Buttermilk

Chef Alan Greeley, who attended the 1997 Workshop, introduced us to this luscious salad dressing. Inspired by the creamy “ranch dressing” that originated on a dude ranch in Santa Barbara, Alan’s version incorporates avocado for an even silkier texture. He pairs the dressing with steamed artichokes and asparagus; we love it on tender leaves of butter lettuce with a shower of fresh spring herbs from our garden.

The base recipe for our chocolate cake is the easiest cake recipe I know. It’s an oil-based (as opposed to butter-based) recipe, so, just like boxed cake mixes, it can be mixed by hand in one bowl. For that reason, it is a favorite of mine to make at a vacation home or anywhere that I’m not sure about what mixers or baking equipment will be available. Once baked, this batter results in an airy, spongy cake with a rich chocolate flavor. It tends to rise a lot in the oven, especially in the center, so the cake layers will always have to be trimmed to make the layers flat before they are iced. Accordingly, be careful not to overfill the cake pans or cupcake wrappers.

The lime version of the buttermilk cookie is a tart, refreshing treat—perfect for a summer day. You can also easily substitute lemon or orange for the lime; all are especially welcome at brunches or tea parties. This recipe directs you to spoon the icing over the tops of the cookies, but if you like the playfulness of the rounded bottoms from the Mini Black and White Cookies (page 77), you can flip them over and ice the bottoms using the same technique.

The black and white cookie is a New York institution. The version found in almost every corner deli is about three times the size of these, but this smaller one is popular for parties because it’s more manageable to eat in a social setting. At Tribeca Treats customers frequently order them as favors for weddings or black-and-white color-schemed events. Traditionally, the icing is applied to the bottom, or flat side, of the cookie. Doing so helps you create a neat delineation between your chocolate and white icings. Having the rounded side as the bottom also adds a topsy-turvy playfulness when plating them.

These cupcakes have a lighter consistency than the other cakes in this chapter. Whereas the other cakes could almost double as bread, there’s no mistaking these as cake. Citrus Cream Cheese Icing (page 146) and the “Sassy” Cinnamon variation on the Vanilla Icing (page 136) are scrumptious toppings. Use the cream cheese combination for a brunch dessert or the sweeter cinnamon icing to dress them up for an autumn evening. The brown sugar and mix of spices in the batter augment the woodsy sweetness of the pecans. For a slight variation, peel and dice a sweet apple and add it to the batter before baking.

For best results, bring all of the ingredients to room temperature before mixing. When zesting and juicing lemons, grate zest first, then squeeze halves to extract juice. To make one large cake, bake the batter in a twelve-cup buttered and floured Bundt pan.

Use the extra loin from the Pork Loin with Figs and Port Sauce (page 217) in the recipes below (you’ll have enough meat to make both).

A bit of planning ahead makes preparing weeknight dinners a breeze. Use the extra chicken from Roast Chicken and Parsnips with Swiss Chard (page 149) in one of the recipes below.

A favorite sandwich is updated as a main-course salad, with a tangy buttermilk dressing standing in for the mayonnaise spread.

GOOD TO KNOW In this fruit-topped, vanilla-scented cake, vegetable oil stands in for butter, reducing the amount of saturated fat in each portion. Swapping out a third of the all-purpose flour with whole-wheat flour boosts the fiber content.

WHY IT’S LIGHT To produce onion rings that are wonderfully crisp and not at all greasy, bake them instead of deep-frying. Preheating the oiled baking sheet before adding the onion slices helps ensure a crunchy outer coat, as do crushed cornflakes in the batter.

WHY IT’S LIGHT Baking the lightly breaded pieces on a wire rack results in “fried” chicken that is lower in fat and calories; removing the skin before cooking also helps. For spicier chicken, add a few drops of hot sauce to the buttermilk marinade.

According to Scott, a biscuit should be crusty and golden brown on the top, with an interior that is soft, light, and tender. Purist that he is, he makes them with freshly rendered lard and recommends making your own fresh baking powder: Measure and sift together 3 times, 2 parts cream of tartar and 1 part baking soda. Make it in small batches, store in an airtight container, and use within 4 weeks. A sweetened version of the biscuit dough makes delicious short-cakes to serve with whipped cream and sliced ripe fruit or berries and is great for making cobbler (page 127).

Making your own bread is immensely satisfying. At the Green Kitchen, we had demonstrations of two very quick ways to put bread on your table: Darina’s traditional Irish soda bread and Scott Peacock’s buttermilk biscuits (page 33). Neither of these recipes requires the dough to sit for hours while it rises, because neither of them relies on yeast. Instead they are lightened by the chemical reaction that occurs between the buttermilk and the baking soda (or baking powder) when the dough goes into the oven. For this book, I’ve added a third recipe, this one for Jim Lahey’s yeast bread (page 35). Jim, proprietor of the Sullivan Street Bakery in New York, has a brilliant method of making a country loaf that develops flavor in a long, slow rise, but which, like Darina’s soda bread, requires no kneading at all. None of these three recipes is complicated. Darina’s soda bread is something I make at home all the time. From start to finish, you can have fresh bread in less than an hour.

Not only is this giant layer cake a stunner, it is absolutely delicious with its creamy guava filling and fluffy buttercream frosting. We had a guava tree in my mom’s garden, and when the fruit was in season, we ate our share of guava cakes, guava tarts, guava water, and pretty much guava anything. This is my homage to my mom’s guava tree.

I’ve given an American Southern staple an Italian spin with the addition of Parmesan. The cornmeal makes these biscuits sturdy enough to pack on a picnic, and you can stuff them with smoked salmon (my fave), sliced turkey or ham, or even grilled veggies. Hot out of the oven, they are pretty terrific with just a bit of lemon butter.

Corn Bread is a quick bread—that is, risen with baking powder, not yeast—and the most useful one of all. Everyone loves it, too.