Spiced Apricot Gateau

Baking cakes always brings back fond memories of my childhood. My mom would carefully line the kitchen counter with old newspapers, set up an assembly line of baking bowls and tools, precisely measure her ingredients and start whipping her magic. I'd eagerly prowl around waiting to take a quick swipe of the creamed butter and sugar and then patiently wait till the final cake batter was ready. As soon as she'd poured out the batter into the cake pans, I'd beg for the baking bowl and wooden spoon. That, to me, was the best part of the baking process when I was a kid. I'd happily lick the bowl and spoon clean till my mom didn't know whether they were used or washed. And as the house filled with the heavenly smell of baking, my brother and I would hang around like hyenas waiting to get our paws on the very first piece of warm cake. Bliss! My mom would literally have to chase us away till she could take the cake out of the pan and let it cool.

As I grew older, mom would ask me to help her beat the batter and I would do so ever so meticulously, just as I'd observed her do and learning from her instructions. For me, she is the best baker ever. And it's not just me, even family friends who ate her cakes fawned over them. I always thank my stars that I was born into a family with such baking prowess because I'm sure some of it rubbed off on me. I have a whole bunch of aunts and a grandmom who are such amazing bakers. Each of them has their own individual style and little baking secrets, which they reveal to no one. I had to pinky-promise my mom that I wouldn't share her secrets. Hehehe

Being thousands of miles away from her, I tend to rely more on the internet for recipes of cakes I want to try because sometimes it's just faster than waiting to talk to my mom who's in the opposite side of the world. 

So, when I had a bowl of apricots staring at me angrily for not giving them any love, I knew I wanted to bake a cake with them and chanced upon a recipe by Christy Rost. I made a few changes, dug out my bundt cake pan and got down to business. When the cake was ready to dig into, I squealed with delight when it tasted so much like one of my mom's cakes! Soft, fruity goodness and what about the buttery brown sugar topping, you ask? Pure caramelized heaven! I licked the pan clean of the remnants of the baked brown sugar topping. 

Spiced Apricot Gateau (adapted from Christy Rost)

Ingredients and instructions:
For the cake -

• 1/3 cup soft unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 1/4 cups sifted cake flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup milk
• 2 spiced apricot halves, chopped into pieces*

For the brown sugar topping (you could double these ingredients if you're baking with a regular cake pan) -

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 4-5 spiced apricot halves, thinly sliced*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray your cake pan with non-stick baking spray or you could butter and flour it the traditional way. 

In large bowl of an electric mixer (or you could use a large bowl and a electric hand beater), cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 8 minutes. Add egg, vanilla, and almond extract; beat until smooth.

In a medium bowl, stir together cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add dry ingredients to creamed mixture alternately with milk, starting and ending with dry ingredients. Slowly fold in the spiced apricot pieces. Set aside.

In a small saucepan over low heat, melt butter and brown sugar, stirring often. Spoon mixture into bottom of cake pans just to cover. Brown sugar mixture may harden, but will melt during baking.

Arrange sliced apricots over sugar mixture. Spoon cake batter evenly over apricots.

Bake in preheated oven 25 to 30 minutes, until top is golden brown and cake has pulled away from sides of pan. Remove from oven, set aside 2 minutes to cool, and loosen cake from sides of pans with a knife. Invert gateaux on a wire rack to cool. (Gateaux may be may one day ahead, covered with plastic wrap, and chilled in refrigerator.)

Serve with ice cream or sweetened whipped cream topped with nuts.

*Spiced Apricots (adapted from Food & Wine)

Note: For the gateau, you could completely skip this but, I thought it'd lend a nice kick, so I added this one extra step)

• 6 fresh Apricots, halved and pitted
• 3 teaspoons honey
• Cayenne pepper

Preheat the broiler. Arrange apricot halves on a baking sheet. Spinkle the insides of each half with a pinch of Cayenne pepper. Spoon half a teaspoon of honey into each apricot half. 

Broil the apricots 4 inches from the heat for 3-4 minutes, rotating once, until it's bubbling and caramelized. Cool completely.

