HOT DOGS

Although this is an unusual topic for a food blog, I do want to tell you of a great combination for your next picnic. I served this on Memorial Day for a few friends, who loved it. Slather the inside of each side of a toasted hot dog bun with pate. Yes, pate. I know this sounds crazy (and like a contradiction in ingredients) but the pate lends a new taste to the hot dog that is both unusual and richer, more filling. Add some coarse Dijon mustard to the top of the dog and finish the whole thing off with a generous helping of caramelized onions. They take forever to do - 30 to 40 minutes on medium low - but you don't want to burn them, only color them slightly. I helped mine along with a tablespoon or so of brown sugar. How can you go wrong with that? The recipe  suggestion comes from Sandra Lee, the girlfriend/partner/inamorata/lover/whatever of Governor Cuomo and although I can't imagine how he can stand her - she's so sweet as to be cloying - she does give good hot dog. After all, credit, where credit is due.

I served this with baked beans with chopped up pears, in a slow oven for a long time so the flavors would meld, and Ina Garten's French potato salad. Her recipe is a little heavy on the dressing. Make it all if you like but use only half of it until you determine that you need more. I like her final cooking of the potatoes (steaming them in a colander with a dish towel over the top for about 10 minutes, while they cool enough to handle) but don't cook them the 20 minutes she recommends. They'll become mushy and there's nothing mushier than mushy potato salad. I cook mine about 15 minutes; that seems to be just right.

Although I now get 30 or 40 readers every day and from all over the world - would you believe Morroco? - I'm growing a little weary of posting a new recipe every day. So from now on; when I feel like it. I appreciate the loyalty of all those who've found my food interesting enough to follow my blog. Stay tuned.

CAVIAR WITH CREAM CHEESE

I post this recipe today in honor and memory of a dear friend who died on Saturday and whose memorial service was yesterday. She taught me many things but among them was this recipe for caviar with cream cheese. I remember serving it once to a group of my friends, some of whom I thought to be quite sophisticated. One of them, my boyfriend of the moment, was a potato farmer from the tip of Long Island and not sophisticated at all. He asked what this was and when I told him, he tried it, liked it and ate almost the whole thing. The rest of my friends were afraid to touch it. Their loss!

Form some softened cream cheese into a shapely mound in the center of a serving plate. Cover the mound completely with caviar, the better quality, the better. Using a sharp knife, or vegetable peeler, cut an apple peel swirl of lemon peel from a fresh lemon and place the curl on top of the caviar. Serve with a mild cracker, cutting off a piece of lemon peel and placing it on the top of each serving. DEEE-licious.

HUMINGBIRD CAKE

The first time I made this cake, I took it to a party given by a trainer at my gym whose best client, "Doc," was moving out of town. Bill invited lots of people from the gym and most of his neighbors and friends. Ever conscious of his health and the cook in the family, Bill prepared and served a wide range of healthy. wholesome food. Which this cake is not. Loaded with sugar and butter, my cake was a distinct departure from the menu. Nonetheless, it was attacked with enthusiasm by the crowd and was soon gone. I'm sure they were all starved for butter and sugar! The next day, several of the guys at the gym asked me if I would provide the recipe for their wives. Talk about "queer eye for the straight guy!"

I have no idea why this cake is called "hummingbird cake." (Ask Saveur, from whom the recipe comes.) It's certainly not the lightest cake I've ever tasted but it is one of the very best. The combination of ingredients is very hard to beat. It takes a while to make it but you, and your guests, will find it's worth all the effort.

HUMMINGBIRD CAKE

makes one 9" cake

For the cake:

3 T butter, softened

3 C plus 3 T flour

2 C sugar

1 t salt

1 t baking soda

1 1/2 C vegetable oil

3 eggs, well beaten

6 ripe bananas, peeled and coarsely mashed

1 8-oz can crushed pineapple

1 C sweetened flaked coconut

1 C chopped pecans

1 t ground cinnamon

1/2  vanilla extract

1/2 t almond extract

1/2 t coconut extract

For the frosting:

14-oz cream cheese, softened

8 T butter softened

1 t vanilla extract

1 t almond extract

1 t coconut extract

6 C confectioners' sugar, sifted

1. For the cake: preheat the oven to 350. Grease each of three 9" round cake pans with 1 teaspoon of the butter, dust each with 1 tablespoon of the flour, tapping out excess, and set aside.

