Engineer and an Oven

Classic Corn Bread

2011-08-10T09:04:00.000-05:00

Hey Y'all.

July hit me like a ton of bricks. You didn't think I forgot about you, did you?

Working two jobs, taking 11 credits at school and throwing the occasional trip into the mix has kept me incredibly busy. I have been cooking, I just haven't had time to sit down at the computer and type it up.

This next week I'll be on vacation as well, visiting the fam on the east coast, so unfortunately I'll probably have sparse posting until the end of the month, when school starts up again. Just fair warning!

Speaking of the East Coast...

Because I grew up on the East Coast, with family ranging from Georgia to Pennsylvania, I have a very interesting frame of reference for food. There are many things that I love that are regional foods, but I don’t associate them with regional foods – I just associate them with growing up. Foods such as hominy and liver pudding, or puddin’ as I like to say, shrimp and grits, biscuits and sausage gravy, scrapple and whoopie pies are still some of my favorites, but trying to find versions reminiscent of home out in the Midwest can be difficult.

Cornbread is also very regional – most places have it, but how it’s prepared and eaten is very location-specific. I like my cornbread ‘southern-style” sweet and cakey. It can have jalapeño, cheese and/or bits of corn in it, but the sweeter, the better.

I’ve made a few recipes from scratch, blindly following the recipe with no real idea of the expected end result. Typically the cornbread was too dry, and not sweet enough. I figured this time I would try the recipe on the back of the corn meal carton, who knows cornbread better than the people that make the main ingredient for it? I upped the amount of sugar in the recipe, of course, but kept the rest the same.

And it was delicious.

I’ve made the recipe a few times now, occasionally adding cheese, corn and jalepenos to it, and also making it in mini loaf pans, as shown in this post, muffin tins and, my all time favorite – my cast iron corn stick pan.

Sweet Southern Corn Bread
Adapted from the Back of the Quaker Cornmeal Canister

Yield one 8x8 Pan
You will need:
1-¼ cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup Quaker Corn Meal
6 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 cup milk
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 egg whites beaten or 1 whole egg

Directions
Mix the dry ingredients. Beat the egg. Add the wet ingredients to dry. Pour into a buttered 8x8 or 9x9 casserole dish. Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes.

Patriotic Cupcakes

2011-07-04T11:02:00.000-05:00

Happy Independence Day!!

If I know anything about myself, it’s that history and geography are not my strong suits. It took me forever to learn the 50 states and their locations and, to this day, I still get Wyoming and Colorado confused – they are both sort of rectangle-ish! I am also very lacking when it come to any history predating the New Kids on the Block, A.L.F., Fraggle Rock and the Goonies. I could tell you how many toothpicks Dustin Hoffman counted in Rain Man (246 and 4 left in the box), but I can’t remember pretty basic United States history such as when and where the civil war ended (1865 at the Appomattox courthouse – sadly, I did a report on Appomattox and visited the very courthouse in middle school and still couldn’t recall this without the help of Google).

Even so, I can appreciate Independence Day and the hard work and sacrifice from our armed forces to keep our freedoms alive! In honor of our Independence and our flag, I whipped up a batch of “Old Glory” Cupcakes. These were very pretty and delicious to eat, but there was an unintended side effect – to get the colors this rich, a lot of food coloring was used, that food coloring ended up dyeing tongues blue. As weird as that was to discover, it was kind of fun feeling like a kid again with one of those blue raspberry popsicles.

Hope everyone has a safe and Happy Independence Day, and many thanks to all of our soldiers, international and domestic, fighting for our freedoms every day.

Vanilla Cupcakes The Girl Tastes

Yields: 6 cupcakes
Ingredients
2/3 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. cream
2 tbsp. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
5 tbsp. butter, softened
1/3 c. sugar
1 egg
Instructions
Prepare your ingredients: In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a liquid measuring cup, mix together the cream, milk, and vanilla.
Make the batter: Using a hand-mixer, whip the butter for about 30 seconds. Add the sugar, and cream until very light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, just until incorporated. Now, switch to a whisk to add the dry ingredients in three installments, alternating with the wet ingredients. (Add in this order: dry-wet-dry-wet-dry.) After each installment, stir just until combined. Batter will be thick.
Use batter as is, or you can separate into different bowls and color as I did.
Bake: Line a muffin tin with six liners. Distribute batter evenly between the liners; it should fill them about 3/4 of the way. Bake in a preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean. Cool on wire rack before frosting.

Surf n' Turf Tacos

2011-06-30T08:37:00.000-05:00

Every once in a while, I'll pull out all my old cooking magazines I've bought and start perusing to see if there are any recipes that I remember sounding interesting, but never got around to making.

The hubby and I were trying to plan out meals for the week, and were eternally stuck on what we should do, other than our 'Pasta Wednesday.' Thankfully, I have a pretty good arsenal of cooking magazines, spanning each of the four seasons, so I pulled out a few of my summer-themed magazines to see if anything sounded tasty.

Leave it to Rachel Ray to have a delicious recipe in her magazine. I hate to say that I find her a little over-the-top on her two cooking shows (I don't watch her talk show), but whenever I come across her recipes, I usually find something quick, easy and delicious. Thank goodness for magazines and FoodNetwork.com! I can search her recipes without actually having to watch a whole episode!

These tacos are light, yet filling, and very flavorful, even with the seemingly few spices. We even had some leftovers, which I then made into a breakfast burrito the next morning. Ah-mazing!

Whip up a batch of these for summer, and you won't be disappointed. You might even feel like you took a little trip to somewhere a little more tropical than your backyard or dining room table!

Surf 'n' Turf Tacos

Adapted Slightly From Rachel Ray Magazine

Serves 8

Ingredients

1 small head napa cabbage, chopped

Juice of 6 limes (about 1/2 cup)

2 cups sour cream

Sixteen 6-inch flour tortillas

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Salt

1 pound trimmed flank steak, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch strips

6 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 pound red snapper fillets, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch strips (I used Cod)

Pepper

1 cup store-bought guacamole, plus more for serving

One 16-ounce jar salsa, for serving

Directions

In a large bowl, toss the cabbage with half of the lime juice. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream and remaining lime juice. Cover and refrigerate.

Preheat the oven to 250°. Spread the tortillas on a baking sheet, cover with foil and warm in the oven for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the garlic powder, paprika, cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and 2 teaspoons salt. Add the steak, tossing to coat.

In a large skillet, heat 1/4 cup oil over medium-high heat until rippling. Add the steak, lower the heat to medium and cook, turning occasionally, until browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large plate. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the skillet. Season the fish lightly with salt and pepper (Note: I also added a little cayenne pepper and cumin). Cook, in the skillet, turning once, until golden, about 5 minutes.

Lay the tortillas on a work surface. Spread 1 tablespoon guacamole on each, then top with some of the cabbage. Divide the meat among 8 tortillas and the fish among 8 tortillas. Fold to form tacos. Serve with more guacamole and cabbage, the lime-sour cream and the salsa.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

2011-06-19T21:22:00.000-05:00

Happy Father's Day!

I know it's a little late in the day, but I wanted to wish a very Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there! I would like to send a special wish to my very own dad, who has been a constant source of strength, encouragement and inspiration to me throughout the years.

I am also very blessed to have a wonderful father-in-law, too, who has been there for me and helped out when we've needed an extra hand around the house during our whole renovation period.

My dad has always been a huge fan of camping and all things outdoors, so cast iron skillets are always high on his list of 'favorite kitchen items.' Recently, my parents renovated their kitchen, and that renovation included a new, glass-top stove. Imagine my dad's dismay when he realized that every movement of his beloved cast-iron skillet risked scratching their brand new stovetop. He knew that he would not be able to use his cast-iron skillet for everyday cooking anymore.

While planning thier last trip to Chicago, my parents asked if I would want them to bring the skillet. As much as I'm sure he hated to say goodbye to his skillet, I was giddy at the thought of finally having my first piece of cast iron! And what better way to celebrate a well-seasoned cast iron skillet than to make a super-sticky, super caramelly pineapple upside down cake.

Using fresh pineapple and making it in a cast iron skillet gives this cake a taste far superior than the others I have made in the past. The best part is that this skillet is so well-seasoned that even the stickest of sugar refused to stick. Cleanup was a breeze!

Even though I didn't have cardamom as called for in the original recipe, the allspice/cinnamon combination I substituted with was delicious. It was a bit like a spice cake with a sweet, fruity, caramel topping.

Only after I baked the cake did I realize that I baked mine in an 11 1/4" cast iron skillet, not 10 inches like it calls for in the recipe. Thankfully, I checked my cake early, and I'm glad I did, because it finished 15 minutes or so earlier than the recipe called for since the batter spread thinner in the larger skillet.

It was absolutely delicious! I can't wait to make this again, and even the hubby said this was my best pineapple upside down cake, yet!

Woohoo!

Hope all the daddies out there had a fabulous Father's Day!! You deserve it!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Adapted Slightly From Epicurious

Ingredients
For topping:
1/2 medium pineapple, peeled, quartered lengthwise, and cored
3/4 stick unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

For batter:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground allspice
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon dark rum
1/2 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
2 tablespoons dark rum for sprinkling over cake

Special equipment:
a well-seasoned 10-inch cast-iron skillet

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Make topping:
Cut pineapple crosswise into 3/8-inch-thick pieces. Melt butter in skillet. Add brown sugar and simmer over moderate heat, stirring, 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Arrange pineapple on top of sugar mixture in concentric circles, overlapping pieces slightly.

Make batter:
Sift together flour, cardamom, baking powder, and salt. Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, then gradually beat in granulated sugar. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and rum. Add half of flour mixture and beat on low speed just until blended. Beat in pineapple juice, then add remaining flour mixture, beating just until blended. (Batter may appear slightly curdled.)

Spoon batter over pineapple topping and spread evenly. Bake cake in middle of oven until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Let cake stand in skillet 5 minutes. Sprinkle rum over the cake and let it absorb. Invert a plate over skillet and invert cake onto plate (keeping plate and skillet firmly pressed together). Replace any pineapple stuck to bottom of skillet.

Serve cake just warm or at room temperature. (With a scoop of vanilla ice cream!)

Citrus-glazed salmon with spinach

2011-06-18T09:31:00.000-05:00

Summer is in full-swing now, and the hubby and I are constantly trying to find meals that require very little oven time. Our house is quirky, in that the downstairs is usually always comfortable in the summer, but the upstairs can have major temperature swings, especially when the oven and/or stove are on for long periods of time.

Of course, our thermostat is right outside the kitchen, so when I'm baking or cooking a lot on the stove, even if it isn't that hot outside, our A/C turns on in full force.

This salad was perfect for one of these days. It requires near-minimal time on the stovetop/under the broiler, and you could even just use the grill outside to make the salmon.

The other incentive for this recipe was the sheer amount of spinach we always seem to have around. When I make a recipe that calls for spinach, the only thing we can find are 4 pound bags of the stuff. Four pounds of spinach for four people is a lot! So I make spinach salads, throw spinach in pretty much anything I can (mac and cheese, pasta, chicken dishes) and I try to find recipes that use it as a main ingredient. The fates aligned when I saw this recipe in that week's issue of the Tribune.

This meal was light and refreshing, and the grapefruit provided a nice zing that cut through the sturdy flavor of the salmon.

This is one dinner you won't have to sweat over!

Citrus-Glazed Salmon with Spinach

From The Chicago Tribune

Ingredients:

1 large ruby red grapefruit

12 to 16 ounces fresh spinach

3/4 cup white balsamic vinegar, or white wine vinegar with a touch of honey

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper

4 salmon fillets or steaks, about 4 ounces each

1 medium shallot, finely chopped

Directions:

1. Peel and section grapefruit over a bowl, catching the juice; you'll need about 1/4 cup. Dice grapefruit segments; place segments and spinach in a large bowl.

2. Combine 2 tablespoons grapefruit juice, 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper to taste in a small bowl. Arrange salmon on a plate; pour 1/2 cup vinaigrette over salmon (reserving remaining vinaigrette). Let stand 15-20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, heat broiler. Line a broiler pan or shallow baking pan with foil; brush with oil. Remove salmon from marinade, discarding marinade; place salmon in pan. Broil 8 to 10 minutes.

4. To dress spinach, put reserved vinaigrette in a heavy saucepan; reduce slightly over medium-high heat. Mix remaining 2 tablespoons grapefruit juice, 1/4 cup vinegar and 1 tablespoon oil in a bowl with the shallots and reduced vinaigrette. Pour over spinach; toss to coat. Divide spinach among four dinner plates; top with salmon.

Summer Orzo Salad

2011-06-07T19:27:00.001-05:00

Summer school has been such a refreshing experience. Not easy, though. I'm taking 11 credits this summer, aka 3 classes. One is a 4-week intense class, and the other two are 8-week classes. I'm doing well (thankfully), but that means there is a lot of classwork (lecture and online stuff), lots of homework and LOTS of studying. It's been a long time since I've had to study. Right now it's about rough endoplasmic reticulum, eukaryotes and meiosis/mitosis.

And yesterday (pardon if it's tmi) but we had an explosively sick puppy yesterday. I had my biology class, and came home after about an hour of studying so I could get lunch and let the puppy out (I had a bio midterm this morning). I was sitting down upstairs, and all of a sudden I hear our puppy getting sick on the chair upstairs. Then on the floor, and the rug. I quick rushed him outside, but of course he was done. I put him in his crate to keep him from getting too worked up, and then had the glorious job of cleaning all of the mess up. (I'm pretty sure the chair is beyond salvage. Darn.) I had to leave again for another class in the afternoon, the whole time feeling so sorry that I had to leave a sick puppy behind. Thankfully he was ok in the two hours I was gone. We kept him off food for the last 24 hours, and tonight just reintroduced him to a small portion of his food. So far, so good. And I think I did well on my test (thank goodness I studied the past few days as well and didn't save it until the last minute!) So, if you have any spare vibes for the puppy, we could sure use them!

So if you have happened to notice slight downward trend of posting, that's why. (And also tuition/books really tends to cut into the 'baking for fun' budget!) I haven't stopped baking or cooking, don't get me wrong, but most of the time when I would be posting, I am studying or doing homework. These classes go so fast that it's near-impossible to catch back up after getting behind. My bio class ends in two weeks, so hopefully I'll have a little bit more free time with only two classes to manage!

I also now have a part time job in retail to start bringing in some extra bucks, so, while that has been fun, it's also one more thing to consider! Whew!

Anyway, there are days I don't really feel like making anything too complicated - I think you can see why now. This orzo salad is delicious and cool, perfect for these days where it is still 95 degrees at 7:30 pm. Like tonight. Craziness. If you notice, I went a little crazy with the feta - that's how much I love cheese. You don't have to put that much on!

Long gone are the days of heavy, mayonnaise-laden pasta salad made with elbow noodles, sitting on the picnic table under the sweltering sun. It seems that now, pasta salads are more and more taking advantage of the abundance of fresh and healthy ingredients available in the summer with only the lightest of oil and balsamic dressings serving only to enhance the natural flavors. This orzo salad has wonderfully fresh and light flavors, the basil adds a bright punch of flavor and the mint plays wonderfully off the sweetness of the tomatoes and the acidity of the balsamic. Even the textures in the salad were interesting. The red onion provided a slight crunch, the garbanzo beans were firm yet buttery little nuggets contrasting the softness of the tomatoes and orzo. I kept the salt at a minimum in the salad because the feta itself has a decent saltiness to it.

Summer Orzo Salad

From: Cate's World Kitchen

Salad

4 cups vegetable broth

1 1/2 cups orzo

1 (15-ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1 1/2 cups red and yellow teardrop tomatoes or grape tomatoes, halved

3/4 cup finely chopped red onion

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves

salt and freshly ground black pepper

a few tbsp crumbled feta

Dressing

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp honey

1/2 tsp salt

a few pinches freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Bring the broth to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the orzo and cook until tender, stirring frequently, about 9 minutes. Drain then transfer to a large bowl and cool completely.

Add the onion, beans, tomato, mint, and basil, toss well, and season with a pinch or two of salt and pepper.

Mix in dressing. Serve with a little feta sprinkled over the top.

Lemon Meringue Pie

2011-05-27T21:16:00.005-05:00

I am a huge, like HUUUUGE, fan of chocolate. If you want me to try anything, just dip it in some chocolate. Seriously.

