Raisin

This is not a family recipe, but one I was introduced to while testing recipes as an apprentice for Nathalie Dupree. Country Captain is said to have taken its name from a British army officer who brought the recipe back from India. Curry powder is actually quite common in Southern cooking due to the seaports of Charleston and Savannah. The term describes any of a number of Indian spice blends from mild to fiery that typically contain, among other spices, ground coriander, nutmeg, ginger, cumin, pepper, and chiles. Commercial curry powder comes in two types: standard, which is a golden color and mild, and Madras, which is red and spicy hot.

Braised onions with raisins and almonds is a Spanish-inspired dish from the southwestern border of the United States. It makes a sweet topping for rice or side to any barbecued meat.

Making strudel dough from scratch is a pain, but puff pastry is a terrific substitute that makes this dessert surprisingly easy to put together. The crust gets all flaky, and with the apples and cinnamon . . . oh man, it’s good.

This was my great-grandmother’s recipe and has been the traditional Carle family birthday cake for four generations. That means that for four generations we have argued about how many raisins should be in the cake. My grandfather liked it like a fruitcake, loaded with raisins and other dried fruit, and my oldest sister, Mindy, likes it with none. But, since we are writing the book, it’s 1 cup.

This recipe makes jumbo-sized, chewy oatmeal cookies, ideal for sandwiching ice cream. They stay nice and moist after they’re frozen and are especially good (in my humble opinion) filled with Plum Ice Cream (page 77). Let them cool completely before trying to lift them off the baking sheet. They’ll be somewhat soft, since they’re designed to be retain their tenderness even after they’re frozen. Since these cookies are larger than normal, I find that I can get 6 onto a standard baking sheet (11 by 17 inches, or 28 by 43 cm), so that even when they spread, they don’t touch. If you have several baking sheets, this is a great time to put them into service. If not, let your baking sheet cool completely before baking the next batch of cookies.

The first time I discovered “gourmet” ice cream, the flavor was rum raisin, made by one of those premium brands with lots of vowels in its name. Aside from all those vowels, it also had lots and lots of raisins plumped in real, honest-to-goodness rum, and I had never had store-bought ice cream that was so smooth and so creamy. Coincidentally, at about the same time I discovered those little round pints of premium ice cream, I learned a new way to eat ice cream: right from the little round pint container. Which, by strange coincidence (or shrewd marketing, more likely), fit just perfectly in my hand.

This ice cream tastes just like a big, moist, chewy oatmeal cookie, thanks to the winning combination of plump raisins and crunchy oatmeal praline folded into a custard made with just the right touch of brown sugar.

Like fried lumpia (see page 87), these savory-sweet turnovers are beloved Filipino snacks. Empanadas in the Philippines are usually deep-fried, as they are in other places, such as Argentina, where the Spanish pastry has also been adopted. Filipino-American cooks, however, mostly wrap theirs in a short pastry crust and bake them, with delicious results. If you’ve never had Asian pastries like those in this section, this is a good one to start with because it is easy to prepare and love. For richer, deep-fried empanadas, swap the filling below for the one used in the Shrimp, Pork, and Jicama Turnovers (page 118) or Curry Puffs (page 125) recipe. Feel free to substitute other ground meat for the beef.

Amarillo means “yellow” in Spanish, and it is also the name of one of the seven classic moles, or sauces, from Oaxaca, known as “The Land of Seven Moles.” Though far from yellow (it’s more of a brick red), it can be used as a base for a delicious and very spicy vegetable stew that can stand alone or be served over rice to cut its heat.

Most Americans would consider eating oatmeal for breakfast, but for the vast majority of Asians, rice is the breakfast food of choice. Here is a distinctively Indian variation on the Asian breakfast theme that can be cooked while you sleep and be ready for breakfast when you wake up.

I definitely have obsessive-compulsive baking disorder. I’d hoped to recreate the classic gâteau de riz, a French cake made by baking rice pudding in a mold. I tried fourteen times. The first time I made it, it was perfect: custardy and topped with a deep-golden crust, the top and sides bathed with a slick of glossy, thick caramel. When I attempted to reproduce it, it came out completely different with each try. Flummoxed, I sent my recipe to a friend in California. She made it two or three times and each time she also had completely different results. After a transcontinental tossing up of our hands, in her last anxiety-ridden response she told me, “but right out of the pot, it was the best rice pudding I’ve ever had.” And when I made it again, for the fifteenth time, I realized she was right.

I’m a big fan of fruit crisps. When I worked at Chez Panisse, I learned I wasn’t alone—they were more popular than our signature dark chocolate cake. But I’m not entirely convinced that I’d choose a fruit crisp over chocolate cake. Maybe I’d order both in the name of research. This fruit crisp topping, made with crunchy polenta, stands up well to the juiciest mélange of fruits. Here, I mix apples and pears, and it may seem like a lot of fruit when you’re doing all that peeling and slicing, but it cooks down considerably during baking. Use a good baking apple, such as Gravenstein, Winesap, Pippin, Northern Spy, or Cortland.

American cheesecake is to Italian cheesecake what slouching around the house in a sweatshirt and jeans is to stepping out on the town in a tailored Armani suit. When I stopped comparing Italian cheesecake to its comfy American cousin, I was finally won over. Made with ricotta cheese instead of pounds of cream cheese and sour cream, it’s lighter and leaner, and perfectly accompanied by fresh fruit compotes or colorful sauces. For best results, use whole-milk ricotta cheese. Or even better, seek out fresh ricotta from a local producer. And be sure to watch it carefully during baking, taking it out when it is just barely set.

Okay, so why are these called Hopsie’s Cupcakes? Because they’re made with lots of garden veggies, like zucchini and carrots, and that’s what our pet bunny, Hopsie, loves to eat. My daughter, Sofia, told me during our testing of this recipe that these would be great for Hopsie. She, of course, loves them because they’re made with the stuff that Hopsie eats.

This low-fat vegan cake is incredibly delicious served warm from the oven and topped with a cool lemon tofu crème. Using fresh ginger makes a great difference in its taste. I prefer this cake without the nuts and raisins, but others enjoy the texture and sweetness they add. Either way, this flavorful cake is sure to become a favorite of yours

You have to have a great carrot cake recipe to go to now and again. This one fits the bill—supermoist and loaded with goodies. Cut back on the fat even further by trying the Fat-Free Vanilla Yogurt Frosting (page 107) on this cake.

These are my all-time favorite bars; I just love dates and nuts together. These bars have a crumbly texture with a creamy date center enhanced by raspberry juice.

My husband, Joe, asked me to come up with a healthy version of a delicious cookie we once tasted at a gourmet foods shop. I decided to go one better and make them vegan so everyone can love ’em as much as we do.

These cookies are moist and chewy, just like they should be. They’re also secretly boosted with fiber from flaxseed meal. You don’t have to tell the kids.

These muffins are loaded with good-for-you veggies, fruits, and seeds—and they’re vegan, too. The silken tofu replaces the dairy and eggs, and adds moistness and protein for a tasty breakfast or afternoon snack.