Tag: Baking Soda

Cream of Tomato Soup

“The secret of good cooking is, first, having a love of it. … If you’re convinced that cooking is drudgery, you’re never going to be good at it, and you might as well warm up something frozen.”
– James Beard
James Beard is basically the father of American cooking as we know it today. He, along with the beloved Julia Child, is basically the “foodie” community’s version of The Beatles. As Julia Child put it, “in the beginning, there was James Beard.” So when I was offered to review a new compilation of some of his best recipes, I couldn’t wait to dig in. The cookbook, The Essential James Beard Cookbook: 450 Recipes That Shaped the Tradition of American Cooking is in stores beginning today.
The cookbook is filled with what we think of today as quintessential recipes: coleslaw, potato salad, pot roast, chicken pot pie. But James Beard’s travels through France as well as inspiration from the Chinese cooks who worked at the hotel his mother owned. Each page is filled with both new and different recipes as well as classic approaches to everyday food (ex. roasting a chicken). The editors did a great job of going through and adding notes to help enhance the recipes as well, including insight into what an ingredient is and what can be substituted.
I really had a tough time choosing a recipe to do this post. It’s really tough to pinpoint what James Beard is known for, because, well, he’s known for everything! I finally settled on his Cream of Tomato Soup recipe.
This recipe, passed down from his mother, is a classic comfort food choice. I loved the idea of making a family recipe and was intrigued by the process. (The onset of Hurricane Sandy may also have had some input into my decision.)
Ingredients:
  • 2 28-oz cans of Italian plum tomatoes, undrained
  • 1 cup Beef Stock
  • 1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped
  • 2 whole cloves, smashed
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoon all purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • Chopped fresh basil or fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
This recipe is adapted from James Beard’s The Essential James Beard Cookbook
Continue reading Cream of Tomato Soup

Guinness Cupcakes with Baileys Frosting

With St. Patrick’s Day right around the corner, I wanted to test out my recipe for Guinness Cupcakes with Baileys Frosting before the big day to make sure it didn’t need any tweaking.

Guinness cupcakes are chocolate cupcakes that use a dark stout to enhance the flavor.

To keep with the theme, I decided to also make Bailey’s frosting.

Ingredients (makes 24 cupcakes)

Guinness Cupcakes:

  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 12 oz bottle of Guinness (or any other dark stout) – if your bottle is more than this, just measure out 12 oz
  • 1 (4 oz) stick of butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 3 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup sour cream

Baileys Frosting:

  • 2 (4 oz) sticks of butter, softened
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup Bailey’s Irish Cream
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 8 cups powdered (confectioners) sugar

Continue reading Guinness Cupcakes with Baileys Frosting

Pumpkin Walnut Muffins

VisitPhilly.com’s Philly Homegrown section recently posted fall recipes from local eateries in Philadelphia. All of them sounded amazing and I hope to try them all in the coming weeks, but my pumpkin obsession took priority. Metropolitan Bakery’s Pumpkin Walnut Muffins were calling me. I’ve adjusted the recipe a bit, but the general idea is still very much there.

The recipe made two dozen large muffins, or 4 dozen cupcake-sized muffins. Your friends and coworkers will like you a whole lot after you make this recipe!


Ingredients:

  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 cups lightly packed brown sugar
  • 10 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 6 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 1/4 cups pumpkin puree, canned
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 2 cups chopped walnuts

Continue reading Pumpkin Walnut Muffins

Exit mobile version