Cowboy Salsa

Last week, we spent 4 days with 380 kids (age 14-18) and adults (acting as Ma's and Pa's and support crew) on the plains just outside of Evanston Wy-O. Dressed in pioneer garb- bonnets, hats, long skirts, aprons, pantaloons, suspenders, cowboy hats, etc. No cell phones, computers, ipods or electronic games. Kids pulling handcarts in the rain, wind and sun. We loved - cookouts, singing around campfires, sleeping in tents and the aroma in the lovely green port a potties.

All willing participants. Why? If you are from our part of the country, you are familiar with this seemingly odd ritual, which occurs about once every 4 years. If you aren't from here, here's a quickie version of why we do this:

When early Latter-day Saints longed to gather in the West from 1847 to 1860, handcarts
were a means of helping them on their journey. Today, youth and adults seek to grasp the
spirit of faith, courage and determination these pioneers represented. Youth and leaders dress in pioneer clothing, divide into trek families of 8-12 people and pull handcarts on and off dirt roads for about 20-25 miles. Some pull handcarts over the original pioneer trail; others pull handcarts on land in their areas. No matter where they are, all who participate open themselves to having their hearts touched by the pioneers’ sacrifices and testimonies of the Savior.

A pic of Joseph (my great great Grandpa) and Caroline Thompson Black (GG Gran), and their little family :) Joseph is the son of William and Jane Black. Joseph walked all the way from Nauvoo, IL to the Salt Lake Valley as a young boy in 1849.

Anywho. Amazing experience. My love and connection to my Great-Great-Great Grandmother Jane Johnston Black, and her husband William Black were re-affirmed, as I walked and thought of the sacrifices they made when they crossed the plains in the same area. Faith? Leaving their worldly possessions and extended family in Ireland, England and later Illinois to trek West. I've never had to exercise faith to that degree. Three nights of camping and I'm ready to be home in bed. There's a reason why I was born in 1962.

I'm going on and on about trekking, and almost forgot about the food. We did have some awesome food on the trail. Here are a few pics. I'm pretty sure the pioneers ate what we ate. Ahhhm. sure they did.

My cute friend Mary Jane brought ingredients to make ice cream on the trail.

This boy was the lucky recipient of the dasher.

Laurie's Roasted Rosemary Potatoes

Barbecued Chicken

Cowboy Salsa

Kelly Exxon

1 pkg zesty Italian dressing (mix as directed: 1/4 c vinegar, 3 T water, 1/2 c oil)
3 ears of corn, cooked, cooled and cut of the cob
or
1 can white corn, drained
1 can black-eyed peas, drained*
2 avocados, diced
3 Roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 c green onions, chopped
1/2 c fresh cilantro, chopped
2 limes, juiced

Mix Italian dressing as directed on package in a large bowl using a wire whisk. Add all other ingredients and stir gently until combined. Cover and refrigerate. Best made the day before, flavor increases over time.

Tips:

-Really yummy with fresh corn, in season now.
- I was unable to find canned black eyed peas so I soaked and cooked dried black eyed peas, according to directions on back of package. Use about 2 cups (after cooking). You need to start this step the day before. I'm sure canned black beans (rinsed and drained) would be a good sub.

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Amy's Bakery Yellow Cake with Pink Buttercream Frosting & Giveaway WINNER!

Thanks for all of the fun comments about your favorite food memory of summer '09. The winner of a million dollars and the "Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread" cookbook is ... comment #19 (chosen by the random counter) Michelle, who said:

"First I want to tell you how much I enjoy your blog. I have tried so many of your recipes and love every one! My favorite summer food memory was sitting at Fisherman's Wharf eating the most incredible clam chowder with three of my favorite boys Mark, Dan and Sam."

Congratulations Michelle! I hope you love Amy's cookbook. For all of the non winners out there, you can still try Amy's recipes, many are found online, or to order a copy of her beautiful book online go to: Amy's Bread .

When we were in NY, we ordered a slice of this yummy cake at lunch. The cakes looked so delicious, it was hard to make a choice. Since we were already toting around a to-go sack from the Little Pie Company (with some of their oh-so-delish sour cream apple walnut streusel pie and a brownie and a Red Velvet cupcake) we decided on some ginger snap cookies and a slice of this yummy "Simply Delicious Yellow Cake with Sweet Pink Buttercream Frosting". We were not disappointed. The frosting is sweet, and goes perfectly with the not too sweet cake. Amy's book recommends using a scale to measure ingredients by weight, instead of volume. I decided to give it a try. Purchased a small inexpensive digital scale, and set out to re-create our NY experience, here in B-town. Goodness. The results were mmmmm. Wouldn't this be the perfect cake for a little (or big) girl's birthday party? So beautiful. Oh and the million dollars? Just wanted to see if you are still paying attention. Happy Friday!

