Cast Iron Salmon, so tender....

Who knew?

Preheat  oven to 350 degrees.
Slather salmon filet with olive oil. I used olive oil infused with white truffle, but any good cold pressed olive oil with do.
Slice up some fresh ginger, scatter on top.
Hit it with a pinch of salt.
Put salmon, skin-side down in a cast iron skillet.Let it bake for 15 to 25 minutes, depending on how rare or not you want your salmon.

Remove from oven, let sit for a minute or two and serve with veggies or whatever. I chose asparagus.

This is so easy. I haven't tried the cast iron with any other fish. It seems to work so well with the salmon. It keeps the fish moist and flavorful.

Quote of the day: Easy does it, sometimes, works.

Sticky Toffee Pudding is ogasmic....

This is the Sticky Toffee Pudding that I made

The first time I had Sticky Toffee Pudding was at a wedding dinner in Arbroath, Scotland. I knew that it was a traditional dessert there and wanted to try it. I had no idea what to expect. I had no idea what was in it. After researching several recipes I found out, that while some of the ingredient vary, there is one constant; dates.

This is the sticky Toffee Pudding served in Scotland

Below is a the recipe I settled on. It is one of Martha Stewart's.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
• 8 ounces pitted dates, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1.     Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 8-inch round cake pan; set aside.

2.     In a small bowl, combine dates and 1/2 cup boiling water; set aside to soften, at least 10 minutes. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt to combine; set aside.

3.     With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy; add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add date mixture, flour mixture, and vanilla; mix just until moistened.

4.     Spread batter in prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 55 to 65 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare toffee sauce.

5.     Remove cake from oven; cool in pan 5 minutes. To ensure it will come out easily later, carefully invert hot cake then return it, right side up, to pan. Using a toothpick, poke holes all over cake. Pour about 1 cup warm sauce over cake; let absorb at least 20 minutes.

  

Toffee Sauce

Ingredients

• 16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1.     In a medium saucepan, combine butter, heavy cream, light-brown sugar, and salt. Heat over low, stirring, until sugar has dissolved, about 2 minutes. Simmer mixture over medium heat until reduced to about 2 1/2 cups, 8 to 12 minutes. If desired, reheat sauce over low before serving.

Let me tell you, this toffee sauce is wonderful. Use it liberally when pouring it over the cake after poking holes in it. 

I served the sticky toffee pudding with freshly whipped cream.

Traveling to Scotland was so much fun. Having this wonderful dessert was just the icing on the cake. 

The young couple's wedding was romantic, made splendid by a beautiful bride and a handsome groom, an 11th century chapel, bagpipes, kilts and sunset somewhere around midnight. Almost three years have past since the wedding, the stunning couple moved to Austraila and the really new news is  the addition of a son due in March. Can't wait. 

Just a quick note. Obviously Sticky Toffee Pudding stuck, because it is at the top of my taste bud memories. A testament to how delicious this dessert is.

Daily Quote: “There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life.”........John Lennon

Cracker Jacks kind of look like Black Eyed Peas...

Not!!!

But I believe in having a few of my own traditions. Eating Cracker Jacks on New Year's Day seems like a fine one. And besides having a tasty treat,  there is a surprise in every box. The prize isn't anything like what I used to get as a kid, but it's still something to look forward to. Today, the prize was a Smart Mouth. MMMM? How did they know? And some jokes.

"Why do sharks only swim in salt water?"

Because pepper water makes them sneeze!!

and

"Why was the frog happy???"

Because he ate everything that bugged him!!!

Cracker Jacks go way back to the Chicago World's fair in 1893, when a mixture of molassas covered popcorn and peanuts were sold by the Rueckheim brothers, Fritz and Louis. Fritz  devised a way to keep the popcorn separated by adding a little oil and putting it all in a cement-mixer-like drum. Before he did that, the mixture was hard to handle and hard to sell.  The protective wax box was developed in 1899 by a guy named Eckstien and by 1902  Cracker Jacks was selling like hot cakes.

When I think of Cracker Jacks, I think of fun and happy times, so why not eat them for luck on New Year's Day. You never know what prize you may find inside.

Just think when you're singing during the seventh inning stretch, it's not "buy me some peanuts and black eyed peas", for gosh sakes.

I have nothing against black-eyed peas, I just like Cracker Jacks better.


Why Black Eyed Peas anyway. Here's what Wikipedia says about the whole thing.

