Suzy Keyes' French Lemon Cake

OK, so I thought that it was high time that we revived this blog. We took a little hiatus 'round about the time we found out that we would have to be moving from Cackalacky (North Carolina) to Nashville, TN. That would have been around early November, 2009. I know the date well because there is a really hilarious draft post from November detailing our adventures at an Italian cooking class that Abby and Adam gave to Ryan for his birthday. It deserves to be published so I will try to get my act together to finish it...almost a year later.

Anyway, in the past 12 months we have moved no less than 4 times but now are finally getting settled in California...and are ready to set up the NorCal outpost of the Cackalacky Kitchen. In honor of the abundant lemon harvest in our backyard my first recipe will be this simple and delicious French Lemon Cake. This is my Nashville friend Suzy's recipe. It is awesome. The only way it can be improved is to serve it with fresh berries, but it is perfectly simple on its own, too.

Ingredients

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 sticks of butter, melted

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups flour

grated zest of 1 lemon

For glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar

juice of 1 lemon

Method:

1) preheat oven to 350

2) beat eggs and sugar until well mixed

3) brush 10" tart pan with melted butter

4) pour the rest of the melted butter into the egg/sugar mixture

5) add lemon zest and stir together

6) combine flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl

7) add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir together

8) pour into 10" tart pan and bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean

9) mix glaze and pour over hot cake

10) cool completely and serve

So Much to Be Thankful For

It's been quiet lately in the New York Outpost of the Cackalacky Kitchen. After a month of eating takeout in the hospital, I found myself craving a return to my own kitchen, where an especially cute pink Cuisinart had sat unused in the corner since my summer birthday.


Thanksgiving was coming, and again I would be delivering babies instead of hanging out at home, but Adam (whom I have to thank for the pink Cuisinart) and his family decided to get a little creative with the holiday celebration. So, from the southwest corner of Michigan arrived two more Winkels, and while I was working on the actual Thanksgiving holiday, they ate pizza, watched football, and prepared for a delayed feast.

Here are Jim and Jo Ann Winkel, getting to work in our kitchen.

The first step was making the Bourbon Pecan Pie, which comes from a recipe from the Home Restaurant cookbook. Having too much filling for one pie, Adam and his parents made two, and tested out the first one, just to be sure that it would make the grade for our feast. They even tested out different vanilla ice creams to eat with the pie. (Ronnybrook farm, as usual, was the winner.) This is the kind of dedication the Winkels brought to our holiday celebration. The pictures of this pie got blurred, but it was truly yummy. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
3 large eggs
1 cup corn syrup (dark preferable)
1/2 cup light brown suar
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 tbsp Kentucky bourbon (as my dad says, most desserts are better with a little booze)
1 tsp vanilla (use the delicious one from Madagascar that Anna gave me)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 cups chopped pecans
1 9-inch pie shell (or 2 smaller shells)

Preparation
Preheat oven to 325 derees. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, corn syrup and brown sugar. Addmelted butter and combine thoroughly. Whisk in bourbon, vanilla and cinnamon. Then stir in pecans. Pour into pie shell and bake 50 min or until filling set. Allow to cool before serving. Eat one pie to test ASAP.

When I came home on the morning after Thanksgiving, I fell promptly asleep. When I woke up from my sleep, I found these elves working hard in the kitchen.

As I helped with the finishing touches of our dinner preparations, our other guests - my parents, started to arrive. Here is my mom, who arrived right on time!

Not losing a beat, we put her to work as well. Look at the feast this new family has put together.
Our simple Thanksgiving menu included:
Salad
Scalloped Potatoes
Stuffing
Cranberry-orange sauce

I made the stuffing and scalloped potatoes (hurrah for the pink Cuisinart), and was amazed how easy both were. I honestly can't remember what mishmash of stuff I threw in the stuffing, but I know that in addition to the usual onions and celery, there were some apples, and it came out pretty well.

The potatoes were amazing and so easy: saute shallots in butter, toss with the sliced Yukon gold potatoes and some white cheddar, fill the pan with milk and bake until golden at whatever temperature the turkey's cooking at. So simple and so yummy. What did I expect from butter, cheese, milk and potatoes?

And I was particularly impressed by Adam's turkey. For the second year in a row, he seems to have made a glorious gigantic Turkey. (Yes, we are still eating our way through the leftovers a week later). Maybe he will post his secrets in the comments?

It was such a treat for us to have all of our parents together for this holiday (plus one day). Here are the dads, hanging out in the living room. (NB the trivial pursuit game in the background which we abandoned once we tied the game up by pitting everyone else against Adam and his mom, who were starting to dominate...)


After all that work, we finally let the guests enjoy some of their creations.

Our simple feast in our home was one of the most memorable Thanksgiving meals I have had.

Full bellies and big smiles all around. I felt so very grateful for the blessings in my life. I think this is what Thanksgiving, whenever you manage to sneak it into your schedule, is all about.


In typical American fashion, the day after we celebrated Thanksgiving, we threw the doors wide open to Christmas. Here is our goofy tree, which is surrounded by presents that we are giving to our loved ones, and decorated with our favorite charms (see Clara and also William the Hippo, along with some large bulldogs and a Chicago Bulls globe). The Christmas Workshop is in full stride in the Winkel/Ford household, and we are happily awaiting a chance to be together again with our families. Wishing you all a warm and bright holiday season!!

