Madamoiselle Heather Knight's Specialties

These two recipes from Heather Knight "never fail to impress".  The carrot cakes looks wicked- I can't wait to make it.  Carrot cake is somewhat off-beat but delicious.  And the greek dish- hold up, why is Heather providing recipes for greek dishes?? I approve however-- if the recipe calls for feta cheese, kalamata olives, and olive oil, you can't go wrong. mmm....

Dishes

Black Forest Carrot Cake Heather

Greek Chicken with Tomatoes and Olives (Kotopoula me tomates kai elies) Heather's dad

Black Forest Carrot Cake

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Yield: 10 servings

2 1/2 cups grated carrots

1 1/2 cups walnut pieces

1 cup chopped pineapple, fresh or canned

1 cup golden raisins

1 cup shredded coconut

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

In a large mixing bowl, toss together the carrots, walnuts, pineapple, raisins, and coconut with 1/2 cup of the flour to coat them and keep them from sinking to the bottom of the cake batter. 

Sift together the remaining 1 1/2 cups flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. 

In  a mixer with a whip attachment, mix the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy (the "ribbon" stage), then drizzle in teh vegetable oil.  Fold in the dry ingredients and pour over the carrot mixture.  Fold carefully to blend, then pour the batter into a buttered, floured 10-inch cake pan containing a circle of parchment paper in the bottom.  Bake until firm to the touch in the center, about 1 to 1 1/4 hours.  Let cool on a rack and then turn out.  Dust the top with powdered sugar and cut into wedges to serve.

Greek chicken with tomatoes and olives

Yield: 6 servings

Flour for dredging

salt and pepper to taste

1 medium frying chicken (approx. 3 pounds) cut into 6-8 servings

1/2 cup olive oil (extra virgin)

2 large red onions, peeled and chopped

3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

1 1/2 cups peeled, chopped plum tomatoes

1/2 cup dry red wine

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

1 cup pitted Kalamata olives, rinsed and drained

1 teaspoon oregano (dried or fresh)

1. Combine the flour, salt and pepper on a plate and lightly dredge (i.e. roll around and coat) the chicken.  ( I prefer removing the skin first, but that wasn't called for).  Heat 1/3 cup olive oil in a large, deep skillet and brown the chicken pieces on all sides, over high heat.  Remove with a slotted spoon (I sued a fork with care.  The main point is allowing oil drainage). 

2. Add remaining olive oil to skillet, and saute onions until wilted and lightly browned (that involves a bit of stirring) add garlic and stir for 30 seconds.  Place the chicken pieces back in the pan.  Pour in the tomatoes and wine, and season with salt and pepper.  Cover and simmer over low heat for about 45 minutes, or until the chicken is tender. 

3. Ten minutes before removing from heat, add crumbled Feat and stir until melted.  Five minutes before removing from heat, add oregano and kalamata olives.