These actually taste amazing with ice cream! If you're eating it with ice cream, serve them warm with a scoop of your favorite ice cream.

Stuffed Poblanos with Goat Cheese & Andouille Sausage by Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian

(Part of a series featuring 50 Women Game Changers in Food by Gourmet Live)

I just joined a group of bloggers (there's a list of who's participating at the end of this post), founded by Mary of One Perfect Bite, who are celebrating Gourmet Live's 50 Women Game Changers in Food. Each week, the group features one of the women ranked on the list (going sequentially) and make a dish of hers. The group's currently on #32. I'm sad that I missed 31 of them but, I'm glad that I jumped on the boat some time and best of all, one of my favorites, Ina Garten, is yet to come! :D


This week, at #32, we have Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian. I'd never heard of them before but, once I researched them, it was interesting to read about them championing the cause of eating fresh, healthy food daily and helping people connect with resources to make that happen. They co-founded Edible Communities, Inc., America’s largest publishing company dedicated to the local foods movement, in 2002. The company currently publishes 70 titles across North America and is currently adding new magazines at a rate of 10 per year. The content for each publication is region-specific and focuses on the farmers, fishermen, chefs and food artisans from each area. They also launched their first cookbook, "Edible: A Celebration of Local Foods", in April 2010 and have 4 more in the pipeline.

I naturally picked a recipe featured in their cookbook for my dish of the week for the series. And boy, was I glad I chose the one I did because these stuffed poblanos were beyond delicious. I am generally a very humble cook but, I couldn't stop gasping in wonder at how good it tasted, thanks to Tracey and Carole. 

The goat cheese mixture with basil and cilantro is a dream (I ate spoonfuls of the mixture even before stuffing the poblanos, it was THAT GOOD) and the roasted red pepper sauce knocks this dish into the heavens and back!

There are still some notes I would make to myself. The recipe calls for roasting the peppers and chiles. Since I've never roasted anything on an open flame before, I was overly cautious. I think I removed them off the flame a little too early since I wasn't able to get all the skin off without spending hours on it. I just got what I could and left the rest on. Roasting them longer would've also made them softer and more tender. So, just be a little mindful of this if this is the first time you're roasting peppers too. Don't be worried about scorching them whole, they need to get as black as they can!

Bon Appetit!

Stuffed Poblanos with Goat Cheese & Andouille Sausage (adapted from Edible: A Celebration of Local Foods)

Ingredients & instructions:

Roasted poblanos and red peppers:

• 8 poblano chiles
• 2 large red bell peppers

Stuffed Poblanos:

• 4 ounces mild goat cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup grated Panela cheese or Monterey Jack
• 3/4 cup chopped Andouille sausages
• 1 shallot, very finely chopped
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
• 1-2 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 1-2 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more if needed
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more if needed

Red Bell Pepper Sauce:

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 3 shallots, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 Serrano chile, seeded and finely chopped
• 2/3 cup chicken broth or vegetable broth, plus more if needed
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more if needed
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Roast and peel the poblano chiles and red peppers: Over an open gas flame (on the stovetop or outdoor grill), roast the chiles and peppers, turning with tongs for even roasting, about 5 minutes each (you can roast two or three at a time on each gas burner). You can use your oven's broiler as well, if you don't have a gas stove or grill. Make sure you get the chiles and peppers blackened and blistered all over. While they should be soft, be careful not to overcook them since they need to hold the stuffing while baking.

Place the hot chiles and peppers into a large bowl. Cover the bowl with a plate or with plastic wrap; set aside for about 15 minutes. Using a paring knife, gently rub the skin off of the flesh of each chile and pepper. Wipe the surface of the flesh with paper towels to remove most of the excess skin and charred bits; discard the skin and set the chiles and peppers aside. 

