Rosiepowell2000's blog

"STAR WARS" Cuisine

Below are a few samples of food and drinks that were created for the "STAR WARS" franchise - including the ten movies and two television series produced by Lucasfilm, the current Disney canon novels, the non-canon Extended Universe (EU) novels and video games:


"STAR WARS" CUISINE



Blue Milk aka Bantha Milk - A rich blue-colored milk that was produced by female banthas. Sentients drank it, and used it in ice cream, butter and yogurt. It was especially available on Outer Rim planets like Tatooine, Lothal, and Lah'mu.

Eopie Cream Pie - A delicious and popular dessert that was kept as a closely guarded secret by the Kingal family. It is believed that the dessert was made from the cream of the Eopie, a quadruped herbivore native to the planet Tatooine. No one knows whether the cream was created from Eeopie milk or the animal's meat.

Tranna Nougat Cream - A sweet candy that was extremely difficult to make. It was favored by the rich and powerful.

Corellian Fried Ice Cream - A popular dessert that originated on Corellia. It was made from ice cream native to the planet; Soypro, a meat substitute, Carbosyrup and water. It could also be found on Endor.

Shuura - An exotic yellow and cream colored fruit that was sweet and juicy. It was a favorite of Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo. The syrup from the fruit was used as a flavouring for a certain drink at Dex's Diner on Coruscant.

Nuna Drumsticks - A type of food that came from the Nuna, a reptavian gamebird that was native to Naboo. The animal was commonly called a "swamp turkey".

Shawda Club Sandwich - A sandwich made from slices of Manpha-fowl meat, Nuna bacon, Revwien lettuce, and topatos on toasted or therm-zapped pseudograin bread. It was a popular item at Dex's Diner on Coruscant.

Mid 20th Century Cuisine

Below are some images of American cuisine between the 1950s and the 1970s. How can I say this? It is . . . it is simply a miracle that American cuisine did not crash and burn before the 20th century ended:

MID 20TH CENTURY CUISINE



Creamed Liver Loaf





Hellman’s Frosty Slaw Man





Fruit and Shrimp Mold





Spaghetti Mold and Vienna Sausages





Jellied Beef Mold





Frankfurter Crown Tease





Garden Salad Loaf





Aspic-Glazed Lamb Loaf





Monterey Soufflé Salad





Jellied Chicken and Spaghetti Hoops





Real French Califlower Supreme





Russian Salad with Ham Rolls





Frankaroni Loaf


And below are dishes that I was unable to identify:















Below is a recipe for the Monterey Soufflé Salad, from the ClickAmerican.com website:



Monterey Soufflé Salad


Ingredients

1 package lemon-flavored gelatin
1 cup hot water and 1/2 cup cold water
2 tbsps lemon juice
1/2 cup Hellmann’s or Best Foods Real Mayonnaise
1-1/2 can Star-Kist Tuna
3/4 cup chopped cucumber or celery
1/4 cup sliced stuffed olives
2 tbsps chopped pimento
1/2 tsp grated onion


Directions

*Dissolve gelatin in hot water. Add cold water, lemon juice, real mayonnaise and 1/4 tsp salt. Blend well with rotary beater.

*Pour into refrigerator freezing tray. Quick chill in freezing unit (without changing control) 15 to 20 minutes, or until firm about 1 inch from edge but soft in center.

*Turn mixture into bowl and whip with rotary beater until fluffy. Fold in remaining ingredients.

*Pour in 1-quart mold or individual molds. Chill until firm in refrigerator (not freezing unit) 30 to 60 minutes. Unmold and garnish with salad greens and serve with additional real mayonnaise, if desired.

Chicken à la King

Below is an article about the dish called Chicken à la King:


CHICKEN A LA KING

Have you ever come across one of those dishes in which there are so many origin tales about it that it keeps your head spinning? For me, one of those dishes is Chicken à la King. And what I find so amazing about this it that the dish has always strikes me as so simple, it would never occurred to me that it had such a complicated origin.

