Nothing-special Fridays are my favorite

Dear Friends,

A nothing-special Friday. I think this might be my favorite kind. I went to the gym, bought markers on sale at the art store made rice pudding, cleaned house. And walked Zing! 

Love,

k

Chocolate pots de crème and more

Written last night:

Dear Friends,

The stars are in alignment, and today I saw Patrick and Steph at lunch and Keith and Judy for dinner.  I love being with them. Lots of catching up.

Before that, I spent a couple hours writing short business letters. Each started long;  the work was to make them short. For those dog lovers among you, I’m including the letter to the UC vet concerning Zing. More interesting will be Dr. Karen’s response. 

Also, I made a richly repeatable dessert, chocolate pots de creme (recipe below). Keith and Judy brought Thai food from The Coconut, and I was not quite sure what would go with it. Fruit, I’m afraid. So I sliced a couple of oranges and served them on a blue plate. But then, chocolate is always right. We each finished the chocolate, and left the oranges. 

Love,
k

Here’s the Zing letter:

Dear Karen,

Zing and I need a recalibration. We’ve followed your regimen and now we’re at a plateau. 

We’ve been in Sacramento 6 months, and I’m ready to have a normal life, but Zing is still anxious when he is home alone.

Without Clonidine he whines and barks, but not frantically, after 5 minutes alone. He was up to about 10 minutes, but it’s been less since I left him at Grateful Dog when I visited Miami. With Clonidine, he’s pretty quiet the first hour, then there’s an occasional bark or whimper. At 2 hours,  barks increase. The “training” of leaving him for gradually longer times is now a game. No treat occupies him more than 5 minutes. I’ve tried them all! It takes a lot of time -- preparing the food in cardboard rolls, doing the activity, listening to the audio — not to mention the interruption of whatever routines we have developed. The training has become our routine, and it doesn’t seem to be working anymore. Being together all the time might even reinforce our mutual dependence.

Zing is fine alone in the car as I do errands, but soon it will be too hot. We walk 2 miles a day and go to the dog park on Sunday. He goes to Grateful Dog happily; he is known as a barker there, but at home he rarely barks under normal circumstances. He seems happy and makes many friends on our walks. 

To give us more flexibility, what about a citronella collar? It might stop the barking and hopefully the anxiety will seep away gradually. I wanted to check with you before trying it. Maybe you have some other idea. 

Thanks!

Kathleen
Chocolate Pots de Crème 
Epicurious

2 C. whipping cream
1/2 C. whole milk
5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used Ghirardelli premium semisweet.)
6 large egg yolks
1/3 C. sugar

Preheat oven to 325°. Bring cream and milk just to simmer in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Add chocolate; whisk until melted and smooth. Whisk yolks and sugar in large bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in hot chocolate mixture. Strain mixture into another bowl. (I skipped this part and nothing bad happened.) Cool 10 minutes, skimming any foam from surface. (Missed this step.)

Divide mixture among six 3/4 C. custard cups or soufflé dishes. Place cups in large baking pan. Cover  with foil. Add enough hot water to pan to come halfway up sides of cups. Bake until custards are set but centers still move slightly when gently shaken, about 55 minutes. (Mine took less -- start checking at 45 minutes.) Remove from water. Remove foil. Chill at least three hours.

I only had 3 small cups so I poured the remaining custard into a small casserole. It took a little longer to cook.

I topped these with just a dab of sweetened whipped cream. Comments on  Epicurious say they are too rich to finish even one. NOT TRUE.

Weekend report and rice pudding

Written over the weekend:

Saturday:

Dear Friends,

Today was full of phone calls and grocery shopping and cooking. I’m tweaking the beef burgundy recipe. Friends (Mary Kaye, who I met in the art quilt group, and her husband Leigh) are coming to dinner, but first we’re seeing a movie at the Tower Theater — a Sacramento landmark.

Yesterday I looked Clark’s photo straight in the eye, which I haven’t done since he died. He looked back at me and smiled. I think he motivated me to do this dinner thing. We used to have friends to dinner often. I even tried on a dress! (Not that I’ll be wearing it.)

