Almond Milk Gluten Free Baked Donuts....No, They ARE Good!

Look at these here baked donuts, made with almond milk and gluten free flour. Delicious, right?

It's our twice monthly Cook the Book. We are cooking our way through every chapter of Marion Cunningham’s The Breakfast Book. There are six of us participating in the project: Rachel of Ode to Goodness, Sammy of Rêve du Jour, Emily of The Bon Appetit Diaries, Aimee of Homemade Trade and Claudie of The Bohemian Kitchen.

My mom, Gran Fran, made fried donuts just once that I can recall. She has a big fear of somehow burning down her kitchen while working with hot oil, cooking anything fatty in the oven, or, come to think of it, anything other than pasta or potatoes. For a woman who spends so much time in the kitchen, she certainly isn't comfortable with any kind of volatile cooking.

When I mentioned I was making donuts, she, in NY, said to me, in SF:

"Make sure you open all the windows, have the fire extinguisher handy, and maybe let the neighbors know you're frying something, so in case there's some kind of fire, they can help you."

I'm the youngest of five, two of us live 3,000 miles away from Gran Fran. She has been giving me these long distance words of wisdom for 20 years. I can only image what kind of in-person guidance my NY siblings get from her.

When I was in New York for my parents 50th wedding anniversary, one of the granddaughters made a list of all the Gran-Fran and Joe-isms she could think of, along with some input from the other 10 grandkids and my sisters and brother. Let me tell you, there were a good number, none of which included any reference to the fire extinguisher. Wish I had remembered to bring that one up when the list was put together.

Two quotes stand out in the lineup:

1. "I'll make you a plate."

2. "Make sure you lock the top lock."

The first quote is a straightforward example of Gran Fran always making sure we are well fed, to the point of needing to switch into our stretchy pants.

The second refers to always locking all the locks on the door, especially the top lock. Whenever she would leave us alone, she'd lock the door behind her and get in the car. Next thing you hear is her banging on the back door yelling "Make sure you lock the top lock." This inevitably scared the heck out of us as we had already locked the top lock, and were not expecting a re-appearance of Gran Fran. (A friend sent me this link of S**t Italian Moms Say.  Make it to the very end, you'll see why).

With Gran Fran's warning in my ear, I opted out on frying the donuts and instead chose a baked donut recipe. This is the second time I've tried baking donuts. The consistency is more like a cake donut, not so air filled, denser. I prefer a nice cake donut, so it's perfect for my taste. If you like an airier donut, you probably want to stick to frying.

Almond Milk Gluten-Free Baked Donuts

adapted from Marion Cunnigham’s The Breakfast Book, Copyright 1987, Alfred A. Knopf

Ingredients

•     2 packages dry yeast
•      1/3 cup warm water
•      1½ cups almond milk
•      1/3 cup vegetable shortening
•      ¼ cup sugar
•      2 teaspoons salt
•      2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg
•      2 eggs, lightly beaten
•      4½ cups all-purpose flour, approximately (I used Gluten-Free Pantry's All Purpose Flour Mix)
•      ½ cup melted butter
•      1 cup sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Method:

Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a small bowl and let it dissolve for 5 minutes.  Put the milk and shortening in a saucepan and heat until the shortening is melted.  Cool to lukewarm.  Pour the yeast mixture into large mixing bowl and add the milk mixture.  Stir in the ¼ cup sugar, salt, nutmeg, eggs, and 2 cups flour.  Beat briskly until well blended.  Add the remaining 2½ cups flour and beat until smooth.

Cover the bowl and let double in bulk, about 1 hour.  Dust a board generously with flour and turn the dough mass onto it.  The dough is soft and needs enough flour on the board to prevent sticking, but is easy to handle.  Pat the dough into a round about ½ inch thick.  Use a 3-inch doughnut cutter to cut out the doughnuts, placing them (and the doughnut holes) on greased baking sheets, 1 inch apart.  These don't spread much; they rise.

Preheat the oven to 450ºF.  Let the doughnuts rest and rise for 20 minutes, uncovered.  Bake about 10 minutes, or a little longer, until they have a touch of golden brown.  Remove them from the oven.