In the Southern United States, eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day is thought to bring prosperity in the new year.
The "good luck" traditions of eating black-eyed peas at Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, are recorded in the Babylonian Talmud (compiled ~500 CE), Horayot 12A: "Abaye [d. 339 CE] said, now that you have established that good-luck symbols avail, you should make it a habit to see qara (bottle gourd), rubiya (black-eyed peas, Arabic lubiya), kartei (leeks), silka (either beets or spinach), and tamrei (dates) on your table on the New Year." However, the custom may have resulted from an early mistranslation of the Aramaic word rubiya (fenugreek).

Another suggested beginning of the tradition dates back to the Civil War, when Union troops, especially in areas targeted by General William Tecumseh Sherman, typically stripped the countryside of all stored food, crops, and livestock, and destroyed whatever they could not carry away. At that time, Northerners considered "field peas" and field corn suitable only for animal fodder, and did not steal or destroy these humble foods.^[4]
In the Southern United States,^[5] the peas are typically cooked with a pork product for flavoring (such as bacon, ham bones, fatback, or hog jowl), diced onion, and served with a hot chili sauce or a pepper-flavored vinegar.
The traditional meal also includes collard, turnip, or mustard greens, and ham. The peas, since they swell when cooked, symbolize prosperity; the greens symbolize money; the pork, because pigs root forward when foraging, represents positive motion.^[6] Cornbread also often accompanies this meal.

Happy New Years!!!!!

Quote of the Day:
Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd;
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack,
I don't care if I never get back.
Let me root, root, root for the home team,
If they don't win, it's a shame.
For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out,
At the old ball game.
Written by Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer

Mousse instead of Reindeer, oh my....

  

That is Chocolate Mousse, a dandy dessert, that is great at Christmas or anytime.  I got the recipe from The NY Times several years ago. It is easy to make and well, do I need to say it, tasty, too. Just make sure you have plenty of mixing bowls on hand.

Chocolate Mousse

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

3 eggs, separated

¼ cup sugar

½ cup heavy cream

½ teaspoon vanilla extract (I use brandy or cognac)

1. Place a double boiler or small saucepan over low heat, and melt butter and chocolate together. Just before chocolate finishes melting, remove pan from stove and beat chocolate with a wooden spoon until smooth. (a sauce pan works just fine, if you keep your heat on low.)

see no sticking!!

2. Transfer chocolate mixture to a bowl and beat in egg yolks with a whisk. Place bowl in refrigerator.

3.  Beat egg whites with half the sugar until they hold stiff peaks but are not dry. Set aside. Beat cream with the remaining sugar and vanilla until it holds peaks.

4. Stir a couple of spoonfuls of egg whites into chocolate mixture to lighten it a bit, then fold in remaining egg whites thoroughly but gently. Fold in cream and refrigerate until chilled. If you are in a hurry divide mousse in individual dishes.. It will chill much faster.

Serve with in a day or two of making it.

It is a creamy fun dessert.

Yield: 4 servings.

Quote of the Day:

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.

Marcel Proust

Boston Cream Pie hits Topeka...

for a birthday bash.
My great niece, Cassidy,  turned 18 in November. We had a delayed celebration this week. I made Boston Cream Pie.

Here is the recipe:

Boston Cream Pie

Photo: Boston Cream Pie Recipe Total Time:

2 hr 0 min

Prep

1 hr 15 min

Cook

45 min

Yield:

8 to 10 servings

For the cake:

• Unsalted butter, for the pan
• 1 1/4 cups cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the pudding:

• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs plus 4 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• Pinch of salt

For the glaze:

• 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch-round cake pan. Fold a sheet of parchment paper into a square, then fold it in half into a triangle. Fold the triangle in half. Put the tip of the triangle in the center of the pan; trim the parchment, following the curve of the pan. Unfold the parchment circle and line the pan.

Make the cake: Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Beat the eggs and sugar in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on high speed until pale and tripled in volume, about 15 minutes. Gently fold in the flour mixture in two additions using a rubber spatula, scraping down the bowl.

Add the milk, vegetable oil and vanilla and beat with the mixer until combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer the pan to a rack and let cool 10 minutes, then invert the cake onto the rack. Invert again and cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the pudding: Heat the milk and vanilla in a medium saucepan over medium heat (do not boil). Whisk the whole eggs, egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add the cornstarch and salt and whisk vigorously until no lumps remain. Whisk about 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture, then gradually whisk in the remaining hot milk mixture.

Pour the egg-milk mixture into the saucepan and cook over low heat, whisking constantly, until thick and pudding-like, 10 to 15 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, using a rubber spatula to push the pudding through. Let cool slightly, stirring occasionally. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pudding and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Stick toothpicks around the side of the cake as a guide for cutting two even layers, then slice the cake in half horizontally with a long serrated knife.