Simply Delicious Yellow Cake with Buttercream Frosting
adapted from Amy's Bakery
adapted to mountain elevation on 10-1-09 see measurements in ( )

print recipe

Unbleached all-purpose flour, sifted 3 cups or 14.81 oz (3 cups +2 tablespoons)
Baking powder 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon or .71 oz (2 teaspoons)
Kosher salt 3/4 teaspoon 3/4 teaspoon
Milk 1 1/4 cups + 3 tablespoons or 12 oz (1 cup)
Vanilla extract 2 teaspoons
Unsalted butter, slightly softened 1 1/4 cups + 2 tablespoons or 11.29 oz.
Sugar 2 3/4 cups + 2 teaspoons or 19.75 oz
Eggs 5 large or 9.17 oz
Sweet Pink Buttercream Frosting

Preheat the oven to 350ºF (325 for mountain elevation). Grease the cake pans. Line the bottoms with rounds of baking parchment then dust them lightly with flour. Shake out the excess. Or use Baker’s Joy baking spray that contains both oil and flour, so you don’t have to flour the pan. With Baker’s Joy, put the parchment liner in after you spray the pan.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt and whisk them gently for even distribution. In a separate bowl combine the milk and vanilla.
Using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until it is light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the eggs gradually, mixing well after each addition, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl often.
Lower the mixing speed to medium-low and add the flour mixture to the butter in 3 parts, alternating with 2 parts of the milk mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix just until it is evenly incorporated. This is a thick, fluffy batter, resembling whipped cream. There should not be any lumps or dry pockets of flour remaining. If the batter has a curdled appearance it has not been mixed enough. Increase the speed to medium and mix for another minute or until it is thick and fluffy.
Divide the batter equally between the 2 or 3 prepared cake pans. Weighing the batter into the pans is the most accurate way to do this. This ensures that both layers are uniform in size, and finish baking at the same time. You’ll have approximately 930 g/32.8 oz. of batter per pan. The pans should be about ⅔ full. Smooth the batter so it fills the pans evenly. Place the pans on the center rack in the preheated oven. Bake them for about 35 to 40 minutes (40-45 min), or until the cake is almost ready to pull away from the side of the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs. Rotate the layers carefully from front to back after 20 minutes, for even baking if pans are unable to bake side by side.
Cool the pans on a rack for 10 minutes, then invert them onto a wire rack that has been sprayed with cooking spray and lift off the pans. To prevent cracking, carefully right each layer so the top side is up and the parchment-lined bottom is down. This is where I use the wrap and freeze method. Wrap all layers in saran wrap and freeze immediately. When cakes are completely frozen, remove from refrigerator, and frost. Cool them on the rack completely. Before frosting, be sure to remove the parchment from the bottom of each layer. While the layers are cooling, prepare the frosting. To assemble the cake:
Place one layer, top side down, on a flat serving plate. Cut several 4-inch-wide strips of parchment or waxed paper to slide under the edge of the layer, to keep the plate clean. Using a thin metal spatula, spread the top of this cake round with a ½-inch thick layer of frosting, leaving a ¼-inch unfrosted border around the edge. Place the second layer top side up on the first, aligning the layers evenly. Spread a generous layer of frosting around the sides of the cake, rotating the plate as you work so you’re not reaching around the cake to frost the other side. Try not to let any loose crumbs get caught in the frosting. Let the frosting extend about ¼ inch above the top of the cake.
Starting in the center of the cake, cover the top with a generous layer of frosting, taking it all the way to the edge and merging it with the frosting on the sides. Try to use a forward-moving, circular motion, not a back-and forth motion to avoid lifting the top skin of the cake. Rotate the plate as necessary. Use the spatula or a spoon to make decorative swirls. Slide the pieces of paper out from under the edge of the cake and discard them. Store the cake at room temperature.

Pink Buttercream Frosting

Confectioner’s sugar 7½ cups or 29.80 oz
Unsalted butter, slightly softened 1⅓ cups or 10.56 oz
*Poured (not rolled) fondant generous ⅓ cup or 4.87 oz
Milk, whole ¼ cup or 2.19 oz
Vanilla extract 1 tablespoon + ¼ teaspoon or .46 oz
Kosher salt ⅛ teaspoon
Red food coloring 1 to 2 drops
In a mixing bowl, using an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat 21 oz. or 5½ cups of the confectioner’s sugar, the butter, fondant (if using), milk, vanilla, and salt in the bowl until they are smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes; start out at low speed and increase the speed to medium when the powdery sugar has been moistened. Gradually add the remaining sugar 1 cup at a time until the frosting is of good spreading consistency, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl often. You may not need to use all of the sugar. The frosting should be stiff enough to hold its shape but not so stiff that you’ll be unable to spread it easily on the cake. Add 1 or 2 small drops of red food coloring and continue beating the frosting on medium-low speed until you have a uniform pale pink color. This frosting is heavy but it should still have a fluffy quality.
The frosting can be used immediately or stored in an airtight container at room temperature, but it should be used within 3 days.