Chicken à la King is a very simple dish to prepare. It basically consists of diced chicken in a cream sauce. The dish is prepared with sherry, mushrooms, and vegetables. And it is usually served over rice, pasta, or some kind of bread . . . like toast. It has become very popular with some to serve it over biscuits. The reason behind the complication over the dish's origin is that several people have claim responsibility for creating Chicken à la King and no one has been able to confirm which origin tale is true. Here are some of the claims for the dish's origin:

*Charles Ranhofer, chef of Manhattan's Delmonico's restaurant had created the dish sometime during the 1880s. According to this claim, Ranhofer created the dish for American race horse breeder/trainer, Foxhall P. Keene, and the dish was originally called Chicken à la Keene.

*According to another claim, someone cook at Claridge's Hotel created the dish in 1881 and named it after Keene's father, American stockbroker James P. Keene.

*George Greenwald of the Brighton Beach Hotel in Brighton Beach had created the dish in 1898 and named it after hotel patron E. Clarke King II and his wife.

*William "Bill" King , a cook at the Bellevue Hotel in Philadelphia, had created the dish sometime during the 1890s. When King died in 1915, several newspapers gave him credit for the dish. Most people believe this is the most plausible origin of the dish.

Although the recipe for the dish was included in cookbooks throughout the first two decades of the 20th century, like 1906's "The Fanny Farmer Cookbook", Chicken à la King really became popular during the middle to late 20th century. Regardless of who was truly responsible for the creation of Chicken à la King, below is a recipe for it from the Betty Crocker website:


Chicken à la King

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 small green bell pepper, chopped (1/2 cup)
3 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced (3 ounces)
1/2 cup Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/4 cups Progresso™ chicken broth (from 32-ounce carton)
2 cups cut-up cooked chicken or turkey
1 jar (2 ounces) diced pimientos, drained


Preparation
1. Melt butter in 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook bell pepper and mushrooms in
butter, stirring occasionally, until bell pepper is crisp-tender.
2. Stir in flour, salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until bubbly;
remove from heat. Stir in milk and broth. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and
stir 1 minute. Stir in chicken and pimientos; cook until hot. Serve over rice.


Note: You can serve Chicken à la King over rice, any other kind of past, toast or even biscuits. The choice is yours.

 

Bakewell Pudding

Below is an article about the dessert known as Bakewell Pudding:


BAKEWELL PUDDING

While reading various articles on the Internet about the cuisine of the Victorian Age, every once in a while I would come across one about a dessert known as Bakewell Pudding. The origin of this dish seemed to be a very confusing matter. Most people associate it with the nineteenth century. Yet, some believe this dish actually originated as far back as the medieval era.

Bakewell pudding was originally referred to as a "tart". The dessert does not date back to the medieval era, but it is the descendant - more or less - of the egg enriched custards of that period. In short, the dessert consists of a flaky pastry base with a layer of sieved jam. It is topped with a filling made of egg and almond paste. Originally the almonds, which is a hallmark of the dessert, were introduced in the form of a few drips of almond essence in the overlaying sugar, egg, and butter mixture, but gradually it became the custom to use ground almonds, thereby radically altering the nature and consistency of the topping.

The pudding originated in the Derbyshire town of Bakewell, England. And yes, it is named after the town. No one is really certain about the dessert's year of origin. It is believed that Mrs. Greaves had created it at the White Horse Inn in 1820 or 1860. Actually, it was the Inn's cook who created it . . . thanks to Mrs. Greaves' instructions. The latter, who was the inn's landlady, left instructions for the cook to make a jam tart. While making the tart, the cook layered the pastry base with jam and spread the egg and almond paste mixture on top, instead of mixing it into the pastry. When cooked, the egg and almond paste set like an egg custard and the result was successful enough for it to become a popular dish at the inn.

