I’m always trying new recipes I think my grandkids might like.  I made this simple recipe yesterday.  I was skyping with my son Benji who’s in Vietnam right now.  We were discussing all the different recipes he wants me to make when he gets home in a few weeks. I was showing him pictures of the beefaroni I was cooking and he told me that on the night he gets home from Vietnam, he wants that dish waiting for him.

• 1 lb. good chop meat from Whole Foods
• 1 28 oz. can organic crushed tomatoes
• 1 medium to large onion chopped (optional if making for children who don’t like onions)
• about 6-7 garlic cloves chopped
• salt
• pepper
• dried oregano (about 1 teaspoon)
• about 3/4 lb. of macaroni
• parmesan for serving

Saute onion for a few minutes in about 2 tablespoons olive oil till soft.  Add garlic and saute a few minutes. Add chop meat and brown over low flame.  Add salt and pepper and oregano.  Then add tomatoes and pure.  Break up the chunks of tomatoes with the spoon or spatula you are using to mix.  Cook over medium to low flame about 15-20 min. You don’t want to reduce or lose too much of liquid, cause you’ll need it.

Boil your water and cook pasta till al dente.  Drain, and add about 3/4 of the box or pound to the meat sauce.  You’re ready to serve.  If you are serving it later, just heat it up in the microwave, because baking it in oven will dry it out.

This chicken is so easy to make and so delicious!!! And it takes no time at all.  You can use a whole cut up chicken, or just breasts, like I did this time.  I buy my chicken from Whole Foods and it is so fresh and good.

• chicken breasts
• kosher salt, pepper, onion powder (optional), garlic powder, paprika (heaviest on the paprika)

Place chicken breasts on baking pan covered with aluminum foil.  Sprinkle both sides with garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, a little salt,  and lots of paprika.

Drizzle tops of chicken breasts with a little light olive oil.

Roast uncovered at 375 degrees for about 40-45 min. till nicely browned. I use my convection roast setting.  Once or twice during the cooking, take out, and baste with drippings.

This is a great recipe for homemade applesauce.  You will think you’re eating baked apples with cinnamon.   I made this for my son and his friends, and they couldn’t get over how much better it was than eating store-bought applesauce.

• 1 teaspoon good cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (I use Minute Maid lemon juice from concentrate if I don’t have fresh lemons)
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into eighths (or Cortland, Honeycrisp, Winesap) (Reserve some of the apple peels)
• 3  large McIntosh apples, peeled, cored, and cut into eighths (or any of the above varieties)
• Pinch of kosher salt
• 1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Place cut up apples in dutch oven or pyrex baking pan.  Sprinkle apples with the lemon juice, cinnamon, brown sugar, salt, and water.  Add the reserved pieces of apple peel. Mix gently.  Bake for about 45 min.  Mix once or twice during the cooking.  After the 45 minutes, cook a little longer if aren’t soft enough.  When apples are soft enough, take a potato masher just to mash the bigger pieces a little.  There should be a little texture to this apple sauce.  If you wish, you can take out any pieces of apple peel, but they may have pretty much dissolved.  Refrigerate or serve warm.

This is the most perfect Irish soda bread imaginable.  My son Danny’s friends couldn’t get over how great it was.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour (I use organic unbleached flour, preferably King Arthur or Heckers)
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder (I use aluminum free)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, from the fridge is fine
2 eggs (1 extra large for the bread;  the other can be any size egg to be mixed with 1 tablespoon milk, half and half, or light cream for brushing on top of the bread before baking)
3/4 cup buttermilk (I usually use Friendship, which is 1.5%)
1/3 cup raisins (I try to use the most amazing raisins, which I get at Whole Foods (they are Sunview Organically Grown Black Seedless)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking powder, baking  soda, and salt. Cut butter with a knife into cubes, and add to bowl.  Cut in butter with pastry blender until crumbly.  Then take the raisins (if you are using the ones mentioned above, you’ll want to chop them up just a bit because they are larger than normal raisins) and add them to the flour mixture. In a small bowl, combine the one extra large egg with buttermilk and then pour into flour and butter mixture.  Fold the wet ingredients into the flour mixture just until moistened.  Take a piece of waxed or parchment paper and sprinkle a little flour on it.  Dump your dough onto the paper, and sprinkle just about 1 teaspoon of flour on top of it.  Gently knead 1 or 2 times.   Knead on a well-floured surface with just 2 or three motions.  You don’t want to overwork the dough.  Grease a cookie sheet with butter, and take the dough onto the cookie sheet, and shape it into a round loaf about 10 inches in diameter.  With a knife, make a X indentation in the loaf.  Mix the Shape dough into a round loaf; place on a greased baking sheet. Cut a 1/4″-deep cross in the top of the loaf. Brush egg wash over loaf. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes until golden brown.  You will know the loaf is done when you put a toothpick in the middle and it comes out clean.

