Archive for the ‘Holiday Foods’ Category

My Forever Female Moment

Wednesday, February 14th, 2024

Ginger Rogers and Paul Douglas

I recently found myself feeling like Ginger Rogers for the first (and probably last) time.

My friend Peter shot a video of me making focaccia recently. I hadn’t cooked on camera in several months. I was planning to make a heart-shaped loaf of this simple bread for Valentine’s Day, and I thought we might as well put it on video. We sent it to my friends at Mass Appeal, who aired it the very next day. I guess they had missed me!

When I watched the video, I had my Ginger Rogers moment.

It has been years since I saw the 1953 film Forever Female, but I remember its ending well.

The film is a gentler version of Sunset Boulevard. (No dead bodies!) Rogers plays Beatrice Page, a stage actress who falls in love with a script from a novice playwright (Holden) about a 19-year-old girl and her strong willed mother. Beatrice doesn’t want to play the mother. She has always played ingenues.

The playwright is smitten, and she persuades him to try rewriting the play to make the young woman just a bit older—say, 29. (I can relate. I was 29 for many, many years before jumping to my current official age of 39.)

A true ingenue played by Patricia Crowley wants both the part and the playwright. Holden’s character, Stanley, resists Crowley’s youth until he goes to visit Beatrice at her country home during her summer break from Broadway.

On vacation she lets herself be her age. She doesn’t get her hair styled, she gains a bit of weight, she eschews makeup, and she wears comfortable rather than glamorous clothes. Stanley is appalled to see his beloved looking so … old. (Rogers was in her early 40s when the film was made.)

All’s well that ends well, of course. Crowley is cast in the ingenue role, but thanks to Beatrice’s wise producer (also her ex-husband, played by the ever watchable character actor Paul Douglas) Beatrice shines in the role of the mother and gets rave reviews.

She soon realizes that growing older is not so bad—and that her middle-aged ex is a much more comfortable romantic partner than the younger Stanley.

The film has its flaws. The main one to me is that, true to Hollywood custom at the time, Holden is considered too young for Rogers (he was seven years her junior) but a perfectly appropriate match for Crowley, who was 15 years HIS junior.

Still, the film is kinder to the aging process than Sunset Boulevard. In the end, Beatrice is a heroine to be emulated.

Unfortunately, I felt that I emulated her a bit too much in my focaccia video. Over the past few months, as I tend to do as the weather cools, I have put on weight and let my hair go. So I was a bit appalled when I saw the video. I usually look pretty good on video, particularly when the camera remains above my waist, as I make sure it always does.

I am trying to reconcile myself to the winter me, reminding myself that if Ginger Rogers could let herself grow old, so can I. Nevertheless, the video has made me watch my food intake much more carefully. And I called my hairdresser to arrange to have my hair done soon.

Fortunately, the focaccia was delicious. I recommend this bread highly. Focaccia’s biggest selling point for a busy baker like me is that it is a no-knead bread. It does most of the work all by itself. After one proofs the yeast (which doesn’t take more than five minutes), one throws the dough together and then lets it rise for a couple of hours on its own, partly covered. The dough is a little messy looking at first, but it works out in the end.

After those two hours, one can either bake the bread right away or cover it completely and refrigerate it for several hours or overnight. I prefer the latter method; if you want to bake the bread right away, you’ll need to flour your hands well to keep the dough from being too sticky.

Focaccia’s other major virtue is its mixed consistency. The relatively large amount of water in the recipe helps the bread develop lots of holes, resulting in a chewy, airy loaf. The olive oil used to grease the pan and drizzle on top of the bread helps the top and bottom crisp up, contrasting nicely with the interior.

I bake my focaccia in a cast-iron skillet. If you don’t have a cast-iron skillet, I heartily recommend that you go out and purchase one, The Lodge manufacturing company even pre-seasons its cast-iron products to make them easier to use.

If you don’t have the time or financial resources to get a cast-iron pan, you may of course use a well oiled cake pan or rimmed cookie sheet. Don’t forget to oil the sides as well as the bottom. Your focaccia may lose a little of its crispiness, but any homemade bread is better than none!

Like pizza crust, its thinner cousin, focaccia can be covered with a variety of toppings. My most recent loaf used only two (plus olive oil), aromatic rosemary and colorful Cheddar cheese. It was delicious.

Feel free to experiment with different herbs and cheeses, as well as vegetables and olives. My friend Vicky, who is more artistic than I, likes to use veggies to draw a colorful picture on her loaves. Extra salt crystals on top add zing.

