Sweet Potato Layer Cake

Thanksgiving is long over, but for me, sweet potatoes make the year-round cut.  This sweet potato layer cake is loaded up with cream cheese, pecans, and a lotta brown sugar. 

Although the Rolling Stones may have had some other kind of "sweet" in mind when they were in America recording parts of their 1971 album, Sticky Fingers, I can't help but pair this rich dessert with their infamous, twangy chart-topper, "Brown Sugar".

Cake batter:

--3 large sweet potatoes (baked, skinned, and mashed)

--8 oz. cream cheese

--1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

--2 c. dark brown sugar

--5 large eggs

--2 tsp. vanilla

--1 tbsp. ground cinnamon

--2 tsp. ground nutmeg

--2 tsp. baking powder

--1 tsp. baking soda

--3 c. cake flour

--pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter and flour two 10" spring-form cake pans.

In a large bowl, beat on medium speed the butter, brown sugar, cream cheese, and vanilla until smooth and creamy.  Add eggs and blend.  Add the sweet potatoes, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Beat on medium speed until blended.  

In a separate bowl, mix the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Fold into the sweet potato batter.  Once the flour is folded in, pour the batter into the two spring-form pans and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.  Once a cake tester comes out clean, remove cakes and allow to cool for approx. 1 hour.  

While the cakes are cooling, you've gotta make the brown sugar pecan butter and the cream cheese icing.

Brown Sugar Pecan Butter:

--1/2 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

--1 c. dark brown sugar

--1/2 c. chopped pecans

Cream the butter, brown sugar, and pecans.  Place in refrigerator until ready to use.

Cream Cheese Icing:

--8 oz. cream cheese

--1/4 c. dark brown sugar

--1 tsp. vanilla

--1/2 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

--1 c. confectioner's sugar (or more, if you like your icing on the thicker side)

Cream together and place in refrigerator, along with your brown sugar pecan butter, until the cakes have cooled off and are ready to be frosted. 

Once the cakes have cooled, remove from pans and cut through (horizontally) using a serrated-edged knife (you want to cut the cakes so that you have four thin cake "discs").  Lay one of the "bottom" pieces cut-side-up on a plate.  Spread cream cheese icing and top with 1/5 of the brown sugar pecan butter.  Place one of the "bottom" pieces cut-side-up on top, and repeat instructions for icing and brown sugar pecan butter.  Next, lay the remaining "top" piece cut-side-up on top of the previously iced piece, and repeat icing and buttering.  Finally, place the last piece (a "bottom" piece) bottom-side-up on top of the last iced piece (placing the "bottom" side up allows you to have a smooth, flat cake top).  

Use remaining cream cheese icing to spread across cake top and sides.  Add the remaining brown sugar pecan butter to the iced cake top and swirl.  

This cake is incredibly rich, sweet, and delicious.  

Dog Days Salad with Agave Yellow Corn

I know, I know: It's the dead of winter.  But the past few days have been unseasonably warm in Virginia, filling my mind with thoughts of July-weather barbecuing, garden sprouts, and Beat Happening's "Indian Summer" (a song that, in its canted keys, captures a longing for unexpected dog days and heat waves that pop up in early September).  

Driving around town with my windows down, I thought about what I might whip up for such a pleasantly balmy winter night.  Aside from grilled meat, one of my summer favorites: green bean and tomato salad with a side of agave yellow corn.  Although the farmers' markets have closed here as the cold weather has seeped in, it's still possible to find greens (and reds and yellows and oranges) for a late-January veggie feast.  I like to use a variety of tomatoes in this salad, bringing different colors, textures, and levels of sweetness.  Unique tomato pick: black tomatoes bring complexity to any salad, both visually and taste-fully. 

And finally, although I can't claim to know too much about vegan cooking on the whole (as you may have noticed, I'm a bit of a cheese fiend), this entire dinner fits the vegan mold!  (If you're looking for more vegan recipes, I'm happy to share the wealth: This Vegan House, a rad vegan cooking blog created by one of my best friends.) 

