Bargain Box Coffee Cake

Ingredients:

2 Tbl sugar
1Tbl instant coffee
1 Tbl cocoa
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
½ cup or one stick unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs - room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup sour cream or ½ cup thick cream combined with ½ cup plain yogurt - room temperature


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a Bundt pan. If using a cake pan, cut out a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan and butter and flour it.

In a small bowl combine the sugar, coffee, and cocoa and set aside.

Mix together flour, baking soda, and baking powder in a separate bowl.

Cream the butter with the sugar and when well combined add the eggs one at a time. Mix together and add the vanilla.

Combine and mix 1/3 of the flour into the egg mixture, and then add ½ of the sour cream. Repeat the process ending with the flour. Combine well.

Pour 1/3rd of the batter into the bottom of the prepared pan. Sprinkle half of the cocoa mixture on top. Pour 1/3 of the batter on top of the cocoa mixture and sprinkle the remaining cocoa on top. Cover with the last 1/3 of the batter. Using a table knife, cut through the batter and bring it back up to create swirls.

Bake for approximately 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let it cool in the pan for half an hour and then turn onto a baking rack to complete the cooling.

Adapted from Aunt Patty’s Coffee Cake, marthastewart.com

Bargain Box Mawardi Orange and Walnut Cake

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups flour

1 cup whole walnuts

Zest from one orange

2 tsp of baking powder

2 large eggs

1 cup brown sugar or white if brown is not available

Juice from 2 Mawardi oranges (any orange will do)

½ cup olive oil

Confectionary sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut out a piece of parchment paper the size of the bottom of a 9 inch cake pan. Brush the pan with olive oil and place parchment paper on the bottom and brush with oil. Dust with flour.

Finely chop the walnuts or place in a food processor to grind being careful not to grind too much.

In a mixing bowl combine flour, ground walnuts, orange rind, and baking powder. Make a hole in the center and add the eggs, sugar, orange juice, and olive oil and mix so that it comes together as a batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for ten minutes and then turn over a baking rack, peel off the parchment paper, and allow the cake to cool.

Once cooled, using a sifter spoon powdered sugar over the cake and place a walnut in the center.

Adapted from marthastewart.com

Fish Chowder

Ingredients:

4 small tomatoes
Olive Oil
1 large onion sliced
2 cloves crushed garlic
4 cups of water
1 small fennel sliced
1 potato washed and diced
½ red pepper sliced
1 small hot pepper chopped
Ground pepper
½ cup white wine
1 pound of white fish
Juice from ½ lemon
Chopped parsley for garnish

Turn the oven on to 450 degrees. Cut each tomato in half through the core and place on a baking sheet that has been brushed with olive oil. Bake for approximately 20 minutes until the skins of the tomatoes can be pulled off and discarded. Put tomatoes in a small bowl and break up with a fork.

Over medium heat in a soup pan sauté the onion with garlic in olive oil until they are soft but not burned. Add the water and bring to a boil. Add tomatoes, sliced fennel, diced potato, sliced red pepper and hot pepper and cook until the vegetables are soft about 20 minutes. Pour in ½ cup of wine. Add the fish and cook until the fish is translucent. Squeeze the lemon juice into the soup.

Sprinkle finely chopped parsley on top and serve.

Boneless Chicken Breasts with Red Pepper

Ingredients:

2 Tbl butter

2 Tbl olive oil

1 sliced red pepper

1 chopped small hot red chili

1 crushed clove of garlic

2 bonesless chicken breasts

2 Tbl flour mixed with black pepper

½ cup of white wine

¼ cup chopped parsley

Melt the butter with the olive oil in a heavy skillet at medium heat. Add the red pepper, hot pepper, and garlic and sauté until softened about ten minutes. Remove from the pan.

Wash and lightly dust the chicken breasts with flour mixed with pepper.

Raise the heat and brown the chicken breasts on both sides in the oil. Remove the chicken breasts from the skillet.

Add the wine and cook until the brown bits on the bottom of the skillet become incorporated. Add the red peppers and then add the chicken breasts and cook at medium heat until all the pink is gone from the chicken. Put chicken breasts on a platter and cover with the red pepper mixture and fresh parsley.

Chocolate Truffles

Ingredients:

12oz / 340g good quality semi-sweet dark chocolate

2/3c / 160ml heavy cream
1-2 Tbl liquor or brandy (optional)
Unsweetened cocoa or finely chopped nuts

Chop the chocolate very fine and set aside in a glass bowl. Chopping can be done in a food processor. Scald the heavy cream so that it begins to bubble. Pour the cream into the chocolate, cover the bowl with a small plate and let it sit for a few moments. With a rubber spatula stir the chocolate mixture so that it is smooth. If bits of chocolate are not melted completely put it in the microwave and nuke for 10 second intervals at 50% until melted. Stir in the liquor.

Put the mixture in the refrigerator for approximately three hours so that the chocolate hardens. Using a truffle scoop or a teaspoon scoop out globs of chocolate and form them into balls using your hands. This is very messy and periodically you’ll want to wash your hands because the heat of your hands will warm the chocolate and it will get sticky. Wash your hands in cold water to cool them down. Also if the mixture becomes too soft put it back into the refrigerator.

Put the balls into a small bowl of unsweetened cocoa or finely chopped nuts to coat them. Place them into small paper truffle cups (available at the supermarket) on a baking sheet or in a container.

I keep them in the refrigerator until I need them.

One thing to keep in mind is if the day is too warm or the kitchen too hot, the chocolate will melt.

To see how it is done go to: http://video.nytimes.com/video/2012/02/10/dining/100000001342431/do-it-yourself-truffles.html?ref=dining