Valencia Orange Pound Cake

February 02, 2016 by Laura Messersmith in Cooking with the Contessa

Each week I follow along with Ina Garten (aka the Barefoot Contessa) and attempt to recreate one of her dishes in my tiny New York City kitchen. The catch? This is my version of cooking school and this week I’m making Orange Pound Cake for the first time. I’ll share both my successes and “challenges” along the way along with suggestions on how to adapt Ina’s recipe to a small kitchen.

Episode: “Jeffrey’s Birthday Pop-up”

The Set-up: It’s Jeffrey’s birthday and Ina is cooking him a surprise Greek themed lunch at an historic home in East Hampton

The Menu: Hummus, Spinach Pie, Raspberry Orange Trifle (featuring: Orange Pound Cake and Orange Cream)

0:42 – Jeffrey doesn’t want a birthday cake and Ina is of the opinion that no one over the age of 25 needs one anyway (did not get this memo) so she’s making individual Raspberry Orange Trifles for dessert.

1:25 – The base of the trifle is homemade Orange Pound Cake, so we’re starting with that step.

2:03 – Pro Tip #1: A light cake starts with butter (and eggs) softened to room temperature – preferably at least over night; this helps the butter cream together with the sugar and combine evenly with the eggs.

3:19 – Pro Tip #2: The second step to light cakes is alternating the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients so that both are incorporated without over mixing.

4:36 – Ina has a ton of good baking recommendations today! Here’s Pro Tip #3: Use a kitchen scale (don’t forget to tare off the weight of the pan) to make sure the batter is evenly distributed.

5:17 – I remember hearing an interview where Ina said that buttering and flouring the insides of cake pans was one of her least favorite kitchen tasks. Word. But why is it so annoying?

6:48 – We get the inside scoop on the rest of Jeffrey’s celebration – the lunch will be at the historic “Home Sweet Home” residence with flowers and period tablesetting by Ina’s friend Lilee Fell

7:11 – The pound cakes are out of the oven and receiving an additional dose of flavor via an orange simple syrup. Yum.

10:23 – Time to assemble the individual Raspberry Orange Trifles. Each piece of cake is spread with raspberry jam and then layered with fresh raspberries and Orange Cream.

11:10 – I originally assumed that the orange cream would just be whipped cream scented with orange zest, but it actually seems to be a traditional Crème Patisserie. (You can thank the Great British Bake Off for teaching me the difference.)

12:59 – Over to “Home Sweet Home” to see what Lilee is up to and we learn that non-skid pads and a second interior vase allow her to use historic vessels for flowers without fear of damaging them.

13:36 - The trifles are complete, now it’s time for a trip to Cavaniola’s in Sag Harbor for some stuffed grape leaves, olives and feta to complete the Greek Platter.

14:47 – The Greek theme comes from Jeffrey’s request to go to Greece, but I guess that wasn’t in the travel budget for the year.

18:08 – Time to work on the rest of the main course: Spinach Pie which Ina plans to serve along side the other items she bought.

19:15 – The filling of the pie is spinach, pine nuts, feta, and parmesan held together with beaten eggs, which if I remember correctly is similar to the recipe for Spanakopita.

20:37 – Instead of a traditional butter/flour based crust, the spinach pie has a few layers of phyllo dough.

21:53 – How interesting, the phyllo crust is placed in a sauté pan and then the edges are pulled together over the top to form a little purse. Ina calls it a “top knot”.

22:29 – I wonder why she used a metal sauté pan instead of a glass pie plate? I assume she has a reason…

26:34 – The Spinach Pie is out of the oven and Ina is portioning it onto the platter. It looks like this is the sort of dish that’s just as good room temperature as it is piping hot.

27:00 – Last element: homemade lemon and garlic Hummus which forms the center of the platter. A quick drizzle of olive oil here, a sprinkle of toasted pine nuts there, some rubbed dried oregano.

