Wednesday Recipes

Here are today's six recipes to help you through the day. Enjoy!

BUCKWHEAT BERRY STRIPED CAKE

This is from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “A combination of buckwheat and whole wheat flour gives this deeply buttery cake a character that is nutty, rich and complex, while a little almond flour adds tenderness. Baking it in a shallow tart pan instead of a cake pan allows the colorful berries to rest on top of the batter rather than sink to the bottom. It’s prettiest in a 10-inch tart pan, where the pattern will be at its most striking. But if you don’t have one, a 9-inch pan also works. We arranged the berries into stripes here, but feel free to create any design you like. Serve this on the same day as you bake it, preferably within 6 hours of baking. It doesn’t keep well overnight.” Yield: 10 servings; Time: 45 minutes.

This was featured in “The Trick to Keeping Berry Cake Beautiful” and can be viewed by clicking here.

Ingredients

1/3 cup almond flour

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup buckwheat flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 stick butter, softened, more for buttering pan

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg

1/4 cup buttermilk, sour cream or whole milk yogurt

1 cup mixed berries, such as strawberries, blueberries or raspberries, more as needed

1 tablespoon turbinado (or use granulated sugar)

Confectioners’ sugar, for serving

Whipped cream or crème fraîche (optional)

Preparation

Heat oven to 375 degrees and butter a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Line the bottom with a round of parchment, and butter that as well.

In a large bowl, whisk together almond, all-purpose, whole wheat and buckwheat flours, baking powder and salt.

Using an electric mixer, beat together butter, sugar and vanilla extract until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Beat in buttermilk. (The mixture will look curdled, and that’s O.K.) Stir in flour mixture until just combined.

Scrape batter into prepared pan, smoothing and leveling the top. Place berries on top of batter and sprinkle with turbinado or granulated sugar.

Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool to room temperature on a wire rack and unmold. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar and serve, with whipped cream if you like.

KOREAN MEATBALLS AND NOODLES

This comes from Florence Fabricant, also in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Florence wrote, “This kalbi meatball recipe, adapted from the cookbook “Koreatown,” is easy and quick enough to consider for midweek dinner. It offers the sweetly peppered, slightly funky flavors typical of many Korean dishes, and gives new personality to everyday spaghetti and meatballs. My favorite utensil for making ground meat mixtures, by the way, is an old-fashioned potato masher. The book suggests wrapping the meatballs in lettuce, but I tossed them with noodles in a sauce that exploited the brown bits left in the cooking of the meatballs.” Yield: 4 servings; Time: 45 minutes.

This was featured in “A Second Look at Washington Syrah” and can be viewed online by clicking here.

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef, preferably short rib and chuck

1 1/2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1/3 cup chopped peeled Bosc or Asian pear

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/2 tablespoon grated ginger

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 large egg, beaten

1/3 cup dry bread crumbs, preferably whole wheat

6 ounces udon noodles or linguine

2 tablespoons gochujang, or ketchup seasoned with 1 teaspoon hot sauce

3 scallions, trimmed and slant-cut

Preparation

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Place beef in a bowl.

Combine honey, black pepper, sesame oil, vinegar, pear, onion, ginger, soy sauce and half the garlic in a food processor or blender and whirl until well blended. Mix with beef. Add egg and bread crumbs and mix again. Form into 1 1/2-inch balls and arrange on the baking sheet with a bit of space between them. Place in the oven and bake 20 minutes.

While meatballs bake, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add noodles and boil 5 minutes for udon, about 8 minutes for linguine. Reserve 2/3 cup of the pasta water, then drain pasta.

When meatballs are done, transfer them to a bowl and scrape pan juices into a sauté pan. Heat on medium, add remaining garlic and cook briefly until it starts to color. Whisk in gochujang, then pasta water. Simmer about 3 minutes, until sauce reduces and starts to thicken. Reduce heat to low, add noodles and toss in sauce. Add meatballs and mix gently. Transfer to a warm serving dish or individual bowls, scatter with scallions and serve.

BISTRO ONION BURGERS

This comes from FamilyTime, and starts off, “Are you looking for a quick and easy dinner that everyone will love? Try these burgers that use dry onion soup mix to add a savory touch.” Serves: 6; Prep Time: 5 minutes; Cook Time: 10 minutes

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 1/2 lb. ground beef

1 envelope (about 1 oz.) dry onion soup & recipe mix

3 Tbsp. water

6 Pepperidge Farm® Farmhouse™ Premium White Rolls with Sesame Seeds, split and toasted

lettuce leaves

tomato slices

Directions

Thoroughly mix the beef, soup mix and water. Shape the beef mixture into 6 (1/2-inch thick) burgers.

Cook the burgers in batches in a 10-inch skillett over medium-high heat until well browned on both sides, 10 minutes for medium or to desired doneness.

