Zucchini & Chickpea (Quick) Curry

The Internet has significantly, and irreversibly, changed the way we communicate, share information, and ultimately, the way we live. It has also, seemingly, changed the way we cook. 

In Tweet Me Right: The Joy of Cooking in a Digital World, Fran Brennan writes about the changing nature of recipe exchange and food community. The Internet has stimulated the growth of a large and passionate food community. It allows us to connect to people, places and even ideas that we wouldn't otherwise encounter.  

Opening a browser can open a world of culinary possibilities. So, how do you navigate this new world? 

Thankfully, there are a number of sites that stimulate food community and make navigation of the online food space a bit easier. Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubs created  Food52.com  to "bring together people who care about food." If Food52 stimulates conversation and creation in the online food community, it's offspring gojee.com provides users with a way to navigate that conversation.

Gojee.com allows users to enter an ingredient they have on hand (or that they're craving), and ingredients they'd like to avoid. After that information is entered, the site suggests recipes that fit your previous specifications. Did I mention it does that with food-porn images of the finished recipe? (Warning: You will walk away from gojee.com with your stomach growling). When you are tempted by a recipe, you click through and end up on the food blog that originally posted the recipe. From what I've seen, there aren't links to allrecipes.com, or more generic cooking sites. Rather, gojee.com directs users to further explore to food community. 

This is why technology inspires me. This type of site helps to foster community engagement and new discoveries online. Between complete strangers. Tell me you're not amazed by that. The most interesting part of gojee.com, though, is not the new discoveries it provides. The most interesting thing about the site is that it makes my life in the kitchen a lot more like my grandmother's. 

See, as a Gen Y'er and daughter of an enthusiastic cook, I was raised in a world where the cooking process went like this: find a recipe, buy ingredients for that recipe, cook that recipe. 

My grandmother, though, and her mother before her, followed this cooking process: look at ingredients you have, find a recipe that utilizes those ingredients, cook that recipe. 

Gojee.com allows, and encourages, cooks to use what they already have. This isn't surprising, considering the concept of using what you have is back in style (we're calling it sustainability now). Think of sustainability in the kitchen as your grandmothers old broach, suddenly appearing--a bit re purposed--in the September issue of Vogue. 

Why am I serenading you about my love of technology while showing you pictures of zucchini, you ask? Well, I had zucchini on hand a few weeks ago--a lot of zucchini. And, I discovered gojee.com, which led me to the 15 minute curried zucchini recipe from fresh 365. Find it adapted below, courtesy new technology. 

Zucchini & Chickpea (Quick) Curry

By Alexandra Rogers, adapted from fresh 365

Ingredients

3 Tablespoons olive oil

1 large (white) onion, chopped

4 large garlic cloves, minced or crushed

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

3 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2" semi circles

8 oz. garbanzo beans (chickpeas)

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

handful of chopped cilantro

Recipe

In a small bowl, mix ground cumin, curry powder, turmeric, ground ginger and cinnamon together. Set aside. 

Heat oil in a large saute pan, over medium-high heat. Add the onions, garlic and cumin seeds and cook for about 5 minutes, until the onions become translucent and start to brown*. Add Zucchini, and spices. Stir to combine. Cook for approximately 6 minutes (until zucchini is tender when stabbed with a fork and begins to brown a bit). Add garbanzo beans and stir to coat with spice mixture. Add salt to taste, and cook for another 5 -6 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in cilantro, and serve with brown rice. Serves 4-5.

*To get vegetables to brown when sauteing, don't stir too often. Extended contact between the hot pan and the surface of the vegetable is needed for vegetables to caramelize (brown). Many cooks struggle with this concept, feeling the must stir continuously so everything cooks evenly and doesn't burn. But, if your goal is caramelization, you need to step back and let the vegetables hang out with the hot pan without stirring for a few minutes.

