Instead, this week I made a cake in honor of my friend Matthew’s birthday, and thought I’d share the recipe and photos in case you were despondent over the fact I didn’t post a bread recipe on Monday. Wipe your tears.

I was in search of a recipe that contained ingredients I had on hand; shouldn’t be too difficult, since my pantry is usually well-stocked. I was also looking for a recipe that wouldn’t take more than a few hours, since I don’t get home until six, and still have to cook dinner and do some other important stuff as part of my evening (screw around on Twitter and watch “Big Bang Theory”).

A quick Google search unearthed a recipe for an Orange Bundt Cake. Simple enough. Bundt cakes don’t require a lot of dressing up, since its shape is really its decoration. All it needs is a beautiful glaze, and you’re good to go.  And this particular recipe was intriguing to me: it calls for two whole oranges, pureed. Skin, pith, and all. I’ve never done that before, so I was naturally drawn to it. I made the Orange Glaze variation, since Matthew is not a “chocolate guy” (whatever *that* means).

After the jump, you’ll find the recipe and photos:

Whole Orange Bundt Cake (you can find a printable version here)

Ingredients

• 2 whole oranges (preferably seedless navel), scrubbed and washed well
• 3 sticks of butter, softened
• 2 cups granulated white sugar
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease and flour a Bundt pan and set aside.

Quarter the oranges, remove any seeds if not using navel, and put in food processor to puree. Set aside.

This is what the puree of two whole oranges looks like.

While the oranges are pureeing, cream the butter and sugar together in the base of an electric mixer for 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, waiting until each is fully combined. Add the orange puree and vanilla extract and mix until combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix into the wet ingredients gently, just until fully combined.

Pour the cake batter into the prepared Bundt pan, spreading so that it is evenly distributed. Bake at 350 for about 60 minutes or until a tester inserted in the cake comes out clean.

Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool. When completely cool, pour on your choice of glaze (below) and let set for at least 1 hour before serving. Will keep for 3-5 days under a cake dome or plastic wrap.

Chocolate Ganache Glaze

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Heat the heavy cream over medium heat just until small bubbles begin to form. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips and whisk gently until fully melted and combined. Let cool for 10 minutes before glazing cake. May be prepared in advance and gently reheated in a moderate microwave.

Orange Glaze

• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 4 teaspoons orange juice

Mix together and drizzle over cake.

This smells even better than it looks...

Results:

• My kitchen smelled absolutely divine while this was baking.
• It popped very easily out of my Bundt pan; I highly recommend getting yourself a stoneware Bundt pan. Never fails.
• The taste was outstanding – the little bits of orange skin gave the cake a slightly bitter-orange taste, which was extremely pleasant and a nice counterbalance to the sugar. It made the cake seem less sweet than the actual sugar content would lead you to expect.  It was a pound cake texture, creamy and dense. This recipe is a keeper.
• Birthday Boy had a great suggestion – possibly replacing some of the butter with sour cream, to lighten it up a bit. I do think that could be a  worthwhile experiment, because this cake is calorie-laden (though I did not calculate calories or fat because I was frightened at the prospect). Sour cream bundt cakes are a known quantity, and it probably wouldn’t be too difficult to construct a lightened-up version.

I found this one in Cook’s Ilustrated’s weighty tome Baking Illustrated. It’s a recipe for Rosemary Focaccia, with adjustments for Parmesan Focaccia, Olive Focaccia, and Sage Focaccia variations. (I’m really getting tired of typing focaccia).  

I was particularly interested in this one for two reasons: the use of a quick sponge (letting the yeast marinate with flour and water for about 20 minutes), and its use of potato in the dough. I’ve never used either, so I thought it would be fun.  It turned out pretty good, with some notable mistakes on my part (see my Results at the end).

As always, my comments and adjustments are in blue. Recipe and photos after the jump.

