Blue Cayenne

Vanilla Pound Cake With Apples

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Ingredients

• 1/2 C. (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 3 T. heavy cream
• 1/2 t. vanilla extract (I used vanilla paste)
• 3 large eggs (at room temperature)
• 3/4 C. superfine sugar (I blitzed granulated sugar in my blender)
• 1 1/4 C. cake flour (sifted after measuring)
• 1/2 t. baking powder
• 1/4 t. kosher salt
• 1 medium Granny Smith apple (peeled, cored and thinly sliced)
• 1 T. powdered sugar (for garnish)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and prepare a 9 inch by 5 inch loaf pan by lining it with parchment. Us a long enough piece of parchment so that you have parchment "handles" hanging over the long sides of the pan. Those "handles" will help you remove the cake from the pan after the cake has cooled.
2. Melt butter in a saucepan. Whisk in cream and vanilla extract (or paste). Take pan off heat and let butter mixture cool to room temperature.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer and using the whisk attachment, whisk eggs and sugar for 4 to 5 minutes on medium high speed until the mixture has thickened and is a light lemony yellow color.
4. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together. Once the egg/sugar mixture is ready, gradually fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture by hand using a spatula. Then, take several large dollops of this batter mixture and stir it into the room temperature butter mixture. Next, fold all of the lightened butter mixture into the batter. Continue gently folding the butter mixture into the batter until everything is completely combined but, at the same time, being careful to fold gently. Keeping as much air in your batter as you can by gently folding the ingredients together will yield a lighter crumb in your cake.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Arrange thin apple slices across the top of the batter in two rows and bake for 50 to 60 minutes in your preheated 350 degree F. oven. Your cake will be done when the top is a pretty golden brown, is firm when you press on the top and when a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
6. Remove cake from oven and let it cool (in the loaf pan) on a rack. Garnish with powdered sugar. This is a light and very tender (and delicious) cake. Slice it only after it is thoroughly cooled and use a serrated knife. Slice the cake slowly and carefully because this is a very tender cake. I thought the flavor of this cake was best on the second day.

Cabbage and White Bean Minestrone

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Ingredients

• 2 T. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion (finely chopped)
• 1 carrot (cut into medium chunks)
• 1 celery stalk (cut into medium slices)
• 2 T. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 4 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 15-ounce can tomatoes (chopped--I used San Marzano tomatoes from Trader Joe's)
• 1 1/2 pounds green cabbage (cored and coarsely chopped)
• 1/2 pound dried white beans (rinsed and soaked overnight and drained before adding to soup--I used Rancho Gordo "Marcella" beans)
• 8 C. water
• 1 Parmesan rind
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 C. elbow macaroni
• 1/4 C. freshly-grated Parmesan (for garnish)
• 1/4 C. chopped parsley (for garnish)

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in a soup pot and saute onion, carrot, celery and parsley for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Add half the minced garlic and stir into the vegetable mixture. Cook for about a minute until the garlic begins to smell fragrant.
2. Add tomatoes to the soup and cook for 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Stir the chopped cabbage into the soup and then add drained beans, 8 C. water, Parmesan rind and bay leaf. Bring the soup to a boil and then lower heat to a simmer. Cook, partially covered, for about an hour. The beans should be almost tender at this point.
4. Add the remaining minced garlic and salt to your taste. Stir and cook for another 30 minutes to an hour. Your soup will be done when the beans are thoroughly tender and creamy.
5. Adjust seasonings. Remove the bay leaf and the Parmesan rind.
6. Boil pasta in a separate pot of boiling water until the pasta is al dente. Drain.
7. Ladle hot soup into serving bowls. Stir in some of the cooked pasta. Garnish with chopped parsley and a generous sprinkling of grated Parmesan.

Nutrition

Calories

585 cal

Fat

13 g

Carbs

97 g

Protein

31 g

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