Buttermilk Biscuits

This weekend, I read a piece by Mark Bittman in The New York Times, detailing the costs of eating nutritious, home-cooked meals versus eating out. According to Bittman, many Americans explain the high rates of obesity in this country by relaying the "fact" that it's cheaper to eat at fast food restaurants than to buy decent, healthy food elsewhere. Using an especially great infographic, Bittman shows us that this "fact" is really more of a myth. After all, feeding a family of four a meal of potatoes, simple salad and roast chicken costs less than half the price of feeding that same family at McDonald's. 

(via)

So why the nationwide obsession with the golden arches? One reason, among many, is that Americans aren't cooking. Time in the kitchen is seen as grueling or impossible, rather than healthy, simple or relaxing. 

I promise you, these buttermilk biscuits are relevant to the discussion.  This recipe is one of those super easy and incredibly rewarding recipes that makes you wonder why you don't spend more time in the kitchen. I grew up waiting with baited breath for these to come out of the oven, and I have such lovely memories of pairing them with a bowl of soup on cold evenings. It is one of of those recipes, in fact, that made me love cooking (and clearly, I've loved it ever since). Also, the recipe I've posted (and that I frequently use) is from Mark Bittman himself. Because he really is a fabulous guy (and a good tipper, which I learned from serving him when I was a waitress here) with simple recipes and a great writing voice. 

Make the biscuits. Then, if you're feeling the urge for an egg McMuffin, fry up an egg and some bacon, stick a slice of cheddar on top and shove the whole combo into one of these biscuits. Problem solved.

Buttermilk Biscuits

By Mark Bittman


Ingredients
3 cups flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 sticks of butter, cold 
1 cup buttermilk


Recipe
Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.


In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Mix together thoroughly. 


Then, cut cold butter into Tablespoon size chunks. Add the butter to the flour mixture and use your fingers to rub the mixture together until it resembles small peas--essentially you use your fingers to combine the flour and butter into a crumb like mixture. 


Stir the buttermilk in with a wooden spoon, stirring until  just combined.


Drop the dough in large spoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, or until golden.


*If you're interested in this cause, there are quite a few groups across the country that are working to stimulate a renewed interest in the kitchen. From groups that teach children to cook and grow gardens in urban spaces, to groups that put former gang members to work baking bread, there are a lot of ways to get involved.

Cremini Mushroom Strudel with Pesto

Last week, there was a frost in Wisconsin. The next morning, I actually turned the heat on in my car. Maybe I'm a little bit of a wimp (it still got to 57 degrees that day), but all I wanted to do all day was curl up in a down comforter and eat something mushroom-based. Because, for some reason, mushrooms solve my cold weather blues. 

So, after perusing the Internet for inspiration, I saw a recipe for a wild mushroom strudel accompanied by arugula pesto. I did not have a wide assortment of mushrooms on hand, nor did I have any arugula, so I improvised and ended up with my own original recipe. 

First, I chopped fresh herbs (using fresh herbs in this is a must, which makes it an excellent dish to make in early fall/late summer, when fresh herbs are still available at markets and in gardens). I also chopped a whole bunch of cremini (or baby portabella) mushrooms. This is not a quick recipe, but you can make it a whole lot quicker by buying pre-chopped mushrooms. I usually frown on that, but this recipe is very good and ever so slightly too time consuming. So, you know, buy the pre-chopped mushrooms. I recognize that you have things on your to do list that trump making dinner, from time to time. Or, if you're really busy and still need mushroom-y goodness, make this very quick wild rice pilaf. I digress.

This strudel recipe is also an excellent opportunity to conquer a fairly straightforward ingredient that many home cooks fear: phyllo dough. You know what I'm talking about--you eat it whenever you go to your favorite Greek restaurant and dream about being able to recreate the spanakopita at home. Maybe even baklava (okay, even I'm afraid of that recipe). But that crispy, flaky dough seems like it would take hours to work with and would be quite finicky. As it turns out, phyllo dough is super easy to work with.   Shh...let's keep it our little secret. For a video instruction of how to do it, view this handy video. My only note on phyllo dough is that if you buy it frozen (and I encourage you to do so), it has to thaw in the refrigerator overnight and on the counter for two hours after that. This is not a recipe to make on a whim. But, it is delicious and warming and somehow brings my two favorite seasons together; pesto tastes like summer, and mushrooms wrapped in delightful pastry taste like fall. This is the perfect September meal. Enjoy!

