Blueberry Pudding Cake ブルーベリープディングケーキ

This is another one of my wife’s baking projects. This came about due to the convergence of two factors; one was the excess of blueberry puree we recently made from fresh blueberries for other baking projects and the other was that this is a variation on the theme of  PA Dutch chocolate pudding cake. Like the chocolate pudding cake, during the baking process, a cake layer forms on the surface and a pudding/sauce layer forms on the bottom. This recipe came together very quickly and the result was a nice vanilla cake with a rich blueberry pudding/sauce on the bottom. In this serving picture, in order to emphasize the lovely blueberry custard sauce, we scooped some of it on top of the piece of cake we served.

This is based on a recipe from the “Food and Wine” website but my wife deviated from the original recipe by substituting vanilla extract for the lemon juice/zest called for as flavoring in the original.

Ingredients
1 cup of pureed blueberries, 
1 cup of fresh whole blueberries not pureed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2  teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup whole milk
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted, plus more for greasing
1 1/4 cups boiling water

Directions:
To prepare the blueberries: Gently heat the blueberries on low heat until the skins burst and the berries exude juice. Puree the berries with an emersion blender. 

To prepare the cake layer: In a bowl whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together. In another bowl mix the milk, melted butter and vanilla. Slowly pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and stir until combined. Transfer the batter to a greased baking dish and spread in an even layer.* Spread the pureed blueberries over the batter. Arrange the whole fresh berries on the batter, pressing down slightly. Carefully pour boiling water evenly over the batter; do not stir.

Bake in a 425 F oven until the cake is golden brown and a warm, pudding-like sauce has formed on the bottom, 25 to 27 minutes. 

* I used the small square pyrex baking dish for this recipe but it was a bit too small. (It measured 7”x7”x2”) Although all the ingredients initially fit nicely in the dish, when the cake layer formed it expanded and the blueberry juice underneath fountained out all over the edges of the baking dish. Luckily I had put a tray under the baking dish when I put it in the oven otherwise it would have been quite a mess. Next time I will use a larger baking pan. (The next larger pan measures 8”x8.5”x2.5”)

This desert was as good an addition to the pudding cake family as the chocolate one mentioned above. The vanilla flavored cake was complemented by a thick blueberry flavored custard that formed underneath it. The custard had a very pronounced blueberry flavor and the fresh blueberries embedded in the batter formed nice additional burst and texture of blueberry. This was a wonderful summer dish celebrating blueberry season. 

Spinach Feta Cheese Frittata Bites ほうれん草とフェタチーズのフリッタータバイト

This is the third iteration of the small egg bites series my wife made. This time she used spinach and dill. She also reused a “feta cheese dip” which we initially made for another dish but didn’t use because we thought it was too strong by itself. This was quite a good bites. Hopefully we may derive some health benefit from the added veggie greens.

Ingredients:
6 eggs
1/2 cup cream
1/4 cup Buttermilk
1 garlic  clove 
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard 
1/2 cup fresh dill, finely chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1 large package of  spinach, cooked without adding water, drained, finely chopped
Feta cheese dip*
1/2 log of goat cheese

*fetacheese dip
8 oz good-quality teta cheese (block form)
1 clove garlic, chopped
½ teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions:
In a bowl, whisk together the ingredients eggs through salt and set aside. In another bowl, mix together the feta cheese dip and the goat cheese until completely combined. Add the cooked spinach to the cheese dip and completely combine. Scoop the cheese mixture into mini muffin tins lined with paper cups. Do not fill completely. Gently pour the egg mixture over and around the cheese mixture. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes until the eggs are set (shown in picture)

These cheese bites were quite different from the other ones my wife made recently. The feta cheese dip by itself was quite strong flavored but the addition of the spinach and goat cheese really tamed it down making it pleasantly savory. The egg mixture essentially formed a shell around the cheese mixture (which can be clearly seen in the cross section picture). The dill really added a good additional flavor dimension.

Mashed Potato, Roasted Pork and Cheese Bites version #2 マシュポテト、ローストポークチーズバイト V2

This is another edition of my wife’s “small bites” series. This time it is a variation on “Pork, Potato, Goat Cheese Bites”. For this version she did not have mashed potato and parsnip cooked in the Weber. So she made mashed potatoes by cooking a Russet potato in the microwave. This is quite good but the original had a bit more flavors due to inclusion of parsnip and juice from the roasted pork.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup mashed potato (from potatoes cooked in pork barbeque)
6 eggs
8 oz sour creme
2 diced onion
8 oz  roasted pork, diced.
Cheeses (I used smoked gouda and cheddar cheese

Directions:
Microwave a russet potato for 5 minutes or until done. Peel and mash the potato. Saute the onion. Add the onions to the potatoes. When the potato and onion have cooled to room temperature add the eggs sour cream, and roasted pork. Scoop the potato mixture into mini muffin tins lined with paper cups. Top with a layer of cheese. (I topped it with a layer or smoked gouda and another layer of cheddar.) Cook in a 350 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

These were also very good cheese bites. They didn’t have quite the complexity in flavor that the previous batch had because they did not include mashed parsnips and were not cooked in the Weber. Again the diced pork was crucial. The cheeses were fairly strong tasting and really added to the dish.