The Salad:

--1 lb. fresh green beans

--2 yellow tomatoes

--2 orange tomatoes

--1 handful black cherry tomatoes

--1 handful red cherry tomatoes

--1 large sweet yellow onion, chopped

--1 clove garlic, minced

--6-8 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

--2 tbsp. salt

--2 tbsp. freshly ground pepper

--1 lemon, for zesting

First, rinse green beans and snip ends on both sides.  Boil for approx. 10 minutes (they'll still be pretty crisp at this point, just how I like them).  Then, place them in a large bowl of ice water, shocking them.  They can remain here until they're ready to be mixed in with the other salad ingredients.

In a large salad bowl, begin creating your dressing: add approx. 6 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, and lemon zest.  In a small pan, heat approx. 1 tbsp. olive oil and sauté garlic.  Allow to cool, and then add to olive oil dressing and stir. 

In the same pan (in which you sautéed the garlic), add the chopped onion and another tbsp. of olive oil.  Turn heat to low, cover all onion pieces in olive oil, and simmer until onions becoming crispy, stirring occasionally.  

In a separate bowl, chop large tomatoes into 1-inch cubes and quarter the cherry tomatoes.

Add to dressing and stir to coat.  Mix in green beans and top with crispy yellow onions.

Agave Yellow Corn:

--4 ears yellow corn, shucked

--6 tbsp. agave nectar

This is super easy, but also a very tasty and sweet side for the green bean salad.  In a large pot, boil 2 quarts water and mix in the agave nectar.  Once agave has dissolved into the water,  add ears of corn and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes.  (I prefer my corn on the softer side.  If you like it "just cooked," you'll only need to boil for about 5 minutes.  But, keep in mind, the longer it's in the pot, the more the agave flavoring will seep in.)

Chana Masaledar

Comfort Food, Indian Style: Chana Masaledar, adapted from Madhur Jaffrey's 1973 kitchen textbook, "An Invitation to Indian Cooking", with some hints from the voluminous, cloth-encased "India: The Cookbook" (the cookbook for transporting India to home kitchens in America and elsewhere? What a bold claim!).  This hearty, rich, chickpea- and tomato-based stew is perfect for a lovely winter dinner, or, conversely, for watching NFL Championship Sunday playoffs (I'm guilty of the latter).  Move over, chili and cheese dip. 

Truth be told, I'm also just a sucker for good Indian food, sans American football.  I've tried my hand at a variety of different recipes from the subcontinent, ranging from samosas and other appetizers to rice-based desserts.  Often, I find the savory fare a bit trickier than other main-course dishes I'm used to preparing: the spice combinations don't come as naturally to me.  As a result, I'll typically test out a combination of various versions and adaptations, happily consuming the practice batches.  I think this one's a keeper.

And what tune best complements an American kitchen flavored with garam masala and amchur powder?  Big Star's "The India Song".  After all, I'm cooking in Virginia, but *I'd like to go to India*.

Ingredients:
--2 cans (15 oz cans) chickpeas
--2 large tomatoes, chopped (keep the juices!)
--2 tbsp. tomato paste
--approx. 2 tbsp. olive oil
--1 large yellow onion, chopped
--2 cloves garlic, minced (by the way, the Casserole Queens of Austin, TX have a great suggestion for peeling garlic before mincing it--just stick it in the microwave for a few seconds, and the shells pop right off!)
--4 tsp. cumin
--1 tbsp. ground coriander
--2 tsp. turmeric
--2 tsp. ground ginger
--2 tsp. garam masala
--2 tsp. paprika
--4 tsp. amchur powder (I found this locally in Charlottesville at Foods of All Nations)
--1 tsp. cayenne pepper
--1 tbsp. salt, or to taste 
--1 c. basmati rice (you can also use any other kind of rice you like, such as brown or jasmine, but the basmati tends to be the fluffiest, pairing well with a thick sauce)
--pinch of saffron (optional)

In a saucepan, drizzle the olive oil and heat over medium.  Add the chopped onions and minced garlic and sauté until golden brown, about 4-5 minutes.  Reduce heat to medium-low, and add all of the spices, including the salt, to the onion/garlic mixture.  Stir, and allow to simmer.  

