JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: This was supposed to be an essay and recipe for rhubarb cake. It is not. For the very first time in several years of watching Celia saute, bake, boil and roast... well, I'll let her tell the tale.
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What a Disaster!
No words feel adequate. Have I got your attention? It’s Julia’s week and my chance to make an appearance. Despite the horrible, terrible awful thing that happened, I am very grateful to Julia for coaxing me from my shell and turning me into a small glitter in the Jungle Reds firmament, and to the community who reads and leaves such supportive comments.
But back to the disaster. While we were waiting for Winter to go and Spring to appear I read of a Romanian meringue, rhubarb cake. Knowing that Julia’s week was around Easter I thought what a great cake to make for Easter, or any other time as rhubarb is such a Spring veggie/fruit and so good for us. Well Easter came early and Julia’s rhubarb stayed stubbornly underground.
Here we are with another opportunity to high light rhubarb. We are squeezing my JRW bake Prep and photo shoot in between Julia and my rather busy schedules. This brought us to my kitchen yesterday afternoon and the said cake. I was ready, all ingredients brought up to room temperature, laid out for photographing and organized. I had even printed my copy of the recipe.
Julia arrived with the rhubarb which looked delicious, thin, pink stalks ready for their social media debut. I mixed, combined, poured (that was a bit concerning, it was a wet batter) into the baking pan with the carefully placed rhubarb on top for the initial bake. Into the oven for the cake and off to the deck with us. I had even remembered setting the timer.
The recipe stated a forty minute bake and prep the meringue ten minutes before the forty was up. As I neared the kitchen I could smell the delicious smell of baking, or perhaps not so delicious. I could smell some burn. Opening the oven door I found a mess. No way to hide that. (Though I wouldn’t let Julia photograph it for your amusement, sorry).
The batter had overflowed the pan, dripped onto the shelves and firmly adhered to the oven floor. All I could think was thank goodness that my cleaner is lovely and will deal. Possibly not my most unselfish response. I carefully lifted the pan out and Julia and I gazed at the sea of batter with rhubarb swimming through it. We agreed it would be hard to write this up and pretend it worked. While Julia chipped at the oven mess, I racked my brains for another idea, and got one. I give you Amanda’s lunch.
A while ago Amanda commented on one of my posts that she often found my recipe made a good lunch. Maybe this was through my soup phase which will be back. The previous evening I had made a tray bake with what veggies were in the fridge. I was tired and out of ideas but I had read that chick peas (garbanzos) did really well in a tray bake and of course they will act at the protein too. I had a portion of the bake left which Julia tested to see if it was up to standard. I also had taken some photos. How did I know the cake was a disaster waiting to happen?
I offer Amanda’s veggie lunch or supper dish which wasn’t burned and was really quite delicious. All the measurements are approximate so please be as creative as you like.
A can of chickpeas drained, and rinsed if salt is a considerationContainer of Cherry Tomatoes
1/4 - 1/2 Cup Olive Oil - depending on how many veggies used
2-4 chopped garlic cloves (omit if disliked)
Goats cheese or small cubes of Feta
1/4 Cup Pesto, or a mixture of herbs into the Olive Oil. I had a basil, walnut, garlic, olive oil pesto mix already made just awaiting the cheese. I didn’t add any cheese to the pesto but if using purchased pesto the cheese will be in it already.
Herb mix to replace pesto, choose any or all - parsley, rosemary, chives, cilantro, thyme, garlic, peppers, salt if used. Mix herbs into a 1/2 Cup Olive Oil to replace the pesto.
Veggie mix - red onion, cherry tomatoes, carrots, squash, broccoli heads, broccoli rabe heads, eggplant, peppers, the list goes on and on.
Turn the oven on to 350F.
Cut veggies into bite sized pieces.
Put the Olive oil/Pesto mix into a mixing bowl and beat together. Or add herbs to the Olive Oil and mix.
Add the veggies to the Olive Oil pesto or herb mix and turn over a couple of time. At this point everything can be left until ready to cook.
Add Chick peas and mix into the veggies
Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment. Turn the chick pea,
tomato, veggie mix on to it and spread evenly. Dot with crumbles of
goats cheese or feta cubes.
Bake for 20 minutes, stir and bake another 15-20 minutes.
Serve with a pickle, chutney or as it is with crackers, pita etc.
Chick peas and cherry tomatoes are the stars of this show so be generous. This is good at room temperature so great for outdoor living.
Amanda's Lunch sounds like a perfectly wonderful vegetable dish, thank you for the recipe.
