Lunch with Chelsea and Jasmine

          One spring term at Rogue Community College, where I teach [I have since retired], I had two students in class whom I especially liked, Jasmine and Chelsea. For a special treat at the end of term, I invited them to lunch at my house.

          Jasmine is a flamenco dancer, tall and thin, with movements as graceful as though instigated by wind. Around her neck is an unclosed, forked tattoo, like a cloth of thin iron. Her partner, Brian, is a man with farming in his soul, a man of the land. The other student, Chelsea, is tall and solid, with enormous earrings and marvelous tattoos: branches reaching up between her bosom, snakes spiraling up her arms, floral motifs vining her wrists. She and her husband, Tyler, a musician with a dreadlocks beard, wear identical nose rings. After lunch, when Chelsea leaned back and put her arms behind her head as she talked, I envisioned a baby at her breast, tracing its tiny finger along the red and black snake winding around her arms.

          To prepare for lunch with these special guests, I squeezed five place settings onto my card table by extending it with a piece of plywood. I set the table in the small, square room that was the original structure of my house. With the skylight stretching across the length of the room, windows opening onto the postage-stamp lawn and peony bed, the new hardwood floor, and the stove and sink in the back side of the room, it is still the brightest and most welcoming room for good meals. Over the enlarged table I spread my blue-on-blue checked tablecloth, bought in Sweden at the weavery that makes linens for the Nobel Prize banquets.

I set the table with three Swedish dinner plates, edged with a delicate blue floral design inspired by Mårbacka, the home of novelist Selma Lagerløf, and with two powder-blue plates rimmed in deep yellow—garage sale treasures. Above these latter plates I set two small, dark blue, hand-blown Swedish water glasses. The other water glasses were pottery chalices from Goodwill. The tableware came from my son, a metal sculptor, who had twisted the handles of Goodwill stainless-steel knives, forks, and spoons into spirals. Cloth napkins (two from Sweden, embroidered with forget-me-nots; three from my mother) lay folded on each plate. On top of the napkins were delicately colored, wide-mouth wine glasses, not for wine but for soup, since I only have three soup bowls and the wine glasses gave continuity to my otherwise mismatched place settings.

          Martha Stewart, no doubt, would have pursed her lips and twitched her shoulder to see my table, but I thought it looked elegant in my little house with its tiny lawn, colorful flowers, and tree-framed view of Humpy Mountain.

          For lunch I served tomato avocado soup, lentil-and-jicama salad, and Cuban flan.

Cuban flan, for a different occasion

 The delicate glass of my "soup bowls" added a touch of class to the cold tomato soup with its soft spots of avocado. Everyone tried to guess all the ingredients in the salad, but it was the man of the land who named every subtle flavor. The Cuban flan was a great hit, served with homegrown raspberries Chelsea and Tyler had brought with them. Chelsea wrote me later that they all raved to their friends for days about the food, always adding glowing descriptions of the table so beautifully laid and the little house in the mountains where they had walked through the woods to have lunch with their writing teacher.

Next week: "Wedding Cake, Part 1"

Recipes for this post:

      Avocado tomato soup, layered

      Lentil and jicama salad

      Cuban flan

AVOCADO TOMATO SOUP, LAYERED

SERVES 4

Ingredients

2 pounds ripe tomatoes

3-4 tablespoons white wine vinegar

Salt

2 firm-ripe avocados

3/4 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup sour cream

3 tablespoons minced shallots

1 teaspoon minced fresh tarragon

Preparation

Tomato layer: Rinse and core tomatoes. Cut into chunks. Whirl in a blender (or mash thoroughly), then push through a fine strainer to collect about 3 cups of purée in a bowl. Season purée with 2-3 tablespoons of vinegar and salt to taste. Cover and chill at least 1 hour.

Avocado layer: Peel and pit avocados. Cut into chunks. Whirl in a blender with broth, sour cream, and lime juice (or blend thoroughly by hand, with an egg beater) until smooth. Cover surface with plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour.

Topping: Mince shallots and tarragon and set aside. Peel cucumber and cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds. Peel cucumber and dice into 1/8-inch pieces to make about 1 cup. Mix cucumber bits with minced shallots, tarragon, and 1 tablespoon vinegar. Cover and chill at least 30 minutes.

To make

Stir avocado mixture to blend and pour equal portions into glasses or bowls. (Use clear glasses for the best effect.) Whisk tomato mixture to blend and gently pour over the avocado layer in the glass. Top with cucumber.

LENTIL AND JICAMA SALAD

serves 6-8

Ingredients

2 cups (about 13 ounces) lentils

1/3 cup olive oil

1-2 cloves garlic

3 tomatoes, approximately

1 jicama

2 bunches green onions

1 large ear corn

Fresh basil (1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons)

1 lemon for juice 

Preparation

Cook lentils in a large pot of boiling water till tender, about 20 minutes. Seed and dice the tomatoes to garner 2 1/2 cups. Peel and dice the jicama to yield 2 cups. Chop enough green onions to fill 1 1/2 cups. Cut the kernels from the corn cob. Thinly slice the basil to yield 1/4 cup. Squeeze the lemon to make 3 tablespoons fresh juice. Chop or mince the garlic to yield 1 tablespoon.

To make

Drain lentils well. Heat the olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Sauté garlic till golden. Add 1/4 cup of basil, the lemon juice, and the rest of the vegetables except for 1/2 cup tomatoes and 2 tablespoons of basil, which will be for a topping. Then stir in the lentils and heat through, without really cooking the vegetables (about 6 minuets, maybe less if the lentils are still hot.)

