Tortas de Espinaca Carmen/Spinach Patties with Salsa Verde

 

Carmen's Spinach Tortas

To speak Spanish well is a goal in my life. But there never seems to be enough time to take classes at home—so I go to Mexico, to Spanish immersion school. I started this post in the airport in Mexico City, after 3 fabulous weeks, two of them in Cuernavaca, which is a 2 hour (first class) bus ride south. Thank goodness someone told me about and Cuernavaca Language School and “home-stay” with Carmen. Carmen is a wonderful cook as well a friend, so much that we feel like sisters, though she is a friend to many, since she teaches at the school and has welcomed students into her home for many, many years. This is my favorite dinner and we had them twice; I think even spinach haters wouldn’t be able to resist.

 

I traveled home with my last meal; even on an international flight from Mexico there wasn’t so much as a pack of peanuts. So I wouldn’t be forced to buy airport food, Carmen made me “para llevar.” I carried a couple flour tortilla rolls, filled with avocado, half of a spinach torta, and slices of tomato and queso Oaxaca, a melty cheese, kind of like mozzarella. I am pretty sure the person next to me on the flight was envious.

Spinach Tortas:

2 bunches spinach, washed well and stems removed

¼ white onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1/3 cup chopped cilantro leaves

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/4 teaspoon RealSalt

Freshly ground black pepper

Finely ground bread crumbs, as needed, about 3 tablespoons

About 1 ounce sharp white cheddar cheese or queso anejo, cut in little pieces

Olive oil, as needed

Salsa Verde:

6 large fresh tomatillos, or one small can

1 or 2 seranno chiles, trimmed and coarsely chopped (Carmen uses 2)

1 clove garlic

2 tablespoons chopped white onion

¼ teaspoon salt, to taste

¼ to ½ cup vegetable stock, as needed

Olive oil, as needed

To make the spinach tortas:

Steam the spinach leaves about 5 minutes. Allow to drain in a colander or sieve, pressing well to remove excess water. Coarsely chop the spinach.

In a bowl, mix with the chopped onion, garlic and cilantro. Using a fork, stir in the eggs, salt and pepper. Stir in some breadcrumbs, just enough so that the mixture holds together.

In the palm of your hand, shape the spinach mixture into small round patties, and as you do, put 4 or 5 little pieces for the cheese in the middle. For each torta use about 1/3 cup of the spinach mixture, forming them about 2 ½ inches wide.

Over medium flame, heat a thin layer of the oil in a large skillet. Gently cook the patties, turning to cook both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from the heat while you prepare the sauce.

To make the Salsa Verde:

Drop the tomatillos into boiling water and cook for several minutes, mostly to remove the paper-like skin. Place the clean tomatillos, serrano chile(s), onion and garlic and salt in a blender and whirl. Heat a small amount of olive oil in another skillet and add the tomatillo mixture. Cook and stir for 3 or 4 minutes. Stir in vegetable broth, just enough to thin the sauce. Season to taste with salt. Pour on top of the spinach tortas and over medium heat, cook them together a few minutes.

Serve 2 Tortas per person, with Mexican rice and Frijoles de Olla.

Makes about 6 patties, serves 3.

Portuguese Kale and Potato Soup

Here’s a soup for a crowd.  Traditionally made with real meat chorizo, variations of this recipe are easy to find. I found this interpretation in Twelve Months of Monastery Soups by Brother Victor D’Avila Latourrette. Brother Victor calls for the soup to cook two hours, but you know me, the pressure cooker is the way to go—dinner will be on the table in less than an hour, provided you have planned and soaked the beans beforehand. Lacinato kale was on sale last week so that is what I bought. Rumor has it that Lacinato or dinosaur kale is the most nutritious of kales.

Portuguese Kale and Potato Soup

1 cup white beans, either the larger Northern or the smaller Navy bean

2 tablespoons plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 onions, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

9 cups water

1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste

2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut in ½-inch cubes

1 pound Lacinato kale, stems removed and discarded

12 to 16 ounces chorizo style vegetarian “sausage”, cut in 1/2-inch pieces

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 ½ to 2 teaspoons sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Put the beans in a bowl, cover with plenty of water, and let soak overnight.

