essvee
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I meant to say the ice cream is time-consuming. It's not particularly complicated. Here's another cake recipe.
VANILLA BEAN LEMON CAKE
INGREDIENTS:
1 3/4 sticks unsalted butter, slightly softened
2 cups sugar
1 vanilla bean, split
Grated zest of 4 lemons
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Lemon Icing
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons hot milk
Pinch of salt
INSTRUCTIONS: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 10 x 5 1/4-inch loaf pan with baker's spray. Line the pan with a long piece of parchment and spray that, too. It's OK if the parchment hangs over the sides of the pan.
Combine the butter and all but 1 tablespoon of the sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat until light and fluffy. The mixture will lighten in color until almost white.
Sprinkle the 1 tablespoon of sugar onto the split and opened vanilla pod; scrape out the seeds using a small knife. Add half of the vanilla seed/sugar to the butter mixture; reserve the remainder. Stir in the lemon zest. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time.
Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt onto a piece of wax paper.
Combine the lemon juice, buttermilk and vanilla extract in a small bowl.
Add the dry ingredients alternately with the liquid ingredients to the butter mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a spatula to give a couple of last folds from the bottom of the bowl. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and tap lightly on the countertop.
Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan and a tester comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cake.
Transfer the pan to a rack and let cool for 10 minutes, then turn the cake out onto a rack set over a tray.
For the lemon icing: Put the powdered sugar and butter in a small bowl. Pour the lemon juice and hot milk over them and whisk until smoothly blended. Whisk in the pinch of salt and the reserved vanilla/sugar. Spoon the icing over the cake and spread it over the sides.
Try the cake with strawberries and raspberries that have been tossed with vanilla syrup.
If you are serving the cake with fruit, you can delete the icing.
Serves 8 to 10.
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Here's some dessert recipes. The ice cream is complicated and incredible. Don't forget Marcella's chicken with two lemons. Meyers are perfect for that. Enjoy.
Shaker lemon pie
2 large meyers
1 cup sugar
4 eggs, beaten
pinch of salt
4T butter, melted
3T flour
zest lemons and slice into thin rounds. discard seeds. chop zent very fine, mix lemons and zest with sugar and let stand overnight. make your favorite 2-crust pie dough. mix eggs, with salt, melted butter and flour and into lemon mixture. pour into shell, cover and bake at 425 for 15 min. reduce heat to 375 and bake 20-30 min longer.
Lemon pudding cake
1 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
Grated zest of 1 lemon
3 eggs, separated
1 1/2 cups milk
Whipped cream (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 1 1/2-quart baking dish or an 8-inch square baking pan. Get out a slightly larger pan, at least 2 inches deep, that will hold the cake pan comfortably.
Combine 3/4 cup of the sugar, the salt and flour in a mixing bowl; stir to blend. Add the melted butter, lemon juice and zest and the egg yolks; stir until thoroughly blended. Stir in the milk.
Beat the egg whites in a bowl with the remaining 1/4 cup sugar until they are stiff but not dry. Fold the beaten egg whites into the lemon mixture. Pour into the prepared baking dish.
Set the dish in the larger pan and pour in hot water to come halfway up the sides of the baking dish. Bake for about 45 minutes, until the top is lightly browned.
Serve warm or chilled, topped with whipped cream, if desired.
CANDIED LEMON PEEL ICE CREAM WITH STRAWBERRY COMPOTE
10 large lemons
2 1/3 cups sugar
8 large egg yolks
4 cups whipping cream
3 cups half and half
1/4 teaspoon salt
16 ounces strawberries, quartered
Using 5-hole citrus zester, remove lemon peel in long thin strips. Halve lemons. Squeeze juice into medium bowl; strain. Combine 1 1/3 cups lemon juice, lemon peel strips, and 2 cups sugar in medium saucepan. Bring to simmer over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Simmer gently until liquid is slightly syrupy, about 10 minutes. Strain through sieve into bowl, reserving lemon peel and syrup separately. Transfer peel to small baking pan; add 1/3 cup sugar and toss to coat. Separate pieces with fork. Let dry 2 hours. Reserve 1/4 cup candied lemon peel strips. Coarsely chop remaining candied peel.
Whisk 1 cup syrup and yolks in large bowl to blend (cover and chill remaining syrup). Bring cream, half and half and salt to simmer in medium saucepan over medium heat. Gradually whisk hot cream mixture into egg mixture. Return to saucepan. Whisk over medium heat until temperature registers 180°F, about 6 minutes (do not boil). Strain custard into large bowl. Chill until cold.
Process custard in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions; add chopped candied peel during last 5 minutes. Transfer ice cream to bowl. Cover and freeze 4 hours. (Syrup, candied peel and ice cream can be made 2 days ahead. Keep syrup refrigerated. Store peel airtight at room temperature. Keep ice cream frozen.)
Stir 1/2 cup syrup in saucepan over medium heat until heated through. Add strawberries. Refrigerate compote at least 4 hours and up to 8 hours.
