Mrs. Gregory's Chocolate Cake

Do you have a special dish that absolutely has to have a place at the table for family holidays? Or a favorite birthday dessert that you've had ever since you were little? I'm sure most people do, but I'm not one of those people. At least I didn't think I was. We certainly had traditional dishes that were served each year at holidays and family gatherings, but when the choice was left to me, I was certainly not a creature of habit. My birthday dessert seemed to change every 365 days- one year it was clown cones from Baskin Robbins. Another year it was this chocolate dessert with angel food cake that my mom used to make. And then, for some reason, it was ginger cake with lemon sauce. Life's too short to stick with one dessert, right?

However, if push came to shove and I really had to pick one favorite, it would be Mrs. Gregory's chocolate sheet cake. Mrs. Gregory was my advisor in high school and one of the sweetest, most dear people I know. She was especially well-loved around Woodlands Academy because she baked this amazing cake for every special occasion and each girl's birthday in our advisory. Can you even imagine? It was so delicious- super moist and extra chocolatey from the glaze that was poured over the top. By my senior year, I think it would have been wise if I occasionally skipped a piece of Mrs. Gregory's cake, but what can I say? I'm a sucker for dessert!

A while back, a family friend gifted me with a copy of "The Secrets of the Sacred Heart", my high school's cookbook. It was only very recently that I actually had the time to page through it. I was overjoyed when I found a recipe that seemed very similar to Mrs. Gregory's beloved chocolate cake, even more so once I made a few minor tweaks. Funnily enough, the recipe is titled "Sinful Convent Cake" and I've already made it twice this week- once for my sister's college graduation party and once to bring down to South Bend this weekend. One of my dearest friends is getting married at Notre Dame and I have a feeling that the wedding party will really enjoy a piece or two of this while we're getting ready. Yum!
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 sticks butter or margarine, divided
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup cocoa powder, divided
1 cup coffee
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, divided
1/3 cup milk
16 ounces powdered sugar

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
-Grease a half-sheet pan and set aside.
-Sift together the flour, sugar, and baking soda.
-In a medium saucepan, bring the 1 stick of the butter, oil, 1/4 cup of the cocoa, and coffee to a boil.
-While these ingredients are coming to a boil, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, and 1 teaspoon of the vanilla. Set aside.
-Once the contents of the saucepan have come to a boil, pour the mixture over the flour and sugar. Stir until well combined.
-Pour the egg mixture over everything and stir until batter is smooth.
-Spread batter evenly in the half-sheet pan and bake in a preheated oven until a tester comes out clean, 17-20 minutes.
-While the cake is baking, make the icing. Bring the other stick of butter, 1/4 cup of the cocoa powder, and 1/3 cup milk to a boil.
-Remove from heat and stir in the remaining 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and the powdered sugar until the icing is smooth.
-Pour over the cake when it is hot from the oven and spread to coat evenly.

Blackberry Cream Cheese Tart

If there was a book that most closely approximated my culinary school experiences, it would be "Ratio" by Michael Ruhlman. I've made mention of it a few times because it really is a great book for those who love the how and why behind a recipe and those interested in writing recipes of their own. The idea behind the book is that Michael Ruhlman condenses all those basic formulas that you learn as a culinary student into an extremely handy set of ratios that when paired with good technique are sure to springboard you into all kinds of creative cooking. Throw in a chapter on overcaffeination and one on pilfering mid-class snacks from the dry storeroom, and you've got my year at Kendall pretty well summed up.

To make best use of this book, be sure to keep a few things in mind. First, the ratios in the book are based on weight and not on volume. Use this opportunity to invest in a good digital scale- it is my most used kitchen tool and is important for precise baking. Plus, if you do buy that scale, I can start posting all the amazing recipes that I learned while in school- they're all measured in grams or ounces. I've been feeling guilty for not sharing them- but I just don't have time to convert all those recipes! Second, these ratios are best approached with an adventurous spirit- they're a starting point and it may take a few trial runs before you have created a recipe that you're really happy with. Think of it as a reference book- and don't be afraid to cross-reference it with the other cookbooks and information that you have on hand.

I grabbed this book and put it to good use after a trip to the market. Fresh blackberries were only $1 per package and I thought they'd make a fantastic tart. I used Michael's ratio for tart dough as well as his recommendation of adding walnuts to the dough. It resulted in a really nice dough that was perfect to be baked up and filled with a cream cheese filling and those fresh blackberries.