This recipe makes a small loaf (heart shaped for Valentine’s Day, although that’s not obligatory), perfect for four people. The recipe may certainly be doubled. Just be sure to use a big enough pan to accommodate your dough.

Valentine Focaccia

Ingredients:
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon lukewarm water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon active dry yeast (about 1/2 packet of yeast)
2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
extra-virgin olive oil as needed
fresh or dried rosemary to taste (fresh is better)
1/2 to 3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (or the cheese of your choice)

Instructions:

Combine the water and the sugar. Pour the yeast into that mixture. Allow the liquid to sit for 5 to 10 minutes, until the yeast proofs (starts to look fuzzy). This means it is ready to go to work making bread.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour and the salt. Pour in the yeast mixture, along with 1 tablespoon oil. Stir the mixture together.

Partly cover the mixture. Let it sit at room temperature for 2 hours. At the end of the 2 hours, place the dough in a covered container with a tight lid. Refrigerate it for several hours, even overnight. This makes the dough less sticky and easier to handle.

About 1/2 hour before you want to bake your bread, take the dough out of the refrigerator. Generously oil the bottom and sides of a good-size (at least 12 inches wide) cast-iron skillet. If you don’t have a cast-iron skillet, use a round cake pan or rimmed baking sheet, again well oiled.

Place the focaccia in the skillet, shaping it according to your preference. (I used a heart for Valentine’s Day.) It can be relatively thick (say, 2 inches) or thin (around 1 inch), as you desire. Turn it quickly so that the side that was originally down is up and oiled. (You may add a little more oil to the top if you like.)

Decorate the top with rosemary and cheese, pressing them into the dough with your fingers to make sure they won’t fall off the bread. Making little holes in the top with your fingers as you do this also helps the focaccia aerate while baking.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. When it is hot, bake the bread until it begins to brown and is firm to the touch, about 25 minutes. Remove it carefully from the oven (your skillet will be HOT), let it cool briefly, and then enjoy your bread.

Store uneaten focaccia at room temperature. Serves 4.

Here’s the video. Happy Valentine’s Day……….

The Way the Cookie ALMOST Crumbles

Wednesday, December 27th, 2023

It may seem odd to provide a cookie recipe after Christmas, which is the day of days for cookies. If you’re like me, however, you’ll entertain friends and give gifts all the way until New Year’s Day and perhaps until Epiphany. I hope this recipe sweetens the extended season for you and your companions.

I was first served Peppermint Meltaways long ago by a friend. Since then, I have thought about making them—but I never actually got around to it until last week, when I found myself with a huge number of mini-candy canes.

I had ordered them to share at the office but had accidentally ordered two containers of candy canes instead of the one the office needed. I thus faced a surfeit of peppermint.

I recalled that the Meltaways featured crushed candy canes as a topping. I must admit that the recipe didn’t use as many candy canes as I had hoped—but it used some, and the people to whom I served the cookies were very happy indeed. I’m consequently sharing the recipe with you.

I have always adored peppermint, particularly at this time of year. I tried recently to find out why peppermint is so popular at Christmas, but no one (at least no one who inhabited that arcane source of information, the World Wide Web) seemed to know.

I did discover that the first candy canes, in the 19th century, were apparently a solid white confection not flavored with peppermint; the addition of stripes and that special flavoring came in the 20th century.

I also learned that peppermint is an ancient medicinal herb. Its name comes from Greek mythology. According to lore, the god Hades fell in love with a nymph named Minthe.

His wife, Persephone, discovered their affair and in a fit of rage turned poor Minthe into a plant that would grow wild and get trampled underfoot. (Personally, I think Persephone should have taken her wrath out on Hades instead, but I imagine he was a more formidable foe than the poor nymph.)

Hades altered Persephone’s spell slightly. He couldn’t return Minthe to her former form, but he made the plant she had become smell sweet so that people would think well of her.

The best explanation I could find for the popularity of peppermint at this time of year comes from the digital media company known as Tasting Table. An article posted there reminds readers that at this time of year we tend to indulge in an awful lot of food.

Mint aids digestion. Consequently, Tasting Table dubs it “the Official Digestif of the Holiday Season.”

Whether I love peppermint for its digestive properties or just for the way it perks up my palate, it definitely appeals to me. I am despondent if I can’t find peppermint-stick ice cream during the holiday season.