28:41 – Pro Tip #4: Grouping each item on the platter in big blocks of color prevents it from looking like the “proverbial dog’s breakfast.” Lilee is in charge of bringing the food to “Home Sweet Home” while Ina collects Jeffrey.

29:52 – The surprise is revealed and the two sit down to their Greek lunch. Jeffrey seems tickled by the thoughtfulness (as he should be) and true to form says this is the best lunch and dessert ever. He will live to see another year.

Final Thoughts:
Still wishing Ina had explained the sauté pan vs. pie plate choice.
Like Jeffrey, I too wonder what the original homeowners would make of the Greek menu.
I will never tire of Ina’s “dog’s breakfast” comparison.

Lessons Learned:
As has probably become obvious, I am in a citrusy mood lately so naturally the Orange Pound Cake caught my attention. It’s been awhile since I made pound cake and since this one has a slightly unusual step I figured it was a good one to refresh my memory and learn a trick or two. Here are my take aways.

Room Temperature Ingredients – If you do nothing else, but do allow your butter, eggs, and buttermilk to come to room temperature then I will consider this blog post a success. But here’s the thing, to be truly effective you really need all three at the same temperature. Consider: you’ve got soft butter all beautifully creamed together with the sugar, but then add cold eggs. The butter is going to firm up and the eggs won’t incorporate the way they should. Same deal at the buttermilk stage.

Orange Zest – I halved Ina’s recipe to make just one loaf of pound cake, but intentionally left the amount of orange zest the same (1/3 cup) as in the original recipe. I wanted the orange flavor to come through loud and clear and I think oranges (unlike lemons) can sometimes be a little wimpy. Essentially doubling the zest per cake ratio made sure that wasn’t a problem.

Orange Drizzle – Again, I am all about getting the most orange flavor I can and here I’d recommend allowing the orange juice/sugar mixture to reduce a bit so the juice is slightly more concentrated. Also, to make sure the cake soaked up as much of the syrup as possible I used a toothpick to gently poke small holes across the top of the bread. The better to absorb the drizzle.

Orange Segments – Lastly, this is more of a home-ec, waste not want not tip, but once you have the zest and juice you need there will still likely be an orange or two that can be supremed and the segments served as a topping for the pound cake. The cake is lovely on its own, but a little fresh fruit makes it just that much more special.

Small Kitchen Friendly?
Totally. I used two medium mixing bowls, an 8x3 glass loaf pan, a hand mixer, a small sauce pan, measuring cups (liquid and dry), measuring spoons, a microplane grater, and a rubber spatula. A wire rack and rimmed sheet pan will be helpful if you don’t want the drizzle or glaze to pool around the bottom of the pound cake.

The Verdict:
This Orange Pound Cake is really flipping good. The interior crumb manages to be both moist and light simultaneously, and thanks to my extra zest the orange flavor is lively and bright. I’m sure this is fabulous in a trifle, but on it’s own or with a spoonful of fresh orange segments it caps off the meal with a fresh note. I can see making this for a summer dessert just as easily as in winter.

Plum Cake Tatin

September 09, 2015 by Laura Messersmith in Cooking with the Contessa

Each week I follow along with Ina Garten (aka the Barefoot Contessa) and attempt to recreate one of her dishes in my tiny New York City kitchen. The catch? This is my version of cooking school and I’m making these recipes for the first time. I’ll share both my successes and um, challenges, along the way and we’ll see if I can keep up with the Contessa!

Episode: “Photo Finish”

The Set-up: Miguel is photographing the garden at the Garten manse and Ina is making some magazine-worthy recipes.

The Menu: Plum Cake Tatin, Lemon Fusilli with Arugula, Bibb Salad with Basil Green Goddess Dressing, Roasted Tomatoes

0:39 – We’re starting off with Plum Cake Tatin, a twist on the French classic Apple Tatin.

1:17 – First order of business – get the stones out of the plums! NBD for we experienced stone fruit preppers…

2:40 – There’s probably a little TV magic here, but I still can’t get over how perfectly Ina gets those plums to fit in her pie plate. One try!

