A Stack of Dishes

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breakfast

Zesty Lemon Almond Cake with Spiced Tangerine Sauce

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Moist Lemon Almond Cake

The winter winds have me looking for excuses to turn the oven on. Since my future Mother-in-Law was coming for dinner, the decision was finalized. Cake for dessert.
When I had my wedding cake business I always had pounds and pounds of butter, stacks and stacks of eggs, and never ending bins of flour and sugar at my disposal. Whenever I wanted to get creative in the kitchen I never had to stop to think about what was in the cupboard.
Now I find myself, for the first time in 25 years, purchasing butter at the supermarket- but I rarely eat it. I trend to the healthier olive oil in my cooking, and that is including baking as well. In many recipes oil and butter may be interchanged, but not always to the best advantage. It’s the buttery goodness in brioche that makes the difference, the same-of course- in a sugar cookie.

Last minute baking may require some forgiveness, in a pinch you could get away with plenty. This cake does not need any apologies or excuses- The oil makes for a moist delicious cake that easily waves a dismissive hand at butter.

When it came to deciding what flavor cake to make, my cupboard yielded plenty of flour, sugar and eggs. There were some almonds, a lemon on the counter, and an ambitious stack of tangerines in the fruit bowl. {I promised I would eat them all when I hoisted that big bag into my cart, but they were starting to best me} I also had a container of buttermilk, something many southern women keep at the ready.

As I acquaint myself with southern living I am amazed at the cultural differences in the market aisles. At my regular store I was amazed to see that there were 8 varieties of buttermilk and mostly in half gallon sizes. In contrast there was one option for ricotta, offered only in 16oz containers. On my NY shelves the offerings are the exact opposite. Perhaps this is just a quirk of the store manager, but I was still baffled to think how was all that buttermilk being used?

I have a few “out of the cupboard” cake recipes that everyone should have up their sleeve. This is a pretty nice one. You can substitute the almonds for other nuts, or simply leave them out. You can also switch up the fruit for the sauce- frozen fruits being a perfect thing.

This particular cake was tangy due to the soaking of a lemon juice simple syrup. It’s a great cake for simple gatherings, coffee klatches and, in my case, my Mother-in-Law.

Zesty Lemon Almond Cake with Spiced Tangerine Sauce
makes a 9″ single layer cake- 10 small slices
 
2.5c ap flour
1.5t baking powder
.5t baking soda
.25t salt
10T vegetable oil
1.33 c sugar
3 large eggs
1c buttermilk
.5c almonds, toasted and rough chopped
zest and juice from one lemon, separated
.5c water
.5c sugar
 
2 tangerines
.5c sugar
1c water
.25t cinnamon
pinch of salt
 
Preheat oven to 350˚ and prepare a 9″ cake pan with cooking spray
 
In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
 
In a separate bowl whisk together the oil, sugar and eggs into a thick emulsion. Add the lemon zest.
 
Add the egg mixture and half the buttermilk to the flour and stir until mostly smooth, then add the rest of the buttermilk and the almonds. Stir gently until smooth.
 
Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake until golden and the center of the cake is springy to the touch. Approx 25 mins.
 
While the cake is baking, prepare the lemon syrup and the Tangerine Sauce.
 
In a small saucepan combine the sugar and water and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the fresh lemon juice. After the cake is removed from the oven, and still warm, evenly pour the syrup over the top of the cake, and allow to soak in.
 
To prepare the Tangerine Sauce, using a knife cut off the tops of the tangerines and then slice off the sides. Following along the membranes, remove the sections of tangerine flesh and drop into a small saucepan, allowing any juices to drip into the pan as well.
 
Add the sugar, water and cinnamon and bring to the boil. Allow the sauce to gently boil for 3 minutes, then remove from the heat and allow to cool. Serve the sauce either warmed or room temperature. 
 
{A splash of Cointreau or Grand Marnier would be a lovely addition if you’re so inclined}

Before the Rush- Healthy Pumpkin Cookies for Thanksgiving Breakfast

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Earlier this year I resolutely put my foot down about not preparing Thanksgiving dinner. I have since had to pick that foot right back up. My initial reaction was to groan- but it did not take long for me to get excited about pulling together a meal for my dear ones.

The challenge really is to host 8 adults in my teeny NYC apartment with my teeny NYC apartment kitchen. It will work. I’ll borrow chairs, rearrange my office and use my desk (which is a dining table), and have a “barn raising” of a holiday table. There is space in my living room/dining room/kitchen to set up the table in advance- but then there would be a literal elephant in the room which we can do without for the entire evening.

Nah, we’ll hang around my coffee table, the kitchen is open to the entire place (thankfully) and we can commune and visit and cook together. When the bird is ready, I’ll enlist everyone’s help to pull in the table, set china and linens and start the feast.  I’m sure the Indians kept house in just this way when the Pilgrims arrived. The family huddled around the fire, while the women bustled about- something like that… Anyway, it’s what I’ve got. I’m lucky, my family all likes each other.