Heat the first 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pressure cooker; cook and stir the onions over medium flame, until translucent, about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook a few minutes more. Pour in the water and stir in the tomato paste. Rinse the soaked beans and add them to the pot along with the potatoes. Chop the kale leaves and add them. Lock the lid in place, and over high heat, bring to high pressure. Lower the heat just enough to maintain high pressure and cook for 9 minutes. Allow the pressure to come down naturally for 10 minutes; then quick release as directed by your pressure cooker.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet. Cook and stir the “sausage” until the pieces are lightly brown on the sides. Add the browned “sausage”, the vinegar and salt and pepper. Taste, adding more salt as needed.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Vegetarian for the Holidays Cooking Class

On  November 18, 2009, I will be teaching a cooking class. At a cute, well-stocked kitchen store cum cooking school in Logan–Love to Cook at Kitchen Kneads. It would be fun to see some Park City/Summit County friends in the group. Sign up and carpool? In the morning that day, I”ll be making cheese at Rockhill Creamery just north of Logan, after a bread and Caffe Ibis coffee stop at Crumb Brothers Bakery….    Here’s the class menu to tempt you all.

Red Lentil and Pecan Pâté

Potato and Onion Gratin

Pomegranate Cranberry Sauce

Baked Acorn Squash Stuffed with Brown Rice and Hazelnut Pilaf

Vegan Maple Pumpkin Pie with Whole Wheat Crust

Hot and Sour Miso Soup

Last week, a nasty cold bug found its way into my body. It zapped my energy and made my nose drip everywhere. I drank thermos-fulls of hot herbal tea, Yogi Throat Comfort and Green Tea Triple Echinacea and laid low for the entire weekend. I wanted soup—but not Grandma’s chicken noodle, I craved my homemade comfort soup—Hot and Sour Miso Soup.

Miso soup really is good for you. It’s rich with antioxidants and protective fatty acids, and a healthy dose of Vitamin E. It also boasts protein and Vitamin B12, and a nice selection of minerals to help boost the strength of your immune system. Miso is a fermented seasoning, a staple in every Japanese kitchen; its range of flavors and colors, textures and aromas is as varied as that of the world’s fine wines or cheeses. For this soup use a deep red-brown miso, versus light, white miso.

4 dried shiitake mushrooms

8 cups hot vegetable stock

3 leeks, white parts only, sliced, or 1 bunch green onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced

1/2 pound firm tofu, sliced (optional)

2 tablespoons rice wine (mirin)

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

3 tablespoons tamari soy sauce

1 or 2 jalapeño peppers, veins and seeds removed, minced or 2 pinches cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons sesame oil

2 tablespoons arrowroot or cornstarch

1/4 cup cold water

1/4 cup dark miso

2 carrots, julienne-cut or grated

Place the dried mushrooms in a bowl, pour 2 cups of the vegetable stock over them, cover, and let stand 10 minutes.

In a large saucepan, cook the remaining vegetable stock with the onions, garlic, and ginger for 5 minutes. Add the tofu (if using) and simmer 5 more minutes. Stir in the rice wine, vinegar, tamari, jalapeño pepper and sesame oil.

Strain the soaking liquid from the dried mushrooms into the soup. Slice the mushrooms into slivers and add them.

Dissolve the arrowroot in the 1/4 cup of cold water. Add to the soup and bring to a gentle boil, stirring. The soup will become very slightly thickened. Place the miso in a bowl and whisk in 1/2 cup of the soup. Add the miso liquid to the soup along with the carrots. Do not allow the soup to boil as boiling destroys some of the nutrition of the miso and changes the flavor. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning with more vinegar, tamari, or cayenne, as needed. Serve immediately.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Sesame Shiitake Vinaigrette

Beautiful Ranui salad greens every week. We will miss them this winter–salad greens from the store don’t even come close in flavor and freshness. Back in June, I wrote about my homemade version of a popular bottled dressing, sort of promising the recipe, so, to help savor these last 2 weeks of salad greens before our CSA boxes stop coming, here it follows.

I am a label reader and I make a point to not buy anything with a list of additives. Many commercial salad dressings, organic or not, include something called xanthan gum—usually the last ingredient, which means it is the smallest ingredient by percentage. Xanthan gum seems pretty harmless, a bacteria, like yogurt or blue cheese, grown on (usually corn) sugars. It’s widely used in gluten-free baking and readily available–Bob’s Red Mill is a common brand, sold in a bag with so much xanthan gum you’ll need a gluten-free baking spree to use it up. In salad dressings, xanthan gum gives viscosity, so it sticks to the food, and it acts as emulsifier, to keep the oil and vinegar from separating right away. I bought some xanthan gum, and it’s included in my recipe, though it is not a crucial component, and its thickening and emulsifying powers won’t be apparent right away. I wondered why, but if you think about it–we certainly don’t use commercial salad dressing the same day it’s made in the factory.