Pork and Potato and Goat Cheese Bites ローストポーク、ポテト、ゴートゴートチーズバイト

This is another of my wife's “small bites” series.  This particular one came about since we had roasted (in Weber grill) hot-smoked pork and mashed potato/parsnip which was also roasted in the Weber with the pork. She was looking for a new recipe to use the leftover mashed potato/parsnips and found one called “smoked salmon frittata”. Being the substitution queen that she is when it comes to cooking, she substituted the “hot smoked roasted pork” for the “smoked salmon” and the mashed potato/parsnips for the potatoes called for in the recipe. Since she diverted significantly from the initial recipe, she renamed her rendition “Pork and Potato Goat Cheese Bites” as a new entry into her “bites” dishes series. This was quite a good small bite. It went very well with a glass of wine.

I ask my wife to continue.

Ingredients:
2 oz mashed potatoes with parsnip (cooked in aluminum foil in the Weber. Peeled and mashed. Butter, salt and any juices that come out of the roasted pork added). 
3 eggs
2.5 oz sour cream
1/3 tsp Salt
1/3 tbs butter
1 small onion, diced finely
1 1/3 oz goat cheese
2 oz smoked pork cut into small dice

Directions:
Saute the onions. Add them in a bowl to the potatoes, eggs, sour cream, salt, butter and smoked pork. Mix until completely blended. Scoop the potato mixture into mini muffin tins lined with paper cups. Top with a piece of the goat cheese. Cook in a 350 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

These were very satisfying hearty cheese bites. The smoked pork really makes this dish. The onion, sour cream, pork and goat cheese is a complex combination of flavors that really shine in such a small bite. They reheat very nicely in the toaster oven. 

Blueberry Cream Cheese on Blueberry Muffin ブルーベリーチーズクリームのせブルーベリーマフィン

We are in local (meaning North America) blueberry season. We are getting quite good blueberries. So, besides enjoying them fresh or with yogurt, we are making the usual blueberry items such as blueberry pancakes, and blueberry muffins. My wife uses both whole and puree of blueberry to enhance the blueberry flavors of the blueberry baked goods she makes. One such example is the blueberry muffin shown on the right in picture #1. We call that muffin “double blueberry” because the batter includes both whole blueberries and blueberry puree. One of her recent innovations was blueberry cream cheese spread. Which, when spread on the double blueberry muffin as shown in picture #1 on the left triples the blueberry flavors. 

The picture #2 is a close-up of the blueberry cream cheese spread. She made blueberry purée and then mixed it into cream cheese. I will ask my wife to continue.

Ingredients:
1 package of fresh blueberries (amount is actually arbitrary)
1 8 oz. package of Philadelphia Cream cheese

Directions:
Put the fresh blueberries in a saucepan cover and heat on very low heat until the blueberries burst open releasing juice. Puree using a hand held immersion blender. Set aside to cool.
When the puree has cooled add the cream cheese to a mixer and mix until smooth. Add the blueberry puree. (The amount is arbitrary and to taste. The more puree added the stronger the blueberry taste). Mix until the cream cheese and puree are completely blended.

This is extremely easy to make. My wife got the idea for this because we had gotten some commercially made tubs of blueberry cream cheese. When my wife tasted them she thought they were pretty good but we were at the height of blueberry season why not try to make some blueberry cream cheese ourselves using fresh blueberries. This made a very nice spread to use on anything; pancakes, muffins, or bread. The main thing we discovered was that it takes time for the blueberry flavor to come through. When we first made it we could hardly taste any blueberry flavor and initially we were disappointed. But several days later the blueberry flavor was nicely pronounced making the experiment well worthwhile.

Raspberry Muffin Bites ラズベリーマッフィンバイツ

We usually do not go for raspberries not because we do not like the flavor but because they have so many seeds and you cannot avoid them when eating fresh raspberries. My wife picked up fresh raspberries along with strawberries when we went to Whole Foods.  She said that they looked so good she could not resist. So we got fresh raspberry. I tasted them and they were really good but each bite included the grit of the seeds. Given her recent success with the strawberry muffin/cupcake, my wife decided to go for a variation on the theme of “berry puree” starring the raspberries. Specifically muffins from raspberry puree which would strain out the seeds but hopefully leave the raspberry flavor behind. (See picture #2, this was taken before straining out the seeds). The resulting mini muffins/bites were a great success (picture #1). The raspberry flavor came through very strongly without any seeds to worry about.

I ask my wife to complete.

Ingredients
Raspberry reduction:  one large package of fresh raspberries. 
There will be about 1 to 2 cups of raspberry reduction after it is cooked

raspberry cupcake
1 1/2 cups (180g) cake flour
1 cup (198g) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon table salt
6 tablespoons (85g) butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
1 large egg white
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup raspberry reduction, from above. (This will leave about 1/2 cup of the reduction to use for other dishes)

Directions:
To make the raspberry reduction: Rinse the raspberries. Transfer the berries to a medium pot. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the berries have released their juices and softened, 3 to 5 minutes. 

Using a spoon and a sieve purée the berries off the heat to remove the seeds. Then return the puree to the stove. Bring the mixture to a low boil over medium heat and continue to stir for 6 to 8 minutes. The mixture will become foamy, slightly thick, and darker in color. (This concentrates the flavor). 

Remove the pan from the heat and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature. You should have approximately 1 cup reduction at this point. The berry reduction can be made up to 5 days in advance. If making in advance, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.

To make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a mini muffin tin with baking cups. In a cuisine art blender fitted with a blade combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter and mix at low speed until the mixture looks sandy. (Similar to making biscuit dough). Beat in the egg, the extra egg white, and vanilla, then mix until no dry spots of flour remain. Stop the mixer and scrape the bowl and beater attachment(s) as needed; the mixture will be thick.

