Foodie Friday - Cod Cake Heaven

Like many of you we have been on staycation for about 7 weeks and going crazy. I'm happy that I've been talking to my friends, clients and family members on Zoom, but Happy Hours via Zoom leave much to be desired.

Since I'm in the house so much, I've been doing a lot of cooking.  Being from a big family I spent most of my early life in the kitchen when I wasn't babysitting for my various nieces and nephews - I have about 20.  I fine myself thinking about those day and I've even been making some of my old recipes, like - my cod cakes. I haven't made these in years.

From about age 10 to 15, I was the only one home with my Dad during the summer.  My Mom was the director and head cook at a large Catholic high school and my sisters were all working, so it was me and Dad.  There wasn't anything like going out for lunch or going to Starbucks, so I would make lunch for us and get dinner started just before Mom would get home. One of the things my Dad really liked was my cod cakes. My Mom made good fish cakes but she used our leftover mashed potatoes when we had some - which was rare. My cod cakes were different because I used a drier potato. A few weeks ago I made a batch and they went over well. Al raved about them just like my Dad did, so I'm at it again. There's not a lot of ingredients and usually I have it all on hand as long as I have cod or haddock.

For the Cakes:
1. Potato - 10-12 ounces
2. 2 TBL butter - salted or unsalted
3. minced scallions or  onion if you don't have a scallion
4. minced garlic - to me a must
5. table salt and pepper
6. 1 tsp thyme or a little more if you like.
7. One pound of Cod - cut into pieces
8. Large egg
9. Panko or bread crumbs
10. Oil for frying.

 As I said, I like a dry potato for this.  As a kid I would just boil the potato and dice it up instead of mashing it.  This time I microwaved a russet potato and riced it.  I think that works a lot better. I never microwave potatoes, but in this case it's appropriate because the potato is really dry.  The starch from the potato will mute the fish flavor so don't over do it with the potato. Let the potato cool before you rice it.

Add the butter to the skillet and melt over medium heat.  Add the mined scallion, garlic, table salt, pepper and thyme and cook for a few minutes. Add the cod and cook for about 5 min on each side, flipping it halfway.

Combine the riced potato and cod mixture into a bowl.  Add large egg and stir to combine.  At this point you can use your hands to create the round cakes or you can use a small measuring cup sprayed with oil.  I use the 1/2 cup for the cakes if I want large one but I used the 1/3 cup for this batch.  It's best if you can do this in the morning so the cakes can sit in the fridge but if not you can wrap the plate and let it sit for at least an hour in the fridge or use the last option of placing the rounds in the freezer for about 20 minutes.

When ready spread out the panko or bread crumbs and coat each round before placing them into the hot oil in the skillet.  Cook around 4 or 5 min each side.
       

Serve with a salad on a heated plate.

Buon Appetito

If you don't have any tartar sauce you can make a substitute using about a cup of Mayo, some cornichons, a Tbl of capers minced and a shallot and scallion.  It takes at least 20 min for all this to blend so make it early and refrigerate it.

Foodie Friday - The Irish Table

My Irishness is with me all the time but for the week of St. Paddy's Day,  I emphasize it.  I read  a little from James Joyce to enjoy the genius of  his language structure, pull out my Yeats and Seamus Heaney to enjoy their lyrical tones, and  make Irish Scone to enjoy the culinary sweetness of the culture.  And today I have a special treat for all of you.
 
Last week I attended a cooking class at the Sweet Basil Gourmetware and Cooking School in Scottsdale. This shop  is a wonderful venue for the culinary arts and it also has a cafe and a wide variety of kitchen gadgets and cookery items in the shop area.  If you're in the Phoenix area and enjoy cooking in your kitchen then you should treat yourself to a class at Sweet Basil.

  The class I took was The Irish Table.  It's not the kind of class where you sit and take notes, you work and Chef Linda Martin is there to guide the way. It was fabulous. I enjoyed it immensely.  Seven items were on our menu for the night and we could choose or were assigned which item to cook.  There were at least 14 people in the class and my task along with another woman was the salad - the easiest task. The one I wanted (hand pies)was already taken. Everyone was enthusiastic and ready for the experience.  And Linda kept everything running smoothly.