Ingredients:
Crust:
1 rounded cup of flour
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 pinch salt
1 cup walnuts, chopped
4 ounces cold butter, cubed
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Filling:
12 ounces cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla
Topping:
Fresh blackberries
Blackberry or black raspberry jelly (NOT jam or preserves), warmed

Special Equipment:
9 inch fluted tart pan
Rolling pin
Parchment paper or a large coffee filter
Pie weights or dried beans

Directions:
-Sift together the flour, sugar and the salt.
-Place the dry mix in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade attachment.
-Add the walnuts and the butter and pulse a few times- just until the mixture is crumbly and the butter is in pea-sized pieces.*
-Add the egg and vanilla and pulse a few more times- just until the dough starts to come together.*
*Be careful not to overwork the dough in these steps! Overworking the dough will yield a tough crust!
-Shape the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic and chill.
-While the dough is chilling, prepare the filling for the tart.
-Beat together the cream cheese and sugar unil light and fluffy.
-Beat in the yogurt and vanilla until ingredients are fully combined.
-Chill filling until needed.
-Once dough is chillded, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a size slightly larger than the size of your tart pan (account for the height of the pan sides when rolling the dough).
-Use the rolling pin and roll up the dough around it.
-Unroll the dough over the tart pan.
-Press down lightly all along the bottom lip of the pan.
-Roll the rolling pin across the top of the pan to trim off the excess dough.
-Chill the pan prepared with the tart dough for a few minutes.
-Line the tart dough with parchment and fill with pie weights or dried beans.
-Bake in a preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.
-Remove parchment and weights and continue baking until crust is golden brown, about 10-15 minutes.
-Remove from oven and let the crust cool.
-Once it is cool, remove tart from pan and fill with the chilled cream cheese filling. Top with fresh blackberries.
-Use a pastry brush to brush the warmed jelly over the blackberries. Just a light brush of jelly will do to glaze the fruit!
-Chill until ready to serve!

Pan-Seared Steaks with Roasted Asparagus Orzo Salad

Much like a little kid counts down to Christmas, I have been eagerly anticipating the return of my neighborhood's farmers market.  It's really been a long winter and I was more then ready for some fresh and locally grown produce to cook with.  Mike and I have been trying to eat locally as much as we can, and if you know anything about Chicago winters, this is darn near impossible.  Plus, I just really like the routine of getting up early, biking down to the market, and wandering between the stalls with a cup of coffee in hand.  I can tell already that we have a great summer ahead of us!

I knew already that this early in the season, our choices would be somewhat limited.  I've mentioned before how the NRDC has a super useful tool to help determine what's fresh near you.  I keep the Illinois calendar handy, and after a glance at it, was ready for some asparagus and green onions.  Once I picked the booth with the best looking asparagus, I got a helpful tip from the people working there.  When picking your bunch, go for the shorter, stubbier asparagus.  It is more tender than the longer stems and less bitter tasting.  I can attest to the fact that our asparagus was just delicious, especially in this orzo salad, so keep it in mind next time you buy some.

Don't let the length of this recipe fool you!  This is a simple (and super tasty) recipe to prepare. It may be the result of my crazy schedule (and previously admitted brainlessness) but lately, I really like "self-contained" recipes- something I can reference in order to fix a complete meal. This makes it easier both on my schedule and my shopping list. All it takes is a little organization and you just go!  Once you get the water boiling for the orzo, you can work on roasting the asparagus and searing the steaks. Once the steaks are seared, pop them in the oven to finishing cooking while you assemble the rest of the salad.  Pan searing is a method I really like for cooking the steaks- it allows me to multitask and still end up with a tender piece of meat.  Plus, if you're feeling a little ambitious, you can whip up a great pan sauce to drizzle over the meat once it is done cooking.  Yum!

Ingredients:
4 boneless steaks, about 8 ounces each (Filets, New York strips, or ribeyes are great for pan-searing. Buy what's on sale!)
Olive oil
Kosher salt and black pepper
Oregano
Salad:
8 oz. orzo
12 ounces asparagus, washed and trimmed
Olive oil
Fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt and black pepper
3/4 cup chopped roasted red peppers
1/2 cup chopped green onions
4 ounces feta cheese
Salad Dressing:
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:
-Remove steaks from fridge, trim off excess fat, and bring to room temperature.
-Brush both sides of each steak with olive oil and season well with salt, pepper, and a little oregano.
-Put a pot of water on to boil. Once the water is boiling, add the orzo and cook to al dente. Drain and pour orzo into a serving bowl.
-Preheat oven to 450 degrees and place a large skillet in the oven.
-While oven is heating, line 2 baking sheets with foil.
-Chop asparagus into bite-sized pieces and spread over one of the baking sheets (the other baking sheet will be for the steaks).
-Drizzle asparagus with olive oil and a good squeeze of fresh lemon. Season with kosher salt and pepper.
-Put an oven mitt on and use your mitted hand to remove the skillet from the oven.  I have learned the hard way how important this step is!
-Set skillet on stove top and turn the heat to medium.
-Place both baking sheets in the oven and roast asparagus until lightly browned and tender-crisp, about 15 minutes.
-In the meantime, add steaks to hot skillet and sear for 2-3 minutes on each side.
-Remove steaks from the skillet with tongs and place on the empty baking sheet that has been preheating in the oven.
-Continue to cook in the oven until steaks are medium (140-145 degrees). Depending on the thickness of the steaks, this will take about 6-10 minutes.
-While steaks are cooking, combine the asparagus, roasted red peppers, green onions and feta with the orzo.
-Whisk the dressing ingredients together (lemon zest and juice, vinegar, and olive oil) and pour over the orzo. Stir to fully coat the salad with the dressing.
-Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
-Serve salad alongside steaks.

