Oatmeal Cookies with Apricots and Toasted Almonds

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...The only "rocks" better than these cookies are diamonds. I know I confound people when I direct them to the sites of test kitchens operated by food manufacturers. Lots of us think that a recipe that appears on the back of a box is something that doesn't deserve a second glance. I suspect we forget the time, effort and repeated experiments that have led to its publication by the manufacturer. I found the parent version of this recipe on the Diamond Nuts website, and once I tried them they replaced what had been my favorite oatmeal cookie. My family loves them as well and they have become permanent residents in my cookie jar. We joke that they are never-stale cookies. They just don't last long enough for that to happen. I think you like them too. Here's the recipe for a new take on a favorite old-fashioned cookie.

County Derry Gilroy Porter Cake

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is probably the most Irish of the recipes I'll be featuring this week. Recipes for porter cake abound, but I wanted to share an authentic version of the cake as it was baked in Irish kitchens a hundred years ago. That took a bit of research. This dense fruitcake is made by using a goodly measures of dried fruit and stout and, while in polite society, it is called porter cake, we all know they are talking about a cake made with Guinness, as true a symbol of the Emerald Isle as is the shamrock or the leprechaun. Harder to divine was why this particular version, which comes from the family of Mary Johnson, was dubbed a Gilroy porter cake. I don't give up easily. It took several phone calls to folks more Irish than me to solve the puzzle, but we got it done. John Gilroy was the artist who designed the early advertising campaigns for Guinness and the recipe for this cake was included in one of his campaign designed to convince folks that "Guinness is good for you!" This is a lovely tea cake if it is allowed to age before it is sliced. I recommend it be made at least 48 hours before serving. I'm posting the recipe exactly as I found it on the website of the Telegraph Media Group. That means some conversion and ingredient replacement is in order. I, of course, used butter in place of margarine and pumpkin pie spice instead of the mixed spice called for in the recipe. You'll notice that no specific temperature is given for baking the cake. I assumed a moderate oven ranged from 350 to 375 degrees and decided to bake the cake at the lower temperature. I think the 3 hours suggested in the recipe is too long and next year I'll cut baking time to 2-1/2 hours. The cake is supposed to crack as it bakes so don't stress when it craters. I'd also suggest using a 9-inch pan to contain the batter. I hope that some of you are into vintage recipes and will give this one a try. Here's the recipe.

County Derry Gilroy Porter Cake...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Mary Johnson via the Telegraph Media Group

Ingredients:
1 pound plain flour
1 pinch salt
1/2 pound hard margarine
1 lemon- grated rind of
3/4 pounds brown sugar
1/2 pound currants
1/2 pound sultanas
1/4 pound mixed peel
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
4 eggs-well beaten
1/2 pint of stout (a little less than)

Directions:
1) Prepare 8 inch cake tin- grease and line.
2) Put fruit and lemon rind in a bowl and mix in a little of the flour.
3) Sieve flour and salt then rub in the margarine until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
4) Add sugar, mixed spice and prepared fruits. Mix well with wooden spoon.
5) Put stout in a jug then place jug in a saucepan of water. Heat stout to blood heat. Add the bicarbonate of soda to warm stout and while fizzing up add to the dry ingredients followed by the well beaten eggs.
6) Beat the mixture by hand with a wooden spoon for 20 minutes (this cake cannot be made with an electric mixer. It must be hand beaten)
7) Put mixture into prepared tin, smooth out the top and bake in preheated oven (moderate oven). After two hours cover cake with brown paper. A used A4 envelope or brown paper bag is ideal. Cook for another hour (3 hours total cooking time). When the cake is ready it will have a crack across the top.
8) Place tin on a wire tray and leave cake in tin until completely cold.Yield: 16 servings.









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Two Years Ago Today: Key West Lime Bars

Watermelon Gazpacho

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I'm not a huge fan of chilled fruit soups. I enjoy gazpacho now and then, but it is not the type of dish I ever have a yen for. If it appears on the table that's fine, if it doesn't, that's fine too. I had a pleasant surprise this weekend. A watermelon gazpacho was one of the dishes we shared with friends at the potluck on Saturday. It was extraordinarily good and I was unprepared for how tasty it could be. While tomatoes and other vegetables had obviously been used in its preparation, the dominant flavor was a watermelon whose sweetness had been slightly tempered by the addition of vinegar and olive oil. It had amazing color that my photo only hints at. My soup, and almost all the others I found on the web, look red or orange in photographs. The soup is actually pink. In a completely pureed state, it would be a perfect starter for a bridal shower, especially if served in cocktail glasses. I prefer my gazpacho without chunks, so I kept the whole pieces of fruit to an absolute minimum. While sweet peppers and other vegetables can easily be added to the ingredient list, use an easy hand with them. It is important not to overwhelm the watermelon flavor that this soup is all about. Like all chilled soup, you''ll find this needs a generous measure of salt to season it. Here's the recipe I used to make the soup.

