Rose Cake

Rose Cake

from Atlanta Cooknotes

Ingredients for Cake:

Petals from 6 red roses

1/2 cup softened butter

1 cup superfine white sugar

4 eggs, separated

2 teaspoons grated lemon rind

2 to 3 Tablespoons grated orange rind

1 teaspoon rose water

2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup sour milk or yogurt

1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped pistachio nuts

Ingredients for Glaze:

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup water

1 to 2 teaspoons rose water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Gently wash and dry rose petals; snip only the red part into small pieces and set aside. Cream butter and add sugar, beating until light and smooth. Add egg yolks, lemon and orange rinds, and rose water, mixing well. Sift flour, baking powder, and baking soda; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour milk or yogurt. Fold in rose petals. Beat egg whites until stiff, and gently fold into mixture. Sprinkle one-half pistachio nuts on bottom of a greased and floured two-quart tube pan. Pour batter over nuts and sprinkle with remaining nuts. Bake 40 minutes or until cake springs back when touched. Remove from pan and glaze while hot. To make glaze, combine all ingredients and boil five minutes. Brush half of hot glaze over hot cake; repeat after both have cooled, using remaining glaze. Garnish cake with edible flowers such as roses, carnations, or candied violets.

Note: Roses become dark green after baking.

Serves: 6 - 8

Health Tips

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Ingredients

1+1/2 cups (375 ml) all-purpose flour
1 cup (250 ml) sugar
2 tsp (10 ml) baking powder
1/2 tsp (2 ml) baking soda
1/2 tsp (2 ml) ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp (1 ml) salt
1 cup (250 ml) sour cream
2 eggs
1 recipe streusel topping (see below)
1/4 cup (60 ml) chopped nuts (optional)

Directions

Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Beat the sour cream and eggs together and add to the dry ingredients. Stir until just smooth, do not over stir. Spread in a lightly greased 9 x 9 inch (23 x 23 cm) pan and top with the streusel and optional chopped nuts. Bake in a preheated 350F (180C) oven for 20 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 4 to 6.


Streusel Topping

2 Tbs (30 ml) all-purpose flour
2 Tbs (30 ml) butter
6 Tbs (90 ml) sugar
1/2 tsp (2 ml) ground cinnamon
A grating of fresh nutmeg

Blend all ingredients with a fork until crumbly in texture. Makes
about 2/3 cup (180 ml).

Anonymouspedia.org - MySpace

Tagliatelle with Mussels, Clams and Pesto

Ingredients:

16 to 18 littleneck clams, scrubbed

16 to 18 mussels, scrubbed, debearded

(green-lipped mussels preferred)

1 cup dry white wine

9 ounces fresh tagliatelle or linguini

Salt to taste

6 Tablespoons commercially prepared pesto

1/4 cup sliced drained oil-pack sun-dried tomatoes

1/4 teaspoon crushed dried red pepper

Black pepper to taste

Directions:

Combine the clams, mussels and wine in a stockpot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook, covered, for 7 minutes or until the shellfish open; discard any shellfish that do not open. Remove the shellfish to a bowl with tongs, reserving the pan juices. Cover the pan with foil.

Cook the pasta in boiling slated water in a saucepan until al dente. Drain the pasta and return to the saucepan. Add the reserved shellfish juices, pesto, sun-dried tomatoes and red pepper to the pasta and mix gently. Cook over medium heat just until the pesto coats the pasta, stirring frequently. Season with salt and black pepper. Divide the pasta mixture evenly between 4 bowls. Top with the shellfish. Serve immediately.

Note: Basil pesto has a tendency to discolor quickly. Adding a little parsley helps to keep the color green without distracting the basil flavor.

How to Clean Mussels:

Clean mussels just before cooking; once they've been debearded they will start to spoil. Soak mussels in a large bowl of cool water, turning them over with your hands and scrubbing at the dirt on the shells with a hard-bristled brush. Discard any opened mussels. Rinse, change the water, and repeat, if necessary, until the grit is all gone. Tug on the "beard" the coarse string sticking out of the shell. It should pull away easily.

Serves: 4

SUDOKU - the daily sudoku

Pan Isleta (Isleta Bread)

Ingredients

1 package active dry yeast 1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup warm water (105�-115�F) 1 cup hot water

1/2 teaspoon shortening 5 cups flour, approximately

1/4 teaspoon honey

Directions

Dissolve yeast in warm water in a small mixing bowl. Set aside. Place shortening, honey, and salt in a large mixing bowl and add hot water. Stir to dissolve shortening and cool to room temperature. When shortening mixture has cooled to room termperature, add yeast mixture.

Gradually add flour to mixture until a moderately firm dough has been formed. Knead dough on a lightly floured board until it is smooth and elastic. Place dough in a greased bowl, cover, and allow to rise until it is double in size.* Punch dough down, knead, and allow to double in size agian. Divide dough into two equal parts and shape each into a flat circle approximately 8 inches in diameter. Fold the circle almost in half, allowing the bottom half to extend beyond the top half by about 1 inch. Using a sharp knife, slash the dough twice, dividing the loaf partially into thirds. Place the dough into two greased, 9-inch pie plates, arranging the loaf so that the slashes are separated, giving a crescent effect to the loaf. Cover and allow dough to rise again unti it is doubled in size. Place a shallow pan of water on bottom rack of oven. Place the loaves in the oven so that neither is directly above the water. Bake loaves in a 350�F oven for 1 hour.

• Yeast dough should be allowed to rise in a warm locatin. It should never be allowed to rise in a heated oven. Dough is double in size when an indentation remains after a finger has been inserted into dough and removed.

Yield: 2 loaves Baking Time: 1 hour

Temperature: 350�F Freezes Well

HAWAIIN CHICKEN KABOBS

Ingredients

1/3 c Lime juice

1 tb Honey

12 Pearl onions, peeled

1 Papaya, peeled (seeded and cut into 2 inch pieces)

1 tb Vegetable oil

6 4-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces)

1 Lg green pepper (cut into 2 inch pieces)

1 1/2 c Fresh pineapple chunks

Directions

Combine lime juice, vegetable oil, and honey in a shallow dish. Add chicken; toss gently. Cover and marinate in refrigerator 8 hours or overnight, stirring occasionally. Remove chicken from marinade, reserving marinade. Alternate chicken, onion, pepper, papaya, and pineapple on 6 (12") skewers. Coat grill rack with Pam; place rack on grill over medium-hot coals. Place kabobs on rack, and cook 15-20 minutes or till done, turning and basting frequently with reserved marinade.

Yield: 6 Servings