Stuffed Chicken Breast
I love it when Victor cooks dinner!
I've been chained to the computer migrating forums, recreating databases - things I am pretty much clueless about - and Victor, taking pity upon me, cooked up a great meal! Chicken breasts stuffed with Spanish Blue Cheese, and oven-roasted potatoes, carrots, zucchini, and onions. And garlic.
It was excellent. Lightly breaded with homemade breadcrumbs, oozing cheese, and perfectly-cooked vegetables. My stomach was smiling!
The test site I was working on had gone flawlessly, so I boldly went on to migrate another and then itsy-bitsy little configuration issues kept popping up.
A wonderful dinner prepared by the greatest guy around gave me the strength and fortitude to find and fix the problems.
Everything is now working as it should.
Life is good.
A New Year Date
I was speaking with a woman yesterday about dates. She was saying how much she absolutely loved them, and then said she stuffs them with parmesan cheese, wraps them in bacon, and bakes them.
My mouth started watering, I got weak in the knees. I knew that 24 hours were not going to pass before having them, myself. And I was right - it was less than 20!
I've always liked dates, but I've never gone totally out of my way to bring them home or do anything with them. They've always been part of the realm of so many foods, so little time... That is about to change, especially since Victor said that he absolutely and totally loves dates. The things ya learn after 15 years...
So, armed with my package of Medjool Dates, a wedge of parrano cheese (an Italian-style cheese that is actually produced in the Netherlands!) and a package of Niman Ranch bacon, I went to work.
The timing could not have been better. We're off to the bro-and-sis-in-laws for dinner today and Marie said "bring something, if you want". We had the ingredients right here. We didn't have to go to the store. And... well.. we had to try them before giving the to people, right?!?
The dates all had pits, but a pair of needle-nose pliers took quick work of that! Really. I pitted 30 mdates in just a couple of minutes.
I cut small sticks of cheese and stuck them into the date. Wrapped a half-strip of bacon around, and secured with a toothpick.
Into a very hot 450° oven for 15 minutes.
WOW! They were good! In fact, we were thinking that they might be too good to share and we could eat them all ourselves. In the end, we chose the high road and will be bringing them with us to dinner. It's only twelve and a half hours into the new year. Way too early to be selfish!
Our Biannual Dinner with Linda and David
Twice a year we have dinner with our friends Linda and David. July at their house to celebrate Linda's and my birthday, and the week between Christmas and New Year for our holiday festivities. It's great. They love food just as much as we do. We all go over the top just a bit when figuring out what to cook - always something we wouldn't do unless they (or we) were coming to dinner. It's a lot of fun.
This year, we decided to do a prime rib and individual Yorkshire puddings. I was going to do Trevor's popovers, but changed my mind at the last minute. Actually, I chickened out. I hadn't made a popover or Yorkshire pudding in a bazillion years and didn't want to publicly screw them up.
We started with a 4-bone rib roast.
I don't remember the last time I did a prime rib other than at some hotel or another where I was working. I actually may have never cooked one at home before. And I did mention that there were only four of us, right?!?
The roast went into the oven and the hors d'oeuvres were started.
We started with a baked brie with roasted figs in a citrus glaze. This was an impulse buy at Wegmans when we were shopping for dinner items. Victor saw the figs and went wild. We then picked up a wedge of brie and a star was born. It looked like cheesecake with topping before it went inti the oven.
It was ridiculously good.
And we had crab on cucumber slices.
These were really good, too.
Crab Salad on Cucumber Rounds
- 8 ounces crabmeat
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 3 tbsp minced red onion
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme
- 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 cucumber, sliced
Mix first 5 ingredients together. Add salt and pepper, if desired.
Place on cucumber slaices. Top with paprika.
We also had a hot artichoke and spinach dip, but I missed getting a picture.
Artichoke and Spinach Dip
- 1 cans Artichoke Hearts, coarsely chopped
- 1 box frozen Spinach, thawed and drained
- 1/2 cup Shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup Mayonnaise
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Mix ingredients well and transfer to shallow baking dish. Broil until bubbly and browned.
