Gingerbread

 Makes one 8-inch square cake

Ingredients

    3/4 cup Guiness
    1/2 teaspoon baking soda
    2/3 cup molasses
    3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
    1/4 cup granulated sugar
    1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
    2 tablespoons ground ginger
    1/2 teaspoon baking powder
    1/2 teaspoon table salt
    1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
    2 large eggs
    1/3 cup vegetable oil
    1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 8-inch square baking pan.

    2. Bring Guiness to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda. When foaming subsides, stir in molasses, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until dissolved. Take off the heat and whisk in eggs, oil, and grated ginger until combined.

    3. In a large bowl whisk flour, ground ginger, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and pepper together. Whisk wet mixture into flour mixture in thirds, stirring vigorously until completely smooth after each addition.

    4. Transfer batter to prepared pan and tap pan against counter 3 or 4 times to dislodge any large air bubbles. Bake until top of cake is just firm to touch and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes. Cool cake in pan on wire rack. Cut into squares and serve warm or at room temperature.

Coconut Chichi Dango

 1 pound mochiko

1 1/2 c sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 15 oz can coconut milk

3/4 cup water

1 tsp vanilla

food coloring (optional)

cooking oil spray

corn starch

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine dry ingredients in a bowl, add wet ingredients and food coloring if adding it.   Spray a 9-x13 backing dish with cooking oil and pour batter into it.  Bake for 1 hour or until the edges are slightly brown.  Let cool and turn the whole thing out onto a cutting board dusted with corn starch.  Cut into bit sized pieces and dust with more corn starch.  (It also sometimes helps to dust your knife with corn starch)   

You can also play with flavors -- I like substituting passionfruit or guava paste for some of the water.  

Salmon Cakes

These were delicious!  Great use of leftovers.  I served them with the Peruvian Green Sauce (see recipe for Peruvian Chicken with Green Sauce)  

Makes 6 good-sized cakes

3/4 lb cooked salmon (or 1 can canned salmon)

1 egg

1/4 c mayonnaise

1 c mashed potatoes

1/4 c diced red onions

1 cup panko, divided

1 tablespoon capers

1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 c cooking oil

Mix all ingredients except 1/2 cup of the panko, divide into 6 portions and form each into a 'burger'.  roll in remaining panko.  Heat cooking oil to medium in a skillet and fry the burgers until brown and crusty, about 6-8 minutes.  Serve with sauce of your choice -- a hollandaise or béarnaise is nice, or try the Peruvian Green Sauce to add a little zip.  

Welsh Fondu

This recipe is courtesy of my friend Kate Lingley, who has skills too numerous to list here but among which is this righteous fondu, which she made for me once about 20 years ago.  I thought I remembered a more robust ale, but she says it's a lager. Anyway, cheese and beer what's not to like.

30g / 1oz / 2 tbsp butter

250g / 8 oz leeks, trimmed and finely chopped

2 tbsp plain flour

250ml / 8 fl oz / 1 cup beer

315g / 10 oz / 2 1/2 cups grated cheese

pepper

The recipe calls for Caerphilly cheese but I always used Jarlsberg, so maybe not so Welsh.

Saute leeks in butter for 10 minutes till tender. Add flour and cook for 1 minute, then add lager and heat until thickened, stirring constantly. Gradually add cheese and continue to cook until melted, stirring frequently. Season with pepper.

It’s important to add the cheese gradually or it will form a big unappetizing lump.

Clam Chowder with smoked salmon

 This may be a little more exotic than your grandmother's clam chowder but it's a lot more interesting.

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons butter

1 onion, minced

2 carrots, minced

2 celery stalks, minced

1 lb Yukon gold potatoes, minced

3 large cloves of garlic, minced

2 cups corn 

2 bay leaves

2 tablespoons dulse flakes

1 tablespoon thyme

1 teaspoon fennel seed

1 cup white wine

1 quart chicken or shrimp stock

16 oz chopped clams

1 lb cod filet, chopped into 1 inch pieces

4 oz smoked salmon, chopped up

1 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon capers

salt and pepper to taste

In a large heavy pot, melt the butter over medium heat, and saute the onion gently in it for a couple of minutes, until transparent.  Add the carrots, celery, garlic, potatoes, corn, and spices and saute briefly.  Add the wine and bring to a simmer, perhaps reduce it a little.  Add the stock and simmer until the vegetables are al dente.  Add the seafood, cream, and capers and give it a stir and simmer another 5-10 minutes.  Correct the seasonings and serve.  