Olive Focaccia (you can find a printable version here)

Adapted from Baking Illustrated

Ingredients:

• 1 medium baking potato (about 9 ounces), peeled and quartered
• 1½ teaspoons active dry yeast
• 3½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup warm water (110 degrees)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for oiling bowl and pan
• 1¼ tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp fresh thyme (I used Herbes de Provence, again)
• 24 pitted kalamata olives

Directions:

Bring 1 quart water to boil in small saucepan; add potato and simmer until tender. Drain and cool. Put through a ricer (or large holes of a box grater). Reserve 1-1/3 cups lightly packed potato.

Potato, riced

Meanwhile, in large bowl of stand mixer, mix yeast, ½ cup of the flour, and ½ cup of the warm water until combined. Cover tightly with plastic wrap (or bowl cover) and set aside until bubbly, about 20 minutes.

Add remaining dough ingredients, including reserved potato. Mix with paddle attachment on low speed until the dough comes together.

Switch to dough hook attachment and increase speed to medium, continue kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. (you will be tempted to add more flour here. Don’t do it! See my Results below to learn why)

Transfer dough to lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat with oil, and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let rise in warm, draft-free area until dough is puffy and doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

With wet hands (to prevent sticking), press the dough out onto a generously oiled 11×15 rimmed baking sheet. If the dough resists going into the corners (which it will), cover with damp towel and allow to rest for 15 minutes before trying to stretch it again.

Cover dough with lightly oiled plastic wrap; let rise in a warm draft-free area until dough is puffy and doubled in volume, 45 to 60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 °F.

With wet fingers, dimple dough at regular intervals (make about 2 dozen). The dimples should be deep enough to hold small pieces of topping, herbs and/or pools of olive oil.

Drizzle the dough with oil and sprinkle evenly with thyme and coarse salt, landing some in pools of oil. Place an olive in each of the dimples.

Ready to go into the oven...

Bake for about 25 minutes or until the bottom is golden brown. Remove from pan and cool slightly on a rack; serve warm.

This is the money shot, my friends.

Results:

• Overall, pretty good. Taste was good, but the texture was not perfect.  The finished bread was a bit tougher than I expected, and didn’t have much in the way of oven spring.  It still tasted great, but I was hoping for a fluffier finished product. What happened? Operator error. I learned something while making this one: if you’re using a Cook’s Illustrated recipe, you NEED to fully read the text that comes before the recipe.  If you read the magazine (as I do), you ‘ll know that CI’s standard operating procedure is to tell you – in excruciating detail – why the recipe is exactly the way it is. There’s never a mistake. There’s a reason for everything. I forgot this, and plowed right into the recipe without reading the backstory. After adding the prescribed amount of flour, I was totally annoyed with the dough – it was sticky and slightly loose. So I added more flour until it got to what I thought was the right consistency. Mistake! Afterwards, I went back and read the story:

A [note] about working with this dough: the moisture from the potatoes helps keep the crumb soft but also makes the dough very sticky. Adding extra flour makes the dough easier to handle, but the results are not as good because the wet dough helps produce bread with air pockets and chewiness.

Dammit. Me and my kitchen confidence. Foiled again.

• Another reason it didn’t bake right: my range is dying a slow death. On Thanksgiving 2010, the back right burner exploded a little bit, causing a teensy fire that created a short in the range’s electrical system. So, that burner’s been out since then, and the left front burner died a couple weeks ago. And now the oven is going through its death throes: temperature on the dial is about 50-100° off from the internal temp, and even when I think I’ve got it set, the oven won’t maintain a consistent temperature (it’s like a sine wave of temperature fluctuation in there, with a standard deviation of about 50°). So, not an ideal situation for baking, to say the very least. The focaccia thus did not bake the way it should have.
• I just remembered I forgot to sprinkle the top of the bread with salt. No wonder it didn’t taste seasoned enough. Man, I gotta start paying more attention. I just get so wrapped up in baking, I sometimes forget stuff. So, don’t forget the salt on yours, okay?
• Is it weird that my internal Kitchen OCD Alarm went off when there wasn’t a perfectly formed grid of olives? The only reason I didn’t make it a perfect grid was that I ran out of olives. And using green olives would just have made the whole thing worse, really.
• I’m also ticked off that I accidentally deleted the photo I took of the dough as it was done kneading. It’s not critical, but I’m annoyed with myself. I hope you forgive my carelessness.

