Blake Makes

Hello, Blake Makers, and a very special hello to you, Sooper Heroes. Why so special? There’s a giveaway this week!!! That’s right, they’re baaaack!

So, what are we giving away? More chocolate? Something sweet? Actually, no. In fact, this time, it’s something savory. It’s chutney!

Alison McQuade has been a loyal Blake Maker since the beginning. She makes some amazing chutney, and we’ve actually blogged about it before.

She wanted to share her most popular flavor with all of you, so she sent me a jar of the Fig & Ginger to try.

Like with all the free food we get to consider for the giveaways, I needed to taste it, cook with it and photograph it.

We’re always going to tell you the truth (whether good or bad), so I have a confession to make about chutney. I don’t have a lot of experience with chutney.

I rarely cook with it, and have eaten it less. Actually, I’ve only had it twice (and both times were from McQuade’s). That being said, I’ve enjoyed everything Alison’s sent me!

I made a crostata with it (here’s the recipe), and it turned out nice. It tasted like a big fig newton. I’m curious, however, to see what you guys will be able to do with it.

That brings us to this week’s giveaway.

Instead of a feeding frenzy, we’re going to do things a little differently this time. I’m going to post on Thursday, April 3, and you’ll have all day to sign up. We have 24 jars to give away, so here’s how you get one.

Tell us what you’ll do (make) with it. You don’t have to have a recipe, or any experience with chutney. Just give us what you’ve got; what you’re thinking of; what you’d like to try.

The 24 best ideas (chosen by us) will get a jar.

Keep an eye out for a Sooper Secret E-mail for further details. Comment with questions! Stay tuned!

I am so ready for the arrival of spring- I want to plant our tomato garden, go swimming and get tan. To hasten the season’s arrival and reward myself for getting up so early during Daylight Savings, I decided to make a Blueberry Tart. I love blueberries, and the only thing that could make them any better is to turn them into tart (or a pie- yum!). This recipe was snagged from my favorite wedding present- our Ruth Reichl autographed Gourmet cookbook. (Thanks Patrick! Totally had to brag on your gift for the millionth time, I love it that much!).

I did probably commit a cardinal Gourmet sin by substituting all frozen blueberries for fresh ones. Blake just wasn’t willing to let me make a $50.00 tart, and I can’t really blame him. However, despite my worry, the tart came out great! And here’s another picture to prove it! Plus, only 10 more days ’till spring is officially here!

Ingredients for Crust:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 stick (8 TB) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
• 1 large egg yolk

Ingredients for Filling:

• 1 TB fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• 8 cups blueberries
• 2 1/2 tsp unflavored gelatin
• 3 TB water
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions- Crust:

• Pulse together flour, sugar, salt, and butter in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add yolk and pulse until dough begins to come together but is still crumbly.
• Press dough evenly onto bottom and up sides of an 11-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Prick bottom of crust all over with a fork and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Put a rack in middle of oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Bake crust until golden, 15-20 minutes. Cool on a rack.

Directions- Filling:

• Combine lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and 3 cups berries in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, bring to a simmer, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, sprinkle gelatin over water in a small bowl and let soften.
• Remove pan from heat and stir in gelatin mixture and vanilla. Transfer blueberry mixture to a metal bowl let in a bowl of ice and cold water and stir occasionally until thickened to the consistency of raw egg white but not set, about 10 minutes.
• Fold in remaining 5 cups berries. Pour filling into crust and spread evenly. Refrigerate tart, loosely covered, until set, at least 4 hours.
• Let tart stand at room temperature for 1 hour before removing rim of pan. Serve tart with whipped cream.

The tart can be refrigerated for up to 1 day.

I will admit that aside from Nestle Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies, I am usually a terrible baker. I have actually had a cake somehow implode and begin to dissolve—no idea how I did that. However, I was craving something sweet and chocolatey when I came across this recipe in Susan Spicer’s Crescent City Cooking so I decided to roll up my sleeves and bake Blake this Banana Chocolate Chip Cake with Peanut Butter-Cream Cheese Icing.

I’m so glad I put my baking fears aside because this cake was super easy to make and it was fantastic! The cake tasted like delicious banana pudding with a hint of chocolate and the icing added a sweet peanut buttery richness! This would be a great dessert for kids and other picky eaters.

Ingredients:

• 2 ½ cups cake flour
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 ½ cups mashed ripe banana (about 2 large)
• 1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
• ¾ cup buttermilk
• 1 ½ sticks butter (unsalted)
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• ¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips, plus ¼ cup for garnish

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter and flour two 8-inch round cake pans.

Sift the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Whisk together the banana, vanilla, and buttermilk in a medium bowl. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy; add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until well mixed.

Add the dry ingredients and banana mixture to the butter mixture in three alternating stages (dry, wet, dry), ending with the dry. Fold in the chocolate chips. Divide the batter between the pans and bake for about 25 minutes, or until springy in the center. Allow cakes to cool in pans for about 10 minutes. Run a knife around the rim of the pan to loosen cake, then invert to release cake. Cool completely on wire racks. Spread icing between the layers, and on the top and sides of the cake. Sprinkle with chocolate chips, if desired.

Peanut Butter-Cream Cheese Icing

• ½ cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 ¼ cups confectioners’ sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla extract

Cream the peanut butter and the cream cheese in a mixer with the paddle attachment, scraping the sides once or twice, until light and fluffy. Beat in the sugar gradually. When completely incorporated, add the vanilla.

These are Katherine Hepburn Brownies from our Gourmet cookbook. They were so good, I do believe they were blessed by Katherine herself. See the light in the picture? That’s her looking down from heaven.

To Make:

2 squares unsweetened chocolate
1/4 pound sweet butter (1 stick)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 t. vanilla
1/4 cup flour
1/4 t. salt
1 cup chopped walnuts.

Melt chocolate and butter. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Stir
vigorously. Add flour, salt and nuts (we don’t like buts in ours). Mix until incorporated.

Pour into buttered 8 x 8 pan. Bake in 325 degree preheated oven for 40 minutes. Allow to cool before cutting.