Assemblage

Ingredients

2 tablespoons fresh basil, thinly sliced as above

1/2 cup chopped fresh tomatoes, as above

Cooked lentils with sautéed vegetables

To assemble

Stir the basil into the hot lentil sauté. Mound the salad in a large serving bowl. Arrange the chopped tomatoes around the edge, and serve at once, while the salad is still hot. It is good cold, but it is most superb, and most surprising, when hot.

CUBAN FLAN

serves 10

Ingredients

1/2 cup white sugar

5 egg yolks

1 whole egg

1 can condensed milk

1 can whole milk or evaporated milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350º. Butter a round metal mold or a 1-quart round casserole dish.

To make

Melt the 1/2 cup sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat without stirring, then pour it, golden brown, into a well buttered, round, metal mold or a 1-quart round casserole dish to cover the bottom. Beat the eggs and add the condensed milk, the whole milk, and the vanilla extract. Mix well and pour into mold. Put the mold in a baking pan and add hot water to at least half-way up the mold. Put the pan with the mold in the oven and bake at 350º until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the flan, about 1 hour. Cool. Place a plate on top of the flan mold and invert to remove flan with its caramel on top. Chill well before serving.

Eating Alone

          Eating is communal. When the priest gives the congregation bread and wine, the ritual is called communion. When two people go on a date, they often head for a restaurant. When families eat together, they at least have a chance to talk with each other. Having to eat alone, it seems, is as pitiful as having to sleep under a bridge.

          But as one who often eats alone, I see its advantages.

          Without the distractions of another person, for instance, I can do justice to the art of eating. The aesthetic experience intensifies as I concentrate on the separately identifiable smells, the combinations of tastes, and the complementary textures of the food. Without the necessity of conversation, I am free to pay attention to the gustatory value of my tahini-thickened spaghetti sauce

or to let my taste buds search for the subtle addition of walnuts in the stir-fry.

Stir-fry with walnuts

          On the other hand, for everyday meals, when it's not necessary to concentrate on the food, the best advantage of eating alone is to be able to read while eating. David Quammen joined me last month for many dinners with his gripping tale of extinctions in The Song of the Dodo. I recently laughed and ate my way through The Moor's Last Sigh, and I hardly knew what I was eating last week as I hung on the icy edge of the top of the world with Jon Krakauer. Jean Valjean, Cosette, and Marius accompanied me through many meals before I finally finished Les Misérables.

          Eating alone allows experimentation a la cuisine. Although it may not seem worth the trouble to cook a fine meal except to impress someone else, there's nothing wrong with impressing oneself. "Great clam linguine, Diana!"

Lingune with clam sauce

It's good for the self-esteem. Besides, it's better to have those kitchen failures in the absence of other witnesses. I try to cook at least one fine meal a week not only to test recipes I might later use at a dinner party, but just to eat well. Why should I deprive myself of those yummy-sounding recipes just because I dine alone?

          The opposite advantage also applies: one doesn't have to fix a good dinner every night. If I want to bake a potato and call it dinner, I can. Unlike my mother, who had to consider the likes and dislikes of a family of seven, I can let my tastes alone dictate my menu. My mother used to say, if I complained I didn't like what she was fixing for dinner, "You're not the only fish in the sea." Sometimes there's an advantage to being the only fish in the sea.

          When I eat alone, I can eat not only whatever I want and whenever I want, but also wherever I want. I don't have a real table in my tiny house, so when I have guests, I set up the card table in the living room, but, alone, I usually eat on the built-in couch with my plate balanced on one knee and my book on the other. It's my favorite place to eat.

          Finally, eating alone allows me to do all sorts of things I would never do in the presence of others. I can be piggish without shame. I can snack while I cook. I can lick my plate if I want to, and I can eat soup from a coconut shell, as I do.

          In her essay about eating alone, M. F. K. Fishner tells the story of Lucullus, who, tired of company, asked to dine alone. Somehow, though, the food wasn't quite right, and when he complained, the cook told him he had thought it wasn't necessary to go to all the trouble of the excellence of important meals of state, since Lucullus was dining alone, to which Lucullus replied that this particular dinner was especially important because tonight, he said, "Lucullous dines with Lucullus." Ad so it is when no one else is present for dinner: we dine not alone but with ourselves and enjoy the company as well as the food.

Next week: "Lunch with Chelsea and Jasmine"

Recipes from this post

     Tahini-thickened spaghetti sauce

     Stir-fry with walnuts

     Clam linguine

TAHINI-TICKENED SPAGHETTI SAUCE

serves 4

Ingredients

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

2 cans whole tomatoes

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

Black pepper to taste

(Cayenne if desired)

1/2 cup tahini

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

1/4 cup black olives

Preparation

Chop the onion and parsley. Mince the garlic.

To make

Sauté the onion and garlic in olive oil till onion is translucent. Add tomatoes, bay leaf, oregano, and salt and pepper. Bring this mixture to a boil, and let it simmer 45 minutes. Put tahini in a small bowl and gradually add some of the hot sauce, stirring to blend well. When the tahini is thinned and warmed and has no lumps, add it to the sauce and cook for another 10-15 minutes. Add parsley and olives and serve over spaghetti or some other pasta. 

