Tag Archives: sides

baking, Eating, recipes

Dinner and a show

Phoebe, Genia and I spent most of the evening making dinner: Veggie stir-fry with sesame noodles and baked crab rangoon followed by carrot cake. It was well worth the effort.

Baked Crab Rangoon
8 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese
6 ounces krab meat, minced
1 green onion, including top, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
1 package (48 count) won ton skins
vegetable spray coating 
In medium bowl, combine all ingredients except won ton skins and spray coating; mix until well blended. (To prevent won ton skins from drying out, prepare one or two rangoon at a time.) Place 1 teaspoon filling in center of each won ton skin. Pull bottom corners down and overlap slightly; moisten one corner and press to seal.

Lightly spray baking sheet with vegetable coating. Arrange rangoon on sheet and lightly spray to coat. Bake in 425-degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot with sweet-sour sauce or mustard sauce.

Makes 48 appetizers.

Tom’s birthday was this week, so we tried to find a birthday candle for the cake. We didn’t have one, though, so we took a cue from the sign language interpreter at Rockford’s graduation (fab.u.lous interpretive dance-esque version of “The Star-Spangled Banner, lady. We salute you.) and made like candles as Tom was led to the cake. Trust me, it was a hoot.

The Ultimate Veggie Times Carrot Cake
(with Phoebe’s alterations)


2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 1/4 cups apple sauce
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup sugar
4 ounce carrot baby food
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
3 cups coarsely grated carrots (about 6 carrots)
20-ounce can crushed pineapple, well-drained
Creamy Brown Sugar Frosting
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 2 8-inch round cake pans and line bottoms with parchment or wax paper. Butter paper and dust with flour.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom. Beat oil, both sugars, baby food, ginger and vanilla extract until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each. Add flour mixture in two additions. Add carrots, pineapple and nuts; beat just until blended. Divide batter between cake pans and bake 50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean. Cool cakes in pan on racks 10 minutes. Cut around the edges to loosen with a small knife. Invert cakes onto rack, remove paper and cool completely.

Frost, and enjoy.

Creamy Brown Sugar Frosting
1 1/2 cup whipping cream
8 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Beat cream until soft peaks form; set aside. Combine cream cheese, lemon juice, vanilla and salt; beat until smooth and creamy, 3 to 5 minutes. Fold in whipped cream in three additions. Refrigerate.

As was the follow-up to dinner: A spin through our iTunes collection. Complete with vocalization, hand-holding and, yes, interpretive dance. It was just like the pioneer days. Except we were gathered around the laptop listening to Glen Campbell and the Talking Heads. (Not together, of course. Although that would be awesome.)

Eating

Candied Sweet Potato Casserole

Rockford loves sweet potato casserole. He saw this recipe on America’s Test Kitchen and wanted to give it a shot. He cut the recipe in half and served it as part of a Festival of Sides. Mmmmmm … so good. He thought there was too much cumin, but I thought it was perfect.

Candied Sweet Potato Casserole
Serves six as a side dish.
Sweet Potatoes
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick), cut into 1-inch chunks
2.5 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 teaspoons table salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup water
Pecan Topping
1 cup pecan halves
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg white , lightly beaten
Pinch table salt
Pinch cayenne pepper
Pinch ground cumin

For the Sweet Potatoes: Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the sweet potatoes, brown sugar, salt, pepper, and water; bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook, stirring often, until the sweet potatoes are tender (a paring knife can be slipped into and out of the center of the potatoes with very little resistance), 45 to 60 minutes.

When the sweet potatoes are tender, remove the lid and bring the sauce to a rapid simmer over medium-high heat. Continue to simmer until the sauce has reduced to a glaze, 7 to 10 minutes.

For the Topping: Meanwhile, mix all the ingredients for the topping together in a medium bowl; set aside.

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and beat the oven to 450 degrees. Pour the potato mixture into a 13 by 9-inch baking dish (or a shallow casserole dish of similar size). Spread the topping over the potatoes. Bake until the pecans are toasted and crisp, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve immediately. 7 Points per serving.