Ready For A Slice Of Cake?

Who's ready for a slice of cake? Here are a couple of unusual cakes from 1972's Unusual Old World And American Recipes, published by Nordic Ware, the folks who in the early 1950s gave us the Bundt pan. I'm pleased to report that, when I visited their site today, the first recipe that popped up was for an Irish whiskey cake, so they haven't shied away from the boozy baking in the years since Harvey Wallbanger's Cake:

Do you prefer porkier pies? If so, here you go!

We inherited a Fleur De Lis Bundt pan from Paul's mom and we have a large supply of Galliano, so I'm thinking Harvey Wallbanger's Cake may be in our near future.  Stay tuned!

Pieathalon 2016: Heathen Cake!

Pieathalon 2016 is here, where bloggers submit a vintage pie recipe, then are assigned another participant's recipe by organizer Yinzerella, of the fabulous food blog Dinner is Served 1972! This is my second year and my second savory pie - the oddly named (since it's absolutely a pie) Heathen Cake (or Heidenische kuchen). I guess my heathen reputation precedes me. 😏 It's a medieval recipe, which means the vintage aspect is fully covered. You can find the recipe here. I even made the crust (the Paest Royall), which is something I avoid like the plague, having neither a working rolling pin at the moment, nor a large space for rolling such things out. But I love a challenge!

It isn't beautiful, but it tasted good and got the job done.

The rest of the recipe was really easy. All you do is chop veggies and beef, cook in water with spices until the meat is fork tender, combine with crumbed bacon and sautéed apple, add six beaten eggs and pour into your crust. 

It's already disappeared, which is a testament to the fact that it was pretty good! I, of course, added red pepper flakes and served it with a selection of hot sauces, since we drown everything in hot sauce. It's particularly good with sriracha. If you're looking for an easy meat pie, this one will fill the bill nicely. Use a rolled refrigerator pie crust and it will be a breeze! Pair with a nice dry red or Pilsner or, if you're looking for a cocktail pairing, a dry Manhattan would be lovely!

Thank you to Yinzerella for once again inviting me to participate in Pieathalon and for putting together such a fun event and thanks to The Hedonist (www.foodandwinehedonist.com) for submitting this recipe! I can't wait to see everyone else's pies! 

Baking Class At The Culinary Institute Of America

In my quest to improve my skills and make the “Velveteen Lounge Kitsch-en” the best it can be, I take as many cooking classes as I can. The really great ones are typically pretty expensive, but I did one on Saturday: the Baking At Home: The Desserts class, which is part of the Culinary Institute of America’s Food Enthusiasts continuing education program. I enjoy baking, but it has never been my strong suit, so I signed up and was so glad I did! Here’s what the day was like…

I arrived at the Culinary’s Hyde Park campus at 8:30 AM. The extremely welcoming gate guard (he called me “young lady”) directed me to the correct parking lot and I easily found the hall where a fabulous continental breakfast had already been laid out. I grabbed a delicious concha and some yogurt and was pretty quickly stuffed. We were seated at long tables where it was easy to fall into conversations and I soon met several fabulous ladies who were there for the cake decorating class and a gentleman who was there for the soups class. It turns out there were many classes that day, including Mexican, Mediterranean, and much, much more. I’d honestly love to take all of them at some point. We were soon called and proceeded to our class.

When we arrived at our kitchen we were greeted by the frenzied activity of student assistants running around, preparing everything for the day, along with the site of a large box from Dunkin Donuts. Even Culinary students have to eat in a hurry, I guess! Our instructor, who clearly missed her calling as a comedian, arrived and informed us that she normally has all ladies in the class, so for the guys to not take offense when she referred to the group as “ladies.” I loved her.

I’ve learned in the cooking classes I’ve taken that most chefs give a short demonstration up front, but mainly throw you off the boat and see if you can swim. This class was no exception, although they DO have many assistants around to help you and our chef was extremely forthcoming and had a good sense of humor - always a plus. We started the day making custard for Creme Caramel, followed by chocolate eclairs, a rustic fruit galette and pound cake. Whew! I now feel comfortable piping fabulous eclairs (after several sad attempts) and am on the road to caramelizing sugar like a pro.

Custard for Creme Caramel

Our lunch break involved another lovely meal in the beautiful Farquharson Hall, once a Jesuit chapel and which still features ornate, soaring ceilings and stained glass windows, with a ton of delicious food and nice conversation with fellow students and our instructor. Being at the Culinary Institute of America, I wanted to try at least a bite of as much food as I could fit on my plate, so I finished lunch stuffed, but happy!

After lunch we were almost done with our day. We got back to our kitchen, where we found that our projects had been whisked out of the ovens by assistants. At that point all we needed to do was pipe cream into our eclairs, dunk them in chocolate glaze and box it all up to take home. Each student left with FOUR BOXES of baked goods! Our freezer now boasts plain eclairs, which only need cream and glaze and which I’ll make for a special brunch, an entire apple galette and a mini pound cake. I’ll be sending a bunch of completed eclairs to work with Paul tomorrow and STILL we have Creme Caramel and pound cake in the fridge!

I had such a great day in my baking class. I stepped out of my comfort zone, met some really nice people, learned a lot and am now laden with baked goods! I’ve discovered over the years that I learn best by doing, so I really want to do more of these classes. Books are great, but there is just nothing like trying new skills with an expert instructor around to build your confidence. Thank you Chef Kamen and the Culinary Institute of America! I’ll be back!

What Could Be Better Than Cupcakes?

Booze infused cupcakes, that's what! I got these little cocktail glass infusers, made by Wilton, at Michael's the other day and I'm pleased to say they work like a charm! All you do is cut off the bottoms and squeeze in your favorite liquor to fill them, then stick in cupcakes (or whatever) and squeeze again to release your boozy goodness! Cupcakes are suddenly even more fun!

Elegant black and white or pretty in pink?

Teen-Time Chocolate Nut Bars

Or, in our case, Teen-Time Chocolate Bars, since I didn't have nuts.

Craving cookies, I found myself flipping through 1963's Betty Crocker's Cooky Book and there it was! Not only did I have most of the ingredients, how could I resist making something called Teen-Time Chocolate Nut Bars? It's straight out of "The Brady Bunch" - Alice probably served them after school! I'm pleased to report that they are yummy, whether or not you're a teen. And, as a bonus, grownups can enjoy them with a lovely libation! Cheers!

Bundt Cake For Hire

I got another cake baking gig! This time the challenge was a cake for someone who doesn't really go in for sweets and a bundt cake was mentioned. I made this golden pound cake and sprinkled it with powdered sugar. I'm pretty happy with it. It isn't perfect, but it looks pretty darned good and the batter was great when I scraped the bowl after putting it in the oven!

My Second Cake For Hire

I bake a fair number of cakes and pies for various episodes of the show and photos for symposiums and such. Since it's just Paul and me here we end up with lots of leftovers, if we even touch said desserts at all. They don't go to waste, though. Paul takes them to work and leaves them out for all to enjoy. Well, recently he was approached and asked if I'd bake a cake for a departmental birthday celebration - for pay, of course. So I did it and they were pleased! I just baked another, which he'll take in tomorrow. I hope they like it! The leftover batter and icing in the bowl were good!

I have no background in baking and am completely self taught, so I'm hoping that one day soon I'll be able to do one of the Saturday classes at the Culinary Institute of America.  Last year I did one of their two day boot camps, which was great. I learned a lot and it was very hands on. That's how I learn best, so I think it would be great for me. In the meantime, I can bake a mean chocolate, white, chocolate chip or pineapple upside-down cake!