Dinner party, part 4: Having my cake and eating it!

As I’m sure I’ve made clear, when it comes to dessert I’m a huge cake guy. Not to limit myself though, because honestly when to comes to dessert I’m a huge dessert guy. w does most of the baking in these parts, and she indulges my cake fetish quite regularly. For the perfect ending to our dinner party last week she pulled this recipe off of, of all places, the Libby’s Pumpkin website. This cake was, even through the fog of far too many bottles of wine, incredible. Topped with the maple cream cheese frosting from Leite’s Culinaria (this is frosting, btw, that will have you asking your significant other to shed their clothes so you can spread it on their bodies and lick it off. It’s sexxxy!), it is almost not to be believed. So good, that when one of our guests asked for some to go, I almost said no, and then when I saw the next day that she had walked out and left it in our fridge I was actually giggling with glee. Not the slightest feeling of “oh, maybe I should call Kate and let her know”. Just me going “oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!!” Sorry Kate, but I dig this cake….

Out of the oven, waiting to be frosted in sin!

*** *** *** *** ***
Pumpkin Carrot Cake
Adapted from Libby’s
Yields - 12 servings

ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cups LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 can (8 oz.) crushed pineapple, drained
1-1/4 cup (about 3 medium) carrots, grated
1 1/4 cups nuts, chopped, divided

Frosting
Two (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
method:
PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease two 9-inch-round cake pans.

COMBINE flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in small bowl. Combine milk and lemon juice in liquid measuring cup (mixture will appear curdled).

BEAT eggs, pumpkin, granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, pineapple, carrots and milk mixture in large mixer bowl; mix well. Gradually add flour mixture; beat until combined. Stir in coconut and 1 cup nuts. Pour into prepared cake pans.

BAKE for 35-40 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 15 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

MAKE THE FROSTING
In a stand mixer beat all the ingredients on medium until fluffy. To assemble the cake, frost the top of one cake, place the other cake on top. Frost the sides and top, swirling decoratively. Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes to set up frosting.

FROST between layers, on sides and top of cake with frosting. Garnish with remaining nuts if desired. Store in refrigerator.

pic top left from Libby's
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one year ago today @ E.D.T.: watch out, they're coming for you!

Having my cake....

We're all different kinds of guys (or girls). You know what I mean. There's "Corvette guy" who is making up for some sort of shortcoming. There's "softball guy", that 35-year-old loser who owns his own softball bat who swears that if his high school baseball coach hadn't fucked him over he'd be batting 3rd for the Red Sox. When it comes to food, there's "scared to eat girl" who swears that food is out to get her; "bad date guy" who complains...loudly...about not being able to get a baked potato at Babbo in NY.

Basically all kinds of people are out there. Especially when it comes to food. Me, I obviously am "will eat anything and lots of it guy". But when it comes to dessert, I am definitely "layer cake guy". I love all desserts. My sweet tooth knows no limits. Especially cakes. Maybe it's all those homey associations I make from the smell of my mom's baking cakes wafting through the house. Wanting to be the one to lick the frosting off the beater blades. Luckily for me w is "likes to bake cakes girl", and the following bit of baked deliciousness has quickly shot to the top of my cakes-to-eat-for-my-last-meal list. I saw this fabulous pumpkin cake on one of my favorite food sites, Leite's Culinaria. I showed it to w and she said, "Hm, maybe I'll make it." I replied, channeling Montgomery Burns, "EXCELLENT"!

We've had it twice now, the most recent last Sunday with friends, and this cake kills! The cakey part is moist and pumpkiney, and the maple cream cheese frosting is completely out of control. Holy shit, it is a childhood dream come true! We've had some leftover frosting in the fridge, and I've been dipping my finger into it and eating it that way. Yeah, that good!! So if you're ever invited to a cake smackdown, may I suggest the clicking on this link!

One note: w has found that mixing the cake batter by hand makes for a more airy, less dense cake, which for this recipe we both prefer. A little more work, but well worth the effort!
*photo in upper left courtesy of Leite's Culinaria

Audible Appetizer!

Even before I started blogging, I was subscribing to the emails from David Leite (pronounced "leet") and reading his outstanding food website Leite's Culinaria for a couple of years. The essays on his site are always informative, usually humorous, and always appetite inducing, and his recipe file is loaded with temptation. Now taking the next leap into the information age, Leite has just started a podcast, co-hosting with Anne Bramley of Eat Feed, called "Now Serving" (you can download/subscribe...for free...from the iTunes store by searching "Now Serving" or via the Eat Feed site). I recently listened to the first podcast, and it's terrific. Most of it is taken up by a fascinating interview by Anne Bramley of Eat Feed with Jacques Pepin, who comes off every bit as friendly, humble, and engaging as I've always heard. He talks about his past, his passion for food, his preference for the NY Times over Le Figaro and so much more. My favorite quote is when Anne asks Jacques what motivates him to keep cooking, and learning, and he replies "Well...my motivation to cook is I'm always hungry." So simple, and eerily familiar, n'est pas?

There are very few things in life you have to do, but if you love food and live to feed your passion, then you HAVE to give this a listen!

