Connor's Gateau

My eleven-year-old is a budding chef and wanted to make a special dessert for his dad on Father's Day. He really likes the chocolate gateau at our local patisserie, so we found a recipe and he made it happen.

MON GATEAU AU CHOCOLAT
from cooks.com

12 oz. Baker's semi-sweet chocolate or bitter sweet chocolate, broken into pieces
2/3 c. (5 oz.) unsalted butter (*we used salted with no ill effects)
3/4 c. sugar
5 lg. eggs, separated
1/3 c. unbleached all purpose flour
1 tsp. unsalted butter for butter cake pan (see * above)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the chocolate, sugar and butter in the top of a double boiler. Melt over medium heat, stirring until the ingredients are thoroughly blended. Allow the mixture to cool a little, then whisk in the egg yolks, then the flour.

Beat the egg whites in a large bowl just until they form firm peaks. Do not over beat. Add one third of the egg whites to the chocolate batter and mix it vigorously. Then gently fold in the remaining whites. Do this slowly and patiently. Do not over mix, but be sure that the mixture is well blended and that no streaks of the white remain.

Butter a 9 1/2" springform pan and pour in the batter. Bake until the cake is firm and springy, 35 to 40 minutes. Allow the cake to cool for several hours before unmolding. Serve with a dusting of powdered sugar, if desired. Serves 8. Very good.

Strawberry Pies for Father's Day

I made these after we picked 33 pounds of strawberries at Sauvie Island Farms. The recipe for the crust is a slight variation from Pie by Ken Haedrich, and I adapted the filling from Katrina’s Best Bluberry Pie, a recipe from my sister’s mother-in-law in Raleigh, NC.

In a food processor, pulse to combine:
1 ¼ cups flour
¼ cup cornstarch
1 ½ teaspoons sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
Drop in eight pieces of
½ cup cold butter
Pulse until all the butter is broken up and the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
¼ cup ice cold water

Add to processor and pulse repeatedly until the dough just begins to hold together.
Pour dough out onto a sheet of wax paper. Form into a thick round disc with hands, wrap in the wax paper, and let it rest in the fridge for 10-15 minutes. Take it out, unwrap, and flour the top a little and roll out big enough to fill a deep dish pie pan. Place in the pan, being careful not to stretch the dough, and flute the edges. Refrigerate 10-15 minutes while preheating the oven to 400°F.

When the oven is hot, remove crust from the refrigerator and prick all over with a fork. Place a piece of foil loosely on top of the crust and fill with about three cups dry beans. Bake 15 minutes. Remove the foil with the beans and return the crust to the oven. Turn down the heat to 375°F, and continue cooking another 15 minutes or so, until the crust is completely cooked and turning golden brown. Remove, turn off oven, and cool crust completely.

Reserve:
5-6 cups perfect whole ripe strawberries, washed, drained, stems removed

In a medium saucepan, place:
2 cups additional strawberries, smashed thoroughly as for jam
1 cup sugar
dash salt
3 tablespoons cornstarch
Stir together well and cook until it is a thick glaze—about 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in:
1 tablespoon butter
Stir until the butter is completely melted. Let the mixture cool.

1-2 ounces cream cheese
Spread in the bottom of cooled pie crust to keep it from getting soggy. (plus it tastes great!) Top with reserved berries. Arrange them evenly so they look good. Pour the slightly cooled glaze over all the berries. . Ideally, you would eat the pie within a few hours of making it., but this pie will keep at room temperature for two days. Or, refrigerate immediately after making to buy another day.

Favorite Cookies

A friend recently asked about cookie recipes that our family likes, so I thought I'd post two of our favorites. Enjoy!

Mrs. Field’s Cookies
Makes 6 dozen

2 cups butter (4 sticks)
2 cups sugar
2 cups brown sugar
Cream together well.
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
Beat into above and mix well.
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
Combine well in a separate bowl, then beat into the above.
5 cups blended oats*
24 oz. bag of semisweet chocolate chips

Stir in oats and chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for at least 6 minutes or up to 12 minutes in a preheated 375° F oven. Cool on racks.

• Notes from me:
• I usually make half of this recipe, but my husband like to make the whole thing.
• For the blended oats, put about 3 cups old fashioned rolled oats in a blender and blend. This will result in about 2 ½ cups blended oats. Repeat for the full recipe.
• If using a KitchenAid or other such device, use the paddle attachment and lock down the unit. Then you can continue to use the paddle to stir in everything through the chocolate chips. It’s almost too much for the bowl when you do a full recipe.

Snickerdoodles
From Better Homes and Gardens

1 cup butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
Cream together well.
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
Beat into above and mix well.
3 ¾ cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
Mix thoroughly in a separate bowl. Beat half of this into above and then add:
¼ cups milk
Beat until well blended. Add remaining flour mixture. Beat until combined. Stir in nuts, if using.
1 cup chopped nuts (I like blanched almonds, but also I often leave them out)

Form dough into 1-inch balls. Dip each ball in cinnamon sugar. Place balls 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheet. Lightly flatten balls with the bottom of a glass (to about ¼-inch thick) Bake cookies in a preheated 375°F oven until done, 10 to 12 minutes. Makes about 8 dozen small cookies or 4 dozen larger ones.

Banana Cake with Fudgy Frosting

Usually, when I have three black bananas I make banana bread and when I have two black bananas I make banana chip bars. This time I had a different recipe in mind, which I discovered in a book on my shelf: The Weekend Baker by Abigail Johnson Dodge. Since I have serious trouble following a recipe, here is what I actually did. Everyone loved this cake.

