Food Lush

'Kay, So...Let's Talk Cheese

Editor's note: For our last week at Food Lush, I've asked the writers to share both a favorite post by another writer, from over the last two years, and a favorite post of their own. You'll see these posts linked to at the top of their new post for the week. Enjoy a stroll down Lush memory lane!

By Erica H.

(Post from the archives that I most wish I had written myself: Tara C.'s funny and informative write-up of Soul Cakes. Post from the archives that I am most pleased to have written: Granny's Lemon Pound Cake.)

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As you know by now, this is a series wrap for me here at Food Lush, which has engendered a certain sense of urgency that I impart the absolute most crucial food-related information to you while I have the chance. Down to the hungry depths of my soul have I searched! And what did I discover there (underneath the layers of garlic and yea, even eggs) but a vast pool of spicy liquid cheese: my molten core of queso.

 

In the interest of making sure that you all can fend for yourselves in my absence, I now present a very important recipe round-up.

Quick and dirty queso for when you only have ten minutes: the classic RoTel/Velveeta combo.

Oh, you have fifteen minutes? Q&D version, slightly enhanced.

Killer, real-deal queso for when you are feeling fancy enough to make a bechamel sauce.

Or just come visit me in Austin, where you can't throw a stick without it ending up in a bowl of the stuff. Seriously, come see me. I already miss you.

School Snack: Chewy Fruit and Nut Squares

By Erica H.

I believe most experts agree that cookies, generally speaking, are not an especially healthy snack option for children (I have not done the research re: adults). But somewhere along the line I became convinced that if you pack indentical ingredients into a bar-shaped package, an aura of wholesomeness will surround the entire enterprise. Bars are healthy! (I blame Big Granola for this particular line of brainwashing.)

Of course, along comes Lorraine Bodger to call me out on this point by titling her cookbook "The Four-Sided Cookie: 55 Recipes for Delicious Squares and Bars." Yes, well. I appreciate your opinion, Ms. Bodger. That will never change the fact that while I would feel a bit irresponsible sending my daughter to school with a bag of Chewy Fruit and Nut Cookies for her classmates, I feel just fine and dandy sending her bearing Chewy Fruit and Nut Squares, thank you very much.

The fact is, it takes only the most superfical analysis of this recipe to see that she has started with a chocolate-chip cookie dough base, added a touch of orange flavor, and mixed in dried fruit and nuts instead of chocolate. It's a bit genius, frankly. You can put anything you want into chocolate chip cookie dough! It's just dough! Sorry, it seems I'm still processing this breakthrough.

At any rate, these are tasty, not too sweet, and will keep you off the list of tragically indulgent cookie-pushers.

Chewy Fruit and Nut Squares from The Four-Sided Cookie by Lorraine Bodger

• 2 1/4 c. flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. light or dark raisins
• 1 c. chopped dried fruit (I used a combination of apricots, prunes, and apples)
• 3/4 c. chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1/2 c. unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. light brown sugar, packed
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. grated orange rind
• 1/4 c. orange juice
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add in the fruit and nuts.

In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and sugars. Add the egg, orange rind, orange juice, and vanilla and beat well. Add the flour mixture and blend well.

Spread batter into prepared pan.

Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, until the edges are browned and a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely before cutting into squares.

And don't worry--the kids will eat them. They are cookies, after all.

My Winter Cuppa: Stash Tea Double Spice Chai

By Erica H.

Welcome back from your holiday comas, everyone! Did we resolve some things? Some food things, perhaps? Hey, new year, new you, I totally get it. Time to wake up and boldly face these gray and dreary days without the unhealthy dietary crutches to which we will probably never, ever return. Fortunately, I have something that will give a little assist regardless of your specific category of newly-sworn-off items. Sugar, dairy, meat, grains, vegetables, no matter what you're avoiding I'm confident that a hit of spices and caffeine in the form of Stash Tea's tasty Double Chai will boost your spirits. Oh, you gave up caffeine? I'm sorry, I can't help you. No one can help you.

Seriously though, this is not a sponsored post, nor am I a chai expert, I just happen to fancy this particular flavor when the weather is brisk. I also happen to fancy its reasonable price tag (I priced an 18-count box at $1.98 at HEB this morning). And you know I'm not kidding around about the seasonality of it because LOOK: I put it in my snowman mug.

The snowman doesn't lie, you guys.

Granny's Lemon Pound Cake

By Erica H.