State Fair Cooking

The North Carolina State Fair just ended here in Raleigh. I really love the tradition of state fairs, not so much for the fried Twinkies and meth-addicted carnies (sorry), but for this Charlotte's Web-inspired fantasy of wholesome farm-raised kids bringing their pigs, sheep, rabbits, etc. to be judged in the 4-H competitions, sturdy farmers with their prize-winning pumpkins and their hardworking, practical wives with their homemade preserves and some condensed soup casserole creations.  This year I decided to get into the fray by entering a recipe in one of the cooking contests. I entered the NC Apple Growers Association contest. It had to be a main dish made with at least 2 cups of North Carolina grown apples. I didn't win, but here is my recipe. I thought it was pretty yummy.

Smoky Apple Chipotle Chili Serves 10 (Main Dish)

6 strips of applewood smoked bacon, crumbled
2 large NC apples, diced (2 cups)
2 pounds lean ground beef
1 large onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bell pepper, diced (about 1 cup)
1 TBS ground red chili powder
1 TBS cumin
1 TBS oregano
3 chipotle chilis, (from one can of Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce) seeded and minced
1 ½ tsp. salt
2 15 oz. cans of red kidney or pinto beans, undrained
2 28 oz. cans diced tomatoes

1. In a large saucepan or dutch oven, cook bacon over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until crisp. Remove to paper towels with slotted spoon. Pour off all but about 1 tablespoon of the drippings.
2. Add apples; sauté 7 minutes or until tender and lightly browned. Remove from pan and set aside.
3. Brown ground beef with onion, garlic and bell pepper; drain.
4. Return beef mixture to pan. Stir in chili powder and next 6 ingredients (through diced tomatoes); bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
5. Add reserved bacon and apples; mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 10 minutes. Ladle into bowls, serve with cheddar cheese, cilantro and sour cream as accompaniments.

Favorite Salad Dressings

My friend Alana asked for the recipe for the Cafe Rio Creamy Cilantro Dressing that we used with the sweet pork and lime-cilantro rice the other night. This dressing is one of our favorites but we do it slightly differently than the recipe that Ali gave me. So below you will find the Cackalacky Kitchen version. I thought while I was at it I would jot down a few other of our all-time favorite dressings. These are dressings that I simply can't live without.

Cackalacky Kitchen Creamy Lime-Cilantro Dressing
(We use this dressing any time we want to make a southwestern salad. Usually this means a green salad with any or all of the following: grilled chicken/avocado/tomatos/corn/black beans/red bell peppers.)

1 packet buttermilk Ranch dressing mix
1C mayo
1/2 C buttermilk or milk (we used 1 full cup this last time and it was a bit too runny)
juice of 1 lime
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 bunch roughly chopped cilantro
2 tomatillos
hot sauce or red pepper flakes to taste

Put everything in the blender and let it rip! Make it several hours ahead of time to allow it to thicken. *OK, there are two ways you can cheat on this recipe...if you want to really cut corners, use 1 cup of bottled Ranch dressing in place of the mix, mayo and milk, and halve the rest of the ingredients (or use 2 cups and keep the rest the same). Or you can use 1/4 cup salsa verde in place of the tomatillos.


Best Friend Dressing
My mom is blessed with the most amazing group of friends who she's known since their college days at Manhattanville. This recipe came to me from her dear friend Tena Kavanagh, who got it from their other friend Julie Empson. I love and admire this group of women so much. This dressing is perfect on a simple green salad. Cucumbers, green beans, celery, bell pepper, tomatoes, carrots, etc. It is essentially a simple vinaigrette, with a secret ingredient. Most people will not taste the curry but somehow it makes it irresistible.

2 T vinegar
6 T olive oil
1/4 t salt
1/4 t pepper
pinch of sugar
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 t Dijon mustard
1 T mayonnaise
1/4 t curry powder

Whisk all ingredients together, or what I do is put it all in a small mason jar and shake, shake, shake. The mayo works as an emulsifier to keep the oil and vinegar from separating... you can use that little trick whenever you make a vinaigrette.


Katie Carpenter's Spinach Salad Dressing
2 T toasted sesame seeds
1 T poppy seeds
1/2 cup sugar
2 t dried minced onion
1/4 t paprika
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup vegetable oil (not olive oil)

Mix all ingredients together. Toss with spinach, sliced strawberries, craisins, apples, mandarin oranges, and toasted almonds. This is Ryan's favorite salad.

Delicious in Dixie

After a far-too-long hiatus from Cackalacky Kitchen, (blame our recent engagement and move to another spot just down the block in New York City), Adam and I we ventured to actual Cackalacky South last week. So here is the Northern outpost's latest report, and Adam's debut as a contributer to our online family exploits.

The entire clan headed down below to the beaches of South Carolina, and we brought our appetites! This was good, because Charleston welcomed us with open arms. These arms were filled with elements of each of the four important food groups: fat, sugar, grease and seafood.

After a difficult trip through the airport, we arrived with some delicious cupcakes of the Northern variety, which got approved by the most (only) discriminating eater among us. South Carolina laughed in the face of our teeny cupcakes with the following item:

Adam taught Anna about "breakfast cupcakes". Here they are, caught in their jammies.

Adam and I were happy to learn that the youngest Halverson had a seriously enthusiastic approach to eating. OK, granted, he was more interested in the act of eating and the art of smearing fruit on his face than the boring "getting food into the stomach and digesting it" side, but Elliot, you made us proud.

It was so fun to be in Charleston, where we got to experience the freshest seafood at Shem Creek. Here, Anna and Grandpa wait for the shrimp-n-grits watching the sun set.

As we all learned from watching Forrest Gump, you can enjoy shrimp all sorts of ways. Popcorn shrimp, sauteed shrimp, etc... But to quote one of our waitresses "I mean... fried's always the best, right?"

