STRAWBERRY FILLED CAKE AND A BEACH CRAB PARTY

Guy and I were invited to the beach for a crab party. From New Bern, the "beach" is about 45 minutes. Our friends (from Virginia) rented a house for themselves and their children. The house was beautiful, well appointed, and comfortable, but Pat and Kathryn were unhappy that it wasn't as nice as the homes their mother had rented in previous years. Their mother, Therese, was our dear friend and she died last year after a short but valiant bout with lung cancer. We were so pleased that they thought to invite us to spend a day with them to connect a little with the past. I insisted on bringing dessert, and had high hopes for a fantastic strawberry filled cake. Turns out I was as unhappy with the dessert as they were with the house.

First off, strawberry season is over in East Carolina, but I decided to buy a big box of strawberries at Sam's Club anyway because they looked beautiful. Big mistake. The second disappointment was that I couldn't find mascarpone cheese anywhere, so I subbed cream cheese, which isn't quite the same. Third disappointment was the topping didn't firm up enough, so the strawberries weren't solidly on the cake. When I cut the first two pieces, the cake collapsed. All in all, I was underwhelmed with this cake. Everyone seemed to like it, though, and Guy gave it two thumbs up. I can depend on his honesty. In fact, he's the first person to tell me when something isn't up to snuff. So I guess the end result was good, but I do like a cake to stay together, remembering that you begin to eat with your eyes, as Giada always says. If you want to venture forth on this one, here's the recipe:
Strawberry Filled Cake
Source: Judy's Kitchen
Rating: 8 out of 10

CAKE:
1 yellow cake mix (I prefer Duncan Hines, but all I had on hand was Pillsbury Moist Supreme)
3 large eggs
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. frozen orange juice concentrate + enough fresh lemon juice to equal 1/3 cup
1/3 cup Canola oil
1 Tbsp. lemon zest, packed
1 Tbsp. orange zest, packed
1/2 tsp. lemon extract
1/2 tsp. orange extract

Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare a 9" tube pan by reinforcing bottom with tinfoil so cake batter does not leak.

Grease and flour pan; set aside. Combine all ingredients in large bowl and mix according to package directions. Pour batter into pan; bake 36-40 minutes, or till toothpick inserted in center returns clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes; turn out onto wire rack to finish cooling, about 2 hours.


STRAWBERRY-MASCARPONE-WHITE CHOCOLATE FILLING

2 cups heavy whipping cream, divided use
4 (1 oz.) squares premium white chocolate (I used Baker's)
8 oz. Mascarpone (or cream cheese), softened
1/2 cup half and half
3-1/2 Tbsp. instant vanilla pudding mix
1-1/4 cups strawberry preserves
about 15 whole strawberries for top
3 cups sliced strawberries

In small saucepan, heat 1/2 cup cream to boiling; off heat; add chocolate squares. Stir till dissolved. Refrigerate till chilled, about 1 hour. In medium bowl, using electric mixer on medium speed, beat the cheese till smooth. Stir in the half and half, chilled white chocolate and pudding mix and beat at least one minute, or till smooth and creamy. Slowly add the remaining heavy cream and beat till thick, for several minutes -- first on low speed, then gradually increasing speed to high. Refrigerate 1 hour (or freeze for 15 minutes).


Heat the strawberry preserves in a small saucepan (or in the microwave if you prefer) till you can stir it easily with a spoon. Remove from heat. Place the whole strawberries on wax paper, cut sides down. Brush each strawberry with some preserves. Cut the cake in half horizontally. (To make it easier, you can place toothpicks all around the cake and follow the line with your sharp knife.) Lay the bottom slice, cut side up, on a serving plate. Brush with some of the preserves. Arrange sliced strawberries on top of preserves.

Spread some white chocolate cream over strawberries. Top with second cake layer, cut side down. Spread some preserves over top layer, then top with the white chocolate cream. Arrange whole strawberries decoratively around top of cake.


Toss remaining strawberries with preserves. Serve slices of cake with additional white chocolate cream and strawberries on the side.

We ate our fill of blue claws, and the leftovers are being picked for tomorrow night's crab cakes.