Next, drain and rinse the chickpeas.  Add the rinsed chickpeas, the chopped tomatoes (along with all of their juices), and the tomato paste to the onion/garlic/spice combo and stir.  Allow to simmer over medium-low for approx. 15 minutes, stirring frequently, or until desired thickness is obtained (the longer you let it simmer, the thicker it will get).  

While your chana masaledar is simmering, boil 2 c. water in another pot.  Once boiling, add 1 c. basmati rice, turn heat down to low, cover, and allow basmati rice to cook for approx. 25 min.  If desired, add a pinch of saffron to the rice.  Fluff with a fork and serve with chana masadelar spooned over rice. 

This makes quite a bit of food, but it's just as delicious re-heated the next day (or the day after that). 

Baklava (or, I've Died and Gone to Pastry Heaven)

This has been an absolute, without-a-doubt, all-time favorite dessert of mine for as long as I can remember.  I've heard that it's a terribly difficult one to make and that phyllo dough is impossible to work with, but I'm here to tell you: it's not true!  It is important to be careful when handling the phyllo dough and to keep it moist while creating this lovely, layered treat, but it's entirely possible.  

I must admit: I was inspired to create my own version of this, for the very first time, since I began planning a trip to Istanbul.  A visit to the center of delicious baklava production?  My tastebuds can't wait!  In particular, I'm aching to have the genuine version from Güllüoğlu.  While New York now has its own Güllüoğlu Cafe, I'm thrilled to try it at its point of origin.   

What song pairs best with this Turkish, honey-drenched pastry?  One of the first songs that made me dream of leaving America to see the world: the Feelies' Moscow Nights.  Although I've traveled around since hearing it many years ago, its bold beat and tragic lyrics continually reinvigorate my wanderlust.  

Pastry and Filling:

--1 box frozen phyllo dough (I buy this at Whole Foods, and then I thaw it according to the package instructions, which typically suggest 7-8 hours in the refrigerator, followed by 2 hours on the countertop before use)

--1 pound pistachios

--1/2 pound walnuts

--1/2 c. light brown sugar

--1 tbsp. cinnamon

--1 tsp. ground cloves

--1 tsp. ground cardamom

--1 tsp. ground allspice

--4 sticks unsalted butter 

Place pistachios and walnuts in a food processor and pulse until chopped but not powdery.  In a medium-sized bowl, combine chopped nuts, brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and allspice.  Mix well.  (The colors are gorgeous.)

In another medium-sized bowl, melt 4 sticks of butter (I know this seems like a lot of butter, but it makes the pastry dough flaky and delicious).  Now remove the phyllo from its packaging, and rest on a clean surface on top of a damp, kitchen towel.  If you're using a 13x9" pan (as I did), you'll need to cut the phyllo to the correct measurements.  Using kitchen shears, cut all sheets--all at once!--into 13x9" rectangles and discard scraps.  Place another damp kitchen towel on top of the trimmed dough sheets.  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Now, using a pastry brush (I used a new silicone one that worked amazingly--thank you, Molly!!), generously butter the insides of your pan.  Carefully lay down one sheet of phyllo dough and then brush butter across the entire top.  Lay another phyllo sheet down on top of the first one, and butter again with pastry brush.  Repeat this step until you have 8 sheets of dough layered in your pan.  Then, spoon out 1/3 of your nut mixture and spread evenly.  Continue with another round of phyllo sheets and butter, this time using only 4 sheets.  After you've gotten 4 pieces of phyllo down on top of your first layer of nuts and spices, add another layer of that pistachio, almond, and spice mix, using about 1/3 of the mixture.  Then add another four buttered phyllo sheets, one at a time, followed by the final third of the mixture.  Then add the final four phyllo sheets, and make sure to butter the top (and final) sheet.  