Add the 3/4 cup strawberry reduction. Continue to mix on low speed until the batter is smooth. Stop to scrape the bowl and then mix again at low speed for 30 seconds. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins. Bake the cupcake bites for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the cake springs back when lightly touched. Remove the cupcakes from the oven, and as soon as you can handle them, remove them from the pan and transfer them to a rack to cool (#3).

These raspberry cupcake bites were a resounding success. The raspberry flavor really came through. This is one of the best ways to enjoy raspberries without having to deal with the seeds.

Sausage Encased in Cookie Dough (Full Moon Pastries)

This is another appetizer based on a  recipe from “Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook”.  In the cookbook it is called “Full Moon Pastries” because of its round shape. But it is nothing similar to Chinese “Moon cake”. This is essentially a piece of sausage and cheese encased in a savory short bread cookie. This combo can’t possibly be bad. Although we did not have “Italian sausage” which is called for in the original recipe, we did have left-over “chicken and apple sausage” which we got from near-by gourmet market. My wife used that. Although this involved a bit of work it turned out to be a nice appetizer/finger food. Besides having it with wine in the evening, we had some for lunch served with green salad and cheese curd my wife made a few days ago (Picture #1).

You can see the sausage and cheese on the cut surface (#2).

Ingredients
For the pastry
3 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt

For the filling
sausage or any other hard spicy sausage, cut into ½-inch-thick slices (We used chicken apple sausage)
Dijon mustard (or hot sauce) to go on the sausage
slices of cheese to go on top of the sausage

Directions:
Mix the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until well blended. Add the flour and salt and mix thoroughly. Knead lightly and shape into a ball. Cut the ball into quarters. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate several hours or overnight (#A). 

The original recipe says to roll each ball into a circle 1/8 inch thick then cut into 2 inch circles used to wrap the sausage top and bottom. This dough is extremely soft and is extremely difficult (i.e. impossible) to roll out into a large circle and then cut out into round pieces on which to place the sausage. We ended up shaping the quarters into ropes slightly larger in diameter than the sausage. Using those ropes we cut off a slice. Using our fingers (because it is way too soft to use a rolling pin) formed it into a flat round piece slightly larger in diameter than the sausage. We placed the sausage on top. Topped the sausage with some mustard (or hot sauce), and a piece of cheese (#B). Using the same finger shaping technique we formed a second piece of the dough to top the sausage, crimping the top and bottom edges together to encase the sausage (#C).

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes (#D). 

As mentioned earlier this dough is extremely soft. We tried cooking the assembled pieces in the oven fryer but the crust was too soft. It disintegrated and melted into the grate before it cooked. So we put the next batch in the refrigerator for a while to firm up the crust then baked it flat on a cookie sheet in the regular toaster oven. That worked. We also recommend using a cheese like smoked gouda that doesn’t melt entirely. The cheddar cheese we used on one of the batches melted entirely into the dough. 

These are very nice appetizers. The crust is like a soft savory butter cookie. The sausage provides nice texture and flavor. They were best using a hot sauce rather than just mustard. They are a fair amount of work but they are worth it.

Goat Cheese Popover ゴートチーズ ポップオーバー

This is another one based on a recipe from “Silver Palate Good Times Cook Book”.  This is basically a variation of  “Yorkshire pudding”. My wife said that “back in the day” she used to make traditional Yorkshire pudding from the holiday roast drippings. Although Yorkshire pudding is not a popular item served at restaurants these days, we used to have it regularly at a brunch we attended with a friend of ours at a local club/restaurant.  When my wife saw this recipe, it called to her because it is a mini version of the old time favorite and goat cheese is involved. Since these types of recipes can be finicky and we were not sure it would work. To our delight it did! It puffed up nicely and the center was hollow with a nice eggy crust and goat cheese inside on the bottom (picture #1 and #3). This is a nice hors d'oeuvre as suggested in the recipe. I will ask my wife to continue.

Ingredients: (makes about 30 to 35 mini-bites)
6 eggs
1½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Pinch ground nutmeg
2 cups milk
½ cup heavy or whipping cream
4 ounces herbed chèvre, cut into 18 to 20 piece

Ingredients (1/2 recipe. makes 16 to 17 mini-bites)
3 eggs 
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1/8  teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (or cayenne)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 
Pinch ground nutmeg 
1 cup milk
1/4 cup cream
2 ounces herbed chèvre, cut into pieces

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Line mini muffin tin with paper cups.

Place the eggs, flour, salt, pepper, thyme, and nutmeg in a blender. Blend until well combined, about 10 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the container. With the blender running, slowly pour in the milk and cream and blend until smooth. (It will have a very watery consistency). Place the prepared muffin tins in the oven to warm slightly. Remove the warmed tins and fill each halfway with batter. Place a piece of the cheese in the center of each cup (#1). Pour in the remaining batter to fill each cup two-thirds. Bake the popovers 20 to 25 minutes or until puffed and golden (#2). Serve immediately (#4). 

These were unexpected perfection. Nice and crunchy with the pleasant taste of the goat cheese. Perfect as a little bite with wine as an appetizer.

