Strawberry Sunday

For Serving Up Sarah's first sale, I made a strawberry cheesecake with fresh strawberries and strawberry jelly as the topping:

The topping takes about 5 minutes to make, depending on how fast you can slice your strawberries. You can make this with pretty much any berry you choose, but since strawberries are so big I recommend at least cutting them into halves, if not thirds. This would also go well on ice cream or regular cake I'm sure.

When you heat the jelly in the pan, make sure you take it off the heat before it turns to liquid; you want a thick liquid not something watery. Basically, you want to heat it just until the jelly is smooth (i.e. no more lumpies).

Strawberry Topping

1 pound fresh strawberries, rinsed and cut into halves or thirds

1 cup strawberry jelly (not jam)

Heat jelly over medium heat until smooth. Off the heat, combine with strawberries. Top cooled cheesecake and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Birthday Weekend

But not mine. Sister's and Aunt's. Sister went wine tasting and didn't get a dessert though. Aunt stayed in town and got herself yellow cake with chocolate frosting (upon request). This is a half sheet cake (12x18) so it serves a ton. You can use the cake and frosting recipes for a smaller cake or cupcakes. The sour cream in the cake makes keeps it from drying out in the oven and there's a spot of butter in that frosting. I've made this cake once before (also for a birthday) and decorated it with M&Ms. You could easily decorate this with just about anything from candy to fruit.

I serve this one right out of the pan, but if you decide to transfer it, just grease and flour parchment paper before pouring the batter into the pan. And of course, lest you forget, let the cake cool completely before you frost it. I like to cover it overnight and frost it the next day. A couple additions that will most likely work well: lemon or orange zest in the cake and/or some vanilla bean to either the frosting or the cake.

Sheet Cake
Barefoot Contessa Family Style (Ina Garten)
Serves 20-24

Cake
18 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
8 ounces (about 1 cup) sour cream, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 lemon, zested
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

Frosting
24 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

For the Cake

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 12 by 18 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan.

To make the cake, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. On medium speed, add the eggs, 2 at a time, then the sour cream, vanilla, and lemon zest, scraping down the bowl as needed. Mix well. Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir just until smooth. Finish mixing by hand to be sure the batter is well mixed. Pour evenly into the pan, smooth the top with a spatula, and bake in the center of the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan to room temperature.

For the Frosting

For the frosting, place the chocolate chips and heavy cream in a bowl set over a pot of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until the chips are completely melted. Off the heat, add the corn syrup and vanilla and allow the chocolate mixture to cool to room temperature. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the chocolate mixture and softened butter on medium speed for a few minutes, until it's thickened.

Spread the frosting evenly on the cake.

PB&C

Peanut Butter and Chocolate that is. You might consider this to be the cupcake version of a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. I don't know. I made them this past weekend for a friend who came to town. She immediately took one, removed the bottom, placed it on top and had herself a cupcake sandwich. Her mom apparently snuck one or two for herself - I guess they're just that good. Meanwhile, Sister, a little more traditional, got herself 4 from the batch and ate them as they were.

This recipe made 16 rather large cupcakes; next time I'll probably make a bit more icing to stretch for all 16. As always, leave that butter out over night to bring it to room temperature. It really does make all the difference. Also use the highly emulsified, processed peanut butter (like Jif or Skippy), not that natural stuff. If you want a nice decorative touch, you can chop up some peanuts and put them on top. It looks pretty and everyone will know it's peanut butter icing.

Chocolate Cupcakes and Peanut Butter Icing
Barefoot Contessa at Home (Ina Garten)
14-16 Cupcakes

Cupcakes
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 extra-large eggs at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, shaken, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
2 tablespoons brewed coffee
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup good cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and 2 sugars on high speed until light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes. Lower the speed to medium, at the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, and coffee. In another bowl. sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. On low speed, add the buttermilk mixture and the flour mixture alternately in thirds to the mixer bowl, beginning with the buttermilk mixture and ending with the flour mixture. Mix only until blended. Fold the batter with a rubber spatula to be sure it's completely blended.

Divide the batter among the cupcake pans (one rounded standard ice cream scoop per cup is the right amount). Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, remove from pans, and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Kathleen's Peanut Butter Icing

1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup heavy cream

Place the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high until the mixture is light and smooth.

Serving Up Sedar

I had to help out the Poppers, so I made Passover dinner last week, letting my Jewish side shine through. Admittedly, I did pull a bit of a Sandra Lee and use box mixes (upon his request). That probably won't happen again so let's move on from that quickly, shall we?

I did whip up a "perfect" roast chicken a la Ina, although in my recipe search I found that everyone claims their roast chicken is perfect. Not so interestingly, these recipes are all very similar. I will say with a long-cooking recipe like this, you will want to check your oven temperature with an actual thermometer to make sure you have it right. You never know when onions might become "deeply carmelized" as my dad calls it; however, the onions get discarded when you make the gravy, so even some extra carmelization won't kill you.