Serve right out of oven with butter.  Or eat later and heat up in microwave or in toaster.

This was one of my favorite dishes growing up.  I loved it with a passion, and I actually cooked it for the family on the grill.  This was the steak we had at our annual Father’s Day Barbecue when I was growing up.  Those were the best times.  Like my mother said often in the last few years, “Where did the time go?”  Over the years, whenever I made this for my mother, Shirley, she would say, “This is the only food I can eat and eat and eat.” I cooked this often for my kids and for my parents when my kids  were growing up, and at family barbecues.  My father Murray always said that this was the only steak he really liked.  People were always shocked to hear that the steak was london broil, and how simple the marinade was.  I think my mom actually got the recipe for this from our neighbors, Lenore and Arthur Velinsky.

So this past weekend, my son Danny requested that I make this for dinner for his friend Stephanie.  He wanted it to be the standard steak dinner I had growing up and I cooked for my kids all the time:  steak, french fries, salad, and LeSeur peas. I added buttermilk biscuits and homemade chocolate chip ice cream with my homemade hot fudge for dessert to the menu. Then Danny’s other great friend Mindy joined us.  Okay, this steak came out beyond beyond.  It was like butter, and so, so juicy.  Stephanie couldn’t believe it was london broil as she ordinarily hates that cut of steak.

All I can say about the steak is wow.

all you need is:

top round london broil- Look for an oyster cut if you see it. Look for a piece about 1 1/4 in. thick.  I bought this steak at Costco and it was phenomenal!  In the package came 2 steaks, and I made both.

The night before:  Place steak(s) in baking pan.  Pierce all over with fork.  Sprinkle  very lightly with Adolph’s unseasoned Meat Tenderizer.  Pour about 1/2 bottle of original Catalina dressing over the steak(s), and spread over with a spoon to cover- even the sides.  Flip steak(s).  Pierce with fork.  Sprinkle lightly with the Adolph’s.  Pour remaining dressing over steak(s) and spread nicely.  Cover pan with saran and put in fridge.

Next day – Take steaks out of fridge maybe 30-45 min. before you are ready to grill them.  Heat up grill on high.  Place steaks on grill. Here’s where it gets a little tricky.  You want the steaks to form a crust on the bottom, because that’s where the amazing flavor will come from.  I place the cover down on my grill after the steaks are on.  But if there aren’t a lot of flames, you won’t get that crust. There isn’t that much fat in the london broil, so you may not get enough flames.  So this is what I do.  But you have to be careful- and an expert griller to use this technique.  And you have to be an adult to do it.  I take the cap of my bottle of corn oil, and I fill it with oil.  I drizzle some oil on the top of the steaks.  This oil drips down and causes very large flames to form.  Then I put the top down for a few minutes, and repeat if necessary till the bottom of the steak is nicely charred.  I flip the steak and repeat.  Once both sides are charred, using the oil isn’t necessary any more.  Now, I have a really crummy propane grill, but if you have a much better grill, you might not need to use this technique with the oil.

I’m pretty good at being able to tell when my meat is done.  But if you can’t tell, just slice one slice off an end to see how it’s going.  We like our meat medium rare.

When meat is done, take off grill, and place on clean cutting board.  Cover with aluminum foil for about 5-7 min.  Then slice meat sort of on the diagonal about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick using a good knife, depending on how thick you like it.  Place on serving platter and drizzle with juices from cutting board and serve.

for my amazing -not homemade- french fries:

Heat corn or canola (I prefer corn) oil up in a large saucepan- you will need at least 32 oz. of oil.  Watch the oil.  If it gets too hot, it will start to catch fire.  I’m guessing it’s about 350 degrees or so.  Take about 20-24 oz. of Nathan’s Frozen French Fries out of the freezer and place carefully in the hot oil.  I guess alternately you could use a deep fat fryer, which I don’t have and I don’t need.  Cook over medium high heat till crisp and brown- about 20 minutes or so, and wrap in paper towels for a minute.  I just line the serving bowl I’ll be using with paper towels. Then when everything is ready to go on the table to be served, I just dump the fries out of the paper towels into the bowl.  Sprinkle nicely with kosher salt and serve.