Meatloaf ミートローフ

While my wife was looking through the trusty old cookbook “Joy of Cooking”, she found a yellow stick’m in her handwriting from many years ago posted on one of the pages. It was a recipe for meatloaf which was a regular in her culinary repertoire long ago . It appears that this recipe is different from any other meatloaf recipe in the book. In general, we are not big fans of meatloaf or hamburger, but since this was my wife’s special recipe, we decided to try it for old times sake. It calls for ground beef, so we got one pound of 20% fat (we thought a bit fatty meat may be better for meatloaf) ground beef from Whole Foods. This was a pretty good meatloaf (#1). It was moist and flavorful. When it just came out of the oven it did not keep it’s shape very well when sliced but after refrigeration it held together better.

I ask my wife to expand on her special recipe. I helped her by chopping up onions and shiitake mushrooms (since we had a few left). I sautéd  them in olive oil (left upper in picture #2).

Ingredients: (Shown in picture #2)
1 lb ground beef
1/½ cups onion, chopped (optional several stems and caps of fresh shiitake mushrooms, chopped)
1 cup bread crumbs
2/3 cup ketchup,
1 tbs Dijon mustard
2/3 cup parsley
3 eggs
1 tsp ground thyme
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper or cayenne
1 tbs horseradish (we used yuzukosho hot sauce)
3 tbs chopped garlic
1 cup Parmesan cheese
ketchup on top

Directions:
Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. (It doesn’t get any easier than that). Put in a loaf pan and top with catsup (#3). Cook in a 350 degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes (until done).

This meatloaf was a colorful combination of flavors and textures.  The catsup topping caramelized and added a nice sweet/tart touch. This was a very nostalgic dish for my wife. We may have to add it back into the repertoire.

Grape-puree Muffin ブドウのピューレのマフィン

We like grapes and often have them for dessert. Our favorites are “Holiday grapes” and “Cotton Candy grapes”. But they are not always available. For example, “Holiday grapes” are only available October to mid-December (hence the name, “holiday” grape). Cotton Candy grapes grown in California are available mid July through September. Cotton Candy grapes grown in Mexico are available April and May. In general we are not fans of generic red and green grapes so whenever we see “special” grapes with the word “sweetness” in the varietal name we try them out. That is what happened recently.

Our usual favorites were not available but we found some green grapes with a fancy name alluding to “sweetness” at Whole Foods and went for them. We were hoping they would be a potential replacements for our aforementioned two favorite grapes. Unfortunately, they turned out to be just tough skin and seeds. What little interior meat they had, although only a small proportion of the whole grape, was indeed quite sweet. But in general, by our standards, these were not good eating grapes.

Not to be deterred, my wife remembered her recent experience making strawberry muffins using a fresh strawberry syrup reduction. She thought, ‘why not try the same thing with these grapes?’ Making them into a grape syrup reduction would eliminate the tough skin and numerous seeds because they would be strained out when the cooked grapes were sieved. Wouldn’t that highlight and accentuate what sweetness the grapes had in their interior meat?’ So that is what she did. Turned out it worked.

Ingredients:
Grape muffin:
1 1/2 cups (180g) cake flour
1 cup (198g) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon tabler / salt
6 tablespoons (85g) butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
1 large egg white
3 tablespoons (43g) water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup grape reduction

Grape reduction:
Package of sweet eating grapes, cooked, pureed, strained, then reduced

Directions:
For the grape reduction:
Put the grapes in a saucepan. Gently heat them on simmer until the skins open releasing juice and interior meat. (These grapes took a very long time to open; the skins were really thick and tough). After the grapes open and exude liquid puree and strain them. (We used a motor boat blender). Return the puree to the pan a continue simmering on low heat until the liquid reduces and turns darker and slightly thicker. (This further concentrates the flavor.)

For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with baking cups. In a cuisine art blender fitted with a blade combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter and mix at low speed until the mixture looks sandy. (Similar to making biscuit dough). Beat in the egg, the extra egg white, water, and vanilla, then mix until no dry spots of flour remain. The mixture will be thick. Add 1/2 cup of the grape reduction. Continue to mix on low speed until the batter is smooth. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins.

Bake the cupcakes for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the cake springs back when lightly touched. Remove the cupcakes from the oven, and as soon as you can handle them, remove them from the pan and transfer them to a rack to cool.

This was a great muffin. It had a very refined texture and elegant flavor that was somewhat mysterious. Unlike the strawberry muffins which announced their strawberry-ness very assertively these muffins had a lovely fresh flavor that indicated they were made with fresh fruit but the actual fruit’s identity was not announced flavor-wise although it had a very light natural but rich sweetness. It did not particularly taste grape-like but these were, without a doubt, one of the best muffin we ever made. This distinctive flavor may be unique to the type of grape we used. Unfortunately neither of us payed particular attention to the grapes name so we may not be able to reproduce it again. Nonetheless, we wanted this post for our record.

Shrimp and Scallop Rice Krispies Bites エビとホタテのライスクリスピーボール

Some time ago, my wife got a great big box of rice Krispies cereal (and mini marshmallows). Her reason was that, as a kid, she used to like “rice Krispies treats”. Recently, she purchased some from the grocery store but thought they were not as good as she remembered. So, she wanted to make some herself from scratch thinking they should be better than the ones she just bought. (I could enjoy some homemade rice Krispie treats too, since I was “deprived” of the experience as a kid; they were not part of my Japanese childhood).