And Dauphine potatoes!
These are fun. One of the hotels I worked in years ago served these all the time. When I win the lottery I want a commercial kitchen in the house - with a real deep fat fryer!
This recipe comes from Gourmet Magazine.
Dauphine Potatoes
- 1 1/2 pounds russet (baking) potatoes (about 3)
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits
- 1 teaspoon salt
- a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs
- vegetable oil for deep-frying the potatoes
- coarse salt for sprinkling the croquettes if desired
Bake the potatoes in a preheated 425°F. oven for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until they are soft, halve them lengthwise, and scoop the potato out of the shells with a spoon, reserving the shells for another use. Force the scooped-out potato through a ricer or a food mill fitted with the medium disk into a large bowl. (There should be about 2 cups riced potato.)
In a saucepan combine 1/2 cup water, the butter, the salt, and the nutmeg, bring the mixture to a boil, and stir in the flour all at once. Reduce the heat to moderate and beat the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon for 3 minutes, or until the paste pulls away from the side of the pan and forms a ball. Remove the pan from the heat, add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition, and beat the mixture until it is smooth and shiny.
Add the potatoes and beat the mixture until it is combined well. The potato mixture may be prepared up to this point 1 day in advance and kept covered and chilled. In a deep fryer or large kettle heat 2 inches of the oil until it registers 340°F. on a deep-fat thermometer. Transfer the potato mixture to a large pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch star tip and pipe eight 2 1/2-inch lengths, cutting them with kitchen shears or a small knife, directly into the oil. Fry the croquettes, turning them with a slotted spoon, for 3 minutes, or until they are crisp, golden, and cooked through, transfer them as they are fried to paper towels to drain, and sprinkle them with the salt. Make more croquettes in batches with the remaining potato mixture and transfer the drained croquettes to a rack set in a jelly-roll pan (to prevent them from becoming soggy). The croquettes may be made 2 hours in advance, kept covered loosely with paper towels at room temperature, and reheated on the rack in a preheated 400°F. oven for 5 minutes, or until they are heated through and crisp. If not making the croquettes in advance, keep them warm in a preheated 300°F. oven.
The zucchini boats were just hollowed out zucchini with a carrot puree - cooked carrots, honey, dill, and S&P. Baked at 350° for 20 minutes.
A simple salad...
And the Yorkshire Puddings...
These were a lot of fun - and gave me the confidence to make the popovers relatively soon.
Yorkshire Puddings
- 4 large, fresh eggs, measured in a jug
- Equal quantity of milk to eggs
- Equal quantity of all purpose/plain flour to eggs
- Pinch of salt
- 2 tbsp beef drippings
- Heat oven to 450°.
- Pour the eggs and milk into a large mixing bowl and add the pinch of salt. Whisk thoroughly with an electric hand beater or hand whisk. Leave to stand for 10 minutes.
- Gradually sieve the same volume of flour (as the eggs) into the milk and egg mixture, again using an electric hand beater or hand-whisk to create a lump free batter resembling thick cream, if there are any lumps pass the batter through a fine sieve.
- Leave the batter to rest in the kitchen for a minimum of 30 minutes, longer if possible - up to several hours.
- Place 1 tsp drippings in a Yorkshire pudding tin or muffin tin and heat in the oven until the fat is smoking. Give the batter another good whisk adding 2 tbsps of cold water and fill a third of each section of the tin with batter and return quickly to the oven.
- Leave to cook until golden brown approx 20 minutes.
And then we had dessert.
Okay. I freely admit that I must have been on drugs when I made these. My thought process was to make 4 individual Baked Alaskas. Another thing I haven't made in 30 or so years. The key word to note here is individual. Right.
Chocolate Cake
- 2 cups sugar
- 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1-1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1-1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup grapeseed (or other neutral) oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line sheetpan with parchment paper.
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely.
I started off with what looked like a small cake round.
And then it just went out of control.
I drizzled Blood Orange Syrup on the cake because I needed an excuse to open the syrup we bought down in DC at Cowgirl Creamery.
