Bolzano Apple Cake

I was out blog-walking one morning and stopped by Alexandra's Kitchen where I tasted this recipe with my eyes and just knew I had to try it!

It was a bit chilly here in HAVRE, MONTANA today, so I thought it'd be a good idea to bake something in my new oven. My gardener bought it for me, and he is gonna get double smooches tonight for that, let me tell you!

The stove has five burners... one for simmer, one for big time pans and three for regular cookin', doncha know. (Have you ever watched the movie, Fargo... it's hilarious!)

Alexandra also has an Orange and Olive Oil Cake that I'm freakin' dyin' to make, but first I have to place an order with Temecula Olive Oil Company for a bottle of their Citrus Reserve Olive Oil-Late Harvest (and a few other items... you'll know what I mean when you visit their site).

But for now... back to the Bolzano Apple Cake.

From what I gather, this recipe was published in the New York Times and when The Chefs of America (that's you and me, folks) tested this recipe they found that something was just a little bit off. So, The Times ran a correction , and presumably, (I like that word today, don't you?) that's the one to go with.

So, use it if you must...but I hafta tell you that my version turned out super-delicioso... but do what feels good... after all, the U.S. of A. is still a free country. Yay!

This cake, presumably, is named for the use of the olive oil in the recipe from Balzano, Italy? I'm guessing here, but it sounds right, eh?
Okay, let's get started. Spray a 9" cake pan with cooking spray. Cut a piece of parchment for the bottom, put it in the pan and then spray the parchment. I put a couplaeggs and 1/2 cup sugar into the mixer and set it on low. I slowly added the rest of the sugar and mixed until thick.

I took out a loan at my favorite bank and bought some vanilla beans. I scraped the seeds and put them into the butter/sugar mixture.

I melted a stick of butter (that's 4 ounces) and set it aside. The vanilla pod went into the melted butter.

I peeled four small Gala apples...

... then thinly sliced the apple pieces.

Remove the vanilla pod from the butter and toss it. Stir the butter into the sugar/egg mixture. Look at that batter... doncha just want to hop right in there?? You can see the vanilla seeds in the batter!

I combined the flour, salt, and baking powder, then mixed that into the batter, alternating with the heavy cream.

I added the apple slices and stirred them in by hand, making sure each apple slice was is coated with the yummy, gooey batter I just created.

The recipe said to "pour" the batter into the pan. This batter was so thick of everything good, I pretty much "placed" it in the pan. (This might have had something to do with using heavy cream instead of milk, which the recipe called for.)

The recipe says to bake for 25 minutes at 350 then rotate the pan (I didn't) and bake for another 30 minutes until the cake pulls away and is brown on top.

Cool for 30 minutes (if you can wait that long) then cut into wedges. Sprinkle with powdered sugar (if you can wait that long).

This cake is SO good. I offered my gardener a slice and he loved it. The eggs and cream make a light, but rich, custard that surrounds the apple slices and just melts in your mouth.

I knew I didn't want this cake hanging around because I'd eat the whole thing... so my gardener took half of it over to the Havre Relatives... there's no sense in them being the only skinny ones around.

Nobody is entirely evil: it's that circumstances that make them evil, or they don't know they are doing evil.

No 237 - Delicatessen

Director - Marc Carot & Jean-Pierre Jeunet



Bonjour... Today is my first blog on a French film by French people. So I feel I'm connecting with the other half of my heritage. The French half. I have been joined by Mr Richard Hughes esq who will be inputting masses of pretentious balls into the proceedings.



This film is a comic post apocalyptic exploration of the human condition, and shows a surprising level of hope in a scenario that is tinged with tragedy and desperation. For, unlike so many dystopian visions, this explores the idea of people working together, and even enjoying themselves, as they go about their post apocalyptic day to day business. Which seems to mostly involve making those weird little boxes that sound like cows when you turn them upside down. This could be that there is an unexplained and somewhat unusual high demand for these objects, it could be just that 2 brothers are looking for a distraction from their difficult existence, or - as Richard suggested to me - it could be a substitute for the meat that they so desperately crave.



The film itself seems to be set in a parallel world where either the second world or the cold war ended in nuclear annihilation. The film has a clear 1950s image which mixes with an industrial feel to create imagery which is very similar to that used by Bioshock recently. The nostalgic otherworldliness is only intensified by the tone of the film. Dirty lights indoors and the thick brown smog which permeates through everything seem to tint the whole film into sepia. this is only broken by the occasional splash of colour, be it the vampish red of Mademoiselle Plusse's dress or the bright teal that appears both within the television set's picture and occasionally upon Julie, both her eyes and accessories shine through the uniform, almost oppressing filter.