We were not sure how much rice Krispies would be needed to make the treats so we got the “big” box…it was gigantic. Over some time, no Krispie treats were forthcoming.  I started teasing her about the huge box of Krispies in the pantry and would she need all of that for the treats? In response she went to the rice Krispies website  and found a few recipes she wanted to try and thought would reduce the volume of Krispies we had. This is one of those recipes. Of course there were a few modifications. The original recipe called for shrimp and crabmeat but we did not have crabmeat. We did, however, have frozen bay scallops which we had used to make salmon pate. So we substituted the scallops for the crab.  I made a sauce with Greek yogurt, mayonnaise yuzu juice (from the bottle) and Japanese not-so spicy spicy chili oil with garlic bits. The final dish is shown in (#1). It was quite a nice savory bite with a little crunch on the crust courtesy of the rice Krispies.

On the cut surface, you can see some scallop but the shrimp became a binder and disappeared (#2).

Ingredients:
For the fish bite:
30 mL (2 tbsp) grated Parmesan cheese
175 g (6 oz) bay scallops, thawed, finely chopped
125 g (4 oz) cleaned raw shrimp, finely chopped
 500 ML (2 cups) rice Krispies cereal crushed
2 egg whites, or 1 egg
50 ml (1/4 cup) finely chopped celery
30 ml (2 tbsp) low-fat mayonnaise
2 ml (1/2 tsp) dijon mustard
1 ml (1/4 tsp) cayenne

For the sauce
3 tbsp greek yogurt 
3 tbsp mayonnaise
30 ml (2 tbsp) Dijon mustard
yuzu juice to taste
Japanese  chili crunch oil (“taberu-ra-yu” 食べるラー油”)

Directions
In a small bowl mix together 1/2 cup of the crushed cereal and Parmesan cheese and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the scallops, shrimp, remaining cereal, eggs, celery, mayonnaise, mustard and cayenne until thoroughly mixed. Scoop out part of the mixture using the second to smallest ice cream scoop and form into balls. Roll balls in the crushed cereal mixture. Place on baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake at 350°F about 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve with sauce. 

Sauce: In small bowl, mix together mayonnaise, greek yogurt, mustard, yuzu juice and Japanese chili crunch oil.

The sauce really sets this fish bite apart from ordinary. The Krispies bite itself was really good. But my comment was “why do you need to use rice Krispies?” We could have made this using panko bread crumbs. Nonetheless this is certainly a nice appetizer. Also, after all this, the rice Krispies treats are still not forthcoming. Still waiting…patiently.

Lemon Ricotta Cake レモン、リッコタチーズケーキ

This is another one of my wife’s baking projects. She saw this recipe on the King Arthur web site. She thought the use of “00” flour, (which I use to make pizza dough), was intriguing. Being the generous man I am, I gave her access my stash of  “00” flour. This was a good investiment on my part, the cake was very light and fluffy and the “Fiori di Sicillia” flavoring gave a nice lemony flavor. The cake was not too sweet and perfect for our dessert.

Ingredients:
Cake
1 1/2 cups (174g) “00” flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon table salt
8 tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup (198g) granulated sugar
zest of 1 lemon
3 large eggs, separated
1 cup (227g) ricotta cheese, whole preferred
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon “Fiori di Sicilia”, optional

Glaze (We did not use)
2 tablespoons (28g) lemon juice
3 tablespoons (43g) coarse sparkling sugar or 3 tablespoons (34g) turbinado sugar
1/2 cup (57g) confectioners' sugar

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400°F with a rack in the center. Line the bottom of an 8" cake pan with parchment and grease the bottom and sides.

To make the cake: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat together the butter, sugar, and lemon zest on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Scrape down the bowl. Add the egg yolks, and beat until combined, about 1 minute. Add the ricotta, extracts, and dry ingredients and beat on low until no dry streaks remain.

In a medium bowl, whisk the whites until very frothy, 1 to 2 minutes (no need to reach soft peaks).

Scrape down the sides of the bowl with the batter and pour in the egg whites. Mix on medium speed, scraping down the sides as needed, until the batter becomes smooth (it will be quite gloppy at first). Finish mixing by hand if necessary to make sure everything is incorporated.

Transfer the thick batter to the prepared pan and smooth it into an even layer. (A small offset spatula is a helpful tool here.)

Bake the lemon ricotta cake for 20 to 25 minutes, until deeply golden, then tent with foil and bake for 8 to 10 minutes. The cake is done when it’s set, has pulled away from the sides of the pan slightly, and springs back when lightly pressed. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. (#2)

If using the glaze: In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the lemon juice and sugars until no dry confectioners’ sugar remains.

Turn out the lemon ricotta cake onto a wire rack and set the rack atop a plate or parchment-lined baking sheet. Pour the glaze evenly over the top of the cake, encouraging it to reach all the way to the edges.

Let the lemon ricotta cake cool until the glaze is set, about 30 minutes. Serve it slightly warm or at room temperature, with macerated fruit if desired.

This is one of the most elegant cakes we’ve made. It is extremely light, slightly sweet with a rich lemon flavor. The method of using the mixer to stir the egg whites into the batter was a first. My wife was surprised at how well it worked and that the egg whites did not deflate. She said she will keep this method in mind for other recipes using whipped egg whites.

Pan-fried Grits Cake フライパンで焼いたグリッツケーキ

This is an off-shoot of the “Cheese grits casserole” my wife made. Realizing these grits cakes were basically the same texture as traditional cheese grits just shaped differently she got the idea they could be removed from the ramekins they were cooked in, cut into pieces and pan fried. Initially I had doubts the  process she suggested would be possible but as shown in picture #1 we managed it. They were firm enough for her to remove them from the ramekins. Then she asked me to slice the cakes into rounds. Using a thin long fillet knife coated with oil, I was able to slice them (picture #2). To pan fry the rounds, I first dusted both sides with flour and then fried them. This added a nice crunchy crust and they were better than the original form. We had this as a light lunch with a salad made of baby arugula, green beans (pre-steamed), skinned Campari tomato topped with home made cheese curd my wife made, dressed with honey-mustard dressing.