But, as much as I love chocolate, I am realizing that there is more to the world of desserts than just white, semi-sweet, and dark.

Citrus has been slowly making its way into my dessert cravings. First, it was a bit of orange zest into a recipe. Then it was the addition of the zest and juice. Citrus really has a way of waking up flavors. But, the beauty of it is that it can also stand up perfectly well by itself.

Case and point - the lemon meringue pie. A wonderfully lemony dessert that can hold its own on the plate (not to mention, it doesn't leave me in a food coma after a slice - or two.) I didn't have to adjust this recipe at all, and the filling was so lemony - but not in an overpowering way. Light, fresh and amazing.

In the spirit of full-disclosure, I will say that i probably need to try making meringue again, as mine wept after a few hours. Oh well, I could just eat it with my eyes closed, and I would be none-the-wiser. :) Maybe you'll have better luck with the meringue than I did!

Ingredients

1 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups water

2 lemons, juiced and zested

2 tablespoons butter

4 egg yolks, beaten

1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked

4 egg whites

6 tablespoons white sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

To Make Lemon Filling: In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1 cup sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in water, lemon juice and lemon zest.

Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to a boil. Stir in butter. Place egg yolks in a small bowl and gradually whisk in 1/2 cup of hot sugar mixture.

Whisk egg yolk mixture back into remaining sugar mixture. Bring to a boil and continue to cook while stirring constantly until thick. Remove from heat.

Pour filling into baked pastry shell.

To Make Meringue: In a large glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until foamy. Add sugar gradually, and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over pie, sealing the edges at the crust.

Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until meringue is golden brown.

Black Bottom Cupcakes

2011-05-24T15:59:00.000-05:00

School has been an interesting transition. I wake up more than an hour later, I feel rested and alert, I have time to make coffee and actually eat a well-balanced breakfast. By the time I get home, I have the time to clean the house, do laundry, unload the dishwasher and play with the puppy more than I ever got to before.

If there was ever a time before where I was not sure if this was the right decision, I'm absolutely certain now. I feel like a whole different person - happier, and much more content (maybe that's the extra sleep talking).

The house has started looking so much nicer, as I'm slowly, but surely, checking things off my mile-long to-do list. Even the puppy seems happier to be getting twice-daily walks - when he used to get maybe five a week.

Once the house is taken care of, I can't wait to start sharing more recipes than I have been in the more recent past! Yay!

Here is the other recipe I made for the National Food Blogger's Bake sale. I love these cupcakes. And the best part is, if you omit the cheesecake filling, you have a dairy-free, egg-free cake, sometimes known as Wacky Cake or Crazy Cake.

Black bottoms are such a throwback to being a kid - perfect birthday party fare - both easy to transport and very little mess since there is no frosting.

Sometime I'll have to make the bundt cake version and share that here, it is absolutely delicious! But these will have to suffice for now. I hope you enjoy!

Black Bottom Cupcakes

From My Recipe Box

Ingredients

1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/3 cup white sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 Tbsp Cider Vinegar
1 tsp Vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line muffin tins with paper cups or lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, egg, 1/3 cup sugar and 1/8 teaspoon salt until light and fluffy. Stir in the chocolate chips and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, 1 cup sugar, cocoa, baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Make a well in the center and add the water, oil, vinegar and vanilla. Stir together until well blended. Fill muffin tins 1/3 full with the batter and top with a dollop of the cream cheese mixture.

Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes.

Kentucky Derby Pie

2011-05-20T08:36:00.000-05:00

Today is a big day for me.

Today is my last day at my current job. A job I've been with for nearly four years. My first job out of college. My first taste of the real world.

While I am happy that I am embarking on a new journey on Monday, I can't help but feel a little sad that I am leaving a job and coworkers who have been a huge part of the last four years.

I am so thrilled that I got to work here while I did, and I am very thankful for the opportunities that this job has provided me. But, I am ready to take a leap of faith, and pave myself new path in a different direction. I am going to enjoy the journey, and I look forward to see where this decision will eventually take me.

And thank you, too, to all of you who have shown your support during this time. The decision-making process has not been an easy one, but sticking with my guns and following through with this has been so much easier knowing I have my friends and family backing me up.

You all are the best. The cat's meow. The bee's knees.

So how about we focus now on something sweet, tasty, and delicious?

There are quite a few people who have yet heard of the wonderful dessert called the Kentucky Derby Pie. I liken it would be similar to the love-child of a pecan pie and a chocolate chip cookie (though some people think the pie should have walnuts, I grew up with pecans, so I'm sticking with my guns here).

When I made desserts for the National Food Blogger's Bake sale, I wanted to make things that traveled easily, and tasted delicious. The fact that these mini-pies were absolutely cheek-pinchingly adorable was just an added bonus.

The only thing missing from the mini pies that I wish I could have found a way to package was the bourbon whipped cream that my family makes to serve the pie with. Essentially you whip up one cup of heaving whipping cream with one tablespoon of powdered sugar and 2 teaspoons (or one tablespoon if you're feeling rather daring!) of bourbon.

Nothing like a little bit of bourbon to cure what ails ya.

Kentucky Derby Pie

From our Family Recipe Box

Makes 1 - 9-inch pie or about 30 mini pies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup flour

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup chocolate chips

3/4 cup pecans or 3/4 cup walnuts

9 inch unbaked pie crust

Directions

Line pie plate with pie crust.

Combine all remaining ingredients and mix with fork, whisk or hand mixer until well blended..

Bake in pie crust at 350 for 45 minutes, or until brown on top! (the mini pies baked in about 25 minutes)

Funfetti Cupcakes (and some news!)

2011-05-16T09:28:00.003-05:00

I have been a terrible blogger. My apologies for that. I have been baking, I promise, and I have news to share (and hopefully it's a halfway decent excuse for my absence this past week!) First of all, this past weekend was the National Food Blogger Bake Sale. On Saturday, May 14, we sold baked goods at The Poison Cup (1128 W. Armitage Avenue) in Lincoln Park. The proceeds from the bake sale will be donated to Share Our Strength’s Great American Bake Sale! We had a great time, despite the crummy weather, and I'm confident that we brought in a respectable amount of money for a great organization!

I ended up make black-bottom cupcakes and mini Kentucky Derby pies recipes which I will definitely be sharing soon! But the amount of baked goods (and people) that showed up to support this cause was amazing. Look at the tables upon tables of baked goods!

Kudos to Maris Callahan at In Good Taste for organizing such a great event!

The other part of the equation is that, aside from getting ready from the bake sale, we also said goodbye to two dear friends this weekend who are moving back to the DC area from Chicago. We had a great day with them, and we will miss them immensely, but I am so excited for them. They have two great opportunities ahead of them, and I see nothing but success in the future!

If that isn't enough, things have been really up in the air with me for a while now (like since February), but now that my plans are concrete, I am comfortable sharing! This is somewhat surreal to say, but this is my last week working as an engineer. Starting Monday, I am going back to school full time to earn my Master's Degree in Secondary Education so that I can become a high school math teacher. It's a gigantic change, but one I am 100% ready for and excited about. Last month, I had to take a 5-hour exam, similar to the SAT or ACT on steroids. There was a reading comprehension, language arts, math and essay section. I got a perfect score on the language arts section (woohoo!) but ended up missing one question on the math section. Of course, I'm the math person that always performs better on the English/language arts stuff. If I didn't pass this test (who average pass rate is 25% of the total test-takers) I would have had to take it again ASAP, as I couldn't register for classes at my school without a passing grade. Needless to say, this past month has been super-stressful waiting for results of this test and, essentially, my future.

Once I found out I passed, I paid my admission deposit and will now be registering for my classes this fall (I'm already set on my summer classes).

I am excited, anxious, nervous and ecstatic at the same time. I really hope to keep up with the blog and the posting, but I hope you can forgive if there is a lapse or two in postings as I'm transitioning to this new phase.

Today is my last Monday at work, so it is somewhat bittersweet. I've been here for nearly four years, and it was my first full-time job out of school. My mood has been happy, sad, elated and depressed, sometimes all at the same time. Call it a rut, a “mood” (complete with air-quotes) or a case of the “Mondays.” (props if you know that reference!)

No matter what the day brings, I don’t seem to be able to get past the fact that my alarm went off and I had to get out of bed. Did I mention my alarm goes off at 5:20 in the morning? The sun is not even awake at that hour, which begs the question…”Why am I?”

Days like these, I need to bring out the big guns to pull myself out of the weeknight doldrums. Those ‘big guns’ come in the form of itty-bitty sprinkles inside nothing other than a funfetti cupcake. I did not eat funfetti a lot as a kid, but the few times I did have it, I was in heaven. Light-as-air cake contains a rainbow of color throughout. How can you not be happy eating a rainbow?

I do not buy cake mix all that much, so I did not have a box of Funfetti on hand. But, I did have everything in my pantry, including the rainbow sprinkles, to bring them to life from scratch.

This recipe did not disappoint. The light almond flavoring gives this cake a little something special, which elevates it above your traditional vanilla cake. The cake itself is a little more dense than it’s boxed counterpart, but I’ll trade that any day for a homemade treat sans preservatives and other ingredients I cannot pronounce. The frosting is my first attempt at a cooked frosting, and I was so pleased with how it turned out.

Smoother and lighter than its eggless-uncooked buttercream sister, this frosting was reminiscent of marshmallow fluff, and a perfect counterpart to the nostalgic cake. A few sprinkles on top and, ta-da, the “Mondays” have all but vanished.

Bake yourself up a smile today.

You deserve it.

Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes

Makes one dozen cupcakes

from Fake Ginger

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups AP flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

3 large egg whites (room temperature)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup rainbow sprinkles

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350C. In a small bowl, whisk together your flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, whip together your butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the egg whites, one at a time, until thick and white. Add your extracts and mix again.

With a spoon, slowly mix in your dry ingredients and milk/yogurt mix, alternating between the two. When everything comes together (taking care not to over mix), add the sprinkles and lightly fold in a couple times. Again, do not over mix.

Spoon in the batter to liners and bake for about 20 minutes or until your tester comes out clean. Set out to cool before icing.

Vanilla Swiss Buttercream

From CCakery

Ingredients

3/4 cup sugar

3 large egg white

18 tablespoons butter, softened

3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Extra sprinkles

Directions

Over a double boiler, whisk together the egg whites and sugar until the granules have a disintegrated. Pour the whites into a mixing bowl, careful not to get any condensation or water into it.

With an electric mixer, whip the whites until it forms soft peaks. Continue mixing and slowly add the butter, about 4 Tablespoons at a time and mix until completely incorporated. Mix well - after adding your butter, your buttercream will reach the "curdled stage". Don't worry, just keep mixing and it'll smooth out.

After everything has smoothed, add the extracts. When everything is incorporated, use buttercream to pipe over your cooled funfetti cupcakes. Add extra sprinkles on top. Enjoy!

Don't forget to stop by my Facebook site if you like what you see!

Maryland Crab Stuffed Mushrooms

2011-05-05T08:44:00.001-05:00

Happy Cinco De Mayo! Obviously, I'm a terrible blogger and totally forgot about it, so I don't have a Mexican fiesta planned for you today. I'll go sit in blogger time-out for a few minutes.

In the meantime, if you're still with me, you can read about something else totally delicious, if you're ok with it not being fiesta-themed!

In my previous post, I recounted our recent crab feast and what I did with a portion of the crab meat collected from our leftover crabs. While the soup used the claw meat and some of the smaller pieces of crab I collected, I saved a half pound of the best, largest chunks of meat for this next dish. I also mentioned before how I’m a crabcake snob, so I had thought about making my own with the meat I had set aside. My husband, however, doesn’t enjoy them, so I wanted to find something that we could both appreciate and eat. How about stuffing what is essentially a mini-crabcake into a baby bella mushroom? Score.

The recipe itself is straightforward enough and, again, it’s off the Cantler’s website. I soon found out, however that mushrooms are tricky little devils to balance. After realizing that no amount of steady-handedness would keep my mushrooms from tipping over onto my baking sheet, I devised a little plan to make ‘holders’ for each musroom using tinfoil. Smart, right? Well, yes and no. On some of the mushrooms, it worked fabulously. On others, they were still teetering dangerously, threatening to fall off the sheet at any moment. I pressed those down a little harder onto the foil, thinking that would solve my problems, opened the oven door and proceeded to tranfer the baking sheet from my countertop to the oven. I saw one mushroom on the corner of my pan begin to wobble. Which meant, instinctively, I cocked my wrist the opposite direction in an attempt to steady the dancing mushroom. While I successfully kept that mushroom on it’s stand, I watched, as if in slow motion, another mushroom on the other side tilt off it’s holder, roll off the baking pan and fall, splat, right onto the oven door. Crab stuffing side down.

You could hear the sizzle as soon as it made contact. So I did what any sane person would do, I scooped it all back up and shoved it back into the mushroom and put it on the pan again to bake. (And I made sure I ate that mushroom when it came time to serve!) It took everything I had not to lick up the few pieces stuck to the oven door, it was heartbreaking to have to wipe it up and toss those pieces out.

A few other mushrooms did tip over as well, but at least they stayed on the baking sheet. They tasted fantastic, but they sure weren’t the prettiest things to come out of my kitchen. That’s ok, I’ll eat them blindfolded if I have to, the taste was out of this world, and the gigantic pieces of crabmeat were so delicious, it made me forget about the pieces still stuck to my kitchen towel from cleaning up my oven.

As a note on this recipe, I didn’t make the topping because I didn’t want that much mayonnaise on my crabmeat, but I have included it in case that appeals to you. I did sprinkle with the paprika and Old Bay once they came out of the oven, though.

Maryland Crab Stuffed Mushrooms

Adapted from Cantler's (again!)

Ingredients

Crab Stuffed Mushrooms

1/2 pound Maryland backfin crab meat

3 Tbsp mayonnaise (i used Miracle Whip)

1 egg white

1 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/4 teaspoon celery salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon paprika

pinch ginger

1 tablespoons cracker meal

12 fresh mushrooms (about 2-3 inches in diameter)

For the Topping:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 egg white

1/8 teaspoon seafood seasoning (aka old bay)

2 dashes liquid hot pepper

paprika, for sprinkling

Directions

Remove cartilage from crab meat, being careful not to break crab lumps. Place crab meat in large bowl and set aside.

In small bowl mix mayonnaise, egg white, milk, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, celery salt, pepper, paprika and ginger.

Pour sauce over crab meat and mix gently, but thoroughly. Carefully mix in cracker meal.

Wash and remove stems from mushrooms.

Place mushrooms in a baking pan stem side up and fill each mushroom with about 2 tablespoons crab mixture.

Place in a 375 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until crab meat mixture begins to brown.

If you choose to make the topping:

Mix together 1/2 cup mayonnaise, egg white, seafood seasoning and liquid hot pepper sauce.

Spread a generous amount of topping over each mushroom.

Sprinkle with paprika and bake in 375 degree oven until the topping becomes a light brown color, approximately 5 to 7 minutes.

Maryland Crab Soup

2011-05-02T12:43:00.002-05:00

As many of your know, I am a Baltimore transplant to the Midwest. And while there are lots of regional specialties here that have stolen my heart (Garret’s Popcorn, anyone?) nothing can compare to the true summer glory that is the crab feast. There is nothing like picking crab meat, eating corn and potatoes and drinking a cold beer on a hot summer day. Another couple around here shares our love for crab feasts, and we decided we would order a half bushel of crabs from a retailer in Baltimore and have them shipped to us in Illinois. While we did a fair amount of damage to our half bushel (approximately 3 1/2 dozen crabs), we still had a fair amount of leftovers. Crab meat spoils fairly quickly, so I wanted to make the best of the leftovers by making some other Baltimore favorites I usually wouldn’t get otherwise. I guess, if I’m being honest, I could buy crab meat from Whole Foods or something, but I have a hard time paying 30 bucks for jumbo lump meat (which I believe it imperative to creating an outstanding crab dish). So while this is not a thrifty meal if you have to go out and buy the crab meat, I was lucky enough to be ‘forced’ to make these meals with my leftovers. What a pity ;)

The first step for me, because I wasn’t buying my crabmeat, was picking all the leftover crabs. I stood over my sink for over two hours picking nearly two dozen crabs clean. I ended up with almost two full pounds of crab meat by the time I was finished and a ton of cuts on my hands and fingers from the shells. If you’ve ever picked a crab, you know what I’m talking about. As tedious as picking crab meat can be, I still find it amazingly relaxing.

