I don’t know about you, but whenever I have company coming, and decide to bake at the last minute, I’m inevitably out of one or more of the ingredients I need to make whatever it is I want to make. With 18″ of snow on the ground and a 2WD pickup, there was no way I was going out for eggs or white sugar today, so here’s the recipe for the no-egg company cake that is cooling on my dining room table as I type.

In the absence of eggs, the reaction of baking soda and vinegar provides the leavening needed for a light, fluffy cake. This recipe can be used as a base for any number of mix-ins – add chocolate chips for a chocolate chip cookie cake, cocoa or melted baking chocolate for a simple chocolate cake, cinnamon, nutmeg, and raisins for a spice cake, or galangal, pepper, coconut, and ginger for an eastern flavor.

No-Egg Company Cake

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 cup half and half
• 1 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup melted butter
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350° F; lightly grease a 13×9″ pan. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda. Set aside. In a separate bowl, stir together remaining ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry, stirring until just combined. Pour into pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool.

Quick Chocolate Spice Frosting

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup softened butter
• pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 5 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup strong brewed coffee, cooled
• 2 tablespoons whole milk

Mix together butter, salt, cinnamon, sugar, and cocoa until ingredients are well-combined and butter is evenly distributed. Slowly add coffee and milk, adding more milk if needed to achieve desired consistency. Spread on cooled cake.

My goodness! Too much cooking/blogging, too little time. No matter. I’ve been keeping track of new tasty treats in my handy dandy notebook, and I hope to spend the next week or two getting caught up on what I’ve missed. Alas, there are very few pictures involved, as I keep forgetting, but I’ll supplement with stock when I can. On to the food!

This is a great spring/summer dish with lots of fresh flavors; it’s another throw-together meal that was created out of desperation and lack of planning.

Ginger-Sesame Noodles

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces udon
• 3 carrots
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2″ piece ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds

Prepare udon as per package directions; drain and set aside. Dice the carrots into 1/4″ cubes. Heat a sauté pan over medium-high heat and add vegetable oil and carrots. While carrots are cooking, grate or juice ginger (see below). When carrots have just begun to soften, add ginger, red pepper, sesame oil, vinegar, and soy sauce. Stir to combine. Add noodles to pan and toss to coat. Continue to cook until noodles are heated through and begin to take on a bit of color. Add sesame seeds and toss well before serving.

Serves 4-6.

Ginger tip: Keep your ginger in the freezer.To season, cut off the required amount and microwave for 20-30 seconds. Cool and squeeze ginger over a bowl to release the juice. This is my favorite way to get fresh ginger flavor into a dish without the hassle of grating.

There’s a sushi restaurant a few towns over where we go to dinner with friends once a year or so. I’m not a big sushi fan, but I am consistently wowed by their coconut chicken and broccoli. A few weeks ago when cleaning out the pantry, I noticed what I thought was a can of coconut milk left over from my birthday party in April, and decided to try my hand at a similar dish. When I got around to it earlier this week, I discovered that what I thought was coconut milk was actually sweetened cream of coconut — but I decided to use our classic “throw stuff together and see what happens” method of meal preparation. Good gracious, I’m glad I did.

Coconut Chicken

Ingredients:

• 3-4 pounds bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 15-ounce can cream of coconut, mixed well
  
• 6-8 whole cloves
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
• Fried chow mein noodles (optional)
• Cooked medium-grain rice (optional)

Place the chicken in a large baking dish and roast at 350° F until chicken is fully cooked. Set aside to cool.

When chicken is cool, remove meat from bones and roughly chop. In a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat, warm the oil and add the chicken. Cook until chicken is lightly brown and slightly crispy on the edges. Stir in coconut, cloves, soy, ginger, and Worcestershire sauce.Reduce heat to medium and cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a small bowl, whisk together water and cornstarch. Add to pan and stir until mixture is evenly distributed. Add lime juice. Increase heat slightly and simmer for 3-5 minutes, or until sauce has reduced considerably and become glossy. Stir in walnuts. Serve immediately, over rice and topped with chow mein noodles* if desired.

