Rum Balls

There's something about the holidays that make people pour alcohol into desserts.  I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that most holidays involve spending a lot of time with relatives.  For Passover, we don't mess around.  Instead of pouring alcohol into dessert, we pour it straight into ourselves.  4 glasses of it.

I'm not as familiar with the drinking customs of Easter.  But these rum balls are sure to be a big hit.  I think rum is traditionally a Christmas drink/dessert kind of alcohol, but these little balls look so much like bunny-tails I'm sure Peter Rabbit would approve.

Rum balls are one of those old-school desserts.  I don't think many people make them anymore, but they are unbelievably easy.  They also pack a surprising punch if you don't know better.  Thatboy took a bite and quickly realized after a couple he probably shouldn't be driving.  So keep them out of reach of any little hands you've got hanging around.

Rum Balls (From the Fannie Farmer Cookbook)

2 cups Nilla Wafer crumbs

1 cup shredded coconut

2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

2 Tbsp light corn syrup

1/3 cup rum

1. Combine the crumbs, coconut, 1 cup of the confectioners sugar, corn syrup and rum in a bowl.
2. Mix well and shape into small balls.  
3. Sift the remaining confectioners sugar on a piece of wax paper and roll the balls in the sugar.

Romantic Night In

As I mentioned last week, we decided to spend Valentine's Day at home.  But spending the night at home doesn't necessarily mean pajamas and top ramen.  (Although who am I kidding -  how good does that sound?)

I spent the entire day preparing an elaborate feast.  And by preparing an elaborate feast, I mean making a cake.  Dinner itself was thrown together in about 15 minutes when I got home from the gym.

Notice the baby monitor - kind of a third wheel on our date night.

Steamed crab is ready in minutes and requires no prep.  The potatoes were thrown in the oven before I headed to the gym so all I had to do was pull them out split them open.  And you don't even need a knife for a caesar salad. 

Dessert was a little intensive though, and a definite crapshoot.  So Thatboy brought home some backup.  We have very different tastes in desserts - I'm more fruit based, he's more chocolate based.  So he picked this apple blackberry crumble out with me in mind.  Of course, you can't really go wrong with anything from Extraordinary Desserts.

I had to run to the liquor store for some airplane bottle of kahlua and asked Thatboy if I should pick up something special to drink for our meal.  He asked for some sort of festive cocktail.  I had picked up a ton of blood oranges (happy winter everyone!) and thought they would make the perfect Valentine's Day drink.  While at the liquor store I looked around to see what would work and found some ruby red grapefruit vodka.  I thought that would be perfect for a martini - citrus plus citrus?  Add a little triple sec for sweetness and a star is born!

Blood Orange Martinis

4 oz ruby red grapefruit vodka

1 oz triple sec

juice of 3 blood oranges

1. Shake all ingredients in a shaker with ice.  Pour into chilled martini glass.

We've done Caesar salads before - usually this means just tearing up romaine and throwing some Caesar dressing on top.  Since this was a special night, I thought I would go all out and do a table-side Caesar salad - like in fancy schmancy restaurants.  I even made my own croutons!  The only problem with making a tableside Caesar is your guests become acutely aware of the ingredients involved - like those anchovies.  Or the raw egg.  Proceed with caution on this one and you will be rewarded.  It's definitely a case of "know your audience."  This was so good and easy, however, that it's already on the menu for this week too. 

 

 Classic Caesar Salad

stale bread

1 clove garlic

2 Tbsp butter

1 head of romaine lettuce

1/2 can anchovy fillets, drained

1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil

juice of half a lemon

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 egg

salt and pepper

1/4 cup parmesean cheese

1.  Make the croutons -Cut bread into cubes, removing any crust.  Melt butter in a skillet and add the garlic.  Cook until garlic is fragrant and then add the bread cubes.  Saute the cubes until they are brown on all sides and then drain on paper towels.
2. Separate the romaine leaves, wash, dry, and tear into bite-sized pieces.
3. In a bowl, mash the anchovies.
4. Whisk the olive oil and lemon juice into the mashed anchovies.
5. Add the mustard to the anchovy mixture.
6. Pour the dressing over the romaine in a large salad bowl.  Crack the egg into the bowl and toss the salad until the egg has disappeared.
7. Add the croutons, salt and pepper to taste, and parmesean.  Toss and serve.
   