I hope you are also having fun.

Oh, and I left Zing by himself for 5 minutes, with just one tiny bark. 

Love,

k

Sunday:

Dear Friends,

Today was busy, in a relaxed way. Zing was at Grateful Dog while I went with friends to a movie (The Red Turtle — animation with absolutely no words, just music and nature sounds. Different for these days that are so full of words.) and then we talked, had dinner and talked more. I “improved” the Beef Bourguignon with less wine, a different brand of bacon, and shredding the beef at the end. But the star was rice pudding perfect comfort food. The whole thing was delightful. As Mary Kaye said, it’s kind of rejuvenating to make new friends at this stage of life.

Just now as Zing and I walked, we turned the corner at 7th and N and heard a crash directly behind us. I turned and saw a red car swirling in the intersection. Then it stopped and a man got out yelling and waving his arms. A man got out of the other car. I think one of them ran the red light. No one seemed hurt. The police arrived almost immediately. 

And the streets were empty. Just those two cars.

Love!

k

Rice pudding

from the Columbus Dispatch ages ago

(from Louis Pappas' Famous Greek Recipes)

1/2 C. uncooked rice

1 quart milk 

1/2 C. sugar**

1 tsp. vanilla

1 T. cornstarch

1 egg yolk, beaten

1 T. butter

grated rind of one lemon (This is my addition -- not in the original recipe -- and you could also add

orange rind.)

cinnamon

Cook rice in 1 C. boiling water 10 minutes or until water is absorbed. (Don't cook too fast, as I did recently. Then the rice grains are a little too hard all the way through.) Add milk.* Return to boil, cooking gently over reduced heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add sugar** and vanilla and lemon rind. Dissolve cornstarch in 1 tsp. (or more, if needed) water and add to rice mixture. Cook 10 minutes, stirring often; remove from heat. 

Add 1 C. of hot rice mixture to egg yolk, then return to pan. Add butter (I skipped the butter.)  Cook, stirring often, until mixture coats a wooden spoon. Pour into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and cool. Then refrigerate. Before serving, sprinkle with cinnamon.

* I was short 1/2 cup of milk, so I added 1/4 C. heavy cream and 1/4 C. water. I think this made it extra creamy this time.

** I usually taste it and add a little more sugar at the end. 

Cinnamon and chocolate

Written two nights back:

Dear Friends,

Some people I have come to know here — however briefly — have asked me how I’m spending Thanksgiving, and when I say with Patrick and Steph their faces relax. I think they were concerned about my first Thanksgiving without Clark. (Maybe they were worried they might have to ask me to dinner!) These firsts are supposed to be extra hard, but, really, every day is a first and I’ve had a lot of hard by now. I expect to enjoy tomorrow. I hope you do too!

The holiday began this morning, when Gretchen called and we had a long conversation. Thanks, Gretchen!

Then Zing and I headed to UC-Davis for our follow-up appointment with Karen, the behavioral veterinarian. We met Cassi, the dog trainer, there too; she is learning along with us. I was so disappointed the other day, when Zing barked that last hour when I was out to dinner with Keith and Judy. I began to wonder where all this is leading. But Karen reassured me; she said Zing has improved dramatically — way faster than they expected. You know how day-by-day and close-up things can get distorted. Karen was seeing from a larger and more objective view, and I trust her. We went over “advanced” activities for me and Zing. Essentially it’s me moving farther and farther from him, until I open the door and leave and return  — starting with a fleeting time outside in the hall to the ultimate goal of me coming and going with ease. Karen said it might take three months. 

The exercises take time and concentration. I am lucky to be free to do it.  (Zing feels it’s worthwhile for me to get all this training.)

Then I cooked, with a scented candle burning in the kitchen and music on the radio. It was getting dark, so the kitchen felt cozy. I used to cook this way at least once a week, but haven’t since Clark died. It was fun, and the house smelled of cinnamon and chocolate. Not a bad beginning for the holiday!

