Practically Perfect Classic Buttercream Frosting ~ a la Rose Levy Beranbaum

If you're looking for a buttercream recipe that is practically perfect in every way, this is it! You really can't go wrong with Rose's recipe. I mean, she did write the cake Bible, after all. No, literally. Her cookbook is called "The Cake Bible," and it really deserves that title. It's exhaustive, it's exact, and every single recipe has been tested and perfected to the nth degree. It's my go-to guide for frostings, fillings, and yes, even cake (though I adapt the recipes to be gluten free, with varying levels of success!)


This is the frosting I used for James' first and second birthday cakes, and I also used it on the 4th of July to frost some chocolate cupcakes (which explains the festive sprinkles! Also, the terrible icing jobs. I am no professional cake decorator. Sorry internet. I can't be good at everything.) It's a great base recipe for lots of other flavors and colors, and it holds up very well to mix-ins and flavorings. For James' last birthday we did it in lemon, but you can also mix just about any jam, liquor, chocolate, extract, or candy into, and it will work beautifully.

This recipe is technically what Rose calls "neoclassic" butter cream. She call it this because to her, "classic" buttercream involves a candy thermometer and the softball stage of candymaking, and that gets complicated and is prone to disaster. Her "neoclassic" buttercream side steps this terrifying procedure by the addition of corn syrup. Now before you snatch your petticoats up in horror over the addition of corn syrup, hear me out: Frosting is not health food people. It really has no place in a sensible nutritious diet. And is shouldn't, because that's not the point of frosting. The point of frosting is to be sinfully delicious and have no nutritional value whatsoever. So what if it has a little corn syrup in it? It frosting! It's not supposed to be good for you. So please, have a cupcake. With some frosting! It's your birthday ;)

Rose Levy Beranbaum's Neoclassic Buttercream
adapted from The Cake Bible
Makes 4 cups

The reason this is Rose' favorite buttercream recipe (and mine too!) is that the corn syrup acts as a stabilizer to the sugar, and when the sugar and corn syrup come to a boil, it is exactly the right temperature, no thermometer needed. Further, the corn syrup prevents crystallization, so your frosting says practically perfect in every way.

INGREDIENTS
6 large egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup liquid corn syrup
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
vanilla or other flavoring

Have a large greased glass measure near the stove. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks until they are pale in color and thick, 3-5 minutes.

Heat the sugar and corn syrup in a medium saucepan...

...stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a rolling boil.

immediately transfer to the greased glass measure to stop the cooking.

Pour a small amount of the syrup over the eggs in the mixer, and beat until incorporated. Continue until all the syrup is used up, and the mixture is pale and sticky, like liquid taffy. Continue beating until the mixture is completely cool (or you will melt the butter and ruin the frosting).

Got your butter? Awesome! Beat it in, one stick at a time, waiting until each is incorporated before adding in the next.

When it looks like this, you are done! At this point, you may also add in any flavoring.


Transfer to a storage container, or frost your cupcakes! Enjoy!

Authentic Homemade Fire Roasted Mexican Salsa!

This salsa makes me angry. It makes me angry because I have been paying $4 for little jars of salsa for year and years, and now I find out that making your own big jar of salsa is not only delicious and easy, but it's also dirt cheap! Do you have access to some tomatoes, garlic, onions, and jalapeno peppers? Then you have the making of some great salsa on your hands.

This being me, I am also excited to have more control over the ingredients, and I can keep out nasty villains like corn syrup, excessive sodium, and preservatives, and risky chemicals like BPA or whatever else they use to line cans and jar lids. But that's just me and my ever lasting quest to get more healthy food into my family!