I also use canola oil. I’ve experimented with extra virgin olive oil, and so can you, but the result is heavier—I think this dressing should be light, less Italian, more Japanese. Taste your sesame seeds for freshness–they stale quickly—and replace older seeds that have gone rancid.

Sesame Shiitake Vinaigrette

1 dried shiitake mushroom

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

3/4 canola oil

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce

2 tablespoons mushroom soaking water

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum powder

Put the mushroom in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Let soak until the mushroom is soft. Toast the sesame seeds in a small skillet, stirring until they are golden in color. Remove from the heat so they don’t burn.

When the mushroom is soft, saving 2 tablespoons of the soaking water, trim and discard the stem; chop the mushroom.

Put the oil, vinegar, soy sauce, reserved soaking water, sesame oil, the chopped mushroom and xanthan gum in a blender. Whir just until the mushroom is in tiny pieces, about 10 seconds. Add the toasted sesame seeds and blend a few seconds more.

Store in a glass jar, refrigerated. Makes about a cup—recipe can be doubled, no problem.

Gwen’s Parmesan Vinaigrette with Heirloom Tomatoes

Gwen is my foodie and hiking friend who lives in Carefree Arizona. She publishes her own cookbooks and a writes a blog called penandfork. In fact, she set up muffintalk at wordpress.com after she heard how my husband calls it “talking muffin” when he notices me yakking about recipes and bakeries etc. with fellow pastry chefs and other food-minded folk.

I gleaned this recipe from Gwen’s website, also Pen and Fork, in 2003, and I fed Gwen and her fly-fisherman husband heirloom tomatoes with vinaigrette when they came for dinner last month.

Ranui Gardens heirloom tomatoes this year have been prolific, for which we are grateful. I remember years when we were lucky to get 2 tomatoes all season and they’ve been in our box the last 5 weeks!

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon Real Salt

2 teaspoons minced red onion

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

2 teaspoons chopped fresh herbs (rosemary, oregano, parsley, etc.)

Pinch freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Put vinegar, mustard, garlic, salt, onion, Parmesan cheese, herbs and black pepper in a blender and whir until creamy, about 20 seconds. With the motor running, pouring through the top, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Add more salt and pepper, to taste. Pour over lovingly sliced heirloom tomatoes.

Yogurt Cheese with Garlic and Parsley

Yogurt cheese is easy to make—it just takes preparing ahead—18 to 24 hours. So if you want yogurt cheese for tomorrow—make it today, if you want yogurt cheese for today—too late, too bad. This recipe uses parsley, because that is in our box this week. If you have that freezer stash of basil pesto, it is perfect for flavoring yogurt cheese; mix in 1/4 cup of pesto in place of the garlic and parsley. You can use other herbs too—cilantro, basil, dill—depending on what you have or prefer.

In the era when many were cooking their way through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volumes One and Two, I was throwing dinner parties and cooking out of Anna Thomas’ Vegetarian Epicure, Books I and II.  Know that it’s true when I say that Anna’s recipes were just as time-consuming and calorific as Julia’s. In 1996, Anna published a new cookbook, with dinner-party ideas and recipes of a lighter fare—this Yogurt Cheese comes from her The New Vegetarian Epicure.

1 quart high-quality plain non-fat yogurt (no starch or gums added)

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

1/8 teaspoon Real Salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper

Line a large sieve of colander with a triple thickness of damp cheesecloth, Dump the yogurt onto the cheesecloth and place the sieve or colander over a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate about 18-20 hours. Check under the sieve, especially in the first hours, and drink or throw away (sic) the whey that has drained into the bowl.

Turn the thickened yogurt cheese into a bowl and mix in the garlic and parsley, or pesto, as well as salt and pepper, to your taste. If you have the time, refrigerate for a few hours before serving, letting the flavors meld.

Serve with crackers or crostini, as an appetizer, or with baked Ranui Charlotte potatoes for dinner.