Linda is a Le Cordon Blue trained chef who enjoys sharing her craft and knowledge with those who attend her classes.  As a kitchen designer I know Linda from attending events in various showrooms throughout the Valley.  Linda would often demonstrate the brilliance of cooking on the appliances such as Decora at the design industry meetings.  The menu items were always delicious.

The Irish Table Menu: Beef Pasties (Hand Pies), Purple Cabbage & Pecan Salad, Irish Lamb and Vegetable Stew, Cottage Pie, Traditional Soda Bread, Colcannon, Apple Cake with Whiskey Hard Sauce.  Yum.   We couldn't wait to get started.  One of the nice things about taking these classes is that Linda hands out recipes so you have a copy of  them to take home.

My First Helping

We all did a super job with fun conversation, a good show of humor and a great display of team work.  And Linda went from work station to work station and kept an eye on everything we were doing and kept us on schedule.  The food was all so good.
 I'll share one of the recipes with all of you.




IRISH APPLE CAKE W/WHISKEY HARD SAUCE  - serves 10.

Cake:
2 1/2 c of flour
3/4 c + 2 TBSP sugar, divided
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp nutmeg
3/4 c buttermilk
4 Granny Smith apples, peeled and roughly chopped
Powder sugar for dusting.

Sauce:
1/3 c sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
pinch of salt
1 c heavy cream
1/4 c Irish whiskey
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease an 8 inch cake pan with cooking spray
and line it with a circle of parchment.
Combine flour 3/4 c sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, cloves, and nutmeg in a bowl and whisk.  Add the butter and mix on low speed until the mixture resembles damp sand.
Stir in eggs, one at a time.  Add buttermilk and mix on medium high for 60 to 90 seconds, to aerate the batter and build the cake's structure. 
Fold in the chopped apples and transfer to the prepared pan. Top with remaining 2 TBSP sugar.
Bake for 45 - 50 min. or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Let cake cool for at least 10 min before turning onto the serving platter.


Making the Sauce:

Combine sugar, cornstarch and salt in a small  pot and whisk.
Slowly drizzle in the cream while whisking.
Stir in the whiskey
Cook the mixture over medium-low heat, whisking occasionally, until boiling and thickened.
Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.


Before Serving: 

Dust the cake with powdered sugar.
Serve the sauce on the side.














 
Good food and good conversation, you can't do better than that.

Slainte (good health).

Foodie Friday - The Beet Red Devil Cake

Happy Friday everyone.

I found this great recipe in the  Movie Night Menus Cookbook and today is a perfect day to make it.  I've never made a chocolate cake using beets before so I am excited to try it.  The weather is nasty out and we probably won't be going to dinner or happy hour, but not all is lost.

This beautiful looking cake just came out of the oven.  It still needs to cool and I still need to make the icing and then  put it all together so I'll add a picture of the actual cake when we sit down to dessert tonight. It pairs well with a raspberry gin cocktail.


Below is the recipe.  I fussed over this cake more so than most cakes made from scratch but I'm sure it will taste superb.


For the Cake:

1 can of sliced beets (15oz)
3 large eggs
1 1/2 c veg oil
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 c white flour
3/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda

Preheat Oven to 350 deg.  Butter & flour two 9" cake pans.

In a blender, puree the beets along with 1/2 c of their juice.  Add eggs and blend until frothy.  Then pour the contents into a large mixing now and add sugar, oil, vanilla and salt.

In a smaller bolw, whisk together flour, cocoa and baking soda.  Sift these dry ingredients into the egg mixture in 4 stages, mixing well between each addition.

Divide the batter between the two cake pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool, then run a knife around the edge of the pan, like you would for  any other layer cake,  before inverting.   Make sure it's cook before frosting.  In fact, you may want to stick it in the freezer for about 10 minutes to make sure.  That way it won't tear when you are spreading the frosting.


