Get a Whirly Pop Now, Friends

It takes no more time to make and unlike microwave popcorn, Whirlypop corn won't kill you pr make you gasp for breath.

You can get them at Kitchen, Etc in Portsmouth and The Store in Rockland Me.

It's Pie Time

Ever wanted to know how to make a lattice pie crust? For years, I've muddled through it, never using the same method twice (my mom, an excellent cook, hates baking pies, so I've learned on my own) and my lattice crusts results have been as muddled as my methods.
Anyway, Elise has an excellent post on how to make a lattie top pie crust, complete with step-by step pictures. No more guess work, and no more crazy looking pie tops.
Mmmmm, just in time for summer berry pies.

Scarlet and Gray Cake

Those of you from the south might call this a Red Velvet Cake, but in honor of the Buckeye's Final Four appearance in Atlanta this weekend, I'm going to add a dash more red food coloring to the cake batter and then I'll see if I can mix up a nice gray color for the icing (we'll then pray that it doesn't look like a dead armadillo) and I'm gonna call it a Scarlet and Gray Cake.

Regardless of the coloring, as a kid, this was always my requested birthday cake and it remains one of my favorite cakes to make and eat. I haven't had one/made one since moving to Maine, so this is a lovely excuse to bake.

There are many red velvet cake recipes to be found; some recommend crushed pecans as a garnish and some (the heresy) advise the use of a store-bought devil's food cake mix and canned frosting, which absolutely does not do. Others substitute white frosting for the cream cheese. Not bad, but not great. This is my favorite recipe, from my good friend Joy's momma, Rosie, who hails from Russel Springs, KY.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fine salt
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoons red food coloring (1 ounce)--I'm going to bump this up to three
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Vegetable oil for the pans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil and flour 3 (9 by 1 1/2-inch round) cake pans.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In another large bowl, whisk together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla.

Using a standing mixer, mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined and a smooth batter is formed.

Divide the cake batter evenly between the three prepared cake pans. Place the pans in the oven evenly spaced apart. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through the cooking, until the cake pulls away from the side of the pans, and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

Remove the cakes from the oven and run a knife around the edges to loosen them from the sides of the pans. One at a time, invert the cakes onto a plate and then re-invert them onto a cooling rack, rounded-sides up. Let cool completely before frosting the cake.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 pound cream cheese, softened
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter (1 cup), softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Using a mixer, mix the cream cheese, sugar, and butter on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to high, and mix until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Reduce the speed of the mixer to low. Add the vanilla, and beat until fluffy. Refrigerate until the frosting stiffens before frosting the cake.

Salsa Recipes

....are posted over at Mainely Cooking.

Hola Amigos!

It's going to be an unusual sunny spring Saturday here in the Pine Tree State. The Hubby is away (golfing) so I'm going to use the day (or the portion of it before the 4:40 Ohio State-Memphis tip off) to try some recipes for the Annual Cinco de Mayo party.

An old and dear friend from Boston is coming up for the day. She loves to cook and has promised that if I make her a Bloody Mary, she'll help dice, mince and taste. I'm guessing she'll settle for a White Trash Margarita......hopefully, she'll also not mind watching a bunch of guys in scarlet and gray run around on a hard wood floor bouncing a ball for a while either.

So, the Cinco de Mayo planning.
Last year's menu was extremely time intensive and once the party got started it ended up being a little more high maintenance than I'd planned (of course the party was way bigger than I'd planned, which might account for that). We had (with editorial comments):

Pear and Mint Salsa--excellent, I think it stays
Five Alarm Salsa--I loved it, but it's not going to make the cut as the five alarm almost hospitalized a couple of the guests.
Fresh Tomato Salsa--not exciting, but because of that it's a keeper
Mucho chips--

Chicken Enchiladas--on the fence
Beef Fajitas-going. Too high maintenance and difficult to eat
Spanish Rice--on the fence
Black Bean Salad--keeper, I think
Homemade Queso--hmmmm, I didn't love this recipe. I'll look for a new one, I think

White Trash Margaritas-keeper
Grand Gold Margaritas--on the fence. I'd like to add an exotic fruity margarita this year
Mexican Beer--but of course . All beer stays
Soft Drinks
Iced Tea

Provided that I don't chop off a finger, the recipes will be posted over at Cooking Mainely.

Blogalicious: The Blogger Cookbook

It's out and available at Amazon.
Some bloggers who contributed recipes are: Instapundit, Michelle Malkin, Hugh Hewitt, Power Line, The Volokh Conspiracy, Little Green Footballs, Captain's Quarters, The Anchoress, Stop the ACLU, Crooked Timber, The Belmont Club, Black Five, The Mudville Gazette ... and Bitch, Ph.D.
Yum. Pan-seared Hillary and a little slow roasted donkey, anyone?