Maybe it’s a Baltimore thing.

If I had to rank crab dishes in an order of favorites, I’d have to say number one is steamed crabs, number two is a a *good* crabcake (which I am super picky about), and then you have Maryland Crab Soup. I am willing to admit I’m a snob when it comes to crabcakes. The good ones are going to almost always be expensive in comparison to the other foods on the menus because they will be made with jumbo lump crab meat. And I refuse to order a crab cake at a restaurant unless I know what I’m getting. Anytime we go to a seafood restaurant in Baltimore, someone will almost always order a crabcake. If it comes out and I find myself envious of their meal and jealous that I didn’t order it instead of my meal, then I know that my next trip there I will be ordering a crabcake. Few places make crabcakes that good. Almost all crab meat, with minimal fillers and breadcrumbs mixed in. And heaven forbid I get one little bit of shell in my crabcake. Something about biting into something smooth and luxe like crabmeat, only to be greeted with a chalky crunch of shell or cartilege between my teeth all but kills my appetite for the rest of the crabcake. Some places are a lot more careful than others about picking through their crabmeat before using it.

The first recipe I want to share is one of Maryland’s staples. Regardless of my snobbiness towards crabcakes, one thing I always order, pretty much regarless of location, is a cup of Maryland Crab Soup. It’s light and delicious and the soup highlights the sweet flavor of the crabmeat without overpowering it. I found this recipe off of the website of one of my favorite restaurants back home, Cantlers. The recipe seemed almost too easy to be true, but the taste was spot-on. I felt like I was dockside on the Chesapeake Bay. Crab soup is also the perfect vehicle for your less expensive crab meats – claw meat and lump crab. If you’re willing to splurge on the crabmeat, or happen to have leftover crabs from your last feast, give this a try, you won’t be sorry. But please, please, do not use the imitation crab meat. This is one of the few times that only the real deal will do.

Maryland Crab Soup

From Cantler's Website (if you are ever near this restaurant, go there!)

Makes 8 servings.

Ingredients

4 c low sodium chicken broth

3 pounds canned tomatoes, quartered (I used a 28 oz can and a 14.5 oz can)

1 cup frozen corn, thawed

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

1 large baking potato, diced

1 cup celery, chopped

1 cup onion, diced

1 tablespoon seafood seasoning (I used more like 3 Tbsp – and my seasoning of choice was, of course, Old Bay)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon lemon pepper

1 pound Maryland crabmeat, fresh or pasteurized, cartilage removed (regular or claw)

Directions

Place broth in a 6 quart soup pot and bring to simmer.

Add vegetables and seasonings and simmer, covered, over medium-low heat for about 45 minutes, or until vegetables are almost done.

Add crabmeat, cover, and simmer for 15 more minutes or until hot. (If a milder soup is desired, decrease amount of seafood seasoning to 1/4 -1/2 teaspoons.)

7 random facts!

2011-04-26T07:45:00.000-05:00

I feel very honored to receive this "One Lovely Blog' award recently, thanks to Happy Home Baking. I have loved every minute of blogging and really enjoy getting to share stories and recipes with all of you!

There are some rules to abide in order to accept this award and they are:

1. Post linking back to the person that gave you the award
2. Share 7 random things about yourself
3. Award 15 recently discovered blogs
4. Drop them a note and tell them about it.

So, I would like to dedicate this award to the following blogs:
1. Baking Ribbons
2. Mixed Tape
3. Buttercream Barbie
5. First Look, Then Cook
6. La Prochaine Fois
7. Smitten with my Kitchen
8. The Honey Nut
9. The Saturday Evening Pot
10. Snacking Squirrel
11. Healthnut Foodie
12. Easily Good Eats
13. Dining and Dishing
14. Clutzy Cooking
15. Cook and Be Merry

7 Random Facts About Me

1. My left bicep is bigger than my right. I played softball for 13 years, and for seven of those, I pitched fast pitch. I played club in the summer, for my high school team or travel team in the spring, and went to a pitching camp in the fall/winter. All that pitching really built up the muscle in my left arm, making it noticeably larger than my right. Thankfully, 7 years after 'retiring' from the super-competitive softball, my arms are now much closer to the same size!

2. I have the biggest pet peeve when, instead of saying Pacific Ocean, people say 'Specific' Ocean. Ugh, makes me cringe just typing it, haha.

3. I wish I could have hair like Jennifer Love Hewitt (aka Ghost Wisperer) or the redhead from "Better With You." Yes, I have hair envy.

4. I typically have to 'guilt' myself into working out. I don't enjoy it, but I love how accomplished I feel after I've done my run/exercising. I'll usually lay my workout clothes out in the morning, and change the minute I walk through the door - since I'm already in the clothes, it would be kind of pointless to skip working out then!

5. I still own rollerblades. And one day, I'm hoping to use Cody as my 'sled dog' and have him lead me down the street while I'm wearing my rollerblades. I can just picture the face-plant now.

6. In high school, I played the clarinet, bass clarinet, and contra-bass clarinet (for which I had to play Tuba music because we had no sheet music for the contra-bass clarinet). I also was the Marching Band Drum Major(ette) my junior year of high school, conducting the band during competitions, parades and halftime shows - complete with go-go boots.

7. We used to have a cabin in central Pennsylvania where I learned to shoot rifles and shotguns. We did target practice with baloons for the rifles, and skeet/trap over the front lawn with the shotgun. I was also on the clay target team for one semester while at school, but it was too expensive!

Hope you enjoyed a little peek into what makes me tick!

Hot Cross Buns

2011-04-24T06:13:00.005-05:00

Happy Easter Y'All!

I hope you have a wonderful day with you friends, family and loved ones! I plan on sitting down to a meal of ham, sweet potato casserole, corn pudding and green beans - and more desesrts than I know what to do with!

Today, I'm going to keep the post short, as I want to spend as much time as I can with my parents, who drove all the way from the East Coast to spend the holiday with us!

So I'll leave you with a great recipe for a traditional hot-crossed bun that is as easy as it is delcious!

Hot Crossed Buns Recipe
From Simply Recipes
Makes 16 buns.

Ingredients
1 1/4-ounce package active dry yeast (about 2 1/2 teaspoons)
3/4 cup warm milk
3 1/4 to 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon granulated white sugar
2 teaspoons ground spices (for example, 1/2 teaspoon cardamom, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon allspice, 1/4 teaspoon cloves, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg)
1 teaspoon salt
4 Tbsp butter, softened
2 eggs, room temperature (if taking right out of the fridge, let sit in warm water for a few minutes to take the chill off before using)
3/4 cup currants or raisins (can sub half of currants with chopped candied citrus peel)
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
Glaze
1 egg
1 Tbsp milk

Frosting
1 teaspoon milk or orange juice
3 to 4 Tbsp powdered sugar

Directions
In a bowl, stir together 1/4 cup of the warmed milk and one teaspoon of sugar. Sprinkle the yeast over the milk and let sit for 5-10 minutes until foamy.

In a large bowl or the mixing bowl of an electric mixer, vigorously whisk together 3 cups of the flour (reserving additional flour for later step), the salt, spices, and 1/4 cup of sugar.

Create a well in the flour and add the foamy yeast, softened butter, and eggs. Using a wooden spoon or the paddle attachment of your mixer, mix the ingredients until well incorporated. The mixture should be shaggy and quite sticky. Add in the currants, candied peel, and orange zest.

If you are using a stand-up mixer, switch to the dough hook attachment and start to knead on low speed. (If not using a mixer, use your hands to knead.) Slowly sprinkle in additional flour, a tablespoon at a time, kneading to incorporate after each addition, until the flour is still slightly tacky, but is no longer completely sticking to your fingers when you work with it.

Form a ball of dough in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit, covered, at room temperature (or in a warm spot) for 2 hours, until the dough has doubled in size.

Press down on the dough to gently compress it. Roll the ball of dough into a log shape and cut it into two halves. Place one half back in the bowl while you work with the other half. Take the dough half you are working with and cut it into 8 equal pieces. The easiest way to do this is to roll it into a log, cut it in half, then roll those pieces into logs, cut them in half, and then do it again, roll those pieces into logs, and cut them in half.

Take the individual pieces and form them into mounds, placing them 1 1/2 inches apart from each other on a baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and then work the remaining dough into 8 equal pieces and place them in mounds on a baking sheet, again cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough mounds sit at room temperature (or warm place) to rise again, until the mounds have doubled in volume, about 30-40 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Prepare egg wash by whisking together one egg and a tablespoon of milk. If you want, you can score the top of the buns with a knife in a cross pattern. You will want to make fairly deep cuts, for the pattern to be noticeable after they're done. Using a pasty brush, brush on the egg wash over the dough mounds. The egg wash will give them a shiny appearance when cooked.

Place in the middle rack of the oven and cook for 10-12 minutes, until the buns are lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool on the pan for a few minutes, then transfer the buns to a wire rack to cool.

To paint a cross on the top of the buns, wait until the buns have cooled (or the frosting will run). Whisk together the milk and the powdered sugar. Keep adding powdered sugar until you get a thick consistency. Place in a plastic sandwich bag. Snip off a small piece from the corner of the bag and use the bag to pipe two lines of frosting across each bun to make a cross.

Macaroon Mania! (Part 4 of 4 - Chewy Chocolate Macaroons)

2011-04-22T15:39:00.004-05:00

Part 4: Chewy Chocolate Macaroons

And here is the end of our macaroon mania! These macaroons I had to give a try. They are so different than any other recipe I’d seen for a few reasons:
-They’re chocolate. Not drizzled, not dipped – full-on, in-your-face chocolate.
-They are cooked low and slow (250 for 45 minutes versus the typical 350 for 15-20 minutes)
-The contain flour
-There is no egg in this recipe

These macaroons were a cinch to make. But waiting for them to cook was absolute torture. Forty-five minutes seemed like an eternity to wait, especially once the kitchen started smelling of coconut and chocolate. Now that’s a lethal combination.

The payoff was worth it. The cookies are soft, and chewy, without being wet or sticky. These macaroons were divine. I was surprised too, because I was expecting to taste like a mounds bar, or just like a chocolate-dipped coconut macaroon. The chocolate had actually taken on a distinct ‘brownie’ taste, which really surprised me, but paired really well with the coconut.

I really recommend trying these. I never imagined I’d flip for such an unconventional macaroon, but it’s a winner. Why not try spicing up your typical Easter recipes?

Well, there you have it. Macaroon Mania. In the end, I do think the classic coconut macaroon won out, but just by a hair. The chewy chocolate coconut macaroon was amazing as well, and I could easily justify having one (or two) of each, because they’re so different. Alton’s were delicious, more like a coconut meringue than what I consider a macaroon, but everyone who enjoys coconut went nuts over these. The chocolate drizzled macaroons were good, and would be fabulous to make nests out of with chocolate eggs for kids, but I like having the coconut a little more broken down than it was in these cookies, not to mention I preferred the more sophisticated look of the other cookies.

Previously: Macaroon Mania! (Part 3 of 4 - Chocolate Dipped Toasted Coconut Macaroons)

Chewy Chocolate Macaroons

From Cooke Madness

Ingredients

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

½ cup sifted cake flour

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups lightly packed flaked sweetened coconut

1 teaspoonvanilla extract

1 (14-ounce) can fat-free sweetened condensed milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 250°. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

Melt unsweetened chocolate in microwave. Spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with knife. Combine flour, cocoa powder and salt. Add coconut to flour mixture and toss well. Stir in melted chocolate, vanilla and condensed milk.

Drop the batter by level tablespoons 2 inches apart onto a baking sheet. Bake at 250° for 45 minutes. Cool 10 minutes on pan or rack

Yield: 32 cookies (serving size: 1 cookie)

Macaroon Mania! (Part 3 of 4 - Chocolate Dipped Toasted Coconut Macaroons)

2011-04-20T15:44:00.008-05:00

Part Three: Chocolate Dipped Toasted Coconut Macaroons

This recipe appealed to me for two main reasons:
The coconut is toasted before incorporating into the recipe
The egg whites are whipped into a meringue-like consistency before using, instead of just mixing everything together.

This one, like the first cookie, required a little more than a wooden spoon to make. While these were good, I’m not sure this is the first recipe I’d run to if I was craving a macaroon. I’d consider these more along the lines of a coconut-flavored meringue instead of a macaroon. But that doesn’t mean that all the coconut lovers in our house didn’t go crazy for them. These were some of the more popular cookies, despite not being a traditional macaroon. You never know if you don’t try.

Up Next: The exciting conlusion to Macaroon Mania! – Part Four: Chewy Chocolate Macaroons

Chocolate Dipped Toasted Coconut Macaroons

From Alton Brown

Ingredients
4 large egg whites

pinch of salt

1/2 cup sugar

12 ounces sweetened shredded coconut, toasted

2 (3 ounce) kosher milk chocolate bars, coarsely chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place coconut on a baking sheet, spread out evenly and place in the oven.

Return to the oven every five minutes to stir the browning coconut. Once evenly browned, after about 15 minutes, remove the the oven and allow to cool.

In a mixer fitted with a whip attachment. whip egg whites and salt until they become white and begin to stiffen. Add sugar in 3 parts. Continue to whip until the egg whites are very stiff. Fold in toasted coconut.

On parchment lined cookie sheets, drop a teaspoon of the mixture leaving 1 to 2 inches around each cookie. Place into the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. The outside should be golden brown but the insides should still be moist.

Place chocolate chunks in a heatproof bowl. Place bowl over a pan of simmering water so that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the simmering water. Allow to melt. Stir until loose and creamy. Partially dip the macaroons in the chocolate then allow to cool and harden on a parchment lined sheet. You can place the pan of chocolate dipped cookies in the refrigerator to speed up the hardening process.

Macaroon Mania! (Part 2 of 4 - Chocolate Drizzled Macaroons)

2011-04-19T18:45:00.000-05:00

Part Two: Chocolate Drizzled Macaroons

I was curious what making macaroons without the food processor would be like. But I couldn’t make them plain like the first ones, that would be too boring! So I decided to go with some Easter egg colors to make the plate a little more festive.

I liked that these went together easily, but I did notice that these looked a little more like dyed hay bales when I scooped them onto the baking sheet. Because all the little shreds of coconut were still whole, these macaroons were a little more fibrous than the first macaroons. These would be great to make little nests out of to hold chocolate eggs, but as far as taste and texture goes, the first macaroons were far superior.

Up Next: Macaroon Mania! – Part Three: Chocolate Dipped Toasted Coconut Macaroons
Previously: Macaroon Mania! - Part One: The Coconut Macaroon

Chocolate Drizzled Macaroons

From Baker’s Coconut. Yield: 2 dozen

Ingredients

1 (14 oz) Bag Shredded Coconut

2/3 c Sugar

6 Tbsp Flour

¼ tsp Salt

4 Egg Whites

1 tsp Almond Extract

Assorted Food Coloring

½ c Semi-Sweet Chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour baking sheets; set aside. Mix coconut, sugar, flour and salt in large bowl. Stir in egg whites and almond extract until well blended. Divide mixture into separate bowls, add food coloring one drop at a time until you reach desired color.

2. Drop coconut mixture into 36 mounds, 2 inches apart, on prepared baking sheets, using about 1 tablespoonful of the coconut mixture for each mound. Bake 20 min. or until edges are golden brown. Immediately remove from baking sheets to wire racks. Cool completely.

3. To decorate with drizzled chocolate, place chocolate in a sandwich bag on a microwave safe dish and microwave in 30 second intervals moving the chocolate around between each interval until melted. Using scissors, cut the tip off the sandwich bag. The smaller your cut, the smaller the drizzle. Use the sandwich bag to pipe the chocolate back and forth over the macaroons until you reach the desired look.