Cremini Mushroom Strudel with Pesto

By Alexandra Rogers

Ingredients

5 Tablespoons butter

1-2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup shallots, diced

1 Tablespoon fresh basil, minced

3 teaspoons fresh thyme, minced

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced

24 oz. cremini mushrooms, sliced

6 sheets of phyllo pastry (fresh phyllo pastry or frozen thawed)

Pesto

Recipe

If using frozen thawed phyllo pastry, you must place the frozen pastry in the fridge overnight, and remove the pastry from the fridge 2 hours before use on the day of. So, by the time you start the rest of this recipe, the phyllo dough needs to be sitting on the counter! 

In a large skillet, melt 2 Tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Once the pan is hot and the butter is melted, add shallots, garlic, basil, rosemary and 2 teaspoons thyme. Let cook for 2 minutes, stirring once or twice.

Add mushrooms (the pan will seem far too crowded, but just go with it). Saute for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until very tender. 

Remove the mushrooms from heat, and set aside to cool. Salt to taste (I used less than half a teaspoon). 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease a small baking sheet.

Melt 3 Tablespoons butter in the microwave (this should take a little less than 30 seconds).

Place kitchen towel on work surface and top with 1 phyllo sheet. Brush that sheet with melted butter and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon thyme. Top that phyllo sheet with another phyllo sheet, brush with butter and sprinkle with another 1/2 teaspoon thyme. Repeat until the phyllo dough is 6 sheets high. You can find a bit more guidance on how to work with phyllo dough here. 

Spoon mushroom mixture into the middle of the phyllo dough street. Fold the longer sides over the mushroom mixture (almost like you're wrapping a present), and then roll up the dough, jelly roll style. Roll as evenly as you can, and when complete, place the roll seam down on the greased baking sheet.

Brush the top and sides of the roll with butter and sprinkle with any remaining thyme. Put the roll in your preheated oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown all around (including the middle of the strudel). 

Let cool for 3-4 minutes, then slice with a serrated knife to serve. Garnish with fresh pesto (I used 1-2 Tablespoons/slice) and serve. Serves 4.

Garden Fresh Spaghetti

During a recent visit to the bookstore, I picked up Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant. The book features a collection of short essays (which end with recipes) about cooking and eating alone.

One of the first essays I read in the book was by Amanda Hesser. She talked through the meal she made herself one night when her significant other was out of the house. She made a beautiful point about the fact that we often don't cook well for ourselves when we cook only for ourselves. I've definitely gotten home to an empty house and thrown a microwave dinner in more times than I can count. And that's a little funny, if you think about it, since I am obsessed with food and cooking. 

Hesser made a point that cooking a great meal for just you is a way of respecting yourself. I like this logic a lot, and so today I'm offering up a recipe that is meant only for one person (though obviously you can double it if you like) and that capitalizes on the best your garden or green market currently has to offer.

My mother taught me this combination after plucking fresh tomatoes and basil from her garden one day this summer, and mincing some garlic she'd picked up from the green market earlier that day. It is the epitome of fresh comfort food. (Note, do remove the skins from the tomatoes--it's a neat trick to learn, especially because skinless tomatoes produce a sweeter sauce, with no bitter taste coming in from the skins.)

Garden Fresh Spaghetti

By Alexandra Rogers

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4 plum or roma tomatoes, skins removed

3-4 cloves of garlic, minced

1/3 cup roughly minced basil

1 serving of your favorite type of spaghetti noodle (usually 1/8 the box)

salt to taste

grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Recipe

Bring water to boil in a medium pot. Once water is boiling, add in spaghetti and cook for several minutes, until it has reached your desired consistency. Pour pasta into a colander to drain the water and set aside.

Roughly dice the skinless tomatoes. 