That "small cake round" was really pretty big. It took a lot of ice cream to properly cover it.
And then the meringue.
Meringue
- 6 egg whites
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
Whip egg whites until foamy. Add vanilla and cream of tartar.
Slowly add sugar and whip until still and glossy - about 5 minutes.
The final step is to brown the meringue in a hot oven. One could use a blow torch, but I don't have one.
We split two of them between four of us - and even that was too much! (Okay - I could have eaten a whole one myself, but I'm a dessert/ice cream pig. And another great thing is we now have more desserts just for us!)
I actually did learn a few lessons with this meal - especially the all-important portioning. I really did forget just how big those desserts would grow. I could have made them on cupcake bottoms and they probably would have been just right.
But we had a wonderful time - and that's the most important thing.
And now we get to think about what to get Linda for her birthday... July is not that far away!
Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, and Gravy
It's definitely been a while since I whipped up a meatloaf.
No particular reason other than I've just been making other things, but tonight meatloaf called my name.
I make a pretty basic meatloaf. Nothing fancy. Which reminds me of when I opened the Westin SFO many moons ago. The main hotel restaurant was The Bayshore Diner (where those oval plates came from). It was an '80s version of a '50s diner and had meatloaf on the menu. The chef just couldn't make an American meatloaf - they always looked like a perfect pate. So much for classical training, eh?!?
But I digress...
Ground beef, bread crumbs (from my homemade bread the other day!), chopped onion, garlic, a splash of ketchup, squirt of mustard, splash of worcestershire sauce, an egg, salt, and pepper. I was in a hurry so 400° for about 40 minutes.
I usually pack it all into a plastic-lined loaf pan and then put it onto a sheet pan to bake.
Mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy, frozen spinach.
Tomorrow is Prime Rib and Baked Alaska!
Life is good.
Beard on Bread, Tim on Chili
By far, one of the best bread-baking books out there is Beard on Bread.
The beauty of anything written by James Beard is that he writes in a straight-forward way, gives common-sense instructions, and gives a list of variations. His basic premise is "you can't screw it up." I've been following that advice for years.
So after making a big pot of chili today, I thought making some bread bowls would be a fun way to serve them. It's cold outside. I can pretty much justify the calories. Besides, fresh bread is one of life's great pleasures.
My 'go-to' recipe for a quick and easy bread is Beard's French-style (also called Cuban) Bread. It's a one-rise and into a cold oven bread that has a great crust. I thought it would be perfect for bread bowls. They almost were.
I followed the directions and formed into balls instead of loaves and into the oven they went. They actually rose up more than they rose out, so, while they could have worked, I decided to put the chili in bowls and serve the bread on the side. It worked.
Here's the complete 2-page recipe and schpiel from his 1973 cook book.
French-Style Bread
French bread, as we all know, has been praised and prized above all other breads in the world for its distinctive crumb, crisp crust, and superb flavor. However, the carefully controlled preparation of it in commercial bakeries is difficult to duplicate in one’s own kitchen. If you are ready for the challenge, you should search out a recipe that is as complete as the one developed by Julia Child and Simone Beck for Volume 2 of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Their method seems tremendously complex but it is great fun to follow through to the final goal (and once mastered, not difficult to do again); the loaves are startlingly good and genuinely French.
The bread I am giving here is not truly French, and for that reason it is called “French-style.” Actually it could be called “Continental,” because it is very much like the bread one finds in Italy, Spain, and Portugal. It has also been known for many years as "Cuban Bread." It is a casual, easy-to-make bread that can be played with in several ways. If made according to the basic recipe below it produces a good loaf ready for eating almost the minute it comes from the oven. It will not hold for more than half a day but, of course, can be frozen.
Yield: 2 long loavesIngredients
- 1½ packages active dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 cups warm water (l00° to 115°, approximately)
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 5 to 6 cups all-purpose or hard-wheat flour
- 3 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
- 1 tablespoon egg white, mixed with 1 tablespoon cold water
Directions
Combine the yeast with sugar and warm water in a large bowl and allow to proof. Mix the salt with the flour and add to the yeast mixture, a cup at a time, until you have a stiff dough. Remove to a lightly floured board and knead until no longer sticky, about 10 minutes, adding flour as necessary. Place in a buttered bowl and turn to coat the surface with butter. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1½ to 2 hours.
