Experiments of an at-home cook

Rudolph!

2011-12-20T11:12:00.001-05:00

Beef Wellington and Cheese Pastellitos

2011-07-20T15:40:00.000-04:00

I'm on a roll! The success of Monday's cook-a-thon got me very excited for Tuesday night's attempts. Especially because I was flying solo on these: I had no real recipes. First up, Beef Wellington. I look at countless recipes, each one completely different than the other. so, I decided to just wing it. Traditionally, you use a fillet for these, but I didn't want to spend the money. So, I used really nice cuts of sirloin, and it turned out wonderful. I served them with sauteed spinach. Divine!

Recipes are below. I didn't get a pic of the pastellitos, because I gave them to my coworkers before I took the picture. I assure you, they were beautiful :)

Flaky goodness!

Beef Wellington

2 steaks (fillet or sirloin, up to your wallet), seasoned with salt and pepper

1/2 package of puff pastry, thawed

carton of mushrooms, I used baby portabellas, chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 c. dry white wine

1 tsp butter

1 tsp olive oil

salt and pepper

1 egg beaten with 1 tsp water

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Add oil and butter into a pot over medium heat. Once hot, add onions and garlic. Allow to cook for a few minutes then add mushrooms. Once veggies are tender, add salt, pepper, and wine. Cook for 10 minutes, then set aside.

In a preheated pan, cook steaks. Joe likes his medium, so those were cooked for a minute on each side. I like mine more well, so they got 3 minutes per side. Set the steaks aside to rest.

Roll out puff pastry and cut into 4 squares. Place a heaping teaspoon of the mushroom mixture in the middle of a square. Place steak on top of the mixture, then add an additional teaspoon of the mushrooms. Take a second square and place it on top. Seal edges with your fingers. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat with second steak. Brush each parcel with the egg wash. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the pastry is brown and an internal thermometer registers to your desired doneness.

Sauteed Spinach

1 bag of baby spinach

1 large white onion chopped

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp all spice

salt and pepper to taste

Sautee onion in the olive oil until they start to caramelize. Add spinach and spices. Cook until done, 15 minutes over medium heat. Easy!

Cheese Pastellitos

Again, this may be waaaay off base from any sort of authentic recipe. If so, my apologies. But I've eaten a ton of these over the years, and I think there were spot on.

2 packages of cream cheese

1/3 c sugar

3 tsp milk

1 tsp lemon juice

3 sheets of puff pastry

1 egg mixed with 1 tsp water

simple syrup ( 1/2 c water and 1/2 c sugar boiled)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Allow cream cheese to come to room temperature. Add cheese, milk, and lemon juice to the bowl of your mixer and beat for 3 minutes. While the mixer is still on, slowly add the sugar.

Roll out dough on a floured surface. Cut the dough in the shape of a cross. Then cut each square in half to make triangles. Place a heaping tsp of the cheese onto a triangle. Take a second triangle and cover it, sealing the pastry with your hands. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat until all of your dough is gone. Brush each parcel with the egg wash and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed and starting to brown. Remove pastries from the oven and brush with simple syrup. Sprinkle on additional syrup if you'd like (I did). Bake for 5 minutes, or until golden. Remove from oven and cool on a rack for 10 minutes.

30 by 30: the countdown continues

2011-07-19T23:21:00.000-04:00

The last post about my failed quiche really motivated me to kick it into gear this week!

Last night (after work, no less) I decided to tackle three things on my list. I made Julia Child's classic Boeuf Bourguignon, German Pretzel Bread, and Dulce de Leche Ice Cream. Being that I started pretty late after a run to the grocery store after work, I wasn't feeling overly confident that all components would work. But, for the sake of keeping my blog promise, I gave it my best...

Wow. It was just all so good. I don't even know what my favorite part was. The Boeuf Borguignon was so savory, and had layer upon layer of flavor. It was so worth the time. The pretzel bread had the most opportunities for disaster because I'm not very experienced with yeast breads. But, then again, that's why it was on my list. The bread was delicious. It had a salty, crunchy exterior, and the exterior was rich and doughy. A perfect compliment to the Boeuf, as it gave us something with which to sop up the extra sauce :)
Finally, the Dulce de Leche Ice Cream. I recently acquired an ice cream maker from a friend. And while it would have made the process easier, I would have had to freeze the barrel in advance. Since it was not fully frozen, the maker would not operate. Instead, I used the old fashioned meathod: Hand churning. This produced two outcomes: a light and irresistable ice cream, and a right arm so sore I could barely brush my teeth this morning. Oh well, all in the name of food!

Rather than typing out all three recipes here, I've included links below, followed by each recipes' picture. I'm very pleased with the first installment of this weeks' cook-a-thon. Stay tuned for tomorrow, I plan to try Beef Wellington and Cuban Pastellitos tonight!

Boeuf Borguignon

Pretzel Bread

Dulce de Leche Ice Cream

Sorry no pic for this one!

30 by 30: 5 days left

2011-07-18T11:52:00.001-04:00

30 by 30 Update:

Things are going...slowly with this project!
I don't even have a picture of this first thing I tried off of my list: Quiche. Two words to describe this experience:

EPIC FAIL.

I don't screw up in the kitchen all that often, so I was pretty peeved when my quiche didn't go as planned. Especially because I was to bring it to a tea party! A quick trip to Whole Foods fixed the problem, but their version was bland at best. Ugh. I will have to try this again! Why is it always the easy things that I can't seem to cook?!?

More experimentations to follow...

Seafood with Asian Slaw

2011-05-24T22:35:00.000-04:00

I haven't always really been into seafood. Slowly but surely, I've started to come around. This post has two seafood recipes I've made with Asian Slaw. The first is Roasted Shrimp with Asian Slaw. I love Asian Slaw. It's such an easy side dish on a weeknight. I use Broccoli Slaw, which comes prepacked in the produce section. The second is fish tacos. We are big fan of fish tacos, but I don't like that most places fry the fish. Not exactly a healthy option. I made mine with grilled fish, and it was very refreshing. I topped this

with the same Asian Slaw and they turned out very tasty! I would use flour tortillas next time, as we're not the biggest fan of the texture of corn tortillas. Both were very quick and easy to make on weeknights.

Roasted Shrimp with Asian Slaw
1 lb shrimp, deveined
1 bag of Broccoli Slaw
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/8 tsp. Basil
1/8 tsp. Oregano
Salt and Pepper to taste
Mustard Vinaigrette (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 375. In a bowl, mix shrimp with olive oil, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Arrange on baking sheet and roast until shrimp is pink. Set aside.

In a bowl, combine 2 cloves of minced garlic, 1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard, 1/4 c. lemon juice, 1/4 c. olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix well and add broccoli slaw. Arrange into bowls and top with Roasted Shrimp.

Shrimp Tacos

First, I grilled two fish fillets (I used cod) and set them aside. Then I made the toppings. I made an avocado creme for myself (below), and a chipotle avocado creme for the hubby (above). To make the creme I added the following to my food processor: 2 avocados, 1 Tbsp. lemon juice, salt and pepper, 1 clove of garlic, 3 Tbsp. chopped cilantro. When the mixture was smooth, I added a touch of heavy creme. I used this avocado creme on my tacos, then added one full can of chipoltes in adobo sauce to the remaining creme in the food processor. This was the topping for Joe's tacos. I topped them with Asian Slaw. I served these tacos with roasted corn. Yummy!

30 by 30

2011-05-06T15:34:00.000-04:00

A funny thing is happening in the food blog world. It turns out that a whole bunch of us are relatively the same age.

We're all turning 30 this year.

Wait, what? 30??? crap.

Actually, unlike most of my friends, I'm not that all upset about turning 30. I embrace it. I lived my 20's. I fell in love, I got 2 college degrees, got married, added Oliver to our family, bought a house, and was blessed to have Abigail. I've added friends and family. I've lost a few very special people. I'm tired of my 20's. I'm ready for my 30's. I expect them to be a bit calmer, but not any less challenging. In fact, to transition from my 20's to my 30's I'd like to give myself a challenge...

A lot of my food blog buds have created a "30 before 30" list of foods they want to attempt before they turn 30. Most of them started this project when they turned 29. When I turned 29, I was 9 months pregnant and not at all concerned with cooking or blogging. Now that I'm back, I'm trying to create that list. I turn 30 on July 23 of this year and this list is to be completed by then. That's not a lot of time. I need to make this list and start cooking, ASAP! I need your help: What would you like me to make? Here's the first half of my list. It looks like I need a few more...

1. Boeuf bourguignon (ala Julia Child, not by cheating with my crockpot)
2. Pretzel Bread Rolls
3. Kibbe (Lebanese dish)
4. Dulce de Leche Ice Cream
5. Cheese Pastelitos (Cuban pastries)
6. Bread Pudding
7. Beef Wellington
8. A Wedding-style cake (even a small one)
9. Beef Brisket
10. Duck a l'orange
11. Vegan cupcakes
12. Quiche
13. Croissants
14. Bagels
15. Gnocchi

Well, I need help! Please leave your suggestions in the comments below, or email them to me at Natyak1 (at) aol (dot) com. Thanks! And I look forward to seeing what you come up with! Time to get back into the kitchen....

Lemon Chicken Orzo in Tzatziki

2011-04-19T14:04:00.000-04:00

I love me some Greek food. I really do. And, I'm all about Tzatziki sauce! I'm not ashamed to admit that, upon occasion, I but it premade from Costco. I don't remember which brand they carry, but it is tasty! I impulse bought some Tzatziki recently on a Costco trip and wanted to do something different. So, I just combined a bunch of stuff and this is what I got. Pretty yummy if you ask me!

First, I marinated chicken in the Tzatziki for a few hours. To start, I cooked some orzo and steamed some broccoli. (Not a real recipe today, folks- just a play by play!) I heated 2 tsp of oil and 1 tsp of butter in a deep skillet over medium heat. While that was heating, I cut the chicken into bite sized strips. Once the oil/butter was hot, I added 1 tsp of oregano and the chicken, turning the chicken every once in awhile to prevent them from burning. When the chicken was cooked, I deglazed the pan with 1/4 c of white wine and about 3 Tbsp of fresh lemon juice. I then added a few Tbsp more of Tzatziki (not the stuff from the marinade- fresh spoon fulls!) along with the orzo and broccoli. I mixed it and added salt and pepper to taste. Greek inspired dinner in 10 minutes flat= Happiness!

Poached Snapper and Sauteed Vegetables with Balsamic Reduction

2011-04-12T13:25:00.000-04:00

I've been on a poaching kick lately. It's a super healthy and quick way to cook lean proteins. Last night, I decided to poach snapper. It cooked very quickly and easily. It was an easy fish to start with, because it becomes light and flaky when it is done cooking. I served it with sauteed vegetables in a balsamic reduction and a cucumber salad. The salad was made of sliced cucumbers, lemon juice, oregano, and olive oil. The tartness of the lemon juice helped cut the sweetness of the balsamic reduction. It was a very balanced plate of food. Sorry the pics are not so great- we were hungry and couldn't wait to start eating!

Poached Snapper

water

1 Tbsp whole peppercorns

1/2 c. white wine

1 Tbsp dried oregano

3 garlic cloves, whole

1 bay leaf

2 Snapper fillets

Fill a pan with about an 1 1/2" of water. Add wine, oregano, bay leaf and garlic. Bring water to a boil, then reduce to a small simmer. Place fish into pan and cover. Poach fish until it is cooked all the way through, about 8-10 minutes, depending on the size of your fillets. Remove from poaching liquid and dress with fresh lemon or a drizzle of olive oil.

You could also use chicken in the place of fish for this recipe. I often poach chicken this way, let it cool, then use it on salads for lunch. Quite yummy! The poaching liquid is mild so you can add bolder flavors if you'd like.

Sauteed Vegetables in a Balsamic Reduction

1 head of broccoli

1.5 lbs of green beans, trimmed

2 cloves garlic

1 onion, finely chopped

2 tsp. olive oil

1/2 c.balsamic vinegar

water

Fill a pot with 1-2" of water and bring to a boil. Add veggies and steam until mostly cooked. In a small saucepan, bring the balsamic vinegar to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Try to use the best balsamic vinegar you have. Reducing the vinegar concentrates the flavor, so be sure it is something you really like! I use a balsamic that has been aged 30 years (birthday present from my friend Lauren-yes we buy each other food items for presents!). You can find good vinegars at most specialty markets. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a saute pan. Add onions and cook until they brown. Add garlic and stir for about 30 seconds. Add steamed veggies. Toss to coat the veggies and the onion mixture. Add balsamic glaze. Yummy!!

Braised Short Ribs and Penne alla Vodka

2011-04-12T12:05:00.000-04:00

Mmmm.... this one was really tasty!

I have had braised short ribs a few times before and finally decided to tackle them. I didn't have time to look for a recipe, so I just threw one together. Turned out great! I made the meat on a Sunday in the crockpot, then made the penne alla vodka on Monday night. I used homemade pasta sauce that I had previously made and frozen, so the sauce was a breeze. It was really, really good. I will be making the pasta again soon!

Together, the short ribs and pasta were perfect. The short ribs were so tender, and the red wine they were cooked in matched perfectly with the pasta. It tasted like a dinner you would get at a nicer restaurant. For about half the price!

Braised Short Ribs

5 lbs short ribs

1 1/2 quarts of beef broth

1 quart of red wine (I used a Cab Sav)- but you could just use all beef broth

3 Tbsp. Dried Oregano

3 Bay leaves

4 garlic cloves, smashed

1 onion, sliced

Salt and Pepper

Season short ribs with salt and pepper. Brown in a pan. Transfer directly to crockpot. Add remaining ingredients and cook on low for 8 hours. When the meat is done, it will be falling off the bone. Shred and set aside.

Penne alla Vodka

Penne, cooked al dente (I used about 1/2 lb)

2 Tbsp Fresh Basil

3 tsp Olive Oil

1/4 c. vodka (or less, but NOT more!)

1 c. tomato sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 c. heavy cream

Salt and pepper

Grated Parmesan

Heat Olive Oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, about a minute. Add vodka (if you are cooking on a gas stove, beware of the flame) and allow the alcohol to reduce. Be sure to keep your face away from the pot at this point or you will inhale some nasty fumes! After about 7 minutes, add the tomato sauce and heavy cream. Bring the sauce to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Allow the mixture to cook until the sauce reduces a bit, about 7-10 minutes on a low setting. Season with salt and pepper. Toss with pasta then top with basil and Parmesan.

Serve the short ribs over the pasta and enjoy!

Note- if you don't want to cook the short ribs in a crockpot, I would try one of the following options:

A- Brown the meat, add remaining ingredients, then allow to simmer (covered) for about 5 hours.

