APRIL 18, 2012 THE FREE LANCE–STAR FREDERICKSBURG, VA. WEDNESDAY.

FOOD

THIS WEEK’S RECIPES >>D2, D6 MENUPLANNER >>D2

GREEK BAKED FISHGuests will gush over light, healthy dish.

SECTIOND TV PAGE>>D4 COMICS >>D5SUDOKU>>D3

FOOD BITES

technologyIT WAS JUST AMATTER OF TIMEBOWLING GREEN, Ky.—Anew application for smartphone users now provideswaiting time informationfor area restaurants.

The app was recentlycreated in beta form withhelp from some WesternKentucky University stu-dents and graduates.

WhyWait CEO Eric Little-ton said in a statement thatKentucky is the début statefor the app, which isavailable in the App Storeor Android Market.

WhyWait has plans toexpand to Louisville andLexington in the nextmonth, and hopes to re-lease the app in other stateseventually.—Associated Press

COMING UP IN WEEKENDER >> COUNTRY GREAT KENNY ROGERS TO VISIT UMW

ONLINE >> Watch video of thecake making process atfredericksburg.com

BY KATIE THISDELLTHE FREE LANCE–STAR

Throwing out eight egg whitesseemed like a waste.I was making chocolate truffle

tartlets a few months ago, but therecipe called for only the yolks.But why throw out perfectly

good ingredients when I could putthem to use at another time?As I do with all sorts of odds and

ends, I threw the whites in thefreezer and forgot about them.Until I was watching the FoodNetwork one day during my lunchbreak.Those TV personalities always

makes their dishes look deliciousand effortless. And many are,unless you screw up the keysteps.In this episode, a lemon angel

food cake accompanied a light,healthy lunch.I remembered the egg whites in

an ice cube tray in the packedfreezer I share with two room-mates, and I decided they would beperfect for this low-fat springtimecake.I have whipped up plenty of

semi-challenging desserts in mytime. But I had yet to attempt anangel food cake.“At its heavenly best, an angel

food cake should be tall andperfectly shaped, have a snowy-white center tender crumb, and beencased in a thin, delicate goldencrust,” according to America’s TestKitchen, the know-it-all of testkitchens, based in Boston. (The

crumb, by the way, is the insidepart of the cake.)Too bad I hadn’t done a little

research before I whipped up mycake.Once out of the pan, it was short

and squat, lumpy and dense.As my housemate’s mother re-

marked, it had the texture of a“devil’s” food cake. Not exactlywhat I was going for.

Since then, I’ve spent quite a bitof time researching food blogs andcooking websites, and I’ve learneda lot about the importance offollowing every stepwhen trying tomake the perfect angel food cake.When I geared up for a second

BAKING >> BE SURE TO FOLLOW RECIPE CLOSELY

Angel food cake turns outheavenly on second try

‘Steak’by wayof thegarden

Fortune cookies are fun, fearless

VEGETABLES CUT INTOTHICK SLABS ARESATISFYING SUBSTITUTEFOR RED MEAT

BY J.M. HIRSCHAP FOOD EDITOR

Much as I love a big, beefysteak, sometimes I needsomething on the lighterside.Which doesn’t mean I’m

willing to sacrifice the deli-cious char of the grill or thesatisfaction of something bigand boldly flavored on myplate.So I started playing around

with the idea of vegetable“steaks”—produce that iscut into thick slabs, thenslowly grilled over mediumheat until tender andseared.Of course, the cast of vege-

table characters with which

MATTHEW MEAD/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Purple cauliflower withpoached eggs looks tastierthan a basic veggie dish.

PHOTOS BY SUZANNE CARR ROSSI / THE FREE LANCE–STAR

Free Lance–Star reporter Katie Thisdell works diligently to create a nearly perfect angel food cake.

Don’t cut corners when baking. If the recipe says to sift the flour and sugar before pouring in bowl, do it. The result will be worth it.

BY MIKE HALECONTRA COSTA TIMES

David Fenton’s kung paochicken was always followedby a disappointment.He would unwrap the for-

tune cookie and sigh at themindless drivel written onthe slip of paper tuckedinside.So, more than a century

after San Francisco con-ceived this quaint Chinese-restaurant tradition, Fentonlaunched his own, fearlessfortune cookie company—iLLFortune—in Union City,Calif., and began stuffingboldlywicked fortunes in the

tasty treats.The New York native calls

them “fortune cookies forthe brave.” And if thoseirreverent, mean-spirited orhilariously inappropriatemessages spark conversationand bring people together inunpredictable ways, all thebetter.“Clever, original thinkers

have no interest in pre-dictable fortunes,” Fentonsays. “They crave surpriseand wit.”Imagine breaking these

open:“Diapers will be part of

your daily regimen and youwon’t be the one changingthem.” Or, “The voices inyour head think you’re anidiot.”These edgy fortunes—rat-

ed PG and profanity-free,according to Fenton—are afar cry from the trite plati-tudes or vague propheciesinside traditional cookies.And by most historical

accounts, fortune cookies arerooted in Japan not China.As far back as the 19th

century, temples in andaround Kyoto served large

FORTUNE COOKIE FACTS

Some 3 billion fortunecookies are consumed annuallyaround the world.

