The Best Red Wine Sangria!

I became obsessed with trying to make The Best Red Wine Sangria after my family's trip to Spain last Spring.

I have never been much of a drinker, so when I enthusiastically drank glass after glass, all the way from Madrid to Sevilla my husband started to get a little worried. The problem was temporarily solved however, when I got home and was unable to find a recipe that even came close to the red sangria I had at Botin in Madrid. Frustrated, I went back to my sober ways.

As it happens though, my good friend Casey who is an authority on all things good told me that she too had tried several red wine sangria recipes but could not find one that came close to the sangria at El Pote's in New York City. She graciously shared the recipe she finally perfected and it is in fact, the best red wine sangria ever, but beware... all who try it become completely addicted! My friend's ex-husband actually does chores around her house in exchange for this sangria and she will not give him the recipe!

I omit the sugar completely and instead of plain soda water, I use orange flavored Sanpellegrino. I also add a cinnamon stick.

   The Best Red Wine Sangria!

"Casey's Sangria"

1 bottle Spanish dry red wine

1 cup Cointreau

1/2 cup brandy

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup orange juice

1/2 cup lemon juice

sliced oranges, lemons and sour green apples

1 cup soda water

Mix all ingredients together in a large pitcher except the soda water. Refrigerate for 24 hours. Add soda water, ice and serve. Alternatively, if you plan to drink it throughout the week you can just add a splash of soda water to each individual glass.

Salud!

Moist Yellow Cake

This is a great, moist yellow cake recipe from scratch that you will use over and over again... it is soft and moist and melts in your mouth. I've made this recipe hundreds of times and everyone always goes crazy over it. 

The frosting has just the right consistency for decorating. Both kids and adults love it, unlike a traditional buttercream which appeals more to adults and can sometimes taste like you're eating a stick of butter.

My daughter's favorite variation is strawberry: Add about 8 medium finely chopped strawberries to the batter and strawberry juice to the frosting for subtle favor and a pale pink color. I use about an 1/8th of a cup of strawberry juice. Deduct the amount of juice you use from the 1/2 cup of milk in the frosting recipe.

For cupcakes: fill cups 3/4 of the way and bake 25 minutes

Moist Yellow Cake

3 cups cake flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (two sticks) unsalted butter, cut into cubes and brought to room temperature 

2 cups granulated sugar

5 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup whole milk

2 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and line two, 8" pans with parchment rounds.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.

On medium speed in a mixer, mix butter until light colored and fluffy (this step is crucial to having a delicate, light crumb!). Slowly pour sugar in a steady stream until combined and fluffy.

Add vanilla to the eggs and on low speed, add one egg at a time, scraping the bowl in between with a spatula.

Combine whole milk with buttermilk.

Alternating, add a third of the flour and mix in, then a third of the buttermilk. Keep repeating and finish with the buttermilk. Remove bowl and mix by hand briefly with a spatula scraping sides and mixing thoroughly. 

Divide batter between pans and bake for about 40 minutes. Check for doneness with a toothpick.

Creamy White Frosting

Wait until the cake is completely cool before icing. Add all ingredients to a mixer bowl. Start the mixer on the lowest speed, then work up to medium-high to avoid a cloud of confectioners sugar! Mix until light and fluffy.

1 cup softened butter

2 lb. bag of confectioners sugar

1/2 cup whole milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

Pinch of salt

Grape-Nuts Ice Cream

On the way to and from Martha's Vineyard this summer, my family stopped at the famous Gray's Ice Cream in Tiverton, Rhode Island www.graysicecream.com., famed for its Grape-Nuts Ice Cream. My husband had been hearing about this ice cream for years from his boss and now, finally, we had the opportunity to try a cone from one of the top ten ice cream shops in the country.

All the flavors we tried were exceptionally good, but the New England specialty, Grape-Nuts ice cream stood out the most and sent me into a tizzy. It tasted like cereal with milk... creamy, with just the right amount of texture from the Grape-Nuts. I had to find out how to make it!

I'm guessing that Gray's Ice Cream, being an American institution makes American style ice cream, as opposed to French ice cream, which is made from a custard base using eggs.

Here's my version of it, and I think it's pretty darn close! In fact, it's amazing!

If you can get your hands on fresh, local milk and cream you will really taste the difference!

© Pauline Rhoads and The Better Crumb, 2012.

Unauthorized use and/duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Pauline Rhoads and The Better Crumb with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Grape-Nut  Ice Cream

2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup cane sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/3 cup Grape-Nuts
Pinch of salt

Heat whole milk in small pan until hot, and mix in sugar. Stir until dissolved and then add salt. Turn off heat and let cool. Combine with the rest of the ingredients and chill for at least an hour. Prepare in an ice cream machine according to manufacturers instructions.

World's Best Chocolate Chip Cookie

I became obsessed with baking the world's best chocolate chip cookie after trying dozens of recipes that were "just okay". With each batch, I would carefully watch the faces of my husband and children (there is no tougher crowd!) after they took their first bite for their reaction.  At most, I got "pretty good". Many would have given up, but I became more determined than ever. Finally, after weeks of testing I got the unanimous response I was looking for... "This is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever!"

Since then, I have been told that my cookies "can stop traffic", and one man even said that he "knew what they were going to taste like before he even bit into it" and that they were even better than he dreamed. They are everything a chocolate chip cookie should be... puffy, crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. They are perfect. 

I've baked these cookies by request for numerous birthday parties, Bat/Bar Mitzvahs and other gatherings. Each time, the reactions are the same. People just go crazy over them. I've been questioned, grilled and practically accosted for this recipe. So here it is.

I have to say, these cookies have become quite famous and I guess if my only legacy is that I baked a damn good cookie, so be it.

How to avoid a flat chocolate chip cookie? Here's a professional baking secret...the key to baking a puffy cookie that keeps its shape is to freeze your cookie dough (at least four hours, and preferably overnight) and the cookie trays before popping them into fully a hot oven (preheat for at least 30 minutes). Also, make sure your baking soda is fresh to avoid a flat cookie. Give yourself at least five hours before serving to allow for freezing time. I like to use Muscovado brown sugars and Plugra, which is a European butter with a higher fat content. Forget expensive chocolate, I find that the best is Trader Joe's Belgian milk chocolate, which comes in a convenient 17.6 ounce jumbo bar. It's extra creamy and delicious!

© Pauline Rhoads and The Better Crumb, 2012.

Unauthorized use and/duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Pauline Rhoads and The Better Crumb with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

World's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes About Two Dozen Cookies

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), cold and cut into cubes
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
18 oz. milk chocolate, coarsely chopped into 1/2 inch chunks (or 17.6 oz. if using Trader Joe's large bar)

Place 3-4 cookie trays, lined with parchment paper in the freezer.

In a medium sized bowl, mix flour, salt and baking soda. Set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer, mix sugars together. Then add the cold butter. Mix for two minutes or so on medium speed until smooth.  Reduce speed to low and add one egg at a time, using a spatula in between to scrape sides. Mix egg in thoroughly and add vanilla.  Add dry flour mixture and mix until combined.  Add chocolate chunks and mix.

Form into balls 1 1/2" to 2", depending on how large you want your cookies and freeze dough for at least four hours, preferably overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees for at least 30 minutes. Place 6-8 cookie dough balls on a frozen tray and bake for about 18-20 minutes, or until cookies are medium brown around the edges and puffy and lightly browned and caramel colored on top. Let cool on wired racks.