A Selection of Sweets - Eggnog Pound Cake

It began pretty much the same way this year as it always has since I was a wee one: I pour a small glass of eggnog, sip it, remember how cloggingly thick and goopy it is and instead of just throwing it out (or not buying it at all in the first place!) I wait until the whole carton expires, when it has slowly stiffened to a blue-ish green color in the back of the refrigerator.

This year however was different--I found a recipe for Eggnog Pound Cake and set to work! We didn't have rum extract, nor did I wish to search for it. Orange extract is an admirable substitute, as is orange zest for a different flavor.

My rooting around process was minimal and Melissa's Southern Style Kitchen readily stepped in with the recipe here.

Below is our loaf before the powdered sugar was sprinkled and before I delicately dripped the absolutely necessary glaze over the whole thing. Do enjoy and thanks to Melissa for this truly wonderful seasonal Eggnog Pound Cake!

Tonight's Menu - Frittata with Ricotta & Peppers

To celebrate a friend's transition (ie. moving on from a post he'd held for about 12 years), I made dinner! When asked what kind of food he'd like, he suggested something Italian. But instead of merely breaking out a box of spaghetti, I ventured toward something more adventurous and made a fluffy frittata with ricotta cheese and peppers from Saveur magazine, prefaced by an old Martha Stewart recipe for crab cakes with saffron vinaigrette that I hadn't revisited in years. What for dessert but his Mama's sour cream pound cake that I surprised him with. None of it was too difficult but all of it was oh so delicious!

Tonight's Menu
Crab Cakes with Saffron Vinaigrette
Ricotta and Roasted Pepper Frittata (Frittata con Ricotta e Peperoni)
Sour Cream Pound Cake

Do enjoy!

Thanks and credit to André Baranowski for the photo from Saveur.

Recipes Of Our Mothers - Barbara Darmstadt's Pound Cake Recipes

Some deliciousness from my friend Frank!

"When I was little my mother and Nanna encouraged me to learn how to cook for myself and to do other things in the kitchen such as doing the dishes (and putting them away!) and keeping things clean. These chores were not just chores as such but also ways to create a foundation of independence for myself. If I was hungry, cook something! If the dish is dirty, clean it and put it away! And if you invite someone over to your home, make sure you know how to make him or her feel comfortable, like back at home. I will always be grateful for that from two of the most important women in my life."

MY MOTHER’S POUND CAKE RECIPES
Regular Pound Cake
Ingredients
2 ¾ cups, sifted flour
2 ¼ teaspoons, baking powder
1 ½ to 1 ¾ cups, sugar
1 teaspoon, salt
1 cup, butter, melted or very soft
¾ cup, milk
1 teaspoon, vanilla
4 eggs, unbeaten
1 cup, chopped nuts
Confectioner's sugar (optional)
10-inch tube pan
PAM or additional flour and margarine to grease pan

Method
Sift dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Add milk, butter, and vanilla. Beat 2 minutes. Add eggs. Beat 2 more minutes. Pour mixture into a greased and floured 10-inch tube pan. Spread nuts on bottom of pan. Pour the batter in the pan (batter will be thick) and bake at 375 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes. Optional: when cake is cool, sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar.

Sour Cream Pound Cake
Ingredients
¼ pound, butter (very soft)
1 cup, sugar
2 eggs
2 cups, sifted flour
1 teaspoon, baking powder
1 teaspoon, baking soda
½ pint, sour cream
1 teaspoon, vanilla
A mixture of ½ cup, chopped nuts
1 teaspoon, cinnamon
½ cup, sugar
Bundt pan
PAM or additional flour and margarine to grease pan

Method
Cream butter. Add sugar and eggs and mix together. Add sifted flour, baking powder, baking soda; alternatively with sour cream and vanilla. Spread half the batter in a bundt pan that is already greased and floured. Sprinkle a little more than half of the “nuts” mixture evenly onto the batter. Add the remaining batter and sprinkle the rest of the “nuts” mixture and 1/2 cup sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. The batter should be thick enough to spoon it into the bundt pan and spread it all around evenly.