Heat extra virgin olive oil in a medium chef's pan, over medium/medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add minced garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Then, add the diced tomatoes and stir to combine. Cook tomatoes and garlic together for about 3 minutes. Add the cooked spaghetti noodles (I used capellini) and stir to coat pasta in tomato sauce. Add minced basil and salt to taste. If using parmesan, add before serving.

Serves 1.

Pesto

If there is ever a time to make fresh pesto, it's now. Fresh basil is abundant at green markets and grocery stores everywhere, and better yet--it's cheap. Fresh pesto simply screams summer to me. Plus, it's very easy (and quick) to make, and it's one of those dishes that's sure to impress just about anybody you serve it to. Confession: I get pretty impressed with myself every time I make it.

Okay, so here's what you do. Go get yourself some basil. Grab some from your garden, green market or grocery store. You're going to need a lot of it. Note: pesto (without cheese) freezes well. If you'd like to freeze your pesto for use later in the year, simply blanch the basil leaves before putting them in the food processor, continue with the recipe and freeze the finished product in jars).

Grate some parmesan cheese--you'll need it a bit later in the recipe. Toast some pine nuts. During this step, resist all urges to turn your back. You will burn the pine nuts if you don't give them your full attention. While you work, sing along to your favorite music and think about how much you love summer.

The next step is very easy. Throw everything except the cheese into the food processor. Combine it well. Then toss it with some pasta (I like it best with Penne noodles), cheese and vegetables. Or freeze it. Or use it on a salad. Most of all, enjoy this pesto along with the last, ever so sweet, days of summer.

Pesto

Adapted by Alexandra Rogers, from Mark Bittman

Ingredients

4 cups basil leaves, washed and dried
4 medium cloves of garlic
4 Tablespoons toasted pine nuts
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups of parmesan


Recipe
In a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, combine basil, garlic and pine nuts. Scrape sides of the food processor with a rubber scraper and make sure ingredients are well combined and chopped. Add the olive oil slowly with food processor running. 


It's likely you won't use the full 1/2 cup of olive oil, so add enough to get the pesto to a consistency that is looser than paste but not overly oily. I usually use about 1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons olive oil in total.


Turn off the food processor and dip a spoon into the pesto. Now, taste the pesto! It will taste like it needs salt. At this point, add a sprinkling of salt (far less than a teaspoon) and combine. This is the "salt to taste" step that can be somewhat confusing. When making pesto, be sure to under salt a bit since you'll be adding salty cheese later in the dish that will carry those flavors through all the way. 


Once salt is added, your pesto is ready to use. Toss with a pasta of your choice and add the parmesan cheese until thoroughly combined and serve. This makes enough pesto to cover 4-5 cups of pasta. 


You can also use the pesto as part of salad dressings or over vegetables. More specific serving suggestions will be coming your way soon!

Cocoa Brownies with Peanut Butter Frosting

My mother is the baker, and I am the cook. That has always been the case in our family. My mother is analytical and scientific in her reasoning, and therefore excellent at measuring with care and substituting ingredients and amounts appropriately. 

    

I'm  more of a creative type when it comes to the kitchen. I create as I go, and very rarely follow a recipe to the dot. Part of my fondness for cooking is the ability to change a dish as I see fit, at any point during its creation. I get frustrated by the patience required by baking, the waiting game and inability to change a recipe once it goes in the oven. The point is, I am not really a baker at heart. This is, I understand, a very odd proclamation to make in the middle of a brownie recipe. Hear me out. 

           

I bake as therapy. You see, I can make a stir fry without much thought at all. But Cocoa Brownies with Peanut Butter Frosting? Those require some concentration. And sometimes, in the midst of a particularly bad week, I need to bake. Because when I bake, my mind refuses to wander. I concentrate only on the task at hand.

     

I know, as a frequent multi-tasker, that I don't need to focus all of my attention on leveling off a cup of sugar with the back of a knife. But, somehow, that's just what happens. 

     

Everything else melts away as I bake, using techniques my mother has taught me over a lifetime.

It's quite hard to feel that anything is amis in the world when you watch peanut butter and butter being  whipped together into a light and fluffy frosting. And if that doesn't do it, sampling peanut butter frosting can make just about anybody smile. (Except a person with peanut allergies. Obviously).