Have ready the melted butter and a brush.  On a sheet of waxed paper spread the cinnamon sugar.  Brush each doughnut and doughnut hole with butter and roll in the cinnamon sugar.  Serve hot.

Glazed Cinnamon Rolls from The Breakfast Book

Glazed cinnamon rolls are so very tasty. Welcome to the first installment of my very first Cook the Book. The idea here is that I will cook a recipe every other week from Marion Cunnigham's The Breakfast Book. I'll give you a flavor of what the book is like and will inspire you to cook up some of the tasty breakfast treats yourself.

Up first is a very good glazed cinnamon roll recipe. I'm not much of a baker. I fully acknowledge my shortcomings in this area. The requirement to follow an actual recipe with precise measurements is next to impossible for me. I've been at this recipe since 7:30am this morning. The rolls went into the oven at 5:15pm. To be fair, the dough rested for six hours in the refrigerator.

I chose to do the cinnamon rolls because I have the fondest of memories of Gran Fran whipping these up for us on weekends. I now have an even greater respect for the process she went through to give us fresh baked pastries. Gran Fran was known for being up at all hours of the day and night cooking and baking. I'd come home well after midnight to be greeted with the smell of beef stew or foccacia bread with garlic and rosemary. Gran Fran was to be found somewhat asleep, sitting up on the couch with the TV on. She'd awake with a start saying "Oh, I was just resting my eyes. Let me make you a plate." It was never asked as a question. It was a given that when you came in she'd feed you.

Why'd I wander off on that tangent? Because I just figured out that she must've been up making the dough so it could rest in the fridge overnight to be ready for baking soon after we got up. I wasn't that smart. Isabella will be having cinnamon rolls as her dessert tonight (with many more leftover for breakfast). Regardless of when we eat them, they are amazing, and I am proud to say that I made my first successful batch of glazed cinnamon rolls (it only took me 42 years!).

As per Isabella's instructions, I made one dozen with the glaze and dusted one dozen with cinnamon-sugar.

I'm doing this project along with five other wonderful food bloggers: Rachel of Ode to Goodness, Sammy of Rêve du Jour, Emily of The Bon Appetit Diaries, Aimee of Homemade Trade and Claudie of The Bohemian Kitchen.Click on through to their sites to see which recipes from the Yeast Breads chapter they made.

Glazed Cinnamon Rolls

from Marion Cunningham's The Breakfast Book, copyright 1987, Alfred A. Knopf

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1 package dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon plus 1/4 cup sugar
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, chilled [I used unsalted, recipe didn't specify]
• 3 eggs yolks
• 1 cup milk

Filling Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted [I used unsalted, recipe didn't specify]
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Glaze Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature [I used unsalted, recipe didn't specify]
• 1 tablespoon water (a trifle more mat be needed to make a manageable glaze)

Method:

1. Put the warm water in a small bowl and sprinkle the yeast over. Add 1 teaspoon sugar, stir, and let dissolve for 5 minutes.
2. In a large mixing bowl stir together the flour, 1/4 cup sugar, and salt with a fork to mix them well.
3. Cut the butter into pieces the size of small grapes and add to the flour mixture.
4. Using either you hands or a pastry blender, rub or cut the butter into the flour mixture until it is distributed and there are coarse little lumps of butter throughout.
5. Stir in the yeast mixture, the egg yolks, and the milk. Beat until blended [I used my Kitchen-Aid stand mixer with a dough hook].
6. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator at least 6 hours (this dough can be refrigerated for 12 to 14 hours).
7. Divide the dough in half. On a lightly floured board, roll out half the dough into a rectangle about 10 by 12 inches.
8. Spread 2 tablespoons of the melted butter over the rectangle.
9. Mix the remaining 6 tablespoons sugar and the 1 teaspoon cinnamon together in a small bowl. Sprinkle half the sugar mixture evenly over the rectangle.
10. Starting with the wide side, roll up the rectangle like a jelly roll. Divide the roll into 12 pieces by first cutting the roll into 4 equal portions, the cutting each portion into 3.
11. Put the rolls cut side down in a greased muffin tin. Repeat these steps with the other half of the dough.
12. Cover loosely and let rise for 1 hour.
13. Bake in a preheated 400 degree F oven for 20 to 25 minutes
14. Remove the rolls and out them on a rack set over a piece of waxed paper.
15. To make the glaze, sift the confectioners' sugar into a small bowl, then beat in the butter and water until smooth.
16. Spoon a little of the glaze one reach roll while still hot.

get yer pies here!

