Rose Mary Waszkiewicz Landre
June 3, 1923 - March 6, 2009

Chicken Masala and Caramelized Carrots

This was an easy to make, delicious dinner. Also from Bon Appetit. We've had the carrots on their own as a side dish as well.

Easy Chicken Masala

Position racks in the top third and the bottom third of the oven so that the chicken and the Caramelized Cumin-Roasted Carrots can roast together. This dish is part of the Chicken Masala Menu for 4.

6 Servings

Recipe by Maria Helm Sinskey

February 2010

Ingredients

• 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon garam masala
• 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
• 1 large garlic clove, pressed
• 1 4- to 4 1/2-pound roasting chicken, cut into 8 pieces, backbone removed
• 2 small onions, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices

Preparation

• Mix yogurt, chopped cilantro, olive oil, garam masala, salt, and garlic in 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Add chicken to marinade, 1 piece at a time, coating all sides. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate at least 2 hours. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated.
• Position racks in top third and bottom third of oven; preheat to 400°F. Arrange onions in thin layer on large rimmed baking sheet to form bed for chicken. Top with chicken pieces in single layer, spacing apart for even roasting (chicken will still be coated with marinade). Discard remaining marinade.
• Roast chicken on top rack until cooked through and juices run clear when thickest portion of thigh is pierced with knife, about 1 hour. Serve chicken atop onion slices. Spoon pan juices around.

Caramelized Cumin-Roasted Carrots

Recipe by Maria Helm Sinskey

Ingredients

• Nonstick vegetable oil spray
• 12 medium to large carrots, peeled, cut on diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick pieces
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray large rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray.
• Combine carrots and all remaining ingredients in large bowl; toss to coat. Spread in single layer on prepared baking sheet. Roast carrots until tender and lightly caramelized, turning carrots over once, 35 to 40 minutes.

Spring!

Daphne, apple, mustard, quince and wild plum.

Adorable Little Cake

This cute little cake is from Bon Appetit. I made it for my special guys for Valentine's Day using milk chocolate. This one was made for me by my adorable husband for my birthday using 70% chocolate for the cake and 62% for the icing. Besides using three bowls, it's really a simple and fool-proof cake.

Here is the recipe from their website (apparently they are a little formatting-happy over there):

Top Tier Devil's Food Cake with Sour Cream-Fudge Frosting

Ingredients

Cake

• 1/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 ounce high-quality milk chocolate (such as Lindt, Perugina, or Valrhona *or Scharffenberger if substituting dark), chopped
• 1/4 cup boiling water
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 2/3 cup cake flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting

• 8 ounces high-quality milk chocolate (such as Lindt, Perugina, or Valrhona *or Scharffenberger if substituting dark), chopped
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 4 teaspoons light corn syrup
• Organic roses (for garnish) *optional- we decorated simply with shaved chocolate

Special Equipment

• 2 5-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides *I used large ramekins. The first time, I trimmed using a large biscuit cutter to adjust for the shape of the ramekin, the second cakes required no adjusting. You can make one tall, 4-8 layer cake (if you halve the 4" layers) or two four-layer cakes in this size.

• Test-Kitchen Tip

  Five-inch cake pans are available at some kitchenware stores and restaurant supply stores and online from cheftools.com and amazon.com.

Preparation

Cake

• Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 350°F. Butter two 5-inch cake pans with 2-inch-high sides. Line bottom of pans with parchment paper; butter parchment. Combine cocoa powder and milk chocolate in medium bowl. Pour 1/4 cup boiling water over; whisk until mixture is smooth. Whisk in buttermilk.
• Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in another medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat both sugars, oil, egg, and vanilla in large bowl until well blended. Add flour and cocoa mixtures; beat until blended (batter will be thin). Divide batter between pans.
• Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out with some crumbs attached, 28 to 30 minutes. Cool in pans on racks 15 minutes. Turn out onto racks; peel off parchment. Turn over; cool on racks.

Frosting

• Place chocolate in large metal bowl. Set bowl over saucepan of simmering water and stir until melted and smooth. Remove bowl from over water. Add butter and stir until melted, then add sour cream and corn syrup and whisk until smooth. Let frosting stand at room temperature until thick enough to spread, about 20 minutes.
• Using serrated knife, trim top of cakes to make level. Cut each cake horizontally in half. Place 1 cake layer, cut side up, on platter. Spread 1/4 cup frosting over, leaving 1/2-inch border. Top with second cake layer, cut side down. Spread 1/4 cup frosting over, leaving 1/2-inch border. Top with third cake layer, cut side up. Spread 1/4 cup frosting over, leaving 1/2-inch border. Top with remaining cake layer, cut side down. Spread 1/3 cup frosting over top and sides. Chill until frosting is set, about 30 minutes. Keep remaining frosting at room temperature.
• Spread remaining frosting evenly over top and sides of cake. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover with cake dome and store at room temperature.
• Arrange roses atop cake and serve.

Aebleskivers

SO MUCH to catch up on! I'm just going to start where I start and get where I get...

Aebleskivers! (Also seen as Aebelskivers or Ebleskivers.) Another recipe (besides Dutch Baby, which has entered my permanent repertoire) that was an obsession of my grandmother's. I don't know how many times she called to offer me the cast-iron aebleskiver pan in her garage, or how many times I refused it. It became a running joke, along with our separated eggs, that made us both laugh. I have the pan now, Grandma! And I'm using it!

AEBLESKIVERS

3 eggs, separated
2 cups buttermilk
2 T sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 c flour
1 tsp bp
1 tsp bs

Whisk yolks briskly, add sugar, salt, vanilla and buttermilk, whisk to combine.
Sift together flour, bp, bs, add to egg mixture.
Whisk egg whites to soft peak stage, fold in gently. Set batter aside.

Preheat and lightly oil an aebleskiver pan.
Pour batter to fill pan hollows. (I use a soup spoon for portioning.)


When top bubbles and edges dry, use a skewer (I use a skinny crab fork) to scoot the aebelskiver about a 1/3 turn. Wait just a minute or two for the new section to brown, then turn it the rest of the way. If you've over-filled, just poke the excess back into the ball when you turn it.

The traditional Danish version that gives the dish its name (aebleskiver = apple slices) is made by poking a small chunk of apple into the middle of the ball before turning, and is served with jam. Apple chunks are yummy, but keep them small so they aren't too crunchy.

Applesauce and blueberries, which I also tried, were too messy and sticky. Not recommended.

blueberries sticking to the pan

We like to serve these with a dab of melted butter poured over (or not) and a shake of powdered sugar. Mike likes his with real maple syrup.


(An entertaining video for Takoyaki, or Japanese Octopus Balls, a savory dish which uses a similar turning technique and pan, is here.)

I promise to use my good camera not the iPhone, from now on. I promise to use my good camera not the iPhone, from now on. I promise to use my good camera not the iPhone, from now on. I promise to use my good camera not the iPhone, from now on. I promise to use my good camera not the iPhone, from now on. I promise to use my good camera not the iPhone, from now on.