I know that the internet is groaning with cranberry sauce recipes, pumpkin pie, turkey etc- Nothing wrong with any of that. It’s just that breakfast that morning tends to get lost in the sauce. It’s tricky right? You’re hungry and all, but you know you’ve got some serious eats heading your way soon- and you don’t want to get in trouble for opening the fridge too many times…

Enter my healthy pumpkin oat cookies. At the ready for all lazy wakers. Just get that coffee going, set out the plate and there you go. All holiday like with it’s pumpkin and spice, and hearty and healthy to get the day off to a good start. You can make them in advance too. They freeze nicely so you don’t need to be mixing and baking first thing.

Happy Thanksgiving all. Much to be grateful for these days- and still so many that need grace and support.

Keep those home fires burning.

Healthy Pumpkin Oat Breakfast Cookies
You can add into this an array of different things. Switch the nuts for raisins or dried cranberries etc.
 
Makes 12-14 cookies
 
.5c canned pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
1 large egg
1t vanilla
3T vegetable oil
2T molasses
.5c white sugar
.75c white flour
1.5c rolled oats
.25t baking powder
1.5t baking soda
.5t salt
1.5t ground cinnamon
.25t ground nutmeg
1c toasted walnuts
 
 
 
Preheat oven to 350˚ and prepare 2 cookie sheets.
 
In a medium sized bowl combine the pumpkin, egg, vanilla, oil, molasses and sugar. Stir to combine.
 
In a larger bowl sift together the flour, bp, bs, salt and spices. Add the oats and stir.
 
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir well. It will make a stiff batter. Gently add the nuts.
 
Drop large spoonfuls of the batter onto the baking sheet and spread into a flat-ish disk. 
 
I had some leftover pumpkin seeds that I put on top, but you can omit these.
 
Bake in the center of the oven for approximately 12 minutes. Test by gently pressing on the cookies. They should feel firm to the touch.
 
Allow to cool before diving in.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Healthy Hash- Smoked Trout and Perfectly Poached Eggs

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Personally I find breakfast the most awkward meal of the day. We all know a healthy start is the best thing we can do for ourselves, but man it is so much easier to grab a bagel or be tempted by the mounds of calorie bomb muffins or sweet rolls on every corner. I’ve never been a cold cereal fan really, and as much as I love sweets (and DO I!), I don’t prefer sweet for breakfast. Aside from making me feel edgy early in the day, I just don’t like the idea of being in the nutritional hole right off the bat.

But preparing breakfast takes time. A commodity most of us have less and less of. Who wants to make a mess of the kitchen, or add 20 minutes to the morning rush? But maybe that is the problem right there. Why the rush? Why do we drag ourselves through late night TV so that we feel we must squeeze out every minute of sleep, and then power push through our morning routine to get out the door? How civilized would it be to actually awake with grace, rouse with ease, and start the day with a sense of calm and well being? 20 minutes. Really, that’s all it takes.

For this breakfast I used leftover potatoes from dinner and pre-chopped my orange peppers and spinach the night before. Then it’s just a matter of boiling water, warming some oil in a pan and quick cooking off the smoked trout hash. Easy, fresh, and you’ve gotten a healthy serving of vegetables and quality protein to really start your day off well.

Those who know me know that I am a big fan of eggs. The poor egg has been so harshly maligned that it almost strikes terror in some folks. Yes- eggs have a large dose of cholesterol, and saturated fat, so you would want to balance that out with the rest of your day- but they are also power packed with vitamins and minerals that are hard to get in other places. The AND (previously ADA) now says that one egg a day is fine and I agree. I’m not suggesting that you go hog wild here, I just want to quell some concerns and allow you to feel good about eating eggs from time to time.

Poaching is a great way to prepare eggs, both in terms of nutrition but also when it comes to clean up. The trick to poaching is there is no big trick. Fear not. Simply simmer some water in an adequate sized pan and add a Tablespoon or two of white vinegar. The vinegar helps bind the proteins in the white so that it contains itself and makes a pretty egg. Then gently crack and add an egg into the water and just let it gently simmer for  4-6 minutes, depending on how cooked you like your yolks, and then scoop them out. That’s all there is to it.

Beautiful, easy, delicious and healthy- just the way I want you to start every day.

Smoked Trout “Hash” with Perfectly Poached Eggs
preparing the vegetables while making dinner the night before is a big help. 
serves 2
 
1.5 c diced and boiled potatoes- leftovers are perfect
.5 c diced orange peppers
1c chopped fresh spinach
3oz smoked trout- or smoked salmon- in small pieces
1 clove garlic
1T olive oil
S&P
4 large eggs
 
Set a 5 qt pan on the stove half filled with water and bring to a simmer. Add 2T of white vinegar.
 
Carefully crack eggs into the water and bring back to the simmer. Cook for 4-6 minutes or until desired doneness. Remove with a slotted spoon and blot on a tea towel.
 
Meanwhile heat a medium frying pan on medium heat and add the oil. Add the garlic and sautee for 2 minutes. Add the potatoes and cook until you get a crisp to the edge. Then add the peppers and cook for 1 minute, toss in the spinach and trout and cook another minute until spinach is wilted and trout is warmed through.
 
The trout is salty, so taste before adding any extra- or just salt the eggs. Top off with some freshly ground pepper.