We asked Dame Carol Smoler if she would share this cake recipe served at the Networking Dinner which she hosted.
Ingredients
3 large eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups sliced apples, peeled and cored (I use 2 large Granny Smith)
1 cup walnuts
(AKA Queenie’s Nuts!)
contributed by Pastry Chef Cory Barrett
Lola and Lolita, Cleveland, Ohio
Plate Magazine, March-April 2010
by Gale Gand
from Gale Gand’s Brunch!: 100 Fantastic Recipes for the Weekend’s Best Meal
(Clarkson Potter, 2009)
Makes one 8-inch square cake; serves 8
My grandma Elsie on my mother’s side was a great baker in the Austro-Hungarian tradition. Strudels, poppy seed cakes, coffee cakes, and cookies always seemed to be in her kitchen when we visited.
I found a great apple streusel coffee cake recipe in her card files when I became the keeper of those treasures. Here it is, revived, with my little twist of using pears instead of apples.
Ingredients
For the cake
Unsalted butter, for the baking dish
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 large egg
1/2 cup whole milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 ripe pears (I like Bartlett), unpeeled, cored and chopped (1 1/2 cups)
For the streusel topping
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut up
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Method
1. Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Butter an 8-inch square baking dish.
Make the cake
1. Combine the flour with the baking powder, sugar, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, beat the egg and then mix in the milk and melted butter. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, add the pears, and mix well.
3. Pour this into the buttered baking dish.
Make the streusel
1. Mix the sugar, flour, cold butter, and cinnamon in a bowl by pinching them together with your fingers until well combined. Sprinkle over the top of the batter.
2. Bake the cake for 30 to 35 minutes, until it is golden and dry on top. Cool in the pan, and then cut into squares. This cake keeps for up to 4 days, covered, at room temperature.
Recipe © 2009 Gale Gand. All rights reserved.
by Les Dames d’Escoffier Chicago
edited by Carol Mighton Haddix
from Chicago Cooks
(Surrey Books, 2007)
Makes 4 servings
I love to celebrate. I celebrate everything, including the first date I had with my husband, our wedding date, family birthdays, holidays — everything. Champagne always comes to mind when I think of celebrating. Lobster is one of my favorite foods. My husband and I love to experiment in the kitchen. We have created many different dishes using lobster, and this is one of our favorites. — Candace Barocci Warner
Ingredients
2 fresh whole lobsters, about 1 1/2 pounds each
Salt, to taste
3/4 cup unsalted butter, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup rum
1 pound dried fettuccine
1 cup chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 ripe plum (Roma) tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and roughly chopped
1/4 to 1/2 cup heavy (whipping) cream
Method
1. To cook the lobsters, heat salted water to a boil in an extra large stockpot or in two separate large saucepans. Add the lobsters to the boiling water and cook for approximately 10 minutes. Remove the lobsters with tongs and submerge them in cold water. (Save 2 cups of the cooking water for the next step.)
2. When the lobsters are cool, place them on a baking sheet. To remove the lobster meat, cut the claws and tail open, and extract the meat. Cut the lobster meat into bite-sized pieces, place them in a bowl, and set aside, covered. Reserve the little claws and vacated shells for the stock in the next step. Strain and reserve the remaining lobster juices on the baking sheet.
3. Melt 1/2 cup of the butter and the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the rum. Add the 2 cups of the reserved lobster cooking water, the reserved little claws, the shells, and the strained juices. Cover and cook over medium-high heat for 10 minutes. Uncover and boil gently until the liquid has reduced to 3/4 cup, about 20 minutes. Allow the reduction to cool and then remove the claws and shells with a slotted spoon. Strain the reduced stock over the reserved lobster meat. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
4. Heat a stockpot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta. Cook according to the package directions.
5. Meanwhile, melt the remaining 1/4 cup butter in a large skillet over low heat. Add the onions and cook until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook 5 more minutes. Add the stock, lobster meat, and cream. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.
