Simple, homey and such a good way to fend off the cold

A line from an e.e. cummings poem pops into my head from time to time: with up so floating many bells down. The line rings like the bell to me, back and forth, with the peal on one side different from the other. The name ‘upside-down cake’ made me think of cummings’ poem, so I’ve paid him a small tribute here.

I was craving a warm-from-the-oven cake the other day after returning from snow-bound Oklahoma, only to find days of straight down rain in my own town. I had some indifferent apples that I knew would cook up just fine, so I’ve modified a recipe from my trusty Fannie Farmer Cookbook. I was hoping for an American tarte tatin, and I think I got it. Enjoy this easy cake with a blob of slightly sweetened, not overly whipped cream.

Upside-Down Apple Cake

Pears will work beautifully here as well.

3 large apples
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Pare, core and slice 3 apples.

I've used 2 Granny Smiths and 1 pink lady

Melt 8 tablespoons of the butter in a 10-inch heat-proof skillet over medium heat. I like a cast iron skillet for this cake. When it foams up, stir in the dark brown sugar.

Stir well until the sugar is dissolved

Mix for a minute or two, until the sugar is melted and bubbly. Remove from heat. Pile the apple slices on top of the sugar, pressing down to flatten.

You can make a nice arrangement of the apples, but I think of this as a very informal cake

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter. Beat the egg into the melted butter and then add the milk, mixing well.

The butter binds with the egg protein, making it much easier to make a smooth mixture once you add the cold milk

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry, mixing until smooth.

The batter should be smooth but not overly mixed

Spread the batter over the top of the apples.

It's a stiff batter -- don't worry about getting it all the way to the edge of the pan

Bake at 400°F for 25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the cake top comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes.

Don't skip the step of letting the cake cool -- the apples will release from the pan as it cools, making it possible to invert

Run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake.

This is mostly to detach any of the cooked cake that is sticking to the pan

Turn a plate over on top of the pan. Hold the plate firmly against the pan, and turn it and the pan over quickly.

Hold the pan over the plate for a moment or so to allow the apples to release

Warm and welcoming, very unpretentious

Serve warm, with gently whipped cream or ice cream. Enjoy, and stay warm.

Kelly McCune © 2010

©2012 Kitchenelly. All Rights Reserved.

Beautiful little fruits, so adaptable

I’ve come a long way since my first acquaintance with the fig, which took place when I was about eight and was the gooey center of a Fig Newton. I was half a country away from Oklahoma and a decade older before I ate a fresh fig, and was surprised how little it had to do with those Nabisco® cookies (I did think they were exotic). The beauty of the fig is how adaptable it is. It makes an excellent jam, is tasty dried, can be used in cakes, cookies (!), and other sweets. Figs and honey have been paired for centuries. But it works with savory flavors — another classic combo is with Stilton — and holds up to being cooked.

So I found these figs, and that became my starting point.

Figs, honey and Stilton...rosemary joins in as do wine and capers

I also had two whole boneless chicken breasts from Harmony Farms. Now Harmony Farms is an interesting place. I hadn’t been there before even though it’s right up the highway from me in La Crescenta, California. I knew they sold hard-to-find meats, like ostrich and kangaroo and alligator, but I hadn’t thought of going there until recently, when I heard that they sell Wagyu beef from Australia, “kobe-style” and grass-fed. I discovered that all their meat is “natural” and some “organic,” containing no hormones, antibiotics or pesticides. They hand pick their suppliers based on this and on flavor.

It’s a surprising place when you walk in. There is no butcher counter, just a few large freezers and check-out counter. Most of the meat is flash frozen by the supplier, which the manager told me was a surefire way to get the meat to the customer at its best (and explains the freezers). There is a little butchery going on in the back, but not that much. Three customers came in while I was there and all three got containers that were brought out to them from the back. Were they getting the good stuff (my paranoia)?  Finally I asked customer #3 what she was buying and she kindly replied that it was food for her dog and cats. Oh! Turns out Harmony Farms also does a BIG business in organic raw meat for pets. I hope these folks buy their own meat there, but none did while I was there. Hmmm.

I’ve now tasted the chicken they carry and the pork (from Iowa), a Wagyu steak (just a simple pan-fry and it was delicious), and I have some ground New Zealand lamb and Harris Ranch short ribs still in the freezer. I’m hoping they are as good as the chicken, pork and beef. I’ll be going back to Harmony Farms, but not for my dogs (please don’t tell them).

Chicken Breasts with Fresh Figs and Stilton | 4 servings

This takes a total of about 40 minutes to prepare but tastes like you worked for hours.