There are a few problems with this origin tale. One, the White Horse Inn was demolished in 1803 for the development of Rutland Square and the construction of the Rutland Arms Hotel. Which means some believe that the pudding was created in the Rutland Arms Hotel kitchen and not the White Horse Inn. Also, a family called Greaves operated the hotel. But a Mrs. Greaves of the White Horse Inn did not exist. And two, English food writer Eliza Acton had written and published a recipe for the pudding in her 1845 cookbook, "Modern Cookery for Private Families", making the 1860 origin date impossible. However, Acton was not the first to include a recipe for Bakewell Pudding in a cookbook. Historian Alan Davidson claimed that a food writer named Magaret Dobs had included the recipe for the dessert in her 1826 cookbook, "The Cook and Housewife's Manual". As it turned out . . . this is not true. However, a recipe for Bakewell Pudding did appear in the 1847 edition of Dobs' book. One of the earliest published accounts of the dessert can be found in the 1836 issue of The Magazine of Domestic Economy.

As for the true origin of the Bakewell Pudding . . . who knows? However, below is the recipe for Bakewell Pudding from the All Recipies (U.K. Edition) website:


Bakewell Pudding

Ingredients

Puff Pastries sheets (store bought or homemade)
2 Whole Eggs
4 Extra Yolks
180g Butter
180g Castor Sugar
100g Ground Almonds
1tsp Almond Essence
2tbs Lemon Juice
1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg
6-8 Tbs Raspberry Jam or Preserve


Preparation

Preheat the oven to 180 C / Gas 4.
Then separate 4 yolks into a bowl and add two more whole eggs. Beat slightly.
Add the melted butter and caster sugar and mix well.
Finally, stir in the ground almonds, almond essence, lemon juice and spices.
Line a dish about 9" X 7" with a sheet of puff pastry.
Spread in the bottom of the pastry a layer of preserve about 1/8" thick.
Pour the mixture over the preserve into the pastry lined dish.
Put into the preheated oven on a middle shelf for 40 - 45 minutes.
When cooked and browned on top, remove from oven, sprinkle over some extra sugar to give it a glaze and allow to cool.

The dessert can be enjoyed with custard or cream.

Muffuletta Sandwich

Below is an article about the sandwich known as Muffuletta:


MUFFULETTA SANDWICH

The name Muffuletta is known for two things - the bread and the sandwich. The bread, originally known as "Muffoletta", is used for the famous sandwich of the same name. As for the sandwich, it was created by an Italian immigrant - Sicilian actually - named Salvatore Lupo. The latter owned a story called Central Grocery Company on Decatur Street in New Orleans, Louisiana. The bread had been made and eaten by Sicilians for centuries.

Sometime during the early years of the 20th century, Lupo made an agreement with a local baker, another Sicilian immigrant, to supply Muffoletta bread to his store. Lupo then re-sold the bread to his customers. With that agreement, the unknown Sicilian baker became a wholesaler, and the workers no longer bought their bread from him, but from Lupo's Central Grocery. There, workers not only bought the Muffoletta bread, but also their lunch ingredients - bread, meats, cheese and salad. In 1906, Lupo Salvatore decided to combine these ingredients into a sandwich. He decided to use the Muffoletta bread, because of its ability to hold the filling without leaking. To make each sandwich; Lupo filled a Muffoletta loaf with olive salad, meats and cheeses; wrapped the sandwich in paper; and sold it as a Muffoletta sandwich. However, Lupo misspelled the name as "Muffuletta". As a grocer and not a baker, Lupo was not familiar with the spellings of the many Sicilian breads.

As I had just pointed out, the traditional Muffuletta sandwich begins with the Muffoletta or Muffuletta loaf - a large, round, and flattened bread that is similar to the Focaccia bread, but is lighter, crispy on the outside and soft inside. The loaf is split horizontally and covered with layers of salami, ham, Mortadella, Swiss cheese, Provolone cheese, and olive salad. The olive salad consists of green and kalamata olives diced with the celery, cauliflower and carrot mixed in a jar of giardiniera, seasoned with oregano and garlic, covered in olive oil, and allowed to combine for at least 24 hours. In Greater New Orleans a seafood sandwich is made with muffuletta bread and fried seafood, often including oysters, shrimp, catfish and occasionally softshell crab. However, the Seafood Muffuletta sandwich omits the olive salad in favor of the traditional dressings of a seafood Po'Boy sandwich, such as melted butter and pickle slices, or mayonnaise and lettuce.

