White Foods

I saw this delicious photo in the thumbnails of the sites I frequent on my laptop, and I knew I had to click through to the article about it.

 

The title of the article was “In Praise of Pale Food,” and before I got past the headline, I knew it had to be about toddlers and their eating habits.  A google search for “beige food toddler” will explain why I knew that.  Apparently “eating the rainbow” sounds more fun in theory than in practice for the short people of the world, and not just in our house.  The writer of the article apparently has a 4-year-old daughter who gravitates toward the white stuff, and so she (the mom) has developed a couple of kid-friendly recipes that are complex enough for adults to appreciate, too. I don’t know if I could pass off Brie in macaroni and cheese to my kids, or if I’d even want to, but I like the idea of what she’s doing there. (And I also don’t blame her daughter one bit for passing on the raisins in the rice pudding.)

The white food phenomenon makes me think of this project, in so many ways. Most of the time, I try to incorporate different colors into a meal, if only because I’m a little embarrassed to take a photo of a beige plate.  But also, one of the most important lessons I’ve learned from cooking my way through the Barefoot Contessa cookbooks is that I should start with an onion or two, and probably some garlic, too, when I’m making a savory recipe. I think that before I cooked all of these recipes, I underestimated onions, to my own detriment. Now, when I’m dicing one up, I think of an article that I read in O magazine a while back (similar to this one) about how onions, while white and not part of the “eat the rainbow” campaign, are really very good for us.

All hail white food!

French Chocolate Bark

This recipe (from Back to Basics) is the dark chocolate version of this recipe. It’s a little too dark on its own for my taste, but if you cut the richness with a little bit of graham cracker it’s the perfect antidote to the feeling you get at the pit of your stomach after kindergarten orientation, when your firstborn baby is introduced to the world as a member of the Class of 2026. Gulp.

 

Completed/remaining:  416/270

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes (alternate title: “Plain Muffins”)

Sometimes, I think my culinary genius is wasted on my family. My kids would just as soon eat boxed mac and cheese or cereal for every meal, and my husband has a great affinity for spaghetti and meatloaf (but not together). It’s easy to get in a funk, especially this time of year, when the winter recipes seem tired and stale, and spring seems so, so far away. I bought seeds last week to start some vegetable and herb plants inside, and the clerk at the store asked me incredulously, “You’re not planting these NOW, are you?” Uh, I don’t know. I have a bored 5-year-old at home. I might go hog wild and start a garden in the bathtub at this point. It’s this type of weather that must have inspired the first seed art, and it’s certainly what prompted Garrison Keillor to say that God invented March “to show people who don’t drink what a hangover feels like.”

So, when my preschooler asked me to make muffins last week, I jumped at the chance. What kind should we make? Banana? Blueberry? Chocolate, even? “No, plain.”

“What do you mean, like vanilla?”

“No, plain,” he answered. “Just plain muffins.”

Do you see what I’m working with here?

I suppose I could have revamped a healthy recipe to squeeze some nutrients into the kids. Or whatever.

Instead, I tweaked Ina’s coconut cupcake recipe to make vanilla bean cupcakes plain muffins. I omitted the almond extract, doubled the vanilla extract, omitted coconut, and added vanilla seeds.

3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
5 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk

The seeds of 2 vanilla beans, scraped from the bean (add the discarded beans to your homemade vanilla extract brew)

For the frosting:
1 pound cream cheese at room temperature
3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 pounds confectioners’ sugar, sifted
Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and mix well.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In 3 parts, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold in vanilla seeds.

Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Fill each liner to the top with batter. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the frosting. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on low speed, cream together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla extract. Add the confectioners’ sugar and mix until smooth.

Frost the cupcakes (or not).

Perfect Pound Cake

Anything with the word “perfect” in the title gets a raised eyebrow from me. Really? Perfect?

It also seems like an invitation for me to muck it up.

However, this pound cake (from Foolproof) is about as close to perfect as you’re going to get in pound cake form.  I used the cathedral pan from Nordic Ware that we received as a wedding gift.  I was a little bit worried about all of the ridges and bumps in the pan, but the combination of baking spray with flour (which Ina finally recommends as a part of the recipe), and turbinado sugar dusted on the sprayed pan made that bad boy slide right out.  And even though the cake has no leavening agents, other than salt (does that even count?) it baked beautifully. It just goes to show that I know little to nothing about cooking chemistry.  Does that mean that this cake is Passover-friendly, maybe? I have no idea.

I do know that the vanilla beans and orange zest brought just enough flavor to make this interesting, but not too interesting to serve with peaches or fresh berries.  It even got the resounding endorsement of my husband (celebrity blogger!!), who was heretofore pound-cake-neutral.