GREEN BEAN AND RADISH SALAD WITH LEMON VINAIGRETTE

My hubby doesn't eat his veggies, and this is something that bothers me. I've told him repeatedly that veggies are good for him and he should eat more of them. His answer is that he eats plenty of veggies: corn, potatoes and tomatoes. So, when he told me that he won't eat green beans hot, but he does love them as a salad, I went right to it. This salad has evolved from just green beans with oil and vinegar, to its present state. This has become one of our fave salads for summertime because it's cool, refreshing and the flavors go together perfectly. And he's actually eating something green.

Green Bean and Radish Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

Source: Judy's Kitchen

Rating: 10 out of 10

INGREDIENTS:

Whole green beans (allow about a small handful per person), rinsed, ends cut or snapped

Sea salt to taste

Radishes (allow 4-5 per person), scrubbed, ends cut, thinly sliced

Green onions (allow 2 per person), sliced

Barely cover beans with cool water in appropriate size pot. Salt to taste. (Sometimes I cook the beans in chicken broth, if there happens to be some hanging out in the fridge.) Bring to boil over high heat; cover, reduce heat to simmer. Simmer about 5 minutes, or till beans are still crisp-tender. Drain; pour beans into bowl; cover; refrigerate. When beans are thoroughly chilled, add radishes and green onions. Toss with vinaigrette and serve immediately.

Lemon Vinaigrette: 1/4 cup lemon juice

1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest

1/2 tsp. Grey Poupon mustard

2 tsp. honey

1 medium garlic clove, finely grated

1 tsp. sea salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a jar; seal with lid; shake till emulsified. Taste to adjust seasonings, adding more salt if needed.

TOP CHEF HOSEA ROSENBERG'S SMOKEY TOMATO SOUP

Bravo TV has a
website that lists all the top chef recipes, lots of them. Season 5 winner, Hosea Rosenberg, is credited with this great tomato soup recipe. It was too complex for me to follow all of it -- not that I couldn't, I just didn't have the time. I left off the grits croutons, but I bet they were great. And I didn't do the cilantro oil -- instead I just garnished with cilantro.

I made other changes, according to my personal preferences: Instead of cream, I used fat-free half and half. I decided to roast the Roma tomatoes, to bring out more flavor. But instead of roasting the corn, I just used an ear of leftover corn, and scraped the kernels and milk off the cob. None of these changes could ruin this fantastic soup. The smokey flavor, spiciness and the addition of shrimp and corn makes this soup wonderful. Here's a word of caution: add the chipotle in Adobo sparingly at first, and test to see if you need to add more. I find the chipotles in Adobo bitter-hot, which I don't care for, so I usually use less than called for.

Top Chef Hosea Rosenberg's Smokey Tomato Soup
Adapted Version
Rating: 9 out of 10

INGREDIENTS:
6 Roma tomatoes, halved
6-8 fresh thyme sprigs
sea salt and pepper to taste
4 Tbsp. canola or olive oil, divided use
1/2 onion, chopped
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 Tbsp. chipotle in Adobo sauce (I found this to be too much; start with 2 tsp. and taste before adding more.)
1 cup Land o' Lakes fat-free half and half, OR cream, if preferred
1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
2 ears cooked corn, kernels and milk scraped off cob
12 small freshly cooked shrimp (saute in 1 Tbsp. oil if preferred)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Heat oven to 350F. Halve tomatoes and place in large pie plate. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; top with thyme sprigs. Drizzle with 2 Tbsp. oil; bake 30-35 minutes, or till very tender. Cool slightly.

In 3-quart heavy pot, saute onions and garlic in 2 Tbsp. oil over medium heat till soft. Add tomatoes with all their juices and the thyme sprigs; chipotle, broth, and paprika. Simmer, covered, 20 minutes. Taste to adjust seasonings, adding more chipotle, salt and/or pepper, if needed. Strain through cheesecloth, discarding solids. Add half and half and bring back to simmer. Simmer 10 minutes; check seasonings again, adding what may be necessary. Stir in corn and shrimp; garnish with chopped cilantro.

Yield: 4-5 servings

ELVIS PRESLEY'S FAVORITE POUNDCAKE, ADAPTED

Poundcakes are delicious, but they are oh, so fattening with all that butter, sugar and flour, and this poundcake has heavy cream to boot. But once you taste this light, airy, buttery cake you won't care. I found the recipe on epicurious.com, but it's originally from Gourmet Magazine, September 2005. I felt it needed more flavoring, though, so I added lemon and orange zests and lemon and orange extracts in addition to the vanilla the recipe called for. IMHO, the flavor is perfect with those additions.
Instead of making the full recipe, I made a half recipe and used a 4" x 8" loaf pan and 6 standard muffin cups. My hubby opted for thick slices of the loaf cake, and I chose the smaller cupcakes. Split in half, the cupcakes toasted beautifully and were the perfect vehicle for some seasonal macerated fruit and gently whipped honeyed cream. This was a dessert made in heaven.