I have only made this one way, but I like to think that this is a good base recipe for making different flavors of sauce. Here are some suggestions for flavors:

Three Pepper: Add 3 cored bell peppers to roasting pan, in red, orange, and yellow
Garlic Chipotle: Replace jalapeno with 1 - 2 canned Chipotle peppers (depending on how spicy you want it) and 1 tsp adobo sauce. Increase garlic to 5-6 cloves
Pineapple: Add 2 thick slices cored fresh pineapple, or 1/2 a cup drained canned pineapple
Spicy Smoky Peach: Add 1 fresh peach, slices in half and pit removed, and replace jalapeno with 1/2 a chipotle pepper + adobo (or more if you like it hot!)
Double Chipotle: Add 1 - 2 canned chipotle peppers + adobo sauce, and 1 teaspoon smoke chipotle chili powder

Authentic Homemade Fire Roasted Mexican Salsa Recipe
adapted from Everyday Food, June 2011

Ingredients
4-5 ripe tomatoes, sliced in half, and seeds removed
2-4 jalapeno peppers, tops cut off, and seeds removed (use your discretion here - if you like your salsa mild, use one pepper with the seeds removed. It you like it really spicy, do 4 peppers with the seeds still in, since that's the spiciest part.
2 cloves garlic, skin on
1 large white onion, peeled and cut in half
1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped (about 1 cup loosely packed)
lime juice
sea salt
cracked black pepper
additional pepper if desired, such as cayenne or chipotle

1. Turn on oven broiler. A gas stove is best, since you will get that awesome flame kissed flavor, but an electric stove will work too. Place tomatoes and onion cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet, along with garlic and jalapenos. broil 5-10 minutes, until tomatoes and onions are softened and charred (if garlic begins to burn, remove it early). Remove from boiler, and let cool to handle.

2. Roughly chop tomatoes, onion, and jalapenos, and peel garlic. Place in a food processor. Pulse until smooth. Add chopped cilantro, the juice of 1 lime (about 1.5 tablespoons), sea salt, pepper, and chili (if using), and pulse until incorporated. Taste, and correct seasoning. Serve immediately, or transfer to a container, and refridgerate up to 4 days (or, you could can it and stock your pantry!) enjoy!

Edamame Avocado Dip with Spicy Wasabe

Wow. All I can say is wow. It isn't very often that you stumble across a recipe that shifts your paradigms, but folks, this is it. It's like guacamole on steroids, and the craziest thing is that this stuff is good for you. No really! It is!

If you read my blog at all, you know that I am always trying to sneak healthy stuff into my family. The number one problem is that when you think "healthy" you probably also think "doesn't taste good."

That is so sad.

Healthy food, food that nourishes your body, should taste great. Maybe not like lots of bad fat, sugar, or salt, but it should taste good. And this does. This tastes so, so good. Creamy cool, with the dry heat of wasabe, ginger, and garlic, and a punch of protein from the edamame. It's so good that I want to eat it by the spoonful, and I have to keep reminding myself not to feel guilty if I do, because this really is good for me too!

Edamame Avocado Dip with Spicy Wasabe
adapted from The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen by Rebecca Katz

This is my new favorite cookbook, and before I freak you out, no, no-one at my house has cancer. But people who do have cancer need to eat really healthy food, and it has to taste really good because treatment has a way of killing the appetite. This cookbook does just this: really healthy food that tastes really amazing. Exactly what I need for my picky family!

Ingredients
1 cup fresh or frozen shelled edamame beans
2 avocados, peeled and pitted
1 teaspoon wasabe
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1 clove minced fresh garlic
1/4 cup water
juice of 2 fresh limes (about 3 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

1. Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Do a seasoning check, and add more salt, pepper, lime juice, or wasabe as needed (I like to kick it up to a tablespoon to really bring on the heat).

Autumn Spiced French Toast Recipe with Maple Butter Glaze • Gluten free, or not!

A couple of weeks ago our church did a Christmas pageant, in which French toast featured a prominent roll. One of the characters just went on and on and on about how much she loved French toast on Christmas morning, and although I haven't eaten French toast in years, suddenly I found myself with an irresistible craving for it. I think I haven't liked French toast in the past because it tends to be soggy and bland. This recipe is anything but! The spices really kick the flavor up a notch, and the milk to eggs ratio us just right, leaving these light and fluffy. And when you top it all with the maple butter glaze? Heavenly. A warm, melt in your mouth breakfast, perfect for a chilly autumn or winter morning.



