Kids Kids Everywhere!

Taylor helped me make the Orange Buttermilk Cake with Summer Fruit.

Taylor's cake, minus the summer fruit.

We had twelve people in the house this weekend. Not a big deal, however five of them where 3 and under. David's brother Ryan, his wife Christy, and their three kids came for a visit this weekend. Taylor and Morgan thought it was a great treat to have three friends play with them. The new baby is beautiful and so calm. What a blessing!

I made some of David's favorite recipes while they were here. We were able to use the strawberries, lettuce, and rosemary from our garden. David wanted me to put the recipe on the blog for the orange buttermilk cake with summer fruit. I thought I'd add the recipes we made Saturday night too.

Here they are:

Orange-Buttermilk Cake with Summer Fruit
(modified from the June 2008 Cooking Light)

Fruit: (We doubled this)
1 1/2 cups frozen cherries, pitted and halved (original recipe calls for fresh, I didn't have time to pit and half!)

1 cup sliced peaches (Bet you could use canned, if necessary)

1 cup sliced nectarines (We didn't use these-they didn't look good at the grocery store-we just doubled the strawberries)

1 cup sliced strawberries

1/4 cup fresh orange juice

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur


Cake:

Cooking spray

3 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided (about 13 1/2 ounces)

4 teaspoons poppy seeds

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

3 large eggs

1 cup fat-free buttermilk

1/4 cup fresh orange juice (I ran out of orange juice, so I used Grand Marnier mixed with a little water to equal 1/4 cup of liquid.)



1.Preheat oven to 350°.


2. To prepare fruit, combine first 7 ingredients in a large bowl; toss gently. Cover and chill.


3. To prepare cake, coat a 12-cup tube pan with cooking spray, and dust with 2 tablespoons flour.


4. Lightly spoon remaining 3 cups flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, poppy seeds, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Place 1 3/4 cups sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine buttermilk and 1/4 cup juice. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Spoon batter into prepared pan.



Bake at 350° for 43 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.



Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack. Serve with fruit mixture.



Yield: 16 servings (serving size: 1 slice cake and about 1/4 cup fruit mixture)



CALORIES 283 (24% from fat); FAT 7.4g (sat 4g,mono 2g,poly 0.7g); IRON 1.5mg; CHOLESTEROL 55mg; CALCIUM 45mg; CARBOHYDRATE 50g; SODIUM 224mg; PROTEIN 4.9g; FIBER 1.6g





Maple-Balsamic Glazed Pork Chops with Pecans and Ginger (from Big City Cooking)



1 cup maple syrup (the real thing, not Log Cabin or Aunt Jemima)

1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Balsamic Vinegar

1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cups pecans, toasted

4 pork chops, 1 inch thick

Kosher Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Extra-virgin olive oil for brushing pork and apples

2 green apples

1/4 cup finely diced candied ginger



Polenta with Goat Cheese and Rosemary (optional...we served the pork chop on top of the polenta)



Light a medium-hot fire in the grill. In a medium bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, and cinnamon.



Place a small skillet over medium heat. Add the pecans and about 2 tablespoons of the maple mixture, stir gently to coat the nuts, and cook until the nuts are glazed, about 3 minutes. Remove the nuts to a plate and spread them out to cool Chop very coarsley and set aside.



Season the pork chops with salt and pepper and brush with olive oil. Grill for 7-8 minutes per side for medium doneness. About 5 minutes before the chops are fully cooked, begin brushing them with the maple glaze and turning them (if you begin brushing them earlier, the glaze will burn).



While the chops are cooking, core the apples, but do not peel them. Slice them crosswise 1/2 inch thick. (Use an apple corer or slice the apple crosswise and then carefully cut out the core with a paring knife.) LIghtly brush the apple slices with oil, season lightly with salt, and place on the grill. Brush with maple glaze and grill for 2 to 3 minutes per side. They will soften and develop attractive grill marks.



When the chops are cooked, remove them from the grill and allow them to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Just before serving, brush the chops liberallyw ith more maple glaze. Serve with the apples slices and sprinkle with the pecans and ginger. Accompany with Polenta with Goat Cheese and Rosemary, if desired.



Polenta with Goat Cheese and Rosemary

6 cups water

kosher salt

2 cups polenta (stone-ground yellow cornmeal)

6 oz. soft goat cheese, crumbled

1 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary

2 tablespoons butter (optional)

freshly ground black pepper



In a heavy, medium saucepan over high heat, bring the water and 1 teaspoon salt to a boil. Whisk in the polenta in a steady stream. Decrease the ehat to medium and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the polenta begins to thicken,a bout 10 mintues. Stir in the goat cheese and rosemary and continue cooking for another 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the butter, if desired. Season with salt and pepper.



Keep the polenta covered until ready to serve. It will continue to thicken as it sits, so you may want to cook it to a slightly thinner consistency if it will wait more than a few minutes.



Mediterranean Blue Cheese Salad (adapted from Desperation Entertaining)

1/2 cup Sweet Red-Wine Vinaigrette, or more to taste (recipe follows)

1/2 cup walnut pieces, toasted

8 cups salad greens

grape tomatoes

1 1/2 cups seedless grapes

1/3 cups crumbled blue cheese



Make the Sweet Red-Wine Vinaigrette (recipe below).

Divide the lettuce, tomatoes, grapes, walnuts, and blue cheese evenly among the plates.

Just before serving, whisk or shake the vinaigrette to recomginea nd drizzle about 1 tablespon or more over each salad.



Serves 8.



Sweet Red-Wine Vinaigrette

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 Tablespoons sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper



Combine all ingredients. Whisk or shake until sugar and salt have dissolved.

Makes 1 1/2 cups.