It is interesting to note that whilst Mlle Plusse's dress is certainly vibrant, it fits into the brown world, perhaps showing that whilst she is a large and voluptuous character she is still very much a part of the environment that surrounds her. It is the teal which truly shines and differentiates itself from the surroundings. The television and Julie both offer Louison a sense of joy and escapism from a existence somewhat tainted by the ongoing threat of cannibalism....



For whilst it is Louison's story, the most interesting character is the Butcher. He rules the microcosm of the boarding house, where, with the exception of an occasional postman, everyone stays very firmly rooted either within it, either on top or below. He is the sole figure of power and authority and he seems to be a study of greed; a representation of pure desire - and the perils of falling prey to it completely. The parallels between his desperate desire for Mlle Plusse's flesh and for Louison's are palpable - and it is perhaps important to note that neither one are things that he needs. The question of the Butcher being pure evil is raised more than once - notably in a quote (the titular subject of this very review) which he overhears and then repeats, almost as a defence to himself. As a reflection of the risks of lust (of any kind) this sense of evil works well - but as irredeemable as he seems, he does appear to have one positive aspect: his daughter Julie. The irony of his desire to protect and nurture her (in respect of his own scant regard for innocence and chastity) is made quickly clear - and her development throughout the film is all the more intriguing for it, especially as she changes her more innocent outlook for a red dress and lipstick (only to have them removed by Lousion) by the chaotic climax; perhaps in a response to his increasingly claustrophobic protection. [ponce intervention over]

The final thing that I want to talk about is rhythm. As this is a very rhythmic film, using music or just beats to punctuate a lot of the scenes, from large 'action' sequences to more mundane montages of odd jobs. This creates a whimsical nature which echoes throughout the film and begins to draw the similarities to this and Amelie, one of Jeunet's later projects which is very different thematically but shows a lot of stylistic similarities. There are in fact large stylistic similarities with the sex scene montage within delicatessen and the orgasm montage within Amelie. It must be a subject that Jeunet is interested in....

And that brings us to the end of the blog I think. It was slightly more thoughtful and serious than usual, but I blame the Hughes for this... I am sure that next time will be a return to girls, clothes and who is cool. See you then

Tim xxx

Jumbo!

There wont be another! Thank you!

We've Been Hit!!

I was up early today to get ready to go to work, and as usual, I opened the door to let the dog out. This is the sight that greeted me out the front door.

Toilet paper and orange and black streamers hung from the trees out front. Happy Halloween from some of the neighborhood tricksters!

I called out to my son in the other room, "We've been hit!"

My son came outside to investigate and declared it the job of "rank amateurs." Not enough toilet paper was used, and it wasn't thrown up nearly high enough in the trees was his judgment. You can see some of the black streamers in the photo below.

Here you can see one of the orange streamers hanging down.


My son got busy and had it all cleaned up in about five minutes. He found out later in the day which of his friends had decided to decorate our yard for the Halloween season, and they had a good laugh together over it. Having your yard toilet papered is a sign that you are liked and have friends around here. Although it is more common to happen around Halloween, it takes place year round in this town. We had a good laugh over the morning greeting.

Oh, and about those leaves in the yard from yesterday's post. They are all raked down into the gutter of the street in front of our house, as you can see in the photo below, and ready for the city workers to come and sweep them up. Well, they are all raked until more fall from the trees. But for now, for today, they are done.

Watching TV: Saving Grace

Watching TV: Saving Grace. Season One. Tremendous Holly Hunter. Great Catholic pitch. Interesting.

Watched DVD: Hollow Man 2

Watched DVD: Hollow Man 2 (Claudio Faeh, 2006). Videomovie produced by Paul Verhoeven. Yawn. Not half as good as Hollow Man (Paul Verhoeven, 2000), and without Kevin Bacon.

Beer Braised Cabbage

I've seen several different recipes for braised cabbage lately but it seems that most of them take forever to cook. Like 2 hours in the oven forever! I wanted something quicker than that and found Emeril's recipe, which sounded yummy, easy, and quick! You can get this recipe by clicking right here.
Chop 1/2 pound of bacon and cook in a large pan until crispy.

Add sliced onions cook until soft. Add chopped garlic, salt and pepper.

Stir well.

Add sliced cabbage and 1/4 cup mustard (I used Dijon) and stir well.

Cook for 3 minutes. Add a 12 ounces of dark beer (I used Bud Light because that's what was in the fridge!) and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1/4 cup heavy cream, stir well and cook, covered, for 10 minutes.

This cabbage was delicious! The heavy cream added a smooth, mellow tasting sauce that was just perfect! I served this with grilled antelope chops. Yummy!