The largest fortune cookiemaker, New York’s WontonFood Inc., produces about 4.5million cookies per day.

Wonton Food attempted toexpand its cookie business intoChina in 1992, but gave upafter discovering that fortunecookies were considered “tooAmerican.”

Early fortune cookies in theUnited States tended to con-tain biblical Scripture and

aphorisms attributed to Confu-cius, Ben Franklin, Aesop andothers.

Up until the late 1960s,when Edward Louie inventedthe first fortune cookie foldingmachine, most fortune cookieswere folded by hand.

The world’s first fully auto-mated fortune cookie bakingand wrapping machine wasinvented in 1981 by YongsikLee of Holliston, Mass.—Smithsonian Magazine, wontonfood.com, foodtimeline.org,sanfranciscochinatown.com.

SEE FORTUNE, PAGE D3

SEE CAULIFLOWER, PAGE D2

SEE ANGEL FOOD, BACK PAGE

MEDIOCRE COOKIEMESSAGES SPUR MAN TOPUT HIS FUTURE INOFFBEAT BUSINESS

“CLEVER, ORIGINALTHINKERS HAVENO INTERESTIN PREDICTABLEFORTUNES. THEYCRAVE SURPRISEAND WIT.”

—DAVID FENTON,ILLFORTUNE

Grilled cauliflowersteaks with poachedeggs and truffle oil D2

White bean chili D2

Cast-iron roasted redpotatoes with rosemaryand onion D2

Greek baked fish D2

Lemon curd D6

Best angelfood cake D6

Crab cakeswith herb sauce D6 >>

D6 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2012 THE FREE LANCE–STARFREDERICKSBURG, VA. .

bowl.Using a spatula, gently fold

the ingredients in until themixture is just combined.Remember: Don’t over-

mix. And don’t stir. Just fold.Nice and easy.

DON’T PREP THE PANThis is where I really

screwed up: I sprayed thepan.I’m so used to always

giving my baking pans aquick spritz of nonstickspray that I didn’t think itmight be harmful.But with angel food cake,

you want it to stick to thesides of the pan. This givesthe cake support, keeping ittall and proud rather thanstubby and squat.With all that hard work,

the last thing you want is forthis last and final step to endup being your downfall!I used a Bundt pan the first

time, but because of theother screw-ups, I’m notsure it made a difference one

way or the other.For my second attempt, I

found, hidden away in mygrandparents’ pantry, an an-gel food cake pan with aremovable bottom.It worked splendidly—es-

pecially without the spray.(I’ve seen nonstick angelfood cake pans at kitchen andother stores, but these arereally nothing more thanregular tube pans.)Moving on, be sure not to

take the cake out of the panright away. It should actuallystay trapped within its con-fines for a few hours, whileupside down.My mom says she remem-

bers my now 92-year-oldgrandmother flipping herangel food cakes on top of asoda bottle. As it turns out,it’s a perfect fit for the cakepan’s center hole. I used abeer bottle (no judgments,please).Seeing your cake upside

down is a little unsettling.Again, all the angst that went

FOOD

ANGEL FOOD: Getting height and texture just right means no improvisingFROM PAGE D1

try, I used a recipe from theCook’s Illustrated Cook-book.The bottom line is this:

Being precise while bakingpays off.Cooking and baking are

two different culinary ani-mals.Liberties can be taken

when cooking. A dash of thishere, a dash of that there. Itreally won’t matter.But don’t bring that casual

attitude to baking. As theadage goes, baking is more ofa science, while cooking canbe a chance to flex one’screative muscles.I labored over preparations

on my second version of thecake. I followed exactly whatthe recipe demanded, andvoila! I had a winner.My parents gave the cake

their stamp of approval lastweek during a visit fromRoanoke.Topped with homemade

lemon curd (a delicious wayto use extra yolks!) and thespring’s first strawberries,the cake was a perfect pre-dinner dessert.We enjoyed it with glasses

of bubbly, and the bestcompliment: “I don’t know ifI could go back to ever buyingone from the store again,”gushed Mom.