Serves 4-6

*As you can see from the image at top, I like mine with a lot of chow mein noodles…

Whether you slather it with maple at Thanksgiving or bathe it in raspberry at Easter, glazed ham is a holiday tradition. But why save your ham for the holidays? Inspired by leftover baked ham in our freezer (not left from a holiday, I promise…) and a few random additions from our pantry, a “what on earth are we having for dinner?” night turned into a very delicious, quiet (because we were too busy eating to talk) meal. Since cous cous is not only a favorite but a pantry staple for us, that’s what we served our ham over this time around; next time, I think I’ll try it with some sage stuffing and possible a citrus sparkle.

Pan-Glazed Ham and Walnuts

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds baked ham
• 1/3 cup orange juice concentrate
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened strawberry jelly (we prefer Smucker’s Simply Fruit or Polaner All Fruit)
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• pinch cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup walnut pieces

Cut ham into bite-sized cubes; set aside. In a large skillet, heat orange juice, jelly, and spices over low heat. Stir constantly until mixture is homogenous and starts to bubble. Add ham and stir to coat. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes or until glaze has thickened considerably. Add walnuts and toss. Continue to cook 1-2 minutes or until ham and walnuts are thoroughly coated and no glaze remains in pan bottom. Serve immediately.

It’s not cabin fever if you’re not going crazy…Mer and I were both home today due to the lovely snow and ice that was dumped on us last night. I made mention this morning of making soup from last night’s leftovers, but got into the groove that is work-from-home goodness and forgot about it. A few hours later, I noticed Mer had something brewing on the stove. What followed may be the best damn chicken soup I’ve had in a long time (which is saying something, because I don’t generally like rice in my soup.)

Pardon me. I need to pause to go get more soup. Yum.

The end result is a bit more like porridge than soup – sticky, viscous, and just a little bit sweet. If you prefer your soup more…soupy, add more water with the rice at the end.

An extra bonus – it’s not only hearty, but cheap! I’d estimate that this entire pot of food cost us less than $3 to make. (We buy most of our food in bulk and on sale, so YMMV.)

Anyway…here’s the recipe, as best as she can remember it. Eat. Share. Enjoy.

Minimalist Balsamic Chicken Soup

Ingredients:

• 8 chicken drumsticks, roasted and cooled
• Water (see below)
• 1/2 cup dried minced onion
• 1 tablespoon celery salt
• 1 tablespoon garlic paste or chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 1/4 cups medium-grain white rice
• 2 tablespoons chicken base*, or to taste

Separate meat from bones and set meat aside. Place the bones in a pot with enough cold tap water so that they float above the bottom of the pan. Set over medium heat and cook, uncovered, for about an hour, adding more water if needed to keep bones covered. Add onion, celery salt, garlic, ginger, and vinegar. Continue to cook for 2-3 hours, adding water if needed, until bones become soft and easily breakable. Strain and return liquid to pot. Add reserved meat, rice, and chicken base. Continue to cook over medium heat until rice is tender; serve immediately.

Serves 4-6

*The link goes to a product called Better than Boullion, which is our preferred soup base. I encourage you to seek out local supplies (restaurant supply stores sometimes carry them, as do farmer’s markets), but please don’t use those awful foil-wrapped boullion cubes here.

Today, like so many others, was an unplanned dinner day, where we pick and choose random things from the pantry and hope we end up with something good. Our base for this meal was a package of wonderful smoked pork chops from the box of meat* my dad gave us for Christmas. I started with the idea of a traditional pork chops and applesauce meal, and this chutney was born out of necessity: with no apple sauce in the house (and no time to make any before dinner), I decided to make a chutney from the dried apples on the shelf.

