Kitchen Encounters

~ Green-for-the-Day Pistachio Pudding Bundt Cake ~

A green cake is not something one sees everyday, but, a green cake would obviously be an ideal dessert to serve for your St. Patrick's Day celebration.  That said, this recipe came into my life for a very different celebration -- my bridal shower.  My (now retro) signature color was a pale shade of prissy avocado green.  A close friend of my mother offered to bake the cakes -- three, three-layer cakes decoratively slathered with a lovely shade of pastel-green frosting presented on three graduated-height cake pedestals.  Agnes loved to bake and was a wonderful baker.

Use a boxed cake mix?  In the case of this cake -- you betcha.

The cakes tasted as good as they looked, and, a few weeks later, in August, for my 21st birthday, my mom to asked Agnes to bake the same cake, as, the peridot, my birthstone, is also a similar green color.  As it turns out, Agnes was headed to Florida to visit her sister (meaning she couldn't bake the cake), so, she gave my mom the recipe, which, surprisingly used a boxed cake mix. Agnes explained, "You can't make this cake from scratch, it just doesn't come out the same."

Agnes was correct.  I tried transitioning this recipe into my recipes for double-vanilla cake or cupcakes, and, sweet cream sheet cake, and, it doesn't come out the same.  As for the flavorings, both cakes tasted great, but, the pudding alters their density, which is why baking is considered a science, and, why you are getting a recipe using a boxed cake mix from me.  As my grandmother said often, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."  Simply enjoy this easy cake recipe just as it is.

It can't be made from scratch -- it won't come out the same.

For the cake: 

1  15.25-ounce Duncan-Hines classic yellow boxed cake mix

1  3.4-ounce package Jell-O instant pistachio pudding

4  large eggs

1/4  cup vegetable oil

2  teaspoons pure pistachio extract

1  teaspoon pure almond extract

1 1/4  cups water

2  drops green food coloring (optional)

no-stick cooking spray, for preparing bundt pan

~Step 1.  In a large bowl, place the dry cake mix and instant pudding. Add the eggs, oil and extracts.  Add the water followed by the optional food coloring (because of the pudding, the cake will still be a pale green without the food coloring).  Over medium-high speed of hand-held electric mixer, beat the mixture until thick and smooth, about 2 minutes.

~Step 2.  Transfer batter to a bundt pan prepared with no-stick cooking spray.  Bake on center rack of 325º oven 50-55 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in several spots comes out clean.  Remove cake from oven and cool, in pan, 15-20 minutes, prior to inverting onto rack to cool completely, about 2 hours.

For the cream-cheese drizzle:

4  ounces cream cheese, at room temperature, very soft

2  cups Confectioners' sugar

2  teaspoons pure pistachio extract

1  teaspoon pure almond extract

1  drop green food coloring

2  tablespoons milk, plus 1-2 teaspoons more, if necessary

1/4  cup lightly-toasted and finely-ground pistachios

~Step 1.  In work bowl of mini-food processor, grind the pistachios and set aside.  In work bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade, place all the remaining ingredients:  the cream cheese, Confectioners' sugar, extracts, food coloring and 2 tablespoons milk.  With motor running, process until smooth, scraping down the sides of the work bowl with a rubber spatula once or twice during the process.  Process in additional milk, by teaspoonfuls, to reach desired drizzly consistency.

~ Step 2.  Transfer the drizzly glaze to a 1-cup measuring container with a pourer spout or into a plastic squeeze bottle/condiment dispenser.  Using a slow back and forth motion, drizzle all of the glaze evenly over the top of the cake.  While the glaze is still shiny and wet, sprinkle the nuts evenly over the top.

Slice & serve for any occasion requiring a green dessert:

St. Patricks's Day, a bridal or baby shower, or, an August birthday:

Green-for-the-Day Pistachio Pudding Bundt Cake:  Recipe yields 12-16 servings.

Special Equipment List:  hand-held electric mixer; rubber spatula; cake tester; wire cooling rack; mini-food processor; food processor

Cook's Note: For a few of my St. Patrick's Day celebratory main-dish meals, allow me to suggest you try my: ~ Easy Cottage Pie (Beef) & Shepherd's Pie (Lamb) ~, ~ Brown Sugar Crusted Corned Beef Sandwiches ~, or, ~ Another Crockpot Corned Beef & Cabbage Recipe ~.  That said, whatever you choose to serve, be sure to serve it with ~ Irish Eyes are Smilin' on Mary's Irish Soda Bread ~ slathered with  Irish butter.

