Easy Tapenade Recipe

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area where there is a gourmet chain of grocery stores called Draeger's.  Their San Mateo store offers onsite cooking classes and I signed up for a class featuring Michael Romano from Union Square in New York City (Yes, this class was a LONG time ago!).  I took away several fantastic recipes from this class, including one for tapenade that was provided by the Draeger's culinary program.  It was the first time I'd ever tasted tapenade and I loved it from the first bite!  Tapenade is the perfect pantry appetizer that can be thrown together for impromptu entertaining, as long as you have olives, olive oil, garlic and crackers on hand.  Serve in a cute Weck jar.  Here's the super easy recipe.

Tapenade

1 c kalamata olives

1 2-oz can anchovies

1 T capers

1/2 c Italian parsley

1 T cognac

3 cloves garlic

Good quality olive oil

Blend all ingredients in a food processor.  Slowly add olive oil.  Allow the tapenade to sit overnight (preferably) so the flavors can fully develop.

My Favorite Coffee Cake Recipe

I got this recipe from a co-worker a long time ago.  It has remained my favorite coffee cake recipe over the years.  I did make a slight modification to the topping but the cake was perfect and didn't require any changes.  This is an incredibly moist coffee cake.  Use fresh or frozen blueberries; either works well.

Mrs. Spooner's Coffee Cake

½ c butter

1 c sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

1 c vanilla yogurt (can use sour cream)

1½ c blueberries

Topping

½ c butter, cut into cubes

½ c flour

1 c brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.  In a separate bowl, mix together the butter, flour and brown sugar for the crunchy topping and set aside.

In mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar.  Add eggs, vanilla and yogurt; beat well.  Add to creamed mixture.  Fold in blueberries.  Spread batter in a 9”x13” pan.  Sprinkle topping over the batter and bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

My Favorite Black Forest Cake

I made a German-themed dinner which culminated in Black Forest Cake for dessert.  I baked this cake at my sister’s house and didn’t have access to all the tools in my kitchen.  I was aiming for the “naked” cake look and almost achieved it.  There are a few spots that were heavy handed with the whipped cream frosting and I would’ve preferred bigger chocolate curls...but not too shabby for an impromptu attempt.  Callebaut cocoa is the secret ingredient that made the cake really tasty!

The recipe I used is from this blog post; I only had 6” cake pans which yielded taller cake layers.  I didn't have kirsch and substituted that with the juice from the jar of Morello cherries sold at Trader Joe’s.

CAKE

• 1 c unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 c cake flour
• 2 c sugar
• 2 c buttermilk
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 c vegetable oil
• 1/4 c semisweet or dark chocolate chips
• 4 large eggs

FILLING and FROSTING

• 3 c heavy whipping cream
• 12 oz jar Morello (sour) cherries
• 1 1/2 T cherry liquor kirsch
• 1/2 c powdered sugar
• 2 T cherry juice (from the jar)
• 6 oz grated dark chocolate

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Grease two 9" round cake pans with butter or nonstick spray and line with parchment paper.  Set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, oil, and eggs. Gradually beat the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
4. Stir in the chocolate chips and mix just until well blended. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.
5. Bake the cakes until a tester comes out clean, about 35 to 40 minutes. Cool the cakes in the pans for 15 minutes, then carefully turn them out onto wire cooling racks to cool completely. 

   
   

To fill and decorate the cake:

1. Remove the cherries from the syrup and set aside both the cherries and syrup.
2. Make the whipped cream. Place the whipping cream in a large bowl and use either the whisk attachment on your stand mixer or a hand mixer to beat. Start at low speed, then work your way up to high, adding the powdered sugar. Beat on high until stiff peaks form, then stop and set aside. 
3. Use a long serrated knife or cake leveler to cut each  Place the first layer on a cake board or plate and brush a coating of cherry syrup (or kirsch) over the surface. Spread about a 1/3" layer of whipping cream onto the cake and top with 1/3 of the cherries. Repeat with the remaining layers.
4. Use the rest of the whipped cream to coat the sides and top of the cake. Decorate with the grated chocolate. Refrigerate the cake until you're ready to serve. Since this cake uses a whipped topping, it is best served the day it is assembled since the frosting will gradually deflate. 

My Favorite Bread Pudding Recipe

I posted this bread pudding recipe during my initial blogging days.  This recipe is so good, it warrants a double post.  I made this bread pudding over the weekend when I found myself with an abundance of stale bread.  The best bread to use is either a sweet french, ciabatta or pugliese bread.  You need a sturdy bread with body but not too dense nor flavored like a rye or pumpernickel or sourdough.  You can use those types of bread but it'll change the flavor and texture.  

