Carrot Cake (for Denver altitude)

For those that have tried, I don't need to repeat that baking at High Altitude is extremely difficult.  Especially when it's a cake with batter as thick as carrot cake batter is.  Often the issue is that the outside of the cake bakes too quickly and results in burning before the inside gets a chance to cook, leaving it uncooked and inedible.  After trying this recipe the first time and failing, the solution became clear; use a Bundt pan!  The issue is that the middle takes too long to cook because of the high density of the batter, this problem can be completely eliminated by taking out the middle as a variable - literally.  This is the perfect job for a Bundt pan.  If you do not have a bundt pan on hand, split the batter into two 8 or 9 inch round cake pans.  If you try to use one the middle will turn out quite raw and runny.

The first place where things can go wrong is how you prepare the pan you're using for baking.  It doesn't matter if you're using two cake pans or one 9 1/2 to 10-inch Bundt pan, you absolutely must coat the entire pan with solid vegetable shortening, dust with flour, and tap our the excess.  Yes, you still need to take the time to do this extra preparation even when your pan is non-stick.  At high altitudes, baking situations can get extremely sticky very quickly.  It would be an absolute shame to execute the rest of this recipe successfully only to have your cake be torn apart by your failed attempts to remove it from the pan.  Trust me on this one, your hands will get messy but it will be well worth it later when it slides out of the pan effortlessly.  Your pan should look something like this when you're finished.

For this recipe you will need:

• 8 - 10 carrots, peeled and grated (using a box grater or a food processor)
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped medium fine (you can use raisins as a substitute if you don't like or have an allergy to nuts, but something is needed to provide some texture)
• 1/4 cup roasted sunflower seeds (this is optional, but it's delicious when you include it!)
• 1 1/2 cups canola oil
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 6 large eggs, at room temperature (place eggs in a bowl and run under warm water to save time warming)
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup wheat bran (check the baking isle at your local grocery store) 
• 2 cups high-altitude baking flour (it works much better than regular all-purpose in this case)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and position the rack in the lower third of your oven.

Thoroughly rinse the carrots and cut off the top and bottom ends, exposing the best part of the carrot.  Peel off the entire exterior to prepare for grating.  You can grate your carrots using a box grater, but using the grating disc of a food processor is a lot easier.  If using the processor, push the carrots through the feed tube one by one.  Be sure to scrape off whatever extra carrot is left on the blade between loading each one.  If you leave the bits stuck to the blade you will have a lot of difficulty as your push more and more carrots through.  Remove the grated carrots from the processor and transfer to a large bowl.  If your grated carrot pieces look a bit long, replace the grating disc with the regular steel cutting blade, add the carrots once again and pulse to shorten them (don't mince!).

Put the carrots in a bowl and add the chopped walnuts and sunflower seeds (or whatever other solid you decided to use).

Add the oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and wheat bran to a large bowl.

Stir with a whisk until combined (it's important that you don't over-mix).  Using a sifter or strainer, measure the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices into the oil-egg mixture.  Whisk gently until combined. 

Once combined, use a silicone spatula to stir in the carrots and nuts.  Carefully pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan and level the top.

Bake for 50-55 minutes, until the top is springy to the touch ad a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool the cake in its pan for at least 20 minutes before sliding a knife between the cake and the pan to loosen it.  Quickly invert the pan onto a plate and lift off the pan.  Let cool completely before frosting (cream cheese frosting recipe is below!).

To make cream cheese frosting:

• 8 ounces of cream cheese, at room temperature (I used store - brand with 1/3 less fat)
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• pinch of sea salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar, or as needed (yes, you really must sift the sugar or you will have lumpy icing)

In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, blend together the cream cheese and butter until very smooth and creamy.

Beat in the salt and vanilla.  Gradually add the sugar, beating until smooth.  Don't over-beat or your frosting will be too soft (chill to harden up if necessary in warmer weather). 

Ice your cake and enjoy!

Smoky Potato Salad

Potato salad can be made a million ways, but I love the smoky flavor of this one.  This recipe takes virtually no time to complete and the results are delicious.  It is best served chilled, but can stay at room temperature for about two hours or so.  I used some super fresh small red potatoes from a local farmers market.  I estimated their weight to be approximately 2 lbs total, but it may have even been slightly less.  This recipe makes a small batch for 2-4 people, feel free to increase the amounts as needed for a larger batch.