Scoop ice cream into bowls. Top with compote and candied lemon strips.
Meyer lemon pudding
2 T butter
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs, sep
1 cup milk
1 1/2 T flour
1/3 cup juice
grated rind of 1 meyer
cream butter and sugar. beat in yolks one at a time. add milk, flour, juice and rind. mixture may look curdled. beat whties to soft peaks. fold into batter. pour into 1.5 quart souffle dish and place in bain marie. bake at 350 for 50-60 min or until light brown on top.
Meyer lemon sherbet
3 goodsize meyers
1 cup + 3 T sugar
4 cups water
2T fruity white wine
wash lemons. zest them, producing long threads of zest. juice lemons and strain into bowl with peel. heat sugar with 1 cup water, then add rest of water and lemon. freeze in ice cream freezer or granita-style.
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It's all so beautiful. What did you stuff the duck with?
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Some kind of creamed chicken with biscuits should go over big. Or, try making a French toast casserole. You can make it sweet or savory with cheese. Assemble it the night before and weight it down so the bread soaks up the liquid really well. People love these.
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Professional cook (retired from the trenches) of long standing checking in. I cook from recipes almost exclusively. I have a lot of good cookbooks and I use them.
Three reasons: I have learned over the years (the hard way) to trust the folks who have been there before. A good regional cookbook is the distillation of hundreds, or even thousands (Asian) of years of cooks' experience. Who am I to countermand that?
As well, I am lazy. I want it to come out right with minimal effort.
And lastly, I am a purist of sorts. My goal is not to be original but to be authentic. I want it to taste like it is supposed to. I have little interest in forging my own style: this is partially why I never aspired to head chefdom.
Now, I am not slavish by any means. All competent and interested cooks develop a recipe lingua franca. We can read a recipe and gain an understanding of how it will taste and if we will enjoy preparing it, and we often instinctively know to modify a recipe if some technique or ingredient doesn't belong in our cooking gestalt.
I will make a minor tweak or two here or there. For instance, I love Marcella passionately but through long experience I have learned to cut her amount of fat/oil in half and drain most of the fat from cooked meat (mostly) right before off the bat. It may be authentic but it is also way too oily for my taste. (Ever read some old-time Italian cookbook authors, like Luigi Carneseca? Man, he calls for salt pork, pork rind, olive oil, and lard all in the same recipe sometimes. Yikes!)
But I always prepare a dish sticking very close to the recipe the first time or two. If it sticks in my repatoire, I probably will tweak it to meet my aesthetic standards. Not always though. I've made Ken Hom's Chicken and Black Mushroom casserole dozens of times, or Marcella's chicken and red cabbage, and I always follow the recipe. No need to tweak perfection.
If I am making a roast chix with mashies, or pizza, or other basic things, of course I don't consult a recipe, but usually I did follow a recipe at some point. That's how I learned that I like Marcella's chix with two lemons, or how to rub a chix with soft butter before roasting, or to soak the mozzerella in a bit of olive oil, or that potato puree with cooking water and butter or olive oil tastes good, and I don't need milk or cream all the time.
I've always been wary of folks who say they don't follow recipes. To my mind, that means their learning curve and technique haven't progressed very much. If you always do it "your way," then perhaps all your food ends up tasting the same, perhaps? I view this in somewhat the same fashion as someone who is right all the time (hi Dad!). If you are always right, you can't learn and grow as a person. This applies to cooking as well. Like the monks suggest, I try to bring an "empty mind" when I'm trying something new.
Of course, this is my opinion only, and I am not criticizing anyone in this thread, really. This is something I've spent a fair amount of time thinking about, and I wanted to share it with you all.
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I eat dim sum in Oakland Chinatown a lot.
Tin's is consistently very very very good, and sometimes spectactular. L. Palace is very spotty. Sometimes wow, sometimes, why am I paying twice as much as Tin's? L. Palace's dim sum menu is a little more extensive than Tin's.
Tin's waitstaff is also very friendly and accommodating. Great with special requests. Tin's HK chow mein with chicken and yellow chives is outstanding. IrishSpring, gknl and I have dined at both places, and we prefer Tin's.
Tin's is also great for dinner. Their T-shirts say "adventure cuisine." Some unusual stuff, all executed with flair.
That said, they love me at Tin's, know my name and all. I shot part of a demo tape I made for the Food Network there, and they were thrilled to be a part of it. (I didn't get the gig.)
Do not delay, go to Tin's today!
Oh yeah, and for sheer value, L & L makes very basic and good dim sum, and it is pretty impossible to spend 10 bucks there. Usually for me, it's four plates and a $6.65 bill. Plus, I forgot my wallet there once and they didn't care! Try doing that in SF Chinatown.
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Look folks, I hate margarine as much as the next guy, but the one dish in the whole world that isn't right without margarine is Buffalo wings. They just don't taste right if you use butter.
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Why o why won't they just put the damn price on the page? How much is that there jet burner? Grrr...