For the chocolate frosting:

12 OZ bittersweet chocl, if using bars then chop it,
1 3/4 c heavy cream
1/2 sour cream
1/4 tsp salt
Fresh raspberries for garnish

In a double boiler warm the choc and heavy cream over simmering water. Stir until completely melted,
Remove the pan from the burner and cool about 10 min.  Then add the sour cream and salt.
Stir until combined.
Set the frosting aside until it reaches room temperature. Then whisk it just until it thickens and turns a shade lighter in color.
With a small spatula spread the frosting on the top of  bottom layer first, then the top layer.
Garnish with raspberries if desired.




 The cake taste so good.  I had plenty of icing but I prefer lite icing on a cake.  Normally you put about an inch in the middle.

When eating this you would never know it was made with a vegetable like beets. According to the cookbook, the red devil cake was popular during the 1930s and  made extra moist with the addition of beets.


 Buon Appetito.

Functional Luxury - Full Steam Ahead with Miele

There are some appliances that just make you want to cook. It makes the process fun, intriguing and you just love being in the kitchen.  This is one of those kitchens and the Miele Steam Oven is one of those appliances..

In this kitchen design the Fieldstone oven cabinet was configured to hold a 24" steam oven with trim and a 30" convection oven. As the designer I worked with the Miele specs in order to correctly order the cutouts from the cabinet manufacturer.  There is a 36" base cabinet to the right of the ovens to provide for a wide landing space when removing items from the ovens.  There is also an island close by if it is needed.   This is a very efficient kitchen  for cooking purposes.
 
In high-end kitchens there is a trend  to replace the microwave with a steam oven.  The Steam Oven offers a healthy way to cook food but it will never be as fast as a microwave. For those who always need something right now this may not be a good idea, but in  ways other than time, the steam oven is far more beneficial in a kitchen.  

Steam Oven benefits:
 *  Ideal for veggies, fish, meats, making bread,  and desserts
 *  Cooks up to 3 levels without any transfer of taste between dishes
 *  Reheated items retain their original taste
 *  Moisture handling

Microwave benefits:
 * Time, Time, Time
 * Easier for people to use.

I think the main difference between the two cooking methods is how they handle moisture.  The Microwave appliance uses  moisture within the food item to create the heat that cooks the food.  This is what causes the food to sometimes taste dry and leaves little doubt that it has lost its flavor as well as nutrients.  In a Steam Oven the reservoir container introduces water into the oven and heats the food from outside thereby leaving the nutrients and flavor intact.

Other Steam Oven factors :
 *  The vertical container on the right is the reservoir that holds water. Depending on how often you use your steam oven you will need to refill the reservoir with water.
 *  It comes with several different pans that are designed for specific food types.  Perforated pans will create a transfer of heat that will cook veggies and still maintain their  nutritional value.  For rice and meat or fish dishes you will need to us the pan with a solid base.
 * There are other accessories that can be found on the Miele website
 * Food- driven menu system
 * Programmable for favorite receipts.













 



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From The Kitchen - Cooking With Friends

      After a long hiatus due to summer vacations, our cooking club is once again  busy in the kitchen making a variety of  healthy foods.  To start the day off we made these cute little spinach 'Quiche Cups to Go'.  This is from the South Beach Diet  and  is perfect if you are in a hurry and need to take something with you to eat.  And they taste delicious.
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Vegetable Quiche Cups To Go

1 - 10oz pkg of frozen chopped spinach 
3/4 cup liquid egg substitute 
3/4 shredded reduced-fat cheese
1/4 cup each of diced green bell pepper and diced onion
3 drops of hot-pepper sauce (optional)

Defrost spinach in the microwave and drain excess liquid.
Line a 12-cup muffin pan w/ foil cups.  Spray the cups with cooking spray
Combine the egg substitute, cheese, peppers, onions, and spinach and mix well.  Divide among the muffin cups.  Bake at 350F for 20 minutes.

When you spray the muffin cups the egg mixture just falls away from the foil.  If you don't use the spray then give it a little cooling time and the wrap is easy to peel off.

One thing I added to the recipe.   I just can't eat eggs without salt.

