#dip and sauce

Ginger Date Pudding Cakes with Rum Walnut Toffee Sauce

makes 8 servings

Cake

6 dried dates, pitted

1 1-inch piece ginger, sliced into ¼-inch pieces

¼ teaspoon salt

½ vanilla bean, seeds scraped out and reserved

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (254 g) unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup (133 g) sugar

1/3 cup (45 g) candied ginger, finely chopped

1 tablespoon orange zest

1 1/2 (223 g) cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 large egg

Sauce

1 1/2 cups (149 g) walnut halves

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (133 g) unsalted butter

1 cup (227 g) heavy cream

1 1/3 cups (254 g) dark brown sugar

1 1-inch piece ginger, sliced into ¼-inch pieces

¼ teaspoon salt

½ vanilla bean, seeds scraped out and reserved

2 tablespoons dark rum

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter eight 4-oz ramekins, or butter and sugar eight 3” high by 2 1/2” diameter ring molds.

Place dates, ginger, salt, vanilla seeds and pod, and 1 cup water in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil on high heat and cook for about 8 to 10 minutes.

Reduce heat to low and add in the baking soda, and cook for another 3 minutes.

Remove pan from heat, take out ginger slices and vanilla pod from the mixture, and set aside.

In a stand mixer, cream together butter, sugar, candied ginger, and orange zest until light and fluffy.

Add in the dates and the cooking liquid, and mix until the dates are broken into small pieces and the mixture is well combine. The mixture may turn a funny grey or greenish color from the dates but don’t worry, the cake will turn out nice and brown!

With the mixer on low, add in the flour and baking powder. Mix until fully combined.

Add in the egg and mix until combined.

Divide batter among the prepared ramekins or ring molds. Bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Be careful not to open the oven too often to check the cakes as this will make them deflate.

Cool cakes on a wire rack for about 5 minutes before unmolding. Let them finish cooling as you make the sauce.

To make the sauce: Combine butter, cream, brown sugar, ginger, salt, vanilla seeds and pod, and 3 tablespoons water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.

Reduce heat and let simmer until it becomes a thick sauce, about 10 minutes.

Remove ginger slices and vanilla pod. Stir in the walnut halves and return to a boil. Let simmer until it becomes thick and sticky, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the rum. Let cool slightly before using.

To serve, pour sauce around cakes. Serve immediately.

Bacon-Wrapped Potato Bites with Spicy Sour Cream Dipping Sauce

Makes about three dozen bites

1 pound small or medium red potatoes
2 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon olive oil
Freshly ground pepper
12 ounces to 1 pound thick-cut bacon
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
1-3 teaspoons hot sauce
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Wash and dry the potatoes. Chop them into 1-inch pieces, keeping the chunks roughly the same size even if they aren’t the exact same shape. Put the potatoes in a medium pot, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil. Season the water with 2 teaspoons of salt. Once the water begins to boil, cook the potatoes for 3 to 4 minutes, until you can stick a fork into them without too much resistance. You want the potatoes to be almost, but not fully, cooked through so they won’t fall apart during the next steps.

Drain the potatoes and put them in a large bowl. Add the rosemary, olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and a few grinds of pepper, and toss until the potatoes are evenly coated.

Cut the strips of bacon into thirds. Wrap each potato bite in a piece of bacon, securing it with a toothpick. Put the potatoes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil spaced an inch or two apart. You may need to cook the potatoes in two batches.

Cook the potatoes for 15 minutes, then flip each piece. Cook for another 15 to 20 minutes, until the bacon is cooked through and as crisp as you like it. Mix the sour cream and hot sauce in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Pile the potato bites on a plate and serve alongside the dip.

Chicken Fettuccine with Pesto Cream Sauce

directions:

Pasta a la Puttanesca

(serves 4-6)

Homemade noodles

• 2 cups of all purpose flour (or replace one cup with a cup of semolina flour for even better flavor and texture), plus more for rolling
• 1 tsp. salt (plus a bit more for salting your water)
• 2 eggs
• 3 egg yolks
• a bit of water

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the salt and flour.  Make a well in the mixture and add the eggs and yolks to the well.  Using a fork, fold the eggs into the flour, bit by bit until it comes together into a dough – sprinkle with a Tbs. or so of water if it is too dry and crumbly.  Then, gather the dough bits together and press them into a ball.  Wrap the dough ball in plastic wrap (or, I just left it in the bowl and covered the bowl with a plate, and that worked fine) and let it sit at room temperature for a half hour.  After a half hour either roll it, or store it in the fridge until you’re ready to roll.  (And during the half hour, you can make the sauce.  Just bring the sauce back to a light simmer before  you toss it with your cooked pasta)
2. When you’re ready to roll, a pot of salted water on to boil, so it will be ready to go.  Divide your dough into four pieces.  On a lightly floured surface, roll out one dough chunk into a sort-of rectangle until it is very thin – approximately paper thin (1/8 inch or even a little less – it puffs up a bit as it cooks).  Cut the dough into strips or irregular squares.  I can’t offer too much advice, since Joel is the slicer extraordinaire in our house.  But, after a couple of tries we discovered its easiest if you fold your dough over itself, like folding up a letter in thirds, and then you can slice that into short strips, and since you can make shorter cuts it goes much faster.
3. Repeat the rolling and cutting with the remaining dough, using more flour as needed to prevent sticking.  When the water is boiling, add your pasta and let is cook just 1-2 minutes, until it floats up to the surface.  Drain and toss with the pasta sauce.  Enjoy with a nice glass of wine and a big salad.  Bellisima!!!

Puttanesca sauce

• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 shallot (this is actually not necessary, but I had one, and I liked the flavor it added)
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 anchovy fillets, or a tsp. or so anchovy paste (if you don’t have either, you can actually substitute a splash of soy sauce or miso paste)
• ¼ cup wine, red or white, doesn’t matter
• 1 28-oz can of diced tomatoes
• a couple of Tbs. capers
• about 20 black olives, pitted and chopped
• ¼ cup chopped parsley

1. In a sauce pan heat the olive oil over medium-high until it is shimmering.  Stir in the shallot and garlic and cook about 2 minutes, until they start to soften.  Then stir in the anchovy, smashing them up, and cook for another minute (it will be kind of stinky, but don’t worry because it tastes marvelous!).  Pour in the wine, stir, and let cook another couple minutes until the wine is almost entirely cooked off.
2. Stir in the tomatoes, capers, olives and nearly all of the parsley (reserve a few pinches for garnish).  Turn down to simmer, and cook for about 10 minutes, until thick.  If the noodles aren’t ready at this point, just turn off the heat, cover, and then bring it back to a simmer right before you’re ready to use it.
3. Toss the finished sauce with the finished pasta and serve.