Recipe Sharin': October 2007

Monday, October 29, 2007

Macaroons

Matzo ball soup made me think of passover, which made me think of macaroons, which made me think of this super easy recipe I made last year. I didn't have the proper proportions and I tried to make them anyway. They were a tasty (if oozy) failure. I have since spoken to my mom to learn the proper quantities of ingredients. I think this recipe is awesome because you can make them in literally 20 minutes, including the bake time. The one thing is that they dont keep too well because they get soft.

Ingredients:

1 Can of Eagle brand sweetened condensed milk (8oz)
4 cups of sweetened shreaded coconut.
1.5 tsp. vanilla

Instructions:

Mix all the ingredients together. If it's runny, add more coconut.
Spoon them onto a baking sheet (that's either well greased or has a silpat on it).
Bake for 15 minutes at 350 until golden brown.
Eat!

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Matzo Ball Soup

This post feels sort of like cheating because it's really just making something from a box. But, I know at least one reader of this blog is pretty fond of the soup and I just had some for dinner last night, so I figured I'd post some instructions.

Ingredients:

Manischewitz Matzo Ball Mix. Do yourself a favor and don't choose another brand. Also note: Manischewitz sells a product called Matzo Ball SOUP. The difference is that this one has some gross powder mix in it for how to make soup. Yuck. Buy the mix and make your own soup (Directions below).
2 eggs
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil (I don't think you need quite that much).
1 box of stock. You can use chicken or vegetable. I use swanson.
1 onion
2 tsp. minced garlic.
1 tbs. butter or oil.
water
vegetables - use whatever you like. I usually put carrots and celery and not much else, but there's no reason not add what you would want in vegetable soup.

Preparation:
These instructions come from the box, mostly.

In a small bowl combine eggs, 2 tbs. veg. oil and mix. Stir it up and put it in the fridge for 15 minutes.
During those 15 minutes chop up the onion into small pieces. Put in a soup pot with butter and garlic, and simmer.
Chop up the vegetables you're going to put in.
Add stock to the pot with the onions. I think those broths tend to be really salty so I usually do one part stock one part water.
After 15 minutes have passed, take the bowl of mix out of the fridge. take the mix and gently roll it into balls. You should get 12 and don't push too hard unless you want your matzo balls to be hard. The balls will seem small, dont worry about this. They expand a lot.
Add the matza balls and the veggies to pot. Let it cook for about 15 minutes until the balls are floating and are somewhat soft to the touch. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Eat!

Monday, October 22, 2007

easy-peasy baked tofu

Per kzwick's request, here's my favorite tofu-for-non-tofu-eaters recipe. It's super easy. Non-tofu eaters love it. (And so do tofu eaters.) Just don't serve it with ketchup. Please.

Ingredients:
Water-packed firm or extra-firm tofu
Soy sauce
Oil (vegetable or sesame)
Peanut sauce

1/ Press tofu for 10-20 minutes. (Technically, you should probably cut tofu into pieces first and then press, but I'm lazy, so this is what I do.)
2/ Cut tofu into pieces. (I usually cut a block of tofu into 6 slabs and then cut each slab into 2 squares and each square into 2 triangles for a total of 24 pieces from each block. But you can cut them however you like.)
3/ Make a marinade of 1 part soy sauce to 1 part sesame or vegetable oil. (For 1 lb of tofu, you should probably use about 2 tbsp. of each.)
4/ Dredge each tofu piece in the marinade.
5/ Optional: arrange the tofu in a single layer in a shallow dish and pour remaining marinade over it. Let sit for 20-30 minutes.
6/ Preheat the oven to 425.
7/ Oil the bottom of a baking dish or rimmed baking sheet with about 1 tbsp. vegetable oil. (It will seem like a little too much oil. That is okay.)
8/ Lay tofu pieces in a single layer on baking dish/sheet.
9/ Bake for about 15 minutes. Turn. Bake for about 15 minutes more. (Obviously, if you cut your tofu into smaller pieces, you should bake for less time. You can also cut up some red peppers into thin slices and bake them in the same dish and at the same time as the tofu. I don't do this because I'm not a red pepper fan. But I'm sure it would be nice.)
10/ Serve with peanut sauce. (I often serve this with my sesame noodle recipe, which is basically peanut sauce on noodles with cucumber and carrot strips.)