Luckily, in the area in which I live, it is manufactured by a number of ice-cream makers, but I purchase it early in December just in case stores run out later.

I should warn you that these cookies are a bit challenging, so much so that I almost decided to post a completely different recipe this week. As I noted earlier, however, the people who ate them adored them so I went with the original recipe.

The problem, as you can see from the list of ingredients below and the photo above, is that a lot of the Peppermint Meltaway cookie dough is made up of two very crumbly substances, confectioner’s sugar and cornstarch.

In addition, the cookies have no egg to bind them. Even after one chills the dough for an hour, it can be difficult to shape into balls. They really DO need to be shaped into firm balls, however.

I tried just forming a few very delicately, thinking they would be okay once they went into the oven. Unfortunately, those few cookies spread all over the place. If you persist and create firm balls, however, you will be rewarded with delicate cookies that live up to their name by melting in your mouth.

I should think they would be even prettier if one were to tint the icing on top a pretty pink. In the absence of food coloring (mine is hiding somewhere in my pantry), the white icing does just fine. After all, the crushed candy canes provide a welcome hint of color.

Please note that the peppermint flavor in the cookies and the icing comes from peppermint extract, not peppermint oil. If you have only peppermint oil, be aware that it is much more concentrated than the extract so you’ll need only a few drops.

Peppermint Meltaways
(adapted from Land O Lakes)

Ingredients:

for the cookies:
1-1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 cup (2 sticks) sweet butter at room temperature
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

for the icing:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) softened sweet butter
3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar, plus more if needed
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
milk if necessary to stir

for finishing:
crushed candy canes as needed

Instructions:

Begin by making the cookies. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and the cornstarch. Set them aside.

In another mixing bowl, cream together the butter and the confectioner’s sugar. Beat in the extract. Slowly add the flour/cornstarch mixture and blend well. Push down on the dough with your hands to help it hold together. Cover the bowl, and refrigerate the dough for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Form the dough into 1-inch (or slightly larger) balls, pressing each ball gently but firmly to help it stick together. Place the balls 2 inches apart on the baking sheets.

Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges just start to turn brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven, and allow the cookies to cool completely.

When the cookies are cool, beat together the frosting ingredients. Adjust the consistency by adding a little more softened butter, a little more confectioner’s sugar, and/or a little milk to make sure you have a spreadable frosting. Gently spread a little frosting on each cooled cookie.

Top the cookies with a little crushed peppermint. This can be messy because the crushed candy wants to go everywhere except on top of the cookies, but persist. You’ll end up with very pretty cookies. Makes about 30 festive cookies.

A Salsa for Cinco

Wednesday, May 3rd, 2023

I have been celebrating Cinco de Mayo since I was in graduate school in Texas. This holiday commemorates the Mexican victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.

The day is actually more significant culturally here in the United States than it is in most of Mexico. Over the years, it has come to represent a time for celebrating Mexican heritage (and of course Mexican food) in this country.

For some Americans, Cinco de Mayo is primarily a drinking holiday. I’m not much of a drinker, but I am an eater. I like to prepare something Mexican or Tex-Mex on May 5. Sometimes I’m moved to make enchiladas. Other times I’ll just throw together a little guacamole.

This year I’m putting together a salsa based on a recipe from my cousin Mardi. I like to serve it as a sort of salad or side dish; it is satisfying with or without tortilla chips.

The term salsa, as readers may know, means sauce in Spanish. The Aztecs and the Mayans began preparing a type of salsa millennia ago. Their version apparently contained tomatoes, chiles, beans, and squash. The Spanish conquistadores took note of this tasty condiment in the 1500s and gave it its name.

Salsa was not part of mainstream U.S. culture until the mid- to late 20th century. In the 1940s, former college football star David Pace and his wife Margaret opened the first salsa manufacturing plant in Paris, Texas, making what Pace called “picante sauce.” (The Pace company’s salsa is still called this and is still popular.)

I think I would have liked David Pace, who died in 1993 at the age of 79. According to his obituary in “The New York Times,” he was known for more than his picante sauce business, which was sold to Campbell’s after his death for more than $1 billion.

“Mr. Pace also patented an executive chair in 1967 that could be opened flat for taking a nap,” the obituary noted.

My father, who insisted on installing a couch in his office in Rockefeller Center so that he could sleep for a few minutes every afternoon, would have approved. So do I; I have been known to take a cat nap myself.