Completed/Remaining: 405/281

 

Stewed Rhubarb and Red Berries

I squirreled away some rhubarb in the freezer back when it was in season, and pulling it out with some frozen berries for this recipe from Foolproof felt like a tiny taste of summer.  We needed it this week – the temps plunged into the double digits below zero, and spring seems so, so far away.  We had this over vanilla ice cream for dessert, and then I added it to steel cut oatmeal with walnuts for breakfast.  Stewing everything together did not take long at all, and the minimal effort of heating it all together brought out the bright red color and the tang of the fruit.

 

Completed/Remaining:  404/282

Non-Contessa Favorites

Every once in a while, we try out something new that hasn’t made it into the pages of a Barefoot Contessa cookbook (like these bars and these waffles).  These pancakes from Martha Stewart are our favorites:

 

After cooking a turkey at Christmas time and making turkey stock from what was left, I made this risotto from Bon Appetit. We practically licked our plates clean.  (The shredded turkey is optional and we didn’t use it – it was fine with just the stock and the mushrooms.)  I’m thinking about roasting another turkey just for the stock!

It’s here!!

Barefoot Contessa:  Foolproof arrived on my doorstep this week, along with the Smitten Kitchen cookbook.  It was like Christmas and my birthday all rolled into one.  The cookbooks are both beautiful, and you can prepare to hear about both of them over the next several months.

Foolproof was published at a perfect time for fall and winter cooking and entertaining.  Osso bucco, meatloaf, cookies and bars … oh my.  Regular readers will know that I was expecting a rehashing of old recipes.  How much new stuff could she have?  Plenty.  She has gathered recipes from her favorite restaurant chefs, and revamped some old recipes from her catering days.  This is brand new information!

I don’t have the digital index yet to add to The List, but I will add it as soon as it’s available.

Book Club Dinner

About a year ago, I joined a book group consisting of about 6-7 women, and we take turns hosting dinner and the book discussion in our homes.  Last year, when I was on slate to host, we ended up in the ER at Children’s Hospital with my youngest child, who had a 105-degree fever.  Luckily, he turned out to be fine after a round of testing and some antibiotics.  So, finally, my turn has come around to host again.  I made Hot Mulled Cider, Butternut Squash & Apple Soup, and Chicken Chili (all from Parties!), and Pumpkin Mousse Parfaits (from Barefoot Contessa at Home) for dessert.  I threw together a modified version of the Cape Cod Chopped Salad (from Back to Basics) and some cornbread from a Trader Joe’s mix.  I was able to put everything together ahead of time, so I could teach lessons that afternoon and still have time to enjoy my guests and the book discussion.  This was a great fall menu for a casual dinner party at home.

It doesn’t look like much, but the butternut squash and apple soup was fantastic.

 

Completed:   351

Remaining:  247

300!

This is my 300th post!  In almost three years, I have completed 318 (out of 598) recipes, which puts me just over the halfway mark.  That’s an average of about two new recipes per week, which actually doesn’t sound like much until you factor in the months-long breaks, the two kids, the part-time job, the volunteer responsibilities, etc.  In that time, we have burned out a dishwasher and a couple of coffee makers.  I didn’t keep track of the butter count, and that’s probably a good thing.

I am behind on appetizers, which makes me think that maybe I need to throw a cocktail party this fall.  Still, I feel ready to tackle the next 300 posts, and the inevitable 300 that follow it.

This is what happens when you do a google image search for “300 cake.” Do I even want to know?!

Bring it on, Ina!

A Wish List for the Barefoot Contessa

Dear Ina (may I call you Ina?),

I know you have a new cookbook coming out on October 30.  I can’t wait to see it.  I don’t know what will be inside, but here is a list of what I hope to find.  If you don’t take these ideas, that’s OK.  I will.  But I thought I’d give you a fair shot anyway.

• A section about how to make the most of a CSA box.  Talk to us about substituting kale, chard, etc. for other vegetables in your recipes, and include some new ones.
• What should we have in a well-stocked bar?
• How to make a really good Cuban sandwich
• Recipes for:  pad thai, pasta carbonara, peach cobbler
• Instructions for a food truck themed party, and/or a bratwurst/hot dog/polish sausage party with all the condiments and fixings
• Relating to the CSA and the renewed interest in local eating, canning, preserving, freezing, etc. – how about a section about how to make the most of seasonal fruit and vegetables?
• Maybe an updated recipe for chicken stock that doesn’t use an entire chicken, but does use some of the leavings from fresh produce (chard stalks, onion skins, etc.).
• Menus that incorporate recipes from all of your books.
• How to tie a scarf in such a way that doesn’t invite people to ask you if you’re cold.

That’s all for now, I suppose.  Until you take on the cause, I’ll be making ugly peach cobbler like this:

This cobbler recipe came from a Junior League cookbook … from GEORGIA, for crying out loud. Shameful.

With undying affection,

The Curessa