Macaroon Mania! (Part 1 of 4 – The Coconut Macaroon)

2011-04-17T08:28:00.007-05:00

With a week to go before Easter, I figured it might be fun to delve into some Easter goodies! For some reason, even with all the chocolate bunnies, Cadbury Crème eggs, jelly beans and assorted other Easter candy, I always look forward to the macaroons the most. Don’t get me wrong, I won’t ever turn down the opportunity to chomp the ears off of an unsuspecting chocolate bunny, or stuff myself to the gills with Jelly Bellys, but, if I want an Easter tradition that I can truly savor and enjoy, it’s the macaroon. I wanted to find a good macaroon recipe to share with my family and was not really surprised that an internet search for ‘macaroon recipe’ returned a ton of results. I was surprised, however, at the many different types of macaroons out there. Because I was intrigued by the results of my search, I pulled four macaroon recipes to try. Yes, four. And if you can believe it, these cookies were all made in one evening. I know, it’s crazy. But sometimes we do crazy things in the name of food.

Part One: Classic Macaroons

I figured the best place to start would be the beginning, with the cookie that started this process. The classic coconut macaroon. Just by hearing the word macaroon, I envision a very specific cookie. To me, a macaroon is creamy colored and slightly toasted on the outside, not sticky, and when you bite into it, you get the slight crispness on the outside coupled with a soft, melt-in-your-mouth center. It should have a slight chew, but if I can’t swallow it after about four or five bites, it is too chewy.

This recipe from Baking Bites fit the bill. The picture featured with the recipe look exactly like the cookies I was imagining, so I gave this recipe a try. Everything about making these cookies went pretty smoothly, I only had a slight issue when trying to put the cookies on the baking sheet. The cookies themselves are either very delicate, or else I manhandled them, because fell apart pretty easily as I was trying to spoon them out. A quick fix stuck them back together and then into the oven they went.

The end result was exactly what I envisioned a perfect macaroon. I had hit coconut bliss but, I wasn’t done. There were three more recipes that caught my attention, and I had to see if there were any macaroon versions I liked more than the original. And don't let the fact that you need a food processor discourage you - these are worth a little extra cleanup!

Up Next: Macaroon Mania! Part Two: Chocolate Drizzled Macaroons

Coconut Macaroons

From Baking Bites

Ingredients

4 cups shredded, sweetened coconut (unsweetened is fine, too)

1/2 cup sugar

2 large egg whites

1/8 tsp salt

1 tbsp cornstarch

1 tbsp rum (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)

Directions

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

Place shredded coconut into a food processor bowl and pulse several times until coconut is finely chopped (not into coconut flour, but into approx. small, rice-sized bits).

In a large bowl, whisk together egg whites, sugar and salt until smooth. Whisk in cornstarch and rum. Stir in coconut, making sure the entire mixture is an even consistency.

Drop by rounded teaspoons (so roughly 2 tsp balls, if using a standard measure) onto a parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden on the bottom and top.

Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 3 – 3 1/2 dozen

Linked to:

Tom Yum Quinoa and Lemongrass Shrimp

2011-04-15T09:05:00.005-05:00

Before I met my husband, I had never heard of Tom Yum Soup, Sukiyaki, cow mu deng, penang curry, among numerous other things. I have since been lucky enough to go with my husband and his family to Thailand, and to taste these dishes and more firsthand. Thai food is special in the sense that, in one dish, it combines in perfect balance sweet, salty, sour, hot (spicy) and occasionally bitter elements.

One of the first thai dishes I ever tried was Tom Yum soup. It is a broth-based soup flavored with distinctly sour, sweet and spicy elements, thanks to ingredients like lemongass, kaffir lime leaves, sugar, galangal, lime juice, crushed chilies and fish sauce. If you aren’t used to the combination of flavors, the soup can really catch you off-guard. I remember the first spoonful I tried; I wasn’t sure if I loved it, or just tolerated it. Each subsequent spoonful was more and more appealing, and the flavor combinations started to really come together for me. Now, Tom Yum is a soup I crave, and I will typically order it any time we go to a Thai restaurant.

Lately, I’ve been delving into the world of alternative proteins, one of which is quinoa. After having the box sit around in my pantry for a week or two, I finally decided I’d make something with it to serve with shrimp. My husband and I have been loving finding new sauces and marinades, and one of our favorites has been a Thai lemongrass marinade. Because we had decided to marinate the shrimp in that sauce, I wanted to do something similarly themed for the quinoa.

As luck would have it, we had most of the ingredients for Tom Yum soup around. I cooked the quinoa with the soup ingredients, hoping the flavors would come through – and compliment the flavor of the shrimp. Aside from not making enough quinoa to satisfy my hubby’s appetite (sorry about that!), the flavor of this meal was spot-on.

The hubby enjoyed his first tastes of quinoa, as it was flavored with elements he was used to. And, for once, my kitchen experimentation has yielded a recipe worth sharing. I served it with a refreshing and easy cold cucumber side dish that you can whip up in under three minutes.

Most of the ingredients will be in your big-name grocery stores. Some of the ingredients, however, may be a little more difficult to find. But, if you have a good international market, chances are you should be able to find things like lemongrass pretty easily.

Tom Yum Quinoa and Lemongrass Shrimp

Serves one very hungry person or two as a light dinner

Ingredients

1/2 pound of medium-sized shrimp

Thai-style marinade, optional (I used a curry and lemongrass one)

1 stalk lemongrass

1 c chicken stock

1/2 c quinoa

2 serranos, halved

2 tsp fresh grated ginger

Zest of 1/2 a lime

Juice of 1/2 a lime

1 tsp sugar

2 tsp fish sauce

Cilantro for garnish

Directions

If your shrimp are already peeled and deveined, great. If not, Peel your shrimp, leaving the tails on, and devein them if you desire (I always want my shrimp deveined, I’m not a huge fan of the little brown line running up the back!)

If you have a sauce you’d like to marinate your shrimp in, do so the night before and let them sit for eight hours. Otherwise, it’s ok to use plain shrimp and just salt and pepper them before cooking.

Remove the top few inches or so of the ‘dried grassy part’ of the lemongrass and dice the remaining portion very finely.

Rinse your quinoa thoroughly. This will help your quinoa stay fluffy (similar to washing rice before you cook it) . The water should run relatively clear by the time you finish washing it. (It may take a couple of minutes to clean it thoroughly)

In a medium bowl, combine everything but the chicken stock.

Transfer to a pot, add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Cover with lid, reduce heat, and simmer for 12-15 minutes.

Turn off heat but leave lid on for another 5 to 10 minutes.

While the quinoa is resting, heat a skillet or grill pan to medium heat with about a tablespoon of oil in it.

Cook the shrimp for about 2 minutes on each side. They will turn opaque and curl up slightly when they are done, and the tails will turn from blue to pink.

Fluff the quinoa with a fork and serve with shrimp. You can also serve with additional lime slices if you want a little more acidity with your meal. Top with a little washed cilantro and enjoy!

Sweet and Spicy Cucumbers

Ingredients

½ c rice wine vinegar

2 T oil

3 T sugar

1 medium cucumber

1 tsp thai pepper flakes (or you can use dried pepper flakes if you can’t find Thai pepper flakes)

Directions

Cut cucumber in half and, using a teaspoon, scrape the seeds from the middle.

Cut the sections in half lengthwise again (making four long slices) and then cut into bite-sized pieces.

Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl.

Serve and Enjoy!

Easter Biscotti

2011-04-12T08:26:00.002-05:00

When my brother and I were little, ~~my parents~~ the Easter Bunny, would create a path of candy, either jelly beans or m&m’s, originating from our rooms to our respective Easter Baskets. I seem to recall that my brother would pick them up and eat them as he went, whereas I would collect a handful and then shove them all in my mouth at once – classy, right? I loved Easter – it was the only other holiday other than Halloween where we got a free pass on candy consumption (I guess they were hoping that our resulting stomachaches would teach us a lesson. Nope.).

In our baskets, there would always be a chocolate bunny, jelly beans and m&m’s, among other things.

Do you eat your rabbits ears first, feet first, or tail first? I’m totally an ears person. But, I digress. I always really enjoyed jelly beans, especially all the black, licorice flavored ones my brother and mom despised. I had to fight my dad for those. Aside from Jelly Belly brand, I didn’t really know other kinds existed. My husband introduced me to Starburst jelly beans a few years ago, and I’ve been hooked ever since.

We saw the bags were on sale at our local store, which of course meant we bought more than we should have. I saw this jelly bean biscotti recipe a while ago on Culinary in the Desert, and figured the jelly bean excess would be a good excuse to try out the recipe. The biscotti looked so festive, and the recipe itself was intriguing – would jelly beans in a baked good taste ok?

Everything assembled nicely for the biscotti, and I got it in the oven without incident. I am so glad I had put parchment paper down, because I didn’t think about the jelly beans becoming molten pockets of colored sugar as they baked into the dough. The bit that leaked out onto the paper cleaned up easily, and I had a clean cookie pan once they were done.
My main issue was that the biscotti were very difficult to cut from the log into 1/2” segments - mine were larger than that. The still melted jelly beans would ooze onto the parchment and stick to the knife, and make cutting the next piece off either messy or impossible. I practically had to wash jelly bean goop off of the knife in between each cut. Eventually, I got them all cut and back in the oven, where more of the jelly bean goop leaked out from the cut edges. Once they were out of the oven and cooled, it was time to sample.

The verdict?

They are definite cute and festive, but the jury was still out on whether we liked the taste of them, or were more won over by the novelty of the biscotti. I think I liked them, but I’m not sure if I’ll be making them again – I can think of many other Easter specialties (including my Carrot Cake Cheesecake) that I’d rather spend the time both baking and eating. Because I wasn't sure how jelly bean biscotti would be received, I made a half batch, which worked out fine for us.

Easter Biscotti.
From Culinary in the Desert
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs, divided - at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
12 ounces Jelly Beans

Preheat the oven to 375°

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add 3 eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated. Mix in the vanilla.

Add in the flour mixture and mix just until combined. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the Jelly Beans. The dough may be a bit sticky.

Scoop dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 2 pieces. Take one half and roll lightly back and forth making a log about the length of your baking sheet. Carefully place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat with the second piece.

Using wet fingers if the dough is sticky, flatten each log a bit.

In a small bowl, whisk the remaining egg and brush evenly over each log.

Bake for about 23-28 minutes or until they are slightly golden brown.

Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 10-15 minutes (can go a little more.) Using a serrated knife, carefully slice them on the diagonal into about 1/2" slices. Stand each slice back on the baking sheet - it is ok if they touch.

Bake for another 10-12 minutes until the edges turn a slight golden brown. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Easter Bunny Bread

2011-04-08T10:28:00.002-05:00

It’s been nearly two years since we’ve owned our house, and I am still shocked at how few decorations we have. Aside from some Christmas lights, my homemade thanksgiving decorations and an Easter serving platter, we have very few things with which to adorn our house for specific holidays. It’s true that the money we saved on decorations has most likely contributed to the fact we’ve been able to afford new appliances as we need them, but I definitely enjoy the feel of a home that is lovingly decorated for each season. Unlike Thanksgiving, I didn’t have a lot of time to make decorations this time; so I figured I’d adorn our table with something that is not only cute, but multi-purposed - an Easter-themed decoration that is also our table centerpiece, appetizer and bread for the meal.

The original recipe for the Easter Bunny bread called for using one-pound tubes of frozen bread dough. I did not even know there was such a product, not to mention I did not know where to look for it in the store. So I just decided to make my own bread and just measure off the necessary amounts of dough for the recipe.
This Easter Bunny was fun to make, and my family got a kick out of me lovingly sculpting him out of bread dough. He so cute coming out of the oven that I felt incredibly guilty cutting the midsection out of the poor bunny, but you have to do what you have to do. I can promise that covered his eyes beforehand and that he didn’t suffer. The cavity was then lined with lettuce and filled with a garlic, lemon and dill dip and fresh veggies (as well as the cubed bread cut from the midsection) were laid out on the platter to serve as an appetizer prior to the meal being served.

Once dinner was ready, it was time to dig into our little bread bunny. To be honest, I was a little worried how my family would react to ferociously dismantling an innocent rabbit to get a dinner bun, but my fears were soon put to rest as soon once husband asked for the left ear. Everyone else started asking for cheeks, arms, legs and portions of the head. They were rewarded with soft bread that had a relatively tight crumb and subtle sweetness from the honey.

Even if you don’t have to heart to make, bake and eat an Easter Bunny, you can make this bread as per its original instructions and have a wonderful braided loaf to proudly serve with your Easter dinner.

Honey Buttermilk Bread
Adapted Slightly From NY Girl Eats World

1/2 cup warm water
1 packet of yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 ½ cups buttermilk, slightly warmed
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1/4-1/2 cup honey
6 cups flour, separated
egg wash (1 beaten egg with 2 Tbsp water)
sesame seeds, optional

Pour the warm water into the bottom of a large bowl and add the yeast. Then sprinkle in the sugar and then let it sit for 10 minutes. It should be foaming by this point.

Once the yeast has foamed and frothed, add the butter, milk and honey, whisking it all together vigorously.

Add 2 cups of flour and mix with a wooden spoon until incorporated. Add two more cups and mix well. Once the dough is pulling away from the sides of the bowl, add a cup more to soak up the rest of the moisture.

Scatter the remaining cup of flour on your kneading surface. Dump the shaggy dough from the bowl and begin gathering it into a ball and kneading it. Knead the dough for 5 to 10 minutes until you have a smooth, firm pale-yellow ball of dough that gives a thud when you slap it.

Grease the bowl you mixed the dough in and put the dough back in. Let it sit and rise for an hour and a half in a warm place.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. When the dough has risen to double its original size, gently punch it down and turn it back out on a lightly floured surface.

If you plan on making the easter bunny bread, skip this last part and start with the Easter Bunny Bread directions. Otherwise, continue this recipe to get a delicious loaf of bread that doesn’t look like Bugs Bunny.

Easter Bunny Bread Directions
From Taste of Home published in Quick Cooking March/April 2001, p13

Ingredients
2 pounds of bread dough (one batch of the recipe above should suffice or you can use two 1 pound frozen loaves, thawed)
2 raisins
2 sliced almonds
1 egg, lightly beaten
Lettuce leaves
Dip of your choice (I used the Creamy Garlic Dill Dip found below)

Directions
Cut a fourth off of one loaf of dough; shape into a pear to form head. For body, flatten remaining portion into a 7-in. x 6-in. oval; place on a greased baking sheet. Place head above body. Make narrow cuts, about 3/4 in. deep, on each side of head for whiskers.

Cut second loaf into four equal portions. For ears, shape two portions into 16-in. ropes; fold ropes in half. Arrange ears with open ends touching head. Cut a third portion of dough in half; shape each into a 3-1/2-in. oval for back paws. Cut two 1-in. slits on top edge for toes. Position on each side of body.
Divide the fourth portion of dough into three pieces. Shape two pieces into 2-1/2-in. balls for front paws; shape the remaining piece into two 1-in. balls for cheeks and one 1/2-in. ball for nose. Place paws on each side of body; cut two 1-in. slits for toes. Place cheeks and nose on face. Add raisins for eyes and almonds for teeth.

Brush dough with egg. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30-45 minutes. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Place bread on a lettuce-lined 16-in. x 13-in. serving tray. Cut a 5-in. x 4-in. oval in center of body. Hollow out bread, leaving a 1/2-in. shell (discard removed bread or save for another use). Line with lettuce and fill with dip.

Yield: 1 loaf.

Creamy Dill Dipping Sauce
Adapted from AllRecipes.com

Ingredients
3/4 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill (or 2 tsp dried dill)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1-2 cloves finely diced (or pressed) garlic
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
In a small mixing bowl, combine sour cream, garlic, dill, lemon juice, and salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 to 2 hours before serving.

Flatten and shape the dough into a rectangle, then cut it into three equal strips, lengthwise. Cross the strips into a braid and tuck the ends under. Move the bread to a greased baking sheet and let it rest for 15 minutes.

Brush the egg glaze over the top of the bread, which will give the finished bread a nice sheen, and sprinkle the bread with sesame seeds, if using. Finally it's time to perfume the house with the sweet scent of this golden loaf: Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes and let cool.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

2011-04-02T12:58:00.002-05:00

If you remember from my previous pizza post, I mentioned how me making pizza dough from the pre-packed mixes usually ends up in disaster. And it’s typically because with mixes, I go on autopilot, figuring if I can make stuff from scratch, I don’t need to pay attention to the mix directions all that much – how hard can it be? Apparently, even using homemade dough, I’m not immune to near-catastrophes in the kitchen. My autopilot really needs a tune-up. Sheesh.