Tube pan version of Bolos de Arroz

Bolos de arroz are a wonderful Portuguese pastry -- usually made as a sort of muffin or cupcake.  This recipe is made for a small tube pan, like a sponge cake, and makes a very nice afternoon snack, with the consistency of a sweet cornbread.  You can also make this recipe the traditional way, as a sort of high-sided cupcake.  I have seen recipes that use only rice flour, which will give you a denser cake, but still tasty, if you want a gluten-free option. 

1/4 lb (113 grams) butter at room temperature

1/4 cup  (50 grams) neutral oil like corn oil or canola

1 cup (225 grams) sugar and more for sprinkling

4 eggs, room temperature

1 1/2 cups flour (200 gr) 

2/3 c rice flour (100 gr) -- if you don't have rice flour, grinding up rice in a blender, food processor, or coffee grinder is always an option, but make sure you sieve it or your cakes will be crunchy! Some people soak the rice first to soften it.

2  tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

the zest of 1 lemon

2/3 c (150 ml) of milk

1. butter and flour the tube pan and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  you can also use a bundt pan. 

2.  cream the butter, oil, and sugar together until light 

3. add the eggs one at a time until each is incorporated

4. in a small bowl, stir together the flours, baking powder, zest, and salt

5. add the flour mixture to the batter alternately with the milk, in 2 or 3 divisions

6.  pour the batter into the tube pan and sprinkle a little sugar on top of the batter 

7.  bake about 30-40 minutes or until the cake is slightly brown around the edges and a toothpick comes out clean.  

8.  take the cake out of the oven and let it sit for about 5-10 minutes, then invert gently.  cool on a rack.  Because of the sugar sprinkled on top I usually serve it sugar side up.  

Ada Boni’s Lasagne Bolognesi

This is a big effort, but yields a lot of lasagne for freezing or for a crowd, and personally I find it very soothing to make the noodles. I generally make the meat sauce a day ahead, and sometimes the besciamella  also. Using a food processor to chop the vegetables very finely makes a smoother sauce. Adapted from Ada Boni’s wonderful 1969 “Italian Regional Cooking”

This recipe makes exactly one 10x17 lasagne pan

Bolognese Ragu

12 tablespoons butter, divided
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
2/3 cup of bacon (about 4-5 strips), finely chopped
1 1/2 LB of ground meat - I like a combination of beef and pork sausage. Ada also used some chicken livers
1 cup dry white wine
Salt and pepper to taste
4 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup milk or half and half

Heat half of the butter and all of the olive oil in a deep Dutch oven. Sauté the vegetables and bacon gently over low heat until the vegetables soften.  Push them the the side and add the meat and sauté gently until they begin to brown. Add the wine and cook gently until it evaporates. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the tomato paste and stock, cover and cook slowly for 90 minutes, adding a little more stock if needed. After 90 minutes add the cream and continue cooking until it is reduced. Add the remaining butter.


Besciamella Sauce

4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
5 cups hot milk

Melt the butter in a pan with a heavy bottom. Stir in the flour and salt to make a roux. Cook gently for a few minutes without browning it, and then gradually add the hot milk, whisking constantly.  Continue cooking until the sauce is thick and smooth. Take it off the heat and beat it lightly. Can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator with a piece of cling wrap laid directly on the top to keep a skin from forming.


Spinach lasagne noodles

About 8-10 oz of cooked spinach, chopped
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons dry white wine
3 cups flour, plus more for dusting

About 8 oz grated Parmesan Cheese for assembly

Wrap the spinach in a clean dish cloth and squeeze As much water out as possible. Put all the ingredients in a bowl and knead into a ball of pasta. Knead the ball on the counter until it gets smooth.  Wrap in cling wrap and let it rest at least a half an hour. The dough should feel moist but not sticky. Divide in four parts. Roll out each part one at a time, Dusting each strip with flour as needed to keep it from sticking to the pasta roller. I like to roll out the noodles to the next-to-last setting on the pasta machine. Cut the noodles to slightly smaller than needed to fit your pan and place them on a flannel sheet. You should get about 7 or 8 layers of noodles.

Assembling the lasagne: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Preheat the oven to 350. Spoon a little meat sauce on the bottom of a 10x17 baking pan or brunch with melted butter. Cook one layer of noodles at a time, draining each and running under cold water and patting dry on a clean dish towel and then laying it in the pan. Spread thinly with besciamella, then meat sauce, then sprinkle a little grated Parmesan cheese. Repeat until the pan is full.  The top layer should be a layer of noodles sprinkled with Parmesan. Bake for about 30-40 minutes.

Lasagne hold together much better if you put it in the fridge and heat it up and eat it the next day. You can do this either before or after you bake it. Unless I’m making this for a party, I usually cut it up into meal-sized portions, wrap it up, and freeze it.