Paella postmortem

So how did it all turn out? Pretty damn well, and with very little effort it went from this:
to this:
Along with a green salad with a piquant balsamic dressing, and finishing with a carrot cake that was super moist and dense and maybe a little sweet on the frosting which is something to adjust next time. Although not something you'll ever see on the cover of Gourmet, it was pretty tasty. Or maybe it was the several bottles of wine washing everything down. Whatever it was, it worked. We did some cleanup last night so the morning carnage wouldn't be too bad. Even with impaired motor skills, this mornings scrub down was relatively pain free. Here's a link to the paella recipe from one of my favorite food sites, Leite's Culinaria:
http://www.leitesculinaria.com/recipes/cookbook/paella.html
And for a great salad dressing that is very easy and very good, here's all you do....
*******
Mustard-Balsamic Salad Dressing

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Whisk balsamic and Dijon together. Add oil in a slow stream while continuing to whisk. Salt and pepper to taste.
********

If you want to tackle the cake, here's the link to the recipe:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/102155

Paella: A Taste of Spain!

Paella. Just the sound of it gets me salivating! Great paella is a symphony of flavors layered one on top of the other, the chorizo and shrimp and chicken leading the way, with supporting players saffron, Valencia rice, red peppers, onions, and garlic joining in to crescendo on your palate. Okay, had enough of bad symphony metaphors? How about if I just tell you that I've been looking for an excellent, easy-to-make paella to have at home for years. Thanks to a recent article on Leite's Culinaria, one of my favorite food sites, another culinary goal has been achieved. This recipe is remarkably easy, quick, and I think delivers one of the best paellas I've had. Plus I got to pull out the Cadillac of cookware, the Le Creuset! w and I had it last night night with its perfect wine foil, a chilled bottle of rosé. Yum! We were both supremely pleased, and best of all: Leftovers!!
*** *** ***
Paella
by the Editors of Cook’s Illustrated
from Cooking at Home with America’s Test Kitchen 2006
via Leite's Culinaria
Serves 6

This recipe is for making paella in a Dutch oven (the Dutch oven should be 11 to 12
inches in diameter with at least a 6-quart capacity). With minor modifications, it can
also be made in a paella pan. Cured Spanish chorizo is the sausage of choice for
paella, but fresh chorizo or linguiça is an acceptable substitute.

Soccarat, a layer of crusty browned rice that forms on the bottom of the pan, is a
traditional part of paella. In our version, soccarat does not develop because most of
the cooking is done in the oven. We have provided instructions to develop soccarat in
step 5; if you prefer, skip this step and go directly from step 4 to step 6.

ingredients:
1 pound extra-large shrimp (21 to 25 per pound), peeled and deveined
Salt and ground black pepper
Olive oil
8 or 9 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, each thigh trimmed of excess fat and
halved crosswise
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut pole to pole into 1/2-inch-wide strips
8 ounces Spanish chorizo, sliced 1/2 inch thick on the bias
1 medium onion, chopped fine (about 1 cup)
One 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained, minced, and drained again
2 cups Valencia or Arborio rice
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled
1 dried bay leaf
1 dozen mussels, scrubbed and debearded
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving

method:
1. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position; heat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Toss the shrimp, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1 tablespoon oil, and 1
teaspoon of the garlic in a medium bowl; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until
needed. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper; set aside.

2. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until
shimmering but not smoking. Add the pepper strips and cook, stirring occasionally,
until the skin begins to blister and turn spotty black, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the
pepper to a small plate and set aside.

3. Add 1 teaspoon oil to the now-empty Dutch oven; heat the oil until shimmering
but not smoking. Add the chicken pieces in a single layer; cook, without moving the
pieces, until browned, about 3 minutes. Turn the pieces and brown on the second
side, about 3 minutes longer; transfer the chicken to a medium bowl. Reduce the
heat to medium and add the chorizo to the pot; cook, stirring frequently, until deeply
browned and the fat begins to render, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer the chorizo to the
bowl with the chicken and set aside.

4. Add enough oil to the fat in the Dutch oven to equal 2 tablespoons; heat over
medium heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add the onion and cook, stirring
frequently, until softened, about 3 minutes; stir in the remaining garlic and cook
until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes; cook until the mixture begins to
darken and thicken slightly, about 3 minutes. Stir in the rice and cook until the
grains are well coated with the tomato mixture, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the chicken
broth, wine, saffron, bay leaf, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Return the chicken and chorizo
to the pot, increase the heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil, uncovered, stirring
occasionally. Cover the pot and transfer it to the oven; cook until the rice absorbs
almost all of the liquid, about 15 minutes.

5. Remove the pot from the oven (close the oven door to retain heat). Uncover the
pot; scatter the shrimp over the rice, insert the mussels hinged-side down into the
rice (so they stand upright), arrange the bell pepper strips in a pinwheel pattern, and
scatter the peas over the top. Cover and return to the oven; cook until the shrimp
are opaque and the mussels have opened, 10 to 12 minutes.

6. Optional: If soccarat (see headnote) is desired, set the Dutch oven, uncovered,
over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, rotating the pot 180 degrees after
about 2 minutes for even browning.

7. Let the paella stand, covered, about 5 minutes. Discard any mussels that have not
opened and the bay leaf, if it can be easily removed. Sprinkle with the parsley and
serve, passing the lemon wedges separately.