ReplyDeleteAs for the badly-behaving rhubarb cake, I'm certain we've all had recipe disaster moments, so no worries there . . . .
From Celia: Thanks Joan, yes to disasters. I just remembered serving a spit Hollandaise sauce to guests when newly married! What did I know? Not much.
DeleteCelia, shortly after John and I were married, I had some extra yogurt from the sourdough starter . . . to use it up I found a recipe for yogurt onion bread and, disaster. Although John tried to be supportive and eat a piece, it was so bad that the dogs wouldn't even touch it!
DeleteCelia: How delightfully you recount a baking disaster! As Joan says, we've all had kitchen mishaps -- overcooked pork roast, anyone? That special birthday meal (mine!) had been so anticipated and I ruined it. No recovery possible. But your chickpea backup recipe is a keeper. Thank you for it -- and the rhubarb-related chuckles.
ReplyDeleteFrom Celia: Amanda you are always so encouraging, many thanks. Let me know what you think once you've tried it.
DeleteCELIA: Yes, your blog post title did catch my attention!
ReplyDeleteOh well, baking calamities can happen to all of us. And since the fleeting rhubarb season is over, you have another year to find a new rhubarb recipe to share with JRW next year!
Tomorrow's forecasted high is a chilly 15C/60F in Ottawa, so I may try Amanda's tray bake lunch. The roller-coaster weather has us going up to 28C/82F from Thursday onwards. I usually avoid using the oven in the heat of summer.
From Celia: hank you Grace, I think in this situation my writing may be better than my cake was! Yes hot one day, cold the next. We are being drenched today.
DeleteSorry about the baking disaster but I loved that you came up with something appetizing.
ReplyDeleteFrom Celia: Thank you Dru Ann, appreciate your response.
DeleteOh, goodness, Celia! I love that you were willing to be honest about the flop. I make veggie roasts a lot in the winter, but never thought to add chick peas and tomatoes to it, nor cheese. My sons and their wives are all vegetarians, so I'm hanging onto this idea - and for us, too.
ReplyDeleteFrom Celia: Thanks Edith, well we've all had food flops over time unless all meals are Doordashed. Speaking of veggie cooking I made a delicious Palak paneer recipe the other night after finding Paneer cheese in Market Basket. I think we had it both with rice and with Naan.
DeleteNext year we'll read all about rhubarb pie. The veggie bake is a wonderful summer recipe. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteFrom Celia: You're very welcome Margaret and I loved your pic on Fb at your reunion. I'm guessing that you didn't run into Platt Arnold.
DeleteAlas, each class stayed in a different dorm and ate in a different dining room, so I didn't meet graduates from the other classes.
DeleteYum! Amanda's Lunch sounds delicious. Sorry about the rhubarb cake and the disaster. The lunch bake is way healthier!
ReplyDeleteFrom Celia: You're right Gillian, it is much healthier and more to my taste actually. After a certain age any sweet baked items go directly to my hips etc. I know they don't even pass GO.
DeleteDuring periods of sleeplessness in the night I found myself wondering what sort of culinary treat Celia would have for us today. Now I'm thinking I may have jinxed things for you. What a shame, Celia, but you still managed to pull something wonderful out of your magic hat! Your roasted veggie lunch idea looks great! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteFrom Celia: Oh Judi, I hope this wasn't too big a disappointment. I hate to think of you having sleepless nights on my behalf. But no Jinxing. I made this last Monday so no blame on you please. Luckily I'm old enough to laugh now and having Julia with me means we do laugh a lot anyway. Enjoy Amanda's lunch.
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DeleteNo, no, Celia, you never disappoint! I'm always excited to learn about whatever you choose to present. I do wish I could be there with you and Julia in person, though.
I guess we can all stand to eat more veggies and less cake. I have had a cake disaster like that in the oven. It is not fun to clean it up. Now what to do with our rhubarb?
ReplyDeleteFrom Celia: I'm laughing Brenda, I have frozen rhubarb from last year in my freezer! Not to mention the remainder of Julia's stash. For me it's always rhubarb crumble but with a plain flour, sugar butter topping - half butter and sugar to flour is the measurement. And, the over is sparkling thanks to my lovely Jen, super cleaner.
DeleteCelia, did you ever figure out why the cake overflowed? That is SO frustrating!
ReplyDeleteLove how you pulled off a coup out of the disaster. That's a real cook: Try something, shrug off the non-success, and go on to feeding people another way.
