Parsnip Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Before making this cake, I had never eaten a parsnip. For that matter, the humble parsnip had never even received a second look in the grocery from me, lumped (unfairly) in with the bizarre ethnic fruits, beets, and what Wegman's labels as "baby frizzy lettuces." In short, I stuck to what I knew (FOR SURE) to be edible as well as having the highest probability of being eaten by whomever I was feeding. 

However, the day has dawned that I wanted cake. And, more specifically, I wanted some sort of interesting cake, AND, even more specifically, I wanted to make it with elbow grease! 

I got this recipe from "Not Your Mother's Cookbook", which can be found here on Amazon. AND IT WAS DELICIOUS!

You need the following stuff.

-Enough parsnips to grate 4 c. (It took two big ones for me.)

-1 c. fine sugar (I just used granulated, and it was fine.)

-3 eggs

-1/2 c. crushed pineapple

-1 1/3 c. flour

-1 tsp. baking soda

-2 Tbsp. cinnamon

-1 1/4 c. vegetable oil

-1 tsp. vanilla extract

-1/2 tsp. salt

-1/2 c. currants (I used dried...fresh is probably tastier.)

For the frosting:

-1 c. cream cheese

-5 oz. melted butter

-1/2 c. superfine sugar

-the juice and zest of one lemon

(Yes...a cell phone photo...do forgive it. :(  )

1. Grease a 9' springform pan, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

2. Grate the parsnips. This can take forever....and really start to develop an ache in your arm after a while. 

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3. Whisk sugar, oil, and vanilla together in a large bowl. Add eggs one at a time, beating well. I like using duck eggs for baking , but not because of the novelty. Duck eggs are actually richer tasting, and provide a more flavorful baking experience. 

4. After all the eggs are mixed in, the mix should take on a thick, syrupy quality, and somewhat retain this quality as you mix it. 

5. In another bowl, combine parsnip, flour, salt, baking soda, currants, and the cinnamon. 
6. Put the contents of both bowls....into one bowl....and mix! It will look like a giant bowl of the tastiest oatmeal in the whole world. Don't be fooled! Eating this all at once will most likely make you ill. :(

7. Next, pour this carefully into your springform pan, and bake for 1.5 hrs, or until a wooden stick or cake tester comes out clean. 

Let the cake rest for about twenty minutes after you take it out of the oven, then remove the outer band and slide the cake onto a plate to cool before cutting in half for layers.

To make the frosting, just whip all the ingredients together. Frost when the cake has completely cooled, or you will have a mess on your hands. I made a double batch, because I LOVE FROSTING, and I also wanted enough to put between layers.  However, frosting amount is totally up to you. Although, if I were you, I would make tons...and then eat a lot. This will, like eating batter, make you ill...but, somehow, I managed to justify it. I am thinking you will not find it that hard to do the same.

PS: To cut a clean layer and make sure you lift the top one off in one piece, tape a piece of parchment or wax paper to your knife, then drag it through the cake as you cut. Lifting the paper will result in lifting the top layer. :) Aren't I smart?

White Beef Stew with a little bit of Everything

(That's me!)

I am a firm believer in every story having a happy ending, or at least having an unhappy one for a good reason, which is usually that a happier ending is on the way. (I like to think of myself as an optimist in this way.) What does this have to do with my cooking blog, you may ask? Let me tell you.

I was trying to make this recipe tonight, and had bought all the ingredients yesterday... EXCEPT, I had forgotten red wine and beef stock. Ok, no tragedy, you're thinking. WRONG. My cut of meat was also only 1.3 lbs, not the required four, and I was out of pepper. I was beginning to panic, because I had this meat sitting thawed in my fridge, and I really needed to do something about it. 

So, I did what all good chefs must do at some point or another. I grabbed the seat of my pants and flew. Unfortunately, there are not too many pictures in this post...it it hard to take pictures while holding the seat of your pants.

For this recipe, you need:

A cut of meat, like a tough cut of roast or some stew meat, about 1.3lbs ;)

1/4 c. tequila                 

dash of white cooking wine                  

salt and pepper to taste

1.5 tsp stone ground mustard                  

2 medium bay leaves or one large            

 1 Tbsp. thyme

1 large onion, coarsely chopped             

3 medium potatoes, coarsely diced             

2 cloves garlic, minced                    

8 medium carrots, peeled and coarsely cut

1 c. water to start, more to be put in later                    

a pinch of allspice                  

1 tsp. of flour

1. Heat up the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Pour a little bit of olive oil into a dutch oven or large pot, and brown the meat on all sides. Then, add your 1 c. water, minced garlic, tequila, cooking wine, thyme, allspice, half the mustard, and a dash of salt and pepper to the pot. Bring this to a boil and then cover it and stuff it into the oven for about 1 hour. 

Here are some suggestions as to what to do with your hour:

-Mooch some books.

-Find some local farmers and food.

-Get fabulous!

-Make a puzzle of a fish or a rearing horse.

3. Ping! Your time is up! Pull the pot out of the oven. Be careful, it will be super hot. I know this because my hands are covered with burn marks made by not remembering this simple fact! Place the pot on the stove, on low heat, and if you have a really large chunk of meat (like I did), take this time to pull it out and cut it into stew-sized chunks, then add it back into the stew. Add the carrots, onions, and potatoes, then add just enough water to almost cover it all. 