In the latter part of the 20th century, Mexican foods and salsa in particular found their way into mainstream American cuisine. By the 1980s, salsa was available pretty much everywhere in this country, and in 1991 it surpassed stalwart catsup as Americans’ favorite condiment.

In 1998, it was deemed a vegetable by the U.S. Department of Agriculture so that it could be classified thus in school-lunch programs.

There is much to love in salsa. It’s generally healthy and low in fat yet high in flavor. Unlike ketchup, it is made up of identifiable foods and contains little or no sugar. It’s vegan and tastes fresh even when (as in the salsa below) most of the ingredients come from a can or the freezer.

It is also easy to make at home and infinitely variable. When I think of salsa, tomato comes to mind first and foremost. Nevertheless, I have made salsa by adding cilantro, lime juice, onion, and salt to many different fruits: strawberries, blueberries, peaches, mangoes, and pineapples.

Mardi’s salsa adds a little protein to the mix by mixing in black beans. This type of salsa is often known as confetti salsa. It’s made up of small, discreet, colorful ingredients, just like confetti.

If you try it at home—and I encourage you to do so—think about adding flavors you like or have in the house. Some people throw in part or all of a can of green chiles. Some use a fresh jalapeño or some hot sauce for heat instead of the chipotle. Some eliminate the olives and add more beans. You can’t really go wrong.

One warning: This is the sort of recipe that absolutely depends on individual taste. I started with the amounts I mention in the formula below and then ended up adding quite a bit more cumin, chipotle, and lime juice.

The end product was spicy and citrussy and fabulous. I know not everyone likes spice, however. To employ a phrase I generally dislike but find appropriate when it refers to flavor, “you do you.”

If you don’t get around to making this dish until after May 5, never fear. All of May is National Salsa Month, so designated in 1997 to honor the 50th anniversary of Pace Picante Sauce.

Confetti Salsa

I find that the best way to chop herbs like the cilantro here is to wash and dry them, then place them in a sturdy, narrow container like a juice glass and cut them with clean kitchen shears.

Ingredients:

1 can (15.5 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
1-1/2 cups corn kernels (In summer these would be fresh; at this time of year I put frozen kernels in a colander and let them defrost and drain.)
1 4-ounce can pitted ripe olives, drained and cut into little rounds (If all you can find is a 6-ounce can, either save some olives for another occasion or go ahead and use the whole can.)
at least 25 grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 very small red onion, or part of a larger one, diced
1 handful cilantro, chopped
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
dried chipotle chile powder (Start with 1/4 teaspoon.)
cumin seeds, or ground cumin if that is all you have (Start with 2 teaspoons.)
the juice of 1 to 2 limes (Start with 1 and then add more as needed; I used 1-1/2 most recently.)
1 splash olive oil, plus more as needed
1 avocado, cut into chunks

Instructions:

In a medium bowl, combine the beans, corn, olives, tomatoes, onion pieces, and cilantro. Mix well. Sprinkle the salt, chipotle, and cumin seed on top; then blend in the lime juice and the olive oil. Try the salsa and add more chipotle, cumin, oil, and lime juice to taste.

If you’re eating the salsa soon after you make it, add the avocado chunks along with the other vegetables and fruits. Otherwise, refrigerate the salsa until you’re ready to serve it, and then stir in the avocado. That method avoids discoloration of this delicate fruit.

Serves 4 to 6 as a salad or a small party as a dip.

A Simple Easter (or Passover!) Cake

Friday, April 7th, 2023

Photos by Peter Beck

Holiday cooking is often elaborate. But sometimes it can, and should, be simple.

My friend Peter Beck recently won my heart (as he often does) by sharing a cake that is uncomplicated and relatively healthy … and tastes like spring. If you want something a little dressy but not too gloppy for an Easter dessert, I recommend trying it.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that although this cake contains baking soda, it is still usable for Passover as well, although if you keep kosher you may have to seek out kosher-for-Passover baking soda.

I grew up thinking that leavening agents were forbidden during this eight-day holiday. When the Jews were finally allowed to leave Egypt, according to the Exodus story, they were in such a hurry that their bread didn’t have time to rise. Jews remember this by eating mainly matzo, unleavened bread, at Passover.

Nevertheless, the prohibition is not on leavening agents like baking soda, baking powder, and yeast but actually on the way in which they interact with certain grains, specifically wheat, barley, oats, rye, and spelt. Peter’s almond flour and baking soda are therefore allowable.

Peter didn’t actually design this cake for the spring holidays. He isn’t a baker in general, although I can testify that he is an amazing cook.