I didn’t really have any idea what I was doing, and ended up partially live-blogging the experience (and the resulting cup of tea) on Facebook, which went a little something like this:

1. Boil water to rehydrate apples
2. Pour water on apples
3. Make tea with leftover water
4. Drink tea
5. Add dried cranberries to the soaking water, ‘cos I can
6. Get ass in gear because Mer’s already frying pork chops
7. Drain and chop apples, cursing inwardly at the fruit that is still roughly the temperature of its soaking water
8. Decide to fry this shit up
9. Drink tea while waiting for Mer to finish frying pork

The end result (above), served with a side of cous cous cooked in chicken broth, was a completely amazing dinner that I can’t wait to make again. I only hope tomorrow’s leftovers are as good as tonight’s meal.

Dried Apple Chutney

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups dried apples
• 1/2 cup unsweetened dried cranberries
• 1 quart boiling water
• 1/4 cup dried minced onions
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons garam masala
• 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups hard cider**

Place apples and cranberries in large bowl and cover with boiling water. Cover tightly and let sit 15 minutes. In a separate bowl, combine cider and onion. Let sit.

Carefully drain excess water from fruit, but do not squeeze. Chop apples into bite-sized pieces.

Melt butter in a sauté pan set over medium heat. Add spices and cook, stirring constantly, 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. Stir in fruit and vinegar. Increase heat to medium-high and allow to reduce by half. Add salt, pepper, and cider.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid has reduced to a light syrup. Serve immediately or cool and refrigerate.

Makes 2 1/2-3 cups.

*Yes, we got a box of meat for Christmas. My dad, a chef, gave us a box of assorted meat and poultry from his local butcher: steaks, chicken, top-quality burgers, and the yummy smoked pork we’re eating tonight. Best present EVER.

**I used Magner’s, our favorite hard cider that the local beer distributor inexplicably imports from Ireland.

Our household’s take on traditional Kashmiri Chicken: buttery and fragrant. Intense, decadent, and filling. I’m not sure how to describe this dish short of throwing out more strings of adjectives, so I’ll let this one speak for itself. Delicious over basmati rice with a side of homemade pita to mop up all that sauce. Yum.

Kashmiri Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1/4 lb (1 stick) butter
• 2/3 cup minced shallots
• 10 whole black peppercorns
• 2-3 whole cardamom pods
• 1 2-3″ cinnamon stick
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 6 chicken thighs with bones and skin
• 1 cup plain yogurt, plus extra for garnish

In a cast iron dutch oven or other wide, heavy pan with lid, melt butter over medium heat. Add shallots and spices; cook, stirring often, 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. Add chicken to pan, skin-side down, and cook until lightly browned. Move chicken to edges of pan to create well in center and slowly add yogurt to butter sauce, stirring briskly to prevent breaking. Reduce heat to low and cook 45 minutes to one hour, or until chicken separates easily from bone. Garnish with a dollop of extra yogurt just before serving.

Serves 4-6.

Bonus picture! (I’m so easily amused – I love the steam coming off the chicken.)

A long time ago, in a galaxy…er, shire not so far, far away, I played (which is to say, cooked) in the kitchens of a medieval recreational group known as the SCA. For my first and only solo run as feastocrat, I played the part of an Italian chef who had been kidnapped by German Landsknechts and forced to serve dinner to their king and queen. Tongue firmly planted in cheek, I was determined to find a way to give them what they wanted…and served up spaghetti and meatballs, medieval-style.

These meatballs, served aside pasta cooked in chicken stock and topped with shaved parmesan cheese, were as delicious as they were fun.

Spiced Meatballs

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. chicken breast meat or boneless pork loin
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp. butter, softened
• 2 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped fine
• 2 tbsp. fresh thyme, chopped fine
• 1/4 tsp. powdered ginger
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup flour, as needed
• 2 quarts chicken stock
• ground cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and shaved parmesan, for garnish

Fill a medium pot 3/4 full with cold water and bring to a simmer. Poach chicken breasts or pork until just cooked. Drain and set aside to cool. When meat is cool, shred with forks and then chop with a knife until very fine (do not use food processor).

Place shredded meat in a medium bowl and, using your hands, combine meat, cheese, butter, parsley, thyme, ginger, cloves, and pepper. Mix thoroughly. Add flour until mixture is stiff but still slightly sticky, and roll into small (3/4-1″) balls.* Roll balls in flour and set on lined sheet pan. Chill for 1 hour**.