Right now I have turnips, beets, carrots, garlic scapes, the first ripe tomato (helps to buy plants that already have fruit), and loads of greens like kale, chard, sorrel, Malabar spinach (not supposed to bolt in the heat), parsley, and lettuces. I think I'll try a tray bake for dinner tonight. You have inspired me!
Karen: How did the garden tour go for you yesterday?
DeleteIt's today, Amanda, starting at 10 AM. Thanks for thinking of me!
DeleteYes, Karen, garden tour news, please!
DeleteHave fun, Karen. You worked hard for this and you are the expert!
DeleteFrom Diana: Garden tour news, please!
DeleteFrom Celia: Karen, first enjoy the garden tour whether on it and showing your garden. Please post pics too. Thanks for asking the pertinent question - Well I think the batter was far too liquid so when the rhubarb started to cook in it that also added extra liquid resulting in a swimming concoction, but not a cake.
DeleteYour garden sounds extraordinary, I would love to come and cook with you. Such bounty, I am envious as we live in the trees and I have a tiny herb garden on the deck which is doing really well right now.
It's always such a shock to have something turn out so badly. But, you've written it up so well I feel like we are all there with you & Julia. I've had my share of cooking mishaps. But the most common is burnt toast. And it's usually when I'm down to just one or two pieces of bread left. Ughh.
ReplyDeleteFrom Celia: Oh yes, burnt toast. I just had a thought pass through - Saliari absolving the world of mediocracy in Amadeus. I don't think any of us are to blame when burning toast except perhaps when making it over an open flame. Todays toasters are designed for a slice of Wonder bread and I don't think Wonder bread is eaten much but the toasting bread size has not been updated. I can't even list the number of different manufacturers whose toasters have graced my kitchen. It is a challenge and I, for one, refuse to be blamed for burnt toast.
DeleteI deliberately burn my toast! And if I’m eating out, I specify that I want it burned when I order it. I’ve loved it this way since childhood, and I’m now 75!
DeleteDebRo
I’ve been known to burn toast a time or two. Just hold it over the sink and scrape it with the knife. It will be edible.
DeleteCelia, I am sorry that your original plan did not work out, and especially that it made a big mess. I think it was brave to make that cake for the first time for the blog. I have, occasionally tried new recipes on guests, but not ever anything as ambitious as the cake you tried yesterday. Nice save with the veggie bake.
ReplyDeleteWe should (right here) share more of our go-to, tried-and-true recipes. Sometimes they are just the ticket for a creative new meal for our pals.
DeleteThat would be fun Judy!
From Celia: Oh, thank you Judy. Yes the mess was epic but now it's a thing of the past which as I didn't let Julia document it, can be put in the pile of good stories for the bar. I do try new recipes on friends, it's one area where I always feel confident whether it works or not. What is wrong with me? haha.
DeleteWhen we used to socialize, I never made a recipe that I had tried before for the party, be it appetizers, meal or dessert. Good friends don't mind and there is always a story to tell afterward - one poor friend's roast guinea fowl is still probably not cooked even after 20 years! I also know that I pay more attention to details the first time round, and tend to 'substitute' if I make things again. Have you ever replace baking powder with turnip - don't put it past me!
DeleteThat tray bake looks great. Chick peas seem to be having a moment... And me, too, wondering WHY did the cake overflow and then sounds as if it never turned into CAKE as opposed to cake batter. Size of the pan? Error in the recipe? Were there comments from others who'd made the recipe? Curious minds...
ReplyDeleteFrom Celia: Thanks so much Hallie, and thank you for posting this to Fb this morning. I am a little late. Yes, the recipe errors. Well it called for a cup of milk and 4 eggs together with about two and a half cups of flour, butter, sugar etc. It is a lot of liquid but I always follow baking recipes carefully so that's one assumption gone. Also rhubarb has a lot of liquid in it so even though I had it draining with sugar for a half an hour as stated I think there was much too much liquid altogether. Also no baking pan size. Without assigning blame, it was an European recipe. I shall say no more.
DeleteYes I agree chick peas are everywhere. Possibly because they are cheap and very forgiving.
I would blame the eggs. Not being funny, but our fresh chickens eggs are much larger than 'bought' ones. I now weigh the egg amount and it has fixed a lot of recipes. Mary Berry's curd never set - my eggs were too large, and hence the need to weigh.
DeleteFrom Diana: Oh dear, I am so sorry about the rhubarb cake, Celia. Live and learn, right? When I was a child, our family lived in a house with a backyard that had rhubarb plants. I remember making rhubarb jam with my Mom and friends. This is the first time I heard of a rhubarb cake.