Muffins Make the World Go 'Round

More than a year later, but I finally fulfilled the muffin-making dream that Izzie creating in her baking frenzy of grief.

I got the base muffin recipe from Moosewood (Should I put it in here? Vote in the comments!) and then split a double recipe. Added orange zest and juice and chocolate chunks to one batch and lemon zest and juice and blueberries to the other!

I plan to use these muffins to gain the undying devotion of some people in my program. And then take over the world!!!!

Friday, October 19, 2007

And the Hug goes to...

A big thanks to Nick for making us flower free. Maybe soon we'll have a new more stylish layout, but for now the flower removal was a big improvement.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

This is a recipe from my friend Mary-Anne. I made it when we went to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on the northside and I know Hannah made it for her DB concert last year. It is very easy to assemble. One recipe makes a pretty generous portion (as Hannah discovered last year, a double recipe makes a lot of salsa!).

Black Bean and Corn Salsa
2 cans (15 oz.) black beans
1 can (17 oz.) whole kernel corn (I used about 3 fresh ears of corn)
2 large tomatoes – seeded and chopped
1 large avocado
1 purple onion
1/8 to 1/4 cup cilantro
3 or 4 TBLSP lime juice
2 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP red wine vinegar

Banana Cupcakes!

I decided to make banana cupcakes for Jill's birthday tomorrow (for the morning portion of the celebration). It was my first time actually making zwick's banana cake recipe. I made 24 cupcakes without a problem. Zwick did warn me that the baking time for the cupcakes should be less than that for the actual cake - the cake recipe suggests a baking time of 30 - 35 minutes and the cupcakes were in the oven for less than 25 minutes. I actually had to ask zwick about the frosting recipe. I guess I had always imagined that the coffee flavor was the result of coffee grounds, but it turns out (as perhaps all of you knew) that you actually add 1/2 cup brewed coffee! Here's the final result (on an adorable platter I might add):

On a tangentially related note, I received a surprise thank you gift in the mail today from my friend Theresa. For those of you who don't know, Theresa and her friends ran the marathon this year and insist that they would not have survived had I not provided them with water and gatorade in the first 10 miles. I obviously didn't expect any sort of thanks, but the gift is pretty fabulous and seemed fitting in light of the fact that I was making chocolate frosting:

Pasta and stuff!

It is a well known fact that pasta+stuff is an easy take- it- for- lunch, make- it- quick- for- dinner meal. However, for the vegetarians among us, pasta+sauce, pasta+veggies, etc., are not full of brain-stimulating protein (the very same protein that I hope is secretly storing away the identity of Rex Lugwell and Olivia Hill). What to do??

Add chickpeas! (Yes, yes, I'm a fanatic.)

Nothing too fancy, but since I did spend some time in the kitchen, near the stove, not making an omelet, so I thought I'd share.

Boil water! If you are lucky, maybe you have a steamer that fits on top of a pot. If this is true, you can cook your pasta and steam spinach (or asparagus, or zucchini....the list continues). Then, once the pasta and steaming are complete, dumb the water, drain the pasta and veggies, and pour them back into the pot (a key to quick dinners is minimal cleanup).

Then, add whatever you have on hand! Canned, diced tomatoes, fresh basil and other spices make a nice treat, and if you are a cheese lovin' person, add some of that as well. Let the flavors meld together a bit, let the cheese melt, and then your lunch-on-the-go is ready for the next day! Hurrah!

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Veggie Samosas

This is my own adaptation of the meat recipe to accommodate all the vegetarians in my life. I personally don't think it's quite as good as the meat version, but still rather tasty. If any of you make them, you should feel free to experiment with different quantities of spice and the consistency of the potato to make this recipe better. With that, here's my made-up recipe.