I had made my dough and was letting it rest while I preheated my oven and pizza stone. I typically use a combination of flour and cornmeal on the cutting board I use as a pizza peel to help the dough slide off onto the stone without a lot of resistance. Not sure what I was thinking, but after liberally flouring my board, I got out the cornmeal and proceeded to put some on my cutting board and, stupidly, my pizza stone. Yes, the pizza stone that is in a 475 degree oven.

I started to merrily make my pizza, stretching out the dough and putting on the sauces and cheese, when my husband joined me in the kitchen. He asks “is the oven supposed to be doing that?” Not even turning around, I said “of course it is, it’s preheating.” Imagine my shock when he said “so it’s supposed to be smoking like that?”

That got my attention, so I turned around and, sure enough, black smoke was pouring out of the oven vent. I opened the oven door to see a charred mass of what used to be cornmeal on the pizza stone. Grabbing the oven mitt, I tried to grab a nearly 500-degree pizza stone out of the oven and tried to dump the cornmeal into the sink. Fail. It was stuck. And I just realized that my oven mitt is not thick enough for a 475-degree pizza stone. Unfortunately, there is very few places in our house where you can put something that hot where it won’t cause serious damage – and our stovetop was covered with pots and pans from my topping preparation. After a little more floundering, I finally got the stone on the stovetop, freeing up both hands for a simultaneous forehead smack.

I finally enlisted the help of the hubby to hold the stone while I scraped off the burnt cornmeal. Thankfully, the stone is resilient, and once it was scraped clean, it went back in the oven and went on to cook a perfect pizza.

This recipe is adapted from my Neopolitan Pizza dough from the Cooking Light magazine, but I took some liberties because I didn’t have all night to let the dough slowly rise. I just let it hang out all day and just kept punching it down (every time it doubled in size or so) until I was finally ready to use it that evening. The pizza itself (as-in the topping combination) is something I’ve been making for a few years now, and never seems to get old. Whenever we’re trying to figure out what we feel like eating for dinner, this is always one of the suggestions. There’s probably good reason for that. This pizza is delicious and (especially if you use premade dough or a package of ‘just add water’ dough) easy.

I didn’t mention in the previous post, but I add in semolina flour because I like the chew it gives to my crust, you can easily use all bread flour instead. The garlic powder is optional as well, but it does seem to give my crust a flavor I felt was lacking the first few times I assembled the crust.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Topping

2 Chicken tenderloins

2/3 c barbecue sauce

3 oz Mozzarella, sliced

1/4 c shredded Parmesan

3/4 c grated Smoked Gouda

Dough

1 1/2 c bread flour

1/2 c plus 2 Tbsp Semolina Flour

1 c Water

4 tsp Olive Oil

1 tsp kosher salt

2 tsp Garlic Powder

Directions

Salt and pepper chicken tenderloins and cook over medium heat, 3-4 minutes on each side, until cooked through. Remove to a cutting board and allow to cool. Chop chicken thoroughly once cooled. You can also add a tablespoon or two of the barbecue sauce to the chicken to impart a little more flavor as it’s hanging out in your fridge waiting to be used.

Pour 3/4 cup warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer with dough hook attached. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups and spoons; level with a knife. Add flour to 3/4 cup water; mix until combined. Combine remaining 1/4 cup water and yeast in a small bowl; let stand 5 minutes or until bubbly. Add yeast mixture, oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to flour mixture; mix about 10 minutes. You should have a soft dough that is somewhat sticky (If it is too unruly, I’ll typically add another 2-3 Tbsp of flour and keep kneading). Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray; cover surface of dough with plastic wrap lightly coated with cooking spray.

I turned my oven onto the proofing function (though on a draft-free countertop is fine as well) and just let my dough hang out for the day. If it got too puffy, I’d punch it back down. When you are about ready to use the dough, preheat your oven to 475 with your pizza stone on the lowest rack.

I use a big cutting board covered with a little flour and cornmeal as my pizza peel.

Form your dough into a circle, making a 1/2 inch rim around the edge for the crust.

Put on your barbecue sauce, chicken and three cheeses.

Bake at 475 for 10-15 minutes or until crust is cooked but still springy, and cheese is melted.

I *heart* pizza!

Sicilian Sausage Soup

2011-03-30T08:29:00.003-05:00

Soups are a great way for me to stay warm through the winter without packing on the pounds but, a lot of times, the soups that are the healthiest seem to lack a heartiness that I crave when the thermometer dips below 30 degrees (or 0 degrees, depending on the day). I want something that feels like stick-to-your-ribs comfort food without actually sticking-to-my-ribs (or worse yet, my hips).

This soup is the best of both worlds. The combination of orzo pasta and vegetables, including super-healthy kale, swimming around happily in a light chicken broth, leaves you satisfied without feeling guilty. The touch of light sausage and parmesan cheese really wakes up the flavor of this recipe. If you wanted to make this a vegetarian-friendly meal, all you would have to do is omit the sausage and sub out the chicken broth for veggie broth.

If at all possible, I would let this soup sit for a day after making it, as the flavors really seem to come together best after 24 hours but, if you simply can’t wait (like me, typically), it still tastes wonderful fresh out of the pot!

I always have saltines on hand to dip in the soup, though oyster crackers would be equally as delicious!

Sicilian Sausage Soup

Family Recipe

Ingredients

1 lb. bulk sausage (we use low-fat)

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, diced

1 green pepper, chopped

3 stalks of celery, chopped

1 tsp. pepper, 1 tsp. basil

1 small can condensed tomato soup

1 16 oz can diced tomatoes with liquid

6-8 c. chicken broth (up to 12 c. is fine) (or use 2, 49 ½ oz can)

up to 1 cup of kale (chopped, cooked, drained)

½ cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

1 cup orzo pasta

Directions

Brown sausage in large stock pot. (if making a vegetarian option, use about a tablespoon of olive oil or another oil of your choice instead of the sausage fat).

Add onion, celery and garlic to pan and sauté a until slightly transparent, but it doesn’t have to be cooked all the way through. (The sausage, if low-fat, will not render a lot of fat, but it’ll be enough to give your veggies good flavor)

Add tomato soup, stir in spices, tomatoes, and broth.

Add cooked kale.

Cover and reduce heat and simmer for 1 hr.

Stir in orzo and cook for 45 mins more.

Garnish with cheese to serve.

Enjoy!

PS. - Don't forget to come find me over on Facebook if you like what you see!

Cooking Light Neopolitan Pizza Dough

2011-03-25T08:29:00.003-05:00

When I was a kid and my parents used to order pizza, I would always grab a slice, peel off all the cheese and eat the saucy crust. As I got older, peeling of all the cheese has matured to peeling off only some of the cheese and blotting the rest of it with about half a roll of paper towels to remove the puddles of oil pooling on my slice. I love pizza, but I have my limits on how much grease and cheese I can consume before turning a not-so-pretty shade of green and laying in the fetal position on the couch for the rest of the night. While the hubby and I do order pizzas from time to time (sometimes you just have that craving!), for the most part, when we want a ‘za fix, we’ll make it ourselves. Pizza doesn’t have to be a greasy , oil-laden, gloopy cheesy mess.

My first pizzas were as simple as putting sauce and cheese on some sort of bread – ritz crackers, bagels, pitas, and English muffins. While tasty, they lack the true ‘spirit’ of a good pizza, the chewy yet crunchy crust. I progressed to using packaged pizza dough mixes. Most just called for adding water and maybe a little olive oil. It’s a running joke in our family how many times I have screwed this dough up. You’d think after 4 or 5 times, not only would I not need to read the label to know how much water to put in, I wouldn’t misread the label every single time. It’d call for one-third cup of water, I’d add two-thirds and then wonder why I had a soupy mess on my hands. A smack on the forehead and some additional flour later, I’d salvage the dough and we’d have our pizza.

Not until about last year did I start making our crusts from scratch. I’ve been through about four recipes so far, and am coming close to my ideal crust. A chewy crust on top, with a little crispiness on the bottom, with a lot of irregularly sized bubbles. My favorite pieces always had the gigantic bubble that practically created a cavern in the crust. I’ve tried several cooking methods, and have found that high heat for a short period of time creates the crust we like. It does take a little bit of planning to have fresh pizza dough on the day you want it, but it is definitely worth it. I love adding a little garlic powder to my dough for a little extra somethin’-somethin’.

Not only do you have the freedom to personalize your toppings, you can also dial back the cheesiness if you are like me. Fair warning though, if you like a LOT of toppings, you will have a difficult time transferring your pizza to your cutting board. Keep it relatively simple, and you’ll be rewarded.

Neopolitan Pizza Dough

Adapted from Cooking Light

Because this classic Neapolitan-style pizza is so simple, it depends on quality ingredients: Use the best fresh mozzarella and basil you can find.

Yield: 5 servings (serving size: 2 wedges)

Ingredients

1 cup warm water (100° to 110°), divided

8 ounces bread flour (about 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons)

2 ounces semolina flour

1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)

4 teaspoons olive oil

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

2 tsp Garlic Powder

Cooking spray

1 tablespoon yellow cornmeal

3/4 cup Pizza Sauce

1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) thinly sliced fresh mozzarella cheese

Directions

Pour 3/4 cup warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer with dough hook attached. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups and spoons; level with a knife. Add flour to 3/4 cup water; mix until combined. Cover and let stand 20 minutes. Combine remaining 1/4 cup water and yeast in a small bowl; let stand 5 minutes or until bubbly. Add yeast mixture, oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to flour mixture; mix 5 minutes or until a soft dough forms. Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray; cover surface of dough with plastic wrap lightly coated with cooking spray. Refrigerate 24 hours.

Remove dough from refrigerator. Let stand, covered, 1 hour or until dough comes to room temperature. Punch dough down. Press dough out to a 12-inch circle on a lightly floured baking sheet, without raised sides, sprinkled with cornmeal. Crimp edges to form a 1/2-inch border. Cover dough loosely with plastic wrap.

Position an oven rack in the lowest setting. Place a pizza stone on lowest rack. Preheat oven to 550°. Preheat the pizza stone for 30 minutes before baking dough.

Remove plastic wrap from dough. Sprinkle dough with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Spread Pizza Sauce evenly over dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Arrange cheese slices evenly over pizza. Slide pizza onto preheated pizza stone, using a spatula as a guide. Bake at 550° for 11 minutes or until the crust is golden. Cut pizza into 10 wedges, serve.

40 Clove Chicken

2011-03-21T16:20:00.002-05:00

If you like garlic, this is the meal for you. Whoo-doggie.

The only hard part of this dish is having enough patience to peel 40 cloves of garlic (that’s about 3 heads worth). Thankfully, the trick of boiling the cloves for 60 seconds and then draining it makes the task a million times easier than trying to smash each clove and pick out all the paper from the mess. I also think there is a lot more visual impact to the dish when presented with whole cloves of garlic; that way there is no question as to what is in the dish.

If you hate garlic, I might steer away from this dish. But if you only think you don’t like it, I’d suggest giving this recipe a try. A lot of times people do not like garlic because they’ve either had it raw or burnt. I love raw garlic, but it is definitely a pungent taste, one which many people don’t enjoy. And burnt garlic, ick. There is no coming back from that one. But cooking the garlic over low heat for a long period of time is a beautiful thing. Roasted cloves will be brown, but not burnt, and the taste will transform from sharp to sweet as the sugars begin to caramelize. They also get soft – soft enough that you can grab a clove, put it on a piece of toast, and spread it with a knife as you would butter.

There are a lot of strong flavors in this dish, inclusive of the garlic, so I wouldn’t recommend eating this before meeting your blind date for the evening. This would be more of a third-date sort of meal.

Definitely serve this with some crusty bread, the sauce and garlic pieces are just too good to abandon on your plate.

40 Clove Chicken

Adapted From Ina Garten via FoodNetwork.com

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 4 ounces chicken, 2 tablespoons sauce, 5 garlic cloves, and 3 bread slices)
Ingredients 1 lb boneless, skinless Chicken Breasts, pounded thin
½ tablespoon butter
½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
½ Tbsp (1/2 teaspoon) salt
½ Tbsp Thyme
½ Tbsp Sage
½ Tbsp Rosemary
1 Bay Leaf
1 Tbsp Flour
1 ½ Tbsp Cognac/Brandy
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
20 garlic cloves, peeled
(1 1/4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth)
¾ cup dry white wine
12 (1/4-inch-thick) slices diagonally cut French bread baguette
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (optional)
Directions Boil garlic cloves for 60 seconds. Drain and Peel.
Remove and discard giblets and neck from chickens. Rinse chickens with cold water; pat dry. Trim excess fat; remove skin. Cut each chicken into 8 pieces.
Combine butter and oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle salt and pepper evenly over chicken. Add half of chicken pieces to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until golden. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining chicken.
Reduce heat to medium. Add garlic; sautee garlic for 5-10 minutes until evenly browned. (cook 1 minute or until garlic begins to brown, stirring frequently.) (Arrange chicken on top of garlic.) Add wine and 1 Tbsp cognac/brandy, bring to a simmer and scrape bottom of pan (Add broth and wine;) Return chicken to pan, sprinkle with thyme, sage, rosemary and add 1 bay leaf, cover and simmer (cook) 15 (25) minutes or until chicken is done.
Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour and 1/4 cup sauce from pan then whisk it back into pan. Add remaining cognac. Cook 3 minutes and salt and pepper to taste. (Increase heat to medium-high; cook 10 minutes or until liquid is reduced to about 1 cup.) Serve sauce and garlic with chicken and bread. Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

2011-03-18T11:25:00.000-05:00

This is a more traditional Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe, as compared to my Pizza Chicken Roll-ups from before. The paprika and cayenne are totally optional, but we both like a little spice with our chicken.

While I can’t vouch for this meal’s authenticity in terms of a real cordon bleu…I know the components of the recipe, the rest was just eyeballed and estimated. In the end, I have a meal that looks like it should and tastes pretty good, and that’s what matters to me, even if it’s not 100% authentic. The chicken is moist and tender, and the saltiness of the ham and cheese really adds a depth of flavor missing from a basic baked chicken breast. The best part for me is the bread crumbs on top - slightly crunchy and totally delicious! I love that from the outside, it looks like nothing too special, but once you cut into it, the cheese starts to ooze out and the ham peeks out. Always nice to keep your dinner guests guessing!

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Ingredients

2 Chicken Breasts, pounded out to about 1/4" thick

1/2 c flour

1 tsp cayenne pepper, optional

1 tsp paprika, optional

1 egg, slighty beaten

1/2 c breadcrumbs, Italian seasoned (or add about 2 tsp each of dried basil and oregano)

4 thin slices of deli ham

2-3 slices of provolone or swiss cheese

Salt

Pepper

Directions

Pat chicken dry, and salt and pepper both sides.

Lay 1-2 slices of cheese in each chicken breast, and then add 2 slices of deli ham.

Roll chicken over the fillings and use toothpicks to keep it rolled shut.

In one bowl, mix the flour, cayenne pepper, and paprika. Have the egg in another bowl. In a third bowl, pour in your breadcrumbs.

Dredge each chicken roll in flour, tapping lightly to remove excess. Dip in egg mixture and then coat with breadcrumbs.

Put in a rimmed baking sheet (in case the cheese escapes) and bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until cooked through. Time will vary depending on the size and thickness of your chicken breast, so your best bet is to stab it with a knife and look at the chicken and juices to make sure it’s finished. Just go in from the bottom if you want it to still be pretty!)

Happy Pi Day! 3.14 = PI.E!

2011-03-14T20:28:00.001-05:00

And, Happy 2nd Anniversary to my wonderful hubby! Yes, we got married on Pi day two years ago today, and had Pi-shaped sugar cookie favors. Last year we decorated our year-old piece of wedding cake with the pi symbol and ate a couple fresh-made pi sugar cookies.

This year we are celebrating with some apple pi(e)! The hubby's favorite dessert of all-time is pie, so it's only fitting that I made some on our anniversary! (If I would have thought about it, I would have made Pizza "Pi" for dinner, too!)

