Eat This: Orange Pound Cake

One of my favorite cakes is Lemon Pound Cake. The one I made and posted HERE was well received by friends and family alike.  Coming from Florida, I love citrus.  I have posted recipes for orange marmalade, clementine marmalade and use lemon quite liberally.  Today I thought I would try the same recipe with orange as the flavor note.  It turned out nicely.  More subtle than lemon, but delicious as well.  

I also used two loaf pans this time instead of using the vintage cast aluminum Bundt pan that belonged to my grandmother.  I cooked these for one hour at 325 degrees.  It pulled away from the pan and came clear with the toothpick test.  Don't overcook.  Be sure you let the cakes cool for about 15 minutes before turning them out for the glaze.

One for us and one for a neighbor who always brings us nice food and is just a general, all around good guy.  We love to share and this is perfect for that.

The changes?  Use orange extract instead of lemon and I used the zest from the orange in the glaze as well.  Using a micro plane makes it easy!  Enjoy.

Eat This: Fish Friday - Maple Mustard Salmon

Stone Ground Mustard and Maple Glazed Salmon

I love salmon. When the wild caught, Copper River Salmon is available, I am always a step away from a feast.  Tonight, I made something a little different; Mustard-Maple Glazed Roasted Salmon.  It was DELICIOUS and so easy. 

Sadly, I was very lazy and only have the final product photographed, but I'll walk you through the process.

Eat This: Fresh Blueberry Jam

Hello.  My name is Marc and I am a canning and preserving addict.  

I admit it.  Don't want to change it. Enjoy doing it and sharing with friends and neighbors.  Today I made fresh blueberry jam.  The blueberries came from a local farm here in North Texas and bought at the local Farmer's Market.  I water processed the results and it turned out great!  Next time I think I will do some spicy version, maybe a Jalapeño or other pepper infused variety.

Eat This: Peach Apricot Ginger Jam

Peach Apricot Ginger Jam

I love the fresh fruit taste of the Spring.  I went to the Farmer's Market and brought back some beautiful peaches, grown here in the DFW area. I knew I wanted something special, so I am paring them with dried Turkish apricots and ginger. Sweet and spicy with the ginger.  It's delicious.  This is a lower sugar recipe as well. The original called for 7 cups of sugar. I used 2 1/2.  The use of Low-No Sugar Pectin has changed the way preserving works!  Try this.

Eat This Now: Strawberry Lemon Ginger Jam

I love strawberries.  Sweet. Tart. Pretty. Red.  Come on, everyone likes strawberries, right?  I've been on a jelly/canning/preserving kick over the past year and I thought, what could I do with strawberries?  These Texas grown berries are delicious. They're pretty BIG too.  I took a basic recipe from Susan Can Cook and modified it a bit.  It came out really nicely.  Delicious and tastes like "Summer".  Try this. It's easy and delicious.

Let's Eat Cake: Lemon Pound Cake

I love lemon anything. Cake. Cookies. Whatever.  I found a recipe and modified it and this was the outcome.  I gave our neighbors half of the cake, so I wouldn't eat it all, and they proclaimed it the best lemon cake they'd ever had.  You be the judge. It really WAS pretty awesome.  It is a basic cake that you can add any kind of extract and make it your own.  Enjoy.

Preservation II: Clementine-Ginger-Habanero Marmalade

Oh yes baby.  Delicious: Clementine-Ginger-Habanero Marmalade.

I enjoyed making the Orange-Ginger Marmalade so much I decided to take on a new batch.  This time, I used Clementines.  They're sweet, seedless and full of flavor.  To give it a kick, I added ginger, this time in the form of candied ginger and three, yes THREE habanero peppers.  Surprise!  It was a little heat way back on your throat, but not "hot".  Turned out to be delicious.  And here's how it happened...

Preservation: Orange-Ginger Marmalade

Orange-Ginger Marmalade

I tried canning in November of 2011 for the first time when I made Chili Piquin Jelly.  It turned out well and gave me some confidence to try new things.  Up to that time, preservation for me was the freezer.  It turns out, that if you follow directions, things work out pretty well!  Who knew?