4 boneless half chicken breasts, 3 to 4 ounces each half
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon capers and their juice
1/4 cup dry white wine
8 fresh figs, halved lengthwise
6-inch sprig fresh rosemary, leaves chopped, or pinch of dried rosemary
1 ounce (2 tablespoons) crumbled Stilton
2 tablespoons honey

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Rinse and pat dry the chicken breasts and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

I prefer smaller breasts (nothing personal!) -- they have more flavor

Heat the olive oil in an ovenproof skillet. Beginning skin side down, brown the breasts over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes per side.

Some of the fat from the skin will render in the pan and keep the flesh side from sticking

A nice golden brown start means that when they finish in the oven they'll get deep brown without overcooking

Prep these while you brown the chicken

Remove the chicken breasts to a plate. Add the onions to the pan and cook until browning, about 3 minutes. As the onion “melts,” its sugars will help free up the browned bits from the pan, which add flavor.

Nothing beats a cast iron skillet for going from stovetop to oven

Add the garlic and stir until aromatic, about another 1 minute. Turn off the heat.

Just cook the garlic lightly -- too long at too high heat makes it bitter

Return the chicken breasts to the pan and arrange them, skin-side up, scooping some of the onions onto the top. Pour any accumulated juices from the plate into the pan. Spoon the capers and their juice over the chicken and pour in the white wine.

Arrange the fig halves over the chicken. Sprinkle with rosemary and crumbled Stilton. Drizzle the honey over the top.

Drizzle the honey over the top of the chicken and figs

You can also "eyeball" the 2 tablespoons of honey straight from your darlin' honey bear

Place the pan in the oven and cook the chicken for 20 to 25 minutes, basting a couple of times while it cooks.

Try not to firehose the chicken with the baster so the rosemary and capers stay on top

If you use a quick-read thermometer, cook the chicken until it reaches 165°F. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

A dish like this is best when allowed to rest a few minutes -- not served too piping hot

Serve the chicken with the pan juices, figs and capers spooned over the top, maybe even with a crusty chunk of bread.

We left the pan in the middle of the table and freely dipped the bread in the pan juice, but then, do we have manners? Naw...

Kelly McCune © 2009

©2012 Kitchenelly. All Rights Reserved.

Really different and really tasty corncakes -- pink does taste good

Every once in a while you eat something you can’t forget. It might be associated with a memory — like Proust’s tea-soaked madeleine, it might be the amazing ginger cookie almost like the one you had on the way home from camp. It might be exotic, like roasted rabbit on a rainy Christmas Day in Italy. The category of food I’m talking about is the thing you can’t forget and mostly can’t find again. A standout in this group is the guava tamale I had seven years ago made by one Eva, who is as elusive as that tamale. I’ve talked about her before, and if I didn’t have a beautiful picture of her I would think I’d made her up.

Most tamales have a savory filling, and that holiday we ordered a number of those from Eva. But she included a dozen sweet tamales, most of the guava variety. Her tamales were perfect — light, almost soufflé-like masa, and just the right proportion of filling. What was striking was how good guava tasted with corn. It was a perfect match, it seemed to me. But then Eva was no longer selling her tamales in my neighborhood, and I couldn’t find her anywhere.

A year or two later, on a trip to Mexico, I asked everywhere we went for a guava tamale. Mostly I got perplexed looks, with maybe a response like, “I think they make those up North (or down South or in Guadalajara).” I have continued to look for that flavor combination, never thinking I could do it myself.

Then, the other day, I picked up some produce from a local homestead farm owned by the Dervais family called Path to Freedom Modern Urban Homestead. Cool, huh? I’ll talk more about the Dervais homestead later, because I plan to buy much, much more produce from them. But in my box were a couple of pounds of guavas, along with some other interesting vegetables not normally offered at the supermarket.

The items in my Path to Freedom homestead farm box

I immediately created a reality TV challenge for myself: I will make something out of every fruit and vegetable in my box, including that weird squash. But I started with the guavas. I thought of those tamales, and since I’m not a tamale maker (it’s really a big job, best when there’s a group of folks in mass-production mode) I thought of pancakes made with cornmeal. I was quite prepared to go through with cooking them knowing that they might be awful. Well, I’m writing more than a couple of paragraphs about it, right? It must have been a truly Proustian experience, yes?

