Food Fascination

This is one of my most favorite summer dinner solutions, for those nights when you look at the oven and just can’t bring yourself to turn it on, when even the microwave doesn’t sound like a good idea. It’s easy to customize, and worth every bit of the 10 minutes it takes to put together. It’s also a great excuse to check out your local farmer’s market - almost everything is probably available there, and grown/made locally.

For the most basic of raw pizza, You’ll need:
1 pre-baked pizza crust (Boboli is the most widely commercially available - or make and pre-bake your own)
1 small package fresh mozzarella cheese (shredded will also work)
Fresh basil leaves (they’re usually in the produce section)
1 bunch fresh spinach
1-3 cloves garlic (depending on how much you like)
2-3 red tomatoes
Olive oil (I LOVE the flavored olive oils for this one - try garlic or roasted red pepper.)

Drizzle a small amount of olive oil on the crust. This will help everything stick.

Layer the spinach and basil leaves over the crust, going out to the edges..

Cut thin rounds of the mozzarella cheese, and arrange over the spinach and basil.

Mince the garlic (or use pre-minced) - sprinkle it over the cheese. (For some, raw garlic is way too strong. If this is the case, saute’ your garlic in a bit of olive oil over medium-high heat until it’s sizzling and softened.)

Slice the tomatoes and arrange over the garlic and mozzarella.

Drizzle with a bit more olive oil.

Slice and dig in!

Some other things to try on this pizza:
Leftover cold chicken
Other types of cheese (try cheddar, or Parmesan)
Cold cuts of ham or turkey
Basically anything you find in your fridge

This flourless cake is deceptively simple to make, and is great for serving (I am not kidding) 10-15 people with one eight-inch cake. Very rich, kind of a middle ground between true fudge and a true cake. It’s dense and rich, but something you eat with a fork instead of your fingers. This is also a good choice for those with gluten intolerance.

On the more amusing story side, I was about to take a single photo of this when my older brother stopped me and said “WAIT! You need garnish!” Well, I am far from trying to argue with him since our mother would have been very disappointed had we not had garnish. Originally it was going to be a fluted strawberry, but after a trip to the grocery store, there was not a single out-of-season strawberry to be had in any of the three nearest grocery stores. So we ended up making “holly berries” with sliced maraschino cherries and mint leaves instead. Then he fluted a cherry half to use for the “slice” picture. Moral of the story - never get between a caterer’s kid and garnish
To make this confection, you will need:

1/2 cup (4 ounces) of semisweet or dark chocolate. Chocolate chips or baker’s chocolate (the semi-sweet, NOT the unsweetened) both work equally well. If you have the option, use higher quality chocolate, because that is the essence of this cake.
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

(another 2 tablespoons cocoa powder and/or powdered sugar for dusting if you’d like)

You’ll also want an 8-inch round pan, pan spray (or butter) and waxed paper.

For this recipe, you’ll want to use or create a double boiler. If you have one, great. If not, easy fix. Put a saucepan with a few inches of water in it on the stove over low heat. Put a Pyrex (or heat-resistant glass) bowl that is large enough to sit over the saucepan and not fall in over the water. When the water simmers, you’ve got a double boiler. The idea here is to heat what’s in the bowl (or top of the double boiler) very gently, using steam rather than direct heat. This prevents the water in the chocolate from entirely evaporating and “seizing” (creating little unmeltable balls of cocoa butter).

Set up your double boiler or pan and bowl and turn the stove on low. While you’re waiting for water to simmer, cut a circle of waxed paper to fit in the bottom of your pan. Spray or butter the pan very well, set the waxed paper in, then spray or butter the paper.

In the bowl or top of the double boiler, melt the chocolate and butter together, stirring reguarly until they’re almost entirely melted. Turn off the heat. Use a whisk or a fork to stir in the sugar, eggs, vanilla, and cocoa powder. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 375 for 20 - 25 minutes. The cake will not rise very much, and will become bubbly on top. When there is a crust and it no longer jiggles when you shake the pan, it’s done. Pull it out of the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes.

Turn the cake out of the pan. Do this by setting your serving dish across the top of the pan, then turn the whole thing over so the cake slides out onto the dish. If this doesn’t work, run a small knife along the edge of the pan. If even this doesn’t work, dip the pan into hot water for a few seconds to melt the edges. Remove the waxed paper.

Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes. Sprinkle cocoa and / or powdered sugar over the top. Serve with whatever garnish you choose- whipped cream, ice cream, raspberry sauce, and fresh berries all go well.

Once entirely cooled, you can store this cake in a sealed container in the fridge for up to two weeks (if it lasts that long!). For easier cutting, try dipping your knife in a glass of hot water. This will melt the cake as you cut it, and help get cleaner-looking edges. Or just have everyone dig in with a fork. Either way.

So these ended up looking like some sort of 2nd grade art project - this is what happens when I bake at midnight while having wine and conversation with friends. However, they are really tasty and a great little surprise. I made them for my office for Solstice, because “this means summer is on its way” but other suggestions have included making these a 4th of July treat with a sparkler in the top or as a unique way to do birthday cake for a kid. However you choose to make them, Ice Cake Cones are much more simple than they seem.

You’ll need:
Your favorite cake recipe or boxed cake mix (and the ingredients the mix calls for)
12-18 basic ice cream cones
Frosting (premade or make your own)
Toppings (sprinkles, food dye, etc)

Heat the oven to 350.

Fill a 9 x 13 baking pan, muffin pan, or medium cookie sheet with a layer of dry beans or dry rice. Nestle the ice cream cones into these (this will hold them up as you move them into and out of the oven). Fill each ice cream cone about 3/4 of the way with cake batter. You’ll be able to fill 18 or so ice cream cones, but if you only have 12 put the remaining batter in a small pan or muffin cups and bake along with the cones.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick or knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool for at least 1/2 an hour.

Frost and decorate, then enjoy!

These appetizers, also known as Terapitas, are not “quick, just-throw-them-together” treats. Start to finish time is usually somewhere between 90 minutes and 2 hours. While they are not necessarily difficult, they do take time, concentration, and effort - so I would recommend starting them sometime before your third glass of wine. You can also forgo the wrapping the filling up in phyllo dough, and just use the filling as a veggie dish on top of pasta.

Filling:
1/3 cup olive oil
1 bunch green onions, chopped
Green Onions are also known as “scallions” - you’ll see this name in a lot of Mediterranean cookbooks

2 10-oz. packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
See this post for more info if you’re using your own spinach. To “squeeze dry”, thaw your spinach in low power for 2-5 minutes in the microwave. Then place the spinach on the center a thin, lint-free towel. Gather the four corners of the towel around the spinach, then hold it over the sink and squeeze down. Green water should come pouring out. Do this until it’s reduced down to a drip. This removes all excess water and helps keep your recipe from getting soggy.

1 bunch parsley, chopped
You can pick up parsley in the produce section of just about any grocery store. One “bunch” is usually wrapped up with a rubber band or veggie tie of some sort. If it’s not, anywhere from 10-20 stalks is usually a good estimation. Rinse it, then place small bunches of it on your cutting board and chop using a large cooking knife, in a rocking motion. Don’t worry about getting the pieces tiny - just a rough chop works well here.

1 teaspoon dill weed, chopped
As with parsley, you can pick up dill fresh in the produce section - it’s usually in small plastic packages. If you don’t find any fresh, or have dried dill already in your house, use two teaspoons of the dried herbs. This usually goes for most dried vs. fresh herbs - dried simply isn’t as pungent, so you should use more of it.

1/2 pound feta cheese, crumbled
Most packages of feta no longer come packed in water, so don’t worry about “draining” it if the package you buy doesn’t have much water. If it does, however, don’t forget this step! Feta is very salty, and the water it is packed in will add quite a bit of salt that you don’t necessarily want in your recipe.

Assembly:
3 lightly beaten eggs
Just crack them into a bowl and whip them for a few seconds with a fork. All you need to do here is break the yolks and mix them up a bit.

1 pound unsalted butter
The unsalted here is important. The feta cheese adds plenty of salt - and while the amount of salt in butter is usually negligible, it is noticeable here.