Next time, we’ll probably prepare them this way by cooking them in a baking dish or a small sheet pan so that it is easier to cut into squares for pan-frying.

Beautiful spring season. The iris are in full bloom. What a joy!

Mini Cheese Grits Casserole ミニグリッツキャセロール

Recently we purchased a box of grits to make a dish of shrimp and grits. But the quantity of grits we used to make that dish didn’t make a dent in the large amount of dried grits remaining in the box. So my wife took it upon herself to find a way to use up some of it.  She found this recipe at Southern Living web site. The original recipe was for a make-ahead breakfast dish for a large crowd. The idea was to basically put the dish together the day before so the next morning all that had to be done was to cook it in the oven. After looking at the quantity of ingredients called for in the recipe we decided that we were definitely not feeding a crowd that big so we significantly reduced the the size of the recipe. Also, since we were not going to be eating it for breakfast we saw no need to make it up a day ahead and store it in the fridge overnight.  We had it as a lunch with salad which included my wife’s home-made mango chutney seasoned cheese curd. This turned out to be a variation of standard cheese grits but in a more elegant individual presentation. It was quite good although next time we thought we could reduced the amount of cheese a bit.

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups broth 

3/4 cup uncooked quick-cooking grits
1 teaspoons salt, (divided, 1/2 in the grits, 1/2 in the egg mixture) 
1/2 cup half-and-half (or buttermilk)
1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon cayenne 
1 large egg
4-6 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
several teaspoons of sauteed shallots and mushrooms.  

Directions
Bring broth to a boil in a medium saucepan over high. Add grits and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Reduce heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until grits are thickened and tender, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat; cover and let stand 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk together half-and-half, mustard, pepper, egg, and remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Stir in grits and cheese until cheese is melted. Divide mixture evenly among the ramekins. (We used 4 small and 3 medium sized ramekins as shown in pic #2). Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake in preheated oven until puffed and edges are set, about 20 to 25 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes.

These were quite good. Lots of rich flavor with the cheese and shallot mushroom mixture adding a lot of depth. The cayenne pepper added a nice bright note. My wife noted that next time she would just make it in a baking dish and then cut it into square pieces for serving. What ever the presentation this makes a mighty fine “side” for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. 

Strawberry Muffin Bites 苺とクリームチーズのカップケーキ

When we went to Whole Foods the other day. my wife picked up a package of fresh strawberries. After coming home, I asked why she got the strawberries. Her answer was, “To make Strawberry Cream Cheese Cupcakes”.  She saw the recipe on the King Arthur Baking site. She showed me the recipe and my one thought was ‘this is a very long and complicated’. Of course she significantly deviated from the original. One of the major deviations was the elimination of the cream cheese part. We had these muffins as a part of our breakfast.

Ingredients:
Strawberry puree: 
1 pound (454g) of fresh strawberries
3 tablespoons sugar, (You can use more or less depending on how sweet the strawberries are.)
There will be about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of strawberry puree after it is cooked 

Strawberry cake (X1)
1 1/2 cups (180g) cake flour
1 cup (198g) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon table salt
6 tablespoons (85g) butter, at room temperature

2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract 
1/2 cup (130g) or up to 3/4 cup strawberry puree, from above. (There may be some puree left over which can be used for different recipes.)

Strawberry cake (X2)
3 cups (360g) cake flour
2 cups (396g) granulated sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
12 tablespoons (170g) butter, at room temperature
4 large eggs
4 teaspoons vanilla extract 
1 cup (260g) to 1 1/2 cups strawberry puree, from above. 

Directions:
To make the strawberry puree: Rinse the strawberries, remove their leaves and stems, then dice; you should have approximately 3 cups (about 400g) of strawberries at this point. Transfer the strawberries to a medium pot and (if you are using it add the sugar); mix to combine. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the strawberries have released their juices and softened, 3 to 5 minutes.

Using an immersion blender, purée the strawberry mixture off the heat, and then return it to the stove. Bring the mixture to a low simmer over medium heat and continue to stir for 6 to 8 minutes. The mixture will become foamy, slightly thick, and darker in color. (This will concentrate the flavor more.)

Remove the pan from the heat and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature. If making the puree in advance, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use. 

To make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin (either a mini muffin tin or standard size tin) with baking cups. In a cuisine art blender fitted with a blade combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter and mix at low speed until the mixture looks sandy. (Similar to making biscuit dough). Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Then mix until no dry spots of flour remain. Stop the mixer and scrape the bowl and beater attachment as needed; the mixture will be very thick and light. (Beating the eggs in the batter with the cuisine art this way really whips up the batter making it very light and airy.) 

Add the strawberry reduction. (I have found that the recipe is quite tolerant of a range in the amount of strawberry puree that can be used. For example I have used about 1/4 cup more puree for the X1 and 1/2 cup more for the X2 recipe and it has worked out just fine. The muffin is a bit softer with the additional puree which is very nice.) Continue to mix on low speed until the batter is smooth. Stop to scrape the bowl and then mix again at low speed for 30 seconds. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins. 