Place the bottom half of the cake cut-side up on a platter. Top with the pudding, spreading it to about 1/4 inch from the edge. Carefully place the other cake half on top, cut-side down, pressing gently.

Make the glaze: Heat the chocolate, cream, vanilla and salt in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring, until melted and smooth, about 2 minutes. Let cool about 5 minutes, then pour over the cake and smooth with an offset spatula. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours before serving.

Quote of the day: How old would you be, if you didn't know how old you are? Satchel Paige

Asparagus and Beet Salad, can't beat it......

and it's so pretty!!!!

I was invited to a Thanksgiving gathering and part of that invitation included bringing along a side dish, which is such a great thing, everyone sharing in the preparation of a meal, community in its best design. I thought this over a lot, this side dish. I thought green beans with almonds, broccoli with orange sauce, country beets, Brussel sprout hash and on and on. Nothing was sounding right, so I went online and came across this recipe. The good thing about this dish, I didn't have to worry about how to keep it warm and it offered up a variety of veggies. (Also, when i arrived at the dinner, there were green beans and brussel sprouts already represented, whew. Glad I went with my gut.)

I altered the recipe somewhat, but I will share the original with notes.

Asparagus and Beet Salad

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound asparagus (I used 1.25 pounds)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin (2 teaspoons)
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice (6 tablespoons and a splash)
• 1 can (15 oz.) sliced beets (fresh beets)
• 1 can (15 oz.) garbanzos
• 1 cup thinly sliced red onion, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (1/2 cup)
• 3 tablespoons roasted, salted pistachios (used unsalted)
• Salt (just a sprinkle)
• 
  

Preparation

Boiling water

Icy water

1. Snap off tough ends of asparagus. Cut spears diagonally into 1-inch lengths. (The asparagus I found was very thin, so I did not cut it up.)
2. 2. In a 10- to 12-inch frying pan, bring about 1 inch water to a boil. Add asparagus and cook just until tender-crisp when pierced, about 3 minutes. Transfer asparagus with a slotted spoon to a large bowl of ice water. Lift out when cold.
3. 3. Dry the frying pan and add cumin. Stir over low heat just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour cumin into a wide bowl and add lemon juice.
4. 4. Drain beets and garbanzos, rinse with cool water, and drain again. Add to bowl along with asparagus, onion, cilantro, and pistachios. Mix and add salt to taste.

The garbanzos are a bit problematic. They have a tendency to sink to the bottom of the bowl. So, the salad needs to be tossed often. Next time I make this, I may cut way back on the garbanzos, maybe add more beets or find another something to substitute them altogether. Any suggestions?????

Quote of the day:Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.  Henry Van Dyke

Oh, a little trivia, I was listening to NPR yesterday and they said that if a person prepared a Thanksgiving meal from start to finish with all the fixings and desserts that the preparer would burn 700 calories.

Buckwheat and pancakes, Buckwheat in pancakes,....

Buckwheat is for pancakes, and buckwheat is gluten free, ya'll!!!

I woke up early, 3:30ish. Don't know why, but it's been a productive morning: Laundry done (well most of it), dishes done, dogs walked (poo and pee; no, that is not their names), journal writing (three pages) and a run to the grocery store for some Grade A dark amber maple syrup and Hodgson Mill Buckwheat Flour. I had a hankerin' for some pancakes, substantial pancakes with flavor and texture. Buckwheat fills the bill and they are pretty, too.

I followed the pancake recipe on the back of the buckwheat flour sack with a few minor modifications.

1 cup buckwheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 heaping tsp. cinnamon (modification)
1 heaping tsp ground ginger (modification)
1 egg beaten
1 cup milk (modification, I used hemp milk)
2 Tbsp. melted butter

Preheat griddle of large skillet (cast iron works great!!) on med high, grease lightly with oil. Griddle is ready when small drops of water  sizzle and disappear almost immediately.
Mix dry ingredients together; add egg, milk and butter, beating each well after each addition. Pour 1/4 cup on griddle, as many as it will take without pancakes touching. Watch for the bubbles on top of the pancake, when there are a lot, flip and let cook for a minute more.

Mmm, mmm, good!

Quote of the day:
I happen to know everything there is to know about maple syrup! I love maple syrup. I love maple syrup on pancakes. I love it on pizza. And I take maple syrup and put a little bit on my hair when I've had a rough week. What do you think holds it up, slick? Jeremy Grey "Wedding Crashers"