Cranberry Spice Bundt Cake

Mr. E. and I will be spending our Day of Thanks with my family and with his grandmother. In the same day. Therefore I decided to make a cake as my contribution that could double as a breakfast treat. This recipe came along in the November issue of my Bon Appetit magazine and sounded unlike anything I usually bake (i.e. no chocolate and/or lacks a creamy filling) so I thought it would be nice to try something different. It smelled divine baking in the house (when Mr. E. returned from work he walked in and said it smelled just like Thanksgiving in our home). I have not tasted the deliciousness yet but from comments online it sounds like the cake gets better with age so I will let it sit out on the counter for two days before serving it at the home of Grandma E.! One sidenote... the almond flour/meal can be found at most grocery stores in the organic aisle but it was $12 for the bag so I am going to share some with my mom.

CRANBERRY SPICE BUNDT CAKE

* 2 cups all purpose flour
* 3/4 cup almond flour or almond meal* (about 2 1/2 ounces)
* 2 1/2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder**
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
* 3 large eggs
* 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1 cup plain reduced-fat (2%) Greek-style yogurt
* 1 cup chopped toasted almonds
* 1 cup halved fresh or frozen cranberries (do not thaw)
* 1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries

ICING

* 2/3 cup powdered sugar
* 4 teaspoons (about) orange juice

How to Prepare Cake:

*
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Whisk first 8 ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add both sugars and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating 1 minute after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract, then Greek-style yogurt. Add dry ingredients; beat just until blended. Fold in almonds and all cranberries. Transfer batter to prepared Bundt pan.
*
Bake cake until tester inserted near center comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Cool cake in pan 10 minutes. Turn cake out onto rack and cool completely.

ICING

*
Stir powdered sugar and 2 teaspoons orange juice in small bowl until sugar dissolves. Mix in more juice by 1/2 teaspoonfuls to reach consistency of heavy cream. Spoon icing over cake, allowing it to drip down sides. Let stand until icing sets, at least 30 minutes. DO AHEAD Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover with cake dome and store at room temperature.
*
*Sometimes labeled "ground almonds"; available at specialty foods stores and natural foods stores.
*
**A spice blend that usually contains ground fennel seeds, Szechuan peppercorns, cinnamon, star anise, and cloves; available in the spice section of most supermarkets and online at penzeys.com.
*
MORE INFO: Greek-style yogurt is especially thick and rich, even the reduced-fat variety.

Recipe from Bon Appetit, November 2008.

Pizza, Pizza!

Mr. E. and I had a tradition going where we made pizzas for dinner on Friday evenings and enjoyed some Great Lakes Beer--TGIF! However, the tradition went on the lam for a few months and then we received a pizza stone as a wedding gift. If you enjoy homemade pizza and you do not have a pizza stone... drop everything and run to your nearest Bed, Bath and Beyond or Williams-Sonoma to purchase one of these puppies... they will change your pizza making forever!
This evening I decided to make a fresh basil, caramelized onion, roasted garlic and mushroom with rounds of mozzarella cheese pizza. The pizza crust was homemade but unfortunately the limits of time forced me to buy a jar of Trader Joe's spaghetti sauce. However, as you can see from the photos the pizza was still heavenly. In addition, there was some leftover dough and toppings so I ended up making my first calzone stuffed with spinach, sausage, and Parmesan. Mmmmm...They tasted delicious even though the pizza could have been a bit more attractive....

Ramped up Butternut Squash Lasagna

My cousin-in-law Amy, recently sent me a recipe for butternut squash lasagna. Anyone who has made lasagna before (not me... until now!) knows that the assembly takes a bit of time. Therefore I assembled the lasagna on Sunday in preparation for Monday evening baking after I returned from the gym. The lasagna was beautiful going into the oven and beauteous coming out of the oven. It was definitely tasty but both Mr. E and I thought it was a bit lacking. After eating for lunch as leftovers and with a few slight additions, the next batch will take this dish to another level. My suggestions are to add a layer of sauteed spinach with caramelized onions (keeping with the sweet theme) and then underneath the top layer of cheese, add a layer of crunchy cooked bacon. One other suggestions I found online suggested a layer of bechamel sauce but this is basically a pretty healthy dish and that would cross the line. A sprinkling of toasted pine nuts or walnuts on the finished product might also be nice...Oh, and this recipe was from a "cook with your kids blog" which is why there are two sets of instructions...

