Responsible indulgence:Some food for thought
On a recent quick excursion with a dear friend, I was told that I drive like I cook. I was getting where I needed to go, but just following my nose, as opposed to GPS. Touche, you got me there, but I also got you to Cranston on the back roads! I like to cook freely, and most times this works out great. I don’t worry about it too much when it doesn’t, just make some mental notes for the next time (or never make that flawed meal again!). What works best for me is a collaborative approach. Taking advice from other cooks, piecing together recipes, and then just winging it, using what I have in the cupboard. Admittedly, this can make repeating a recipe challenging, but variety is the spice of life;)
The first recipe that I want to share is for Lemon Pound Cake. I have to thank Enid Andersen for sharing with me her recipe. I love lemon pound cake for its simplicity, freshness, and for the delicious delusion that I am eating something healthy. My mom used to make one, but I don’t have her recipe for it, so when my friend’s mom offered hers, I was thrilled. That said, Enid’s recipe was hand written on an index card in Swedish with metric measurements and not a lot of instruction beyond the ingredients. So, needless to say, I had a bit of a challenge the first time I attempted it. The results were good, but it lacked that pop of lemony sweet sunshine that I was looking for. I kept at it. What follows is my fourth attempt, and it relies heavily on Molly O’Neill’s recipe in the NY Times, who basically translated Enid’s recipe for me. My own contribution was a few technical choices, which gave me the texture and flavor I was looking for. Thanks gals, I needed your help!
Ingredients
For the cake
½ cup butter at room temp, very soft
2 cups AP flour, plus a bit to flour the pan
1 1/4 cups lemon sugar
Fine zest of 4 lemons
3 eggs at room temp
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
¾ cup plain whole milk yogurt (milk for Enid, sour cream for Molly, but I like the yogurt)
For the glaze
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
¼ cup lemon juice
A splash of vanilla extract
1. Preheat over to 350.
2. Butter and flour a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan (I prefer this over the bundt).
3. Combine the sugar and the zest and massage with your fingers for a few minutes to release the oils of the zest. Then using a plastic spatula, combine the butter and lemon sugar. (You can use a mixer, but be careful not to overwork your ingredients.)
4. With a hand mixer on a low speed, add one egg at a time, mix to fluffy, add vanilla.
5. Combine dry ingredients and stir with a whisk to combine. (Feel free to sift, I don’t bother with it.)
6. Add dry ingredients alternatively with the yogurt, folding with spatula, and just to moisten.
7. Spoon batter into prepared pan and bake for about 1 hour. I use the touch test, if it bounces back, it is done. You can also insert a tooth pick to see if it comes out clean.
8. Whisk lemon juice, confectioners’ sugar and vanilla to smooth glaze. This takes a little practice, but don’t worry if it looks thin.
9. Remove the cake form the pan and place on a cooling rack. Brush with glaze, wait a few minutes and brush again. Brush all sides and the top several times until you get an even light sugared layer on the outside, then allow it to dry for a few minutes, slice & serve.
I know the hand work sounds like more work than a mixer, and it is. Truth be told, I did it out of necessity because of the tools that I had available to me at the time. The texture was so light and airy while still having the weight of a pound cake—sounds impossible, but it was just right. Save the Kitchen Aid for other projects; we need her, just not for this one!
It is just like me to have dessert before the meal! Enjoy this with a glass of Cremant the citrus and the bubbles will sing together.
The Second recipe is for Roasted Chicken. I am not sure if I have ever roasted a whole chicken the exact same way twice, but here are a few techniques that I have accumulated from friends, recipes, and my own desire to roast the perfect chicken. It is a meal that I never tire of; and yes, it is a meal all by itself, sitting on the counter with a bottle of wine & a friend.
1. Preheat your oven to 500 degrees with an empty steel pan in the oven. (Yep, this one is new to me, too, but he’s right. Insert nod to the Boyfriend, who is right often, but in this instance, I really questioned his judgement. LOL, I will do it every time, the result is wonderfully crisp skin and deliciously juicy meat.)
2. Rub the outside of an organic, pasture raised chicken with butter. Salt and pepper liberally inside and out. Place chicken in preheated pan. It will sizzle!
3. Chop preserved lemon peel, olives, and red onion roughly and place on the skin of the chicken. The butter will make it stick, and allow some to fall in the pan.
4. Roast for 10 minutes at 500, then turn it down to 350, total cook time if 50-60 minutes, but use a thermometer to check it to 160 degrees internal temp in the thick part of the breast.
5. Remove to a board and let it rest for ten minutes, while you make the sauce.
6. Place your hot pan on the stove top on medium high heat (do not touch the handle!!), add a couple tablespoons of butter, a cup of white wine, and a dollop of crème fraiche, whisk to thicken and get all the yummy bits off the pan.
7. Serve with a fresh green salad and a loaf of crusty bread, and a bottle of the Lyre Rhone Red or that Winery of Good Hope Pinotage.
I offer these recipes as a guide more than instruction. I am hoping to start a conversation with you because a meal is about connecting, sharing, and enhancing. I could have taken 95 to Cranston, but the back roads are more fun, and we only learn these roads and turns from sharing our tricks and secret directions with one another. So, how do you make Lemon Pound Cake or Roast a chicken to perfection? LMK!
Cheers, Maria