6. Drain the pasta. Toss with the lobster sauce in a large serving bowl. Serve immediately.
by Les Dames d’Escoffier Chicago
edited by Carol Mighton Haddix
from Chicago Cooks
(Surrey Books, 2007)
Makes 8 servings
Serve this recipe to guests who enjoy and appreciate the foods of Mexico. Using Mexican oregano and cinnamon adds to the authenticity of the dish. Make this combination a day ahead to enhance the flavors. —Marilyn Wilkinson
Ingredients
For the meatballs
1 pound ground beef chuck
1 pound ground pork
1/2 cup minced flat leaf parsley
1 large white onion, grated
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, or to taste
3 eggs, beaten
3 slices coarse white bread, crust removed and soaked in 1/3 cup milk
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
For the sauce
6 large ripe tomatoes, or 1 can (28 ounces) fire-roasted whole tomatoes, drained
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 medium onion, peeled, quartered
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 to 3 canned chipotle chilies in adobo (to taste)
2 to 3-inch piece Mexican cinnamon bark, or 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons coarse (kosher) salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
1/2 cup olive, or vegetable, oil
1 sprig mint, or pinch ground dried mint
Method
1. To make the meatballs, combine the meatball ingredients in a large bowl; mix with your hands. Refrigerate, covered, for 1 hour.
2. Meanwhile, for the sauce, if using fresh tomatoes, place on a cooking sheet and broil, turning once or twice until the skins blister and blacken, about 10 minutes. Peel the skin off tomatoes and place the peeled (or canned tomatoes) into a blender or food processor. Put the garlic and onion into a hot, dry skillet and cook, turning occasionally, over medium heat, until the garlic is lightly browned and the onion is lightly scorched. Add to the blender along with 1/2 cup of the broth, chipotles to taste (start with 1), cinnamon, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth. Taste, and add more chipotles if desired.
3. Heat oil in a large, heavy, and deep skillet over medium heat until quite hot but not smoking.
4. Add the tomato mixture and “fry” until it thickens (it will splatter), about 10 minutes. Stir in the remaining 2 cups broth and heat to a boil. Stir in mint. Taste again, adjust salt and pepper, and add some adobo from the canned chilies if not spicy enough.
5. Shape the meat mixture into meatballs (about 1 inch diameter); the mixture should make 60 meatballs. Add the meatballs to the sauce. Shake the pan once or twice in the first five minutes of cooking to prevent sticking. Simmer slowly until the meatballs are done, about 30 minutes.
by Les Dames d’Escoffier Chicago
edited by Carol Mighton Haddix
from Chicago Cooks
(Surrey Books, 2007)
Makes 10 servings
This was one of the first salads Convito Italiano carried. I invented it literally out of what was left in the refrigerator that day. Our first tiny shop in Wilmette had no walk-ins – just one little refrigerator. To this day, this salad is a customer favorite. —Nancy Brussat Barocci
Ingredients
For the vegetables
2 cups julienned carrots (2 inches long)
2 cups julienned zucchini
1 cup peapods, trimmed
1 cup peeled, seeded, julienned cucumbers
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
For the vinaigrette
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
Freshly ground black pepper
Method
1. Combine the vegetables and parsley in large bowl.
2. For the vinaigrette, combine the oil, vinegar, salt, basil, oregano, and pepper in a medium bowl; whisk to combine.
by Les Dames d’Escoffier Chicago
edited by Carol Mighton Haddix
from Chicago Cooks
(Surrey Books, 2007)
Makes 8 servings
I developed this recipe and brought it to several Les Dames functions, where it quickly became a favorite of two early members of our Chicago chapter, Katherine Smith and Marian Tripp. The salad is best made with the lovely goat cheese named for another member, Sofia Solomon: Capriole farm’s award-winning “Sofia.” — Karen Levin
Ingredients
3 medium red bell peppers
3 medium yellow bell peppers
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon-style, or hot Dijon-style, mustard
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup thinly sliced basil leaves
4 ounces best quality goat cheese, crumbled
Method
1. Preheat the broiler. Cut the peppers lengthwise into quarters; discard stems and seeds. Place the peppers, skin-side-up, on a foil-lined jelly roll pan or baking sheet. Broil 3 to 4 inches from the heat source until the skin is evenly blackened, 12 to 14 minutes. Wrap the peppers up in the foil from the pan and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, combine the oil, vinegar, mustard, garlic, salt, sugar, and pepper in a small bowl and whisk together to make the dressing.
3. Unwrap the peppers. Working over the foil, peel off and discard the blackened skin. Pour any accumulated pepper juices from the foil into the dressing.
4. Arrange the peppers attractively in a shallow 1 1/2-quart oval or round serving dish. Whisk the dressing and drizzle over the peppers. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, or cover and refrigerate up to 2 days.
5. Before serving, bring to room temperature and top with the basil and goat cheese. Top with additional freshly ground black pepper if desired.