(Note: I was vegetarian at the time of this essay, but now I like to add ground beef. Brown the beef first. Remove it from the skillet or pan while you prepare the sauce as directed here, adding the beef when you're ready to simmer the sauce for 45 minutes.)

STIR-FRY WITH WALNUTS
serves as many as you like, depending on how many vegetables you use

Ingredients

Olive oil

Onions

Garlic

Mushrooms

Seasonal vegetables (anything goes)

Herbs to taste

Tamari

Ginger (Optional. Well, everything is pretty optional.)

1-2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons water

Broth, wine, cream, or another thin liquid

Walnuts

Preparation

Chop the vegetables. Carrots and celery should be cut on the diagonal. Onions can be chopped or diced as coarsely as desired. Broccoli stems should be peeled and cut into rounds; florets should be broken into reasonable-size pieces.

Cauliflower florets should be in pieces of similar size. Cabbage and similar vegetables could be chopped or sliced or coarsely shredded or, in the case of kale, chard, etc., sliced. Brush the dirt off the mushrooms and slice them. Grate the ginger. Use walnut halves.
To make
Put a reasonable amount of olive oil (according to taste and diet) in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Sauté the onions and garlic first. After that, the order of the vegetables depends on what kind you are using. The rule of thumb is to add first the vegetables that take longest to cook, sauté them to the partially cooked stage, and then add the next vegetable. Mushrooms go after onions and garlic. Carrots, celery, broccoli, and cauliflower might go next. Quick cookers, like greens, go last. The idea is to cook everything (except the onions, garlic, and mushrooms) only till crisp-tender, enhancing the flavor by cooking but not destroying it by leaching it out by overcooking. If your timing is off, the first vegetables cook to a mush before the last vegetables cook done. Experiment. Add tamari to salt the vegetables and grated zest of ginger if you like, as well as other herbs. To make a sauce, dissolve the cornstarch in 2 tablespoons of water and add it to the cooking vegetables, stirring well. The juices from the vegetables should make just enough sauce to coat the vegetables, but if you want a more substantial sauce, add broth or wine. Some grated ginger gives piquancy. Just before serving, but in time to let them heat up, add the walnuts.


CLAM LINGUINE

serves 2
(Recipe from my good friends, Joel and Carol Lieberman, in Portland, Oregon)

Ingredients
2-3 cloves garlic
Sliced mushrooms
1 can minced clams, washed well
Black olives
Salt, pepper, and a pinch of cayenne
White wine
Fresh basil
Parmesan cheese
Linguine, cooked al dente

To make
Using lots of olive oil, sauté the garlic, mushrooms, clams, and olives, in that order (or not). Add white wine at the end and basil at any time. Serve on cooked linguine. Top with parmesan.

Carberry Creek Dessert Bake-off, Part 2

          When we arrived with the five desserts at Ela's dad's and stepmother's home on Carberry Creek, where the contest was held, I, like Linda, was given a red hollyhock to wear. I pinned mine in the bosom of my white dress, Linda hers in her dark hair. Our desserts lay beautifully displayed on a white cloth down the center of the long tables set up in the yard.

This is I, with my desserts

         Strawberries encircled my ginger brandy cheesecake; chocolate shavings dewed the whipped cream topping of my zuppa inglese; and a bright yellow marigold topped the new sour cream orange cake. Pinwheels of peach slices decorated Linda's peach pie; her eclairs swirled with chocolate; and purple pansies blossomed on the white icing of her lemon meringue cake. A large bouquet of flowers from Tracy's garden sat at one end of the table. Everything shone in late summer's evening light.

Linda, with her desserts

         The guests—and judges—for the bake-off were the Carberry Creek neighbors, about twenty people, half of whom, my sister Sharon noted worriedly, were related to Linda. If family loyalty counted, I, flanked only by my son and my sister, was doomed.

          Ela announced the rules. We would work by categories, he said. Linda and I would serve our respective desserts, which everyone was to rate on a one-to-ten scale. Ela would distribute and gather the ballots. Then we would move to the next category.

          It all sounded organized and simple, but the ensuing hours were a kaleidoscopic chaos of milling people and beautiful desserts cut and served. The eager judges jostled in line, reached across the table, bunched up, held their plates out, said, "I only want a little piece," turned away, took a bite, said, "Mmm. That's delicious! Can I have another piece?" Linda and I cut desserts, filled plates, wiped spatulas and knives clean of whipped cream and sugar frosting, cut more pies, served more cakes. Ela's dad roamed through the crowd with his coffee pot.

          "Coffee? Can I offer you some coffee?"

          "Time for Category 3, exotics."

          "Diana's zuppa inglese has got to be a ten."

Zuppa inglese

 "Have you tried Linda's eclairs yet?" 

         "Yeah. They're a ten, too."

          "Do I have all the ballots in?"

          "Coffee? Coffee?"

        At first people felt a competition between friends was unfair and the judging part of the evening just an excuse for the event, but as the evening wore on, they got more serious. Linda was nervous. She served her desserts, then sat at a distance on the lawn, smoking a cigarette. I was a little nervous, too, but I was having too much fun to care a whole lot.

          "Coffee?"

          "Do you have any more of that peach pie?"

          "I think the glazed plum cheesecake is one notch better than the ginger brandy cheesecake."

          "Well, I think the lime tart wins for overall best dessert."

          "Coffee?"