Ingredients:
- 1.5 pounds yukon gold potatoes (I used these because I had them for the pizza. I've also used red with success. My only advice is to avoid Idaho because they are a bit too gummy).
- 1 yellow onion finely chopped but not minced
- About 2 table spoons olive oil (I've never measured it, but you need enough to coat the potatoes in the spices)
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- ¾ teaspoon cumin powder
- ¾ teaspoon tumeric
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (can be subbed with more black)
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt (maybe a little more, I don't measure it)
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 bag of frozen peas
- 1 package of philo dough
- enough butter to brush the tops

Preparation:

1. Peel and chop the potatoes into little pieces. I tried to get them to be not much larger than peas, but it's not a huge problem if they are.
2. Place chopped potatoes, onion, and garlic in a plastic bag. Add oil and all the spices (including salt). Shake the bag well so that the potatoes are well coated with seasoning.
3. Bake potatoes until they are soft (about 45 minutes) at 400. I put them on a silpat to minimize the mess. Once the potatoes are soft (they should be ready to eat), take them out of the oven and let them cool. When they are cool, add the peas. The peas need not be cooked, but they should be mostly thawed. Stir the mixture so you have a nice distribution of potato and pea.
4. Cut the philo dough into four long strips (2 inches wide). To assemble, place about one tablespoon of filling onto the end of the philo dough. Fold into triangles like folding a flag. You should use about 2 sheets of philo for each one. Place triangles onto cookie sheet with end facing down. Brush tops with butter and bake for about 10 minutes at 400, until golden brown.

Monday, October 15, 2007

HTML problem?

Anyone who figures out how to get rid of those annoying flowers will get a big virtual hug from me.

Meat Samosas

Here is the recipe for the meat samosas that I made for the DB concert. I will post the veggie version in a separate post. I also like to make this filling for myself and eat it just as a lettuce wrap. All the tastiness with none of the folding hassle of making the final product.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon minced ginger
3 garlic cloves minced
1 large onion minced
1 lb ground beef or turkey (KZ uses Turkey)
1 teaspoon curry powder
¾ teaspoon cumin powder
¾ teaspoon tumeric
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (can be subbed with more black)
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup of water
1 large tomato peeled, seeded and diced
3 whole green chilies (optional)
1 tablespoon catsup
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons vinegar
salt to taste (about 1/4 tsp.)
1 1lb. package philo dough

Instructions:

Melt butter in large skillet. Add ginger and garlic. Saute 2-3 minutes.
Add onion, meat, and spices.Blend completely.
Add water, tomato and optional chilies.
Cook for 15-20 minutes until most of the moisture is gone.
Season with salt, sugar, vinegar. Cook five minutes.
Let filling cool.
Unroll thawed philo dough onto counter. Cut into long strips, about 2 inches wide, 18” long. (four long strips)
To assemble, place about one teaspoon of filling onto the end of the philo dough.
Fold into triangles, like folding a flag. Each samosa will need two layers of dough, more if the dough is being stubborn.
Place triangles onto cookie sheet, with the end of the philo dough face down.
Brush butter over triangles.
Cook at 400 degrees until golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Note: Keep the philo dough covered with a damp towel until you are ready to use it. Otherwise it will dry out, and you won’t be able to fold it. When making them for the DB concert the dough had been out for about 3 hours and it worked very well. The key is to keep it sufficiently moist that it doesn't crumble.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Summer Squash and Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Last night my parents took me to Le Bernardin for dinner, so today my cooking spree made me feel a bit like an amateur. But, a dinner party and a house concert are on the horizon so cook I must. For the dinner party: Summer Squash and roasted red pepper soup (mostly squash little pepper), Elizabeth's potato pizza, and a Cosi classic salad. Thankfully, the weather in New York is no longer summer, so my soup won't be too out of place.