Punch down the dough. Turn out on a floured board and shape into two long, French bread-style loaves. Place on a baking sheet that has been sprinkled with the cornmeal but not buttered. Slash the tops of the loaves diagonally in two or three places, and brush with the egg wash. Place in a cold oven, set the temperature at 400°, and bake 35 minutes, or until well browned and hollow sounding when the tops are rapped.
VARIATIONS
For a wheaten loaf, use half white flour and half whole-wheat flour.
Substitute equal parts of whole-wheat flour and cracked wheat for half of the white flour.
For a more involved, more tightly textured loaf: Use either the original recipe or the whole-wheat variation. After the first rising, remove from the bowl, punch down, and knead again for 5 to 10 minutes. Return to the buttered bowl for a second rising. When it has doubled in bulk, form into two loaves and place on a baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes. Slash with a sharp razor or knife, brush with slightly beaten egg white or water, and place in a cold oven set for 375° or 400°. Bake until nicely browned and hollow sounding when tapped with the knuckles.
Line the oven rack with tiles (see page 12), preheat the oven to 400°, and slide your bread loaves from the baking sheet directly onto the tiles, which have been sprinkled with cornmeal.
Add to the liquid in the first step 4 to 5 tablespoons olive oil and then proceed with either the original recipe or the whole-wheat variation. You may need to use a small additional amount of flour.
Use 1/3 white flour, 1/3 whole-wheat, and 1/3 cracked-wheat. This will give a very nice coarse, nutlike texture to the bread. With this mixture I would advise adding olive oil in the beginning to give tenderness.
© 1973 James A. Beard
Chili is one of those things I just kinda make. I don't really have a favorite recipe and I more or less make it differently every time I do make it. I make it with ground beef, cubed beef, stew beef, fresh beans, canned beans, dried beans, whole tomatoes, canned tomatoes, fresh chilis or dried or ground.
It's chili. Ya can't really screw it up.
This chili was pretty much a canned affair. Beans and tomatoes were canned and the beef broth came out of a carton. The beef was real.
Canned beans are a great convenience and I always pick up a can or three when when they're on sale. While I was actually planning to use dried beans, Victor gently reminded me last night that we had probably a dozen cans of various beans on the shelf taking up more room than a single bag of beans. I just love a logical man! Canned beans, it was! I used Roman beans, cannellini, pintos, pink beans, and red beans.
5-Bean Chipotle Chili
- 2 pounds beef, cubed
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 14oz can diced tomatoes
- 2 8oz cans tomato sauce
- 1 qt beef broth
- 6 cans assorted beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 tsp chipotle powder
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- salt and pepper
- cheese and sour cream for toppings
Brown beef (I browned it in bacon grease because I had some from breakfast). Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is wilted.
Add spices and cook to rid them of their 'raw' taste.
Add tomatoes and then broth. Bring to a boil and then simmer about an hour.
Add beans and simmer another hour or so.
Check for seasoning and serve with cheese and sour cream.
Bread was served on the side. It was crusty, crunchy, and perfect for dipping and sopping.
And there are leftovers.
Yum.
Re-Purposed Pot Pie
When I made the crust for the Mincemeat pie the other day, I had a good-sized disk of dough left over. Into the 'fridge it went.
And a few days ago I made beef soup. It had rice and beans and other good, thickening things in it. Had some of that left over, also.
Two left-overs equals one dinner!
This really was a no-brainer. The soup was just a bit too thin for pot pie filling, so I added some potatoes and then thickened it with a beurre manié - equal parts of softened butter and flour.
I didn't feel like rolling two crusts - a top and a bottom - so I rolled one big one and made it rustic.
Filled it, folded it over, and into the oven at 425° for 30 minutes.
Since it is still snowing outside, it was the perfect winter dinner. And there are leftovers of the leftovers. Lunch tomorrow!