Watermelon Gazpacho...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
2 cups chopped ripe red tomatoes
1 small jalapeno pepper, ribs and seeds removed, coarsely chopped
5 cups cubed fresh water melon, divided use
1 tablespoon sherry wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoon minced red onion
1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
2 tablespoons minced cilantro, plus more for garnish
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions:
In a blender, puree tomatoes, chile, and 4 cups of watermelon. Pour in sherry wine vinegar and olive oil and pulse. Add onion, cucumber and cilantro and season with salt and pepper. Puree until smooth. Pour into chilled bowls and sprinkle with cilantro, feta, and remaining watermelon. Serve. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.







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You might also enjoy these recipes:
Cool and Chunky Gazpacho - The Kosher Tomato
Recipe: Gazpacho for Warm Summer Days - My Healthy Eating Habits
Bloody Mary Gazpacho - Picture Perfect Meals
Mango Gazpacho - Delishhh
Creamy Gazpacho - The Baking Beauties

Brioche du Carême - Hot Cross Buns

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...If I may, I'd like to have a word or two with those wonderful souls who have been following One Perfect Bite from its very hesitant beginnings. Initially, there were just four of you, two of whom were family. That is painfully true. Those four kept each other company for the longest time, but when that first Easter rolled around the ranks had swollen to a hundred or so, and I was comfortable posting recipes for seasonal foods that I thought my readers might enjoy. That April I featured a recipe for hot cross buns that I had been asked to post. Unfortunately, it was not the recipe my readers wanted to see. It was too involved for those who didn't have the leisure the retirement kitchen afforded, and, while it's taken a while, I've finally found one that will better suit those with less time on their hands. We've been featuring French recipes this week and while searching for foods that might be part of the French Easter celebration, I came across a recipe for hot cross buns, or brioche du carême. I'm told the buns are not standard fare in France, but that they can be found in the boulangeries of Alsace-Lorraine, probably because of the German influence in the region. The word carême means Lent and the Lenten buns made in France are nearly identical to their English counterpart, the hot cross buns which are eaten on Good Friday by the British. While I prefer the original recipe I posted for hot cross buns, I must admit this one is delicious as well. I hope you will like this easier version. Here's the recipe.

Brioche du Carême - Hot Cross Buns ...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of the Kitchen Garden in France and Bella Online

Ingredients:
Dough
1/4 cup water - at room temperature or slightly above
1/2 cup lukewarm milk
1/4 cup melted butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
3-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
pinch of allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup finely chopped, mixed candied fruit
Glaze
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water
Icing
1/2 cup Confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons water water

Directions:
1) Mix yeast, 1 cup flour, sugar, salt, and other spices in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix milk and water together. Combine dry ingredients mixture, liquid ingredients, and butter in a large bowl. Beat for 2 to 3 minutes at medium speed. Add egg and beat 1 more minute. Stir in raisins, fruit, and enough of remaining flour to make a firm dough. Knead dough on a floured surface for about 5 to 7 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Use additional flour if necessary. Place in a lightly greased bowl; turn over to grease other side of the dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place. After about 15 minutes, test dough to see if it has risen sufficiently and is ready to be shaped. To test, gently stick two fingers into risen dough up to your second knuckle. Remove fingers. If indentations remain, dough is ready.
2) Divide dough into 12 pieces. Shape pieces into balls and place them 3 inches apart on a lightly greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise in warm place until almost doubled, about 45 minutes to an hour. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees F for 15 to 18 minutes, or until light brown on top. Remove from oven. Place baking sheet full of buns on a wire rack to cool. Prepare glaze, then spread it over the warm buns. Let buns continue to cool on baking sheet. When completely cool, fill a cake decorating bag, fitted with a round tip, with icing. Pipe an icing cross on each bun. Yield: 1 dozen buns.