Before I give you the recipe for the soup, check out this cute feature of summer squash: when you cut them in half the inside is shaped like a heart. Isn't that sweet. Okay, now the recipe.

Soup Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 1/4 cups chopped onions
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 2 1/2-pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1-inch pieces
5 1/2 cups (or more) vegetable broth
3 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel

Red Pepper Puree Ingredients
1 cup coarsely chopped drained roasted red peppers from jar (I roasted them myself)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

Preparation
1. Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions; sauté until tender, about 12 minutes. Add garlic; stir 1 minute. Add squash and 5 1/2 cups broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until squash is soft, about 40 minutes. Cool slightly.
2. Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth. Return puree to pot. Add 1 teaspoon thyme and orange peel. Thin soup with more broth if desired. Simmer 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly. Cover and chill. Rewarm before serving, thinning with more broth if desired.)
3. Preparation of Puree: Puree all ingredients in processor until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill. Bring to room temperature before using.)
4. Ladle soup into bowls. (Optional addition: add in a lop of heavy cream before you swirl in the pepper - gives the soup a nice creamy flavor.) Swirl 1 tablespoon Roasted Red Pepper Puree into soup in each bowl. Sprinkle with remaining 2 teaspoons thyme and serve.

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Blogging vs. W.E.B. DuBois

He should win, and yet, here I am, inserting html into the template of this Recipe Sharin' group in order to present us with a more readable site.

Check out how the details of a recipe require the reader to click a "read more" link.

Blogger doesn't offer this automatically, but people create blogger-approved hacks all the time, so, I found this one. It's pretty easy: every new post will come with some automatic html and instructions on where to put your text.

However, it's not the best ever, so if anyone has a suggestion/brother with a suggestion, I'd be happy to hear it.

In the meantime, maybe it'll make blog entries more blog-like and get us thinking about pictures and telling stories about our cooking experiences rather than just cutting and pasting the recipes.

We're trying to create a community, after all!

Chicka Chicka Legume!

Oh chickpeas, how I love them!

They are good in just about every form. Fried up into falafel. Tossed with greens to make a salad a meal. Mixed with pasta, tomatoes and pepper for warm, protein-y goodness.

They are shaped like a heart (kinda), and have won my heart, tis true.

One of the reasons to love chickpeas, and perhaps how we were first introduced, is this magical dish called hummus. (There are variations on the spelling. Share yours in the comments!)

I make my hummus according to Vegetarian Feast's Martha Rose Shulman. It's not like restaurant hummus, (which I'm told takes special industrial food processors. I will take one of these for Christmas.) But it is garlic-y and lemon-y and delicious.

Oh, did you want an actual hummus recipe here?

1. Get out your food processor. Do you have: chickpeas, a lemon, garlic, plain yogurt, tahini, olive oil, cumin, salt? Ok!
2. Put a couple cloves of garlic in food processor and whizz around for a couple of seconds. Then add the chickpeas (about a 15 oz can's worth, supposedly one cup dried). Process the legumes and garlic.
3. Add two tablespoons of olive oil, three tablespoons tahini, up to 1/4 cup lemon juice, some yogurt if you still want it to be smooth.
4. Check out the consistency. Good? Add more yogurt, lemon, or other liquids if you want it smoother.
5. Add salt and cumin to taste (about 1/4 tsp. cumin? Maybe more.)

Done! Check it out guys, how easy is that? I totally wrote this from memory--that's how often I make the hummus. My new housemates have decided that hummus=my contribution to the house. It could be yours as well.

Try adding sun dried tomatoes, onion (red or the yellow/white varities), and just about anything you think. Share your favorite results!

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

moroccan party part three

This wasn't exactly Moroccan, but I thought it fit the theme because it's kinda French and thus represented colonialism. (Actually, I didn't have any Moroccan dessert recipes, so....)

