Wait! I'm not done yet »

Now my oven is not a light-weight. It baked for 80 minutes before a skewer inserted in it came out clean. I did think perhaps the oven should have been cranked up to 350 degrees; but in order to get the right pound cake texture, it's best to bake at a lower temperature over a longer period of time.
This recipe came from the same place I got the flawed biscotti recipe from.

I'm beginning to suspect that someone purposely wrote errors into the recipes for this particular show. Hm.

This was my second attempt.
RESULT!
I want to stress the importance of following the recipe to the letter. Any error in the creation of the batter, anything out of order and I can't guarantee it'll turn out right. Also, I had Ray haul out my standing mixer because you have to whip the butter, vanilla and sugars until really fluffy and that takes time. Besides it frees your hands to do other things in the meantime.

It's rich, it's decadent, it's a show-stopper




Brown Sugar Pound Cake

Ingredients:

Cake

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
6 egg, room temperature
3 cups pastry flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream
1/4 tsp baking soda

Icing


6 tbsp icing sugar
2 tbsp browned and strained butter
1 tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Cake

Preheat oven to 275 F. Grease and flour a bundt pan.


In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or with an electric mixer), cream butter, sugars and vanilla on high speed until light and fluffy, scraping down sides often. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.


Sift together flour and salt.


In a separate bowl combine sour cream and baking soda. Add flour and sour cream alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape cake batter into bundt pan.


Bake for 20 minutes at 275 F, then turn up oven to 325 F and bake for an additional 70-80 minutes or until a tester inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clear.


Icing

Stir together icing sugar with browned and strained butter, water and vanilla.


To Assemble

Ice cake after it has cooled by drizzling icing over top of cake.

« Okay, that's it.

Wait! I'm not done yet »

Ingredients

Lamb any or all of the following:

lamb pancetta (belly)
lamb chops
lamb shoulder

Veal

from the shank of shoulder
ribs

Meatballs

ground pork/veal mix
1 egg
breadcrumbs and grated Pecorino cheese to taste


Italian Pork Sausage

preferably homemade

Making the Gravy

Cover the base of a dutch oven a half-inch deep with olive oil. His favorite was Filippo Berio. Heat the oil with a whole yellow cooking onion, halved. When the onion has begun to brown around the edges, remove it from the oil. Sprinkle it with salt and snack on it with a glass of homemade wine. Brown all the meat in this oil. The bigger the mess you make with the oil splattering, the better.*

Once the meat has browned, pour in the homemade jars of tomatoes enough to cover the meat and then some, and a can of tomato paste. Salt and pepper to taste. A sprinkle of sugar and a splash of red wine. Cover with a lid and simmer for the duration of the soccer game.
(He was a rabid Juventus fan.) Try to remember to stir it occasionally.

Maccheroni:

Bring a stockpot 2/3 full of salted water to boil. Cook 1 lb of Penne Lisce. My father used to swear they were the best for this gravy because they slid between the lips. I'm sure all the oil helped too! When the pasta is cooked, one minute longer than al dente, strain in a colander.

Plating the serving dish:

On a serving dish warmed in the oven, place half a stick of butter. Pour in the pasta. Swirl it around until the butter has melted. Add the gravy one ladle at a time, mixing it the pasta to thoroughly coat it. Not more than that. It's called past'asciutta, meaning dry, not swimming in a broth.

On a separate plate place the meat.

The maccheroni was always served as a first course and the meat with a green tossed salad as a second course. Bread was served with the meat, but not with the pasta. Cheese was placed on the table, allowing each one to use as much or as little as they preferred.

My father, best remembered for his stunning good looks, always showered, shaved, styled his hair, and dressed every night for dinner. Always.
Doesn't matter, 'cuz the women will clean it up.

« Okay, that's it.