Cooking is My Therapy

Best Chocolate Cake Recipe ever...

2011-01-10T10:00:00.000-05:00

This summer, I was on the search for an amazing chocolate cake recipe. I had made the Hershey chocolate cake recipe several times and while I enjoyed it, I didn't love it. I came across this cake recipe and immediately drooled. The original recipe's buttercream frosting is a bit off on the measurements so I adjusted it and added in some cream cheese to give it a rich flavor.

This cake was divine. I've made it again since and it gets rave reviews. I think this chocolate cake is my go-to recipe from now on.

Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting & Chocolate Ganache Glaze
Adapted from Sarah Campbell/ $40 a Day

3 cups packed brown sugar
3/4 cup canola oil
3 eggs
2 2/3 cups flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/8 cups cocoa powder

Frosting:
1 1/2 sticks sweet butter, softened
4 oz cream cheese, softened
3 cups sifted powdered sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 pinch salt

Ganache:
1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 tablespoon light corn syrup
3/4 cup heavy cream

Directions

To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Oil 3 (10-inch) cake pans and line the bottom with parchment paper. Alternately, oil the pans and then flour them. (I use Wilton's Bake Easy spray instead.) Also, I used three 9 inch pans and made cupcakes with the extra batter.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the brown sugar and oil. Turn on the mixer to a low speed and mix in the eggs. Let the sugar, oil, and eggs mix while sifting together the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Set this mixture aside.

In another small bowl, mix the vanilla into the milk and set this aside as well. Bring the water to a boil and pour over the cocoa and whisk it until it is smooth. To the egg mixture, alternately add the flour mixture and the milk mixture beginning and ending with flour. With the mixer off, scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition. With the mixture at a low speed add the cocoa. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and pour this mixture into the prepared cake pans. Bake the cake for approximately 15 minutes or until tester comes out clean. When cake layers have cooled, remove from pans.

To make the frosting: In an electric mixing bowl place the soft butter and cream cheese and beat it on a low speed while adding powdered sugar. When all the sugar is mixed in, turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add in the vanilla and salt and let the mixer beat for 5 to 7 minutes on a medium speed. Fill and frost the cake and refrigerate it for 10 to 20 minutes to set up the frosting.

To make the ganache: In a heatproof bowl, place the chocolate chips and the corn syrup. Bring the heavy cream to a full boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and whisk it until smooth then set it aside.Pour ganache over the top of the cake and, with a cake spatula, smooth the top of the cake and allow ganache to spill over the sides. Refrigerate for 20 minutes or longer.

Serve the cake cold or allow it to come to room temperature before serving. If you so chose, chocolate covered strawberries look great on the cake and taste pretty good as well. Enjoy!

Fresh Berry Tiramisu

2010-11-17T10:00:00.020-05:00

A few months ago, one of my coworker's announced that she married her long-time boyfriend in a private wedding ceremony. We were very excited for her and wanted to host a small celebration in her honor. I started searching for the perfect recipe to help her celebrate his new beginning and came across a berry tiramisu. I don't think I've ever had tiramisu-- it's not really my thing and halfway through this experiment, I came to the realization it’s really hard to make a recipe that you don’t know what the end product is going to taste like (probably obvious, but I guess I like to state the obvious).

The biggest obstacle for me was creating the sponge cake portion. I had a hard time incorporating the flour mixture into the egg mixture. The flour gobbed up (best description I can think of) and created pockets of flour surrounded by the wet-egg mixture. I was trying to be careful not to deflate the batter by mixing too hard so after a while I ended up baking the cake. The flour chunks softened when I added the syrup after it baked but I realized I need to learn how to fold flour into a wet mixture better. It was stressful!

Anyway, after that adventure, I assembled the cake and I have to say, this recipe is pretty incredible. My coworkers absolutely loved it! I am dreaming of strawberry season so I can make it again.

Fresh Berry Tiramisu
Adapted from King Arthur Flour

Sponge cake

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoons salt
6 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Syrup
Zest of 2 lemons, peeled in strips with a peeler
Juice of 2 lemons (1/3 to 1/2 cup lemon juice)
2 whole cloves
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
3 tablespoons Grand Marnier or orange juice

Filling
1 pound mascarpone cheese
2 tablespoons orange zest
1 cup (8 ounces) whipping cream
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

2 quarts berries: raspberries, blueberries, strawberries or any combination you like
Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease, or line with parchment, a 13 x 18-inch half-sheet pan or two 9-inch square pans (this would lead to a thicker cake).

To make the cake:
Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt, set aside.

Combine the eggs, sugar and almond extract in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer at high speed until thick and lemon-colored, about 5 minutes.

Sprinkle one third of the dry ingredients over the egg mixture, and fold them in with a whisk, taking care not to deflate the batter. Repeat twice more with the remaining dry ingredients, then pour the batter into the prepared pan(s). If you’re using two 9-inch square pans, divide the batter evenly between them.

Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly touched with a finger.

Remove the cake from the oven and run a knife around the edge of the pan while still warm (as the cake baked, it pulled away from the edges of the pan, so I didn't need to do this). Place the cake on a rack to cool completely before taking it out of the pan.

To make the syrup:
Combine all the syrup ingredients and bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves. Once the mixture is clear, remove the syrup from the heat, strain it, and allow it to cool to room temperature.

To make the filling:
Place the mascarpone in a mixing bowl, and wisk in the orange zest. Add the whipping cream a third at a time, stirring between additions until the mixture is smooth. Stir in the confectioner’s sugar. Beat for at least a minute or more as needed until the filling is light and fluffy.

To assemble:
Flip the cooled cake out of its baking pan or pans onto a piece of parchment paper. If you’ve baked on parchment, peel the parchment off the back. Pull the paper straight back, keeping it parallel to the surface of the cake; this will discourage any bits of cake from coming off with the paper.

Slice the cake in half down the middle, to make two roughly 9 by 13-inch rectangles. Trim the rectangles to make 9-inch squares, and set aside the excess to use for another purpose (trifle perhaps?). If you’ve used two 9-inch square pans, flip the cooled cakes out of their pans and peel the parchment off the bottoms.

Place one of the 9-inch squares in the bottom of a lightly greased 9-inch square pan (or a cake stand, plate, etc- basically, you can't really move the sponge cake after you soak it so make sure this is your final destination). Using a pastry brush, generously soak the cake with 1/2 cup of citrus syrup. You’ll need to dab the syrup on, let it soak in for a few minutes, then repeat the process.

After the cake has been soaked, spread half the mascarpone filling over the cake. Next, arrange a single layer of berries over the filling then place the second square of cake on top. Soak this layer of cake with syrup as you did before. Spread the remaining filling over the cake layer, then place the rest of the berries in an attractive design on the top (I started at the perimeter with sliced berries and moved towards the center). Refrigerate the cake for at least an hour before serving.

Yield: one 9-inch cake, 16 2-inch squares.

Yummy Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

2010-11-15T10:00:00.003-05:00

And I'm back! I really disappeared... I don't know where I went... nor do I know where time has gone. The summer and fall flew by! I baked up a storm this summer and then have cut back this fall... I have a lot of recipes to share that are backlogged from the summer so I apologize if it's not seasonally appropriate since some of the produce is now out of season. Bear with me, I think I found a few great recipes though!

The majority of the summer was focused around my grandmother since we were hosting 90th birthday celebration for her. It was such an honor to celebrate this milestone with our family and friends. We had family that flew in from CA, AZ, FL, NY/ NJ and CO to help celebrate our grandmother's special day.

I took the week off from work to spend with our family... and bake and bake and bake. I made a double layer 9x13 birthday cake & 3 dozen cupcakes as well as about 8 dozen cookies for the evening. It was definitely an adventure to make all of the desserts but it was a great learning experience as well. I put my little kitchenaid stand mixer to work. For the cake & cupcakes, I use the marble cake recipe I've used before but tried a new chocolate frosting recipe. I also made about 100 royal icing pansy flowers to decorate the cake. I really liked this frosting-- I think I should have added a bit more milk to some of the batches as it was pretty dry but it came together nicely and worked pretty well for decorating.

I learned a few things in the process:

I needed to double each cake layer recipe but couldn't really double it in my mixer, so I had to make 4 batches separately. That is really hard to do with a marble cake mix!
The frosting was delicious but I had to make each batch separately as well... which slowed the decorating a lot because I had to stop and make a new batch when I ran out (I think I made 4 batches of frosting).
I think I made the layers too thick because slicing the cake was nearly impossible. It was stacked a bit too high and fell over. I think I needed to use 1 1/2 batches of the cake recipe vs 2 batches.

Chocolate Frosting
adapted from Williams Sonoma

Ingredients:
8 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
6 cups confectioners' sugar
16 Tbs. (2 sticks) unsalted butter
6 Tbs. milk, plus more, if needed
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt

Directions:
All ingredients should be at room temperature.

Melt chocolate in a double boiler (I use a pyrex bowl over a pot of simmering water) or microwave the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Let cool to room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, combine the confectioners' sugar, butter, the 6 Tbs. milk, the vanilla and salt and beat on low speed until combined, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes, then reduce the speed to low. Add the chocolate and beat until combined, then increase the speed to medium and beat for 1 minute more.

If the frosting is dry, add more milk, 1 tsp. at a time, until it is creamy but still holds peaks. Makes about 4 1/2 cups.

Blueberry Buckle

2010-08-30T10:00:00.001-04:00

Hey long lost friends! I've been really lazy this summer and haven't sat down to write. I hope you all have had fantastic summers! I've been doing a lot of baking so keep your eyes out for a lot of posts in the next few weeks.

This recipe I'm sharing with you today is one of my family's summer hits. We have friends who have taken this recipe and added it to their restaurant menu. I have great memories of waking up to the smell of blueberry buckle as it's being pulled out of the oven. At our lake house, our neighborhood gathers and has breakfast on the beach at least once a summer and the blueberry buckle is a constant there.

You won't be disappointed in this recipe! It's just delicious.

Blueberry Buckle

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter, at room temperature

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

2 cup flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp grated lemon peel

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup blueberries

Crumb topping:

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup butter, softened

Preheat oven to 375°. Grease & flour (or spray) 8” pan.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder & salt.

In a large bowl (or stand mixer), cream the butter & sugar together until light and fluffy. Then add egg and mix, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl. Next, mix in the lemon peel & milk. Slowly add the flour mixture until incorporated, then fold in blueberries (if using frozen blueberries, toss them with a bit of flour to cover).

Spread in pan. Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over batter. Bake for 25-35 minutes (depending on how much you want it cooked-- my family likes it pretty gooey).

For 8x8 pan- double the topping recipe.

For 9 x 13 pan- double batter recipe & triple the topping.

Knock-Off "Not Your Average Chicken Oscar"

2010-08-11T10:00:00.005-04:00

My favorite meal at one of my favorite restaurants combines most of my favorite ingredients into one dish. It's a creamy dish but I request it with clear/ olive oil/ garlic/ white wine (whatever the chef wants besides cream) sauce and it is fantastic. I believe it's "oscar" describes a cream sauce so I'm not sure what to title this dish... but I'm just calling it a knock-off for right now.

My Version of Knock-Off "Not Your Average Chicken Oscar"

1 cup jasmine rice
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 can chicken broth
1- 1 1/2 lbs thin sliced chicken breast cutlets
16-20 scallops (4- 5 per person), rinse and pat dry
16-20 extra-large shrimp (4- 5 per person), rinsed, shell removed & dried
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed
1 package crimini mushrooms
1 can quartered asparagus
5-10 sun-dried tomatoes
2 tsp capers
1/3 cup dry white whine
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (~ 2 lemons)
splash of white wine vinegar

In a saucepan, add carrots and 1 can of chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add jasmine rice, cover and simmer for 15 minutes (unless your rice specifies a different cook time). When done, fluff with a fork.

Heat pan over medium heat, add 1 tbsp olive oil and pan sear the chicken cutlets. Once chicken is cooked, remove from the pan. Add scallops, turning once. Remove from pan. Add mushrooms and cook for a few minutes, then add shrimp and cook for a few more minuets. Add in asparagus, tomatoes, capers, white wine, remaining 1/2 cup of chicken broth, lemon juice and the splash of white wine vinegar. Cook for a few minutes then toss the chicken back in and cook for another minute or two.

Meanwhile, bring water to a boil in a stockpot. Add asparagus and cook for a few minutes until green but still crispy. Remove from water and place aside.

To plate, spoon rice on the plate. Add asparagus then the chicken mixture. Top with scallops.

Mint Milano Tart

2010-08-04T10:00:00.001-04:00

Recently, I was thinking about cookie crusts and realized most cookie crusts are made from oreos or graham crackers. I started wondering about what other cookies I could make crusts out of and decided I wanted to try using mint milanos.

I would have to say this dessert was quite decadent... I've never cut small pieces of cake, tart, pie etc before but I definitely did this time. The mint milanos gave the tart a light mint flavoring. If you wanted a stronger mint flavoring, I'd add mint extract or mint leaves in to the tart.

I'm looking forward to making this again! Keep your eyes out for a variety of cookie tarts & pies in the future :)

Mint Milano Tart
my creation!

1 package mint milano cookies (I ate 2, gave 1 to my husband- so I used 13 total)
3 tbsp butter, melted
1 cup whipping cream
12 oz chocolate, cut into pieces (I used 4 oz bittersweet & 8 oz semi-sweet)

In a food processor, pulse the cookies until fine chopped then add the melted butter and pulse until combined.

Add the cookie mixture to a tart pan and spread the mixture evenly across the bottom and up the sides (mine didn't reach the top). I refrigerated the crust for about 30 minutes, then placed in an 350 degree oven for 5-7 minutes and then returned it to the fridge. I don't believe the oven was necessary but it was on so I threw it in there.

In a saucepan, bring the cream to a boil and then pour over the chocolate. Let sit for a few minutes and then stir until combined.

Pour chocolate mixture into the prepared crust and return to the refrigerator to set for at least an hour - two hours.

Barefoot Bloggers: Greek Panzanella

2010-07-30T10:00:00.001-04:00

Do you need a quick and easy salad to serve with dinner or bring to a bbq? This recipe was really quick to pull together and received rave reviews. I bet it would even make an incredible bruschetta. The only change I made to the recipe was that I toasted the bread cubes in the oven instead of on the stove... it was just easier for me at the time.

I served this with a grilled greek chicken (need to make again, the grill wasn't cooperating), rice pilaf and an incredible dessert that may be posted on Monday so stay tuned.

Greek Panzanella
Ina Garten

Good olive oil
1 small French bread or boule, cut into 1-inch cubes (6 cups)
Kosher salt
1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 red bell pepper, large diced
1 yellow bell pepper, large diced
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 red onion, sliced in half rounds
1/2 pound feta cheese, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup calamata olives, pitted
For the vinaigrette:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup good red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup good olive oil

Directions

Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large saute pan. Add the bread cubes and sprinkle with salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently, for 5 to 10 minutes, until nicely browned. Add more olive oil as needed. I toasted the bread crumbs in the oven... seemed a lot easier to me!

Place the cucumber, red pepper, yellow pepper, tomatoes and red onion in a large bowl.

For the vinaigrette, whisk together the garlic, oregano, mustard, vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt and the pepper in a small bowl. While still whisking, add the olive oil and make an emulsion. Pour the vinaigrette over the vegetables. Add the feta, olives and bread cubes and mix together lightly. Set aside for 30 minutes for the flavors to blend. Serve at room temperature.

Summer Shortcake

2010-07-28T10:00:00.020-04:00

I've recently discovered a love of shortcakes, whipped cream and berries... I tend to gravitate towards chocolate recipes when making desserts but I do have a strong love for fruit desserts as well... and I was never a fan of whipped cream until recently-- I only eat it paired with the right dessert.

This recipe is easy to make and pull together for a summer bbq or gathering. It's light and tastes delicious... and cute to boot! It was a perfect dessert for the Fourth of July but could make an appearance throughout the summer as well.

Summer Shortcake
adapted from Martha Stewart

Serves 12 to 15

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick (8 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
8 ounces cold cream cheese, cut into 2-inch pieces
3/4 cup buttermilk, plus more for brushing
Raw sugar or fine sanding sugar, for sprinkling
2 pints blueberries
2 pints strawberries, hulled (small berries left whole, large berries halved lengthwise)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 cups (1 pint) heavy cream

Directions

1. Make the biscuits: In a food processor, pulse flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until combined. Add butter, and pulse until largest pieces are the size of peas. Add cream cheese, and pulse again until largest pieces are the size of peas. Add buttermilk, and pulse until dough comes together. Transfer to a bowl, and gently knead into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rest in the refrigerator at least 1 hour (or overnight).

2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Divide dough in half. Working with one portion at a time on a lightly floured work surface, pat into a disk, then roll into a 10-inch round. Transfer to baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

3. Brush biscuits with buttermilk. Generously sprinkle raw or sanding sugar over tops and sides. Brush off sugar from parchment. Bake until dough has risen slightly and is golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes (if bottoms brown too quickly, reduce temperature to 400 degrees). Leave biscuits on sheets. Using a 2 1/2-inch star cutter, cut out (but do not remove) 7 stars from one biscuit while it is still warm. Let cool.

4. Using a paring knife, carefully remove star shapes. Reserve for snacking or another use. (Biscuits can be made up to 8 hours ahead; store on wire racks, and cover loosely with plastic wrap.)

5. Make the filling: Combine blueberries, strawberries, and 2 tablespoons sugar, and let macerate until juicy, 10 minutes.

6. Just before serving, beat cream to medium peaks with remaining tablespoon sugar and the vanilla.

7. Assemble the cake: Place uncut biscuit on a large plate. Spoon half the berries and their juices on top of biscuit, then spread the whipped cream over berries. Top with all but about 1/2 cup berries. (Make sure surface is even; it will support the top biscuit and prevent it from breaking.) Carefully place cutout biscuit on top. Fill star cutouts with reserved berries. Serve immediately, or refrigerate, uncovered, up to 3 hours.

Pecan Crusted Chicken

2010-07-23T10:00:00.001-04:00

I've been wanting to make pecan crusted chicken for a while and I don't know what took me so long. I love pecans... I love chicken. It was really easy and really moist! I was surprised how much the chicken absorbed the paprika by soaking in the buttermilk for about 30 minutes. I'd definitely make this again. It was easy and relatively little prep (food processor mostly).

I paired this recipe with baked onion rings and sauteed spinach with garlic.

Pecan Crusted Chicken
adapted from Whole Foods

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
1 tablespoon garlic powder
4 (6-8 ounces) boneless, skinless chicken breast cutlets
1 cups corn flakes
2 cups whole wheat bread crumbs
1 cup whole pecans

Directions

Position oven rack to middle shelf; preheat to 375ºF. Spray baking sheet with nonstick spray; set aside.
Whisk together buttermilk, cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon of salt and garlic powder. Add chicken; marinate 10 minutes.

While chicken is marinating, coarsely grind corn flakes and pecans, separately, in a food processor. Mix together in a large bowl; season with remaining salt.

Lift a chicken breast out of buttermilk allowing excess to drain off into bowl; cover entire chicken breast in corn-flake mixture; transfer to baking sheet.

Repeat with remaining chicken. Throw out any remaining buttermilk.

Bake 20 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 170ºF on instant-read thermometer.

Baked Onion Rings

2010-07-21T10:00:00.006-04:00

I will never eat fried onion rings again. I cannot even believe how much I enjoyed these! So easy! I subbed garlic salt instead of cayenne pepper since I ran out of it while making pecan crusted chicken (look for that post on Friday)... I really don't have much else to say besides how surprised I was that I made onion rings... and they rocked... and you should try this recipe!

Baked Onion Rings
Adapted from Martha Stewart

1 1/2 cups cornflakes
1/2 cup whole wheat dried breadcrumbs
1 large egg
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk (I used fat-free buttermilk)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon garlic salt (original recipe: cayenne pepper)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 medium sweet onion, such as Vidalia, quartered crosswise and broken into rings (discard small center rings)
2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a food processor, pulse cornflakes and breadcrumbs until fine crumbs form, then transfer to a medium bowl. In another medium bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, flour, and garlic salt and season with salt & pepper (salt omitted since used garlic salt).

2. Dip onion rings in egg mixture (letting excess drip off) and dredge in cornflake mixture; place on a large plate. Pour oil onto a rimmed baking sheet. Place in oven and heat 2 minutes. Remove sheet from oven and tilt to coat evenly with oil. Arrange onion rings on sheet. Bake, turning once, until onion rings are golden brown, about 16 minutes. Season with salt.

Garlic Scape Basil Pesto

2010-07-19T10:00:00.001-04:00

I first heard about garlic scapes through the food blog world. I came across them at a farm stand last month and grabbed a bunch to experiment with. I wanted to try to use them in a few dishes but ended up waiting a few days and then I wanted to use them before they went bad... so I ended up making garlic scape basil pesto.

I mixed with gnocci and halved grape tomatoes and the garlic flavor was pretty strong! I was surprised since I thought garlic scapes had a milder flavor of garlic than bulbed garlic-- but this was pretty strong. Regardless, Danimal and I enjoyed it!

Garlic Scape Basil Pesto

4 garlic scapes (tough ends cut off & chopped into pieces)
1/3-1/2 cup basil
3 tbsp pine nuts
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
few swirls of olive oil

Combine all in a food processor and blend to combine.

S'More Whoopie Pies

2010-07-16T10:10:00.000-04:00

I've had s'mores on my mind for a while now-- it's the perfect combination-- whoever first thought to combine graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallows should be made a saint. I'm a funny girl- I don't love marshmallows... I only eat them in s'mores. I've been thinking about what kinds of desserts can be combined to create a s'more... and a whoopie pie seemed logical. There aren't a lot of recipes out there for it but was happy with the ones I came across. I ended up making these for a work party a few weeks ago and they were a huge hit! I think next time I'll have to double the batch! I now own graham flour so I foresee a lot of s'mores in my future :)

S'More Whoopie Pies
adapted from K Bakes

Graham Cookie
1 1/2 cup graham flour (I used whole wheat graham flour- could use regular whole wheat flour as well)
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
4 tbsp vegetable shortening
1 c packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Place rack in the center of the oven and prehead to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment or silpat mat.

