Author Archives: Dave Oney

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About Dave Oney

Dave Oney was born mid last century in Middlebury, Vermont. He received his BS in Chemistry and worked as a polymer chemist in Massachusetts and New Jersey. He became a microscopist (someone who studies little bitty things using a microscope) and photomicrographer (someone who photographs little bitty things) before settling into a 35-year career in technical sales of scientific imaging equipment (the science of digitally recording itty bitty things, sending the image to a computer for analysis.) He designed and created a number of products contributing to this field. He is (was) proficient in several computer languages and is currently working on mastering English. After making a few more paradigm shift career changes Dave and his wife, Fran, retired and moved closer to their children and granddaughters and now live in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas.

David’s Yellow Cake

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No, no no!! Not ME David!! David someone else from AllRecipies.com. I needed a yellow cake recipe for our staff pot luck lunch and decided to try this as a test. The final will be quite different but I wont make it until next month. This recipe was moist, flavorful and a great texture. Here is the yellow cake.

12 Servings, Prep Time: 20 Minutes, Cook Time: 30 Minutes

IngredientsYellow Cake Meringe Frosting 1Small

  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 1/2 cups white sugar
  • 8 egg yolks
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 cups cake flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour 2 – 8 inch round pans.
  2. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
  3. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk, mixing just until incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pans.
  4. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until tops spring back when lightly tapped.
  5. Cool 15 minutes before turning out onto cooling racks.

12 Servings, Prep Time: 20 Minutes, Cook Time: 30 Minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 1/2 cups white sugar
  • 8 egg yolks
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 cups cake flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour 2 – 8 inch round pans. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk, mixing just until incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pans.
  3. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until tops spring back when lightly tapped. Cool 15 minutes before turning out onto cooling racks.
  4. I used my torch to lightly scorch the meringue to give it some contrast and that slightly smokey taste.

 

Sautéed Chicken with Goat Cheese Sauce

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I heard a recipe for a chicken and Gorgonzola cheese sauce on the radio, then, after my car was safely parked, looked it up on my phone. The URL was for a “recipe of the day.” Unfortunately, I did not copy the recipe down and when I went back, it was another day and another recipe. Deciding to play the home edition of “Chopped” I made dinner with what was on hand, hence the Sauteed Chicken with Goat Cheese.

  1. Coat thinly cut chicken breasts in flour and saute in a pan with a little EVO
  2. Boil water to make some pasta (I love fettuccine.)
  3. While the chicken is cooking (about 3 minutes per side) slice some roasted red peppers into thin strips. (Or use pimentos, sweet peppers, whatever you have.)
  4. When browned and almost done, remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
  5. Cool the saute pan slightly and add some milk (1/2 cup or so), stir in a small package of goat cheese (I like Laura Chenel, but as we are cooking with it, any brand is probably OK)
  6. Raise the heat until the mixture is boiling. Be careful not to scorch it.
  7. Add some flour to thicken (I probably used a tablespoon, it depends on how much milk you used)
  8. Let the milk/cheese/flour mixture reduce until it is thick and add the chicken back to the pan.
  9. Drain the pasta and add to another saute pan heated to medium high with some EVO added.
  10. Stir in the roasted peppers (or whatever you had, if it was fresh peppers, add those first and let them soften until tender). Stir (or toss which is more fun) until hot. Add a little more EVO until it looks wet, but not saturated.

Place the chicken on a plate, pour some of the remaining cheese sauce over, put the pasta next to it and its supper time!!

 

Awww… Fudge!