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease and flour the bottom and sides or two 9 x 2-inch round cake pans, tapping out the excess flour. Line the bottom of the pans with parchment rounds. (You might be fine without this step, but I went with caution.)

2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Mix all together in a medium bowl until well blended. Set aside.

3 very ripe bananas (with black peels)--peel, mash, set aside.

16 tablespoons butter, tepid
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Beat butter and sugar until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating until incorporated. Continue beating as you add the vanilla and the mashed banana. Add half the flour mixture, beat until smooth and add:

1/2 cup buttermilk

Beat until smooth and then add the remaining flour mixture and beat until smooth.
Pour into prepared cake pans, dividing evenly between the two pans. Drop the pans from about one foot above the counter to remove bubbles.

Bake until the tops are light brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool in pans for about 15 minutes. Run a thin knife around the sides of each pan to loosen the cake. Invert the layers onto racks, lift off the pans, and peel off the parchment. Let cool completely.

For the frosting:
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

Melt in the microwave carefully, stirring after each 30 seconds at 50% power, until completely melted. Then get out your blender and put all the the following in it:

1 cup evaporated milk (not sweetened condensed)
1 1/3 cups sugar
6 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

Pour in the melted chocolate last of all and blend on high speed until the mixture darkens and is very thick, about two minutes. I used a wooden spoon to keep it going around until I was sure it was well blended. It will not be pourable. Scrape it out into a bowl and let it cool to room temperature. When the cake is completely cool, frost. Garnish with walnuts. Very decadent!

May Funishment

This was from a dinner for ten, outside on our patio. We had bread with olive oil and vinegar, and a vegetable antipasta to start. Then pasta. Then stew and potato salad. We drank water and the rosé version of our grape juice from last fall's bounty. For dessert, we had a little homemade cheesecake with fresh, unadulterated, red-all-the-way-through strawberries from the farmer's market. The conversation was lively, and only veered dangerously into religion and politics once or twice. In the end, only mosquitos and the return to a consciousness of our dependent children broke up the party.

Pasta

This was from the Oregonian, adapted from Martha Holmberg’s “Pasta with Spring Vegetables in Light, Lemony Cream Sauce.” I present it here as a play-by-play the way I actually made it Saturday night.

Put on the water to boil, for the pasta. Salt it. When it boils, add:
16 ounces fettuccine
Cook according to package directions.
Meanwhile…
Saute about a minute:
1 tablespoon butter
1 bunch green onions, sliced (white and light-green parts)
Turn up heat and add:
2 cups chicken broth(I used ½ box of Pacific Organic Free Range…)
Boil about 6 minutes until reduced to about a cup. Then add:
½ cup whipping cream
Continue boiling another 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add:
1 teaspoon lemon zest (zest of one lemon)
salt & pepper to taste (keeping in mind you will be adding salty cheese later)
In a steamer basket in the top of the pasta pan, steam the following for just a few minutes with a lid over them:
1 bulb fennel, chopped
1 cup frozen peas
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
1 medium zucchini, diced
(you could use other vegetables, such as asparagus, peppers, whatever)
When the pasta is done, save out ½ cup of the water and then drain.
Return pasta to pan and stir in:
Sauce from above
Vegetables from above
1 ½ cups good quality shredded parmesan
Stir until the cheese is melted, adding some of the pasta water to keep a good consistency. Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with:
1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs (I used basil, parsley and tarragon)

Green Bean & Potato Salad

Adapted from Sunset Italian Cookbook, which we got as a wedding present.

Boil unpeeled and whole:
2 pounds white or Yukon gold (thin skinned) potatoes
Steam in a pan above them for 5-8 minutes(or cook some other way):
16 ounces frozen French-cut green beans
Then plunge the beans into ice water to chill. Drain.

When potatoes are tender (about ½ an hour), turn off heat and fill pan with potatoes still in it with cold water in the sink, letting the cold water run until all the water in the pan feels cold. Using a paring knife, slip off the potato skins and dice up the potatoes into a bowl. Stir in:
2 tablespoons wine vinegar
½ cup olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
¼ cup minced onion (I completely left this out, accidently!)

To serve, arrange the beans in the bottom and up the sides of a glass bowl. Pour in the seasoned potatoes. Sprinkle with:
2 tablespoons capers
(and anchovy fillets, if you wish. I didn’t)

Herbed Lamb Stew

This is also from Sunset Italian Cookbook. I’m telling you what I actually used, rather than copying the recipe exactly.

Melt in a 6-quart pan:
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
Sprinkle meat with salt an pepper before adding to pan for browning:
4 pounds lamb stew meat(shoulder or leg will do)
When brown, remove meat with a slotted spoon onto a plate, and cook in the drippings:
2 medium onions, chopped
2 carrots, grated
2 stalks celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
Cook until soft, stirring occasionally. Return meat to the pan and add:
½ teaspoon sage (more if you are chopping it fresh)
1 teaspoon dry rosemary (I had fresh, so I used about a 4-inch piece, just chopping up the leaves)
1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste
2 pounds canned diced tomatoes and their juice
¾ cup red wine
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 1 to 1 ½ hours until lamb is tender.
At the end, just before serving you are supposed to add 3 tablespoons of vinegar, which I didn’t think was necessary, and might only chagrin David’s tastebuds.
☺
If I’d thought of it, I might have garnished the dish with some sprigs of flat-leaf parsley.