Aunt Louise's Sheet Cake (Chocolate!)

My Aunt Louise lived in San Marcos,  Texas.  She wasn't really an aunt since she was married to my grandmother's cousin, but everyone called her Aunt Louise.  Louise was known as a generous woman and a great cook.  My grandmother, Moselle, another great cook, swapped recipes with her often.  They would talk about recipes when they visited each other in person, on the phone, and through letters.  Moselle made this cake often.  It was a favorite because of it's ease and because it was a crowd pleaser.  Since it is baked in a large rimmed baking sheet, it can be cut into at least 20 servings.

I started making the sheet cake shortly after I married John and started teaching.  The need for a homemade cake occurred often at school.  This cake was my go-to since it was ready in about 30 minutes, frosting and all.  This is thanks to the fact that the warm frosting is spread on the warm cake that is still in the pan.  My busy teaching schedule demanded a recipe like this that could be made on a school night.

Aunt Louise and Grandma Moselle are both gone now.  I think of both of them often, and especially when I make this cake.  Thanks ladies for your constant dialogue about recipes.  It continues to inspire!

Aunt Louise's Sheet Cake

Serves: 20

Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter (this was margarine, but I prefer butter now)
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs

Frosting:
6 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375˚ F.  Spray a 15 x 10 inch rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl.  In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring the butter, water and cocoa to a boil.  Pour cocoa mixture over the flour mixture and whisk to combine.  Add the buttermilk, eggs and vanilla.  Mix well.  Pour into prepared pan.  Bake for 16 - 17 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.  Place on a cooling rack.

For the frosting, combine the butter, buttermilk and cocoa in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Bring to a boil.  Remove from heat and stir in the powdered sugar, pecans and vanilla.  Pour over warm cake.  Cool completely before serving.

*Note - the cake pictured above does not have the pecans in the frosting since it was baked for a school bake sale (the school is a nut-free zone).

Peach Cobbler Pie

Peach Cobbler Pie

Peach cobbler or peach pie?  Sometimes it is hard to decide (or even know the difference) when you have some beautiful, ripe peaches and they need to be consumed quickly.  Our market has a large variety of lovely peaches right now and I feel inspired.  Still, cobbler or pie?  And in choosing, what kind of topping?  If it is cobbler, do I choose a pie crust or make the quick cobbler from my childhood that is something like cake?  In the end, I decided not to decide.  I like the style of cobbler that a neighbor used to make that has crust baked in the middle of the cobbler, layer-style, so I thought I would try something like that in a pie.  I have also been thinking about portion size lately and I settled on making some small pies this time rather than a regular-sized one.

So, what is the difference between cobbler and pie?  Maybe through exploring similarities, we can define what is different.  First, the fillings are prepared in the same way.  Usually, the fruit is sliced, tossed with sugar, spices and some thickener such as cornstarch or tapioca, and then spooned into the baking dish.  The crust can be the same recipe for pie and cobbler.  Also, toppings can be very similar - some cobblers have a lattice crust and pies can have a crumble topping.  The difference is more in the pan and the way it is served.  Pies are baked in a pie pan and served in carefully cut wedges.  Cobbler is typically baked in a square or rectangular baking dish and served by the spoonful.  Cobbler is less formal and can usually feed a larger crowd.

In my process for this pie, I rolled out the pie dough for my small pies.  Then I cut the scraps into 1-inch rectangles and baked them with a sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar.  I combined these crispy bits with my fruit and baked it all together in the pie shell and added a crumb topping.  The result?  Really yummy peach cobbler pie.

Peach Cobbler Pie

Yield:  3 4-inch pies

1 recipe for single crust pie
Cinnamon and sugar for sprinkling
4 large ripe peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar

Heat oven to 400˚ F.  Roll out dough and cut 3 circles to fit the pie plates.  Crimp the edges and allow to rest in the refrigerator or freezer.  Cut scraps into 1/2 to 1 inch pieces.  Place on a baking sheet and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.  Bake until golden and crisp, about 15 minutes.  Allow to cool.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine peach slices, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, allspice, and almond extract.  Fold in the cooled crust pieces.  In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, flour and brown sugar.  Mix well and mash into large crumbs.

Remove pie shells from the refrigerator.  Spoon the peach mixture evenly into the 3 pie shells.  Divide the crumb mixture among the pies.  Place the pies onto a baking sheet and bake 10 minutes at 400˚ F.  Turn down the temperature to 350˚ F and continue baking until the crust is golden and crisp and the filling is bubbly, about 40 minutes more.

Allow to cool.  Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Squash Pickles

 

Grandma's Squash Pickles

I have always loved my Grandma's Squash Pickles.  I hadn't had them in a while until I stumbled across the recipe in some stuff my brother sent me July of last year.  After seeing the recipe, I hurried down to the farmer's market in search of the best yellow crookneck squash.  Her recipe says that you can use any squash, but I remembered her using yellow squash when she made them.  I made the pickles last year and thought they were good enough to enter in the Queens County Fair.  That was confirmed later when they earned a blue ribbon!  Some of the comments included:  "lovely, bright flavor" and "nice color and texture".

