Victoria Sponge Cake Take 2

My second try at Jamie Oliver's Victoria Sponge Cake. Vanilla cake with whipped cream and raspberries.

I am definitely lacking in the cake baking department.  If anyone would like a cake please leave a comment (seriously!).  I need more practice but can't go around eating every cake I make!  Also, feel free to comment or e mail me with suggestions of things you'd like to see on the blog. 

Quick Dinner

Grilled grass fed sirloin with black beans, roasted vegetables (red bell pepper, carrots, and green beans) and house made steak sauce to accompany.

Caprese Pasta Salad

This is my favorite way to make a quick pasta salad. The original recipe is from an old issue of Real Simple, but it's pretty uh, simple to make that you sorta just make it up along the way.  Rather than a formal recipe this is just a guideline of how to make it, no exact measurements needed! For example, if you love tomatoes then add more, etc.

Caprese Pasta Salad
You will need:
- a few garlic cloves, minced
- fresh basil leaves, torn or chopped
- small tomatoes such as cherry or grape or mini heirloom, cut in half
- pasta (such as penne or farfalle, or make your own!)
- fresh mozzarella (bocconcini)
- salt and pepper
- olive oil

Directions:
1. Cook your pasta according to package directions, or use your freshly made pasta ;)  Make sure you salt your water well!  You want it salty like the ocean, that way your pasta picks up the flavor rather than adding lots of salt later.
2. Reserve a cup of your pasta water, then strain and set aside. Using the same pot (less dishes to wash!), add a tablespoon or two of olive oil over medium to low heat, then throw in the garlic. Add your chopped tomatoes and mix together.  Let the tomatoes cook a little (less than a minute) to release their juices and then pour in about 1/4 - 1/3 cup of your pasta water. This will make a very light/thin sauce for your pasta salad.
3. Let your tomatoes cook a little bit more, maybe a minute or two. You don't want them to cook too much or else things will start getting a little too soggy/saucy, and you want this to be just a light coating. Add more pasta water or olive oil to your liking, then mix in some pepper (and salt if necessary) to taste.
4. Turn off the flame, then add your pasta back into the pot. Add basil leaves and toss together, making sure that everything gets coated.  Add in your fresh mozzarella last so it doesn't get melty.
5. Plate, then add a little more basil and pepper for garnish.

Taco Night

After reading the latest issue of Everyday Food, Sara has been wanting to make tacos.  I, on the other hand, have had barbecue in my head since reading the latest Saveur.  To satisfy both of our cravings, we decided to make them two different ways.

In the first version, I made a quick barbecue sauce out of ketchup, brown sugar, honey, hot sauce, and apple cider vinegar.  From there, I grilled a piece of grass fed boneless short rib. Sara made a mayonnaise and combined it with a coleslaw of zucchini, carrots and cabbage.

The second version was made with ground beef marinated with orange juice, lemon juice, vinegar, cilantro, and garlic. For the salsa I roasted corn and poblano chile, then added diced tomatoes, avocado, onions with some more lemon juice.

The two tacos were a nice contrast of texture and flavors that left both of our bellies happy. 

- Gary

Roasted Potato Salad

What started out as a quick way to use up some potatoes turned into something a bit more labor intensive than expected.  I bought these little guys with the intention of making my own version of Umami's smushed potatoes. But as time passed by I knew I wasn't going to deep fry any time soon, so potato salad it is. 
In my usual potato salad I combine them with mayo, carrots, pickles, and whatever else I feel like adding.  I soon realized I had no mayo so I thought, "oh, I'll just make some then!".  And then I realized I didn't have any pickles!  So then I thought, "oh, I'll just make those too."  On top of that, I decided to roast them instead of boiling. And next thing you know a 10 minute potato salad turned to 40 minutes. 
I think it was all worth it though.  The fresh mayo and pickled onions really added flavor, and the roasted potatoes gave it some depth.  I seasoned it with just salt and pepper and a little cayenne pepper and served (ate) it warm.

NEET Magazine Recipe and Notes

Matchbox Kitchen is in the June 2011 issue of N.E.E.T magazine (page 190-191)! We came up with a simple raspberry tart recipe that's perfect for summer picnics.  I do have a few notes to share on it though, because although it might come off a little easy/boring, I am totally in love with it!

Crust
The first thing about this tart is the crust. I think it just might be my favorite tart crust I've ever had. Instead of the usual flaky/greasy shell, it is a cornmeal crust that is seriously perfect for outdoor eating.  It is sturdy, clean to eat, and gives the perfect amount of texture.  When you bite into it crumbs don't get everywhere and breaks off cleanly.  Don't you hate it when you eat a cookie/hand held dessert and it ends up crumbling everywhere? Not with this crust. It also is sweet but not tooth achingly sweet, and is almost tastes like a sugar cookie. The key to getting using this crust is to roll it out as thin as possible.  And I mean thin.  It's also very forgiving, meaning when you're pressing it into your tart pan if it tears you can just press it back together.  Just make sure you roll it out thin! The thicker it is the harder it is to bite through.

Filling
The next part of the tart is mascarpone cheese, which you can buy in a small tub at the grocery store.  Stir it up with a fork to fluff it up a bit and then fill your tart shell. Then top it off with lots and lots of fresh raspberries.

Glaze
The last piece of the dessert is the balsamic honey glaze.  Let me tell you, I thought of so many different sauces and syrups but in the end decided on the simplest of them all.  A part of me didn't want to use balsamic vinegar just because it feels a little overdone, but I couldn't help it.  Mixed with some honey it is the perfect accompaniment to the rest of the tart.  You really have to try it all together.  The combination of flavors and textures is amazing. I am kind of at a loss for words to describe it, but if you've ever seen that moment in Ratatouille when he combines eating a grape with cheese, it's kinda like that.


Other
Another thing that might confuse you is the serving.  The recipe states that it makes one long 14x4.5" tart, but the picture shows one little round one.  You can evenly distribute the components and make about six individual 3.5" tarts, but if you roll the crust out thin enough you'll have enough dough to fill about 8.

This came out to be a little longer than I expected, but please let me know if you make it! I promise you won't be disappointed.

Victoria Sponge Cake

This is my take on a Victoria sponge cake. I was craving something sweet and decided to test out my new 6" cake pan (so cute!). Admittedly I was a little lazy and sloppily converted a Jamie Oliver recipe into ounces, so my measurements were a little off.  Not to mention I halved the recipe and filled my cake pan a little too much.  But it surprisingly came out well! I didn't want to go out and buy heavy cream (laziness again) so I filled it with Greek yogurt mixed with powdered sugar and added some frozen (thawed) raspberries. 
Not to toot my own horn but this was so good that I'm going to keep on working on perfecting it. The cake absorbed the perfect amount of yogurt to keep it from getting mushy, and the tart flavor worked well with the raspberries.  It is also keeping well in the fridge!

Here is a similar recipe from Jamie Oliver.