Chocolate Raspberry Tart

Crust:
1 c. all purpose flour
2 tbsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
5 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. unsalted butter
1 chilled egg yolk
2 tsp. ice water

1/ In a bowl, stir together the flour, sugar and salt.
2/ Using a pastry blender (or two knives), cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is crumbly.
3/ Stir together the egg yolk and the water.
4/ Add egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir just until the dough comes together.
5/ If dough is too dry, sprinkle additional ice water (1 tsp. at a time) until it is moist enough to hold together.
6/ Shape dough into a disk, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hour.
7/ Lightly flour a work surface.
8/ Using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough into an 11-inch circle.
9/ Transfer the dough to a 9-inch tart pan.
10/ Press against the sides of the pan, making sure there are no air bubbles. Fold over the edges to make a double layer and trim excess by pressing against tart pan.
11/ Prick bottom of dough with a fork.
12/ Cover loosely with plastic wrap and freeze for 30 minutes.
13/ Put a rack in the bottom 1/3 of oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
14/ Line crust with foil and pie weights.
15/ Bake for 10 minutes, remove pie weights and foil, bake for about 10 minutes more (until golden).
16/ Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Filling:

1/2 c. unsalted butter
7 oz. chocolate, chopped (I used a mix of Ghiradelli semi-sweet and bittersweet chocolate)
1/3 c. heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 c. fresh raspberries (about 2 small containers)

1/ Melt butter over low heat in a small saucepan.
2/ Remove the pan from the heat.
3/ Add chocolates and let stand for 1 minute.
4/ Whisk until smooth.
5/ Add the cream and whisk until well combined.
6/ Pour filling into the pie shell.
7/ Arrange the raspberries upright in concentric circles to cover the filling.
8/ Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours until the filling is firm.

This is supposed to serve 6 to 8, but I cut it into 12 pieces and personally thought that 1/2 piece was about all I needed (it's very rich). So, by that math, you could serve 24.

Anybody have any good Moroccan desserts?

moroccan party part two

Moroccan Spiced Salmon:

3 tbsp. Moroccan Spice Mix (see recipe below)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tbsp. olive oil
3 tbsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 pounds salmon (or any other firm fish)

1/ Stir together the spice mix, garlic, olive oil and lemon juice.
2/ Rinse and pat dry the fish.
3/ Cut the fish into individual servings.
4/ Dredge the fish in the spice mix and place in a container. Reserve any leftover spice mix.
5/ Marinate for 1-2 hours in the fridge.
6/ Preheat oven to 350 degrees (note: I cooked these at 375, because the squash were simultaneously cooking and it worked fine).
7/ Oil a baking dish.
8/ Place fish on baking dish. Pour any remaining spice mix/leftover marinade on top of the fish.
9/ Bake uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes until fish is opaque and moist.

Serves 4.

Moroccan Spice Mix:

Mix together:

2 tbsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. cayenne
1 tsp. salt

Store in an airtight container. Yields 1/3 cup.

moroccan party part one

Here are some recipes from a Moroccan-themed birthday party I hosted last weekend. Both the squash and the salmon were well recieved even by people who claimed not to like squash or salmon. I think that's just proof that they haven't tried enough different recipes. And they're both ridiculously easy.

Moroccan Baked Squash:

2 pounds winter squash (I used butternut)
water
spicy Moroccan butter, at room temperature (see recipe below)
salt

1/ Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2/ Halve the squash and scoop out the fibers/seeds. If squash are large, cut into manageable pieces.
3/ Pour about 1/4 cup water into a baking dish and set the squash pieces in the dish.
4/ Spread 2 teaspoons of Moroccan butter on each piece and sprinkle with salt.
5/ Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
6/ Remove the squash from the oven and poke some holes in it with a fork so that the butter can seep in.
7/ Return to oven and bake until done, about 10 minutes more.

Spicy Moroccan Butter:

1/2 bunch of scallions, white parts only, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tbsp. paprika
1 tbsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. coriander
1/2 tsp. cayenne
2 tbsp. chopped parsley
1 tsp. chopped mint
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/ Combine all ingredients except butter in a bowl and stir.
2/ Add butter, working until well blended.
3/ Add more cayenne to taste.

