Radio Kitchen

Every Tuesday morning at 8:35 WYPR listeners are treated to a tasty serving of culinary advice on "Radio Kitchen". Hosts Al Spoler and Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Waterfront Kitchen offer up-to-date advice on the best in local ingredients, cooking techniques, recipe ideas and gadgets for the kitchen.

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#1038 - Homemade Biscotti

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There are few things I love more than taking my breakfast on my front porch during these lovely days of mid-spring. I've recently started rotating hot tea into my mornings, and this led me to the consideration of one of the perfect matches for it: the biscotti. And as Jerry told us, this little Italian treat has quite a history.

The biscotti is a twice baked cookie, derived from ancient practice of twice baking bread so that it would keep. Something like a biscotti would be found in the knapsack of a Roman legionnaire or in the galley of a sailing ship.

The biscotti as we know it was developed in the city of Prato, in Tuscany, where they are also known as "cantuccini" (little nooks). The simple ingredients (flour, eggs, sugar, pine nuts or almonds) pretty much guaranteed that variations would be inevitable. Because the basic dough is relatively neutral, it's a natural vehicle for assorted flavorings.

The batter itself is a relatively dry batter, which is the whole point. Butter or oil, eggs, flour, baking powder, a touch of salt and a flavoring. It is mixed together, then formed into a long low loaf. The loaf is baked in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes. You then take the loaf out, and let it cool on a rack. Now comes the key step: with a thin, very sharp knife, you cut the loaf into 1 inch slices which you lay on the cookie sheet. Bake again on one side for 10 minutes then turn and bake for another 10 minutes, effectively drying the biscotti out.

Although we like biscotti with our tea or coffee, one of the classic pairings is with the Italian dessert wine Vin Santo. And of course, dipping is encouraged.

Almond is the traditional flavoring. You can add cocoa powder to the batter to take it in a chocolate direction. Or, blend a little espresso coffee into the batter. Here are some other options: using flavoring extracts - you can try lemon, orange, strawberry, rum, banana, or cherry.

You can also add a variety of solid ingredients to the batter, other than the almonds. Cut up dried fruit such as cranberries, raisins, dates, figs and cherries are great. Other nuts such as hazelnuts, pistachios and pecans also work well. Chocolate chips are a natural idea. Spices such as ginger, anise, cardamom, and cinnamon give you useful points of departure. Of course when it comes time to put your batter together, mixing and matching can yield some wonderful combinations.

Finally, you can coat your biscotti in chocolate sauce, or any other icing you fancy. But in our opinion, that may take them a little too far in the sweet direction. We prefer our biscotti off-dry.

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#1037 - Fun With Strawberries

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For all of you locavores out there, these weeks in mid-Spring are prime time for one of Maryland's greatest treats, strawberries.   The window of opportunity is short, and the fruit is sweet, so it's time to get moving on these succulent treats.   And Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Waterfront Kitchen has some interesting things that you can do with a strawberry.

Baked Strawberries

2 lbs. of Strawberries with the green removed
1 cup vanilla sugar (sugar that has been stored with a few vanilla beans in it)
1 teaspoon crystallized ginger, finely chopped
Fresh ground black pepper
1 sprig of fresh rosemary

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.   Toss all the ingredients in a bowl and place in a baking dish one layer thick.   Roast in the oven for 45 minutes or until they have shrunk in size and a thick sauce has formed in the bottom of the pan.   Use hot or cold as a sauce for everything from ice cream to pancakes.

Strawberry Steak Sauce

2 lbs Strawberries with the green removed and chopped
1 cup white onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 cup balsamic vinegar
½ cup honey
3 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
½ cup fresh Basil, chopped
Salt, pepper and Tabasco to taste

In a large sauce pot, set over medium high heat, cook the onions and garlic until translucent.   Add the Strawberries, vinegar, honey and Dijon mustard and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until thick.   Add the basil and either in a blender or with an immersion blender, purée the sauce until smooth.    Season with salt, pepper and Tabasco and refrigerate.

Strawberry Jalapeno BBQ Sauce

2 lbs Strawberries with the green removed and chopped
1 cup white onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
5 fresh Jalapenos, seeded and chopped without the seeds (you can add the seeds for a spicier sauce)
3 Tablespoon Tomato Paste
1 cup cider vinegar
2 Table spoons chili powder
1 cup dark brown sugar

In a large sauce pot set over medium high heat, cook the onions and garlic until translucent. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil.   Simmer until the sauce thickens.   Either in a blender or with an immersion blender, purée the sauce until smooth.   Season with salt & pepper and refrigerate.