Smoky Shrimp Penne

I'm pretty sure I'm suffering from an acute case of brainlessness. I'd like to think that it's just the end of the school year busy-ness that's doing it to me, but as I've already admitted, I'm operating without a brain and can't be sure. The symptoms were subtle to start (like going to the grocery and buying baking powder on 3 consecutive trips) but are progressively getting worse. I've caught myself saying the goofiest things to my cooking students lately. Like, when we were making my PB&J Bars the other day, I told them not to pat down the topping, but to "sprinkle it so it looks all 'sprinkly'." I bet their parents are glad their hard-earned money is paying for these nuggets of culinary gold! "Sprinkly"- eureka!!
*You too can learn how to sprinkle in a sprinkly way, by the way- I'll be teaching classes all summer!

And then tonight, I was feeling pretty good about the pasta recipe I had worked out. It really is delicious by the way and you should make it for dinner immediately! It is a combination of bacon, shrimp, and roasted red peppers topped with a chiffonade of fresh basil. I decided that this recipe would be the perfect opportunity to model how to chiffonade. This is a knife cut that allows you to cut herbs and leafy greens into long strips or ribbons, which is great for garnishing. It is one of those techniques that sounds fancy and difficult, but is really so easy to do. The kids in my cooking classes are absolute pros at it. Once you take the time to chiffonade your basil, though, make sure to actually add it to your dish. This should be an obvious step, but I left mine sitting on the counter (next to my brain, evidently) until the meal was over.

1. Start by stacking your greens.

2. Then roll the stack up. I think you're technically supposed to roll the leaves lengthwise, but it works either way.

3. Cut the roll into thin strips.

4. Separate the strips and use for garnishing.

Ingredients:
1 lb. penne pasta
1 lb. cooked and deveined frozen shrimp
4 slices thick cut bacon, diced
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 vidalia onion, chopped
1 cup chopped roasted red peppers (about 1 pepper)
1/2 cup-ish dry white wine
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. smoked paprika
A good pinch or two of crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup chiffonade of basil
Parmesan cheese

Directions:
-Put a pot of water on to boil. Once water is boiling, add penne and cook to al dente.
-Place the frozen shrimp in a colander and run some cool water over them until thawed.
-Pop the tails off the shrimp and chop into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.
-Add diced bacon to a skillet and cook over medium heat until crisp.
-Spoon bacon onto plate prepared with paper towels.
-Drain all but two tablespoons of the bacon fat from the skillet.
-Add the garlic and onions to the skillet and cook until onions are soft and translucent.
-Pour a half cup-ish of wine (I'm generous with my booze measurements) into the pan with the garlic and onions and stir to bring up the brown bits.
-Cook over medium heat until the wine has reduced down by half.
-Add the chopped roasted red peppers, the crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper, paprika, and crushed red pepper.
-Turn heat down to medium low and allow sauce to simmer until thickened slightly, about 10-15 minutes.
-In the meantime, chiffonade the basil and set aside.
-Once the sauce has thickened, add the shrimp and 2/3 of the bacon. Set aside 1/3 of the bacon for garnish.
-Stir together and cook until shrimp has heated through.
-Drain the pasta once it is al dente and return to the pot.
-Pour the sauce over the pasta. Stir in a few tablespoons of the basil.
-Portion into bowls for serving and garnish with remaining bacon and basil.
-Enjoy with a sprinkle of freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Rhubarb Strawberry Crisp

Summer is officially on the way- the weather is getting warmer, my neighborhood farmer's market kicks off in less than a week, and rhubarb has popped up in the produce section of the grocery store. It won't be there for long, though, so go and get some while you can!

