Orange Almond Olive Oil Cake

I wanted cake. No, I really wanted ice cream, but cake or pie or even any sort of gooey pastry would do. And yet, I did not want to leave the house to buy ice cream or anything else. It was a stay-at-home Saturday of chores and hobbies and a bit of rest, and I simply didn't want to leave the house.

"I know how to cook," I thought. "I'll make something!" Even though I wasn't really in the mood to fuss about in the kitchen too much, it seemed like a reasonable activity for a Saturday afternoon. I then remembered that I had no butter. I flirted briefly with the idea of making my fudgesicles as I had all the ingredients, but I wasn't really in the mood for chocolate. No butter, no butter, how could I make a nice rich carby dessert with no butter?

Ricotta Cookies and an Old Friend

When I was in college, I found an inexpensive Sunbeam hand mixer on clearance at Target. If memory serves, it cost something like $11. Not only did it have the standard beaters, but a whisk, a paddle, and a milkshake spindle. Until a little over a year ago, it was my only mixer. I wanted a stand mixer, but never felt I could justify spending the money a good one would cost. Being limited to a hand mixer didn't hold me back much -- I've made a metric ton of cookies and cakes and the like over the years, in addition to using the other attachments for a million other things. I've also made yeast breads, but always by hand -- kneading is a great stress-reliever, if a bit messy.

Then, last December I hurt my back and was essentially in bed for 2 weeks. I spent a lot of time web surfing on my netbook, and found myself on the KitchenAid Outlet web site. Between my upcoming birthday and my bedridden state, I was vulnerable to the terrific deal on the factory refurbished, all-metal gear, 6-qt bowl, 575-Watt, onyx black, "Professional" line thing of beauty I found. After all these years the hand mixer is still going strong, but I was ready -- more than ready -- for a grown-up mixer. I wanted to do some Serious Mixing when I got back on my feet.

The New Guard watches the Old Guard make cookies

It's great to have the KitchenAid, especially one so large & powerful. I made several batches of marshmallows, for example. Those require a motor with heft & stamina; the hand mixer would never have made it through. (Most regular stand mixers wouldn't make it through.) It's great for the stiff cookie doughs I'd never try with the hand mixer. Of course the dough hook makes yeast breads much easier, too. Still, when I want to make something simple, I find myself pulling out the little Sunbeam.

This weekend I made a batch of ricotta cookies from a recipe I've used for many years. In fact, I was only going to make half a batch, so I didn't need to fire up the KitchenAid. Old Sunny would do just fine.

The cookies were part of a dessert platter I had for Sunday after lunch with my friend Matt. They were accompanied by local organic strawberries from my CSA, Fresh Harvest, as well as cool white chocolate ganache and warm dark chocolate ganache. It was fun to try different combinations of fruit, cookie, and the two chocolates. The strawberries were nice and ripe but not terribly sweet, so having the chocolate to go with them was especially welcome.

Photo by Matt, who also helped eat them

The cookies themselves are a little unusual -- they are soft (but not gooey) and rise quite a bit, so that they are almost like sturdy little cakes. The flavor is subtle, rich with vanilla, and that makes them perfect to go with lots of things, from coffee to ice cream. They are also small, nice to have around when you want just a bite of something sweet. As you might guess from the featured ingredient, ricotta cookies are Italian in origin, and are often flavored with lemon juice and zest. I like them with lemon, but I thought the plan variety would be more suitable with the ganache. As is usual with basic baked goods, I also think they would be good with an addition of almond extract.

It's also a good recipe to have in your repertoire because they are drop cookies -- easy to mix, no refrigeration of the dough or rolling/cutting required. You also don't have to be terribly fussy about the way you mound the dough on the cookie sheet if you don't mind slightly irregular shapes. A cookie scoop helps form more evenly-sized, round cookies, but I just used two iced tea spoons.

Ready for the oven

The recipe below is the full recipe; I frequently make only half. I also usually serve them as is, but you'll frequently find recipes where they are iced with a confectioner's sugar glaze. You could also sprinkle with coarse sugar before baking.

Ricotta Cookies

adapted from several sources

4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 (15-ounce) container ricotta cheese*
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula occasionally if necessary. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add the ricotta and vanilla and beat until well blended, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. With the mixer on medium low speed, gradually beat in the flour mixture until well combined, but do not overmix. 

Using a small cookie scoop or a teaspoon, drop dough 2 inches apart onto cookie sheets (preferably lined with parchment paper). Bake until the cookies start to brown on the bottom, about 11 to 13 minutes (the tops will not brown). Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to rest on the cookie sheet for 1 to 2 minutes before transferring them with a spatula to wire racks to cool completely.

*I use whole milk ricotta

Variation: If you'd like the traditional lemon flavoring, add the zest and juice of one lemon with the ricotta and vanilla.

Lunch Break!

On Thursday, after a morning full of meetings, I escaped to lunch at Caffe Nonna (4427 Murphy Road) with a couple of coworkers/friends. The restaurant is in the revitalized Sylvan Park neighborhood, nestled in a row of shops and restaurants across the street from McCabe Pub, between The Local Taco and Park Cafe. There are parking spaces in front, but if those are full, there's also a small lot in the back off of Westlawn Dr.

I had been there several times before with Melissa, long-time friend and fellow Vanderbilt employee. The third in our party, Jeannette, is part of my team at work and was new to CN. We made a reservation because it's a tiny restaurant and we wanted to be sure to get a table without waiting since we were on our lunch hour. Surprisingly, they weren't busy, although we were told that the day before they had been slammed. So, a word to the wise -- for lunch or dinner, call for a reservation, just in case.

As you might guess from the name, Caffe Nonna is an Italian restaurant. The small space is cozy, and the food is comforting yet fresh and flavorful. While the menu is full of the types of dishes you'd expect from an American Italian place, it shows creativity and has a few surprises. The menu is thoughtful and has something to please most appetites without offering an overwhelming variety. Portion sizes are ample but not gut-busting like some chain Italian restaurants I could name. The food is obviously prepared with care.

Open for lunch and dinner during the week, and dinner on Saturday, CN has a nice selection of appetizers, salads, pasta, pizza, and entrees, as well as daily specials. For lunch, they also offer sandwiches. Pasta dishes are made to the customer's specification -- you choose the type of pasta, the sauce, and any additions such as a protein or vegetables. Melissa ordered one of her stand-by dishes at CN, rigatoni with bolognese and meatballs. The generous portion of fat pasta tubes and meaty sauce was served up in a thick-walled, white bowl. She proclaimed it as tasty as usual, although next time she might skip the meatballs and stick with the sauce alone.

Jeannette and I had the Italian Fried Tilapia sandwich. The fish was a nice thick slab, unusual for tilapia. The fillets had a terrific hefty coating of beer batter and had been fried to a wonderful crunch. Served on a crusty chunk of baguette with lettuce, tomato (wedges, a little odd), and onion, it was a sandwich that required two hands for eating. The tasty pesto aioli was served on the side so you could slather on as much or as little as you liked. This was one of the best fish sandwiches I've had in a while; I would definitely order it again. I was even pleased with the side, french fries. After a lifetime of eating fries, I'm over them. I rarely order them, and often if another side dish is available I'll ask for a sub. It takes a really, really fabulous fry to get my attention. These were shoestring fries, so thin and crispy they were unlike any I've had in Nashville. For the first time in ages I didn't just eat the fries, I enjoyed the fries.

We did not have dessert or wine, but I look forward to returning for a more leisurely dinner one day and sampling both.