I'm at my desk, working. A package arrives. It's from N.Y.C. I don't even need to look at the address, due to the way it's packed, I know it's from Gran Fran.Her typical packing-box style requires a recycled box from Amazon, or some other online retailer, and a piece of 81/2 x 11 printer paper with my name and address written on it in large black Sharpie. The final touch, which is the real reason I know it's a Gran-Fran delivery, is the copious amounts of packing tape she uses. I think she believes someone will tamper with her precious cargo, whether it's books, food or toys. The tape is layered on so thick and tight you can't get into the box without a very heavy duty box cutter. No scissors can make a dent in her packaging.

What is in the box this time is well worth protecting, with as much packing tape as one has available. Gran-Fran has sendt her yearly Easter package complete with bread baskets with Easter eggs nestled inside, chocolates for Iz and little trinkets. Oh, but the best food in the package are the Italian pies.

Gran-Fran's Pizza Rustica and Pizza Grana are like nothing I've ever tasted. And, I can re-create them (see the recipes below), but it is oh-so-special to receive these in the mail every year. It's like a little gift just for me, since Iz does not like either of the pies.

The Pizza Rustica is a savory pie, which most will refer to as a heart-attack-on-a-plate when they hear what's in it, but well worth throwing caution to the wind to experience the salty goodness. It involves not one, not two, but FOUR kinds of meat, three kinds of cheese, ricotta and six eggs. Not good for those of us with high cholesterol (me) or high blood pressure (salt-tastic), but again it only happens once a year, so I make sure to eat light when I know the box is on its way.

The Pizza Grana is a sweeter pie, but not cloyingly sweet. It uses orange flower water, ricotta and barley in a lovely crust. This pie has a much lighter taste than it's cousin, the Pizza Rustica, but it is oh so satisfying.

Okay, back to the present day. Once the package arrives, and I spend hours removing the packing tape, I reach in and smell the goodness. Each pie is wrapped in its own wrapper. Again, in true Gran-Fran fashion, the pies are placed in waxed paper (2 layers, thank you very much) then wrapped in aluminum foil, then snuggled into plastic bags. She then scotch-tapes them closed with a small scrap of white paper identifying which pie is which. Again, the unwrapping begins, and once I have made it to the actual pie, I am in heaven.

To be clear, Gran-Fran is the reigning queen of freezing fresh goods and sending them across country. She once made several hundred cupcakes for a party here in SF, froze them, wrapped them in the above fashion and shipped them out. They got lost in the mail, arrived about a week later, and were still frozen. So, there is no need to fear the freshness factor of her shipped pies, since they are likely to still be slightly frozen, if not very cold, upon arrival.

I am back at my desk, with the box open, the pies unwrapped and a napkin on my lap. Even though they taste better heated up, I don't bother. I just eat them out of the box, Homer Simpson-style right there and then. So good! And, no sharing, either. I can make these pies last for two to three weeks, even though it's usually just a quarter of each pie.

So, a big thank you to Gran Fran for fulfilling my Easter wish of meat, eggs, cheese and deliciousness.

Buona Pasqua!!

PIZZA RUSTICA (also known as Pizza Chiena) Crust: Preheat oven to 375 degrees

* 4 1/2 cups unbleached flour * 3/4 teaspoon salt * 3 sticks ice-cold unsalted butter, diced * 1/2 to 2/3 cup ice water

1. Combine flour and salt. Use a pastry blender or an electric mixer at low speed to work butter into flour mixture, and form coarse crumbs. 2. Gradually add enough water to form a dough that just sticks together. Wrap dough in waxed paper and refrigerate while preparing filling.

PIZZA RUSTICA FILLING

(All meats and cheeses should be thickly sliced and diced into 1/2 inch cubes.)