Another perk of the roast chicken? Chicken salad! I had to make lunch for five on short notice so thank heavens we had a bit of leftover. Just toss it with some mayo, mustard, and lemon juice. Ok and salt and pepper. And some cherry tomatoes if you have them.

I'll just end by letting you know that this truly is the best roast chicken. By all accounts.

Perfect Roast Chicken

Barefoot Contessa Cookbook (Ina Garten)

Serves 3 to 4

1 (5 to 6 pound) roasting chicken

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 large bunch fresh thyme (I tied it together with kitchen string)

1 lemon, halved

1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 Spanish onion, thickly sliced

1 cup chicken broth

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pinfeathers and pat the outside dry. Place the chicken in a large roasting pan. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken.

Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of the lemon, and all the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Scatter the onion slices around the chicken.*

Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh.

Remove to a platter and cover with aluminum foil while you prepare the gravy.

Remove all fat from the bottom of the pan, reserving 2 tablespoons in a small cup. Add the chicken stock to the pan and cook in high heat for about 5 minutes, until reduced, scraping the bottom of the pan.

Combine the 2 tablespoons of chicken fat with the flour and add to the pan. Boil for a few minutes to cook the flour. Strain the gravy in a small saucepan and season it to taste.** Keep it warm over a very low flame while you carve the chicken.

Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve immediately with warm gravy.

*If you want to roast vegetables with the chicken, place 8 whole new red potatoes and 4 carrots, cut diagonally into quarters, and add them with the onions. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables for roasting.

**If you find the sauce too thick to strain simply add more broth or even plain water, while it is still over the heat. After you reach the desired consistency, strain the gravy into a saucepan.

Daddy's Dinner

Having done lunch for Mama, next came dinner for the Poppers: steak sandwiches, baked "chips," and a mache salad.

The recipe calls for searing the meat in olive oil, but we grilled instead. If you to decide to grill the steak, I suggest adding some of the steak juice to the onions for cooking; the original method cooks the onions in the steak pan while the steak is resting. I also used ciabatta because the store didn't have focaccia buns - I'm sure any good quality bread of your choice will do the trick.

Because there are so few ingredients in these recipes, I think it's really important to use the fresh herbs (thyme and rosemary). No, nothing bad will happen if you don't use fresh. Just a friendly suggestion. The potatoes will probably be just as good (according to Ina) if only seasoned with olive oil and garlic and no rosemary. I also sprinkled a spot of sea salt on them when I took them out of the oven.

Steak Sandwich
Ina Garten
Makes 2 sandwiches

1 (12-ounce) 1-inch thick New York strip boneless beef top loin steak (grass fed if available)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil
2 small yellow onions, sliced in rings
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 recipe Mustard Mayo, recipe follows
2 mini focaccia buns, sliced in half
1/2 cup baby arugula

Season the steak liberally with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium satue pan over high heat until it's almost smoking, then sear the steak on each side for 1 minute. Reduce the heat to low and cook the steak for about 7 to 10 minutes, turning once, until very rare in the middle. Remove to a plate, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Slice the steak into strips.

Using the same saute pan, heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and thme and saute for 10 minutes, until the onions are brown and caramelized, stirring occasionally.

To assemble the sandwiches, spread a tablespoon of Mustard Mayo on the bottom half of each bun. Place a layer of the steak on top of the mayo, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and top with the caramelized onion rings. Place the baby arugula on top of the onion rings, and cover the sandwiches with the top half of the buns.

Mustard Mayo
Ina Garten
Yield: 1 cup

3/4 cup good mayonnaise (such as Hellmans)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
2 tablespoons sour cream
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Whisk the ingredients together in a small bowl. Serve at room temperature.

Baked "Chips"
Barefoot Contessa: Family Style (Ina Garten)
Serves 2

2 large baking potatoes, unpeeled
2 tablespoons good olive oil
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Scrub the potatoes, cut them in half lengthwise, then cut each half in thirds lengthwise. You'll have six long wedges from each potato. Place the potatoes on a sheet pan with the olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and rosemary. With clean hands, toss all the ingredients together, making sure the potatoes are covered with oil. Spread the potatoes in a single layer with 1 cut side down.

Bake the potatoes for 30 to 35 minutes, turning to the other cut side after 20 minutes. Bake until they are slightly browned, crisp outside, and tender inside. Sprinkle with salt and serve immediately.

Mache Salad

Mache
Olive oil
Tarragon vinegar
Salt
Freshly ground pepper

Place mache in a serving bowl and drizzle with olive oil and vinegar. Season generously with salt and pepper; toss well.

If making ahead, place dressing at the bottom of the bowl before adding mache. Toss when ready to serve.