The burgers at Poe's tavern on Sullivan's Island were the perfect mix of simple and exciting. With an ice-cold lemonade, nothing is better on a sunny day.

We had a lot of yummy meals, but one of the most exciting came from Charleston's celebrity chef at McCrady's. There were beautiful dishes that arrived one after another, which we demolished in the most indelicate manner.

Delightful strawberry gazpacho
One beautiful dish after another
Culminating in some impressive desserts
Anna will remember this Yuzu meringue for a long time.
No spoon was left un-licked
The smile of a satisfied diner

Our final meal was the best, though, as Anna weilded her culinary wand and whipped up a magical crab steam. How do you cook 36 crabs for a cranky crowd in an unfamiliar kitchen? Just look at a video online!

http://www.oldbay.com/Videos/Picka-blue-crab.aspx

We were amazed how yummy this was. Here's Anna and Dad cleaning up the mess we made devouring it...


All in all, it was a wonderful and delicious trip which has us hungry for more!!

Spicy Jerk Chicken Kebabs with Bell Peppers and Pineapple

The weather was so awesome this weekend that it inspired Ryan to fire up the grill. He is fanatical about grilling. He researches recipes, goes shopping for all the ingredients himself and then is a total stress case (sorry babe) the whole time he is cooking. We have a charcoal grill which makes things a little trickier because you have variables of heat and timing that you don't really need to contend with if you have a gas grill. Anyway, that was our choice and Ryan is determined to become an ace grill master. In my opinion he is already there--he knocks it out of the park on taste and presentation. This is what he made tonight. The recipe is from one of my favorite sources: Cooking Light magazine. He tore out the recipe from one of the back issues I have saved. I have a small collection...every issue issue dating back to 2002 (thank you Aunt Ann for my subscription!!)  Yes, I know, it's all online, why do I keep them?? Having the actual magazine to page through provides inspiration. And it's not like they are posing a fire hazard. Yet.     

You have to soak the skewers in water before using them or they will burn up on the grill. Using two skewers prevents the meat, veggies, etc. from spinning when you flip the kebab.

Assembled and ready to go...

And the finished product. Now, doesn't that look delicious!

Spicy Jerk Chicken Kebabs with Bell Peppers and Pineapple

Ingredients

• 1  teaspoon  whole allspice
• 1  teaspoon  black peppercorns
• 4  whole cloves
• 1/4  cup  packed brown sugar
• 1/4  cup  fresh lime juice
• 1/4  cup  low-sodium soy sauce
• 2  tablespoons  Worcestershire sauce
• 2  teaspoons  paprika
• 2  teaspoons  dried thyme leaves
• 8  garlic cloves
• 3  large shallots, peeled and cut in half
• 1  (3-inch) piece peeled fresh ginger, thinly sliced
• 1  jalapeño pepper, halved and seeded
• 2  pounds  skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2  cups  (1-inch) cubed pineapple (about 1 medium)
• 1 1/2  cups  (1-inch) pieces red bell pepper (about 1 large)
• 1 1/2  cups  (1-inch) pieces green bell pepper (about 1 large)
• 1  teaspoon  salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  black pepper
• Cooking spray

Preparation

Heat a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add first 3 ingredients to pan; cook for 1 minute or until lightly toasted and fragrant.

Place spices, brown sugar, and next 9 ingredients (through jalapeño) in a blender; process until smooth. Combine spice mixture and chicken in a large zip-top plastic bag; seal and marinate in refrigerator 2 hours, turning occasionally.

Prepare grill.

Remove chicken from bag, reserving marinade. Thread chicken, pineapple, and bell peppers alternately onto each of 8 (12-inch) skewers. Brush reserved marinade onto pineapple and bell peppers. Sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper. Place kebabs on a grill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill 8 minutes or until chicken is done.

Cooking things up

I love the evolution of this blog from the subject to food to really a discussion of the same things that would occupy a kitchen in real life. Yes, of course, food is central to the discussion, but also those issues that would come up as we chopped and stirred together. I remember when Mommy first taught us how to make Lemon Meringue Pie in our ancient stove in Tappan, NY. As she cautioned us not to lick the gooey lemon stuff before it cooled off, I had my first sense that the heart of a home is in its kitchen.

Midway through my rotation where I spend every night on the labor floor for a month, I find myself longing for mealtime and all that means to me... Together, the night team orders food from any of a few restaurants that serve the Washington Heights area. It is truly a melting pot. We order Mexican food cooked by Chinese people, Asian food cooked by Dominicans, and Indian food that would be unrecognizable to any actual Indian person. But it gets us through the nights - and at 2 am, cold leftovers of almost anything seem delicious.

Nibbling pizza crust in the conference room, I find myself looking forward to the Presidents' Weekend trip that Adam and I have planned to go to Unadilla with some of our friends. We are basically planning to hang around and cook food together. Play some games. Maybe go on a side trip to the metropolis of Cooperstown. I am so excited for this weekend of slow living. Now I pose the question to the Cackalacky Kitchen: what is the recipe for comfort, relaxation, and laughing away the icy winter blues?

Here are my first ideas a menu. Perhaps you (Anna or anyone else!) can suggest alterations or your favorite comfort/group fun recipes?

FRIDAY: Folks will be arriving at different times, mostly after dinner, so we anticipate a spread of charcuterie (soppresata, of course) and some stinky cheese, bread, grapes

SATURDAY Brunch: French toast, sausage or bacon

Snacks: chips and salsa, guacamole, apples and pears

Dinner: Roast chicken or Pork loin, mashed potatoes, green beans, salad and warm rolls.

Dessert: Ice cream sundaes

SUNDAY Brunch: Omlettes, muffins (blueberry?)

Dinner: OUT

Dessert: Make your own cupcakes

MONDAY Breakfast: Bagel buffet

Even writing about this is a welcome escape. I've got one eye on the fetal heart monitors of my laboring patients as I write this. It's a reverse evolution: as we get busier and more technological, the simple things seem like a great breakthrough.

Baby Food

OK, this isn't really about baby food, but it's about a really interesting article about the history of changing attitudes toward breastfeeding. It was in this week's New Yorker. Click here to read the article. I would love to hear what other people thought of this article so if you get a chance to read it please post a comment. 

Ford Family Fun

Last week was a wonderful treat for me, as the Halverson family came up to New York to celebrate Christmas. Anna and Ryan piled a minivan full of kids and holiday cheer and then drove North. Among our many festive events were a few memorable culinary experiences....

My favorite NYC Christmas event is the Bronx Botanical Garden Holiday Train Show. A miniature version of NYC is constructed out of plant products, and model trains snake around the Statue of Liberty, the George Washington Bridge, and many other historical buildings. As you can imagine, this was quite a hit with Anna's kids.

Ollie and I hide out in the gingerbread house in the Children's Garden.

After working up our appetites by marveling at the trains and playing in the Children's Garden, we drove to Arthur Avenue, "the real Little Italy", to fill our bellies. We went to Dominick's, where we were greated by a boisterous crowd of early-dining Italian-Americans. The waiter did not present us menus, he just asked, "Whaddaya feel like eating?" We told him to surprise us, and happily stuffed ourselves with pillowy bread, silky pasta and chicken parmesan which had been pounded flat and fried crisp. We had joked at the sheer amount of food placed before us, but were pretty much all liking the plates by the end of the meal. After dinner, we got an assortment of pastries and coffee from the shop next door and headed back into Manhattan, already missing our dinner.

The Halversons explored the city for a few more days, and on Christmas Eve, we all headed up to our dad's house in Unadilla, NY. Dad had been spiffing the place up in anticipation of Christmas for months, and it looked great! Immediately, the Halversons, our parents, and my boyfriend Adam who joined the fray settled into the activities that Unadilla does best. (i.e. sitting around relaxing and eating).

Gathered around the tree, where we all watched the boys open presents.

I'm pretty sure that the adults enjoyed the boys' presents as much as they did. Again, all this relaxing got our appetites going! Adam and I decided to get to work to make Christmas dinner.

Our menu included:

-sauteed mushrooms

-smashed red potatoes with roasted garlic

-artichokes with rouille dipping sauce

-pork loin

-ice cream and cookies for dessert

The cooking was pretty much standard, but as the pork loin is Dad's sure-fire recipe, I will share it with you:

-make 1-inch stab wounds in a large slab of pork, about 1-2 inches apart

-tuck a clove of garlic into each pocket

-sprinkle rosemary and thyme, and salt and pepper the entire piece of meat

-roll the pork into a cinnamon-bun shape, and tie it with string

-brown the meat on all sides in a sautee pan

-stick it in the oven to complete cooking at 350 degrees

-after about 30-45 minutes, it should be done (use a meat thermometer to ensure >150 degrees)

-slice and serve

English Crackers have long been a tradition at our Christmas Feast. Even little Elliot is a king!

We all sat down to a delicious meal and realized how truly lucky we are to be able to be together as a family.

Asleep at the Wheel

We got some really bad news at the pediatrician's office on Tuesday. Oliver, who has been in weekly "feeding therapy" at Duke for the past 4 months has actually lost an astounding 2 pounds over the course of the past 6 weeks. He went from 27 pounds 10 oz. back down to 25 pounds 11 oz.

This news has brought on waves of incredible stress, guilt, worry, anger, frustration, more guilt, and more stress. I really thought that things were moving forward with his eating. We didn't have dinnertime battles anymore, but now I see that was mostly because he wasn't eating and we weren't pushing it. I guess simply the fact that he was in therapy made us (me) relax and stop being vigilant about how many calories he was actually ingesting. Basically, I fell asleep at the wheel and Oliver is paying the price for my negligence. I feel horrible. I feel like nothing good that I am doing in terms of parenting: teaching him to be kind to his brother, to share, to be polite, to make good decisions, to be confident and happy, or time spent encouraging him, reading to him, or singing with him or providing positive discipline is worth ANYTHING if I can't keep him from starving himself. I am beyond distraught. I felt like we were really doing well. I felt like we have such a great relationship and he is such a fantastic kid and I felt really proud of the job that I was doing but I was failing at the most basic, fundamental keeping-your-kid-alive aspect.

What was different in the past 6 weeks:
-stopped using the "behavioral approach" which was positively reinforcing every bite he took with some form of a reward (a puzzle piece, a sticker, a few minutes of watching Cars)
-started a "sensory-integration approach" with the assumption that he needed first to be comfortable seeing, then smelling, then touching, then touching the food to his lips, before he would be comfortable enough to actually put something in his mouth and chew it up and swallow it.
-discontinued Periactin, the appetite stimulant that I didn't really think was working (apparently I was wrong)
-stopped letting Ollie go to bed with a sippy cup of Pediasure

What we have to do moving forward:
-make sure that he gets enough Pediasure?
-start him back on periactin
-?????

I am fresh out of ideas. I honestly don't know what to do. He doesn't eat food. Correction, he doesn't eat enough food to support his growth. Here is the problem:
-Oliver doesn't have a strong appetite, he is profoundly uninterested in food
-Oliver hasn't yet developed the skills needed to eat effectively (chewing and swallowing)
-Oliver is really picky about what food he will even CONSIDER putting in his mouth (ie there are certain foods he can't stand to even have on his plate)
-Oliver is probably genetically a small kid to start with, so he wouldn't be a huge guy even if he DID eat.

