Food for the Gods

There were five kinds of  home baked goodies  that we threw in our  Christmas gift baskets for  this year. In the basket were chewy Food for the Gods, Wedding Balls,  Nut and Fruit Clusters, Creamy Fudge and Sugar Cookies.

These were all  baked  by  my wife who has  patience  with weights and measures. Baking for me is very rudimentary.  I am  one  passionate cook  who does not  have a feel  for pastry and cake making because of  their demands for exactness.  I hate to measure . I do not submit  to recipe rules.  Bakingwise, the results would  always end up as  disastrous masterpieces.

It's the rebel in me I guess who always finds dissent a self-fulfilling pleasure. I have a growing collection of cookbooks with the recipes ready for deconstruction. I read them as trivia, history  and inspirational fiction rather than as a bible inciting to religion. I believe cookbook writers doesn't  excellent preachers  make.

First to bake was Food for the Gods. This dark buttery  and chewy  squares  filled with  chopped pitted dates and walnuts  hover strongest in my  memories of  childhood holiday binging. I remember this to be  a consistent  gift of an aunt  at  Christmas. It would always come in a white box with each  square wrapped in either red or green cellophane. It has a stiff cake-like  texture with a hint of  either rum or brandy on it. I love to nibble on the darker  crusty portion where the flavor is strongest and slightly  bittersweet.

The Food for the Gods  we baked was the chewy version with a consistency similar to Butterscotch.It was based  on a recipe published by  Junjun De Guzman and Adoree Uy in their Manila Bulletin  column  Baking 101. The taste was different from my childhood version. It was probably the absence of  the  rum or brandy or, perhaps it is only in the imagination that a definite flavor is preserved. The Food  for  the Gods of the now held its own. It was worth the challenges in dealing with the dates. They stick on the oiled  knife's edge and require more effort to chop.Tricky and frustrating as it  is rewarding   when it  didn't  disappoint the sweet tooth. It offered new nuances  to the palate  as it connived with other pleasures that will   as well  become memories.

Heres the recipe from Junjun de Guzman and Adoree Uy:

                            
                 Food for the Gods (Chewy Version)

                        1 cup all-purpose flour
                        ¼ tsp. salt
                        1 tsp. baking powder
                        1 cup pitted dates, chopped
                        1 cup butter, melted
                        1 cup brown sugar
                        2/3 cup sugar
                        1 tbsp. honey or light molasses
                        ½ tsp. vanilla extract
                        2 eggs
                        1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
                        
                        Procedure:
                        1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 9" x 13" rectangular
                        pan OR 2 – 8" square pans with aluminum foil. Set aside.

                        2. Sift the all-purpose flour, salt and baking powder
                        together. Divide this mixture into two. Use one-half to
                        dredge the chopped dates.

                        3. Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine melted butter, brown
                        sugar, sugar and eggs. Mix until well-blended. Add in
                        the honey or molasses and vanilla extract.

                        4. Fold in the dry ingredients to the batter mixture.
                        Lastly, fold in the dates and walnuts. Pour the mixture
                        to the prepared pan. Spread evenly. Bake in the oven for
                        35-45 minutes or check doneness with a cake tester.
                        Insert tester close to the side. It should come out
                        clean and dry. The center would still be a little wet
                        when tested. Cool completely. Slice into bars.

 

 

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[erisac]

Wishing you and your family a HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!!

Eric aka senor enrique