B (preferred)- Brown the meat, add the remaining ingredients, then cover and cook in oven for 4 hours at 300°. Meat should be done by then. If it is not falling off the bone, cook for another 1/2 hour at 350°.

Finally

2011-02-22T23:31:00.000-05:00

I'm finally getting around to posting!

Here's what my mother and I worked on for Christmas Day dessert:

Huge spread of mini desserts!

Strawberry shortcakes

Apricot Oat Bars

Chocolate Mousse Cups

For Valentine's Day, I made my hubby and his friend huge filled cupcakes. I actually made them using a mini bundt pan then cut out a hole in the middle. I filled them with Mocha frosting and put the lid back on. The frosting was a yummy suprise!

I also made mini cupcakes for his office

Aside from baking, most of my cooking has been for Abby. I'm loving making my own baby food! But, I have managed to get a few new meals into our bellies as well :) I guess I've been thinking Asian lately, I have Thai and Indian below!

Red Curry Chicken and Shrimp over Basmati Rice

Vegetable Dal

Fresh Pasta

2010-12-08T16:22:00.000-05:00

Being pregnant, I wasn't in the mood to use the Kitchen aid pasta attachments my parents got me for Christmas. So, this recipe was delayed until after Abby was born. This was the first time (to my knowledge) that I have ever tasted fresh pasta. It is SOO yummy! I will be making this over and over again. Goodbye dried supermarket pasta!

I wanted to do as much of this by hand the first time. So I did all of the mixing myself. I've heard that some people use food processors. I can offer no advice on that. So if you do, let me know how it turns out! To start, make a well in 2 cups of flour. To this, add 1 tsp. salt. Now comes the messy part. In the well, add 3 eggs. From here, start to incorporate the flour into the eggs. Work slowly at first, or else you will have an eggy mess all over your counter tops. Continue to add in more flour until you have a ball. Knead the dough for a few minutes, adding a drop or two of water if gets too dry (or flour if it gets too wet).

Divide the dough into three pieces. Take one piece and run it through your pasta roller at its thickest setting. Repeat. Run the pasta through each setting of your roller twice until you get to the desired thickness. If the dough tears, ball it up and start over. Lay the sheet of pasta on a floured surface and continue with the next piece. Do this until all of your pasta is rolled out.

At this point you want to cut your pasta to whatever shape you want. I wanted spaghetti, so I ran my sheets through the spaghetti cutter. But, you can make any shape using a machine or by hand. After your pasta is cut, you can either hang it to dry or use it immediately. Remember, fresh pasta cooks very quickly! It only took about 1.5 minutes to cook my spaghetti.

Enjoy!!

Cooking with Martha

2010-11-19T14:54:00.000-05:00

As some of you know, I'm a huge Martha Stewart fan. HUGE. So, of course, I jumped at the opportunity to download a free copy of her 2010 Thanksgiving Hotline cookbook. The 63 page, full color book is available for free download at:

http://www.sirius.com/wo/i/martha/2010/Martha_Stewart_thanksgiving_full.pdf

Let me know if you try any of the recipes! I have my eye on those fried stuffing bites with cranberry pesto!

Just a quick update

2010-10-21T09:59:00.001-04:00

Hi all. I know I’ve been missing in action for awhile now. I promise I will begin posting again soon! I gave birth to my baby girl on August 11th and I’ve just been focusing my time on her. Life is starting to get back to normal, and I’m back in the kitchen. So stay tuned!

On a side note, we began a family blog. It is open only to those people whom I invite, so if you are interested in reading it, send me an email to natyak1 at aol dot com and I will send you an invite.

Happy October!

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

2010-07-30T11:51:00.000-04:00

I'm sure most of you have seen this recipe from Ina Garten. It's one of the episodes of Barefoot Contessa that is always on repeat on the Food Network. I really like this recipe because not only is it delicious, it's pretty easy. It does not require a lot of last minute work. So, it's great for company as I can prepare it ahead of time, and spend the evening with my guests- not in the kitchen. My Great Aunt and Uncle were here on vacation, and we wanted to have them over before they left town. Since weekends are pretty busy, we decided to have them over on a weeknight. Which is great and all, but 7 people for dinner on a weeknight can be a bit stressful. So, I made this recipe the night before! It warmed up beautifully. I served it with salad, a vegetable tian, and an angel food cake with strawberry compote for dessert. A lovely end to a nice visit with my family!

Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic
adapted from Barefoot Contessa, Food Network

3 heads of garlic, separated (not peeled)
chicken (use whatever you want. I like chicken thighs best for this dish, but add breasts as well)
1 Tbsp. Butter
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
2 Tbsp. Heavy Cream
11/2 c. White Wine
2 Tbsp. AP Flour
1 Tbsp. Fresh Thyme
Salt and Pepper

Blanche garlic cloves in a pot of boiling water for 1 minute. Remove from water, peel, then set aside.
Heat butter and oil in a heavy pot over medium heat. Liberally season chicken with salt and pepper. Brown chicken in batches to avoid overcrowding the pot. When last batch is browned, remove from the pot. Add the peeled garlic cloves and sauté until they start to brown, about 5 minutes. Add wine and boil mixture for 5 minutes, making sure to scrape up any of the brown bits on the bottom of the pot. Return chicken and any juices that collected at the bottom of the plate to the pot. Add fresh thyme, then cover pot and simmer until your chicken is cooked. Depending on the amount of chicken you are using, this can take anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes. Once the chicken is cooked, take it out of the pot. Remove 1/2 c. of the cooking liquid and whisk in a bowl with the flour. Add the mixture back to the pot and whisk the sauce to make sure that there are no lumps. Add the heavy cream and bring to a boil. Cook for 3 minutes, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the chicken back into the pot and mix with sauce. Serve.

Note: Make sure you plan for your side dishes to be on the lighter side. While the chicken dish isn't too heavy, the cream sauce does give the dish a bit of heft. I wouldn't serve it with pasta or mashed potatoes or anything. Keep it light!

Adventures in Crock Pot Cooking: Baked Potato Soup

2010-04-26T19:36:00.000-04:00

Since I'm still new to the Crockpot world, I decided to use an actual recipe for this soup. After much research, I came across a new (to me) food blog: crockpot365. This site was totally helpful! I made the baked potato soup as directed, and it was really, really good. One note: it made a TON of soup. We ate a few bowls each over dinner and lunches, gave some to my father-in-law, and still have about 1 1/2 quarts left in the freezer. So, before you make this soup, clear out some room in your fridge and/or freezer! We topped ours with crispy bacon pieces, but I'm sure you could get creative with toppings. Enjoy!

Thanks to Stephanie for this tasty recipe!

Baked Potato Soup
from Crockpot365

5 lbs potatoes, peeled and diced into 1 inch chunks
1 small onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. seasoned salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 quarts chicken broth
2- 8oz packages of cream cheese

Put the diced potatoes into the slow cooker. Add onion, garlic, seasonings, and the chicken broth. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. The potatoes should be fork tender. Using an immersion blender (or a potato masher), mash the potatoes until smooth. Crumble in both packages of cream cheese, stir, and put the lid back on. Cook on high for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted (this took me about 45 minutes). Garnish and serve!

Lemon Butter Chicken

2010-04-15T10:35:00.000-04:00

I bought too many lemons. I don't know why I decided I needed a whole bag of them, but I did. So now, I have a ton of lemons in my fridge. And, while I always use fresh lemon juice, that's still a lot of lemons. I decided to try to make something for dinner that would use them up. I didn't have capers, or want to bother frying up chicken, so piccata was out. Enter: lemon butter chicken.

I didn't have a recipe or anything, just an idea that I wanted a quick chicken dinner (with lemons). I sliced my chicken into strips to cut the cooking time and cooked them in a pan with 1 tsp olive oil and 1 tsp butter. Once the chicken was mostly cooked, I pulled it out of the pan and set it aside. I added 2 minced cloves of garlic and the juice and zest of two lemons to the pan, and let that cook for a few minutes. I knew I wanted the sauce to be silky, so I then added a few additional tsp. of butter, one at a time, until I got to the desired consistency. I added a few slices of lemon for color, salt and pepper, and a pinch of herbs de provence. I then returned the chicken and the juices that had collected on the plate back into the sauce and let it all cook for another minute or so, until the chicken was warm. I served it with mashed potatoes and corn.

The chicken was really tasty. I was afraid that the acidity of the lemon would not play well with the amount of butter I added, but I was very happy with the outcome. All in all, it took me about 25 minutes to make the chicken. A very quick and tasty weeknight dinner. And, the hubby has already asked me to make it again-Success!

Birthday Cake

2010-04-09T13:14:00.000-04:00

My husband loves cake. Loves it. So, for his birthday, I always make him his special birthday cake. I make it only for him, the same one every year, and he loves it. I love it. We all love this cake. So, if you have someone that you love more than anything, make them this cake on their birthday. They will love you for it. :)

Here is what you need to assemble this cake:

-2 sponge cakes. Make sure that you allow PLENTY of time for them to cool! After they have cooled, slice each cake into two layers, resulting in 4 layers of cake.

-1 batch of mocha frosting. Set aside 1 cup of this frosting to pipe on decorations later.

-1 batch of chocolate frosting

-cake syrup

Place your first layer, cut side up, onto the cake stand. Make sure you center it now, becuase it will be too late later ( I always forget this step!) Brush a few teaspoons of the cake syrup onto the top of the layer. Spread on mocha frosting. Use as much or little frosting as you would like, but remember this is going to be a 4 layer cake- don't go overboard now! Top with second layer, cut side up. Again, brush on syrup, then frosting. Repeat with third layer. Brush the 4th layer of cake with syrup, then place it onto the cake, cut side DOWN. This will give you a smooth surface to frost on top. At this point you want to apply the crumb coating to the cake. This is the first round of frosting the entire cake. It is a thin layer of the mocha frosting, just ment to keep everything (crumbs) in place. After you have finished, place the cake into the fridge for at least 20 minutes to allow the frosting to set up.

When you are ready to continue, take the cake out of the fridge and frost the cake with the chocolate frosting. Everyone has their own method, so just do whatever works best for you. Once you are done, put the cake back into the fridge to set up while you prepare your piping bag. A few notes about piping: use the mocha frosting to decorate, as it is a different color as the chocolate frosting. It gives the cake a nice contrast of chocolatey colors. :) Also, when filling the bag, I find that it is easiest to stand the bag up in a large glass. This way, you save any frosting that escapes. Pipe the decoration around the cake, or you could use chocolate shavings if you don't want the hassle. I used a very basic decoration this year, as I was running out of time. But you can be as simple or elaborate as you want. Trust me, it doesn't matter. This cake is that delicious!

Enjoy!

Adventures in CrockPot Cooking...and an update :)

2010-04-07T11:59:00.000-04:00

Well, it's been quite some time since my last post. There are the variety of reasons: I was busy, the holidays, and all of that other garbage. But, the real reason is that I'm pregnant :). I was sick throughout most of the first trimester, so there wasn't much cooking going on. Also, I've injured my leg, so I can't really stand for long periods of time. Suffice to say, I'm dying to get back into the kitchen! I've recently started to get back into my old routine, so be sure to look for more frequent posting. I'm over halfway through my second trimester now, and can't wait to meet our little girl!

Back to food. The Hubby has been sweet enough to be in charge of dinner (takeout) when I wasn't feeling well. But, I've been craving real food. I decided to give the old crockpot another chance. You may remember my Pulled Pork experiment. It turned out awesome, but that has been my only attempt at crock pot cooking. After some research, I decided I wanted to cook a bunch of protein to freeze and use as the base for other meals. During this time, my parents were sweet enough to buy me a new (bigger) crockpot with a digital timer. This made things MUCH easier!

I decided to cook pork, beef, and chicken. For the pork, I followed the same base recipe as the pulled pork. Instead of mixing the cooked pork with BBQ sauce, I froze it into smaller portions with a bit of the cooking liquid. I have since used the pork to make pork stir fry, pork carnitas, and BBQ sandwiches. I just pull a portion out of the freezer the night before to defrost and use it to cook a meal the next day. The cooking liquid is flavorful, but not too strong. So, the pork is easily adaptable.

I went the same route with the beef. For the recipe, go here. While I used a roast, I think it would be perfectly acceptable to use just about any type of beef. Go with whatever is on sale at the supermarket! I've used this beef on its own as pot roast, or in dishes such as beef lo mein and a modified picadillo. I plan on using it again tonight for quick fajitas.

The chicken was a bit more risky for me. I pretty much eat boneless, skinless chicken breast. I know, it's boring, but it's what I like. I do like thigh meat from time to time, so I decided to use 4 huge chicken thighs for my crockpot experiment. I didn't really know what to put into the pot, so I just threw in a bunch of things. For the "recipe", go here. The chicken turned out great. I shredded the chicken and used it in a thai salad and in quesidillas. Next time, I will use more chicken. 4 thighs really wasn't much meat for 2 people to eat 2 meals. Both the pork and beef base recipes made enough for the 2 of us to eat at least 4 meals-I still have some left!

My thoughts on the crockpot: I love this thing. I know I'm the last one to the party on this topic, but I'm glad I finally tried it out! I'm still a little weary of leaving applicances plugged in while I'm away from home, so I just set it to cook overnight. I turn the crockpot off in the morning and leave everything to cool while I'm at work. I usually flip the meat over so that the whole thing gets time to soak in as much of the yummy flavor as possible. I have enjoyed making my regular dinners again, and it has been helpful to have the protein already cooked. On nights where I'm busy or tired, I can use prepare dinner in about 20 minutes. Next up in my crockpot trials: Baked Potato Soup- check back soon!

Note: I will add pictures as soon as I can.

The best damn arroz con pollo ever!!!

2009-12-30T16:26:00.000-05:00

...if I do say so myself!

I grew up (and still reside) in South Florida, a melting pot of different cultures and flavors. Out of all of the different ethnic cuisines, Cuban food is my favorite. I make different Cuban recipes at home regularly, and visit local restaurants for the more difficult to prepare dishes. One of my favorite dishes, Arroz con Pollo, is not to be purchased. It is to be made by someone's abuela, who has just the right touch. I am lucky enough to know such a woman, but I don't get to see her too much. Therefore, my arroz con pollo consumption has gone way down.

Last week, I decided that enough was enough. I tackled Arroz con Pollo. And let me just say....oh my gawd, was it good. We could not stop eating it. We ate it out of the pot. We ate it for lunch, dinner, and maybe a midnight snack or two. I made a lot, thinking I would freeze half of it for another night's dinner. How foolish. That stuff was gone before we realized it. And now, we mourn it's absence. I'm not sure, but this may just be the best thing I've made all year. So go and make yourself some Arroz con Pollo. Please. And be sure to save some for me!!