Italian Bread Pudding

1 lb Italian bread (Ciabatta or Pugliese, for example)
8 eggs
2 c heavy cream
2 c half 'n half
2 c sugar
1/4 c Frangelico
1 T vanilla extract
1 c golden raisins soaked in enough Marsala wine to cover
1/2 tsp Amaretto
1 1/2 c white chocolate
1/4 c reserved Marsala wine (soaking liquid for golden raisins)

Trim crusts from the bread and cut into 1/2" cubes.  Soak the golden raisins with enough Marsala wine to submerge it, for at least 15 - 30 minutes)

Whisk the eggs, cream and half 'n half.  Add sugar, raisins, Frangelico, vanilla extract and Amaretto.  Pour liquid over bread cubes.  Let stand 30 minutes, pressing bread down occasionally into custard mixture.  Can be prepared 2 hours ahead.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Prepare baking pan or individual molds with butter and flour.  Fill molds half way with bread pudding mixture.  Sprinkle with white chocolate and fill molds with additional bread pudding mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees F until set in center, about 40 minutes.  If baking in one pan, it may take up to 1 hour.  Check to see that custard has set and is no longer runny.

A Perfect Day

Recently, a friend and I spent a decadent weekend doing ALL our favorite things...shopping, crafting, eating and watching movies.  We started off the weekend "treasure hunting" at Home Goods/TJ Maxx.  I love it when I find Rae Dunn or other cute pottery and dishes there.  Then we crafted and made a lot of favor boxes using Accucut dies.  The cheese board we made for afternoon snacking filled us up, so we skipped dinner and ended the evening binge-watching Bridget Jones movies.  What a perfect day!  

The next morning, to continue the indulgence, I made Croque Madame for brunch.  There is also a "finger" of banana bread (recipe in this post and a huge latte in the background (Yes, that's a Rae Dunn "Dream." coffee cup).

Croque Madame

3 T unsalted butter

3 T flour

2 c milk (heated)

12 oz Gruyere cheese

1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese

Nutmeg to taste

Kosher salt and pepper to taste

12 3/4" thick slices bread (I use sliced French bread)

6 T Dijon mustard

12 thin slices baked ham

2 T canola oil

6 eggs

Heat butter over medium-high heat.  Add flour and cook, whisking until smooth, about 1 minute.  Whisk in the heated milk and bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer until slightly reduced and thickened, 6 - 8 minutes.  Add 1/2 c grated Gruyere and Parmesan and whisk until smooth.  Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Heat broiler to high.  Place 6 slices bread on a parchment-lined baking sheet and spread 1 T mustard over each.  Top with 2 slices ham and remaining Gruyere.  Broil until cheese begins to melt, 1- 2 minutes.  Top with remaining bread slices, then pour a generous amount of bechamel sauce on top of each sandwich.  Broil until cheese sauce is bubbling, 3 - 4 minutes.

Fry an egg and place on top of each sandwich.

My Favorite Carrot Cake Recipe

When it comes to carrot cakes, the more add-ins, the better. This means crushed pineapple, coconut, raisins AND walnuts.  This year, I made mini carrot cakes for my sister’s birthday, which was the day after Valentine’s.  A group of us went out to dinner and I gave these mini cakes as "favors”.  I lined tiny cake boxes with kraft parchment paper, attached handmade "LOVE" tags using this bundle from The Stamp Market and tied up the boxes with cute colorful baker's twine from Stampin' Up.  This recipe calls for a 13x9 inch pan but it can easily be adapted to other cake pan sizes.  I used 3” cake pans which yielded 4 cakes.

Cake:

2 c all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

3 large eggs

3/4 c buttermilk

3/4 c vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1-1/4 c plus 2 tbsp sugar

2 c peeled and grated carrots (about 2 to 3 large carrots)

1-1/2 c sweetened flaked coconut

1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple (do not drain)

1 c chopped walnuts

1 c raisins

Cream Cheese Frosting:
12 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 c unsalted butter, softened
1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
4 c powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.  Spray 13x9-inch pan with non-stick cooking spray.  Set aside. 
2. For cake, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl.  Set aside.
3. Place eggs, buttermilk, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and sugar in a large bowl and mix until smooth.  Slowly add in dry ingredients and mix until just combined.  Gently fold in carrots, coconut, pineapple, pecans and raisins.    Pour batter evenly into prepared pan and bake 35 to 40 minutes or until cake springs back when pressed.
4. While the cake cools, for frosting, add cream cheese and butter in large bowl and beat until fluffy.  Add vanilla extract and mix until combined.  Slowly add powdered sugar and mix until smooth.  
5. Once the cake is cooled, evenly spread frosting over cake.  

