Tasty Recipes from Recipe Wizards

Q: I recently encountered an ingredient I’d never heard of, vanilla paste, in a recipe. I am 74 and so have been cooking for a long, long time. What is this and do you make it or buy it?

-Ginnie P.

A: Vanilla paste has indeed started popping up in recipes. I found it in an enticing new cookbook, “Southern Living’s Classic Southern Desserts” (Oxmoor, $29.95). It’s not a new ingredient, and it’s not really a paste, either – it pours, like syrup, and is speckled with flecks of vanilla bean. You use it when you want the vanilla flavor to shine. I tried it in Southern Living’s strawberry tart, and it made a believer of me.

Vanilla paste is a little pricier than supermarket vanilla, but is comparable to what you’d pay for premium extract.

STRAWBERRY TART PASTRY

4 ounces (1/2 brick) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups flour

CUSTARD

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

2 cups half-and-half

4 egg yolks

3 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste (or vanilla extract)

1 quart fresh strawberries, sliced

Beat the cream cheese, butter, sugar and salt at medium speed with an Electric mixer until creamy. Add flour and beat at low speed until a dough forms. Shape into a disk, cover and chill 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and sprinkle with flour. Roll between 2 sheets of plastic wrap to a 1/8-inch thickness. Wrap dough around a rolling pin, separating it from the bottom piece of plastic as you roll. Place over a 9-inch tart pan and unroll. Remove plastic wrap on top. Press dough onto bottom and up sides of the pan. Gently roll or press rolling pin against edges of pan to remove excess dough. Line with parchment paper, fill with pie weights or dried beans and bake 17 minutes. Remove weights and parchment paper and bake 5 more minutes, until lightly browned.

Combine the 1/2 cup sugar with the cornstarch in a heavy saucepan. Whisk half-and-half with egg yolks and gradually whisk into sugar mixture in saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and cook, whisking constantly, 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla bean paste. Place plastic wrap directly on filling to prevent film from forming and let stand 30 minutes, until set.

Spoon custard into prepared tart shell. Cover and chill 1 hour, until chilled. Top with strawberry slices and serve. Makes 8 servings.

Source: Adapted from “Southern Living’s Classic Southern Desserts” (Oxmoor, $29.95).

Per serving: 227 calories (65 percent from fat), 16.5 g fat (10 g saturated, 4.2 g monounsaturated), 46 mg cholesterol, 2.9 g protein, 17.1 g carbohydrates, 0.5 g fiber, 200 mg sodium.

BEER-CHEESE BREAD

J.S.B. of Kendall, Fla., asked for a recipe for “one of the best things I tasted” at a potluck supper, a Swiss cheese bread made with beer. Several readers shared suggestions that I’ve incorporated in the recipe here, from Sue Richardson of Wilson, Pa. The bread is a delicious variation on the old stand-by three-ingredient beer bread recipe.

BEER-CHEESE QUICK BREAD

Self-rising flour may be substituted for the flour, baking powder and salt. Any beer works, but a darker one stands up best to the cheese flavor.

3 cups flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

1 cup shredded Swiss, Cheddar or other strong-flavored cheese

1/4 cup chopped bell or jalapeno pepper or ripe tomato (optional)

1 teaspoon dried basil, sage, Italian seasoning or mustard (optional)

1 (12-ounce) can or bottle beer

2 tablespoons melted butter

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a bowl. Add the cheese, pepper and seasoning. Pour the beer on top and mix thoroughly. Pour batter into a greased 9-inch metal loaf pan. Drizzle melted butter on top. Bake about 1 hour, or until golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan. Serve warm. Makes 12 slices.

Per serving: 190 calories (26 percent from fat), 5.4 g fat (3.3 g saturated, 1.4 g monounsaturated), 15 mg cholesterol, 5.7 g protein, 27.3 g carbohydrates, 389 g fiber, 0.8 mg sodium.

Q: Many years ago I used a recipe of your column for a Middle Eastern-style coleslaw. It was delicious and different. I’m hoping you remember it.

-Jane

A: The recipe is one I’m very happy to be reminded of, since it is so deliciously different and so happily mayonnaise free. It was contributed in 1990 by a Key Biscayne, Fla., reader of Lebanese descent. Back then it wasn’t always easy to find fresh mint, but now that it is readily available I used a whole bunch in place of the dried mint called for in the original recipe.