* 1/4 pound prosciutto * 1/4 pound Genoa salami * 1/2 pound soppresatta salami * 1/4 pound Sicilian salami * 1/2 pound conventional mozzarella, or scamorza * 1/4 pound fontina cheese * 1/4 pound asiago cheese * 2 cups whole-milk ricotta, drained well * 6 eggs * Freshly ground pepper to taste

For Glaze

* 1 egg yolk, beaten with 1 tablespoon milk

Preparation

1. In a large bowl, combine all meats and hard cheeses; set aside. In another bowl, beat together ricotta, eggs, and black pepper; set aside. 2. Divide dough in two, with one piece slightly larger than the other. On a lightly floured board, roll out larger piece of dough, and gently fit it into a 9 x 12 (approximately) nonreactive casserole dish; leave an overhang of an inch or two of dough. Roll out second piece of dough to fit over top; set aside. 3. Pour combined meats and cheeses into pastry-lined dish; pour ricotta-egg mixture over the filling. 4. Moisten the edge of the bottom crust with water. Add top crust. Roll edges of top and bottom crust together; flute edges. 5. Brush top crust with egg/milk glaze. Cut a circle in top crust to allow steam to escape. 6. Place casserole on baking sheet. Bake for 75 minutes or until the tip of a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. 7. Place on cooling rack; allow to come to room temperature before slicing. Serve at room temperature or cold. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Pizza Grana Crust 1 1/2 cups flour (Heckers or other all purpose, unbleached) 1 stick ice-old unsalted butter Pinch of salt Ice water 4 tablespoons or as much as you need

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

1. Mix salt and flour. Cut butter into flour until mixture resembles coarse corn meal. Add enough water to make a rollable dough. Wrap in waxed paper; refrigerate 20 minutes or so.

Filling 1/3 cup pearl barley Pinch of salt Cook barley, according to package directions, until tender. Drain barley well if any liquid remains. Return barley to pan Add: 1/3 cup warm milk ¼ cup sugar Rind of a whole navel orange 2. Simmer mixture over medium heat until milk is absorbed. Allow mixture to cool.

To cooled mixture: Add 1/2 cup sugar 3 cups whole milk ricotta 2 tablespoons orange flower water 1 teaspoon vanilla Grated rind of 1 lemon Pinch of salt 2 eggs Stir mixture together. Assembly: 3. Line a 9 or 10 inch Pyrex or ceramic pie plate with dough. Save 1/4 of dough to cut into strips. Pour filling into pie pan. 4. Cut strips and lay in a lattice pattern over the filling. 5. Place filled pie pan on a rimmed cookie sheet. 6. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 375. Cook 30 to 40 minutes or until filling is puffed and golden brown. Cool pie on rack. Refrigerate for storage when cool or serve as soon as cooled.

Crepes at 6AM

In keeping with the theme of cooking at any hour of the day or night, I got up this morning and made 20 crepes for Ms. Iz’s class at school. It didn’t seem so crazy on Sunday night when we had our friends over for a dinner party. But, in the light of day (or, I should say, the dark-of-ever-rainy-SF morning), with a kitchen full of dirty dishes and breakfast, lunch, and dog to deal with, not so good.Here it is, Iz asked me to make crepes for her school for Mardi Gras. Yes, it was a week late, and all, but I agreed since it’s such a nice thing for your kid to bring in something special to share. It must be mentioned here that she attends a French school. In hindsight, I was insane to agree to make such a treat for a bunch of real French people, but I wasn’t thinking of that.

What was going through my mind, was how Gran Fran, no matter what, would send me off to preschool (then known as Nursery school) with fresh-baked treats for whatever holiday was being celebrated. I attended a Jewish Nursery school (long story, short, even though our family wasn’t Jewish, the private Nursery school was willing to take me a year earlier than the public school) and so Gran Fran made many challahs, and even hamantaschen cookies for Purim

Oddly, this is the first time I’ve made the connection between putting Iz into a French school as a non-French person, and my Jewish Nursery school experience. That being said, it just shows to go you that you can never walk far away from you past. Gran Fran is always on my shoulder saying “What? So, you get up a little early? What’s it going to cost you … a little sleep?” This, from a woman who seems to need no more than 5 hours of sleep a night. Who knows if that is a product of raising five kids, what with all the worry and all, or if she was always that way.