The only thing I can think is that we are going to start back up with behavioral approach, which is so painful for me (and I think Oliver, too) because it takes everything he enjoys and turns it into a tool for manipulation and turns everything into a negotiation over food. Oh, you like playing with trains??? well you can't play with trains until you eat these bites. You like reading Cat in the Hat? OK, well you can read that book when you eat this whole cracker. The ground that we are fighting over is pathetically small. It's not like "oh, when you eat your broccoli you get to play with cars," it's "when you eat this tiny bite of brownie/cookie/muffin/pancake." Stuff that I wish we weren't letting him eat in the first place we have to bribe/manipulate him into eating. It is NO FUN. NONE. NONE AT ALL. I find myself getting so frustrated and angry when he doesn't cooperate.

I really don't know what else to do. I had a long discussion today with his pediatrician and he suggested that Ryan and I meet with the feeding therapists (an occupational therapist and a speech language pathologist who focuses on feeding issues) to discuss a concrete plan of action. He said that if we weren't comfortable with their plan or our questions/concerns weren't addressed we should look at UNC or another feeding program. He also mentioned that there are inpatient feeding programs at the Children's Hospital in Richmond and at Johns Hopkins. That would be a really awful "solution" I think for someone as tender and sensitive as Oliver. It makes me so sad to even consider sending him away to stay in a hospital. It makes me feel like we are totally failing at our jobs as parents. Like foster parents or the state should take over. I remember thinking this before, when he was really little (13-17 months) and he wasn't gaining weight at all. I had this fear that I would bring him in for a weight check appointment and the doctor or social worker or someone would take one look at his skinny little body and decide that they would have to take him away from us because we weren't able to make him "thrive." It makes me so sad to remember that period, and so discouraged to think that what I had really thought was behind us is still very much with us. ARGH!!! The pediatrician also in the nicest way possible suggested that WE (me and/or Ryan) might want to seek counseling, too. I wanted to laugh, but maybe he's right. I honestly don't think it's any of our "issues" that are at the root of Oliver's problem, but boy, Oliver's not eating is certainly creating a whole boatload of new "issues" that I could talk about in therapy.

Anyway, I thought this post was sufficiently angst-y enough to put on this blog rather than our family blog. And this definitely qualifies as something that is keeping me up at night.

Thanksgiving Recipes

So I totally forgot to take pictures of any of the gorgeous and yummy Thanksgiving dishes or the pre-Thanksgiving meal Abby and I made while she was down here for a few days before Thanksgiving. Whoops. Anyway, there were some real winners so I wanted to post the recipes and you can take my word for it that they looked great, too.

I adapted Alton Brown's recipe that you can find here. This technique is awesome because the turkey comes out tasting great and it cooks in much less time (2-2 1/2 hours) than most other recipes. I am a big proponent of brining. This year I wanted to do an apple cider brine. Abby and I tried this with a chicken the week before Thanksgiving. In both cases I'm not sure I could taste apple cider, per se, but I sure could taste "delicious". Here is my recipe.

1 (14 to 16 pound) fresh young turkey
For the brine:
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon apple cider
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries
3 bay leaves
1 gallon cold water

For the aromatics:
1 red apple, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 sprigs rosemary

Early on the day or the night before you'd like to eat:
Combine the cider, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and bay leaves in a stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat and cool by adding lots of ice cubes.
Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.

Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.
Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.

Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 151 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.


Another winner recipe was Ali's cranberry salsa. I am a big fan of the cranberry jelly that comes straight out of the can (I know, I know, I got teased miserably for this, but I love it!). This recipe was a close second to the industrial cran-jelly.


Cranberry- Jalapeno Salsa

Ingredients
1 (12-ounce) package fresh or frozen cranberries
1 medium navel orange, unpeeled and coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons crystallized ginger
2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
1 cup sugar
Preparation
Pulse cranberries in a food processor until minced. Transfer to a bowl.
Pulse orange and next 4 ingredients in food processor 3 to 5 times or until orange, ginger, and pepper are finely chopped. Stir into cranberries; cover and chill, if desired.


And finally, Ryan's favorite part of the meal...the chocolate pie that Kim made. It was amazing. She found the recipe at Pioneer Woman Cooks, but I doubt that if I had tried to recreate this recipe I could have done it as well as she. She really knocked this one out of the park. You can click on the PW Cooks link above for a full blow-by-blow instructions (with gorgeous photos) or just follow the recipe below.


Delicious! Chocolate Pie
2 sticks regular butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 eggs
1 baked pie shell
whipped cream

Beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, then mix in cooled melted chocolate. Add vanilla and mix. Turn the mixer to medium speed, then add in the four eggs, one at a time, mixing for 4 to 6 minutes after the addition of each egg. Scrape sides of bowl once during mixing. Pour into the cooled pie shell and refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight. Plop whipped cream on top and serve. Garnish with chocolate curls if you’re feeling sassy.

Making Up For Lost Time

Being an official food-blogger is something that gives me great pride largely because it allows me to pretend to have some knowledge of current trends in culture and technology as well as domestic artistry. In fact, I have been known to share the fact that I am an official food-blogger with friends and colleagues whenever I can work it in. However, I know the sad truth is that I cook and play on the internet far less than I would like. The center of the Cackalacky Kitchen Blogosphere is without a doubt in Raleigh, North Carolina.

