Month: September 2016

Italian Prune Plums

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ 1 Comment

img_2140For about two weeks at the end of August/beginning of September, if you are very lucky, your market will carry these beautiful little ovoid purple plums. No matter what the temperature is outside, they always signify the start of autumn to me.

For years, I would make a simple butter cake covered with these plums, but a couple of years ago I found a recipe in the Wall Street Journal for a caramelized plum and rosemary polenta pound cake that made me rethink how I wanted to use my bounty. The cake is slightly grainy from the stone-ground cornmeal and the sweet/tart cooked plums with the rosemary and cognac makes for a wonderful contrast. The cake gets even better by the second day as the flavors deepen and the cake gets moister.

Caramelized Plum and Rosemary Polenta Pound Cake

 

Yield: One pound cake serving 8-10 people

Ingredients
½ pound unsalted butter, plus more for buttering loaf pan

1½ cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 cup yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground

½ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons finely minced fresh rosemary

Zest of 1 large lemon

1 cup granulated sugar

3 large eggs

2 tablespoons cognac (or any brandy)

Prepared plums (recipe below)

Note: All ingredients should be at room temperature

img_2125

Directions
1. Butter a 5½x 10-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Spray with a baking spray with flour. Set pan aside.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Sift together flour, baking powder, cornmeal and salt.

4. Cream together butter, rosemary, lemon zest and sugar until very light and fluffy.

5. Add eggs to butter mixture, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

6. Beat in flour mixture, alternating with cognac, just until well-combined. Spoon 2/3 of batter into pan. Evenly distribute one-quarter of prepared plums over batter. If there is a great deal of liquid, strain off the plums first. Add rest of the batter. Spread remaining fruit over the top and, using a spoon or fork, push pieces down a little.

7. Bake for 75 minutes or until done, testing with a toothpick after 60 minutes. Cake should be nicely brown, pulling away from the edges of the pan and not too dry. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then invert cake onto your hand or a rack and quickly re-invert it onto another rack.

8. Serve warm or at room temperature. (The cake is also delicious sliced and toasted in a toaster oven or in the oven and improves with age)

img_2129

Prepared Plums

Total Time:10 minutes

6 large plums (or 8-10 if they are very small) pitted and cut into 6-8 wedges each

1/2 cup sugar

Pinch of salt

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1 Tablespoon finely minced fresh rosemary

2 tablespoons cognac (or rum or any brandy)

In a medium saucepan, cook plums with sugar, salt, lemon zest and rosemary over medium heat until fruit is very soft but not falling apart, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Add cognac.

img_2128

Easy Ramen at Home

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ 1 Comment

IMAG4489

Soup can be as delicate as a simple consomme or as hearty as a mushroom barley; it can be served hot or cold; it can be a first course or a complete meal. No matter how you serve it, soup is always comforting and almost every culture believes in the healing properties of a good soup. This ramen only requires that you have the right ingredients on hand. Some are shelf-stable and you can always have around and the rest you can pick up at most grocery stores. The meat is the only item that you might want to pick up ahead of time and can be on-hand in the freezer. There are no special techniques to learn and it is ready in under 30 minutes. You can play around with the ingredients, but this is my favorite version. It elevates packaged ramen to a dinner that is good enough to serve to family.

Lisa’s Weeknight Ramen

Yield: 3-4 servings

Ingredients

Two 3-ounce packages of chicken-flavored ramen noodles

1 quart of good chicken stock, preferably unsalted

1 Tablespoon yellow or red miso (optional, but keeps a long time in the fridge)

3/4 cup shredded carrot

2 or 3 baby bok choy, split lengthwise

2 large, hard-boiled eggs, peeled and split length-wise

8 ounces of a good mushroom, sliced (Shitake are always available, but try using clam, trumpet or oyster mushrooms if you can find them)

About 3.5 ounces stir-fry baby corn or the kernels from one large ear of fresh corn

5 to 6 scallions, thinly sliced

Either one smoked duck breast, thinly sliced or about 8 ounces of smoked pork belly, sliced (leave the fat on since it adds flavor!)

Asian Sesame Oil for drizzling

Kosher salt or low-sodium soy sauce to taste

Directions

  1. Prep all of your ingredients. In a 3.5 quart or larger heavy pot with a lid, place the ramen noodles, the seasoning powder, miso, if used, the meat and the chicken stock. If you prefer more liquid you can add either more stock or up to 2 cups of water. Adjust your salt accordingly. If using unsalted stock, season with about a teaspoon of salt or 2 teaspoons soy sauce. Bring to a boil and simmer for 3 minutes.
  2. Add your other ingredients, except for the sesame oil and scallions and simmer for about 5 to 10 minutes, warming everything through and blanching the bok choy. If the egg was just boiled, you can add it at the last minute. If it came out of the fridge then add it with the vegetables.
  3. When ready, place some of each ingredient in a bowl, drizzle with sesame oil and scatter scallions on the top. Enjoy – it’s that simple!