Kale Salad

I made this for Thanksgiving and it was wonderful!  In fact, we made it again 2 days later for friends.

Tuscan kale, also known as dinosaur kale, lacinato kale and cavolo nero, is abundant at farmers’ markets in the fall and winter, making this pretty salad studded with bright red pomegranate seeds the perfect side dish for a Thanksgiving or Christmas feast. Unlike most salads, it should be dressed about 30 minutes in advance, which allows the kale to soften slightly.

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp. honey
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 3 Tbs. white wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup (2 fl. oz./60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. salt, plus more, to taste
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper, plus more, to taste
• 2 bunches Tuscan kale, stems removed and discarded and
    leaves julienned
• 1/2 cup (3 oz./90 g) cooked and cooled quinoa
• 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup (1 oz./30 g) coarsely chopped pistachios
• 1/4 cup (1 oz./30 g) pomegranate seeds

Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, mustard, vinegar, olive oil, the 1/2 tsp. salt and the 1/4 tsp. pepper.

About 30 minutes before serving, in a large bowl, combine the kale and half of the vinaigrette. Toss to evenly coat the kale. Set aside.

When ready to serve, add the quinoa, red onion, pistachios and pomegranate seeds to the kale and toss to combine. Taste and add more vinaigrette if desired, tossing to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately. Serves 4 to 6.

Williams-Sonoma Test Kitchen

Carrot Layer Cake

 

 

Carrot Layer Cake

Serves 10-12

Shred the carrots on the large holes of a box grater or in a food processor fitted with the shredding disk. Do not substitute liquid buttermilk for the buttermilk powder. To ensure the proper spreading consistency for the frosting, use cold cream cheese. If your baked cake is of an uneven thickness, adjust the orientation of the layers as they are stacked to produce a level cake. Assembling this cake on a cardboard cake round trimmed to a 6 by 8-inch rectangle makes it easy to press the pecans onto the sides of the frosted cake.

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 3/4cups (8 3/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 2teaspoons baking powder
• 1teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3/4teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2teaspoon salt
• 1/4teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 1/4cups (8 3/4 ounces) light brown sugar
• 3/4cup vegetable oil
• 3large eggs
• 1teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 2/3cups shredded carrots (4 carrots)
• 2/3cups dried currants

Frosting

• 16tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 3cups (12 ounces) confectioners' sugar
• 1/3cup buttermilk powder
• 2teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4teaspoon salt
• 12ounces cream cheese, chilled and cut into 12 equal pieces
• 2cups (8 ounces) pecans, toasted and chopped coarse

Instructions

• 1. FOR THE CAKE: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 18 by 13-inch rimmed baking sheet, line with parchment paper, and grease parchment. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and cloves together in large bowl.
• 2. Whisk sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla together until mixture is smooth. Stir in carrots and currants. Add flour mixture and fold with rubber spatula until mixture is just combined.
• 3. Transfer batter to prepared baking sheet and smooth surface with offset spatula. Bake until center of cake is firm to touch, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes. Invert cake onto wire rack (do not remove parchment) and then reinvert onto second wire rack. Cool cake completely, about 30 minutes.
• 4. FOR THE FROSTING: Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat butter, sugar, buttermilk powder, vanilla, and salt on low speed until smooth, about 2 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed. Increase speed to medium-low; add cream cheese, 1 piece at a time; and mix until smooth, about 2 minutes.
• 5. Transfer cooled cake to cutting board, parchment side down. Using sharp chef’s knife, cut cake and parchment in half crosswise and then lengthwise to make 4 equal rectangles, about 6 by 8 inches each.
• 6. Place 6 by 8-inch cardboard rectangle on cake turntable or plate. Place 1 cake rectangle, parchment side up, on cardboard and carefully remove parchment. Using offset spatula, spread 2/3 cup frosting evenly over cake layer. Repeat with two more layers of cake, frosting each layer with 2/3 cup frosting and pressing gently on each layer to level. Place last rectangle of cake on top and frost top of cake with 1 cup frosting. Use remaining frosting to coat sides of cake. (It’s fine if some crumbs show through frosting on sides, but if you go back to smooth top of cake, be sure that spatula is free of crumbs.)
• 7. Hold cake with 1 hand and gently press chopped pecans onto sides with other hand. Chill for at least 1 hour before serving.
• To Make Ahead: The cake may be refrigerated for up to 24 hours before serving.