Since many of Lupo's customers regarded the Mufuletta sandwich as easier to carry, than the ingredients for it, it became an immediate success. The success of Lupo's Muffuletta sandwich led other local grocery stores, including the nearby Progress Grocery, to construct and sell their own versions of the Muffuletta sandwich.

Below is a recipe for a traditional Muffuletta Sandwich from the LauraFuentes.com website:


Muffuletta Sandwich

Ingredients

1 10" round loaf Italian bread with Sesame (or a soft round Italian bread)
1 cup Olive Salad
1/4 lb Genoa Salami
1/4 lb Capicola or deli ham
1/4 lb Mortadella
1/8 lb Sliced Mozzarella (3-4 thin slices)
1/8 lb Provolone (3-4 thin slices)


Preparation

1. Cut the bread in half length wise.
2. Brush both sides with the oil from your Olive Salad or really good extra
virgin olive oil, go a little heavier on the bottom.
3. Begin layering your ham, mortadella and salami on the bottom half of the
bread. Top with your cheeses.
4. Next, add the olive salad from the center out. Put the lid on and press it
down without smashing the bread.
5. Optional: toast/warm up in you oven for a few minutes.
6. Quarter it. You’ve just created pure heaven!

 

"JULIE AND JULIA" (2009) Review

Below is my review of Nora Ephron's 2009 comedy-drama, "JULIE AND JULIA", about the life of celebrity chef, Julia Child and the New York blogger who was inspired by her, Julie Powell:


"JULIE AND JULIA" (2009) Review

Written and directed by Nora Ephron, "JULIE AND JULIA" depicts events in the life of chef Julia Child during the early years in her culinary career; contrasting with the life of a woman named Julie Powell, who aspires to cook all 524 recipes from Child's cookbook during a single year. Ephron had based her screenplay on two books - "My Life in France", Child's autobiography, written with Alex Prud'homme; and "Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously" by Powell. Two-time Oscar winner Meryl Streep portrayed Julia Child and two-time Oscar nominee Amy Adams portrayed Julie Powell.

The plot is simple. A New Yorker named Julie Powell, who works for the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation to help victims of the 9/11 bombings, has become disatisfied with her life when she realizes that her friends (or should I say acquaintances?) have more exciting professional lives. To help her deal with her apathy and knowing that she is an excellent cook, husband Eric (Chris Messina) suggests that she create a blog to record her experiences in cooking a recipe (each day) from Julia Child's famous cookbook, " Mastering the Art of French Cooking". Woven in to Powell's story is Child's experiences as the wife of an American diplomat in Paris during the late 1940s and early 1950s. The movie also reveals Child's entry into the world of French cuisine and her attempts to write and publish a cookbook on French cooking for Americans.

"JULIE AND JULIA" was not a movie that exactly shook my world. It was a warm and engaging look into the lives of two women whose interest in French cuisine attracted the attention of the public. In the case of Julia Child, her decade long attempt to write a cookbook on French cuisine led to her becoming a television celebrity and icon. Julie Powell's attempt to recount her experiences in preparing the recipes from Child's cookbook led to her blog, media attention and this movie. I have read a few reviews of the movie and most critics and filmgoers seemed more interested in Child's early years as a chef in France than they were by Powell's experiences with her blog. Granted, the Child sequences were a lot of fun, due to Streep's performance of the charming, enthusiastic and fun-loving chef. But I must admit to being surprised by how much I had enjoyed Powell's experiences with her blog. I realize that I am going to be bashed for this, but Powell's experiences seemed to have more emotional substance to them.