This butter can be frozen if made in advance.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Chocolate Drop Cookies

This is an old favorite. These cookies freeze really well (in my opinion, although my mom thinks the frosting sometimes gets weird). I like eating them a little cold, so I don't let them defrost completely.

All ingredients should be used at room temperature for this recipe.

Cream together until well combined:

½ cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine in a small bowl, stir thoroughly until smooth and thick:

2 ounces melted unsweetened chocolate (cooled to just warm, but still runny)
1/3 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

Combine chocolate/milk mixture with creamed mixture until the mix is uniformly chocolate.

Stir in, making sure that all of the batter is combined with the flour:

1 ¾ cup flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
optional: 1 cup chopped nuts

Cover, chill at least one hour or overnight.

Heat oven to 375o. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart unto parchment lined baking sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes or until almost no imprint remains when touched with finger. Immediately remove from baking sheet; frost with Chocolate Icing when still slightly warm.

Chocolate Icing
Melt in microwave (30 second intervals, at high power, stirring between intervals):

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2 tablespoons butter or margarine

Blend in:

3 tablespoon water
about 2 cups powdered sugar

Devil's Food Cake

This is my other favorite cake. It's super moist if you don't burn it. I only attempted it once in Chicago because it burns easily we didn't have a very good oven. Silicon pans are good because they make it easier to remove the cake without breaking it. No matter what you use, don't forget to flower the pan.

Cake:

4oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped.
¼ cup dutch processed cocoa
1 ¼ cup boiling water
¾ cup all purpose flour
¾ cup cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 ½ cup packed dark brown sugar
3 eggs room temperature
½ cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions:

Adjust oven rack to upper and lower middle positions. Preheat oven to 350.

Grease three 8 inch round cake pans with butter and line bottom of each pan with parchment paper.
Combine chocolate and cocoa in medium bowl. Pour boiling water over chocolate mixture and whisk until smooth.
Sift together flours, baking soda and salt onto large sheet of waxed paper or parchment paper. Set aside.
Place butter in mixer and beat until creamy. Add brown sugar and beat on high until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating for thirty seconds on medium after each addition.
Add sour cream and vanilla and beat until combined (about 10 seconds).
Scrape down mixture. With mixer on low, add about 1/3 of the flour mixture. Then add half the chocolate mixture. Repeat, ending with flour. Mix until ingredients are combined. Do not overbeat.
Remove bowl from mixer and stir gently with a rubber spatula to thoroughly combine.
Divide batter evenly among three cake pans. Bake for about 20 minutes.
Run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen cakes.
Invert cakes onto plates. Remove parchment paper. Let cool completely before icing.
To make frosting, combine all ingredient and mix on high until they are combined. If icing needs more moisture, add an additional tablespoon of milk.

Monday, October 1, 2007

Banana Cake

This is perhaps the most popular thing I make, so I'll start with it, even though I think you all already have the recipe. [Updated to include photo 1/2011. Photo credit: Joel Straus.]

Cake
2.5 cups sugar
1 cup shortening or butter
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
2 tsp. baking soda
3 cups flour
1 tbsp vanilla
6 very ripe bananas (2.5 cups) - I think you really need 7 to get 2.5 cups, but I've had it with fewer bananas and it was equally tasty. This is probably obvious, but you have to mash them.

Frosting
6 cups powdered sugar
½ cup cocoa powder
½ cup butter
½ cup coffee

Preheat the oven to 350
Grease and flour 3 9 inch cake pans and set aside
Cream together the sugar, butter. It will be dry and crumbly
Add eggs and beat well
Mix in sour cream
In separate bowl sift together flour and baking soda
Add flour mixture to the liquid mixture.
Add in the mashed bananas and pure vanilla extract
Divide into three pans and bake 30-35 minutes.

Cake freezes well. Recipe says you can frost it while slightly frozen, but I’ve never tried it…

Elizabeth Wins!