Make the stuffed poblanos: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9- by 13-inch rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum baking sheet. Carefully slit each chile down one side and remove the seeds, leaving the stems attached. In a medium bowl, combine the goat cheese, Panela cheese, chopped sausages, shallot, chopped red pepper, cilantro, basil, salt and pepper; stir well. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Divide the cheese mixture into eight equal portions. Place one portion into each chile, being careful not to overfill. Close each chile, overlapping the edges slightly. Transfer the stuffed poblanos to the baking sheet. Bake until just warmed through, about 10 minutes.

Make the sauce: Cut open the roasted red bell peppers; remove and discard the stems and seeds. In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the shallots, garlic and Serrano chile and cook, stirring occasionally until the shallots are tender, about 3 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a blender. Add the roasted red peppers, chicken broth, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth. Add more broth as needed to reach the desired consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Return the sauce to the skillet to warm slightly.

To serve, pour shallow bed of sauce on the plate, place a stuffed poblano pepper in the middle and spoon a little more on it. I cut my peppers in half, sprinkled a little more Monterey Jack cheese and baked them for a few minutes till the cheese melted. 

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Here's a list of the other bloggers participating in this series. Do go over to their blogs to see what yummy dishes they've whipped up. If you'd like to join the group, please get in touch with Mary of One Perfect Bite. 

Val - More Than Burnt Toast [] Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed [] Susan - The Spice Garden [] Heather - girlichef [] Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney [] Jeanette - Healthy Living [] Mary - One Perfect Bite [] Kathleen - Bake Away with Me [] Sue - The View from Great Island [] Barbara - Movable Feasts [] Linda A - There and Back Again [] Nancy - Picadillo [] Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits [] Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen [] Annie - Most Lovely Things [] Claudia - Journey of an Italian Cook [] Alyce - More Time at the Table [] Amrita -Beetles Kitchen Escapades

Southern comfort: Shrimp and Grits

Last year was a good vacation year for me. I traveled quite a bit. The cities that found a special place in my heart were New Orleans and Savannah. I LOVED both places. The food - out of this world since it is the kind of comfort food I can live on. The sights - just plain beautiful with lots of French and Victorian architecture. The shopping - pretty, quaint little knick-knacks. The company - the husband. I couldn't have asked for better vacations.

At both cities, we indulged in a lot of southern staples, including Shrimp and Grits. Well, the husband did since I was busy stuffing my face with other yummy foods like Jambalaya, fried Chicken, Beignets and much more!

I remember watching this Food Network Throwdown with Bobby Flay and a native of one of the cities in Louisiana, if I'm not mistaken - a Throwdown of Shrimp and Grits! I remember scribbling down instructions of what they created and putting that in my list of to-make recipes. But I promptly forgot about it. After my trip to New Orleans (and Savannah, most recently), I knew I had to dig it up and quickly make it!

Here's what I managed to gather from the show though I don't remember whose recipe I was following and whether this is accurate. It tasted yummy, nonetheless! I must say, though, this dish is best eaten fresh and hot off the stove! Bon Appetit!

Shrimp and grits

Ingredients and instructions:

For the grits

• 1 cup grits
• 2 cups water
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons cream
• 1/2 cup of your favorite cheese

For the Shrimp

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon powdered pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
• 2 scallion sprigs, chopped

For the sauce

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce

Bring the water to a boil. Add the bouillon cubes and stir to dissolve. Add the grits and let it cook according to manufacturer's directions. Once it's cooked, add the butter and stir. Add the cream and cheese, stir till the cheese is melted. Remove from flame and keep aside.

In a bowl, mix the shrimp, salt, powdered pepper, cayenne pepper and italian seasoning. In a frying pan, melt the butter on medium high heat. Saute the garlic in the butter till it starts to brown. Add the shrimp and let it cook. Add the chopped scallions, stir for a minute. Turn off the flame.

In another pan on medium heat, add the butter and once it's melted, add the flour. Stir constantly for a minute till the raw smell of the flour goes. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting. Add the chicken broth slowly and stir till the flour mixture is completely incorporated. Add the worcestershire and hot sauce. Increase the heat to medium and continue to stir till the sauce thickens.

You can add the shrimp to the sauce before serving over the grits or you could assemble them individually.