A Little Guava Info: Guavas are so aromatic when ripe, it’s like having flowers in your kitchen. I don’t think there is anything quite like them. The variety I used here has green skin and pink flesh. I don’t know the variety (perhaps it was a ‘Ruby’ but there are dozens of cultivars), but the flesh of a guava can be pink like these or white, cream, yellow or deep red. The skin can be somewhat bitter and tough if underripe, but guavas are certainly eaten raw. Some people like to peel them first, to avoid the skin. Other folks dislike the tiny but edible seeds (up to 500! in some varieties) in the center of the flesh. The seeds can be scooped out — they are tiny but hard. Guava makes a great jelly because of its high sugar content, and guava paste, an intense and sweetened essence of guava, can be purchased in specialty stores and is primarily used in desserts.

Guava Corncakes | 12 to 14 corncakes

4 ripe guavas
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup unbleached white flour
1/2 cup medium grind cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter, plus more for the pan
1 egg
3/4 cup milk

Trim the stem and flower end off the guavas, halve, and scoop out the pulp containing the seeds.

Peel away the green skin. If the skin on your guavas is flavorful and tender, leave it on. You’ll just be adding a little more color to the corncakes.

The seeds are edible, but a little too hard -- you keep finding them in your teeth

Don't worry if you don't get every last spot of green -- the skin is usually flavorful

Slice the guava into chunks, add 1 tablespoon of the sugar, and mash it to a pulp.

Do your smashing on a plate

A fork is fine for mashing the tender guava flesh

Agreed -- it's not beautiful at the moment

Mix the flour, cornmeal, baking soda, salt, and remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar in a bowl.

I have a specific wooden spoon that I use for all sweet mixures -- nothing savory or oily touches this spoon

Melt the butter in a measuring cup (I do this in the microwave) and beat in the egg.

The protein (egg) binds with the fat (butter) to make a smooth mixture before mixing in anything else

Add the milk and mashed guava and blend together. Pour this into the flour mixture and stir until the ingredients are combined. Don’t overmix.

Little flecks of pink and green are the guava in the batter

Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium-high heat and melt a small pinch of butter. Spoon the batter onto the hot griddle and cook corncakes until bubbly on top and drying on the edges.

Don't crowd the pan -- it's easier to flip them if they're not touching

Corncakes should be nice and brown on both sides and slightly puffy

The Husband liked his guava corncakes with cinnamon sugar but for me, a little syrup was just the thing. Honestly, they’re good plain, and if you close your eyes you could be eating a tamale.

©2012 Kitchenelly. All Rights Reserved.

A mini seedless from California, about 5 pounds

Summer is always full of watermelon, and for me that’s a trial. I have a small-ish refrigerator, and when The Husband brings home a regular size watermelon and expects it to get chilled or we need to store the other half of it, then everything else has to hang out on the counter for the afternoon getting un-chilled. That always makes me hesitate when I see those big melons piled up in the grocery store, and cringe a little when one comes home.

Watermelon doesn’t always have to show up as the unwieldy giant, ready to drip on your shoes, the cause of slurp sounds and seed-spitting. On a recent episode of Top Chef (yes, and I recommend it!) one of the contestants made “Watermelon Carpaccio.” That certainly pushes the definition of carpaccio, but what caught my attention was combining it with something savory. From there I tried some options, and here they are — all three follow the same principle: add an acidic flavor (vinegar, citrus), a bit of savory (cheese, vegetable) and salt.

By the way, Trader Joe’s has lately been bursting at the seams with the little mini melons shown above, and I’m happy to report they are seedless, tasty, and refrigerator-friendly.

Watermelon with Feta and Green Onion

I’m not giving any real quantities here since that can be determined by how many you’re serving.

Seedless watermelon
White balsamic vinegar or pear vinegar
Plain feta cheese
Green onion, white part and an inch of green, minced
Salt

Cube the watermelon, cutting off the green and white rind. Place the cubes in a large bowl and sprinkle with vinegar, tossing them to get a sprinkling on most of the pieces, using no more than a couple of teaspoons unless you’re making a large quantity. Crumble in the feta and minced green onion and combine lightly. Sprinkle lightly with salt and serve.

This takes about 2 minutes to put together

Watermelon with Orange, Herbs & Manchego

Seedless watermelon
1 orange
White balsamic vinegar or white wine vinegar
Chopped fresh mint
Chopped fresh chives
Manchego or other firm cheese
Salt

Cut the watermelon into chunks, trimming off the green and white rind. Place the chunks in a large bowl. Finely grate the zest of most of the orange onto the watermelon. Squeeze the juice of half the orange (or more, if you’re making a large quantity) and sprinkle a teaspoon or so of vinegar over the chunks, tossing them to get a sprinkling on most of the pieces. Add a big pinch of chopped fresh mint and chives and toss again lightly. With a vegetable peeler, shave off thin bands of cheese over the watermelon. Sprinkle lightly with salt and serve.