Don't let this happen to you.

Thanksgiving is upon us! Which means ’tis the season for holiday cooking disasters. But don’t worry – the Capital Region’s newest supermarket has you covered.

ShopRite’s Chefs on Call hotline will be available to answer your Thanksgiving cooking questions – whether you’re wondering how to thaw your turkey (a hint – if you haven’t started thawing it yet, you might be in trouble), or how to prepare a traditional dessert.  Members of ShopRite Chefs On Call are available at 1-800 SHOPRITE from from now through Thanksgiving Day, during the following hours: Wednesday 10:00am-7:30pm and Thursday 8:00AM – 2:00PM.

Customers can visit ShopRite’s Facebook page for special Thanksgiving Turkey Tips (including videos). You can even download and print a handy brochure on Turkey Basics from their website (www.shoprite.com).

You probably have to have a lot of patience and a great sense of humor to answer those turkey hotline calls. I can only imagine the kinds of things people ask. Like these gems, actual questions and situations posed to turkey hotline operators:

• If I put my phone in the turkey, can you tell me if it’s done?
• I’ve never cooked a turkey before–is it like cooking a raccoon?
• A woman called to find out how long it would take to roast her turkey. To answer the question, the Talk-Line home economist asked how much the bird weighed. The woman responded, “I don’t know, it’s still running around outside.”
• Is it okay to thaw my turkey in the bathtub while bathing my kids?
• Can I brine my turkey in the washing machine?
• Can I take my frozen turkey into my sauna to thaw it faster?

Have you ever experienced a Thanksgiving cooking disaster? Let’s hear it!

The haul from my day of shopping. Berries, cherries, peaches, sweet corn, rainbow chard, garlic, zucchini, yellow squash

Beautiful Rainier cherries. I originally thought I'd put them in a cobbler or a crisp, but then decided I would just eat them as a snack. So delicious.

These beauties, fresh from Buhrmaster Farms, went into a Raspberry Almond Bread Pudding that I'm enjoying all week for breakfast. Recipe is over on my new RECIPE PAGE

Also from Buhrmaster Farms. I'll be using these in a cobbler along with...

Peaches from Maynard Farm (vendor at Schenectady Greenmarket). I'll be making one of my favorite summer recipes, Peach-Blueberry Cobbler (from Cooking Light magazine, July 2007). Recipe is over on my new RECIPE PAGE

A brief rundown of things I made/will be making to eat this week (email me if you need recipes, suggestions, etc.):

• Raspberry Almond Bread Pudding – this is a Wendy-modified Weight Watchers recipe (6 Points Plus values per serving)
• Chicken Stir-Fry Soup – leftover chicken, homemade stock, leftover rice, stir-fry vegetable blend, soy sauce & chili garlic paste to taste
• Peach-Blueberry Cobbler
• Curry-Spiced White Bean Hummus – white beans because chickpeas and I don’t get along
• Maple-Balsamic Glazed Pork Chops – my favorite way to prepare bone-in pork chops
• Grilled Summer Squash

It’s a lot of food. Blessed be my freezer.

Last night’s setup involved pork steaks (steaks cut from the shoulder roast) which had been pan-browned and placed in the crockpot , as well as a separate container of onion-soup-mix-and-gravy-mix-plus water, which was to be added at cooking time.

I called Bob early in the afternoon to remind him to get the crockpot started at around 3, and to add “the container in the fridge with the gravy mix in it.”  Easy stuff.   My routine on-my-way-home call to Bob reassured me that he had indeed gotten dinner going as instructed.  Nothing seemed amiss.

When I finally walked in the door, I was greeted by a delightful aroma of slowly simmering pork steaks.  I opened the lid to inspect, and was puzzled to see a thick white gravy coating the steaks.  Hm.  Pork gravy isn’t usually white.