I am not saying that the Powell sequences were better written or more entertaining. But due to Ephron's portrayal of the Texan-turned-New Yorker, the Powell sequences seemed more complex and emotionally satisfying. In other words, Amy Adams - who portrayed Powell - had the meatier role. Most critics and fans of the film would disagree with me. After all, it seemed very obvious that Streep was having a ball portraying the enthusiastic and fun loving Julia Child. Her ability to easily befriend many of the French and her deepening love for French cuisine made it quite easy to see how she quickly became a celebrity. But Ephron never really delved into the darker aspects of Child's character or marriage - except touch upon the chef's disappointment at being childless. She certainly did with Powell. And Amy Adams did a superb job in re-creating a very complex and occasionally insecure personality. But I suspect that when the awards season rolls around the corner, it will be Streep who will earn most of the nominations . . . or perhaps all of them.

The rest of the cast of "JULIE AND JULIA" were just as excellent as Streep and Adams. Stanley Tucci portrayed Child's diplomat husband, Paul Child. He gave a warm, yet more restrained performance as a man happily caught up in his wife's growing interest in becoming a chef; yet at the same time, conveyed his character's unhappiness with his failing diplomatic career due to a change in the country's political winds. Like Adams, Chris Messina had a more difficult role as Powell's husband, Eric Powell. Unlike Child, he has to deal with his frustration in his wife's growing obssession with her blog . . . along with her occasional bouts with arrogance, insecurity and self-absorption. And at one point in the film, he loses his temper in spectacular fashion. I also enjoyed Linda Emond's performance as French cook Simone Beck, who co-authored Child's cookbook; and Mary Lynn Rajskub as Powell's acerbic friend, Amy. One other performance that really caught my eye belonged to Jane Lynch as Julia Child's equally extroverted sister, Dorothy McWilliams. Watching Lynch and Streep portray the McWilliams sisters take Paris by storm was a joy to behold.

Although I had enjoyed "JULIA AND JULIA", I had a few problems with it. One, it was too long. The movie's pacing started out fine. Unfortunately, I was ready for it to end at least twenty minutes before it actually did. By 100 minutes into the film, the pacing began to drag. And although I had no problems with the movie's alternating storylines, I felt that it failed to seque smoothly between Child and Powell's stories. The jump from Powell's story to Child's and back seemed ragged and uneven to me. And as I had pointed out before, the story surrounding Child's story seemed less emotionally complex and more frothy in compare to Powell's story, giving me another reason to view the movie as uneven.

Despite its flaws, "JULIE AND JULIA" is an entertaining film that many who are into cooking or food would enjoy. Both Meryl Streep and Amy Adams gave first-rate performances. And the movie also gave filmgoers a peek into life for Americans in post-World War II Paris. In the end, I found the movie enjoyable, but not earth-shattering. I would recommend it.

 

 

Shepherd's Pie

Below is an article about the British dish known as Shepherd's Pie:

SHEPHERD'S PIE

One of the most well-known dishes from Great Britain is what could easily be regarded as comfort food - namely Shepherd's Pie. It is basically a meat pie that came into creation, due to the introduction of a certain vegetable to the British Isles. Meat pies have been a tradition in England since the Middle Ages. Game pie, pot pie and mutton pie were very popular and served in pastry shells or "coffyns". These pies were usually cooked for hours in a slow oven, and topped with rich aspic jelly and other sweet spices.

But in the 16th century, the Spanish discovered the potato in the New World - somewhere in the Andes Mountains region. However, potatoes could be found anywhere in the Americas from the present-day United States to Chile. The Spanish eventually introduced the potato to the British Isles. But the British did not really embrace the plant until the 18th century. Sometime during that century, Shepherd's Pie may have been created by some frugal housewife looking for a new way to serve leftover meat to her family. It is also believed that the dish either originated in Northern England or Scotland.

Shepherd's Pie consisted of minced lamb or mutton that was cooked in a gravy with onions and sometimes vegetables like peas, celery or carrots. The dish was usually topped with a crust made from mashed potatoes. Early cookbooks featured instructions to line the pie dish with more mash potatoes and use any kind of of leftover roasted meat. Recent recipes include the addition of grated cheese on top of the potatoes. Although the dish dates back to the 18th century, the "Shepherd Pie" name originated sometime during the mid-Victorian Age. Another variation of the dish is the "Cottage Pie", which consisted of minced beef, instead of lamb or mutton. Ironically, its named originated in 1791 . . . decades earlier.

