Fat Lady Peach Cake: an Alternative to Honey Cake this Holiday

Tonight is Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year which is celebrated with a big meal, like many holidays. I particularly enjoy cooking for Rosh Hashanah because it gives me an excuse to indulge my significant sweet tooth. To start the year off right and increase the chances that it will be a prosperous year, the meal has to be filled with sweet dishes, especially apples and honey.

The traditional dessert is a honey cake and I'm going to try to make it for the first time tonight. But as an alternative, I'll also be serving this Fat Lady Peach Cake, a sweet yet light creation that showcases the last of this summer's glorious peaches. It actually reminds me of a clafouti, served warm, it dissolves in the mouth, leaving just a hint of sweetness on the tongue.

I was inspired to make this cake after seeing Steven Fries, columnist for the New Haven Register, prepare it for a TV segment on Connecticut Style. I met Steve at the Pillsbury Bake Off, and really enjoyed getting to know him and his partner Chris Barrett, one of my favorite people on Twitter. Steve got the recipe from the Fat Lady Cookbook and serves it doubled.

I'm not sure which dessert will win tonight after we finish our brisket and carrot souffle. If all goes well, it will be a tie and everyone will go home, happy and full, sure that the next year will indeed by a good one.


Fat Lady Peach Cake (adapted from Stephen Fries' recipe)
Ingredients:
6-8 ripe peaches
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup flour
1 cup of sugar
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
2 tablespoons of vanilla sugar or butterscotch/sugar Gluttony Grinder
2 eggs
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon baking powder

1. Thinly slice peaches and toss with lemon juice in a bowl, set aside.
2. In another bowl cream butter and 1 cup sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well with electric mixer. 
3. Sift flour, salt and baking powder and add to mixture. 
4. Put into well greased 8 in spring-form pan. Place peaches on top and sprinkle with vanilla sugar or, if you can get your hands on it, the wonderfully named Gluttony butterscotch and sugar grinder. I found mine at the Chelsea Market - and there was no chance I would resist it.
5. In a pre-heated 350 degree oven bake 45 minutes to one hour until toothpick comes out clean.

How to Make Chopped Liver when You're Missing NYC

My favorite part of the Passover meal every year is the chopped liver. I know that it's not a favorite of many, but I love this savory spread with a passion. It could be that it reminds me of the pates of my native France. It could be because my mother always fried up the chicken livers just for me whenever she roasted a chicken. Or it could just be that chopped liver is good, really, crave-inducing good. I have no shame, happily taking a third or even a fourth helping every year.

When we lived in New Jersey, I always bought my chopped liver from Artie's Deli on the Upper West Side. After much sampling from Zabar's and other Upper West Side institutions, Artie's came out as the clear winner with it's soft texture and lack of bitter aftertaste.

This year, when my Google searches for "Jewish delis in Columbus selling chopped liver" came up empty, I decided to make my own. I was amazed at how easy it was! I took the basic recipe found online and spiced it up to my liking. Some recipes called for sauteing the livers in schmaltz (rendered chicken fat) but I'm a Frenchie so I used duck fat instead. Any fat will do, including vegetable oil or butter. Good Jewish food is not good diet food, and this is no exception.

Call us sacrilegious, but Steve and I officially declared my chopped liver recipe as good as Artie's.


Chopped Liver
Ingredients:
1 pound of chicken livers
1 medium yellow onion, chopped coarsely
3 hard boiled eggs
1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup of fruity white wine such as Riesling or Sauvignon Blanc
1/4 cup of raisins
3 tablespoons of duck fat
salt
pepper

1. Hard boil the eggs. Peel them. Set aside.
2. Remove the chicken livers from the package. Inspect them and remove any glaring nerves or other yucky bits.
3. Heat a large frying pan on high. Add the duck fat (or other fat including butter or vegetable oil) and melt. Add the chopped onion and saute for 5 minutes until softened and fragrant. Add the balsamic vinegar and saute for another minute to incorporate well.
4. Add the chicken livers. Saute for a good ten minutes, until the livers are no longer pink in the middle. 
5. Pour in the wine, scraping up all the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Continue sauteing until the wine is mostly evaporated.
6. In a food processor, pulse together the eggs and sauteed chicken livers until they form a rough mousse. Then add the raisins and pulse a few more times. You want the chunks of raisins to still be visible.
7. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix well together.
8. Pour into a serving bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours before serving.