On Saturday before she left for her Dad’s house, she asked if I had bought the crepe pan and Nutella yet. I assured her the purchases would be made before she returned the next night. I did get everything, Iz made the batter, and then, with many cooks in my kitchen, we tried to make the crepes. There was the learning curve to deal with, having never made crepes, the burn Iz got on her finger whilst trying to flip one, and the inevitable boredom that comes from making the same thing over and over. And, that, my friends, is how I ended up making these at 6AM on a Monday.

The crepes, as it turned out, were a huge success. Iz was very proud to report back that she got to serve them and was able to have two with Nutella for herself. She was the only one who brought crepes, with some of the other kids supplying donuts the week before, or other sweet treats. So, in the end, Gran Fran was right (as usual). Who needs sleep when you can supply such joy with a little bit of flour, butter, milk and eggs?

Crepes ala Iz

Makes 25 crepesYou will need a flatish-round, nonsticl pan, or better yet, a nonstick crepe pan.

Ingredients:

• 1cup flour
• 1cup milk
• 1/2cup water
• 4 eggs
• 4 tablespoons melted butter
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• pinch of salt

Method:

• Mix all ingredients well in a food processor or blender until smooth.
• Let the batter stand for 30 minutes, undisturbed.
• Heat the non-stick crepe pan over medium heat.
• Spray a light coating of vegetable oil on pan.
• Pour batter slowly into center of pan. Then, quickly pick up pan and twist the handle to move batter around into a thin coating.
• Leave undisturbed on medium heat for 3 minutes, until edges begin to curl a little.
• Flip the crepe over. Cook another 2 minutes and flip onto a plate.
• Cover finished crepes with a clean kitchen towel while making the others.
• Serve immediately with Nutella or sugar rolled inside.
• If storing, simply make a stack of crepes and wrap in plastic wrap.

Adapted from The Joy of Coking

Challah ala Gran Fran

Yield: 2 loaves

Ingredients:

• 1 cup warm water (100 to 110 F)
• 2 packages (1/2 ounce or 4 1/2 tsp) Fleischmann's Active Dry Yeast
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 5 1/4 to 5 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon water
• Poppy Seed and/or Sesame Seed, optional

Method:

Place 1/2 cup warm water in large warm bowl. Sprinkle in yeast; stir until dissolved. Add remaining water, sugar, margarine, salt, and 1 1/2 cups flour; blend well. Stir in 3 eggs, 1 egg white (reserve 1 yolk), and enough remaining flour to make soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover; let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 30 to 45 minutes. Punch dough down. Remove dough to lightly floured surface; divide in half. Set aside 1 half. Divide remaining half into 2 pieces, one about 2/3 of the dough and the other about 1/3 of the dough. Divide larger piece into 3 equal pieces; roll to 12-inch ropes. Place ropes on greased baking sheet; braid. Pinch ends to seal. Divide remaining piece into 3 equal pieces. Roll to 10-inch ropes; braid. Place small braid on large braid. Pinch ends firmly to seal and secure to large braid. Repeat with remaining dough to make second loaf. Cover; let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 30 to 45 minutes. Beat reserved egg yolk with 1 teaspoon water; brush over loaves. Sprinkle with poppy or sesame seed, if desired. Bake at 400 F for 20 to 25 minutes or until done, switching positions of sheets in oven halfway through baking time. Remove from sheets; let cool on wire racks.

Source: Fleischmann's Yeast, a division of Burns Philp Food, Inc.

Hamantaschen Cookies ala Gran Fran

Dough Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Butter (salted, or add a pinch of salt)
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 teaspon Baking powder
• 1 Egg
• Vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon Milk
• 2 cups Flour

Filling Ingredients

• 1/4 lb. dried apricots
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons water

Method (Dough):

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Cream butter sugar and add egg.
• Mix and sift flour and baking powder and salt and add some of mixture to creamed butter and sugar mixture.
• Add the milk and rest of flour. Add flavoring.
• Roll dough out, cut into rounds and place spoonful of filling on each round.
• Fold up 3 edges to form triangles and pinch the corners so they'll hold their shape in the oven.
• Bake at 375 F. for 15 to 20 min. depending on size.