Here is my recipe. I will not say that all of the ingredients are found in authentic recipes. I have no idea. I couldn't find one in English, and my Spanish is a bit rusty these days. But, the outcome was the same as any abuelas' that I've had. So there!

As with almost all Cuban food, Sofrito is the base to this dish. I've seen it frozen at the supermarket before, but never tried it. I just make my own. But, by all means, feel free to purchase some if you wish to do so. Also, I used chicken breast. But, I usually see it being made with a whole chicken. Again- up to you.

Enjoy!

Arroz con Pollo

1 pound of chicken, cut into strips
8 oz of canned tomato sauce
1 onion, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1/3 c. olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. cumin
3 1/2 c. chicken stock
1 12 oz. bottle of beer (use whatever you have on hand, or substitute in more stock)
1/2 c. white wine (or you could substitute in more stock)
1 1/2 c. Valencia rice
5 threads of saffron
Juice of 1 lime
Frozen peas

Soak rice in water for at least an hour. Drain and set aside.

Liberally coat chicken with salt, pepper, and lime juice. Heat olive oil in a large oven safe pot and brown chicken. Do this in batches as to avoid overcrowding the pot. Set chicken aside.

Add onions, peppers and garlic to the pot and sauté. Cook for 5 minutes, then remove and grind up the veggies in a food processor. This is the beginning of the sofrito. Some people leave the veggies chunky, but I like mine pureed. Return the sofrito to the pot and add the tomato sauce, bay leaf, and cumin. Cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently.

Return the chicken and any juices to the pot, and add the wine and beer. Cook for 7 minutes, then add the chicken stock. Bring the mixture to a boil, then add the drained rice and saffron threads. Bring to a boil once again, then cover the pot.

Bake the mixture at 350° for about 20 minutes. Finally, remove the pot from the oven and the frozen peas. My hubby isn't too fond of peas, so I only added about 3/4 of a cup, but feel free to go wild. Fluff the rice and serve.

I wish I had a wonderful picture to share with you, but I didn't take the time. We really couldn't stop eating the stuff, and I barely grabbed this one before the bowl was empty! I know it doesn't look great, but trust me- this recipe is a keeper!!

Roasted Vegetable Puree

2009-12-30T15:00:00.000-05:00

I made this soup about a month or two ago and never got around to posting it. It was one of those lovely fall days, where the South Florida weather was actually nice, and my local supermarket had quite a variety of fresh produce. (Those of you that know me know that I really dislike buying supermarket veggies)

I cut up and liberally coated my veggies with salt, pepper, olive oil, and a bit of thyme and rosemary from my garden. I roasted them at 420° until a fork easily went through the vegetable. Since I had different types of vegetables that would take various amounts of time to roast, I made sure to put similar vegetables together in each pan.

The first pan contained:

about 5 parsnips, peeled and chopped
about 7 carrots, peeled and chopped
1/2 of a large butternut squash, peeled and chopped

The second pan contained:

1 sweet potato, chopped
3 zuchinni, sliced
4 yellow squash, sliced

The third pan contained asparagus.

Once all of the vegetables were roasted and cooled, I blended them with a bit of chicken stock in my food processor (a blender would work if you have one- I don't). Once all of the vegetables were blended, I brought the puree to a boil, and adjusted my seasonings. At this point, I added about 2 cups of chicken stock to mine, as I like a thinner consistency, but you could leave yours thicker if you prefer. Once everything was warm, I divided the puree into containers and froze half of the recipe for later.

The soup was very yummy, especially in the colder weather. Also, I gave some to a friend with a baby, and the baby LOVED it. Good way to get in all of those important nutrients! Not the best picture, but you get the idea!

Catching Up

2009-09-25T16:12:00.000-04:00

Here's what I've been working on lately:

Fruit tarts for a friend

Madeleines as a gift

Antipasta Platter for a birthday party

And a special dinner for my hubby: Lobster Ravioli in a Corn Cream Sauce, served with Cheese Toasts and a light salad.

Have a great weekend!!

Grilled Shrimp with Feta

2009-09-25T15:13:00.000-04:00

It seems as if I've been posting nothing but shrimp dishes lately. Well, here's another one! I love shrimp for a few reasons: (a) it's cheap (b) it cooks quickly (c) I grill it as to avoid standing over the stove during the crazy heat of South Florida's summer. And of course I mean that hubbs grills the shrimp :)

This was another quick weeknight dinner. This recipe makes enough for 4 servings, allowing us to have shrimp over a salad for lunch the next day. I served the shrimp with whole wheat couscous and steamed asparagus.

Grilled Shrimp with Feta Topping

24 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 Tbsp. oregano

1/4 c. fat free crumbled Feta

zest of one lemon

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/8 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp olive oil

In a bowl, combine 1 Tbsp oregano with 1 Tbsp lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Allow shrimp to marinate in mixture for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine remaining lemon juice, lemon zest, and oregano with the feta cheese. Mix well and set aside.

Grill the shrimp, spraying cooking spray (Pam) on the grill before cooking. Top with cheese and serve!

Thai Red Curry Chicken

2009-09-03T13:42:00.003-04:00

I LOVE Thai curry. But I haven't been able to find a good curry in quite some time. I used to find it at my old favorite haunt, but after a TERRIBLE experience, I decided to part ways. Since then, I've found a few awesome places for Pad Thai, but no decent curries. Time to take matters into my own hands! After a quick stop at the grocery store for supplies, I was ready to tackle Red Curry Chicken.

*Note- This recipe is actually figure friendly (a first for this blog!). I'm sure that more authentic Curry dishes use full fat coconut milk, and all sorts of other goodness. But, I've chosen to go with a lighter dish. Not only will I be more likely to make it again in the future, but I won't gain a few pounds eating it!

Thai Red Curry Chicken

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into strips
2 tsp olive oil
1 c. onion, chopped
1 c. green pepper chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. fresh ginger, grated
3/4 tsp salt
13 1/2 can light coconut milk
1 tsp. Red Curry Paste (available at most grocery stores in the Asian aisle)
1 1/2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp. basil
1 tbsp cilantro, chopped
2 tbsp. corn starch
1 tbsp water
cooked Jasmine Rice

Heat oil over medium high and cook chicken. Remove chicken from pan and set aside. Add onions, green pepper, and garlic to pan. Sautee for 3-5 minutes, until onions are translucent.

In a bowl, combine coconut milk with curry paste and whisk until smooth. Add coconut mixture to the pan, along with the chicken, lime juice, basil, and cilantro. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Allow curry to cook for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine water with cornstarch in a bowl. Once curry is finished cooking, add cornstarch mixture to the curry and bring to a boil. Cook the curry for another minute, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens.

Serve over Jasmine Rice.

Eggy Deliciousness

2009-08-28T14:25:00.009-04:00

That's what I'm calling this. Sooo. good.

Home sick the other day, I caught an episode of At Home Italian with Giada De Laurentiis. She made a super easy recipe that would be good any time of the day: Lemon and Basil Eggs over Foccacia. It looked so delicious that I asked the hubby to pick up a loaf of bread on the way home. I needed to make this recipe!

I didn't really pay attention to the exact measurements she used (again, I was home sick) so I just went with it. I used a loaf of Italian Bread as that was what Joe brought home and it worked out fine. We had major trouble NOT eating the whole loaf! Very easy and tasty!

Lemon and Basil Eggs over Foccacia

1 loaf of bread (Italian works fine)
3 eggs
5 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese, grated
2 Tbsp. olive oil mixed with 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp. milk
basil leaves, chopped

Using a serrated knife, cut into the loaf of bread, removing the "top". Pull out some of the middle of the loaf to create a bowl. Chop and set aside the removed bread parts.

Brush the olive oil around the inside of the bread bowl and bake for 5 minutes at 350. Set aside the bread to cool.

Meanwhile, whisk eggs, cheese, milk, and basil together. Add bread bits and mix well. Put the egg mixture into the bread bowl and bake for 50 minutes at 350.

Eat immediately!

Manhattan Clam Chowder

2009-08-19T14:28:00.008-04:00

The hubby is a big Manhattan Clam Chowder fan. He loves the stuff. So, it was about time for me to give it a try. The thick cut bacon was clearly the key to this soup. Normally, I use regular bacon- whatever I have in the freezer. However, this recipe is not the one to go cheap on. You can find thick cut bacon with all of the other varieties in your grocery store, or you can go to a butcher. Either way, do it. Trust me- it's delicious! The bacon gave the soup an earthy smokiness that played well with the clams and lemon juice. Then again, when have you known me to NOT love something with bacon in it???

Manhattan Clam Chowder

4 strips of thick cut bacon, diced
2 leeks, white and light green parts chopped finely
2 Russet potatoes, diced
2 stalks of Celery, diced
2 cloves of Garlic, minced
2 cans diced tomatoes drained, juices reserved
2 cans minced clams drained, juices reserved
3 cups of water
4 tsp. fresh lemon juice
3 Tbsp. parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Cook bacon over medium high for 4 minutes, or until brown. Add the leeks, potatoes, celery, and tomatoes. Cook for minutes, adding the garlic during the last minute. Add tomato juice, clam juice, and water. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally. Once the soup has boiled, cover and cook on medium low for 15 minutes.
After the 15 minutes, check to see if the potatoes are cooked. If not, cook for another 3 minutes, then check again. Once the potatoes are cooked, remove the pot from the heat. Using an immersion blender (or a regular blender), blend the soup a bit, making sure to leave it a bit chunky. Return soup to the heat and add clams, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Cook for 3 minutes, then taste to adjust seasonings if needed. Stir in the fresh parsley and serve with crackers.

Adapted from William-Sonoma Soups and Stews

Pasta with Tomato Wine Sauce

2009-08-13T14:31:00.006-04:00

Quick post today. We are back from our week long trip to Las Vegas! We had a blast, but now back to real life. I made this pasta last night and it was delicious.

Enjoy!

Pasta with Tomato Wine Sauce
2 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
3 Tbsp butter
2 tsp. olive oil
3 Tbsp. tomato paste
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. capers
1/4 c. mushrooms, chopped
1/2 c. artichokes, chopped
1 lemon, sliced
1/2 c. dry white wine (or you could use chicken stock)
angel hair pasta (as much as you would like)
Salt and pepper to taste

Prepare pasta according to package directions. Set aside, reserving the water.

Over medium heat, melt 1 Tbsp. butter into the olive oil. Season chicken with salt and pepper then cook in oil/butter mixture. When chicken is cooked, remove from pan and set aside.

Add garlic, capers, mushrooms, lemons, and artichokes to the pan. Sautee for a minute then add tomato paste and wine. Allow the vegetables to cook for 8-10 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Add the remaining 2 Tbsp. to the pan and stir. If the sauce is too thick, add pasta cooking water. Mix in the chicken and pasta, making sure to fully coat the pasta, until the entire dish is warm.

Serve.

Shrimp Lettuce Wraps

2009-07-29T15:16:00.009-04:00

Joe is out of town this week to take the Bar (good luck P!) so I thought I would make something quick and easy for dinner the other night. I was a bit under the weather and didn't feel like grocery shopping. I had some frozen veggies and some shrimp in the fridge. Time for lettuce wraps!

Shrimp Lettuce Wraps
about 10 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
10 baby carrots, roughly chopped
1/2 c. green peppers, diced (I use frozen because they are waaayyy cheaper)
1 c. bean sprouts (I used canned)
1 package snow peas (again, frozen)
1/2 head of Boston lettuce, washed and dried
1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, grated
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. canola oil
1/4 c. Soy Sauce
1/4 c. Teryaki Sauce
Pepper to taste

Sautee the vegetables in the canola oil for about 5 minutes, or until the peppers are defrosted and crispy.

I then put the veggies into the mini food prep and chopped them up. They went back into the pan while I chopped up the raw shrimp. I added the shrimp to the veggies and allowed them to cook.

Add soy and teriyaki sauces and cook until shrimp is pink. Serve with a side of soy sauce. Enjoy!
Serves two.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

2009-07-09T13:17:00.011-04:00

Slow cookers came onto the scene in the early 1970's. Yet, for some reason, I'm still not sure about them. What do I mean by that? To answer that question, we must take a little trip down neuroses lane. First stop: Natalie.

I realize that I'm quirky (or as Joe puts it: insane). I might just be a *little* obsessive about certain things. Like how I like right angles- only. You will find very few circular things in our house. Or, how I need symmetry in my life. Not figuratively, literally. I can't deal with things not being symmetrical. While we could go on and on...and on about my little tendencies, I will get to the point: what's wrong with a slow cooker?

First of all, I feel like it's cheating. I love to start something as soon as I get home from work, and let it cook all evening, stopping every few hours to stir or smell the lovely scents. But, there are some recipes that just take too long. So maybe it's worth it. But is it safe? Since slow cookers have been around for so long, they must be safe. Surely, they would have pulled them off the shelves if houses were burning down..right? But, I take issue with plugging in an appliance-then leaving my house for the day. I realize that I'm over analyzing, but I would really hate to burn down my house because of a pork craving. So, I compromised. I borrowed my mom's old crock pot (I didn't even know she had one!) and used it on a day that Joe would be home to supervise.

I'm happy to report that (a) we are all still alive - burn free and (b) the pork was friggin awesome. I'm keeping that crock pot!

Pulled Pork Sandwiches
6 lb Boston pork butt
1 qt chicken broth
1 qt water
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 Tbsp. whole peppercorns
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
1 Tbsp. allspice
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. mustard powder
salt and pepper
your favorite barbecue sauce

First, I cut the pork butt in half so that it would fit into the slow cooker. I then liberally coated the pork with salt and pepper on all sides. The pork went into a frying pan over medium-high heat so that I could brown the meat on all sides.

In the slow cooker, I put the onions and garlic in, followed by the pork. I covered it with the remaining ingredients and stirred everything around. You want to make sure that the meat is mostly covered, so adjust the liquids to fit your needs. Turn the cooker on, and walk away!

I cooked my pork for 10 hours, but just cook it until the meat falls apart after you poke it with a fork. It all depends on the amount of meat you are cooking.

Take the pork out of the slow cooker and allow it to cool a bit. Using two forks, shred the pork.

Here is where we come to a crossroads. I don't like fat in my meat. I know, I know- I'm picky. But, this is why I made pulled pork at home: so that I could control what goes into it. I chose to throw away the fat (GASP!) but please, feel free to include it if you so desire. Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming...

Place the shredded pork in a small pot and add your favorite barbecue sauce. Since this was a weeknight, my favorite barbecue sauce came out of a bottle. If it were a weekend, I would have made my own. If you would like to make it yourself, here's a pretty good recipe. Mix the pork with the barbecue sauce and cook just long enough to heat the mixture.

Serve on hamburger buns.

note: While I cooked all 6 lbs of pork in the slow cooker, I only served half of it. This made 4 sandwiches. I shredded the rest of the pork (without sauce) and froze it for future purposes. So, pictures you see above of shredded meat only depicts half of the entire amount cooked.