In a medium bowl, stir together both flours, baking powder, and salt.

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter, shortening, and brown sugar until light and cream, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and buttermilk and beat until combined.

In another bowl, combine milk, baking soda, and vinegar. Add this mixture slowly to the batter along with the flour mixture and beat on low speed until completely combined.

Drop about 1 tablespoon of batter onto baking sheet, repeat spacing them at least 2 inches apart- you can use a pastry bag, ziplock bag with tip cut off or a spoon.

Bake for about 10 min until the cakes begin to brown.

Remove from the oven and let the cakes cool on the sheet for 3-5 min before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

Spread with marshmallow cream and chocolate ganache-- the ganache didn't set in time so I ended up piping/ scooping the ganache onto one side of the cookie and freezing it for 5 minutes. Then placed the other cookie (with the marshmallow cream) on top of it and refrigerated it until ready to serve.

The chocolate softened pretty quickly so I wouldn't recommend letting them sit out-- keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Makes about 40 two-inch cakes, about 20 assembled whoopie pies.

Marshmallow Cream
1 1/2 c marshmallow creme
1 1/4 c vegetable shortening
1 c confectioner's sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract

In the work bowl of a stand mixer fitter with the paddle beat together marshmallow fluff and shortening, starting on low and increasing to medium speed until the mixture is smooth and fluffy, about 3 min.

Reduce mixer speed to low, add confectioner's sugar and vanilla, and beat until incorporated. Increase mixture speed to medium and beat until fluffy.

Chocolate Ganache
1 small bag (12oz) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Place your chocolate in a large, heat proof bowl.

Heat the cream in a saucepan over medium heat just until in bubbles.

Pour the heated cream over the chocolate in the bowl and let it sit for about 10 minutes, until the chocolate is melted. Stir with a whisk until smooth.

Allow the mixture to rest until firm enough to spread, about 2 hours. Or you can refrigerate it for about 30 min until it is firm enough to spread, shirting every 10 min.

Wilton Cake Decorating Course 3 Recap

2010-07-14T10:00:00.017-04:00

I finished the Wilton Cake Decorating Course 3 a few weeks ago! Course 3 is mainly about fondant and gum paste-- which is a neat skill to learn. I'm going to try my hand at homemade fondant in the next couple of weeks and see how that works. I really enjoy frosting with buttercream and royal icing but knowing how to work with fondant is pretty key as well.

I'm excited to use all these new skills! I already have a few cakes I'm planning in the next couple of weeks. Below, I've recapped the four courses. If you haven't taken a cake decorating class yet, definitely try it out! It's a lot of fun!

First Week:
We made a bow and covered the cake in fondant... I think I failed the first attempt at covering... it's pretty pathetic.

Second & Third Week:

Flowers & Borders!

Eyelet Border

Ruffle Border

Inlays & Outlays

Rose

Carnation

Calla Lily

Daisy

Football Mum (not my favorite)

Fourth Class & Final Cake!

And when you slice into it:

Patriotic, huh?

Building a Nest: The End

2010-07-13T20:15:00.001-04:00

Thank you for sticking with me for all the baby shower posts! One of the projects I was most proud about was the sugar cookie favors. I spaced this project out over the week prior to the shower. I found a few ribbons at AC Moore that had all the colors that I was planning on using.

Sunday evening, I baked the sugar cookies. Monday through Wednesday I decorated them and Thursday I bagged and tied them. I think they came out pretty good-- I added 1/2 tsp corn syrup to my royal icing-- based on the bakeat350.blogspot.com recommendations. It added a bit of gloss to my icing. I'm not a huge fan of corn syrup but I am not sure what else to use to get a bit more shine in the frosting. One batch of frosting was a little shy of frosting 2 batches of sugar cookies... but I made it last though!
Each package got one square cookie and one of the three bird cookies (orange, blue & green).

Here they are, packaged & ready to go!

And that's a wrap!

Building a Nest: Samoa Cookie Flavored Bird Nest Cupcakes

2010-07-09T10:00:00.002-04:00

I found the idea for these cupcakes on Martha Stewart's site and they worked perfectly for the theme I was going for for the shower. The hardest part came wtih deciding the cupcake/ frosting combination... i needed to pair with coconut and fit in with bird nest concept-- I searched high and low, and had several ideas... but I wasn't set on any of them. At lunch, the last day of work before the shower, one of my coworkers suggested samoa cookie as a flavor idea... and I literally hopped up and ran to google it. I came across this recipe and it just seemed perfect.

It turned out great! The only problem I had was halving the recipe-- it believe I added the whole amount of cocoa for half the recipe-- but it was pretty good! I'd have to make it again to double check that. The frosting is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.... it was pretty easy to make and tasted perfect. I'm very happy with how these came out... minus the birds. I think they could have been better... plus I forgot to add their eyes! Ooops!

Samoa Bird Nest Cupcakes
adapted from Life in a Peanut Shell (adapted from Ghirardelli Grand Fudge Cake)

Made 24 regular sized cupcakes (I made half the recipe)

Ingredients:
3/4 cup Unsweetened Cocoa (I tried Ghirardelli cocoa for this recipe)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/3 cups milk
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line 2 regular muffin tins with liners.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Reduce speed to low, and add vanilla and eggs one at a time, scraping bowl after each addition. Alternately add flour mixture and milk (starting and ending with the flour mixture), while mixing on low speed. Continue to mix until smooth. Scoop into muffin tins.

Bake for about 15-18 minutes.

Caramel Buttercream

2 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 cup heavy whipping cream, (put 2-3 tbsp aside)
1/2 tsp baking soda
3-4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

In a medium, heavy saucepan, bring the sugar and cream to a rolling boil. Boil one minute.

Add soda, and boil one more minute. Remove from heat.

Add butter, but do not stir yet. Let the mixture cool in the fridge for 1-2 hours. Do not stir until mixture is completely cooled.
Pour mixture into a stand mixer and, using the paddle attachment, beat well. Gradually add powdered sugar alternately with 2-3 tbsp of heavy cream. Beat until desire consistency.

To Decorate:

Toast sweetened coconut until golden in color. Let cool.

Using a 1M tip, frost the cupcakes. Then sprinkle coconut on top of the frosting (most around the perimeter). I used buttercream for the birds-- divide into 2 bowls and color blue & yellow (or whatever color you want). Using a round tip, pipe 3 mounds of blue icing in the middle of the cupcakes. Then use a leaf tip and pipe the beak. Melt some chocolate and use a toothpick and dot the eyes on each bird (use your imagination here).

Building a Nest: Mushroom Polenta Canapes

2010-07-07T10:00:00.003-04:00

A few years ago, I was at a wedding and had a polenta canape during cocktail hour.... and every since I've dreamed of having them again. I had never made polenta before and had only had it a few times. I started envisioning different dishes with polenta in it. For my best friend's shower, I knew I wanted a polenta recipe and searched high and low for the perfect recipe. Somewhere along the recipe search, I decided to pair mushrooms with the polenta and finally came across a Cooking Light recipe.

I thought this recipe came out pretty well- I'd like to make it again when I don't have a lot going on so I can give it a bit more attention (I believe I added cheese to both top and bottom of the polenta pieces... oops!). I thought it had great taste and looked pretty.

My one tip about cooking polenta is to watch out, it spits when you add it to the boiling liquid. Don't stand directly over the pot when it's cooking... or you'll get attacked!

Mushroom Polenta Canapes
adapted from Cooking Light

Polenta:

4 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking polenta
1 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Gruyère cheese

Topping:
1 cup boiling water
1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
1 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup thinly sliced shallots
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 cup sliced shiitake mushroom caps (about 3 1/2 ounces)
1 cup sliced cremini mushrooms (about 3 1/2 ounces)
1 teaspoon dry vermouth or dry white wine
splash of sherry wine
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup (1 ounce) shaved Gruyère cheese

Preparation

1. To prepare polenta, bring 4 1/2 cups broth to a boil in a medium saucepan. Gradually add polenta and 1 teaspoon salt, stirring constantly with a whisk. Reduce heat to low; cook 3 minutes or until thick, stirring frequently. Spoon polenta into a 13 x 9–inch baking pan coated with cooking spray, spreading evenly. Press plastic wrap onto surface of polenta; chill 1 hour or until firm.

2. Preheat broiler.

3. Invert polenta onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Cut polenta into 36 rectangles (leave polenta on baking sheet). Broil 5 minutes. Turn polenta over. Brush polenta with 1 tablespoon butter. Broil 5 minutes. Sprinkle 1/2 cup shredded cheese evenly over rectangles; broil 5 minutes or until cheese melts.

4. To prepare topping, combine 1 cup boiling water and porcini mushrooms in a bowl; cover and let stand for 15 minutes. Drain; chop mushrooms.

5. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add shallots to pan; cook 4 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in red pepper; cook 30 seconds. Add porcini, shiitake, and cremini mushrooms; cook over medium-high heat 10 minutes or until liquid evaporates, stirring occasionally. Stir in vermouth, sherry, thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and black pepper; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

6. Spoon 1 teaspoon mushroom mixture on top of each polenta rectangle; top rectangles evenly with shaved cheese.

Building a Nest: Strawberry Shortcake Cake

2010-07-02T10:00:00.050-04:00

I am skipping to the dessert section of the baby shower-- I think I still have one or two more posts on the appetizers left-- but I wanted to post this recipe before the Fourth of July weekend. I first made this recipe last year for my in-laws 40th wedding anniversary and we all absolutely loved it. I don't believe I had ever had cream cheese frosting prior to that and now I'm hooked. This recipe is absolutely perfect-- I did add some lemon zest to the cake and never measure the powdered sugar that goes into the frosting-- I just judge by taste and texture... and so far, it's worked out pretty well!

If you have a few strawberries laying around the house, I encourage you to try this recipe. It's absolutely devine!

Strawberry Shortcake Cake
adapted from Pioneer Woman

Cake

1-½ cup Flour
3 Tablespoons Corn Starch
½ teaspoons Salt
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
9 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Softened
1-½ cup Sugar
3 whole Large Eggs
½ cups Sour Cream, Room Temperature
1 teaspoon Vanilla
2 tsp fresh lemon zest

Icing
½ pounds Cream Cheese, Room Temperature (I use 1/3 less fat cream cheese)
2 sticks Unsalted Butter
1-½ pound Powdered Sugar, Sifted
1 teaspoon Vanilla

1 pound Strawberries
Cake pan at least 2 inches deep-- I used 9 x 2 round pan.

Preparation Instructions

Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, and corn starch.

Cream 9 tablespoons butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well each time. Add sour cream and vanilla and mix until combined. Add sifted dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just barely combined.

Pour into greased and floured 9-inch cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes, or until no longer jiggly. Remove from cake pan as soon as you pull it out of the oven, and place on a cooling rack and allow it to cool completely.

Stem strawberries and slice them. Place into a bowl and sprinkle with 3 tablespoons sugar. Stir together and let sit for 30 minutes. ~~After 30 minutes, mash the strawberries in two batches. Sprinkle each half with 1 tablespoons sugar and allow to sit for another 30 minutes.~~ The original recipe states to mash the strawberries but I skip that step- I keep them in tact.

Frosting
Combine cream cheese, 2 sticks butter, sifted powdered sugar, vanilla, and dash of salt in a mixing bowl. Mix until very light and fluffy.

Slice cake in half through the middle. Spread strawberries evenly over each half (cut side up), pouring on all the juices. Place cake halves into the freezer for five minutes- this makes icing the cakes easier.

Remove from freezer. Use a little less than 1/3 of the icing to spread over the top of the strawberries on the bottom layer. Place the second layer on top. Add half of the remaining icing to the top spreading evenly, then spread the remaining 1/3 cup around the sides.

Leave plain OR garnish with strawberry halves. For the decoration below, I sliced strawberries and started at the outside of the cake and layered inwards. It' took a little bit of time but I think it came out nice!

Cake is best when served slightly cool. The butter content in the icing will cause it to soften at room temperature. For best results, store in the fridge! The cake absorbs a lot of the juices from the strawberries -- If serving for a party, it's best to frost a few hours beforehand otherwise the strawberry juices will seep out of the frosting.

Building a Nest: Roasted Eggplant Dip

2010-06-30T10:00:00.003-04:00

I know people can be stumped at ways to use eggplant... I've used it in eggplant parm, roasted for orzo salad and pizza. I haven't made baba ganoush but I plan to soon as I really enjoy eggplant. This recipe is yet another Ina Garten recipe winner. My family absolutely loves this recipe. It's versatile and easy to prepare. If I have extra, I toss it in with pasta or cook it with chicken. It's really delicious!

Roasted Eggplant Dip
Adapted from Ina Garten

Ingredients

1 medium eggplant
2 red bell peppers, seeded
1 red onion, peeled
2 garlic cloves, minced (I used 3)
3 tablespoons good olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (or more)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut the eggplant, bell pepper, and onion into 1-inch cubes. Toss them in a large bowl with the garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread them on a baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes, until the vegetables are lightly browned and soft, tossing once during cooking.

Cool completely (placing hot items in the food processor is not recommended due to BPA chemicals in the food processor bowl).

Place the vegetables in a food processor fitted with a steel blade, add the tomato paste, balsamic vinegar and red pepper flakes, and pulse 3 or 4 times to blend. Taste for salt and pepper.

Building a Nest: Artichoke & Red Pepper Bruschetta

2010-06-28T10:00:00.004-04:00

I came across this recipe for artichoke & red pepper bruschetta a few years ago and was pretty impressed by it. Firstly, I love all the ingredients in it... and secondly, it's just plain tasty! I've used the leftover topping and mixed it in with pasta and eaten it with crackers. I've made it for several parties and people seem to enjoy it. I over-toasted the bread this time-- doing too many things at once... oops! If you like artichokes and red peppers and olives, I think you'll like this recipe!

Artichoke & Red Pepper Bruschetta
Sunset Magazine

Yield: Makes 3 dozen appetizers

Ingredients
1 red bell pepper (about 1/2 lb.), rinsed, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
1 red onion (about 6 oz.), peeled and finely chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced or pressed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 can (14 oz.) artichoke hearts, drained and finely chopped
1/4 cup minced parsley
1/4 cup finely chopped pimiento-stuffed Spanish-style green olives
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Salt and pepper
36 diagonally cut slices (1/4 in. thick) sourdough baguette (about 1 slender 8-oz. loaf)
1/2 cup grated asiago or parmesan cheese

Preparation
1. In a 10- to 12-inch nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat, frequently stir bell pepper, onion, and garlic in oil until vegetables begin to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add artichokes, parsley, olives, and lemon juice, mixing well. Remove from heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If making up to 1 day ahead, cover and chill.

2. Arrange baguette slices in a single layer on a 12- by 15-inch baking sheet. Broil 4 to 6 inches from heat until toasted on 1 side, about 1 minute. Remove from oven and turn slices over.

3. Spoon artichoke mixture equally on untoasted side of baguette slices; spread level. Sprinkle with cheese.

4. Broil 4 to 6 inches from heat until cheese begins to melt and topping is hot, about 1 minute.

Building a Nest: Grilled Lemon Chicken with Peanut Satay

2010-06-25T10:00:00.000-04:00

One of my families favorite dishes is Ina's Grilled Lemon Chicken and Peanut Satay. I chose to use it at the baby shower because I could prepare the sauce ahead of time and the chicken has very little prep time. We grilled the chicken a few hours before the party-- it can be served cold and is still delicious. Needless to say, this recipe is a hit. The ladies at the shower loved it and I heard a few of them profess their love to the satay!

I'd definitely recommend this recipe for a nice summer meal, a party or anytime throughout the year. If you haven't tried it before, add it to your menu for this 4th of July!

Grilled Lemon Chicken with Peanut Satay
Ina Garten

3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (4 lemons)
3/4 cup good olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves, or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (I forgot this)
2 pounds boneless chicken breasts, halved and skin removed
Satay Dip, recipe follows

Directions

Whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme. Pour over the chicken breasts in a nonreactive bowl. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 6 hours or overnight.

Heat a charcoal grill. Grill the chicken breasts for 10 minutes on each side, until just cooked through. Cool slightly and cut diagonally in 1/2-inch-thick slices. Skewer with wooden sticks and serve with Satay Dip. (The chicken breasts I used were really thin so skewering didn't happen).

Satay Dip:
1 tablespoon good olive oil
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
2/3 cup small-diced red onion (1 small onion)
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 cloves)
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger root
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons good red wine vinegar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons dry sherry
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice

Cook the olive oil, sesame oil, red onion, garlic, ginger root, and red pepper flakes in a small, heavy-bottomed pot on medium heat until the onion is transparent, 10 to 15 minutes. Whisk in the vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce, peanut butter, ketchup, sherry, and lime juice; cook for 1 more minute. Cool and use as a dip for Grilled Lemon Chicken skewers.

Yield: 1 1/2 cups

Sorry for the blurry photo!

Buiding a Nest: Mini Spinach Quiches

2010-06-23T10:01:00.001-04:00

I had a massive internal debate for the week leading up to the baby shower I hosted for my best friend. Do I make quiche with crust or crustless... bite-sized quiches (mini-muffin sized) or mini quiches (standard muffin sized) . What would people like? What would be easier to eat? What would be easier to make? Do people even care?! I finally made an official decision the morning before the shower to make crusted bite-sized quiches... and then I ended up with a lot of extra filling so I used up the rest and made crustless ones as well! I think they're pretty cute and tasty.

Mini Spinach Quiches
crust: Martha Stewart; filling: me

Crust:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter; chilled & cut into small pieces (I used frozen butter)
1/4 - 1/2 cup ice water

1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.

2. With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.

3. Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour. Dough may be stored, frozen, up to 1 month.

Filling:
1 package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and water squeezed out
3 eggs
1/2-3/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp nutmeg

1. Beat eggs and combine with spinach, milk & nutmeg.

To assemble:
1. Spray mini-muffin pan.

2. Pinch of a piece of pate brisee (about 1/2 inch ball), press dough flat into a circle about 1 1/2 times the size of the muffin cup. Press into the cup and continue until you've filled all cups. Chill in the freezer for 30 minutes.

3. Blind bake at 400 for about 10 minutes until crusts are puffy and light golden brown. I didn't fill the pastries with weights.

4. Once dough cools, spoon egg mixture into dough crusts (about 1 tablespoon for each).

5. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until egg mixture puffs and is firm to the touch.

I used about half the mixture for one batch of crusts. After those baked, I removed them from the pan, to cool. To the egg mixture, I added 1 additional egg, about 1/4 cup of milk, a dash more nutmeg and 2 tbsp flour and mixed to combine. Spray the pan again fill each cup about 3/4 full. Bake for about 15-20 minutes until egg mixture puffs and is firm to the touch.

Both can be served at room temperature or warmed up.

Building a Nest: A Baby Shower Recap

2010-06-23T10:00:00.021-04:00

I recently hosted my best friend's baby shower at her home in Vermont. My favorite types of food to prepare for a party are appetizers and desserts. I find it's easier to have everything in individual portions or bite sized as opposed to a sit-down meal or buffet type meal. People can take what they want, when they want and it allows people to eat at their own pace. The party turned out very nicely and we had a good time!

The menu included:
Creamy Cucumber Canapes
Artichoke & Red Pepper Bruschetta
Mushroom Polenta Canapes
Mini Spinach Quiches
Guacamole
Egg Salad Sandwiches & Tuna Salad Sandwiches
Grilled Lemon Chicken with Peanut Satay sauce
Roasted Eggplant Dip
Fruit Salad
Strawberry Shortcake Cake
Samoa Cupcakes
Cookie Dough Truffles
Sugar Cookie Favors
Punch, Mimosas & Spark Berry Lemonade

I'll be blogging about some of these recipes over the next week! In addition to the meal, we opened presents and decorated onesies. I tried to vary up both these activities a bit. In the invitation, I asked everyone to bring a book instead of a card to help start the new family's library. For our onesie decorating activity, I prewashed all the onesies (4 packages; 1 of each size to 12 months) and provided fabric scraps, fabric markers, puffy pants, and iron-on fabric adhesive. I tried to print up some ideas and stencils but their printer wasn't working right.

What I learned was to try this ahead of time so you understand the process... I didn't have time and secretly hoped someone knew how to do it or the iron-on adhesive had clear instructions-- neither were a correct assumption. In the end, the mama-to-be ended up with some really cute onesies.

I made these last two!

After the shower, the mama-to-be wanted pictures of her pretty flowers she had outside. Isn't she an adorable pregnant woman!?

A Maine Lobster Suppah: Blackberry Cobbler

2010-06-21T10:00:00.000-04:00

One word: Love... I absolutely loved this dessert. The tartness of the berries paired perfectly with the sweetness of the topping. To be honest, I don't think I've ever had a cobbler... so I wasn't really sure what to expect but I love most fruit pies so I knew it would probably be delicious. This dish is really easy to pull together beforehand and bake while eating dinner and I'd definitely make it again. The original recipe called for blueberries but blackberries were cheaper and in season-- and honestly, made this dish devine.

Blackberry Cobbler
adapted from Cooks Illustrated (March 22, 2007)

filling
30 ounces blackberries, rinsed and picked over
1/4- 1/3 cup sugar (depending on tartness of the berries)
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

topping
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
3 tbsp yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar plus 2 tsp
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup buttermilk
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the fruit filling ingredients together in a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Place the pie plate on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until the fruit releases its liquid and is hot and bubbling around the edges, 20 to 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, whisk the flour, cornmeal, 1/4 cup of the sugar, the baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl; set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk, butter, and vanilla together; set aside. In a third small bowl, mix the remaining 2 teaspoons sugar with the cinnamon; set aside.