And the piece de resistance  - the cake!  I've been having such success with Fannie Farmer cakes lately I wanted to try another one.  But after looking at the ingredients, I worried it might not be a hit - I shouldn't have worried.  This was delicious!  The perfect yellow cake, the fruit and nuts in the center add sweetness and moistness.  The frosting was light and unassuming.  Not too sweet, which I prefer, but sweet enough where even Thatboy was okay with the addition of nuts.

Lord Baltimore Cake (From the Fannie Farmer Cookbook)

1/4 cup butter

2 1/2 cup sugar

5 egg yolks

1 whole egg

4 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup milk

2 cups cake flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

2 egg whites

1/2 cup dry macaroon crumbs

1/4 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup chopped blanched almonds

12 dried cherries, chopped

juice of half a lemon

1/2 tsp orange extract

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Spray two 8-inch round cake pans with baking spray.  Cream the butter and slowly add 1 1/2 cups sugar, beating until light.
2. Add the egg yolks and beat well.
3. Add the whole egg, 2 tsp vanilla, and milk and beat well.
4. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt, and add to the first mixture, beating until smooth.  
5. Spread in the pans and bake for 25 minutes.  Cool in the pans for 5 minutes before turning out onto racks.
6. Make the frosting - Mix the remaining sugar, cream of tartar, a pinch of salt, egg whites and 1/4 cup of water in a pot or bowl over simmering water.  Beat steadily over low heat with a hand mixer until the frosting stands in peaks - 7 minutes.  Remove from heat and continue to beat until thick enough to spread.  Add the vanilla.
7. Take half of the frosting and fold the remaining ingredients into it.  Use this as filling between the cake layers.  
8. Use the remaining half of the frosting to frost the cake.

Tipsy Dinner

On Friday I mentioned that I tend to go with white wine when I cook chicken. But moving unearthed a ton of alcohol that I can't drink. Including a giant bottle of vermouth. Which is fantastic for martinis, but doesn't do much good sitting in the liquor cabinet. (On a side note, all our alcohol has officially been moved out of the nursery and into the cabinet - yay!)

Vermouth is a great alternative to white wine, although I'd be willing to bet most of you are more likely to have wine on hand than vermouth. So really, I'm reaching out to all you martini drinkers, alcoholics, and James Bond wanna-bes (shaken, not stirred). Here's another alternative to just drinking that stuff. Cook with it! For those of you who don't have giant bottles of vermouth in your childrens' bedroom, this recipe can just as easily be made with white wine.

The cinnamon and tomato paste are my nod to Greek dishes, and if that's your thing, you could also use Ouzo instead of wine or vermouth. Although I'm tempted to believe that most of you are even less likely to have Ouzo than you are to have vermouth. Even in Thathouse I think we parted with the Ouzo prior to moving because it just doesn't get used enough to justify moving it. Thatboy spent a night pouring out our bits and pieces of unconventional liquors, but not before making him a mixed drink encompassing all of them. I warned him to leave the Ouzo out (like leaving rootbeer out of a suicide), but as usual, he didn't heed my warning. He only had a sip before dumping his concoction down the sink.

Chicken in Vermouth
3 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 onion, chopped
1 lb chicken tenders
1/4 cup dry vermouth
1/2 tsp tomato paste
cinnamon
salt

1. Melt both butter and oil in a skillet. Saute the onions until they are translucent.
2. Brown the chicken tenders with the onions, then remove the chicken from the pan.
3. Add the vermouth to the onions and bring to a boil.
4. Lower heat to a simmer and stir in tomato paste, a dash of the cinnamon, and salt.
5. Add the chicken back in, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes.