Brian Shrader

The Great Zucchini

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Think of it as a versatile, delicious little black dress.

Only it’s very dark brown instead of black, and it’s not a dress, but a cake.  But otherwise…

This is week three of dispatches from my adventures when I joined Lisa Prince and WRAL’s Brian Shrader as they prepared and filmed four recipes for Local Dish, WRAL’s cooking segment that airs each Friday on the noon news.

This week’s chocolate cake, y’all.

In keeping with the summer produce theme, this is a zucchini cake.  And there are two really important things that I need you, Gentle Reader, to take from this essay.

The first is the importance of cooking time.  There is a little butter and four eggs in this cake, but no other fat.  So, most of the moisture comes from the grated zucchini and the applesauce in the recipe.    

Which means, if you overcook it, you will get a dry result that will stick in your throat and make you sad.  It cooks for 60-70 minutes, but you should start checking it at 55 minutes.  As soon as a toothpick comes out clean but moist, get it out of the oven.  And after it’s been out for 10 minutes, get it out of that pan.

The second thing is, once it’s cool you can top it with anything from powdered sugar to a decadent vanilla fudge icing topped with crushed Oreos.  You can go simple and use whipped cream or a couple scoops of vanilla ice cream.  Or let the ice cream melt.  It then becomes a fancy custard sauce called crème Anglaise.  Set the cake on a puddle of that (for crème Anglaise use an ice cream containing only milk, cream, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and maybe a pinch of salt).

Here are two of my favorite toppings.

Mama Cat’s Vanilla Fudge Icing

½ cup butter

1 cup granulated sugar

¼ cup milk

Heat ingredients in saucepan until it begins to boil.  Let cool slightly and mix in 1& 3/4 -2 cups sifted powdered sugar, and 2 teaspoons vanilla.

Pour over fully cooled cake and top with crushed Oreos (optional) or anything else you’d like.

Mom’s Fudge Glaze

6 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons cocoa

3 cups powdered sugar

6 tablespoons milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

In saucepan, melt butter.  Stir in cocoa until dissolved.  Mix in sugar.  Add milk and vanilla; whisk until smooth. 

Pour over cooled cake and allow to set.

The cake calls for cinnamon, but you could also tweak it with things like cayenne or espresso powder.

 Chocolate Zucchini Bundt Cake  

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 ½ tsp. baking powder

1 ½ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 cup sugar

½ cup butter, room temperature

4 eggs

¾ cup unsweetened applesauce

1 Tbsp. vanilla

2 cups shredded zucchini

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Generously coat bottom and sides of 9 to 12 cup Bundt pan with cooking spray.

Mix flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in bowl.  Set aside. Beat sugar and butter with mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, applesauce then vanilla.

Reduce mixer to low. Beat in dry ingredients until blended. Fold in zucchini.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until done. Cool on wire rack 10 minutes.  Remove from pan and allow to cool completely before topping.

This cake also travels really well for picnics and potlucks; or wrap a slice and tuck it into a bagged lunch.  With both zucchini and apple sauce in it, you could almost call it healthy with a straight face.

Thanks for your time.

Contact debbie at d@bullcity.mom.

Breaking Broken Bread

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I really dislike being on video.  I feel I have a face and voice for the printed word, and I’m okay with that.

My friend Lisa Prince, though, is both adorable and engaging on the TV.

Every Friday during WRAL’s noon news, she, along with the equally adorable Brian Shrader, host Local Dish, which showcases North Carolina foods.

August’s theme is all about creative ways to use the NC produce available in late summer.

Because nothing and no one in my life is safe from being fodder for this column, I’ve had an ongoing request to shadow the preparation and filming of Local Dish.  Last week I spent three days hanging out watching the creation of five segments that will begin airing this Friday (8/2).

And proving, once again, what a truly nice person Lisa is, she gave me all the recipes and the permission to share.

Tuesday, I met her and her sister Michele at the Raleigh State Farmers market.  Our goal was to buy fresh ingredients for Chocolate zucchini cake, tomato upside down cornbread, a zesty leek Swiss chard soup, roasted eggplant, and panzanella salad.

Lisa’s sister, Michele putting cornbread in the oven of her beautiful kitchen.

Wednesday, we met at the filming location, Michele’s kitchen, and prepped enough ingredients to make a finished dish and create the dishes for the camera.

Thursday was filming day.  Brian and Lisa cooked for photographer Mark in a relaxed atmosphere that was full of laughter and lots of good food to sample.

I’d never actually eaten Panzanella salad because I’m not crazy about cucumbers and consider the idea of bread swimming in and soaking up all that juice highly suspect. 

When I’m wrong, my military father has always taught me to own it.  I’m owning this.  I was completely wrong about my prejudice toward Panzanella salad—or, at least Lisa’s Panzanella salad.