Next, you must score the baklava.  You can create any shape you'd like (squares, rectangles, and so forth), but I wanted to make the traditional diamond-shaped pastries.  To do this, make four deep cuts length-wise across the dish.  Then, make six angled cuts, creating a criss-cross diamond pattern (see image).

Bake for approx. 40 minutes, or until top sheet is golden brown.  Remove and let cool for just about 5-10 minutes.  Re-score the dish, making sure the cuts between each piece remain (you want to make sure the syrup will soak in evenly). 

While your dish is baking, it's time to make the syrup.

Syrup:

--1 c. white sugar

--1 c. honey (I used orange blossom honey to give it a slight citrus flavor, but any will do)

--2/3 c. water

--1 tsp. cardamom

--1 tsp. clove

--1 tsp. allspice

Stirring regularly, bring the sauce to a boil over medium heat, until both sugar and honey are dissolved.  Cook on medium-low for about 5-10 minutes, or until the syrup is relatively thick.

Pour the syrup evenly over your cooling baklava.  Cover, and allow it to sit at room temperature for 8 hours.  (I know this is difficult, but the syrup will not have soaked into the pastry without this length of time.  It requires both strength and willpower.)

It's so worth the wait.

Sweet 'n Savory Fig Profiteroles

I've been thinking about making savory profiteroles (also known as gougères) for quite awhile now.  I love the combination of a buttery, flaky crust with a filling that's both sweet and salty.  Since there are few fresh fruits available during these January days, I decided to use dried figs as the base of this hors d'oeuvre.  

A buttery shell with a fig, mascarpone, ricotta, and honey filling.  (I am crazy about honey.  There are so many different kinds, exhibiting different flavors and colors, and it's amazing to me that wooden boxes full of little honey bees yield this natural sweetener.)

Since profiteroles are better known as "cream puffs" in America, I decided to pair this snack with a "second-hand song".  I love the sweet sadness of the original, but Dinosaur Jr.'s cover of the Cure's "Just Like Heaven" rocks. 

Profiteroles: (I adapted this pastry shell from Ina Garten's recipe--thanks, Ina!)

--1/2 c. whole milk

--4 tbsp. butter

--pinch of salt

--1/2 c. flour

--2 eggs

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 

In a saucepan, combine milk, butter, and salt over medium heat.  Once the butter is melted, add flour and quickly stir with a wooden spoon.  Once a dough has formed in the saucepan (approx. 2 min), remove dough to a large bowl.  Using dough hooks on your hand mixer, combine eggs, one at a time, into the mixture until you have a thick dough.  

Line a pan with parchment paper.  Spoon the dough into a pastry bag with a round tip, and pipe 1-inch mounds onto parchment paper, approx 1.5 inches apart.  (Your dough should make about 8-10 profiteroles.)  Once you've piped your puffs onto the baking sheets, dip the tip of your finger in water and smooth all edges of the profiteroles so that they look like soft-edged mounds.  Bake for approx. 20 min, or until tops are golden brown.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Fig Filling: 

--10 dried figs

--8 oz. mascarpone

--1 c. ricotta 

--1/2 c. honey (I used local wildflower honey, but any will do.  You can search for your own local honey producers here!)

--1 tsp. cinnamon

--1 tsp. ground cloves

--1 tsp. ground cardamom

Cut stems from figs.  Place figs in glass bowl and pour boiling water over figs so that they're covered.  Allow them to sit in the boiling water for approx. 10 min, or until softened.  Drain and remove figs to a food processor, and pulse until you've made a fig paste.  Add mascarpone, ricotta, honey, and spices to food processor and pulse until you've made your filling!

Once the profiteroles have cooled, gently cut off their tops with a sharp knife.  Spoon in 2-3 tbsps. of filling per puff, and then replace top.  Yum!!

Macadamia Macaroons

When daydreaming, my mind sometimes drifts to coconut desserts paired with nuts and chocolates.   I first made these cookies last year and brought some of the extras into the English department.  A professor tried one and sweetly described these as the non-fiction version of Marcel Proust's madeleine.  Needless to say, my heart was warmed.  