3:11 – Over to Miguel snapping away out in the garden looking very autumnal-chic in his brown corduroy blazer.

4:23 – Time to mix the cake – a simple recipe Ina points out – with just a little lemon zest to flavor it.

5:42 – The batter calls for “1 cup + 2 tablespoons” of flour which to me is a sign of a well-tested recipe. Very specific!

6:15 – Note for the nervous – it’s okay (and maybe preferable?) if the caramel hardens after it’s poured over the plums. It will soften once the cake is baked.

9:08 – Ina makes a trip into the garden for basil to use in the Roasted Tomatoes and is immediately caught by paparazzi, aka Miguel. Not cool, Miguel! She said she wasn’t camera-ready!

10:34 – According to Ina plum tomatoes are available year-round, but unfortunately don’t have a ton of flavor which makes them ideal for roasting since cooking concentrates and develops their depth.

11:46 – The flavors that she’s using to season the tomatoes are essentially a deconstructed balsamic dressing.

12:13 – Pro Tip #1: allow the Plum Cake Tatin to cool for 15 minutes so that the caramel can set up and will stay on the cake. (PS: Ina turns that cake out like it’s her job, natch.)

13:29 – Final touches on the tomatoes with a scattering of chiffonade basil and a sprinkle of sea salt. They do look photo ready now!

14:02 – Onward to the Lemon Fusilli with Arugula a Barefoot Contessa classic that I hope inspired thoughts of "Fusilli Jerry" among many a customer.

15:38 – Am I the only one that recoils whenever a recipe requires two pots of boiling water? Ugh.

19:41 – This kind of an unusual pasta salad since it seems to combine a cream sauce with a brighter lemon flavor.

20:25 – I’ve never thought of reducing a cream based sauce, but I suppose even heavy cream has liquid that can evaporate when heated.

21:39 – While Ina preps some cherry tomatoes and grates a little parmesan we are treated to the “Getting Things Done” music.

22:50 – Between the tomatoes, broccoli and arugula this really is a pasta salad.

23:16 – Lunch is served and Ina has to wave off the paparazzi from photographingall the food. Maybe Miguel has a secret desire to be a food blogger?

27:33 – Miguel has gone home and Ina decides to make Bibb Salad with Basil Green Goddess Dressing with the leftover basil leaves. I love when she gets all Home Ec.

28:44 Fun fact: Green Goddess dressing is named after a 1920s play of the same name.

29:52 – Salad is assembled and after the decadent lunch Ina is balancing it out with greens for dinner. Aww, Miguel sent his pictures and there’s a great one of Ina!

Final Thoughts:
I’m intrigued by the pasta salad, but that plum cake is calling my name!

I know I’ve said this before, but I never fail to be amazed by Ina’s coterie of talented friends!

It really is difficult to find a pasta that captures the person. #Seinfeld

Lessons Learned:
This isn’t my first cake tatin, but it is my first one with Italian Prune Plums and since it had been about a 6 month gap I still learned quite a lot from making Plum Cake Tatin.

Plums – The recipe specifically calls for Italian Prune Plums (oval shaped, deep eggplant purple with golden flesh) and they were a revelation. First the color changes from sincerely yellow to a bright fuchsia color when they’re cooked, second the flavor is surprisingly sweet-tart and perfectly balanced by the subtle lemon of the cake. Same recommendations apply for prepping these plums, although they are free stone which makes it a bit easier.

Plum Arranging – It’s worth taking some care with the pattern since it will show once the cake it turned out, so before buttering the pie plate, I’d recommend fiddling around with the plum halves to see what fits best. In my 9” pie plate about 6 plums cut in half or quartered fit nicely.

Caramel – I was far less worried this time since I knew what to look for and after about 5-7 minutes I had a deeply golden caramel. Again, DON’T stir, just carefully swirl the water and sugar together and then leave it alone to cook into the sauce. I wasn’t sure the first time around, but in this episode Ina makes it clear that it’s okay if the caramel sets up a little after it’s poured over the plums while you mix the batter - it will melt again in the oven.