Autumn Spice French Toast with Maple Butter Glaze
serves 2-3 (makes 4-6 slices)
double the recipe to feed more

this recipe is simple to make gluten-free - just substitute in gluten free bread. My new favorite is Udi's gluten-free white sandwich bread, but use whatever you like best.

ingredients
2 large eggs
1/3 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
4-6 pieces day old bread (you don't want it too moist, or the toast will get soggy in the middle), gluten-free or not
vegetable oil for frying
1/4 cup butter (4 tablespoons, or 1/2 a stick)
1/4 cup grade A maple syrup


1. In a medium sized bowl, combine 2 eggs, 1/3 cup milk, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, 1/2 teaspoon allspice, and 1/2 teaspoon ginger. Whisk to combine.

2. On medium heat, heat enough vegetable oil to coat the bottom of a nonstick pan. Dip a slice of bread into batter, coating each side, and fry in heated pan, 2-3 minutes on each side, until toast spring back when lightly touched in the center. Set aside and repeat.

3. For Maple Butter Glaze: Heat 1/4 cup butter (4 tablespoons or 1/2 stick) and 1/4 cup grade A maple syrup in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, then remove from heat, and let cool. Pour into a serving vessel, or directly over toast. Enjoy!

Ina Garten's Basil Green Goddess Dressing - The Best Salad Dressing EVER

I have finally found a dressing that begs the question, can you BE in love with a salad dressing? Oh yes, you can. You know, this is not the first green goddess dressing I've ever had, but it is hands down THE best. Ever. Someday when I am old and gray, I will be able to look back at my life with satisfaction because I will, at last, have found the perfect salad dressing.

I'm not really one to go in for traditional salad. A salad made of lettuce and a few tomatoes? So boring. But that was before I had this salad. And this salad is different than your typical ho-hum, been there, done that salad for a couple of reasons. First, the lettuce: I have never had butterhead lettuce before (where have I been for the last 26 years?) and it totally rocks. I tend to really dislike lettuce, but, true to its name, this lettuce is mild and delicious, not bitter or bland at all. I loved it. Second, these were some of the most amazing tomatoes I have ever had. My aunt grew them in her backyard, and OH MY. A perfectly ripe tomato really is a thing of beauty. If you are not lucky enough to have an aunt like mine, I am sure your farmer's market has some lovely tomatoes this time of year.



But the dressing. Oh. The dressing. It's marvelous. And don't stop with salad. This would be great on grilled chicken, as a dip for vegetables, tossed with red potatoes and chopped parsley as a potato salad - endless, endless possibilities. Please, please make this dressing. I mean, just talking about this salad is making me want it. In fact, be right back....

...Oh. so good. Yeah, I'm eating it right now. Why aren't you?




Ina Garten's Basil Green Goddess Dressing Recipe
adapted from Barefoot Contessa At Home
Makes about 4 cups

Fun fact: Green goddess dressing was originally created at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco in the 1920's in honor of William Archer's hit play The Green Goddess. This recipe has been updated by Ina Garten, and I've changed it up a bit too. The original called for tarragon, but Ina is right on the money by using basil instead.

Ingredients
1 cup good mayonnaise, such as Hellman's or Best Foods
1 cup chopped green onions (scallions), white and green parts
1 cup chopped fresh basil, packed
juice of 2 lemons (about 1/4 cup)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 anchovy fillets, minced (don't skip! You won't taste the anchovies, but it definitely gives the dressing a fuller flavor)
1 cup sour cream

Place the mayonnaise, green onions, basil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, and anchovies in a blender, and blend until smooth. Add sour cream, blending until just incorporated. Use immediately, or store in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. Enjoy!

Grilled Keta Salmon with Mango Cucumber Salsa

My goodness, this is really turning into the week where we feed Nate a lot of things he doesn't like, isn't it? I just like to show off. I'm so immodest. It's shameful, really. But there's something really satisfying about taking an ingredient that someone professes to hate, and making something out of it that they love. Like salmon! My crazy husband doesn't like salmon. I know. it's ridiculous. What's wrong with him? Who doesn't like salmon for crying out loud?

Nate, that's who.

Until now, of course. Not that he will admit it, but this? He really liked it. He ate it all up. He said I could make it again if I wanted to. I almost died of shock.