"We are all in this food world together." ~ Melanie Preschutti

(Recipe, Commentary and Photos courtesy of Melanie's Kitchen/Copyright 2019)

~ The Secret's in the Slaw Rachel-on-Rye Sandwich ~

I crave a Reuben sandwich once or twice a year.  The Rachel sandwich, on the other hand, is: standard operating procedure in my kitchen.  My refrigerator is rarely without some super-thin sliced deli turkey breast and/or pastrami, and, my favorite Lacey Swiss cheese -- it often has a container of semi-homemade or deli-style coleslaw in it too.  That means, with a slice or two of lightly-toasted Jewish-style rye bread, a Racheal sandwich is only a few short minutes away.

When I crave a Reuben sandwich, I'm more inclined to make one or all of the components from scratch: bake a loaf of homemade bread-machine rye bread, slow-cook a crockpot corned beef, stovetop-simmer sauerkraut, and, stir together some Russian or Thousand Islands salad dressing. It's a production, but, because I don't live anywhere close to a NY-style deli that can begin to make this sandwich the way I like it, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

The Lovely Rachel-on-Rye made-my-way to make-my-day... 

When I crave a Rachel Sandwich, on the occasions when I have some leftover perfectly-roasted turkey breast, I use it.  That said, high-quality deli-style turkey breast and/or pastrami is no compromise. And, after shopping the deli-counter, I reach for a bag of slaw mix instead of a container of prepared coleslaw. Why?  When I'm planning on lunching on Rachels for the week, instead of using my five-minutes-to-make Russian or Thousand Islands dressing as a spread for the bread, I use it to dress the slaw instead -- and it is amazing.

... the secret's in the slaw & it's amazing.

For each Rachel-my-way sandwich:

2  slices Jewish-rye bread, deli-swirl bread may be substituted

2  tablespoons salted butter

4  thin slices Lacey Swiss cheese

8 thin-slices pastrami

8 thin-slices turkey breast

2/3  cup creamy Russian- or Thousand Islands-dressed coleslaw, from recipe below, or your favorite deli-style slaw

For a weeks worth of coleslaw (Note:  I'm using Russing dressing today, but use Thousand Islands all the time too.  Both are great.):

1  16-ounce bag coleslaw mix

4  ounces matchstick carrots

1-1 1/2  cups Russian or Thousand Islands salad dressing, preferably homemade as per either of my recipes (Note:  Be wary of substituting even high-quality store-bought dressings as they vary greatly in taste and consistency.  Ken's SteakHouse is a good one, but it pales in comparison to my own Russian dressing.)

~Step 1.  Place slaw mix, carrots and 1 cup of the dressing in a large bowl.  Using a large rubber spatula, thoroughly combine.  Add additional dressing in small increments until desired consistency is reached. Transfer to a 2-quart size food-storage container, cover and refrigerate 4-6 hours or overnight.  Overnight is best. Recipe yields 5 cups.

~Step 2.  Cut the 2 slices of bread in half to form 4 pieces.  In a 10" nonstick skillet, melt the butter over low heat.  Add bread to skillet and increase heat to medium-high, to gently grill, until slices are light golden on both sides, 45-60 seconds per side.  Transfer the lightly-toasted bread to a toaster-oven sized disposable aluminum broiler pan.

~Step 3.  Top each of two halves with one large slice of Swiss cheese (folded in half to fit the bread).  Place two folded slices pastrami atop the cheese.  Place four folded slices turkey breast atop the pastrami, followed by one more large folded-in-half slice of Swiss atop the pastrami. Top with the remaining two half slices of lightly-grilled rye bread, to form two half sandwiches.  Bake on center rack of preheated 350º oven or toaster oven, until cheese is melted and bubbly, about 6 minutes.  Remove from oven, lift the top slice of bread from each half sandwich and top each half with about 1/3 cup of coleslaw.  Serve immediately accompanied by potato chips and or pickles.

Top with slaw & eat as soon as you can wrap a hand around it:

The Secret's in the Slaw Rachel-on-Rye Sandwich:  Recipe yields instructions to build 1 deli-style sandwich/1-2 servings.

Special Equipment List:  large rubber spatula; 1-cup measuring container; large rubber spatula; 2-quart size food storage container w/lid; cutting board; chef's knife; 10" nonstick skillet; nonstick spatula; toaster-oven-sized disposable aluminum broiler pan (the kind with the corrugated bottom)

Cook's Note: In the Greater New York area, also know as the Tri-State Area a sloppy Joe is a completely different sandwich than what the rest of us have stereotyped in our minds.  It is a very large, layered sandwich, containing three slices of bread (usually rye and/or pumpernickel), two or three varieties of paper-thin sliced deli-meat, cheese and a dressing such as Russian or Thousand Island.  ~ Another Sloppy Joe?  There is one?  You Betcha! ~.

