strawberry shortcake, updated

Posted in cake, dessert, fruit by

It’s officially strawberry season here in Wisconsin and I couldn’t be happier because a) I love strawberries, and b) this also means it’s officially summer.  ‘Bout time.

To celebrate the beginning of strawberry season I decided to try a recipe I had torn out of a magazine years ago and have always been curious about but had been hesitant to try.  The reason for the hesitation is because it involves cornmeal, basil, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil.  And this is supposed to be a dessert?  What??

 But I’m adventurous, so I thought what the heck.  Plus, I have a basil plant that is just begging to be trimmed back.  Done.

Look how pretty the snips of basil are in the cake batter.  And you can see the yellow cornmeal flecks.  Lovely.

While the cake is in the oven puree the star ingredient with a little sugar and balsamic vinegar.

Pretty!!

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I bit into the finished product but I knew it was going to be good because it smelled wonderful while it was baking.  It reminded me of a more grown-up version of the strawberry shortcake my mom used to make when I was a kid.  It was sweet, but not overly-sweet, and slightly savory which gave it a nice dimension.  The perfect early summer dessert.

Olive Oil-Basil Cornmeal Cake with Strawberry Sauce (from Country Home magazine)

  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup yellow cornmeal
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • ½ cup milk
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons finely snipped fresh basil
  • 1 tablespoon coarse sugar

Grease and flour one 8×2-inch round cake pan; set aside.  In a medium bowl stir together flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together eggs, granulated sugar, milk, and olive oil.  Using a wooden spoon, stir in flour mixture and snipped basil until combined (do not overmix).  Pour batter into prepared cake pan, spreading evenly.  Sprinkle top with coarse sugar.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  Cool cake in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes; remove from pan by inverting on a wire rack.  Invert again and cool thoroughly, sugar side up, on wire rack.

To serve, cut cake into wedges.  Serve with strawberry sauce (see recipe below).  Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Strawberry Sauce

  • 2 cups fresh strawberries, cleaned and hulled
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

In a blender or food processor combine all ingredients.  Cover and blend or process until smooth.  If desired, stir in 1 tablespoon additional balsamic vinegar to taste.  Cover and chill for up to 24 hours.  Stir before serving.

a late spring

Posted in vegetable, vegetarian by

I can’t believe I didn’t like asparagus when I was younger– what was I thinking?  Probably just that it’s green in color and therefore I must not like it.  Same goes for kale which I now love and spinach and Brussels sprouts.  What a silly kid.

Last spring a friend and I got dinner at a fancy pants restaurant in a posh neighborhood in New York and ordered an appetizer that consisted of asparagus, eggs, and parmesan– very simple, and very delicious.  So this spring when a coworker brought me asparagus from her garden I decided to recreate it.

I started out by roasting the asparagus with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Then, I poached a few eggs.

Poaching eggs looks a little ghost-like.  Spooky.

While the asparagus was roasting and the eggs were poaching I shaved up a little parmesan with my vegetable peeler.  Parmesan tastes better shaved than it does grated.  Totally true.

And then I put it all together.  Voila!  No need to spend fancy pants money in a fancy pants restaurant for food like this when you can easily make it at home.

You’re welcome.

Asparagus with Eggs and Parmesan

1 serving

  • 10 to 12 asparagus spears, ends snapped off
  • Tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/8 cup shaved parmesan
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Line asparagus on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil.  Toss to coat and then sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast for 16 minutes.  (Note: cook time depends on width of spears.  I had a variety so roasted in batches.  The fattest spears needed all 16 minutes while some of the really skinny ones only needed 6.)

Bring water to boil in skillet over high heat.  Break eggs into boiling water and let boil for 3 to 5 minutes depending on how well done you like them.  Remove eggs with slotted spoon and shake off excess water.  (Note: this would also be good with fried eggs if you are not into poached eggs.)