This is a 6 1/2 inch pie using my new fiestaware pie plate! I mostly eyeballed this recipe, so you'll have to adjust it to taste, but for me, this pie used 3 granny smith apples, about a 1 tbsp of cinnamon, 1 tsp of nutmeg, 1 tsp of lemon zest, 2 tsp lemon juice and a pie crust of your choice. I baked it at 350 for about 45 minutes, covering the edges about halfway through so they wouldn't over-brown.

Happy Pi Day!!!

(And happy anniversary to my dearest hubby!)

Enchiladas Especiales Tacuba Style

2011-03-13T08:57:00.002-05:00

Top Chef is one of those shows that the hubby and I can happily admit that we watch together. While Project Runway and Say Yes to the Dress are my domain, NBA and college hoops are his. Top Chef is just one of those shows that we can both look forward to sitting down and enjoying.

When Top Chef Masters was on for its inaugural season, it was my first introduction to Rick Bayless. Living in Chicago, I had heard of Frontera Grill, Topolobampo and Xoco, but I had never been able to put a face to the name. Watching him work in the kitchen was amazing, under pressure, he effortlessly put together a 30-ingredient mole sauce like it was nothing (that the judges raved about, later).

Though I haven’t been able to visit his restaurants (I would love to go to Frontera, but the waits there are insane!), I found that his website has recipes for the food he prepares on his public television show called Mexico: One Plate at a Time. These enchiladas looked both easy and satisfying.

They did not disappoint. The sauce takes a little bit of time to prepare, but for the relatively few ingredients this meal contains, the flavor is through the roof. The spinach is not something I would have expected in an enchilada sauce, but it just works, and the poblanos give ths sauce the most subtle heat that is so wonderful. Next time, I’ll probably add a touch more garlic, since we can never seem to get enough, but other than that, this meal was fantastic, and definitely one that we’ll be having over and over again at our house.

Enchiladas Especiales Tacuba Style

From Rick Bayless

Serves 4 to 6

This recipe is from Season 7 Mexico - One Plate at a Time

Ingredients

2 fresh poblano chiles

1 cup (lightly packed) roughly chopped spinach leaves

2 cups milk

2 cups chicken broth

6 tablespoons (3 ounces) butter—or you can use vegetable oil

3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

1/2 cup flour

Salt

3 cups coarsely shredded cooked chicken (I usually use a rotisserie chicken or leftover grilled chicken)

12 corn tortillas

A little vegetable oil for brushing or spraying

About 1 cup Mexican melting cheese (Chihuahua, quesadilla, asadero or the like) or Monterey Jack, brick or mild cheddar

A little chopped cilantro for garnish

Directions

Make the sauce. Roast the poblanos directly over a gas flame or on a baking sheet 4 inches below a very hot broiler, turning regularly, until the skins have blistered and blackened on all side, about 5 minutes for an open flame, about 10 minutes under the broiler. Place in a bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and, when handleable, rub off the blackened skin, tear open and pull out the seed pod and stem. Quickly rinse to remove any stray seeds or bits of skin. Roughly chop and put in a blender jar. Add the spinach.

In a medium (3-quart) saucepan, combine the milk and broth, set over medium-low heat to warm.

In a large (4-quart) saucepan, melt the butter (or heat the oil) over medium. Add the garlic and cook for a minute to release its aroma, then add the flour and stir the mixture for a minute. Raise the heat to medium-high. Pour in the warm broth mixture and whisk constantly until the sauce boils. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Pour half the hot sauce into the blender with the chiles and spinach. Cover loosely (I remove the center part of the lid, secure the lid, then drape a cloth over the whole thing) and blend until smooth. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining sauce. Taste and season with salt, usually about 2 teaspoons.

Finish the enchiladas. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Smear about 1/4 cup of the sauce over the bottom of each of four to six 9-inch individual ovenproof baking/serving dishes or smear about 1 cup of the sauce over the bottom of a 13x9-inch baking dish. Stir 1 cup of the sauce into the chicken.

Lay half of the tortillas out on a baking sheet and lightly brush or spray both sides of the tortillas with oil; top each tortilla with another one and brush or spray those with oil. Bake just to warm through and soften, about 3 minutes. Stack the tortillas and cover with a towel to keep warm.

Working quickly so that the tortillas stay hot and pliable, roll a portion of the chicken up in each tortilla, then line them all up in the baking dish(es). Douse evenly with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with the cheese. Bake until the enchiladas are hot through (the cheese will have begun to brown), about 20 minutes. Garnish with the cilantro and serve without hesitation.

For the Dogs

2011-03-10T07:26:00.000-06:00

With all the baking and cooking that goes on in the kitchen, it didn’t take Cody long to figure out that if he sits patiently next to me as I prepare food, he will most likely get a scrap or two. While we are still working on some manners, he is learning that, in the kitchen at least, he will be rewarded (albeit unintentionally) for sitting quietly while the hubby or I work.

I’ve seen many recipes for making dog treats at home, and was really curious how Cody would like them. Then I realized – what’s not to like? Cheese, beef flavor...all his favorite things in one bite.

I used my mini cookie cutters I got this year for Christmas and I have to say these are some of the cutest doggie treats I’ve seen! Cody gets to eat elephants, pigs, frogs and crabs. This recipe makes a lot of cookies; I had enough for Cody for a good long time, as well as enough to give away to two friends who have puppies of their own.

For the record, I tried one of them too and, while they aren’t terrible, I think I’ll let Cody keep these for himself!

Dog Treats

From Pennies on a Platter

Ingredients

1 cup rolled oats

1/3 cup margarine

1 cup boiling water

3/4 cup cornmeal

2 teaspoons white sugar

2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules

1/2 cup milk

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1 egg, beaten

3 cups whole wheat flour

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). In a large bowl, combine rolled oats, margarine, and boiling water. Let stand 10 minutes. Grease cookie sheets.

Thoroughly stir in cornmeal, sugar, bouillon, milk, Cheddar cheese, and egg. Mix in flour, 1 cup at a time, until a stiff dough has formed.

Knead dough on a lightly floured surface (I just kneaded with the hook attachment in my KitchenAid), mixing in additional flour as necessary until dough is smooth and no longer sticky. Roll or pat out dough to 1/2″ thickness. Cut with cookie cutter and place 1 inch apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake 35 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Cool before serving. Store in a loosely covered container.

Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies

2011-03-07T13:27:00.000-06:00

I was always curious why mint is associated with St. Patty’s Day. Is it because the color green makes us think of mint? Or did Saint. Patrick just have minty fresh breath all the time?

Whatever the reason, I’m a-ok with it. Anything that is mint-flavored will usually get my attention. So when I saw Andes Crème de Menthe baking chips in the baking aisle at my local grocery store, I had no choice but to throw them in my cart and daydream of all the wonderful things I could do with them.

When you love chocolate, and cookies, and cakes, and practically anything with sugar in it, it is difficult to find a balance between eating healthily and satisfying my sugar cravings. With cookies, I can make the dough for an entire batch, but only bake the ones I want to have around, freezing the other cookie balls to have my own ‘instant cookies’ later. And I’m glad I didn’t bake all of these at once. They are so good, I would have eaten every last one of them.

The chip’s mint flavor really permeates through the cookie and, if I hadn’t known otherwise, I would have thought that the dough itself might have been flavored with mint, it’s that pronounced. If the hubby liked darker cocoa, I would have used my Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder, but, since he’s more of a milk chocolate fan, I used the regular unsweetened baking cocoa. The cookies come out of the oven pretty loose, so be sure to let them cool on the baking sheet as instructed; they will fall apart to mush, otherwise. Delicious, minty chocolaty mush, but mush nonetheless. When the cookies set, they will be soft, but not chewy, and the outermost edges will be the slightest bit crisp, without being crunchy.

The best part to me about these cookies is that you can eat the cookie dough! There are no eggs in the batter, so you could easily omit the baking powder and make mint chocolate cookie dough truffles or, do what I did, and just eat it straight from the bowl. Obviously, I opted for straight from the bowl.

Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies

From Two Peas and Their Pod

Makes 2 1/2 dozen

Ingredients

1-1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup dutch-process cocoa-make sure to use dutch process for a rich/dark flavor

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cubed and room temp

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1/3 cup milk

1 - 10 bag of chips (I used Andes crème de menthe chips, but any mint chip would do – or go crazy and try peanut butter or white chocolate.. yum!)

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and line baking sheets with silicone baking mat or parchment paper.

Whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and cocoa, and set aside. Beat the butter on medium-high until light and add sugars, creaming well. Add the vanilla and beat until smooth. Add the flour mixture in 2 batches, alternately with the milk in one batch, mixing well. Stir in the mint chips. Chill dough for at least 15 minutes. You can make the dough a few hours or 2 days before baking and it will be fine. Just wrap it up and keep in the fridge.

Scoop the dough onto a parchment- or silpat-lined cookie sheet, press down on them slightly, and bake for 14-15 minutes…for a normal size cookie. Let the cookies cool completely on the cookie sheet, they will set up as they cool. Store in an air-tight container, they will stay fresh for a couple of days.

If Freezing: Scoop the dough as you would when baking it and line up as many of the dough balls on a baking sheet that will fit. Then place the baking sheet in the freezer until all of the dough balls are completely frozen. At that point, you can put all of the dough balls into a freezer bag. To bake from frozen, extend the baking time to 15-17 minutes. And, even if they are underbaked, it's ok, no egg!

Easiest Green Beans Ever

2011-03-03T20:47:00.002-06:00

With this recipe, you have no excuse not to eat your veggies – even on a work night!

This veggie dish is on your table in about fifteen minutes from start to finish and, with only five ingredients (or six if you want to get fancy), it’s super simple and easy to remember. This has been on our Easter table two years in a row, and graces our dinner table every so often throughout the rest of the year.

So put that steamer bag of frozen veggies down for one night and give fresh green beans a try! It is well worth the minimal effort you will put into it!

Easiest Green Beans Ever

Serves 4

1 lb fresh green beans

2-3 cloves of Garlic – diced fine or run through a garlic press

1 Tbsp Olive oil

1-2 Tbsp grated or flaked Parmesan Cheese (optional)

Salt

Pepper

Fill a medium saucepot 2/3 of the way with water, and put over high heat.

Clean beans under running water, snap off both ends (or only the stem end if you prefer) and set aside. Once the water is boiling, drop in green beans and let boil for five minutes.

Mince garlic (or run through the garlic press)

Strain beans and put into serving bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, toss in garlic and parmesan (if using) and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve!

Chocolate Pudding (and Variations on a Theme!)

2011-02-28T07:42:00.000-06:00

I cannot even begin to tell you just how much of this pudding I have eaten in my lifetime. I know that when I got my wisdom teeth out, this pudding was the only thing I could stomach for about two days, meaning my mom had an endless supply waiting for me in the refrigerator. That time alone, I’m sure I ate close to a gallon of this stuff. Same story when I had my tonsils removed at the ripe old age of 20 (yuck!)

But, the absolute best thing about this pudding was that I could make it in the confines of my college dorm room. A few simple ingredients, a bowl and a microwave were all I needed to bring a little piece of home to my dorm – even if just for dessert.

A few nights ago, the hubs mentioned that we had some milk in our fridge that was ‘on its way out.’ He has never had this before, so I figured now would be a good time to make it. I made the first batch with regular unsweetened cocoa, but then for the second batch, I accidentally grabbed the Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa. What a wonderful mistake that was! The hubs, who typically prefers milk chocolate, did prefer the first batch, while I, who adores dark chocolate, gobbled up the second batch.

Then it happened… I found marshmallow fluff in my pantry and chocolate graham crackers. After the pudding set, I put the marshmallow fluff on top and crumbled on some graham crackers for a makeshift s’mores pudding dessert. It is amazing how simple pantry items can jazz up a relatively simple dish. The top picture has peanut butter drizzled on top of the whipped cream. Absolute heaven.

I will be the first one to admit, though, that I have been known to be caught with a spoon in hand and my head in the fridge, eating it straight from the bowl – though I promise I know it’s when I’m not sharing it!

Chocolate Pudding

Ingredients:

½ C. sugar

¼ C. cocoa (unsweetened powdered variety) – I accidentally used the Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa in one batch and LOVED it. But feel free to use the normal cocoa as well!

3 TBSP cornstarch

¼ tsp salt

2 1/4 C. milk (may use low fat or skim)

2 TBSP butter

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Combine sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt in 8-cup glass measure. Gradually stir in milk, stirring until cornstarch is completely dissolved.

Cook on high (600 – 700 watts) for 7 – 10 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes. Stirring helps to keep the mixture smooth and to keep the milk from boiling over. Cooking is finished when mixture is cooked through and thickened. Stir in butter and vanilla. Pour into individual serving dishes. Cover with plastic wrap pressed down on pudding surface to prevent skin from forming over top. Refrigerate.

If you want it a little sweeter, use 2/3 cup sugar.

We use a 2 1/2 quart Pyrex bowl and don’t always put it into individual cups.

Polenta Bread

2011-02-25T13:28:00.002-06:00

I received this recipe from a coworker in November 2009, and it has taken me this long to make it! Sad, isn’t it? But I’m also glad I procrastinated, because I did not have a blog back then, and that means I couldn’t share this simple and delicious bread recipe with you! The inside is soft and tender, and the outside has a wonderful, golden crust. It was “practically perfect in every way” (Bonus points if you know the movie that is from!)

This bread is perfect for French toast, bread puddings, panini or even simply toasted with a slight smear of jam or butter. I loved it the first day when the crust was nice and crunchy, but I think the hubby liked it better on the second day, when the crust had softened up a little.

The only changes I made were that I added vital wheat gluten to my dough, and I used active dry yeast instead of the quick rise yeast. That just meant that I added my yeast to the warm water solution instead of to the dry ingredients.

Polenta Bread

From Simple Italian Cooking

(also on the Williams Sonoma Website http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/polenta-bread.html)

Ingredients:

3 cups unbleached bread flour

1/2 cup finely ground, quick-cooking Italian

polenta, plus more for baking sheet

2 tsp. quick-rise yeast

1 tsp. salt

1 1/3 cups warm tap water

1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

1 egg, beaten with 1 Tbs. water

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the flour, the 1/2 cup polenta, the yeast and salt. Using a wooden spoon, stir to mix well. Add the warm water and olive oil and stir until all of the flour has been absorbed and a dough has formed.

Using your hands, gather the dough into a ball and transfer to a well-floured work surface. Knead the dough until soft and elastic and no longer sticky, about 10 minutes. Work more flour into the dough if needed to reduce stickiness; be sure to keep the work surface well floured. The dough should remain in a rounded shape and not flatten out when left on a work surface for a minute or two. If not, work a little more flour into the dough. Place the dough in a warmed, lightly oiled bowl, turning several times to coat it with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 45 to 75 minutes.

Sprinkle a little polenta on a baking sheet and set aside. Punch down the dough, return it to the lightly floured work surface and knead a few times. Form the dough into a round ball or an oval shape and place on the prepared baking sheet. The dough should retain its shape and not flatten out. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 30 to 40 minutes. While the dough is rising, position a rack in the middle of an oven and preheat to 425°F.

When the dough has risen, using a very sharp, thin-bladed knife or single-edge razor blade, carefully make a slash 1/2 inch deep across the top. Brush the surface with the egg mixture. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F and continue to bake until golden and crusty, 30 to 35 minutes more.

Transfer the loaf to a wire rack and let cool.

Makes 1 round or oval loaf; serves 6 to 8.

Mozzarella Sticks

2011-02-22T07:39:00.001-06:00

My very first summer in the Midwest, before I started working, my then-boyfriend, now-husband decided it would be fun to go to the Wisconsin Dells for an extended weekend to get in our last summer kicks in before buckling down and joining the ‘real world.’

Before moving to Illinois, I had never heard of the Dells. The hubby would try to explain it to me, but nothing could prepare me for when we drove down the main street with water parks on either side, and having a military-grade Duck pull up beside us with its tour group in tow.

The trip itself was wonderful. We went on our very own Duck tour of the Dells, visited the water parks (including a ride on a water slide that was 10 stories tall), attended a magic show and went to the famous Tommy Bartlett Air and Water Show, they’re famous for the pyramid of water skiers.