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#1036 - Cooking at Downton Abbey

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One of Public Television's most welcome gifts of recent years has been "Downton Abbey." Covering much the same ground as "Upstairs Downstairs," the series depicts the lives of the masters and servants in an enormous English stately home circa 1914. As you might imagine, there's some pretty interesting food being served up at Downton Abbey. We invited Chef Therese Harding of Classic Catering to discuss Mrs. Pattmore's kitchen.

Of course one of the standard treats at any stately house was afternoon tea, an elaborate affair featuring carefully brewed tea, sweet and savory treats, and more than a few calories. Here are some key elements of a good High Tea.

Instructions for a perfect cup of tea for one:

Use 1 tea bag or 1 ½ tsp of loose tea per cup.

1-Boil water on the stove in your tea kettle.

2-Pour some water in to heat the teapot where tea will steep, then pour the water out.

3-Add your tea and enough water to fill your cup. Allow the tea to steep for 2 minutes.

4-Remove the teabag or tea ball.

Scientists have discovered that the key to the best tasting brew is to let it sit for six minutes before drinking. This allows the ‘cuppa’ to reach its optimum temp of 60 degrees centigrade.

For stronger tea increase the amount of tea, but not the steep time:

    Green Tea    1 minute
    Black Tea    2-3 minutes
    Herbal        4-5 minutes
    Roobios        5-6 minutes
    Oolong        3 minutes

Remember: over steeping will make teas bitter.

Earl Grey Crème Anglaise for Apple Charlotte

Ingredients:
¾ cup milk
2 egg yolks
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 bags Earl Grey tea

Directions:

-Bring milk and vanilla to a simmer in a sauce pan. Add tea bags and let steep for 10 minutes; remove tea bags from milk, making sure to squeeze out all of the liquid.

-Whisk egg yolks and sugar thoroughly until the mixture becomes pale yellow. Whisk ½ the milk into the eggs, mixing constantly.

-Return mixture back to sauce pan with remaining milk and cook over medium heat. Do NOT let boil. The cream is done when it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Rock Cakes (Drop Scones)

Ingredients:
1 cup Flour
2 tsp Baking powder
1/2 cup Soft Butter (margarine may be substituted)
1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 cup Currants
1 medium Egg
2 Tbsp Milk
1/4 cup Dark Brown Sugar for sprinkling

Directions:

1 - Heat oven to 400F.

2 - Mix flour and baking powder into a large bowl; add softened butter; lightly rub together with fingertips until mixture resembles large crumbs.

3 - Add sugar and currants; mix until incorporated.

4 - Add egg and 1 Tbsp milk and mix to create stiff dough. Add 1 Tbsp milk until smooth.

5 - Line 2 pans with parchment paper.

6 - Using a tablespoon, divide the dough into 12 mounds evenly spaced on 2 baking sheets.

7 - Sprinkle with dark brown sugar.

8 - Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

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#1035 - Cooking with Dairy Products II

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Two weeks ago we thought it would be good to re-visit some cooking fundamentals, so we took a look at working with milk and cream. This week we'll continue with dairy and take a look at sour cream, yogurt and butter.

SOUR CREAM:

-This is light cream that has been inoculated with beneficial bacteria who convert the lactose sugar into lactic acid, a mildly sour compound. Furthermore, the cream is drained, and mixed with a little gelatin to give it a bit of firmness.

-The biggest use for sour cream is to substitute it for milk in baking recipes; you can use it on a 1 to 1 basis. Also a lot of recipes may call for buttermilk, which is hard to find, so you can use sour cream for that if you like.

-Sour cream is great for making the eggless Italian custard Panna Cotta. You mix in a little gelatin and some sugar, and you're on you way to one of the lightest, most fruit friendly desserts.

-Despite its 18% fat content, sour cream will curdle or separate under heat, so try adding 1 tbs flour to each 1/2 cup sour cream in a recipe that calls for heating.

-As noted, putting cold sour cream into anything hot will make it break down, so allow it to come to room temperature. In the case of Beef Stroganoff, sour cream is added at the very end, when the mixture is off heat and has cooled down a little bit. Once blended in, the mixture can be re-heated.

YOGURT

-Yogurt is a curdled milk product that has very low fat content, and is often strained to thicken the consistency.

- As with sour cream, you can substitute yogurt for milk in many baking recipes, adding piquant sourness and thicker texture.

