Holiday Cake

Granted this isn't the best photograph, but it was taken in the rush to make it to our wonderful Thanksgiving dinner before the cocktail hour was over! Long story involving families and bikes and rain! But we made it in time for the gracious hosts of Drake and Sailor of Cafe Drake to warm us with a hot rum cider and proceed to wow us with a succulent and moist turkey, A Cafe Drake classic of raisin chutney and fresh cranberry sauce and two, TWO, delicious stuffings. There were many dishes brought by guests including Octavio's roasted Brussels Sprouts and my holiday Spiced Pumpkin Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting. A rich holiday treat.

Spiced Pumpkin Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup dried currants or raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups (packed) light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
1 cup canned solid pack pumpkin

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter and flour two 9in cake pans. In a large bowl sift together all of the dry ingredients. Then sift again to ensure that the spices are even distributed. Toss a tablespoon of the flour/spice mixture with the currant and walnuts.

Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until fluffy. Gradually add in sugar. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Add the flour mixture in 3 pours alternating with milk in 2 pours. Add in the pumpkin. Finally fold in currant-walnut mixture. Pour the batter equally into the pans (it should be about 3/4 deep).

Bake the cakes for about 25minute until they pass the Toothpick Test. Cool on a rack for about 10 minutes then turn out of the pans. Cool the layers completely before frosting.

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1/4 cup Grade A Maple Syrup
2 8-ounce packages chilled cream cheese
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Beat butter, brown sugar and maple syrup until fluffy. Add in the cream cheese. Sift in the powdered sugar and beat to blend it.

Parmesan and Basil Scones

A quick and easy bread side dish perfect to accompany all of those soups that I am sure to be serving as the winter blows in. I added seasoning to a simple scone recipe from my handy American Woman's Cookbook, an antique cookbook published sometime in the 1940's. This book is a trove of recipes that are great with minor adaptations, like substituting butter or oil for lard or whole wheat flour for the white flour. The cake recipes alone are marvelous.

Parmesan and Basil Scones

1 cup white flour
1 cup cake or pastry flour (or just 2 cups white flour if thats all you have)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 plus teaspoon salt (I like them saltier so add a bit more if you like)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese plus extra for topping
2 teaspoons basil dried or 2 tablespoons fresh chopped finely
1/4 cup cubed butter
2 eggs (one separated)
1/2 cup butter milk or plain yogurt

Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees.
Mix together all dry ingredients, cheese and basil. Cut in the butter with 2 knives or a pastry cutter until it forms a uniform crumb texture. In a separate bowl beat together the one whole egg, the egg yolk (reserve the white to brush the tops of the scones), the buttermilk or yogurt. Stir into the dry ingredients until you get a nice sticky batter.

Turn out on to a well floured surface. Shape into a rectangle. With a well flour knife or pizza cutter, cut the rectangle into smalled rectangles and then in the triangle shapes.

Beat the egg white until it forms an opaque liquid.

Place on a greased or lined with parchment paper baking sheet. Brush the tops with the egg white and top with more grated cheese.

Bake for about 10 minutes until the tops are a golden brown.

Autumn Curry

The weather is finally becoming seasonally appropriate and honestly, I couldn't be happier about it. I love the fall in New York. The kind of changes and New Yorks look their absolute best in smart coats and jackets. And you can warm up with spicy food, slow cooked, roasted and baked. Methods of preparation that are not at all appealing in a small downtown apartment at any point past June. Though exceptions are made for birthday cakes and summer pies. But now that the thermostat is set at an amenable 65 degrees, I will be back into making more slow food dishes.

Sort of Punjab Eggplant

This is my take on a Northern Indian Curry. All spice amounts are totally estimated, as I just sprinkle the spices in.

1 large eggplant
2 tomatoes
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 carrot
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon tumeric
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon yellow curry powder
1/2 or less to taste red pepper powder
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
plenty of salt
1/2-2/3 cup water

Chop up all the vegetables. Over medium heat, heat the oil in a large saute pan and add the garlic and onion. Cook until soft. Add the eggplant and plenty of salt. Cook until the eggplant until it just starts to discolor, then add the carrots, tomatoes with their water and add the seasonings. Cover and simmer for about 20-30 minutes checking on it and adding the water as needed. Once all the eggplant is very soft, add the tomato paste, combine well and cook for about 5 minutes longer. Serve with parathas.

Parathas

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
generous 3/4 cup water
2/3 cup vegetable oil or ghee (I am not a big fan of ghee so I use oil and butter near the end for flavor)

Combine flour and salt in a bowl. Slowly add the water until you have a sticky dough. On a generous floured surface, kneed the dough for 10 minutes until you have a smooth and elastic dough. Shape into a ball and place in a bowl and cover with a damp towel for 20 minutes.

Divide the dough into 8 balls and shape into triangles. On the floured surface, roll out into a half moon shape, brush with oil, fold over, roll out again and brush over, fold over one last time and roll into a triangle shape. Do this for each paratha.

Brush one side of the paratha with oil and place in a hot skillet. Cook for 3-4 minutes, it will puff up. Brush the other side and flip using tongs. Cook for 3 minutes.

Keep warm in foil for up to 20 minutes, but the fresher these are, the better.

MCQ Listening Party

Delicious tomato, ricotta, eggplant bake.



We ladies love our libations!

Rum Apple Tart.

Bandmate Kelly and illustrious illustrator Lisa Webs came to 312 sq ft to listen to the first cut of the mastered tracks for Macaque's upcoming EP The Chinatown. We started off the evening with listening and sipping on delicious Kir Royals to celebrate this momentous step in the completion of our first release.