3. When the filling is ready, stir the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture with a rubber spatula until just combined and no pockets of flour remain. Remove the cobbler filling from the oven and stir. Pinch off 8 equal pieces of the biscuit dough and arrange them on top of the hot filling, spaced 1/2 inch apart. Sprinkle the tops of the biscuits with the cinnamon sugar.
4. Continue to bake the cobbler until the biscuits are golden brown on top and cooked through and the filling is again hot and bubbling, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool the cobbler on a wire rack for 15 minutes before serving.

A Maine Lobster Suppah: Honey Yeast Rolls

2010-06-18T10:00:00.006-04:00

I love bread. One of my favorite things about going out to dinner at a restaurant is the bread/ rolls that you get when you're seated. There is just something about fersh bread-- the smell, texture and taste just melts in your mouth. I made these rolls for the first time last summer... and since then, I've definitely come to understand yeast and bread making a little more. For some reason, these haven't been my go-to rolls but I absolutely love them! I sprinkled oats on top and I think that adds a nice dimension to them.... and makes them a little heartier. They paired really well with our lobster supper and I could picture them accompanying a chicken dish as well. Definitely try them yourselves if you haven't already!

Honey Yeast Rolls
adapted from Smells Like Home which was adapted from Annie's Eats and A Cookie A Day

2 1/4 tsp instant yeast (one package) - (RapidRise is instant yeast)
1 cup warm water (105°-115° F)
1/4 cup honey
3 tbsp. canola oil
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder (added this to the all-purpose flour)
vegetable cooking spray
1 tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp honey
1/3 cup rolled oats

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the yeast and warm water. Add the honey, oil, salt, and egg and mix well. Add 3 cups of the flour and baking powder and mix until the dough comes together in a sticky mass. With the mixer on low speed, add the remaining 1 cup flour and mix until it is incorporated into the dough. Switch to the dough hook, and continue kneading on low speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.

Form the dough into a ball and transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat. Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free spot until it doubles in bulk, about 2 hours.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 30 seconds. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

Punch the dough down and divide into 12- equal portions (I actually get more than 12 out and they make decently large rolls, so you can probably get 18 out of the dough). Shape each portion into a ball and place into a round, lightly greased baking dish, spacing evenly. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 20 minutes. Mix together the melted butter and honey, and brush lightly over the tops of the rolls. Sprinkle oats on the top of each of the rolls. Bake at 400° for 13-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm or at room temperature.

A Maine Lobster Suppah: Grilled Corn on the Cob

2010-06-15T10:00:00.027-04:00

Memorial Day Weekend is the official kick-off to summer! Danimal and I packed up our zoo and drove to his parents house in Maine for the weekend. We spent one afternoon at their camp opening it up for the summer and letting the dogs run around and take their first summer swim. Later in the weekend, we had a family suppah of lobstah, steamahs and lots and lots of buttah.

I'm going to highlight a few different recipes this week from our dinner... previews below! Stay tuned for more posts this week to elaborate on our meal!

The center attraction of our suppah:

Some warm honey yeast rolls:

Delicious Blackberry Cobbler:

And our supper table, minus our lobster crackers (much needed as these were the hardest shelled lobsters we'd had in a long time).

Below is my instructions for grilling corn... I love it this way and haven't been able to eat steamed corn since. Grilling the corn in it's husks brings out it's natural sweetness and makes for a delicious side dish to a supper. I'm pretty sure that once you try this, you'll never go back either!

Grilled Corn on the Cob

Soak corn in the husks in water for about 20 minutes. I place a lid on a pot with a weight to keep the corn submerged under water.

Place corn (still in their husks) on a grill at medium temperature. Keep an eye on the husks and rotate when it gets toasted (estimating about every 5 minutes).

It takes about 20 minutes total for the corn to be thoroughly cooked. Let corn cool a little before husking. If you desire, you can pull the husks back, tie it in a knot and use it as a handle to eat the corn or discard husks (preferably outside as it makes a mess).

I eat the corn without butter or any toppings as the grill brings out the natural sweetness.

Cake Decorating Course 2 Recap

2010-06-07T10:00:00.007-04:00

Last week, I completed the Wilton Cake Decorating Course 2! I had an incredible experience learning how to decorate flowers and how to make few new borders as well as the basketweave and crosshatch techniques.

The first class of course 2 was an absolute disaster... it was a good thing I had a sense of humor because from start to finish, it was just ridiculous. We were required to make a 2 layer cake, fill it (with either frosting or a filling) and frost it before class using oval pans that came in the course 2 kit.

I baked the cake, rather uneventfully and made a delicious lemon filling. I fill the cake and attempt to frost it. The crumb coating was just painful-- the frosting kept taking the crust of the cake off. I finally gave up and decided to bring it in to class early so my instructor could fix it.

I pack up my things, put the cake in the carrier and carry it to the car. Even before I get to the car, the top layer goes flying off the cake and smushes against the side of the carrier. At class, my instructor ends up scraping the lemon filling out and throwing frosting on the cake. She was able to get enough frosting on the cake to save it... but neither cake nor frosting wanted to cooperate.

We learned how to make another type of rose and I was having difficulty with that as well... turns out my tip was welded shut and needed to be pried open. After the tip was opened up, it made things so much better! These were the end result of the roses.

Then, we learned how to cross-hatch, and that went ok... and then came the rope border.... and that was not ok. I was 90% of the way around the top of the cake when half the border decided to fall, and take half the side of the cake with it. I was able to fix it... it was all just too comical at this point. At the end of class, I loaded the cake into the car and go to drive away. I look over at it and realize that the top layer has again slid off the bottom and smashed into the side of the carrier. This cake was just not meant to be... Lucky Danimal was able to enjoy this cake without even having to slice it... I handed him the carrier and the fork and let him dig in!

Final product prior to being demolished:

The rest of the classes were uneventful. I finally caved and bought the Wilton Bake Easy Cake Release spray... it really helps to form a nice, even crust on the cake and reduces the crumbs. I didn't believe it until I tried it! We learned how to make daisies, pansies, daffodils, apple blossoms, violets, mums and primroses.

The last class we learned how to make the basketweave stitch. I find that one kind of fascinating! It took me forever to complete but I had fun (and an aching hand by the end). Course 3 starts this Thursday... I'm taking on gum paste and fondant! I can't wait!

Here is my final cake:

Homemade laundry detergent

2010-06-04T16:44:00.000-04:00

What kind of laundry detergent do you use? What do you like and dislike about it? I know, that's not really cooking related... but...

I've been meaning to share this recipe with you for a while. I've been making my own laundry detergent for about 6 months now. It works so well, is environmentally friendly and saves us money. I find it does a great job in removing odors and stains from our clothes-- just as much, or better than store bought detergents.

This has been a great success in our household and I encourage you to try it in yours!

Homemade Laundry Detergent

1 bar fels naptha soap (your preference, you could use ivory too), grated (hand soap aisle)
1 cup washing soda (laundry aisle)
1 cup baking soda (baking aisle)
1 cup borax (laundry aisle)

Grate 1 bar of fels naptha soap into a airtight container.You can grate it using a box grater or a food processor. I didn't want to risk damage to my food processor so I used a box grater. Add in the washing soda, baking soda and borax. Close the lid and shake well. If you desire, you can add a few drops of essential oils to give it a fragrance.

To use: Place 2 teaspoons of detergent in with your clothes (or in the detergent section of your washing machine). I use a few tablespoons of vinegar as fabric softener. That can be added to either your fabric softener section or in a downey ball and tossed in with your laundry.

Above in the ingredient list I wrote in parenthesis where I found each item... it may be different for your store, but at least it gives you a destination to look.

Pictures so you can identify them in store (you all know what baking soda looks like so I will skip that):

Grilled Pizza

2010-06-04T10:00:00.012-04:00

Have you ever grilled pizza before? Will you ever go back to cooking it in the oven again? I doubt we will! Holy amazingness. Danimal was manning the grill outside and kept saying how amazing it smelled as well as that it smelled like a pizzeria.

Grilling pizza is a quick, great solution for dinner. The only thing that takes some time is prepping the toppings. Most of my ingredients for this pizza needed to be cooked ahead of time so it took a little bit of time. Otherwise, it moves fast and is just incredible.

In absolutely love the toppings I chose for this pizza too. They complimented each other and it was a great treat. We decided on pizza at the last minute, but next time, I'm going to make sure I have homemade dough on hand. The dough I used was pretty good though-- it's from Portland Pizza Co or something. It was easy to work with and had a great flavor.

Danimal wouldn't let me photograph his pizza but he had regular white pizza dough, chicken, artichokes, red peppers and garlic. He thoroughly enjoyed his too! I see this as a regular part of meal during the grilling season!

Grilled Pizza with Chicken, Red Peppers, Eggplant & Carmelized Onions

diced chicken, cooked
carmelized onions
thiny sliced red pepper
sliced, roasted eggplant
1 wheat pizza dough (I used dough from the deli section)
pizza sauce
mozzerella cheese

1) Place dough on the counter to rise and come to room temperature

2) Dice chicken and sautee until cooked

3) Slice onions and sautee on medium-low for 20-30 minutes. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar and sautee for another couple of minutes.

4) Slice eggplant in 1/2 inch rounds and roast at 400-425 for 20 minutes. I then sliced each eggplant round in half so they were half-circles.

5) Preheat grill around the medium setting and oil the grates.

6) Roll or stretch the dough out until thin- mine was the size of a cookie sheet

7) Make sure you have all toppings prepared and at the grill as the dough cookes fast. The grill has to be warm enough so that the dough cooks fast and doesn't stick to the grates.

8) Place the dough on the grill, making sure it's stretched out. Close the grill cover and let cook for 1-2 minutes. Flip the dough and add the toppings on to the cooked side.

9) Let the pizza cook for another minute or so in order for the cheese to melt.

10) Remove, slice and enjoy!

My First Attempt at Sugar Cookies

2010-06-02T10:00:00.020-04:00

Since I discovered the food blog world, I've noticed amazingly decorated sugar cookies everywhere. If given the option, I tend to chose a chocolate chip cookie at a dessert table so I never really admired sugar cookies. I've been taking the Wilton Cake Decorating class Course 2 and working with royal icing. I had a bunch of it left over a few weeks ago so I decided to practice cookie decorating as well. I read several different sugar cookie recipes including a comparison post on 4 different recipes. In the end, I settled on Bake at 350's recipe because her cookies look amazing and there were only minor differences between a few recipes.

For my first attempt, I think they turned out ok! I am excited to try some more shapes and more intricate designs. The cookie recipe was pretty delicious as well!

Vanilla-Almond Sugar Cookies
bake at 350

3 c unbleached, all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 c sugar
2 sticks butter
1 egg
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp pure almond extract

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine the flour and baking powder, set aside. Cream the sugar and butter. Add the egg and extracts and mix. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat just until combined, scraping down the bowl, especially the bottom.

Roll onto a floured surface and cut into shapes. Place on parchment lined baking sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes. Let sit a few minutes on the sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Royal Icing
Wilton

3 tbsp Meringue Powder
1 lb confectioners sugar, sifted
5-6 tbsp water

Beat all ingredients until icing forms peaks (7-10 minutes at low speed with a heavy-duty mixer, 10-12 minutes at high speed with a hand-held mixer).

Watch this video for great instruction on how royal icing is supposed to look.

This video gives a great demonstration on how to thin royal icing for flooding.

Watch this video for a tutorial on basic outlining and flooding for sugar cookies. I can't explain it any better!

Taking pictures with a curious kitten is quite challenging... he usually wants to grab the food and run off. Thankfully, sugar cookies aren't really his thing.

Amazing Oatmeal Chocolate Bars

2010-05-28T10:00:00.008-04:00

These cookie bars are just incredible. The first time I had them, years ago, it was just incredible. I'm pretty sure I had them at someone's house and ran home to search for the recipe. I found one on Hershey's site and made it the first chance I got... and somewhere, over time, I forgot about these bars. Last summer, I had them again and the memories of my love for them flooded back.

I pulled the recipe up again and was surprised that it had cocoa as the main ingredient for the chocolate filling.... I decided to use real chocolate instead and holy amazingness. It's just heaven in every bite! I can't remember exactly how much bittersweet chocolate I added but I just kept adding it in until it screamed of chocolate. One can never get too much chocolate, right?!?

Chocolate Filled Oatmeal Walnut Bars
adapted from Hershey

Oatmeal Part:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon powdered instant coffee(optional)
3 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups chopped walnuts, divided

Chocolate filling:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
12 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate, chopped
4-6 ounces bittersweet baking chocolate, chopped
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.

2. Beat butter and brown sugar in large bowl until well blended. Add eggs, vanilla and instant coffee, if desired; beat until fluffy. Stir together oats, flour, baking soda, salt and 1 cup walnuts; gradually stir into butter mixture with spoon. (Dough will be thick.) Set aside 2 cups dough.

3. Melt butter in medium saucepan over low heat. Stir in chocolate. Add sweetened condensed milk; cook, stirring constantly, until smooth and thick. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla.

4. Press remaining dough evenly onto bottom of ungreased 15-1/2x10-1/2x1-inch jelly-roll pan (I didn't have a jelly roll pan so I used a 9x13 pan). Spread chocolate filling evenly over dough. Crumble reserved dough evenly over filling. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup walnuts.

5. Bake 25 minutes or until top is golden brown (chocolate will be soft). Cool completely in pan on wire rack; cut into bars. About 4 dozen bars.

Stay tuned next week for the cool sugar cookie stars in this picture!

Goodbye Bisquick!

2010-05-26T10:00:00.001-04:00

Bisquick, what?! I will never house bisquick in my home again. When I make pancakes from scratch, I tend to make these oatmeal pancakes, but when it comes to regular chocolate chip pancakes, I used to grab the bisquick. Never again. I'm pretty sure Danimal is sold on this recipe as well. It takes about 3 minutes to mix the ingredients... which is not much more time than measuring out the bisquick mix and tastes sooooo much better.

Buttermilk Chocolate Chip Pancakes
slightly adapted from Joy the Baker which was adapted from Blogchef

2 eggs
2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk
4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2- 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I never measure mine out!)- Joy uses milk chocolate chips
oil or cooking spray (for cooking)

In a large bowl beat eggs. Add buttermilk, butter and vanilla and mix well. Add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well until mostly smooth. Let batter set for a few minutes. I add the chocolate chips in after I pour the batter into the pan.

Heat griddle or pan over medium heat. Add a teaspoon of oil to the pan or spray with cooking spray. You can test to see if the pan is hot enough by adding a few drops of water, if or when the drops start to dance its hot enough.

Pour 2 Tablespoons of batter onto the griddle. Add the chocolate chips into each pancake and push down so that the batter forms around the chips. Cook on the first side until bubbles that form start to pop. You can also gently lift up the pancake to make sure the bottom is not overcooking, if it is the pan may be too hot and you will need to adjust the heat. Flip the pancake over with a spatula and cook until golden brown. Repeat until all the batter is gone.

Let cooked pancakes rest on a heat proof plate in a 200 degree F oven until ready to serve.

Grilled Vegetables and Orzo Salad

2010-05-24T21:42:00.002-04:00

Every day over the next few weeks, Foodbuzz is posting about their daily special. Today's special features grill baskets & trays. We absolutely love ours and use it quite frequently. Since Danimal is home this week and he loves to use his grill whenever he has the chance, I decided we should use our grill tray to grill an assortment of veggies to go with dinner. I bought a ton of different vegetables at the market but I couldn't use them all since we would be grilling vegetables all night... so it looks like we'll be having asparagus and squash later this week! I've made a dish similar to this one from Ina Garten but the vegetables were roasted (instead of grilled).

Grilled Vegetables & Orzo Salad
1 box orzo, cooked per directions
4-5 garlic cloves (chop a few, leave a few whole)
1 eggplant, sliced inch thick & quartered
1 red pepper, cut inch 1 inch cubes
1 yellow pepper, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 onion, sliced into half rounds-- or cubed if you'd like
2 portobello mushrooms, cut into 1 inch cubes
olive oil (for tossing vegetables & orzo)
salt & pepper to taste
red pepper flakes
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
juice from 1 lemon

Cook orzo per directions, drain and toss with a spray of olive oil. Prepare vegetables as stated above

Combine vegetables (garlic thru mushrooms) in a large bowl, toss with olive oil salt & pepper.

Preheat the grill. Place grill basket on the grill to preheat it then spray with olive oil spray. Add vegetables and place basket back on grill. Let the grill cook the vegetables, shaking the basket every couple of minutes to rotate the vegetables. It took us about 10 minutes to cook a batch of vegetables.

After all the vegetables are cooked, combine with orzo, lemon juice, olive oil, white wine vinegar & red pepper flakes. Toss to combine.

Incredible Salmon Salad

2010-05-24T10:00:00.005-04:00

A few weeks ago, we had my childhood best friend and her husband over for dinner. My go-to meal for guests has been a roast chicken dinner but I wanted to try something different. I had a list of 5 different meals and headed to the market to make the final decision there. I find buying fish to be a stressful experience-- mostly because you never know the price. I pulled up the 5 different recipes on my ipod touch and headed over to the fish counter... it turns out my ipod needs internet connection to scroll between the pages so I lost all the recipes! I called my father and asked him to sent me one of the recipes via text. I'm hoping I get more confident with fish recipes the more I buy it.

This recipe is awesome-- it's absolutely delicious and has a perfect mix of ingredients. I read the recipe reviews and added a soy-honey glaze to the fish before cooking it. Other than that, it's a pretty easy recipe as well as delicious and filling.

Sizzling Salmon-and-Spinach Salad with Soy Vinaigrette
Cooking Light

Dressing:
3 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted
1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon chile paste with garlic or 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Salad:
2 teaspoons dark sesame oil, divided
4 cups thinly sliced shiitake or button mushroom caps (about 8 ounces)
1 cup (1-inch) sliced green onions
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels, thawed
4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets (about 1 inch thick)
8 cups baby spinach
1 cup fresh bean sprouts
1 cup red bell pepper strips

Fish marinade
4 tbsp soy sauce & 2 tsp honey

Preparation

Preheat broiler.
To prepare dressing, combine first 8 ingredients in a small bowl, and stir well with a whisk.
To prepare salad, heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and 1 cup onions; sauté 8 minutes. Stir in corn; remove from heat.

Place the fish on a foil-lined baking sheet; brush evenly with 1 teaspoon oil. Brush salmon with a soy-honey mixture and broil 8 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. It didn't cook correctly in my oven so I cooked it in the oven for a few minutes since it was still very raw.

Place 2 cups spinach on each of 4 plates; top each serving with 1/4 cup bean sprouts, 1/4 cup red bell pepper, 1/2 cup mushroom mixture, and 1 fillet. Drizzle about 2 tablespoons dressing over each salad.

Jam Cupcakes

2010-05-21T10:00:00.022-04:00

I love the concept of these cupcakes but I wasn't extremely pleased with the outcome. People did enjoy them but all in all, I wasn't wowed. I think I'd use fresh raspberries and make a filling from scratch instead. I also wish the frosting was richer-- I just want more chocolate! Maybe adding some melted chocolate would intensify it a bit. Overall, it's a pretty easy recipe so it's a simple dessert to whip up in a pinch.

Jam Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting
adapted from Martha Stewart

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1-2 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole milk
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
12 raspberries, for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 12-cup muffin pan, or use liners. Combine flour, baking powder, and 3/4 teaspoon salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat granulated sugar and 1/2 cup butter until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla and lemon zest. With mixer on low, beat in flour mixture in two parts, alternating with 1/2 cup milk.

2. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool in pan 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

3. Meanwhile, whisk together confectioners' sugar, cocoa, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat 1/2 cup butter until light and fluffy. With mixer on low, gradually add cocoa mixture, scraping down side of bowl as necessary. Gradually beat in 2 tablespoons milk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Beat frosting until light and fluffy, about 30 seconds.

4. Using a paring knife, cut a 1-inch-deep piece from the top of each cupcake (do not discard). Fill each hole with 1 teaspoon jam and replace cutout pieces. Frost cupcakes and top with raspberries

Strawberry Bread

2010-05-18T22:55:00.000-04:00

When Cate from Cate's World Kitchen posted her Strawberry Bread recipe, it just looked awesome. Strawberries were just starting to come in season and the markets were flooding with great looking berries. I ate a bunch and then made a few loaves of her bread. I added cinnamon and sprinkled some cinnamon and sugar mixture on top to add some extra zing. It's a great recipe and I'm definitely making it anytime I find myself with extra strawberries.

Strawberry Bread
adapted from Cate's World Kitchen

2 eggs
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups fresh diced strawberries
cinnamon & sugar mixture

Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease an 8 x 4″ loaf pan.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and baking powder in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs until the evenly yellow (but not frothy). Stir in the yogurt, oil, and vanilla and stir until evenly mixed. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix until there are no longer traces of flour.

Gently fold in the strawberries, then pour into the prepared pan. Sprinkle top with cinnamon & sugar mixture.

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then run a sharp knife around the bread and turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

Farewell Cupcakes

2010-05-17T10:00:00.002-04:00

As part of my job, I run a disease-specific support group. The nurse for this clinic co-facilitates the group with me and has been the backbone of this group. She recently announced that she was leaving to pursue a new job opportunity and we had a goodbye party at our last group meeting.

She loves chocolate so I knew I wanted to make something chocolatey... cutting cake in groups is always a hassle and takes too much time so I decided to make cupcakes. I searched high and low for a recipe that I wanted to try and then I was flipping thru Martha Stewart Cupcakes and saw the marble ones. They are so cute! I then found the chocolate cream cheese frosting recipe in the latest issue of Martha Stewart Living.

Overall, the cupcakes were good but the frosting was great! Marble cakes are a bit of a hassle but also kind of fun to make. I'd definitely make these again.

Marble Cupcakes
Martha Stewart

Ingredients
Makes 16 cupcakes

1 3/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup milk, room temperature
1/3 cup heavy cream, room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/4 cup boiling water
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Stir together cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine milk and cream.