-Used in cold dishes, it makes an easy sauce, and is a great vehicle for spices and seasonings.

-Used with hot dishes, yogurt is very tricky. Because of its low fat content, it will break easily in the presence of heat. So if you are making, say, an Indian curry, take the finished curry off heat, let it cool down considerably, then stir in the yogurt. It will create a creamy texture and lend a cool, refreshing sourness to the dish. Again, allow the yogurt to come to room temperature before adding or the difference in temperatures will shock the yogurt into separation.

BUTTER

-A semi-solid form of butterfat derived from milk.

-Most cooks prefer using unsalted "sweet" butter.

-Keep your butter cold! If you need to warm it quickly for a cooking use, put a stick in between two sheets of wax paper, and pound it flat. It will warm up momentarily. Otherwise, keep it cold. To test the proper temperature for butter to be used in baking, keep the stick in its wrapper, and gently bend it. If it bends without breaking, it's good to go.

-In making pie crusts, keep the butter very cold, cut it into small pieces, and work with a cold bowl, and cold hands. Butter melts at 96.8 degrees F.

-Butter has three parts: a solidified liquid fat, a whey phase of solids, and heavier but very small milk solids. They can be noticed when you melt butter. The liquid is clean and yellow, the solids sink to the bottom and the white whey floats on top.

-Butter has a very low smoking point of 265 degrees, which is a barely warm skillet. By contrast, olive oil is 350 degrees, and safflower oil is 450 degrees. Since we sauté at well over 400 degrees, we often mix butter with oil.

-And for sautéing, you want to use clarified butter, which is melted butter with the whey removed, drained off its solids. Much higher smoke point 485 in the case of Ghee, which is Indian clarified butter.

-When working with butter in a skillet or sauce pan (or better yet, a double boiler) you need very gentle heat. Butter burns easily and is fairly useless once it has burned.

-Mixing butter and flower is an ancient technique for thickening and smoothing a sauce. The classic roux is a blend of flour and clarified butter (which having no water content, will not separate). The color and flavor of a roux change the longer it cooks: the spectrum is blond, hazelnut, brown and dark brown. No roux can stand neglect, so you must stir and watch it very carefully.

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#1034 - Savory Tarts and Pies for Spring

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At this time of the year, as we ease into warmer weather, our instincts lead us to eating lighter foods. High on the list of lighter fare are savory tarts, crisp flaky pastries filled with all sorts of good things. These are great for breakfast, lunch or as an appetizer, and they are tasty without being too filling.

You have a lot of options with tarts. You can make a full sized tart and cut it into modest slices, or you can make smaller individual tartlets, or tiny little tart cups filled with the featured ingredients.

The basic tart dough is Pate brisee, which is very easy to make, keeps well and is perfect for holding tart fillings. It is a short dough, meaning it has a high ratio of fat to flour. Fat, being butter in this case. Flour, butter, salt, a touch of sugar, and ice water. KEEP THE INGREDIENTS COLD! Puff pastry is also used, and fortunately you can buy it pre-made.

Tart pans come in two basic models: some are one piece, others have bottoms that lift out - very convenient. There are also many variations in size for individual tarts,including a shallow muffin tin. But they all have one common characteristic: usually the sides are shorter than a traditional American pie pan.

One of the important techniques in working with pate brisee is "blind baking". This is a technique which pre-cooks the tart shell so that it will stand up to liquid fillings. Because the dough will rise, you need to weigh it down. Tinfoil and "pie weights" are standard, but you can improvise with a mess of dried beans, a weighted down pie tin, or anything that will hold the bottom of the tart down.

One of the savory classics is the Alsatian onion tart. The ones that are baked right on the street in Alsace are flat, and recall quiche lorraine. The onion tart involves a flat sheet of puff pastry, rolled out on wax paper. Thinly sliced onions are gently simmered in chicken broth, then mixed with a custard mixture of heavy cream and eggs. You spoon this mixture onto the pastry, right up to the edge, and then garnish with crumbled bacon and shredded gruyere cheese. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, in the bottom half of the oven.

Full-depth savory pies are also fun to make. Most involve creating an egg-based custard to blend in with the other ingredients. Popular fillings include: ham and spinach; mushrooms, onions and cream; variations on chicken pot pie; peppers, cheese and sausage; and vegetarian pies made with onions, leeks, fennel and early potatoes.

Our friend Chef Michael Salmon from Maine's Heartstone Inn has this recipe for for a Stilton cheese and shrimp tartlet with pine nuts and pears.