Yes, the cheese with the watermelon is fantastic

Watermelon with Ginger, Carrot and Hot Red Pepper

Seasoned rice vinegar has added sugar — you can certainly substitute regular rice vinegar or any white wine vinegar.

Seedless watermelon
3 thin rounds of peeled fresh ginger
1-inch piece of carrot
1/8 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons seasoned rice vinegar
2 green onions, white part and an inch of green, chopped
2 cilantro sprigs
Salt

Slice the watermelon into 1/2-inch-thick triangles, cutting off the green and white rind, and arrange in one layer on a large plate. Slice the ginger and carrot into very thin strips.

The strips are like matchsticks

Combine the ginger and carrot and red pepper flakes in a glass bowl or measuring cup with the rice vinegar and muddle (push them around in the vinegar with a spoon). Let stand about 15 minutes — the vinegar will slightly wilt the carrot and ginger.

Muddling the carrot and ginger

Spoon this mixture over the watermelon slices, distributing it evenly. Sprinkle chopped green onion and torn cilantro leaves over the top. Sprinkle lightly with salt and serve.

A little heat from the red pepper with the watermelon will surprise you

kelly mccune © 2009

©2012 Kitchenelly. All Rights Reserved.

Cherry pickin' the cherries

“Life is just a bowl of cherries” can mean both that everything’s marvelous and its ironic opposite. Perhaps I felt both ends of that emotional spectrum when The Husband brought home over six pounds of Raniers and Bings. Too much of a good thing?  We washed, we ate, we spit stones and still there was an undiminished pile of cherries. In a dash to do something with them lest they get moldy, I decided to cook them all with a little sugar — at least that would hold them until I figured out how to use them.

The cooked cherries I ended up with are not only delicious, they have conjured up a childhood memory of the cherry pie at Tulsa’s local buffeteria, my six-year-old self’s idea of fawncy dining. Yes! The cherry pie there was the gelatinous variety, and the crust made with tastable lard. But I still crave the concept of cherry pie. With these cooked cherries I’m going to make an open-faced tart with fresh pastry cream, cherries arranged on top and sprinkled with chopped mint.

That’s what I’m making next week — our first go-round with the cherries was to spoon them over Ben & Jerry’s vanilla ice cream.

Try shaving chocolate on top instead of mint

But now that I think of it, the cherries would be wonderful over cooked chicken and sprinkled with toasted almonds, served alone with a dollop of sweetened sour cream, or over waffles.

Cherries bring out one of my favorite kitchen gadgets — mostly because I gave it so little respect until the moment I needed it — the cherry pitter.

A tool I thought of as an "inessential" until I had to pit a pound of cherries

That moment came when, years ago, I decided to try making a cherry clafoutis — a sort of eggy, puffy custard dessert with fresh cherries in it. Traditionally the clafoutis is cooked with unpitted cherries, but my dinner guests were not expected to be that adventursome. So I started in pitting with a paring knife and ended up running to the nearest Williams-Sonoma for a pitter. Can’t keep the cherry whole without it!

Start by washing the cherries and removing all the stems

Cooked & Sweetened Cherries | Makes 4+ cups

2 1/2 pounds or 6 heaping cups whole cherries (can be a mix of varieties)
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
Dash of Kirschwasser (cherry brandy) — optional
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Pinch of salt

Wash the cherries and pull off the stems. Pit the cherries using a cherry pitter. I like to do this over a trash can, since the pit will fire out the bottom of the cherry and the juices can stain the counter. I also wear an apron!

Center the cherry in the bottom ring, with the stem end under the hammer. Squeeze and watch the pit shoot right out!

Put the pitted cherries, water, sugar and Kirschwasser in a large saucepan. (Kirschwasser is a clear cherry brandy that is not sweet and has a slight almond flavor.) Bring to a boil.

There isn't a lot of water but the cherries will give off juices

Stir the cherries and cover the pan. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook the cherries, covered, for 30 minutes. Stir in the balsamic and salt — the vinegar adds depth and the salt highlights the sweetness of the cherries. Let the cherries simmer uncovered for another 30 minutes. Allow to cool in the saucepan.

Most of the cherries will hold their shape

When the cherries are cool, spoon them into a jar and refrigerate until needed.

Share half with a friend!

I guess life is just a bowl of cherries.

©2012 Kitchenelly. All Rights Reserved.