2. Cream butter and granulated sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk mixture, and beating until combined.

3. To make chocolate batter, measure out 1 cup batter, and transfer to another bowl. Combine cocoa and the boiling water in a bowl. Stir into reserved 1 cup batter.

4. Fill prepared cups with alternating spoonfuls of vanilla and chocolate batter, filling each three-quarters full. Run the tip of a paring knife or wooden skewer through batter in a figure-eight motion to make swirls. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until tops are golden and a cake tester (i.e. toothpick) inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

5. To finish dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
Martha Stewart

2 – 2 ¼ cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
pinch of salt
6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
¾ cup sour cream

Directions

Sift sugar, cocoa powder, and salt into a large bowl. Put cream cheese and butter into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Gradually add sugar mixture; mix until combined, 1 to 2 minutes. Mix in chocolate and sour cream. Use immediately.

Chocolate Decorations
Chocolate Melts
Canola Oil
Wax Paper
Piping bag

Melt chocolate either in microwave or in double boiler. Mix in a few drops of canola oil to thin chocolate. Assemble piping bag with tip and coupler and add chocolate. Pipe the design on the wax paper and let sit until hardened.

I l♥vermont

2010-05-14T10:00:00.001-04:00

One of my favorite places in the world is Vermont. I spent four of the best years of my life living there. When I go back to visit friends, I spend weeks leading up to my trip imagining all the places I plan to eat at. Some of the places are no longer and some have changed, but all in all, Vermont has some pretty incredible food.

My no-brainer stop on is always New World Tortilla. They have an amazing Thai Chicken Wrap that cannot be beat. They are closed on Sundays so I have to plan strategically so I can consume as much as possible on Saturday. The Thai Chicken Wrap is a burrito filled with grilled chicken, ginger slaw, rice and spicy peanut sauce. The combination compliments itself incredibly. I've order Thai Chicken Wraps at other places and not a one touches this.

My BFF Kelly and I used to ski all day, grab a Thai Chicken Wrap and eat it down on Lake Champlain watching the sunset. That is a perfect day all around.

Next, I ended up visiting Ben & Jerries and Champlain Chocolates. Both hit the spot for dessert!

On Sunday, we ventured into Stowe and visited Cold Hollow Cider Mill. They have the best cider donuts I've ever had (and I don't even like donuts!). They are light and fresh, and the best when warm! Cold Hollow as incredible cider as well as a great selection of samples of salsas, jams and dips. One of our favorite things about Cold Hollow Cider Mill is their giant checkers board.

I also picked up some peanut butter... Vermont made Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter. Try it, you won't be sorry!

One of my favorite souveniors from my trip to Vermont is a jar of Vermont Maple Syrup. A few years ago, I visited Kelly and experienced a sugar house and the maple syrup process. It's pretty incredible. I highly suggest visiting a sugar house and seeing the process! Randy, their friend who runs the sugar house, has some of the best syrup in the state. I'm so excited to break this jar open!

And I'll just leave you with a few of my favorite pictures from the weekend:

Hearty Lentil Soup

2010-05-12T10:00:00.004-04:00

I never got around to making lentil soup this winter. I always planned on it but never grabbed the ingredients at the store. A few weeks ago, a coworker was asking me about lentil soup and how I make it.... then I had to make it! I never had lentil soup until I spent a semester in Spain and my senora made it for us. And then when I worked in Boston a while ago, there was a bagel place that I had a delicious lentil soup as well. They had a perfect balance of lentils and vegetables and the broth was a nice thickness.

Hearty Lentil Soup

1 1/2 cups dried lentils, rinsed
4-5 potatoes, 1/2 inch cubed
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 onion, chopped
3 shallots, minced
a few swigs of balsamic vinegar
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (48 oz) low-sodium chicken (or vegetable) broth
2 leaves swiss chard, chopped
1 tbsp thyme (fresh or dried; I used dried)

In a stock pot, add some olive oil and heat over medium heat. Add onion and sautee for 5 minutes, then add shallots in and sautee for another 5 minutes or until onion is golden. Add garlic, thyme and balsamic vinegar and stir for about 1 minute. Add in potatoes, carrots, lentils and chicken broth.

Bring to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for about 30 minutes and then toss in the chard. Simmer for another 10-15 minutes. Add in salt & pepper as needed.

Verde is Green

2010-05-07T10:00:00.003-04:00

I love calzones and I've been wanting to make this recipe for a while. I really wanted to make my own dough but I'm horrible at planning ahead. I ended up using the canned dough and I'd rather not ever use that again. Blech. I have never used that and I don't think I ever will again. Next time, real fresh pizza dough.

This whole dinner was an experience.... shopping for the ingredients was ridiculously comical. I was pretty sure I knew what salsa verde was (at least at a restaurant). I wasn't sure how it was packaged. I searched all the aisles I thought it would be located in and wasn't having any luck. I finally asked an employee if he knew where "salsa verde" is located... his answer "well, verde is green"... Yes, I'm aware. He drags me over to the salsa... no luck and looks in all the same places. Then he asks someone else where salsa verde is and their answer "verde means green"... I got no where. I finally found it (in the salsa aisle)-- the one option they carried wasn't very well labeled.

Anyway, so I get home and working with that canned pizza dough was an absolute nightmare. I never understand how you unroll the dough from the can-- it turns into mush for me. All in all, the meal was pretty tasty. We both enjoyed it and the black bean salad paired great with it, especially with the addition of avocados.

Tex-Mex Calzones
Cooking Light

8 ounces ground turkey breast
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup fat-free fire-roasted salsa verde
1 (11-ounce) can refrigerated thin-crust pizza dough
3/4 cup (3 ounces) preshredded Mexican blend cheese
~~Cooking spray~~ parchment paper
1/4 cup fat-free sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 425°.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground turkey to pan; cook 3 minutes, stirring to crumble. Add onion and next 5 ingredients (through garlic) to pan; cook 4 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender, stirring mixture occasionally. Remove turkey mixture from heat; stir in salsa.

3. Unroll dough; divide into 4 equal portions. Roll each portion into a 6 x 4–inch rectangle. Working with one rectangle at a time, spoon about 1/2 cup turkey mixture on one side of dough. Top with 3 tablespoons cheese; fold dough over turkey mixture, and press edges together with a fork to seal. Place on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with remaining dough and turkey mixture. Bake at 425° for 12 minutes or until browned. Serve with sour cream.

Black Bean Salad
1 (15-ounce) can rinsed and drained black beans
1 cup quartered cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped red onion
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 avocado, diced

Combine all ingreients in a medium bowl; toss well to coat.

Over the Mohn

2010-05-05T10:00:00.001-04:00

Growing up, my grandmother, Nina, always made these cookies for us... I was never particularly fond of them, since I tend to be obsessed with chocolate. But then, at some point, I found out I actually liked them! A few years ago, I had my grandmother email the recipe to me... last year, I decided I needed to dig out that recipe and give it a try! The batch I made last year was a bit over-cooked. It was my coworkers birthday last week and I wanted to give these another shot for her. I reduced the cooking time and it made a huge difference. These cookies are great with coffee and tea, or just by themselves. They are really easy to assemble without a mixer and could a be a kid friendly recipe.

Mohn Cookies
My Nina

Ingredients

2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla
3 tbsp poppy seed
cinnamon & sugar mixture

In a bowl, mix eggs, sugar, oil together until blended. Add flour, baking powder and salt and mix until combined. Mix in vanilla and poppy seeds.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Pinch off and make balls about the size of a walnut shell. Place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (or greased). Press down on each ball slightly and then use a fork to make crossmarks in the shape of an X. Sprinkle with cinnamon & sugar mixture.

Bake for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

Blueberry Pecan Scones

2010-05-03T10:00:00.001-04:00

I recently bought Cooking Light's Cook Smart Eat Well cookbook and was flipping through the recipes. I came across a blueberry pecan scone recipe and had all the ingredients so I decided to go for it. The reviews online were mixed and I had never made scones so I didn't have too high of expectations. They weren't the most attractive scones I've seen but they tasted pretty good. Since I have no prior experience of homemade scones, I have nothing to compare them to. I am going to try some other recipes for "fun" anyway, but I'd make these again.

Blueberry Pecan Scones
Cooking Light

Ingredients

1/2 cup ~~2% reduced-fat milk~~ fat-free milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 cups all-purpose flour (about 9 ounces)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans, toasted
~~Cooking spray~~ parchment paper
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons sugar

Preparation
Preheat oven to 375°.

Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Gently fold in blueberries and pecans. Add milk mixture, stirring just until moist (dough will be sticky).

Turn dough out onto a floured surface; pat dough into an 8-inch circle. Cut dough into 10 wedges, and place the dough wedges on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (if no parchment paper, spray with cooking spray). Brush egg white over dough wedges; sprinkle evenly with 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake scones at 375° for 18 minutes or until golden. Serve warm.

Swedish Pancakes with a View

2010-05-02T19:08:00.001-04:00

Last weekend, I visited my best friend in Vermont. She lives on a gorgeous hill overlooking an incredible view of the mountains. We spent the weekend eating great food (be prepared for post about that!), looking at baby items for her registry and walking/ enjoying the outdoors.

On Sunday morning, we planned to take a nice walk and hit up some of my favorite places before I headed home... but before that, we needed breakfast. Kelly realized I had never had her swedish pancakes so she whipped up a batch with some berry sauce and we ate it outside, taking in the sunshine and the amazing views.

Swedish Pancakes
My BFF Kelly

2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup milk
1 cup flour (mixture of unbleached white flour & whole wheat)
2 tbsp flaxseed meal

Lightly beat eggs and mix in milk. Incorporate flour and flaxseed meal until just mixed.

Heat pan with canola oil over medium-high heat. Add about 1/3 cup of batter to pan, and swivel pan to spread batter to evenly cover bottom of the pan. Let it cook for about a minute or so and then flip the pancake and cook the other side.

Remove from the pan and roll up.

Berry Sauce
1 1/2 - 2 cups Frozen berries (or fresh)
splash of water
1/4 cup maple syrup (add more if you want it sweeter)
dash of cinnamon, nutmeg & ginger
a few drops of orange extract or orange juice

Add ingredients together in a sauce pan and simmer for about 10 minutes or until berries break down.

Hardest Part of The Meal is Boiling Water

2010-04-30T10:00:00.012-04:00

How do you feel about cooking outside of the comforts of your own kitchen? With different (or lack of certain kitchen utensils)? When we were in Georgia in March, the house my in-laws rented had minimal kitchen gadgets and supplies. My mother-in-law picked up a stockpot from the dollar store and they had a few gadgets and utensils...but I hate feeling lost outside of my own kitchen. It takes so much longer to cook in someone else's kitchen. If I plan on cooking at someone else's house, I usually bring everything I need with me.... since we were flying, we obviously couldn't bring anything!

When my sister-in-law and I were preparing dinner, we had everything timed out perfectly... until we realized the water wasn't boiling. It took us 45 minutes to bring the water to a boil. It was absolutely the most ridiculous thing ever- I've never seen anything like it. Once, we got that going we were golden. This dish is pretty easy to put together and very tasty! I'd definitely recommend it.

Shrimp Pasta in Foil Package
Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

½ cups Olive Oil
4 cloves Garlic, Minced
3 whole 14.5 Ounce Cans Diced (or Whole) Tomatoes
½ cups White Wine
2 pounds Jumbo Or Large Shrimp, Peeled And Deveined
Salt And Pepper (to Taste)
Fresh Parsley, Minced
1 pound Linguine, Uncooked
Red Pepper Flakes (to Taste)

Preparation Instructions
Cook pasta for 1/2 the recommended cooking time. Pasta should still be very firm.

In a large skillet or pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and saute for a minute. Dump in the tomatoes and wine. Stir the mixture together, season with salt and pepper, and allow to cook for ten minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare a large parcel of heavy duty aluminum foil. It should be large enough to hold the entire pasta dish.

Throw the shrimp on the top of the pasta sauce. Throw the drained pasta over the top, then pour the whole dish onto the foil. Tightly wrap the foil into a parcel.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and keep warm until serving.

Open the foil parcel right before serving. Drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil over the top. Squeeze on lemon juice, if desired.

Avocado and Crab Salad

2010-04-28T10:00:00.000-04:00

Back in March, Danimal and I traveled with his sister and her husband to Georgia. My in-laws spent the month renting a cute house on a fabulous island on the coast of Georgia. We had a fabulous couple of days exploring the area and walking the beach. My sister-in-law and I made dinner for everyone one night and wanted to use some of the local products. We had hoped to make it to the fish market but it turned out to be closed. The local supermarket turned out to be our only option... so we weren't able to use the locally caught fish.... but still had a fabulous dinner!

This recipe is so simple and easy... and soooooooooooo good! I can't wait to make it again. Crab and avocado really compliment each other and together, they make a perfect appetizer.

Here are two of my favorite pictures from our trip:

Avocado & Crab Salad
Gina's WW Recipe

1 medium Hass avocado
4 oz lumb crab meat
2 tbsp chopped red onion
1 lime, juiced
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
1 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper

In a medium bowl, combine onion, lime juice, olive oil, cilantro salt and pepper. Add crab meat and toss well.

Cut avocado open, remove pit and spoon out avocado. Cut into large chunks and add to crab. Mix carefully, not to mash the avocado. Spoon back into avocado shells and enjoy!

Serves 2

A Tribute

2010-04-26T19:46:00.001-04:00

Is there a food or recipe that every time you make, it triggers memories of a particular person? One particular meal triggers some of the happiest memories for me and yet, it's one of the simplest meals to prepare.

I had the privilege of spending every summer of my life surrounded by some of the most special people in my life. My community of neighbors at our house on a beautiful lake in Maine are like family. Their friends and family, by extension are an extension of my family.

Every summer, our neighbors hosted a couple. This couple would in return host an annual breakfast for the kids in the neighborhood. We looked forward with anticipation to Aunt Evelyn's and Uncle Sam's visits. Uncle Sam would make us Black-Eyed Susan's for breakfast (otherwise known as eggs-in-a-basket). Uncle Sam carried on this tradition following his wife's passing until he was no longer able to make his annual trip to the lake. He was a kind and generous man who was full of love and shared it with the community.

Yesterday was Danimal's birthday and he requested eggs and bacon for breakfast, specifically, Black-Eyed Susan. As I was preparing them, I thought back to my summers with Uncle Sam-- and remembered his warmth and love. I thought about how much we loved our special breakfasts with him as I ate my own egg-in-a-basket.

This afternoon, I received an email letting me know that Uncle Sam passed away peacefully last night. I could not get over the fact that I spent most of the day thinking about him yesterday. I am so blessed that I had the opportunity to know him, learn from him and be a part of his world. I am also so thankful that my husband requested that particular style of eggs yesterday.

We will miss you Uncle Sam. I will make sure this tradition is carried on to the next generation.

Black-Eyed Susan's
1 slice of bread
1 egg

Use a glass to cut a hole out of the middle of the bread. Place bread in preheated, greased frying pan. Crack egg and drop in to the hole in the bread. Flip the bread after a minute or two, depending on desired consistency. Cook other side for a minute or so. Fry the cutout piece of bread along with the egg/bread combination and use it to mop up the yolk.

Enjoy!

Wilton Roses

2010-04-23T10:00:00.005-04:00

Well the roses class was an adventure. I made the cake on Wednesday night after I made dinner (which took a lot longer than I expected). I couldn't find the shortening so I couldn't make the frosting nor frost the cake ahead of time. I ran home from work Thursday afternoon and whipped up the frosting and did the crumb coat and final layer... there are still a ton of crumbs sneaking through and I really need to practice. I also realized on the way home that my cake carrier was broken (and I left it at work) so I ran into KMart and grabbed one.

Turns out the cake carrier was too small and didn't fit the cake.... so I placed the cake gently in my car and drove to class. Just as I was pulling in to Michaels, the sky opened up and it started pouring rain! I had to make a dash from the car to the store without getting too much rain in the frosting. I ended up purchasing a new cake carrier (and a few new icing colors) and having a great class. Because of the humidity, the frosting softened up really quickly and was rather tough to work with but I think I got the hang of the roses and can't wait to practice!

I can't wait for course 2 in May!

Cake Decorating Course 1 recap

2010-04-21T10:00:00.014-04:00

This week is Danimal's first full week home since January. I haven't occupied my kitchen much in the last few months so I'm running low on posting material. I'm hoping to have more to post in the next few weeks and I'll be posting more often again.

During the month of March, my friend and I took the Wilton Cake Decorating Course 1 at Michaels. It was graet to learn some of the basics. I didn't love the projects they had us do but it was really fun anyway.

I am making up the roses class this week so I'll post pictures from that but in the meantime, here are pictures from class 2 (clowns) and class 4 (rainbow). We're taking course 2 in May. Starting in June, Wilton is reorganizing their courses so I'm intrigued to see what the changes are.

For the first cake, I used Smitten Kitchen's yellow cake recipe and filled it with a raspberry puree of sorts. It tasted great but was not great pared with the Wilton buttercream frosting we have to use. I am not a fan of the frosting recipe because it's just too sweet for me and can't wait to play around with different recipes. For class 4's cake, I ended up using a box mix. Since I really don't like the frosting, I didn't really want to waste my time or good ingredients. I filled it with a peanut butter concoction. Interesting choice-- I wasn't a fan but some of my coworkers enjoyed it.

Course 1; Class 2
Creepy clowns, huh?! They are weird!

Course 1; Class 4

More Muffins!

2010-04-16T10:00:00.008-04:00

Shocking, another muffin post. I don't have much to say besides the fact that I love these muffins. They are delicous and have a *little* too much chocolate... not my opinion, beacuse I can never have enough chocolate! So far, I've made these muffins about a dozen times and they are really easy to prepare and turn out great!

Golden Chocolate Chip Muffins
King Arthur

1/2 cup (4 ounces) butter
1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 large eggs
1/2 cup (4 ounces) milk
2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) White Whole Wheat Flour
2 cups (12 ounces) chocolate chips
coarse sparkling sugar, for topping

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease (or line with muffin cups, and grease the muffin cups) a standard-size muffin pan.

Beat together the butter, sugar, baking powder, salt, vanilla, and cinnamon until fluffy. Beat in the eggs, then stir in the milk. Mix in the flour, then the chocolate chips.

Spoon the batter into the muffin cups; they’ll be quite full. Sprinkle each muffin with a little coarse sugar. Bake the muffins for 30 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of one comes out without crumbs clinging to it (a little chocolate is OK!). Remove from the oven, and carefully tilt in their cups. This allows the heat to escape, preventing the muffins from becoming soggy

Yield: 12 muffins.

Kugel for Passover

2010-04-14T10:00:00.012-04:00

During Passover, I was craving dessert and decided I needed kugel. I googled a few recipes and grabbed some ingredients on my way home from work. I have a serious problem of not reading the recipe all the way through before starting. I peeled the apples, soaked the matzoh and then grabbed the carton of eggs from the fridge. My jaw dropped on the floor when I saw it had 8 eggs. Anyway, I played with this recipe a bit and I was pretty happy with the end result. It tasted pretty similar to the noodle kugel my family makes-- no where as creamy though.

Anyway, I enjoyed it and it was a nice change from the kugel that I know and love. I'll have to blog about that one sometime soon!

Apple-Matzoh Kugel
adapted from Epicurious: Abigail Kirsch

4 large apples, Granny Smith or any tart apple, cored and cut into medium diced
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
6 plain matzohs (I used egg matzohs)
8 eggs (5 egg whites, 3 whole eggs)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
~~1 1/2 cups sugar~~ 1/2 cup sugar (I cut the sugar down significantly)
~~1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) butter or margarine, melted~~ 6 tbsp butter, melted (probably could use less or eliminate)
~~1 cup golden raisins~~
~~1 cup dried apricots, medium, chopped~~
4 tablespoons butter or margarine, cut into small pieces, for casserole topping (I used less)
cinnamon & sugar mixture
chopped nuts (walnuts possibly)- I didn't add any but I definitely think it would be a great addition

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Toss the apples with the brown sugar and orange juice, set aside in a medium bowl.

3. Break the matzoh into 2- to 3-inch pieces and soak in 1 cup of warm water until soft but not mushy. Set aside.

4. While the matzoh soaks, beat the eggs with a wire whisk in a large bowl until blended. Add the salt, sugar, cinnamon and melted butter.

5. Squeeze the liquid from the softened matzoh and add the matzoh to the egg mixture with the apples. Stir the kugel well and pour into a lightly greased 2 1/2-quart casserole dish or a 10x14-inch pan (I used a 9x13 pan). Sprinkle cinnamon & sugar mixture evenly on top of the mixture. Dot the top of the kugel with the 4 tablespoons of butter.

6. Bake the kugel for 1 hour. Cover the top with foil if the top begins to become too brown early in the baking. Remove the kugel from the oven and cool to room temperature.

Quinoa & Passover

2010-04-09T10:00:00.036-04:00

I've cooked with quinoa (pronouced keen-wah) once before and I didn't have great success. Firstly, you have to rinse it (unless it is pre-rinsed) and that was an epic fail for me... more ended up in drain than anywhere else and it wasn't substantial enough for the dish. I had been hearing the buzz that quinoa was a great find during Passover and was really excited to try a new dish for our seder (or non-seder, as we just gathered together the night before- no actual seder took place but there was matzoh ball soup!).

A friend pointed out a recipe for quinoa salad-- and I can't turn down anything with asparagus! This recipe turned out pretty well. I think most of my family enjoyed it and it was a nice, light dish with great flavor. I used a bit more asparagus than the recipe called for. I wasn't a huge fan of the oranges, probably because I'm really picky about oranges... what other fruit do you think you could substitute for oranges? I'd love to hear what you think.