Below is the recipe for Shepherd's Pie from the Epicurious.com website:


Shepherd's Pie


Ingredients

*1 tablespoon vegetable oil
*1 large onion, peeled and chopped
*1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
*1 pound ground lamb (or substitute half with another ground meat)
*1 cup beef or chicken broth
*1 tablespoon tomato paste
*1 teaspoon chopped fresh or dry rosemary
*1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley
*1 cup frozen peas
*2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
*6 tablespoons unsalted butter
*1/2 cup milk (any fat content)
*Kosher salt to taste


Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, heat the oil, then add the onion, carrot, and meat. Cook until browned, 8 to 10 minutes.
3. Drain the fat and add the broth, tomato paste, and herbs. Simmer until the juices thicken, about 10 minutes, then add the peas.
4. Pour the mixture into a 1 1/2-quart baking dish; set aside.
5. Meanwhile, bring the potatoes to a boil in salted water. Cook until tender, about 20 minutes; drain.
6. Mash the potatoes with the butter, milk, and salt.
7. Spread them over the meat mixture, then crosshatch the top with a fork.
8. Bake until golden, 30 to 35 minutes.


Tip

• Instead of using a baking dish for the Shepherd's Pie, keep the filling in the (ovenproof) sauté pan in which you cook it, top with the crust, and bake it all in the oven for a skillet version that won't dirty another dish.

 

Doberge Cake

Below is an article about the dessert known as the Doberge Cake: 


DOBERGE CAKE

For years, I have heard about New Orleans, Louisiana being something of a "foodie town". But after learning about the origins of this latest dish, I am finally beginning to realize that this might be true. And what is the latest dish I just learned had originated in New Orleans? Namely a dessert known as the Doberge Cake.

The Doberge Cake is actually an adaptation of a Hungarian dessert known as the Dobos Torte. Beulah Levy Ledner was the daughter of Hungarian-Jewish immigrants who had settled in St. Rose, Louisiana in the late 19th century. By the beginning of the Great Depression, she had moved to New Orleans where she started her own bakery business from her home in 1931. Sometime between 1931 and 1933, Ledner created her own version of the Dobos Torte. 

Ledner kick started the Doberge Cake by following the recipe of the Dobos torte with layers of Genoise cake. But instead of spreading each layer of cake with buttercream and topping the whole thing with a layer of hard caramel glaze; Ledner spread each cake layer with a custard filling and iced the whole cake with buttercream and a thin layer of fondant icing. The traditional flavors used for a Doberge cake are chocolate, lemon or caramel. Many times, the cakes are made with half chocolate pudding and half lemon pudding.

A man named Joe Gambino purchased the name of the cake, the recipe and the retail shop from Ledner in 1946. She also promised that she would not reopen in New Orleans for five years. After a few years of illness, Ledner reopened her bakery in the New Orleans suburb of Metairie, under the name of "Beulah Ledner, Inc." As her business and popularity grew, her son, Albert, designed and built a new building for a new machine to mass-produce sheet cakes using his mother's recipes. Ledner opened another bakery on May 21, 1970 and operated it until she retired in 1981 the age of 87 and sold her business and the Doberge recipe to Maurice's French Pastries. The latter continues the business of baking and selling Doberge cakes in Metairie.

Below is a recipe for the Doberge Cake from the Genius Kitchen website:

Doberge Cake

Ingredients - Genoise Cake
3⁄4 cup butter
2 cups sugar
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
4 eggs, separated, whites stiffly beaten
1 cup milk
3 teaspoons baking powder
3 1⁄2 cups cake flour (measured after sifting)
scant teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation - Genoise Cake
Cream the butter, sugar and salt until smooth. 
Add egg yolks, one at a time, and blend until smooth. 
Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with milk. 
Beat until blended. Add vanilla and lemon juice. 
With a spatula, fold in stiffly beaten egg whites. Grease 9-inch cake pans. 
Pour ¾ cup batter into each pan, spreading evenly over bottom. 
Bake in preheated 375-degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes. 
Repeat process until batter is completely used, to make eight thin layers.


