A Plateful of Happiness Turns One
Last week, October 23 to be exact, marked the one year anniversary of my blog. I continue to enjoy sharing my food adventures. Though we eat well at my house, it would be unrealistic to think that every meal I make or recipe I try is tasty or interesting enough to share. Sometimes, I don’t have anything to write about because, I often forget to take pictures of dishes before we eat them, and then it seems boring to write about it without some illustration.
This will be the blog’s 110th post, which included 3 guest posts: one each from my sister Jane, my husband Howard, and my friend Lauren Z (not to be confused with my friend Lauren L). The past year has been a fun ride, and I’m looking forward to another.
Last night I made one of my favorites, Broccoli Cheddar Soup. I don’t even like broccoli all that much, but I love it in this soup. Maybe it’s the cheese. It’s creamy without being too rich. The soup is easy to put together and makes a great lunch.
When I make pureed soups, I find the blender does a better job than the food processor. I’ve tried an immersion blender that you stick right into the pot. I love the idea, but it never seems to work for me.
Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Serves 4 to 6
2 Tbsp butter
1 onion, diced
1½ lb broccoli, cut into florets, stems sliced
1 quart chicken stock
½ cup half-and-half or light cream
4 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Salt & white pepper for taste
Melt the butter in a soup pot. Add the onion, and cook until it softens. Add the broccoli and stock, cover, and bring the stock to a boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer for about 10 minutes, until the broccoli is soft. Remove from heat. Add cream, cheese, salt, and pepper. Stir until cheese melts.
Cool the soup to lukewarm, or at least, not scalding hot. Puree the soup in the blender. Reheat and serve.
French Fridays with Dorie: Marie-Helene’s Apple Cake
At lunchtime today, we had our office Halloween party. We had a pizza lunch, a variety of silly games, and a costume contest. I didn’t wear a costume, but wore my sparkly Happy Halloween t-shirt, Halloween socks, an assortment of Halloween jewelry, and a headband with devil’s horns.
Conveniently, we also had a dessert potluck, so I made Marie-Helene’s Apple Cake. Apple cake doesn’t have any chocolate in it, so Howard wasn’t likely to eat any. Bringing the cake for the potluck meant it would get eaten, and not entirely by me. It was popular and the first plate to become empty. A few people asked for the recipe.
I went to Wilson Farm, a local farm stand, and picked up a variety of local Massachusetts apples. I used four different ones, as Dorie suggested. I chose Honeycrisp, Spencer, Empire, and Macintosh. I wasn’t sure my apples were large enough, but I went with just the four. For future reference, I measured, and I had a generous four cups of apple chunks.
I don’t do a lot of baking without electrical assistance, like my food processor or stand mixer. I was a bit uncertain about how foamy the eggs should be. I decided they looked nice and foamy after one minute of whisking. The color was a nice light yellow too. It darkened up when I added the rum, but lightened again with the flour and butter. The batter looked silky after all the butter was mixed in. The raw batter tasted good too. The rum flavor was very noticeable.
I read other comments from people that used a 9-inch pan. Fortunately, I have an 8-inch springform pan, so I made sure to use it. The batter filled the pan fully, so I felt I used enough apples after all.
The cake was nice and brown after an hour, but still hadn’t pulled away from the sides of the pan, so I gave it five more minutes. It still hadn’t pulled away, but it was definitely done. I thought I was generous with the butter, but I think I should have used even more when I buttered the pan. The top of my cake was a beautiful golden brown, and the cake looked incredibly moist. The sides weren’t browned at all. The cake pictured in the book has equally browned sides.
I used the parchment paper trick again to easily transfer the piping hot pan to the cooling rack. I remember doing that when we made the mustard tart a few weeks ago.
The cake came out of the oven shortly before bedtime, so after I removed the springform pan, I let it cool, uncovered, on the counter overnight.
Unfortuntely, I can’t say I was wild about this cake. A few years ago I made The Apple Lady’s Apple Cake from Patricia Wells’ The Paris Cookbook. It was very eggy, almost more like a clafoutis, and I didn’t like it that much. I compared the recipes, and Dorie’s recipe had more flour, more sugar, more fat (butter instead of oil) and no milk, so it seemed like it would be different. It turned out that the two cakes tasted very similar. Today’s cake looked so pretty, but the cake that held the apples together wasn’t cakey enough for my taste. I’m not sure I’ll make it again.
I want to share something I learned from my friend Karen. I do this most times when I make apple desserts. I make sure to wash the apples before peeling. Then, I put the apple peels and the cores into a small saucepan with some water. For the four apples in this recipe, I added 1 cup of water. I bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the apples are mushy. After letting it cool a little, I run the mixture through a food mill, with the blade with medium holes. If you like, you can add a bit of sugar or honey. I get the bonus of a scant cup of applesauce. Even though I compost what doesn’t go through the food mill, I love making the most of the apples with this extra treat.
A Plateful of Happiness 