There are several reasons why this poundcake is so special. First off, it uses cake flour that's been sifted 3 times. Secondly, the heavy cream. And thirdly, after everything is mixed, you beat the cake for an additional 5 minutes, which will visibly expand and lighten the batter as you watch. And you can taste it in the finished product which is smooth, creamy, light and delicious. The cake is started in a cold oven, which feels a little weird, but it works. This is a top-notch recipe, but one that demands your total attention and strict adherence to directions. Good luck if you try it, and do let me know how it turns out.

Elvis Presley's Favorite Pound Cake
Adapted Half Recipe from epicurious.com and Gourmet Magazine
Rating: 10 out of 10

INGREDIENTS:
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1-1/2 cup cake flour, sifted before measuring (I used White Lily all-purpose which is a low-protein flour similar to cake flour)
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1-1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. lemon zest
1/2 tsp. orange zest
1/4 tsp. lemon extract
1/4 tsp. orange extract
1/2 cup heavy cream

Put oven rack in middle position, but do not preheat oven. Grease and flour 4" x 8" loaf pan and 6 standard muffin wells. Sift together the already sifted flour and salt into a bowl. Repeat sifting into another bowl (flour will have been sifted 3 times total).

Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium high speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes in a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, or 6-8 minutes with a handheld mixer. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in flavorings. Reduce speed to low and add half flour, then all of cream, then remaining flour, mixing well after each additiion. Scrape down side of bowl, then beat at medium-high speed 5 minutes. Batter will become creamier and satiny.

Spoon batter into pans; rap against hard surface to remove air bubbles.

Place pans in cold oven; close door; heat to 350F. Bake till golden -- test with toothpick -- when it returns clean, remove from oven to cool in pan 15 minutes, then run a knife around edges and turn out onto wire rack to finish cooling. Cupcakes will take 20-25 minutes (mine took 22 minutes); loaf pan will take 30-35 minutes (mine took 32 minutes). These freeze well. Delicious toasted. Top with fresh macerated fruit and honey whipped cream or ice cream, chocolate syrup, toasted walnuts and whipped cream.

VEGGIE LATKES

I've canceled my subscription to Southern Living magazine, and I hope I won't be sorry. There are just too many magazines for me to read (Taste of Home, Better Homes & Gardens, Living and Bon Appetit). I've gotten some good recipes from SL over the years, like this one from their November 2008 edition. Their recipe is called, "Golden Potato Latkes" since the principal ingredient is Yukon gold potatoes.

I used red potatoes and left the skins on. And I subbed shredded zucchini and parsnips for part of the potatoes. You can also sub carrots, and use any combo you like. It's just nice to get some other veggies in there. Instead of matzoh meal, I used cornmeal and flour, since I don't stock matzoh meal. These were absolutely delicious, a great accompaniment to fish or chicken. I used Mrs. Dash seasoning blend (original blend) as the only seasoning (I had a sample packet), but it worked so well I may just buy some. You can sub salt and pepper if you don't have Mrs. Dash.

Veggie Latkes
Adapted 1/3 recipe from Southern Living
Rating: 9 out of 10

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb. total combo of unpeeled red potatoes, unpeeled zucchini and peeled parsnip or carrot
1/3 medium onion
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 egg
1 Tbsp. cornmeal
4 tsp. all-purpose flour (I used Ultra Grain, which is 30% whole wheat)
1/2 tsp. Mrs. Dash seasoning blend (original)
OR rounded 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt + 1/4 tsp. pepper
3 Tbsp. butter
1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil


Grate veggies, including onion, through large holes of a box grater; toss with lemon juice. Spread mixture onto two clean, dry kitchen towels. Roll up each towel, starting with 1 long side. Wring towels to squeeze out excess liquid. Place potato mixture in a medium bowl.

Stir in egg, cornmeal, flour, and seasoning. Mixture will be dry but will hold its shape when pressed together. Loosely form 6 patties.


