Lemons and Rosemary and Polenta Oh My

If you follow Orangette then you recently read her blog on polenta.  I love  good polenta and after reading her blog my polenta craving started.  I don't know about you but when a craving starts with me it's all or nothing.  I either ignore it completely and free myself from the crazy obsession that I know lurks just around the corner.  Or I give in ,open my arms wide and welcome the obsession into my life.  And then there is a funny kind of serendipity that seems to occur when I'm getting ready to enter the craving zone- I start to run into all kinds of things associated with that craving, articles,colors,songs-you know what I mean?

Here's a good example,yesterday I read Orangette's article on polenta, gave into the craving and embraced the obsession.  I was just getting ready to google for some ideas for a recipe when I decided to read the NY Times and catch up on the world outside my kitchen. At the bottom of the front page my interest was piqued by the "Opinion" category.  It wasn't just a news article title,  it was an illustration of the beginnings of a recipe .

See what I mean, wouldn't that illustration make you want to read more ?  So I clicked on the title of the article "All-Nighters: Shapton's In the Night Kitchen".  And discovered a lovely essay by Leanne Shapton,  accompanied by a little magical illustration of the recipe's ingredients.  Take the time to read the essay-it will confirm the obsession we all have when it comes to baking or cooking -can't sleep at night get up and bake !  Anyway back to my obsessive craving for polenta.  After reading Leanne's essay I knew my craving would only be satisfied by some type of polenta cake.  After searching and comparing ingredients in various recipes I decided this one by Ed Schneider, "Lemon Rosemary Polenta Cake with Lemon Rosemary Syrup", would be the cake that would conquer my obsessive craving for polenta.  The recipe was  published by Mark Bittman under his Bitten Blog in the New York Times.
PS The name of the cake is so long that you may lose your craving in the time it takes to say it but even just saying it -can't you smell the rosemary, can't you taste the creamy lemony polenta? You can't stop, I know you are licking the syrup off of your finger tips! Wouldn't it be the perfect cake to be eating out on the patio, under the lemon trees in the South of France ? Some women may chant-Calgon take me away-not me I'll be chanting Lemon Rosemary Polenta Cake with Lemon Rosemary Syrup take me away.....

LEMON ROSEMARY POLENTA CAKE WITH LEMON ROSEMARY SYRUP

Preheat the oven to 360 degrees
Butter and flour a 9" spring form cake pan

1 stick of unsalted butter-4oz
1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 scant teaspoon of fine salt
3/4 cup good quality medium grind polenta
4 eggs-room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
Grated zest of 1 1/2 lemons
2 teaspoons of finely chopped fresh rosemary

Melt a stick of unsalted butter and set it aside to cool
Combine a cup and a half of flour, two teaspoons of baking powder, a scant teaspoon of fine salt and three quarters cup of good medium-grind polenta
Using an electric mixer, whip four room-temperature eggs and three quarters cup sugar until they are airy and more than doubled in volume; toward the end, add the grated zest of one and a half lemons and two teaspoons of very finely chopped fresh rosemary.
Carefully fold in about a third of the dry ingredients and then half of the melted butter; repeat until everything is incorporated. Scrape into the cake pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes; the sides should slightly come away from the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. It should be well baked; more moisture will be added later.
TIP: I used my silicone muffin pans for these-I got 12 3" cakes and they baked in about 1/2 the time

Lemon Rosemary Syrup
1 large branch of rosemary-chopped
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
zest of 1/2 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon

Make this syrup while the cake is in the oven. Strip the leaves from a big branch of rosemary and chop them up. Put a half cup of water and a third cup of sugar on the heat; when the sugar has dissolved, add the rosemary and the zest of half a lemon. Bring to a boil, and let it steep for 15 minutes, then strain and reserve. Before using, add the juice of one lemon.
TIP: I doubled the amount of lemon zest just because I like more tartness in my simple syrup

When the cake has cooled for 10 minutes, spoon the syrup evenly over the cake (still in the pan). Let it soak and cool in the pan, then remove. Serve at room temperature.

Ed suggested a side of whipped cream or a rhubarb compote ! I opted for the whipped cream- Bon Appetit..

Culinary Olympics

When I thought about this competition I decided I wanted to accomplish two things.  I wanted  a recipe that reflected some type of traditional cooking or baking. I felt that there wasn't anything more traditional than the down home mountain baking which occurs in Appalachia. And secondly I wanted  to bring attention to hunger in the US.  As we all know it's not just 3rd world countries who experience poverty and hunger. I found this article from a recent newswire.
PRNewswire:
"46 percent Increase in U.S. Citizens Receiving Emergency Food. 37 Million Americans, Including 14 Million Children, at Risk of Hunger"

"CHICAGO, Feb. 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A landmark study released today from Feeding America, the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief organization, reports that more than 37 million people, one in eight Americans -- including 14 million children and nearly 3 million seniors -- receive emergency food each year through the nation's network of food banks and the agencies they serve. The findings represent a staggering 46 percent increase since the organization's previously released study in 2006."

 In searching for recipe ideas- I came across a site by Mark Sohn along with his recipe for Apple Cakes.  It is from his book Appalachian Home Cooking,History , Culture & Recipes .  If you know anything about Appalachia it has a very high poverty level and has been the focus of many studies and articles dealing with hunger.

What the author  has to say about the Apple Cakes:
"Like prune cakes, carrot cakes, or pumpkin cakes, we make fresh apple cakes with either oil or margarine. Some add cinnamon, allspice, raisins, coconut, and butterscotch chips. You may also vary the cake by reducing the flour by a cup and adding a cup of rolled oats. Try the basic cake, and then try one of the variations."-Mark Sohn

I thought this  recipe was a perfect fit for what I wanted to accomplish.

So all that being said here is my entry for the Blogger Aid Changing the Face of Famine Culinary Olympics. 

USA USA USA

Fresh Apple Cakes

Yield: 12 servings.


1 cup  margarine at room temperature


2 cups sugar


3 eggs


1 teaspoon vanilla


2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour


1 teaspoon baking powder


1/2 teaspoon soda


1/2 teaspoon salt


2 and 1/2 cups chopped raw apples


1 cup (1/2-inch-size) black walnut pieces

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Select, grease, and flour a 13x9x2 inch baking pan. Peel, core, and dice the apples into 3/4 inch pieces. Cream the margarine and sugar, and when they are well-mixed and a bit white, mix in the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla. Mix and sift together the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Stir this into the butter mixture. The batter will be thick.


Using a rubber spatula, stir in the apples and walnuts. Spread and scrape the cake batter into the prepared pan and bake 45 minutes or until it has browned across the top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool 1/2 hour and cut into 12 pieces.

It was delicious with a side of butter pecan ice cream !

And don't forget to order your copy of  Blogger Aid Changing the Face of Famine Cookbook

The members of BloggerAid-Changing the Face of Famine have published a cookbook where 100% of the proceeds target children and education through the World Food Programme called School Meals. Purchases can be made by clicking the cookbook cover above.