          Finally, the table was a shambles. Empty plates smeared with whipped cream and littered with bits of chocolate and strawberry stems spilled over tables and benches; crumpled napkins lay on plates and on the ground; half-empty coffee cups grew cold in the evening air; forks cluttered the table like pick-up sticks; and the desserts were little more than crumbs and end pieces. The crowd was subdued, sprawled in lawn chairs and on benches and steps, replete, sated, glutted, grinning.

          Ela counted votes. In the end it looked like no one had paid much attention to who had made what, only to what they were eating, so the unfair advantage of Linda's large family was inconsequential. Hardly a point or two separated one dessert from another, and the winner kept looking like first one of us and then the other—until we got to the pecan pies. Linda's pecan pie scored higher than mine.

Linda's pecan pie winner

Actually, it was better than mine. (So much for baking with honey to be more healthful, I thought ruefully.) And so the big bouquet of flowers and the first prize went to Linda.

          I only cared for a brief minute. After all, a tie would have indicated that the judges weren't serious and would have rendered the prizes meaningless. We had all had an evening like no other, so Linda and I were both victors. And the following year, when Linda was dying of cancer, I was especially glad she had won the prestigious Carberry Creek Dessert Bake-off, which has gone down in the annals of history as one of the most magical evenings of all time.

My honey pecan pie

Next week: "Eating Alone"

Recipes from this post:
Linda's desserts
         Pecan pie winner
         Linda's blueberry pie
         Sour cream gingerbread cake
         Company cheesecake
         Exotic éclairs
My desserts
          Honey pecan pie
          Zuppa inglese
          Ginger brandy cheesecake
          Lime tart
          (The recipe for my cake entry, sour cream orange cake, is in last week's post.)


LINDA'S PECAN PIE WINNER
1 9" pie

Linda's pecan pie winner

The crust
Ingredients
1 cup unbleached white flour

1 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup shortening
1/4 teaspoon salt
6-8 tablespoons ice water
To make
Sift the flours and mix in the salt. Cut in the shortening with a pastry cutter until it is mostly pea-sized. Add water and toss with your hands, as though you were tossing a salad. Add more water until the dough clings together. Knead lightly and refrigerator one hour.

The filling
Ingredients
3 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
12 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup buttyer
1 cup dark or light corn syrup
1 cup pecan halves or broken pecans
Preparation
Melt the butter or margarine. Break the pecans if necessary.
To make
Beat the eggs, sugar, salt, butter, and syrup with a rotary beater. Stir in the nuts.

To finish
1 egg, plus pie dough and filling

Preheat the oven to 375º.
Roll out the pie dough to make two crusts for a 9" pie pan. Put one in the bottom off a 9" pie pan and pour the batter into it. Cover with the other crust. Pinch edges well together. Beat egg and brush onto top crust. Cut slashes decoratively into top crust with a sharp knife. Bake at 375º for 40-50 minutes or until the filling is set.




LINDA'S BLUEBERRY PIE
1 8" or 9" pie

                                         The crust (same as for pecan pie winner,  above)

Ingredients
1 cup unbleached white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup shortening
1/4 teaspoon salt
6-8 tablespoons ice water
To make
Sift the flours and mix in the salt. Cut in the shortening with a pastry cutter until it is mostly pea-sized. Add water and toss with your hands, as though you were tossing a salad. Add more water until the dough clings together. knead lightly and refrigerator one hour.

The filling
Ingredients
1/3 cup sugar (1/2 cup for a 9" pie)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (1/3 cup for a 9" pie)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
3 cups fresh blueberries (4 cups for a 9" pie)
1 teaspoon lemon juice (1 tablespoon for a 9" pie)
1 tablespoon butter (2 tablespoons for a 9" pie)
Preparation
Line an 8- or 9-inch pie pan with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 425º.

To make

Stir together the sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Mix in the berries. Roll out the dough in  two circles to fit the pan. Place one circle of dough in pan. Turn the mixture into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the pie with lemon juice, dot it with butter, and cover it with the top crust. Seal the edges and flute them. With a sharp knife, cut some slits in the top crust for escaping steam. Cover the edge of the pie with a 2-3" piece of aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning. Bake 35-45 minutes at 425º, removing the foil for the last fifteen minutes of baking. When the pie is done, the crust will be brown and juice will be beginning to bubble through the slits in the top crust. Brush with milk or egg to brighten the crust, if you like.




SOUR CREAM GINGERBREAD CAKE 
serves 10

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cube butter (8 tablespoons)
12 cups (packed) light brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsulphured molasses
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 tablespoon sugar (or less), for dusting the pan

Preparation
Leave the butter out to soften. Grease a 9" springform baking pan. Sprinkle it with sugar, then shake out the excess. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
To make
Mix together the flour and soda. In a large bowl cream the butter and brown sugar. Add the spices and salt to the butter and sugar and blend until fluffy. Blend in the molasses. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the sour cream alternately with the flour and soda, beating just until smooth each time. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 30º until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30-35 minutes.
Let the cake cool 10 minutes on a wire rack, then loosen the edges with a spatula and turn the cake onto the rack to cool further. Serve warm or cool.
Notes
This cake can be enlarged by splitting it horizontally in half and putting whipped cream between the layers. To make the gingerbread contest-pretty, place a paper doily on top of the cake and sprinkle confectioner's sugar generously over all. Lift the doily carefully off the cake to leave a lacy pattern. Or decorate with slices of orange, for instance, or in any imaginative way of your choice.