For this recipe you will need:

• 2 lbs small red potatoes (leave the skin on, but be sure to clean thoroughly! Cut into 1-inch pieces)
• 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 2 slices bacon (uncooked, chopped)
• 1 medium sized Vidalia or other sweet onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard (the cheap store-brand stuff works fine)
• 1 1/4 tbsp mayonnaose
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• parsley (add as needed, just eye-ball the amount)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Clean the potatoes before using and let dry in a colander while cutting into small 1-inch pieces.

In a small bowl, coat the potato pieces in the olive oil, salt and pepper.  Arrange the potatoes in a single layer on a jelly-roll pan or edged cookie sheet (you don't want the excess oil falling to the bottom of your oven).

 Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender.  Go over the potatoes about half-way through done-ness with a spatula to keep them from sticking too badly to the pan and to ensure they cook evenly.  Remove potatoes from baking pan and transfer to a large bowl when cooked.

Chop the two bacon slices while raw and cook in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp.  Remove bacon from pan, reserving about 1 tbsp drippings in pan.  Transfer the bacon to a small bowl and set aside.

Add the diced onion to the drippings left in the pan.  Cook for about 12 minutes until the onion is golden brown and caramelized. stirring frequently.  Add garlic to the pan and cook for 30 seconds.

Add the onion mixture and bacon to the potatoes and toss gently.  Let stand for 15 minutes to cool down a bit before adding the dressing.

To make the dressing, combine the mustard, mayonnaise, honey and vinegar in a small bowl.  Stir with a whisk or fork to combine.

Add the mustard mixture to the potatoes and add parsley, to taste.  Toss everything together gently, be sure everything is coated evenly.  Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator.

Cheesy Baked Farro

This recipe originally comes from Giada De Laurentiis.

There are a lot of different components in this recipe, requiring you to utilize multiple burners at once.  This is multitasking at its best and does require quite a bit of prep work so be sure to give yourself plenty of time before you want to eat to be sure it's ready on time. Farro cooks much slower than pasta does, so be sure to plan ahead! You probably won't find farro at your traditional grocery store so you will have to seek out a Sprouts or Whole Foods to find it, but once you do it's not too expensive.  Follow the directions on your package of farro to prepare it for cooking.  On the package I bought it said to soak the farro in cold water for 25 minutes before using for cooking (this is included in that prep work I was talking about earlier).  If you absolutely cannot find farro anywhere, barley is a good substitute.

For this recipe you will need:

 For the sauce:

• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (high altitude flour is okay)
• 2 cups warm milk
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the farro:

• 6 cups (1 1/2 quarts) low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups farro (let soak for 25 minutes if necessary - follow the directions for preparation on the package)
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 2 cups assorted mushrooms, cleaned and sliced (I used button and portobello)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper (I always use Kosher salt)
• 3/4 cup halved cherry or grape tomatoes
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup (4 ounces) grated Gruyere cheese
• 1/2 cup (about 1 ounce) grated Fontina cheese
• 1 teaspoon thyme leaves
• 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray or rub on a thin layer of vegetable shortening (Crisco).

Prepare the farro by letting it soak in cold water for 25 minutes while you ready the rest of your ingredients.  Slice the mushrooms and tomatoes while the farro soaks, before starting the rest of this recipe, it will make your life a lot easier.

For the sauce: In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the flour and whisk slowly until smooth.  Gradually add the warm milk, whisking constantly to prevent lumps.  Simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly until the sauce is think and smooth, this should take about 8 minutes.  Do not allow the mixture to boil!  Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper.

For the farro:  Using a large stockpot, bring the chicken broth to a boil over medium-high heat.  Add the farro, lower the heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally until tender.  This should take about 25 minutes.  Drain if necessary (I had to drain mine, but if yours absorbs all of the stock, it isn't necessary).

 You should have sliced your tomatoes and mushrooms already.  Heat up the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper.  Cook the mushrooms, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes or until tender.  Add the tomatoes to the pan and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until tender.