BEATING THE EGG WHITESSeparating eggs may gross

some people out, but it canalso be fun. It’s a challenge:Keep all yellow specks out ofthe bowl of whites.Bits of yolk will contami-

nate the whites and preventthem from whipping up intoa light foam, which ultimate-ly makes an angel food cakewhat it is.You can separate the eggs

either in your hands, or bypouring the yolk back andforth between halves of thecracked shell, letting thewhite spill into a bowl.To add another layer of

protection against yolks, usethree bowls. Separate theeggs over one, then pour the

whites into the largest bowland keep the yolks in anoth-er.When the eggs are at room

temperature, it’s time tomix.You have to be patient hereand keep a close eye on thebowl.If you undermix, the

whites won’t form the soft,glossy peaks that make thisairy cake stand tall. But if youovermix, the whites can loseair, and down come the peaksyou’ve slaved over.It’s a fine line.The acid of the cream of

tartar, however, will helpstabilize the egg whites.

SIFTING AND FOLDINGThis is where things went

sideways the first timearound. OK, you have a bowlfull of fluffy egg whites thathave quadrupled in size. Thegoal is to keep them thatway!The goal is not to dump therest of the ingredients on topand say a little prayer that bigclumps of sugar and flourwill miraculously cook out.They don’t.Avoid this deflating—both

literally and figuratively—situation by adding the dryingredients very gradually.In batches, gently sift the

cake flour and either finelyground white sugar or con-fectioner’s sugar over the

into it is just dangling there,waiting to fall flat on thetable.But because the golden

crust is stuck to the side ofthe pan—you didn’t usespray, remember—the cakeshould stand tall.After it has cooled for at

least two hours, run a knifecarefully along the edge ofthe pan to ease the cakeout.Cutting with a serrated

knife will produce cleanpieces and prevent the cakefrom getting squished.When you realize you’re

out of the woods and you’veactually conquered the beast,slice the cake and serve withfresh strawberries, lemoncurd, whipped cream—andabove all—a smile on yourface.

Katie Thisdell: 540/735-1975kthisdell@freelancestar.com

BEST ANGEL FOOD CAKEPrep time: 30 minutesCooking time: 1 hourCooling time: 2 hoursMakes 12 servings

Directions:1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat to 325degrees.2. Line a 16-cup tube pan with parchment paper but do notgrease. (If your pan has a removable bottom, you do not need toline it.)3. Whisk flour and 3/4 cup sugar together in small bowl.4. Place remaining 3/4 cup sugar in second small bowl.5. Using stand mixer fitted with whisk (or hand mixer), whip eggwhites, cream of tartar, and salt onmedium-low speed until foamy,about 1 minute.6. Increase speed to medium-high and whip to soft, billowymounds, about 1 minute.7. Gradually add 3/4 cup sugar and whip for several minutes untilsoft, glossy peaks form.8. Add vanilla, lemon juice and almond extract and beat until justblended.9. Sift flour mixture over egg whites, about three tablespoons ata time, gently folding mixture into whites using large rubberspatula after each addition.10. Gently scrape batter into prepared pan, smooth top withrubber spatula, and gently tap pan on counter to release airbubbles.11. Bake cake until golden brown and top springs back whenpressed, 50 to 60 minutes.12. If cake has prongs around rim for elevating cake, invert pan. Ifnot, invert pan over neck of bottle or funnel so that air cancirculate all around it. Let cake cool completely, 2 to 3 hours.13. Run knife around edge of cake to loosen, gently tap panupside down on counter to release cake.14. Peel off parchment, turn cake right side up onto servingplatter, and serve.Recipe adapted from: “The Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook”

3/4 cup cake flour11/2 cups sugar12 large egg whites, roomtemperature

1 teaspoon cream of tartar1/4 teaspoon salt11/2 teaspoons vanilla extract11/2 teaspoon lemon juice1/2 teaspoon almond extract

LEMON CURDPrep time: 10 minutesCooking time: 20 minutesMakes one pint

Directions:1. Add enough water to medium saucepan to come about 1-inchup side.2. Bring to simmer over medium-high heat.3.Meanwhile, combine egg yolks and sugar in medium-sizemetalbowl and whisk until smooth, about 1 minute.4. Measure citrus juice and if needed, add enough cold water toreach 1/3 cup. Add juice and zest to egg mixture and whisksmooth.5. Once water reaches simmer, reduce heat to low and place bowlon top of saucepan. (Bowl should be large enough to fit on topof saucepan without touching the water.) Whisk until thickened,approximately 8 minutes, or until mixture is light yellow and coatsthe back of a spoon. Remove promptly from heat.6. Stir in butter a piece at a time, allowing each addition to meltbefore adding the next.7. Remove to clean container and cover by placing a layer ofplastic wrap directly on the surface of curd. (Can be refrigeratedup to 2 weeks.)Recipe adapted from: The Food Network’s Alton Brown

