A Chocolate Cake Fit for a Sous Chef

When my son was born a little over a year ago, I made a pact with myself that I would teach him the joys of food that my dad taught me.  Since my dad is no longer with us, I felt that it was my duty to make sure Davis understands that not only does food nourish us physically, it feeds our soul and is a wonderful way to bring people together.  

One of the joys of being a mom has been introducing my son to new foods and watching him either cringe with disgust or open his mouth and lean forward like a baby bird looking for more food while pounding the tray of his high chair in a MOMMYIWANTMORERIGHTNOW manner as he sought out more of the food that he decided he liked.  It may be silly, but I rejoiced the day he ate a homemade quesadilla that he watched me prepare for him.

As my son grew over this past year, I made him a part of anything I was doing in the kitchen, just as my dad had done with me.  Once Davis started to enjoy his bouncy seat at around 1 1/2 months old, he would sit perched on the island in our kitchen as I prepared dinner for myself and my husband watching with interest as I chopped and sauteed.  

As he got bigger, I gave him a spatula to play with while I cooked.  He was in the kitchen with me as we prepared pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving.  He even started to cry after my husband moved him to his toys away from the kitchen action ... the child didn't want to miss a thing in the kitchen!  He has evolved into my taste-tester as well.  On Christmas Day, he sampled the harvest squash bisque I prepared.  Davis was also my company at 5 am as I rose early to begin prepping a Southwestern Brunch for our New Year's Day party.  As he grew out of his bouncy seat, he began supervising the action from his exersaucer, jumping up and down whenever he heard the whir of the food processor or the standing mixer. 

As he began walking over the past few months, Davis plants himself underfoot in the kitchen as I prepare lunch for him, dinner for our family or prep for a party.  He even loves kitchen tools like I do as observed from his fascination with my whisk (which has now seen better days since he got his hands on it), spatulas and mixing bowls.  

Given my love of food that I am passing on to Davis, I felt an intense need to make Davis' first birthday cake from scratch and ensure it would be especially delicious should he decide to take a bite of the chocolate goodness that awaited him.  So as not to be disappointed if Davis dissed his cake, I did keep in mind that although I enjoy sweets a great deal now, I was the child who would pass up ice cream in lieu of french fries during summer trips to the Dairy Queen.

For my little sous chef's birthday, I prepared a decadent double-layer chocolate cake with a recipe I found on the back of a Ghirardelli unsweetened cocoa powder can.  And delicious and decadent it was.

Now, please do not think this cake is just for kids.  It is not.  As expected, my son didn't even take a bite.  The adults at the party seemed to enjoy the cake immensely.  The cake turned out moist and rich with a perfect chocolate flavor.  I frosted it with a vanilla buttercream frosting which was the perfect compliment to the cake.  I also channeled my inner Martha Stewart and with an idea from her website and made the frosting a light blue color and placed fish made of sugar cookies on the side of the cake.  To top it all off, I used her blueprint to make a paper sailboat to top the cake.  Origami is not my strong suit but it turned out pretty good!  Feel free to omit the fish, blue food coloring and origami and you will have a very chic chocolate cake to serve your guests.

The cake is extraordinarily easy to make as is the frosting.  I did make the cake a day ahead and frosted it the day of the party and it still tasted perfect.  Davis was not content to watch the cake-making from the floor of the kitchen so I ended up making most of it while holding him.  The whir of the mixer caught his attention and he wanted to be eye-level with whatever was mixing up the sweet goodness that would become his birthday cake.

When I went to frost the cake the next day, I gently sliced off the top of one of the layers so that the other would lay flat upon it.  My mother-in-law passed on a great tip when I shared with her my frustration of chocolate crumbs in my blue frosting acquired as I tried to frost the cake with care.  She suggested freezing the cake though not fully and then frosting so that the crumbs would not come up off the cake as I frosted.

At last the big moment came for cake and we had to pry Davis away from his 1950s diner/kitchen he received as a birthday gift where he had been playing intently for over an hour.  Once "Happy Birthday" had been sung, the Birthday Boy looked at the cake with minimal interest, attempted to touch the still burning candle, and rebuffed my efforts to encourage him to take a bite or play with the frosting.  He then squirmed out of my arms and high-tailed it back to his playroom and got back to whatever he was cooking up in his kitchen to entertain his guests.

And I couldn't have been more proud of my son and partner in crime in the kitchen.

I can't wait for another year of kitchen adventures with my cooking partner in crime and the best sous chef a Mommy could ask for.

Davis' Birthday Cake

(Serves 8-10)

Ingredients

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/3 cup whole milk

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

Details

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

*Lightly flour and grease two 9-inch round cake pans.

*In a medium blow, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

*In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar on a medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.