2. Combine the remaining 3 cups flour, sugar, salt and baking soda in a large bowl. Add oil and eggs and mix well. Add bananas, pineapple, coconut, pecans, cinnamon, and vanilla, almond and coconut extracts and mix well. Divide batter evenly between pans. Bake until toothpick inserted into center of cakes comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. Set aside to cool briefly, remove cakes from pans, then set aside to cool completely.

3. For the frosting: beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla, almond and coconut extracts in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until smooth, then reduce speed to medium low and gradually beat in sugar.

4. Assemble and frost cake, spreading 1 1/2 cups of the frosting between the 2 layers of cake and using the remaining to frost cake completely.

A RIFF ON A DINNER PARTY

Last night I gave a dinner party for 8, all tenents of my building who wanted to wish a fond farewell to our beloved concierge who is moving on to another Bozzuto property at the end of the month. One of my guests is a vegetarian so I had to select a main course that he could eat and decided on my MUSHROOM LASAGNA (posted on April 3). It was a lot more work than I had remembered but the results were spectacular. I cooked it all ahead and put it back in the oven for another 20 minutes at 350 to warm it up. As it turned out, I almost dropped it trying to get the pan holding it back into the oven. Fortunately, one of my guests was near me at the time and helped me save it. My oven may be hotter than it says (although I tested it when I moved in  two years ago) but the lasagna was done before the 45 minutes my recipe says to cook it. It also ran all over the edges of the baking dish. So do put it on a foil lined cookie sheet when it first goes into the oven. Next time, I'll use a larger dish.

Along with the lasagna, I served a WATERMELON SALAD (posted May 24) and a great foil to the heaviness of the lasagna. The recipe calls for sweet onions (Maui or Vidalia) and I was a little afraid the raw onions would be too outstanding for the other ingredients. It didn't matter. The onions gave a crispness to the combination and were just another welcome flavor.

For dessert, I served an old fashioned EASTERN SHORE STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE (posted on May 12), which my guests absolutely loved. I made it with individual Pillsbury biscuits, baked in the oven, split, buttered and then slathered with lots of crushed, fresh strawberries, bought at the market last Sunday. I washed them as soon as I got them home, dried them and then put them back in their baskets and into the hydrator in my refrigerator and they kept nicely until yesterday. For the eight biscuits, I used four quarts of berries, with only a few left over. I'll put those on vanilla ice cream tomorrow for my dinner. Do use lots of soft butter in preparing this dish. It makes a huge difference, adding richness (as though strawberries infused with sugar weren't enough) and texture.

For appetizers, I made my SINFUL PATE (posted on May 23), which was a distinct hit and a TAPENADE (posted on May 22), which I made literally in seven minutes out of jars and cans and with my food processor. Because I wanted to use a special dish that has five container slots, I filled the other slots with a ham salad, bought at Eddie's, my favorite grocery store, and some hard dried salami, sliced into manageable pieces. I also crumbled some fine, white Cheddar into bite sized pieces and chopped up some dried figs that added a lovely taste to the other offerings.  

I served the whole bit with cocktails set up at a bar where my guests could help themselves, so much better than having to run around making drinks for everybody. And with dinner, I served a pinot grigio, a soft, white wine that didn't compete with any of the stronger flavors of the dinner itself. 

I must admit that the dinner was a lot of work, taking me most of two days to prepare and I wouldn't do it like this again unless it was for aother very special occasion. I've spent today washing dishes and napkins. But I do wholeheartedly support each of the individual recipes as being really good and the party as a whole as a great success. 