Love,
k

Thanksgiving apple pie

Crust for Thanksgiving pies

Pie crust is tricky. That's what Mom said. And a flaky crust is the mark of a good cook. She said that too. I've used lots of recipes, including Mom's, and have to admit mine is not always as flaky as I'd like. My current favorite recipe is from Bon Appetit. I love that it says to work the dough with your hands! You could also use a food processor or a fork, I guess.

The Flakiest, Butteriest Crust

1 cup + 2 T. chilled unsalted butter
2 1/4 C. flour
1 T. sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 T. apple cider vinegar
3 T. water

1. Cut butter into 1" pieces. Chill it while you measure the dry ingredients.
2. Mix the flour, sugar and salt together in a big bowl. I use that bowl you see in the photo above.
3. Add the butter and toss it until it's coated with flour. Then use your fingers and palms to work the butter into small, irregular pieces. This is fun. Stop before the butter gets warm. You should still see some pieces of butter.
4. Mix the vinegar with the ice water.
5. Drizzle the liquid over the flour-butter mixture. Mix it up quickly with your hands so the dough kind of sticks together. It will still seem pretty dry.
6. Turn the dough onto a piece of waxed paper (no extra flour needed) and knead it a few times. Don't let the butter get all mixed in. The idea is to keep some butter in discreet pieces.
7. Push the dough down and cut it in half. Press each half down to about an inch high, and wrap the two pieces in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator 1 hour to 3 days. (OK, I'm doing a few more than three! Let's see -- Thanksgiving's four days from tomorrow. In a day or two I'll:
8. Roll it out and fit into pie pan.
9. Blind bake or fill and bake according to recipe.

I'll be making this pumpkin pie Thursday morning.  You could do worse!

Chocolate sauce and a delicious dinner

I have so many recipes that I never know where to find the one I want. Like now -- I know I made a great chocolate sauce once; we're having company for dinner next week.* I'd love to have poached pears, vanilla ice cream, and chocolate sauce. I need that very recipe!

****Dinner was Saturday, and it was a great time with wonderful friends. All along I was taking notes so that I will have the recipes and the whole plan for next time. This is one good dinner party!
Here is the plan, hopefully without too many details missing, so you and I can follow along next time. Without freaking out about missing recipes.

Menu

crudités
little toasts
Sriracha aoli and olive tapenade

Fish in the oven
garlic bread
slaw
poached pears
vanilla ice cream
warm chocolate sauce


Chocolate sauce

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate -- I use Kallebut or Trader Joe's 72% cacao dark chocolate.
3/4 C. heavy cream
Sugar to taste.
vanilla extract

Put the chocolate and the cream in a heavy pan and warm over low heat until chocolate is melted. Don't let it boil. Remove from heat and stir. Add sugar and vanilla to taste.

Recipe above 3x

a 17.6 ounce bar chocolate
2 1/4 C. cream
sugar and vanilla to taste

Poached pears
for 3 pears
1/4 C. orange juice
4 C. water
1 1/2 C. sugar
grated rind of one lemon
cinnamon stick
4 cloves

Cook all but pears until sugar dissolves. Add pears, whole but peeled (Leave stem on, if possible.) Simmer until pears are tender but not falling apart, about 15 minutes. maybe we'll see. Can do pears ahead and refrigerate in poaching liquid. Saturday bring them back to room temperature.


Fish in the oven

Red snapper at Southern Seafood fish store
(Snapper works fine. This time I used gag grouper -- no photo of that one!)

Butter a large piece of foil, 1 1/2 times length of the fish.
Lay fish on top. I used gag grouper. I've also used other grouper and red snapper. All good.
Fan tomato slices over the fish.
Scatter 2 chopped shallots over top.
Add herbs and dot with black olives.
Season with salt and pepper.
Sprinkle with lemon juice and parsley.
Butter another piece of foil to cover the fish.
Fold the edges.
Put in pan.
Cook at 410° for 45 minutes. This is for a thick fish. I cooked 3 1/2 pounds this time, cut into thinner steaks. It took 25-30 minutes. It's important to watch the fish.
Open one end of foil and test at thickest part of fish to make sure it is done.
Serve in foil, with top of foil removed.