*Reduce speed to low and add vanilla and eggs one at a time, scraping bowl after each addition.

*Alternately add flour mixture and milk (starting and ending with the flour mixture), while on low speed.

*Continue to mix until smooth.  Pour into prepared pans. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center of cake comes out clean.

*To frost, wait until cakes are fully cooled.  Place one cake on a plate and cut off top so it is flat.  Spread frosting on cake, top with second cake.  Using an offset spatula, continue frosting.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

(enough to cover two 9-inch cakes)

Ingredients

3 cups confectioner's sugar

1 cup butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

1-2 tablespoons heavy cream

Details

*In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk, mix together sugar and butter.  Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.

*Add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium for 1 minute more, adding more cream if needed for spreading consistency.

Cake recipe from Ghirardelli Grand Fudge Cake recipe.  Frosting recipe from Gale Gand, Food Network.

Divine chocolate cake and easy entertaining tips on the way ...

It was a big weekend at the Turrentine house!  My sweet baby boy, Davis, turned 1 year old.  You can see from the picture of my husband and Davis that it was a great time.  Check out the blog later for details on the festivities including the most delicious chocolate cake (not pictured in this photo so you'll have to check back) and easy entertaining tips for putting together a sophisticated yet not fussy party when you don't have a lot of time.

Crumblies -- they're not just for dessert!

I’ve discussed my affinity for crumblies as part of a dessert before on the blog.

But, crumblies are not just for dessert.

Thank goodness!

Lovers of crumblies, fear not as there are way to incorporate savory crumblies into many dishes. Early last week, I was looking for a quick dinner to make. My husband and I both work full-time and therefore when we get home at night, we want to spend as much time as possible with our son yet still be able to have a delicious dinner. As many of you know, this is sometimes easier said than done.

This mission led me to the recipe below.  I recently discovered my son enjoyed tortellini and I purchased a bag of tortellini at the store which turned out to be quite delicious. I sampled the tortellini as he ate his dinner and decided that I was going to make them for dinner but rather than the parmesan and butter that topped his dinner, I decided to integrate bread crumbs and sage as well as omitting the butter for olive oil.

And thus, my tortellini with savory crumblies was born.

If you can boil water and mix together parmesan cheese, bread crumbs and olive oil, you have a great and easy dinner! I also added a bit of chopped sage from my new herb garden (thanks to L and family for the herbs). Once you sprinkle the crumblies over the tortellini, you can also put the dish in the oven for a few minutes to crisp the topping much like you would for a sweet dessert with crumblies.

Use as much or as little of the crumblies as you wish. Within minutes, you are left with tender tortellini with a flavorful topping. Trust me, this is much better than warming a jar of pasta sauce!

C’s Tortellini with Savory Crumblies
Serves 4

Ingredients
4 cups tortellini
¼ cup Italian breadcrumbs
2-3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese (more or less to taste)
Fresh Sage, finely chopped (1-2 leaves)
Olive oil

Details
*Measure out 4 cups of tortellini and boil until tender. Drain, rinse and place in serving bowl.
*In a separate small bowl, mix breadcrumbs, chopped sage and parmesan cheese together. Add olive oil until the mixture is slightly mushy and binds together.
*Drop spoonfuls of the mixture over the tortellini.
*Place in the oven heated to 375 degrees for a few minutes to crisp the crumblies.

The Madonna of Pasta

True stars are often known by his or her first name only.

Madonna.

Oprah.

Beyonce.

Bono.

Move over Madge, Queen of Pop and Oprah, Queen of Talk because there’s a new Queen in town: Pecorino, Queen of Pasta.

Commonly called Cacio e Pepe, I shortened the dish to simply: Pecorino. There is a reason Madonna does not go by her real name Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone. If you are a true star, one word says it all!

I had my first Pecorino experience while dining at a Mario Batali restaurant. I ordered a very simple dish on the menu listed as Cacio e Pepe. It was described as pasta with Pecorino Romano cheese and black pepper with a dash of olive oil and butter. As my husband will attest since he was there to witness my first meeting with the dish I call Pecorino, it was love at first bite. My eyes may or may not have rolled back in my head with the first bite as it was THAT good.

After my dinner of Pecorino, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Probably much like if you met Oprah or Madonna, it would be hard to stop recounting the experience of the meeting. A true star makes a lasting impression, right? As soon as we were wheels down in DC from Vegas, I immediately set out to re-create this amazing pasta dish and discovered it was surprisingly easy. In fact, I actually liked my version better than what I ate at the restaurant.

As my family of three is in the midst of packing for a move to a new house later this week, I prepared Pecorino over the weekend as it was quick, easy and filling and is great the next day.  To begin, you only need three ingredients: Pecorino Romano cheese (this is a sheep’s milk cheese), black pepper (preferably from a pepper grinder) and a medium thickness pasta. I prefer Bucatini for this recipe but a standard spaghetti will work fine.