Stilton Cheese and Shrimp Tartlet
with Toasted Pine Nuts and Bosc Pears

2 sheets pre-made puff pastry
vegetable oil 1 tbs butter
12 large shrimp, peeled and deveined (16-20 count)
4 oz. cream cheese
5 oz. Stilton cheese
2 egg yolks
2 tsps chopped parsley
3/4 cup heavy cream
kosher salt and white pepper to taste
1 batch chive infused beurre blanc
1 ripe bosc pear (or any other that you might prefer)
2 tbs roasted pine nuts

1. You will be working with 4 inch tartlet pans with removable bottoms. Roll out the puff pastry until it is about 1/8" thick. Cut 6 circular 5 1/2" pieces. Spray the pans with shortening, and evenly place the dough covering the bottoms and sides.

2. Cut 6 6" rounds of wax paper. Place one in each of the tartlet pans, and weigh down. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes, or until the dough is golden brown.

3. Cook the shrimp in the butter, one minute per side. Remove from heat and cool.

4. Mix the cream cheese and the Stilton in a bowl. Add the egg yolks, a bit of the parsley, the heavy cream and mix well. Season with salt and white pepper.

5. Divide the cheese mixture among the tarts, and place two shrimp on each. Put the tartlets on a cookie sheet, and bake at 350 for about 50 minutes.

6. Core the pear and cut into 18 thin slices. Place the tart in the center of the plate, and fan three pear slices beside it. Drop two tablespoons of the beure blanc on the plate, and sprinkle pine nuts and parsley.

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# 1033 - Cooking with Dairy Products I

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Every now and then on our show, we like to get back to basics and try to cover some of those essentials of cooking that it is important to keep in mind. Working with dairy products is just such an example, which as Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Waterfront Kitchen points out, we're really talking about molecular chemistry here. Here are some tips:

MILK

- The main constituents of milk are fat globules, and micro-solids casein proteins and whey in a watery suspension. It's the way these constituents work with each other that determines how they will behave in cooking.

- The higher the fat content, the greater the tolerance to heat, so whole milk can be boiled and reduced dramatically, if you want to. But low fat milk can only tolerate up to 180, so it doesn't boil well.

- Milk doesn't tolerate freezing because the spiky casein molecules literally puncture the fat globules and affect texture.

- The casein proteins are tricky: they coagulate in the presence of acid, so beware!

- Heated milk changes flavor: mild heating produces a pleasant vanilla, almond flavor. Prolonged heating starts the Mailliard Browning Reaction, and induces a butterscotch flavor.

- With both milk and cream, never add them cold to a boiling liquid: the shock will cause curdling. Better to scald your milk and cream...that is, bring it to a steamy simmer, then add it.

- To avoid scorching milk, dip the bottom of your sauce pan into water (only if this is to be cooked over a gas flame), keep it over low heat, stir often and watch it like a hawk... and remember again, low fat milk separates easily.

- To avoid a skin forming on cooking milk, beat a little froth into it, which will lay on top of the liquid, hindering evaporation, which is what causes the skin to form.

- If you want to make a foam, you are far better off using low-fat milk, since the casein proteins will trap air very easily, and give you a good durable foam.

CREAM

- This is a matter of fat content. Regular milk is 3.5 %. Half and Half is about 12%, light cream is around 18%, whipping cream at least 30% (the bare minimum for whipping), heavy cream is 36% or more and can be whipped.

- Cream does withstand heating, and sweetened condensed milk will caramelize at the drop of a hat when heated

- Cream doesn't curdle easily, even in the presence of acids, but it spoils very easily unless ultra-pasteurized. Keep it refrigerated, and sealed off from strong odors, which it will pick up quickly.

- If you want to whip cream, chill the cream, the bowl and the whisk, and keep your hands off as much as possible. Warmth inhibits whipping and makes it take longer. Too much whipping breaks down the foam structure, bursts fat globules, and results in butter.

- If you want to use milk or cream to make a pan sauce, and there is even the least bit of acidity in the other ingredients, opt for cream, because milk will curdle, cream will not.

- Again, warm your cream before adding it to hot (never boiling) liquids.