In a large bowl, combine the Parmesan cheese, Gruyere cheese, Fontina cheese, and thyme.

Remove 1/2 cup of the mixture and set aside.  Add the cooked farro, sauce, and mushroom mixture to the cheeses.  Stir until combined.  Season with salt and pepper.  Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with the 1/2 cup reserved cheese mixture.  Sprinkle the bread crumbs on top and drizzle with olive oil.

Bake until the top is golden brown and forms a crust.  This should take about 25 to 30 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes before digging in!

Summertime Sangria

I don't know about you but there are few drinks I love more than some great home-made sangria.  I love a ton of fruit in mine so feel free to lessen the amount if you feel the need, but you will be sacrificing some serious flavor in your finished drink.  This recipe is also easily doubled if you're looking to make a larger batch.

For this recipe you will need:

• 1 bottle Spanish red wine (I always use a Malbec, it doesn't need to be an expensive one)
• 2/3 cup Henessy VS cognac
• 2/3 cup triple sec
• 2/3 cup orange juice (freshly squeezed is best, but store bought with pulp is okay too)
• 1/2 cup simple syrup (see recipe below)  
• 1 broken cinnamon stick
• 2 lemons cut into thin wheels or wedges
• 2 oranges cut into thin wheels or wedges
• 8 strawberries, sliced
• 7-Up or Sprite (don't add this to the pitcher, add it to individual drinks as needed)

Slice all of your fruit ingredients as directed.  As you can see here one of my oranges was much larger than the other so instead of leaving it in half pieces I cut it into quarters.  Feel free to adjust the slices as needed to make them easy to eat later on.

Once you've got your slices prepared, get your simple syrup ready.  It will need a few minutes to cool down.
  
To make 1/2 cup simple syrup: In a clean container, combine 1/4 cup sugar with 1/4 cup very hot water and stir until completely dissolved.  Let cool completely before adding to your sangria. 

While your simple syrup cools place all of the fruit into a pitcher, alternating between lemons, oranges and strawberries so when you pour it later each glass will have a nice mixture of fruit.  Your pitcher should be looking pretty full right now.

Don't worry, there is still plenty of room for the liquids you still need to add.  Pour the wine in first, followed by simple syrup and orange juice.  Add the liquors last and reserve your 7-Up or Sprite for adding to individual drinks when you are ready to serve.

Fresh Basil Pesto

Today I decided to make some classic pesto from some of my basil plants.  They've been enjoying the hot summer weather and have grown so much in the past few days that some of the leaves have become so large that they are preventing the smaller leaves from getting some sun.  Time to put those big leaves to good use in some delicious fresh pesto sauce!

If you're cutting fresh leaves straight off the plant like I did, be sure to cut off only the leaf and leave the rest of the stem for future growth.  This recipe makes about 1 cup of pesto, which is plenty for 2 people to have on pasta and still have some left over. 

For this recipe you will need:

• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves
• 3 tablespoons lightly toasted pine nuts (you don't need to toast them yourself, most pine nuts have already been toasted before you buy them.  Check the baking isle for a small package.)
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (Fresh is always best, but if all you happen to have is Kraft already grated Parmesan cheese you can use that as a substitute.)

Once you've cut your basil leaves from the plant, use a small colander to lightly rinse them and let dry for a few moments.  While the basil is drying, engage the motor of your food processor and drop the garlic cloves through the feed tube.  When the garlic is minced, scrape down the sides and turn off the motor to add the basil and pine nuts. 

Engage your food processor again until all of the ingredients are finely chopped.  With the motor still running, pour the olive oil in a steady stream through the feed tube to make a smooth, thick paste.  Scrape down the sides of the processor again to make sure everything gets incorporated evenly, then add the 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan.  Pulse until just combined.

How easy is that?

Fried Chicken - Tocci style

This recipe comes from Nigella Lawson, one of Britain's most influential food writers. 