If you can boil water, you can make Pecorino. Boil the water for your pasta and while the pasta boils, grate your Pecorino Romano cheese. I use the cheese quite liberally in this dish so you can figure on a little less than ½ pound of grated cheese for one pound pasta. When I am in a hurry, I often buy the Pecorino Romano already grated which is a nice convenience when making this dish.

Once the pasta is cooked (I prefer slightly al dente), remove and drain and reserve a bit of the water in which you cooked the pasta. Using tongs, put a quarter of the pasta in your serving dish. Sprinkle it with the cheese and plenty of black pepper and toss using the tongs.

You will see that the pecorino and pepper cling nicely to the noodles. Be as generous as you want with the cheese! Repeat until you’ve used all the pasta and each strand has a good coating of the cheese and black pepper. I don’t think this dish even needs salt because the Pecorino Romano has a salty flavor. If the pasta feels a bit dry, feel free to add some of the reserved pasta water.

Here is a picture of the finished product of cheesy, peppery goodness:

The beauty of Pecorino is that it is perfect to serve as a quick dinner or as a main dish for a dinner party.  These days, those are star quality characteristics for me!   

Pecorino (serves 4 as a main course)

Ingredients
1 lb Bucatini pasta (feel free to use spaghetti or another medium thickness noodle)
1/2 lb grated Pecorino Romano cheese
Ground black pepper (from a pepper mill)

Details
*Boil water and cook pasta until al dente
*Drain pasta and reserve some of the pasta water
*In a large serving bowl, deposit 1/4 of the pasta in the bowl with tongs.  Sprinkle liberally with the cheese and black pepper and toss until noodles are coated.  Repeat until all pasta is used and coated with pecorino and black pepper.

Remembering my Dad with Orzo ...

Father’s Day was extremely special at my house this year as we celebrated my husband’s first Father’s Day! Our son, Davis, is the light of his life (and mine) and Dan is a terrific dad. While Dan played a bit of Father’s Day golf in the morning, I decided to cook up a nice lunch for his return.

It was extraordinarily hot in DC over the weekend so I turned to a tried and true favorite, my Pat McCarthy Orzo Salad. It is a cool and refreshing dish that isn’t heavy but still filling and satisfying.

As many of you know, my beloved dad passed away almost six years ago and loved food and cooking. Being that it was Father’s Day, I couldn’t help but think of him even more than usual. I wanted to cook something that reminded me of him to celebrate his life and honor him on Father’s Day. Because I know that he was looking down at me from above and saying, “C’mon Colleen, cook something I would have loved today to share with your husband and son on Dan’s first Father’s Day.”

In the Fall of 2004, my dad was recovering from his cancer surgery and had some time on his hands. It was during this time that he discovered Food Network and more specifically, Ina Garten, better known as the Barefoot Contessa. He thought Ina Garten was terrific and the dishes she prepared on her show appealed to him and inspired him. My dad was a planner when it came to food. He would eat breakfast and already be thinking about what we were going to make for dinner.

In that fashion, I remember the call from my dad in early November 2004 that he had just watched the Barefoot Contessa prepare a side dish of orzo with roasted vegetables and he was so excited because he decided he would cook it for our family for our Christmas dinner along with crab cakes. He wanted to make a special dinner for us as we would be together as a family for the holiday. With his cancer battle and my brother having gotten out of the military that year, it was going to be a special Christmas for us.

We hadn’t eaten orzo in my house growing up so he was beyond excited to cook up this delicious concoction for us. If I remember right, he even told the nurses at the hospital where he was getting his chemotherapy treatments about his new orzo dish he was going to cook for Christmas Dinner. My dad passed away on December 22, 2004 so we never did get to have his orzo with roasted vegetables but I chose to remember him and celebrate his life on Father’s Day by making something similar.

I started with some whole wheat orzo which doesn’t taste much different than regular orzo. I boiled the orzo and then added a quick lemon vinaigrette to the orzo. Then, I tossed in chickpeas, kalamata olives and diced roasted red peppers. I also sprinkled some feta cheese on top.  You can use any vegetables you want or even add in some chicken or shrimp to make this a main course. I ate some of it while it was still warm but it was still delicious served cold when my husband arrived home from golf. This is also great served with my favorite hummus.

Although this dish is a summer version of what my dad had planned to prepare, it made me feel so good to prepare something I know my dad would have enjoyed. One of my goals in writing this blog is to pass on the joy of cooking and food that my dad passed on to anyone who met him.