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#1032 - Passover and Easter Dinner

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Passover and Easter are coming up soon, and it's a day of the year when families really like to get together for a lovely springtime meal. I was thinking about this the other day, and I realized that we could recommend quite a few dishes that would be appropriate for both traditions. Of course Passover is a a special meal with an abundance of ritual, including special foods, but there is always room on the table for something a little extra. And Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Waterfront Kitchen points out, there are many recipes that are suitable both for a Kosher table and the Easter table as well. Here are a few:

Asparagus and eggs in white balsamic vinaigrette

1. Trim asparagus and blanch in simmering water. When tender remove.

2. Hard boil three eggs, peel and set aside.

3. Prepare a vinaigrette with 2 parts olive oil to one part white balsamic vinegar, squeeze of lemon, a tablespoon of fresh chopped chervil and a pinch of kosher salt.

4. Arrange three or four asparagus spears on a plate. Drizzle the vinaigrette over them. Mash the eggs with a fork, sprinkle a little kosher salt over them, and then garnish the asparagus with some of the mashed hard boiled eggs.

Quinoa apple salad

Olive oil for sautéing

1 sweet yellow onion, peeled and minced
1 clove elephant garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups quinoa, cleaned and rinsed kosher salt
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup lightly roasted hazelnuts, roughly ground up
1 apple, peeled, cored, and chopped up, then tossed in lemon juice
1/2 cup finely chopped basil leaves

1. Sautee the onion in the olive oil until translucent. Reduce heat, and add the garlic. Cook for only about 30 seconds, stirring often. Pour in the quinoa and cook it in the same skillet for about a minute, stirring to give it a bit of toasting.

2. Add the chicken broth to the skillet, bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and let it absorb the broth, about 15 minutes.

3. Remove the skillet from the heat, uncover and allow the quinoa to cool down a bit. Sprinkle with salt and stir in the nuts, apple and basil leaves. Toss well, and set aside to cool to room temperature. Serve well tossed in a bowl, and garnish with parsley sprigs.

Couscous stuffed chicken with olives and Meyer lemon
(From Joyce Goldstein's "Saffron Shores", one of Al's favorite cookbooks.)
(Note: you can substitute turmeric for saffron, but don't use too much.)

1 large cooking hen (4-5 pounds)
1 lemon, cut in half
salt to sprinkle

For the stuffing:
1 cup couscous
3/4 cup salted water
2 tsp olive oil
2/3 cup blanched almonds, toasted and chopped
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/4 tsp saffron threads, crushed and steeped in 2 tbs hot water
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger

For the sauce:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 large onions, chopped
2 small hot red peppers
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp saffron threads, crushed and steeped in 2 tbs hot water
salt and black pepper to taste
1 whole head of garlic, with paper husk removed as much as possible
1 bunch of fresh cilantro sprigs
2 cups water
4 cups cracked green olives
3 Meyer lemons, cut lengthwise into quarters, seeds removed

1. Rinse chicken inside and out, pat dry, rub with the lemon halves, and sprinkle with kosher salt.

2. For the stuffing: Steam the couscous over boiling water for about 10 minutes, sprinkle with the olive oil, and continue to steam for another 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and let it cool. Fold in the almonds, raisins and spices, and stuff the bird's cavity.

3. To cook the bird and make the sauce: In a Dutch oven or large deep sauce pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat, and sauté the onions until tender. Add the red peppers, ginger, saffron, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring for a few minutes. Place the chicken in the bottom of the pan, and brown in on all sides, turning frequently.

4. Add the garlic head, the coriander and the water to the pot, and over medium heat bring the liquid to a simmer, reduce slightly, and cover the pot. Allow the chicken to cook for about 1 1/2 hours, until tender. During the last 15 minutes, add the olives and the Meyer lemons.

5. Uncover the pot, transfer the chicken to a warming plate, and turn up the heat to reduce the remaining sauce. Before serving, discard the garlic, red peppers and coriander sprigs. Check the seasoning. Remove the stuffing from the bird, then cut the bird into serving pieces. Place a mound of stuffing under the chicken, and ladle on the sauce, being sure to serve everyone olives and lemon pieces.

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#1031 - The Savory Staples of Spring

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Every year as the fields of Maryland slowly get back into production, we start to see evidence of the first greens of the season. Salad greens and spinach immediately come to mind, but there is an entire class of greens that are about to make an appearance, and those would be the savory full flavored cousins of the garlic tribe. And Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Waterfront Kitchen reports there are a lot of very tasty things coming up out of the ground.