NOT to be deterred, I take every opportunity to go completely overboard when an opportunity to catch up on these activities arises. Thanksgiving, of course, is just such an opportunity. Especially when it follows a perfectly-timed visit to the CK motherland (Anna's kitchen). I spent a few days in Raleigh, where we did some practice rounds of cooking and had a wonderful time. Ollie helped me make some pumpkin chocolate chip mini-muffins that were so good even HE ate a few without being begged.

So I ventured back to the Big Apple on Thanksgiving, and started to make plans for our big feast. (Which my co-conspirator Adam and I planned for Saturday because of work/family schedules.) After a few emails, and a quick strategy session, we made a bunch of lists and schedules for the day and we managed to pull of a well-organized and over-the-top dinner for our friends and family.

This is me, whipping the cream that would later go with the desserts. Can you tell how excited I am? Long ago, Anna and I learned from our mom that there was nothing like fresh whipped cream with the smallest amount of sugar and a splash of cognac. It was all I could do not to dig my spoon into the serving bowl. (Before dinner. After dinner, all bets were off). Just as I went for the hand-mixer, I jumped at the chance to use my mezzaluna to chop the pecans and ginger-snaps that went into the pie crust. I find no better antidote to living a modern, busy, urban life than to make a huge mess chopping nuts in the most inefficient means imaginable while listening to NPR.

On Saturday morning, Adam and I headed to the Greenmarket - a Farmer's Market for the ages - and came back with piles of produce, fresh cream and butter, and warm bread to serve alongside the 15 pound turkey he had stuck in the fridge to brine the night before. (Have I mentioned yet that we were going to be seven for dinner?)
Here's our menu:
Roasted garlic and herb dip
Brussels sprouts sauteed with bacon
Green bean casserole (recipe straight from grandmothers in Michigan)
Smashed Red Bliss potatoes
The Bird
Cranberry Sauce
Ginger-Pecan pumpkin pie
Chocolate orange pots de creme




We may be eating leftovers for quite some time, which suits me just fine, because who knows when the next chance for such a feast will be! It's back to work for me.

Chocolate Florentine Cookies

We had a good friend from our Ithaca days come for a visit recently. He brought with him from Boston the most delicious little numbers from Mike's Pastry, a North End institution. I never saw what the big deal was about Mike's because what most people get there are their famous cannoli. YUCK. It's fried dough with fat in the middle. Again, YUCK. Cannolis are nasty.

On the other hand, these florentine cookies are great! They are crisp and chewy, buttery and light--a little oatmeal cookie sandwich with chocolate in the middle. We couldn't stop eating them and finished the whole box in about 2 days. So, what's a girl to do but try to recreate the magic on her own.

Tried...and failed. Ok, the recipe I tried (click here) was missing what I am guessing is the critical ingredient: cream. In its place is corn syrup and white sugar. I should have known. The cookies I made were good but not great. I will have to keep trying. If anyone knows a better recipe I would love to have it!

What handsome bald men! Thank you Aaron for introducing us to florentine cookies. All prospective guests to the Cackalacky Kitchen should take note that Aaron is the current holder of the "Best Guest" award* (he was gunning for it, claiming that he brought the cookies solely because he felt that he had to out-do the Sanders AND Dave Gardiner). But...he can be stripped of this award at any time. Indeed, this award CAN BE YOURS if you come stay with us and bribe us with sweet treats.

*Please note that relatives are not eligible for this award and are not expected to engage in competitive houseguest one-up-manship.

Family Values, or Anna's Views on Gay Marriage

A big fat gay wedding.

This was originally posted to my family blog, but since the ideas and opinions expressed below are MINE I am publishing it here.

In my last post I wrote that I have been preoccupied lately, and that's not exactly the word for it. The truth is my heart feels heavy. I have been following with great dismay the effort in California to overturn gay marriage (Proposition 8). Our church has come out strongly in opposition to gay marriage on the grounds that it threatens the institution marriage between a man and a woman, which we hold to be sacred. I believe wholeheartedly in the sanctity of marriage, but I also believe that gay people should be allowed to marry. Not allowing gay people to marry doesn't end homosexuality, it just marginalizes gay people. I think that we will look back on this era and be ashamed of our intolerance.

I’m happily married to a wonderful man and embrace motherhood. I feel so blessed to be able to experience the JOY of creating a happy family. I think that gay people who love each other should have that opportunity, too. Nothing about gay marriage threatens my family’s happiness. I don’t think that it will confuse my boys that some families are made up differently than ours. Indeed, I think that explaining divorce (that people who once professed to love each other changed their minds) will prove far more disturbing than explaining gay marriage.

Why am I writing about this now??? Good question. The fight is over, for now, the proponents of Proposition 8 won the vote, but my heart is still heavy. I don’t live in California and frankly, was glad that I could stay above the fray, but now that it’s passed I feel like a coward for having done nothing. I reached out privately to loved ones who are gay to let them know that I supported them, but I mostly kept my head down and my feelings to myself. This ignoble lack of courage is NOT a value that I want to model in my family. I want to teach my boys to be tolerant and respectful of differences. I want them to be confident in who they are (children of God) and know that God loves ALL his children. I also don’t want them to ask me why I didn’t speak up for what I believe in, even when it was unpopular. I want them to be brave, and have the courage of their convictions.

Decidedly un-Delicious

In an effort to find some way to feed Oliver something besides Pediasure I have sought the culinary advice of Jessica Seinfeld, wife of none other than comedian Jerry Seinfeld, and author of Deceptively Delicious, a cookbook made famous by its spinach-laden brownie recipe. The idea is that you can sneak veggies into your kids' food by pureeing it and then mixing hidden veggies into everything from brownies to mac-n-cheese (cauliflower and carrots). I have finally found a use for the Cuisinart coffee grinder dad gave me a few years ago! I have been pureeing like a mad woman.

