Mandarin Orange Cake with Pineapple Cream

This cake is such a big cheat. It's made with boxed cake mix, Cool Whip and boxed pudding. As you know, I don't bake, so this was right up my alley. And the results were fantastic. Everyone from the party wants the recipe. So, if you're feeling a little Sandra Lee ("semi-homemade"--that is an awful show, by the way) then this is the recipe for you.

This is my MIL's recipe that she adapted from Southern Living:

Mandarin Orange Cake

1 pkg yellow cake mix without pudding

1 [11 oz] can mandarin oranges, undrained

4 eggs

½ cup oil

1 [15 oz] can crushed pineapple drained

1 [9oz] carton frozen whipped cream, thawed

1 small pkg vanilla instant pudding

Combine cake mix, oranges, eggs and oil.  Beat 2 minutes at high speed of electric mixer.  Reduce speed to low, beat 1 minute.

Pour batter into 3 greased and floured cake pans (three 9" rounds).  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.  Cool in pans, remove, cool completely.  [I froze them for several days so they would be easier to frost and frosted them the day we ate them.]

Combine 3 remaining ingredients, beat 2 minutes at medium speed, let stand 5 minutes or until mixture reaches spreading consistency.  I actually refrigerated the frosting

so it would not be so runny.  Spread mixture between layers and on top and sides of cake.  Chill at least 2 hours before serving.  Store in refrigerator.

In search of a flat, raw-centered cookie

 The other weekend, we went to an open-house and the realtor had the best chocolate chip cookies sitting out. They were crispy-edged, gooey-centered (a bit raw I think). So I came home and made some. They weren't as good. I even looked up "soft chocolate chip cookie" recipes. I'm not a baker, as you know, so there's probably some key technique that I'm missing. They turned out delicious, but were chunky and thick, and more cake-like rather than thin and chewy. Anyone know what I did wrong? I think they turned out as the recipe called for, but I'm looking for that flat cookie with the almost-raw center. Any suggestions?

Anyhoo, here's the recipe. Let me know if you guys have any thoughts on tweaks for this!  

Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted 1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 1 egg 1 egg yolk 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1.	Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
2.	Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
3.	In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
4.	Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Mc-Macarons: The end of good taste

As you may or may not know, I'm obsessed with macarons. My whole wedding was planned around Laduree. Our French friends have, on more than one occasion, smuggled in French Laduree macarons for my eating enjoyment (Ms. Quiche on Weddingbee even tried to get them for me when she was in Paris).

I actually made them as favors for my wedding--which is a ridiculous feat, since a) I don't bake and b) the pastries are extremely delicate and finicky and thereby very difficult to execute (but I did it--obsessions are inspiring, non?). When I use to mention the tasty little delights to people, they'd say, "Oh, I love macaroons--those Girl Scout cookies are great!" Um, no. That was a couple years ago. But like many memes, the idea spread. And they've grown into some notoriety.

In the past two weeks, friends and family members have emailed and clipped newspaper articles on the confection. Headlines in lifestyle and food sections of major newspapers announcing the new "it" dessert. LAME. I hope these don't become trendy and down-marketed like cupcakes. Don't get me wrong, I love cupcakes, but like a lot of Mc-trends where the masses get on the trendwagon, the object loses its appeal, especially when not-so-great versions start to saturate the marketplace. Starbuck's (talk about contrived) is offering them. And in some French McDonald's they're serving up Mc-Macarons (in their McCafe)--it makes as much sense, I suppose.  Many find them a pale, ersatz comparison. I'm a little cynical because I am experiencing that childish want to be the special snowflake. And I also believe these cookies should not be democratized.  They should exist in that rarefied air of artisan creation.

To Julie Jargon, who wrote the Wall Street Journal article, "Mon Dieu! Will Newfound Popularity Spoil the Dainty Macaron?" I say, yes.

 {G brought home this article from the WSJ the other week}

To Elinor Klivans who wrote the recipe piece in the Washington Post called "The French cookie trend du jour comes out of the oven with elan" I totes gag.

{My mother-in-law saved me this article}

There is a silver lining to the popularization of theses delicacies...that people will stop.calling.them.'macaroons'.

Here's the recipe for my wedding macarons.

MISS PERFUME'S (that's me) FRENCH MACARONS

2 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar

1 1/4 cup almond flour

1/2 cup aged** egg whites (KEY STEP: Aging the eggs)

Pinch of salt 1/3 cup granulated sugar




Directions To make the macarons: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a food processor, blend the confectioner's sugar and almond flour.









In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip egg whites with salt on medium speed until foamy. Increase speed to high and gradually add granulated sugar.









Continue to whip until stiff glossy peaks form.






With a rubber spatula, gently fold in the confectioners' sugar mixture until completely incorporated. It should be the consistency of lava, and peaks should melt away at this point.



Add six drops of whatever food coloring you want. (I added red drops for light pink and green drops for pistachio green).








Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Trace one-inch circles two inches apart from one another. Be sure to flip the parchment over so you don't bake the pen ink or pencil carbon into the macaron!!!




Fit a pastry bag with a 3/8-inch #4 round tip, and fill with batter. Pipe 1-inch disks onto prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between cookies. The batter will spread a little.






Tap the sheet against the counter to get the air bubbles out. One or two taps will do.


THIS IS KEY: Let stand at room temperature until dry, and a soft skin forms on the tops of the macarons and the shiny surface turns dull, about 30 minutes.