Ingredients - Chocolate Pudding
2 cups granulated sugar
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons cornstarch
2 kitchen spoons cocoa (heaping spoonfuls)
4 tablespoons bitter chocolate
4 eggs (whole)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon vanilla
4 cups milk

Ingredients - Lemon Filling
1 1⁄4 cups white sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons flour
1⁄8 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1⁄2 cups cold water
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons sweet butter
2 teaspoons lemon peel, finely shredded
1⁄3 cup fresh lemon juice


Preparation - Pudding and Custard
Stir all dry ingredients together in a saucepan, then add the remaining ingredients. 
Cook over medium heat until thick, stirring constantly. 
Remove from fire to cool.


Ingredients - Chocolate Buttercream Icing
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1⁄2 lb oleo, softened (margarine)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup cocoa
1 ounce bitter chocolate, melted

Ingredients - Chocolate Icing
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
4 semi-sweet chocolate baking squares, melted
1⁄4 cup butter
3⁄4 cup cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Ingredients - Lemon Frosting
6 ounces cream cheese, softened, room temperature
3 cups icing sugar
1 teaspoon lemon peel, finely shredded
1⁄4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1⁄4 teaspoon lemon extract


Preparations - Chocolate Butter Cream Icing
Cream sugar and oleo, then add cocoa, then the melted chocolate and vanilla. 
If too thick, add a little hot water, very slowly, until the consistency is right.

Preparations - Chocolate Icing
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and let it come slowly to a boil, then boil about 10 minutes until it thickens. 
Beat until thick enough to spread.

Preparation - Lemon Frosting
Beat cream cheese, icing sugar until fluffy. 
Add 1 tsp lemon peel, 1/4 tsp vanilla extract and 1/4 tsp lemon extract and beat till smooth.


Cake Assembly
To assemble the cake, place one layer on bottom of a cake platter. Pour 1/2 cup of lemon filling on top of 1/2 of the cake. Spread Chocolate pudding on the other half of the cake. 
Repeat the above procedure with the remaining cake layers and filling.
Top with final layer of cake with both the chocolate pudding and lemon filling. 
Cover cake with plastic wrap and put in fridge for 2 hours till well chilled.
Spread Lemon Frosting on the sides and top of the lemon half the cake. 
Spread chocolate butter cream icing on top and sides of the cake's chocolate side.
Cover and chill inside the refrigerator.
Then cover the chocolate side with the Chocolate Icing.
Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. 

 

Favorite Episodes of "A NERO WOLFE MYSTERY" (2000-2002)

Below is a list of my favorite episodes from the A&E series, "A NERO WOLFE MYSTERY". Based upon the detective stories and novels written by Rex Stout, the series starred Timothy Hutton and Maury Chaykin as Archie Goodwin and Nero Wolfe: 


FAVORITE EPISODES OF "A NERO WOLFE MYSTERY" (2000-2002)



1. (1.02) "Champagne For Two" - In this adaptation of Stout's 1958 novel, detective Nero Wolfe investigates the death of a young unwed mother at a charity dance attended by his assistant, Archie Goodwin. The latter had been standing in for an acquaintance, who was related to the wealthy hostess.





2. (2.08) "Before I Die" - A notorious gangster hires Wolfe to protect his real daughter, who is unaware of her father's identity, and stop the woman impersonating her from blackmailing him in this adaptation of Stout's 1947 novella.





3. (2.05) "The Mother Hunt" - In this adaptation of Stout's 1963 novel, a wealthy young widow hires Wolfe and Archie to identify and locate the birth mother of the baby left in the vestibule of her townhouse.