My Favorite Banana Bread Recipe

I know it's been 8 years since my last post - where has the time gone?  I've been active on Social Media via my Instagram account @foodstraveller but after revisiting my blog a while ago, I realized I wanted to go back to blogging and share my travel, crafting and cooking pictures in more detail.  Blogging would allow this so here's my attempt at blogging 2.0.

Many, many years ago, when I was a young woman, I worked at Nordstrom selling men's shoes.  There were many great memories of that time in my life.  I took away many life lessons such as the "customer is always right".  I also took away the best banana bread recipe I've ever come across in my lifetime.  The recipe came out of an Employee Cookbook that was sold at the store.  Nowadays, Nordstom has published official fancy hard covered cookbooks, but back in the day, the cookbook I bought was a very "homemade" version with a spiral bound spine and a paper cover.  Here's the banana bread recipe from the cookbook with one edit by me.  I added some sour cream to the recipe.  This bread is amazingly moist.  You'll be thanking me like everyone who has ever had a slice of this bread.  It's heaven.  Enjoy!

Banana Bread

½ tsp salt

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

½ cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

¼ cup sour cream

3 or 4 ripe bananas (mashed)

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

In a bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.  Cream butter and sugar with a mixer.  Add eggs, sour cream, bananas and vanilla.  Then add flour; do not overmix.  Pour into greased loaf pan.  Bake for 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean.

Packaged Cookie Favor

Momofuku Milkbar is a popular bakery in New York City.  I served these yummy copycat Momofuku Milkbar cookies at the Stamp 'n Chat I hosted last week.  I promised everyone in the group I'd post the recipe on my blog.  Instead of just taking a picture of the cookie, I decided to create a cute cookie packaging idea.  The cookie is housed in a simple and quick-to-make box.  Here's what the box looked like during the construction phase:

The dimensions of the box are 4" long by 3.5" tall.  Score at 1.5" on each of the short sides.  Then turn it lengthwise and score at 1/2" on each side.  As the picture above indicates, cut up to the score lines on all four sides.  Attach sticky strip to each side and adhere to create the box.  Attach 4 x 1.5" strips of decorative paper to the front and back of the box.  If you don't want your box to get greasy, wrap the cookie with a piece of parchment paper.  Use medium cellophane bags to package the cookie and tie it with Peach Parfait ribbon.  Before closing the bag, punch out 1/4" and 3/4" confetti circles in Peach Parfait and Melon Mambo cardstock and drop them in the bag.

Here's the recipe for the yummy copycat Momofuku Milkbar cookies.  The secret ingredient is caramelized cornflakes.  There's a recipe that's been posted on the internet, but I made a few changes to it.  This is my copycat of the copycat recipe.

Copycat Copycat Momofuku Cookies:

Caramelized Cornflakes

2 cups cornflakes

6 T milk powder

12 T sugar

1 tsp salt

7 T melted unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Lightly crush the cornflakes in a bowl.  Mix together the milk powder, sugar and salt.  Pour the butter over the cornflakes and sprinkle the dry ingredients on top.  Toss until evenly coated.  Spread out cornflake mixture on a lined baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the cornflakes haave a deep caramelized color.

Remove from the oven and cool completely before using. 

Cookies

2 1/2 cups flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp baking soda

Pinch of salt

1 c unsalted butter

1/2 c + 2 T sugar

1/2 c + 2 T light brown sugar

2 T corn syrup

1 large egg

1 T vanilla

1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 c mini marshmallows

2 c caramelized cornflakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. 

In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and pinch of salt; set aside.  Cream butter, sugars and corn syrup.  Add egg and vanilla and mix.  Add flour mixture and mix.  Add in chocolate chips, marshmallows and caramelized cornflakes.  Scoop dough into balls and place about 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.  Bake for about 12 - 15 minutes until cookies are golden brown.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Enjoy!

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:

Stamps:  Homemade

Ink:  Peach Parfait

Paper:  Peach Parfait, Melon Mambo, Level 1 Hostess In Color DSP Pack

Accessories:  Medium Cellphane Bags, 2 3/8" Scallop Circle Extra Large Punch, Peach Parfait 1/2" Stitched Poly Ribbon, Circle Punches:  3/4" and 1/4"

Lemony Snickets Lemon Bars

At work today, we had a daylong non-stop feast of homemade tamales, coconut flan, chocolate cake and these lemon bars that I made.  The recipe is from Barefoot Contessa, one of my food idols.  I own every single one of Ina Garten's cookbooks.  I love her recipes (even if they're rich and unhealthy - fat is flavor) and boy, everything I've ever made from her cookbooks has been fabulous and never disappoints.