The lemon pound cake has been such a ubiquitous presence at family holiday meals since I was a kid that I 1) often forget that it's not a staple in every household and 2) am constantly surprised that other versions of pound cake exist. Did you know they make it in chocolate? And caramel apple? There's even a lovely-looking plain version right here in the Food Lush archives. But oh, lemon. The seasonal bounty of winter may get a bad rap, but bright citrus can turn around a gloomy day like no other. Particularly when that bright citrus is shining through an irresponsibly thick layer of butter and sugar.

This is my Granny's favorite cake, and she is 92, so you know she's not messing around.

Lemon Pound Cake

• 1 1/2 c. butter
• 3 c. sugar
• 5 eggs
• 3 c. flour
• 1 c. warm milk
• 1/2 t. baking powder
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1/2 t. lemon extract
• 1/2 t. orange extract

Bring the butter and eggs to room temperature.

Beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. ("Thoroughly" is the original wording, but I would amend it to read "to an extent that feels excessive." Really, really beat them.)

Sift flour and add alternatly with milk.

Mix in baking powder vanilla, and orange and lemon extracts.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes at 350 degrees in tube or bundt pan. DO NOT PREHEAT OVEN.

Coat warm cake with Lemon Glaze.

Lemon Glaze

• 3 T. milk
• 3 T. butter
• 2 c. sifted confectioner's sugar
• 3 T. lemon juice
• 1 T. grated lemon zest

Heat milk and butter until butter melts. Pour over sugar and stirt until smooth. Add lemon juice and zest and blend well.

Of course, you don't have to glaze it. (I definitely think you should glaze it.) And by no means do you have to confine the finished product to dessert. There have been many slices of toasted pound cake on our breakfast table throughout the years. You could even use two slices to make a fried ham and cheese sandwich like some demented Monte Cristo, though clearly you'd have to be a madman to attempt it.

(All photo credit mine, all pound cake credit my mother's.)

Citrus Champagne Punch: The Perfect Holiday Cocktail

By Erica H.

Last night was my moms group's annual cookie exchange, which was delightful in a cookie-sense but dare I say revolutionary in the beverage-accompaniment-sense. (I definitely dare! What are you going to do, COMMENT AT ME? I'd like to see you try!)

Ahem, as I was saying. Cookies are great! Look at them!

Seasonal and buttery and delicious. But around halfway through a giant plate full of cookies, you start to cast about for something to cut through all the sugar-lumps. I can't say I wasn't wary approaching a bowl full of "champagne punch," as it conjured up visions of the very syrupy sweetness I was looking to counteract. But I was impressed...nay...overjoyed at what I encountered.

This Citrus Champagne Punch from Emeril Lagasse (brilliantly mixed by party hostess Lori) tastes like lemons and bubbles and sparkly dresses and twinkling lights. It is also, you should know, quite strong. HOLIDAY-LEVEL strong. I absolutely recommend it for Christmas, New Year's, and next Tuesday night.

Party Food: Chicken Taco Bites

By Erica H.

Welcome to December, aka Party Season! Are you ready? Are you ready for the cocktails and the decorations and the music and the this-outfit-was-really-cute-before-I-started-eating-my-way-though-Party-Season? And most importantly, the beautiful, terrible outfit-tighteners themselves, tiny bites of food that taste like regular meals but are way more adorable? Good. Because I'm going to help you out with that last one right now.

For my contribution to Book Club last Saturday I followed the basic structure of these Chipotle Chicken Tostada Bites from Apple A Day, but easied it up a bit by using store-bought guacamole and throwing some taco chicken in the slow cooker (2.5 lbs chicken + jar of salsa + packet of taco seasoning + 6-8 hours). These adjustments were in order to 1) save time and 2) create a bunch of leftover taco chicken, respectively. Success on both counts!

These were very easy to put together and taste like wee bites of Tex-Mex happiness. If you are feeling less lazy than myself you could always throw together Elsha's guacamole and Elisabeth's taco seasoning, and if you want an alternative slow cooker chicken flavor, Sarah has had good luck with green chile enchilada sauce.

A couple of caveats. As noted in the original recipe, these will get soggy pretty quick, so assembly needs to be last-minute. (Though slightly dispiriting in terms of presenation to the public, this sogginess will certainly not prevent certain motivated individuals from going after the leftovers with a fork the next morning.) And while delicious, the shredded chicken might look vaguely like very classy cat food. A jaunty cap o' cilantro leaf helps provide cover and doubles as a way to ferret out weirdo cilantro-haters. Everybody wins!