Bake, with the door of the oven slightly ajar (I put a wooden spoon between the door and the oven to keep it the tiniest bit open--THIS IS ANOTHER KEY STEP). Bake for about 12 minutes.




The macarons should have "feet" those little bubbly-edged things at the bottom. Remove baking sheet to a wire rack and let the macarons cool completely on the baking sheet. Gently peel off the parchment. Their tops are easily crushed, so take care when removing the macaroons from the parchment. Use immediately or store in an airtight container, refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month. Fill with anything you like. I use lemon curd, jams, or Nutella in a pinch.

But alas, there are weightier concerns to ponder...like the healthcare bill: Are you happy or sad that it passed?

Olive Oil Cake

I made  olive oil cake this weekend. We had a bunch of fresh pineapple from my mom, and it had to be eaten.  I pureed it and made a sauce and baked* the cake as a delivery system for the pineapple. It turned out dense with a slight crust, more like a scone or torte than a cake. It wasn't too sweet, and went really well with the pineapple.

The cake recipe called for  3/4 cup of good olive oil--that's a lot of oil (good or bad)! And while the recipe required baking in special ramekins and the use of lemon zest, I improvised with a tart and cake pan and grapefruit.

*As you may know, I do NOT bake (save for macarons).

This recipe was easy enough that a caveman I could do it.

 

{Click recipe to print}

For the pineapple sauce...

Puree three cups of fresh pineapple, adding 1/4 cup of orange juice in blender. Put puree mixture in a sauce pan with 1/3 cup of water and 1/2 a cup of brown sugar and brought the whole thing to a boil. The cake is reminiscent of a scone, so the moisture and sweetness of the sauce really adds to it!

Winter Vegetable Shhooup (Soup)

Again with the snow. We're supposed to get 10 MORE inches this evening. Offices were closed for the second time this week.  There's only one thing left to do: make soup.

I love the ideas guy who thought of packaging leftover bits of vegetable together. It's brilliant because you don't have to think too much about what to get and it's the perfect amount. In this pack was parsnip, onion, turnip, celery, carrot, a leek, a bit of parsley and fresh dill. That's all you need!  I just added potatoes, some kale and seasonings. It's really hearty--even your carnivore friends will like it.

*******

Winter Vegetable Soup

(YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE EXACT. IT'S SOUP)
 
3      tablespoons    Vegetable or Oil
1      medium        Carrot 

1      medium        Parsnip

1      small         Turnip
3      medium        Potatoes 

2                    Ribs Celery -- Coarsely Chopped
1      medium        Onion -- Coarsely Chopped
1      small         Leek -- Coarsely Chopped
2                    Cloves Garlic -- Crushed
1      teaspoon      Dried Thyme Leaves -- Crumbled

1      small bunch   Fresh herbs (parsley, dill, etc.)
5      cups          Chicken Broth
6      ounces        Fresh Kale -- Chopped

2      dashes        Worcesteshire or Soy Sauce

1      tablespoon    Seasoning salt or mixture of equal 

parts paprika and celery salt  
                     Salt And Pepper To Taste
 
Heat oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium 

heat. Add carrots, celery, onion, garlic, leeks, herbs, 

and thyme.  Cook, stirring frequently, until slightly 

softened, 5 minutes. Add potatoes and seasoning; stir 

to coat.  Stir in broth, 2 cups water.  Cover and bring 

to boil. Reduce heat to medium low; simmer covered, 1 

hour. Stir in kale, Worcesteshire (and salt and pepper 

to taste); simmer covered 10 minutes. 

Storm of the Century and Spicy Hot Cocoa

National Weather Service has upgraded the Winter Storm 

Warning to a Blizzard Warning, beginning at 10PM tonight,

and continuing until 10PM tomorrow. The Winter Storm 

Warning will remain in effect until 10PM. A Blizzard 

Warning means wind gusts will exceed 35 mph, snow is 

likely to be extremely heavy, and visibility will be 

reduced below 1/4 mile. Please make sure to secure all 

loose objects on your property. This extremely dangerous 

storm is expected to produce record snowfall for the 

Washington D.C. metropolitan area.   Travel conditions 

tonight will be extremely hazardous and life-threatening, 

and all citizens are urged to remain indoors.

Pink skies and beautiful, fluffy, sideways-blowing snow. 

We had drinks and leftover bolognese by the fire, then G 

shoveled snow as I made hot cocoa. We're supposed to get 

20 inches!

{Click on recipe to print}

Mr. Benz Comes to Washington

Swiss friend, Marcus Benz, (from G's Beijing days) stopped by for dinner on his way through Washington on business the other night. We thought we'd give him a traditional American meal (which we don't typically eat ourselves, but whatever) of pot roast, mashed potatoes, and brussel sprouts. In return, he brought us a winter snowstorm and sweets (Swiss pralines and his wife's cd of her music).

 

As I'm sure you're already familiar with how to make pot roast, I'll provide you with the more interesting roasted brussel sprouts with bacon and maple syrup recipe (via Catherine Smart at Boston Globe):

{Click recipe to print}

Christmas 2009 Rewind Part 4: Just Us and Some Ham n' Bean Soup

The few days before Christmas, we were busy gathering and packaging gifts, making our holiday cards...

and watching the TBS A Christmas Story marathon (The jaded "Ho, ho, ho" of the department store Santa crystallized our sentiments exactly!).

We also had the very last meal made of the leftover Festivus ham: ham and bean soup.

{Click on recipe to print}

Ho. Ho. Ho.