how east cranberry & apple cake

this time for cooking club, i got to choose our recipe. and this last trimester has me craving sweets, so i chose ina's "easy cranberry & apple cake."

it's not much of a cake -- more like some kind of cobbler hybrid. but let's not get hung up with the name, because it's delicious so matter what it's called. the two keys to this deliciousness -- orange zest and the yummy cake/muffin batter.

this recipe sealed the deal for me -- i am in love with orange zest. it is so flavorful. a small amount has a most infinite impact. it's amazing. ina has you mix some zest and fresh squeezed orange juice with the granny smith apples and cranberries. it provides a perfect balance to all that tartness -- that a some brown sugar.

second, this delicious batter. if you've ever made ina's blueberry sour cream muffins, this batter tastes so much like that batter. if you have any doubts about how good a batter could taste, please ask little girl. she was my sous chef.

and i had the hardest time keeping her out of the batter -- whether it was in the bowl or already spread over the fruit. i had to smooth out a few holes in my cake several times before getting it into the oven. and every time i moved the pie plate to another location in the kitchen, little girl started moving her chair. (it was really difficult to grab a picture of the process with her determination!) and please -- don't mention to mr. pike that little girl was eating the batter. he doesn't like the thought of eating raw eggs.

when it came out of the oven, little girl and i shared a bowl with vanilla ice cream. we devoured it. and little girl kept signing and saying, "more." (always a good sign of a delicious culinary creation.)

we even saved some for mr. pike when he came home. i got a rushing of praise on a job well done.


a few other thoughts on the recipe . . . my cranberries were frozen. and i didn't defrost them. so, my cake ended up cooking longer. about an hour and 10 minutes. (i think the frozen cranberries were the culprit.)

my cake also dripped over the sides. i don't know if my pie plate was too small -- it's the biggest one i have. so, i recommend placing a piece of tin foil under the plate to catch any spills. (better than cleaning up the mess in your oven, which i have to do now.)

ps- sorry about the pics. maybe one day i'll have a kitchen with good lighting or learn how to take better shots.

the cooking club

i've joined a cooking club this year. and you can too, if you'd like. some of my family has gotten together to try out the barefoot contessa's new cookbook how easy is that?.

my cousin, ms. jenkins, started us off -- picking easy parmesan "risotto" on page 160.

we have until jan. 31 to try the recipe, but i wanted to make sure i got it on the menu sooner than later. especially because i wanted mr. pike to give it a try, and he has a few business trips coming up. so, i made it tonight.

i've never made real risotto -- only a yummy fake. and i'm not sure if this really counts, since ina puts risotto in quotes. unlike the real, more labor intensive risotto where you slowly add broth and stir constantly for an hour or so, this is so easy! you put the rice and broth in a dutch oven and throw it in the oven for 45 minutes.

i followed ina's recipe almost exactly -- i used 1 cup arborio rice and 1/2 cup regular rice (to make my bag of arborio rice go farther). instead of dry wine, i added 1/4 cup lemon juice and an extra 1/4 cup of broth.

this is one of those recipes that makes you look like a culinary rock star without all the effort. i loved the creamy taste and texture. and it's a good base if you wanted to add different ingredients instead of peas.

mr. pike said, "this is a repeat." so, thank you mrs. garten for a winner of a recipe.

(and forgive my poor photography. i'd like to blame it on the terrible lighting in our kitchen, but i know the majority of it is my poor photo skills.)