chocolate Guinness cake

this wednesday is one of our favorite food holidays - after thanksgiving, easter, christmas . . . ok, i guess most holidays are a great excuse to make something special and we really don't have a favorite! last year we celebrated st. patrick's day with colcannon and it will definitely be on our plates again this year with some corned beef, cabbage and a few pints of Guinness. this lovely chocolate cake combines stout and prunes for an extra moist and rich result. it's perfect with a little vanilla ice cream while sipping some irish whiskey after dinner! check back this week for a few more st. paddy's day recipes, including something to do with all that leftover corned beef.

Chocolate Stout Cake

serves 6

(adapted from gourmet.com)

1/2 cup stout such as Guinness

1/2 cup pitted prunes, chopped

1 stick unsalted butter, chopped

3 1/2 oz bittersweet chocolate

1 1/4 cups flour

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

preheat oven to 350 degrees F. bring beer to a boil in a small saucepan and add prunes. remove from heat and let stand. melt chocolate and butter a little at a time in the microwave, stirring often, or in a heavy saucepan over low heat. sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.

in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together eggs, sugar and vanilla until thick. add chocolate and beat until combined. reduce speed to low and add flour mixture. stir in prune mixture until well combined. divide batter between 6 greased 10-cm spring form pans, an 8x3-inch ringmold or a 6 cup capacity bundt pan. bake until a wooden skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 40-45 minutes. cool cake 15 minutes on a wire rack, remove from pan and cool completely. enjoy!

gingersnaps & jam

if you happen to be looking for a very easy, nice & light dessert to whip up using ingredients that you probably have on hand any given day, then look no further. this is a recipe my mom made several years ago from an old issue of martha stewart and i immediately fell in love. there are endless flavor options from substituting different kinds of cookies and jam but some reason i can't get past gingersnaps and raspberry jam.

we also have a few random tidbits to mention today. be sure to check out the apr/may issue of Fine Cooking to see a great noodle article i styled along with the cover! we just picked up a bag of these amazing caramels at Marlow & Daughters and they sure didn't last long. also, if you twitter, look for us @picturenpancake - we don't tweet often but are trying to more & more. lastly, check out this fabulous article in the ny times about the coffee scene in new york - a perfect read as we sipped new orleans iced coffees from the newly opened blue bottle in brooklyn. have a great weekend!

Gingersnap & Jam Parfait

makes 4

3/4 cup raspberry jam

3 tbs lemon juice

1/2 cup sour cream

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp ground cardamom

1/4 tsp ground ginger

8 gingersnaps, crushed

whisk together jam and lemon juice and set aside. beat sour cream, cream, sugar, vanilla, cardamom and ginger until stiff peaks form. layer about 1 tablespoon whipped cream mixture, 1 tablespoons crushed gingersnaps and 1 tablespoon of jam. repeat and top with a dollop of whipped cream. enjoy!

spring fever

it was too nice out today and for the past several days to cook much at home. we had a fun afternoon & evening today wandering around the city on foot - enjoying the bright sun, warm breeze and fifty degree weather! had a fantastic lunch here and can't wait to go back very very soon, nice ginger cookie & iced coffee break here and another sweet treat here. we are trying to spend a few moments every tuesday to go out and try something new in the city - we'll keep you posted on what's new & exciting to us as we explore. any suggestions for spots we just shouldn't miss?

celery root

celery root is a very strange and scary looking vegetable! but with a little love it can be turned into so many beautiful dishes. i was first introduced to the root as this classic french dish when recipe testing for this cookbook. this luscious rich soup makes a perfect lunch or dinner and pairs nicely with a lovely green salad. it couldn't be easier to make, especially with the help of this fantastic tool! immersion blenders make silky smooth soups in seconds and the whisk attachment means you don't have to lug out the kitchen aid stand mixer for a small bit of whipped cream. next time i grab some celery root at the greenmarket, i'm going to try this beautiful salad!