So, here’s to you, Dad! We felt your presence with us with each bite of orzo. In memory, here is a pick of me and my dad that I love taken 11 years ago.  We were sharing a piece of cheesecake.  One of the most important things my dad taught me was never to forget a good meal or dessert!

Pat McCarthy Orzo Salad (serves 4 as a side dish)

Ingredients
*1 ½ cups orzo
*1/4 cup olive oil
*1 ½ teaspoon minced garlic
*1 tablespoon dried oregano
*3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
*A few splashes of balsamic vinegar to taste
*3/4 cup kalamata olives
*1/2 cup chickpeas
*1/2 cup roasted red peppers
*Feta cheese



Details
*Add orzo to boiling water and cook until tender.
*In a small bowl, whisk the lemon juice, garlic and oregano. Slowly add the olive oil while whisking.
*Add a few splashes of balsamic vinegar to taste
*Add orzo to serving bowl and slowly add the vinaigrette while tossing the orzo.
*Add roasted red peppers, chickpeas and kalamata olives and toss. Sprinkle with Feta cheese.

Just like college ...

My apologies, loyal readers, for my lack of blog posts. My sweet baby boy was sick at the end of last week and most of the weekend so it put a hold on my cooking. In fact, for two days, my husband and I existed on pizza from Pete’s Apizza. If you live in DC, I highly recommend getting yourself to Pete's ASAP.  Being that we didn’t sleep for 48 hours, it was much easier to reheat pizza than to cook. Or, frankly, to just eat the pizza cold.

It was somewhat like exam week at college with little sleep and eating cold pizza. 

Thankfully, our sweet boy is much better now.


A blog post from my scaled-back cooking over the weekend will be up later tonight!

Crumblies, Anyone?

My dad LOVED dessert.  Carrot cake may have been his favorite dessert (which will be another post down the road as I have found a delish carrot cake recipe) but not far behind was anything with "crumblies" on top.

Crumblies?

You know, the delicious streusel-like topping that is a combination of brown sugar, rolled oats, flour, a pinch of cinnamon and a whole lot of butter to hold it all together.

He always loved the apple pie my mom made that didn't have the traditional lattice-work on top but rather the crumblies.  I've acquired my dad's love of crumblies and to me, the filling of fruit is the sideshow but the delicious topping is the main attraction!  In typical fashion, my dad would justify this as an almost healthy dessert because it involved fruit.

This past weekend, I made a Strawberry and Peach Crumble that I know my dad would have loved.  My son was napping and I had a craving for something sweet but couldn't run to the grocery store while he was asleep so I had to make do with the ingredients I had in the house.  I happened to have a container of strawberries that was in need of being eaten within two days or thrown away and I hate to waste so into the Crumble they went!  Then, I moved on to the freezer.  We are moving in a couple weeks so I am trying to use up as much food as possible pre-move.  Lo and behold, there was a bag of frozen peaches I had purchased when I thought my son might have an interest in trying peaches.  Turns out, he had no interest.  So, into the Crumble went the peaches. 

I found a great recipe to pull together my random fruit assortment online.  God bless "The Google."  It turns out, Giada De Laurentiis must have found herself in the same position one day and she made a dessert with strawberries, peaches and a crumble topping.  Occasionally when I have made an Apple Crumble, the topping is a bit more high maintenance and involves blending by hand, but this was very easy.  I simply blended brown sugar, flour, and a stick of butter in the food processor while holding my breath that the whir of the food processor wouldn't wake up my sleeping son.  Thankfully, it didn't and about 40 minutes later, I took the bubbling, sweet Crumble from the oven and had a very nice treat as my son napped.  While I was sitting eating this glorious dessert, I couldn't help wishing my dad was with me to share in some strawberry and peaches with crumblies.  But, proving that he is with me and that my son is like him in so many ways, I gave Davis a bit of Crumble after his nap and he loved it. 

It seems that even at 11 months old, crumblies are just too good to pass up!

Here is the recipe:

Strawberry and Peach Crumble

Ingredients
Filling
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 large lemon)
1.5-2 tablespoons corn starch
1 pound strawberries, halved
1 pound frozen peach slices (feel free to use fresh later this summer once they are in season)
1/2 cup light brown sugar

Topping
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup old fashioned style oats
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 stick unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

Details
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray medium baking dish, similar to this one with cooking spray.
*For the filling whisk together the lemon juice and corn starch until smooth. 
*Add the strawberries, peaches and brown sugar and toss until fruit is coated.  Pour the mixture into the dish.
*For the topping, combine the oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and sea salt in a food processor.  Pulse until mixed.
*Add the butter and pulse until the butter is the size of peas.
*Sprinkle th emixture over the filling and bake for 40 to 45 minutes until the filling is bubbling and the top is light golden.

Recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentiis' Strawberry and Peach Crumble recipe