I shared the pickles with friends and neighbors.  When the supply ran out, the requests were still coming in.  I held off in making them again until this week.  I think it is important to use the best possible produce for these pickles and out-of-season squash would not be as good.  So, we waited for squash to come in season.

I went to the farmer's market on Saturday and found the prettiest squash.  Yellow crookneck with green bottoms that look like they have been dipped.  The time is right for making pickles.

Here is Grandma's famous recipe in her handwriting.  My interpretation follows.

 Squash Pickles

Yield: 6 pints

8 cups sliced yellow summer squash, 1/4" thick (about 4 pounds)
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
2 cups white vinegar
2 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons mustard seed
3/4 teaspoon turmeric
3/4 teaspoon yellow prepared mustard
2 cups sliced onion, about 1/2 large onion
2 thinly sliced red bell peppers
2 thinly sliced green jalapenos

Arrange squash slices in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet lined with paper towels.  Sprinkle with the salt.  Allow to drain for one hour.  Pat dry well with paper towels.

In a medium saucepan over medium high heat, bring the vinegar, sugar, mustard seed, turmeric, and yellow mustard to a boil.  Remove from heat.

In 6 pint jars, layer the squash with the onions, bell peppers and jalapenos.  Pour the hot vinegar mixture over the squash.  After about 10 minutes, press squash down into the liquid to fully cover, if necessary.  Store in the refrigerator.  Keeps for 3 weeks.

Relay for Life

This year, my family and other friends from our street formed a team for the annual Relay for Life in Port Washington, NY.  The event was a wonderful tribute to people's loved ones.  Everyone on our team has been touched by cancer through the battle of a family member or a close friend.

Prior to the event, we enjoyed time together raising money.  It was fun to see who was ahead in the fundraising efforts.  Our team hosted a tag and bake sale the week before the event and raised several hundred dollars.

At the event, there were scheduled times of reflection and celebration.  There were impassioned speakers and those who chose to remain silent.  The luminarias were a glowing tribute throughout the night.  The bags of light helped inspire us as we walked the path in the middle of the night.  During one of the walks in the wee hours of the morning, we could also see the light forming over the trees.  It helped us keep going.

My grandparents both passed due to cancer and Christine is a family friend

I feel blessed to be able to share this touching event with my neighbors - the people who I call family in NY.

Feeling a little "black and blue"

Spring is a good time for getting into shape.  We all have a couple of extra winter pounds that we have been hiding under a sweater.  Comfort foods have kept us warm and now we are reaping those rewards. Like most of you, I have decided to get back into shape and shed the winter coat.  The only thing is, the first few workouts leave me sore and tired.  I know it will get better - it always does - but right now, I am feeling a little black and blue.  

This gave me an idea for a pie.  (I know, I know, I am supposed to be reducing, but this thought is irresistable!)  How about a Black and Blue pie?  Being that spring is berry season, it seems like perfect timing.

I started with 4 cups of fresh blueberries and 1 cup fresh blackberries.  If you really like blackberries, you can play with the proportions, but I liked the lesser amount since the blackberries are so much larger and seedier.  I like my pies to be juicy and firm, so I started with making a thick blueberry syrup.  Taking 1 cup of blueberries, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon of orange zest and the juice of half an orange, I cooked them in a pot until the sugar was dissolved and the berries burst to form a nice consistency.

To help with the thickness, I tossed the remaining blueberries and blackberries with 3 tablespoons cornstarch.

When the syrup is added to the cornstarch-coated berries, the resulting filling was juicy and luscious.

I made my favorite pie dough.  (I have been playing with lots of different formulas, and I really like the 1/2 butter, 1/2 shortening ratio.  It is very forgiving, flaky and delicious.)  This amount of filling works well in a standard 9" pie pan.  If you are using a deep dish, you will have to add 1-2 cups more berries to fill it up.  I was thinking about a crumb topping, but the family voted for lattice.  I brushed the top with egg wash and sprinkled it with some turbinado sugar.

To the oven!  The oven was heated to 425˚ F.  I baked the pie for 10 minutes at that temperature and then turned it down to 350˚ F and baked it until the crust was golden and the filling was thick and bubbly.  This took about another hour.  

Now, it is time to enjoy the "fruits" of my labor.  After allowing the pie to cool completely, the slices came out perfectly.  I really don't like my pies to "pool" after a slice is removed, and I had great success this time.  Tasters (family, friends, and neighbors) reported that the filling was just sweet enough to allow the berries to be the star.  The crust was flaky and tender.

So, you may be wondering how a girl can balance baking pies and losing the winter weight?  Share the pie!  Neighbors love the unexpected knock on the door when pie is on the other side.  