Celery Root Soup

serves 4

3 leeks, white & yellow only, cleaned & sliced

1 tbs olive oil, plus more for garnish

1 1/2 lbs celery root, peeled & cubed

1 3/4 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 slices crispy bacon, crumbled

1/2 tart apple, cut into thin matchsticks

in a medium sized pot, saute leeks in oil until softened, about 8-10 minutes. add celery root, chicken broth and 3 cups of water. bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook 30-40 minutes or until celery root is soft. puree with an immersion blender or in batches in a blender. return to pot, off heat and stir in heavy cream and season with salt and pepper to taste. thin soup with a little water until desired consistency is reached. ladle into bowls and garnish with crumbled bacon, sliced apple and a drizzle of olive oil. enjoy!

side salad

we had a fun week/weekend entertaining the in-laws and are still recovering from all the food and wine we managed to consume in a short amount of time. despite the snowy weather we had some great dinners here and here. we decided to cook at home one cozy night and this side dish was the perfect addition to grilled lamb chops, garlic bread, spinach salad and roasted asparagus. it's a very easy bean salad from this awesome cookbook. hope you enjoy it as much as we did! off to see if this has opened yet and very excited for this show tonight!

White Bean Salad

serves 6-8

1 tbs minced shallot

1 tsp dijon mustard

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground pepper

1/4 tsp worcestershire sauce

2 1/2 tbs red wine vinegar

2 tbs fresh lemon juice

3/4 cup olive oil

3 15-oz cans cannellini beans, drained

1/2 cup chopped red onion

1/2 cup chopped parsley

1/4 cup chopped dill, mint or basil

3 green onions, chopped

combine shallot, mustard, salt, pepper, worcestershire, vinegar, lemon juice and oil in a small bowl and whisk to combine. in a large bowl, toss beans, onion, herbs and green onion with vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper to taste. serve immediately or refrigerate.

lemon cornmeal cookies

cookies and milk are the ultimate comforting afternoon snack. these simple lemon shortbread style cookies have cornmeal in the dough for a lovely texture. my mom gave me this cookie cookbook for christmas and a recipe in it gave me the idea to add cornmeal. if you don't want to make 4 dozen cookies at once, the dough will keep for several days in the fridge or a few months in the freezer. we used a 1 1/2-inch round cookie cutter but if you use a bigger circle the recipe will yield fewer cookies. enjoy!

Lemon Cornmeal Cookies

makes 4 dozen

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup medium or fine ground cornmeal

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

2/3 cup sugar

zest of 2 lemons

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1 cup confectioner's sugar

preheat oven to 400 degrees F. combine flour, cornmeal, ginger and cinnamon in a bowl and set aside. using the paddle attachment in a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until pale and yellow. add lemon zest and vanilla and mix. add eggs, one at a time, and mix until fully incorporated. add dry ingredients and mix until combined. roll dough into a ball, cut in two and wrap each ball in plastic wrap. chill for 30 minutes. roll out one ball at a time on a lightly floured surface until 1/4-inch thick. cut out circles with a 1 1/2-inch cookie cutter and transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet. bake for 12-14 minutes or until light golden brown. cool completely on a wire rack and dust with confectioner's sugar before serving.

it's five o'clock somewhere

as i'm sure you've heard, old school handcrafted cocktails with traditional ingredients are back in style. there's something so classy about the art of drink, respecting the cocktail and bringing it back to what it was. we're reminded of this tradition at places like this while sipping a dark & stormy and listing to jazz as the subway gently shakes your booth. the cooper's union cocktail has an old fashioned taste and is an elegant drink we discovered in an old issue of bon appetit - it comes from this restaurant in minneapolis. serve it in a beautiful champagne flute like this marc jacobs for waterford crystal coupe we got for our anniversary in october. happy friday and have a wonderful weekend!

Cooper's Union Cocktail

serves 1

1 oz pink grapefruit juice

1/2 oz fresh lemon juice

1/2 oz simple syrup

1 oz st-germain elderflower liqueur

3 drops orange flower water

1 oz vodka

champagne or sparkling wine to top, chilled

in a mixing glass, stir all ingredients, except bubbly, together. pour into a champagne flute and top off with champagne.

around town

well, its been a busy week in our household, shooting, shooting, shooting and styling, styling, styling. but as we have learned to do very well, with all work will come play. living in nyc has been nothing short of amazing, and it gets better and better each day. there seems to be this never ending pulse of the art and food world that makes it exciting to get up each day and explore more. even these californians have fallen in love with the snow! today, instead of our food, here is a little of our recent fav's around the city.