An ode to the fresh blueberry, with ricotta- or chevre-stuffed chicken -- by the way, this recipe is easy and only takes 25 minutes

Sometimes the best food you cook comes from a desperate attempt to use up ingredients at their peak rather than sliding past that “over” date. This recipe, chicken breasts stuffed with either ricotta or goat cheese and smothered in fresh blueberries, is one of those. There were those perfect, amazing blueberries, and right then they were delicious. Didn’t have ice cream for them or eggs to make muffins, didn’t have enough for a pie and anyway, this was dinner I was after, not dessert! There was ricotta, left from a something-or-other I’d made, and some pricey boned, skinned chicken breasts. And the chevre was of such a small amount no one was bothering it. All had to be used — I could hear the clock ticking.

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are tricky, and can be dry if not cooked correctly. So, I thought I’d get around that by making a pocket in each one and stuffing them with either ricotta and fresh basil or goat cheese and sage. I considered a piccata-finish-with-lemon approach but there were blueberries. A sweet sauce to go with the mild, soft cheese and herb stuffing. Well, why not?

Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Cheese & Herbs
with Fresh Blueberry Sauce | 6 servings

Look for medium-sized chicken breasts — too small and it’s tricky to make a pocket, too large and they take too long to cook.

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt
1/3 cup flour
Pinch of herbs de Provence
Pinch of salt
Several grinds black pepper
3 ounces chevre (goat’s milk cheese with the texture of cream cheese) or 3 ounces fresh ricotta
12 sage leaves (for the chevre stuffing) or 12 basil leaves (for the ricotta stuffing)
Drizzle of olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 heaping cup fresh blueberries
1 heaping teaspoon red jam of any kind

Trim the fillet or “tender” — the smaller muscle that is often only partially attached — from the breast. Save the fillets aside to grill or sauté for sandwiches another time. (Some fillets have a tough, white tendon running its length which can be scraped or trimmed from the meat by holding it firmly at one end while running a knife under it.)

The "tenders" aren't used in this dish but can be cooked quickly and used on sandwiches or in pasta

Lay the breast flat on a cutting board and cut into the thick side of the breast, keeping the knife parallel to the board and making sure with your hand that the knife is cutting evenly between the top and bottom.

Make the cut in the the top half of the thickest side, and cut a pocket without cutting all the way through to the other side

Sweep the knife up toward the top of the breast, cutting parallel to the board but without cutting through the other side

Use your fingers to sense how far the knife is cutting into the breast. You can also see the knife through the translucent meat, so watch that the tip doesn’t cut through.

Fresh ricotta, a plain goat cheese roll and an herbed chevre

Sprinkle a little salt inside the pockets. Stuff each pocket with 2 thin “slices” of goat cheese, the equivalent of a couple of tablespoons. It’s soft, so don’t bother trying to measure. Use your fingers to push the cheese into all corners of the pocket. If you’re using ricotta, a spoon may be easier to push the cheese into the pocket. Again, use about 2 tablespoons per breast.

Don't worry if it's a slightly messy process -- just try to spread it evenly around the inside of the pocket

Push two herb leaves into the pockets, spreading them out as flat as possible. I like pairing the more assertive goat cheese with sage and the mild ricotta with basil.

Use larger leaves of sage or of basil -- shown here is a sage leaf, the other one will get pushed far down into the narrow part of the breast

Use a toothpick to close the pocket opening.

The toothpick should be removed before you serve the cooked chicken

Mix the flour, herbs de Provence, salt and pepper on a plate.

Use your fingers to mix this up

Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture, coating well.

Press the flour into the chicken, but gently tap off the excess

Heat the oil and butter in a large pan over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken for 5 to 6 minutes per side, until golden. Reduce the heat to medium-low, pour in the chicken broth, cover, and cook very gently another 5 minutes, turning once as it cooks.

The little bit of flour will make a slightly thickened pan juice, and gives the chicken a glossy coating

Remove the chicken to a plate and cover until ready for serving. Turn the heat back up under the pan juices and reduce the liquid for about a minute. Add the blueberries.

The berries have been quickly rinsed before adding

Stir the berries as they cook until they begin to pop and give up color, about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the red jam. Pour the sauce over the cooked chicken, evenly distributing the blueberries. I garnished mine with a little thyme sprig on each serving.

Makes me think of that scene in Charlie & the Chocolate Factory when Violet Beauregarde chews the blueberry pie gum -- the sauce will turn the most delightful purple

Aren’t blueberries wonderful?

Sing a song of blueberries

©2012 Kitchenelly. All Rights Reserved.