Butter – My new favorite way to “generously” butter a dish is brushing it on with a pastry brush. In this case, it took about 1 1/2 tablespoons to solidly cover the bottom and sides of my pie plate. No trouble getting the cake to release once it had cooled for the requisite 15 minutes.

Cooking Time – This is a very moist cake, the kind that sticks to the plate it’s sitting on and clings to the tines of your fork. Because the plums are somewhat juicier than apples I’d probably add another 5 minutes just to allow the cake to dry out a touch more before its called upon to absorb all the caramel.

Small Kitchen Friendly?
Yes! I used a small sauce pan, medium mixing bowl, small bowl, hand-held electric mixer, and 9 inch pie plate. I also used a rubber spatula, medium cutting board, chef’s knife, pastry brush, microplane grater, measuring cups and spoons.

The Verdict:
Not to toot my own horn, but beep beep, man... I still can’t get over how beautiful and flavorful the plums were. In fact I’m kind of obsessed now, so don’t be surprised if there are about 12,000 plum-related desserts while they’re in season over the next few weeks. And it doesn't hurt that Plum Cake Tatin is an excellent dessert for a dinner party. The presentation gives it wow factor and only you need to know how simple it was to make. It’s also so moist that you can definitely make it earlier in the day or even the day before and it will still be perfect come dinnertime. Pears should probably be put on notice too, because I know I’ll be putting this technique into play with other fruits soon!

Summer Fruit Crostata

July 28, 2015 by Laura Messersmith in Cooking with the Contessa

Each week I follow along with Ina Garten (aka the Barefoot Contessa) and attempt to recreate one of her dishes in my tiny New York City kitchen. The catch? This is my version of cooking school and I’m making these recipes for the first time. I’ll share both my successes and um, challenges, along the way and we’ll see if I can keep up with the Contessa!

Episode: “Good Catch”

The Set-up: Ina and T.R. are having seafood dinner at his new fishing shack.

The Menu: Parker’s Fish and Chips, Tartar Sauce, Chopped Pickles, Summer Fruit Crostata

0:53 – According to Ina, T.R. is in charge of catching the fish for their dinner but we all know that’s fairly unlikely.

1:07 – Ina is cooking most everything in advance, including the Summer Fruit Crostata.

2:30 – Pro Tip#1: Use unsalted butter so that you can control the amount of salt in a recipe.

3:11 – I can’t be the only one who has a hard time moderating the water in pie crust - it always seems to be too wet or too dry! Naturally, Ina’s is perfect.

4:26 – And now ladies and gents: T.R. looking impossibly dapper in a navy Lacoste polo and admitting that he maaaay have fudged the truth when it came to his fishing experience.

5:14 – We’re back with Ina to mix up the homemade Tartar Sauce and even though she’s using dill pickles she still manages to say “cornichon.” Love it.

6:29 – Next, the Chopped Pickles, essentially the same jarred pickles that went into the tartar sauce jazzed up in pretty slices with fresh minced dill fronds.

10:42 – The crust for the Summer Fruit Crostata has rested and chilled in the fridge and now Ina is rolling it out into a perfect circle. One day that will be me!

11:53 – Now the fruit – peaches, dark plums, and blueberries. Pro Tip #2: You can remove the skin from the peaches by blanching in hot water and shocking them in an ice water bath.

12:35 – Ina has somehow, with no swearing or effort, managed to slice the peaches and the plums right off the inner pit. For my own self-esteem I’m going to chalk that up to expert fruit selection and a little TV magic.

13:19 – Hahahaha. We’re treated to intermittent shots of T.R. faithfully, but fruitlessly casting and reeling from the dock. Poor guy.

14:50 – Thank goodness! We saw the fruit piled in the middle of the crostata dough, but for a second I thought we weren’t going to get a demo of the folding technique. How could I have though Ina would hold out on us?