Oh, well.  It smelled delicious, so I replaced the cover and went to the fridge to make myself a bit of a snack to tide me over until dinner at 7.  I opened the fridge and was stunned to see the pint container of onion soup-gravy mix still sitting exactly where I placed it the night before.

“What did you put in the crockpot?” I asked Bob.

“The container of stuff in the fridge,” he replied.

“No, you didn’t.  It’s right here,” I said, holding the mixture aloft.  What the heck did he put in the crockpot?  What the heck did he grab?  The bottle of chicken marinade?  Ranch dressing?  MAYONNAISE?  It was at about this moment I remembered that on Sunday I had prepped many items for the coming week, including a batch of homemade hummus.

Yes, hummus.  Made with cannelini beans (I am allergic to garbanzos), lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, Turkish seasoning, and sesame tahini paste.  Good lord, what did Bob do?

“To be honest,” he said when I told him of the error, “I was going to call you and ask, because I thought it was the wrong stuff.  But it smelled okay, so I didn’t.”   I wondered how long it would take to get a pizza delivered.

But, we decided to try it and see.  Not only did it smell good, it tasted great.  I did add a bit of the CORRECT liquid, because the beans had thickened the gravy almost to a paste and it needed a thinning.  The liquid added more flavor components, namely rosemary and onion, which blended well with the hummus.

Now, if only I could get Bob to cook dinner more often…

When I posted my deviled eggs recipe yesterday, underneath the post popped up a few “possibly related” posts from other blogs.  One of those posts contained a recipe for Spicy Deviled Eggs that called for harissa, a North African hot chili sauce that adds the “devilish” heat to the recipe.  The paste contains Piri piri (“African Devil”) chili peppers, tomatoes and paprika as its main ingredient, and also includes coriander, caraway, and cumin.

Harissa paste, a fiery North African condiment

One of my friends linked over to the post, and asked me about a local source for harissa.  I suggested possibly an ethnic food store, but the only ones around here that I know of specialize in Indian or Asian foodstuffs.  I don’t recall seeing it in Hannaford or Price Chopper, but then again I’ve never actually looked for it.

So, I am stumped.  Readers?

Anyway, I scanned my favorite recipe for Deviled Eggs, from my broken-down, food-stained copy of The Joy of Cooking (it’s the recipe for Stuffed Eggs, with the Deviled Egg variation underneath it).  Enjoy it, Mal!

Recipe for Deviled Eggs

Here’s what’s on my holiday baking list this year (and yes, I do indeed make a list):

• Orange Poppy Seed Twinks (a simple variation on my Cherry Poppy Seed Twinks)
• Chocolate Chip Shortbread Sticks
• Russian Tea Cakes
• Church Windows
• Coconut Macaroons
• Oreo Truffles
• Peanut Butter Truffles
• Chocolate Frangelico Truffles
• Butterscotch Toffee Fudge
• Some other kinds of fudge
• Christmas Crunch (chocolate almond toffee)

Since I had a pork tenderloin roasting in the oven this afternoon, I decided to tackle a few of the items that can be made on the stovetop: toffee and fudge.  The Christmas Crunch is an almond toffee that I’ve been making since 1998 (based on the date on the Good Housekeeping magazine I got it from!).  It’s simple (as far as candy-making goes), and it absolutely amazing.  When/if i ever open the Wendalicious Shop, it will be one of the items I sell.

Christmas Crunch, Close Up

I always make a ton of fudge, because it’s so easy and everyone seems to enjoy it.  Of course I make the regular plain fudge, and plain with walnuts.  A few years back I was experimenting (as I am wont to do), and dumped some leftover Heath Bar bits into the butterscotch fudge I was making.  My friend Chris (of “Marlene and Chris” fame) said it was the best fudge he’d ever had, and thus a new tradition was born.  It really is quite fabulous, if I do say so myself.

Here are some pics (with the recipe included) of the Butterscotch Toffee Fudge:

Stirring together 2Tbsp butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1/4 tsp salt and 2/3 cup evaporated milk over medium heat. Boil for 4-5 minutes.