Melt butter with oil in a large heavy skillet heated to medium-high heat. Drop the patties into hot fat; press lightly to flatten into 3" rounds. Cook 3-5 minutes on each side, or till golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with additional salt, if desired. Serve immediately, or keep warm on wire rack on a baking sheet in a 250F oven up to 30 minutes. Great with homemade applesauce and/or horseradish-sour cream sauce. Yield: 6 patties (Double this recipe for a bigger yield, or visit the Southern Living recipe site for the original recipe which yields about 2 dozen.)

CREAMY TOMATO SOUP

This recipe has no photo -- it was lost when our old computer was reformatted. My blogging friend, Donna, from My Tasty Treasures, uses this super-simple and quick recipe often. I have to agree with Donna: this recipe is good for a standby fave. There are no exotic ingredients, and you don't have to think hard when you make this. It's great for a no-brainer day -- and we all have those, don't we?

I added some basil to the ingredients, since basil and tomato are inseparable for me, and used dried. It's not that I prefer dried herbs -- my garden herbs weren't ready yet when I made this soup. I think fresh Greek oregano would be wonderful in this soup, but I would still have to add some basil; just can't help it. I also upped the half and half and used fat-free. In tomato soups, I like to cut the acidity of the tomatoes with a milk product, and I prefer using low-fat or fat-free products when I can. Lastly, I subbed olive oil for butter because I like to avoid butter when possible. In savory dishes, most of the time, olive oil can be subbed.

Creamy Tomato Soup, adapted slightly
Source: My Tasty Treasures
Rating: 8 out of 10

INGREDIENTS: 1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
1 (28-oz.) can crushed tomatoes
1-3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 tsp. dried Turkish oregano (fresh oregano may be subbed -- use 2-3 sprigs)
1/2 tsp. dried Mediterranean basil (fresh basil may be subbed -- use 5-6 leaves)
sea salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 cup fat-free half and half
(If using fresh herbs, you will need additional for garnish.)

Heat the oil in a 3-quart heavy pot over medium heat; add onions and cook till transparent, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and cook additional minute. Add tomatoes, broth, herbs and about 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/8 tsp. pepper. Bring to boil; reduce heat to simmer; cook till thickened, about 45 minutes. (I used my immersion blender at this point to smooth everything out.) Slowly add half and half, stirring constantly. Taste to adjust seasonings, adding more salt and pepper if needed. Garnish soup with fresh oregano or basil and serve with grilled cheese sandwiches, if desired.

THRIFTY THURSDAY LITTLE PEACH PIES

You're probably wondering how little peach pies can be part of Thrifty Thursday. I'll tell you how. It's really quite simple, actually.
You have to learn to save.

When you use a pie crust for a pie or pastry, don't throw the scraps away. Freeze them. When you make a crumble topping for a dessert, don't throw the extra topping away. Add it to a plastic container that you keep in the freezer. It won't matter if the crumble toppings are all different. Save them in the same container.
And, if you can find them, buy these wonderful little pot pie pans. I was lucky and found them on clearance dirt cheap. You can make pot pies in them, but you can also make little peach pies, or little blueberry pies, or ...... use your imagination.
It just so happens that I had just enough pie dough in the freezer to fill one of these little pans. And some crumble topping that I'd been saving, also in the freezer. And some fresh peaches. One pie was plenty for hubby and me. We each had half. And no leftovers! You can double or triple the recipe to make more pies, but it was nice making one itty bitty pie just for the two of us.

Little Peach Pies
Source: Judy's Kitchen
Rating: 9 out of 10

INGREDIENTS: 7" round of pastry dough to fit pot pie pan
1 cup chopped fresh peaches
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. instant tapioca granules
2 tsp. butter
3 Tbsp. crumb topping

Heat oven to 400F. Place pizza stone or unglazed quarry tiles on center rack of oven. Roll out pie dough to fit pan; place in pan; trim and crimp edges. Refrigerate. Combine peaches, lemon juice, sugar, and tapioca in small bowl; toss to mix ingredients. Let stand 15 minutes. Fill crust with peaches. Spoon crumble topping over peaches. Place pan on a square of tinfoil and pull edges up to slightly cover edges of pie. Bake 45-50 minutes, pulling tinfoil away from edges during last 10 minutes of baking. When filling bubbles, remove pie and cool on wire rack.
If you want more tips on how to save, visit Amanda at her blog to see what she and other thrifty bloggers have to say.