Today was a rainy one, so he turned to Betty C for a classic. She offered Mac and Cheese, of course. I offered Panko breading–a little Asian infusion to the classic American dish. He loved it! I guess that’s what I do. I bring a little something different, cultural, worldly, spunky–a little twist to something classic.

Here’s a Mac & Cheese variation from the 2000 edition of Betty Crocker’s Cookbook, which is good for 4 servings.

What you’ll need:

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cups milk
1 cup shredded light Cheddar cheese (4 ounces)
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese (4 ounces)
1 cup Panko breading

What you’ll do:

1) Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2) Cook the macaroni as directed on the package.

3) While the macaroni is cooking, melt the butter in 3-quart saucepan over low heat. Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in the milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir for one minute; remove from heat. Stir in both cups of cheese until melted.

4) Drain the macaroni. Place in baking dish. Pour the cheese sauce on the macaroni and gently stir to incorporate the sauce.

5) Top the macaroni and cheese with Panko breading. Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until the Panko breading is golden brown.

And, I have to admit…it was delicious!

For all the Domino, Blueprint, and Cottage Living fans out there…a new lovely mag to swoon over! Lonny Magazine is just as delicious and sweet as our much-missed favorites. Created by Michelle Adams (owner of Rubie Green and former Domino staffer herself) and Patrick Cline (NY-based photographer and co-founder of Lonny Photo), Lonny mixes the look of a print magazine with online accessibility. See a chandelier that you like on the page? Just hover over it with your mouse and click on the link to purchase. It’s an absolutely great concept for other magazines to follow.  The inaugural Fall issue is available now.  I look forward to seeing more!

And after my first bite, I did feel like the Queen of Sheba who was given “all her desire, whatsoever she asked” by King Solomon.

Queen of Sheba is actually a French cake–Reine de Saba–made famous by Julia Child who said that it was the first French cake that she ever tasted. Our recipe was taken from another one of our picture cookbooks simply called French by Carole Clements and Elizabeth Wolf-Cohen. Below is the recipe taken verbatim from this delicious and classic cookbook.

What you’ll need:
2/3 cup whole blanched almonds, lightly toasted
2/3 cup of superfine sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
5 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted
3 eggs, separated
2 tbsp almond liqueur (optional)

For the Chocolate Glaze
3/4 cup heavy cream
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp almond liqueur (optional)
chopped toasted almonds to decorate

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter an 8-9 inch spring form pan or deep loose-based cake pan. Line the base with nonstick baking paper and dust the pan lightly with flour.

2) In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, process the almonds and 2 tbsp of the sugar until very fine. Transfer to a bowl and sift over the flour. Stir to mix then set aside.

3) In a medium bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer until creamy, then add half of the remaining sugar and beat for about 1-2 minutes until very light and creamy. Gradually beat in the melted chocolate until well blended, then add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition, and beat in the liqueur, if using.

4) In another bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add the remaining sugar and beat until the whites are stiff and glossy, but not dry. Fold a quarter of the whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, then alternately fold in the almond mixture and the remaining whites in three batches. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Tap the pan gently to release any air bubbles.

5) Bake for 30-35 minutes until the edge is puffed but the center is still soft and wobbly (a skewer inserted about 2 inches for the edge should come out clean). Transfer the cake in its pan to a wire rack to cool for about 15 minutes, then remove the sides of the cake pan and let cool completely. Invert the cake onto an 8 inch cake board and remove the base of the pan and the paper.

6) To make the chocolate glaze, bring the cream to a boil in a saucepan. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate. Stir gently until the chocolate has melted and is smooth, then beat in the butter and liqueur, if using. Cool for about 20-30 minutes until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally.

7) Place the cake on a wire rack over a baking sheet and pour over the warm chocolate glaze to cover the top completely. Using a spatula, smooth the glaze around the sides of the cake. Spoon a little of the glaze into a pastry bag fitted with a writing nozzle and use to write whatever you like. Let stand for 5 minutes to set slightly, then carefully press the nuts onto the sides of the cake. Using two long spatulas, transfer the cake to a serving plate and chill until ready to serve.