Eat This: Lemon Sour Cream Cake

I am crazy about lemons. In almost anything; freshly squeezed over a pork chop - a wedge served with my fried chicken .... anything.  Desserts are especially wonderful when they are really tart and sweet together.  This recipe was adapted from Ina Garten's Lemon Yogurt Cake recipe at The Barefoot Contessa.  Love her. This is not too sweet, just tart enough to be awesome.  Enjoy.

Eat This: Sunday Fish

Italian salmon with tomatoes and herbs and redfish in lemon butter.

Two fish for dinner this evening:  one redfish, pan roasted in a simple butter and lemon and salmon cooked in the Italian manner.  Both delicious. Both easy. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Using two oven proof pans; I used one Calphalon all stainless and one non-stick (which I used for the redfish).

So here's how I did it:

Sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil - you will need 1/4 Cup.

One can of fire-roasted tomatoes and fresh oregano (you can substitute dried but I like the taste of fresh) - about 1/4 Cup loosely packed fresh oregano or 2 Tablespoons dried.

One fresh redfish fillet - As small or as large as you like - this one was 1# and at $14/lb. was very nice.

One half of a salmon fillet (fresh, wild caught) - this was about 1# as well.

Combine the fresh oregano, tomatoes and the sun-dried tomatoes.

Add 2 Tablespoons capers, drained, 1 Tsp. garlic powder, 1 Tsp. onion powder, 1 Tsp. crushed red pepper flakes, 4 Tablespoons lemon juice, 1/2 Tsp. black pepper, 1/2 Tsp. Kosher salt and

... five chopped green onions. Substitute fresh garlic and onion for the powder (my original recipe called for the powder)

Oh yeah, and a glass of wine while doing this is almost required, right?

For the salmon, put the tomato mixture in the pan and sit the salmon fillets on top.

Spoon about 3 Tablespoons of the mixture on top.  For the redfish, I combined 3 Tablespoons of butter and 4 Tablespoons of lemon juice.  Pour the butter mixture over the redfish fillet and shake freshly ground pepper over the top.

I roasted the pans together for 25 minutes.  Be sure to check at 20 mins. Overcooked fish is nasty.  The saving grace is that both these recipes are really forgiving.

The results:

Salmon in tomatoes and herbs.

Redfish in lemon and butter.

Saturday Eats: Lemon Buttermilk Cake

I love lemon cake.  I adapted this recipe from Ina Garten and really like it.  Next time, I will do it 5 minutes less, but, this is delicious.  You can also do the glaze (see recipe at the end.)

Delicious Still Warm From The Oven

Ingredients

Fresh Lemon Juice and Zest

Two 8" x 4" Loaf Pans

The Surface: Golden and Moist

Cooling on the rack

Adapted from Ina Garten's recipe:

Lemon Buttermilk Cake Ingredients

• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided
• 4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup grated lemon zest (4 to 6 large lemons)
• 3 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, divided
• 3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract (orange works too, and you can use Grand Marnier in the final glaze for a delicious change of pace)

For the glaze:

• 2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 3 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (or orange, or try Grand Marnier for a more "grownup" taste.)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 2 (8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch) loaf pans. You may also line the bottom with parchment paper, if desired. I cut it to almost fit the bottom and it works great.

Cream the butter and 2 cups granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, and the lemon zest. (You can also use orange in place of lemon in this recipe and it turns out really well too!)

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, combine 1/4 cup lemon juice, the buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour. Divide the batter evenly between the pans, smooth the tops, and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a cake tester comes out clean. Be sure not to over do it or it will be drier than you want.

THIS STEP IS IMPORTANT:  Skip the final glaze if you want, but don't skip this one:  Combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar with 1/2 cup lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves. When the cakes are done, allow to cool for 10 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans and set them on a rack set over a tray or sheet pan; spoon the lemon syrup over them. Allow the cakes to cool completely.

For the glaze, combine the confectioners' sugar and the lemon juice in a bowl, mixing with a wire whisk until smooth. Pour over the tops of the cakes and allow the glaze to drizzle down the sides.