A Kitchen Keeper Original - Harvest Moon Pumpkin Cake

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is a wonderful cake for family or informal fall gatherings. It relies on fall harvest products, so I know you'll have no trouble purchasing or picking the ingredients needed to make this simple cake. You'll also be happy to know that the recipe is so easy that young and inexperienced cooks can put the cake together in a matter of minutes. The end result is a cake that is moist and delicious. It also transports well. I like to bake the cake in a 13 X 9-inch pan, but if you want something with greater presentation value, pull out your bundt pan and have a go at it. You'll have to plan on at least an hour for baking if you go the fancier route. I must admit I cheat a little when I make this cake. I soak my raisins or cranberries - cranberries are my preference - in orange liqueur because I've found it adds wonderful flavor to this amazingly simple cake. If you want really happy raisins, brandy or rum could also be used. Like most cakes that are made with fruit and nuts, the flavor of this one improves with age. I bake the cake at least a day before I plan to serve it, and because it is so moist, I like to keep it in the refrigerator to mellow. The cake can be served without icing, but the Silver Fox likes his with a dollop of whipped cream that's been flavored with orange liqueur. If I'm taking the cake to a meeting or another home, I'll dust the top of it with confectioners' sugar. I do hope you'll give this family treat a try. Using field pumpkins, apples from the orchard and cranberries scooped from the bog, would make this dessert truly spectacular, but we do have to get real here. So, take out your can opener and grab what you need from the pantry and have a go at this one. You won't be sorry. Here is how this pumpkin cake is made.

A Kitchen Keeper Original - Greek-Style Chicken Soup

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite..."Mm! Mm! Good!" That slogan and the sound of a can opener marked, and possibly marred, my childhood. My mother made only brand named soups, and it was years before I knew that the chicken and tomato varieties came from anything other than a can. When my children were small, I developed a reputation for making the best peanut butter sandwiches in town. My own children took them for granted but their friends couldn't get enough of them. My secret then was threefold. I used homemade sandwich bread, spread the bread with butter and then topped it with peanut butter and homemade jam. Over the years, I've also developed a reputation for soup that rivals that of my PB&J's. I, of course, have another secret that I'm going to share with you tonight. I use concentrated (double strength) beef and chicken broth to make my soups. Normally, I make my own stock and boil it down, but I've come across a couple of products that I use when my homemade version is not available. I also use them when I'm rushed and want a soup I can get on the table quickly. I like the reduced sodium varieties of Better Than Bouillon and the relatively new Knorr Homemade Stock. If you use either of these products, you'll want to use additional salt judiciously. I really like the soup I'm featuring tonight. Because it uses orzo and deli chicken, it is simple to make and you can have it on the table in less than 45 minutes. It's a riff on the famous Greek Avgolemono, but this chicken soup is more substantial and a perfect way to stimulate peckish appetites. I do hope you'll give it a try. I make it at least once a month and once you taste it I think you'll see why. Here is how this very simple soup is made.

Greek-Style Chicken Soup with Orzo...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1-1/2 cups diced white onion
1-1/2 cups shredded carrots
1 teaspoon kosher salt
8 cups hot double strength chicken stock, divided use
1-1/2 cups orzo
3 cups boned coarsely chopped deli rotisserie chicken
4 eggs
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
Salt and Pepper
1 tablespoon fresh oregano

Directions:
1) Heat olive oil in a stock pot over medium high heat. Add chopped onion and salt and saute for 3-4 minutes, or until softened. Do not brown. Add carrot and saute for another 2 minutes. Sprinkle vegetables with salt.
2) Place 1 cup chicken stock in a blender. Add 7 cups of chicken stock to pot and bring to a simmer. Once stock is simmering, add orzo. Cover pot and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until orzo is tender. Add chicken and warm through.
3) Add eggs and lemon juice to the cooled stock in the blender and blend until the mixture is frothy.
4) Slowly pour egg mixture into hot soup, stirring constantly until it is completely mixed in. Do not bring to a boil or eggs will curdle. Add oregano and stir into soup. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately. Yield: 6 servings.