A Wedding Cake Made with Love

It was a first-class wedding all the way around. The owners of the wedding location in the Malibu hills are the couple’s personal friends. There were food stations by Grace, an acclaimed LA restaurant, featuring thoughtful, delicious fare. The groom had been a mixologist at Grace, and he is passionate about wine and spirits; they served fine, smooth sparkling wine and 100% agave tequila. We danced to personally choreographed music playlists by the couple’s industry cohorts. The bride’s bouquet was stunning and simple, just like everything else. And I was honored to contribute.

Last January, when my niece Tricia and her fiancé JP came to Park City for the Sundance Film Festival we got a glimpse: of the magical party location, how many invitees and so forth. The guest count would be close to 200, but as Tricia pointed out, about 15% of them were Hallorans–my parent’s progeny. Right then I volunteered to make their cake, to share in their celebration using my pastry chef skills.

Hallorans

Tricia and JP's art project

Over the next six months, until the August 22 day, we exchanged cake detail emails. Tricia sent a scanned photo of a magazine wedding cake she liked, and in the countdown weeks, I received their “art project”, a paper mockup showing their newly purchased cake pedestals with just the perfect tiering. Wedding guests would have two choices, chocolate truffle cake or lemon raspberry cake.

It was at the grocery store, when I was buying more raspberries than the norm, that another shopper asked why so many. When I told her they were for the filling of my niece’s wedding cake, she said, “That’s a nice gift.” Yes it was—a gift of love, a wish for many years of wedded bliss.

To allow plenty of time, I divided the work into stages, over three days. And because I was transporting the cake, from Utah to the wedding in California, the first baking day was much earlier than my recommended three days before the wedding day–I baked the lemon cakes three weeks ahead and froze them in Deer Valley’s walk-in freezer.

The chocolate cakes I baked a week out. While they were in the oven, I made coffee syrup, truffle filling and a batch of vanilla-flavored meringue buttercream. The next day I filled and assembled and crumb-coated the chocolate cakes, triple-wrapped them in plastic wrap, and hauled them to Deer Valley’s freezer.

From there, the frozen lemon cakes came home with me–to thaw overnight, and I prepared the lemon cream and lemon simple syrup so they’d be ready. The next day, I filled and assembled and crumb-coated the lemon cakes, and wrapped them really well for freezer storage.

It was time for a breather–the cake was 85% complete until wedding day decorating.

On Thursday of wedding week, 10 pounds of dry ice and our biggest picnic cooler became the new freezer, and for travel, Robbie stuffed Styrofoam “popcorn” into the spaces that weren’t taken up with cakes or dry ice. Along with our suitcases and bikes in the back of Robbie’s pickup truck, we packed another large container—for my stand mixer, cake turntable, a pastry bag with assorted tips, frosting spatulas, apron, rolling pin and fondant rolling mat. We became a bakery on wheels, and headed south into a heat wave.

It was 103 degrees Farenheight at 9pm in Mesquite Nevada, our sleeping stopover for Thursday night. No problem for these cakes though. On Friday morning we opened the cooler for a look. Since the dry ice was underneath the cakes I decided to switch them around, moving the ones that had been on top to give them some time next to the ice. It proved a good ploy–when we unpacked the cooler at about 11am at the wedding house on Saturday, all of the cakes were still cold. The largest lemon one was even a bit frozen in the middle. But since Tricia and JP weren’t cutting the cake for 8 more hours, the cakes could continue to thaw.

At Rebecca and Yosef’s hilltop house, we commandeered the huge kitchen island, a 6 by 6 foot square butcher-block table. Robbie was an able assistant, ready at every step, and cleaning up in between. Both of us pretty much kept our noses to the grindstone for 4 hours, stopping here and there for a sip of beer or to hug early arriving relatives we hadn’t seen in years. For anyone and everyone that walked through the kitchen, we were entertainment.

Sometimes I decorate wedding cakes with a crisp-smooth finish coat of buttercream, and sometimes I use the popular rolled fondant. For Tricia and JP, I tinted rolled fondant, a soft, light celery green. Roll, wrap and smooth, roll wrap and smooth. Seven tiers of cake, fondant-wrapped and stacked.