Tomato and Cucumber Panzanella Salad

(tentative air date-August 30)

(NC Ingredients: tomatoes, basil, cucumber, cheese – Category: Salad)

Servings: 2

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

1 large cucumber, peeled and de-seeded

1-pint grape tomatoes, mixed varieties, cut in half

4 slices crusty French bread cut into cubes

Salt and Pepper to taste

4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp. white balsamic vinegar

¼ cup shaved Parmesan cheese

2 Tbsp. fresh basil, shredded

Cut the cumber long way and remove the seeds with a spoon. Then slice long way again and cut into cubes about the same size as the grape tomatoes that are cut in half. In a large bowl, combine the cucumber, tomatoes and bread. Season with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper.

Drizzle olive oil mixture onto salad and toss to coat. Add in the cheese and basil and gently toss to combine before serving.

Lisa’s Notes: This fresh light summer salad is perfect on a hot day. The flavors of the ingredients speak for themselves.

Brian (and I) were surprised that the bread used wasn’t toasted first.  But we both learned something that will change the Panzanella salad game forever.

If you’re not serving the salad for an hour or more, toast the bread.  The veggies will release lots of juice which the bread cubes will then suck up and become flavored with lots of garden-fresh flavors.

Brian wanted to use the torch and toast it himself…

But if you serve immediately after assembling, use fresh, soft bread.  It will be coated in liquid and flavored, but it won’t have time to absorb the juice and get gummy and unpleasant. 

And unpleasant is the last adjective I’d use to describe this delicious summery dish.

Thanks for your time, and thanks to Lisa, Brian, and the Local Dish crew for their time.

Contact debbie at d@bullcity.mom.

Oh, Fudge!

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If you’ve ever wondered how long fudge can stay in the freezer, I have the answer.

Not sixteen months.

Have you ever seen those giant teeth at the dentist’s office?  You know the ones that are about a foot tall, which open to a cross section of the different parts of a tooth? Well, it’s a life-size model of my sweet tooth.

When it comes to chocolate fudge, there are two different types.  There’s creamy fudge; the kind with marshmallow cream—quick and easy.

Then there’s traditional, classic fudge cooked in a pot on the stove until it reaches a very specific temperature.  Then it’s beaten vigorously.  It can go wrong much easier than right. At the state fair, All-American Fudge makes a stellar example.  It’s better than any old-school version I could make, so I let them do it.  Every year I buy two pounds, bring it home, triple-wrap and freeze it.  I then ration it like it’s the very last pizza at a Super Bowl party.

Well, last year I rationed it too well, and when the fair rolled around, I had about a pound left, so I didn’t buy any more.  Thus, sixteen-month-old awful fudge that broke my heart and left me without fair fudge for Eight.More.Months.But.

There are two fudges of the easy, marshmallow cream variety that are close to my heart.

The first is a PB&J fudge.  I shared my recipe with Lisa Prince, who along with Brian Shrader does a segment every Friday on WRAL’s noon news, called Local Dish.  This was last Friday’s dish.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Fudgepb&j fudge1 7-ounce jar marshmallow cream

1 11-ounce package white chocolate chips

¾ cup creamy peanut butter

¼ cup crunchy peanut butter

¾ cup butter

2 ½ cups granulated sugar

pinch of kosher salt

1 cup heavy whipping cream

¾ cup jelly, jam, or preserves of your choice

Line 8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper. Set aside.

In large mixing bowl, add marshmallow cream, white chocolate chips and peanut butters. Set aside.In large saucepan, combine butter, sugar, salt, and whipping cream. Bring to boil over medium-high heat. Boil for 4 full minutes.

Pour boiling mixture over ingredients in mixing bowl. Using electric mixer, beat for 1-2 minutes, until completely smooth and creamy.pb&j swirlPour half of mixture into baking dish. Drop spoonsful of jam. Using a knife, lightly swirl into the fudge. Top with remaining fudge and dollops of the rest of the preserves. Gently swirl again with knife, just until marbled.Refrigerate 4 hours, or overnight, until set. Cut into bites. Store in airtight container in refrigerator up to a week.

The other fudge is a long-time favorite; chocolate peanut butter.  It’s easy and tastes so darn good.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudgechoc pb fudge3 cups sugar

4 tablespoons cocoa

1 tablespoon butter

¾ cup milk

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup marshmallow crème

*When measuring peanut butter and marshmallow cream, spray measuring cup and spatula with cooking spray to facilitate removal from cup.

Mix together first 4 ingredients in saucepan. Bring to rolling boil. Boil exactly 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add marshmallow creme and peanut butter. Stir until melted then pour into buttered 8X8 pan. Let cool.The secret to this is to boil exactly 3 minutes. Use a timer. I’m not joking.

I’m sad and disappointed about my fair fudge.

But.

When I get my next fudge stash, I can’t bear to get less than two pounds, and I know it doesn’t last forever in the freezer.  So, like it or not, to avoid wasting food, I’ll be forced to eat more fudge more often. What a bummer.

Thanks for your time.