Method (Filling): you can use apricot jam (or whatever flavor you'd like) or make your own:

• Cover apricots with 1/2 cup water.
• Cook over low heat in covered pan for 15 minutes.
• Mash and add sugar while hot, then add 2 tablespoons water.

the stronger, the better: my must-have comfort food

Comfort food makes me happy.Check out this drinks list: apple juice, iced coffee in the blender, Vin Santo, single malt whiskey.

What, pray tell, do these four drinks have in common? I believe only a select few outside of The Family would know this, so I’ll tell you. The list represents key Gran Fran-esque drinks over the span of my childhood into my adulthood. And, there is a food pairing for each, too. All of these make my comfort food list. This is more of a stroll down memory lane, rather than a plethora of Gran Fran recipes. But, it does shed some light on the nice times we had as a family over the past four-plus decades.

Apple Juice: Our friend-after-school-snack consisted of pretzels (either the super salty skinny pretzel sticks, or the traditional pretzel shaped ones) and apple juice. This was offered all the way through high school to our friends, who made snide remarks about the kiddie snacks at our house, but who told me later in life that it was still a favorite snack. I still crave this snack when things get tough and I find myself serving it to my daughter and her friends, too.

The super salty skinny pretzels came in their own individual boxes and were made by Mr. Salty. You know, the sailor pretzel guy? Sadly, I have found that they are not available any longer and I can't even find picture of them. But, any super salty pretzel will work here with your apple juice!

Blender Cappuccino: On very hot summer days, Gran Fran would break out the blender, grab some ice cubes, milk and espresso and blend it all up. I think she also added sugar. It was lovely. Real coffee and milk, none of this modern-day Starbucks blended stuff. Even though we were little, we were allowed to have this treat. A nice side with this was Gran Fran's best-ever pound cake.

I can no longer drink coffee (makes me very angry and too hyped up), but the smell of coffee in the summer always brings me back to the kitchen in Queens with Gran Fran jamming ice cubes into her blender and telling us all to "Stand back!” At least I can still make the pound cake, which is a little consolation for the demise of my coffee drinking days.

Vin Santo: Gran Fran and I went to Italy in 1989 on a college trip (I was in college, she was recently unemployed so she came along with the group). It was the first time we traveled together, and it lasted a month. The evenings were filled with drinking local wines and eating ourselves silly.

Gran Fran hung out with all of us, until one night when we young'uns decided to go to the local Disco. She opted to hang at the Enoteca, the local wine bar. When we came back to get her, she had been drinking Vin Santo, a sweetish wine that is paired with salume and heavier meats. She was in heaven! I have not developed much of a taste for Vin Santo, but whenever I do have it, it brings back Gran Fran's happy smile in Italy, where she enjoyed the summer light.

Single Malt Whiskey: I am a girl who loves me a whiskey. In bars, they are always questioning whether I realize what I'm ordering, when I ask for a very smoky whiskey, neat. I am all of 5'2" and love to wear short dresses with boots. Not the typical looking whiskey woman.

The first time I had a good glass of whiskey was with both Gran Fran and Joe at a jazz club in Manhattan while watching Les Paul play guitar. I think I was about 20 or so at the time and thoroughly enjoyed it. We ate burgers and the pairing was exquisite.

For my money, you can't get better than apple juice, iced coffee in the blender, Vin Santo or single malt whiskey. I hope to bring this list into the next generation with Iz, but for now, we're sticking to apple juice and an occasional iced coffee in the blender.

Blender Cappuccino ala Gran Fran

serves 1 (but easy to make multiples)you will need a blender (ok, seems obvious, but thought I should mention it) Ingredients:

• 2 cups hot coffee, if it’s winter; cold if it’s summer
• 1 cup whole milk or better yet half-and-half
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 6 ice cubes if it’s summer
• Cinnamon, optional

Method:

• Place all ingredients in blender; adjust amounts to fit capacity of blender.
• Hold down cap of blender with a dish towel.
• Turn blender on high.
• Blend until frothy and creamy.
• Pour into glasses or cups. Sprinkle with cinnamon if desired.
• Serve immediately.

Pound Cake ala Gran Fran

serves many!