This pork would also be a tasty option for preparing most Mexican or Cuban dishes. Carnitas anyone?

Also, I apologize for the bad pictures, but my camera is still on the fritz...

Just give me 10 minutes...

2009-06-12T11:56:00.008-04:00

That's right. 10 minutes. That's how long it took to prepare dinner the other night. From opening the package of meat to the dinner table- 10 minutes. Here's how:

I worked late the other night and was very hungry by the time I got home. I decided to make a version of a stuffed steak I used to see years ago. I don't think the original called for flank steak, but that's what I had, so that's what I used. Also, Joe hates blue cheese, so I nixed that as well. Turned out great.

I took a 1 pound flank steak and butterflied it:

Yes, there were a few holes, but they didn't really matter.

Then, I layered about 2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese all over. On top of the cheese went fresh baby spinach. I put a few handfulls, whatever fit on top of the steak.

I would have put green onions on top, but I grow chives in my garden so I chopped up about 3 tsp. worth and added them in.Finally, I layered on 1/2 c. grated Mozzarella cheese.

I then rolled the whole thing up and used skewers to hold it in place. I rubbed Montreal Grill Steak Seasoning around the outside and sliced the steak between the skewers. I sliced them unevenly, as Joe likes his steak more rare than I do. This way, I can cook them all at once.

I used two skewers to hold together the pieces that had small holes in them. Lastly, I coated the steaks in olive oil.

They took only a few minutes to grill! I served them with corn and a quick salad.
Yummy!!

One Year!

2009-06-03T09:06:00.007-04:00

It's the one year anniversary of my blog! I have had such a great time trying new things and meeting new people. This is just a short post to say thank you for reading. Here are a few of the things I've been making:

Vanilla Pound Cake

Individual Baked Zitis

Grilled Shrimp Picatta

Hope you are all having a wonderful week!

Chicken Stock (and soup too!)

2009-05-21T11:25:00.004-04:00

A few weeks ago, I decided to make a batch of homemade chicken stock. I had done this a few times before, but I always used it up straight away. I never had the room in the old freezer. Now, I have the room to make a big batch to freeze in small portions.

In the past, I had used whole chickens. But to tell you the truth, it's just too expensive. I generally buy about a 5 pound chicken to make 7 quarts of stock. After cooking the chicken for hours, it's not that great to eat. So you end up tossing the whole bird. This time around I went to the butcher at my local supermarket and asked him if he had any carcasses or gizzards to sell me. He told me that he had just packaged up a few packs of gizzards and necks. For about $3.50 I got 5 pounds of stock worthy chicken. Great!

I used my very tall stockpot to do this job. First I added the following to the pot:
7 carrots, not peeled, chopped
3 onions, quartered
4 head of celery, chopped
1 head of garlic, not peeled, chopped in half
5 pounds chicken (parts or whole chicken chopped up)
3 bay leaves
1 tsp. whole peppercorns

Then I added as much water as I could fit in the pot. For my pot, this was 7 quarts. I then added a ton of fresh herbs from my garden. You can add whatever you like, but I used:

1 1/2 c. flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
4 long stalks of Rosemary
5 stalks of Thyme
1/2 c. of chopped chives

I let the mixture simmer for about 4 hours. Every half hour or so, I would skim off any fat that had risen to the top. After 4 hours, I poured the stock through a strainer into a cheesecloth lined bowl. (You don't have to use the cheesecloth, but I find that it really helps to remove any of the finer particles that may have passed through the strainer.) I then allowed the stock to cool before putting it in the fridge overnight.

The next day, I skimmed off all the fat that had separated from the stock. There will be a lot, don't worry! I then transferred the stock into food storage bags. I put 2 cups of broth in each bag. I then put the bags in the freezer, lying them flat to conserve room. I used 7 quarts of water and ended up with about 6 1/2 quarts of stock. Not bad! Cheap and delicious!

Well, the hubby is feeling a little under the weather this week. Time for soup! I took out 2 bags of broth (4 cups) from the freezer and let them defrost a bit. I then put the stock in a pot over medium low heat to finish defrosting. When the stock was warm, I added a chicken breast that I had cut up into bite sized pieces. I would have normally added carrots as well at this point, but the patient didn't want them in there. I also added 1 cinnamon stick to the pot and a bit of lemon juice to taste. I used about 2 tsp.

I let the soup cook for about 5 minutes before removing the cinnamon and adding a few hand fulls of broken egg noodles. The soup cooked for just another few minutes, until the noodles were done. Soup was delicious!

What I like about making my own stock is that it's easy. Time consuming, but easy. But, I just put the stock on to simmer away while I'm watching TV, cleaning, etc. So, it's not that bad. I also really enjoy getting to control what goes into the broth. It's exactly what I want. And I can alter the ingredients to fit the mood I'm in. Finally, it's really nice having a freezer full of stock! Since I use chicken stock all the time, it's both a cheaper and a healthier option for us. I just pop a bag of broth into the pot and my meal is halfway done! I also use chicken broth to flavor rice and vegetable dishes. I'm getting a ton of use out of $3.50 worth of chicken parts. And when all else fails, a good cup of homemade soup is only 10 minutes away.

Enjoy!

Mmm....pizza.....

2009-04-28T11:48:00.008-04:00

Our herb garden is out of control. The herbs grow at such a rapid rate, I can barely keep up! Over the weekend, we noticed that the basil plant was so full, it was starting to lean. I picked a whole bowl full of basil, and the plant is still 1/2 full!

Smelling that fresh basil led to a whole list of ideas. After a very busy weekend, I wasn't in the mood to experiment. Instead, I made pizza. My favorite pizza dough recipe is here. I cut my batch of dough into two pieces. I like to make my pizzas smaller so they cook faster (or so I think, at least). I don't own a pizza stone, so I just dust turn a large baking sheet upside down and dust it with cornmeal.

The thing I love about pizza is that it is so easy to make, and I can usually do it without a special trip to the grocery store. YUMMY!

Pizza Sauce:
1 8 oz can of tomato sauce
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp. olive oil
dash of oregano
a few leaves of fresh basil

Brown garlic in olive oil. Add tomato sauce and herbs. Allow sauce to simmer for at least 15 minutes.

Assembly:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out dough on a well floured surface. Transfer dough to the underside of a cookie sheet/cake pan that has been dusted with cornmeal. Bake for 5 minutes or until the dough has set up. Remove from the oven and add toppings (I used sauce, diced tomatoes, fresh mozz, and fresh basil). Brush olive oil onto the edges of the crust and return to the oven. Bake until the crust is golden, about 8-10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Want S'more Brownies?

2009-04-23T13:28:00.004-04:00

Ham Porter: Hey, Smalls, you wanna s'more?
Smalls: Some more of what?
Ham Porter: No, do you wanna s'more?
Smalls: I haven't had anything yet, so how can I have some more of nothing?
Ham Porter: You're killing me Smalls! These are s'more's stuff! Alrite now pay attention. First you take the graham, you stick the chocolate on the graham. Then you roast the 'mallow. When the 'mallows flaming... you stick it on the chocolate. Then cover with the other end. Then you scarf. Kind of messy, but good!

I love The Sandlot. Great movie. One of my favorites. It reminds me of my childhood, when my brother and I would ride our bikes around to meet up with our neighborhood friends. A pickup game of baseball was usually on the agenda. We all watched baseball, we played baseball, we grew up on baseball.

So, naturally, any movie centered around baseball was a must-see. Sure they weren't all great movies (Rookie of the Year?), but I still can't go a week without a few lines from The Sandlot or Major League. (The poor hubby- he's not as much of a baseball guy. So, most of my references go unnoticed) And hello?? Can anyone hear "This Magic Moment" and not think of Squints and his kiss with Wendy Peffercorn??

I've probably seen The Sandlot a few dozen times by now. It was on the other night, and I got to thinking about S'mores. Growing up in South Florida, there weren't many chances to make these delicious treats. Most of the time, they were made over the BBQ after the parents were done making dinner. Since I wasn't going to break out the BBQ just to satisfy my craving, I decided to make a s'more flavored treat.

Now, I will admit that I didn't make these brownies using my regular (cherished) brownie recipe. I used a box. That's right- I used a forbidden boxed mix. I didn't have a lot of time left in the evening after the trip to the grocery store for marshmallows and graham crackers. So, I piced up a box of brownie mix and decided to just jazz it up a bit. Next time, I'll be sure to go back to my recipe. I like homemade brownies so much better!

I broke up the graham crackers into crumbs using my mini food processor (love that thing!) and added 1 c. of the crumbs into the batter. Once the batter was set in the baking dish, I covered the top with marshmallows. The marshmallows browned nicely in the oven.

The brownies tasted good, but not like s'mores. The taste of the graham crackers was not apparent. I think next time, I will make a graham cracker crust to bake the brownie mix on. That way it will be more like a s'more. Without the graham cracker taste, it just tasted like brownies with marshmallows on top. It lacked purpose. They still tasted good, but I will definitely be giving this idea another try.

Vegetable Tians

2009-04-23T13:14:00.004-04:00

I love tians. They are yummy, easy to prepare, and look beautiful. I also like to make them with very savory dishes, as it provides a light compliment to an otherwise heavy meal. You can switch the vegetables to include your favorites, but make sure to slice every vegetable so that the slices are all the same size. This helps with cooking time and presentation.

Vegetable Tian

2-3 Medium zucchinis, sliced
4 Medium potatoes, sliced (I prefer yukon gold)
8 plum tomatoes, sliced
6 sprigs of thyme
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Medium onion, finely diced
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan
1 Tbsp. Olive oil, plus 1 tsp. reserved
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Saute garlic and onion in 1 Tbsp. olive oil until the onions are translucent. Transfer mixture to the bottom of your baking dish. Spread the mixture so that it evenly coats the dish.

Arrange vegetables in the baking dish, alternating with each slice. Try to stand the vegetables up on a slant, so that they will stay in position while baking. Sprinkle the sprigs of thyme on top of the vegetables and drizzle the remaining 1 tsp. of olive oil. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes, or until the potatoes are done. Remove the aluminum foil and the sprigs of thyme. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top and return to the oven. Allow the tian to cook for another 20 minutes. Serve.

Nothing yet...

2009-02-24T14:32:00.003-05:00

As some of you know, I haven't been feeling well for the past few weeks. So, I haven't been cooking. Hopefully I will be better soon and back in the kitchen.

Thanks for the emails!

Oops...

2009-02-04T15:49:00.002-05:00

I made two soups last week. Of course, you wouldn't know it, as I forgot to take pictures. I stayed home last Tuesday to wait for the plumber (only a few months in and I'm starting to really experience what being a homeowner is all about!). In order to pass the time, I decided to roast a butternut squash I had bought. This turned into roasted butternut squash soup. Tasty. I had never made it before, but i will again. (But next time, I will make it when others are around. I found out later that night that Joe HATES butternut squash. Which left me with a lot of soup to eat!)

By this time, the plumber still had yet to arrive. So, I made a potato leek soup. I used red potatoes, as my mother had dropped off a bag a few days prior. But, I bet it would be just as good with any other variety. The leek soup was lovely. And even better, Joe liked it too. I was able to freeze the leftover potato leek soup, so I'll add a picture when we have it. Until then, sorry!

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

1 large butternut squash, halved
1-2 c. chicken stock
1 tsp. olive oil
nutmeg
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place the halved squash on a baking sheet and drizzle with oil. Roast until the squash is fork tender, about an hour. Take the squash out of the oven and let it cool. Once cool, spoon out the squash (not the pulp) into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Add salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste. Slowly add chicken stock until you reach the desired consistency. Place mixture in a pot and warm.

*I have also heard of people chopping the squash ahead of time and roasting the pieces. I'm sure that either method works fine.

Potato and Leek Soup
1 large head of leeks, washed and chopped
2 c. potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 quart chicken broth
1 c. whole milk
1 c. heavy cream
4 Tbsp. butter
salt and pepper

Melt butter over medium-low heat in a heavy bottomed pot. Add leeks and a pinch of salt. Cover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add potatoes and broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover. Allow soup to simmer until potatoes are soft, about 45 minutes to an hour. Remove pot from heat and blend with an immersion blender or a regular blender in batches. Return soup to pot and add cream and milk. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Chinese New Year

2009-01-28T12:56:00.007-05:00

To celebrate the Chinese New Year, I decided to make something Chinese (or at lease Chinese inspired). I only had shrimp, so I sauteed them and made a few sauces to dip them into. I also made Jasmine rice to go with it. The sauces were a bit of an experiment- you know, where you open your pantry and fridge and toss everything into the bowl? I made a spicy sauce and a tart sauce. I also put out some soy sauce, which is the middle sauce in the picture above. This was just in case the other two sauces were overpowering. We didn't end up using the soy sauce, as the two experiments worked out well.

Happy New Year!

Shrimp
I seasoned the shrimp with salt and pepper, then sauteed them with green onions and 2 Tbsp. butter. I wanted the shrimp to be very basic, so that we could really taste the sauces.

Spicy Sauce
As I have mentioned here before, I am a total wimp when it comes to spicy food. I can barely take my food Mild. But, Joe likes very spicy food, so I try my best to accommodate him. The last time I made a "spicy" sauce for him, he didn't even taste any heat. So I knew I had to kick it up this time. And boy did he taste the heat! He said it was really good-and very hot. I obviously didn't even attempt a try. For the sauce, whisk together the following ingredients:

3 Tbsp. Sweet Chili Sauce (found in the Asian section of the supermarket)
1 tsp. vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp. Ketchup
2 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
3 Tbsp. Tabasco Sauce

Tart Sauce
Mix together:

Juice and zest of 1 lime
1/2 tsp. rice wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

Jasmine Rice
1 c. jasmine rice
2 c. Chicken Broth
1 shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. Vegetable oil

Saute the garlic and shallot in the vegetable oil until translucent over high heat. Add the rice and stir, allowing the rice to toast a bit. Cook, while stirring, for 3 minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium for 15 minutes, until rice is tender.

Chicken Crepes

2009-01-16T13:52:00.009-05:00

I don't really eat leftovers. I'm one of those people who gets sick of a taste really quickly. Which is why I make a wide variety of foods. That being said, I also try not to be wasteful. So I have to trick my taste buds into thinking my leftovers are something different. As was the case last night. I had leftover chicken in the fridge that needed to be used up. I decided to recreate a crepe that I had eaten at a local French restuarant.