I have made fried chicken a few ways, and have finally settled on this recipe as my go-to fried chicken recipe for a few reasons; when I bite into fried chicken I'm looking for perfectly moist meat inside of a deliciously crisp coating that has been browned to perfection.  It implements some unusual techniques that actually make the process of frying a chicken properly a lot easier.  For example, this recipe uses vegetable shortening for frying instead of using vegetable or canola oil like so many other recipes do.  At first I was a bit put off by the idea of melting down whole sticks of shortening to fry in, but after tasting the results it really does make quite a lot of difference.  Same goes for the process of tenderizing the chicken; in most recipes buttermilk is poured over the chicken to let sit for a few hours.  I used whole milk and was able to achieve the same result without going completely out of my way at the grocery store.  This recipe may seem like a lot of work, but I'm telling you it's more than totally worth it in the end!  This recipe is also very easily doubled.  In Nigella's book she calls for only 2 drumsticks and 2 thighs.  You'd be hard pressed to find a package of chicken drumsticks or thighs that only has two of each in them.  I bought two packages; 1 package of 4 thighs and 1 package of 4 drumsticks.  The recipe I am posting here is for the amounts I used for 8 total pieces of chicken.  If you need to halve it, so be it, if it's for a party you can go ahead and double mine.

For this recipe you will need:

• 4 chicken drumsticks, skin on
• 4 chicken thigh portions, skin on, bone in
• 3 - 4 cups of whole milk (this really depends completely on the dish you use to soak your chicken in...you can always add more when you transfer the contents of the dish into a large pot for boiling)
• 2 tablespoons salt (plus 1 teaspoon for creating the breading mixture)
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (for those at high altitudes- high altitude all-purpose flour is also okay to use if you're like me and that's what you happen to keep in the kitchen)
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 1/4 cups solid vegetable shortening (for frying)

Start by putting the chicken pieces into a dish - they should fit snugly.  Pour the milk over the chicken so that they are submerged.  If there are a few places the chicken is above the milk, but adding more would overflow the dish- that's okay.  The idea is to get most of it covered so you can achieve that super yummy moist texture I mentioned earlier.  Sprinkle the chicken with approximately two tablespoons of salt and use your hands to move the chicken around and mix the salt in.  Cover the dish with plastic wrap and leave in the refrigerator for a few hours (you can get the chicken in the dish and marinating the morning before you plan to cook it and that will be plenty of time) or overnight.   This may seem like an unnecessary step of extra work, but if you don't do this your chicken will not be nearly as moist and when frying meat, there is always a danger of drying it out.

Take the chicken out of the dish, place it into a large pot and pour the rest of the contents of the dish into the pot with the chicken.  You could skip a step here and avoid getting your hands dirty by just pouring the contents of the dish into the pan, but with all those chicken pieces and fat floating around with the milk, I wouldn't want to risk the chance of splashing it all over myself.  If you find that there is not enough milk to cover the chicken in the pot, go ahead and pour whatever remaining whole milk you have over the chicken until it's mostly submerged. 

 Bring the contents of the pot to a boil, turning it down to a simmer until the chicken pieces are entirely cooked through (time will vary depending on thickness of chicken and all that, mine took about 25 minutes.  If you're not sure it's much better to over-do it than under-do it).  Very soon you will have a lumpy mess happening all around your chicken.

Don't be alarmed, it's supposed to look that way.  This is what is going to make the chicken taste especially amazing later.  This messy process is going to make your life a lot easier when you go to fry it later.  It's very hard to fry chicken from raw and have the meat cook perfectly inside its coating.  Too often I find that the coating burns before the meat is cooked all the way to the bone, this boiling process easily resolves this issue. 

Remove the chicken pieces to a rack and let cool until you are able to handle them with your hands.  Put the flour, cayenne and teaspoon of salt into a plastic bag, shake all the pieces of chicken in it one by one, then dip them into the beaten eggs, then into the flour again.  Leave to dry on the rack for about 10 minutes (it may take more or less time, you want to make sure your coating won't just drip off later). 

Heat up your slabs of vegetable shortening in a large frying pan until it's nearly at smoking point (to test the readiness you can always use a small piece of coated fallen off chicken and drop it into the vegetable shortening- when you hear sizzling, you know it's ready for frying).  Remember: the more fat and the hotter it is, the less the food you're cooking absorbs, so don't worry about all of the shortening you're using!  Carefully lower in the chicken pieces and cook for 3 minutes on each side- just long enough for the skin to crisp and turn a rich golden brown.

Say hello to the best fried chicken you've ever eaten: