Black Forest Cake

I don't know what happened when I was proof-reading our cookbook, but the instructions for the cherry filling are truncated, as I recently discovered when making a cake to celebrate Mom's 85th birthday. I also found that I didn't need as much cream in all the fillings, perhaps because my cake tins were only 8-inch pans instead of 9-inch pans.

Whatever the reason, I have updated the recipe on my blog. See http://inthekitchenwithbarbara.blogspot.com/2011/05/cake.html

Pepper Steak Recipes

We have several versions of pepper steak, and they all come down to this: good steaks of a cut that doesn't require much tenderizing or marinading, and a butter based sauce.

Pepper Steak I

Serves 4

This version is from Joy of Cooking. It is the one we use most frequently, but that could be because it is the recipe we've had the longest and have become the most familiar with.

Use:

Trimmed steaks (1 inch thick if you've got them), enough for 4 people

Crush coarsely (don't grind):

Several tablespoons of peppercorns (we usually use black)

Press the steaks into the crushed pepper and work it into both sides of the steak of the meat. Press it in firmly with the flat of a cleaver or your hand.

Sprinkle the bottom of a 9-inch skillet (cast iron works nicely) with:

2 Tbsp salt (not that we've ever used this much, just enough to dust the bottom of the pan)

Turn heat to high. When the salt starts to brown, put the steaks into the pan and brown uncovered over high heat. Reduce to medium heat, turn steaks and cook to desired degree of doneness.

In a separate pan, combine and melt together:

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

2 Tbsp lemon juice

Remove the steaks from the pan.

Serve the butter mixture separately.

Here's a tip: When cooking the steaks, open the windows, or turn the extractor fan up to Force 10.

Pepper Steak II

Serves 4

This recipe comes from Laura Calder's French Food at Home. She says you can make various substitutions, and it will still be good. No beef stock? A good chicken stock will do. No Cognac? Red wine does nicely.

3 heaping Tbsp mixed peppercorns

1 heaping Tbsp pink peppercorns.

4 pieces of thick boneless steak (about 125 g each)

1 garlic clove, split

salt

3 to 4 Tbsp clarified butter

125 ml beef stock

60 ml Cognac

125 ml heavy cream

If you have time and you want a less powerful peppery flavour, soak the mixed peppercorns (but not the pink ones) in 125 ml red wine or tea for a few hours. If not, omit the soaking step.

Drain the mixed peppercorns and combine them with the pink peppercorns. Crush the peppercorns slightly.

Rub the steaks with the garlic and season with salt. Coat the steaks with the peppercorns, pressing them against the meat so that they cling. Heat the butter until sizzling in a skillet large enough to hold all the steaks without crowding. Fry to the doneness of your liking, usually 2 to 3 minutes for each side. Remove to serving plates.

Deglaze the pan with the beef stock scraping up the good bits from the bottom. Boil to reduce by half. Add the Cognac and flambe. When the flames die down, add the cream and swirl it around. Boil to reduce to sauce consistency. Season to taste. Pour over steaks and serve.

Real Bread-Potato Stuffing

Today is Christmas Day, and as usual, I am making the traditional bread stuffing for the bird (chicken, in my case). In referring to our classic recipe in the cookbook I realized that although Mrs. Slade provided the basis, it is not the way we (I?) actually make this stuffing.

We use cubed bread rather than bread crumbs, and lots more of it than 2 cups. I'm sure we use onion and celery in it as well, and my own variation is to add a coupled of chopped sautéed mushrooms. And of course, the seasoning is all adjusted accordingly.

So for what it's worth, here is what I think our recipe really is. Is this the way you make it too?

Ingredients

• 4 cups stale bread, cubed (150 grams)
• 2 medium potatoes, grated (100 grams)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 1 stalk celery, chopped fine
• 2 mushrooms, chopped fine (optional)
• 1-2 teaspoons poultry seasoning 
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons parsley, minced
• 1 egg, beaten

Method

1. Cut the bread into small cubes. If the bread is quite fresh, let it sit out for a couple of hours to dry out.
2. Grate the potatoes and add to the bread cubes.
3. Melt the butter in a skillet and sauté the onions and celery for a few minutes, then add to the bread and potato mixture.
4. In the same skillet, sauté the mushrooms until they release their moisture and turn brown, then add to stuffing mixture.
5. Add the parsley, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper.
6. Mix gently using your hands.
7. Beat the egg with a fork and add it to the stuffing. Stir in gently.

You can put the stuffing either in the cavity or under the skin on the breast of the bird. The second option is better because it helps to keep the breast meat moist. Any stuffing that doesn't go in the bird can go in an oven-proof casserole, covered with tin foil. Stuffing that is cooked separately can be topped with a couple of strips of bacon or dotted with butter to provide some of the fat that would normally come from the bird.

Even Better Pastry Dough

For years, Mrs. Campbell's pastry recipe was the one I turned too, but I made it with butter or margarine instead of lard or vegetable shortening. However, I have recently found a food-processor pastry recipe and method that I think will be my go-to recipe from now on. It comes from The Pleasures of Cooking for One by Judith Jones. She uses it for quiche, pot pies, and such like.  I assume you could add a bit of sugar for sweet pie dough.

2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
14 tablespoons | 1 3/4 sticks | 200 grams cold unsalted butter (I put it into the freezer for 30 minutes first)
3 or 4 tablespoons of ice water.

1. Put an ice cube in a small bowl with 4 tablespoons of water.
2. Put the flour and salt in a food processor and spin for a few seconds to mix.
3. Cut the butter in small pieces and add them to the flour.
4. Pulse 8 times with 1-second pulses (say alligator for each pulse to get it right).
5. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of the ice water over the flour-butter mixture.
6. Pulse 8 times with 1-second pulses.
7. Lightly flour a work surface and turn the mixture out onto it. (It will not be a dough yet.)
8. Gather the mixture together into a ball as best you can. If it is too dry, sprinkle a little more ice water on the driest spots.
9. Use the heel of your hand to smear the dough out in small increments, and gather the dough together again. (This is technique called fraisage, first popularized by Julia Child.)
10. Flatten it out into a disk, wrap it in plastic and put it in the fridge for 30 minutes before rolling it out.

Tip: If you only need part of it (I use a quarter of it for a 2-serving quiche), use what you need now, cut the rest in the portions you think you'll need, flatten each portion into a disk, wrap and freeze until you need it.

Onion Jam

Yesterday a new cookbook arrived in the mail called Good to the Grain by Kim Boyce. It is devoted to baking with whole grain flours including whole wheat, rye, and oats, but also teff, amaranth, quinoa, buckwheat, and spelt. The book has been getting rave reviews so I couldn't resist.

Oddly enough, the very last chapter is devoted not to grains but to cooking fruits, mostly compotes and jams for short term use. The item that really jumped out at me was onion jam, so that's what I made first. It is very simple, and very good. It just takes a bit of time.

My one caveat with this recipe is the amount of salt. Kim calls for 1 teaspoon of kosher (that is, coarse) salt. I used coarse sea salt (Baleine) and found it too salty. If you use regular salt, I suggest using just a quarter of a teaspoon.

Yield: 1 cup

Ingredients

2 pounds yellow onions
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt or 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

Method

1. Slice the onions in half length-wise, then in 1/4 inch slices cross-wise.
2. In a Dutch oven or large pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat until it shimmers, then add the onions, salt, and pepper.
3. Stir the onions to coat them in oil, and cook them for 10-15 minutes until they are just beginning to brown.
4. Cover them, turn the heat to low, and cook for 20 minutes.
5. Uncover them, stir them, and continue cooking for about an hour, stirring occasionally. Towards the end of the cooking time, stir them more frequently to prevent burning. 
6. When all the liquid has evaporated and the onions are jammy and caramelized, take them off the heat and add the vinegar. Cool and keep in the refrigerator. 

According to the recipe, this will keep a coupled of weeks in the fridge or a month in the freezer. I don't think it's going to last that long!

Tip: Storing Tomatoes

From a recent Cooks Illustrated article, I learned that the way to store tomatoes is stem side down, at room temperature. Either that, or tape over the stem scar to prevent moisture and bacteria from getting in. Needless to say, just turning them over is easier!

Gujerati-style Green Beans

These are nice with all sorts of meals, not just Indian cuisine. You can make the beans as hot or as mild as you like by adjusting the red chili. The recipe calls for fresh beans, but you can get acceptable results using frozen beans that have been thawed, just skip the blanching. Around here, you won't find black mustard seeds in the spice aisles of the ordinary grocery stores; you'll have to look for them in specialist south Asian shops.

Source: Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cookery (1982).

450 g fresh green beans
4 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil (I actually use less than this)
1 tablespoons whole black mustard seeds
4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 - 1 dried red chili, coarsely crushed (red pepper flakes will do)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Trim and cut the beans to 2.5 cm lengths. Blanch them in rapidly boiling water for 3-4 minutes, then drain and rinse in cold water. Set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok over medium heat. When the oil is hot put in the mustard seeds. When they start to pop, put in the garlic, stirring them until they turn light brown (not too dark!). Put in the chili, and stir for a few seconds. 
3. Add the beans, salt and sugar. Reduce the heat to medium low, cooking for 7-8 minutes, stirring frequently. 
4. Add the black pepper, mix, and serve.