Here's another way to cook fish in the oven

Rub grouper fillets with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper; add small tomatoes, lemon juice, parsley and dill, and black olives and maybe a little hot pepper.  Wrap in heavy duty foil and bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until done.

Garlic bread
(Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics, p. 184)
(for one loaf)
Preheat oven to 350°
Process 6 garlic cloves
1/4 c. parsley
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
Heat 1/2 C. olive oil over low heat.
Add garlic mixture.
Cook 3 min. Cut ciabatta in half horizontally.
Spoon garlic mixture onto bottom half.
Spread 2 T. butter on top.
Place together.
Wrap in foil.
Place on pan.
Bake at 350° for five minutes. (I followed this timing, but I like it better when it's cooked a little longer. It's crisper and hotter.)
Discard foil. (That's what the Contessa says. I just fold the top of the foil back so I can serve it in foil.)
Bake five more minutes.
Slice crosswise.
Serve warm.

Rachel's slaw
Mix all ingredients:

• 1/2 head small (5-inch diameter) green cabbage
• 2 T. to 1/4 C. mayonnaise
• a couple drops Tabasco sauce, or use a little Sriracha mayo along with the regular kind
• 3/4 teaspoon fresh lime juice
• salt to taste
• honey to taste

Here's another similar slaw

Slaw like I made by accident, before I got Rachel's recipe

Mix all ingredients:

• 14 ounces prepared slaw
• juice of 1 1/2 limes -- or to taste
• 1/2 C. sugar, or to taste
• 2 tsp. cumin seed toasted and ground
• a few coriander seeds, toasted and ground
• olive oil as desired

Appetizer

Olive tapenade and Sriracha aoli (from Fresh Market)

crudité of choice
peppers
little tomatoes

cooked carrots

cooked little potatoes
and

little toasts

Shopping list

• grouper 3 pounds
• black olives 
• lemons
• limes
• garlic
• parsley for fish and bread
• vegetables for appetizer (I used a red and a yellow pepper.)
• pears -- 6 pears
• slaw, prepared 
• small tomatoes -- two pints
• 2 shallots
• ciabatta -- 2 loaves Ciabatta from Fresh Market
• butter
• ice cream
• sugar
• heavy cream-- 2 1/4 C.
• appetizer crackers
• chocolate (Kallebut or 72% bittersweet from Trader Joe's)

Schedule
Monday

• Shop for all groceries, except fish and slaw and some fresh appetizer thing.
• Prepare ciabatta for baking, wrap in foil and freeze it.
• Wash and iron napkins or make sure you have nice big paper napkins.
• Polish silverware (or not!)
• Find candles, candle-holders, small vases for flowers

Thursday

• Shop for fish and cabbage for slaw

Friday

• Cook pears
• Make chocolate sauce
• Fish waiting on ice in refrigerator
• Cut foil and prepare herbs, etc., for fish tomorrow
• Flowers -- coffee table, bathroom, hall, dining room

Saturday

• Make slaw
• Tidy bathrooms and sweep the floor

Best lemon pie

I was messing around in the freezer and found a crumbled graham cracker pie crust, a cup of Meyer lemon juice and a bag of puffs of sweetened whipped cream not eaten with Thanksgiving's pumpkin pie. I decided to marry this combo into something delightful and fumbled my way into a recipe for lemon curd in Baking Illustrated (p. 394), a gift from Rachel. You can see it looks humble, but it tasted heavenly -- I'd choose it over Key Lime Pie any day. Just put the Lemon Curd into a pre-baked graham cracker crust and top with sweetened whipped cream, then chill it. You could even double the lemon curd to make a deeper pie. (Who thought up that terrible name: Curd?)

