Frosted Brownies for You

On the rare occasion, you'll eat a brownie somewhere that, while you're unsure why, just doesn't measure down to the brownies sitting around most kitchens, potluck tables, or bakeries for that matter.  You are unsure why.  Maybe it's fresh.  Frosted? Tender?  Tastes of chocolate rather than cocoa and flour?  Not dry?  Not wet? Firm enough as in done, but definitely not gooey?

I make those brownies, she said... though I can't make them often.  Because I'd eat them, you see.  You can make them, too.  The differences between what are soon to be your brownies and the regular, old garden variety brownies are basic, but not always obvious.

Cranberry-Ginger Bread Pudding for 2--Breakfast or Dessert?

I have a thing about making desserts in individual portions. I'll own it.  I'll fess up. I guess I just think they're cute.  Manageable.  And I love bread pudding at holiday time.

I find myself, when in a good kitchen shop (like COOKS of CROCUS HILL on Grand Avenue in Saint Paul and in Stillwater--both in Minnesota), browsing around for ramekins, over-sized cups, and so on.  Anything that will go in the microwave, oven, or convection oven.  One of my regular ovens and my microwave are also convection ovens by design.  Did I get the verb-subject agreement here?
Sounds wonky.  In a pinch, one-cup glass measuring cups could be used.  Make sure they're oven-safe or they could shatter in the oven.

Pumpkin Custard with Cinnamon Crème Fraiche

It's October.  The Solo Cook's thoughts turn to pumpkin.

Don't buy the little pie pumpkins.  Buy a  jack-o-lantern instead and carve it!   If you're going to make pumpkin anything, just buy plain canned pumpkin.  Yes, I know it qualifies as "processed" food, but so do canned green beans then.  I've done it both ways; the fresh pumpkins are no better.   And, you know, Libby has a corner on pumpkins; they actually get them cheaper.  So grin and bear it; buy canned.  Make some pumpkin bread and maybe a pie if you're invited to a fall dinner.

The Best Cheesecake (clear throat) for any Birthday

Pagliacci's New York Cheesecake...made and photographed this year in St. Paul

I've made this cheesecake since, I think, 1984.  Almost always for Dave's birthday, but occasionally

for other special occasions.   I dressed it up with chocolate and toffee for Sean's 30th.  I think I even stirred in some pumpkin and topped it with cinnamon/salted crushed pecans one fall.  Dave, however, likes it plain, plein, with nada, nothing, nip, zip, zing, big 0.  Says it needs nothing but a fork.  He's probably right, but I throw a few berries or drizzle chocolate sauce on it for other folks.  I've been known to make a cranberry compote for it for Thanksgiving or a New Year's Day buffet.

Just a note about where this came from, though I didn't think about it for years.  I did vaguely remember a restaurant in Victoria, British Columbia and a bit of the story...but it wasn't until the internet became available that I went back and looked it all up.  Incredible:  the restaurant is still there (though I didn't have time to visit when we were in Victoria last spring) and the soup of the day (today) is Vegetable with Potato... also Split Pea with Ham.  And, you know, if you make something for long enough, it just becomes yours.  Even if you know it's  not.  Dave calls it "Alyce's Cheesecake."  And I've never changed the basic recipe, despite the above special occasion twists and tweaks.
   

How I wish I were a better photographer...but these colors don't lend themselves to food photography anyway.  You get the idea.

 Other people have sort of tagged on to the cheesecake over the years.  If you've lived near one of our 24 houses in July, you might have had some.  Some friends texted this last week to find out if, by chance, we were coming back to Colorado for the 4th...it might have been the cheesecake.

As The Solo Cook, you'll probably be invited to potlucks, dinners, picnics, etc., over the next how-many years. I freely give you permission to make and take YOUR cheesecake because:

1. It's the best.  They'll love you.
2. It's so easy to make, it's not funny.  There's no technique involved.
3. You can't hardly ruin this.
4. It's great any time of the year.
5. It's flexible.  Forgiving.  Can be adapted to any flavor cheesecake.
6. Can be made days and days ahead.
7. Can be frozen for a month. (Cheesecakes freeze admirably well.)

Let me know if you make it!

You do need a 9" springform pan.  Yes, really, you must have it.
A food processor or an electric mixer (even a hand-held one) is a must unless you're Superman.
If you don't have a food processor for the graham cracker crumbs, you can buy them already crushed or put the crackers in a gallon sealed bag and pound or roll over them with a rolling pin.

Pagliacci's New York Cheesecake                                         

Crust

• 1 1/4 cups graham wafer crumbs (I prefer vanilla wafer crumbs)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

Filling

• 40 ounces cream cheese, room temperature (5 8oz packages; I use low-fat.)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 3/4 cups sugar    (I like a 1 1/4 cups)
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 5 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup whipping cream

                                                           Directions:
First:  Mix crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar and butter and press into a 10" spring form pan. Refrigerate until ready to use.

1.  Preheat oven to 500º.  Make sure your oven is clean before you start!
2.  Beat cream cheese with electric mixer in large bowl until very smooth. Blend in lemon juice and vanilla. Sift sugar, flour and salt together and gradually beat into cheese. Beat until creamy, smooth and light, about 5 minutes. Beat in eggs and yolks one at a time. Blend in cream. Pour into crust.  Place filled pan on a  baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil.  
3.  Bake 12 minutes.
4.  Reduce oven temperature to 200º. Continue baking until tester inserted in centre comes out clean. The original recipe said for 45 minutes but I find it takes much longer.  Keep testing. (You can also set the oven at 300 and it's a lot less time.  I think the 200 might have been a typo??)
5.  Run a sharp knife around the edge of the pan. Cool cake completely and refrigerate at least 24 hours before serving. 

Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/pagliaccis-new-york-cheesecake-364368#ixzz1RMOCwh6e

Have fun cooking and taking care of yourself,

Alyce

Pie--Step-by-Step Crust and a Rhubarb Filling

We have a lot of chances to make pie.  Take one!

 As I write online articles for examiner.com (St. Paul Entertainment--Food and Drink), I am often working on dishes, meals, or recipes for foods that are in season or are being featured at farmer's market.  The past couple of weeks, rhubarb has played a large role in my market shopping and I wrote up the recipe for a rhubarb pie for them this week.  As I worked on the recipe (and it was no work to eat the pie, you'll see), I kept Dinner Place readers in mind and took lots of pictures of making the crust and putting the pie together.

Rhubarb--Perfect spring vegetable, but dispose of leaves safely, they're full of oxalic acid and are poisonous.

For whatever reason, many perfectly good cooks shy away from baking  pie.  Maybe they're not bakers.  Or they tried it once and it was a mess (and so was my first pie) or they tried it twice and had to throw away a crust (so does every pie baker, no matter how experienced), etc.  I have a method (and an alternate) that I'm sold on and hope you'll try.  You will be the hit of your group of friends even if the pie crust has some lumps or pieces missing...people just love pie and will love you for making it.  Soon, you'll be a champion pie baker (maybe), but your pies will get eaten all the way up that learning curve.

As a solo cook, a pie is a challenge.  You'll either eat a piece every day or two (storing the remainder in the refrigerator) or you'll make pie when you have a reason to take something to someone's house or to a potluck.  There are individual pies and, if you have tiny pie plates (the kind children bake with) or ovensafe bowls (perfect for pie for one) or even ovensafe mugs, you can make pie just for you.

This pie crust is made in the food processor. If you'd like to make a crust by hand, watch this.

Coming home in my basket

  Here's the process in photographs.  My crust is made in the Cuisinart Food Processor.

Flour, salt, sugar, and butter mixed until combined until pea-sized and smaller pieces.

Iced water added. Processed until just coming together.

Meantime, chop the rhubarb into about 1/2" pieces.

Take dough out of bowl, divide in half.  Put half in frig and press other half between 2 sheets of waxed paper.

Roll out from center until more than big enough for pie plate. Put plate upside down on crust to measure.

Flip dough over and roll quickly-once!-with rolling pin to release dough from waxed paper.

Gently peel that side's paper off.

Turn dough over onto pie plate and carefully pull the other sheet of paper off.

Gently press dough down into pie plate as evenly as possible.   Edges should hang over.

Alternate method:  Dust counter, dough and pin well with flour and roll your dough out from the center.

Into the pan and crimp edges.

Fill with rhubarb mixture and dot with butter.  The butter and the flour in the rhubarb will create the thickener.

Take that top crust and loosely roll it around your rolling pin.

Lift it on to  the pie, being careful of placement so you don't have to do it twice.

There, it's on and covered and just needs trimming.

Trim evenly with sharp knife or scissors. (I like to make pie crust cookies out of extra dough.)

Seal or crimp edges quickly; don't over work dough.

I like to make a pretty edge. You can press it down with the tines of a fork, too.  Or leave it simply crimped--pinched together.

Make slits in top crust for steam to vent.  I like designs!

Place on a rimmed sheet in case of boil overs.

It's done when it's browned and bubbling through slits. Glass pie plates help you see if it's done.

So close and yet so far away.  This must cool nearly completely or you'll cut it and have a sea of filling all over.

I love pie.  A little ice cream wouldn't hurt.

What to do with Old Bread--Make Bread Pudding

 Happy Spring!  Traveling and  moving have kept me away ...Thanks for being patient. 

When you're the only one in the kitchen, it's hard to have bread. Divide; freeze.  Buy rolls.  Or buy baguette, eat some, and then make...

Bread Pudding with Apples, Raisins, Brandy and Ice Cream--Oh Yeah  4 servings, but who's counting?

1/2 day-old baguette, sliced into pieces 1" thick (about 12 slices)
1/4 c softened butter, plus 1T for greasing the baking dish
1/2 large tart apple, sliced (leave peel on) Note: Spring berries could be used as well.
1/2 t cinnamon (I like Chinese or Vietnamese cinnamon--go to Penzey's if you can for spices.)
Pint of milk
1/4 c sugar
4 eggs, well beaten
4T brandy, optional
4 small scoops vanilla ice cream, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.
2. Butter (grease) a 2qt casserole or oven-safe bowl.
3. Butter lightly each piece of bread and place one layer of bread at bottom of baking dish.  Top with a few raisins and pieces of apple.  Sprinkle with cinnamon. 
4. Beat together milk, sugar and eggs.   Add a pinch of cinnamon. Pour 1/3 of mixture over bread layer.
5. Add another layer of bread, apples, raisins, cinnamon, and top with milk mixture.  Repeat.  If there is any of the milk mixture (custard) remaining, pour it into the dish.
6. Place baking dish in a larger baking dish (4qt rectangular works well if you've used a 2 qt rectangular Pyrex-type baking dish-or use a roasting pan) and pour hot water (bain marie -water bath--this ensures even and slow cooking) into the larger dish until the water is about halfway up the dish of pudding.  Cover pudding with two layers of aluminum foil and pinch around the edges for a snug fit.
7. Carefully place the pans in oven.  (Alternately, place waterless pans in oven and pour hot water from large pitcher into bigger pan to avoid spilling.)
8. Let bake 45 minutes.  Remove aluminum foil and let bake another 15 minutes or so until custard is set and bread is golden.
9. Remove pudding from water bath and place it a on cooling rack. Let sit 15 minutes.  Serve warm with a splash of brandy and  a small scoop of vanilla ice cream, if desired.