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Thanks, Jaymes. Used to serve gallons of it, made to order just like that.
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Shuck oysters. Strain and save liquor. Dust oysters with seasoned flour. Saute 30 sec in some clarified butter. Add a bit of chopped crystalized ginger. Splash with sherry. Cover oysters with half liquor, half heavy cream. Heat through and serve with pat of butter floating on top.
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It's a decent amount of work but they make AWESOME glaceed fruit.
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This is an adaptation of a Michele Scicolone recipe.
4-6 leg quarters
as much garlic as you want
a lotta chopped parsley--sometimes I'll use basil or tarragon or thyme or something, but its really good with just parsley
a lotta cherry tomatoes, halved, or a few big ripe tomatoes, or a can of San Marzanos, drained and crushed
Combine garlic and parsley in the bottom of a baking pan. Season chix well and roll it in the mix to cover. Make sure it ends up skin side down. Throw the tomatoes on top. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Flip chix over. Bake another 40 minutes.
This dish is so much more than the sum of its parts. The chix skin gets wicked savory and kind of crisp. The tomatoes and garlic kind of dissolve into the chix juice. Serve with risotto rice boiled in a lot of water like pasta and buttered. Awesome.
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Ya know, I've been to the show a couple two three times, and it always bored the shit out of me. Lots of wholesale stuff, and equipment, and new convenience and snack and weird confectionery. Not a lot of stuff to actually eat. Sometimes the presentations are good; I saw Marcella once, and she was mean to me (sigh). But I think you pay extra for those.
Just sayin.
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I would like to see the recipe but I do not wish to pay the Times to do so.
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This is incredible. I haven't even seen these at restaurant supply houses. I am so pumped. How about a recommendation on brand and/or gauge. I don't want the ones that won't stand up to Scotch Brite...
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Mayhaw my man, you are outdoing yourself this eve. What, pray tell, is Richard's Pickled Pork?
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Make the classic French dish: duck with turnips.
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I don't know if this counts, but I've eaten leftover roast chix up to two weeks after the fact. Cooked meat seems to last for a really long time. Same for soups and pasta sauces and casseroles and such. Give it a good sniff and reheat it well, but they can go for a much longer time than people think.
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If you look closely, many Chinese markets have quite a few different grades of dried shiitakes. The larger, lighter, and more uniform size they are, the more expensive they are. Once you get used to cooking with shiitakes, splurge on a package of expensive ones and make something special with them. They are very different then the small dark shriveled ones that are bargain priced.
An idea, perhaps an eGullet cooking class dedicated to Chinese ingredients, in particular the esoteric dried items that even with my many years of research don't know what to do with?
The best thing I know to do with dried shiitakes is to make the chicken and black mushroom clay pot from Ken Hom's Fragrant Harbor Taste (my fave Chinese cookbook).
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The mucilaginous texture seems to be some the Middle East in general enjoys. Isn't it Egypt that makes the gloopy, stringy, sticky ice cream?
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My one trip to the French Laundry, some years ago now, was my finest service experience. It was like being waited on by ballerinas. There seems to be seven or eight folks involved in serving our table, and their movements were so graceful and precise it was as if they had been choreographed.
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This kicks ass and is easy to make. Your guests will be muy impressed. Sorry for the shorthand and the typing errors. Let me know if you are interested and can't make out some of the instructions.
thousand -layer smoked salmon terrine with caviar sauce
3 # smoked salmon
salmon mousse
8-9 oz smoked salmon
3/4 cup basil leaves
1/2 # cream cheese
4 oz butter
2-3 drops Tabasco
1/4 cup oo
1/2 cup chix stock
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 oz gelatin
2 T flying fish roe, salmon roe or other caviar
line 3 baking sheets with parchment cover parchment with salmon, overlapping if necessary top with another sheet of parchmetn rub and press all over freeze for 30 min while preparing the mousse prcoess salmon and bsil add cream cheese and butter a little at a time add T and process til smooth add oo in thin stream place stock and lemon in pan sprinkle on gelatin and heat til dissolved cool nad add to mousse transfer to bowl stir in ff roe spread 1/3 of mousse over 1 tray invert another salmon layer on top rub and press all over repeat divide into 5 12 inch strips, each just short of 3.5 inches wide invert 1 strip onto cutting board cover with mousse repeat spread any left over mouuse over tops and sides with metal spatula freeze for 30 min cut in half and stack on top smooth and square off edges with metal spatula dipped in hot water refrigerate up to 3 days serve with caviar sauce and cucumber fans
caviar sauce
2.5 cups homemade mayo
1/4 cup chix stock
3-4 T lemon
10 drops Tabasco
6 oz ff roe or other caviar
1/4 cup chives
tomato paste or beet juice for color
Zuni Cafe
in California: Dining
Posted
dave, I've eaten very well at Zuni. Can't go too far wrong when a wood-fired oven is in the mix. Caesar and chix is an unbeatable meal, and the cheese plates there rival any others I've had. I'm sure you'll enjoy your meal.