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It’s winter. There is a slight nip in the air, sweater weather. It’s the season for caramel corn, sugar on snow and… fudge!! We grew up with fudge every winter, chocolate, peanut butter and the combination thereof. Our fudge was grainy and sweet, not the smooth sweet soft fudge found in stores and from chocolatiers. My fudge retains all the old flavors, textures and memories of fudge years now long gone. (Full disclosure, the recipe is from Betty Crocker’s cook book.)Fudge

  • 4 cups sugar
  • 1 1/3 cups milk
  • ¼ cup corn syrup
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 4 oz unsweetened baking chocolate
  • ¼ cup butter
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla

Method

  • Grease bottom and sides of 8-inch square pan with butter.
  • In 3-quart saucepan, cook sugar, milk, corn syrup, salt and chocolate over medium heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate is melted and sugar is dissolved. Cook, stirring occasionally, to 234°F on candy thermometer or until small amount of mixture dropped into cup of very cold water forms a soft ball that flattens when removed from water; remove from heat. Stir in butter.
  • Cool mixture without stirring to 120°F, about 1 hour. (Bottom of saucepan will be lukewarm.) Add vanilla. Beat vigorously and continuously 5 to 10 minutes, using wooden spoon, until mixture is thick and no longer glossy. (Mixture will hold its shape when dropped from a spoon.)
  • Spread in pan. Let stand about 1 hour or until firm. Cut into 1-inch squares.

Seminary Muffins

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I received this recipe from AllRecipes Healthy Choices subscription. Easy to make, ready for breakfast! I might add some raisins next time. Delicious and healthy muffins. Great for breakfast or a snack. No oil, butter or yeast! You may use oat bran instead of oatmeal if you wish

Ingredients

  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/3 cups mashed ripe banana
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup applesauce
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 cup quick cooking oats

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease one 12 cup muffin pan.
  2. In a large bowl, combine egg, banana, brown sugar, applesauce and vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
  3. Gently stir flour mixture and oatmeal into banana mixture. Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts. Pour batter into prepared muffin cups.
  4. Bake in preheated oven or 15 to 20 minutes, or until light brown. Remove muffins from pan and place on a wire rack to let cool before serving

“Pottering” Corn on the Cob

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Several people asked how to “Potter” corn on the cob. I am a little surprised that no one caught the reference to the final episode of “M*A*S*H: Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen (#11.16)” when Colonel Sherman Potter says: “Well, I like fresh corn. I mean real fresh corn. So I think maybe I’ll just take a hot plate out to the garden, make a pot of boiling water, then I won’t even pick that corn – I’ll bend that stalk till the ear dips into the water, and I’ll eat it right there standing up. Scrumptious!”

A Plague of Frogs… and its not even Passover!!

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Some time ago Fran bought me a book on decorative cakes and cup cakes. A week or so ago she sort of threw down the gauntlet and more or less challenged me to make something from the book. Here is the result – a family of frogs. They are made with white velvet cake that was lightened some by incorporating some meringue into the batter (I took one egg white and 1/3 of the 1 1/2 cups of sugar and beat them into a meringue which was added at the end of mixing.) Otherwise the recipe is the same as listed elsewhere. The frosting was store purchased vanilla dyed with the appropriate shade of green. The adults eyes are yogurt covered raisins and the kids eyes are white jelly beans. The eye pupils are dots of chocolate cake decorations. Warts are either the ends of green jelly beans or the ends of dark chocolate coated raisins. The lines around the eyes and mouth darker green dyed frosting which was piped from cutting the corner from a zip-lock bag. Next time I would use a real piping tip to make the lines smoother.

Two sets of cupcakes are made and the tops cut off squarely. The wrapper (should have been green) was removed from one and it was “glued” onto its mate, upside down, and frozen. After about 20 min in the freezer the tops were cut slightly to round off two opposing sides to shape the head. The cupcake was dipped into dyed and slightly nuked frosting (to make it about the consistency of whipped cream) and the eyes, warts etc were added. Cut a wedge about 1″ deep to make the mouth and glue some red fruit by the foot which was cut into semi circles into the opening. Another piece with the ends cut was put in the mouth for the tongue.