Lemon Curd

1/3 C. lemon juice
2 large eggs and one large egg yolk
1/2 C. sugar
2 T. cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 T. heavy cream
1/4 t. vanilla
pinch of salt

Heat the lemon juice until hot but not boiling. (I used a glass measuring cup in the microwave.) Whisk eggs and yolk in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk in the sugar. Whisking constantly, slowly pour the hot lemon juice into the eggs, then pour the mixture into a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until 170° and thick enough to cling to the spoon (about 3 minutes). Remove from heat, stir in butter until it is incorporated; add cream, vanilla, and salt.

Almond-fruit Cake for Fathers Day

Blueberry-almond cake

More pastry than cake, this delectable dessert inspired C to say, "You've got to make this again!" That was a couple of weeks ago. Yesterday, when I asked what he wants for Fathers Day, he repeated, "Make it again!" Don't tell C,  but the last time I'd made this was 2004 (I jotted it on the recipe!). I think he said "Make it again" that time too ... and I did, nine years later. Sunday -- less than a month since last time -- I'll be making this again. It is so delicious and relatively easy that I really should make it more often.

Patrice gave me the recipe. You see they call it Pear Cake, but my notes tell me I've also used apples, a combination of apples and raspberries, blueberries (above). This Sunday it will be cherries.

Patrice's Homely Pear Cake

2 C. plus one T. flour
3/4 C. plus 2 T. sugar
2 T. light brown sugar
1 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1 stick plus 2 T (5 ounces) unsweetened butter
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 C. almond paste
2 T. fresh lemon juice
2 t. cinnamon
2 pounds firm but ripe pears -- peeled, cored, thinly sliced

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Butter an 8-inch square pan.
2. In food processor, pulse 2 C. flour with 3/4 C. sugar, light brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the butter and pulse until it resembles cornmeal. Add egg and combine.
3. Turn the dough onto a work surface and knead several times. Divide roughly in half,  with one piece slightly larger. Flatten into disks, wrap in plastic or wax paper, and refrigerate 20 minutes.
4. Into food processor put the almond paste, lemon juice, cinnamon and remaining 2 T. sugar and 1 T. flour. Pulse until smooth. Scrape into bowl and gently stir in the fruit.
5. On an unfloured work surface (I think I may have sprinkled some flour first.), roll out the larger piece of dough into an 11-inch square. Fit it into the baking dish, pressing it three-quarters of the way up the side. Spoon the fruit in. Roll out the rest of the dough and press it on top, sealing the sides together by squeezing. Bake 55 minutes, or until golden. Make sure fruit (if apples or pears) is soft.
6. Cool at least 6 hours, preferably overnight. (This is a joke! It is delicious, if a bit runny, right out of the oven.)

Gretchen's best pound cake

Do you think they'll notice I stole a bite?

I am going to make a birthday cake for Melissa, and I know she loves pound cake. So I asked Gretchen, my baking guru (and niece) for advice. Gretchen has tried more than a dozen pound cake recipes (there ARE a dozen recipes?), and this is best. Easy too. Here's her email to me, with the recipe:

Hi!  

Here is the recipe for pound cake.  I promise you will not be disappointed!

Gretchen's Best Pound Cake

2 C sugar

2 C flour (DO NOT SIFT)

2 sticks butter (if using unsalted add about 3/4 teaspoon salt)

5 eggs

1 T of what ever extract you would like (vanilla, almond, etc.) OR the juice and zest of one lemon

Put all the ingredients in the mixer and blend for 10 minutes at medium speed.  Pour into a greased and floured tube pan or 2 loaf pans.  

Bake at 325 degrees for about 1 hour (I start checking after 50 minutes).

Enjoy!

love,

G

Mom's canapés and cream puffs

There's no photo because we ate them. The blue cheese cream puffs, not the photos.

I made them for friends who stopped by yesterday. As we cleaned up afterward,  C and I finished the last two -- and then I remembered I'd meant to take a picture. Oh, well. You can imagine how they look: lopsided airy buttons oozing cheese. Everybody loved how they taste.

A long time ago Mom made cream puffs with this recipe. She'd fill them with homemade vanilla pudding and top them with chocolate glaze. It is amazing to me that we considered this an ordinary dessert.