Quinoa Salad with Asparagus, Dates & Oranges
Cooking Light

Salad:
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped white onion
1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cups ~~water~~ chicken broth (low-sodium)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (if you use chicken broth, you may want to skip this)
1 cup fresh orange sections (about 1 large orange)
1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted (or more if you want!)
2 tablespoons minced red onion
5 dates, pitted and chopped
1/2 pound (2-inch) slices asparagus, steamed and chilled (I used a few extra stalks)
1/2 jalapeño pepper, diced

Dressing:
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
Mint sprigs (optional)

Preparation
1. To prepare salad, heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add white onion to pan; sauté 2 minutes. Add quinoa to pan; sauté 5 minutes. Add 2 cups chicken broth and 1/2 teaspoon salt to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand 15 minutes or until water is absorbed. Transfer quinoa mixture to a large bowl. Add orange and next 5 ingredients (through jalapeño); toss gently to combine.

2. To prepare dressing, combine juice and next 4 ingredients (through garlic) in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Pour dressing over salad; toss gently to coat. Sprinkle with chopped mint. Garnish with mint sprigs, if desired. Serve at room temperature.

Oats, Peanut Butter and Chocolate, Oh My!

2010-04-07T10:00:00.003-04:00

Oatmeal. Check. Peanut Butter. Check. Chocolate Chunks. Check. This cookie has it all! I love oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and I don't think I would have ever thought to add peanut butter to them... but wow, this makes it extra special! These cookies are a bit crispy... I may have baked them too long though.

Also notice, one batch makes 60 cookies! Yes, 60. It's pretty awesome. I left half the batch with our pet sitter when we were on vacation a few weeks ago. The other half, I split between my carryon and my sister-in-law's so we could snack on the plane and drive to our destination.

Definitely try these! I don't think you'll be disappointed!

Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters
Baking, From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup chunky peanut butter (I used creamy)
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chunks, or 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips or chunks
Adjust the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, Silpat baking mats, or foil. In a large bowl, stir together the oats, flour, spices, baking soda, and salt just to blend.

With an electric mixer (preferably a stand mixer fitted with a paddle), beat the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and sugar on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients slowly, beating only until blended. Stir in the chocolate chips. (At this point, the dough can be covered and refrigerated for up to 1 day.)

If the dough is at room temperature, drop rounded tablespoonsful two inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. If the dough has been refrigerated, scoop it out by rounded teaspoonfuls and roll the balls between your palms. Place them 2″ apart on the sheets. Press the balls gently with the heal of your hand until they are about 1/2″ thick. Bake for 13-15 minutes, until the cookies are golden and just firm around the edges.

Lift the cookies onto wire racks with a wide metal spatula – they will firm as they cool. Repeat until all the dough has been used.

Hearty waffles are healthy for breakfast, right?

2010-03-31T10:00:00.005-04:00

I am pretty sure my favorite meal of the day is breakfast.... I love muffins, pancakes and waffles. I love lazy weekend mornings when you sleep in late and then lounge around and eat some waffles. I actually don't make waffles all too often and I don't have a good excuse. They are really perfect!

I use my might George Forman as my waffle iron (love that it has exchangeable plates)... it's a little tricky to tell when the waffles are done but it gets the job done. I know I should dig out the manual/ recipe book that came with it because it actually gives some hints about cook times.

Anyway, waffles! I enjoyed this recipe-- I think I'll play around more with it next time for fun. I wanted to make a fruit-maple syrup compote to go on it but Danimal nixed that one.... wouldn't that have been perfect?! Oh well, I guess I'll try that on guests instead :)

Hearty Whole Wheat Waffles
based on King Arthur Flour

1 1/2 cups King Arthur whole wheat flour, white whole wheat or traditional
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2+ tbsp cinnamon
2 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups milk
1/3 cup melted butter or vegetable oil

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, and butter or oil. Mix together the wet and dry ingredients, stirring just till combined.

Cook the waffles as directed in the instructions that came with your waffle iron.

Yield: about eight 8" waffles.

Ricotta is better with fat in it

2010-03-24T10:00:00.004-04:00

I've been super MIA lately! We were on vacation last week and I've been pretty busy. I just finished the Wilton Cake Decorating Course 1. I'll post about that later! I also haven't been cooking/baking a ton lately because Danimal's been traveling for work a lot.

A few weekends ago we had Danimal's best friend Matt and his fiance over for dinner and a game of Seinfeld Scene-It. As you can tell, I'm a fan of Ina Garten recipes. The few times I've made lasagna, I've used recipe from Cooking Light... I like it, but I don't love it. Ina Garten's recipe has great flavor! I think the difference is that I used real ricotta cheese instead of fat-free... major difference in the richness obviously!

Turkey Lasagna
adapted from Ina Garten

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 onion)
2 garlic cloves, minced (I think I used 4)
1 1/2 pounds sweet Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes in tomato puree
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, divided
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound lasagna noodles (1 package whole wheat lasagna noodles)
15 ounces ricotta cheese
~~3 to 4 ounces creamy goat cheese, crumbled~~
1 cup grated Parmesan, plus 1/4 cup for sprinkling
1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
1 pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
2 packages frozen chopped spinach (or fresh!), thawed & water squeezed out

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a large (10 to 12-inch) skillet. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes over medium-low heat, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the sausage and cook over medium-low heat, breaking it up with a fork, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until no longer pink. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of the parsley, the basil, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat, for 15 to 20 minutes, until thickened.

~~Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with the hottest tap water. Add the noodles and allow them to sit in the water for 20 minutes. Drain.~~ Fully cook noodles according to package directions.

In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, ~~goat cheese~~, spinach, 1 cup of Parmesan, the egg, the remaining 2 tablespoons of parsley, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.

Ladle 1/3 of the sauce into a 9 by 12 by 2-inch rectangular baking dish, spreading the sauce over the bottom of the dish. Then add the layers as follows: half the pasta, half the mozzarella, half the ricotta, and one 1/3 of the sauce. Add the rest of the pasta, mozzarella, ricotta, and finally, sauce. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of Parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling.

How to Feed a Pregnant Lady

2010-03-08T10:00:00.004-05:00

A few weeks ago, my BFF came down to visit me for a girls weekend. Our other good friend, M, joined us and we had a lovely evening of food, laughs and catching up. Now that we are 3 old-married ladies, the days of frustrating dating stories are over... and instead, the topic turns to b.a.b.i.e.s. My BFF is pregnant and due in August and is having food cravings and adversions so our meal was based around what the baby will let her eat! This dish came out perfect and completely met baby approval.

Pesto Chicken, Artichoke, Mushroom & Artichoke Pasta
The creative minds of M, M, & K.

Pesto
1 package fresh basil leaves
4 cloves garlic
1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
2-3 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

In a mini food processor, chop the garlic. Add basil leaves, pine nuts and parmesan cheese and blend until smooth. Drizzle in olive oil and combine until mixed thoroughly. Salt & pepper to taste.

Rest of the Dish
1 can artichoke hearts, drained & cut in half
1 package crimini mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, sliced julienne style
1 package whole wheat rotini, cooked as directed
1 lb chicken tenders, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 clove garlic, diced
2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tbsp olive oil

Bring water to a boil and cook pasta as directed.

Combine olive oil, garlic and crushed red pepper in a pan on medium heat for 30 seconds. Once fragrant, add chicken and cook for about 5 minutes, until almost cooked thoroughly. Add mushrooms and cook for about 3 more minutes. Add in artichoke hearts and sun-dried tomatoes and cook for additional 2 minutes.

Once pasta is cooked & drained, add it to a large bowl and combine with the chicken, artichoke mixture. Add in the pesto (we used all but 1 tbsp) and mix the pesto thoroughly.

Barefoot Bloggers: Baked Shrimp Scampi

2010-03-01T10:00:00.006-05:00

For my second recipe with the Barefoot Bloggers, Jill from Insanely Good Food chose Ina's Baked Shrimp Scampi. It's really easy to toss together and tastes amazing! Danimal said "This recipe is a 'make again'"! I served it with roasted asparagus (tossed with olive oil, garlic, salt & pepper), brown rice and a baguette. I didn't love the panko/ herb/ butter topping and just ate the shrimp without it-- I felt the shrimp absorbed enough of the flavor. I halved the recipe (and cut back on the butter) since it was only the two of us.

Baked Shrimp Scampi
Ina Garten; Back to Basics

Ingredients
2 pounds (12 to 15 per pound) shrimp in the shell
3 tablespoons good olive oil
2 tablespoons dry white wine
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 teaspoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
1/4 cup minced shallots
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 extra-large egg yolk
2/3 cup panko (Japanese dried bread flakes)
Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Peel, devein, and butterfly the shrimp, leaving the tails on. If you don't know how to butterfly a shrimp, Ina has a video here. Place the shrimp in a mixing bowl and toss gently with the olive oil, wine, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Allow to sit at room temperature while you make the butter and garlic mixture.

In a small bowl, mash the softened butter with the garlic, shallots, parsley, rosemary, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, lemon juice, egg yolk, panko, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper until combined.

Starting from the outer edge of a 14-inch oval gratin dish, arrange the shrimp in a single layer cut side down with the tails curling up and towards the center of the dish. Pour the remaining marinade over the shrimp. Spread the butter mixture evenly over the shrimp. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until hot and bubbly. If you like the top browned, place under a broiler for 1 minute. Serve with lemon wedges.

There's an oreo at the bottom!

2010-02-24T10:00:00.012-05:00

I've tried making cheesecake once in my life and it was probably my biggest kitchen disaster. I pride myself on being able to at least choose successful and yummy recipes but the one I tried was absolutely disgusting. I think I should have taken a clue since I found it in a Renal Transplant newsletter. It ended up in the trash.

Danimal and I went skiing a few weekends ago with a bunch of work people and friends. I didn't want to go empty handed so I made a bunch of desserts... these oreo cheesecake cupcakes and the coconut cupcakes. This recipe is great because it's easy to pull together and can be cut in half. I highly suggest trying this recipe! I used light cream cheese and sour cream and can only imagine how rich and creamy it is with regular cream cheese. They are pretty amazing!

Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes
as seen on Cate's World Kitchen which was adapted from 52 Cupcakes, originally from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes

22 Oreos, 16 left whole, and 6 coarsely chopped
2 8-oz packages cream cheese, at room temperature (or Neufchatel) (I used Philly LIGHT cream cheese)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
1/2 cup sour cream (I used light sour cream)
Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 275 F.

Line 12 standard muffin tins and 4 ramekins with paper liners.

Place 1 whole Oreo in the bottom of each lined cup.

Beat the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium. Gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Pour in the beaten eggs, a little at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in the sour cream and salt. Stir in chopped cookies by hand.

Pour the batter into the prepared tins, filling each almost to the top.

Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until filling is set, 22-25 minutes.

Cool in the pans for about 15 minutes, on a wire rack, then transfer to a plate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

Cookie Dough Heaven

2010-02-22T10:00:00.001-05:00

I've seen cookie dough truffles featured in blogs and on websites many a time before. A few months ago, my sister made them and I heard how incredible they were. I had already made oreo truffles and cake balls and found dipping them in chocolate to be time consuming and a pain. I wasn't really sure if I wanted to take that on again.

Well, people kept blogging about them and I kept thinking about them and I knew I needed to try it myself. What can be better than cookie dough and chocolate?! I have a bunch of bags of chocolate candy coating but I don't really like the taste of them. I decide to try it with chocolate chips and they worked pretty well- I did that to save time. Next time I'm using real chocolate. Adding the oil helps thin the chocolate and works to coat the truffles. The dough is less sticky than oreo truffles and cake balls and dipping them took less time!

These are pretty yummy and I am totally making them again!

Cookie Dough Truffles
Paula Dean

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup semisweet mini chocolate morsels
1 cup finely chopped pecans
~~1 1/2 pounds chocolate bark candy coating, melted~~
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (or another good chocolate, chopped)- melted
2 teaspons canola oil

In a large bowl cream butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until creamy. Add vanilla. Gradually beat in flour and add milk. Add chocolate morsels and pecans, mixing well. Shape into 1-inch balls. Place on waxed paper; chill 2 hours.

Melt chocolate in a double boiler (I used the base of a double boiler and a pyrex bowl- boil water and reduce to a simmer. Place bowl on the pot and add chocolate. Be careful not to let water touch the chocolate. Add oil to thin the chocolate and mix to combine). Using 2 forks, dip cookie balls into chocolate to cover. Place on waxed paper and chill to set. Store in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

"Healthy" Muffins

2010-02-19T10:00:00.017-05:00

I know, another muffin post! I go a little crazy at times. I like muffins, what can I say. I make these when I want to feel "healthy". They are pretty easy to mix up and easy for breakfast on the go.

Oatmeal Yogurt Applesauce Berry Muffins
adapted from Joy the Baker
Makes 12 muffins

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cups oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup unsweetened natural applesauce (I use Musselmans)
1/2 cup non-fat plain yogurt (I use Stonyfield)
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tbsp canola oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup mixed berries (or blueberries)- frozen; fresh, if available!
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper cases ~~or spray with nonstick cooking spray~~ (I don't suggest baking without liners, it is hard to remove from the muffin tin).

In a large bowl combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a medium bowl combine applesauce, yogurt, sugar, oil and egg. Make a well in dry ingredients and add applesauce mixture.

Stir until just moist. If using frozen berries, toss them in about 1tbsp flour to coat. Fold in berries and chips.

Fill muffin tins 2/3 full and bake for 16-18 minutes (sometimes mine take a little longer than).

Cuteness in cookie form

2010-02-15T10:00:00.004-05:00

Get ready for cuteness... these things are absolutely adorable. These puppies are mini chocolate chip whoopie pies and were less than two inches in diameter. They are pretty easy to make and are a hit. They seem easy enough to make with a group of kids. I don't love regular whoopie pies- I find them too sweet but these had the perfect amount of chocolate for me! Enjoy :)

Mini Chocolate Chip Whoopie Pies
Nestle Tollhouse

Cookies:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mini Morsels

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter and sugar in medium mixer bowl on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in milk, egg and vanilla extract (mixture will be thin.) Beat in flour mixture on low speed until smooth. Stir in morsels. Drop by heaping measuring teaspoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets. (A total of 36 cookies are needed for the recipe.)

Bake for 12 to 14 minutes until springy to the touch. Cool completely on baking sheets.

Filling

1 cup (6 oz.) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mini Morsels
1 cup marshmallow crème (Fluff)
2 tablespoons butter, softened

Microwave morsels in uncovered, medium microwave-safe mixer bowl on HIGH (100%) power for 30 seconds; stir. The morsels may retain some of their original shape. If necessary, microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring just until morsels are melted.

Add marshmallow crème and butter to melted chocolate. Beat on medium speed until smooth. Transfer filling to resealable plastic bag. Cut hole from corner of bag. Squeeze heaping tablespoon of filling onto flat side of one cookie, top with flat side of second cookie to make a sandwich. Repeat with remaining cookies and filling. Store in covered container in refrigerator.

Barefoot Bloggers: Coconut Cupcakes

2010-02-11T10:19:00.002-05:00

Through the food blogging world, I stumbled upon a group of bloggers who create and blog about Ina Garten's recipes called Barefoot Bloggers. Ina's recipes rarely fail me so I was excited to join this group. People choose recipes and post twice a month. This month, Jaime from Jamie’s Green Kitchen chose Coconut Cupcakes.

I'm not a coconut fan myself but Danimal is... he was really excited to see the bag of shredded coconut in my shopping bag. I wasn't really sure how to change this recipe as I don't like coconut. The only change I made was I made half the amount of frosting as the reviews said that the full amount was too much. The frosting seemed a bit more runny than I expected-- I think I added too much sugar. I don't have a scale at home so I guestimated and I think I really overshot the amount. Oh well!

I haven't had any guinea pigs yet as Danimal is still traveling. We're leaving on a ski trip tonight so they'll be traveling with us. I'll report back later on and let you know how they taste! The recipe says it makes 18-20, I ended up with 24 large cupcakes... I'd make them smaller next time and have even more!

Coconut Cupcakes
Ina Garten

3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
5 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk
14 ounces sweetened, shredded coconut - divided

For the frosting: (This is the full amount, I made half of this)
1 pound cream cheese at room temperature
3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 1/2 pounds confectioners' sugar, sifted

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In 3 parts, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold in 7 ounces of coconut.

Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Fill each liner to the top with batter. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the frosting. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on low speed, cream together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla and almond extracts. Add the confectioners' sugar and mix until smooth.

Frost the cupcakes and sprinkle with the remaining coconut.

A Bit of Spice

2010-02-08T10:00:00.002-05:00

I've been adopted! I'm participating in "Adopt a Blogger #4" where an experienced blogger adoptes a newbie (aka ME!) for a few months and knowledge, mentoring and friendships form. I'm so thrilled to be adopted by Jessica from My Baking Heart. Her blog is fabulous and I can't wait to see what happens over the next few months. Check her out!

I learned a lesson with this meal... organization is helpful! A few weeks ago, I mapped out our meals for the week and made a shopping list. The day I decided to make General Tsao's Chicken, I looked up the recipe before I left work to make sure I had everything I needed... in the middle of making this dish, I couldn't figure out where some of the ingredients fit in. Turns out, I have several versions of this recipe saved (Martha Stewart & Weight Watchers)... the recipe turned out really well but next time, I need to make note of which recipe I am using (or at least that there may be different versions) so that I don't have wasted ingredients.

The dish was a bit too spicy for me but Danimal really enjoyed it.

General Tsao's Chicken
adapted from Weight Watchers

3/4 cup(s) canned chicken broth, reduced-sodium
1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp peanut oil
2 medium scallion(s), chopped
2 medium garlic clove(s), minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, or 1 dried chili pepper, minced
1 pound(s) uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 cups brown rice, cooked

Directions
In a medium bowl, whisk together broth, cornstarch, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar and ginger; set aside.
Heat oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add scallions, garlic and pepper and cook 2 minutes. Add chicken and cook until browned all over, about 5 minutes.

Add reserved sauce and simmer until sauce thickens and chicken is cooked through, about 3 minutes.

Serve chicken and sauce over rice. Yields about 1 cup of chicken and sauce and 1/2 cup of rice per serving.

Go Red for Women

2010-02-05T10:00:00.001-05:00

Today is National Wear Red Day to support the fight against heart disease in women. I walked in to our morning staff meeting and found myself facing a sea of ladies in red. It was quite an amazing sight! If you'd like more information about heart disease and "Go Red for Women" visit www.goredforwomen.org/.

Since it's February, the middle of winter, in New England, good fruit is usually scarce. I was at the market the other day and I found the fruit aisle to be well stocked with berries... mostly strawberries... and the price was great! I tend to just cut strawberries up and eat them plain, or sprinkled with a bit of sugar, for dessert but I wanted to try something new. I found a Weight Watchers recipe that just seemed perfect for a cold, February day.

Balsamic Strawberries
Weight Watchers

4 cups strawberries, halved or quartered
2 tbsp unpacked brown sugar
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/8 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
1/2 cup fat-free vanilla yogurt (I use Stonyfield FF French Vanilla)
1 tbsp mint leaves, optional

1. Combine strawberries, sugar, vinegar and pepper in a bowl. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, stirring at least once.
2. Serve in 4 small glasses or bowls and top each with 2 tablespoons of yogurt and garnish with mint.

1 point per serving

Blooming Herb Bread

2010-02-03T10:00:00.009-05:00

I think I keep saying this but as soon as I saw this recipe, I wanted to make it. Seriously though, it looks so pretty (at least when Paster Ryan made it on Pioneer Woman's blog) and it's pretty easy. Next time I will plan a little bit ahead of time so I can let it rise to it's full potential! Danimal could not stop grabbing pieces off of it while the rest of our meal was cooking. I think it's a keeper in our zoo!

Blooming Herb Bread
Pioneer Woman/ Paster Ryan

Ingredients
20 ounces, weight Bread Flour (all Purpose Is Okay, Too) - About 4 Cups
8 ounces, fluid Water
4 ounces, fluid Melted Butter
Chopped Herbs Of Choice (I used fresh Rosemary & chopped garlic)
2 teaspoons Salt
1 teaspoon Active Or Instant Yeast (if Active, It Would Be Best To Sprinkle Yeast Over The Water To Let It Start To Work Before Mixing It In)

Preparation Instructions

Combine all ingredients together in the KitchenAid stand mixer with the dough hook. If you don't have a stand mixer, you can combine ingredients and knead by hand. It's easier in the mixer though!

Mix for about 10 minutes or so until you can successfully achieve a windowpane with the dough (when you can pull off a small chunk of the dough you’re kneading and stretch it gently to see if it is somewhat translucent. If you can do this without it tearing, it’s ready).

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

After the dough starts rising, it should be kneaded for a minute or two so that the yeast can redistribute. Form it into a dome and place in a covered cast iron pan after coating it with olive oil and a sprinkling of kosher salt. Cut a large ‘X’ into the surface of the bread dough so it can bloom!

Bake on the center rack of your over for 30 minutes with the lid on, them remove the lid to finish it off for another 15 to 30 minutes.

After I placed the dough in the bowl, I squirted some fresh lemon juice on top of it... It gave it a little kick. I also didn't let the dough rise as much as I should have.... but we were hungry!

A Roasted Dinner; Topped with a Chicken

2010-02-01T10:00:00.003-05:00

This is my go-to chicken recipe for company. It's really easy and has never failed me. It's even easier now when I can buy a whole container of already-peeled garlic! The chicken comes out so juicy and the skin is crispy and golden. Try it out sometime I think you'll be very happy! The last several times I've made it, I've paired it with parmesan roasted broccoli and a potato dish (either roasted garlic potatoes, or mustard roasted potatoes).

Everyday Garlic Chicken
Great Good Foods by Julee Rosso

1 whole chicken, about 3 pounds (I used a 7lb chicken roaster)
1 whole lemon, pricked several times
24 garlic cloves, peeled
2 teaspoons ground ginger
3 cups chicken broth (I use low-sodium chicken broth)
Freshly ground pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Wash the chicken and pat it dry inside and out. Place the lemon in the cavity and place the chicken in a small roasting pan (I use my 9x13 pyrex dish). Cut one clove of garlic in half and rub into the breast skin. Then, rub in the ground ginger.