Even though it has a short season in which it is available, I do love rhubarb! It used to grow it in my garden growing up and I remember being amazed at the huge leaves and the funny pink-celery stalks. It makes a fantastic sauce for a summery ice cream sundae and I was always sad once we picked the last of it. Tart and great for baking, it is perfect with strawberries for that sauce, or a pie, or a fruit crisp. I opted for a crisp because it is super easy to put together and even more delicious! Plus, you can use just about any combination of seasonal fruits (such as apple cranberry in the fall!).

This particular crisp is lightly flavored with lemon (juice in the filling and zest in the topping) and gets a little crunch from some toasted hazelnuts. Hazelnuts are so good with berries, but pecans are also delicious in this dessert. When I make fruit crisps, I portion them individually into ramekins for easy serving. For this reason, all of the fruit is diced into bite-sized pieces. You could definitely make this dessert in a single baking dish, though. If you do, you may want to quarter the strawberries rather than dice them. For an 8x8 pan, double the recipe and simply bake for a longer period of time (35 minutes or so). When serving, a scoop of vanilla ice cream or gelato is such a good way to finish the dessert!

Yield: 6 individual ramekins

Ingredients:
Filling:
3/4 cup diced rhubarb
1 1/2 cups large-diced strawberries
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Topping:
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts, lightly toasted


Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-Spray ramekins (about 6- more or less depending on the size) and set them aside.
-In another mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt and zest.
-Cut the cold butter into small pieces.
-Cut butter into flour mixture using a pastry cutter. The topping should be very coarse.
-Add in hazelnuts and stir to combine.
-Combine the granulated sugar and cornstarch together in a small bowl and stir. Set this aside.
-In another, larger mixing bowl, toss together the rhubarb and strawberries. Stir in the lemon juice.
-Add the sugar/cornstarch mixture to the fruit and stir until all of the fruit is coated.
-Portion fruit mixture into the prepared ramekins, leaving room for the topping.
-Sprinkle topping evenly over the fruit mixture.
-Arrange ramekins on a baking sheet and put in the preheated oven.
-Bake at 350 degrees until topping is golden brown and fruit is bubbly, about 25 minutes.

Brown Butter Banana Walnut Muffins

It takes a village...to write a recipe. At least it felt that way when I was working out a new one for banana nut muffins this week. I had the basic framework in my mind, plus a couple of tweaks to make them really different. Brown sugar instead of white and browned butter in place of regular butter or oil. The browned butter has such a nice nutty flavor that I thought would tie in to my recipe perfectly.

Despite my great ideas, the first few trials fell a little flat- the final result wasn't exactly what I hoped it would be. In these types of situations, that's when I take it to my friends and family. God love all of them! They patiently put up with my requests for "objective feedback" and really do a great job of giving it to me! I was especially in need of some help as I was reaching my threshold for banana nut muffins. My co-workers suggested more brown sugar and extra vanilla, and one of Mike co-workers said of a scale of 1 to 10, the moistness is a 7. (Can't you tell they've been well-trained?) So I immediately went home and whipped up a new batch making all the proper adjustments.

A little extra brown sugar and more vanilla were easy changes to the recipe. To bump up the moisture, I thought about it for a while before swapping out the milk for sour cream. I could tell right away that these changes were exactly what my recipe needed. Although I had been pretty close to swearing off banana nuts for life, my mouth started watering when I took them out of the oven. I'm hoping that when the new batch of muffins arrive at our workplaces today, I still have some willing taste testers because I think they'll be pleased!

Yield: 18 standard size muffins

Ingredients:
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 stick butter
2 eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cup mashed bananas

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Line muffin pans with foil or paper liners and spray lightly.
3. Chop walnuts. Remove 2 heaping tablespoons of the walnuts and place into a separate dish. Add a pinch of cinnamon to the reserved walnuts and set aside.

4. Combine all the dry ingredients- flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and the cinnamon. Set aside.
5. Brown the butter in a stainless saucepan over medium heat (only because those dark-colored nonstick pans will prevent you from seeing how much the butter has browned). Please check out chow.com for great info on how to brown butter. Cool by dipping the bottom of the pan in water and set aside.

6. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream, and vanilla.
7. Continue whisking while streaming in the brown butter.
8. Stir in the mashed bananas.
9. Add the dry ingredients and stir until only just combined. Overstirring will result in a tough muffin!
10. Fold in the walnuts.
11. Use an ice cream scoop to portion batter into liners.

12. Sprinkle the reserved walnuts over the top of each muffin.
13. Bake in a preheated oven until muffins are golden and a tester inserted into a muffin comes out clean, about 22 minutes.