Remove from heat, add 4oz marshmallows, 1 bag butterscotch chips, 1 tsp vanilla, and 1 cup toffee bits

Stir vigorously to melt the mixture

Pour the fudge into a foil-lined 8x8 pan, then place in the fridge to firm up.

I had a fudge revelation today – much in the same way I created the Butterscotch Toffee Fudge, I invented Vanilla Ice Cream Cone Fudge.  Vanilla Ice Cream with Rainbow Sprinkles is my all-tie favorite summer treat, and I thought it would translate well into the holiday fudge milieu.  I happened to have bought white chocolate chips, so I substituted them and then added rainbow sprinkles to the mixture before pouring it in the pan.  I cannot wait to see how the experiment turns out.    This particular recipe is very amenable to variations, and you can substitute just about any kind of chip or nut, to suit your taste.

If you’ve ever made fudge, or any other kind of candy, you know it makes a sticky, sugary mess.  So, I am including here a handy tip for cleaning up the candy pot – fill it with water, throw in the spoons and spatulas, boil, and pour away the mess.  Sugar only melts in a heated solution, so this is the easy way to get that pot clean again – no scrubbing necessary!

Cleaning the Candy Pot

I will post recipes and photos as I continue my baking over the next week.  I’d love to know what (if any) holiday baking you do.  I’m particularly interested in finding a good fruitcake recipe – I think I may be one of the only people under 40 who actually enjoy fruitcake.  I guess that pretty well sums me up.

• Roast Turkey with Apple Cider Gravy
• Southern Corn Bread Stuffing
• Roasted Acorn Squash
• Sweet Potato-Banana Casserole (sickly sweet side dish thing made by Mom, which probably should have been a dessert)
• Corn Casserole (divine, made by Aunt Claire – I’m hoping she’ll post the recipe here!)
• Steamed Brussels Sprouts & Carrots
• Spiced Cranberry Sauce
• Pecan Pie (again, made by Aunt Claire – recipe please??  It was delish)
• Pumpkin Pie (made by Grandma)
• Tiramisu Toffee Trifle Pie (I varied the recipe a bit – used ladyfingers instead of pound cake for the crust, used Neufchatel cheese instead of mascarpone, and used Cool Whip Lite instead of regular.  Still INCREDIBLE – just ask my co-worker David.)
• 2008 Alsace Willm Gewurztraminer (the perfect white wine for turkey and stuffing – just TRUST ME)

The turkey, gravy, and stuffing have been traditions with me since 1996 – they are tried and true, delicious every time.  I’ll post recipes if anyone requests them…

I love having Thanksgiving at my house on the Saturday after the holiday – it gives me almost two whole days to cook, which is better than a vacation for me!  I just love getting up early (this is the only day I enjoy that), putting on my apron, and spending the entire day puttering around the kitchen, listening to NPR and creating a delicious meal for my family and friends.  Plus it’s easier for my family to travel up here from downstate on the weekend.

I usually try one or two new recipes each year, to add a little gustatory excitement to what can sometimes be an overly-predictable day.  This year, I made a cranberry sauce instead of my usual Cranberry Relish (created by me and posted many many years ago on AllRecipes), mostly because my sister Kristen wasn’t able to make it, and she seems to be the only one who prefers the relish to a sauce.  I also decided to let my mom and aunt bring a side dish, which I usually don’t do (mostly because I’m neurotic about the food I serve.  Mom and Aunt Claire are great cooks, but you never KNOW…)

I made an assortment of appetizers, too (just in case all of my neighbors showed up unexpectedly):

• Stuffed Mushrooms (a family tradition for as long as I’ve been alive)
• Buffalo Wing Dip (stolen from my sister’s friend – it’s basically a combination of chopped grilled chicken, fat free cream cheese, fat free mayo, fat free ranch dressing, shredded reduced-fat cheddar, and enough hot sauce to make it taste like a Buffalo wing.  Heat in the microwave for 5 minutes or so, and……good lord, it’s awesome)
• Crudites, cheese & crackers, olives

A lot of food for 8 people, I know, but isn’t that the point?  I was so worked up from cooking that I forgot to take pictures….I’m so sorry.