3. Place the chicken in the oven and bake for 20 minutes; add 1 1/2 cups of broth and bake for another 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375; add the remaining broth and garlic, and cook for 30 to 40 minutes (increase cooking time as needed based on weight of roaster), basting every 10 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and place it on a platter, breast side down, to rest for 10 to 15 minutes.

4. Pour the collected juices into a fat-skimming cup and defat. With a fork, mash the garlic. Place the garlic and defatted juices back in the roasting pan. Over medium-high heat, reduce the liquid by half, stirring frequently. Strain if you desire a smoother sauce. Carve the chicken and pass the sauce at the table.

Serves 4.

Nutrition information based on original recipe:
Cal. 289 Carb. 12g Protein 38g Chol 109mg Fat 9g

Sorry... horrible pictures... isn't it nice and golden though?!

And a funny view of the bird.

A Roasted Dinner

2010-01-29T11:18:00.003-05:00

The dinner that accompanied the focaccia bread was filled with the word "roasted"... Parmesan Roasted Broccoli, Mustard Roasted Potatoes and Everyday Garlic Chicken (which was roasted...). I think I've mentioned the Parmesan Roasted Broccoli before (around Thanksgiving) but I don't think I've ever blogged the recipe... this time I didn't even take pictures of it (picture that is posted was from Thanksgiving). This is my to-go broccoli recipe- has yet to fail me. The potato recipe is very good as well... Danimal and I tend to just roast potatoes with garlic & olive oil so this is a nice change for us.

Parmesan Roasted Broccoli
Ina Garten

Ingredients
4 to 5 pounds broccoli
4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
Good olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil leaves (about 12 leaves)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Cut the broccoli florets from the thick stalks, leaving an inch or two of stalk attached to the florets, discarding the rest of the stalks. Cut the larger pieces through the base of the head with a small knife, pulling the florets apart. You should have about 8 cups of florets. Place the broccoli florets on a sheet pan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Toss the garlic on the broccoli and drizzle with 5 tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until crisp-tender and the tips of some of the florets are browned.

Remove the broccoli from the oven and immediately toss with 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, the lemon zest, lemon juice, pine nuts, Parmesan, and basil. Serve hot. Serves 6.

Mustard Roasted Potatoes
Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa at Home

Ingredients
2 1/2 pounds small red potatoes
2 yellow onions
3 tablespoons good olive oil
2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line cookie sheet with tin foil.

Wash potatoes, cut them in halves or quarters, depending on their size. Place them on the cookie sheet. Peel onions, cut them in half and slice into rounds (about 1/4 inch thick). Toss onions and potatoes together on the sheet. Add olive oil, mustard, salt & pepper and toss to cover evenly.

Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour until the potatoes are lightly browned. Toss the potatoes every 15 minutes so they brown evenly.

Serve with chopped parsley and a little extra salt.

Stay tuned next week for Everday Garlic Chicken!

Focaccia-cia-cia

2010-01-27T10:00:00.004-05:00

I <3 King Arthur Flour. I've been stalking their website for the last few years. I love their store in Norwich, Vermont. I exclusively use their flour. I'm obsessed with their recipes. I came across their No-Fuss Focaccia bread a while ago and at that time, bread and yeast were a big mystery to me! I made dinner for friends a few weeks ago and decided it was time to test out this puppy. I found their directions to be a bit confusing, but head on over to their site because they blogged about the bread as well. I actually chatted online with their bakers hotline people who confirmed the directions were confusing!

No-Fuss Focaccia
King Arthur Flour

1 1/2 cups warm water
3 tablespoons olive oil (plus additional for drizzling)
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 tablespoon instant yeast
~~4 teaspoons Pizza Dough Flavor, optional~~
~~1/4 cup Vermont cheese powder, optional~~
~~Pizza Seasoning, optional~~
~1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Italian Seasonings
Garlic Powder

Directions
1) Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan, and drizzle 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil in the bottom.

2) Combine all of the ingredients (I added in 1 tbsp of olive oil-- the amount left over from drizzling the pan), and beat at high speed with an electric mixer for 60 seconds.

3) Scoop the sticky batter into the prepared pan, cover the pan, and let it rise at room temperature for 60 minutes, till it's become puffy.

4) While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 375°F.

5) Gently poke the dough all over with your index finger.

6) Drizzle it lightly with olive oil, and sprinkle with pizza seasoning, and/or the dried herbs of your choice, if desired.

7) Bake the bread till it's golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes
8) Slice into pieces and serve with dipping oils. I made up a dip with olive oil, chopped garlic, italian seasonings, parmesan & red pepper flakes. Enjoy!!

Do you Mandel?

2010-01-25T10:00:00.001-05:00

I believe we've established that I like baked goods.. cookies, muffins, cakes... anything with chocolate. Today, I'm sharing Mandel Bread (Mandel Brot) with you. It's a traditional Jewish cookie that looks like biscotti but softer. Some recipes call for the cookie to be baked again after sliced but I like mine soft so no second bake for me. My recipe comes from our dear family friend, Nana Millie.

Mandel Bread
Recipe from Nana Millie

2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup almonds, ground up or chopped into small pieces
1 6oz pkg chocolate chips

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and baking powder. In a small bowl, add the oil, egg and vanilla and whisk to combine. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredienets and stir by hand until incorporated. Fold in the almonds and chocolate chips. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 325°. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper (or nonstick cookie sheet). Divide the batter into three or four pieces depending on how large you want the cookies to be. With well oiled hands, form each piece into a log pressing down so that the dough is about an inch in height. The logs should be placed along the width of the sheet, about 2-3 inches apart.

Bake for 20-30 minutes.

Let logs cool and then slice crosswise 1/2 to 1 inch slices.
Keep in airtight container at room temperature for up to a week-- ours never last the day though!

Dessert Addiction

2010-01-13T10:56:00.002-05:00

Hi, I'm addicted to desserts. I love chocolate. I love to bake. I love anything to do with chocolate. I saw a recipe on one of the blogs I follow a while ago that I knew I needed to try out. It looked pretty awesome. On New Years Eve, I had to work a normal day and we had plans to go over to a friend's house afterwards to celebrate the New Year. I knew I wouldn't have a lot of time to get a dessert together and this recipe is actually pretty quick to pull together! I used store-bought cookie dough and a brownie mix to save time (but I'm sure it's even more decadent with real homemade cookies & brownies as well!) Enjoy :)

Glenn's Stargazer Pie
Adapted from Dozen Flours

Crust

1 16.5 oz tube of refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough, softened

Brownie Layer
1 box of Ghiradelli Double Chocolate Brownie mix (or any kind you want)
1/2 cup of cocoa powder, sifted
3 tablespoons of lukewarm water
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (or almond extract- which I don't have)

Cream Cheese Truffle Layer (I doubled this from original recipe)
2 oz bittersweet baking chocolate, chopped
6 oz bittersweet baking chocolate, chopped then melted
8 oz of cream cheese, softened
1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp of vanilla extract

Whipped Cream Layer
2 cups of whipping cream
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/4 cup of powdered sugar, sifted
1/3 cup (give or take) of chocolate curls or other garnish, optional

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9 or 9 1/2 inch springform pan with butter.

Spread the cookie dough into the bottom of the pan, making one big even cookie. It will be a little on the thin side, but don't worry, there will be enough. Use a fork to tamp it down. Stick it in the freezer.

Mix the brownie mix and the cocoa powder together in big bowl with a whisk or large fork. Add the water, oil, eggs, and almond extract and mix together until the dry ingredients are absorbed. Be careful not to over mix! The batter should be somewhat lumpy.

Remove the springform pan from the freezer and add the brownie batter right over the top. Bake for 34-38 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownie comes out almost clean.It should be a tad bit less baked than you would a normal brownie.

Remove it from the oven and promptly sprinkle about 2 oz of bittersweet chocolate over the top. Let it sit for a minute or two and once the chocolate chips are soft, evenly spread them over the top of brownie's surface. Let it cool on the counter. I didn't let mine cool enough- the chocolate should set before you add the cream cheese layer.

While the pie is cooling, microwave the remaining 6 oz of chocolate on low power (2 or 3) on 30 second intervals until it is melted, stirring well each time. Set aside. Cream the butter, and cream cheese together for 1 minute. Add the vanilla and stir again. Add the melted chocolate, one big teaspoonful at a time until it's totally incorporated into the cream cheese. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the top of the pie and store it uncovered in the refrigerator for an hour.

About an hour or two before you're ready to serve the pie (or when it's totally cooled off), whisk the whipping cream on high speed until soft peaks form. Add the vanilla and the powdered sugar and mix again until combined. Spread evenly over the top of the pie. Grate chocolate directly over the top, sprinkle chocolate curls, or embellish with chocolate sprinkles. Cover and put it back in the refrigerator for at least 1/2 an hour.

When you're ready to serve, run a thin knife or spatula to around the edge of the pan to free it from the outside ring. Gently remove the ring and serve let it come to room temperature at least a half an hour before serving. You'll know it's ready to serve when you're able to cut it from the center fairly easily.

I thought I had photographed a slice of pie but I guess I didn't!
View from the side

Inside view of the pie

Yes, I like Muffins.

2010-01-11T10:00:00.003-05:00

The other day I was shopping and starving... never a smart combination. I grabbed a muffin at the market and snacked on it on the drive home. I didn't really look at what I grabbed until I started eating it... and I loved it! Cranberries and walnuts... a great combination! The next time I went to the market, I picked up a bag of cranberries so I could be sure to make my own!

Cranberry Walnut Muffins
Adapted from Better Homes & Gardens

Ingredients
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup fat-free milk
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp canola oil
1/2- 3/4 cup fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375F. Coat muffin cups with nonstick spray or line with paper baking cups.

2. In a large bowl, combine flours, baking powder, cinnamon & salt. In a medium bowl, combine egg, milk, sugar & oil. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture; stir just until combined. Fold in cranberries & toasted walnuts. Spoon into prepared muffin tin.

3. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until tops are lightly browned.

Chocolate Pecan Goodness

2010-01-08T10:00:00.004-05:00

I saw these puppies when they came across my google reader and wow, they were tempting! And they were pretty darn good! I chose to use semi-sweet and bitter-sweet chocolate instead of the milk chocolate that the recipe called for. I made them for my work holiday party and people really liked them! The recipe takes a little bit of time to prepare but it's definitely worth it!

Chocolate Pecan Diamonds
adapted from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

Pecan Dough
5 tbsp COLD unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" pieces, plus 1 tbsp melted to coat pan
1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup powdered sugar
2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup unsalted pecans, toasted & coarsely chopped
2 tbsp cold water

Pecan Filling
12 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 1 tbsp pieces
2 cups dark brown sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup light corn syrup
4 oz unsweetened baking chocolate, chopped
2 cups unsalted pecans, toasted & coarsely chopped
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
10 ounces bittersweet baking chocolate, coarsely chopped

To make the dough:
Preheat oven to 325F.

Coat a 9 x 13 inch pan with the melted butter.

Sift together the flour and sugar and place in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted the paddle attachment.

Add the cold butter one piece at a time while mixing on low, until mealy in texture, about 2 minutes. Add egg yolks and mix on low until the dough forms around the paddle, about 30 seconds.

Add pecans and mix on low for 30 seconds. I found that it wasn't forming into a dough so I added 2 tbsp of cold water and it came together at this point.

Remove dough from mixer and place in prepared pan. Use hands to flatten the dough evenly to cover the bottom of the pan. Bake on center rack for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.

To make the filling:
Bring butter, brown sugar, cream, and corn syrup to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the brown sugar. Boil for 3 minutes, until thickened, stirring constantly with a whisk. Remove from heat. Add the unsweetened chocolate and stir until the chocolate has melted.

Stir in the pecans and chocolate chips. Pour filling over the baked dough. Use a spatula to spread evenly.

Bake on center rack for 30 minutes. Rotate the pan 180 degrees halfway through.

Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle the 10 ounces of bittersweet chocolate over the surface. Place pan back in the oven for 3 minutes. Remove from the oven, and use a spatula to smooth the chocolate. It kinds of makes a marbled effect with the chocolates.

Cool to room temperature for 30 minutes then refrigerate for an hour.

To serve:
Remove from fridge. Turn the pan over on to a clean, dry cutting surface, then turn the contents chocolate side up. Use a sharp knife, cut 1/4 inch off the edges and cut into squares. Serve at room temperature. Keep in refrigerator.

A Snowy Day + Football Dinner

2010-01-06T10:00:00.008-05:00

I'm in heaven right now... I've been wanting to make garlic knots for over a year now. I cannot figure out why I waited so long for these amazing rolls! They are incredible! I am in love! I paired them with chili and that was our nice, snowy- football watching meal. I tend to load as many vegetables into my chili as possible so that it's a nice inclusive meal.

Turkey Chili
My own concotion

1 package ground turkey meat
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 cup carrots, diced/ sliced
1 summer squash- cut in half lengthwise then sliced
1 cup (or more) spinach
1 cup (or more) mushrooms, sliced (Market Basket was out of mushrooms today)
zucchini, butternut squash, celery and whatever else you want can be added as well
2 cups whole wheat elbow macaroni, cooked al dente
3+ tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp red pepper flakes
Salt & pepper to taste
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes (no salt added)
1 14.5 oz can stewed tomatoes
1 14.5 oz can chicken broth (reduced sodium)
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 can red kidney beans, rinsed

In a large pot, saute onions until clear/ golden in color. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add turkey meat and cook until no longer pink. Once meat is cooked, add everything else and bring to a boil. Turn heat down and simmer for 45 minutes or so. The seasonings are just an estimate of what I used-- I think this time I used more of everything.

Garlic Knots
Amber's Delectable Delights adapted from I Heart Food for Thought adapted from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients

Dough
3 cups + additional 1/4 cup as needed bread flour
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1-1/4 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup + 2 tablespoons lukewarm water

Glaze
2-4 cloves peeled, garlic
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 teaspoon Pizza Seasoning or Italian seasoning, optional

Directions
1. For the dough - In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the dry ingredients together then add the olive oil, milk and water. Using the dough hook, mix and knead to form smooth, elastic dough, adding additional water or flour as needed. I added about 1/4 cup additional flour and no extra water. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, turn once and cover it, and allow it to rise for about 1 hour, until it’s doubled in bulk. I spray the plastic wrap lightly as well.

2. Divide the dough into 12 pieces, and roll each into a rope about 10 inches long; tie each rope into a knot. Place the knots on a lightly greased or parchment lined baking sheet, cover, and let rise for 45 minutes to about an hour, until very puffy looking.

3. To make glaze - Unpeel garlic cloves. Chop the garlic in a food processor (or you can use a garlic press), with the melted butter.

4. To bake - Bake the knots in a preheated 350°F oven for 15 to 18 minutes. They should be set, but only very lightly browned. Remove the knots from the oven, and brush or drizzle them with the seasoned butter.

Roasted Vegetables Rock

2010-01-04T10:00:00.014-05:00

Christmas Day is spent at Danimal's aunt & uncle's house. I woke up (not early... but early for my in-laws!) and made this fresh for the day... before presents and breakfast! I really love this dish and could make it every week and not get sick of it! It's so easy to prepare and pretty to serve.

Orzo with Roasted Vegetable
adapted from Ina Garten

Ingredients1 small eggplant, 3/4-inch diced
1 red bell pepper, 1-inch diced
1 yellow bell pepper, 1-inch diced
1 red onion, peeled and 1-inch diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
plus additional veggies as desired
1/3 cup good olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound orzo or rice-shaped pasta

For the dressing:
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
1/3 cup good olive oil (I use less)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

To assemble:

4 scallions, minced (white and green parts)
1/4 cup pignolis (pine nuts), toasted
3/4 pound good feta, 1/2-inch diced (not crumbled)
15 fresh basil leaves, cut into julienne

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Toss the eggplant, bell peppers, onion, and garlic (and whatever other veggies you want) with the olive oil, salt, and pepper on a large sheet pan. Roast for 40 minutes, until browned, turning once with a spatula.

Meanwhile, cook the orzo in boiling salted water for 7 to 9 minutes, until tender. Drain and transfer to a large serving bowl. Add the roasted vegetables to the pasta, scraping all the liquid and seasonings from the roasting pan into the pasta bowl.

For the dressing, combine the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper and pour on the pasta and vegetables. Let cool to room temperature, then add the scallions, pignolis, feta, and basil. Check the seasonings, and serve at room temperature.

I tend to double-triple this recipe because it's so good. This last time, I used 2 eggplant, 3 red peppers, 3 yellow peppers, 2 onions, a lot of garlic, 1 green pepper, 1 container crimini mushrooms (quartered), and 1/2 butternut squash (cubed). I don't tend to add feta but LOVE the pine nuts so I used a whole bag (probably 1 lb). I don't measure the lemon juice that I add but I do cut back on the oil (probably 1/4 cup vs 1/3 cup).

Neighborly Gifts Part III- The Conclusion

2010-01-03T19:27:00.001-05:00

Part I
Part II

The last thing I included in my bag o'cookies for the neighbors was a handful of oreo truffles. For those who have not had these, you should definitely make them at some point! These are kind of like no-bake dessert-- the most time consuming part is dipping them in chocolate. Oreo truffles have been blogged about over and over. For fun ideas, check out http://www.bakerella.com/! I've also made cake balls from bakerella's blog as well and those were equally delicious! Seriously, if you haven't yet, check this woman out!

Oreo Truffles
Bakerella (adapted from Kraft recipe)

1 package oreo cookies (divided… use cookie including the cream center)
1 8oz. package cream cheese (softened)
chocolate bark/ baking chocolate/ chocolate melts

1. Finely crush 7 cookies in a food processor or place them in a ziploc bag and crush into a fine consistency. Reserve for later.

2. Crush remaining cookies and stir in softened cream cheese. Use the back of a large spoon to help mash the two together.

3. Roll the mixture into 1″ balls and place on wax paper covered cookie sheet.

4. Melt chocolate as directed on the package and then dip balls into chocolate, tap off extra and set aside on wax paper covered cookie sheet to dry. You can sprinkle the tops with the 7 crushed cookies for decoration. (I usually eat mine before they make it to this stage.) I dipped mine in white chocolate and then drizzed red chocolate over them (add a few drops of canola oil to thin the chocolate out to drizzle). I also rolled a few in crushed oreo instead of dipping them in chocolate.

5. Once dry, refrigerate and enjoy!

Makes about 36 truffles.

Neighborly Gifts Part II

2009-12-30T10:00:00.001-05:00

I knew I wanted a chocolate cookie to include in my neighborly holiday package and wanted something more than the standard chocolate chip cookies. I'd saved a few recipes for chocolate crinkle cookies yet I'd never actually had one! I wasn't truly happy with this recipe as it just did not contain enough chocolate for me. I added melted chocolate to my dough because it just didn't look dark enough. I think I'd add more than I did next time... or I might try another recipe! They were still pretty good though!

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
adapted from Brownies for Dinner

1/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4 tbsp canola oil
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
2+ ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
powdered sugar for rolling

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Blend butter & sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at at time and mix until smooth. Add cocoa powder, canola oil and mix. In a separate bowl, combine baking powder, salt and flour and add slowly add to mixture until just combined. Melt chocolate slowly in microwave and fold in to mixture.

Refrigerate cookie dough for 2+hours (or overnight). Roll dough into small balls (~1/2 to 1 inch) and roll in powdered sugar. Place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, 2 inches apart.

Bake for 12-15 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Neighborly Gifts Part 1

2009-12-28T10:21:00.004-05:00

I decided to break out the neighborly cheer and make some goodies for my neighbors... one of my neighbors never answer his door so his cookies were brought in to my work holiday party! I spent last weekend baking up a storm... I made lemon-poppyseed cookies, chocolate crinkle cookies, oreo truffles and peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies (I think I forgot to photograph these-- next time!).

My first love is chocolate so I don't end up making many non-chocolate cookies or desserts of any kind. I had seen a lemon poppyseed cookie recipe a while back and bookmarked it... in the attempts to broaden my tastes. I think they turned out pretty well, very lemony... I just need to work on the icing a bit to make it less watery (perhaps I should at least measure how much lemon juice next time!)

Lemon Poppyseed Cookies
Baking Bites

1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp lemon zest
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp poppyseeds

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy. Beat in egg.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to wet ingredients and mix until just combined, then stir in poppyseeds. Drop by 1-inch balls onto prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 9-11 minutes, until cookies are set and just begin to brown at the edges (the bottoms may be lightly browned, but not the top of the cookies)

Cool for 1-2 minutes on the baking sheet, then remove to a wire rack to cool before glazing.

Lemon Glaze
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
2-3 tbsp lemon juice

Whisk together juice and sugar until icing is a smooth, pourable consistency. Add additional juice if yours is too thick to drizzle easily or additional sugar if it is too thick.

Drizzle over cookies. Cookies should not be hot, but it is ok if they are not completely at room temperature before frosting.

Cookies must be cooled to room temperature before being stored.

Makes 2 dozen.

Mint + Chocolate = Awesomeness

2009-12-21T10:00:00.001-05:00

Last year, I was at the market and stumbled across Andes Mint Baking Chips... I thought in that moment, I had died and gone to heaven. I couldn't wait to get home and test those puppies out! I searched for recipes that already had mint chips in them and nothing tickled my fancy.

One of the first places I look to for recipes is the King Arthur site... and they pulled through like a champ! I've made these cookies probably a dozen times now and they are one of my favorites!

Andes Mint/ Chocolate Chip Cookies
adapted from King Arthur Drop Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar, light or dark, packed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 large egg
3/4 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
3/4 cup King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chip morsels
1 cup Andes Mint baking chips
Directions
1) Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease two baking sheets, or line with parchment.
2) Beat together the butter, sugars, salt, vanilla, baking soda, and baking powder till well combined.
3) Add the egg, beating till smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl, and beat again till smooth.
4) Add the flour, mixing it in completely.
5) Beat in the milk, then the chips.
6) Drop the cookies by the traditional "tablespoonful" (actually about 2 measuring tablespoons) onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2" apart. A tablespoon cookie scoop works well here.
7) Bake the cookies for 14 to 16 minutes, until they're a light golden brown, and a bit darker around the edges.
8) Remove them from the oven, and cool right on the baking sheets.