I made the crepe batter and put it in the fridge for awhile. Joe was at school late last night, so I knew I had a few hours before I was going to make the crepes. I then shredded the leftover chicken and set it aside. I usually find Gruyere chese in my crepes, but I didn't have any on hand. Instead, I grated some Dubliner (Irish cheddar-SO GOOD!). I made a basic Bechamel sauce (recipe below) and in under 15 minutes, I had dinner ready to be made/assembled. I made the crepes once Joe was home and added chicken, sauce, and cheese as the filling. Joe (as always) added bacon. They turned out very well. The only thing I would do is change the size of the crepes. I'm so used to making dessert crepes, that I used my smaller frying pan to make them. However, dinner crepes are usually much bigger, and able to hold more filling. We ended up eating two smaller crepes each. Next time I'll just make two big ones. Very yummy!

Bechamel

All you need is even amounts of flour and butter, and some milk. I made my sauce by combining 2 tsp. flour with 2 tsp. butter over medium heat. I allowed the mixture to cook for about 2-3 minutes, then whisked in 1 1/2 c. milk. Allow the sauce to thicken. I wanted a runnier sauce, so I had more milk. If you want a thicker sauce, reduce the amount of milk you put in.

Crepes

Chicken

Cheese

Finished Product

I love quick and delicious dinners! :)

Winterfest!

2009-01-06T13:11:00.006-05:00

Bratwurst, German potato salad, cucumber dill salad, and a tall cold Warsteiner. That was our little Winterfest for last night's dinner. After a few very looong days, it was nice to have some warm comfort food.

I'll admit, I'm new to the German food scene. I realize that much of the country considers this sort of stuff usual fare, but living in South Florida, it's new to us. We've eaten at some awesome German restuarants and even cook bratwurst at home, but that's about it. I had a good amount of time to prepare dinner, so I decided to experiment. I looked online through many different German recipes and decided to merge the best elements into one for my first try.

Bratwurst

6 bratwurst (found at the meat counter of any supermarket)
2 12 oz bottles of beer (I used Blue Moon Winter Ale)
2 Tbsp butter
1 small onion, chopped

I cooked the onion in the butter for a few minutes, then added the beer. I allowed the mixture to cook for 5 minutes, then added the bratwurst. I allowed the bratwurst to simmer until I was ready to grill them. Since the brats are cooked in the beer, grilling only takes a few minutes. Joe likes his in a bun, but I could just as easily eat mine plain.

Apparently, there is a discussion about weather or not to pierce the brats before putting them in the beer solution. I usually pierce mine before grilling them, but I decided to leave them alone this time. The flavor of the bratwurst was excellent. I'm sure that this was more to do with the beer than anything else. But, it may make a difference.

German Potato Salad

I hate, HATE potato salad. I like mayo. I like potatos. I HATE potato salad. Don't know why, but I do. Which usually sucks during picnics. So, I thought I'd try German potato salad to see if I could find something I like. I LOVED it! I will definately be bringing these to the next picnic! I served it warm, but it was equally good at room temperature.

4 Potatos, peeled and diced
4 slices of thick cut bacon
1 small onion, diced
3 Tbsp. Fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1 Tbsp. white vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. water
salt and pepper to taste

Put potatoes in a pot and cover with water. Cook for 8-10 minutes, or until potatos are done. Drain and set potatos aside.

In a large pan, cook bacon until crispy. Remove bacon and set aside. Cook onions in bacon grease until translucent. Add potatoes and parsley and mix well. Add vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper to the pan and bring to a boil. Cook for a few minutes, or until potatos are warm. Top with crumbled bacon and serve.

Cucumber Dill Salad

1 Long seedless cucumber, peeled
2 Tbsp. Fresh Dill, chopped
1 Shallot, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp. Sugar
1 1/2 tsp. White vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Thinly slice cucumber. I used the slicer side of my boxed grater to ensure that I would have even slices. Add shallots and dill to the cucumbers and allow them to rest for at least 5 mintues. In a bowl, mix together sugar vinegar, salt and pepper. Pour dressing over cucumbers when ready to serve.

Our trip to the Farmer's Market

2008-12-31T10:46:00.006-05:00

One of the things I love about moving back to Hollywood (FL) is getting to visit my old haunts. This weekend, I talked Joe into going to Josh's Organic Market with me. If you're local- go there! Years ago, I used to go to Josh's when it was located in Downtown Hollywood. Now, he has relocated to Hollywood Beach. The market is set up every Sunday. What a variety!! I picked up baby bok choy, broccoli, zuchinni, snow peas, and green chard. I gave the chard to my mom and thought about what I could make with my lovely veggies. As luck would have it, I was sick on Sunday, so I didn't get to cook them until last night.

I decided to make veggie stir fry. First, I cut up all my veggies into bite sized pieces. I heated 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil over hight heat in my wok. I tossed in 3 minced cloves of garlic and about 1 Tbsp. of minced ginger. I let them cook for about 2 minutes, then pulled them out so that they would not burn. This was just to flavor the oil. I was out of garlic oil, but if I had some, I would have skipped this step. I then added an additional Tbsp. of vegetable oil and an onion that I had diced. I let the onion cook until it was translucent (but not brown) then added the prepared veggies. I let them cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently. I then added a cup of chicken broth and let the veggies cook for about 5 minutes. During this time, I mixed together 1 Tbsp. Soy sauce with 2 tsp. water and 1 tsp. flour. I would have used cornstarch, but I was out. I whisked the flour mixture into the wok and cooked the veggies for another minute or so until they were done. They were perfectly crispy.

Although the thought of all these veggies made me VERY happy, I knew we (read: Joe) would need some protein. I had defrosted a few thin boneless pork chops overnight. I seasoned each side with salt and pepper, then rubbed Dijon mustard onto each side. The chops got a quick sear on each side in a hot pan with 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil. I cut the chops into bite sized pieces and put them back into the pan to brown. I served the pork over the vegetables.

Joe was never big on vegetables. He never understood "side dishes." To him, all he needed was a thick steak, and maybe some potatoes. So, when he likes a dish that's 85% veggies, you know it's good. I really, really liked our dinner last night. The sauce was simple, allowing the freshness of the vegetables to shine through. I think I've made a believer out of Joe. Bring on the vegetables!

Kidney Bean Soup

2008-12-26T10:47:00.000-05:00

I threw together this soup a few days ago when I was really hungry and didn't have much in the way of lunch. It turned out to be very good and I had plenty left over to freeze for another day! I don't like spicy foods, but Joe liked his with Tobasco sauce in it.

1/2 lb bacon, diced
1 large shallot, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 c. carrots, chopped
1 c. celery, chopped
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 c. green peppers, diced
1 can kidney beans, rinsed
1 c. orzo
1 1/2 quarts beef broth
1 tsp. dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Cook bacon in a large pot until crunchy. Add olive oil, garlic, shallot, carrots, celery and peppers. Cook until the vegetables are tender, about 7 minutes. Add beef broth and deglaze the pan. Add beans, orzo, and spices. Bring soup to a boil, then turn down the heat to simmer. Cook until the orzo is done, about 8-10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Makes 6 servings

473...474...475!

2008-12-19T13:44:00.001-05:00

I'm back! We are finally settled into our home, new appliances and all. For my first baking project in the new home, I volunteered to bake some goodies for our office holiday dessert party. I was to make 150 miniature cream puffs, 150 caramel pecan squares, and 150 chocolate mousse cups. I ended up with 25 extra mousse cups, making the grand total of 475 desserts. It was a LONG night! Thanks to C, L, and Z for their help!

Cream Puffs

I used this Pate e Choux recipe from Alton Brown. I find it to be the most versatile. I also used the pastry creme recipe used here. Once the puffs come out of the oven, pierce with a knife to release the steam. Once cooled, pipe pastry creme into puffs. Top with chocolate, if desired.

*I had to make this recipe 3 times to make 150 golf ball sized cream puffs.

Chocolate Mousse Cups
After several (failed) attempts at making the chocolate cups using mini muffin, wrappers, I decided to use candy molds. Instead of following directions on the package, I found better luck by melting the chocolate, then painting it into the cups using a pastry brush. I left each mold in the fridge for 5-10 minutes until set. They popped right out! I only had 16 molds, so it took awhile, but it was worth it!

Chocolate Molds:

Chocolate Mousse
10 ounces semisweet chocolate
1 1/2 ounces butter
5 egg whites
5 egg yolks
8 ounces heavy cream, whipped
1 ounce water
2 ounces sugar

Prepare a double boiler. First, melt the chocolate and butter over the water. Set aside. In a separate bowl, combine egg yolks, 1 ounce sugar, and 1 ounce of water. Whisk together over the hot water for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and continue whisking until cool. In another bowl, combine the egg whites with the remaining sugar. Whisk over hot water for 5 minutes, until the egg whites are fluffy. Remove from head and continue whisking until cool. Fold the egg whites into the yolk mixture. Then, fold in the butter chocolate mixture. Finally, fold in the whipped cream. Put into fridge to cool for at least 15 minutes.The mousse will fluff up a bit after cooling. At that point, pipe it into the prepared chocolate cups.

*I made 2 batches to fill 175 cups.

Caramel Pecan Squares

The idea for these came from a recent episode of Barefoot Contessa. She made her own version, which I used as a base recipe. I changed it to use orange blossom honey and 1/2 lb more pecans. I opted not to dip them in chocolate, as they were very sweet alone!

Crust
1 1/4 pounds unsalted butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
3/4 tsp. vanilla
4 1/2 cups AP flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream the butter and granulated sugar until light. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. In a separate bowl, add flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix the dry ingredients slowly into the batter. Work the dough into a 18 x 12 x 1 inch pan and press down evenly. Bake for 15 minutes, until crust is set. Do not allow it to brown. Remove from oven and prepare topping.

Baked Crust:

Topping
1 pound unsalted butter
1 cup orange blossom honey
3 cups brown sugar
1 tsp. orange zest
1 tsp. lemon zest
1/4 c. heavy cream
2 1/2 lbs. chopped pecans

Combine butter, honey, zest, and brown sugar in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Cook over low heat until the butter is melting, stirring often. Once the butter has melted, raise the heat and boil the mixture for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in heavy cream and pecans. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool. I suggest cutting the bars as soon as they come out of the oven. You will have to cut them again after they've cooled, but I found it to be much easier this way.

* I made 3 batches in order to have 150 small squares.

Topping going on Crust:

Fresh out of Oven:

So Close!

2008-11-24T14:22:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, this is a short post with no recipe. But there is good news:

We finally bought our new house! Yay! We've spent the last week or so updating the place before we move in over Thanksgiving weekend. Needless to say, there hasn't been much cooking going on.

Our new house has an interesting kitchen. Although we're going to wait a few months to update the cabinets, we've already ordered new appliances. I just couldn't deal with appliances that are older than I am!

It's safe to say that I won't have any new food posts for another week. The following pics are from our new house: note the mess and understand why there haven't been new posts!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Apologies go well with shrimp....

2008-11-07T14:01:00.000-05:00

Well to start, I apologize. It's been over a MONTH since my last post. tsk tsk

We've been in the process of buying our first home, and well... there hasn't been much time for good food. I've been mostly cooking standards.

But, it seems that all is settled (for now) and we will close on our home by the end of the month. So, I will be getting back into the kitchen. I'm hungry!

Last night, I wasn't really prepared for dinner. Usually, I'm one of those people that plans out a week's worth of dinners on Sunday. That way there's no thinking involved after work. I just come home, kick off my heels, don the apron and cook.

Since I've been out of the kitchen for awhile, I didn't want one of the usuals for dinner. I started deveining and peeling the 10 oz of shrimp I had in the fridge while contemplating what I could do with them. Then my mind drifted to work and the house...and well, I went on autopilot.

Have you ever cooked a meal without being sure of what you were doing? As in, you don't know what you want your outcome to be? That was me last night. Once I was done peeling my shrimp, I randomly put some water to boil. Then I added penne to cook. At this point I had raw shrimp and penne. Not much of a dinner...

I chopped up a green pepper and sauteed it with 1/2 tsp. olive oil. I tossed in the shrimp and added garlic and a pinch each of onion powder, oregano, and basil. I removed the shrimp once they were cooked. At this point I realized that I had pasta and no sauce of any kind. So, I melted 1 Tbsp. butter into the pan. I added the pene and shrimp and coated them well. Once in the serving bowls, I topped the pasta with a bit of grated Parmesan cheese.

It was only then that I realized that I hadn't really given this meal any thought. I just threw it all together. Which meant that there was a good chance that we were going to be ordering pizza for dinner. I called my husband into the kitchen and made him taste the pasta, not warning him that it might taste awful (poor guy).

He loved it! Said it was very different from my usual dishes. I must admit, it was pretty good. So, although this is not a difficult or impressive dish, I thought I would share it.

I'll be back soon, I promise. Besides, I'll have a big kitchen to cook in.

Happy Friday!

All Marbled Up and Nowhere to Go

2008-10-02T12:53:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, a coworker of mine told me about a marble cake that she had recently purchased. When she got home, she found the cake to be stale. Don't you just hate that? You spend all day thinking about something particular and nothing will satisfy that need! Well, later that night, the marble cake was on my mind. I decided to make a marble cake to bring to work.

I made batches of chocolate cake and yellow cake.

I first made a regular 9" round yellow cake with chocolate swirls.

Then, I made a chocolate bundt cake with yellow swirls.

I still had left over batter! So, I decided to make mini yellow cupcakes with chocolate swirls in my new mini muffin pan (thanks RP!).

I made 24 mini cupcakes, although I had a bit of leftover batter, so I could have probably made it to 30. But, it was getting close to midnight, and I was pretty tired. I brought the mini's and half of each cake to work for my co-workers to taste test. Consensus: Light, fluffy, and very tasty.

Chocolate Cake:

3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa
powder, plus more for dusting pan
1 1/2 cups water
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
16 Tbs. (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 325°F. Grease the bottom and sides of a cake pan and dust with cocoa powder.

In a small saucepan over high heat, bring the water to a boil. Pour into a small heatproof bowl and whisk in the 3/4 cup cocoa powder. Let cool to lukewarm.

In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium-high, slowly add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and beat for 30 seconds.

Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the cocoa mixture and beginning and ending with the flour. Beat each addition until just incorporated, stopping the mixture occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Tap the pan gently on a work surface to break up any air pockets. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 60 to 65 minutes.

Vanilla Cake:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. kosher salt
16 Tbs. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup sour cream
4 eggs
1 Tbs. vanilla extract

Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 350°F. Grease and flour the cake pan.

Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer. In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sour cream, eggs and vanilla until combined. Fit the mixer with the flat beater. Add the butter mixture to the flour mixture and beat on the lowest speed until the dry ingredients are moistened, 15 to 20 seconds. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 30 seconds.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean, 18 to 22 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes, then invert the cake onto the rack and let cool.

