Happy Holidays!

Dearest Readers,

I wanted to take a moment to wish you all Happy Holidays from my family to yours. May the Yuletide bring you good eats and holiday cheer!

Much love,

~judyfoodie

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Black Cake

I am on a new baking adventure. Seeing as it is the holiday season, I decided to make something that relates to the Yuletide. My husband, as well as my father-in-law love fruit cake. I personally dislike them, especially the ones that come from the supermarket that are studded with fruits that have colors not found in nature. What I decided to make is a version of the much maligned fruit cake. This cake is different from the ones you find wrapped in cellophane at the store. I personally love this cake and do not associate it to the fruit cake, even though technically it is one.

Black cake is the Caribbean version of the fruitcake. It is traditionally made around Christmas time and for celebrations such as weddings. A rich and heavy cake, one can only really eat a very thin slice.

Some argue that you must soak your fruits a year ahead. Others say a couple of days ahead is fine. I admit I waited to the last minute, so my fruits only soaked for a week. I am so last minute in fact that it is currently past midnight Christmas Eve morning and my cakes are still baking in the oven.

Traditionally, once the cake is finished baking a hard sugar icing is used to ice the cake. I am opting to skip that part because I find it too sweet. One of my friends told me that it is done to keep the alcohol from evaporating and the cake from getting dry. My cakes should be fine as I am baking them in cookie tins. I can put a lid on it once it cools.

This recipe is really my variation on the black cake. I changed up some of the fruits used in the making it. Most recipes I've found call for dried or glacé cherries, candied citrus peels, raisins and prunes. I skipped the cherries and candied citrus peels, and substituted with dried apricots. I also opted to not burn my own sugar and used molasses.

So without further ado, here is my take on the black cake.

Black Cake

1 lb pitted prunes
1 lb raisins
1 lb dried apricots
2 cups white rhum, more for brushing the cake
1 1/2 cups port or red wine
100 g ground almonds
2 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup dark molasses
1 lb butter, plus more to butter pan
10 eggs
Zest of 1 orange
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp Angostura bitters
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

Method:

- At least a couple of days before baking (the longer the better), soak all your dried fruits with the rhum and port in a clean glass jar, shaking it occasionally.

- When ready to bake, grind your fruits into a rough paste in a food processor. Work in batches if you need to and add a little rhum or port to loosen up the mixture if needed. Mix in the ground almonds. Set aside.

- Preheat oven to 250F. (Yes, you read right, that is not a typo.)

- In a large bowl cream together the brown sugar and butter. Add in the eggs one at a time, followed by the orange zest, Angostura bitters and vanilla.

- In a seperate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Fold in the dry ingredients into the butter mixture.

- Stir in the fruit paste and dark molasses. If you find it too light (it should be a medium-dark brown) add more molasses. Be careful not to go overboard though.

- Pour batter into 3 9-inch pans that have been buttered and lined with a double layer of parchment paper.

- Place in oven and bake 3 to 4 hours or until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

- While the cake is still hot, brush the top of the cakes with rhum and repeat the process as it cools. The cake should absorb about 4 tablespoons total. You can serve the cakes once they are completely cooled. You can store it up to a month in a cool, dry place, tightly wrapped in foil, wax or parchment paper.

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Griot

Yes, yes I know... I've been a horrible blogger of late (*hangs head in shame*). Those of you who are still out there and have not given up on me, thanks :)

There is a couple of reasons why I've been such a delinquent blogger. As many of you know the economy has taken a really nasty turn and like so many out there I was a victim of a downsizing spree. Needless to say, I was preoccupied.


Second reason is related to the first reason in the sense that I've been taking on some freelance web design projects so I've been pretty busy. In fact, this has inspired me to redesign my blog, so that is change that will be coming up early in the new year.

Anyway, on to what this blog is about food. I found myself making griot often of late. I suppose it is because it falls under the cheap and plentiful category. My husband and I can make 6 meals out of the recipe. Griot is a Haitian marinated fried pork dish. I make my own variation of it that is slightly less fatty. Traditionally it is made with pork shoulder, but I prefer to use pork butt and instead of deep frying I make it in the oven. The recipe calls for bitter orange juice, but I replaced it with a tablespoon of Angostura Bitters because I have never managed to find bitter oranges at the market.

The meat needs to marinate at least 8 hours, so prepare in advance. Couple of notes on this recipe: the first thing to note is that this dish tends to be dry. If you prefer it more moist reduce the amount of time spent in the oven and cover it while it is roasting. Second thing is that I like to reserve the water that the pork boiled in to make the rice that accompanies this dish, but you don't need to do that.

Without further ado, here is the Culinary Escapade Griot recipe:

Griot
1.5 kg pork butt, cubed
1 lime, juiced
2 small onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon Angostura Bitters
5 whole cloves
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
water
3 tablespoon canola oil

Method:

- In a bowl, combine all ingredients except the water and oil. Mix well, cover and let marinate in the fridge at least 8 hours or overnight.

- Place pork in a pot and cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.

-Preheat oven to 350F.

- Remove pork from pot with a slotted spoon and transfer to a ovenproof casserole. Add the canola oil.

- Place the dish in the oven and let it roast 30 to 35 minutes.

- Serve with riz cole (rice with red beans, recipe coming up later this week) and pikliz.

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Still Alive and a Reminder

Hello my loyal readers! I just wanted to drop in an tell everyone that I am indeed still alive. I have been swamped with a project and simply have not had time to post. However, I will be posting my Recipes to Rival contribution - even though I am late, it was suppose to be up two days ago. Sorry guys! Here is hint thought: its beef, got coconut in it, its a curry, takes hours to prepare and tastes even better overnight. Can anyone guess what it is? That post will be up by the end of the week.

Reminder to my American readers - November 4th is election day, so please go vote!

In the meantime, why not check out some of the other blogs I enjoy - you can find the links in my blogroll. Or check out some of these recipes out:

Chicken and Shitake Dumplings
Hoisin Braised Ribs
Pupusas (That's what is in the picture up top).

And on that note, have a great week everyone!

~judyfoodie

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Koulourakia

Bonjour! As you can see from the picture, I have worked up the nerve to embark on a new baking adventure. This time I went with cookies. I did not want to go for the standard chocolate chip cookie, so I went with something that reminded me of my childhood.

I grew up in what use to be a Greek neighbourhood known as Park Extension here in Montreal. Nowadays, it is the hood of choice for recently arrived South Asian immigrants. There is a bakery called Afroditi across from a big Greek Orthodox church that is simply amazing. They make the most amazing cakes and cookies. In fact, we got a great deal on our wedding cake (see picture) from them - $375 for a three tier cake that fed 130 guests, including delivery to the hotel where the reception was held. That was 2 years ago, so the price might have gone up a little, but I digress...

My point in all of this, is that I use to go there to get snacks all the time when I was still living in Park Ex. The bus I took let me off right on the same corner as the bakery, so I use to run in there for everything from cheesecake to koulourakia to spanikopitas. Koulourakia is my favorite cookie, I believe it is also known as Greek Easter cookies because they are mainly baked for that occasion.

Koulourakias are essentially butter cookies, that have a hint of orange and vanilla flavoring. They are delicious with coffee or tea. Not the best snack when on a diet, due to the huge amount of butter in it, but one must indulge a little in life.

So with some time to kill and a hankering for cookies, I decided to attempt making them. They are not hard to make, it is shaping them by hand that is a little time consumming. They are traditionally shaped as braided twists or wreaths, but I went mostly with a spiral because it was easier and faster for me. Depending on how big you make the cookies, the yield will vary. I managed to get about 30 cookies from my batch.

Koulourakia

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 egg white (reserve yolk for the glaze)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 finely grated rind from one orange
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
Sesame seeds (optional)

Method:

- Cream butter and sugar together, adding the sugar gradually.

- Add egg and egg white and mix well.

- Add vanilla, grated rind, orange juice and mix to incorporate.

- Stir in flour and baking powder. Knead well until the dough is smooth and does not stick to your fingers.

- Pinch off pieces of dough and roll into desired length. Fold in half and braid into twists or roll into spirals. Place on cookie sheet.

- Add a little water to the egg yolk and beat. Brush the top of the koulourakia with the yolk and sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired.

- Bake in a pre-heated 350 F oven until the tops are slightly brown (approximately 20 to 25 minutes, depending on your oven).

- Allow to cool before storing them in an airtight container.

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Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24 - Le Vidéo

The online foodie community Foodbuzz officially launched a little over a week ago. As part of the launch, the inaugural live blogging event 24, 24, 24 kicked off a few weeks ago on September 20th, featuring 24 bloggers, 24 meals, 24 posts.

If like me you love to read about food, Foodbuzz is a great place to find amazing, talented food bloggers all over the world.

Check out the video and if you have time, do drop by the various blogs, leave a comment and encourage them.



You can find a listing of all the various 24, 24, 24 events on the Foodbuzz website or at the end of my 24 posting here.

Cheers!

~ judyfoodie

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Pikliz

It has been a week since I have updated. Truthfully, I have not been doing much cooking of late. I've been eating at my in-laws mostly.

Since having participated in the 24,24,24 event on Foodbuzz, we have have decided to make this communal cooking event into a regular monthly thing. This time around we have decided to make Haitian food. Our photographer and good friend Neldy took the lead this time and showed us how to make a couple of Haitian dishes.

I will be posting the recipes for the dishes we made over the next few days. This first recipe is not actually something we made that day, as it would not have been ready for consumption had we made it then. I actually made this today, seeing as I had some time to kill and a head of cabbage in the house.

A spicy Haitian coleslaw is probably the best way to describe what pikliz is. It is served meats and fish. Personally, I am addicted to it. I love anything spicy or sour, and this combines both flavor profiles, so it makes my tastebuds happy.

You need to make this in advance. It needs at least a couple of days before you can start using it, but the longer it sits the better. It will keep in the fridge for months. In fact the jar we used for our dinner was apparently about a year old.

Pikliz

4-6 scotch bonnet peppers, thinly sliced (do not discard seeds)
2 cups thinly sliced or shredded cabbage
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/4 cup thinly sliced onion
4 whole cloves
10 whole peppercorns
3 cups white vinegar
1 tsp salt

Method:

- Combine all ingredients in a clean glass jar and seal tightly.

- Allow to sit at least 48 hours before using. Store in the fridge.

- Serve with meats and fish.

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