Here’s a sampling of the recent highlights on Food Carts Portland:

Asaase Ital Palace

**All photos above from Food Carts Portland.

What you’ll need:

2 9-inch round baking pans

2 boxes of French vanilla cake mix

6 large eggs (3 eggs per cake mix)

2 1 1/3 cups of water (only 1 1/3 cup for each cake mix)

2 1/3 cups of vegetable oil (only 1/3 cup for each cake mix)

1/2 cup lemon curd (we used Elizabethan Pantry found at our local HT)

1 1/2 pints of fresh raspberries

2 16 oz lemon cream frosting

1 16 oz vanilla cream frosting

1 sheet of parchment paper (cut into a 11-12 inch round)

1 cake stand

Fresh flowers for cake decoration

Birthday candles

What you’ll do:

1) Preheat oven according to cake mix box instructions.  Prepare the cake mixes one at a time, according to box instructions.  Once the ingredients (water, eggs, cake mix, and vegetable oil) have been mixed according to the instructions on the box, split the batter equally between the two 9-inch round baking pans.  This is important because you don’t want the mix to spill over, so you have to split the batter between the baking pans.  Bake cakes according to time instructions on the box (usually between 28-31 minutes).  You should have a total of 4 low cakes.  Let the cakes cool completely.

2) Place the parchment paper on your cake stand, and place 1 of the 4 cakes on top of the parchment paper.  The parchment paper’s purpose is to keep your cake stand all clean and icing free while you decorate.  You’ll pull it off later on once you’re all done decorating/icing.

3) Bottom and middle layer cake:  On your bottom layer cake, spread the lemon curd until all of the surface is covered.  Once done, put on another layer of cake (this is your second or middle layer).

4) Middle and top layer cake:  On top of the middle layer, spread the vanilla cream frosting until the entire surface of the middle layer cake is covered.  The vanilla cream frosting will hold the raspberries in place.  Once you’ve evenly spread the vanilla cream frosting, begin to place raspberries around the top of the middle layer cake, beginning outside and working your way into the center of the cake.  Once done placing the raspberries, top the cake with a third layer (yes, you’ll have one extra cake which you can use for other purposes).

5)  You should now have a three layer cake, with lemon curd in between the bottom and middle layer and vanilla cream frosting spread and raspberries in between the middle and top layer.  The final piece is to ice the cake with the lemon cream frosting.  The best way to do this if you don’t have an icing spatula (which we don’t) is to use a butter knife.  Start by filling in the gaps around the cake between the bottom and middle layers and between the middle and top layers.  This will ensure that your cake comes out smooth around the sides.  Follow by evenly spreading the icing on the top layer, then work your way around the entire cake beginning at the side of the top layer and working your way around and down the cake.  We found that starting at the top and working your way around helps to best spread the icing.

6)  Once you’re done icing, remove the parchment paper by gently lifting on side of the cake and pulling it off.  This can be pretty tricky, but can be done.  However, if you find it too difficult or feel nervous about messing up your beautified cake, just take the tip of your sharp knife and cut around the cake, removing the excess parchment paper.  Almost done!  For the final presentation, arrange the fresh flowers on top of the cake.  Bring along your birthday candles to place on the cake when the celebrant is ready to make his or her wish!

PS. Sorry the pics came out a little dark and somewhat blurry. Blame it on poor studio lighting and time!

To make:  Three Step Bebop-Rebop Stawberry-Rhubarb Pie (modified from Betty Crocker’s Coobook 2001)

Ingredients:

Two-crust pie pastry – see below for link to recipe

2 to 2 1/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

3 cups of sliced strawberries

3 cups of 1/2-inch pieces of rhubarb

1 tablespoon butter

First make the Best Buttery Pie Crust Ever from the July 2009 issue of Gourmet magazine. You cannot go wrong with this recipe. Butter makes all the difference!

Second, make the pie filling.  Mix sugar and flour in large bowl then fold the rhubarb and strawberries in the mix until they are coated in sugary goodness.

Third, put it all together. Line the pie plate with one of  your Best Buttery Pie Crust Ever and spread in (as evenly as possible) the rhubarb/strawberry sugary goodness mix.  Cut butter into small pieces and sprinkle over the rhubarb/strawberry goodness.  Cover with the remaining Best Buttery Pie Crust Ever.  Seal both pie crusts together and flute (essentially, pinch the edges of the pie between your knuckles).  Slit the top of the pie crust as shown in the picture above (for ventilation).

Now you’re ready to bake.  55 minutes or until crust is golden brown and juice begins to bubble through the slits in the crust.  Cool for about 2 hours, unless you just cannot resist the sweet-tart aroma emanating from your creation.  It is advisable to let the pie set, relax, and chill for it to be at its tasty best — so please be patient.  Enjoy!

Last night, I attempted a great feat:  to master the art of French cooking as guided by Julia Child.  Well, at least, master one chicken dish by Julia Child.  I was craving something French, as I have been for some weeks now.  And being the ad-influenced consumer that I am (referring to my having seen the Julie & Julia movie recently and read the book — which I didn’t find to be as good as the movie, btw), I pulled our dusty Mastering the Art of French Cooking Volume 1 off the shelf and began to read.  Now, I had limited options on what to cook given what was available in our fridge.  I only had two options: chicken or beef.  Since I’ve been eating a lot of red meat lately, I went with the chicken.  I had chicken drumsticks, to be exact.  I wanted to make it up to Hubby since he recently cooked dinner for me and a friend, while we gabbed about people falling in love in their late twenties and settling for the first great guy encounter or waiting for true love to come along (that’s another post for another day).

So back to my chicken.  I didn’t want to just do a simple fry or grill.  I was craving something more complex in taste, but easy to make.  So, page 258 it was:  the location of my first Julia Child recipe excursion.  On initial read, the recipe seems straight-forward.  You saute some vegetables (1 carrot, 1 celery stalk, 1 sliced onion) in 4 tablespoons of butter, then add the chicken, turning every now and then until the chicken is “light golden yellow.”  Then sprinkle the golden yellow chicken on both sides with salt, pepper, and flour.  Cover and cook for another few minutes, turning once.  Then add the 3 cups chicken stock,  1 cup white wine (in my case, I used vermouth, which was an option allowed by the recipe), and an herb bouquet.  The recipe called for parsley, bay leaf, thyme for the herb bouquet, but I used the parsley, thyme, and rosemary since we had those fresh.  After adding these ingredients in the casserole, you bring to a boil, then simmer for 25-30 minutes.  My chicken immersed in delicious liquid looked like this:

While the chicken is cooking, Julia says you should make the onion and mushroom “garniture,” found on other pages of the book.  To make the onion garniture, you basically take some small white onions (I just sliced an onion), butter, chicken stock, and an herb bouquet and simmer these ingredients for about 40-50 minutes.  To make the mushroom garniture (basically stewed mushrooms), you simmer some mushrooms (I just used the baby bella slices), 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice, 1 tablespoon butter, and 1/3 cup water for about 5 minutes.  The point of making these two dishes is for the sauce.  You add it into the chicken casserole, eventually.  Plus they made great side dishes.  My onion and mushroom garniture looked like this:

So back to the chicken.  Once the chicken drumsticks are cooked (i.e., tender when pinched. By this point the chicken should easily let your fork slide in when pricked), you need to reduce the liquid to make the sauce.  You basically bring it to a boil and let some of the liquid evaporate, and the sauce starts to thicken.  At this point, you can add the juices from the onion and mushroom garniture.

Once the liquid has reduced and thickened, you need to blend 2 egg yolks and 1/4 cup whipping cream in a bowl, using a wire whip.  This was where I got a little stumped because the recipe stated that I should “add the hot sauce by tablespoonfuls until about a cupful has gone in” my bowl with the blended egg yolks and cream.  So much for “easy to make.”  I decided, after deliberating with Hubby about my options, to take turn off the stove (which had been on high so that I could reduce the liquid into a thick sauce), take out the chicken (onto another dish), and pour the remaining liquid into a measuring cup (the kind with the spout).  This made it easier to “dribble” the hot sauce into the bowl.  Dribbling is important because you don’t want the egg yolks to cook and curdle.

Once I blended all of the hot sauce into the egg yolk and cream blend, I poured the new mixture into the casserole and let it boil (to further thicken and reduce).  Once the sauce has reduced, you can now eat dinner!

Actually, while the sauce was reducing, I made some spatzle.  Once the spatzle is done and the sauce thickened and reduced, then you can eat dinner.  Put some spatzle on your plate; place a couple of drumsticks on top of the spatzle, pour the sauce over the chicken, garnish with parsley, and lastly, place some mushrooms and onion garniture on the plate.  Complement the dish with a Cotes du Rhone or red Burgundy.

Like this one: Valreas “Cuvee Prestige” Cotes du Rhone Villages 2007, which we got at our local Trader Joe’s for about $5 or $6 bucks! It was excellent with the meal. On its own, ripe and spicy. With the dish, sweet but dry with a fruity flavor and just enough edge to highlight the vermouth in the dish.

And for its encore presentation on Lavender&Cocoa: Fricasse de Poulet L’ancienne!

I have to say that making this dish was quite stressful.  There was so much to do, even though the recipe seems straight-forward.  I have never used so many dishes (and pots) while cooking.  Hubby said that I’d get better if I cooked more from the book.  I’m sure, he’s right.  Practice does make for more efficient cooking.  Still, I think I will reserve the next Julia Child recipe I attempt for a weekend…when I have had a more leisurely day.