake than a pie or tart. It's also a great summer dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

What is cobbler exactly and how did it get that name? The recipe came over with the British colonists and it is a sub in for suet pudding. They were unable to get enough bread for a traditional one so they covered stewed fruit with a batter.A cobbler's top is usually made from a batter biscuit or, if in Britian , a dumpling top. As for th e name it was first recorded in 1859 and possibly derives from the archaic word cobeler meaning wooden bowl. Another version may stem from the fact that the topping may have the look of a cobbled stone pathway. A third explanation comes from the Oxford english Doctionary has roughly assemble or cobbled together . Earlier home bakers would use leftover scraps of  pie or scone dough to make the cobblers top over whatever filling that was readily available. Apple pan dowdy,., another great dessert is a cousin of the cobbler. This is where the dough is mixed into the fruit filling and baked.Another cousin is the Betty which is made with a bread crumb or crushed graham cracker  topping. There are also slumps too which are cobblers baked on a stove top instead of in the oven.

This is definitely the season for cobblers. Peaches are in season right now and they're perfect for a juicy , sweet cobbler. The cobbler dough is usally made with flour, sugar salt,  and butter. One egg yolk is added for color and body. You also need vanilla extra for flavor and two tablespoons of very cold water ( put a small cup of water in fridge for this). As for th e filling, if you are picking the fruit fresh, look for a perfectly golden hued peach. This kind yileds a very sweet flavorful fruity taste.As for the skin if 's up to you to leave the peel on or not. eigh peaches are used to make the filling. They should be sliced thin and pitted. Mix these with a quarter cup of white sugar, quarter cup brown sugar and quarter teaspoons each of cinnamon and nutmeg. Also add lemon juice and cornstarch  to the slices. Toss them in this so each are evenly coated. They're then baked in a 425 degree Farenheit oven for ten minutes. As they're cooking , prepare the dough. Sift the dry ingredients and then add the butter with your fingertips until it resembled a coarse meal. Add water and stir. remove the peaches from the oven and drop the  dough over the peaches. Then sprinkle an equal mix of cinnamon and sgar over the dough. Bake  in a preheated oven (arounnd 425 degrees Farenheit) for thirty minutes. Serve with a big scoop of ice cream or better yet a big blob of whipped cream.

I'ts summer and that mean'sa fresh peach cobbler. It's an easy make and bake. Create one for a lovely hot weather dessert.

The Perfect Plate Of Scrambled Eggs

 Who doesn't like a plate of scrambled eggs? They're the perfect breakfast, lunch, and dinner meal, on their own or with any kind of breakfast meat. The key is creating a mix of creamy and firm curds together. Can it be done? Yes!

Chef J. Kenji Lopez Alt decided to experiment with this humble dish and write about his findings in yesterday's New York Times Food section. You would think a dish that only requires eggs butter and sometimes water would be a snap to create. It's not. Scrambled eggs can have textures that range from drippy to rubbery and sometimes with no in betweens. Chef Lopez Alt breaks down the recipe to give a dish of scrambled eggs something creamy and flavorful.  He first analyzes the egg - namely their proteins. All eggs contain ovalbumin and transferrin which start to denature as they're cooked over heat. The hotter these proteins become, the tighter the matrix becomes, resembling a sponge with all the moisture wrung out of it. Then there's the cause of this heat - the pan. It's best to start cooking in a cold pan which will result in dense and creamy eggs. The rising steam from it will give the texture an airy souffle like mouth feel. You could also preheat the pan with a bit of water in it, swirling it as the water evaporates., This also lets you know that the pans temperature is about 212 degrees Farenheit, the perfect temp for cooking eggs.

What about add in like salt and butter? Eggs that are salted before cooking will retain moisture better. Salt them and let them sit awhile. As for butter, yes use small cubes of it. Doing so will result in a more French style omelet. The eggs surround the butter cubes are kept cooler causing them to set more cooler. This creates a rich buttery sauce that mingles and coats the firmer curds. You could use creme fraiche or heavy cream too but butter is your best bet.Now, here's an ingredient you may not think of adding but it is vital in Asian egg dishes - cornstarch. Food blogger Mandy Lee was making a scrambled egg dish for her sick puppy and added cornstarch. She noticed how creamy the eggs were even though they were set. From there she experimented, adding a cornstarch slurry  to her own scrambled eggs , to keep them creamy and tender.Also the cornstarch, which can be replaced by potato and/or tapioca starch keeps moisture from escaping. The eggs will maintain their moisture thanks to the starch granules expanding during cooking. This means a scramble that's not dried out or tough.

Can you create the perfect plate of scrambled eggs? Absolutely! Follow Chef Lopez Alt's advice and you'll be enjoying a bite of creamy , scrambled deliciousness. It's easy now to turn something so simple into something so sinful!

The Vegan Lamb Part One

Today I tried the vegan lamb cake recipe taken from the blog ,Vegan Cooking In Colorado (which was taken from  Issa Chandra Moskowicz's great book,Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World). It was kind of scary because I kept thinking the cake wouldn't bake or rise. Yet, this animal friendly pound cake did.

Baking a scratch cake is always a leap of faith.It could go wrong even though leavening has been added. Of course it starts with a greased and floured pan.

It's the same as with the regular (non-vegan?) cake, generously grease with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter and then a generous coating of flour.