1 pound phyllo pastry
Phyllo is usually right by the frozen pie crusts. Be sure to get the “sheets” of phyllo and not the “shells.” Phyllo is a very very very thin dough that can be a pain in the arse to work with. Buy it a day or two in advance and let it defrost in the freezer. Because the sheets are so thin, they dry out very quickly and rip very easily. The good news is, because you’ll work with several layers at once, a rip or four isn’t that big of a deal. The easiest way to handle phyllo is to unroll it onto a cookie sheet, then cover it with a sheet of plastic wrap and a damp, clean kitchen towel. Get each piece out as you need it, and keep the rest covered. This will help keep it from drying out so quickly, and keep it easier to work with.

Over medium heat, warm the olive oil in a large frying pan and saute the green onions until soft - about 3 minutes. Add the spinach and heat, stirring occasionally, until warmed through. Add remaining the parsley, dill, and feta; blend well. Cool completely.

To assemble: Melt the butter by microwaving for 30 seconds, then stirring until it is almost entirely liquid.

On a cutting board, slice the phyllo into approximately 2-inch wide strips. A pizza cutter works wonderfully for this. Cover the dough with a sheet of plastic wrap and a damp kitchen towel.

Separate one two-inch strip of two layers of dough, and using a new paintbrush or pastry brush, brush the dough with butter. Spoon a small amount of the filling onto the end of the strip. Fold into a triangle like a flag (begin by taking a top corner of the dough and folding it over the filling into a triangle shape. Fold that triangle down, wrapping the filling, and continue until you’ve reached the end of the strip.) Brush with beaten eggs and place on a baking sheet. Once you have a full sheet, bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown.

Can be kept for 2 days in fridge. Or, freeze the unbaked triangles and allow to defrost for 30 minutes at room temperature before baking.

Try this with fresh basil or thyme instead of dill or parsley. Or, replace the frozen spinach with other chopped, frozen leafy greens. The feta can also be switched out, just be sure to use “dry” crumbly cheeses such as Parmesan. Cheddar and other oily cheeses will melt all over your baking pan and soak through the dough - yuck! (I, sadly, speak from experience here.)

1 small package cream cheese (8oz) - room temperature
1 1/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 large egg
1 Tablespoon baking soda
3 cups white flour
1/2 cup chocolate chips or semi-sweet baking chocolate
1 Tablespoon butter or margarine

Cream the cream cheese and sugar together until fluffy. (The crystal structure of sugar is very angular, and when you mix it in with something rather vigorously, it rubs and scratches the surface, and allows air into the mixture. This air makes the cookies feel “lighter” once they come out of the oven.)

Mix egg and lemon juice into the cream cheese and sugar until fully combined. (The egg adds the proteins needed to give the cookies structural support… once baked especially, they hold everything together rather than turning into soft crumbs.)

Pour in 1 cup of the flour and the baking soda. Mix thoroughly . Add last of flour, and stir until all flour has been incorporated. Dough will be very sticky.

Place butter/margarine and chocolate in a small microwave-safe container. Microwave for 20-25 seconds, or until butter is melted and chocolate is beginning to soften. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. (If you microwave chocolate until it is entirely melted, the water inside of it will evaporate and the chocolate will “seize” - turn into little globules of rather unappetizing chocolate-like product. By adding some fat/oil and applying only minimal heat, you minimize evaporation. The other option is to create a double boiler style setup by placing a glass bowl over a pot of simmering water and stirring constantly. Either way, treat chocolate gently!)

Using a rubber scraper or wooden spoon, drop bits of chocolate over surface of the cream cheese dough still in the mixing bowl. Fold (dig your scraper or spoon in on one side, and very carefully run it along the bottom of the batter, then lift up and over the top) gently until the dough is swirled, but not mixed.

Drop by small teaspoonfuls onto a cookie sheet. Bake 10-13 minutes in 350 degree oven. Cookies are done when puffed and slightly resistant to touch. Edges will not noticeably brown. Pull out of oven, and transfer to cooling rack.

As a nod to my mom, who still supports and feeds my passion for food, this is one of the first “food photos” I ever took… as we were preparing 100+ fresh fruit plates for a luncheonette held at her business. Cottage cheese, fresh cut fruit, and a fresh-baked roll. This photo still hangs in the kitchen of her original building (the business has now expanded to two facilities).

The Shilling House (My mom’s place)