COMPANY CHEESECAKE
12 servings

The crust
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 16 crackers)
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons butter
Preparation
If you haven't bought packaged crumbs, crush the graham crackers into crumbs with a rolling pin between two sheets of waxed paper. Melt the butter. Preheat the oven too 350 degrees.
To make
Stir together the graham cracker crumbs and the sugar. Thoroughly mix in the butter. Press the crust evenly in the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake 10 minutes and then let cool.



The cheesecake
Ingredients
11 ounces cream cheese
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs
Preparation
Have the cream cheese at room temperature. Grate the lemon peel. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees.
To make
Beat the cream cheese in a large mixing bowl. Gradually add 1 cup sugar, beating till fluffy. Add the grated lemon peel and the vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well each time. Pour the batter over the baked pie shell. Bake 1 hour or until the center no longer wobbles.

To finish

Ingredients
1 cup sour cream
The baked cheesecake

Cool the cake to room temperature before spreading it with sour cream. Top with a lattice of melted chocolate or broken peppermints or your choice of fruit or flowers or ….








EXOTIC ECLAIRS
12 éclairs

Cream puffs
Ingredients
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs
Preparation
Crack the eggs into a bowl. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
To make
Bring the water and butter to a rolling boil in a small heavy saucepan. Remove the pan from the heat to stir in the flour, then return it to the burner and stir vigorously over low heat for about 1 minute or until the mixture forms a ball. Remove the pan from the heat, and beat in the eggs all at one time, beating until the mixture is smooth. Shape the dough by 1/4 cupfuls into "fingers," 4 1/2 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. Place the fingers 3 inches apart onto an uncreased baking sheet and bake 35-40 minutes or until the puffs are puffed (and golden). Cool them in an area free of drafts.

Vanilla cream pudding
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups milk
1 vanilla bean
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3-4 egg yolks or 2 eggs and 2 yolks
Preparation
Thoroughly beat the egg yolks or whole eggs and yolks
To make
Scald the milk with the vanilla bean. Beat the sugar, flour, and egg yolks until the mixture is light. Remove the vanilla bean from the scalded milk, and add the milk to the sugar mixture. Blend well, then cook, stirring constantly, until the custard begins to thicken. At that point, remove pot from the heat, continuing to stir to release the steam and prevent crusting. Cool the custard thoroughly.

                                         Chocolate icing

Ingredients
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate
1 teaspoon butter
1 cup confectioner's sugar
2 tablespoons hot water (more or less)
To make
Melt the chocolate and the butter together over low heat. Remove the pan from the heat and add the confectioner's sugar and the hot water. Beat the icing till it is smooth.

To finish
When the cream puffs are cool, cut them open and remove any stringy filaments of dough. Fill them with Vanilla Cream Pudding and ice them with warm Chocolate Icing. Keep the éclairs refrigerated until serving time.



HONEY PECAN PIE
1 9" Pie

Honey pecan pie

Cream cheese pastry shell
Ingredients
3 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
ice water
Preparation
Have the butter and cream cheese softened.
To make
Blend the cream cheese and butter. Cut in the flour. Bind with ice water. Chill one hour.

The pie
Ingredients
6 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
3 eggs
dash salt
1 1/4 cups honey
1 cup pecans
1 9-inch unbaked pastry shell
Preparation
Beat the eggs lightly. Break the pecans into pieces. Preheat the oven to 325º.
To make
Cream butter and flour. Add eggs, a dash of salt, honey, and pecan slices.

To finish
Pour the batter into the pie shell. Top with unbroken pecan pieces. Bake at 325º for 50 minutes.

Note
This recipe really does make a good pie, and wonderful little pecan tarts when baked in muffin tins or tart shells.

Honey pecan pie with tart

My sister says this is her favorite no-sugar recipe, but ever since the Carberry Creek Dessert Bake-off, it hasn't been mine.














ZUPPA INGLESE
serves 12

Sponge layers
Ingredients
3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 eggs, separated
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2-3 tablespoons water
Preparation
Line 2 8-inch cake pans with wax paper and grease with butter, or butter 2 8-inch nonstick cake pans. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
To make
Beat egg whites till stiff. Add half of the sugar, gradually, beating all the while to keep the mixture at the glossy stiff-peak stage. Beat egg yolks till thick. Add the rest of the sugar to the yolks, gradually, beating till thick. Then add almond extract and water gradually while beating. Fold in the egg whites very carefully. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt, and, using 1/3 of this mixture at a time, sift it into the egg mixture and fold in carefully—very carefully—with a spatula or the back of a wooden spoon. Air is the only leavening in this cake, so don't lose any. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans. Bake for 18 minutes at 375 degrees.

Filling
Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups scalded milk
4 egg yolks
1/2-1 tablespoon rum
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons creme de cacao or cocoa powder
Preparation
Scald the milk.
To make
Mix sugar, flour, and salt in a double boiler. Add milk, gradually, stirring. Cook over simmering water while stirring (don't let the top pan touch the water) till the mixture is thick. Beat the egg yolks till blended. Gradually add part of the hot milk mixture to the egg yolks while stirring; then return the milk to the double boiler and gradually pour the milk-warmed egg yolks into the milk, stirring all the while. Cook over simmering water, stirring constantly till quite thick. Cool and chill. When the custard is cold and thick, divide it into three parts. To one part add 1/2 to 1 tablespoon rum, to a second 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and to the third 2 tablespoons creme de cacao or cocoa powder. (Or substitute any flavorings.)