The very act of creating a batter, pouring it into a pan and waiting every so patiently for the result is becoming  slightly more appealing to me. Here's why: earlier this evening I stared at an empty 8" x 8" square pan, and now it's filled with delightful, soul-healing, smile-creating brownies. That is quite an accomplishment, if you really think about it. 

I must use this last paragraph to tell you about the brownies themselves and not just about me. Salty. Sweet. Delightful. I should not have waited to make them for nearly four months.  (I've been waiting since May to make this particular recipe, ever since I saw it on Not Without Salt.) It's no surprise I love them, based on my ongoing (and I might add, very justified) love affair with the chocolate and peanut butter combination (as seen here and here). 

Cocoa Brownies with Peanut Butter Frosting
Adapted by Ashely from Not Without Salt, from Alice Medrich


Ingredients
Cocoa Brownies
1 1/4 stick (10 Tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large, cold eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
 1/2 cup all-purpose flour


Peanut Butter Frosting
3/4 stick (6 Tablespoons) softened butter
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar
pinch salt


Recipe
Cocoa Brownies
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and grease an 8" x 8" square pan.


First, put a medium/large pot with a few inches of water on the stove and turn on the heat (to medium) to bring to a simmer. Be sure a bowl can fit inside of it, with room to stir ingredients, and without touching the simmering water. This is basically a makeshift double boiler. It should look a little like this:

Now that you know that bowl fits in the pot the correct way, take it out and put the following ingredients in it: Sugar, Cocoa Powder, Salt. Mix those ingredients together well, with a fork or a whisk. Then, cut the butter into 1 Tablespoon pieces. The idea here is to get them small enough to melt rather quickly (quicker than if you just threw the whole block of butter in there). 


Place the bowl with the cocoa mixture over the simmering water and stir occasionally with a wooden spoon. Once the butter is almost melted (you should see only 3-4 small pats of butter left in the mixture), remove the bowl from the pot (with oven mits on) and let the mixture cool to warm. The residual heat will melt the rest of the butter. 


Once the mixture is no longer hot, add cold eggs one at a time. If you haven't allowed the cocoa mixture to cool, you will make scrambled, chocolate eggs (accidentally). Stir the eggs into the mixture with a wooden spoon, then add the vanilla extract. Once all of this is well combined, add the flour. Once the flour is integrated into the cocoa mixture (read: you can no longer see any flour), stir the mixture 40 times. 


Pour the batter into the pan, spread evenly and bake for 25-28 minutes, until a toothpick or knife inserted into the center comes out nearly clean. Leave to cool on a wire rack.


Peanut Butter Frosting
In an electronic mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream together the butter and peanut butter. Then, incorporate the powdered sugar (I like to add 1/4 cup at a time). 


Frost the brownies once they are room temperature. Sprinkle very lightly with a pinch of kosher salt. Enjoy. Serves 16 brownies.

Quick Mango Salsa

People, it is hot in New York City. Waiting for the train is a sweatier affair than usual, and it takes all of two seconds of outdoor time to rid your whole body of a day spent in air conditioning. On Friday, the heat index didn't dip below 100 degrees fahrenheit until after 10pm. 


The stifling heat in New York City is relevant because I was going to post a baking related recipe. But, quite frankly, I think it's unwise to heat up an oven right now. 


So instead, I give you the easiest mango salsa ever. No heat required. Barely any sweat required. Just chop some things up and put them in a bowl! Mix them together and you've got a fancy and gourmet-seeming garnish for just about anything. I like to serve it along side baked or sauteed white fish (like tilapia or halibut). It's good on blue corn chips, too. And, I won't lie, I've had multiple dinner guests finish it out of the bowl with a spoon. That is never a bad sign. Happy summer, and good luck surviving the heat wave!

Ingredients:
1 mango, diced into 1/4" cubes
1/2 small red onion diced small
2 Tbs cilantro, minced
1/4 tsp chile powder
Juice of one small lime


Recipe:
Combine mango, red onion, cilantro and chile powder (to taste). Sprinkle lime juice over and combine well with hands or two spoons.