Williams Sonoma

Mini Cheesecakes

2008-09-23T11:01:00.000-04:00

These mini cheesecakes are quite tasty. The original recipe was good, but I added a little bit of vanilla extract, and liked the taste much better. I added a bit of raspberry glaze to mine, but they were very tasty on their own. I will definately make these again. They are small and easy: good for parties. Enjoy!

Mini Cheesecakes

1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted
2 Tbs. plus 1/3 cup granulated sugar
12 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
2 eggs
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat an oven to 325°F. Lightly butter the wells of a mini cheesecake pan or a mini-muffin tin.

In a bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, butter and the 2 Tbs. granulated sugar and stir until blended. Divide the mixture among the prepared wells. Using the bottom of a shot glass or other small glass, press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the wells. Bake the crusts for 10 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool.

Reduce the oven temperature to 275°F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, combine the cream cheese and the 1/3 cup granulated sugar and beat on low speed until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl often. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Add the cream and vanilla. Beat until blended. Pour the filling into the crusts, dividing it evenly among the wells.

Bake until the filling is set, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer the pan to the wire rack and let cool to room temperature. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
William-Sonoma Kitchens

Fudge Brownies

2008-09-23T10:14:00.000-04:00

I like Martha Stewart's fudge brownie recipe from her book, Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook. But, I like a really rich brownie. To her recipe, I add about 1/4 c. of chocolate syrup or fudge sauce (depending on what I have at the moment). I also follow the advice of a friend, who adds a chopped up candy bar on top of a boxed brownie mix to jazz it up a bit. I chop up one Tolberone bar to put on top of each batch of brownies. They really add to the brownies, both visually and texturally. These brownies usually go over very well with any crowd. Just make sure to have a tall glass of milk handy!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
8oz bittersweet chocolate
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
1/4 c. Chocolate syrup/fudge sauce
1 candy bar, coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 350. Butter/pam an 8-inch square baking pan or heatproof glass dish.

Place butter and chocolate in a large heatproof bowl set over (but not touching) simmering water; stir frequently until chocolate and butter are melted, about 7 minutes. Remove bowl from heat; let cool to room temperature about 10-15 minutes.

Stir sugar into cooled chocolate mixture until combined. Whisk in eggs one at a time, whisking until smooth after each addition. Whisk in vanilla. Gently fold in flour, chocolate sauce, and salt.

Pour batter into prepared pan, and smooth top with an offset spatula. Sprinkle candy bar bits evenly over the brownies. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached, 40 to 45 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

Elephant Ears

2008-09-21T15:48:00.001-04:00

I haven't been able to try many new recipes over the past two weeks. The husband and I have been working on a project, which will hopefully be done soon. I'm trying to get back into the normal swing of things this week. I decided that I'll have a week of pastries, from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook. Since I didn't have much time to bake today, I started with something quick and easy, elephant ears. While Martha recommends making your own pastry dough, I happen to have a box of frozen puff pastry ready to be used. I made bite sized pieces, that way I could have one or two with my coffee or tea. Yummy!

Elephant Ears

1 box of puff pastry (or you can be good and make your own)
1/2 c. cinnamon
3/4 c. granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out thawed pastry dough. Mix cinnamon and sugar together and spread over dough. Roll one side of the dough towards the middle, then roll the other side to meet the first. Cut into 1" slices, then dip one side of each pastry into the cinnamon sugar. Place pastries cinnamon sugar side up onto a cookie sheet lined with a silicone sheet or parchment paper. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden. Allow pastries to cool on a rack.
Makes 20 regular sized pastries.
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

Fettucini Alfredo

2008-09-09T09:22:00.000-04:00

Sorry that it's been awhile since my last post. I haven't had the time to try new recipes. But, last night, I managed to try a recipe that I've had bookmarked for months. But first, a little background:

One of my favorite places to eat is EPCOT at Walt Disney World. Almost every meal I've had at the different restaurants in the World Showcase is delicious. One of my favorite restaurants there has always been L'Originale Alfredo di Roma in the Italy pavilion. L'Originale Alfredo di Roma (in Rome, Italy) was the birthplace of Fettucini Alfredo. Alfredo's brother then came to the US and opened it's sister restaurant in EPCOT. Needless to say, the fettucini Alfredo there is...amazing. I don't even like standard fettucini Alfredo. But at Alfredo's, the fettucini was simple, rich, divine. I always wanted to try other meals there, but each time I went with the fettucini alfredo. When Alfredo's di Roma left the Italy pavilion this year, I swore that I would perfect the recipe myself at home. I was not going to go without this delicious pasta forever!

As it turned out, I didn't need to. All of the restaurants at the Walt Disney World are happy to give out their recipes. A quick Google search would return a plethora of web sites devoted to Disney recipes. My favorite is here. I finally got to it and made the pasta last night for dinner. It was so easy. I felt foolish for waiting so long to make this! It was delicious, and I will definitely make it again. I cooked some shrimp in butter to serve with the pasta. The two went well together, but I would serve the pasta alone as well. It's very filling! It's not exactly "low-fat" so I would also make this sparingly! ;)

This sauce makes your kitchen smell delicious, causing my little Oliver to wait very patiently for a taste!

Fettucini Alfredo from L'Originale Alfredo di Roma

1 lb. fettucini (I used Linguine,as I didn't have fettuccine at home)

1 c. Pulgra butter, unsalted
1/2 c. grated Parmigianno Regianno Cheese

Prepare pasta according to directions. Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat. Once butter is melted, stir in the grated cheese. Allow the mixture to cook over low heat for 5-7 minutes, or until pasta is done. Drain pasta and place into the sauce. Mix well and serve. Garnish with freshly cracked pepper.

Serves 4

Fried Shrimp Po' Boys

2008-08-20T11:31:00.000-04:00

I love shrimp po' boys. They are relatively simply sandwiches, consisting of fried seafood and served on a baguette with lettuce and some sort of aioli. I've never been to Louisiana to sample the real deal, but we have a couple of good places here in South Florida. Since I had a loaf of fresh bread and some shrimp, I decided to try making them at home. I also made some fresh potato chips to go along with the sandwiches. I was really happy with the outcome.

Shrimp
20 medium sized shrimp, cleaned with tail removed
1 c. Panko bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c. flour seasoned with salt and pepper to taste
Oil for frying

Coat shrimp in flour, egg, and bread crumbs. Carefully drop them into hot oil to deep fry. Do this in 3 batches so that the pot does not become crowded. Fry for about 3 minutes, until the shrimp are golden. Allow finished shrimp to rest on paper towels to absorb excess oil.

Aioli
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/8 tsp. onion powder
1/8 tsp. paprika
1/8 tsp. Cayenne pepper
a few dashes of Tabasco sauce
1 c. mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients. (I don't like spicy food, but my husband does. So I only added garlic, onion powder, salt and pepper to mine)

Potato Chips
4 large potatoes
Oil for frying
Sea Salt

Peel potatoes and slice into thin strips. I used the slicing attachment on my food processor so that I had even slices. Break up the potatoes into 2 batches. Fry the first batch for 2 minutes, then pull them out. Add the second batch and fry for 2 minutes. Pull the second batch out of the oil. Then re-fry each batch for 5 minutes, or until crispy and brown on the edges. I find that I get a crunchier potato by pre-frying everything first. Toss the finished potato chips liberally with sea salt.

To Assemble:
Spread aioli on both sides of the bread. Add shredded lettuce and fried shrimp to the sandwich. Squeeze fresh lemon onto sandwich and serve with potato chips.

Serves 2

Potato Bacon Cheddar Tart

2008-08-20T11:18:00.000-04:00

When I read about Brilynn's (of Jumbo Empanadas) post about her Potato Bacon Cheddar Tart, I just knew that I would be making it soon. My husband is, to put it mildly, obsessed with bacon. I don't get it. He's an athletic guy, with low cholesterol, who eats bacon like crazy. And my brother is no different. The two of them must go through pounds of bacon each week. What's worse is that the disease has spread. I now believe that everything is better with bacon (preferably bacon and cheese). So, a potato bacon cheddar tart was right up our alley.

I followed her directions, but I added layers of sliced shallots to mine. I also took put it under the broiler for 2 minutes, uncovered, to crisp up the bacon a bit more. 3 hours later, delicious. For the recipe and Brilynn's original post click here.

Sticky Wings

2008-08-20T11:02:00.000-04:00

While on our Disney trip, my husband and brother discovered an obsession for sticky wings (cut to the guys calling room service at 11:55 pm demanding MORE WINGS!) They were tasty, and I was pretty sure I could recreate them myself. The wings and drumettes were tasty, but the tenders were a bit dry. I'll stick to wings only next time.

Sticky Wings
1 1/2 lbs. Chicken wings
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. honey
1/2 c. balsamic venegar
1 Tbsp. thyme
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 garlic cloves, halved
1/3 c. brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste
sesame seeds (optional garnish)

Combine all ingredients except sesame seeds and chicken into a large storage bag. Allow the ingredients to combine well, then add chicken. Allow chicken to marinate for at least 15 minutes. Meanwhile, line a sheet pan with foil and preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place chicken on foil and bake, for about 20 minutes, turning once. Place marinade into a pot and bring to a boil. Brush onto finished chicken and top with sesame seeds.

Steak and Cheese Flatbreads

2008-08-18T12:32:00.000-04:00

My family recently took a week off for a Disney vacation. We had a lovely time, but by the time we got back, I was dying to get into the kitchen. I didn't have much in the kitchen to work with, so I made a flatbread.I used a premade thin crust dough for this one, as I didn't have time to make my own after work. The boursin cheese went really well with the steak. I will work on making them more visually appealing, but for now they are just delicious! Yummy!

Steak and Cheese Flatbread
2 6 oz. Steaks
2 tubes of premade dough
1/4 c. barbecue sauce
2 c. shredded cheddar
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
1/2 c. Boursin Cheese (I used the garlic and herb variety)
1/4 c. shallots, thinly sliced.
1/4 c. Worshistire sauce
1/4 c. Soy sauce
1 clove garlic, cut minced
salt and pepper

First, I marinated the steaks in a mixture of the soy sauce, worshistire sauce, salt, pepper, and garlic. The steaks marinated for about 15 minutes, then I grilled them until they were about medium done.

While the steaks rested, i prepared the flatbreads. I unrolled the crusts onto cookie sheets, then spread boursin cheese over them. I then added the shallots and the parmesan cheese. The steak was then cut into pieces and added to the flatbread. Next came a light drizzle fo barbecue sauce and a topping of cheddar cheese. They baked at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Makes 2 flatbreads

Parmesan Chicken with Broccoli Cheddar Soup

2008-07-30T10:17:00.000-04:00

The heat here in South Florida is what one would call "oppressive." This being the case yesterday, I was in the mood for a light dinner. I settled on parmesan chicken with a mixed green salad on top. I also made broccoli cheddar soup. Usually I don't like soups in the summer, but this one is light enough to enjoy.

Parmesan Chicken

2 chicken breasts
1 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 c. Panko bread crumbs
1/2 c. grated Parmesan
1 c. flour
2 eggs, beaten with a bit of water
salt and pepper

Pound the chicken breasts to thin them out a bit. In three seperate plates arrange the following: eggs, bread crumbs and parmesan, and flour with salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken in the flour first, then the egg mixture, and finally the bread crumbs. Heat the olive oil and butter in a pan over medium heat. Place chicken into the pan and allow to brown on each side, about 7 minutes total. Remove chicken and place onto paper towels, or a baking rack to drain some of the grease. Sprinkle with a bit more parmesan.

I plated the chicken first, then added a simple mixed green salad on top. The salad had a lemon vinegrette dressing contianing 1/2 c. olive oil, 1/4 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice, salt, and pepper. I topped off the salad with a bit more parmesan.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 bunch of broccoli
1 1/2 c. beer (I used Blue Moon)
2 quarts of chicken stock
1 1/2 c. heavy cream
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese (I used Irish cheddar)
4 Tbsp. whipped cream cheese
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
salt and pepper

Heat oil in a heavy pot or dutch oven. Add onion and cook until translucent. Add the beer and allow it to simmer until the alcohol has cooked off. Meanwhile prepare the broccoli: cut off the florets, trim the stalks and cut into disks. When the alcohol has cooked off, add the broccoli, stock, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Continue to cook until broccoli is very tender.

At this point, remove the pot from the heat, add the cream, and blend the soup with an immersion blender. Once smooth, add the cheddar and cream cheeses. Blend mixture again until smooth. Adjust seasonings as needed. Serve immediately.

Pound Cake Panini's

2008-07-29T10:26:00.000-04:00

So, I'm in love with Sticky, Gooey, Messy, Chewey by Jill O'Conner. It's pure heaven for chocoholics like myself. I purchased this cookbook last night and had to immediately try the following recipe. It was sooo good! I look forward to trying her other recipies!

1 loaf of pound cake
1/2 c. semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 Tbsp. Butter
Powdered Sugar

Slice the pound cake across the length of the loaf, to make large slices. Make sandwiches using the chocolate for the filling. Melt butter in a frying pan. Add sandwiches one at a time, turning them once, until edges are golden. Top sandwiches with powdered sugar. Enjoy!

Note- I used my panini griddle to make mine. Instead of melting butter, I used Pam to coat my griddle.

Beef Stew with Orzo

2008-07-29T10:09:00.000-04:00

After a really long day at work, it's nice to come home to good comfort food, like this stew. I usually make it a day in advance because it takes awhile to cook. By the time I get home from work, all I have to do is make the orzo.

1 lb. beef (I've used top round, shoulder, chuck; whatever you have)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1c. diced carrots
1c. diced celery
1c. diced onion
4c. chicken broth
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. Worshistire sauce
a few sprigs of fresh Rosemary
1 tsp. allspice
salt
pepper

1 c. orzo or rice, cooked according to package instructions.

Cover meat with Worshistire sauce. Set aside.

In a dutch oven or other large pot, heat olive oil on medium heat. Sautee garlic for 2 minutes, then add the onions, carrots, and celery. Allow vegetables to cook until softened, about 7 minutes. Add beef to pot and brown on all sides. Once beef is browned, add the chicken broth, allspice, rosemary, and salt and pepper to taste.

Allow the mixture to simmer until beef is fork tender. For 1 lb meat, this usually takes about 90 minutes. Serve with broth over orzo or rice.

Stuffed Squash and Green Beans (Kousa)

2008-07-23T14:24:00.001-04:00

This is another traditional Lebanese recipe. It is made by using little green squash, not yellow ones. They look similar to zuchinni, but are half the size. If your supermarket does not have them (as mine does not), farmer's or vegetable markets are your best bet. The squash are hollowed out, being careful not to break a hole through the skin of the squash. They are then stuffed with a mixture of uncooked rice, raw ground beef, salt, and pepper. Once the squash are stuffed, you can either freeze them, or begin making the dish.

