Easy cheese danish

I've entered the final countdown (and yes, the song from the Rocky movie keeps playing in my head). Less than 30 days until my new baby arrives and just 17 days of work. The bathroom and laundry room renovations are done with the exception of the glass shower, but that should be installed early next week. Painters finished this morning so I can reassemble the second floor of my house over the next few days. Then I can focus on the baby...

In the meantime, I've got a freezer stocked with a fair number of quick dinners. I still have to throw together a big batch of Bolognese, but that'll be done soon... While stocking my freezer, I found some things I wanted to use up, including a package of puff pastry. These easy cheese danish were a perfect treat. I assembled them the night before and then just popped the baking sheet in the oven in the morning. My husband claims he prefers them to the ones from our favorite local bakery... impressive! Next time, I might try adding a little fruit as well, maybe some raspberry preserves...



Easy Cheese Danish
adapted from Barefoot Contessa at Home by Ina Garten

4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
3 Tbsp.sugar
1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature
2 tablespoons ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, defrosted
1 egg white beaten with a splash of water, for egg wash

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Place the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and cream them together on low speed until smooth. With the mixer still on low, add the egg yolk, ricotta, vanilla, salt, and lemon zest and mix until just combined. Don't whip!

Unfold puff pastry onto a lightly floured board and roll it slightly with a floured rolling pin until it's a 10 by 10-inch square. Cut the sheet into quarters with a sharp knife. Place a heaping tablespoon of cheese filling into the middle of each of the 4 squares. Brush the border of each pastry with egg wash and fold 2 opposite corners to the center, brushing and overlapping the corners of each pastry so they firmly stick together.

Brush the top of the pastries with egg wash. Place the pastries on the prepared sheet pan. Refrigerate the filled Danish for 15 minutes or overnight.

Bake the pastries for about 20 minutes, rotating the pan once during baking, until puffed and brown. Serve warm.

Fresh peach cake

Right now, everything in my home is geared toward getting ready. We're getting ready for the arrival of baby sister - just 6 weeks from tomorrow. So, as you might expect, we're hauling out boxes of clothes from big sister (and chuckling at how tiny everything is), washing clothes, installing car seats, assembling strollers and swings and such... the list goes on. Add to that the fact that we are on week 3 of a major renovation of our master bathroom - which should be done in the next day or two so they can start on the laundry room. Then in 2 weeks the painter arrives. In between, we have house guests every weekend... Getting ready? I'm going to need a 3 month break after all of this!!!

But the change is certainly exciting. My first little girl has made the transition to her big girl bed and she's loving it. She points to her old crib and says "baby sister's" and this weekend she tole me baby sister is her best friend. In my state of pregnancy-hormone overload, I almost cried...

So how to deal with all this chaos? Why not bake a cake? I had a couple of overripe peaches and a couple perfect peaches so this cake was just the thing. Leave a comment with your favorite way to use the season's peaches...



Fresh Peach Cake
adapted from How Easy Is That? by Ina Garten


1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 large, ripe peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and 1 cup of the sugar for 3 to 5 minutes on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, add the eggs, one at a time, then the sour cream and vanilla, and mix until the batter is smooth. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the batter and mix just until combined. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and the cinnamon.

Spread half of the batter evenly in the pan. Top with half of the peaches, then sprinkle with two-thirds of the sugar mixture. Spread the remaining batter on top, arrange the remaining peaches on top, and sprinkle with the remaining sugar mixture and the pecans.

Bake the cake for 45 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Lemon Bars: taste of sunshine

For me, cooking is one of the most enjoyable activities. I love whipping up delicious concoctions in my kitchen. After a long day or week at work, it's a great way to get my mind off things (and my eyes off the computer screen.) To a lot of people, cooking is work and there will always be people who see my time in the kitchen as work - but for me, it's a hobby and one I enjoy and would never willingly give up. Might sound strange to many people - probably not my readers since most of you are foodies like me.

I guess it comes down to the saying, "to each his own". I know people who love running marathons. I don't get it. All that time and training - and all those miles... I'm all for exercising to stay healthy, just like I'm sure marathon runners are all for food to stay nourished, but marathons are to me what The French Laundry cookbook must be to others.

Anyway, I'm rambling. It's my love of cooking that always leads me to seek out new recipes and I was pretty psyched to find this one for lemon bars. In my little kitchen in Fanwood, I was able to bake up a fresh batch of sunshine. That's exactly what each of these sweet, tart bars tastes like: pure sunshine. When was the last time your hobby let you create sunshine?



This recipe is from the Barefoot Contessa cookbook - I followed it exactly (surprising, I know!). I did have to bake mine a bit longer but I think that's just because my oven has a mind of it's own.

Lemon Bars
from the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook



For the crust:

•  1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

For the filling:

• 6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (4 to 6 lemons)
• 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 cup flour
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides. Chill.



Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.

For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.

Cut into triangles and dust with confectioners' sugar.

A Study in White: Coconut Cake

As a blizzard blasts the east, it's no surprise I have white on my mind. Wet snow clings to every tree and just when it appears to slow, another blast of snow falls. The only vehicles on my road today have been plows (and my poor husband leaving for work).  It's supposed to continue into the night, so Jeff will be firing up the snowblower when he gets home. To be sure snow isn't the only white he sees, I decided to whip up Ina Garten's Coconut Cake. Much more comforting than any snowstorm, this cake is flavored with vanilla and almond extracts, as well as plenty of coconut. The cream cheese frosting adds another layer of flavor... and whiteness!

This recipe appears in Barefoot Contessa At Home. Find her original Coconut Cupcakes in her first cookbook. Whether you go for bite-sized or the whole shebang, this is a delicious cake - moist, flavorful and all-around satisfying. Perhaps a mug of hot cocoa on the side...? We shall see...

As you might guess, I made a few modifications. I added a bit more almond extract to the frosting and reduced the butter to 1 1/2 sticks. I also reduced the amount of powdered sugar - I used about 2/3 pound. I added a bit at a time until it got to the consistency and sweetness I like. I had more than enough to frost the cake - I actually had about 1/2 cup leftover. Oh! Watch the cooking time for the cakes. Mine were done after 40 minutes. I'd start with 35 minutes or so and see how they're doing. These cakes are dense so you really don't want them dry (I used dark metal non-stick Calphalon cake pans).

Coconut Cake

From Barefoot Contessa at Home, by Ina Garten

also available on foodnetwork.com

• 3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pans
• 2 cups sugar
• 5 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pans
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup milk
• 4 ounces sweetened shredded coconut

For the frosting:

• 1 pound cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
• 1 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 6 ounces sweetened shredded coconut

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 (9-inch) round cake pans, then line them parchment paper. Grease them again and dust lightly with flour.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until light yellow and fluffy. Crack the eggs into a small bowl. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl once during mixing. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well. The mixture might look curdled; don't be concerned.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the dry ingredients and the milk to the batter in 3 parts, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Fold in the 4 ounces of coconut with a rubber spatula.

Pour the batter evenly into the 2 pans and smooth the top with a knife. Bake in the center of the oven for 45 to 55 minutes, until the tops are browned and a cake tester comes out clean. Cool on a baking rack for 30 minutes, then turn the cakes out onto a baking rack to finish cooling.

For the frosting, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and almond extract on low speed. Add the confectioners' sugar and mix until just smooth (don't whip!).

To assemble, place 1 layer on a flat serving plate, top side down, and spread with frosting. Place the second layer on top, top side up, and frost the top and sides. To decorate the cake, sprinkle the top with coconut and lightly press more coconut onto the sides. Serve at room temperature.