Sometimes for a cocktail party she'd make the dough into tiny puffs, filled with a mixture of cream cheese, blue cheese, a little grated onion, and some half and half.

As we were planning our New Year party this year (last year??),  I saw the documentar,  Jiro Dreams of Sushi, which is a celebration of doing one thing right. It made me want to go back to old recipes like Mom's cream puffs.

Mom's Cream Puffs

In a saucepan, heat to boiling:
1 C. water
1/2 C. butter
Stir in:
1 C. flour.
Stir constantly over medium heat until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan and forms a ball. This doesn't take very long, about a minute.

Put dough into bowl of your mixer and let it cool a little bit. You are going to add eggs, and you don't want them to start cooking when they hit the hot dough.

Mix in four eggs one at a time. Beat until smooth.

Drop the dough onto parchment paper-lined cookie sheet, leaving at least an inch between them. For the canapés, I used a 1 T.  cookie scoop. If you're making dessert puffs, you can make them bigger. Mom made hers kind of roundish; you can also make them into long finger shapes. I filled two cookie sheets.

Bake at 425° for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 375° for 10 more minutes. I actually forgot them and added a few more minutes, with no bad results.

Right away slit the puffs and put them back into the oven, which has been turned off. Prop open the oven door and leave them there for about 45 minutes so they dry out. My new Baking Illustrated, by the editors of Cook's Illustrated magazine, says that at this point you can keep them at room temperature for a day or freeze them for a month. I stored them in a cookie jar overnight. In the morning I warmed up the oven to 375° again and warmed them for about 5 minutes. This kind of revived them. When cool, I filled each one a spoonful of this mixture:

16 ounces cream cheese, beaten with good blue cheese to taste (quite a bit)

As I said, Mom used to add a whiff of onion juice and some cream. I skipped the onion because not everyone likes the taste, and I forgot about the cream. But next time I'm adding it. This made just enough to fill all the puffs generously. I forgot to count them.

Another time I'm going to make tiny puffs filled with pudding and frosted with chocolate. Really, this is not too much trouble if you make the puffs the night before.

Meyer lemons

I barely knew about Meyer lemons until Ed left a bag of them on our porch soon after we moved to Tallahassee. Our neighbor was rich in lemons and bluebirds, and he loved to share both. Once when I was visiting him and his wife in their backyard, he placed a tiny worm in my hand, assuring me it wasn't squishy. When I opened my palm and held it out, a bluebird swooped down from the bushes to eat the worm. A tiny rose-breasted bluebird perched on my hand!

I felt much the same amazement when I learned about Ed's precious Meyer lemons. They are much desired by cooks. When Ed died last spring I planted a Meyer lemon tree out near our shed in his honor. This season it gave us two big yellow fruits. Thanks to Ed's family, we still enjoy his lemons too. This week I mailed some to family in Ohio. "Give us recipes!" they said. So:

In general, I use Meyers  as I would any other lemon. Here's a video from a grove in California with some useful storage ideas.

I also make Meyer Lemon Marmalade. Here's the recipe -- my adjustments to an Epicurious recipe.

A friend tried Smitten Kitchen's Lemon Cake. She liked it but didn't rave.

I'm sure Mom's sponge cake is better. Follow the suggestion midway down for dousing it with lemon syrup.

Here's an LA Times piece with 100 things to do with a Meyer lemon.

S'more pie

You know how Thanksgiving makes you want chocolate? You do crave chocolate after all that orange food, don't you? Then you'll understand why I made a S'mores pie the day after turkey-- soon enough to coat-tail on the "It's a holiday so calories don't count" rule.  I used Smitten Kitchen's recipe, and the chocolate intensity didn't disappoint.

Next time I'll tweak the crust and topping,  though. Yes, I made the marshmallow topping. My cook-niece Gretchen has influenced me; she loves homemade marshmallow. What a surprise -- no egg whites involved! It's an honor to be in the secret marshmallow sorority, but next time I'm going to top this pie with lightly sweetened whipped cream instead.