Corn… in its natural wrapper

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A few weeks ago we bought some bi-color corn (our favorite) with small kernels on a small cob…. perfect for saying goodbye to the summer. (OK, it’s still almost 90 deg every day, but officially, summer is over.) I really wanted to “Potter” the corn, but that is all but impossible down here. I also saw a method for nuking the corn. I am a traditionalist (husked corn in boiling water, or de-silked corn, soaked in water and wrapped in foil before grilling) but flexible and always willing to try new ideas. This time, I microwaved the cord. Cut off the bottom of the stalk and remove any loose silk. (Apparently the loose silk can ignite.) Cook for 3 min (depending on your microwave efficiency you might need to experiment) and then let sit for another minute. The husks come off easily (but are very hot) and the silk just slides off the ear, very easy and very clean. The flavor was superb, maybe not a good as “Pottering”, but equal to grilling, better than boiling and easier than any of them.

Enjoy!

Break the Fast 2012

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Welcome to 5773! Did anyone else see the giant matzo ball slide down the tower into the huge bowl of soup in Tel Aviv last week? Totally awesome this year! Great light show, spectacular music! Don’t miss it next year!!!

Following tradition Fran and I broke the fast last night at a bagel dinner with friends, hosted by Ilayne and Amy. I was asked to bring a cake, so keeping with the dinner theme, I made a bagel cake. This cake is white velvet frosted with crusting chocolate butter cream and filled with a combination of white and “salmon” colored butter cream frosting. The lettuce is thin rolled gum paste where the edges were rolled with a round ended modeling tool. The lettuce and flowers were airbrushed in the appropriate colors. The spices on the top of the cake to make it look kind of “ET”ish (onion, garlic and seeds) are Duff’s Smores Sugar Sprinkles

Chicken Alfredo

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I had the craving for some Chicken Alfredo last week, but usually shy away from heavy Alfredo sauce. Last week I succumbed to the craving, but to appease my guilty conscience made a lighter Alfredo sauce. It uses skim milk, no cream or cream cheese and a minimal amount of butter.

Ingredients

  • Chicken fillets (I used 4 thin fillets)
  • 1/2 cup skim milk
  • 1/3 cup flour
  • 2 tbl butter
  • 1 tsp crushed garlic
  • salt and pepper to taste

Cook the chicken any way you prefer. I used a tablespoon of EVO on a non stick pan and cooked over medium high each side for 4-6 min.

In a saucepan over low heat, blend flour,  butter, skim milk, and chicken broth. Add minced garlic, salt and pepper. Continue to cook over low heat stirring constantly until the sauce thickens. Stir in Parmesan cheese. Combine sauce with chicken and mushrooms.

Place cooked chicken over a bed of mixed greens and spoon Alfredo sauce over the chicken and greens.

Serve immediately. If sauce is too thick, adjust with more skim milk and chicken broth.

Jeopardy Dinner

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Pan Sautéed Chicken with Vegetables and Herbs: trying to hide the vegetables in the main dish so Fran will eat them is a challenge. I wanted something reasonably quick to make after work. I call these Jeopardy meals, not because you take you health into jeopardy but because they should be ready to eat by the time Jeopardy comes on the TV at 7:30. This is also the recipe where I discovered I had no thyme. (It was subsequently added to the grocery list.) I actually made this dish a week ago, before the medallions but forgot to post it so they are slightly out of sequence.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 2 bone-in chicken breast halves
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 small red onions, cut into quarters
  • 1/2 pound new potatoes, cut into quarters
  • 1/4 pound fresh whole baby carrots, green tops trimmed to 1-inch
  • 3/4 cup Swanson® Chicken Stock
  • 1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano leaves
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the black pepper, paprika and flour in a small bowl. Coat the chicken with the flour mixture.
  2. Heat the oil in a 12-inch oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until it’s well browned on all sides. Remove the chicken from the skillet.
  3. Add the onions and potatoes to the skillet and cook for 5 minutes. Add the carrots, stock, lemon juice and oregano and heat to a boil. Return the chicken to the skillet. Cover the skillet.
  4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Uncover the skillet and bake for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender. Sprinkle with the thyme