Makes 4-6 servings.

Moroccan Couscous

Most college kids eat spaghettio's, mac and cheese and chinese take-out. While those were all star players in my college diet as well, boxed couscous was my go-to meal. Now, I've got nothing against the Near East Couscous that used to line my shelves in college--I ate it at least three times a week for dinner (paired with a vegetable when I was feeling responsible)--but boxed meals tend to be high in sodium. 


Once I discovered how super easy and delicious it is to make couscous from just the grain itself and some oil and spices well...there was no turning back. This recipe is a great introduction to the technique. Make it a few times and you should be able to improvise from there, by changing up the spices or what you mix into the cooked couscous. Enjoy!

Moroccan Couscous
Adapted by Alexandra Rogers, from Moroccan Couscous-stuffed Chicken Breasts by Alison Attenborough, published on Food & Wine


Ingredients
2 Tablespoons oil
1 dash of cinnamon
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
2/3 cups plain couscous
1 cup vegetable stock
6-8 small dried apricots (use unsweetened, natural), cut into small, rough pieces
3/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped


Recipe
1. Bring vegetable stock to a light boil in a small pot.
2. Heat oil over medium-high in a medium-sized pot. Add cinnamon, coriander and cumin and let cook for one minute. 
3. Remove the medium pot from heat and add couscous. Stir the couscous until thoroughly coated with the oil and spice mixture, then pour the boiling vegetable stock over the couscous, cover tightly and set aside for 5 minutes.
4. Prepare parsley, pine nuts and dried apricots. When the couscous has absorbed all the liquid, stir parsley, pine nuts and dried apricots in and serve. Serves 4.

Blueberries with Cinnamon and Maple Whipped Cream

As the Fourth of July fast approaches, I keep flashing back to childhood memories of fruit-based desserts. When I was a kid, my aunts would bake up tarts and cakes using blueberries, strawberries and raspberries to celebrate Independence day. We'd eat these delicacies on paper plates with plastic forks, sitting flat on the driveway in summer dresses, waiting until the moment we could light off fireworks and play with sparklers. Because of that history, something about this light dish screams Independence day and hot July days to me. To my lovely and inspiring cousin Nilmini, happy happy birthday. And to everybody else in the U.S.A., Happy Independence Day! Enjoy the fireworks.

Blueberries with Cinnamon and Maple Whipped Cream
By Institute of Culinary Education, adapted by Alexandra Rogers


Ingredients
1 c. heavy whipping cream
5 Tbs maple syrup
2 cups fresh blueberries, washed and picked over
Cinnamon


Recipe
Wash 2 cups fresh blueberries and be sure to pick out any sour-looking, wrinkled or bright purple/pink blueberries.  Lay the blueberries on a single later on paper towel so they dry.


Divide the blueberries between 4 wine glasses, placing about 1/2 cup blueberries in each glass. (Other glass containers work for this as well--but only use a container that can hold at least 1 cup). 


In a medium bowl, beat heavy whipping cream until soft peaks form (see an example of soft peaks, here). Once soft peaks firm, add the maple syrup and beat until heavy whipping cream forms stiff peaks--or, basically, until it looks like real whipped cream. 


Top each serving of blueberries with a light dust of cinnamon, then 2 spoonfuls of Maple whipped cream. Add one more light dusting of cinnamon atop the maple whipped cream and serve, immediately. 


There will be extra maple whipped cream--I like to set it out in a bowl, alongside a jar of cinnamon, and let guests adjust for themselves. Serves about 4.

Banana Pudding with Nilla Wafers

The first time I ate this banana pudding, I ended up about an hour into the wrong part of Brooklyn. I was so focused on the pudding that I didn't notice when the train I was on went over the East River instead of under it, or when I missed the last stop where I possibly could have transfered to a train traveling the right direction. That's how good this pudding is. (Let's leave aside the fact that I have no sense of direction). 