Kousa
6-8 stuffed squash
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 lb. ground beef
1 16 oz. can of tomato sauce
2 boxes frozen green beans, french style, defrosted
water
salt
pepper

In a bottom heavy pot, sautee onion with 1 Tbsp. olive oil until translucent. Stir in ground beef and cook together. Once the gound beef is cooked, add green beans. Stir and allow the mixture to cook for 10 minutes. Take out half of the green bean mixture and set into a bowl. Place the squash on top of the remaining mixture. Top squash with the reserved green bean mixture. Add the tomato sauce, salt, pepper, and enough water to cover. Cook on medium-low heat for about an hour.

I apologize for not having a picture!

Baked With Love...

2008-07-23T13:33:00.000-04:00

It's my birthday! (real, not blog)

I have been a little down lately. Someone recently broke in and stole my beloved pet turtles. (I know, who steals turtles??) To cheer me up, my AWESOME husband decided to make me a birthday cake. Most of the time, I bake everyone a cake on their birthday. But then I have no cake on mine. So Joe spent all night last night in the kitchen while I watched TV- talk about a role reversal! I was banned from even helping. But, I did make him promise to take pictures of his creation in its various stages, for blogging purposes. So, just to be clear: I had nothing to do with the making or decorating of this cake whatsoever. I didn't even take these pictures. I was allowed to see it this morning, and I'm really looking forward to eating it! Without further ado, allow me to present:

My Birthday Turtle Cake

Ok, so Joe committed the cardinal sin of my kitchen and used boxed cake mixes and prepared frostings. But, as long as I'm not committing the sin, I guess it's ok. He baked 2 cakes, one chocolate and one vanilla. he put chocolate frosting in the middle, and covered it with buttercream frosting.

The first cake was cut down to be the body, while the second cake was shaped to be the shell.

He dyed the fondant green and striped on the shell markings.

Legs and a tail were added.He couldn't add a head because it wouldn't fit on my cake holder, and we would be transporting this cake to my birthday dinner. So, he added some eyes peeking out from underneath the shell, as if the turtle were hiding. This is very realistic, as it is how my turtles always reacted to him!

I can't wait to eat this cake! And, it was SUCH a sweet gesture. Even though I didn't make this cake, it was so nice that I had to post about it.
Thanks Joe!!!

Brown Butter Nut Muffins

2008-07-15T11:43:00.000-04:00

I finally made these muffins, after months of thinking about them. Originally, I wanted to use hazelnuts. But, for some reason, I simply cannot find hazelnuts! I’ve tried local grocery stores, health food stores, Costco, and Whole Foods. So, I’ve given up on the hazelnuts. Instead, I used pine nuts. The result was good. I’m don’t make muffins too often, because I don’t really eat them. But, these were a nice departure from the very sweet cakes I’ve been making as of late. I don’t have a mini muffin pan, so I had to use mini muffin wrappers in regular muffin sized tins. So, excuse the very flat tops! I love the taste of brown butter; it complimented the pine nuts. The powdered sugar on top helped to balance out the nuttiness. The muffin itself was a little chewy, good for breakfast or dessert!

Brown Butter Nut Muffins
½ c. of toasted nuts (I used pine nuts)
2/3 c. powdered sugar
½ c. cake flour
½ c. granulated sugar
3 egg whites
1 stick of unsalted butter, cubed

Put toasted nuts and powdered sugar into food processor. Pulse until the mixture has a fine consistency. In a bowl, combine the granulated sugar and flour. Add the nut mixture to the flour mixture. Set aside.

Over medium heat, melt butter. Allow the butter to continue cooking for about 5 or 6 minutes until the edges are light brown and foamy. Add the butter to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Finally, add egg whites and mix until incorporated.

Line a mini muffin pan with liners. Fill liners halfway with batter. Bake for 15 minutes at 350.

Allow muffins to cool, then sprinkle on more powdered sugar.

My batch made 24 mini muffins.

Cheesecake Pops

2008-07-14T11:00:00.000-04:00

I am not yet ready to subscribe in the Daring Baker challenges. But, I do look forward to their monthly submissions. In April, their challenge was to make cheesecake pops based off of a recipe from Jill O’Connor. This weekend, I decided to give it a try myself. After passing samples out to family and friends, the consensus was that they were pretty darn good.

Cheesecake Pops
24 oz. cream cheese at room temperature
1 c. sugar
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
pinch salt
3 eggs
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 Tbsp heavy cream

4" lollipop sticks

Position oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Set some water to boil.

In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and salt on low speed until smooth. Add the whole eggs and the egg yolks, one at a time. Then beat in the vanilla and cream.

Grease a 9" cake pan (not springform), then pour the batter into the pan. Place the pan in a larger roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with the boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake until the cheesecake is firm and slightly golden on top. The recipe says that the cheesecake should be done in 35 to 45 minutes, but mine took about 70 minutes.

Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and cool to room temperature. Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very cold, at least 3 hours or up to overnight.

When the cheesecake is cold and very firm, cut 2 oz. rounds of cheesecake release from the cutter onto parchment paper. Roll the cheesecake into circles then carefully insert a lollipop stick into each cheesecake ball. Freeze the cheesecake pops, uncovered, until very hard, at least 2 hours.

When the cheesecake pops are frozen and ready for dipping, prepare the toppings. I used melted milk chocolate to coat, white chocolate for drizzling, and lavender colored sugar (to match my paper liners) to finish. Dip the frozen cheesecake pop in the melted chocolate. Shake off excess and roll in any additional toppings you desire. Refrigerate pops on a parchment lined cookie sheet for up to 24 hours, until ready to serve.

adapted from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey by Jill O’Connor.

Chicken Cheddar Pizza

2008-07-11T12:56:00.000-04:00

My newest pizza/flatbread creation:

I didn't have much time to make dinner the other night, which usually leads to experimentation. Since I had some already prepared pizza dough, I decided to try a new pizza. I cooked 2 chicken breasts with barbecue sauce, then shredded them. On the flattened pizza dough, I added: 1/4 c. Barbecue sauce, the shredded chicken, 1/4c. shallots (sliced thinly), and about 2c. of shredded Irish Cheddar. I baked it on a greased cookie sheet for 20 minutes at 350. The results were suprisingly delicious! The barbecue sauce added a sweet side, complimenting the sharp cheddar cheese. I think I will make this and serve small strips as finger food at my next party.

A Disney Birthday

2008-07-07T13:35:00.000-04:00

My cousin's birthday was this past weekend. And, as promised, I made him a birthday cake. After much thought, a Disney cake seemed appropriate (he's a Disney freak like me). His favorite character being Goofy left me no choice: a Goofy had to be made.

I recruited my husband for this project, and we spent many hours debating how we would tackle it. We ended up using a bit of floral wire to secure Goofy's frame (totally the husband's idea). As for the cakes, I made 4 9" round Devil's Food Cakes. I filled them with a Chocolate Ganache and frosted them with vanilla buttercream. After they were shaped as Mickey's head and ears, each cake was covered in black fondant. Finally a painted Goofy was afixed on top. All in all, a success.

Devil's Food Cakes
Chocolate Ganache

Goofy
I don't want to bore all of you with pictures of Goofy being made. If you are interested in seeing the progression, follow this link.
Enjoy!

Fourth of July Tart

2008-07-07T13:17:00.001-04:00

My 4th of July tart was made using a basic tart shell (I'm not big on the almond variety), pastry creme, fresh strawberries and blueberries, and an apricot glaze.

The pastry creme recipe is as follows:

Pastry Cream:
5 extra-large egg yolks, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 cups scalded milk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon Cognac
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon heavy cream
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the egg yolks and sugar on medium-high speed for 4 minutes, or until very thick. Reduce to low speed, and add the cornstarch.

With the mixer still on low, slowly pour the hot milk into the egg mixture. Pour the mixture into a medium saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture thickens, 5 to 7 minutes. Don't be alarmed when the custard comes to a boil and appears to curdle; switch to a whisk and beat vigorously. Cook, whisking constantly, for another 2 minutes; the custard will come together and become very thick, like pudding. Stir in the vanilla, Cognac, butter, and heavy cream. Pour the custard through a sieve into a bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on the custard and refrigerate until cold.

Pastry creme recipe based on Ina Garten's recipe.

In a Chocolate State of Mind...

2008-06-25T13:11:00.000-04:00

Last night, my father-in-law came over for dinner. He's a great eater, not picky at all, and appreciative of anything you make. He is also a fan of home cooked meals. So, I made Shephard's Pie. Although this dish is not elegant or challenging, it is tasty and I love it!

But...later, after my hearty meal had digested, I got that urge. I needed something chocolate. My mind immediately went to the jar of Nuetella that was in the pantry and the bunch of bananas in the fruit bowl. It was time for crepes.

Though I love crepes, I don't make them too often. I'm not even sure of when I last made them. After rummaging around my notebook, I found this recipe, a mixture of about 10 different recipes I had seen before. I prepared the batter, then let it sit for 45 minutes before making the crepes. Nuetella and bananas for the filling totally hit the spot.

No longer Newlyweds....

2008-06-18T15:30:00.000-04:00

Wow, a year? I can’t believe that it has been a year already. June 16th was our first wedding anniversary. Our wedding was held at the Grand Floridian at Walt Disney World, in Orlando, Florida. The food was amazing that day. For our anniversary, I decided to re-create the meal we had at our wedding. As nice as that sounds, we had a 5 course dinner at our wedding. I wasn’t concerned with making the food; I was more concerned with making the food, and enjoying it with my husband. I didn’t want to rush through the courses, but I didn’t want the food to get cold either. Fortunately, the food was perfect. And, it turns out that our year-old cake layer was delicious! I set the table using our fine (read: unused) china and all. It was a lovely, romantic dinner.

*Note: My wedding menu is listed in italics. My changes are described below each course*

Appetizer: Risotto Cake topped with Warm Buffalo Mozzarella, Roasted Garlic and Thinly Sliced Prosciutto Served with Roasted Red Pepper Coulis

Well, I’ll be honest. I did not make the risotto cake or the roasted red pepper coulis. I couldn’t figure out how to make the risotto cake, even after numerous internet searches, and I personally don’t like red peppers. I also don’t like prosciutto, but my husband lives for it, so that stayed. Instead, I toasted baguette slices with olive oil. I then topped them with the mozzarella, garlic, prosciutto (tomato for me), and balsamic vinaigrette.

Salad: Caesar Salad with Croutons and Shredded Asagio Cheese

I had never made my own Caesar salad dressing before, mostly because I wasn’t sure about the anchovies. But for the sake of good food, I dealt with it. I used a recipe from the Food Network’s website for the Caesar Salad and the croutons. It turned out delicious, but a bit too spicy for me. I won’t add the hot sauce to the dressing next time.

Intermezzo: Champagne Sorbet

Well, I don’t have an ice-cream maker, so making my own sorbet was out of the question. Instead, I made a champagne granita. I used an Asti, so that the granita would be sweet and refreshing. I served the granita in chilled martini glasses, just like they did at our wedding. It was delicious! The best part was that I have a lot leftover, a real treat in the hot South Florida weather!

Main Course: Beef Filet Mignon Served with Cabernet Sauce, Lobster Tail, Roasted Garlic Mashed Potato, Asparagus & Baby Carrots

I originally intended to keep dinner a surprise. That is, until I realized I’d be responsible for the lobster. And I could not deal with the lobster. My husband is responsible for all shellfish in our household. I have a strange issue with seeing my food in its whole form before I eat it. Needless to say, killing a lobster is not in my repertoire. So, I had to tell my husband about the dinner. He was happy to help out. He picked the lobsters at the supermarket, hid them from me, and then kicked me out of the kitchen so that he could do his thing. Totally worth blowing the surprise!

I kept the filets pretty simple: salt and pepper on each side. I first cooked them in my grill pan on the stove for 2 minutes on each side. I then put them into the oven until they were done (Joe likes medium, I like medium-well). I then let them rest while we started our meal.

I made a few changes with the vegetables. While we love garlic mashed potatoes, I make them regularly. So, it wasn’t very special any more. Instead, I added Boursin Cheese to the mashed potatoes. They were delicious, and a perfect pairing for the filet. I made Asparagus and Broccolini, as I couldn’t find good looking carrots, only the “baby” variety. The Cabernet Sauce was made using another Food Network recipe. It was delicious, and I can no longer imagine steak without it!

Dessert: Wedding Cake

Although we had a Disney wedding (and are TOTAL Disney freaks), we kept Mickey out of the theme. There were only 2 places where he could be found: our chocolate place cards and our cake. Our cake was over the top and wonderful. It had a White Chocolate Castle on top (which I enjoyed after the honeymoon), white chocolate bridges, and a Lennox Mickey and Minnie (provided by my Aunt). It was totally Disney.

My mom and dad were awesome. They took total responsibility for the top layer of the cake, to preserve tradition. They even drove straight home from Orlando with the cake near the A/C vents to ensure that the cake would not go bad in the summer heat. Needless to say, I was going to eat that cake. Since my husband was convinced that year-old cake was going to be disgusting, he warned me that he would take no part in eating it. So I got to pick the flavors (as each tier had a different flavor and filling). Naturally, I chose chocolate cake with dark chocolate mousse filling.

We had the cake with the same kind of Champagne served at our wedding. I think my husband (who is not a chocolate fan) ate more (year-old) cake than I did. It was that good. And, I look forward to having the rest of the layer this week!

I think this dinner may need to become tradition. To another year…

A Cake for Father's Day

2008-06-17T14:42:00.000-04:00

My father has a serious sweet tooth (we are very much alike) and likes golf, while I am trying to perfect my decorating skills. So, the golf cake for Father's Day was born.

My aunt has taken up an interest in cake decorating as well. So, we did this one together. We started with two 9" round butter cakes. (I know, I just did that with the red hat cake! But, I thought my dad would like those best, so excuse the repeat!)

Chocolate buttercream went on top of the first and third layers, while a bananna and strawberry mixture went onto the second layer. The buttercream was piped onto the cake by my Aunt, who was practicing her piping skills. Looking good!

The entire cake was then covered in buttercream. Let's just say that we're a chocolate kind of family!

The white fondant went on first as a base.

We then dyed some fondant green. The green fondant was cut to form hills for the side of the cake, and a putting green for the top of the cake.

We had purchased a plastic golfer, which included a plastic hole and golf ball. Those were added to the top, and little flags were adhered to the side of the cake. (ready for the bad pun?)

The cake.....was a hole in one!

Red Hatters Love Cake!

2008-06-17T14:04:00.000-04:00

My family has their own chapter of the Red Hat's Society. Even though I am in my 20's, I go to their get-togethers as a "Pink-Hatter." This month the RHS decided to go out to lunch, and I made a Red Hat Cake to bring to along.