Look for leeks, scallions, green onions, garlic scapes, and that Appalachian favorite, ramps, a sort of wild leek. Leeks themselves, the symbol of Wales, are an underappreciated vegetable in this country. The bulb, when trimmed, and the first 6-7 inches of the green stalk are edible. They tend to be sand and dirt magnets, so wash thoroughly before cooking. Leeks work well in slow buttery braises when they are cut up lengthwise to hasten cooking. Further cut up into bite-sized pieces, they are favorites in soups, especially the leek and chicken pottage called "Cock-a-leeky."

Garlic scapes are the "flower stem" portion of a garlic plant. Growing up straight at first, they tend to curl around in a circle, and then grow a small bulb. The scapes are very tasty, but the longer they grow, the tougher and hotter they become. So cut early and use raw or cooked.

The ramps have two parts: broad smooth tasty leaves, and lower stems terminating in edible bulbs. An easy way to cook them is to pull off the leaves, and first cook the sliced bulbs in bacon fat, then toss in the cut up leaves and cook until they are wilted. Sprinkle a little crumbled bacon over them and toss with a little white balsamic vinegar.

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#1030 - Genoise Cake

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I have to confess that I have a weakness for a little piece of pastry every now and then, and the lighter the better. Mine must not be a rare preference, because pastry chefs everywhere have a special concoction that plays right into this craving, and that would be something called the Genoise Cake. Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Waterfront Kitchen loves making this light spongy bit of pastry.

If you're not certain what it is, Genoise Cake, native to Genoa, Italy, is a light sponge cake similar to the cake part of a Hostess Twinkie. Here's a basic recipe, which closely resembles making a soufflé.

Simple Genoise Cake

8 large whole eggs
3 large egg yolks
1 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 tbs honey
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups pastry flour, sifted

1. Make a double boiler by placing a large metal mixing bowl over a large pan of simmering water. Place all the eggs, sugar and honey into the mixing bowl and whisk vigorously for about 8 minutes until it thickens and falls off the whisk in a thick ribbon.

2. Off heat, beat the batter with an electric hand mixer set on medium speed. The volume will increase threefold, and it will cool. Do not stint on this step of the recipe or the batter will be too dense.

3. Working with one third of the flour at a time, very gently fold it into the egg mixture, using a spatula and cutting down to the bottom of the bowl. Do not be the least bit vigorous, as it will cause the egg mixture to deflate.

4. Pour the batter into round cake pans, buttered and lined with buttered wax paper. Fill the pan about 3/4 of the way to the top. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 for about a half hour, or until the cake is golden brown on top.

5. After baking, remove cake from the pan and cool on a wire rack.

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#1029 - Ouefs en Meuette

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A few weeks ago the topic of French food came up on Dan Rodricks' "Midday" show, and Chef Cindy Wolf described a dish of eggs poached in red wine. Hold on, I thought, that's one of my favorite French dishes, "Oeufs en Meuette", something I always order when I'm over there. And as Jerry notes, it's amazing how often poached eggs work their way into recipes these days.

The neat thing about poached eggs is that they make their own sauce. Once pierced, the yolk runs into whatever else is on the plate, adding flavor and texture.

Here are a few tips on poaching:

1. Your eggs should be room temperature, the water simmering, definitely not boiling. Add a little vinegar to the water to lower the pH and help keep the egg together.

2. Crack the egg into a tea cup, so you can easily slide it into the simmering water.

3. With a spoon, get a nice circular current going in the pan, then drop the egg into the middle. This will concentrate the egg's center.

4. You can spoon hot water over the egg to hasten cooking. Once it appears to be cooked and the egg whites are solidified, you can remove them with a slotted spoon and immerse them in cold water to stop further cooking.

5. Cooled eggs can be trimmed with a knife tip, and easily reheated in simmering water.

Here's my approach to Ouefs en Meuette. My version is a two-step recipe: poach the eggs, then make a sauce from the poaching liquid. To poach eggs: one cup Beaujolais wine, two cups of chicken broth; bring to a simmer in a shallow skillet. Slip the eggs in, and spoon simmering liquid over them as they cook; remove with a skimmer, shock in cold water, trim and re-heat in warm water before using.

In a sauce pan, sauté some diced carrots, diced onions, and coarsely cut up bacon until the vegetables are tender. Strain the poaching liquid, and pour it into the sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow the sauce to reduce until it starts to thicken a little bit. Salt and pepper to taste.

Prepare a large crouton, or a slice of English muffin by spreading olive oil on it, and toasting it in an oven until it is crisp. Place the re-heated egg on the warm crouton, and ladle the sauce over it, and garnish with a sprig of thyme or parsley.

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