The fateful day when I was introduced to this pudding was also my first day of work ever in NYC. Now, again, I work quite nearby the source of this delightful pudding (Magnolia Bakery). I think about it all the time. Sometimes I wish I could just eat this for lunch. And dinner. And breakfast. And, of course dessert. Really, it's that good. You have to try it. And then, if you're in NYC, you need to go to Magnolia Bakery and try it. (Plus, you'll look less like a tourist if you aren't in line for the cupcakes only...)

Banana Pudding with Nilla Wafers
From the Buttercup Bake Shop Cookbook
By Jennifer Appel of Magnolia Bakery and Buttercup Bake Shop, Adapted slightly by Alexandra Rogers


Ingredients

1 1/2 cups cold water

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

2/3 cup instant vanilla pudding powder

3 cups heavy cream

1 box Nilla wafers

6-8 medium bananas, peeled and sliced

8 16 oz. cups

Recipe

On the low speed of an electric mixer, blend the water, milk and pudding powder until thoroughly mixed, about 1 minute. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours (or overnight) until firm.

Blend water, sweetened condensed milk and pudding powder together until mixed thoroughly, on the low speed of an electric mixer (about 1 minute). Refrigerate the pudding mixture for at least 4 hours, until firm. If you like, this can be left overnight.

In a separate bowl, preferably another electric mixer bowl, whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form (about 6-7 minutes). Soft peaks have formed when you remove the beaters from the bowl and the mixture forms little peaks at the end of the beaters, but soft, wilting little peaks. (See image from fitsugar, below, for guidance).

Gently fold the pudding mixture into the whipped cream until well incorporated. I like to use a rubber scraper and try to incorporate as much air into the bowl as I can while I mix. 

In a large bowl, or (as I prefer) several small glasses, layer nilla wafers, pudding mixture and bananas. Layer until cups are full and pudding is gone and decorate with crushed nilla wafers on top. Refrigerate for about 60 minutes before serving. Serves 7-8.

Blueberry Upside-Down Cake

Although the weather has been swinging between rainy and grey and sunny and super hot here in NYC,   it feels--officially--like summer. And, as I might have mentioned before, I truly believe that upside down cakes are an official summer dessert.

This blueberry upside down cake is a Martha Stewart recipe (that version is a bit fussier than mine), though it was originally introduced to me by my boyfriend's mother (she also introduced me to that ever famous, well-loved goat cheese and prosciutto strata). She brought this blueberry upside down cake out for dessert one night when we were all gathered around an outdoor table, finishing a perfect grilled summer meal and overlooking a prairie. It was a picturesque summer night--one of those evenings where there's a slight breeze and everyone at the table is newly tan and happily exhausted from a day in the sun. Trust me when I say: next time you have a summer evening--you should really pair it with this blueberry upside-down cake. You should also throw some vanilla ice cream in the bowl. Here's wishing you one of those unforgettable summer nights soon...happy cooking!

Blueberry Upside-Down Cake
Adapted from Martha Stewart by Alexandra Rogers


Ingredients
4 Tablespoons butter, melted plus a little extra to grease the pan
1/3 cup + 3 Tablespoons light-brown sugar
1 1/2 cups blueberries, washed 
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/4 cup milk, room temperature


Recipe
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a bread loaf pan. Pour 2 Tablespoons of the melted butter into the bottom of the pan and evenly coat by tilting the pan in every direction.
2. Sprinkle 3 Tablespoons of brown sugar over the butter, on the bottom of the pan.
3. Pour 1 cup of blueberries over the loaf pan and set aside.
4. In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt. I find it's best to use a whisk to get some air into the mixture. 
5. In another bowl, place 2 Tablespoons of remaining butter and 1/3 cup brown sugar and the egg and milk, and beat together with a fork.
6. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Do not over mix. 
7. Pour half the batter into the loaf pan. Sprinkle 1/2 cup blueberries over the batter and spread the remaining batter on top of that.
8. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean (without any doughy batter stuck to it).
9. Serve with vanilla ice cream, to up to 8-10 friends and enjoy outside on a summer evening.