"We are all in this food world together." ~ Melanie Preschutti

(Recipe, Commentary and Photos courtesy of Melanie's Kitchen/Copyright 2019)

~Russian Dressing & How it Differs from 1000 Islands~

It's almost understandable why most home cooks don't know what the difference between Russian and Thousand Islands dressing is, but, it's head-scratchingly odd that many restaurant chefs don't.  Truth told, when I order a Rueben or a Rachel sandwich, one dressing or the other, whichever is offered, will do nicely -- they're both favorites of mine.  That said, when a menu states Russian dressing, I expect Russian dressing and vice versa.  These two condiments, while they can be used interchangeably as a matter of preference, are not interchangeable.

While Russian dressing is not Russian, it is a compilation of ingredients very common to the cuisine of Russia.

In my food world, the most pronounced difference between the two is huge: Russian dressing contains horseradish (no surprise if you're familiar with Russian cuisine). When was the last time your Thousand Islands dressing tasted of horseradish?  Never, and if it did, it was Russian dressing.  Next, Russian dressing contains paprika (again, no surprise) . When was the last time your lemony-sweet Thousand Islands dressing had a spicy-earthy edge to it?  Never, and if it did, it was Russian dressing.  Past those two differences, the two are quite similar, right down to their mayo-base, the use of a tomato product, pickles or pickle relish, and, some optional hard-cooked egg (every single ingredient on this list is common to everyday, run-of-the-mill Russian cooking).

Russian dressing requires horseradish & paprika.

Both dressings are all-American early-1900's condiments with Russian dressing coming along prior to Thousand Islands (and being sold commercially since 1910).  There's no doubt in my mind the creator of Thousand Island dressing knew he or she was concocting a spin-off of Russian dressing.  That said, Russian dressing has been seemingly tossed aside in favor of its sweeter counterpart.  It's literally disappearing from menus and supermarkets, while Thousand Islands takes over -- even McDonald's "secret sauce" is undisputedly a variation on the recipe.  The one pictured here in the photo is the best of the few I can find in my supermarket, but, even though it has a spicy edge to it, it doesn't have the requisite horseradish on the ingredients list.

Nowadays, both dressings are used primarily as a sandwich spread, but, I'm here to say either is fantastic in place of the blue cheese dressing on a classic wedge salad.  There's more. Whenever I'm making a Rachel sandwich, which requires cole slaw, instead of using the dressing as a spread for the bread, I use it to dress the slaw instead -- and it is amazing.  That said, a Russian dressing recipe documented in a 1910 catering book recommends it as an alternative to vinaigrette to dress tomatoes, asparagus and other blanched vegetables, and hard-cooked eggs.

The earliest Russian dressing was created by James Colburn, a wholesale grocer of Nashua, NH, in early 1910, and, it's said by some to have originally contained caviar, which was later replaced by pickles to dress a version of the classic Russian Salad Olivier.  That said, by 1914, Colburn was manufacturing and distributing it to retailers and hotels.  Thousand Islands Dressing traces its roots to, and is named for, the upper St. Lawrence River region between the Unites States and Canada.  A few claims to its invention exist, but it's believed to be the creation of a fishing guide's wife, Sophia LaLonde.  It has a romantic history that includes a castle and a heart-shaped island, and, was made famous by Chef Oscar Tschirky of the Waldorf Astoria. The earliest print references to it appear in 1912.

Full-throttle Russian dressing is not for the faint-of-heart.

1/2  cup horseradish mayonnaise, the best available, preferably Russian Zakuson brand

2  tablespoons chili sauce, or a bit more, to taste

2  tablespoons sweet pickle relish, or a bit more, to taste

1  teaspoon dehydrated minced onion

1/2  teaspoon dehydrated minced garlic

1/2  teaspoon paprika

1/4  teaspoon turmeric

~Step 1. Place all of the ingredients in a 2-cup food storage container.  Stir to thoroughly combine the dressing.  Cover and refrigerate until well-chilled, 2-4 hours or overnight.  Overnight is great because it gives the flavors time to marry.

Enjoy Russian- or Thousand Island-Dressing on any sandwich...

... most notably, the Rueben (above) or the Rachel (below):

Russian Dressing & How it Differs from 1000 Islands:  Recipe yields 3/4 cup salad dressing/sandwich spread

Special Equipment List: 2-cup food storage container w/tight-fitting lid; spoon

Cook's Note:  In the Greater New York area, also know as the Tri-State Area a sloppy Joe is a completely different sandwich than what the rest of us have stereotyped in our minds.  It is a very large, layered sandwich, containing three slices of bread (usually rye and/or pumpernickel), two or three varieties of paper-thin sliced deli-meat, cheese and a dressing such as Russian or Thousand Island.  ~ Another Sloppy Joe?  There is one?  You Betcha! ~

"We are all in this food world together." ~ Melanie Preschutti

(Recipe, Commentary and Photos courtesy of Melanie's Kitchen/Copyright 2019)