Plate asparagus and place eggs over the asparagus.  Top with shaved parmesan and salt and pepper.

get along little cowgirl

Posted in cookie by

I’m a big fan of cookies that have the kitchen sink in them– you know, chocolate chips, marshmallows, peanut butter, pretzels, cornflakes– the more the merrier.  One of my favorite cookies from a bakery in New York even has potato chips in it.  Craziness.  So over the weekend when I was looking through cookbooks and found a recipe for Cowboy Cookies I felt like I hit the jackpot.  Better yet I found it in a cookbook that my aunt put together of my grandma’s recipes and there’s a funny photo of my grandma looking very uncomfortable on a horse next to the recipe.  So that settled it.

You start with a basic cookie dough recipe and then add oatmeal:

Chocolate chunks:

Toffee chips:

These are the mix-ins I chose, but this is a recipe you can get creative with.  Next time I think I’m going to add crushed pretzels, dark chocolate chips, and candied bacon.  Oh yes, I said bacon.

In honor of my grandma I’ve decided to re-name this cookie the Cowgirl Cookie.  Giddyup.

Cowgirl Cookies

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 2/3 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 cups oatmeal
  • 1 package semi-sweet chocolate chunks (or chocolate chips)
  • 1 package toffee pieces, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Cream butter and sugars in mixer fitted with paddle attachment.  Add eggs and beat until incorporated.  Scrape down sides of bowl and add vanilla.  Beat for 5 seconds.

Add flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder and beat until incorporated. 

Stir in oatmeal, chocolate chunks, and toffee pieces.  (Note: you could experiment with a variety of mix-ins.  Butterscotch chips, pretzel pieces, and peanut butter chips would all be great.  Go crazy!)

Put spoonfuls of dough on parchment paper-lined sheets.  Bake for 11 to 13 minutes.  Cool on wire rack.

mission accomplished

Posted in Uncategorized by

Baxter and Main officially hit 25 fans on Facebook so now I have a lovely little Facebook URL:  http://www.facebook.com/baxterandmain

Thanks so much everyone!  And if you haven’t already “liked” the fb page, please, by all means!

 

 

sweet treat

Posted in pie by

Ever heard of chess pie before?  Neither had I until I saw a segment on The Cooking Channel that took place at a pie shop in Brooklyn where they were making a buttermilk version.  It involved butter, sugar, and eggs and I thought, shoot, what could be better? 

So a few months later when I found a recipe in my Martha Stewart magazine for a Chess Tart I thought it serendipitous.  Martha has never steered me wrong before and I didn’t think she would now.

The crust for this tart is made of vanilla wafers which I’ve had a total weakness for since preschool when they would give them to us as a snack with milk before story time.  I managed to find a more natural version of them at Trader Joe’s where you can actually see flecks of vanilla bean in the cookies.  Very tasty.

 I brought the pie into work to share and one of my coworkers described the flavor “like pecan pie without the pecans.”  Good call.

Chess Tart (from www.marthastewart.com)

·         FOR THE FILLING

  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon fine cornmeal
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3 large eggs plus 1 large yolk
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

·         FOR THE TART SHELL

  • Vegetable oil cooking spray, for pan
  • 1 1/4 cups ground vanilla wafers (about 45)
  • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make the tart shell: Coat a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom with cooking spray. Mix together wafers, butter, granulated sugar, and salt. Press mixture into bottom and up sides of pan. Refrigerate until set, about 15 minutes.

Transfer pan to a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until tart shell is golden, about 12 minutes. Let cool slightly. Reduce oven to 325 degrees.

Make the filling: Mix together sugars, cornmeal, and salt, breaking up clumps. Whisk in eggs, yolk, and vanilla. Whisk in butter. Pour filling into tart shell. Bake until top is dark golden brown and edge is set but center is still a bit wobbly, 35 to 40 minutes.

Transfer pan to a wire rack, and let cool for 15 minutes. Refrigerate until cooled, at least 2 hours or overnight.