LEBANESE COLESLAW

1 large head of cabbage (about 1 1/2 pounds)

2 medium-size ripe tomatoes

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup wine vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon dried mint

Shred the cabbage finely. Cut the tomatoes into small dice and remove seeds. Crush the garlic with the salt, then mix with the vinegar and oil. Toss the dressing with the cabbage; add tomato and toss again. Sprinkle with dried mint. Makes about 6 cups, 12 servings.

Per serving: 61 calories (66 percent from fat), 4.6 g fat (0.6 g saturated, 3.3 g monounsaturated), 0 cholesterol, 1 g protein, 4.3 g carbohydrates, 1.7 g fiber, 109 mg sodium.

SLEUTH’S CORNER

Q: My father-in-law still misses Nabisco Crown Pilot chowder crackers. I know from a Web search that they disappeared, reappeared, then disappeared again. Does anyone have a recipe for something similar?

(Contact Linda Cicero: lcicero(AT)MiamiHerald.com)

With berries coming back into season, this is a quick and easy spring dessert. Just fold premade pie crust around the filling and pop it into the oven.

This tart also travels well – the recipe is from Kelli Oakley and Jayna Oakley, who have written two tailgating cookbooks, “Kentucky Talegating” and “Kentucky Talegating II.”

Other fruits such as apples or apricots can be used instead – peel and slice as needed before combining with the other filling ingredients.
Rustic berry tart

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Serves 6-8

Note: Prep time does not include time to soften the premade pie crust or the cooling time after tart is baked.

INGREDIENTS

1 sheet refrigerated pie crust, softened as directed on box

4 cups fresh berries (raspberries, blueberries, blackberries or a mix), rinsed and picked over

1/4 cup granulated sugar, or more to taste

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Pinch of salt

1 whole large egg, beaten

1 tablespoon water

Granulated sugar for sprinkling

Whipped cream for serving, optional

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line large cookie sheet with cooking parchment paper. Unroll pie crust onto cookie sheet.

In small bowl, toss berries with sugar, flour, lemon zest and salt. If too tart, add as much as 2 more tablespoons sugar.

Spoon filling mixture onto center of crust within 2 inches of edge. Carefully fold 2-inch edge of crust over filling, pleating crust slightly as necessary.

In small bowl, beat egg and water; brush over edge of crust. Sprinkle sugar over crust edge.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cool 15 minutes. Cut into wedges; serve warm.

Dear SOS: Would you furnish us with a recipe for the delicious zucchini tea cake served at Huckleberry’s in Santa Monica? I know by taste it is not low in fat, but I was told it was baked with only the whites of eggs. It will soon be the season for an abundant crop of summer squash at outdoor markets. Thank you.

-Alice Mitchell, Santa Monica, Calif.

Dear Alice: We loved the combination of flavors and the rich, dense texture of this tea cake. We liked it best served warm out of the oven. And as delicious as it is, it is remarkably low in fat. We tested the tea cake using a common metal (8 1/2 -inch x 4 1/2 -inch x 2 1/2 -inch) loaf pan; the restaurant uses a slightly different pan. When we tested the recipe with a glass pan and in other sizes, it didn’t work as well. Be aware that the loaf will settle as it cools (it may puff a bit while baking and deflate as it sits); test for doneness by piercing the center of the loaf with a knife – if it comes out clean, the cake is done.

ZUCCHINI TEA CAKE

Total time: 1 hour, 45 minutes

Servings: 8 to 10

Note: Adapted from Huckleberry Cafe.

2 egg whites

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Zest of 1 orange

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup sugar, plus 1 1/2 teaspoons for topping the tea cake

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup (4.25 ounces) flour

1 cup shredded zucchini

3/4 cup toasted walnuts

1. Heat the oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the egg whites, vanilla extract, orange zest and vegetable oil, and whisk just to combine.

2. Whisk in 3/4 cup sugar and the salt just to combine.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and flour. Gently whisk the dry ingredients into the egg white mixture just until combined. Fold in the zucchini and walnuts.

4. Grease an 81/2-inch by 41/2-inch by 21/2-inch metal loaf pan. Line the pan with parchment paper and grease the paper. Pour the batter into the pan.

5. Lightly sprinkle the top of the batter with the remaining 11/2 teaspoons sugar.

6. Bake until the cake is set (it will spring back when gently touched on top, and a knife inserted will come out clean), about 1 to 11/2 hours; ours typically set after 1 hour and 15 minutes, though this can vary by pan and heat of the oven.

7. Cool the loaf for a few minutes on a rack, then remove from the baking dish and cool completely on the rack.

Each of 10 servings: 264 calories; 3 grams protein; 27 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram fiber; 17 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 cholesterol; 16 grams sugar; 279 mg. sodium.

Prep time: 50 minutes

Cook time: 45 minutes

Makes 8 large puffs

Note: The filling is for 4 puffs – 2 each for a romantic dessert. You can also fill puffs with your favorite flavor of ice cream or custard. Extra cream puffs may be frozen in freezer bags, once completely cooled, for up to one month.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup water

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut in small pieces

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/8 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup flour (preferably bread flour, but all-purpose will work)

4 eggs, divided use

Filling for 4 puffs

1 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons powdered sugar, divided use

1/2 cup fresh raspberries

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. If you have a baking or pizza stone, place it on lowest rack.

Warm eggs in a bowl of hot tap water. In medium saucepan, combine water, butter, salt and sugar, and bring to a full boil. Remove from heat, add vanilla, then add flour all at once, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon to quickly form a ball.

Return the pan to medium heat and continue stirring, pressing the dough against the side of the pan and gathering it up into a ball. This dries out the dough so that it can better absorb the eggs. Stir constantly, not letting the dough scorch, for 1 to 2 minutes.

Place dough in bowl of stand mixer and set aside.

In small bowl, lightly beat three of the warmed eggs. Separate the fourth egg, placing the white in a small dish and beating lightly. Save or discard the yolk.

With mixer on low, gradually add the beaten eggs in three increments, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more. Increase mixer speed to medium until eggs are thoroughly incorporated.

Stop mixer and test the dough by placing a spoonful on a plate; it should be supple enough to hold its shape, but not pasty. If it’s still stiff, beat in the egg white. If it looks very soft, proceed to shaping the puffs.

On a baking sheet covered with parchment paper or coated with cooking spray, place large spoonfuls of dough at least 2 inches apart. You should end up with about 8 dollops for large puffs.

Using a plant spritzer (a clean one!), lightly spray each puff once with water. This will keep them moist longer so they’ll puff as much as possible before firming up.

Place the baking sheet directly on pizza stone or on bottom rack. Reduce oven temperature to 425 degrees. Bake 25 minutes. Do not open the oven door, or the puffs may collapse.

After 25 minutes, remove pan from oven and pierce each puff with a small knife to allow any steam to escape and to help the puffs bake dry. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 15 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

To make the filling: Just before serving, whip cream with 1 tablespoon powdered sugar until it holds a soft peak. Reserving a few whole raspberries for garnish, lightly crush the rest with a fork, then fold into the whipped cream.

Cut puffs in half horizontally with a serrated knife, fill bottom half with cream and replace top. Sift with remaining powdered sugar and garnish with whole raspberries.

Per filled cream puff: 367 cal.; 6 g pro.; 19 g carb.; 30 g fat (18 sat., 9 monounsat., 2 polyunsat., 1 other); 177 mg chol.; 192 mg sod.; 1 g fiber; 5 g sugar; 73 percent calories from fat.

A great way to cook fish is to steam it in parcels. Here’s a simple recipe that never fails. The fish, sealed in the packet with wine and a bouquet of vegetables and herbs, steams in its own juices absorbing all the natural flavors.

The packets can be served directly at the table or opened in the kitchen and served onto individual plates. I like to have each person open his own at the table so the first whiff can be savored as the parcel is opened. Once the package is ready, the cooking time is only 5 minutes.

Barley is an ancient grain known to have been cultivated in Neolithic times. Today, barley is used mostly for stews and soups, but it is very good simply boiled, seasoned and served as an alternative to rice. This pearl barley will take about 30 minutes to make. Start it first and then make the fish dish. It can also be microwaved. Place in a microwave-safe bowl and cook on high 20 minutes. No time for barley? Use a quick cooking rice instead.

This meal contains 554 calories per serving with 27 percent of calories from fat.

Helpful Hints:

-Vermouth can be substituted for the wine.

-Any type of white fish can be used such as tilapia, dolphin, sole.

-Shredded carrots can be found in the produce section of the market.

Countdown:

-Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

-Start Pearl Barley

-Make fish.

FRAGRANT FISH PARCELS

3 teaspoons olive oil

1 cup shredded carrots

1 cup frozen diced or chopped onion

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

2 circles parchment paper or aluminum foil about 10-inches in diameter

2 6-ounce fish fillets

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

5 to 6 leaves fresh basil, torn into small pieces

3 tablespoons dry white wine

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place olive oil, carrots, onion and mushrooms in a microwave-safe bowl. Toss gently. Microwave on high 2 minutes. Or, saute in a skillet 5 minutes. Divide the vegetables between the two parchment paper or foil circles. Place one fish fillet on top of each of the vegetables. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste Place basil leaves on top of fish. Spoon wine over the fish. Close the parcels and seal the edges together. Place the parcels on a baking tray. Bake 8 minutes if using parchment paper, 12 minutes if using foil. The fish is done when it is no longer translucent. Serve the parcels on individual plates. Makes 2 servings.