A Molasses Cake That Does Not Mess Around

By Erica H.

I'm letting you know up front that the contents of this post are not for the faint of heart nor the delicate of digestion. If you showed up here the Monday after Thanksgiving thinking "Erica, I led a gustatory attack on last Thursday worthy of a true patriot and now I would like a recipe for some water with lemon and cucumber slices in it," I want you to turn back now. The few bold adventurers remaining, follow me.

The Dark and Damp Molasses Cake from The Kitchn keeps its promise of unparalleled molassesness and how. If you emerged from the recent holiday ready to hurl yourself face first into the next one, I cannot recommend a richer, more interesting, better-textured way to embrace the deep dark of winter than this bold slab of goodness.

If you like a cake that's dense, fudgy, and incredibly satisfying, say hello to your destiny.

My Top Ten Bloody Mary Garnishes

By Erica H.

I've posted about okra in this space before, but neglected to include it in its most appealing form: pickled and floating in an icy bath of tomato juice and liquor. In honor of my recent trip to New Orleans, a city that truly appreciates the restorative qualities of this spicy red hair of the dog, here (in no particular order) are ten tasty extras that are welcome in my next Bloody Mary.

1. Celery
2. Olive
3. Hot sauce
4. Pickled green bean
5. Pickled okra
6. Pickled tiny corn-on-the-cob, if there is such a thing
7. Pickle
8. Ginormous straw (hello, Hash House!)
9. Cracked pepper
10. Extra shot of vodka

What is your favorite Bloody Mary garnish?

Austin: Quality Seafood

By Erica H.

There are many things to like about Quality Seafood Market in Austin, not the least of which is its name. Like the almost warehouse-ian exterior and the basic, fresh-Gulf-fish-centered menu, the moniker is direct and pleasantly lacking in frills. "Good things here," it says simply. "We're not bragging, we're just letting you know how it is."

Here are a few other things to like: nicely-cooked fish, excellent shrimp, and a friendly, easygoing atmosphere. Not to mention the adjoining seafood market, which has some of the best prices in town if you ever find yourself inspired to dispatch some live crustaceans. (Also of note: the employees there are too professional to mock you for showing up with an excessively large cooler, asking ridiculous questions, and making horrified expressions as you make your selection.)

I recently tried out their fish tacos, which achieve a good balance of fish and slaw and come with a choice of nicely spicy sauces. I'm going to let you in on the secret combinations that worked for me: Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A flour tortilla + blackened mahi mahi + avocado pico de gallo, flour tortilla + fried catfish + verde cream sauce (+ Live Oak Amber draft).

Unfortunately, not all of the sides are worth writing home about. The fried okra is a little gummy and too thickly battered, and the garden salad is of the watery icebergian variety. The "macaroni" and cheese is actually spaghetti with cheese sauce, which may throw you off if you're expecting something more traditional, but comes highly recommended by my three-year-old. But these things are easily overlooked if you're a landlocked Central Texan with a hankering for fresh seafood, well-prepared.

Three New Ways to Use Garlic

By Erica H.

Okay everyone, time to get serious about this Halloween thing. Soon the hordes of wee ghosts and ghouls will come knocking on your door, and...I can't help you with that, although I find that they generally respond well to name-brand candy bars. What I can help you with is generating some top-notch vampire-repellant this season. You can't be too safe! Here are three strategies beyond my general advice to always triple the amount of garlic called for in any given recipe.

1. Add a layer of roasted garlic to pizza. (Or sandwiches, bagels, burritos, donuts, etc.) I got this idea from Sugar Cooking's recipe for Roasted Garlic Chicken Pesto Pizza. Just roast a whole head of garlic:

Smush it up:

Spread it all over any surface that could use a deliciousness upgrade.

2. Mix garlic with salt and Greek yogurt for an intense and unusual condiment.

That dollop above is decorating some skillet-baked eggs with spinach and spiced butter, though I imagine it would enhance any number of egg dishes. Or even non-egg dishes, if you're into that sort of thing.

3. Soooooooooooooooup!

Smitten Kitchen's 44-clove garlic soup proves that garlic can hold its own as the star of the meal. I should note that when I described this recipe a couple of years ago, I was concerned that it was "not garlicky enough by a long shot." That probably makes it perfect as is for the average person, but if you have a palate like mine and/or live in a high-traffic area for vampires, you might want to follow my "joking" recommendation to, you know..triple it.