Listening Party Menu

Kir Royal

Warm White Bean Dip with Olive Rosemary Flatbreads
Camarones Bravas

Tomato, Eggplant, Ricotta Bake

Rum Apple Tart

Rum Apple Tart

1 Pâte Brisée
3 crisp apple such as Granny Smith peeled and sliced into 1/4 pieces
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons rum
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 apricot preserves
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pre-bake the tart shell at 400 degrees for 20 minutes with weights. Leave in pan and cool.
Put the oven heat down to 350 degrees.

In a small sauce pan, bring apricot preserves to a boil, remove from heat, add one tablespoon of the rum and strain to remove lumps. Brush the cooled tart shell with the aprico glaze. this will help keep the tart crisp and add some more flavor.

In a large pan, saute the apples with the butter and 3 tablespoons sugar for about 10 minutes or until they begin to soften.

For the custard, combine the eggs, cream, 1/2 cup sugar, one tablespoon of rum, flour and vanilla in a bowl and beat well.

Arrange the cooked apples in concentric circles in the pan and pour the custard over until it just covers the apples. You don't want it to over flow. Place the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes until the custard is set.

Before serving, sprinkle the top with a generous amount of powder sugar and place under the broiler to caramelize and brown the tips of the apples. But don't argue about what wine you are going to drink next while you are doing this because you may end up with it becoming a "Blackened Cajun Tart"! Watch it carefully!

Welcome Home David!

David returned from his far east travels to regal me with tails of hiking in the Korean mountains and soaking in the ultra relaxing hot springs. He was on a two week trip to visit with family and friends. Of course, he said, the food was excellent, but no match for the cuisine at 312 sq ft. Thank you, David!

Welcoming David back with a simple after work supper of pesto with broccoli and shrimp and sending him with a loaf of zucchini bread and some left overs.

Simple Pesto

this is yields about 1 cup and it freezes really well
1 bunch (about 4-5 cups) fresh basil leaves
3/4 good cold press extra virgin olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts or walnuts or a combination
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Add the cheese later when you cook this up because the cheese won't freeze well.

Toast the pine nuts in a skillet and set aside to cool.

Put it all in a blender and puree until you get a nice thick sauce. I put it in ziplock bags to freeze and it will keep about 1 week in the fridge.

Last of the Summer Squash

At last it seems that fall is finally hitting New York City. After a protracted summer, the cooler temperatures have arrived and just in time for some baking and freezing for the winter months. I have been completely preoccupied with preparing The Annex (Octavio's new apartment!) ready for opening that I haven't been doing that much entertaining. But having to get rid of the rest of the summer zucchini I had left, I baked a batch of zucchini bread and baked a delicious frittata that I have been having for lunch and pawning off on my friends all week.

Zucchinni Bread

yields 2 loaves
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups grated zucchini
1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two loaf pans.

Combine eggs and oil in bowl beating into a froth. Add vanilla and brown sugar stir well. Add in zucchini.

In a separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients and stir to make sure they are well distributed. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir for a nice batter. It will be lumpy.

Pour into pans and bake for about an hour or until it passes the Toothpick test.

Summer Squash and Taleggio Frittata

yield 1 9 inch frittata
1 onion chopped
2 small zucchinis sliced
2 garlic gloves minced
3 sprigs thyme
1 large tomato chopped
1/3 lb soft Taleggio cheese cubed
8 eggs
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons olive oil
sea salt and pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 325. In a large cast iron skillet, heat oil over med-low heat and add the garlic, but do not brown. Add the onions and zucchini and cook until soft. It will take about 15 minutes. Add the tomatoes near the end. You want them to retain their shape for the baking. Meanwhile, beat the eggs, cream, salt and pepper and remove the leaves of the thyme from the stalks and into the eggs mixture.

Once the zucchinis are soft, pour the egg over and dot with the cubes of soft cheese. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes. Then transfer to the broiler for about 3-5 minutes to brown the top of the frittata.

Serve warm or it is also good at room temp.

Elyssa Dido

Located on what used to be a very scary block of Orchard just above Grand St, amidst a real renaissance of boutiques and little cafes, is new North African/Mediterranean restaurant Elyssa Dido (85 Orchard St (212)991-9880).

A quick search on Wikipedia reveals that the name Dido is from the first Queen of Carthage, which is modern day Tunisia. The deco of the slim space is consistent with the Middle Eastern theme of the place. It is a small space but does have some out door seating for the warmer months.

Currently in the process of applying for a liquor license, Elyssa Dido is BYOB and serves up decent food.

Octavio and I have visited this place twice so far and have had good but not remarkable meals there. I live in the neighborhood and it is so nice to have more options that are a closer walk than just Vietnamese or noodle joints. We plan on making this a regular stop on our eating out circuit. It has been consistent and I love BYOB places.

On the most recent trip we had the Elyssa Cigars with vegetables which are a little like a Mideastern egg roll. Served on a bed of spicy arugula, they are very tasty. We also had the charcoal calamari which was also good but the portion was disappointing, there were only two squid under the lid of the tangine it was served in but the charmoula sauce was delicious sopped up on bread.

The entrees fared better. A seafood tangine was the highlight served with plenty of couscous on the side. Plenty of bay scallops, mussels, shrimp and squid in a saffron broth was satisfying and hearty. The seafood risotto was passable but it was a little runny and needed more salt than I like to add at the table.

The fennel crusted tuna was better. Not over cooked and the interesting twist of fried cauliflower on the side. The grilled salmon was also good. It's simple Mediterranean preparation was actually very flavorful and accented the meat of the fish.

Local pastries and mousses are on offer for dessert and don't pass up the Turkish coffee.