4. Add in the rest of the mustard (you can add more if it still tastes bland to you) , the bay leaves, salt and pepper to taste, and the flour. Stir this all together well, then cover and let simmer until the potatoes and carrots are soft, about 40 min - 1hr. Keep tasting the stew during this time. I am a big advocator of the taste test... how are you supposed to fix it if you have no idea what you are really cooking?? 

5. When done, ladle into warm bowls. Garnish with a sprig of thyme, and serve with black bread. (if you have none of that, settle for rye.)

This is a super light, almost soupy stew. I hope you like it! I am glad to finally be reaching the end of our long, Rochester winter, myself. This stew is like the trailing end of a series of thick, hearty stews I have made this winter.

Bon appetit, from Lili "Whatever I happen to have on hand" P.

Sea bass with Tomatoes and Onions in Parchment, with Angel Hair Pasta and Arugula Salad

Ok so I love Iron Chef. I love the chairman. I love the secret ingredients. I love the dry ice. I especially love the weird things they make, like fish mousse. Really, who finds that appealing??? But DON'T WORRY, THIS IS NOT A RECIPE FOR FISH MOUSSE.

This recipe belongs to Iron Chef Bobby Flay, who is manliest of men. I did modify it a bit in that there are no potatoes in my version...I never really thought potatoes and pasta went, but please don't tell Bobby. Let him keep making his fishy mousses and potato pasta, it gives the rest of us something to watch.

For this recipe, you'll need:

1 Sea Bass (or other meaty white fish) filet per person              Kosher salt and pepper

sprigs of thyme                1/2 red onion, sliced paper thin                    fresh bay leaves

Fresh parsley              enough cherry tomatoes that you can have 3 halves per filet

olive oil                              1/4 c. dry white wine per filet + 1 c. wine for sauce 

2 shallots, diced                2 cloves garlic, minced                         2 c. clam or beef broth

Enough angel hair for your peeps, cooked al dente

extra virgin olive oil

Ok so. I know it seems daunting that you don't know how much stuff you need of a lot of these things, but bear with me. This recipe is super easy and really intuitive. Bobby uses a whole fish, but I don't roll like that. You can also use any white wine, different ones give the fish distinct flavors.

Just keep some around for drinking. I'm just sayin'!

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut thyself a sheet of parchment paper, not too huge, I usually do about 2 feet of length, maybe a little less. Place one filet on half of the paper, not too close to the edge or you will have issues folding it later. Salt and pepper that critter, then delightfully arrange three sprigs of thyme (trim the woody stems), two sprigs of parsley, and one bay leaf on top. 

2. Arrange the tomato halves and the onion slices on and around the fish. I like to do this BEFORE pouring the olive oil and wine on, just so the veggies can get some love too, you know what I mean? Then, as I mentioned, pour 1/4 c. wine over the filet, followed by as much olive oil as you deem necessary (I just give it a healthy enough dose down the middle that it will spread out down the sides). Season it with salt and pepper again. 

3. Now comes the tricky part. In order to keep the wine and olive oil in, you either have to be a ninja at folding, or do it this way: fold 1/2 in. in on the top and bottom of the paper, then fold the paper in half over the filet, careful not to squash it. Fold together the two ends that meet and set something down on it to hold it down while you fold the bottom and top sides up together. When you have done this, take off your place holder and fold the two sides up. Repeat for as many filets as you have!

4. I like to give my filets a little space. Here is how the critters look all wrapped up and in a casserole dish. I layer them like this so that in case my folds come undone, they are at least pointing upwards and not making a mess all over my pan.

4. Ok so pop those in the oven for 25 minutes. Don't worry, your paper will not catch fire, no matter what the limit for heat on the parchment box says. This is not the time to relax! You are an iron chef! ALLEZ CUISINE! Throw your diced shallots and minced garlic into a saucepan on medium heat, along with any onions you didn't use, cut up. I dribble a tad bit of olive oil in there so they don't burn, but you don't have to. Sweat those babies for a little bit, about 5 minutes or so, then pour in 1 c. of white wine and 2 c. of broth. The recipe recommends clam broth, but in a pinch, I have used beef, and it always tastes great. Bring this delightful thing to a simmer and reduce it by 1/2. BTW: It smells like Heaven.

5. MEANWHILE, I hope you haven't forgotten to cook your pasta. Boil it with ample salt. When the pasta is done, and the sauce is reduced by half, drain the angel hair and place it directly in the saucepan, then vigorously coat it in the sauce. Divide into four plates.

6. Your fish should also be done, or getting there. Release it from the oven when its time is up, and cut open the parchment packets. Please be careful! The steam inside is super hot! Let them breathe for about two minutes.

7. Very gently, slide a spatula under the fish and lift it out, placing it on top of the pasta. You will be incredibly impressed with yourself. It looks very pretty. Pat yourself on the back.

8. To make the salad, simply toss arugula (I like arugula and spinach with the remaining cherry tomatoes, sliced in half) and add a bunch of lemon juice and some olive oil, to taste. Serve these two dishes with white white. 

And the winner of episode Sea Bass issssss.....