ReplyDeleteMay have mentioned this before. I often talk about my 4th of July cake disaster. It was the summer before I started university. I tried to bake a two layer cake. This was the first time I ever baked two layer cake. I thought I was following the recipe. However, I forgot a very important part: LET THE CAKE COOL FIRST BEFORE DECORATING! I started frosting the first layer, putting the still hot second layer on the top of the frosted first layer. I had finished frosting the second layer, frosting the entire cake before putting blueberries and strawberries to decorate the cake. The minute I finished, the cake fell apart! Instead of a Flag cake, it became Blue, Red and White Trifle. It was still yummy.
Amanda’s recipe looks yummy. I am going to try that recipe.
From Celia: Thank you Diana, really no worries here, it happens and it did make a good story. We had both rhubarb and blueberries in our garden in Chappaqua but up here in the woods I have to get them elsewhere.
DeleteI love your 4th of July disaster and this brings up the thought of GBBO. Baking a cake in two hours to include filling and decorating - what is with that? I am curious about the timing. Particularly during the covered bake segment when Paul or Prue show their bake which of course is perfect. Am I being cynical or what?
CELIA: good point about the timing on GBBO. I wonder if they edit before GBBO is on the telly?
DeleteHi Celia, I was so pleased to see you bringing us a recipe. I did hope it was to be our Sunday treat. I understand the rhubarb folly – I find that my good recipes with rhubarb are less than things that just flopped. Mostly, as in yours they turn to rhubarb soup. Many a person has told me that they make a good rhubarb custard pie, which sounds so tasty, but always is mush for me. Maybe someday…
ReplyDeleteIn learning to use/change recipes, I contribute the new sous-vide machine that was given to me with great ravings. I had previously tried the type of cooking using a pot of water and trying to turn the heat on/off to keep the temperature near to correct. The first thing I cooked with the machine was halibut, which true to form was soft and flakey, but possibly too soft and maybe even mushy. Last night, it was a piece of salmon, where I cooked it to 115 for 45 mins as directed, but still a bit soft. Tonight, I will try the rib steak – it is reputed to be “the best you will ever eat”. We will see.
As for the rhubarb – I have lots and have given lots away. Maybe I should retry the custard pie or do it the easy way and just make a trifle?
From Celia: Ar Yes, rhubarb soup, soup of the evening, beautiful soup. Sorry Margo I'm getting carried away with quotes. I'm happy there are folks who make good rhubarb custard pie. I shall not be joining those ranks.
DeleteI'm most interested that you have a sous vide cooker. I believe that Hank may have tried it too. It interests me but with just Victor and me I don't think it would get a lot of use here. However I have just finished Ruth Reichl's The Paris Novel which is a true homage to France and food. Her protagonist is taken to Maison Troisgros where she meets Jean Troisgros who feeds her fois gras cooked sous vide. The whole book is full of those anecdotes. So good luck and let me know how you progress.
Maybe we should go with a rhubarb soup recipe. We were out to dinner one evening with the same evening supper group, and the appetizer was Strawberry Soup. Nectar of the Gods! I wonder if rhubarb would be as tasty.
DeleteThe sous vide thing is not easy to set and my eyes are not good, so have a hard time reading the setting directions. I had to interrupt the Harrumper from watching the Montreal Grand Prix to set it - can you spell annoyed?!
Looks yummy - the chickpea dish that is. Always happy to see your byline! Did you figure out what went wrong with the recipe?
ReplyDeleteOur disasters make the best stories. Early on in my marriage I made an eggplant dish - it sounded great, the photo in the cookbook was gorgeous. the dish that came out of the oven was soup! Put me off eggplant for quite a while. My poor husband tried to put a good face on it. I simply put it in the trash. No need to torture the man. Ever after when I said I was experimenting with a new recipe he would comment, "Not the eggplant, right?"
From Celia: Thank you Kait, everyone is so generous with their support.
DeleteI hear you on the eggplant, it can be tricky. I stopped buying the regular eggplants and will only buy the little Italian ones though Victor isn't keen. But I love ratatouille and moussaka.
Too many kitchen disasters here to recount any particular one. But, hey, they're bound to happen sooner or later. Nice save with the sheet pan (tray bake) meal, Celia! I make something similar, only using chicken thighs for the protein.