Not Cookies For Dinner
Okay. I've OD'd on cookies and candy - already!
Well... not really. I do have a great capacity for homemade sweets. But I did have to seriously slow down on my tasting. There really is something about the cookies and candy this year - everything tastes extra-special good. But man does not live by cookies and candy alone. Real food has to enter into the equation now and again.
Dinner.
I wanted something quick and easy. Time to clean out the refrigerator.
Chicken thighs, green mole sauce, canned beans, fondue, sour cream, and a really thick corn tortilla that I picked up at Assi. (They also have a bit of a Mexican section.)
It was one of those combinations that just worked. And it wasn't sugar.
So-So Asian Sauce
I tried the first of the sauces I picked up the other day at Assi.
Lee Kum Kee Sichuan Spicy Noodle Sauce.
Eh.
It wasn't bad or anything - just "eh". Definitely not spicy. I used it as a stirfry sauce, not a noodle sauce. Since I only used a few tablespoons, I'll definitely jazz it up a bit next time. Some chili paste, for starters...
I'm used to Asian restaurants (and Mexican too, for that matter) around here being borderline bland, but I thought a jarred sauce would be more authentic. I was wrong. Oh well.
It still worked for dinner and it was on the table in 20 minutes. Not bad for a cold Thursday.
Simply Salmon
These are the salmon steaks I mentioned yesterday.
And this is what they became in about 10 minutes:
Horseradish-Crusted Salmon Steaks
- 2 salmon steaks
- 1/4 cup white wine
- butter
- 3/4 cup crumbs (bread crumbs, cracker crumbs)
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp horseradish
- 2 green onions, minced
- salt and pepper
Preheat broiler. Butter small broiler pan. Place salmon in pan, butter salmon and add wine.
Place under broiler and cook about 6 minutes.
While salmon is cooking, mix crumbs, mayo, horseradish, minced onion, and salt and pepper.
Remove salmon from broiler after 6 minutes and pat crumb mixture on top.
Return to broiler until crumbs are golden and salmon is finished - another 4 minutes, or so.
I served with brown rice and Korean squash (which looks and tastes amazingly like zucchini).
The salmon steaks didn't look that huge in the package and didn't look that huge in the pan. When they got to the plate?!? They were huge!
We both ate half and have wonderful salmon leftovers for a salad. Or maybe croquettes!
Asia at Assi Plaza
Oh boy, do I have a new favorite store!
Since moving east lo these many years ago, I have had a hellava time finding ethnic groceries. Things are so white-bread out here on "The Main Line" that I couldn't even find chipotles in adobo until last year! I have to drive to Wegmans to get Sambal Oelek. It's pretty sad.
I've been having Lumpia withdrawal for quite a while, now. Once upon a time, a woman named Abundia who I worked with at UCSF kept me supplied. But that's been 10 years... Finally, I asked a woman I work with who is Filipina where she got hers. Her answer?!? Assi!
It's about a 35 minute drive - without a lot of traffic - but WOW! What fun! It was just like being back home!
Miles of aisles of fun exotic foods that you're just not going to find at the local A&P. Or Wegmans. Or Acme. Or anywhere else! I was like a kid in a candy shop, looking at every item, trying to decipher labels, and just overwhelmed by the sights, sounds, and scents. And actually hearing Chinese spoken. It was great.
I went a little crazy.
I bought two types of Lumpia, three types of pork buns, vegetable buns, potstickers, noodles, won ton wrappers, rice dumplings, and even banana leaves! And that was just the frozen aisle!
And I got teas, and sauces, rice cooking wine, mirin, coconut vinegar (I mean, when was the last time you had coconut vinegar, eh?!?) And something I had never seen before - corn noodles. I am just psyched.
I also picked up fresh vegetables and a bunch of meats - and two salmon steaks that were just perfect. You'll see them tomorrow when we have them for dinner! Presentations and quality were unsurpassed.
Tonight, we steamed buns,
baked off pork buns,
and I got my Lumpia fix. And potstickers, to boot!