19:18 – Onward to make the batter for the Parker’s Fish and Chips and Ina promises us that it will be crispy and light, not soggy. Preach girl!

20:36 – Ina compares this process to making pancakes in the morning and suggests that it can all be done in advance.

21:27 – It’s official: T.R. has not caught a fish (perhaps the lack of bait on that hook?) and makes an emergency trip to the seafood market. A much more sensible approach, if you ask me.

22:12 – One last prep task before heading over to T.R.’s: cutting big Idaho baking potatoes in wedges and sprinkling them with salt, rosemary and garlic. Yum!

25:05 – Ina arrives at the fishing shack with an adorable “Yoohoo! T.R.?” and immediately calls him out on ‘catching’ the fish at the Seafood Shop.

26:33 – He’s put to work portioning the fish while Ina puts the chips in the oven to roast.

27:24 – Since the potatoes take 30+ minutes to bake they have time for a glass of wine on the dock as the sun sets. Gorgeous.

28:41 – The fish goes from plate, to seasoned batter, to hot oil and back to a paper towel-lined plate in about 6 minutes. No dredging in flour though, which is surprising.

29:10 – Ina’s kicking this one old-school, roadside stand style with newspaper cones and little containers of pickles and tartar sauce. Crostata is consumed straight from the baking sheet.

Final Thoughts:
Fish and chips seem so much more approachable after watching Ina prep them so simply.

I sincerely would love to do a little dock-sitting if it could be arranged this summer.

T.R. is the consummate rascal and Ina is so classy that even jarred dill pickles aren’t beyond her reach.

Lessons Learned:
In my continued efforts to master pies and pie crust baking Summer Fruit Crostata was another opportunity to test my skills and learn from my mistakes. It was also a chance to emulate one of the more alluring Bon Appetit covers I’ve seen. No one should be surprised that even with the concerted effort I’ve been making I still have room for improvement in this department.

Stone Fruit: Am I the only one who is incredibly intimidated by the process of slicing and removing the pits from peaches, plums & nectarines? The last time I tried the fruit was nearly unrecognizable from the divots and bruises I inflicted just trying to get a few slices free. So. Frustrating.

Before I made the crostata I carefully studied these tips & videos from Mario Batali, Southern Living, The Kitchn, and Food52 and have a few of my own.

· Serrated/utility knife – Stone fruits are like tomatoes, the skin is tougher than you think and the flesh is really delicate. A serrated knife makes a cleaner cut with minimal pressure that might damage the fruit. Slice as close to the pit as you can to make the slices easier to remove.

· The SEAM!!! – All the articles mentioned this, but making that first cut along the seam is more essential to successfully twisting the two halves apart than I realized. We’ve all laughed about how peaches look like little bums, well the seam is the uh, crack of the bum and demarcates the two half sections of the fruit and corresponds to the ridge around the pit. Doing this alone will help you immensely.

· Ripe Fruit – high risk, high reward. The riper the fruit the more easily the fruit is to de-pit, but also bruises more. I’d recommend a firm and persistent, but gentle approach, especially when twisting the two halves apart. Resist pressing your finger tips in too hard and grip more with the palm.

Sweet Dough: Most of the crusts I’ve made so far have involved very little or no sugar at all just flour, butter, water, and salt. This one called for a moderate amount of white sugar; a great compliment to the juicy fruit resulting in a dessert that hovered between sweet and fresh. Fantastic.

Patience: Alas, even though I know that keeping the dough cold is an essential part of the process stubbornness and a short window for baking had me rushing. Couple a lack of time with a hot afternoon and you have a recipe for sticky dough and a frustrating rolling experience. I managed to patch the crostata together, but ideally I’d take note of the sky high temperatures outside and remember to leave myself an extra 30 minutes for chilling time.