4. (1.08) "Over My Dead Body" - A Montenegro woman claiming to know Wolfe's adopted daughter is suspected of theft and murder at a prestigious fencing club in this adaptation of Stout's 1940 novel.





5. (2.09) "Help Wanted, Male" - In this adaptation of Stout's 1945 novella, Wolfe receives a death threat regarding a past case and hires a look-a-like double to temporarily impersonate him until he can identify the perpetrator.





Honorable Mentioned: (2.06) "Poison à la Carte" - When Wolfe and Archie attend the annual Ten for Aristology, a gourmet society, one of the members is poisoned. Wolfe suspects one of the female servers of the crime.

 

Dundee Cake

Below is an article on the Scottish dessert known as Dundee Cake: 


DUNDEE CAKE

For years, I have assumed there was only one kind of fruitcake. As it turned out, I was wrong.

The origin of fruitcake dates back to Imperial Rome. One form of the dessert that has developed over the years is one from Scotland called Dundee Cake. The dessert had originated in nineteenth-century Scotland, as a mass-produced cake by the marmalade company called James Keiller & Son. Keiller's claimed to be the originator of the term, "Dundee Cake", but there have been similar fruitcakes produced in Scotland . . . even before the nineteenth-century. 

Dundee Cake consists of currants, sultanas almonds and malt whiskey. Sometimes, fruit peel may be added to the recipe. The top of the cake is typically decorated with concentric circles of almonds and glace cherries in the middle of each circle. As I had stated earlier, similar fruitcakes had been produced in Scotland before the nineteenth-century. Queen Mary of Scotland preferred her fruitcake without the cherries, since she did not like the glace fruit.

The cake is sold in supermarkets throughout Great Britain today. It was also produced and marketed in India - before and after its independence from Britain in 1947 by Britannia Industries and its successor firms. However, the cake was withdrawn from Indian markets in 1980. Yet, it continued to be supplied privately as a corporate Christmas gift by the maker. Dundee Cake is traditionally purchased and served for the Christmas holidays. However, Queen Elizabeth II is reported to enjoy the dessert during afternoon tea.

Below is a recipe for Dundee Cake from The Spruce website:


Dundee Cake

Ingredients

5 1/2oz/ 150g butter, slightly softened
5 1/2oz/ 150g soft, dark brown sugar
3 large free-range eggs
Grated zest of 1 large orange
8oz/225g plain flour or all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoons mixed spice (Pumpkin Pie mix makes a good alternative)
1 lb/450g dried fruit - sultanas, currants, and raisins
2oz/55g candied peel, chopped
2oz/55g glace cherries, halved (optional)
1 tablespoon malt whisky (or brandy if you prefer)
115g / 4 oz whole blanched almonds


Preparation

Preheat the oven to 300F/150C/Gas 2.

Line an 8½"/22cm cake tin with greaseproof paper or baking parchment and grease lightly with a little butter.

Place both the butter, sugar, and zest into a large roomy baking bowl. Cream the butter into the sugar until light, smooth and creamy using either a fork or electric hand whisk.

Mix the flour with the baking powder and mixed spice. Beat one egg into the creamed butter, then beat in a third of the flour. Repeat until all the eggs and flour are used up.

Add the fruits, citrus candied peel, and cherries (if using) to the mixture and stir well but gently - you don't want to flatten the cake batter too much - until all the fruits are incorporated into the mixture.

Finally, stir in the whisky using a spoon or spatula.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin and gently level the surface. Cook in the preheated oven for 1½ hours, then arrange the blanched almonds into circles on the top and return the cake to the oven. Cook for another hour or until the cake is a deep, golden brown.

Remove the cake from the oven and place on to a cooling rack and leave the cake to cool in the tin. Once cooled it is ready to eat.

The cake keeps well when stored in an airtight tin.


Notes on Making a Dundee Cake: 

Do not rush the baking of this cake, it is high in sugars and fruit and needs the longer slowing baking to make sure it does not burn. If you feel it is browning too quickly lower the heat, all ovens have their own idiosyncracies.