Some of my successes involve butternut squash (pasta sauce) and sweet potatoes (waffles). But this weekend I went for the real challenge: Beets.


Man, I so want to like beets. They are SO nutritious. They are loaded with antioxidants and other disease-fighting compounds, but YUCK. They just taste so gross!! I made a lovely magenta puree. In a Mason jar it looks like a precious gem, something unearthed by one of the Seven Dwarfs. I should just leave it in the fridge to admire and call it good. On Saturday I tried to mix a little into pancake batter. Ryan encouragingly said that once you add butter and syrup you can hardly taste the beets. Hmm...not exactly a glowing review. But for my breakfast this morning I reached new depths of yuckiness. I tried to mix in some beet puree into my yogurt. It looked like borscht. The picture below gives you an idea, but mine didn't have any beet chunks (the picture below actually IS borscht. Thank you, Internet). I added maple syrup but I couldn't mask the beet-y flavor. Being my father's daughter, I DID eat it. I felt virtuous as I choked down my beet yogurt (I made a parfait with Fiber One cereal...as if it could get any worse!!! Oh, the humanity!) Anyway, this is an experiment that I will not try again.

September Daring Bakers Challenge

This month's Daring Baker's challenge was to make lavash crackers (an Armenian flatbread) and a gluten-free vegan dip. Abby opted out of this month's challenge. She claimed that since she doesn't get to cook as often as she would like, any cooking or baking she gets to this month would NOT include making anything vegan or gluten free.

So, I completed the challenge on my own. I've got to say the crackers were super easy, but kind of underwhelming. Maybe I did them wrong, since I have never tasted lavash as far as I know. Essentially, it's just a rather bland thin cracker. I'm not even going to bother posting the recipe since it was kind of blah. Here's a picture of them though:


So despite their mediocrity, these lavash crackers were just the right vehicle for the AWESOME roasted eggplant dip that I made from the Barefoot Contessa (again, a shout out to my girl Ina Garten). This is so delicious and so healthy! I made it to bring to our friend's house (HI RACHEL!!) when we had the lamb burgers. They made a great easy alternative to hummus. The recipe in the cookbook indicates that you should peel the eggplant. The second time I made this (yes, it was that good!) I left the peel on since that is where the antioxidants are. This dip is good with toasted pitas or veggies. I am partial to cucumber slices.

ROASTED EGGPLANT DIP
1 medium eggplant
2 red bell peppers, seeded
1 red onion, peeled
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons good olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Cut the eggplant, bell pepper, and onion into 1-inch cubes. Toss them in a large bowl with the garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread them on a baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes, until the vegetables are lightly browned and soft, tossing once during cooking.
Cool slightly.

Place the vegetables in a food processor fitted with a steel blade, add the tomato paste, and pulse 3 or 4 times to blend. Taste for salt and pepper.

"Home" Cooking

There is a lovely restaurant on Cornelia Street in the West Village, called "Home". It is a charming little place with a deck out back where I had my medical school graduation party.

As a graduation present, someone in my family gave me the cookbook from the restaurant. In his foreward to the book, Calvin Trilling comments on how the restaurant serves up dishes that feel home-y, but are a LITTLE more impressive than what he actually ate at home growing up.

So despite not having actually made this particular chocolate pudding at home, I will post the recipe in the spirit of 'what home might be'. Anna requested it, I think because she is going to make it for my favorite picky eater, the best 2 and a half year-old boy there ever was. I wish I could be in Cackalacky to enjoy it with them. Save some leftovers for me!

CHOCOLATE PUDDING
there's always room for chocolate

4 cups heavy cream
5 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup granuated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Bring heavy cream to a simmer in a large saucepan, then remove from heat. Add 1 cup warm milk to chocolate in a large bowl and let stand until melted. Stir until smooth, then add remaining cream.
In a separate bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, vanilla and salt. Gradually whisk in the chocolate and cream mixture. Strain pudding through a fine mesh and skim off the froth.
Pour into 8 6-oz ramekins and place in a bain-marie (use hot water). Cover with alumnimum foil and bake for 50 minutes until edges are set and center is still soft.
Allow to cool to room temperature, and then refrigerate for several hours.
Serve chilled.
I think it would be nice to put chocolate shavings on top. Mmm. Mmm.

Food of Our Father

Our dad, J.P. Ford, MD, was down here checking out the Cackalacky Kitchen this past weekend. In honor of our dad, who may well be our only blog reader, or at least our only reader who has this site "Favorited" (way to go, Dad!) I thought I would post an iconic Ford recipe:

THE UNADILLA POWER BREAKFAST

Unadilla is a small town in upstate New York where my dad has a house. He works in State College, PA for most of the week, so this house is at the present mostly a weekend place. Unadilla is our dad's Shangri-la. Even when he is traveling to France or Montreal, which are close seconds to Unadilla in his book, he is always satisfied that he would still prefer to be in Unadilla than any place else on the planet. Part of its charm is that not much changes. Unadilla is sort of like the town time forgot, and the Unadilla Power Breakfast is likewise a little outside the mainstream. A culinary eddy if you will.

The Unadilla Power Breakfast is the name Abby gave to the gastronomic experience that begins at about 8 or 9 in the morning and continues until around noon, when preparations for the afternoon meal begin. As a note of warning or explanation, our dad loves to eat and there is really nothing that he doesn't eat.