Bring chicken stock to a boil and drop meatballs into the stock in batches. Reduce heat and simmer balls for 10-12 minutes, or until cooked through. Move finished balls to a serving dish while the other batches are being cooked.

To serve, top meatballs with a small amount of hot stock, a sprinkling of cinnamon, ginger, and cloves, and a generous amount of parmesan cheese.

Serves 6-8.

*Tip: finished balls should be the size and texture of Swedish meatballs, not traditional Italian meatballs.

**Meatballs can be frozen at this point by placing the sheet pan into the freezer until the balls have frozen solid, and then bagging the frozen pieces so that they do not stick together. Resulting meatballs can be cooked from frozen.

This post was inspired by Serge the Concierge’s Get Cooking challenge, “Meatballs for Seth“.

Image by Dalyswe.

Happy belated holidays to one and all! After the semester ended, Mer and I got to work on our holiday baking. We split our projects between family traditions and our own take on other bloggers’ recipes. Our other projects included my Magical Mint Cookies, Mer’s Date Squares, and our version of the Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies from Never Bashful with Butter.

Today’s recap is our version of the ginger-cinnamon caramels, posted at The Kitchn at Apartment Therapy. Because I didn’t have the extract called for in the original recipe, I used an infusion technique that worked wonderfully. Unfortunately, I didn’t cook the sugar enough in the first pass, so while the finished product was delightful and caramel-ly when cold, the candies melted into goo at room temperature. The recipe here is adjusted to reflect that.

Ginger-Cinnamon Caramels

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cream
• 3 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup butter chunks
• 4 cinnamon sticks
• 5″ ginger
• 1/2 tsp salt
• additional sugar for coating
• melted butter for coating the pan (approximately 3 tbsp), cooled

Line a 13×9″ pan with foil. Brush foil with melted butter and place pan in freezer until butter is set. Repeat. Return pan to freezer until ready to pour.

Peel ginger and cut into rough chunks. Place ginger, cinnamon, and cream into a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan and warm over low heat for 90 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to steep until cool. Strain and set aside, discarding cinnamon and ginger.

Combine sugar, syrup, and water in a very large, very heavy pot and stir until combined. Place over medium-high heat stir until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is smooth. Turn heat to high and cook, without stirring, until the liquid is a dark red amber color. (Do not cook past this point, or caramel will turn bitter.)

Remove from heat and whisk in butter. With your face well away from the pot, slowly and carefully whisk in the cream. (The mixture will bubble and steam.) Continue whisking until well-combined. Return to high heat and whisk until mixture boils. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches the firm-ball stage (244-248 degrees on a candy thermometer).

Remove from heat and whisk in the salt. Pour into the prepared pan. Cool at room temperature until bottom of the pan is just warm to the touch; cover and move to the refrigerator to set overnight.

Unmold the candy onto a large cutting board or sheet pan. Grease the blades of a pair of cooking shears and use them to snip the caramel into bite-sized pieces. Toss cut pieces into a large zip-top bag containing a few tablespoons of sugar and shake to coat.

Makes about 10-12 dozen pieces, depending on size.

Autumn. The leaves are falling (and clogging my gutters), the weather is changing (finally), and I start craving flavored coffee, pumpkin pie, eggnog, and amaretto – not necessarily in that order. This recipe combines two of those cravings into one sinfully delicious dessert.

Amaretto Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 cup amaretti cookies, crushed fine
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 2 cups pumpkin puree, unsweetened if canned
• 1 cup half and half
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 3 tablespoons amaretto
• 2 pinches salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Toss cookie crumbs and butter in a small bowl until well-combined. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9″ pie pan. Cover edges with tin foil and bake for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients and whisk until smooth. Pour into prepared and cooled pie shell. Bake for 45 minutes or until skewer inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely before cutting; serve with freshly whipped ginger cream (1 cup heavy cream whipped with 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger) and garnish with slivered almonds, if desired.

Image by JamesJyu.