WATERMELON SALAD

I first enjoyed this delicious salad as an appetizer, served in lovely champagne glasses with the ingredients cut into very small pieces. It was a very trasty beginning to a festive summer meal. I think I can also serve it as a salad, with the ingredients cut into larger pieces, maybe diced (or a little larger). I'm going to serve it for a farewell dinner this week along with my mushrooom lasagna. (I'm serving my family's strawberry shortcake for dessert.) Cut the pieces all the same size and keep  the ingredients really cold, and don't mix the sakad until you're ready to serve. Don't obsess about the quantities; just buy what you think is the right amount for your guests and go from there. Don't worry about the onions; so long as they're Vidalias or Mauis, they only contribute nice crunch to the salad and none of your guests will have a bad reaction. Do put the dressing ingredients in a blender. Just shaking or stirring with a fork won't provide the color and consistency you want. I bought a bunch of basil, used 2/.3 of it chopped in the salad itself and 1/3 of it in the dressing. I seeded the cucumber but I didn't peel it.

WATERMELON SALAD/APPETIZER

the dressing serves 6



watermelon (ripe, please, and no seeds)

cherry tomatoes

sweet onion, like Vadalia or Maui

English cucumber (the kind that comes in a plastic sleeve, with no need to peel or seed)

feta cheese

chopped basil

For the dressing

2-oz champagne vinegar

1 T honey

2 T olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

chopped basil

1. Put all the dressing ingredients into a blender and blend until thoroughly mixed and the dressing becomes thickened.

You can prepare all the separate ingredients ahead and keep them cold, mixing the salad at the last minute.

PATE

This pate is really, really, good and really, really sinful. It has so much butter you can't go wrong. It's really so smooth and delicious that it literaly melts in your mouth. Save making it for a special occasion. Or just have it on a Wednesday or Thursday. Eat it all within 2 to 3 days or freeze the remainder. Serve with thinly sliced toasted baguette. (I'm going to serve it on Memorial Day on hot dogs slathered with caramelized onions and coarse mustard. Now that's really sinful!) The recipe calls for a blender (which shows you how old it is) but using a food processor is a lot easier.

A REALLY SINFUL PATE



3 T butter (to begin)

1/2 C finely chopped onion

2 T finely chopped shallots

1 small, tart apple (like Granny Smith), peeled, cored and chopped

3 T butter (yes, more)

1 lb chicken livers, cut in half

1/4 C brandy, rum or similar liquor

2 to 4 T heavy cream (use four, what the hell?)

10 T butter (yes, honey lamb, ten more)

1 t lemon juice

1 1/2 t salt

1/4 t white pepper

1. Soften all butter to room temperature (leave it out overnight).

2. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a skillet and add onions and shallots, cooking over moderate heat 5 to 7 minutes or until lightly colored. Mix in the apples and cook 2 to 3 minutes more. When the apple is soft, put this mixture into a blender or food processor and reserve.

3. Melt 3 more tablespoons butter over high heat. As the foam subsides, add the chicken livers and cook, 3 to 4 minutes or until browned on the outside but still pink inside. Add alcohol and flame. Add this mixture to the blender with the onion/apple mixture. Add cream and blend on  high speed until smooth. Turn this liver paste out into a bowl and allow the mixture to cool completely, at least 2 hours.

4. Cream the balance of the butter and beat in the liver paste. Stir in lemon juice, salt and pepper. Cool before serving.

5 Take two statin before going to bed.

OLIVE TAPENADE

This recipe (which I have a feeling I've posted before but can't find on my blog) comes from a landscape architect who once worked with me a long time ago on my garden. It's easy to make - I like that a lot - and colorful. Serve it with toasted pita bread, bread sticks or thin slices of toasted baguette. Use the garlic or not, depending on your own taste or that of your guests. Wonderful with cocktails.

OLIVE TAPENADE

makes about 1 cup

1 19-oz can chickpeas

1 5-oz jar Spanish olives, drained

1 4 1/2-oz can Progresso Caponata

1 1/2-oz capers, drained

1 T fresh lemon juice

1/2 C good olive oil

1-2 cloves garlic

1. In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, blend 1/3 can chickpeas, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic, if using. Pulse until the mixtrue has the consistency of mayonnaise.

2. Leaving the mixture in the bowl of the food processor, remove the steel blade and replace it with the slicing blade.

3. Slice the remaining chickpeas and the olives.

4. Empty the bowl of the food processor into a mixing bowl and stir in the capers and the caponata until the mixture is well combined.

5. Cover and chill to hold. Allow the tapenade to come back to room temperature before serving.