These are the liquid ingredients. The  1/2 cup vanilla soy yogurt and 2/3rd cups canola oil make up for the lack of eggs.The recipe calls for soy milk but I've had good luck with the almond kind so I went with Almond Breeze's.It just takes 1 and 1/3 cup.

I also had to add vanilla and almond extracts too. It's 2 tsps vanilla and 4 tsps almond . It'll give the cake a lovely almond aroma and flavor.

These are the wet ingredients mixed with 1 and 1/2 cups of sugar

This is the almond meal. It looks like polenta and taste like what else - ground almonds. Use 2/3 cup of it. The dry ingredients are the meal, two cups plus 4 tablespoons of flour, 3 tsps baking powder, 1 tsp salt (I used the coarser, grittier Celine's gray  sea salt) and 2 tblspns cornstarch which lends more cohesion to the batter.

 This is the batter thoroughly mixed. You can see why I was nervous. It  looks really thin, doesn't it?

It was easily poured into the mold and all the batter went into it so no extra cupcakes like the other recipe. The mold was tied together with twine. I was so ansty about the recipe that I forgot to put the five toothpicks in the neck area. (the recipe didn't stress adding the toothpicks so maybe it'll be all right and the lamb's head won't fall off 😲😲)

Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 50 to 60 minutes. I took it out at 55 minutes and let cool. You can see it's a pound cake because of the splits in the surface.

It's paler than the first box mix one , probably because there's no artificial colors used. I plan on checking out the cupcake recipes and other ones in Ms. Moskowicz's recipe book. This is definitely the recipe for vegan birthdays and for inclusive holiday sweets. 

Tomorrow is the icing - with some interesting twists. Stay tuned.

It's Apple Season

With fall comes apples along with the myriad of recipes. What is great about them is that they can be a snack , a side or a dessert. They're perfect for any meal from breakfast to lunch to dinner.Be creative and brave with autumn's gems!

What you pick decides what you make,If you bring home baskets of Golden Delicious apples, then realize that they're best for apple sauce while Honey Crisps are better for eating fresh and to put into salads.Most of the varieties are good for snacking. Think about pairing slices with peanut butter or even better pair it with slices or cubes of sharp Vermont cheddar. A fun snack or dessert is the tart Granny Smith slices with a caramel dip. You can buy it or make your own using brown sugar and sweet cream. Some recipes call for cream cheese for extra creaminess along with a dash of brown cinnamon for extra bite.You could also just microwave caramels such as Kraft' s with a spritz of water added in for smoothness.Fresh apple slices are also perfect added to any breakfast. Slip them in to hot oatmeal or cold rice puffs for more flavor and fiber.A fun weekend breakfast or brunch dish is a Dutch baby. This is a giant (think skillet size) pancake baked in the oven and then sprinkled with a dusting of powdered sugar. Apples can even be added to French toast as a topping or baked inside a French toast casserole.

Of course apples can also liven up a lunch too. A few crisp slices in any salad makes it special. Use two different types such as the sweet Golden Delicious and the crunchy Roma, Try one that just has apples and cherry tomatoes. Spike it up with chilis and peppery mesclun greens.  Think of adding slices to a chicken salad, whether it's made with greens and last night's leftover roaster or one with mayo and raisins. Apples can be used as a side dish for a dinner as they are in Germany. Many German pork dishes comes with a side of sauteed apples. The apples' sugars break down the complex proteins of the meat, making it easier to digest. It also is a great foil for the pork's distinct flavor. You can easily make an applesauce in your crock pot or pressure cooker and use it for roasted pork or pork chops. An easier spin is sauteed apples. This is just simply sauteing the slices with butter, cinnamon and brown sugar. Add cornstarch to thicken it. Sauteed apples are even good reheated with the pork as the meat's savory juices mix with the apples. Of course , anything with apples is the perfect dessert. Think an untraditional one with a cheddar crust. This is a bit more flavorful than the average crust. Or go sweet with a caramel walnut loaded apple pie. Baked apples are another great dessert. Go elegant with ones poached in a sweet red wine or fun with ones stuffed with caramel, butter and chopped nuts.

This is apple season. Use them in any recipe or as a sweet , fiber filled snack. They 're delicious any way you serve them.

Pudding That Pops

Fall is here and it's time to bring out the comfort foods. The bes t is pudding. It;s sweet and creamy without the chill of ice cream. It's comforting after a hard day. Best of all it brings back childhood memories of a simpler time. Whether it;s instant or made from scratch, pudding is the best. It rules.

The sweet as we know it only came into existence around 1840 thanks to English chemist, Alfred Byrd. He developed a way to add processed cornstarch to milk and sugar . Earlier puddings were first invented by the Romans buy they were more custard like in taste and appearance, than to the Roman;s love of eggs. The English were the first to make the savory puddings, mostly with meat and cheese. They do make sweet ones, usually In flour and then boiled in a kind of bain marie. Christmas plum pudding is a good example of this.

Pudding is good a variety of ways. You can use instant like Jello to My-T-Fine or by scratch. Scratch puddings also call for egg, milk and butter. They have a richer taste than the store bought mixes, (of course) and are more or less relatively easy to make, Also pudding is versatile. Add Cool Whip and you have an elegant mousse. Pout it into a prebaked pie crust and it;s a quick and tasty dessert. You can even freeze it to make rich pops.

Pudding is great, especially in these cool days. It's the perfect comfort food no matter how you have it. It's a great sweet whether for a snack or after dinner.