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks room-temperature butter
• 1 2/3 cups sugar
• 5 eggs, room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups flour, unbleached, all purpose

Method:

• Butter and flour a 9-inch loaf or tube pan.
• In an electric mixer, or by hand, beat butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt together for about 10 minutes; longer if by hand.
• Add 4 eggs one at a time. Beat on medium for about 4 minutes, scraping bowl well.
• Add flour all at once. Beat on medium for about 3 minutes.
• On high speed, add final egg and beat for about 15 seconds.
• Place batter in pan. Place pan in cold oven on a lower third shelf.
• Turn oven on to 300 degrees.
• Bake for 2 hours if beaten in mixer. Bake for 90 minutes if beaten buy hand. Let cool on rack in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan and continue to cool.

Salume Platter ala Gran Fran

serves 8 (you can increase or reduce the amount of items you get based on how many people you are serving.)

to be served with Vin Santo

This doesn't really count as a recipe, more a serving suggestion for an excellent platter of Italian savory items.

Ingredients

• 1 lb Proscuitto di Parma
• 1 lb Soppresatta Salume, sliced thin
• 1 package Pate (Campagnola, is what I prefer, or Country-Style made with Pork)
• 1/2 cup Caper Berries
• 1 cup Black Oil Cured Olives
• 1 Sweet Baguette (or a nice loaf of Italian Bread), sliced
• 4 ripe Roma Tomatoes, diced
• 5 cloves Garlic, 3 minced, 2 cut in half
• 3 Tbsp. Olive Oil, plus more for brushing on bread
• Salt and Pepper

Method:

• Preheat broiler or get toaster oven ready.
• On a large platter, disply the assortment of meats, with bowls for the caper berries and the olives.
• In a serving bowl, mix together the diced tomatoes, garlic and olive oil. Add salt to taste.
• Place baguette slices on a baking sheet in one layer.
• Rub baguette with the cut garlic halves, and then brush the bread with oil. Add a sprinkling of salt.
• Toast baguette in broiler or toaster oven until brown, turning once after a minute or so.
• Serve baguette alongside the diced tomato mixture to have guests create their own bruschetta.

Hamburgers ala Gran Fran

serves 6 to be served with a nice single malt whiskey

you will need a large non-reactive skillet Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground sirloin, shaped into 4 fairly thin burgers (they retract and get fatter as they cook)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Kosher salt
• 1/4 cup Marsala, Madeira or other semi sweet wine
• 2 shallots minced
• 2 tablespoons butter

Method:

• Prepare burgers. Sprinkle generously with fresh-ground pepper.
• Heat nonstick pan over medium heat until very, very hot.
• Add butter and oil, swirling pan off heat so fats don’t burn
• Return pan to heat; add burgers keeping space around each.
• Cook over high heat for about 4 minutes; reduce heat to medium; continue cooking 4 minutes more. Increase heat to high.
• Turn burgers; cook over high heat for 4 minutes; reduce heat to medium; continue cooking 4 minutes longer.
• Remove burgers from pan. Sprinkle with salt.
• Over medium heat, sauté shallots, sprinkled with salt, until golden. Turn heat to high for 2 minutes.
• Remove pan from heat; add wine, swirl. Return pan to medium heat; simmer until the wine no longer tickles your nose. Swirl cod butter into sauce to make it creamy. Pour sauce over burgers and serve on bread of your choice or on a plate with mashed potatoes

dipping sauce? no, no, that’s frosting.

Gran Fran and Joe always honored our birthdays with a special meal (ask for anything, and they’d make it for the birthday kid in question) and an excellent homemade cake. In honor of my recent birthday (no, I won’t tell you how old I am) and my daughter’s (she turned 10), I found it fitting to recount my first attempt at frosting, which, until this past week, was known as dipping sauce here on the West Coast.

Let’s take the way-back machine to 1980, when, for my tenth birthday (oops, if you can do the math, you now know how old I am!), I requested a chocolate cake with mocha frosting. Our house was one of the few in the neighborhood with a Kitchen Aid stand mixer in it, and let me tell you, Gran Fran got a lot of use out of it. I say Gran Fran got a lot of use out of it, because the rest of us were not allowed to use it. If one of us did go near it, she would scream, in her high-pitched voice-of-fear “Don’t you dare go near that! It’ll cut your fingers off!” (Think back to the movie A Christmas Story…”you’ll put your eye out”, and you get the picture.)