He loves to offer a dessert of some kind when he entertains, however. Like me, he lives in Hawley, Massachusetts, which abounds with lovely hills and wildlife but offers absolutely no bakeries. He didn’t want to have to go somewhere to purchase baked goods. He consequently decided to develop a relatively fool-proof cake.

He also liked the idea of a cake that doesn’t have icing. A number of his friends prefer cake to icing, he told me, and he wanted to make them happy. I like icing, but I must admit that I didn’t miss it in this recipe, particularly when Peter dolloped a tiny scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side of each slice of cake.

“I’m also considering a combination of cream and mascarpone,” he told me dreamily. “Just a dollop.”

“I wanted [the recipe] as simple as possible,” he said of the recipe’s development. I looked at almond-flour recipes. The egg holds the cake together and gives it some lift.”

He also liked the idea of having a small cake, he told me. This recipe fills an 8-inch cake pan and serves six with good-sized but not scary servings. The almond flour doesn’t make the final product taste like almond extract (not my favorite flavor), just like cake. And the citrus flavors sing of spring.

Peter told me that he first put the recipe together about a month ago and has made it at least 10 times. (He entertains often!)

“It’s just easy to have on hand,” he elaborated. “It’s nice for tea. One of the things that strikes me as kind of similar but I really think if you can nail it it’s great is a scone. Also, it’s such an easy thing, and people like that you’ve made a cake for them.”

I was flattered by Peter’s assertion that my own go-to desserts, fruit crumbles and cobblers, also inspired him to find a dessert recipe that didn’t entail a lot of fuss.

I firmly believe that every cook needs desserts in his or her repertoire that can be assembled quickly in the late afternoon if one learns that unexpected dinner guests are due. This cake is just such a dessert.

“After baking it one or two times, you’ve pretty much memorized it,” Peter said of his recipe. “You can put it together on the spur of the moment.”

He notes that a completely different tasting, but similar to make, cake may be constructed by substituting 1/2 cup cocoa powder for a third of the almond flour. I may try that for Easter. Or for another occasion.

When I ate it at Peter’s house, his cake was served in honor of the 40th wedding anniversary of other neighbors, Maggie Speier and Roy Lewis. Peter is camera shy so I don’t have a photo of him with his cake, but Maggie and Roy were happy to pose.

If you have no almond flour on hand, that ingredient may be purchased at many supermarkets. Peter tells me that Bob’s Red Mill makes an excellent version of this low-carb flour.

Happy Easter and Passover!

Maggie and Roy

Peter’s Almond Cake

Ingredients:

about 1/2 tablespoon butter for greasing the pan
4 large eggs
1/2 cup local honey
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups finely ground blanched almond flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
any flavor profile that appeals. Peter used 1 teaspoon dried orange peel and 1/2 teaspoon orange oil when he served the cake last week. He also likes to throw in a little Fiori di Sicilia, a lovely mixed-citrus extract.

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease an 8-inch, non-stick cake pan with butter.

In a large bowl, lightly whisk the eggs. One by one, gradually whisk in the honey, the vanilla, the almond flour, the salt, and the baking soda.

Use a spatula to transfer the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake until the cake is fragrant and set, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 22 to 25 minutes.

Cool the cake in the pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes; then invert it onto the cooling rack and let it cool for 20 more minutes before slicing and serving it.

Sprinkle a little confectioner’s sugar on top if you want to. Serves 6 to 8.

Return to Cherry Pudding

Sunday, February 19th, 2023

I actually posted this recipe (well, a slightly different version!) a number of years ago. I’m returning to it because it’s so very satisfying for February (I accidentally almost titled this post “Return to Cheery Pudding”)—and because this year I made a video to show readers how very easy it is. (If you’re following along on the video, however, be kind: I forgot to mention the lemon juice in it!)

Presidents’ Day was placed on the third Monday in February for a reason. That date is always close to the birthday of George Washington on February 22. The day honors all presidents, even the incompetent ones like James Buchanan and the downright dishonest ones like Richard Nixon. But Washington is its star.

Pedants might point out that our first president wasn’t actually born on February 22, 1732, but rather on February 11 as marked on the calendar in use then, the Julian calendar.

The Gregorian calendar was adopted in Britain and its colonies in 1752, and all dates were shifted 11 days to allow the calendar to catch up with the solar year.

Washington himself counted the 22nd as his birthday, however, and I find him an excellent source on this subject.