Per serving: 318 calories (26 percent from fat), 9.3 g fat (1.5 g saturated, 5.4 g monounsaturated), 60 mg cholesterol, 39.6 g protein, 17.1 g carbohydrates, 4.4 g fiber, 142 mg sodium.

PEARL BARLEY

1/2 cup pearl barley

4 cups water

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place barley and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil 20 minutes or until barley is soft. Drain and add the olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Makes 2 servings.

Per serving: 236 calories (28 percent from fat), 7.3 g fat ( 1.1 g saturated, 5.1 g monounsaturated), no mg cholesterol, 5.0 g protein, 38.9 g carbohydrates, 7.8 g fiber, 5 mg sodium.

SHOPPING LIST

Here are the ingredients you’ll need for tonight’s Dinner in Minutes.

To buy: 1 package shredded carrots, 1 container sliced mushrooms, 1 small bunch fresh basil, 1 package frozen diced or chopped onion, 1 roll parchment paper or aluminum foil, 2 6-ounce fish fillets, 1 package pearl barley and1 bottle dry white wine.

Staples: Olive oil, salt and black peppercorns.

(Linda Gassenheimer is the author of 14 cookbooks including her newest, “Mix ‘n Match Meals in Minutes for People with Diabetes,” and “Prevention’s Fit and Fast Meals in Minutes.” Visit Linda on her web page at www.DinnerInMinutes.com or email her at Linda@DinnerInMinutes.com.)

When it comes to decorating cakes, 14-year-old Natalie New is not that fast.

But she is spectacular.

Take the floral bouquet cake the Overland Park, Kan., teen made two years ago. The top decoration consisted of 58 finely detailed multicolored roses made of gum paste that had the look of fine porcelain. Every flower had 17 petals, individually sculpted, then meticulously hand-painted and assembled. The process took a knee-weakening 61 hours.

That attention to detail helped Natalie capture first place last fall in the prestigious Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show and Grand National Wedding Cake competition in Tulsa, Okla. The contest is the top cake decorating competition in the country. Natalie won $50 in cash and $50 in supplies for taking first in the teen division for tiered wedding cakes.

She won with an Eiffel Tower cake that featured a scale-model replica of the iconic Parisian structure. (Her floral bouquet cake placed third.) Her father, Tim, helped her create a wooden form covered in parchment paper to reproduce the bend of the monument. The 17-inch tower was made from pastillage (a sugar creation that dries hard) and is piped with royal icing. The tower’s dome was made from white chocolate covered in edible sparkle.

Getting the proportions right was not easy.

“I took the actual calculation of the full-sized Eiffel Tower in France and reduced them down to a size that would fit on a cake so that it would have the correct slope,” she said. “Then, to make the form that the pastillage would dry on, I had to reverse the slope.”

Who knew cake decorating took so much math?

Natalie, an eighth-grader at Oxford Middle School in Overland Park, taught herself to decorate cakes by reading books and watching the experts do it on the Food Network. She would freeze the TV shows, frame by frame, and try to copy all the advanced techniques. From there, it was a matter of endless trial and error until she mastered them.

She also is active in 4-H. That’s where she learned to draw, bake, sew, take pictures, paint ceramics, speak in public and train dogs. She has made a quilt, raised and shown heifers, and won the top award in the state for her speech last fall at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson.

She started with the group when she was only 7.

“My mom had grown up doing 4-H, and my brother was in 4-H,” Natalie said. “It was sort of a family thing.”

Natalie, the daughter of Tim and Jean New, is just as industrious in school, earning straight A’s and acting, singing and playing the clarinet and saxophone.

In her young life, Natalie has already created eight original (and elaborately decorated) cakes. The cake that won first in the national competition in Oklahoma is a replica of one she had previously entered in the 2009 Johnson County Fair.

For the national cake decorating contest, participants didn’t have to bake cakes. They were permitted to decorate cake forms. But the original Eiffel Tower cake Natalie made for the Johnson County Fair was painstakingly real. She made two massive square yellow cakes from scratch, each with cream cheese icing and lemon filling. Together, they were big enough to feed 100 people. The cakes took 44 eggs, separated, two pounds of butter, and a pound and a half of cream cheese.