Quiche cups can be frozen and reheated.  Any combination of veggies and reduced-fat cheese can be used.
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Sangria was made the night before and was chilling in the refrigerator until  lunch was ready. In Spain they drink their Sangria with straws and I always have straws on hands for any little kids that may grace my home.  For lunch we had decided to do some chicken and to use eggplant since it is in season.  This is another  recipe from the South Beach Diet.
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Chicken and Eggplant Casserole

1 - eggplant, peeled and cut into 12 slices
2 Tbl shredded Parmesan or Asiago cheese
1/2 tsp garlic powder or 1 clove minced
3/4 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast - chopped
1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
3/4 tsp dried Italian seasonings
1/4 ground black pepper
1/4 cup shredded reduced-fat mozzarella cheese

(we added salt, but the recipe in the book doesn't have it listed)

Eggplant:
Arrange in slices on a nonstick baking sheet.  Mist slices with cooking oil.  Broil 4 inches from the heat for 2 min.  Turn over and mist other side. then top with garlic powder and Parmesan or Asiago cheese. Broil 1 or until golden brown. Set aside.

Chicken:
Heat nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray for 1 minute over medium heat.
Add the chicken and cook stirring often for about 5 minutes.  Add tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, mushrooms,   Italian seasonings, and black pepper.  Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes

Preheat  oven to 375F.  Coat an 8 x 8 dish with spraying oil and arrange half the slices on dish bottom.  Top with chicken mixtures.  Arrange the remaining eggplant on top of chicken and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.  Cover with foil and bake for  30 min.

We doubled the recipe so our dish was much bigger.  We increased our bake time to 35 min since we doubled the recipe. 

If we make this again there are a few things we would do differently.  It was very good but we all thought the veggies cooked too long.  We had two solutions -  either cook the dish for about 20 minutes instead of 30 or better yet keep the eggplant separate from the chicken mixtures all together.  The eggplant  looks really wonderful when you take it from the broiler.  It is nice and crisp and slightly browned.  It may be better if you leave it alone and bake the chicken by itself.  Then at time of serving take a few slices of eggplant and layer it with the chicken mixture. That way the veggie will keep its crispness and not lose its texture.

After the eggplant/chicken combo we finished the meal with a fruit salad covered with a smidgen of
whip cream.  Whip cream is not exactly healthy but the fruit is.  And the chocolate we had afterwards was 72%  dark chocolate. 

Buon Appetito.

From the kitchen - health and happiness.

I think there may be times when you can have too many cooks in the kitchen, but that is not the case in our Cooking Club.  We have our own work zones, and we are busy talking, cooking, and by afternoon, sipping wine in the kitchen.

On our menu this week was Mediterranean Tuna Salad Wraps and Coconut  and Meatloaf.  The Meatloaf and Tuna recipes are from the Wheat Belly Cookbook which is a good cookbook for anyone interested in a gluten-free diet or would like to introduce flours into their diet other than wheat.  The tart recipe is from the January edition of First for Woman magazine.

The tuna salad was really wonderful and we used leaves of romaine lettuce from the garden which made the meal even healthier.  We like to cook healthy in our club so buying the right tuna makes a difference.

I once majored in nutrition in college and while I never got into the profession  I've always been interested in the processing of food. Years ago I researched tuna when I went to the grocery store and saw all these different cans of tuna.  At the time I couldn't say which brand was better than the other.  All I knew was that oil-packed was out and too much swishing in the can meant too little tuna to me.

I've since done some homework.  My advice on buying tuna is to buy one of two kinds: American or Wild Planet.  The tuna taste like tuna to me while with the other brands the tuna is too bland. Some advantages these products may have over their competition is that they are smaller companies and hand pack their cans.  Their method of catching fish is different and they catch smaller albacore which is not as dry meaning it has more of the omega-3 essential fatty acid. I think American Tuna is a San Diego company which would be local for some of my readers.  Local is usually always better. These brands  will cost more so if cost is the driver than Starkist Select, Bumble Bee or Chicken of the Sea  in water will work for you.  Those commercial companies capture larger albacore which is a dryer fish so you may need to use more mayo in your tuna salad.   The Whole Foods 365 tuna is from Vietnam and is kind of salty to me, plus there's a whole lot of swishing going on in the can so I tend to think there's too much water. 