And the crust -- SK's is a regulation graham cracker; next time I'm going to try butter-crunch crust. All these changes would be made to enhance the chocolate, of course.

Butter Crunch Crust from Spago Desserts

Mix in food processor just until combined:
4 T. butter
2 T. brown sugar
1/2 C. flour

Add:
1/4 C. chopped pecans
Process about 3 seconds more.

Spread on cookie sheet. Bake on center rack in 400° oven for about 10 minutes, being careful it does not burn. Remove from oven and stir it. Cool until you can touch it, then press into 8" or 9" pie pan or a 9" springform pan (This would be for cheesecake.) Refrigerate until needed.

Filling from Smitten Kitchen

7 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used a bar of Lindt 70% cacao, which I pummeled with a heavy spoon before opening.)
1 C. heavy cream
1 large egg

Bring cream to a boil. (I microwaved it in a glass measuring cup -- be sure to watch carefully and take it out just as it starts to boil.) Put the chocolate in a bowl and pour the hot cream over it. Let it stand for a minute, then stir until the chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Whisk the egg in quickly, along with a pinch of salt.
Pour into crust. It will fill it about halfway up. Protect exposed edges of crust with strips of foil. Bake in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes at 350°. Chocolate will still be a little shaky in the center. Cool to room temperature, about one hour. Then refrigerate (SK recommends one hour uncovered, followed by 3 hours covered, in refrigerator. It probably wouldn't hurt to eat it earlier. Before you do, top with sweetened whipped cream.

Rice, savory and sweet

I grew up with white potatoes, not rice. It's taken many tries to appreciate this grain. Now my rice recipes are scattered, and I'm still not at ease enough to know which one I want. Often I settle for brown rice boiled in the bag. When I'm more energetic I cook the one I find first. So here they are, all in one place. (Yes, there's a dessert here too!)

Coconut Brown Rice

from Saveur

This is simple and delicious, especially with Indian or Thai dishes. To make it simpler, just use coconut milk for all or part of the liquid andcook brown or white rice the way it says on the box. Add a piece of peeled ginger if you have it.

1. Using the back of a large knife, pound the ginger until it becomes bruised and somewhat stringy and releases some of is juice. This will take a few good whacks.

1  1" piece peeled fresh ginger
1 cup brown jasmine rice
3⁄4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1⁄2 tsp. kosher salt
Cilantro sprigs for garnish

2. Rinse the rice in a strainer under cold running water for 30 seconds. Transfer the rice to a 1 1⁄2-quart saucepan and add the coconut milk, 3⁄4 cup cold water, and the salt.

3. Add the ginger to the pan and stir well to combine with the rice, making sure that the ginger is as fully submerged in the rice as possible. Place the pan over high heat and bring the liquid to a boil while stirring with a large spoon to prevent the rice at the bottom of the pan from scorching or burning. (Don't worry if the liquid thickens considerably as it comes to a boil; that's a result of the combining of the fats in the coconut milk with the starch in the rice.)

4. Allow the rice to boil for 15 seconds, while continuing to stir. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until the liquid is completely absorbed and rice is tender, about 45 minutes. Remove the pot from heat; allow the rice to continue to steam, covered, for 10 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork and garnish with sprigs of cilantro.

SERVES 2

Judy's Spanish Rice

Judy married Lou, from a Spanish family. I remember they had Christmas lights strung in the back yard for their wedding celebration. Eventually they divorced, but the recipe survived.

Sauté a couple of tablespoons olive oil and five cloves of garlic, chopped.

Toss in 1 green pepper and 1 red pepper, chopped. Cook a couple of minutes.

Add 1 pound shrimp or cut-up snapper or chicken and 1 1/2 C. rice.

Add about 3 cups water or water/white wine/chicken broth mixed, a pinch of crushed saffron, and salt to taste (I use 1 1/2 t.). Put the lid on and simmer about 15 minutes, until rice is cooked. Check to make sure the chicken is cooked through. It will be if your pieces are bite-sized.

This is so good.

Mamma Pappas' Rice Pudding (Rizogalo)

This is from the Columbus Dispatch recipe exchange from a long time ago.