Recognizing her ability, Natalie’s parents took her to Texas when she was 10 to meet and train with famed cake artist Bronwen Weber. Weber, owner of Frosted Art Bakery in Dallas, is a frequent competitor on the “Food Network Challenge” and one of the pre-eminent cake decorators in the country. She remembers Natalie’s visit.

I think the cake world should watch out,” she said. “Someday soon, a star will be born,”

Cake decorating has stars today with shows on cable television, including TLC’s “Cake Boss” and the Food Network’s “Ace of Cakes.” Contestants have made wedding and birthday cakes on “Food Network Challenge.”

Natalie does more than bake and decorate cakes. She teaches other kids from ages 7 to 12 to do what she does.

Last year in Johnson County, Kan., all five of her students won purple ribbons (the top prize) for their cakes in different categories. Natalie gave a cake decorating presentation in November at the Olathe, Kan., public library.

So, given her considerable talents, the question is natural: Is she going to be a professional cake decorator when she grows up?

No, she says. Cake decorating is too stressful.

So what does she want to be?

“A pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon,” she says.

She’s not kidding.

“When I was 8 years old, my dad had open-heart surgery,” she said. “And the kind of surgeon who saved my dad’s life was a cardiothoracic surgeon.”

She has always loved kids, so becoming a pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon just made sense.

“I really, really like kids,” she said. “Having a job in the future where I could help them would be very rewarding.”

Besides, her older brother, Jake, is a freshman at Kansas State University. He’s studying to become an orthopedic surgeon.

Natalie also has an adoring 8-year-old sister, Sophia.

Sophia’s eyes brightened when she thought about her big sister.

“She can do anything!” she said.

Especially cake decorating. The techniques Natalie has mastered are not easy for anyone, let alone one so young. Take the roses she made for the bouquet cake (and the Eiffel Tower cake). How does she makes them look so realistic?

Her answer: gum paste and a lot of patience.

What is gum paste?

“It looks like white clay,” Natalie says.

She keeps it in a plastic bag.

For the curious, here’s exactly how Natalie makes her sugary roses.

“First, I take a pea-sized bit of gum paste from the Baggie and roll it into a teardrop shape,” she said. “Then I put it on the end of green floral wire. Then I take more gum paste – about the size of a golf ball – and put it through a pasta roller six times until it was so thin you could see through it. Then I’d take a small teardrop-shaped cookie cutter, and cut out six petals. I’d roll each one out with a tiny wooden rolling pin, then shape the petals so they would have the natural flow of a real flower petal. Each one of those I would have to paste on to the teardrop-sized ball on the wire with water. It would just stick there. Then I would repeat this for two more layers, gradually getting bigger and bigger cookie cutters, until I formed the whole flower.”

Then it was time to paint. She spent three days creating the color combinations on her palette. She used powdered food coloring called petal dust. The food coloring comes in certain basic colors. But that wasn’t good enough for Natalie.

She would combine colors to create the exact shades that she wanted – coral, pink and yellow.

“All of the flowers are tipped in different colors,” Natalie said. “And all of the edges are different colors.”

She would obsess over each one, often spending so much time on it that her mother would have to urge her to take a break.

“Thus the reason we think she will do well as a surgeon,” Jean New said. “She has the most incredible focus you’ve ever seen. There’s a zone that she’s in where she doesn’t get frustrated, and she doesn’t get confused. She just keeps working and working and working.”

Tim New said he’s amazed by his daughter’s ability.

“As a parent, you wish you could take credit for those things, but truly she just has an amazing attention to detail, and she has this knack where she is able to picture in her mind exactly what she wants, and then she sticks with it until she gets it. It may be way outside her skill set, but she just sticks with it until she gets it.

“To me, with Natalie, the most interesting part is waiting to see what she is going to do next … and not only with cakes,” he said.

Natalie’s mother has no cake decorating skill but still wants to assist her daughter with the challenging tasks.

Ultimately, though, she has learned it’s best to leave it to Natalie.

“She had to ask me in the kindest way possible not to help,” Jean New said. “She said. ‘I have to redo everything you do.’”

Oh, the curse of talented children.

“Jake won so many awards at Blue Valley Northwest, and (got) scholarships,” Jean New said. “People always said, ‘Boy, Natalie, you’ve got some big shoes to fill!’ But her dad and I think she’s amazing in her own right. I mean, look at her. She was already a national champion at 13!”

Natalie returns the compliment.

“My parents are very nice, because I’ll get some crazy idea like making a replica of the Eiffel Tower, and they’ll be like, ‘Well, knock yourself out!’”