The Making of a Meringue

2009-12-18T10:00:00.009-05:00

I lost my camera battery charger... so until I find it, I am protesting cooking & baking... I'm really hoping it shows up soon! I think I only have a few more saved pictures to use as back-up until it resurfaces.

My BFF Kelly has passed along another fabulous recipe which her mother taught her how to make... meringues can be tricky and tempermental to make. Before I had my amazing saving-grace of a kitchenaid mixer, it was pretty impossible for me to get egg whites to the right consistency. This was my first time making them in a while so I still need to improve on them, but they are pretty darn good!

Meringues ala Joni S.
4 egg whites (best at room temperature)
1 1/2 cup sugar (start with 1 cup and continue up to 1/2 cup additional)
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
12 oz chocolate chips (or whatever additives you like!)

Preheat oven to 300.

I find it easier to separate eggs when they are cold but it's easier to whip the eggs when they are at room temperature... so you if you separate them and then prep/ do some dishes for a half hour, that should be enough time to let them come to room temperature.

Whip egg whites until stiff, then gradually add sugar. Fold in remaining ingredients. Bake for 25 mins on parchement paper or brown paper bag.

I'm planning on making them with andes mint baking chips soon! You can substitute whatever you want and I'm sure it will taste great.

I hate the smell of bananas...

2009-12-16T10:00:00.007-05:00

but I love banana bread! I peel the bananas really quickly so that I can get through the nastiness that is the banana smell. I've modified the recipe that my mom always made from The Silver Palate Cookbook. I'm really particular about the condition of bananas when I eat them so I tend to have a bunch in the freezer- once they are ripe (more than the perfect yellow, non-bruised banana), I won't eat them, so I tend to make a lot of bread!

Banana Bread
adapted from The Silver Palate

1 stick of unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (I use 3-4 whole bananas)
2 cups flour (1 cup all purpose; 1 cup white whole wheat)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt (I use less)
1/2 cup sour cream (or buttermilk)
1 tsp vanilla
1/8+ tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp flaxseed, optional (I didn't grind it up, just threw it in whole)

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Spray 2 loaf pans with cooking spray (you could make 1 large one instead)
3. Cream butter & sugar together.
4. Add eggs and beat well.
5. Add mashed bananas, mixing thoroughly.
6. Sift dry ingredients and add to banana mixture. Stir until just combined.
7. Add sour cream (buttermilk), vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon & flaxseed and mix until just combined.
8. Pour into prepared pans and bake 25-30 minutes or until knife comes out clean. This time, I baked the loafs for at least 35 minutes-- it still looked pretty gooey when I the buzzer sounded at 25 minutes.

These also make great muffins, both of which freeze well. With the muffins, I freeze them and pop one into the toaster in the morning. It's a great breakfast on the go!

Not the "lesser babka"...

2009-12-14T10:00:00.010-05:00

To humor my husband, I'm using a Seinfeld reference! He will be so proud.
Happy Hanukkah!!! Our family had our celebration today-- my mom made latkes & applesauce-- both of which are always so good!

I made coffee cake again, this time correctly, with eggs... now that's what it's supposed to look like!

The other night, I was reading my Cooking Light magazine and saw a recipe for chocolate babka... I debated whether or not to make it since I already planned on the coffee cake but I'm glad I did. It was a lot of work and I felt the directions were kind of confusing, but it turned out to be pretty good!

Chocolate Babka
Cooking Light

Dough:
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
3/4 cup warm ~~1% low-fat milk~~ (105° to 110°) skim milk (it's all I had)
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten
7.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 2/3 cups), divided
5.85 ounces bread flour (about 1 1/4 cups)
5 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces and softened
Cooking spray

Filling:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 ounces ~~semisweet~~ bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

Streusel:
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon butter, softened

Preparation

1. Dissolve 1 teaspoon granulated sugar and yeast in warm milk in the bowl of a stand mixer; let stand 5 minutes. Stir in 6 tablespoons granulated sugar, vanilla extract, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and egg yolk. Weigh or lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add 6 ounces (about 1 1/3 cups) all-purpose flour and bread flour to milk mixture; beat with dough hook attachment at medium speed until well blended (about 2 minutes). Add 5 tablespoons butter, beating until well blended. Scrape dough out onto a floured surface (dough will be very sticky). Knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes); add 1.5 ounces (about 1/3 cup) all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will be very soft).

I found these directions challenging-- I ended up kneading the dough completely with the mixer but I think it does need to be kneaded by hand more next time.
2. Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size. (Gently press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, dough has risen enough.) Punch dough down; cover and let dough rest 5 minutes.

3. Line the bottom of a 9 x 5–inch loaf pan with parchment paper; coat sides of pan with cooking spray.

4. To prepare filling, combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, salt, and chocolate in a medium bowl; set aside.

5. Place dough on a generously floured surface; roll dough out into a 16-inch square. Sprinkle filling over dough, leaving a 1/4-inch border around edges. Roll up dough tightly, jelly-roll fashion; pinch seam and ends to seal. Holding dough by ends, twist dough 4 times as if wringing out a towel. Fit dough into prepared pan. Cover and let rise 45 minutes or until doubled in size.

6. Preheat oven to 350°.

7. To prepare streusel, combine powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, and 1 tablespoon softened butter, stirring with a fork until mixture is crumbly; sprinkle streusel evenly over dough. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until loaf is browned on bottom and sounds hollow when tapped. Cool bread in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool bread completely on wire rack before slicing.
I don't have a thermometer so I couldn't tell the temperature of the milk... I just guessed, which I'm assuming could affect the yeast. I also didn't have patience to let the dough rise enough since it took longer than I planned. In the end, it tasted really good, but definitely could have been lighter (less dense)!

Look at the chocolate oozing out of it!

Leftover apple pie ingredients

2009-12-10T12:00:00.009-05:00

I had some leftover dough from the apple pie from Thanksgiving and I wanted to use it up before it went bad. I decided to make an apple turnover! It was a really nice treat!

Apple Turnover

Leftover pie dough from apple pie
2 cups sliced apples
1/4 cup sugar
cinnamon, nutmeg & allspice
butter

Preheat oven to 375.

Roll out dough into a circle. Mix sliced apples with sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg & allspice. Place apples on half of the dough circle. Top with slices of butter and fold dough over the apple mixture. Fold the bottom layer of dough over the top and crimp closed. Brush with egg whites. Cut a few vent holes in the top. Place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 35 minutes or until golden brown.

Wild Rice is hard to find!

2009-12-09T12:00:00.054-05:00

My BFF, Kelly, is an awesome cook... she is one of the people I aspire to be like because she creates meals without a recipe in front of her! I'm starting to do that more often but she is just an incredible cook and a truly great friend.

Photo from our rehearsal dinner

Kelly has told me all about her mushroom and wild rice soup that she creates... I'm always hounding her for her recipes-- she told me a bit about what how she makes it and I found a similar recipe on one of the blogs I follow so I mixed the two together. I had heard that Wild Rice was relatively hard to locate so I stopped at Whole Foods thinking that would be my best option... their bags of exotic wild rice were a ridiculous price! I walked out of there with a box of Near East Long Grain & Wild Rice. On the way home, I ran into Market Basket to grab an onion that I forgot on my first trip and decided to breeze down the rice aisle to see what they had. Low & behold, they had Reese Wild Rice which happens to be perfect since Kelly is originally from Minnesota, just like the rice! Kelly has also told me about her sweet potato biscuits that she has made several times and how she loves them. I came across a recipe for sweet potato rolls the other day so I knew I needed to try it.

Wild Rice & Mushroom Soup
based on my BFF Kelly's recipe & Sweet Cheeks in the Kitchen

olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup leek, chopped
2-3 tbsp butter
1 cup + 4 tsp dry white wine
4-5 carrots, peeled & sliced
3 celery sticks, sliced
12ish crimini mushrooms, sliced (you can use whatever & how ever many mushrooms you want)
5ish shitake mushrooms, sliced
1 large portabello mushroom, sliced
1 package wild rice, cooked
6 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp oregano
basil, cumin, chili powder, salt & pepper to taste
4 tsp flour

Sprinkle olive oil in a pot on medium heat. Add onions, garlic & leeks- cook for about 10 minutes. Add butter and stir. Add carrots & celery, cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and let sit for a few minutes. Add wine and simmer for 5 minutes. Add broth & spices, bring mixture to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Mix flour & remaining wine together. Add flour-wine mixture and rice, bring mixture to a boil again and let simmer for another 15 minutes. Salt & pepper to taste.

Sweet Potato Rolls
Recipe from http://backtothecuttingboard.com/; adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients
2 1/4 tsp. (1 package) RapidRise yeast (you can use normal active dry yeast, but this is much faster)
2 tbsp. white sugar, divided
1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
4 tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 cup fresh, cooked and pureed sweet potatoes or canned sweet potato puree (I used fresh)
3 tbsp. margarine, softened
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs, slightly beaten
5 cups flour, or however much you need (I used 4 1/2ish cups)

Directions

Dissolve yeast, warm water, and 1 tbsp. white sugar in a large mixing bowl. Let stand 5 minutes.
Add remaining sugar, sweet potato, butter, salt, and eggs. Mix well. I used my stand mixer, because I think I think it’s easier to mix bread in it, but you can still make this without a mixer.
Add in 4-5 cups of flour. The goal should be to get it form into a ball, but that never really happened for me. I think I had about 4 1/2 cups of flour and switched to the dough hook of my mixer and mixed for a few minutes to get it smooth. Turn out on a very floured surface and knead lightly for a few minutes. If you mixed with a dough hook you shouldn’t need to do this for too long/at all. The goal is to get smooth dough. Shape into a ball and place in an oiled bowl, turning to coat the surface. Cover and let rise about 1 hour or longer (shouldn’t need more than an hour with the RapidRise yeast, but if you have time to let it sit longer, that’s better because it will develop more flavor). Alternately, you should be able to make these the night before and let them rise slowly in the fridge. Take them out of the fridge the next day and let stand for an hour before proceeding.
Punch down, and allow dough to rest for 2 minutes. Divide into 16 to 20 balls (it was still sticky, so I had to make sure my hands were covered in flour the whole time), and place on a greased cookie sheet or in a 9×13 inch pan. Allow to rise until doubled.
Bake at 375 degrees (F) for 12 to 20 minutes (depends on how big you made them). Serve warm, topped with butter.

Makes 16-20 rolls

I only baked 3 of these and froze the rest! I'm excited to have them another time. I really really liked them!!!

Fettucini, Chicken & Broccoli Quick Dinner

2009-12-08T12:00:00.008-05:00

This is a quick & easy dinner that you can whip together in 20 minutes! On the way home from the gym, I realized we didn't have dinner figured out. I ran into Market Basket & grabbed 4 ingredients and headed home.

Fettucini, Chicken & Broccoli

1 pkg whole wheat fettucini
1 chicken roaster (Market Basket has great Perdue roasters!)
2 heads broccoli
1 lemon, juiced & zested
garlic salt to taste

Boil water & cook fettucini as directed.

Steam broccoli (or prepare as you like).

Shred chicken in a large bowl, add fresh lemon juice. Combine broccoli, fettucini & chicken and mix together with lemon zest. Sprinkle garlic salt to taste. Enjoy with a nice glass of wine!

Eggs are essential...

2009-12-07T12:00:00.017-05:00

Otherwise, your coffee cake will look like this:

Update: Here is a slice of coffee cake WITH eggs in it.

Last weekend, a group of high school friends had a brunch get-together. I offered to bring a few baked goods and spent the morning baking. I made Raspberry Pecan Muffins, the coffee cake pictured above and chocolate-chocolate chunk muffins. The coffee cake was a hit, even missing the eggs... the eggs would have held it together a bit more & made it fluffier but it still tasted good!

World's Best Coffee Cake
The Uncommon Gourmet's All Occassion Cookbook

Recipe:
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
1 tbsp dried grated orange peel
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted (Danimal doesn't like nuts in his baked goods, so I omitted)
cinnamon-sugar for garnish

Combine the sour cream and baking soda and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a 9 inch tube pan (I use a bundt pan).

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla, and orange peel and beat well.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the sour cream to the batter.

Mix in the chocolate chips and nuts. Spoon into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the top generously with cinnamon-sugar.

Bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove to a rack and serve warm, or let cool and serve at room temperature.

12 or more servings

Chocolate Chocolate-Chunk Muffins
Smells Like Home
Original source: Dorie Greenspan, Baking: From My Home to Yours

3/4 stick (6 tbsp) unsalted butter
~~4oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped~~ 1 cup chocolate chunk pieces (Nestle)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 large egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 (350 for a dark nonstick pan) degrees F. Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups. Alternatively, use a silicone muffin pan, which needs neither greasing nor paper cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

Melt the butter and half of the chopped chocolate together in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water; or do this in a microwave. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk the buttermilk, egg and vanilla extract together until well combined. Pour the liquid ingredients and the melted butter and chocolate over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don’t worry about being thorough – a few lumps are better than overmixing the batter. Stir in the remaining chopped chocolate. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake for about 20 18 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.

Thanksgiving Recap Continued

2009-12-06T21:05:00.002-05:00

In an attempt to recap the rest of Thanksgiving, here is my plate:

We had an incredible amount of food and each dish just complemented the rest! It was a great evening and I am already looking forward to next year! My mom and I made popovers from a recipe she received from a friend... through a quick good search, I believe I found the original recipe... so hopefully I credited it right! My absolute favorite dish is candied sweet potatoes from a recipe my aunt's mother used to make. I just love it!

My mom's BFF helped prep basil, julienne style, for our broccoli dish... look at what a great job she did!

Popovers
I believe it's Laurent Tourondel's BLT recipe...
12 to 14 popovers

Ingredients:
4 cups milk (warmed)
8 large eggs
4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/4 cup grated gruyere cheese

Directions:

Place the popover pan in the oven. Heat the oven and pan to 350F.
Gently warm the milk over low heat and set aside.
Whisk egg until frothy and slowly whisk in the milk (so as not to cook the eggs). Set the mixture aside.
Sift the flour with the salt. Slowly add this mixture and gently combine until mostly smooth. Once the mixture and gently combine until mostly smooth. We mixed all the gruyere into the batter by mistake but it tasted really good that way.
Once combined remove the popover pan from the oven and spray with non-stick vegetable spray. While the batter is slight warm or room temperature, fill each popover cup with 3/4 full.
Top each popover with approximately 2 1/2 Tbsp. of grated gruyere. (We omitted this step as it was mixed in the batter.)
Bake at 350F for 50 minutes, rotating pan half a turn after 15 minutes of baking.
Remove from the oven, remove from the pan and serve immediately

Look at how light & fluffy they are!

Candied Sweet Potatoes

recipe from Mary Nevius (my aunt's mother)

6 medium sweet potatoes

1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp grated orange rind (or cinnamon)
chopped walnuts

Boil sweet potatoes, with skins on, for about 30 minutes or until you can pierce with a fork. Once cooked, peel potatoes & cut lengthwise.

Combine butter, brown sugar, juice, salt & rind/ cinnamon and add to an electric skillet.

Bring mixture to a boil, stirring about 2 min. Add sweet potatoes to syrup & simmer 10 min spooning syrup over potatoes & turning. Serve hot, garnish w/ chopped walnuts.

I couldn't get a photograph of these that could capture the incredible goodness these potatoes are....

Thanksgiving Recap

2009-11-29T21:27:00.003-05:00

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving has come and gone... at least we have some reminders of the day in our fridge that we are slowly enjoying. My parents hosted our family, my uncles, cousin and our family friends. After work on Wednesday, I rushed home to start cooking my share of the meal. Wednesday night, I made an apple pie, be it not the prettiest apple pie, but it tasted great. I learned that the oven time is NOT an alarm clock. I set it and lay down, thinking I'd just shut my eyes and rest while it was cooking... well, the timer went off and I must have been in a deep sleep because it did not register. The pie is cooked, not completely overdone, but definitely cooked more than I had wanted it to. After a great nights sleep, Thursday morning, I made spinach & artichoke stuffing. When I arrived at my parents house, I made the garlic roasted mashed potatoes. I also helped my mother with popovers! We had a gorgeous and delicious spread of food to consume. It was a great evening with family and friends.

Apple Pie
King Arthur

Crust

2 1/2 cups Mellow Pastry Blend or King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter
1/2 cup plus 1 to 2 tablespoons ice water

Filling
8 cups sliced apples
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 cup ~~boiled cider or~~ undiluted apple juice concentrate
2 tablespoons butter, diced in small pieces

Directions
1) In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.
2) Cut in the shortening until it's in lumps the size of small peas.
3) Dice the butter into 1/2" pieces, and cut into the mixture until you have flakes of butter the size of your fingernail.

4) Add the water, two tablespoons at a time, mixing with a fork as you sprinkle the water into the dough
5) When the dough is moist enough to hold together when you squeeze it, transfer it to a piece of wax or parchment paper. It's OK if there are some dry spots in the pile. Use a spray bottle of water to lightly spritz these places; that way you'll add just enough water to bring the dough together without creating a wet spot.
6) Fold the dough over on itself three or four times to bring it together, then divide it in half and pat it into two disks 3/4" thick.
7) Roll the disk on its edge, like a wheel, to smooth out the edges. This step will ensure your dough will roll out evenly, without a lot of cracks and splits at the edges later. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling.
8) Lightly grease a 9-inch pie pan that's at least 2 inches deep. This will make serving the pie easier after it's baked.
9) Combine the sliced apples and lemon juice in a large mixing bowl. I sliced the apples really thin as suggested on the KAF website. It makes the slices look nice and clean and I personally think it tastes better.
10) In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cornstarch, salt, and spices. Sprinkle the mixture over the apples, and stir to coat them. Stir in the boiled cider or apple juice concentrate.

11) Roll out half of the pastry to a 13" circle. Transfer it to the prepared pan, and trim the edges so they overlap the rim of the pan by an inch all the way around.

12) Spoon the apple filling into the pan. Dot the top with the diced butter.

13) Roll out the remaining pastry to an 11" circle. Cut decorative vent holes, if desired. Carefully place the pastry over the apples.
14) Time to preheat the oven to 425°F.
15) Roll the overhanging bottom crust up and over the top crust, pinching to seal the two.

16) Flute the edges of the pie, then place it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to firm up the crust while the oven finishes heating.

17) Place the pie on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake the pie for 20 minutes at 425°F, then reduce the oven temperature to 375°F and bake for 40 minutes more, until you see the filling bubbling inside the pie. Check the pie after half an hour of baking time, and cover the edges with foil or a pie shield to keep them from browning too quickly.
18) When the pie is done, remove it from the oven and cool it completely before slicing.

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

1 head of garlic
5 lbs Yukon Gold pototoes
1 container Cabot sour cream
2 sticks Cabot unsalted butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

Slice of the top of the head of garlic. Wrap in tin foil and roast in an oven for 50-70 minutes at 375.

Wash and peel the potatoes. Slice in 4 sections and place them in a stock pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until cooked. Test with a fork after about 13 minutes.

Drain the water, and return the potatoes back to the pot. Using a potato masher, encorporate the sour cream, butter and roasted garlic cloves until you get the a creamy and garlicy flavor. I used the whole container of sour cream and about 14 tbsp butter and about 10 or so garlic cloves. Salt & pepper to taste. I estimated how much I used but I don't like my potatoes too salty or peppery.

Stay tuned for posts about the popovers and a few other dishes!

Friends Thanksgiving

2009-11-22T21:46:00.003-05:00

Every year for the past 4 years, a friend has hosted an annual "Friends Thanksgiving" where she gathers friends and has a feast of epic proportions. Everyone brings a dish to contribute and it is a nice smorgesborg. Several people now have standard dishes they are expected to bring.

Four years ago, I made a recipe at the suggestion of my sister and it has been a hit. Savory Spinach & Artichoke Stuffing is pretty great recipe as it is... I've only made a few adjustments but nothing huge. It's relatively labor intensive but I now have a system after making it so many times soI just get antsy because I can't wait to dig in!

Savory Spinach & Artichoke Stuffing
Emeril Lagasee Food Network

Ingredients
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 1/2 pounds spinach, washed (3 cups cooked and roughly chopped)
2 cups chopped yellow onions ends up being 1 onion
1 tablespoon roughly chopped garlic
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons Emeril's Italian Essence, or other Italian seasoning blend
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
3 (8 1/2-ounce) cans quartered artichoke hearts, any tough outer leaves removed
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups ~~heavy cream~~ light cream
2 cups chicken ~~stock~~ broth
2 tablespoons lemon juice
12 to 14 cups cubed (1-inch) day-old French bread (1 loaf)
1 pound Brie, rind removed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes 1 small (8 oz) round, regular Brie; 1 small (7oz) round, light Brie
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 13-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add the spinach and cook until just wilted, about 30 seconds. Drain and rinse with cold water. Once cool, squeeze as much water from spinach as possible, then roughly chop, and reserve. I take a small handful of spinach, wrap it in a paper towel, and squeeze the water out. You can also use a clean dish cloth and twist to squeeze the water out.

I haven't found an easy way to remove the rinds besides using a long, sharp knife (not a Santakou knife) and a peeler. I didn't use a peeler this time but I have in the past and it's worked ok. The brie tends to melt easily so it's best to work fast and keep refrigerated until ready to use.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until golden brown and tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, 2 teaspoons of Italian Essence, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the artichokes and cook, stirring, another 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and reserve.