We’ve been back to the area several times since then – but only once was it to visit the water parks. The other times we just happened to be passing though and had to make our obligatory stop at a famous local restaurant and micro-brewery called Moosejaw. According to the hubs, if you go to the dells, you go to this place to eat.

On my first visit, I knew that this place had to be good. There was a line out the door and around their porch. Thankfully we could camp out at the downstairs bar and had gotten there early enough that we were seated by the time we actually got hungry.

I have never had a better mozzarella stick than the ones they serve at Moosejaw. They’re prepared almost in an eggroll style, instead of the more traditional breading of other mozzarella sticks. And, maybe it’s because we were in Wisconsin, but the cheese was just worlds above any other stick I’ve ever had.

If we know we are passing through the dells on a trip, we will usually plan the timing so that we can stop at Moosejaw for a meal. I’m not a huge fan of mozzarella sticks, but these? These I can’t get enough of.

Since most days it just isn’t practical to drive 3 hours each way just for dinner, I’ve been experimenting with making my own mozzarella sticks to try and satisfy my craving. After a few batches, I have finally made something that works for us, even if it isn’t exactly like my beloved Moosejaw’s.

Mozzarella Sticks

Ingredients:

Package of Egg roll wrappers (20 in the package I used)

1 egg, slightly beaten with a tablespoon of water, until frothy

16 oz packaged Mozzarella (mine is shaped like a log, cut the log in half across the short width, and then each half cut into ten strips along the long direction.)

2 eggs

1.25 c Bread crumbs

1 Tbsp Dried oregano

1 Tbsp Dried basil

½ c grated parmesan

Directions:

To wrap the mozzarella:

Place an eggroll wrapper on the countertop with a point facing you. Place the mozzarella horizontally on the lower third of the wrapper.

Roll the corner closest to you over the filling. Moisten the top point with a little bit of the egg wash.

Fold the sides over the filling.

Roll the eggroll shut, and press to seal. Repeat with remaining wrapper and cheese.

I let these sit in my fridge for a little bit on a cooling rack in a sheet pan to let the egg really seal the seams well. Do not stack the mozzarella sticks – they will stick together!

For the breading:

Mix dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.

Pu the two eggs in a medium bowl and mix until mostly broken up and there are no clumps of egg white visible.

Using one hand. dip your wrapped mozzarella sticks in the egg wash, shake to remove the excess egg.

Drop into the breadcrumb mixture and, using your ‘non-eggy’ hand, coat the eggroll wrapper thoroughly with the breadcrumbs. Place back on the cooling rack until all the mozzarella sticks are breaded.

Meanwhile, I get my mini deep fryer heating to 375 degrees (you could also do this in a deep, wide pan with oil).

Once the oil gets up to temperature, fry the mozzarella sticks, 3-4 at a time, until golden brown. Remove to a paper towel to drain slightly.

Serve with marinara sauce, if desired.

Bagels

2011-02-19T08:29:00.006-06:00

Bagels are not new to me. I have made them before. Unfortunately, the results of my first batch were never worthy of sharing, an d I wanted to wait until I had a successful recipe.

To me, a good bagel is chewy, not dry and bready. My last attempt, while well-intentioned, might as well have been rolls with holes. They were not smooth and pretty on top like a bagel should be – they were lumpy and dull. When do the words ‘lumpy’ and ‘dull’ describe anything good?

See for yourself:

Not pretty.

I decided to give it a try again when I saw a new recipe that called for a sponge starter, instead of just starting out with regular bread dough. I let the sponge sit overnight, and then made the bagels the next morning. It was so fun to knead this dough because I could really feel the glutens activate and relax, and what started off as a shaggy dough turned soft and supple.

The last time I tried to make the holes in the bagels, I had the worst time keeping the edges even. Some spots would be really thick, and others would be super thin. I made a conscious effort this time around to avoid that problem and, for the most part, I succeeded.

When I boiled the bagels, I got a little worried because again they looked slightly lumpy after existing their water bath. I prepared myself for disappointment, but at least they only had to bake for 10 minutes before I could find out if the recipe worked.

In the oven, the slightly lumpy exterior magically vanished, and a smooth, slightly glossy surface emerged on the top of each bagel. After ten minutes, I pulled perfectly golden brown bagels out of the oven. They looked like bagels, but I still was holding out on a verdict until I got a taste of one.

This recipe was a winner. These bagels were heavenly. Slightly chewy, with a thin, soft, shiny exterior crust – I have had one pretty much every day since making them (they make great sandwiches!)

Next time I’m trying a cinnamon-raisin version – as requested by the hubby. I can’t wait to make these again!

Peter Reinhart’s Bagels

Adpated from The Bread Baker’s Apprentice - As written on Smitten Kitchen's Website

Makes 1 dozen bagels

Yield: 12 extremely large, 16 regularly large or 24 miniature bagels

Sponge

1 teaspoon instant yeast

4 cups unbleached high-gluten or bread flour (see note below)

2 1/2 cups water, room temperature

Dough

1/2 teaspoon instant yeast

3 3/4 cups unbleached high-gluten or bread flour

2 3/4 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons malt powder or 1 tablespoon dark or light malt syrup, honey, or brown sugar (see note below)

To Finish

1 tablespoon baking soda

Cornmeal or semolina flour for dusting

Day one: To make the sponge, stir the yeast into the flour in a 4-quart mixing bowl. Add the water, whisking or stirring only until it forms a smooth, sticky batter (like pancake batter). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for approximately 2 hours, or until the mixture becomes very foamy and bubbly. It should swell to nearly double in size and collapse when the bowl is tapped on the countertop.

To make the dough, in the same mixing bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer), add the additional yeast to the sponge and stir. Then add 3 cups of the flour and all of the salt and malt. Stir (or mix on low speed with the dough hook) until the ingredients for a ball, slowly working in the remaining 3/4 cup flour to stiffen the dough.

Transfer the dough to the counter and knead for at least 10 minutes (or for 6 minutes by machine). The dough should be firm, stiffer than French bread dough, but still pliable and smooth. There should be no raw flour – all ingredients should be hydrated. The dough should pass the windowpane test and register 77 to 71 degrees F. If the dough seems to dry and rips, add a few drops of water and continue kneading. If the dough seems tacky or sticky, add more flour to achieve the stiffness required. The kneaded dough should feel satiny and pliable but not be tacky.

Immediately divide the dough into 4 1/2 ounce pieces for standard bagels, or smaller if desired. Form the pieces into rolls.

Cover the rolls with a damp towel and allow them to rest for approximately 20 minutes.

Line 2 sheet pans with baking parchment and mist lightly with spray oil. Proceed with one of the following shaping methods:

Method 1: Poke a hole in a ball of bagel dough and gently rotate your thumb around the inside of the hole to widen it to approximately 2 1/2 inches in diameter (half of this for a mini-bagel). The dough should be as evenly stretched as possible (try to avoid thick and thin spots.)

Method 2: Roll out the dough into an 8-inch long rope. (This may require rolling part of the way and resting if the pieces are too elastic and snap back, in which case, allow them to rest for 3 minutes and then extend them again to bring to full length. Wrap the dough around the palm and back of your hand, between the thumb and forefinger, overlapping the ends by several inches. Press the overlapping ends on the counter with the palm of your hand, rocking back and forth to seal.

Place each of the shaped pieces 2 inches apart on the pans. Mist the bagels very lightly with the spray oil and slip each pan into a food-grade plastic bag, or cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let the pans sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes.

Check to see if the bagels are ready to be retarded in the refrigerator by using the “float test”. Fill a small bowl with cool or room-temperature water. The bagels are ready to be retarded when they float within 10 seconds of being dropped into the water. Take one bagel and test it. If it floats, immediately return the tester bagel to the pan, pat it dry, cover the pan, and place it in the refrigerator overnight (it can stay in the refrigerator for up to 2 days). If the bagel does not float. Return it to the pan and continue to proof the dough at room temperature, checking back every 10 to 20 minutes or so until a tester floats. The time needed to accomplish the float will vary, depending on the ambient temperature and the stiffness of the dough.

The following day (or when you are ready to bake the bagels), preheat the oven to 500 degrees F with the two racks set in the middle of the oven. Bring a large pot of water to a boil (the wider the pot the better), and add the baking soda (and optionally, a few tablespoons of barley syrup). Have a slotted spoon or skimmer nearby.

Remove the bagels from the refrigerator and gently drop them into the water, boiling only as many as comfortably fit (they should float within 10 seconds). After 1 minutes flip them over rand boil for another minute. If you like very chewy bagels, you can extend the boiling to 2 minutes per side. While the bagels are boiling, sprinkle the same parchment-lined sheet pans with cornmeal or semolina flour. (If you decide to replace the paper, be sure to spray the new paper lightly with spray oil to prevent the bagels from sticking to the surface.) If you want to top the bagels, do so as soon as they come out of the water. You can use any of the suggestions in the ingredients list or a combination.

When all the bagels have been boiled, place the pans on the 2 middle shelves in the oven. Bake for approximately 5 minutes, then rotate the pans, switching shelves and giving the pans a 180-degree rotation. (If you are baking only 1 pan, keep it on the center shelf but still rotate 180 degrees.) After the rotation, lower the oven setting to 450 degrees F and continue baking for about 5 minutes, or until the bagels turn light golden brown. You may bake them darker if you prefer.

Remove the pans from the oven and let the bagels cool on a rack for 15 minutes or longer before serving.

Cody Wants to Say Something...

2011-02-14T15:29:00.000-06:00

Cody wanted to share a little something with you for Valentine's Day.

Enjoy!

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Don’t forget your corgi -
Please be my Valentine, too!

I know I may nip

And sometimes I smell

But please know that I love you

I hope you can tell!

I can’t buy you flowers,

And chocolate’s out, too

I can’t sign a card

Or buy a dozen balloons

But I can give you cuddles,

And make you laugh when you’re down

I will gladly give kisses

And just be a clown

And when I lick you all over

Know I’m just trying to say

I love you all bunches

And Happy Valentine’s Day!

Macarons!

2011-02-14T07:40:00.003-06:00

Happy Valentine’s Day!
I may not have a red treat to share with you today, but I definitely feel like this little macaron is fitting to share today. Just as relationships require love and devotion, this cookie demands the same. The reward? A beautiful, delicate cookie that has me head-over-heels.

Just like a first date is met with anxious excitement, cracking and separating the eggs made me daydream into the future and of what could be, if I only iave them a chance.

Then there is the dreaded ‘no calling for three days’ rule. A time when you can do nothing but wait, planning your next move without actually following through on it. Aging the egg whites in this recipe is important, most likely because the water that evaporates leads to a denser concentration of protein bonds in the egg whites, creating a stronger, more forgiving shell. My egg whites had been sitting and aging in my fridge for days as I tried to muster up the courage to make these little beauties. I have read about the headaches and heartaches many a baker has had over these delicate little treats, so I will admit I was a little worried about how they would turn out.

Onto the second date. You’re feeling a little better about the whole situation, but still some uncertainty remains as to whether this could blossom into something more, or whether the love affair will fizzle out as a dry, cracked, feetless failure.

I mixed with a firm but loving hand, incorporating the ingredients just enough that they could be piped onto the sheet. They piped out beautifully, and I then let them sit on the counter for an hour so that the cookies could get a slight skin on top prior to baking..

But, the true test of any relationship is a trial by fire. Into the oven they went at 280 degrees, as I watched like a hawk to see if the cookies would blossom into something beautiful, or have an epic meltdown on the baking sheet.

I’m pretty sure it was about minute 7 into the baking time, I noticed that little feet were forming! I was about two seconds away from channeling my best Dr. Frankenstein and yelling “IT’S ALIIIIIVE!” but then realized how nuts I might actually look to my hubby, who, I’m sure at times, is already questioning how much remaining sanity I actually have.

Ok, so I squealed. And made him come over and look in the oven window with me as I pointed out the feet. And, like a good husband, he smiled, nodded and then went back to what he was doing.

Once they came out of the oven and cooled, I paired them as closely as I could with a suitable ‘cookie mate.’ Since I did not draw any stencils or templates for the cookies – maybe I did not have faith that I’d get as far as I would to actually pipe them out and bake them – I freehanded all the cookies and some were much more, uhm, generously piped than others. Oddly enough, I ended up with a mate for every half, so it worked out in the end. Fate must have had a hand in the matchmaking.

After filling them with ganache and letting them set up, I finally tried one.

And, I see what the fuss is about. The delicate top shell gives at the first bit of resistance, and yields to a soft, slightly chewy meringue-like center. The natural almond flavor is perfect, and cannot compare to anything flavored with artificial extracts. It is the perfect marriage of chocolate and almond flavors and is luscious and glamorous without being too rich.

I am so excited to make these again and am no longer intimidated by the legendary macaron!

I think this is going to be the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

Happy Valentine’s Day to you and yours!

If you want to see the full post on Bakerella’s website (which is where I got the recipe I used) go here. Otherwise, here is an abridged version of the overview, and the recipe.

Ingredients

90 g (approximately 3 egg whites, from large eggs), aged 1 day at room temperature or three days in the fridge, covered
110 g Ground almonds
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
200 g Confectioner’s sugar

Directions

Whip the egg whites until they are foamy. Gradually add 2 tablespoons granulated sugar until you have a glossy meringue. Don’t overbeat.
Place ground almonds and powdered sugar in a large bowl
Add your whipped egg whites to the almonds and powdered sugar and fold. You don’t have to fold too gently, but you don’t want to over fold either.
If you want to color them, add the powdered food color about halfway through folding.
When the batter is ready, pour it into a large pastry bag with the tip inserted. It will ooze out the end, so keep the bag folded or you can crimp the bottom until you are ready to pipe. (a #807 tip was recommended, but I just used the largest round piping tip I had – and it worked just fine)
Then make small piped circles on a baking sheet lined with a silicon mat or parchment paper. (You could draw circles on the ‘wrong side’ of the parchment paper to use as a template if you’re like me and can’t make similar sized circles to save your life)
Once your tray is filled, let it sit for about an hour to harden the outer shell before baking.
Bake at 300F for 18-20 minutes in a regular oven or 280 F if you have a convection oven
Let them cool. If you can’t get them off the sheet, another tip I used was to run cold water in between the parchment paper and the baking sheet. My cookies popped right off after doing that, and I didn’t splash a single cookie with water!
And you can whip up some ganache or buttercream for the filling. Or just fill with a fruit jam.

Linked up to:

Meatloaf

2011-02-11T14:28:00.001-06:00

I’m in the midst of a deep freeze here in Chicago. If it’s not snowing, it’s icy. We've had days where the wind chills are in the 20-below-zero range. We've had Snowmageddon. And I have had a bottle of water that was accidentally left in my car freeze solid.

On days like these, I ~~refuse, kicking and screaming~~ try to avoid leaving the warm embrace of my fleecy blanket, cuddled up on the couch watching a movie, Say Yes to the Dress, or Top Chef all while eating anything and everything I can get my hands on that will make me feel the slightest bit warmer!

As a kid, I turned my nose up at meatloaf, I always saw it as a ‘mystery meat’ platter. I don’t even recall whether I gave the poor slice of meat on my plate a chance before I tried to hide it in an air vent, or spread it around on my plate so that it looked like I at least tried some. Once I realized it was essentially a nicely seasoned, moist hamburger formed into a loaf, my prejudice vanished.

Few things are as easy or as comforting on a cold, snowy day than meatloaf. And, thankfully, this recipe is so easy, most people will have everything they need right in the freezer, fridge and/or pantry. If you don’t want to make two loaves, halve the recipe and make it in a single loaf pan. I usually make both loves, mainly because it freezes so well and if I can get two meals out of one prep period, I am going to do it.

This went perfectly with a side of parmesan garlic mashed potatoes, and sprinkled with just a bit of parsley.

Meatloaf

4 slices of bread, cut or torn into ~1/2” cubes

2 eggs

3/4 c milk

1 Tbsp Worcestershire

1/4 c celery

1/4 c onion

1/8 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning

1 1/2 lb ground beef

1/2 lb ground pork

Glaze

¼ c ketchup

2 Tbsp light corn syrup

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, soak bread crumbs in milk.

Add egg and beat with a hand mixer until well combined and few/if any chunks of bread remain.

Add celery, onion, Worcestershire, salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Mix well.

Add beef and pork and mix gently but thoroughly.