Small Kitchen Friendly?
Yes indeed, but clear the counter so you have a place to roll the crust. For the pastry, I used a large bowl, pastry cutter, measuring cups & spoons (all reused later for the topping), a liquid measuring cup, and a rolling pin. For the fruit, I needed a separate medium bowl, serrated utility knife, and small cutting board. (I skipped the orange zest and washed the peaches carefully so I didn’t have to take off the skin.) A baking sheet, plastic wrap and parchment paper round out the “kit.”

The Verdict:
I made Summer Fruit Crostata for friends as a post-dinner treat and based on the silence after the wedges were served, and the speed at which it was consumed this was a hit. This is a dessert that lets the fruit shine without a lot of extra business and when beautiful peaches, plums, and blueberries are in season you really don’t need to gussy them up with a ton of sugar and spices. A simple scoop of vanilla ice cream and you’re off to the races with a perfect slice of summer. Do make this crostata immediately.

Dark N Stormy Ice Cream Float

July 22, 2015 by Laura Messersmith in Cooking

I don’t remember when I first tasted a Dark N Stormy, but I do remember when I fell in love with them. It was over a long, sticky Memorial Day weekend five years ago. We were visiting Bermuda for the wedding of some dear friends and the national drink was prominently featured at their reception. The number of cocktails consumed is lost to the winds of time, probably better that way, but my devotion to the Dark N’ Stormy lives on.

Fast forward to a long plane ride earlier this summer with lots of cooking magazines in my carry on and this article in Bon Appétit on boozy floats. That’s when it came to me – my favorite summertime drink was just a scoop of vanilla ice cream away from being an amazing float. When the lightbulb went on I immediately felt silly that I hadn't thought of it sooner - it's so obviously a match made in heaven!

Personally, I’m devoted to the deeply spicy sweetness of Gosling’s ginger beer paired with the sharp sweetness of the company’s Black Seal Rum. Proportions below assume that you’re in it more for the float than for the booze, although you’ll notice from my photos that I used old-fashioned glasses and half the amount of ginger beer. The rum and the ice cream stayed the same, so you can see where my priorities are…

Dark N Stormy Float (serves 4)

Ingredients:
4 (12 ounce) cans Goslings Stormy ginger beer
4 ounces Goslings Black Seal rum, divided
1 pint vanilla ice cream
1 lime, cut in wedges

Instructions:
Chill both the rum and the ginger beer; overnight in the refrigerator if you can. Assuming a hot day, take the ice cream out of the freezer 4-5 minutes in advance and allow to soften slightly, longer if it’s cold outside. If it’s a very hot day, chill the glasses too.

Fill the glasses with ginger beer leaving 2-3 inches of space at the top; 1 can will just barely fit in a pint glass but you'll need the extra space. Measure out 1 ounce of Goslings Black Seal Rum into a shot glass or jigger and gently pour onto the ginger beer so that the rum stays afloat at the top of the glass and there are two distinct layers. Using the back of a spoon will help.

Scoop a generous portion of ice cream (1/4 – 1/3 cup) into a roundish ball and place into the glass. Softened ice cream and an ice cream scoop will make this easier, but the results will be the same regardless of how perfect your technique is. Your preference here on whether your glass and appetite warrant a second scoop.

Repeat the process until each glass is full of foamy, fizzy ginger beer and ice cream. Garnish with a wedge of lime. Drink immediately!

Small Kitchen Friendly?
As easy as they come. To make the full recipe you’ll need four large glasses, a jigger or shot glass, ice cream scoop, spoon, paring knife and small cutting board.

The Verdict:
So simple and so epically good I can’t believe I didn’t think of this combination sooner. I made a batch of these at cocktail hour on a sticky hot July night and they were just what the doctor ordered. Perfect for when it’s too oven-ish to eat, but a drink sounds juuust right. In my book the vanilla and ginger are perfect against the edge of the rum and acid of a small squeeze of lime. On a semi-topical note - I think that the foamy ice cream resembles those briny clouds that form along the shore. So, further nautical authenticity reasons to make this.