Assemblage
Ingredients
2 sponge cakes
3 bowls of flavored custard filling
To assemble
split the sponge cakes in half horizontally with a serrated knife. Put a bottom layer on a serving platter and spread with one of the flavored custards. Put a second layer of cake over that and cover with a second custard. Repeat with a third cake and the last custard. Put the last layer of cake on top.

Frosting
Ingredients
1 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons candied fruits
To finish
Whip the cream with the sugar and spoon over the entire cake. Decorate with candied fruits or other items.



GINGER BRANDY CHEESECAKE
12 servings

The crust
Ingredients
2 cups finely crumbled ginger snaps
5 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons honey
Preparation
Crumble the ginger snaps. A rolling pin works well.
To make
Melt the butter and honey together. Mix well into the ginger snap crumbs. Press firmly into a springform pan.

The filling
Ingredients
12 ounces cream cheese
1 1/2 cups sour cream
4 large eggs
5 tablespoons honey
1-2 tablespoons good brandy
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger root
dash of salt
Preparation
Grate the ginger root.
To make
Beat the cream cheese till fluffy. Gradually add the sour cream, then the eggs, one at a time, beating well all the while. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat extremely well. Or just throw everything into a mixer and blend well all at once.

The cheesecake
Ingredients
Ginger snap crust pressed into springform pabn
Cream cheese filling
Preparation 
Preheat oven to 350º
To bake
Pour filling into the crust and bake at 350º for 40-50 minutes or util a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean.

The glaze
Ingredients
1 orange (or enough to yield 3/4 cup juice)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons good brandy
1/4 teaspoon orange rind
Candied ginger and strawberries for decoration
Preparation
Juice the orange to yield 3/4 cup juice. Grate or zest the rind.
To finish
Whisk cornstarch with orange juice in a small saucepan and cook, whisking constantly, until thick and glossy, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat. Still whisking, add remaining ingredients and whisk smoothly. Pour over cooled cheesecake. Decorate with strips of candied ginger and a few strawberries.

LIME TART

serves 8

The pastry

Ingredients

7 tablespoons butter

1 1/3 cups unbleached white flour

pinch salt

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup sugar

3-4 tablespoons very cold water

To make

Cut the butter into the flour and salt with a pastry cutter or two knives. (Or use a processor.) Mix in the vanilla and sugar, and then use just enough water to make the dough clump together. Press dough into a 9-inch springform pan, making it crawl up the sides. Chill.

The filling

Ingredients

4 limes 

5 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup sugar

5 eggs

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

Squeeze the limes to yield 1/2 cup fresh juice. Beat the eggs well. Preheat even to 425 degrees.

To make

Line the chilled crust with waxed paper or parchment paper and fill it with dried beans or pie weights. Bake at 425º for 15 minutes. Take the pie from the oven and remove the beans and the paper. Lower over temperature to 350º. Heat the lime juice, butter, and sugar over low heat until the butter melts. Pour the beaten eggs slowly into this mixture, whisking constantly. Continue to stir on low heat until the mixture thickens into a pudding. Stir in the vanilla extract. Pour this custard into the baked crust and bake at 350º for 30-35 minutes, until the custard is set.

To finish

Ingredients

The baked pie

1 banana

1 lime

unsweetened flaked or shredded coconut (optional) or whipped cream

Preparation

Slice the lime and the banana. Sprinkle the banana slices with lime or lemon juice to prevent browning.

Decoration

Decorate the edge of the pie with coconut or whipped cream, if desired. Garnish pie with circles of lime and banana. Chill.

Carberry Creek Dessert Bake-off, Part 1

          Some years ago, when my son, Ela, was home from college for the summer, he told me one day that Linda, a neighbor of his dad's with a reputation as a good cook, had challenged me to a dessert bake-off. I'm not sure that that's exactly how it was. I suspect that Ela had simultaneously told Linda that I had challenged her. Surely the wily boy anticipated that both Linda and I, spurred by the spirit of competition, would spend the summer baking desserts and trying new recipes—and seeking the opinions of a willing taste tester.

          We decided on five categories: a pecan pie, a fruit pie, a cake, a cheesecake, and an exotic. From then on, the summer was counted in dessert trials—banana sour-cream pie, Albanian walnut cake, Westhaven cake, leche flan, Moroccan date cake.

Albanian walnut cake

Banana sour-cream pie

Mocha pecan pie

 "Your mocha pecan pie is awfully good," Ela would say, and then add cunningly, "but boy, that pecan pie de luxe that Linda made yesterday!" and I was back into the cookbooks for new recipes: black bottom pie, cappuccino cheesecake, marshmallow-fudge brownies, peach tatin, lemon-blueberry custard soufflé.

          The morning of the bake-off I was in the kitchen by dawn. My sister Sharon, visiting from Georgia and enthusiastically participatory in the spirit of the competition, sat at my desk creating prizes and making calligraphy identification placards for each entry. Meanwhile, the kitchen was turning into a barely contained chaos of pecans shelled, limes squeezed, orange peels zested, ginger grated, and flour, sugar, eggs, milk, honey, and butter whipped, beaten, blended, folded, and stirred. The house contained culinary aromas like a gallery of tangible olfactory objects: long, wavering fingers of acidic orange peels; light prickles of spicy ginger; warm, homey clouds of baked pie crust.

          Around midday Ela arrived from his dad's and jumped in to help. Linda's daughter, Sunshine, who had come with him, offered assistance, too, but Sharon said, "Don't trust her; she's a spy."