Finally I whipped up royal icing in my trusty Kitchenaid mixer, filled my pastry bag and piped a bottom border that resembled just a little the tucks in Tricia’s Vera Wang dress. For a bit of filigree, I piped a continuous “ccccc” around the side of the chocolate cakes and a continuous “lllll” around the side of the lemon cakes; the bride and groom’s 6-inch cake got “JPJPJP”, like on their invitation, for Patricia and JP. Aura and Lila, adorable young daughters who live at the wedding house, spent several hours at cake central, asking lots of questions and sneaking tastes of the fondant. They added their bit of love with the final gilding and arranging, of voluptuous yellow-green and white orchid blossoms.

Here are recipes for a sampling of the cakes—a 9-inch lemon raspberry cake and a 9-inch chocolate truffle cake. The meringue butterceam is enough for a crumb-coat and buttercream finish on both cakes.

Lemon cakes:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

6 ounces cream cheese

8 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature (70 degrees F.)

3 cups granulated sugar

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

8 eggs, room temperature

1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon oil, optional

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Brush two 9-inch round pans with melted butter and dust lightly with flour, or spray generously with cooking spray. Line the bottoms with circles of parchment or waxed paper.

Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together. Set aside.

With an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter together until very pale and little tails form as the beater goes around.

Add the sugar and lemon zest and beat well, until mixture is fluffy.

Scrape bowl well. Add eggs one at a time, beating to blend before adding the next one.

On low speed, add the dry ingredients, lemon juice and lemon oil, if using. Mix just until incorporated, being careful not to over mix.

Divide into prepared pans. Bake 45 to 50 minutes, until light golden in color and a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out with just a few crumbs on it.

Lemon syrup:

2/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup water

3 to 4 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice

Heat the sugar and water in a small saucepan, gently swirling the pan until the sugar dissolves. Cook just until the syrup is clear, do not boil. Cool. Flavor with lemon juice.

Lemon Curd

6 egg yolks

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

1/2 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice

2/3 cup sugar

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Put the egg yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar and butter in the top of a double boiler. Place over gently boiling water; upper pan should not touch water. Cook, whisking often, until the curd thickens, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a clean container. Cover the surface with plastic wrap, so it touches the hot curd, to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate. You can keep lemon curd, refrigerated, up to a week. It also freezes very well.

Lemon cream:

1 1/2 cups lemon curd, room temperature

3 tablespoons orange-flavored liqueur

2 1/2 teaspoons (about 1 envelope) powdered gelatin

1 cup heavy cream

Put the lemon curd in a large bowl and whisk until smooth. If the lemon curd is very cold, let it sit at room temperature for about a 1/2 hour, so the warmed gelatin will incorporate easily into the curd, without seizing.

Pour the liqueur into a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over it, and allow to soften, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, whip the cream until it comes to soft peaks that hold their shape. Set aside.

Place the bowl of softened gelatin over barely simmering water and stir until the gelatin melts, about a minute.

Whisk the liquid gelatin into the lemon curd. Immediately whisk in 1/3 of the whipped cream; then fold in the rest.

Lemon Cake Assembly:

You will need about 2 1/3 cups meringue buttercream flavored with 1 tablespoon orange-flavored liqueur and 1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice. Have the cakes, lemon syrup, lemon cream and one pint of fresh raspberries at the ready.

With a serrated knife, trim any dome from both cakes so they are flat, not rounded. Trim the sides of the cake if they seem dry. Keeping the knife level and parallel to the bottom of the cake, split each cake in 2 equal and even layers.

Put one of the cake layers on a cardboard circle or a flat serving plate. Moisten it with a quarter of the syrup. Spread on roughly 1/6 of the lemon cream. Press 1/3 of the raspberries into the cream, and then top with more cream—just so it covers the raspberries, using no more than 1/3 of the lemon cream in this layer. Gently flatten a second cake layer on top and brush it with another 1/4 of the syrup.

Repeat the layering, ending with the last cake and syrup. Wrap the assembled cake and refrigerate for about 1 hour, to let the gelatin filling set.

To crumb-coat frost the cake:

Beat room temperature buttercream until it is very smooth. Add more liqueur and/or lemon juice, to your taste. Remove the cake from the refrigerator and place it on a cake turntable. With a sharp serrated knife, trim the sides of the cake, just enough to even any sharp angles, brushing off any loose crumbs.

With an icing spatula, frost the sides and the top of the cake with the buttercream (less than 1/4-inch thick) to seal in the crumbs and lemon filling. Refrigerate (ideally) overnight to let the buttercream get hard.

Finish the cold cake with another thin coat of buttercream, or rolled fondant. Decorate with a buttercream or royal icing border and optional design.

Chocolate Cake:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 3/4 cups organic cane sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2/3 cup canola oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups cold water

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Brush two 9-inch round pans with butter and dust lightly with flour, or spray generously with cooking spray. Line the bottoms with a circle of parchment or waxed paper.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda into a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the vinegar, oil, vanilla, and water; then add to the dry ingredients. Mix for 2 minutes–with a hand whisk or with an electric mixer on low speed. Divide into the prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until the centers of the cakes spring back when touched with a finger. Cool completely

Chocolate Truffle Filling:

1/2 cup plus 1 cup heavy cream

4 ounces good-quality semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped in 1/2 inch pieces, and set aside in a medium bowl.

Heat the cream on medium-low until it is very hot (do not boil). Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate and allow to sit for a few minutes. With a spatula, stir gently until all of the chocolate has melted and the “ganache” is smooth and glossy. Set aside to cool.

When the ganache is cool to touch but not cold, add one quarter of the cream, gently whisking until smooth. Add the remaining cream and whisk by hand until the chocolate cream holds a soft shape. (Be careful; if the ganache is too warm or if you over-whip the ganache and cream, the chocolate cream will curdle.) Refrigerate the chocolate cream until it is very cold and you are ready to assemble the cake.

Coffee Simple Syrup

1/2 cup hot strong coffee

1/2 cup sugar

Mix the sugar into the hot coffee, stirring until the heat of the coffee melts the sugar. Cool.

Chocolate cake assembly:

You will need about 2 1/3 cups meringue buttercream flavored with 1 to 2 tablespoons of vanilla extract. Have the cakes, coffee syrup, and the chocolate truffle filling at the ready.

With a serrated knife, trim any dome from both cakes so they are flat, not rounded. Trim the sides of the cakes if they seem dry. Keeping the knife level and parallel to the bottom of the cake, split each cake in 2 equal and even layers.

Put one of the cake layers on a cardboard circle or a flat serving plate. Moisten it with a quarter of the syrup. Carefully whisk the cold truffle filling, a few strokes at a time, until you can pull your finger through the filling and it holds good shape. Spread a third of filling on the moistened cake. Gently flatten another cake layer on top and brush it with another quarter of the syrup. Repeat the layering, ending with the last cake and syrup. Wrap the assembled cake and refrigerate for about 1 hour, to let the filling set.

To crumb-coat frost the cake:

Beat room temperature buttercream until it is very smooth. Add more vanilla extract if you wish, to your taste.

Remove the cake from the refrigerator. Place it on a cake turntable. With a sharp serrated knife, trim the sides of the cake, just enough to even any sharp angles, brushing off any loose crumbs.

With an icing spatula, frost the sides and the top of the cake with the buttercream (less than 1/4-inch thick) to seal in the crumbs and truffle filling. Refrigerate (ideally) overnight to let the buttercream get hard.

Finish the cake with another thin coat of buttercream, or rolled fondant. Decorate with a buttercream or royal icing border and optional design.

Meringue Buttercream:

1 1/3 cups plus 2/3 cups sugar

1 cup water

2 tablespoons corn syrup

6 egg whites (2/3 cup)

1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

2 to 4 tablespoons liqueur or 1 teaspoon extract flavoring, optional

In a saucepan, mix the 1 1/3 cups of sugar with the water and corn syrup. Place over low heat and gently swirl the pan until the sugar dissolves into a clear syrup. Raise the heat to medium-high and cook until the syrup reaches the soft-ball stage (240°F on a candy thermometer.) Do not stir after the syrup begins boiling.

As the syrup boils, whip the egg whites with an electric mixer until they are foamy. Gradually add the remaining 2/3 cup of sugar and whip until they form soft peaks. You want the syrup to reach soft-ball at the same time the egg whites form soft peaks, so begin whipping the whites when the surface of the boiling syrup is thick with bubbles.

When the syrup reaches soft-ball stage, with the mixer running, pour the syrup in a thin stream over the whites. Aim the syrup between the bowl and the whisk, taking care not to let it run onto the whisk, which spatters the syrup onto the sides of the bowl. Continue beating about 10 minutes, until the egg white and syrup mixture–the Italian meringue–is cool.