1 quart milk

1/2 C. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 T cornstarch

1 egg yolk, beaten

1 T. butter

cinnamon

Cook rice in 1 C. boiling water 10 minutes or until water is absorbed. Add milk. Return to a boil, cooking gently over reduced heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add sugar and vanilla.

Dissolve cornstarch in 1 tsp. water (I use more). Add to rice mixture. Cook 10 minutes; remove from heat.

Add 1 C. of hot rice mixture to egg yolk & stir. Pour that back into the pan and stir it all. Add butter. Cook until mixture coats a wooden spoon. Sometimes I add finely grated lemon peel at this point. Before serving, sprinkle with cinnamon.

Bright Yellow Cashew Rice

*Not everyone loves turmeric

Sauté in butter 2 medium onions, chopped. Stir in 1 C. uncooked brown rice andfry a few more minutes. Sprinkle in 1 t. ground turmeric* and stir so it doesn't burn.

Add 2 C. water 7 and1 t. salt.

Bring slowly to a boil, then simmer about 35 minutes, or until rice is done.

Toss in 1/2 C. chopped cashews and 4 or 5 chopped scallions just before serving.

Garnish with orange slices.

Baked Chicken and Rice

from Cooking for Engineers

I discovered this in the cooking for the sick ministry at Good Shepherd. I made dinner for a family of four. The father was finishing up cancer treatment. I asked what was his favorite dish, and they said chicken and rice. My mom used to make a casserole with leftover chicken; hers had cream of chicken soup, and I think she used noodles instead of rice. You can add any vegetable; I like broccoli or spinach. (This might be how I discovered Cooking for Engineers. He has other great basic recipes, and I love his charts.) Here's the chart; the link explains it fully.

Oven Baked Chicken and Rice (serves 6)

Preheat oven to 375&176;F (190°C)
1 cup (195 g) rice	cook	cook	stir in	stir in	combine	place	sprinkle	bake 375°F (190°C) 1 hour
1 Tbs. (14 g) butter
1 medium onion	dice
1 clove garlic	mince
1 medium zucchini	cut
10-3/4 oz. (305 g) can cream of mushroom	whisk
2-1/2 cup (590 mL) water
4 lb. (1.8 kg) chicken parts
1 teaspoon (2.8 g) garlic powder

Lentil salad and apple crisp

Lentils cooling

I've been trying to NOT cook on Sundays. A former neighbor, Geula, kept a Saturday Sabbath. "You should try it, Kathleen," she said, promising I'd love a day without thinking about food. Geula would make chicken salad Friday night, if I remember correctly, and in that spirit we've had tuna salad sandwiches on the last two Sundays. I made the salad and -- in one case -- chocolate chip cookies Saturday night, The week before, we were going to have cold shrimp, but it looked wan, so at the last minute I sautéed it lightly with sugar and salt. Last night I forgot, and I'm tired of tuna anyway. So I'm cooking again: we'll grill grouper sandwiches, and this morning I made a lentil salad and apple crisp. I did mix the topping last night, but today I peeled and sliced green apples. Geula was right: not cooking is easier, but you've got to think ahead.

Crumble topping for apple crisp

Mix in food processor:
1/3 C. light brown sugar
3/4 C. flour
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. (or more) cinnamon
6 T. butter

When it's in little pieces that stick together, whirl in quickly:
1/4 C. (I use more) chopped walnuts
1/4 C. oatmeal

Slice enough apples for an 8" square pan. Cover with the topping. Bake at 375° for 40 minutes or until fruit is soft and top is lightly browned.
*Also good with a mixture of apples and cranberries, or with plums or berries.

Here are recipes for several good salads, including Alice Waters's Goat Cheese And Lentil Salad. I went easy on the garlic, and serve the cheese on the side because Clark doesn't like it. The ugly lentils in the picture above are from the step where they are cooled on a cookie sheet. I could have stopped right here; even minus the dressing, they are delicious. This would be good to make on Saturday night, if I could only get myself organized.