                    

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A Kitchen Keeper Original - Sauerbraten

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Sauerbraten is one of Bob's favorite meals. I don't make it often, but his family tradition dictates that it be served on the last day of Oktoberfest. In Germany, Oktoberfest is a 15 day celebration that begins in mid-September and ends on the the first Sunday in October. If your German ancestors settled in the southern Illinois in communities like Effingham and Teutopolis, and you had a "sainted" mother who made Sauerbraten on that day, your Irish wife had better learn how to make it, or listen to that "sainted" mother shtick ad nauseam. This is a dish that flirted with popularity in the 50's and 60's but it had no staying power. Most recipes available at that time produced a pickled pot roast that was heavy on the sour and not generally appealing to American taste. Once the fascination with using gingersnaps in a gravy passed, so did interest in Sauerbraten for those not of German descent. I must tell you up front, that my version of the pot roast is not traditional. I go heavy on the wine and light on the vinegar to produce flavors that I enjoy. Fortunately, Bob has come to like my version of the dish as well. Sauerbraten is not hard to make, but it requires inactive wait time, so advance planning is necessary. If you decide to prepare it, you'll need three days to marinate the meat, and, if you follow my advice, another day once it's been prepared for its texture to firm for slicing. I think you'll like this version of the recipe. It produces a pot roast that has an almost velvety sauce that has beautiful color and a really pleasant sweet and sour flavor. When the kids were young, I'd serve Sauerbraten with homemade spaetzle, but these days I take the easy way out and make caraway noodles and red cabbage instead. I hope the more adventurous among you will give this recipe a try. It will not disappoint. Here is how my version of Sauerbraten is made.

A Kitchen Keeper Original - Cran-Apple Cream Cheese Pound Cake

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...While we have another warm spell ahead of us, fall is here. Its first signs appeared in late August when the angle of the sun changed and we no longer had direct sunlight on our deck. Summer's passing caused a momentary sadness, but my nesting instinct kicked right in, and rather than mope, I headed out to stock fresh supplies of cinnamon, mace, nutmeg, cloves and allspice. I've been so busy that we missed the cranberry harvest in Bandon, but thanks to the u-pick orchards outside of town, I have apples and pears and sugar pumpkins in a quantity that would feed a small third world country. The cake I'm featuring tonight is a personal favorite and it will be made several more times before our rains begin in earnest. It is a pound-type cake, but it has a richness that eludes most cakes of its type. It is a moist, fragrant cake that has a fine crumb and texture that is velvety on the tongue. Save for the chopping, it has the added virtue of being simple to make. I do have one caution to share with you. Pan size is important here. Whatever pan you use, fill it no more than 2/3 full. You have been warned. I used a bundt pan tonight, but my preference is to use a long pullman loaf pan when I bake the cake. Unfortunately, my favorite pan is on loan this weekend and I had to make do with a 12 cup bundt pan and a small bread pan to hold overflow batter. The choice and my preference is aesthetic and has nothing to do with the taste of the finished cake. I prefer neat slices of equal size because I think it makes for a prettier presentation at the table. You may prefer to use a bundt pan. I do hope you'll make this one. It is drop dead delicious and will have your socks going up and down. Really! Here is how it's made.