Bob and I have enjoyed stuffing and gravy at every meal since Saturday, and I plan to eat every last crumb of that Corn Casserole.  I am bringing the three leftover pies to work this week, one day at a time, for my co-worker David to have for breakfast.  I’ve told him to share, but I don’t think he listens.  The boy loves pie.

So, these are my Thanksgiving traditions – what are yours?  And will you share your recipes?

Here’s the rundown:

Seckel (sugar) Pears

Seckel pears.  Beautiful, tiny, and reportedly “as sweet as a candy bar” (that’s what the guy told me!).  I’ll do a report as soon as a few of them ripen enough to eat.

Winter squash – acorn and butternut.  I know I’m probably the only person who didn’t know this, but winter squash are so named NOT because they are only available in winter, but because the skins are sturdy enough to allow them to hold through winter.  According to my friend (and Cornell Cooperative Extension Director) Chris Logue, if you keep your squash in a cool, dark place like your basement (as long as the temps don’t go below freezing), you can likely keep squash from now until January.  Nice.  Since I don’t have a basement, he suggested a cooler in my garage.

Freshly dug baking potatoes.  They went into last night’s Pot Roast.   Recipe for that soon.  I didn’t take photos last night, but I make it often enough that I should be able to put up a recipe with pix pretty soon.  I think I have finally perfected that pot roast.

A fresh-baked Morning Glory muffin from Our Daily Bread.  It was pure heaven – filled with carrots, raisins, apples, and coconut.  I jumped on my BlackBerry and found a recipe, bought a quart of Cortland apples at Buhrmaster Farms, and bought the rest of the ingredients on my trip to the grocery store later that day.  Here’s the recipe I found, with a few of my modifications – it makes DELICIOUS muffins, that are really filling and really good for you:

Whole Grain Morning Glory Muffins

• 1 1/3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup packed natural brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1/3 cup applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1  Cortland  apple, cored, peeled and diced
• 1/2 cup dried cherries
• 1/2 cup grated carrots
• 1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dried flaked sweetened coconut, divided

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; break up any brown sugar lumps with your fingers or a wooden spoon.

In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, oil and vanilla, then add to flour mixture and stir just until combined. Add apples, raisins, carrots, walnuts and 1/4 cup of the coconut and stir gently until well combined.

Spoon batter into 12 paper-lined muffin tins, filling each about 2/3 full. Top evenly with remaining 4 teaspoons coconut and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until cooked through.

Tomato Sauce

About 5 pounds of tomatoes – the LAST of the tomatoes.    I was feeling pretty ambitious, and bought a ton (for me, anyway).  A friend mentioned a few weeks ago that she wanted to learn how to can.  Feeling inspired by that goal, but not quite ready to start canning myself, I thought I’d take the first step, and at least learn how to make homemade sauce that would be suitable for some eventual canning.  I found a very loose recipe for sauce online, and threw some great sauce together in about 2 hours.  It sounds ridiculous, I know – I mean, who doesn’t know how to make their own sauce?  Well, me.  I have not one drop of Italian blood, so sauce-making does not come hard-wired into my DNA.  But, I think I managed to create a respectable sauce.  Here’s what I did:

• 1 medium red onion, diced
• 4 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• a whole mess of tomatoes, peeled but NOT seeded, then quartered
• 1 can tomato paste
• 1 Tbsp dried Italian herbs
• Salt and pepper

Briefly sweat the onion and garlic in the olive oil.  Dump the tomatoes in, and let cook over medium-low heat until they break down.  Add in tomato paste and herbs, let cook for another hour or so, breaking up tomato chunks as it cooks.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  That’s it!  Makes enough to serve at one meal, and freeze some for later.

Many delicious items from one trip to the market!  Can’t wait to see what’s cooking next week.