I think the secret to getting salmon into my salmon hating man is that this salmon was wild caught. Typically, I buy the farmed stuff because... I don't want to pay $20 a pound for, well, anything. Sorry. We're cheap like that. However, our local ghetto grocery store somehow managed to purchase and distribute wild caught keta salmon for (gasp!) $1.99 a pound! So I had to buy some. Boy was I surprised when I unwrapped my package to find half a fish staring back at me! I have approximately zero experience in filleting fish, but I did my best not to completely mutilate that lovely fish. Which, by the way, I totally failed at. But that is besides the point.






Because oh. my. goodness. I don't think I can ever eat farmed salmon again. Unlike that bright glaringly orange farmed stuff, this fish was a pale delicate pink, and tasted marvelous. It smelled so heavenly, even when raw: briny and crisp, like the sea, not fishy at all. It melted like butter in my mouth and had a delicate buttery flavor. That's it. I'm spoiled now. I can never buy expensive farmed salmon again, not when the wild stuff tastes so much better and is, uh, cheaper. And also, better for you and more nutritious. No brainer!







Grilled Keta Salmon with Mango Salsa

Apparently, there is a salmon season. I feel a little sheepish that I didn't even know this, but I feel more sheepish that after that first fish I didn't go strait back to the grocery store and buy 20 more pounds of it at that fabulous price. Because of course, it was all gone next time I went and all they had left was the farmed stuff. But I digress.

Salmon season comes in the summer when wild salmon are plentiful (apparently. I'm a Californian and we don't know about these things. Ask me about surfing. I will have a much more informed opinion). You may have some good looking, sweet-smelling, fresh, wild-caught salmon at a store near you, so keep an eye out for this seasonal goody.

Hey, this is real food! You can check out more real food at the blog carnival over at Kelly the Kitchen Kop.


For the Salmon
2-4 salmon fillets
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

For the Mango Cucumber Salsa
1 medium cucumber, peel and diced
1 large ripe (but not overripe) mango, peeled and diced
1/2 a bunch cilantro (about 1 cup packed), minced
1 small jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely minced
2-3 scallions, diced
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper



In a medium bowl, combine 1 diced mango...




... with 1 cup minced cilantro...





...2-3 diced scallions...





...1 small jalapeño, minced...





... and 1 diced cucumber.





Add 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, and some salt and pepper to taste (really just a pinch of both).





Mix it all up. Voila! Done. Set aside Can be made up to 4 hours ahead.





In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar. Add 1/2 a teaspoon salt and 1/2 a teaspoon pepper. Whisk to combine.





Let marinate for 5-10 minutes. Grill over high heat, flipping once, and removing when salmon is firm and cooked through.





Top with salsa and serve. Enjoy!

Giada's Garden Pesto with Basil, Baby Spinach, Pine Nuts, and Parmesean

Pesto! Tell me that's not fun to say. Pesto! Look, I did it again! You should make this. Not only because it's fun to say, but also because it's fun to eat. And it tastes so good. It's good on noodles, it's good on sandwiches, it's good slathered over grilled chicken breasts, tossed into potato salad, blah blah blah. The options are endless. Also? It's easy. So please make today, because basil isn't always in season, but it sure is now!

This is a mish mash of two of Giada's recipes. I say it's a mishmash because I took one recipe off of one page, and a second recipe off another page... and I played mad scientist and made them into a singular outstanding fabulous recipe. I guess I'm just clever like that. Actually, I did it because I just bought two basil plants and I couldn't bear to harvest 2 cups from them on their first day home. I guess I'm sentimental like that.

Speaking of sentimental, baby! James! laughed! for! the! first! time! Now I understand why J. M. Barrie said that when the first baby laughed for the first time, it broke into a thousand little pieces and that's how faeries were born. Baby laughter is that precious.


Giada's Garden Pesto with Basil, Baby Spinach, Pine Nuts, and Parmesean

I used 1 cup of basil and 1 cup of spinach for this recipe, but you can use all of either if you want to. Both are great! (though my preference is for the basil). If you are going to put this on pasta, be sure to reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking liquid to mix in with the pesto and the noodles. It helps the sauce stick to the noodles.