Black and Blue Berry Pie

Serves: 8

Crust: for lattice pie

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small squares

8 tablespoons vegetable shortening

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Up to 8 tablespoons ice water

Filling: for a 9" pie shell

4 cups fresh blueberries

1 cup fresh blackberries

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon orange zest

Juice of half an orange

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1 egg

2 teaspoons turbinado sugar

1. Make the pie dough:  In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the flour and salt 2 to 3 times to combine.  Add the butter and shortening and pulse until the mixture is the consistency of coarse crumbs.  Add the vinegar.  Start with 4 tablespoons of water and then add water a tablespoon at a time, pulsing until the dough begins to come together.  Do not allow the food processor to make the dough into a ball.  The dough is ready when it holds together when you squeeze it between your fingers.  Divide the dough into portions for the crust and the lattice.  (2/3 for the crust and 1/3 for the lattice works well.)  Flatten each into disks and wrap in plastic; refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
2. Working with the larger portion, roll the dough on a lightly floured surface, place in pie plate and crimp as desired.  Place in freezer to set.
3. Meanwhile, make the filling.  Heat the oven to 425˚ F.  In a medium sauce pan, combine 1 cup blueberries, the sugar, orange zest and orange juice.  Bring to a simmer over medium high heat and cook until the sugar dissolves and the berries burst to form a syrup.  Toss the remaining blueberries and the blackberries with the cornstarch in a medium bowl.  Gently toss the syrup with the berries.  Allow to cool slightly.
4. Roll out remaining dough for making the lattice.  Cut strips 1" wide.
5. Take the pie plate out of the freezer and add the berries to the crust.  Using the strips of dough, weave a lattice pattern on top of the crust.  Lightly beat the egg with 1 tablespoon of water and brush the crust with the egg wash.  Sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
6. Put the pie into the oven and place a baking sheet on the rack below to catch anything that may bubble over.  Bake for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 350˚ F and continue baking until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly, 45 minutes to an hour more.  Allow pie to cool completely before serving.

It's high time we talk about pi

I've been thinking a lot about pi and pie (of course).  I haven't posted anything about pi here yet, so here goes.  I thought I would write about "why pi?"

To start with, pi is a letter of the Greek alphabet that has been assigned a number.  It will always represent that number to mathematicians, scientists and students.  The symbol, π, is used in mathematical formulas and it is assumed that the user of the formula knows the number that will be substituted in its place.  Makers of calculators have made access to pi very easy.  Just push a button and pi will be displayed out to 9 - 12 digits.  Most people know pi as 3.14, but others who consider their calculations to be serious would never use any less than 3.14159 or more.

There has been much debate about the usefulness of pi, its origins, and its basic reason for existence.  Truly, pi is an abbreviation.  A short-hand way for people to indicate the ratio between the circumference of a circle and its diameter.  Assigning this symbol to an oft-occurring ratio was helpful to mathematicians, scientists and carpenters alike.  Truly, it is just like anything else - if we can find a shortcut, we will use it.  The only issue with this abbreviation is that sometimes it is used in absence of the knowledge behind it.  Children learn about pi long before they know about the relationship it represents.  It is just a wacky number that they have to memorize, and that is a shame.  I say that because it makes something useful into something potentially annoying.  No one likes to memorize useless facts.

How useful is pi?  Depends on where you sit.  Some folks use it every day.  Others can't remember the last time they even thought about pi.  I think we can celebrate the pure staying power of an interesting ratio.  Archimedes was committed to figuring out this puzzle in about 250 BC by using the perimeters of regular polygons inscribed in circles to get closer to an accurate number.  There are references to this ratio as far back as 1900 BC on Egyptian papyrus.  Of course, using the symbol we know today was not a way of life back then.  That happened in 1706 AD by William Jones.  Until then, it had been referred to as Archimedes constant.

All this talking about pi is making me hungry for pie!  Summer pies are coming soon.  I think I will start with a Black and Blue.  Sound good to anyone?

Cookbook Recipe Testing

I have been enjoying myself quite a lot lately with testing recipes for cookbooks.  The one most recently on the shelves is one that I am particularly proud of.  It is the Food Network Magazine's Great Easy Meals.  This cookbook is a must for your library if you like to cook for yourself, family, and/or friends.  All of the recipes are easy to make and (more importantly) delicious!  Also, it is very reasonably priced and it contains 250 recipes!

Food Network Magazine Great Easy Meals : 250 Fun & Fast Recipes

You can get it from Amazon and Barnes and Noble just to name a couple of places. You won't be disappointed.







Other cookbooks I have worked on:

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives : An All-American Road Trip ... with Recipes!








Coming soon:
The Next Food Network Star Cookbook - Food Network Star : The Book: Winning Recipes, Insider Stories, and Much More!  coming out August 16.

Anne Burrell's Cookbook:
Cook Like a Rock Star : 125 Simple Recipes, Lessons, and Culinary Secrets
Coming out October 4.