Grandma's Best Flu Fighter

First, I have to admit, this is not my grandma's recipe, but it's certainly someone's grandma's so the title isn't a complete lie. It's just good marketing.....

Flu season is upon us and I'm one of the early victims. I still can't quite shake the icky stomach, headachey, general achey, I'm so tired I sleep 15 hours a day feeling. Hubby thinks it's time for the doctor (no way, hosey, I don't like doctors), so before he insists, I'm making a batch of this specific recipe for chicken noodle soup.
It's not failed me yet. The friend who gave it to me called it her Jewish Penicillin. It's a perfect title. Leaving the skins on the root vegetables just packs it with vitamins and the ginger helps fight nausea.

Flu Fighting Chicken Noodle Soup

1 whole fryer chicken (kosher, if possible)
2 large parsnips
2 small onions
4 large carrots
2 large turnips (when you can't find turnips, rutabegas work well)
3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon ginger
half pound wide egg noodles
2 Tbs fresh dill
2 Tbs fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Place the chicken in a pot, cover with cold water
Chop 1 onion, 1 parsnip, 1 turnip, 2 carrots and add to the pot;Do not peel root vegetables
Add the garlic, ginger, salt and pepper
Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer, cooking for at least two hours.
Skim fat as necessary
Remove the vegetables and discard
Remove the chicken and debone, then strain the stock and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Chop parsnip, turnip, onion and carrots into small chunks and add to the simmering stock Add the chicken and egg noodles
Cook until noodles and veggies are tender, then add the parsley and dill just before serving.

Our Favorite Christmas Present

We got any number of very wonderful and exciting Christmas presents (some from readers of this blog) and while we appreciate all of them so much, there's one that we love just a little bit more than the others. It's the Red Whirley Popcorn Popper. It pops 8 natural servings of popcorn in less time than the microwave can pop a mini-bag full of chemical-laden fake corn (about a minute and a half on our stove. We use 1 tbs of regular old Wesson oil to make a full pot, reducing the fat and calories but not the taste.

Our red whirley came with a recipe book. We haven't tried any of them yet. But our whirley also came with my mom from Ohio and she makes this delicious caramel corn recipe:

Ingredients
2 cups butter
2 cups brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Karo Syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (mom uses a quick pour more)
lots of popped corn (6-7 quarts)

Place popped corn in a large shallow roasting pan (the aluminum foil turkey pans work well. We wash it and reuse it.) Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
Mix the first four ingredients together in a saucepan and cook for about five minutes. Add the baking soda and vanilla and stir until fully mixed. Pour the mixture over the pop corn and bake for an hour, stirring every 15 minutes or so.
Much better than Cracker Jacks.

Potato Cakes For Brunch or Lunch or Dinner

I've been experimenting/foolproofing/testing recipes for Christmas Eve, Christmas morning and and I found this recipe is extremely tasty and versatile enough to be served as a breakfast or dinner side dish. My 10 year old niece was my sous chef last night and she decided that the results deserved a "quadruple gold star."

Potato & Onion Cakes

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus more
to grease the tin
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon packed dark-brown sugar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary, plus 6
sprigs for tin
1 small red onion, sliced into six 1/4-inch-thick
rounds
4 medium Yukon gold potatoes, coarsely grated
1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Generously butter a
large (six 1-cup) muffin tin. Sprinkle each cup with
salt, pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon sugar; drizzle each
cup with 1/2 teaspoon of each vinegar. Put a
rosemary sprig in each cup, and cover with an onion
round; set aside.

2. Toss potatoes with chopped rosemary and egg
yolk in a medium bowl; season with pepper and 2
teaspoons salt. Divide among cups; dot with butter.

3. Bake until potatoes are tender and well
browned, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven. Let
Cool 5 minutes. Run a thin knife around edge of each
cup to loosen; invert, and serve.

Barefoot Contessa Visits York

York had a rare celebrity event today when the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten, stopped in at Stonewall Kitchen for a book signing.

Even though Ina's departed the store, sometime when you're heading up the Maine Pike, exit at the Yorks/Ogunquit exit and head straight (literally it's a straight shot off of the spur road into their parking lot) into the Kitchen. They're almost always cooking up some delicious samples and the cafe has wonderful lunch and dinner selections, as well as take away. If you're not hungry, the home store has those lovely sachets and liquid soaps.
And for the holidays they're featuring a beautiful rasberry/ pomegranate holiday collection.