ReplyDeleteFrom Celia: Many thanks Flora,
ReplyDeleteWell disasters make for good dining tales. I read a recipe in the NYT for chicken thighs sheet pan bake with frozen peas. It stated to start with the chicken on the peas as the steam from the peas thawing would help cook the chicken and when everything is turned half war through, then the peas can come out of hiding and be crisped up.
That tray bake sounds and looks great! I like that you can basically just throw together whatever you have on hand. And Celia, you are so creative and flexible to have a Plan B available!
ReplyDeleteMy worst burned food story is the time I was broiling salmon for my dinner. I forgot to set the timer. I was sitting in the living room reading (of course!) when I smelled smoke. There was a minor fire in the oven and I had to call 911! The fire burned itself out before the fire engines arrived, but my entire condo was filled with smoke. The firefighters got out their industrial sized fans (I think they’re called ventilators?) and got rid of all the smoke. It was summertime, and my AC wasn’t working. By the time they were done getting rid of the smoke, the temperature inside dropped by ten degrees! They checked out my oven to see if it was still usable, and it was. And they salvaged my salmon! It was very well done, and as tasty as ever!
DebRo
From Celia: Great story DebRo but so ghastly at the time. I’m glad that dinner was saved.
DeleteHow reassuring that each of us reading is not the only one with kitchen disasters!
ReplyDeleteDid you figure out what went wrong?
From Celia: well we all have them don’t we Libby. My conclusion was too much liquid for the amount of flour. Not having a pan size given didn’t help either. So I won’t try to resurrect but be careful with the next new bake I consider.
DeleteI have the same New England weather here. It’s very bleak and wet outside so at least you provided a rhubarb recipe for humor to lighten up the day.
ReplyDeleteEven if it wasn’t photogenic, was it edible?
I am not the experienced chef that you are, but I can follow a recipe.
I was making a sponge cake to take to a dinner party where there were going to be a number of people I didn’t know. I had never made the recipe before but it seemed pretty straightforward.
The cake required nine eggs, some of which had to be separated. The whole recipe was relatively simple but it was time-consuming because there were a number of steps involved. I put everything together in a tube pan and it seemed to look the way it should look. I put it in the oven for the required time. It came out the oven just right and I inverted the pan over a narrow necked bottle and left it to cool.
I came back later and the whole cake had fallen out of the pan. It tasted fine but I obviously couldn’t bring it to someone else's house and I didn’t have the time to create something new.
Fortunately I had nine more eggs and enough of the other ingredients and had the time to make it again so I did. The second one came out the way it should, even including coming out of the pan. In trying to figure out what had happened, the conclusion was that it was an older oven and just hadn’t gotten hot enough. The second time it was left in the oven a little longer and it worked.
From Celia: it’s trying bakes like yours that keep me away from much baking. But I am so glad that you had success the second time around. I am very careful with my baking tin prep as getting cakes out can be a challenge.
DeleteHow disappointing for you and Julia! When I was 4 or 5 years old we visited Dad's uncle and aunt in Colorado. Aunt Merle put on quite a spread for lunch and offered rhubarb pie for dessert. I'd never had it before. I took one bite and said "Yuck. I don't like this stuff." Fortunately the adults found it funny. I found out later Dad also hated rhubarb but he had smiled and eaten his.
ReplyDeleteFrom Celia: Well as the saying goes - out of the mouths of babes . . . - Well done you. Rhubarb isn’t an easy ne to like. It really does need a lot of sugar to improve it on one’s palette. I think I’ll make chutney from what is left.
DeleteOh, Celia, I feel for you. I have had so many baking disasters over the years, even with things that I've already made successfully many times, that I truly know what a disappointment it is. Still, sometimes it's a little bit funny, too--but only in retrospect. The chick peas, vegetables, pesto, and goat cheese mixture sounds yummy.
ReplyDeleteFrom Celia: Hi Kim, I was missing you. Yes, I think I’ve lost count of my other cooking disasters. I do remember catering a bat mitzah party. There was an old ill equipped kitchen. There was no cold water, both taps ran hot and every time I put the exhaust fan on to cool the space the oven gas heating went off. That, combined with a grandmother who was determined to tell me what to do and how to do it, made for a difficult afternoon.
ReplyDeleteSounds delicious. A quick ans easy recipe for summer evening. Thank you for sharing. Too bad the rhubarb cake didn't work out. We have 4 plants of it. I make a dozen or so strawberry rhubarb pies a year. A cake would be nice for a change, but it is easier to justify fruit pie for breakfast than it is cake.
ReplyDeleteWhat a GREAT spring/summer recipe. Thank you!
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