A Kitchen Keeper Original - Limpa-Like Rye Batter Bread

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Bread is an addiction of mine, and the number of recipes I've featured for it over the years is proof of my weakness. What may be surprising is my decision to include this super simple batter bread as the first loaf in my Kitchen Keepers collection. Here's why. It is fast and easy to make and nearly impossible to spoil. Batter breads are no-knead yeast breads that are made with all-purpose or bread flour. They are beaten just until the gluten in the batter is developed, considerably reducing the time needed to make them. The consistency of the dough makes it impossible to knead and shape, so the form of the finished loaf depends on the pan in which it is set to rise. This recipe is scaled to make a single loaf, which is great for those of us who would love, but shouldn't have, a second loaf sitting in the bread box. Limpa is a light Swedish bread that's set apart from other seeded loaves because orange zest and cardamom are added to the dough to heighten its flavor and fragrance. Believe me, one whiff of this bread will convince you that Limpa smells every bit as good as it tastes. Whenever possible, that means I have it in the pantry, I use bread flour to make Limpa. If I don't have it readily at hand, I'll use all-purpose flour. Bread flour has a protein content that helps to create more gluten and a higher rise in yeast breads, but all-purpose flour is a more than adequate substitute. I tend not to stress the ingredients I use to make this bread. I've been known to use honey and caraway seeds if that will save me making a trip to the store. It takes about 10 minutes to get this dough ready for its first rise, and you can have it on the cooling rack in 2 hours. It is nearly effortless to make and the only thing you have to avoid is allowing the dough to rise for too long a period of time. If you allow it to do that, it may collapse on itself. Stick to the times suggested in the recipe and you'll be fine. Here is how this ultra-easy loaf of Limpa bread is made.

A Kitchen Keeper Original - Chicken Cutlets with Onions, Capers and Cream

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I make this dish 10 to 12 times a year, alternating the use of capers with chopped Sicilian olives, depending on the preference of those who will be sitting at the table. Either way, it is a simple dish to prepare and the frequency with which it appears on my table is a clear indication that it's a family favorite. The chicken takes about 30 minutes to cook, but because I've added a brining step, it will take an additional hour of wait time before cooking can actually begin. If you are not held hostage by the clock, the chicken makes a perfect weeknight meal that is fancy enough to serve to guests, as well as to your family, who will sing praises to your name. If you consider brining to be wretched excess, you can, of course, bypass the step, but the downside of that is you'll never know how good this dish can be when the chicken is allowed to absorb the flavors of the brine. Osmosis allows the brining liquid to penetrate the tissue of the cutlets, improving their flavor and texture as the proteins in the muscle structure are broken down by the inward flow of salt water to the tissue. I also use a jaccard to tenderize the breasts prior to dunking them in brine. I can hear some of you thinking, "She thinks I'm made of time," but truth is small steps can make a huge difference in the quality of the dishes we serve to our family and friends. Years ago, I was a fan of Caprial Pence who used the jaccard on chicken she served in her restaurant. If it was good enough for her, it's good enough for me, and I've used the technique for over a decade now and no one complains about tough chicken.

You'll notice that I've used instant flour as a possible ingredient in the recipe below. This is another restaurant technique that I use in my own kitchen. The flour can be found in a canister in any large super market and it has become my favorite coating for meat and poultry that needs to be dredged before it is sauteed or fried. Instant flour - the best known brand is Wondra - has the consistency of baby powder, but, like cornstarch, it produces meat and poultry with a lighter and crispier coating than that produced by all-purpose flour. The coating helps prevent toughening of the surfaces exposed to direct heat. Lest you think the use of instant flour is something I've conjured from the miasma, you'll feel better knowing that Jacques Pepin, David Bouley, Eric Ripert and Mario Batalti are also fans of he product.

I'd also like to talk about the use of dry vermouth in this and other of my recipes. Overtime, this has become a convenience for me. The Silver Fox and I are not big drinkers. We are not prudes, but we've both reached a point in life where calories count, and we've made a conscious decision to chew rather than sip our calories. That means I rarely have a bottle of white wine in the refrigerator, and vermouth, which has a shelf life of 3 to 6 months, is a simple and obvious substitution for it. Vermouth is a fortified white wine that is mildly flavored with herbs, spices, and fruits. It is a lot less expensive than the dry white wines that are suitable for drinking, and while its flavor is a little different from a straight white table wine, it works wonderfully well when cooking savory dishes. I recommend you find a brand you like and stick with it when you cook. Flavor is not consistent from one brand to another and the balance of herbs and spices can throw off a recipe, so stay with what you know. Cook's Illustrated has recommended the use of Gallo Dry Vermouth. It is not too highly spiced, so its components won't go to war with the ingredients in your dish. It is also cheap! I do hope you'll give this recipe a try. Here is how the cutlets are made.