(see paragraph above for ramped up additions)

*4 lbs squash or pumpkin, such as Acorn, Butternut, or Hubbard
*3 T. olive oil
*1 1/2 t. ground cinnamon
*1/2 t. ground nutmeg (for the squash) + 1 1/2 t. (for the ricotta)
*2-3 T. fresh sage, finely chopped
*1 lb. ricotta
*1 egg, slightly beaten
*1 1/2 c. carrots, shredded
*12 no-boil lasagna noodles
*a large ball of fresh mozzarella cheese, grated
*1/2 c. parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
Cut your squashes in half.

Mini-Chef Time: Scoop out the seeds and stringy things with a large spoon. Place each squash halve cut side up on the baking sheet. Sprinkle the olive oil on the squash and then salt, pepper, cinnamon, and the 1/2 t. nutmeg. Using a basting brush or your hands, spread everything evenly out over the squash.

Big Person: Put the squash in the oven and bake for about 45 minutes, or until soft and beginning to brown.

Mini-Chef: Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the ricotta with the egg, the carrots, the 1 1/2 t. nutmeg, and salt and pepper, to taste. Refrigerate till you're ready to assemble the lasagna.

Butter a 13x9 inch lasagna pan.

When the squash has come out of the oven and cooled down a bit, scoop out the flesh into a big bowl.

Big Person: Puree the squash in the food processor or with an immersion blender.
Now, set out all of your ingredients in a line in this order: ricotta mixture, noodles, squash puree, sage, mozzarella, parmesan.

Mini-Chef: Scoop about 1 c. of the ricotta mixture into the lasagna pan and spread it out into a thin layer on the bottom of the pan. Place a layer of noodles on top, trying not to overlap any. Now it's time for the squash layer. 1 c. of squash puree should cover your first layer of noodles, and then you'll sprinkle a bit of the sage over the squash. More noodles to cover. Repeat the ricotta layer and the squash and the ricotta again. Mozzarella. Any sage you might have left over. Parmesan.

Into the oven and bake for 45 minutes-1 hour. The top should be golden brown. Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

Husband's Night to Cook--Wife's night to Bake

Mr. E makes dinner every Sunday evening and he was planning a mustard tarragon pork loin (from our local farm--http://www.hickoryacres.net/) accompanied by steamed french green beans and smashed sweet potatoes with maple syrup and orange. I have recently fallen in love with hearty red zinfandels and so we drank a glass while we cooked (Falcon Ridge 2006 Lodi Zinfandel). For dessert I was making the pumpkin spice layer cake with caramel and cream cheese frosting. Unfortunately I did not have the two required cake pans so I used a single bundt pan and then cut the cake in half to add the layers. The cake was the perfect ending to a Sunday evening as the first real snow of the season hit the Great Lakes region late in the afternoon. However, having an N of 2, our little family had to freeze the leftovers from the cake. The recipe was from Bon Appetit "Thanksgiving Special" 2008, pg. 182. Can you tell that citing my source has been ingrained in my mind from my graduate school days?

Ingredients

cake

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons finely grated orange peel

frosting

• 1 1-pound box powdered sugar, divided
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 Candied orange peel*

Preparation

cake

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour two 9-inch cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides, tapping out any excess flour. Whisk first 9 ingredients in large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat pumpkin, sugar, and oil in another large bowl. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating to incorporate between additions. Mix in orange peel. Add flour mixture; beat on low speed just to blend. Divide batter between prepared pans.
• Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 33 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes. Invert onto rack, then turn top side up and cool completely.

frosting

• Sprinkle 1/2 cup powdered sugar over bottom of small nonstick skillet. Cook over medium heat until sugar melts (do not stir). Continue cooking until sugar turns deep amber, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes. Carefully stir in 1/2 cup cream, vanilla, and salt (mixture will bubble vigorously). Stir until any caramel bits dissolve. Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon cream. Strain into small bowl. Cool caramel to room temperature.
• Sift remaining powdered sugar into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl. Gradually beat in powdered sugar. Beat in cooled caramel. Cover and chill frosting until firm enough to spread, about 2 hours.
• Using long serrated knife, trim rounded tops from cakes. Place 1 cake layer on cake plate, cut side up. Spread 3/4 cup frosting over. Place second cake layer, cut side down, atop frosting. Cover top and sides of cake with remaining frosting, creating smooth surface. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover with cake dome or large bowl and chill. Let stand at room temperature 2 hours before serving.
• Sprinkle candied orange peel over top of cake. Cut into wedges and serve.
• *Available seasonally at most supermarkets and year-round at specialty foods stores and from chefshop.com.