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Thursday, February 01, 2024
Jerusalem Artichokes (aka Fartichokes)
Monday, January 22, 2024
Marzipan Loaf Cake
Seasonal Recipe of the Week
There is something about certain food words that make them extra special. I have gone on for years about how much sexier tangerine is than orange. Drizzle is way more upscale than drip. There is nothing I can do with foam, but put a a savory marmalade on my plate and I am in. I feel this way about marzipan, much cooler than almond paste.
Which brings me to the cake I just pulled from the oven. I was wandering about LIDL, my local weird supermarket which I have a love/hate relationship with. They are a European chain and often have unusual products littered randomly throughout the store. Things I don't really think anyone on Long Island wants or needs, like pickled Greek Octopus salad (rubbery and inedible) to the bar of marzipan I found today which was 40% off, a leftover from Christmas. Fortunately this stuff is almost indestructible.
Recently I had read a Nigella recipe for a marzipan loaf which sounded like it needed trying. Here it is, unchanged from original, though now I'm thinking adding chocolate chips would be divine!
Note: this is a British recipe so it's in grams, get out those scales!
Ingredients
150 grams marzipan
125 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
50 grams granulated sugar
75 grams all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
3 large eggs, room temperature
Procedure
Heat oven to 325. Spray and line a loaf pan with parchment and spray parchment.
Tear up the marzipan into small pieces and put in food processor, then add everything else and run till batter is smooth. Stop twice to scape down sides of the bowl. Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes, or until the top is golden, it springs back, and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Freezes well.
Monday, November 20, 2023
Thanksgiving Tips 2023
❯❯❯ Rula Gives Good Bird ❮❮❮
Yes, fellow Pilgrims, these are the same tips I post every year, but isn't it comforting to know that some things never change?
Stacy's been back on Long Island since 2014 — where have you been? And Mary-Charlotte has long since retired from radio, so there will be no more day-before-Thanksgiving Radio Café appearances. But you can still relive their glory days — there are eight years of Radio Café shows in the archives that feature Stacy's Thanksgiving tips. I guess the internet is good for something besides TikTok dance routines, after all!
Well, my little Meat Thermometers, it's back to Brooklyn for me that gravy won't make itself! Ciao!
Sunday, July 16, 2023
Mandarin Orange (or Clementine) Cake
Seasonal Recipe of the Week
Last weekend, we were at the Jersey Shore hanging out with my husband's college buddies. What did we do there? A little beach time, some boardwalk-ing. Lots of eating, drinking, and discussing the end of America as we know it — which led to more drinking and eating. Everyone brought food and beverages and our lovely hosts made it all work together seamlessly into a splendid holiday.
One of the things I tried for the first time, was an orange-flavored cake with only 5 ingredients, by Nigella Lawson. But of course I ended up putting my own spin on it. The recipe calls for almond flour — it's naturally gluten-free! — but I didn't have any almond flour, so instead I used a combo of half Bob's Red Mill hazelnut flour and half grain-free paleo flour. The recipe is also dairy-free. And, lastly, I switched out the sugar for Erythritol (alternative sweetener sold under the brand name Swerve) so I could eat it.
You can do an optional glaze using lemon or orange juice and confectioners sugar, but I think it's intense enough as it is. Perhaps a chocolate drizzle is in order? Other changes I made to original recipe were the inclusion of ground coriander, cinnamon, and mace. The original recipe said to use a springform pan, but I opted for a parchment-lined square pyrex dish and it cooked perfectly. I left the edges of the parchment paper tall so I could use it to lift the cake out of the pan. Here is my recipe, but please note this can be experimented with and certainly improved. Say ... with the always sexy tangerine, or lemon or lime or grapefruit. Note: the amount of sugar you use will need to be adjusted depending on the citrus.
Ingredients
5 whole mandarin or clementine oranges (total 375 grams)
220 grams Swerve granular sugar substitute
6 large eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
125 grams hazelnut flour
125 grams Paleo grain free flour
1/4 teaspoon mace (you can substitute nutmeg)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon coriander
Procedure
Put the oranges in a pot, cover with water, partially cover, bring to a boil, and simmer for two hours. Keep an eye on it, as the water has a tendency to boil off. Drain and let cool. Cut the oranges in half and remove any seeds. Spray a glass pan with baking spray, line with parchment, spray again, and set aside. Preheat oven to 375.
Place the oranges into a food processor fitted with the steel blade, and pulse till you have a purée, then add everything else. Scrape batter into pan and bake 1 hour. Let cool 10 minutes in pan before lifting out. It's better the next day — but who can wait? I'm thinking a little salted caramel ice cream on top might be fabulous.