To set the stage, before breakfast Dad will have hopped on his bike or just walked down Main Street to the Great American to pick up the New York Times and any key ingredients that weren't on hand. When he gets home he'll turn on some German opera CD really, really loud. There are no speakers in the dining room where the stereo is so what sounds like a reasonable volume in the dining room is ear splitting in the kitchen.

Phase One--The Classic Unadilla Breakfast

Break up some shredded wheat into a cereal bowl. Drizzle maple syrup over the shredded wheat. Add a handful of frozen blueberries. Pour milk over the berries and shredded wheat (it is advisable to check the date on the milk and do the sniff test if no one has been at the house for a while!). Retreat to the sunroom to read the paper and enjoy the wholesome goodness of a nutritionally sound breakfast.

Phase Two -- The Unadilla Power Breakfast

You realize 20-30 minutes later that you are still hungry and something in the Times made you mad, so you go back into the kitchen to see what you can scrounge up. This is what puts the POWER in the Unadilla Power Breakfast. Out comes the salami or sopresatta, Roquefort and/or Epoisses cheese (the stinkier the better), smoked salmon, capers, cornichons, and Wheat-thins. All washed down with "fizzy water" with lots and lots of ice. You might not know that the best thing to chase blueberries and shredded wheat is a cured meat and stinky cheese bender, but then you would not have experienced a true Unadilla Power Breakfast. This Phase of the meal continues until all the edible provisions (and frankly, often many non-edible provisions) have been consumed.

Then we go outside and pull weeds, lament the damage done to the garden by the woodchucks/deer, and start planning what we'll eat for supper.

Easy Weeknight Dinner

I made a really easy dish of grilled green peppers, pineapples and Aidells chicken teriyaki meatballs. The meatballs were on sale so I thought I'd give them a shot. Man, they were good! We grilled the pineapple and peppers on an indoor griddle and I made a sauce from the pineapple juice (can you tell I used canned pineapple?!?!) some soy sauce, garlic, and Thai sweet chili sauce and thickened it up with some corn starch. I served it over rice. The whole meal took about 15 minutes to make and was really scrumptious.

Faux Burgers

Today marks the official end of summer. Summer is usually grilling season, but since it's usually hotter than the surface of the sun on our patio in the late afternoon, we haven't been grilling much. The advent of fall means that we can finally get back out there.

These are two awesome burger recipes that we've enjoyed at our friends' houses. Once it cools down we'll try grilling them at home. They are absurdly delicious.

GOAT CHEESE-STUFFED LAMB BURGERS WITH YOGURT CUCUMBER SAUCE
Source: Raichlen’s Indoor Grilling by Steven Raichlen (Workman,2004)

For the burgers:
1-1/2 pounds ground lamb
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint, or 2 teaspoons dried mint
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon dried oregano (preferably Greek)
1 teaspoon coarse salt (kosher or sea) or more to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound goat cheese

For serving:
4 pita breads
4 rinsed romaine lettuce leaves
4 paper-thin slices red onion (optional)
1 medium-size cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
1 medium-size ripe tomato, thinly sliced
Yogurt Cucumber Sauce (recipe follows)

Place the ground lamb, chopped onion, garlic, mint, parsley, oregano, salt,
and pepper in a mixing bowl and stir with a wooden spoon to mix. Wet your
hands with cold water and divide the mixture into 4 equal portions.
Working quickly and with a light touch, pat each portion into a thick patty
with a 2-ounce round of goat cheese in the center. (Make sure cheese is
completely covered with meat.) Place the patties on a plate lined with
plastic wrap and refrigerate, covered, until ready to grill.
Set up the grill for direct grilling and preheat to high.

Grill the lamb burgers until cooked through, about 7 minutes per side (about
170 degrees on an instant-read meat thermometer). Remove the burgers and
cover to keep warm.
Place the pita breads on the grill, and lowering the temperature and working
in batches, if necessary, grill until toasted, about 1 minute per side.
Cut a slit in each pita. Place a lettuce leaf inside, followed by a burger, an
onion slice, if using, some cucumber and tomato slices, and a generous
dollop of yogurt sauce. Serve at once.

Yogurt Cucumber Sauce
Makes about 1-1/2 cups
1 medium-size cucumber
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt (kosher or sea), or more to taste
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint, or 1 teaspoon dried mint
Freshly ground black pepper
Peel the cucumber and cut it in half lengthwise. Scrape out the seeds with a
melon baller or spoon. Coarsely grate the cucumber.
Place the garlic and salt in a mixing bowl and mash to a paste with the back
of a spoon. Stir in the grated cucumber, yogurt, olive oil, and mint. Taste
for seasoning, adding more salt, if necessary, and pepper to taste. The sauce
should be highly seasoned.

Oprah's Favorite Turkey Burgers
When Oprah says these "may be the best turkey burgers in the entire world," you gotta believe that she knows what she's talking about!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
3 Granny Smith apples , peeled and diced
1/8 cup canola oil
4 pounds ground turkey breast
2 Tbsp. salt
2 Tbsp. black pepper
2 tsp. Tabasco® chipotle pepper sauce (hello, this stuff is AWESOME!!)
1 lemon , juiced and grated zest
1/2 bunch parsley , finely chopped
1/4 cup Major Grey's Chutney , pureed (try Patak's brand chutney)

Sauté the scallions, celery and apples in the canola oil until tender. Let cool.Place the ground turkey in a large mixing bowl. Add sautéed items and the remaining ingredients. Shape into eight 8-ounce burgers. Refrigerate for 2 hours.Season the turkey burgers with salt and pepper. Place on a preheated, lightly oiled grill. Grill each side for 7 minutes until meat is thoroughly cooked. Let sit for 5 minutes. Serve with remaining chutney rather than ketchup. Yum!