         Just when the frenzy of cooking had eased enough for me to concentrate on the decorative details, I discovered disaster: the cat had helped herself to the topping of the sour cream orange cake cooling on the back porch. Sharon tried to reduce my panic by suggesting we could save it by shoving the topping around a bit, but nothing would satisfy me except that I make another whole cake, and so I did.

         

Next week: Carberry Creek Dessert Bake-off, Part 2
Recipes from this post:
        Mocha pecan pie
        Banana sour-cream pie
        Black-bottom banana cream pie
        Albanian walnut cake with lemon glaze
        Moroccan date cake
        Sour cream orange cake
        Cappuccino cheesecake
        Lemon-blueberry custard soufflé


MOCHA PECAN PIE
1 9-inch pie

The crust
Ingredients 
1/3 cup butter
1 cup unbleached white flour
3 tablespoons ice water (more or less)
To make
Cut the butter into the flour with two knives, a pastry cutter, or your fingertips until the mixture resembles cornmeal. Add the ice water and combine until it forms into a ball. Chill at least one hour. Roll the dough and place into a 9-inch pie pan. Trim and crimp the edges.

The filling
Ingredients
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
4 tablespoons coffee liqueur (or brewed strong black coffee)

2 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons unbleached white flour
3 large eggs
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup toasted pecans
Preparation
Brew the coffee, if that's what you're using. Toast and chop the pecans. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
To make
If you have electricity in your kitchen, purée everything except the pecans in a blender or mixer until smooth. If you don't have a blender, melt the chocolate chips and butter on very low heat. Cool the mixture and beat it with the other ingredients except the pecans. Now pour the filling over the pecans in a bowl and stir to coat the nuts. Pour the filling into the unbaked 9-inch pie shell. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 30 minutes or until the filling is set but still moist.
To serve
Cut the pie only when it has cooled completely. Add a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream to each serving.



BANANA SOUR-CREAM PIE
1 9-inch pie

The crust
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
6 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Dash nutmeg
1/2 cup finely chopped almonds

Preparation
Crush the graham crackers with a rolling pin between sheets of waxed paper to make 1 1/2 cups. Melt the butter with the honey. Finely chop the almonds. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
To make
Mix all ingredients together. Press into a 9-inch pie pan, building up the sides. Brown in an oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool completely.

The filling
Ingredients
12 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup honey
1 large, ripe banana
1 lemon or lime, for juice
Preparation
Mash the banana to a pulp. Juice the lemon or lime to yield 2 tablespoons.
To make
Beat everything together. Beat well. Pour the filling into the cooled crust and chill at least 3 hours.

To finish
Ingredients
The pie
1-2 bananas
1 lemon
To make
Slice the bananas. Juice the lemon and brush the banana slices with the juice. Decorate the top of the pie with the banana slices.




BLACK-BOTTOM BANANA CREAM PIE
serves 8

Crust

Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
3 ounces semisweet chocolate
About 7 ounces chocolate wafer cookies
Preparation
Chop the chocolate. Crush the chocolate wafer cookies with a rolling pin between two sheets of waxed paper to yield 1 1/2 cups crumbs. Butter a 9-inch glass or ceramic pie dish.
To make
Stir the butter and chocolate in a heavy small saucepan over low heat until smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and mix in the cookie crumbs. Stir to blend. Press the dough onto the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pie dish. Chill well, about 30 minutes.

Chocolate ganache
Ingredients
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
4 ounces semisweet chocolate
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preparation
Chop the chocolate.
To make
Put the cream and butter in a pan over medium heat and heat till hot. (Do not boil.) Remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolate and vanilla. Whisk till smooth. Put 2 tablespoons of the ganache in a small bowl and leave at room temperature. Pour the rest over the crust. Chill the crust till the chocolate ganache becomes firm, about 30 minutes.

Vanilla pastry cream
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
To make
Bring the half-and-half to a simmer. Whisk the sugar, eggs, egg yolk, and flour to blend in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk in the hot half-and-half. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Whisk over medium heat till the mixture thickens and comes to a boil, about 5 minutes. Boil 1 minute. Pour into a bowl and add the vanilla. Press plastic onto the surface of the pastry cream to keep a skin from forming. Cover the dish and chill well, about 4 hours.

The pie
Ingredients

Black-bottom crust with chocolate ganache
3 ripe bananas (about 1 1/2 pounds)
2 tablespoons chocolate ganache (reserved from above)
Vanilla pastry cream
Preparation
Slice the bananas thinly.
To make
Arrange the banana slices over the ganache. Take the vanilla pastry cream from the refrigerator and whisk it very smooth. Spread it evenly over the bananas. Drizzle the remaining chocolate ganache over the vanilla pastry cream. Then draw a toothpick through it to create a marbled pattern. Refrigerate at least 3 hours for the pasty cream to set.

Vanilla whipped cream
Ingredients
1 cup chilled whipping cream
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
To make
Beat all the ingredients in a large bowl until stiff peaks form.

To finish
Ingredients

The pie
Vanilla whipped cream
1 banana
Preparation
Slice the banana.
To finish
Spoon the vanilla whipped cream in large swirls around the edge of the pie. You could also use a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. Complete the pie by garnishing it with the banana slices.