I wish I knew whether this dessert could magically spark memories of both time and loves (lost), but in lieu of promising you such an edible entity, I can supply such a song.  One of my own "madeleines," so to speak, has forever been Leonard Cohen's "Lady Midnight".  And while it can't kindle an olfactory memory, on a winter night, I love a pretty song paired with a whimsically warm coconut treat.   

Ingredients:

--1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk

--1 bag (14 oz.) sweetened shredded coconut

--1/2 c. white chocolate pieces (yes, I love white chocolate)

--1/2 c. chopped macadamia nuts

--2 eggs whites, at room temperature

--pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  

In a medium bowl, combine egg whites and pinch of salt.  Beat the egg whites on high speed until they form medium-stiff peaks.  In a separate large bowl, combine coconut, sweetened condensed milk, white chocolate, and macadamia nuts.  Slowly fold in the stiffened egg whites (do not mix!).  

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  Using a 2-inch ice-cream scoop, place macaroon "scoops" approx. 1/2 inch apart on the parchment-lined baking sheets (I usually place 8 scoops per sheet--the recipe makes 16 macaroons).  Bake for 30 minutes, or until the tops are toasted. 

Allow to cool.  Enjoy warm or chilled (I recommend sampling both!). 

Parmesan, Rosemary, and Potato Soup

Any soup sounds delicious on a cold, rainy day.  And while I probably wouldn't mind being one of Bob Dylan's Rainy Day Women while creating a winter stew, if I were being choosy, I'd rather have a place on his 1975 album, Blood on the Tracks. 

So, for a rainy day, I'll take his "Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts." 

I've seen a lot of different recipes for potato soups, using a variety of stocks, cheeses, and meats.  I like Smitten Kitchen's Baked Potato Soup with bacon and sour cream, and you can't go wrong with a Julia Child creation, such as her Cream of Leek and Potato Soup (thanks for posting this, Food Network!).

I've made potato soup using both beef and chicken stock bases, thickened and smoothed with different proportions of milks and creams.  But today, I wanted a really cheesy potato soup.  So, my recipe features cream cheese in lieu of any milk, heavy cream, half & half, sour cream, and/or crème fraîche. 

Leftovers alert:  This makes a lot of soup!

Ingredients:

--1 clove garlic

--1 medium yellow onion

--4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

--Two 8 oz packages cream cheese (you can also use neufchâtel, which is a bit creamier than traditional cream cheese)

--2 c. freshly grated parmesan

--Approx. 48 oz. chicken broth (you can make your own, of course, but this is one ingredient that I typically just buy)

--12 medium-sized red potatoes

--3 sprigs of rosemary

--salt & pepper

Mince garlic clove and coarsely chop yellow onion.  In a large stockpot, heat olive oil on low-medium heat, and add garlic and onions.  Sauté until golden colored (approx. 5-7 minutes), then remove from heat.

Skin and peel the red potatoes.  Then cut into approx. 1-inch pieces (to do this, cut the potato in half, and then quarter each half).  Add to stockpot, and pour in approx. 48 oz. chicken broth, or until the potatoes are just covered (you should be able to see the potatoes just peeking out of the top of the broth).  Bring to a medium boil and stir--remember, the sautéed garlic and onion mixture should still be in the pot.  Cover pot and boil for approx. 35 minutes, or until potatoes are soft.  Turn off heat.

Now for the cheese: Cut the cream cheese (two 8 oz. packages) into cubes and add to stockpot, mixing sporadically.  Next add 2 c. grated parmesan, stir, and allow to melt into mixture.  Now add salt and pepper to taste (probably about 2-4 tsp. of each, depending on your preference).  Then chop up your rosemary leaves (I use the rosemary I grow on my back porch, and I *love* that it lives through winter), and add the rosemary pieces to the pot and stir. 

Finally, using a potato masher, mash all of the ingredients in the stock pot as if you're making mashed potatoes.  This makes the soup creamy and smooth with just a few small chunks of potato (exactly how I like it). 

Serve in bowls with a sprig of rosemary for garnish, paired with a crusty French baguette.  Enjoy!