Lemon Bars (from the Barefoot Contessa Parties! Cookbook)

For the Crust:

1/2 lb unsalted butter at room temp (I used Kerrygold a high quality premium butter)

1/2 c granulated sugar

2 c all-purpose flour

1/8 tsp kosher salt

For the Filling:

6 extra-large eggs at room temp (I used 6 large)

3 c granulated sugar

2  T grated lemon zest (about 4 - 6 lemons) - my lemons must have been big because it only took 2 lemons

1 c freshly squeezed lemon juice (I strained it to get rid of the pulp)

1 c all-purpose flour

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed.  Press the dough into a 9x13x2" baking sheet (I used a baking pan), building up a 1/2" edge on all sides.  Chill.

Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned (I had to bake mine an additional 20 min before the crust looked lightly browned).  Let cool on a wire rack.  Leave the oven on.

For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and flour.  Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set (I had to bake mine an additional 10 min - it was too jiggly after 35 min).  Let cool to room temperature.

Cut into squares or triangles and dust with confectioners' sugar.

Italian Bread Pudding

Here's another recipe for you to try.  My brother-in-law's birthday was this weekend and I made him a bread pudding as his birthday "cake".  This is the recipe I created when I worked at an Italian restaurant in Ventura, CA.  You can make it in one baking pan or as individual servings in ramekins like I did at the restaurant.

Italian Bread Pudding

1 lb Italian bread (Ciabatta or Pugliese, for example)
8 eggs
2 c heavy cream
2 c half 'n half
2 c sugar
1/4 c Frangelico
1 T vanilla extract
1 c golden raisins soaked in enough Marsala wine to cover
1/2 tsp Amaretto
1 1/2 c white chocolate
1/4 c reserved Marsala wine (soaking liquid for golden raisins)

Trim crusts from the bread and cut into 1/2" cubes.  Soak the golden raisins with enough Marsala wine to submerge it, for at least 15 - 30 minutes)

Whisk the eggs, cream and half 'n half.  Add sugar, raisins, Frangelico, vanilla extract and Amaretto.  Pour liquid over bread cubes.  Let stand 30 minutes, pressing bread down occasionally into custard mixture.  Can be prepared 2 hours ahead.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Prepare baking pan or individual molds with butter and flour.  Fill molds half way with bread pudding mixture.  Sprinkle with white chocolate and fill molds with additional bread pudding mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees F until set in center, about 40 minutes.  If baking in one pan, it may take up to 1 hour.  Check to see that custard has set and is no longer runny.

Serve with caramel sauce.

Moist & Creamy Banana Cake ala Sara Lee

When I was growing up, one of my favorite desserts was Sara Lee's banana cake.  I could eat the whole thing myself!  I've always loved cooking and baking and actually took a stint away from my profession (finance) to attend culinary school.  I worked for over a year as a pastry chef for an Italian restaurant in Ventura, CA.  It was a fun diversion, but alas, I decided to go back to high tech and finance...These days to fuel my creative side, I stamp and bake for fun.

I had some leftover cream cheese frosting in the fridge and bananas ripening on the counter, so I made banana cake for our Stamp 'n Chat on Thursday.  Here's the recipe which I think could give Sara Lee a run for her money.  I made my cake in a 9x13" pan and it took about 45 minutes to bake.  Insert a toothpick in the cake and if it comes out dry, the cake is done.

Moist and Creamy Banana Cake

1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 3/4 c sugar
3 large eggs
4 very ripe bananas, mashed
2 1/2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
Pinch of Salt
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup buttermilk at room temperature
1/2 c chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter two 8" cake pans and lightly dust with flour.

Cream together the butter and sugar.  Add the eggs, mashed bananas, and vanilla and mix.  In a separate bowl, blend the flour, baking soda and salt.  Add the dry ingredients and buttermilk alternately to the banana mixture.  Beat until smooth.  Add nuts if desired.

Bake 30 minutes or until cakes test done.  This is a dense and heavy cake.  Make sure it is thoroughly baked before removing from the oven.  Remove from the oven and allow it to cool on a baking rack before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz cream cheese at room temperature
3/4 stick butter at room temperature
3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla

Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth.  Scrape the sides of the bowl often.  Add the 3 cups sifted confectioners' sugar and beat until smooth.  Add the vanilla.  Chill in the refrigerator to set.