Now, let’s talk about the stand mixer for a minute. There was a guard around the outside of the bowl and a lock on the machine that had to be closed for it to mix. Unless one of us actually tried to climb into the mixer, I really don’t believe there was much to fear. But, you will learn, as you read these posts, that there were many things in the kitchen to be a-feared of, from Gran Fran’s perspective, and it’s a wonder the five of us ended up cooking at all!!

But, for all of the screaming and words of caution, Gran Fran makes a mean frosting and cake, to boot. To this day, I have yet to find a frosting I prefer to hers, even at the fanciest of fancy bakeries. She whipped up that mocha frosting in a matter of minutes, cooled it and frosted the cake. Delicious!

OK, back to the dipping sauce scenario. Fast-forward to 1993, San Francisco. It was the first year I was out on my own, and I had made a birthday cake, for which I needed frosting. Store-bought was never offered in my house growing up, so it never even crossed my mind to buy it, rather than attempt to make it. How hard could it be? I mean, Gran Fran would whip it up in no time at all, so I figured I could handle it.

Oh, I couldn't have been more wrong. It was all going well, the baker’s chocolate was melting away with the sugar and butter in the double boiler, the very strong coffee was brewed and it all smelled right. But, once I got it off the stove and tried it, it was liquid. No amount of cold would get it to set. The cake came out great, but the frosting just wasn’t right.

There was no time left to fix work up another frosting, so I packed up the cake, covered the “frosting” and headed over to my friend Dennis’ house. Once there, candles were put on the cake, a loud and rousing chorus of “Happy Birthday to You!” was sung, and then it was time for serving. Out came the “frosting”. Dennis took one look at it, and asked “What’s with the dipping sauce for the cake? No frosting?”

At this point, the whole thing was so laughable, that I simply served the cake with the “sauce” on the side, which people did end up dipping the cake in. Over the next 15 years, I attempted frosting after frosting sometimes resorting to whipped cream, since you can’t mess that up, and even managed to make the dipping sauce work well with flourless chocolate tortes.

But, in 2009, my daughter, Iz specified that she would like me to try one more time to make actual frosting and not dipping sauce (which my “frosting” had become known as over the intervening years). How could I disappoint her on her big 1-0? So, back to the kitchen I went. But this time, I had Gran Fran on the phone consulting on the frosting, and Joe e-mailing me recipes from New York. Well, ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to report that the frosting was a success. I have no idea if it was the family support, Iz’s very heartfelt request, or if the stars were aligned that day, but I made an excellent frosting.

Hats off to Gran Fran for showing me as a child how to make the frosting, and for keeping my fingers intact and out of harm’s way (also known as the evil Kitchen Aid). And, Iz thanks you, too.

Craig Claiborne’s Recipe for Mocha Frosting
Frosts tops and sides of three 8-inch layers

You will need a candy thermometer and a hand or stand mixer

Ingredients
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup water
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 cup soft butter
• 1 ½ squares (ounces) unsweetened chocolate, melted
• 1 tablespoon very strong coffee
• 1 ½ tablespoons rum

Method
• Boil sugar and water to 240 F. (Syrup forms a soft ball in cold water.)
• Beat the egg yolks until fluffy. While beating add the syrup gradually, and continue beating until the mixture is cool.
• Add the butter bit by bit, until it has all been beaten in. Beat in the chocolate, coffee and rum.

Real Red Devils Food Cake
Makes three 8-inch layers

You will need 3 8 inch cake pans, preferably shallow, and a hand or stand mixer

(nope, no Non-reactive Pan or Pot to be seen in this recipe!!)

Ingredients
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/4 tsp. soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/3 cup cocoa
• 1/2 cup soft butter
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

• Butter the bottoms but not the sides of the baking pans.
• Cut a waxed paper or parchment round to fit in the center-bottom of the pan, leaving a 1/4-inch uncovered around the edge. Butter paper.
• Sift together into bowl the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cocoa
• Add the butter, and 2/3 cup of the milk
• Beat 2 min.
• Add the remaining 1/3 cup of the milk, the eggs and the vanilla.
• Beat 2 more min.
• Pour into prepared pans. Bake until cake tests done about 30 minutes. Place pans on rack. Then turn onto cooling rack after 10 minutes