Bake the cupcakes for 15 to 20 minutes for mini muffins or 20 to 25 for regular size muffins, or until the cake springs back when lightly touched. Remove the cupcakes from the oven, and as soon as you can handle them, remove them from the pan and transfer them to a rack to cool.

These cupcakes were very different from anything we’ve made before. They have a lovely pervasive strawberry taste and the texture is very moist. The bright strawberry flavor really shines through. They had a very light texture and the strawberry flavor lingered on the tongue. These are definitely a “favorite”. 

Mango Crumb Bars マンゴークラムバー

We regularly eat home-made yogurt with fruit as a part of breakfast. Among the fruit we use, our favorite is mango. Quality mango can be  “hit or miss” sometimes. Generally we buy unripe mangoes and let them ripen on the counter. When they are ripe enough we process them by peeling the skin, removing the fruit from the stone (this can be a bit tricky) and cutting the pieces into small cubes. We place these in a sealable container and add a small amount of orange liquor (triple sec). This makes the mango last much longer.  Among the different types of mango, we like green Florida mangos the best but we also like champagne mangos. Recently, we already had two processed regular mangos in the fridge but then,  because they were on sale at Whole Foods, we got 4 champagne mangos that were basically ripe and ready to be processed. As a result we had an excess of processed mango. We had more than we could possibly consume in morning yogurt before they went bad. So, my wife started looking for fresh mango recipes to use the excess supply. She found this recipe for  “mango crumb bars”.  Although the mango flavor is subtle, this is a very good snack/desert. I’ll ask my wife to continue as usual.

Ingredients: 
2 1/2 cups ripe mangoes (small chunks) 2-3 mangoes
3-5 tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 tbsp corn starch
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup cold unsalted butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut mangoes into small chunks. In a bowl, combine mango chunks, sugar (use more if mango is not ripened) and corn starch. Mix well and set aside. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Cut cold (important: make sure it is cold!) unsalted butter into chunks and add to flour mixture. Using a food processor, pulse until small crumbs are formed. In a separate bowl mix the brown sugar, egg and vanilla extract. Then add the egg mixture into the buttery dry mixture. Mix well - mixture should be slightly crumbly.
Add 2/3 of the crumbly mixture to the bottom of a 8" x 8" baking pan lined with parchment paper. Press the mixture onto the pan to form a layer of crumb pastry. Add the mango mixture, and spread it out evenly. Then sprinkle the top with the rest of the crumbles. Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let it cool for 5-10 minutes. Then lift parchment paper and bring pastry out of the pan. Let it cool for another 15-20 minutes.

This is a very nice desert. It is not too sweet and the crunchy crumbs add a nice texture. The mango is subtle but definitely there. It adds a fresh fruity tasting moist layer to complement the surrounding crumbs. 

Crispy Cheese Rice Puffs チーズライスパフ

I am not sure how my wife decided to make this. (Note from wifey: I decided to make this particular dish because by mistake we bought a box of rice krispies to make rice krispies treats at Christmas - for nostalgic reasons; they were one of my favorites as a kid - that was humongous. It had much more rice krispies than were needed for the treats. So, I was looking for other recipes to use up some of the excess.) (Note from Hubbie: Oh! I never had a rice Krispies treat before.) In any case, using the rice krispies cereal, she came up with this dish which is more suitable for a snack with a drink of wine than a dessert. The original recipe was called “crispy cheese wafers” came from Southern Living website. She made two versions; one using a muffin tin (left in picture #1) and the other flattened into a cookie or wafer-shape (right in picture #1).  This is a nice cheesy bite. She warmed them up in the toaster oven which made them crispy and warm. I ask my wife to contenue.

Ingredients:
2 cups (8 ounces) freshly grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese (I used a combination of smoked gouda, sharp cheddar and parmesan cheese
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. ground cayenne pepper or to taste
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup crisp rice cereal

Directions
Mix together the cheeses, butter, flour, red pepper, Worcestershire and salt in a large bowl until mixture forms a ball that lightly sticks together and pulls in all the flour. (Hands worked best for this). Gently fold the rice cereal into the dough. Shape mixture into 1-inch balls using medium sized ice cream scoop. The original recipe called for placing the balls about 1 inch apart on a baking sheet and flattening each ball with a fork, making a crisscross pattern. I made several like that (#2) but I was afraid they would fall apart when cooked so I made some in mini cup cake tins lined with paper cups. I gently pushed the dough into the cups with my fingers (#3) Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes or until firm. Cool on pan on wire rack.

These made very satisfying savory bites. As you can see from the pictures the ones made free standing on the cookie sheet did not fall apart when cooked. They just spread out. The krispies in the dough formed a nice light crunchy crust and the interior texture was very tender and tasted richly cheesy. These got much better with time as the flavors melded together. They also toasted up nicely in the toaster oven.

Valentine’s day cake バレンタインデイケーキ

Although my wife has previously made this cake, Ricotta-filled Valentine's day "Wacky" cake, some years ago for Valentine’s day, this year she wanted to make the same cake in small individual bite-sized heart-shapes. Problem was we didn’t have any heart shaped pans that were small enough. This led to an internet search which resulted in the purchase of two red silicone heart shaped muffin sheets. Although my wife only filled the muffin cups half full the little cakes rose above the edge of the cups and came out looking round like the one in picture #1 with the cherry on top. The bottoms of the cakes appeared heart shaped as shown by the upside down one on the left in the pic. Bummer! If they were going to come out looking round we didn’t need to buy heart shaped “tins”. Our existing mini muffin tins would have done the trick. Nonetheless, regardless of their shape, they tasted very good. 

Ingredients:
For the cake
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tbs. vinegar
1/3 cup oil
1 cup water

For the ricotta filling
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/8 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Mix all the ingredients for the ricotta filling until smooth and set aside. Mix the dry ingredients from the flour thru the cocoa powder in a bowl. Mix the wet ingredients in another bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients until smooth. Fill the heart shaped “tins” with the cake mixture and top them with a scoop of the ricotta filling and half a maraschino cherry (#2). (Nicely heart-shaped). Cook at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes until the ricotta topping firms up and a skewer comes out clean. (My wife noticed that the silicone pan did not conduct heat the same way a metal muffin tins would so it took about 10 minutes longer for the cakes to cook.)

Although the final product was not heart-shaped these little cakes were a perfect bite-sized treat to celebrate the end of the Valentine’s dinner. PA Dutch Wacky cake topped with ricotta cheese icing is a Valentine’s Day classic (at least for us).

Custardy Apple Cake カスタードアップルケーキ

This is one of my wife’s baking projects. This recipe appeared as “Dori Greenspan’s Custardy Apple Squares” in Washington Post which drew my wife’s  attention. Since we get nice large Washington state Fiji” apples from Weee, this recipe appeared perfect to try. I helped by preparing the apple. This is very good. The layers of apple slices with custard in between (picture #1) is very refreshing and not too sweet. Perfect dessert for us not serious dessert eaters.

Ingredients: 
2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more softened butter for the pan
3 medium juicy, sweet apples, such as Gala or Fuji, peeled (1 pound/454 grams total)
Generous 1/2 cups (68 grams) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cups (67 grams) granulated sugar
1 pinch fine salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 tablespoons whole milk, at room temperature
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting (optional)

Directions
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan with a little butter.

Slice the apples from top to bottom using a mandoline, Benriner or sharp knife, turning the fruit 90 degrees each time you reach the core. The slices should be about 1/16 inch thick -- elegantly thin, but not so thin that they’re transparent and fragile. (If they’re a little thicker, that’ll be fine, too.) Discard or compost the cores.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder until combined.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar and salt until the sugar has just about dissolved and, more importantly, until the eggs are pale, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the vanilla extract, then the milk and the melted, cooled butter. Add to the flour mixture and whisk to form a smooth batter.

Add the apples to the bowl, switch to a flexible spatula and gently fold in the apples, turning the mixture until each thin slice is coated in the batter. (I used my hand to individually coat each slice with the mixture). Scrape the mixture into the pan, smoothing the top as evenly as you can. It will be bumpy; that’s its nature.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until golden brown and puffed — make sure the middle of the cake has risen — and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for at least 15 minutes or completely. (I cooked this in the toaster oven and it took about 35 minutes.

Variations
You can add a couple of tablespoons of dark rum, calvados, applejack or armagnac or a drop (really, just a drop) of pure almond extract to the batter. If you have an orange or a lemon handy, you can grate the zest over the sugar and rub the ingredients together until they’re fragrant. You can also change the fruit. Pears are perfect, and a combination of apples and pears is even better. Or make the cake with 2 firm mangoes — the texture will be different but still good — or very thinly sliced quinces. Finally, if you want to make this look a little dressier, you can warm some apple jelly in a microwave and use a pastry brush to spread a thin layer of it over the top.

Sweet Potato muffin with Dates and Cranberries サツマイモマフィン

This is another of my wife’s baking projects. The original recipe appeared in Washington Post as “Sweet potato bread with dates and cranberries” but she converted it to muffins. One of the reasons she made this is that we got some Japanese sweet potatoes a week ago and she wanted to use them before they went bad. This recipe was a bit unusual in that the dates were pulverized with oil, eggs, and milk and become a part of the wet ingredients.  The original recipe also calls for fresh cranberries but we didn’t have any so we used dried cranberries (craisins). Since craisins have added sugar and dates are quite sweet, we were afraid the muffin would be too sweet but it was just pleasantly sweet. The texture appeared dense but was very tender. Overall, this is a good unique muffin/bread. We enjoyed it for our breakfast. I ask my wife to continue.

Ingredients
1/2 cup (120 milliliters) neutral oil, (We used Crisco)
1 1/2 cups (190 grams) pitted dates
1 cup mashed, roasted sweet potatoes (We used Japanese sweet potatoes)
1/3 cup (80 milliliters) milk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (65 grams) whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup (65 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (60 grams) almond flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
1 cup (95 grams) fresh whole cranberries (We used craisins)
1/2 cup (60 grams) chopped raw pecans

Directions:
Prepare 2 sweet potatoes by piercing the skin, then putting them into a silicone cooking container with a little water. Cover and cook in the microwave until tender (about 4-5 minutes). Remove the skin. Mash them and then run them through a ricer to get rid of any remaining lumps. 

Place the dates in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add the sweet potato puree, oil and milk and pulse until smooth. (Small bits of the dates will remain.) Add the eggs and vanilla, and pulse to combine. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.

In another large bowl, whisk together the whole-wheat, AP, and almond flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt until combined.

Add the flour mixture to the sweet potato mixture, and stir just until evenly incorporated. Stir in the cranberries and pecans; the batter will be very thick.

Transfer the batter to the prepared muffin tins. Bake at 325 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for about 5 minutes then remove from the pan.