My son Danny’s best friend Stephanie stayed with us over the weekend, and I had the best time trying to spoil her with some of my cooking.  Saturday morning was a rare day for me with no work, so I made homemade buttermilk pancakes and bacon. Oh my god! The pancakes were the fluffiest, most tender, perfect buttermilk pancakes I’ve ever made or eaten. I have so many recipes for pancakes, but this one came from America’s Test Kitchen Cookbook.

for the pancakes:

• 2 cups King Arthur Flour unbleached organic flour
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons aluminum free baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 extra large egg
• 2 cups buttermilk (I used Friendship 1 1/2 percent milkfat)
• 3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
• 1 – 2 teaspoons corn oil for the frying

In large mixing bowl, put dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt) and mix with fork to blend.  In large measuring cup, measure buttermilk and break egg in and mix with fork, add slightly cooled melted butter and mix with fork to blend.  Pour wet ingredients into dry and whisk by hand for just a bit till there are still a few lumps in there.  If you feel the batter is too thick- which I did- add 1 or 2 more tablespoons of buttermilk and whisk again.

I use a griddle pan that has a nonstick finish.  Heat the pan up for a couple of minutes- medium flame.  Then brush griddle pan with a small bit of oil.  Take a 1/4 cup measuring cup and use it as your spoon.  I use a scant 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake.  Gently scoop batter into measuring cup and then pour it onto griddle.  Since griddle is already hot, it will only take a minute or two to cook the batter.  You will start to see a few bubbles form on your pancakes.  Turn when beautifully browned on bottom.  Take a peek before you flip- if the underside is not browned, do not turn yet! Let cook till browned before you flip.  Flip and then cook on other side till browned.  For next batch, brush pan again with oil and repeat above instructions.

Serve with butter and the best syrup- Whole Foods brand Organic maple syrup!

for the bacon:

Best bacon:  Stop n Shop’s brand- Nature’s Promise  (no nitrates or nitrites) bacon- it comes in a 12 oz. package

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Place bacon on half sheet pan or slightly smaller pan.  Try not to overlap slices.  Bake for about 20-30 minutes.  We like ours well- done, so that might take a little more time.  Drain on paper towels and keep covered with paper towels to keep warm till pancakes are ready.

It was my daughter’s anniversary today, so I decided to make a yummy dinner for her and her husband (and kids).  For dessert, I decided last night that I’d make a chocolate cake that I’d been eying the recipe for.  It is known as “That Chocolate Cake” and I found it on the Scharffen Berger web site and on Tastespotting. This cake was everything I was looking for, and it was super simple to make.  I believe this recipe is almost exactly the same as the recipe I’ve made for chocolate cupcakes (Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Cake recipe) except that it calls for no vanilla. I followed it pretty much exactly as it appears on the web site listed above, except that I added vanilla.  The finished product was magnificent.  The cake was really dark, moist, but light at the same time.  The icing was bittersweet and creamy, but I prefer to use my own recipe you will find on this site under “Judy’s Famous Birthday Cake.”

Recipe is adapted from the Scharffen Berger recipe – “That Chocolate Cake.”

 for the cake:

butter (for greasing pans)

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (Heckers)
• 3/4 cup SCHARFFEN BERGER Unsweetened Natural Cocoa Powder (I used this brand of cocoa and after tasting the cake, I’m a huge fan of it! But I also use Ghiradelli unsweetened cocoa and it’s great) Sift, then measure
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (I used aluminum free- Rumsford)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 extra large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup  oil (I used sunflower)
• 1 cup whole milk (I used organic)
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 slightly heavy teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• make the cake:

  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter the bottom of  a 9 by 13 inch rectangular pan or two 9-inch round cake pans. I always make the cake in the 9 by 13 pan.

  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or using a hand held mixer or with a whisk, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder, and baking soda, mixing on low speed just to combine. Mix in the eggs, oil, and milk and vanilla.

  Increase the speed to medium and beat for a minute or two, scraping the bottom a few times. Reduce the speed to low and mix in the boiling water. The batter will be soupy, but if you mix it on low for a minute, it will thicken up a little.

  Pour into greased rectangular pan or divide the batter evenly between the 2 round cake pans. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the cake starts to separate from the sides and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

  Remove from the oven and cool on a cooling rack for 30-45  minutes.  Then you can frost.  If using round pans, then run a knife around the edges of the pans turn the layers out onto the rack and cool completely.