Tips:

-I measured and weighed everything, just to compare the difference. I know serious bakers weigh their ingredients, and swear by it. It was amazing to me to see the difference in the true volume vs weight. Sometimes a whole 1/2 cup difference!
-The recipe yielded more than the 32.8 oz of batter per pan. I believe it was around 40 oz per pan. One pan overflowed just a bit. Not enough to set off the smoke alarm, but just a tad. Next time, I will cut some of the liquid (milk) and baking powder. We are at about 4,300 ft. (elevation) so, normally I adjust cake recipes that are created in other parts of the country. I really wanted to try this recipe just as it was printed. When I experiment to suit mountain elevation, I will add the adjustments to the original recipe with an update. Updated 10-09 see changes for mt. elevation in red ( ). Still sank a little, one more try and we should have this perfect for high altitude!
-*I did not use the poured fondant. Simply made the frosting without the fondant addition.

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Amy's Bakery Plum Upside Down Cake & Giveaway!

Just before the summer ended (yes, it's over) I went on a girl's trip with my daughters to NYC. It was the first time for both of them, the second for me. It was sooososo fun.

We stayed out late, and got up early. We had an agenda. It was: see all there was to see, eat all there was to eat, shop, shop, shop, show, show, collapse.

By Saturday night, when we met Corrine's friend Natalie for dinner, we were worn out! We took a list of restaurants to visit, and hit a few of them, ended up grazing most of the days, and finding all types of wonderful bakeries and treats on our outings. One of our favorite places was Amy's Bread. They have three locations: one in Hell's Kitchen, Chelsea Market and Greenwich Village. We tried several treats and also had a yummy lunch at the Greenwich location. Everything was delish. They sell a cookbook that is beautifully written, with wonderful pictures and stories about their beginning, creations, and customers who frequent their stores. I loved the book so much, I bought TWO - because, I thought, if anyone would love this book, it would be A Bountiful Kitchen reader.

I am so happy to have this collection of recipes! Can you tell I'm on a sugar high? I've been baking this morning. I'll post another "Amy's" recipe with the name of the winner, who will be selected by the random counter. Leave a post with your favorite memory (food related- of course) from summer 2009. All entries must be left by midnight Thursday, September 10th. Winner will be announced on Friday.

My favorite summer 2009 food memory has to be when I was sitting in a diner with Corrine and Brookie at about 11:30 PM after seeing a show, none of us were very hungry, but we decided to order a pizza. The waiter said "We're all out". "WHAT???" I said. "You are kidding. How can you be out of pizza?" Brooke told me to calm down. Note: Brooke just spent the whole summer working in Yellowstone, working front desk at a hotel then waiting tables, listening to cranky tourists from 7 AM till 11 PM almost every day. Ok, fine. I didn't need pizza. So, we picked another menu item. Well, actually we ordered the mac and cheese with proscuitto, the triple layer Devil's food cake with cream, and an egg cream soda. 'Cause we weren't hungry. Yeah. And we all had a good laugh.

With all of the recipes to choose from in the new cookbook, why plum cake? We have a plum tree. I don't know if it was the excessive amount of RAIN we had this spring and summer, or the cooler weather? But, the plums are HUGE. And the crop was enormous.

I had to get out the loppers (is that what they are really called, or did Grant make that up?) and cut branches, loaded with plums and drop them right into the garbage can. I think I still picked about 3 bushels. And there are still branches loaded with plums. Call me if you need any to make this cake.

Oh - the cake. It is yummy. I love the cornmeal in the cake. It's much lighter than I anticipated. More like a cake, than a coffee cake. It is melt in your mouth good when it's warm. And it's beautiful too. I just had to get up and take another bite. Tart, sweet, buttery, carmely (know it's not a word). You should put Amy's on your list of places you must eat in NYC.

Plum Upside Down Cake

Topping ingredients:

3/4 cups light brown sugar

1/4 cup unsalted butter

Melt together in a small sauce pan. Boil for 2 minutes, don't over cook or mixture will get grainy. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan and set aside.

Cake ingredients:

6 to 8 small black or red plums, whole

1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

3 tablespoons cornmeal

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

4 eggs, separated

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

2/3 cup milk, whole (I used 1/3 skim, 1/3 cream)

Sugar for egg whites, 2 tablespoons

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Wash all plums, and cut in half. Pit and slice each half into 4 wedges ( I sliced into about 8, because my plums were big). Arrange the fruit, cut side down on top of the topping. Set the pan aside.

In a medium bowl, add the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. Whisk together.

Ina small bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter for cake for 1 minute, or until light. Add the sugar and continue beating for about 1 minute. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and mix 1 minute more. Add half of the flour mixture to the batter and mix briefly. Then add half the milk and mix again. Repeat until all ingredients are incorporated. Set aside. In a small bowl, beat the egg whites until frothy about 1-2 minutes. Increase speed and beat until soft peaks form. Add the 2 tablespoons sugar a little at a time and beat until stiff, but not dry. Fold about 1/4 of the whites into the cake mixture to lighten it. Gently fold in the remainder just until incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly over the topping. Place pan in center of oven and bake for 30-33 minutes. Or until blade of knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let the cake cool on wire rack for about 5-10 minutes. Run a knife around edge to loosen. Invert onto rectangular plate.

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