I started out with a basic butter cake (recipe to be added soon). I made two 9" rounds and one 12" round. The 12" round was cut to fit my cake holder, using a dinner plate as a guide.

I then assembled the cake, using chocolate buttercream and raspberries as my filling.

The sides of the cake were trimmed to give the top of the hat rounded edges. I frosted the outside of the cake with the rest of the buttercream and put it in the refrigerator to set. Next, I dyed my fondant red using icing coloring. *Note: This took forever! So, don't attempt if you are in a hurry!* The red fondant covered the entire "hat."

I added blue to the leftover red fondant to make a purple "ribbon" for my hat. I then added a store-bought purple feather, and my cake was complete. This project took several hours to complete, from start to finish. But, it was well worth it!

Fried Goodness..

2008-06-12T10:53:00.001-04:00

I came home last night after a very looong day wanting comfort food, preferably something fried. I had already planned to make some marinara sauce to replenish my freezer, so I tried to come up with something that would go with the fresh sauce. I decided on fried ravioli. I had never tried to fry them, so I wasn't sure how they would turn out. But, I was willing to give them a try. They turned out really well; crunchy on the outside, creamy in the middle. Dipped in marinara, they hit the spot. The only thing, was that I prepared WAY too many. So I'm going to try freezing the unused ravioli for another day.

Fried Ravioli

2 c. Ricotta

1/2 c. Parmesan cheese, grated

salt

pepper

1/4 c. oil for frying

marinara sauce for dipping (optional)

I have made ravioli using both fresh dough, and in a pinch, prepared wonton wrappers. I have to say, the wonton wrappers turned out really well. I would use them again if I needed to. Either way, prepare the dough into large squares. Mix together the cheeses with salt and pepper to taste.

Wet the dough square using water and a pastry brush.Place 1/2 tsp. of filling into each of the quadrants on the dough.

Place a second square on top of the filling. Press down firmly along edges to seal the dough and form 4 squares. I then used my pastry tool to cut out the four ravioli.

Repeat until you have enough ravioli.

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Drop the ravioli into the water, a few at a time, to cook the dough a bit. The ravioli will float when they are done. Repeat in batches until all ravioli is cooked.

Heat oil in a pan. Add ravioli, a few at a time, turning them after a minute. They will turn golden after only a minute or two, so make sure you pay attention! Remove from pan and place on paper towels to remove excess oil. Serve immediately with marinara sauce for dipping.

Breakfast Bites

2008-06-10T14:16:00.000-04:00

I woke up late this morning. I hate waking up late, because then I tend to eat whatever is around, instead of a balanced breakfast. After a quick survey, I found 2 eggs, a package of quick biscuits, a little bit of milk, and some scraps of cheddar. Well, this would feed us, but it certainly wasn't going to be a culinary experience. I baked the biscuits, scrambled up the eggs, and made a basic cheese sauce. A couple of these breakfast bites for each of us, and we were good to go.

Rustic Italian Penne

2008-06-09T14:20:00.000-04:00

I used to hate Italian food. I know, I know...what was wrong with me? Tomato sauce has been my enemy since childhood. So, I avoided all things Italian. Except Joe.
Joe is my Italian-American husband. When we began dating, he was shocked that I had lived without pasta in my life. After explaining that pasta sauce and I don't go together very well, he understood. But, he didn't give up. One night, his father made pasta sauce and asked me to try it. I told him my story, and he laughed. He said that his homemade sauce won't make me sick. Ok, I figured, I'd give it a try.

It was delicious. Creamy, with hints of basil. I was in love. Best of all, he was right: my stomach was fine. He showed me how to make sauce, using baking powder to remove the acidity. After that, I could not wait for his father's meals! He showed me how to make all sorts of Italian foods, including the sacred meatballs.

I make pasta at least twice a week for dinner. It's not figure-friendly, but man is it good. I know I'm the last to make it to the table on this one. But, I'm more than making up for lost time. I love to experiment with new pastas, pestos, sauces and combinations. One of my favorites is a meal that I threw together when my pantry was running low. I called it my Rustic Italian Penne, because it's not beautiful, it's delicious. It's also a good way to get my hubby to eat his vegetables :) Enjoy!

Rustic Italian Penne

2 chicken breasts, cut into strips
3 c. spinach
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 c. artichoke hearts
1 1/2 c. fresh mozzerella, cubed
2 c. penne
1-2c. marinara sauce
1 Tbs. Olive Oil
1 Tbs. Butter
Basil

Cook penne according to package instructions. Set aside.

Sautee garlic in Butter and Olive Oil for 2 minutes. Add chicken and brown until cooked, about 5 minutes. Take chicken out of pan and set aside. Add spinach and artichoke hearts and sautee until cooked, about 10 minutes. Add chicken, penne and marinara sauce to mixture.

Allow mixture to cook for another minute to combine. If sauce is too thick, add some of the pasta cooking water.
Remove from heat and stir in mozzerella. Top with fresh basil.

I didn't blow up the kitchen!

2008-06-09T13:52:00.000-04:00

A little bit of background is needed here. My family is Lebanese. My immigrint mother is a wonderfully talented cook that can pretty much make anything. But, my favorite of all her foods are the traditional Lebanese meals, mostly because I have no idea how to make most of them. With my mother being abroad for the summer, I am already anxious about all of the Lebanese food I'm going to miss! Sure, I can make bad-ass hummus and tabouli. But, what about the complicated dishes that take hours to make? I had to do something....

So, I bought a pressure cooker. My mother tells me that although it is ideal to slow cook dishes for hours, she often uses a pressure cooker. This way, she could prepare traditional meals, even after getting home from work. Unfortunately, she did not have enough time to teach me how to use my new appliance before she left. When I spoke to her over the phone about it, she advised me not to try to use the cooker for the first time without supervision. I could scald myself. (I'm very accident prone) I am also very stubborn. So, even after a friend told me she would show me how to use it sometime, I decided to give it the old college try.

I pulled out the box, and found instructions. Great! This will make life easier. Except that all the directions said were to be careful because "scalding one's body may occur." umm...ok, this might be harder than I thought. After standing around in the kitchen for awhile, I decided that millions of people have used pressure cookers, what can be so hard?

I had seen my mother make fusoulia a thousand times. (Ok, I can't spell Arabic words properly. Sorry.) It seemed simple enough. In went the kidney beans, enough water to cover them, a can of tomato sauce, salt, and pepper. My mother also included chunks of braised meat, but I didn't have any on hand. I attached the cover, and popped up the heat. After about 10 minutes, the cooker started to let steam out, which drove my poor little dog nuts. Now, I have heard so many stories about people having the contents of their pressure cooker explode all over the kitchen. I'm not sure how that happens, but I was very afraid of it happening to me. When the pot really began to make noise, I panicked. Was I doing it right? Was I going to have to convince my hubby that we really needed to paint the kitchen anyways?

I watched the pot from the kitchen doorway (holding the dog), just in case it did blow. But of course, it didn't. And the beans turned out just lovely. I set them aside to cool and then refrigerated them. I will eat them one night this week over rice.

Even though this meal is not difficult by any stretch of the imagination, I am very proud of myself. I have become a daring cook, trying all sorts of techniques and cuisines. But, I never felt that I could cook proper Lebanese food. My mother is a fantastic cook; she's known for it. So, I never bothered to cook her food, always assuming that I couldn't. This little step could be the first in many down the path of Lebanese cuisine...

Lemon Curd Tart and Chocolate Silk Pie

2008-06-06T13:22:00.000-04:00

I generally cook, not bake. That being said, I have been baking alot recently. I'm not sure why. Maybe I just want to try new things. Either way, I've been baking again...

As previously mentioned, some of my family is leaving for Sydney today. The night before their departure was sure to be filled with visitors. So I decided to bring dessert.

I am new to lemon curd; I only tried it about a year ago. But I am hooked! I love it! So far, I've only had the stuff out of a jar (Harry & David's = Amazing). So, a lemon tart would be lovely, right? Right.

I also made a chocolate silk pie.

I had never made either of these desserts, so I'm not quite sure what possessed me to make them at the same time. But, I will never make that mistake again! In the end, both turned out delicious.

Lemon Curd Tart

Tart Shell

1 egg yolk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1/3 c. sugar

2 Tbs. cold water

1/4 tsp. salt

8 Tbs. unsalted butter, cubed

Stir together egg yolk, water and vanilla. Set bowl aside.

Stir toether flour, sugar, and salt in bowl. Add butter and beat on medium-low speed, until butter pieces are no larger than peas. Add the egg mixture and beat, 2 minutes.

My dough was too sticky to roll at this point, so I covered it and refrigerated it for 30 minutes.

I then floured a work surface and rolled out the dough to 1/8 inch thick. I put the dough in an 11" tart pan, trimming off the extra dough. I then put the dough in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line pastry shell with parchment paper. I don't have pie weights, so I put raw rice on top of the paper.

Bake for 25 minutes, until golden. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Lemon Curd

3 whole eggs and 3 egg yolks

3/4 c. fresh lemon juice

3/4 c. sugar

2 Tbs. grated lemon zest

12 Tbs. unsalted butter, cubed

In an nonaluminum saucepan over medium heat, combine eggs, egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice and zest, and butter. *I used about 7 lemons to get the 3/4 cups of juice.*

Cook stirring constantly, until mixture is thick, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat and strain through sieve.

Put the curd into the cooled tart shell and refrigerate. I let mine set for about 3 hours. I then piped fresh whipped cream (recipe below) onto the top.

Chocolate Silk Pie
Crust

1 1/4 c. Chocolate Teddy Grahms

5 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted

3 Tbs. sugar

Put Teddy Grahms into food processor and chop until they are crumbs. (I love using my mini food-prep!). I saved some crumbs for decorating the pie later.

In a bowl, add the crumbs to the melted butter and sugar.

Mix well and put into a 9" pie dish. Bake at 350 for 5 minutes, the allow to cool.

Filling

2 1/2 c. milk

4 egg yolks

3/4 c. sugar

3 Tbs. cornstarch

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

5 oz. semisweet chocolate

Heat milk and chocolate over low heat in a nonaluminum pan. Whisk until chocolate is melted, 7 minutes.

In a bowl add egg yolks and sugar. Whisk until pale yellow.

Add salt and cornstarch, then vanilla, and whisk until well mixed. Add chocolate to yolk mixture and whisk constantly until blended. Return mixture to heat and cook over medium-heat for 8 minutes, until the mixture bubbles. Remove from heat and stir for one minute, until smooth.

Pour filling into cooled cookie crust and cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap directly onto the surface. Refrigerate for 3 hours.

Whipped Cream Topping

2 c. heavy cream

2 Tbs. sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Beat all of the ingredients until stiff peaks form. I then piped the whipped cream onto the top of the chocolate filling. For decoration, I added the reserved crumbs, as well as shaved semisweet chocolate.

From the land of Oz...

2008-06-02T15:02:00.000-04:00

My hubby and I had plans to go to my parent's house for dinner last night. My mom and brother will be going to Australia for the summer, and are leaving this week. So, my mom had plans to make us a really nice dinner. Around 2:00 Sunday afternoon, I decided that I wanted to make a cake to bring to dinner. Since I wanted to be at my parent's house around 5:30, I did not have much time! Since it was quite hot outside, I decided on something light: Sponge cake with strawberry filling.

For the Filling:
I had a huge carton of very ripe strawberries, which I cut up into slivers. I added about 3/4 cup of sugar, to bring out the strawberries' natural juices. In a small saucepan, I combined 1/2 cup of strawberry jam with a little bit of water and brought the mixture to a simmer. I then added the mixture to the strawberries.

For the Cake:
I made one 9" sponge cake.

Frosting:
Butter cream

Once the cake was cool, I cut it in half. I put the strawberry mixture through a sieve to eliminate any excess liquid. I then put the strawberries onto the first layer of the cake.

The top layer of the cake was then added.

It was at this point that I decided to cut the cake into the shape of Australia. :) I figured I could turn it into a "Bon Voyage" cake. As I am terrible at carving, I recruited my husband. He did a great job! I then iced the cake with a light layer of butter cream frosting.

Now came the fondant. A word of warning: I have never used fondant. I have only aspired to use fondant; which is exactly why I had a package of Wilton pre-made white fondant. I dusted my cutting board with confectioner's sugar and layed out the fondant. It was pretty hard to roll it out to the consistency I wanted, because of my lack of space. But, I was able to roll it out pretty thin.

My husband cut off a piece and started working on a kangaroo for the top of my cake. The poor guy has endured hours of the Food Network with me, and had seen some fondant molding on Ace of Cakes. So, he was pretty sure he could make a kangaroo. A little brown food coloring and it looked really good!

I put the cake onto the base of the cake container. Then I covered it with fondant. Little by little, I smoothed the top and sides of the fondant to fit the form of the cake. I found that cutting little strips at a time helped me form the fondant around the edges. Next time, I will wrap the fondant to the underside of the cake, and then transport it to its final resting place. That will give it better edges.

I added a little red food dye to my leftover butter cream and piped "Bon Voyage!" onto the cake. I secured the kangaroo with a dot of butter cream as well. We were very happy with our results!

Now the hard part: transporting the cake to my parent's house. Since I already had the cake on the base, all I had to do was secure the lid, and go...right? Well...that's where Ollie comes in.
Oliver is my curious little dog:

Taking him and a cake in the same car can be quite difficult. The only way to get around this is to have my husband drive, while I hold the dog, and put the cake on the backseat. I was concerned that my cake would do a lot of sliding around, and ruin the kangaroo. So, we buckled the cake in.

We arrived at my parent's house all in one piece. After a lovely Lebanese meal (thanks mom!) we cut into the Australia cake. It was light and fluffy, but moist and very flavorful. The strawberries were sweet and soft. Overall, a success. Thanks for your help, Joe!

Madeleines

2008-05-29T15:30:00.000-04:00

To start off the first day of my blog, I thought I'd share some goodies with my coworkers. Madeleines are yummy and so quick to make. My coworkers liked them...there were only these two left! (Sorry! Better pic next time)

Madeleines

½ cup flour

¼ cup sugar
½ stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 egg
½ tsp. baking powder

Preheat oven to 365 degrees. Sift together flour and baking powder in a bowl, and set aside. In another bowl add egg and sugar. Mix (using a mixer) until the mixture has at least doubled in size and has become thick, about 5 minutes. Fold in the flour mixture, then the butter.
Butter the molds and add about ½ tsp. of batter to each one. Bake until the edges turn light brown, about 6-10 minutes, depending on your oven. Immediately remove the cookies from the pan and let them cool. Enjoy! (Makes 12 full sized or 24 mini-madeleines)

Alternatives-

Sometimes, I add 1/2 tsp. of orange water to the egg mixture if I will be serving the madeleines with tea. Or, I dip them halfway in melted chocolate and allow them to cool for dessert.