My step-son’s birthday is today and so I thought that I would make a Spiced Pumpkin Layer Cake with White Chocolate Italian Meringue Buttercream and Rum Raisin Caramel Sauce.

I think that I’ve made two cakes in my entire life and so this was a bit of a challenge for me. If I were to do this type of cake again I would definitely leave the raisins out of the batter because they made it difficult to slice the cake into even layers. Perhaps freezing the cake prior to cutting would of made it easier—so instead of eight layers it turned into a four layer cake.

There are several different methods for making buttercream icing and I prefer the Italian Meringue Buttercream method where you heat the sugar syrup to 245 degrees and slowly pour it into stiffly beaten egg whites and whip the mixture until cool before adding in softened butter. If you heat the sugar syrup to the correct temperature then the rest is easy and you’ll have a beautiful, silky buttercream that won’t become stiff or runny. And for someone like me who doesn’t have a lot of experience with layer cakes I need an icing that is easy to work with. To flavor my buttercream, I folded in a teaspoon of vanilla extract, one tablespoon of orange zest and a 1/2 cup of melted and cooled good quality white chocolate. Another option instead of white chocolate would be to add softened cream cheese which would work nicely with this cake as well.

So Happy Birthday Jerm! I’ve saved you a piece in the freezer and will bring it with us on our next visit to Portland.

Enjoy!

I have never been to New Orleans, but I love everything about their cuisine—their traditions, their slow and low cooking methods, and especially their flavorful spices. Whether it’s Creole or Cajun—tomato or roux based, or a combination thereof—it all works for me. I mean how can you go wrong when your cuisine is influenced by France, Spain, and Africa!

So for yesterday’s special I made Blackened Catfish with Smoky Red Beans with Basmati Rice, Braised Mixed Greens in Apple Cider and a Spicy Creole Sauce.

When I blacken fish, I like to use a rub that doesn’t overpower the flavor of the fish. I feel that the blackening should provide great color, but also allow all the other components of the dish to shine through.  Also, too much blackening spice can give the fish a gritty taste and so I only sprinkle the top side of the fish with a light coat of seasoning. For the beans, I always recommend that you use dried or fresh. Yes, it’s a bit more time consuming to soak dried beans overnight or to shuck fresh beans, but the flavor and texture is well worth the effort.

After soaking the beans overnight, drain them and set aside.  Dice applewood smoked bacon and render until crispy. Next add finely diced onion, minced garlic and saute until soft.  Add the beans, a bay leaf, minced fresh thyme and chicken stock or water to cover. Simmer the beans on low adding additional stock or water until beans are al dente. When finished, drain the beans immediately and spread out on a sheet pan and chill until ready to use.

For my Creole sauce, I use Old Bay Seasoning. I grew up on the spice blend which is manufactured in my hometown of Baltimore, and I use it in a lot in chowders and with steamed shrimp and crabs. Old Bay has a high salt content on its own so be careful when adding additional salt to the dish, especially if you are reducing the sauce.

For the sauce, dice onion, celery and green pepper and saute until soft.  Next add minced garlic, chopped oregano, thyme and deglaze with white wine and reduce.  Add the Old Bay Seasoning and good quality canned tomatoes (pureed in a food processor), a bay leaf, Worcestershire sauce, and a small amount of water to cover. Bring the sauce to a boil and reduce heat and simmer slowly until thick.  Blend the sauce until smooth and stain through a small china cap.  You can then finish the sauce with a small amount of cream or salt and pepper upon serving.

Enjoy!

I love taking simple dishes and putting my own signature on the dish.  When I grew up Beef Stroganoff looked and tasted a lot different than it does today—and my mom was a really great cook.  Somehow I have bad memories of cream of mushroom soup (and I don’t think it was from my mom)…anyway, no more cream of mushroom soup required—this pasta dish is fresh, light and full of flavor!

I make my stroganoff with thinly sliced grilled flat iron steak, roasted shiitake mushrooms scented with thyme, caramelized red onions, fried capers, and linguine tossed in a Madeira creme fraiche sauce.

As with any dish, it helps if you start out with a really good foundation and in this case, a dark, rich veal stock. To start, I grill my flat iron steak to a medium rare to get a nice smoky flavor.  Let the steak cool completely and then slice as thin as possible.  Meanwhile, thinly slice shiitake mushrooms and toss in canola oil, minced thyme, salt and pepper. You can either pan saute the mushrooms or roast in the oven until caramelized and crispy.  Next, julienne red onions and saute over medium-high heat until caramelized.  Toss some capers into a saute pan with olive oil and cook over medium heat until crispy.  However, keep the pan partially covered because once they start to fry they’ll pop and jump out of the pan.  Drain the capers on paper towels and salt lightly and set aside.

To finish, start cooking the linguine in plenty of salted water.  In a saute pan with a small amout of canola oil, over medium heat, add the steak, onions, and minced garlic and deglaze with Madeira.  Reduce the Madeira and then add the veal stock and reduce to a sauce consistency.  Add the mushrooms, a small amount of creme fraiche (you can use sour cream instead, but it should be added at the very end because sour cream will break under heat).  Toss in the pasta and finish with parsley, fried capers, lemon juice and salt and pepper.  Enjoy!