Vanilla Frosting:

1 stick salted butter

4 cups sifted first, then measured confectioners sugar

1/4 cup whole milk, plus 1 or 2 extra tablespoons if needed

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 t. kosher salt (or 1/2 t. if using unsalted butter)

Cut 1 room temperature stick (1/4 lb. or 1/2 cup) salted butter (I use land o lakes or Trader Joe’s salted butter for baking) into large Kitchen Aid mixer bowl. Mix for a minute to cream the butter. Then sift 1 box of Confectioner’s sugar and then measure 4 cups – which will NOT be the entire 1 lb. box sugar. Use either the paddle or whisk attachment. Add sugar to mixer bowl. When mixture is still dry, add whole milk- 1/4 cup- and 1/4 teasp. of salt, unless you are using unsalted butter, then add 1/2 teaspoon salt. I usually feel like I need to add another tablespoon of milk and beat frosting a little more so it gets a little lighter.

Dollop the frosting over the whole top of the cake, and then use a small rubber spatula to frost . Cover with plastic wrap, and try not to have the wrap touch the icing.

Chocolate Frosting:

 This is one recipe I used, and it was pretty good,  but I prefer the chocolate icing from Judy’s Famous Birthday Cake  for the frosting which can also be found on this site:

• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar (I used a heavy 1 1/4 cups since I did not use the 99% unsweetened chocolate the original recipe calls for, but totally unsweetened chocolate)
• 1 cup heavy cream (I used organic)
• 5 ounces  (squares) Baker’s unsweetened chocolate
• 8 tablespoons (4 ounces) unsalted butter (I used organic)
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (original recipe calls for 1 teaspoon, but I feel that is too much)
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon  kosher salt (the original recipe does not call for salt)
• Let cake cool completely before you frost it.

• make the frosting:

  In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and cream and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often. Reduce the heat and simmer for 6 minutes, stirring almost constantly.  Turn flame off and add the chocolate.  When almost completely melted, add the butter and stir until melted. Pour into a large bowl and stir in the vanilla. Immediately place in the fridge to start firming up.  Every 15 min. or so, mix the frosting with a rubber spatula and place back in fridge till it’s of spreading consistency.

• to frost the cake- spread evenly over cake and cover with plastic wrap.

  Consider trying this old recipe which follows below for chocolate frosting that was from Aunt Florence! This was actually the frosting mommy (Shirley) used for icing on her 9 by 13 chocolate cake that I loved so much as a young child. I still don’t know what chocolate cake recipe she used- possibly Beverly’s:

1 cup sugar

2 ½ T cornstarch

Dash salt

1 ¼ cup milk

3 sq (3 oz.) unsweetenced baker’s chocolate 

2 T butter

Combine sugar, cornstarch and salt in saucepan. Add milk and choc. Bring mixture to full boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add butter. Stir till butter melts and frosting is smooth. While warm, spread on cake.

or another possible chocolate frosting:

see Judy’s famous birthday cake recipe on this website for our family’s favorite chocolate frosting.

I made a carrot cake yesterday.  It is basically a cross between Ina Garten’s recipe and David Lebovitz’s recipe.  I brought it to school, and some of the teachers asked for the recipe, and anyone who ate it said it was amazing.

ingredients for the cake (basically from Ina Garten)

• • 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar (Ina uses 2 cups)

• • scant 1 1/4  cups vegetable oil (Ina uses 1 1/3 cups but this cake is moist enough without the extra oil.  I used corn oil, but canola would be fine too)

• • 3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature (if cold from fridge, place in bowl of warm water for a few minutes)

• • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• • 2 1/2 cups unbleached flour (you do not need to sift it)

• • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

• • 2 teaspoons baking soda

• • 1 teaspoon baking powder (not in Ina’s recipe)

• • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

• • 1 cup chopped walnuts (I use, but optional)

• • 1 cup raisins (I did not use)

• • 1 pound carrots, grated (I use organic, I peel them, and then grate them in the food processor using the grater attachment)

• 1 8 oz. can Dole crushed pineapple in natural juice, which I lightly drain pretty well (Ina uses 1/2 cup diced fresh pineapple- which I would use, but the crushed in the can is perfectly fine)

ingredients for cream cheese frosting (this is basically from David Lebovitz):

2- 8 oz. packages of regular Philadelphia cream cheese at room temperature

1 – 4 oz stick of salted butter (he uses unsalted)

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (he says a few drops)

about 3 3/4 cups of sifted confectioners sugar (sift first, then measure) (he says 2 to 3cups)

***updated icing (March 2016)- oh my gosh this is amazing and I like it better than my original above)  This has no nuts in the icing!

• 1 stick salted butter (room temperature)
• 1 8oz. package Philadelphia (full fat) cream cheese (room temperature)
• about 2 1/2 – 3 cups confectioners sugar (I didn’t sift as it seemed very fresh and lump free.)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream

directions for the cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9 by 13 pan with butter.  I use the rectangular pan because it’s so easy, but you could make this as a layer cake as well (which Ina does).