Winter White Amaretto Shortbread

I have always loved shortbread, and its ever-presence in bakery cases from the East to West coasts suggests I'm not alone.  (In fact, it seems there's an ongoing debate as to whether it's the greatest British biscuit of all time.)  

Although I've claimed to bake to the tunes of American rock 'n roll, I'm going to cheat (just a little!).  I've created some American-Italian Amaretto shortbread (edged in almond and white chocolate), traditionalized with a dash of England: A live version of the Clash's "London Calling", featuring some rad close-ups of the ever-cool Joe Strummer.

Dough:

--3 c. flour

--1 1/2 c. butter, softened

--1 1/2 c. confectioner's sugar

--1 egg yolk

--4 tbsp. amaretto liqueur (if you want this flavor to be especially strong, you can add another tbsp)

--1 tsp. vanilla

--dash of salt

Blend butter and confectioner's sugar until smooth.  Mix in 1 egg yolk.  Add amaretto and vanilla.  To this blended mixture, add flour and salt.  Mix until dough forms, then wrap in plastic and refrigerate for approximately 1 hour.  (You can refrigerate the dough for longer if you'd like--up to a few days.)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Remove the dough from the refrigerator and cut it in half.  On a lightly floured surface, lightly roll each block of dough into an approx. 1/4" rectangular shape and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet (don't over-roll it!).  Bake at 325 degrees for approx. 30 minutes, or until your giant cookie rectangles are lightly browned.  Remove from oven.  While the shortbread is still warm, cut into whatever shape(s) you'd like--you can use a cookie cutter, a circular biscuit cutter, or you can cut by hand (which I did, to make pie-like cookie slices). 

White chocolate almond dip:

--1/2 bag white chocolate chips (I always use Ghirardelli)

--1/2 cup almonds, chopped

--2 tbsp. vegetable oil

In a small saucepan, heat--on low!--white chocolate chips and 2 tbsp. vegetable oil.  (The vegetable oil makes this mixture smooth and creamy, but you could also substitute the vegetable oil for cocoa butter, if you'd prefer it.)  Once chocolate is melted and smooth, mix in chopped almonds.  Individually dip the edges of your cookies into the white chocolate mixture and allow to cool in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes, or until chocolate has hardened.  Store in an airtight container. 

Asiago Bacon Mac & Cheese

On a cold day (I can eat forever): 1950s American comfort food.  With Buddy Holly's "Rave On" playing, an apron tied around my waist in a bow, and a lot of extra butter from the holidays waiting expectantly in the refrigerator, it makes perfect sense to start a béchamel sauce for an amped-up take on the classic dish. 

There are a lot of great recipes for Mac & Cheese floating around cyberspace.  Personally, I'm partial to Paula Deen's Southern special and Gourmet Magazine's addition of Japanese panko (yes, the airy breadcrumbs that coat delicious Agedashi tofu). 

What could be better than large quantities of cheddar cheese and panko?  Usually, bacon.  With some applewood-smoked center-cut bacon, a blend of asiago, parmesan, provolone, and mozzarella cheeses, along with some fresh thyme, I think this mac & cheese is a winner.

Pasta ("mac"):

--1 lb. uncooked shells (I used medium shells made with artichoke flour, purchased in bulk from Whole Foods)

Boil shells, for approx. 7-8 minutes, until al dente.  Strain, and pour into a 9x13 baking dish. 

Sauce ("& cheese"):

--1/2 stick (4 tbsp) salted butter

--1/2 cup flour

--4 c. milk (I use 2%--you could also use whole milk, but skim won't cut it)

--approx. 4oz. mozzarella (half a block)

--approx. 8oz. asiago (typically, 2 cut triangles from your local deli--you'll want to buy the freshly cut versions of these cheeses, and you'll find them cut in the shapes of pie slices, or upside-down isosceles triangles)

--approx 4 oz. provolone (typically, 1 cut triangle from your local deli)

--6 slices applewood-smoked, center-cut bacon

Before beginning, grate the mozzarella, asiago, and provolone cheeses into a bowl.  Melt butter in saucepan on medium heat.  Slowly whisk in 1/2 c. flour, followed by the milk, to make a béchamel sauce (from a simple roux).  Remove saucepan from heat, and then whisk in the cheese bowl (remember: no parmesan here--your parmesan is for your topping).  Stir continuously until cheese has melted into the sauce.  (Now, you've turned your béchamel sauce into a moray sauce!). 

In a separate pan, fry the bacon.  Allow it to cool on paper towels, and then cut or crumble it into the sauce.  Stir, and add salt and pepper to taste.

Pour mixture over the shells, and stir to make sure all shells are covered in your cheese sauce.

The topping ("and then some"):

--2 toasted slices of Italian bread

--5-6 sprigs of fresh thyme

--approx. 2 oz. grated parmesan (typically, half of a triangle from your local deli)

Crumble bread into small pieces and mix with grated parmesan and fresh thyme (I love removing thyme from its sprigs--just slide two fingers down each sprig, and the little leaves jump right off!).  Sprinkle breadcrumb mixture on top of shells, now covered in the cheese sauce.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes, or until cheese is bubbling and breadcrumbs are browning (but not burning).  

Enjoy!

And re-heat leftovers tomorrow.  Why not?

Hot Buttered Rum Pecan Pie with Rum Whipped Cream

As football season ends, the weather grows bitter, and I listen to the Old 97's "Big Brown Eyes," I dream of winter pie recipes (if only to hold onto the remaining specks of the holiday season in the January air).  

This past December, I experimented with one of my favorite southern treats: the pecan pie.  Elvis Presley's supposed favorite version, from the "Are You Hungry Tonight?" cookbook, proved a bit too close to an egg custard.  The Loveless Cafe, a Nashville landmark, publishes their recipe, and it's a pecan pie worthy of the Country Music Capital.  Yet, I wanted to put my own mark on the pecan pie market.  In addition to using local green eggs from Red Hill Farm, I've made some other important and sweet revisions to the classic:

Pie Crust:

[I promise, you can make an easy and delicious pie crust from scratch.]

--1 1/4 c. flour

--1/2 c. butter, cold

--1/4 c. ice water (I keep mine in the freezer for about 10 minutes before use)

Pour flour into a large bowl.  Then, cut in the butter.  (If you have a large food processor, you can put the flour and sliced butter in and pulse until crumbly.  I do mine by hand, meaning that I use two butter knives and cut the butter into the flour until there are small, crumbly chunks of butter throughout the flour mixture.)  Next, pour in ice water and mix together.  The dough may feel dry at first, but don't add more water!  Continue kneading until all dry flour has been absorbed.  Finally, form the dough into a ball, flour a flat surface, and roll the dough into a rough circle.  Place in a 9" pie dish and trim the edges, leaving about 1" hanging over the dish.  Roll the remaining edge over and pinch to create a crust, then press with any design of choice. 

Filling:

--3 large eggs

--3/4 c. dark brown sugar

--1 c. dark corn syrup

--2 tsp. vanilla extract

--4 tbsp. (melted and cooled) unsalted butter

--1 1/2 to 2 c. pecan pieces

--1 shot of dark rum

Whisk eggs in large bowl.  Whisk in dark brown sugar, vanilla, corn syrup, rum, and butter.  Line the bottom of the uncooked pie crust with pecans.  Pour filling mixture into pie crust and bake at 375 degrees for approximately 35 minutes.  (When the pie is done, it will puff significantly, and you'll be able to shake it without it jiggling in the center.)  Remove from oven and let cool for at least 1 hour.

Rum Whipped Cream:

--1 pint heavy whipping cream

--1 cup sugar in the raw (it makes the whipped cream sparkle while also giving it a crunchy sugar taste)

--1 shot dark rum

--1 tsp. vanilla extract

Pour ingredients into bowl and beat on medium speed until desired consistency is obtained (approximately 3-4 minutes).  

To serve, reheat pie and dollop with whipped cream.