It's a little too far and a little too specialized to be a regular shopping haunt, but it's definitely going to be a quarterly trek! My stomach is smiling, the cabinets and freezer are full.
Life is good!
Comfort Foods
It's cold outside. I want comfort food!
I've been working away on a dear friends new website, so writing about food has been secondary to getting the website published. But since it's almost ready to go... Here's two days worth of Comfort Food Dinners!
Today was an easy one. I put a big ol' chicken in a pot this morning, filled it with water and turned on the heat. While I was working away, so was the chicken - making a rich broth and fall-apart-tender bird.
I drained and strained the broth and skimmed the fat.
In a new, clean pan (Victor was in the kitchen cleaning up after me!!) I used the fat with some flour to make a roux. Added enough broth to make a medium-thick sauce. I added salt, pepper, garlic, and poultry seasoning and then noticed about a half-cup of heavy cream in the fridge. In that went, too.
Victor cut up celery, carrots, a potato, and we threw in frozen peas. I thought it still needed a bit more stuff, so I cooked up a handful of noodles. It was another clean out the fridge meal.
As that was all simmering, I made a pie crust:
Julia's Food Processor Pie Crust
- 1 3/4 cups flour
- 1 stick (1/4 lb.) butter, cut up
- 3 tbsp. grapeseed oil
- 1 tsp. salt
Blend flour, butter, oil and salt in food processor until crumbly. Add 1/4 cup of cold water and pulse until mixed.
This is super easy, just don't over-mix! I usually wrap in plastic and refrigerated for about 30 minutes.
I made it as a double crust pot pie and have to admit that we both were bad and went back for seconds!
Last night was another clean out the refrigerator dinner - beef vegetable soup.
I browned off some cubed beef and added beef broth.
Into the broth went the odds and ends in the vegetable bin - pea shoots, cauliflower, carrots, green beans, celery, plus a can of beans, a handful of rice, a handful of barley, a handful of small shell pasta, some mushrooms...
I added a bit of salt and pepper and some herbs d'Provence.
I had seconds of it, also!
Hot soups, stews, and casseroles. The only things I like about this weather.....
Christmas Fruitcake
The picture is just not doing this justice. This really looks so much better in person - and wow! Does it ever taste good!
I'm a little late making the fruitcakes this year. Usually they're done by late October and definitely before Thanksgiving. But since I'm less than 2 weeks past "Stir-Up Sunday" - the traditional day of making fruitcakes in Britain - I'm not too concerned.
I went hunting for a new recipe this year. I've tired of the Apricot Macadamia Fruitcake I've made for the past 20-odd years and while the cakes I made last year were okay, they were just okay. I wanted something better.
I didn't find a recipe I really like, so I found one I knew I could reinvent.
It worked.
The 2009 Fruitcake
- 5 cups golden raisins
- 4 cups dark raisins
- 3 cups dried currants
- 5 cups chopped glacéed fruits
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup dark rum
- 1 tbsp Lyle's Golden Syrup
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 4 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 lb unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 cups (packed) dark brown sugar
- 10 large eggs
- 3 cups pecans
Mix dried fruits in large bowl. Heat water and rum and pour over fruit. Mix well. Mix in syrup and baking soda. Let stand until fruit mixture absorbs liquid, stirring often, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 325°. Butter 9 full-sized loaf pans.
Sift flour, baking powder,and salt into medium bowl. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until well blended. Beat in eggs 1 at a time.
Add flour. Mix until just blended.
Mix batter and fruit mixture. Divide mixture among pans. Cover pans with foil.
Bake at 325° about 1 1/2 hours. Reduce oven temperature to 275°and continue to bake covered until tester comes out clean but slightly moist, about 30 minutes longer.
Transfer pans to cooling rack. Remove foil and drizzle about a tablespoon (or more) rum on each cake while hot.
Wrap and store in a cool place, adding more rum weekly.
I actually had Lyle's Golden Syrup (available at Wegmans) but if you don't, use a light molasses. I also resisted using any other spices and I'm really glad I did. The flavors worked perfectly and will only improve with age - and a bit more rum!