Some historians believe that Washington was our greatest president. I’m not sure whether I always agree with that assessment. Washington’s ownership of African Americans tarnishes his reputation.

Over his life time he did, however, come to view the institution of slavery as “the only unavoidable subject of regret” he had for the American republic.

Moreover, he arranged to manumit the enslaved people he owned at his home, Mount Vernon, although they were to achieve their freedom only after his widow’s death. He freed only one person during his lifetime. Still, he freed more people than most of his peers among the Founding Fathers.

There’s one way in which he absolutely stands out as a leader. I would argue that Washington’s most celebrated and most impressive achievement as our first president was the grace with which he left the office.

His farewell address from 1796 counseled Americans to remain united against the dangers of partisanship and regionalism. It also argued on behalf of fiscal and international conservatism.

His address was and is a remarkable document. Each year a United States senator reads the address on or near his birthday to the Senate. Senator Tim Kaine of Washington’s home state of Virginia has said, “There’s no other speech that gets that treatment. There’s no other person that gets that treatment.”

Its specialness comes not just from its content, although it is a beautifully crafted document, one the president composed with the help of James Madison and Alexander Hamilton. Its specialness comes from its originality.

Although Washington was exhausted and ready to retire after decades as a soldier and statesman, many of his supporters wanted him to remain in office, to become a quasi-king.

His relinquishment of the presidency underlined the difference between the United States and most of the other nations in the world. It set an example of the peaceful transfer of power that would endure.

One of my favorite numbers in the musical Hamilton is “One Last Time,” in which Washington drafts the farewell address with his loyal friend and aide, Alexander Hamilton. “[I]f we get this right,” Washington sings, “we’re gonna teach ‘em how to say goodbye.” He got it right, and he delivered that lesson to posterity.

(You can see and hear Christopher Jackson and Lin-Manuel Miranda perform this song at the White House here🙂

It is traditional to make something with cherries to honor Washington’s Birthday, and I’m not one to mess with tradition.

Most Americans now know that the story about his chopping down a cherry tree and confessing the deed to his father because he was incapable of lying was almost certainly made up by Washington’s enterprising biographer, Parson Weems.

Nevertheless, the legend is so strong that Americans still associate Washington with cherries. The gift shop at Mount Vernon even sells souvenirs with cherry themes.

The cherry-tree tale is appealing and apt in its way. Washington was known for his honesty and indeed maintained that “the character of an honest man” was “the most envied of all titles.”

The cherry-tree story can thus be viewed as a metaphor for George Washington’s overall character. In an era when our politicians aren’t always strictly truthful, his forthrightness is refreshing.

Besides, I like cherries! And I’m very fond of Washington. When I was a little girl, my grandmother had a statue of him (marble or alabaster or something!) in a niche at the bottom of her staircase in Rutland, Vermont. We were instructed to salute the statue every time we passed it to honor “General George.”

Cherry Pudding

This recipe uses canned cherries because even in Washington’s home state of Virginia one can’t get fresh local cherries in February.

Ingredients:

1 can (14.5 or 15 ounces) tart cherries (NOT cherry pie filling)
the juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup sugar
4 tablespoons sweet butter at room temperature
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
whipped cream as needed
toasted almonds or pecans (or even candied ones) as needed (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Drain the cherries, reserving their liquid. Combine the drained cherries and the lemon juice, and spread this mixture into a well buttered, 8-inch-square pan or a 1-quart casserole dish.

Cream the sugar with the butter. Sift together the flour, the baking powder, the salt, and the cinnamon, and add them to the butter mixture, alternating with the milk; be sure to begin and end with the flour mixture. Stir in the extract.

Use a spatula to spread the batter over the cherries as well as you can. Sprinkle the brown sugar over all. Pour the cherry juice over the top of the batter. Do not stir it in.

At this point your dish will look pretty messy, and you will begin to doubt yourself. Never fear: the magic of baking (or perhaps the inspiration of George Washington) will rescue your pudding. The cake batter will rise to the top and solidify, although there will be sauce at the bottom and the edges of the pan.

Bake the pudding until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean, 45 minutes to an hour. Be careful not to insert the toothpick too far down in the pan, or it will hit the sauce.

When the pudding is done, dish it onto serving plates, making sure each serving has cake, cherries, and juice. Dollop a little whipped cream on the top, and put a few nuts on the cream if you like. (I tend to skip them, but some people want that crunch.) Serves 8.

Watch me make this dish!