Serve the burgers on the rolls. Top with the lettuce and tomato.

ULTIMATE CHOCOLATE LAYER CAKE

Kathy Kingsley is About.com's American Food guide. She writes, “This luscious chocolate layer cake with dark chocolate frosting is an irresistible temptation. It's the perfect cake to make for a birthday celebration or dinner party. The cake layers can be made ahead, wrapped well and refrigerated up to 3 days or frozen up to 3 months.”

Prep Time: 45 minutes; Cook Time: 35 minutes; Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes; Yield: Serves 8 to 10

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 cup boiling water

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature

2 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

2 cups all-purpose flour

Chocolate Frosting

3 cups confectioners sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup (1/2 stick) butter, at room temperature

3 to 4 tablespoons heavy cream

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans.

In a small bowl, mix the cocoa and boiling water until blended and smooth.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time and beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and salt.

Stir the baking soda into the buttermilk. Alternately add the buttermilk and flour to the batter, beating well after each addition until all is combined. Beat in the cocoa mixture until blended. Increase the mixer speed to high and beat for 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of bowl and beater a few times. Divide the batter between the prepared pans and spread evenly.

Bake until the cakes pull away from the sides of the pans and a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Set the cakes in the pans on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Turn the cakes out onto the racks. Turn right side up and cool to room temperature.

Make the frosting: In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and cocoa until blended. In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Add 1 cup of the cocoa mixture and 1 tablespoon of the cream until blended. Repeat adding the cocoa mixture and cream until all is combined, and frosting is smooth and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and additional cream if necessary for desired consistency.

To assemble the cake: Trim the top of the cake layers with a long serrated knife, cutting off any raised areas. Place 1 cake layer on serving plate. Spread with 1 cup of frosting. Top with a second cake layer. Frost the sides and top with the remaining frosting.

Store the cake at cool room temperature until serving time; then refrigerate loosely covered up to 2 days.

RISOTTO

Yield: 4 side-dish servings

Source: "Light and Easy Diabetes Cuisine" by Betty Marks

Info: http://diabeticgourmet.com/book_archive/details/24.shtml

Ingredients

2 teaspoons virgin olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 cup Italian Arborio rice

2 cups Vegetable stock

1/4 teaspoon salt

Pepper to taste

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Directions

In a medium-size non-stick saucepan, heat oil and saute onion until tender. Add rice and cook, stirring, 2 to 3 minutes. Add stock and salt. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Turn rice into a warm dish and season with pepper. Garnish with cheese.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (1/4 of recipe): Calories: 136, Cholesterol: 1 mg, Carbohydrate: 26 g, Protein: 3 g, Sodium: 107 mg, Fat: 2 g; Diabetic Exchanges: 2 Starch/Bread

GRILLED EGGPLANT INVOLTINI

This is from the March 2012 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 52. It begins, “Grilled eggplant slices have a cutlet texture that’s sturdy enough to stand up to sauces, toppings, and fillings. Here, they are rolled around a tomato-and-olive filling for a veg version of a classic Italian beef recipe.” Serves 4 in 30 minutes or less.

To view this online, click here.

2 large eggplant, 1 peeled and diced (3 cups), 1 cut into 8 slices, divided

3 tomatoes, halved and seeded

1 medium onion, diced (1 1/2 cups)

6 Tbs. olive oil, divided

4 cloves garlic, minced (4 tsp.)

1/4 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained

1/4 cup chopped basil leaves, plus more for garnish

1/4 cup kalamata olives

3 Tbs. capers, drained

2 Tbs. chopped parsley

2 Tbs. nutritional yeast

2 cups prepared tomato sauce

Preheat oven to 375°F. Toss together diced eggplant, tomatoes, onion, 3 Tbs. olive oil, and garlic in bowl. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Spread on baking sheet, and roast 25 minutes, or until vegetables are browned and tender. Transfer to food processor, and add sun-dried tomatoes, basil, olives, capers, parsley, and nutritional yeast; process until chunky-smooth. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Heat remaining 3 Tbs. oil in grill pan over medium-high heat. Cook eggplant slices on grill pan 3 minutes per side, or until tender. Cool.

Coat 13- x 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Spoon 1/4 cup roasted vegetables onto edge of each grilled eggplant slice. Roll eggplant slices into logs, and place seam-side-down in prepared baking dish. Spoon tomato sauce over eggplant rolls in dish. Bake 10 minutes, or until tomato sauce is hot and bubbly. Garnish with basil leaves.

nutritional information Per 2 rolls: Calories: 380; Protein: 9 g; Total Fat: 25 g; Saturated Fat: 3 g; Carbohydrates: 39 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 990 mg; Fiber: 16 g; Sugar: 17 g; Vegan; Gluten-Free