5 egg yolks1 cup sugar

4 lemons, zested and juiced1 stick butter, cut into patsand chilled

CRAB CAKES WITH HERB SAUCEPrep time: 20 minutesTotal time: 35 minutesMakes 8 servings

Cook’s note:Tomake a simple sauce, mix 2 tablespoons mincedfavorite herb, 1/3 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise and 1 tablespoonlemon juice. Season with a little sea salt and black pepper ifdesired.Directions:1. Preheat broiler. Pat crab meat dry and set it aside.2. In large mixing bowl, mix together egg, salt, pepper, Old Bayseasoning, Dijon, mayonnaise, parsley and, if using, red pepper.3. Fold in crab meat, trying not to break up any of the chunks.4. Add cracker meal or panko crumbs. Mixture should be stickybut not too moist. Add additional cracker meal or panko crumbsas needed.5. Shape mixture into patties about 1/2-inch thick and about 3inches in diameter.6. Place on broiler pan and broil about 6 inches from heatelement until just lightly browned on top, about 4 minutes.7. Turn over, broil second side 4 minutes until lightly brown.8. Remove from broiler; serve with sauce.Recipe from and tested by: Susan Selasky in the Detroit FreePress Test Kitchen.

11/4 pounds lump crabmeat(or mix of lump, specialand claw meat)1 large egg1/4 teaspoon salt1/4 teaspoon black pepper1 teaspoon Old Bayseasoning1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/4 cup reduced-fatmayonnaise

3 tablespoons choppedfresh parsley1/3 cup finely choppedred pepper, optional

1/2 to 1 cup cracker meal orplain panko breadcrumbs

Crabcake Sauce (see cook’snote)

Crab cakes make ideal dinner or snackBY SUSAN M. SELASKYDETROIT FREE PRESS

If you ask 10 people for thebest recipe for crab cakes,you’ll likely get 10 differentanswers.One person I know uses

the recipe on the can of OldBay Seasoning—called aclassic Maryland-style crabcake.It’s a mix of crab meat,

mayo, mustard, Old Bay, anegg and parsley flakes.Some recipes call for a few

drops of hot red pepper sauce(Tabasco), Worcestershiresauce, lemon juice, salt andpepper. To bind the cakestogether, use an egg andmayonnaise, butmix these ina separate bowl and then addto the crab cake mixture.Some recipes also call for

dredging the crab cakes inbread crumbs, cracker mealor panko before pan-fryingor broiling.What to serve with crab

cakes is another issue. Somepurists say crab cakes needno sauce or perhaps justsome lemon wedges.Many recipes call for serv-

ing them with a Cajun re-moulade—just don’t make ittoo spicy. You don’t want the

crab to compete with manyother flavors.Crab cakes are pretty sim-

ple to prepare and are great tohave on hand when you needsomething quick and easy fordinner or an appetizer.

The best ones use good-size pieces of crab, so uselump crab if you can. Lumpcrab is the most expensive—about $16 for an 8-ouncecontainer.Crab labeled “special” and

claw meat is about $8 for an8-ounce container.To cut cost, you can use a

mix of all three.To prepare ahead, make,

shape and freeze the crabcakes without cooking. Ifyou cook and then freezethem, they may get soggy.Once you’ve mixed all the

ingredients together, shapethe crab cakes into desiredsize.Use an ice cream scoop to

make dinner portion sizecrab cakes, about 3 ounceseach. Shape the mixturegently and don’t press it.Crab cakes should be about a

half-inch thick.To make small ones for

appetizers, use small mea-suring cups or tablespoonmeasures.Place crab cakes on a tray

lined with parchment or waxpaper and place in the freez-er. Once frozen, put them in afreezer bag (label and datethe bag) and store in thefreezer. You also can placethem in a container layeredand separated by wax paper.I prefer broiling crab cakes.

You can pan-fry them, too,but use an oil like canola so itdoesn’t compete with thecrab flavor. Or for a richerflavor, pan-fry in clarifiedbutter.

WILLIAM ARCHIE / DETROIT FREE PRESS

Delicate crab cakes with herbsauce will work as the maincourse or as an appetizer.

SUZANNE CARR ROSSI / THE FREE LANCE–STAR

Free Lance–Star reporterKatie Thisdell figured outbaking the hard way.

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