ALBANIAN WALNUT CAKE WITH LEMON GLAZE
12-15 servings

The cake

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1/3 cup buttermilk
2 cups unbleached white flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
1 cup walnuts
Preparation
Butter and flour a 9x13-inch baking pan. Have the butter at room temperature. Beat the eggs slightly. Blend the yogurt and buttermilk. Sift together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon). Grate the lemon rind to yield 1 tablespoon. Toast and chop the walnuts. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
To make
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs. To this mixture add the yogurt mixture alternately with the sifted dry ingredients, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Stir in the lemon rind and walnuts. Pour the batter in a 9x13-inch baking pan and bake at 350º for 30-40 minutes. The cake should be moist when it is done, but a toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.

The glaze
Ingredients
3/4 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 lemon, for juice
1 cinnamon stick (or 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon)
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
Dash of ground cloves
Preparation
Squeeze the lemon to yield 1/4 cup juice.
To make
Simmer all ingredients, covered, for about 15 minutes. Remove the cinnamon stick.

To assemble
When the cake comes out of the oven, pour the glaze over the hot cake and return it to the turned-off oven for about 10 minutes. Serve the cake warm or cool. Whipped cream or ice cream is a nice accompaniment.




MOROCCAN DATE CAKE
8-10 servings

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter

1/4-1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup unbleached white flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground coves
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup pitted dates
1/2 cup walnuts
Whipping cream

Preparation
Chop the dates and the walnuts. Butter and flour a 9-inch cake pan. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
To make
Cream together the butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Combine the dry ingredients and add them to the egg mixture, beating well. Mix in the milk and the vanilla. Beat well again. Add the dates and nuts and stir well to blend. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 30 minutes, or until done. Serve with whipped cream.



SOUR CREAM ORANGE CAKE
Serves 10

Cake made, beautifully, by Justine May

Ingredients
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups butter
1 cup sugar
1 lemon

1 orange
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups unbleached white flour
1 1/2 cups sour cream

Preparation
Grate the lemon and the orange rinds. Separate the eggs and keep at room temperature. Sift together the dry ingredients. Butter and flour a large tube or bundt pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
To make
Beat egg whites till stiff. Set aside. Cream the butter. Add the sugar and continue creaming. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the citrus rinds and mix well. Fold dry ingredients into batter alternately with sour cream, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Fold in the egg whites. Turn into prepared pan. Bake 60 minutes at 350º or until brown and pulling away from the sides of the pan. Cool.

The syrup
Ingredients
1 orange
1/4 cup Grand Marnier
1/4 cup sugar
1 lemon
Preparation
Juice the orange to make 1/2 cup and the lemon to make 2 tablespoons.
To make
Bring all ingredients to a boil in a saucepan. Lower heat and cook 3-4 minutes.

The finished cake
Slowly pour hot syrup over cooled cake. Let stand 10 minutes. Top with a bright yellow marigold.





CAPPUCCINO CHEESECAKE
12 servings

Ingredients
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
9 egg yolks
1 3/4 cups sugar, divided
1 lemon for juice and peel
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 teaspoons instant espresso powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese
3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup sliced almonds

Preparation
Have the butter and cream cheese softened. Crush graham crackers with a rolling pin to make 1/2 cup of very fine crumbs. Squeeze the lemon to yield 1 teaspoon juice. Finely grate or zest the lemon rind to yield 1/4 teaspoon peel. Dissolve the espresso powder in the cream. Melt the chocolate chips and toast the almond slices. Butter and flour a 10-inch springform pan. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

To make
Sprinkle the bottom of the prepared springform pan with the graham cracker crumbs. Combine the egg yolks, 1 cup sugar, lemon juice, vanilla extract, salt, and lemon peel in a medium bowl. Beat until light and fluffy. Add the espresso powder and beat until it is well incorporated. Stir in melted chocolate and almonds. Combine the cream cheese, butter, remaining 3/4 cup sugar, sour cream, and flour in a larger bowl. Beat until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the egg mixture to the cream cheese mixture, stirring constantly until just blended. Do not overmix. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. It should come to within 3/4 inch of the rim. Set the pan in a baking dish and add enough warm water to come three-quarters of the way up the sides of the pan. Bake at 325º for 1 1/2 - 2 hours or until set. Remove the baking pan from the water, and let the cheesecake cool completely before removing the springform. Refrigerate the cake for 24 hours. Remove it from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before serving.



LEMON-BLUEBERRY CUSTARD SOUFFLÉ
serves 4

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup blueberries
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 lemon
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup light cream
Pinch of salt
Confectioner's sugar
Preparation
Separate the eggs. Squeeze the lemon to yield 1/4 cup juice, and zest or grate its rind to yield 1 tablespoon grated rind. Butter well your prettiest baking dish that has a 3 1/2-to-4-cup capacity and is about 1 1/2 inches deep. (Or prepare four individual 6-ounce soufflé dishes.) Set the prepared dish or dishes into a larger pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
To make
Spread the blueberries in the bottom of the prepared dish or dishes. Beat the egg yolks till light. Beat in the sugar and butter util the mixture is creamy and smooth. Beat in the lemon juice, grated rind, and flour. Whisk in the cream. Beat the egg whites with the salt until they are stiff but not dry. Fold them into the egg yolk mixture and pour the batter evenly over the blueberries. Pour boiling water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the dish or dishes. Place the pan with its soufflés into the oven and bake about 40 minutes, when the top should be puffed and golden brown. Remove the custard soufflés from the oven and allow them to cool to room temperature. Dust them with confectioner's sugar before serving.