- our obsession with mast brothers chocolate, above, might get us in pocketbook trouble, but it is worth ever penny. they were also wonderfully featured in the selby, check it out.

-we ate at northern spy the other day and had a great meal at a great price. from their drive to help local farmers and food purveyors to the fun decor, this is a must eat.

-recently our friends at big leo productions pointed us in the direction of new wonderful work produced by mason adams of blp, called voracity. an awesome ongoing essay exploring hunger, consumption, and beauty. the great team that put this together did a fantastic job, make sure to take a peek.

-also check out blp's blog, the den.

-we are looking forward to eating here soon. ohhhhhh meatballs...

-april bloomfield's the breslin really has lived up to all the hype for us. and i have to say the lamb burger might just be the best burger on the planet. i did say might.

-looking for a cheap drinking night in the city? hop under the brooklyn bridge to cowgirl seahorse for a $2 canned genessee cream or carling black label.

-and as usual, you should be checking out these amazing girls...jen, jen, molly and jen.

hope everyone had a great valentines day!

pudding

when you look at these images you don't think pudding, do you? well, maybe you do if you're british or have a friend from across the pond or are for some reason familiar with steamed puddings. sticky toffee pudding, spotted dick and even bread pudding are molded desserts different in texture than regular old chocolate or tapioca pudding. i grew up with a family tradition of eating cranberry steamed pudding for dessert every christmas eve and have always loved it! we recently saw a recipe for marmalade pudding in jamie oliver's gorgeous magazine and decided to adapt it so you don't have to measure everything in grams. the slightly bitter orange flavor would be delicious with a cup of coffee in the morning, a cup of tea around 3pm or in a puddle of creme anglaise for dessert. you can find molds at garage sales, thrift stores and even brand new here. definitely worth having one in the cupboard but if you don't have one yet, you can always steam it in a coffee can.

Marmalade Pudding

serves 8-10

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 stick unsalted butter

1/2 cup marmalade

3 eggs

in a large bowl, combine flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. in a small saucepan, heat butter and marmalade until butter is melted. pour over dry ingredients and whisk to mix well. whisk in the eggs and stir until combined. pour into a greased pudding mold and cover tightly with a piece of greased foil. place in a large pot, slightly raised from the bottom if possible, and fill pot with boiling water about halfway up the side of the mold, being careful not to spill into the mold. bring to a boil over medium heat, cover and steam for about 2 hours. the water will need to be refilled a bit as the pudding cooks. test the pudding with a cake tester and turn out onto a dish. slice and serve warm or at room temperature. enjoy!

zeppole

we were just watching a repeat of everyday italian on the food network and it happened to be an episode from the season i worked on. giada was making zeppole, which is essentially an italian doughnut hole, and it reminded me of how delicious little fried balls of dough tossed in cinnamon sugar and dipped in chocolate taste. so while it was snowing outside all day today, we stayed inside and made these! the recipe is adapted from this cookbook which has lots of great recipes. yes it's a little indulgent and no we don't fry things every day but today it was a special treat!

Zeppole

serves 4-6

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/4 cup sugar plus 1/2 cup for coating

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup all purpose flour

4 eggs

1 tbs orange zest

vegetable oil for frying

1 tsp cinnamon

in a medium saucepan, combine butter, sugar, salt and 1/2 cup water. bring to a boil over medium heat. take the pan off the heat and stir in the flour. return to low heat and cook, stirring vigorously until the mixture forms a ball. transfer the dough to a medium bowl and using an electric mixer, beat in eggs one at a time. add orange zest and set aside. in a small bowl, combine cinnamon with remaining 1/2 cup sugar and set aside.

pour enough oil into a frying pan to reach a depth of 2-inches. heat the oil over medium heat until it reaches 350 degrees F on a candy thermometer.

using a small ice cream scoop, carefully drop small tablespoons of dough into the hot oil. fry several at a time but be careful not to crowd the pan. turn zeppole with a wooden skewer to evenly brown both sides and cook until golden and puffed, about 5 minutes. roll cooked zeppole in cinnamon sugar and serve immediately plain or with melted chocolate for dipping. enjoy!