Place dry ingredients- flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl and mix with rubber spatula- just to blend everything together.

Beat sugar, oil, and eggs in large mixing bowl of electric mixer with paddle attachment till it becomes light and a little fluffy.  Then  add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed just till blended.  Add crushed pineapple and nuts and mix a few seconds till blended in.  Add carrots, and fold in by hand.  Pour all into greased pan.

Bake about 50-60 min. till toothpick comes out clean and sides of cake are separated from the pan.  Cool on wire rack.

Frost when totally cool.  I like to put the cake in the fridge after it’s cool and get it really cold before I frost it because if the cake is still slightly warm when you frost it, the frosting starts to  melt into the cake.

directions for the frosting:

When cream cheese and butter are totally at room temp (this will prevent lumps in the frosting), put them in large bowl of mixer with the wire whisk attachment if you have it- otherwise use the regular beaters or paddle attachment.  Mix on medium speed till light and fluffy. On very low speed add the sifted confectioners sugar and salt. Gradually raise the speed and blend until lump-free. Add the heavy cream and vanilla and mix till light and fluffy.

Use a rubber spatula to frost the cake.  Even though this makes a ton of icing, I use it all. You will have a nice thick layer of icing on the cake, but that’s what makes the cake.

Note:

I have eliminated the nuts in the cake and used them in the icing.  That’s really good, too.

These days most of my desire to cook revolves around cooking for my daughter and her family, and for my sons Danny and Benji.  My daughter had gone to Whole Foods and she and her family had eaten the shepherd’s pie from the hot food bar.  She told me it was the best thing she’d ever eaten and that I had to make it for her family.  I found a recipe on the Food Network site which looked pretty good.  I made it last week, and everybody loved it, but my daughter said it still wasn’t quite as good as Whole Food’s.  So I made it again this week, and basically added a  little more seasoning.  This time, my daughter said it  was just as good as Whole Food’s version. And my son Danny went totally crazy for it.  Yesterday, watching my two grandsons eating this and loving it was so gratifying.  I was “kvelling” from their reaction!

adapted from Food Network “Mummy Boome’s Traditional Shepherd Pie”

meat filling:

• 2 3/4 lb. 85% chopped meat (I used Nature’s Promise or Whole Food’s grass fed beef)
• 5 organic carrots, small dice
• 3 organic celery stalks, small dice
• 1 large onion, small dice
• 8 garlic cloves, chopped
• kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper
• almost all of a small can of organic tomato paste
• 1/2 cup organic beef broth or stock
• 3 tablespoons organic worcesteshire  sauce (Annie’s)
• 2-3 cups organic frozen peas

mashed potatoes topping:

• • 5 lbs. organic russet, idaho, or yukon gold potatoes
  • 1 1/2 to 2 sticks organic salted butter
  • about 1/2 cup  organic whole milk

• kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Pour a few tablespoons of  organic olive oil (you can find organic extra virgin olive oil at Costco) in large sauté pan.  Add salt and pepper.  Sauté  onion, carrot, celery till soft and just starting to brown.  Add garlic, and sauté a few minutes. Add the tomato paste and mix in.  Add the meat, salt and pepper, and break up with fork as you brown. Add the worcesteshire sauce and the beef broth.  Mix and add the peas.  Taste for seasoning. Transfer meat mixture to large baking dish- at least a 9 x 13 (I have one which is a little larger). Refrigerate.

Make your mashed potatoes.  I peel 5 lbs. and cut them into medium pieces, cover with water and bring to a boil.  Boil over medium heat until soft.  Drain in colander and then put back in pot over low flame for a minute to get rid of excess water in potatoes.  Turn flame off.  Add butter, kosher salt, and a little fresh cracked pepper.  Mash, and start adding the whole milk until nice and fluffy.

Spoon the potatoes over the top of the meat.  You should have a hefty amount of potatoes topping the meat.  Refrigerate until dinner time.  Then preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake for about 35-45 min. until hot.

Note:  If you are not baking this right away, and you don’t have time to make the mashed potatoes right away, refrigerate the meat mixture  until you have your mashed potatoes.  I have refrigerated this for up to a day before I made the potatoes.  When I make the potatoes, I let them cool to warm and then I put them on top of the meat (which is cold from being in the fridge).  Then I put the dish back in the fridge till I’m ready to bake it. If you are baking it right away, then just it won’t matter if the potatoes are still hot when you put them on the meat.