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I promise lots of posts this week with various recipes and pics from our housewarming, but this recipe was requested multiple times tonight with varying degrees of urgency, so it gets first attention. My mom and I first encountered this salad at a potluck. One of the guests showed up with four ziploc bags, and in a matter of minutes had a beautiful salad ready to go. Naturally, we went home and attempted to copy the fantastically sweet and tangy dressing for our own cabbage slaw. After a little tinkering, my we got it just right. Ever since then, it's been a family favorite. I've been known to devour this salad whenever it's in the fridge -- and that's pretty often, considering my mom always keeps around tupperwares of toasted "crunchies," dressing and the other ingredients. This will soon become a staple in your house -- and it's quick to prepare. I should add that this salad will welcome whatever you toss its way: yesterday, I had leftover chopped and spiced water chestnuts, carrots and fennel from some Asian dumplings I had made, so I added them to the salad and they worked quite nicely.
Asian Cabbage Salad
serves 6-8.
salad:
1 bag sliced cabbage or 2 small heads of cabbage, one green and one purple sliced thinly
2 scallions, washed and slivered
1 can mandarin oranges
1 avocado, sliced (optional)
crunchies:
1 bag instant ramen, broken up into small pieces
1/3 cup sliced or slivered almonds or pine nuts
1/4 cup sesame seeds
dressing:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
several dashes sesame oil
1. Preheat over to 300 degrees. Put ramen noodles, nuts and sesame seeds onto a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake 10-15 minutes, or until ramen are golden. Cool completely.
2. Toss all vegetables in a large salad bowl.
3. Combine dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk with a fork.
4. Toss together shortly before serving. Noodles will gradually get soggy, so the sooner served, the better.
Many thanks to Elena, who gave this recipe to my mom, who practically forced me to make it. This cake is deceiving: its ingredient list and instructions are so short and sweet, you could make it blindfolded. But don't let the ease deceive you; this cake is definitely better than the sum of its parts. Throw the ingredients in a bowl, mix (by hand!), chop the fruit, throw it all into a springform (or regular pan), bake, and voila, a perfect dessert is yours.
Make sure your fruit are ripe; this will really add to the overall flavor and moistness of the cake. Also, as this recipe is so darn basic, feel free to improvise! Here are my favorite variations:
-pears, lots and lots of pears
-plums and peaches
-blueberries and pears
-raspberries
-raspberries and peaches
You get the drift -- do whatever you like. One last note: I tend to arrange sliced fruit on the bottom of the springform, so that when I turn the cooled cake onto a serving platter, the bottom (now the top) looks pretty. This is entirely optional. In fact, I didn't do it this time because my pears were very ripe, and too delicate to mess around with. If you're using a regular, non-springform pan, you can do as my mother does, and arrange fruit on top of the batter. They will sink in a little as the cake bakes, but you'll still be able to see them.
The Easiest Cake Ever
serves 8-12.
1 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tspoon baking powder
1 tspoon vanilla
zest of 1 lemon
3 cups of fruit, any variety, but soft and juicy!
Combine all the above ingredients, reserving 1 cup of the sliced fruit.
Grease and flour a 9" round or rectangular baking pan or springform pan.
At this point, EITHER:
1) pour in batter and add the last cup of fruit on top OR
2) arrange the remaining sliced fruit in spiral design in the springform, and pour batter overtop.
I sometimes sprinkle a bit of sugar ontop for a crunchy crust.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
I often serve this cake with a fruit sauce or reduction; it's pictured here with quince sauce, and I'll post that recipe soon.
Well, this month's theme is finger food. I had originally planned to make brie and onion tartlets, but a last-minute morning walk meant I had less time than I thought I would. In a pinch, I grabbed frozen Trader Joe's puff pastry out of my freezer (it's sold flat, so it takes a mere 10 minutes to thaw) and made these brie-raspberry bites. They're the perfect appetizer to make in a pinch, and they're sweet without being dessert-y.
Black Raspberry-Brie Bites
2 sheets puff pastry, thawed and rolled to 1/8-inch thick
1/2 cup raspberry or black raspberry preserves
32 frozen raspberries or black raspberries, thawed and drained
Wedge brie cheese, cut into 32 bite-size squares
sugar
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Working with one pastry sheet at a time, slice into 16 squares. I start by slicing into four equal quarters, then slice each of those into four quarters to make each square the same size.
In the center of each square, place 1 piece of brie, 1 raspberry and a dallop of jam.
to make turnovers:
Wet your fingers, and run them along two connecting edges of one of the squares.
Fold the far corner onto the near corner, and using two fingers, press the edges together to form a triangle. You may have to really press to make the dough stick to itself, and wetting the dough should help.
to make bundles:
Wet your fingers, and run them along all four edges of a square.
Bring the four corners together, pinch at the center, and pinch along the edges to seal.
When all turnovers/bundles are created, place them 1/2-inch apart on baking sheets. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until golden. let cool 5 minutes, then serve warm.