Mediterranan Tuna Salad:  

2 Tbl mayo
2 Tbl olive oil
1Tbl lemon juice
1tsp Diijon mustard
2 cans of tuna
1 tomato -  chopped
2 Tbl kalamata olives - chopped
2 scallions - thinkly sliced
8 large leaves of lettuce


As much as we enjoyed the tuna, the real hit of the day was the Coconut Apricot Ganache Tart.  It was soooo good. 

Coconut-Apricot Ganache Tart:                                                  

2 c shredded unsweetened coconut
1/4 c almond flour
1/4 c xylitol (we used splenda)
1/4 c coconut oil - melted

1/2 diced unsweetened apricots or more if you love them
1 can (15oz) coconut milk
12 oz dark chocolate chopped
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In a bowl combine the first 4 ingredients
Press mixture into a greased 9" tart pan
Bake at 300 degrees for 15 min.
When baked sprinkle crust with dried apricots.

Meanwhile in a pot over medium heat, bring coconut milk to a simmer
Remove from heat, stir in chocolate and vanilla.

Pour chocolate mixture into crust.  Then chill for one hour in refrigerator.

Garnish with dried apricots.


Enjoy!

 

Recipes from lunch with Chef Linda Martin

Chef Linda Martin pampered the attendees with some fabulous treats at  the Lunch and Learn  Dacor seminar hosted by the Westar Kitchen and Bath Showroom recently. 

Chef Linda is a well known chef in the Valley   She is the owner of Dinner Designs, a small event consulting and catering service and teaches culinary classes at the Sweet Basic Gourmetware and Cooking School in Scottsdale. I have taken several classes from her and aside from the great food and the sharing of secrets she always gives out copies of her

recipes.  Below is a recipe for her skewered shrimp with sun-dried tomato pesto and  her Almond-Lemon flourless cake recipe.  Everything was so delicious. 

 

Recipes courtesy of Chef Linda Martin

Linda's Dinner Designs

from

Westar and Dacor

Lunch and Learn Event 2/20/2013

 

 

Skewered Shrimp with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto         Serves 6

 

 

For the pesto:

 

1 c sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil

2 garlic cloves peeled and quartered

1 c packed fresh basil leaves

Olive oil

1/2 c grated Parmesan

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

 

For the shrimp:

 

 

2 lbs (about 24) uncooked shrimp peeled, deveined tail intact

2 tbl olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tbl chopped fresh parsley

3 tbl lemon juice

4 spring fresh rosemary, coarsely chopped

6 bamboo skewers, soaked in water for 1 hour

 

To make pesto: Blend sun-dried tomatoes, garlic cloves and basil leaves in a food processor, adding olive oil as need to puree.  stir in Parmesan and add salt and pepper to taste.  Set aside

 

To make shrimp:

Heat BBQ grill to high 

Sprinkle shrimp with salt and coat

Whisk oil, garlic, parsley in a medium bowl to blend.  Add shrimp and toss to  coat.  Let stand at   room temperature 15 min

Thread 4 shrimp on each skewer.  Grill just until opaque, about 2 minutes on each side.

to serve: arrange grilled shrimp skewers on a platter. Sprinkle with lemon juice.  Spoon pesto over shrimp  and serve.

 

 

 

Almond-Lemon Cake with Fresh Berries-

 

1 1/3 c blanched slivered almonds

8 tbl sugar

4 large eggs, separated

5 tsp lemon grated peel

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

1 c fresh seasonal berries for garnish

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease  a 9" diameter cake pan with 1 1/2" sides.  Line bottom of pan with parchment paper.

 

Finely grind almonds with 2 tbl sugar in food processor.  Combine egg yokes, 2 tbl of sugar, lemon peel, cinnamon and salt in medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat until thick and smooth, about 2 min.  Stir in almond mixture.

 

Beat egg whites in a large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add 4 tbl of sugar, beating until stiff but not dry. Fold a large spoonful of whites into almond mixture.  Gently fold in remaining whites.  Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake until tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack.

 

To Serve: Turn cooled cake out onto the server platter.  Remove parchment paper. Dust with powdered sugar and serve  with fresh berries.