So I have been meaning to make a list for us to share all of our recipes since last NYE. I created a google document to do so, but found that it didn't work partially because google docs have a few flaws but mostly because I failed to notify anyone of the need to contribute. Anyway, I will start putting the recipe's I have on this lovely blog that Elizabeth has created to compensate for my failure.

Potato Pizza

It's vegan! It's pizza! There's no cheese or sauce!

This dish breaks every pizza rule known to man* to be some of the most delicious pizza out there. Make it weekly!

(makes two large pizzas)

Ingredients:
1 cup extra virgin olive oil (I don't know that I actually use this much....I certainly don't measure it out beforehand, but everything is somewhat doused in olive oil, so make sure you have a decent quantity of it on hand)
3 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
3/4 tsp. sugar
Salt
6 medium yukon gold potatoes
1/2 medium onion, peeled and cut into 1/2'' pieces
2 tbsp. fresh rosemary leaves

Directions:
1. Grease a large bowl with 1 tbsp. olive oil and set aside. Put flour, yeast, sugar, and 1/2 tsp salt into the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook and mix on lowest speed until well combined. Increase speed to medium-low and gradually drizzle in 1 3/4 cups cold water, mixing until a dough begins to form, about 1 minute. Stop mixer and scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula. Continue mixing on medium-high speed until dough in smooth and elastic and cleanly pulls away from sides of bowl, 10-12 minutes more. (This part always seems interminably long to me, but I try to let the machine do it's work. I have a theory about the adding cold water vs. warm water (more usual when using yeast) means that you need to create heat in the dough so the yeast can do its thing, but this dough does tend to turn out differently than normal joy of cooking pizza dough.) Shape dough into a ball, transfer to oiled bowl, and roll dough around in bowl to coat all over with a thin layer of oil. Cover bowl with a clean, damp dish towel and set aside in a warm spot to let the dough rise until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.

2. Meanwhile, peel and very thinly slice potatoes on a mandoline (food processor also works, though I cut them by hand for a long time. The thinner the better.) or with a very sharp knife, transferring them to a large bowl of ice water as sliced (to prevent discoloration.) Soak potatoes for 30 minutes to remove excess starch, then drain in a colander. Repeat soaking and draining process 2 more times. Set colander over a large bowl (or in the sink). Toss potatoes with 1/2 tsp. salt and set aside to drain for 10 minutes. Transfer potatoes to a medium bowl. Add onions and 1 tbsp. of the oil, toss well, and set aside. (The repeated soakings soften up the potatoes so they cook faster...it's time consumimg, and the sad reason why this isn't an "after work" meal.)

3. Preheat oven to 475 F. Grease two large (about 13'' by 17'') cookie sheets with (though pans with sides work well too. Keren's inch-deep pan was the best one I've ever used for this recipe.) with 2 tbsp. of the oil each and set aside. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface, divide in half, and shape each into a rectangle. Transfer each piece of dough onto a cookie sheet. Using your hands, gently flatten and spread dough out to edges of cookie sheet into a very thin rectangle. (Dough will shrink back a bit each time you spread it out,, so let dough rest or "relax" for 10-15 minutes each time after you've spread the dough out as far as it will go.) Brush each dough with 2 tbsp. of the oil. Evenly spread half the potato-onion mixture over surface of each dough, leaving a one-inch border around the edges. Season to taste with salt, drizzle remaining oil over each, and sprinkle each with half the rosemary. (I've found it's important not to layer the potatoes too thick. A thin layer will cook more evenly and before the dough starts to become too cooked. Also, leaving the assembled pizzas to sit for a while allows the dough to rise a bit more, which makes the crust even more full of air bubbles and deliciousness.)

4. Bake pizzas until crust is crisp and dark golden brown around the edges and potatoes are ringed golden brown, about 20 minutes, rotating cookie sheets halfway through baking. Transfer pizzas to a cutting board and serve at room temperature (or just cut on the tray and enjoy immediately. A little burned roof-of-the-mouth never killed anybody!)

(Next person who makes it puts a picture up!)
*An American person.

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