Ingredients
1 cup basil (packed)
1 cup baby spinach (packed)
2 garlic cloves
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
1/2 cup grated parmesean cheese
3/4 cup good virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

method



In a food processor, combine 1 cup (packed) basil leaves...




...with 1 cup (packed) baby spinach...




...2 garlic cloves...




...1/3 cup toasted pine nuts...




...and 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste.




Put the lid on your food processor...




... and pulse to combine, until everything is chopped up into little bits.




With the machine running, add 3/4 cup olive oil in a slow stream until mixture begins to emulsify and become liquid. Stop pouring at this point (they may be left over oil).



Enjoy!

Classic Homemade Barbecue Sauce

I went to pick up some barbecue sauce at the grocery store the other evening, and I was absolutely appalled by the selection. When you have dietary restrictions, it's important to read the back of the bottle carefully, just to make sure, you know, there's nothing in it that will kill you. I spent almost an hour in the barbecue sauce isle reading the backs of bottles, trying to find something I could eat. My criteria was simple: no gluten (so no soy sauce, mysterious "modified food starch," or barley malt syrup) and no corn syrup. I don't know about you, but slathering my barbecued ribs with corn syrup doesn't exactly sound appetizing to me.

There were only about a million different brands and flavors, but I could only find one sauce, that was gluten-free and corn syrup free. Only one! And almost every sauce had corn syrup as the first ingredient, meaning there was more corn syrup in the sauce than tomatoes, vinegar, or any other flavoring.

Ew.

And that ONE sauce that was gluten-free and not made out of corn syrup? I kid you not, it cost $7 for 1.5 cups of sauce. Even the mom and pop brands contained gluten, corn syrup, and a host of other preservatives. I bought that $7 sauce because it was the night before our father's day barbecue, and I didn't have any other options at that point, but I knew there had to be a better way.

And oh, there is a better way.

A much, much better way.




In retrospect, making your own barbecue sauce is a no-brainer. It's simple, it's delicious, it goes together with minimal effort, and it costs a fraction of price of those inferior, corn-syrupy sauces. And did I mention just how powerfully tasty it is? This sauce is so good, it had me licking the spoon... and the bowl.

This recipe is a fantastic starting point for different flavors - mix a little honey into it and BBQ over hickory chips, and you honey hickory sauce. Mince some chipotle peppers, and you have spicy smoky chipotle BBQ sauce. The possibilities are endless.

Classic Homemade Barbecue Sauce

This recipe makes about 6 cups of sauce - more than enough for one barbecue. You can can or freeze the leftovers, or mix in new flavorings and save it in your fridge for your next grilling session. That is, if you aren't caught standing in front of the fridge, slurping it out of the jar. Not that I've done that. Since yesterday. I promise.


Ingredients
4 cans (14 oz) fire roasted, diced tomatoes (you can use regular canned diced tomatoes, but I think the fire roasted kind just add a whole other dimension of flavor)
3 medium yellow onions (about 3 cups chopped)
6 garlic cloves
1/3 cup vegetable or safflower oil
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/3 cup unsulfered molasses
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcester sauce
4 teaspoons salt



Chop 3 yellow onions.



Mince 6 garlic cloves.



Heat 1/3 cup vegetable or safflower oil in a large cast iron pot, and add the onions and garlic. Saute until softened and beginning to brown.



Add 1 teaspoon kosher salt,



and 1 teaspoon chili powder,



and 1/4 teaspoon cumin, and another 1/4 teaspoon coriander.



Finally, add 1/3 cup molasses...



... and 1/3 cup dark brown sugar.



Mix them all up together, and boil for 3 minutes.



Open up your 4 cans of tomatoes...



...and get 3/4 cup of apple cider vinegar.



Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer on medium low for 2-3 hours...



... until sauce has thickened and darkened.




Add 1/4 cup white vinegar...




... and 2 tablespoons Worcester sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper (about 1 tablespoon of each).




Place sauce in blender, add 2 cups of water (more if needed) and puree until smooth.




Store in a few jar... slather all over some BBQ... slurp it out of a jar... enjoy!