Combine the eggs, cream, chicken broth, lemon juice, remaining 1 tablespoon Italian Essence, remaining 2 teaspoons salt, and remaining 1 teaspoon pepper in a bowl. Whisk to combine. In a large bowl or stock pot, combine the bread, spinach, artichoke mixture, brie, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and parsley and mix together. Add the liquid mixture to the bread/spinach/ artichoke mixture. If bread does not absorb all of liquid immediately then let rest until this happens, about 20 minutes.
Pour the bread pudding mixture into the prepared dish. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan over the top and drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Bake until firm in the center and golden brown, about 1 hour. Serve warm.

This picture was before being cooked

I thought I took a larger picture after it was cooked but I guess I didn't! I will update with better pictures after Thanksgiving when I make it again.

Channeling My Nana Ruby

2009-11-19T23:26:00.006-05:00

My Nana Ruby is the person I picture when I am baking. She was an incredible baker, who made all our birthday cakes, bat/ bar mitzvah cakes and my parents wedding cake. She also had a killer apple pie! I remember sitting on a stool as a young kid and peeling apples... but I had to peel it in one piece and leave as much meat on the apple as possible. Nana Rubs also had this amazing chocolate cake that was our favorite. She called it Mississippi Mud Cake. Unfortunately Nana Ruby never wrote her recipes down and it was too late by the time we thought to ask her for it. I've been on a mission to replicate her Mississippi Mud Cake for a while... when I look for recipes called "Mississippi Mud Cake" it is definitely not what she made. We think she may have used part of the Hershey recipe so here I am...

Two of my coworkers are celebrating their 60th birthdays this year and my department is throwing a surprise party for them on Friday. I offered to make the cake. My goal for the winter is to take a cake decorating class so I can learn proper decorating techniques. All and all I think it turned out well. I'll update with pictures of a cake slice once we cut into it :)

Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake
http://www.hersheys.com/

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Directions:
Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

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.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

Chocolate Ganache Fillling
3 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
4 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 tbsp butter

Chop chocolate and place in a bowl. Heat cream & butter on the stove. When cream boils, pour over chocolate and mix. I used a mixer to whip it for a bit as well.

Cake with a thick layer of whipped chocolate ganache

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
http://www.hersheys.com/

6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
2-2/3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa or HERSHEY'S SPECIAL DARK Cocoa
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Beat butter in medium bowl. Add powdered sugar and cocoa alternately with milk; beat to spreading consistency (additional milk may be needed). Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

Here is my pathetic attempt at cake decorating! Hopefully this doesn't get submitted to CakeWrecks- such a horrible job decorating... it was past 11pm at this point and I was a little delirious & hopped up on frosting!

This is the best picture I was able to take at the birthday celebration...

Yummm.... Pancakes!

2009-11-15T10:44:00.003-05:00

Danimal woke up this morning to a smell of something baking... he ran to the oven to see what muffins I whipped up. He came sulking out of the kitchen with the knowledge that I did not bake for him but that I made another batch of pumpkin pie biscuits for the pup. Therefore I was feeling guilty and made him some pancakes using some leftover buttermilk.

Oatmeal Pancakes
adapted from recipe received in middle school home-ec class

1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
~~1/2 cup flour~~
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
3/4 cup fat-free buttermilk
1/4 cup skim milk
~~1 tbsp sugar~~
3/4 tbsp agave nectar
1 squirt of honey (may not be necessary)
2 TB vegetable oil
1 tsp. Baking powder
1/2 tsp. Baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 egg

Beat all ingredients in a medium bowl with a hand beater until smooth (for thinner pancakes, stir in 2-4 TB of additional milk)

Using a non-stick skillet, lightly spray with cooking oil (or small dab of butter) and heat over medium-low heat. Pour about 1/4 cup batter onto the hot pan.

Cook until pancakes are puffed and dry around edges. Turn and cook other sides until golden brown. Serve with applesauce if desired.

Makes 10-12 pancakes.

Friday Night Simplicity

2009-11-13T21:48:00.002-05:00

After a long week at work, the last thing I want to do is spend Friday evening making dinner... Taco Salad is a quick and easy dinner to prepare in less than 20 minutes. This is a great dish for a light summer dinner and has the ability to be made year-round as the ingredients tend to be readily available. This has been a staple in my family's life for a long time!

Taco Salad
1 lb ground turkey (93/7)
1 pkg taco seasoning mix (low sodium)
1 head lettuce (or 1 bag of prewashed lettuce)
1 cucumber
1 box grape tomatoes (or regular tomato)
1 red or green bell pepper, chopped
1 can black beans (or kidney beans, or both!), drained & rinsed
1 can whole kernal corn
1 avocado
bag of doritos (we used baked doritos)
Fat-Free Thousand Island dressing

In a pan, brown the meat. Drain excess liquid and add seasoning mix and water as directed by the package of seasoning mix. Cook til completed.

Slice tomatoes in half, length-wise. Peel cucumber & slice into rounds. I slice the rounds in half again so they are half-moon shaped. Drain & rinse the black beans & corn. Slice avocado, chop the bell pepper. Combine these ingredients plus lettuce in a large bowl.

Add ground turkey meat and mix together. Serve with crumbled doritos and Thousand Island dressing. We notice that the lettuce wilts faster if the dressing is added to it and the doritos get soggy. If you are planning on having leftovers, keep the doritos & dressing separate and mix as you go.

The most non-photogenic meal ever.

2009-11-12T21:37:00.003-05:00

I've been busy this week! Monday evening was spent at the vet and then baking cookies to thank the clinic. Tuesday, I baked a Tollhouse Cookie Pie and a coffee cake for our friends and their family. The cookie pie recipe is on the fritz and I need to play with it to get it to work right. I ended up keeping that one because it didn't pass inspection. I didn't take any pictures so I'll make the coffee cake again soon and post about it- it sure is yummy!

I spotted two recipes recently that enticed me and I wanted to try them out. Danimal looooooves artichokes so I knew I needed to test out Artichoke Chicken. The other, couscous with butternut squash & cranberry salad sounded like something I'd enjoy. All in all it was a decent dinner but I wasn't thrilled with the results.

Artichoke Chicken
Adapted from allrecipes.com

1 (15 oz) can of artichokes, drained & chopped
~~3/4 cup~~ 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
~~3/4 cup~~ 1/2 cup mayonnaise
~~1 pinch garlic powder~~ 3 garlic cloves, chopped
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (my package had 3)
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

In a medium bowl, mix together the artichoke hearts, Parmesan cheese, mayonnaise, garlic, and mushrooms. Place chicken in a greased baking dish, and cover evenly with artichoke mixture.

Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until chicken is no longer pink in the center and juices run clear.

This recipe was just ok. I'm not a fan of creamy chicken dishes but I wanted to see how it could work. The chicken was moist and had a decent flavor but nothing great. Danimal rated it a 6 out of 10. I probably wouldn't make this again.

Quinoa Salad with Butternut Squash and Cranberries

adapted from Erin's Food Files (http://erinsfoodfiles.blogspot.com/2009/10/cous-cous-salad-with-butternut-squash.html ) which was adapted from TheKitchn
Makes about 5 servings

1 medium butternut squash (or other hard winter squash), peeled* and cut into 1-inch chunks
~~3/4 cup uncooked cous cous~~ 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
~~1 cup water~~ 2 cups water
1 onion, diced
4-5 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
Zest of one orange
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cumin
1-3 teaspoons salt--to taste
1 can garbanzo beans--rinsed & drained
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. Toss squash with a bit of olive oil and spread on a baking sheet. Roast squash, stirring occasionally, until tender - -about 30 minutes. Allow to cool before combining with other ingredients.

Cook quinoa as directed (my bag said add quinoa & water in saucepan, bring to a boil. Cover & simmer for 10-15 minutes). Fluff with a fork and set aside.

Saute onion in a skillet over medium-high heat until translucent. Set aside and allow to cool.

In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, olive oil, zest, spices, and 1 teaspoon of salt. In a large bowl, combine squash, quinoa, onions, garbanzo beans, and cranberries. Pour on the vinegar-oil dressing and stir to combine. Taste to check seasoning and add salt if needed. This salad can be served room temperature or cold.

I had never had quinoa before tonight and wanted to see how it would work with this recipe. I liked it but I think this recipe would be better and more substantial with couscous (as it originally called for)... next time I'm going to try it with Israeli couscous if I can find it at the store. Danimal wasn't a fan but he doesn't like butternut squash or dried cranberries.

A Tollhouse Bribe

2009-11-09T21:51:00.004-05:00

I'm feeling a tad bit guilty right now. I took ninja kitty to the vet for his 2nd round of shots and stinky dog came along for the ride. While I was waiting for ninja kitty to come back from the back room (I heard the staff back there playing with him because he is so much fun... he was long done with his shots) I asked if they wouldn't mind trimming Stinky's nails.

Well.... he got his nails cut... but not without a scene. Stinky has come a long way with the nail trims but he had a minor setback tonight. He sounded like he was being tortured and made a huge mess in the backroom(sorry but it's the basis of the story)... and they didn't even charge us for the torture. The guilt set in... and I made the decision to come home and bake some bribe cookies so they will love us again.

I just whipped up some tollhouse cookies and packed most of them away to drop off tomorrow on the way to work... the rest mysterious disappeared ;p

Bribe Cookies
The Nestle Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookie

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1 tsp cinnamon (or more!)

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the cinnamon. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Mine cooked about 11-12 minutes.

TGIF

2009-11-06T20:32:00.003-05:00

After a long week of work and crazy animals, it's nice to welcome in the weekend! Danimal is home from 10 days away! I needed a quick meal before I settled in for a long night of preparing a lecture I need to present tomorrow (yes, a Saturday!).

I whipped up Black Bean, Corn and Shrimp Salad with toasted pita chips. I love this meal- it's so easy & quick, yet zesty & colorful. I cut up whole wheat pita bread, first in half and then each half into 5 or 6 triangles, separating at the crease. I lay out the pita triangles in a single layer on a cookie sheet and lightly sprayed with olive oil spray and cooked it at 350 for about 7-9 minutes or until toasted.

Black Bean, Corn & Shrimp Salad
Cooking Light, July 2005)

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, divided
1 1/2 cups frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed
3/4 cup bottled salsa
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

Preparation

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.

Combine first 3 ingredients in a large bowl. Add shrimp; toss to coat.
Coat pan with cooking spray. Add shrimp; sauté 3 minutes or until done. Add 1 tablespoon lime juice. Remove shrimp from pan. Add corn to pan; sauté 1 minute. Stir in salsa, cilantro, and beans; cook 30 seconds or until thoroughly heated. Stir in 1 tablespoon lime juice. Serve shrimp over bean mixture.

Doggie Treats

2009-11-04T21:30:00.006-05:00

In an attempt to save my waistline, I took the evening off from baking treats for myself & decided to tackle doggie cookies. First off, I have the pickiest dog ever. He is ridiculous with his food. He eats sooooo slowly and scatters his food... sometimes in patterns (ie at my in-laws house, he tends to place them on the dark spots on the carpet... and my parents house, he tends to place them on the tile grout... and at our house, we've witnessed some pretty sophisticated shapes for a dog). I have a basket filled with treats and he only loves a select few. He will eventually eat the others but he doesn't gobble them down.

Needless to say, I was curious to see if he'd like homemade treats.... and he does!!!! He gobbled them down. Seriously gobbled. So this is a keeper. I brought them next door to Simon's girlfriend, Alli, and she enjoyed them as well.

Pumpkin Pie Biscuits
Beantown Tails November 2009 (http://www.tailsinc.com/)
Yields 30 biscuits

1 1/2 cup unbleached flour
1 cup rolled oats
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tbsp canola oil
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup natural unsalted peanut butter (I ran out of my Teddy PB so I used Skippy)
1/4 cup filtered water

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees
Measure the flour, rolled oats, baking powder, cinnamon, and ginger into a mixing bowl. Whisk until combined.
Make a well in the flour and add the canola oil. Mix on medium speed using a paddle attachment until crumbly. Add the pumpkin and peanut butter, and stir until combined.
Add the water all at once and mix until dough forms and all the ingredients are combined.
~~Turn the dough out onto a slightly floured surface and gently knead until dough is smooth and soft.~~ I used the Kitchen Aid mixer with the dough attachment and kneaded it for about 5 minutes until smooth and soft. Roll the dough 1/4-inch thick and cut the biscuits into desired shapes with cookie cutters.
Place the biscuits on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake 12-15 minutes until they are dry and firm to the touch. Turn the oven off and leave the biscuits in another 20-30 minutes. Remove them from the oven, cool them on a baking rack, and store them in a cookie tin.

Horrible picture but you can see the happiness in his face and his tongue lick saying "yummy!"!!

And just for laughs- two pics of the zoo enjoying the canned pumpkin!

Mmmmm Raspberries!

2009-11-04T21:28:00.003-05:00

Raspberries are awesome. Last night I made Raspberry Buttermilk Cake for a pick-me-up for my coworkers. I love this recipe- it's so quick & easy! I've tried it with strawberries too and you can definitely use any berry to make this scrumptious cake.

Raspberry Buttermilk Cake
http://smittenkitchen.com/ adapted from Gourmet, June 2009

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (optional)
1 large egg
1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 cup fresh raspberries (about 5 oz)

Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle. Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside. In a larger bowl, beat butter and 2/3 cup sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about two minutes, then beat in vanilla and zest, if using. Add egg and beat well.

At low speed, mix in flour mixture in three batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, and mixing until just combined.Spoon batter into cake pan, smoothing top. Scatter raspberries evenly over top and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar.

Bake until cake is golden and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool to warm, 10 to 15 minutes more. Invert onto a plate.

I place my raspberries in the batter so the hollow centers are exposed and place them in a circle from the outside towards the center.

My husband hates soup!

2009-11-02T20:26:00.003-05:00

So while he's away, I decided to bust out the immersion blender and try my hand at Butternut Squash Soup. I love butternut squash and I've been on a search for a healthy, no (or light dairy) soup recipe. I saw a recipe in September's Cooking Light and knew I had found something to work with. It turned out pretty nicely if I must say so myself. I was impressed with the thickness and felt it had good flavor. Update: I spoke to my husband and told him I made this soup and his response was "yucccckkkkkkk!". Good thing I made it while he's traveling!

Butternut Squash Soup
adapted from Cooking Light September 2009
1 tablespoon butter

3 1/2 cups cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
3/4 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
1 Granny Smith apple, chopped
2 1/2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup fat-free half-and-half
1/8 teaspoon salt
cinnamon & nutmeg, to taste

(note: I did not measure out my ingredients- I had more than 1 1/2 pounds of butternut squash so I added a bit more of each ingredient)

1. Melt butter in large saucepan on medium-high heat.
2. Add squash, carrot, onion & apple and cook for about 12-15 minutes.

3. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and add the half-and-half and salt.
5. If you have an immersion blender, combine the ingredients in the saucepan until smooth. If not, use a food processor and blend until smooth.
6. After blended, sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg to taste & mix to combine.

Next time, I may sprinkle toasted walnuts or pecans for some added excitement.

In Honor of November

2009-11-01T10:36:00.003-05:00

I woke up this morning craving something with pecans... now that it's officially November, it must be why. I love pecan pie! I made some whole wheat raspberry pecan muffins to celebrate the official start of pecan festivities. Since Danimal is still out of town for another 4 days, I get to enjoy these scrumptious delights myself! The raspberries and pecans combine to make a hearty and delicious muffin.

Raspberry Pecan Muffins
Makes 12 regular sized muffins
adapted from http://housewifery.blogspot.com/

~~1 cup all-purpose flour~~ 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
~~1/2 cup whole wheat flour~~ 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
~~1/4 tsp cinnamon~~ 1 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 1/4 cup fresh raspberries (coat with a tbsp of flour)
1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped

Preheat oven 350. Grease muffin tin (I use muffin liners); set aside.
Combine dry ingredients in a big bowl. In a smaller bowl, beat egg, milk, and melted butter together. Make hollow in the center of dry ingredients and add wet ingredients. Stir with wooden spoon until just blended. Gently fold in berries and pecans. Fill muffin tin and bake until tester comes out clean (20-25 mins).

A Social Work Get Together

2009-10-30T20:58:00.001-04:00

My coworkers and I try to get together after work every now and again to destress and connect outside of the hospital. I hosted my first gathering at our place last night and it was really fun. In preparing for it, I made Chipster-Topped Brownies and Spinach & Artichoke Dip Stuffed Mushrooms. Both were so yummy!

Spinach & Artichoke Dip Stuffed Mushrooms
(http://eatingwelllivingthin.wordpress.com/)

20-25 crimini or white mushrooms
4 ounces (1/2 pkg) reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup Hellman’s ~~or Best Foods mayo~~ Hellman's Light Mayonnaise
One 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, sqeezed to remove excess liquid and finely diced
1 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ~~Splenda~~ granulated sugar
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan (not shredded – the powdery fresh from the deli/cheese case)
Pinch cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wipe mushrooms clean; remove stems and gently scoop out the gills to make room for the filling.

In a large bowl combine the cream cheese, mayo, diced artichoke hearts, spinach, garlic, ~~Splenda~~ granulated sugar, Parmesan, and cayenne. Fill each mushroom cap with 1 tablespoon of dip mixture. Place on a baking sheet (with sides, as the mushrooms will release liquid) and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until mushrooms are soft and the filling is golden. Serve warm. Makes approx 10 servings of 2 pieces each.

This is the 2nd time I've made this dish. The first time was amazing! This time, the mushrooms were a bit soggy and I added an additional 1/2 clove of garlic. It was a little too much garlic (and I never say that). I find that using the handle end of a spoon works best for scooping out the mushrooms.

Chipster-Topped Brownies
(original recipe by Dorie Greenspan Baking: From my Home to Yours)

For the Brownie Layer:
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1 2/3 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

For the Cookie Layer:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or 1 cup store bought chocolate chip
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9x13 inch baking pan, line it with wax paper or parchment paper and butter the paper. Put the pan on a baking sheet.

To Make the Brownie Batter:
Put both chocolates and the butter in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Stirring occasionally, heat just until the ingredients are melted, shiny and smooth. If the mixture get too hot, the butter will separate from the chocolates. Remove the bowl from the heat.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the sugar and eggs on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes, until pale, thick and creamy. Beat in the salt and vanilla extract. Reduce the speed to low and mix in the melted chocolate and butter, mixing only until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then, still on low speed, add flour, mixing only until it disappears into the batter. Using the spatula, fold in the walnuts, and scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Set aside.

To Make the Cookie Dough:
Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
Working with the stand mixer in the cleaned bowl or with the hand mixer in another large bowl, beat the butter and both sugars together on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. One at a time, add the egg and the yolk, beating for 1 minutes after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear into the dough. Still on low, mix in the chopped chocolate. Drop the cookie dough by spoonfuls over the brownie batter and, using a spatula and a light touch, spread it evenly over the batter.

Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until the cookie top is deep gold brown and firm and a thin knife inserted into the brownie layer comes out with only faint streaks of moist chocolate. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool to room temperature.

When the brownies are completely cook, carefully run a knife between the sides of the pan and the brownies, then invert them onto another rack, remove the paper and turn the right side up onto a cutting board. Cut into bars about 2 inches x 1 inch. (You can cut larger bars if you're serving cookie lovers with Texas-size appetites.) I was extremely happy how these turned out! They were absolutely devine! I cooked them for the entire 55 minutes, the crust was a little crackly but that wasn't anything horrible and made for some yummy crumbs. I'm not really sure how to avoid the crust cracking like that. I did end up tenting w/foil to avoid the cookie layer from burning for the last 15 or so minutes.
Makes 24 servings.

The Maiden Voyage

2009-10-27T22:14:00.004-04:00

I discovered food blogs while wedding planning and fell.in.love. The photography, amazing meals and creations people came up with was inspiring! I felt blogging would be a great way to be more creative and test/ stretch my comfort level plus, try new recipes and the added bonus of trying to keep my kitchen clean (for pictures of course!). I do not eat red meats or pork, use very little dairy in my meals (low-fat/fat-free) and mostly whole-wheat products. My poor husband was a meat-and-potato man himself! Poor guy!

My husband, Danimal, and I were married in September 2008 while weakened Tropical Storm Hannah threatened our outdoor ceremony. We live in beautiful New England with our zoo of animals, Simon the Stinky & Dewey the Danger-kitten.

I am going to initiate this blog with an easy & relatively healthy meal of Eggplant Parm- My Way. Danimal is out of town for work & so I'm cooking for myself!

Eggplant Parm- Social Worker Style
Ingredients:
1 eggplant
Kosher salt
2 eggs (1 whole, 1 egg white)
bread crumbs (I use whole wheat)
whole wheat pasta
pasta sauce (bottled- I was in a hurry!)

Supplies:
Knife
Paper towels
Cookie sheets
Aluminum foil
Cooking Spray (Olive Oil)
2 small bowls
Pot for cooking pasta & sauce

Wash & dry the eggplant. Take a nice sharp knife and slice the eggplant into 1/4-1/2 inch rounds. Lay eggplant slices in a single layer on cookie sheets and sprinkle with kosher salt. Let sit for 10 minutes. The salt draws water out of the eggplant.

Take a paper towel, place an eggplant slice on it and fold the towel over. Squeeze gently to absorb some of the water. Put aside and repeat. Preheat oven to 350.

In one bowl, crack one egg and separate the yolk. Keep the egg white and add one whole egg and beat together. In the other bowl, pour in bread crumbs (I just eyeball- I estimate 1 1/2 cups, you can add more as you need it). Line a cookie sheet with tin foil & spray w/olive oil cooking spray (tin foil is option, I find it works better).

Dip eggplant slice in egg covering both sides, shake off excess. Then dip the eggplant slice in breadcrumbs and cover both sides. Place in a single layer on cookie sheet.

If you run out of egg mixture, just mix up more. Repeat dipping in the egg & breadcrumbs until you finish. Place in oven. Cook for 25-30 minutes, turning once, or until slightly browned.
Boil pasta as directed and heat up sauce. Combine as you like. I don't add cheese but feel free to & enjoy!