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Easter Bread with Colored Eggs - Italian Food Forever
Kulich, A Russian Easter Bread - The Winter Guest
Tsoureki Sweet Easter Bread - Culinary Flavors
Braided Easter Bread - Moogie and Pap
Easter Bread - Bobbini's Kitchen
Ciambellone Italian Easter Bread - One Perfect Bite
Kozunak Bulgarian Sweet Easter Bread - Annie's Art Book
Hot Cross Buns - The Cottage Kitchen
Orange Hot Cross Buns - Karen Cooks
Gluten-Free Hot Cross Buns - The Baking Beauties

Dresdener Stollen

"...it was always said of him that he knew how to keep Christmas well." Mr. Dickens must have made the acquaintance of the other man in my life - my husband's father, Andy. He was an uncomplicated man whose education was incomplete, but whose intelligence, ethics and example could - and often did - put wiser men to shame. A farm boy, he fell in love with the doctor's daughter, the gentle Gen, and wooed her with persistence and a devotion that could not be refused. Together they had five children into whom they poured themselves and everything they had. They built a safe and happy home and during the Christmas season they put the Fezziwigs to shame. Following midnight mass their doors opened for a revillion and stayed open until midnight the following day. Andy watched all this with a gentle and bemused smile, very much in the moment but quiet nonetheless, taking it all in. The cast of characters included Don, a rejected suitor of their middle daughter, who would arrive on Christmas morning for a visit. We were never sure who it was he missed, but he came for years - the Christmas version of The Man Who Came for Dinner. Then the rest of the clan would tumble in for dinner and a raucous good time that included endless choruses of the Twelve Days of Christmas. Each of us had a day for which we had to sing and when there were more of us then days we'd have to share. The provider of the feast probably had many things he wanted, but at Christmas he would only own up to wanting chocolate covered cherries and good stollen - Dresdener Stollen. He saw to it that all of us had what we wanted, but also taught us the difference between a want and a need and how to enjoy the moment in which we found ourselves. May it truly be said that we all know how to keep Christmas well. Andy was our teacher.

Andy's favorite stollen is a cake-like bread made with candied fruit, nuts and spices. It's dusted with powdered sugar that is supposed to represent swaddling clothes worn by infant Jesus and for that reason the bread is also called Christstollen. Stollen is one of those yeast breads that has a history of its own. Starting in the 15th century loaves made in Dresden weighed up to 30 pounds and were so popular that they were cut and served with utensils made just for that purpose. Traditionally, the first piece of stollen was set aside and kept to ensure the family would be able to afford stollen the following year; the last piece saved to insure the family had enough food for the current year. Here is a recipe for one of the best stollens I've ever tasted. It's adapted from one I learned in Hannie's kitchen.

Dresdener Stollen

Ingredients:
2-3/4 cups unbleached flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 scant tablespoon instant yeast
1/2 cup milk
6 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup dark raisins
3/4 cup white raisins
2 tablespoons candied orange peel, finely chopped
1 tablespoon candied lemon peel, finely chopped
1/2 cup quartered, glaced cherries (mixed red and green)
1/2 cup lightly toasted chopped almonds
1 tube (6 to 7-ounces) almond paste
Confectioners' sugar

Directions:
1) Mix salt with flour in a microwavable bowl. Place in microwave oven and heat on HIGH power for 1 minute. Whisk. Add yeast and whisk again to mix. Set aside.
2) Combine milk, butter and sugar in a microwavable bowl. Cook on HIGH power for 1 minute, or until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. When mixture is tepid add egg and whisk to combine.
3) Pour milk mixture into flour and mix well until the dough leaves the sides of bowl and forms a ball. Add candied fruits and nuts working into dough with hands.
4) Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes, or until fruits and nuts are evenly distributed. This is a very stiff dough.
5) Place dough into an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place until doubled in size, about 2 to 3 hours.
6) Turn onto a lighly floured board. Flatten and roll into a 14 x 8-inch rectangle.
7) Form almond paste into a log about 13-inches long. Place in the middle of dough, then roll dough around it. Pinch and turn edges under. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place dough on parchment paper, cover with damp towel and let rise until double.
8) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake in the center of oven for about 35 minutes, or until an even golden brown. Move loaf in parchment paper sling to cooling rack. Brush top with butter. Let cool for 30 minutes. Dust liberally with confectioners' sugar. Yield: 1 loaf.

The recipe and picture for Dresdener Stollen is being sent to Yeast Spotting, an event sponsored by Susan at Wild Yeast, and to Bread Baking Day, an event hosted this month by Annarasa.