Ultimate Cook Book_ 900 New Recipes, Thousands of Ideas - Bruce Weinstein [330]
For the vinaigrette,.
2. Ground Pork and Shrimp Stuffing with a Peanut-Ginger Sauce
For the stuffing, process 8 ounces ground pork, 4 ounces peeled and deveined shrimp, 2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger, 4 chopped scallions, and 2 garlic cloves in a food processor until uniform and fairly smooth if still a little chunky.
For the sauce, whisk 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger, 1 tablespoon peanut butter, teaspoon sugar, and several dashes of hot red pepper sauce in a small bowl until creamy.
3. Latin American Pinto Bean Filling and Salsa
For the stuffing, process 2 cups drained and rinsed canned pinto beans, 2 tablespoons lime juice, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 teaspoons ground cumin, 2 teaspoons fresh oregano leaves, 1 teaspoon salt,
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and several dashes of hot red pepper sauce.
For the salsa, see section Appetizers, Nibbles, and Snacks or use a purchased salsa.
Cakes
ONCE THE PROVINCE OF THE ROYAL AND RICH, CAKES WERE EATEN BY those who could afford personal bakers and the requisite ovens to make these heavenly but hardly nutritious concoctions. But after World War II, ovens became standardized, the middle class got its purchasing power, and the great Age of Cake began.
It shows no sign of subsiding. While doing cooking demos, we’ve found nothing brings out the stories like a cake: “My mother made…” or “For my birthday we…” Fad diets may come and go; carbs may be vilified, tolerated, or chemically modified; but a cake remains one of the kitchen’s best pleasures.
That’s because it is, in some ways, the kitchen’s ultimate dessert. Part quick bread, part confection, cakes are almost iconic. They mark time for us: celebrations, anniversaries, promotions, graduations, and birthdays. A cake’s always there at the moment of change, the moment when we slow time down. Who ever heard of a birthday pie?
But cakes have suffered from both the quick-fix industry and from obtuse recipes that insist on a combination of eight flours and four fats. Neither could be further from the truth. As long as you follow a few easy rules, you can indeed have your cake and eat it, too. No wonder cake remains the real reason anyone has an oven.
* * *
A Dozen Basic Cakes
Some of these are easy; others, showstoppers. None needs buttercream or esoteric techniques. What else do they have in common? They don’t take much effort but give you maximum results.
* * *
One-Bowl Chocolate Buttermilk Loaf Cake
Use a metal or silicone loaf pan; a glass one can superheat the chocolate, rendering the cake bitter. Makes one 9 × 5-inch loaf cake
¼ cup canola oil, plus additional for greasing the loaf pan
1½ cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting the pan
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup sifted unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup regular or low-fat buttermilk
(do not use fat-free)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Dab a little canola oil on a paper towel and lightly grease a 9 × 5 × 3-inch loaf pan. Dust the pan evenly with flour before shaking out the excess.
Whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Then stir in the buttermilk, canola oil, and vanilla with a wooden spoon just until an even if slightly grainy batter forms. (Do not beat—the cake will be tough because of the stretched wheat glutens.)
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth it to the corners, and bake until puffed and firm, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 60 to 70 minutes.
To cool and unmold: Set the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes; then turn the cake out, remove the pan, and cool completely on a wire rack.
To store: