Lemon Cake (adapted from Barefoot Contessa Lemon Cake)

The first half of this week passed by in a blur.  After going to the doctor on Monday and being told to stay out of work for the next two weeks, I decided I really need to take it easy.  I missed out on a workshop on Tuesday and will be missing out on a parent meeting tomorrow. My home is no cleaner, but I'm grateful for the resting time.  I'm also grateful for getting out of another workshop, although if it wasn't for a workshop, I would never have encountered this heavenly cake. . .

This is a cake that has been taken everywhere . . . workshops, meetings, family parties, picnics, office snack table.  Its always well-received, and its one of those dishes where someone will always ask for the recipe.  In fact, that's how I got the recipe myself nearly a decade ago.

I attended a workshop in Honolulu and someone brought it as a contribution to the snack table.  Everyone requested the recipe.  We were told it came from the Barefoot Contessa Parties! cookbook, but it could also be found on the Food Network website here.

After making the cake (original recipe) several times, I decided there were some things I wanted to "fix".  First of all, I normally buy large eggs.  My Williams-Sonoma Food Companion said for 4 eggs, it really didn't matter if it was large or extra-large, so I tried making the recipe with large eggs.  If the quality suffered, I certainly couldn't tell the difference.  The other thing that always gave me problems was the icing.  Using the original recipe made the icing too runny for my taste.  It wouldn't just sit atop the cake and ooze slowly.  It would run off and be too thin.  The taste was fine, but in terms of aesthetics, the thicker icing made for a nicer picture.  Oddly enough, the picture of the cake in the book had a thicker icing than what you'd get by following the original recipe.

Several dozen cakes later. . .

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Lemon Cake

(adapted from the Barefoot Contessa Parties! cookbook)

     1 c butter, softened

     2 1/2 c sugar, divided

     4 eggs

     1/3 c lemon zest (optional)

     3 c flour

     1/2 tsp baking powder

     1/2 tsp baking soda

     1 tsp salt

     1 c lemon juice, divided

     3/4 c buttermilk

     1 tsp vanilla

     2 c powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour 2 8 1/2 x 4 1/2" pans or 5 mini loaf pans.  Line bottoms only with parchment paper.  Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.   Combine 1/4 c lemon juice, buttermilk, and vanilla.  Set aside.  Cream butter and 2 c sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time.  Add lemon zest.  Add flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to batter, beginning and ending with flour.  Divide batter evenly between pans, smoothing tops.  If using mini loaf pans, 3 #10 dishers goes into each pan.  Bake for 50-55 minutes (40 minutes if making mini loaves) or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let cakes cool for 10 minutes in pan.  While cooling, make syrup by cooking 1/2 c sugar and 1/2 c lemon juice over low heat until sugar is dissolved.  Remove cakes from pans and place on a wire rack.  Spoon syrup over cakes.  Allow to cool completely.  Combine powdered sugar and 3 tbsp lemon juice in a small bowl, mixing with a wire whisk until smooth.  Pour over cakes and allow icing to drip down the sides.

Short Ribs: Thank You, Barefoot Contessa

Happy Halloween!  The weather here (yes, even in Hawaii) is definitely turning cooler.  This is when I change the bedding and re-think menus.  Cold weather foods are definitely what I'm wanting to eat now, especially since we've had illness in our house recently (cold virus, walking pneumonia).  Knock on wood, I have yet to get sick this season, and I hope the pain I endured with a flu shot this week (thank you, KTA pharmacy) will hold off the seasonal bug for me.  Moving past the gai jow (Chinese ginger chicken soup guaranteed to make you feel better), I'm going to be looking at hearty fare to get us through these cooler months.

The local supermarket, KTA (yes, they have a pharmacy too, did I mention that?), sells boneless short ribs that are marinated in a variety of sauces.  They are sold by-the-pound, with the intention that buyers will appreciate the convenience of having them ready-to-grill.  I have never enjoyed buying these ribs, and I've always felt they were inferior to the 3-bone short ribs.  But thanks to Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa), boneless short ribs have been redeemed with this recipe.

Although included in her book, "Barefoot Contessa Family Style", this recipe actually came from Scott Bieber, a chef at a well-known Manhattan restaurant.  Scott's Short Ribs can also be found on the Food Network website.  Unfortunately, there are no pictures in the book of this recipe.

I'm always a little unsure of what "short ribs" mean to people outside of Hawaii.  In Hawaii, what we normally call short ribs are usually flat pieces of meat, about 1/2" thick, with 3 oval bones in a row at the top.  Its the cut of beef normally used for kal bi.  Outside of Hawaii, I've heard the terms "English cut" and "flanken style" used to denote specific cuts of short ribs.  I believe the kal bi cut is called "flanken style".  Boneless short ribs are  likely taken from thicker flanken style pieces where the top bones have been removed.  But we all know the meat tastes better when the bones are attached.

fennel lends an anise-like smell to the mirepoix

Don't be alarmed at the amount of wine called for in the recipe.  The alcohol burns off, and the end result is far from wine-y.  I used a very inexpensive cabernet (Rex Goliath from Target, on sale for under $6).  I actually made this ahead of time and reheated it a few days later.  I ended up serving this with mashed potatoes, and it was fabulous.

 This part is for the relatives who always ask me what kinds of treats the Ds passed out this year. . .I was lazy and took the path of least resistance.  D2 took mini bags of popcorn to distribute to her classmates.  D1 took a variety of candy, including Sees Candy Lollipops.  Earlier this month, D2 and I did do the traditional sugar cookie w/icing, but I decided not to post pics because I mistakenly bought purple gel food coloring instead of black.  Ever the trooper, D2 began to decorate the bat cookies, but she handed over the job when her ride arrived.  When she got home, she was somewhat less-than-impressed with the job The Help and I had done to finish the cookies, especially the bat ones (I'm not saying who finished the bat cookies).  Next year, our cats and bats will be black instead of pastel purple, and D2 will make sure she is around to do the decorating herself.