With the mixer running, beat the softened butter into the meringue, a little at a time. Scrape the sides of the bowl and continue beating until the mixture becomes a very smooth, spreadable buttercream. Beat in desired flavorings.

Gold Beets and Goat Cheese

My neighbor and friend Rhonda throws fabulous parties. She invites a fun-loving crowd and offers plenty of booze, and always serves a creative food buffet. She loves beets, so if there are beets in the garden, these little sandwiches will be one of the appetizers. If she would have a party on a weeknight, when I wasn’t working so late, I might be there before everyone else nibbled them up.

Golden beets, as needed, washed and trimmed, greens reserved for another purpose

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup agave nectar or sugar or honey

1 teaspoon Dijon style mustard

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Log-shape goat cheese, as needed

Toasted chopped hazelnuts, pine nuts or walnuts

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the beets in a small roasting pan and pour in enough cold water to reach about 1/4 of the way of the sides of the beets. Cover the pan and roast the beets until they are tender when poked with a skewer, 1 to 2 hours, depending on their size.

Remove the beets from the pan and allow to cool. Slip the skin off the beets and cut each beet into 1/4-inch rounds.

Make a vinaigrette with the vinegar, agave nectar, mustard, olive oil, garlic and salt and pepper.

Cut the goat cheese into 1/4-inch round slices using a string of sewing thread. Sandwich a slice of goat cheese between 2 beet rounds, drizzling some of the vinaigrette in between. Arrange on a serving plate. Drizzle with more vinaigrette and sprinkle with toasted nuts.

Cream of ‘Mess o’ Greens’ Soup

More than a dozen years ago, Deer Valley co-hosted a fundraising event for Red Butte Garden,  a part of the University of Utah. Rotating through Snow Park Lodge’s banquet rooms, turned into classrooms set with portable demo kitchens complete with mirrors and gas stoves, guests enjoyed 3 Deer Valley chefs cooking 3 separate menus, all featuring fresh herbs.

I was one of the “Chefs for All Seasonings” teaching the half-hour classes—and keeping with the herb theme, I made oatmeal rosemary scones, peppercorn and pear tart, and basil ice creams, both plain and chocolate. Another chef followed his Southern heritage and taught pan-fried catfish with cornmeal and thyme, red beans and rice and mess o’ greens. Even though I’d lived in the North Carolina mountains for 2 years, I think that was the first time I heard that term used to describe a bitter-tangy-sweet mixture of greens, like collards, mustard greens, kale etc. If you come from the South, your mother probably made mess o’ greens flavored with salt pork or bacon, cooked for hours on end.

Well I love my greens, and I always make them on New Years Day to insure a profitable year, but I cook them without meat and only until they are just tender, about 15 minutes.

Here is a warming soup to welcome the first real freeze of the fall, and to use several of our CSA veggies of the week: potatoes, leeks, onions, garlic, jalapeño pepper and Ranui mess o’ greens. It’s also a vegan recipe, with cashew milk instead of milk or cream. Serve with corn muffins–I recommend the recipe from my cookbook if you don’t have a favorite corn muffin or cornbread recipe.

Cream of Mess o’ Greens Soup

1 cup raw cashews

1 cup plus 4 cups vegetable broth

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 leeks, white part mostly, cleaned and sliced into rings

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeño pepper, seeds and veins removed, chopped

2 medium potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1/2-inch dice

5 cups mess o’ greens, with the stems stripped and discarded

1 teaspoon Real Salt

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, optional

In a blender, whir the cashews and 1 cup of the vegetable broth until smooth, about a minute.

In a large soup pot or pressure cooker over medium flame, heat the olive oil. Cook and stir the leeks for a minute; add the onions and cook and stir another minute or so. Add the garlic and jalapeño pepper, the remaining 4 cups of vegetable broth, the potatoes and the mess o’ greens. Add the salt. Cover and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Alternately–if you use a pressure cooker, lock the lid in place, and over high heat, bring to high pressure. Lower the heat just enough to maintain high pressure and cook for 6 minutes. Allow the pressure to come down naturally or use a quick-release method.

Stir in the reserved cashew “milk.” Remove from the heat. Puree the soup with an immersion blender directly in the pot, or in the regular blender (in batches.).

Season to taste with salt and the optional lemon juice—to intensify the flavor.