Divide meat mixture in half and form into two loaves in two separate loaf pans or in one 8” x 8” pan.

Bake for 1 hour.

For the topping, mix together ketchup and corn syrup in a small bowl.

After 1 hour, top with ketchup/corn syrup mixture and bake for an additional fifteen minutes.

Serve.

SnOMG...

2011-02-08T09:03:00.002-06:00

I thought it would be fun to (now that we're mostly dug out!) To show you what we got hit with last week during the third biggest snowstorm in Chicago's recorded history.

O'Hare airport recorded 20.2" of snow, and we had wind gusts up to 60 miles per hour, making visibility practically nothing, and creating massive snowdrifts like I have never seen.

Streets were closed, trains were stopped, the city practically stood still for two days. Cars were abandoned on Lake Shore Drive. It was absolutely unbelievable. Have you seen Thundersnow? A thunder/lightning storm within a snowstorm. Scary, yet incredible.

I will admit, as crippling as the storm was, it was exciting to finally be a part of Chicago's history. I can now say that I was in the Blizzard of 2011, which is in Chicago's record books. I feel a little more like a true Chicagoan now!

We got up Wednesday morning at our normal time (5 am - ugh!) just to make sure things were not blown out of proportion and to check if it was really possible to get to work or not. After looking out the bedroom window, we decided it would be best just to stay home, and the hubby and I went back to sleep. I was still feeling a little guilty, thinking that it really didn't look that bad from the window, and maybe I could have made it to work.

My guilt quickly passed, though. When I woke up around 730-8am, I decided to finally take a look outside and really see what we were dealing with. I opened my front door, and was greeted with snow, inside the house!

Our storm door apparently blew open sometime during the night courtesy of our wind gusts and snow drifted inside our house, making opening our door impossible.

Our back door and deck were in even worse shape, so our only choice was to exit our house through the garage. The hubby and I stood inside the garage and pressed the button to open the door, not knowing what we'd find.

We both gasped when we saw the gigantic snow drift that had amassed in front of our garage.

We finally got outside the house, and I couldn't help running around and snapping pictures. I must have said 'This is absolutely insane' about half a dozen times. I couldn't believe it. You can barely see the cars in our garage!

At least now I can see why we couldn't get out the door. The snow had drifted nearly half of the way up the outside of the door - not to mention our little 'snow present' inside the house!

And, like a little kid, I couldn't help myself, I had to run around and see just how deep it was. My legs are totally gone. (And then my boot got stuck, making it nearly impossible to get out of the pile!)

Our poor dog had to wait for us to shovel at least a small path for him to get outside, and even that didn't help. It was snowing and blowing so hard, he could barely see, much less stand up to do his business.

Mommy - get me out of here!

He had quite enough of the snow - granted we were pretty much throwing him in the snow drifts and saying 'have fun!' we knew better than to go in there! But once I got in there with him, he had a good old time. He followed me around, and ran through my boot tracks.

I think he really enjoyed having someone to play with in the snow, he even posed like a champ for a couple of pictures, but I'm sure he had to have been freezing.

And he found some of the shallower areas of snow that he could see over! But as soon as he found one of those, he'd disappear into a huge snowdrift we didn't see!

And used me as a 'snow raft' so that he didn't have to run through the snow. Instead he used me to keep him safely above the drifts.

About twenty minutes of playing in the snow, and we were both exhausted. Which is good for Cody, because we had to put him in his crate so that we could start digging ourselves out.

By the time we were finished, it had taken us nearly four hours to clear our driveway and our sidewalks. Cody liked where the snow blower had gone, because the snow compacted enough to support his weight - I think this is the tallest he's ever been (and the snow is taller than he is!)

If the 20+ inches we got that on February 2nd wasn't bad enough, Saturday February 5th greeted us with about 3 more inches. That accumulation is more Cody's pace, so I had a fun time with him in the morning playing in the fresh snow!

After all the snow and all the effort to dig out, the hubby and I were exahusted (and Cody, too!) But then I looked out the window, and the sunset over the snow was absolutely beautiful. I was so happy I got to see that, because after all that work and all that pain, I was truly reminded how beautiful it all actually is.

It's been almost a week, and things are finally getting back to normal. Public transportation is mostly back on schedule, the cars have been reclaimed from Lake Shore Drive, and we can finally drive on most of the streets (even if all the lanes aren't open)

Even with all this snow, the hubby and missed only one day of work, and that was only because it was physically impossible to get out of the house.

Ok Puxatawny.. you said it's going to be an early spring. I'm holding you to that.

Or else I'm never trusting another groundhog ever again.

Pulled Pork

2011-02-08T08:24:00.002-06:00

If you hand me a plate of any type of slow-cooked meat, you can be pretty sure I’ll polish off the entire thing. Pit beef, ribs, brisket, pot roast and especially pulled pork. We have a few good barbecue restaurants by us but, even so, I like having the option of making it at home some days. I think I also feel better because I trim most of the fat off of the roasts before slow-cooking them, and I know exactly what is in my spice rub. I can tailor the rub to suit our personal tastes, and the leftover pork freezes perfectly for another, even faster meal in the future.

Making delicious pulled pork at home is easier than most people think. You can slow cook it in your oven at about 220 degrees as per the original recipe, but I use my crock pot. I feel a lot safer leaving for work with my pork roast in a crock pot instead of leaving my oven on all day. I’ve tried several different spice rubs, both homemade and pre-packaged, and my husband and I both agree that the current mix I’m using is a winner to both of our taste buds. The cinnamon adds unique, but subtle warmth to the pork and a little punch that really accentuates the natural flavors nicely.
We use a bottled sauce because we have yet to find a recipe we both like as much as Famous Dave’s Rich and Sassy sauce, a variety of Open Pit sauces or KC Masterpiece’s options. I may have to try the recipe my parents were raving about from the Neely’s on Food Network, but sometimes, especially on a work night, simple is better. It takes practically no time at all to get the pork seasoned and in the crock pot, and after cooking all day, the shredding process is incredibly easy, the pork practically falls apart before I can get to it with a fork.
A few buns, some sauce, and we’re in business. With a good sauce, this pork doesn’t need much else. If you really wanted to sauté some veggies to put on your sandwich, you could easily do that, but I like mine plain. And if pulled pork isn’t classy enough, we really like to up the ante with a side of tater tots.
If that doesn’t convince you to give it a try, think of this – at one of our local barbecue places, a barbecue pork sandwich for lunch costs $5.49. This recipe yields about six servings. The picnic roast (or pork butt/shoulder) was 8 dollars for about 3 pounds, buns were about 50 cents each at our grocery store bakery and the barbecue sauce was 6 dollars (but of course we didn’t come close to using all of it). Assuming you already have the other ingredients in your pantry, this meal costs approximately $2.83 per sandwich. For six servings, that’s a savings of just under 16 dollars. It may not seem like much, but add that up over a period of time, and you could have some pretty serious savings. I think it makes the sandwich taste that much better when I realize just how much we can save making some of our favorite restaurant foods at home.

Try it out, you won’t regret it!
Pulled Pork Sandwiches
Serves 4

Adapted from Chocolate Shavings

Ingredients
3 lbs of pork Shoulder, or pork butt
1 tablespoon of paprika
A pinch of ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon of onion powder
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup of low sodium chicken stock
2 bay leaves
Small ciabatta breads
1/2cup of your favorite barbecue sauce

Directions
In a small bowl, add the paprika, onion powder, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Using your hands, rub the mixture on all sides of the pork. Set to marinate in the fridge for an hour.

Place in a slow cooker. Add chicken stock. Cook on low setting for 6 to 8 hours, until the pork is very tender.

Remove the pork from the slow cooker and discard the remaining liquid. Shred the pork using a couple of forks. Place the meat back in the slow cooker along with the barbecue sauce and continue to cook for another 20-30 minutes until the pork is hot again. Serve on buns with extra barbecue sauce.

Enjoy!

A Plate Full of (Brownie) Pigskins!

2011-02-06T19:07:00.002-06:00

This is super simple for a Super Bowl Party!

A box of brownie mix - made using the directions for a 'fudgy' brownie. Bake and let cool.

Cut off the edges (about 1/2 inch on each side - that's your pieces to sneak and eat!) Cut the rest into 20 pieces. Taking one piece at a time, form into football shapes and lay on a sheet pan until all of them are formed.

Cover with plastic wrap and let chill in the fridge for 20 minutes or so.

Prepare a sheet pan or flat surface with parchment paper.

Following the directions of your candy melts, melt chocolate candy melts and cover with chocolate. Place on parchment paper to set up.

While cooling, melt white candy melts. Place into piping bag with a small circular tip and pipe on the laces.

And there you go!

Simple, easy and delicious dessert for a last-minute Super Bowl treat! (Or, for any other time during the football season!)

Ham and Cheddar Stuffed Pretzel Bites

2011-02-04T11:24:00.001-06:00

With a few days to go before the Super Bowl, I wanted to share a recipe that will please any guest at your Super Bowl party, football lover or not. Step aside, churros. Move out of the way, nachos. When it comes to foods fit for game day, the soft pretzel wins my heart over every single time. But stuffing the soft, bite-sized nuggets with ham and cheddar – that sends me over the moon.

I think a lot of my soft pretzel love is due to the fact that they are so versatile. They can be eaten plain, savory or sweet, or be dipped in pretty much anything your heart desires. And when you’re at the stadium, you just ring it around your finger and still carry two or three drinks back to your seat.

In Baltimore, a popular appetizer is a king-sized soft pretzel, smothered in crab dip, covered in cheese and then baked until hot and melty. I have gotten that as my dinner on more than one occasion. Even now, the pretzel world is expanding into stuffed pretzels, proving that there are even more options than ever. One of the more well-known brands I’ve seen are Kim and Scott’s http://www.kimandscotts.com/ stuffed pretzels. They have both sweet and savory varieties of stuffed pretzels, from chocolate pretzels stuffed with fudge, cinnamon-sugar topped pretzels stuffed with apple pie filling, and cheese-topped jalapeño-cheese stuffed pretzels.

Hands down, my favorite pretzel is traditional German Bavarian pretzels, which are difficult to find outside of Oktoberfest celebrations here in the US. The pretzels in German beer gardens are the best I’ve ever had. Instead of trying to replicate a perfect plain pretzel, I figured I would spice things up a bit. I decided to make my usual pretzel dough, stuff them with ham and cheese and make little nuggets out of them. They are a perfect, portable appetizer, suitable for hot or room-temperature consumption.

I also decided to have some fun and make an actual pretzel-shaped pretzel as well as one stuffed with ham and cheddar, in the style of those Kim and Scott's pretzels – just to see what would happen. The regular one was easy to roll into a tube and then create the pretzel knot. The stuffed one was a little more complicated, but was definitely worth the wow-factor.

These were fantastic. The outside could have had a little bit of a thicker crust, but it was not a fatal flaw. I did notice, though, that the longer pretzels sat at room temperature, the more of the salt seemed to dissolve into the outer skin. When eating the pretzel, it would have the correct level of saltiness, but it was missing the crunch that the pretzel salt brings. Which means I will either be investing in some pretzel salt, or eating the pretzels faster. Probably eating them faster, knowing me.

Ham and Cheddar Stuffed Pretzels

Pretzel Dough Recipe from Alton Brown via FoodNetwork.com
About 5 dozen pretzel bites or 8 regular pretzels (or be crazy and do a combination of both!)

My adaptations to this basic recipe are in italics.

Pretzel Dough
1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 package active dry yeast
22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil, for pan
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Pretzel salt

Filling
8 oz cheddar, shredded
8 oz deli ham, cut into small pieces or pulled apart

Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.

Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces.

For the individual pretzels, roll one of your eight pieces into a rope about 24 inches long. Twist into a pretzel shape, set aside. To stuff the pretzel, roll one of your eight pieces into a rope about 24 inches long, and then flattened out to about an inch wide. Run 1 oz of cheese and 1 oz of ham up the middle of the flattened dough, and then pinch the dough shut around the filling, trying to remove as much excess air as possible from the inside. Then the dough can be carefully knotted into the classic pretzel shape. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.

For the nuggets, divide each of the eight pieces into another eight pieces. Make each piece into a small circle, about one to 1-1/4 inches in diameter. Also, try to make the outer edge of the nugget a little thinner than the center of the disk, since you’ll be gathering it. Put about 1-2 tsp of cheese and the same amount of ham in the center of the disk. A small pinch will do, be careful not to overfill the nugget or else it will be hard to pinch shut and will ooze cheese everywhere when it boils and then bakes. Gather the edges of the circle and pinch shut into a ball shape.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. This gets a little complicated with the nuggets, but do the best you can. I did batches of three to four nuggets at a time. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Carrot Cake

2011-02-03T13:40:00.002-06:00

I really need to find more excuses to bake for people because as much as I love making desserts, I really can’t afford to be eating three dozen cookies, a double-layer cake or an entire pie every few days. So, when birthdays, anniversaries, baby showers, bridal showers, a good dentist check-up, or any other event calling for celebration rolls around, I always want to make a dessert.

Carrot cake is a favorite of mine, but I get a little wary when making it for other people. There are so many ideas of what carrot cake is – anything from a spice cake with grated carrots and (maybe) walnuts, to cakes with spice, carrots, coconut, crushed pineapple and raisins. The only thing really tying these two cakes together is the cream cheese icing, which even that can have white chocolate thrown into the mix.

Because this was for a friend’s birthday, I made sure to ask which type of carrot cake the recipient would prefer. Being told he was more of a ‘purist,’ I knew exactly which recipe I wanted to try.

As much as I love the traditional (to my family) carrot cake with crushed pineapple, walnuts and coconut flakes, I found this cake to be truly special in how moist and tender it was, without the distraction of all the other ingredients. The spice came through beautifully with the cocoa powder being a nice addition, and the slight tang of the cream cheese icing cut the sweetness of the cake as a whole.

The best part of this cake? It’s a mini!

First, nothing to me says “birthday” like a layer cake. Cupcakes are cute, and I love them, but I always look forward to being able to cut whatever sized slice I wanted out of a cake. Even if it’s the same amount of cake as four cupcakes, I don’t feel nearly as guilty for eating one ginormous slice of cake as I would eating four cupcakes.

Second, they’re cute.

Last, I don’t know why, but part of my enjoyment of carrot cake is the way the cake is layered with the icing. I will never say no to a carrot cake cupcake, but I much prefer the ratio of icing to cake in each bite of a slice of cake, versus a cupcake. But it’s only carrot cake so far that I’m this picky about. Weird. Maybe it’s because I can never take a normal bit of a cupcake without wearing half of the icing on my nose or upper lip.

Alas, I digress. Back to mini cakes and veering away from my lack of ability to eat a cupcake like a normal person…

I made two mini cakes by filling some small stoneware dishes with the batter. The approximately six-inch diameter mini-cakes are much more manageable to transport and will easily feed the amount of people attending at the birthday dinner. And, seriously, how cute are these?? One of the cakes was four layers tall, the other was two (that was a thank-you to my in-laws for puppy sitting for us this past weekend!)

With the rest of the batter I did make cupcakes so that I could take them into work and not be tempted by them sitting on my dining room table. Unfortunately, I still have yet to master the art of transporting them. The trek from my house to the train to the city had a net casualty count of six cupcakes. At least they still taste great!

Because I am not sure how the copyright issue works with this recipe, from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s book entited “Rose’s Heavenly Cakes,” I will direct you to where I found a copy of this recipe, which is here.

Link to Carrot Cake Recipe

I followed the cake recipe exactly, and it was absolutely amazing. Perfectly moist and that hint of cocoa did amazing things for the taste of the cake. For the frosting, I omitted the sour cream and white chocolate, favoring the powdered sugar version. I did add about 1/4 c to 1/2 c more sugar than the recipe called for because I wanted the icing to be a little stiffer for decorating.

(This would also be perfect if you haven't decided on that special dessert for Valetine's Day! It's not far off now!)

Linked up to:

Broiled Sockeye Salmon with Citrus Glaze

2011-02-02T12:58:00.000-06:00

Happy Groundhog Day! As we in the midwest are digging out of our massive snowstorm, I figured now would be the perfect time to share a recipe that reminds me a little bit of sitting on the beach during the summer...beacause if this weather is any indication, Puxatawny Phil is definitely seeing his shadow.

“Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming swimming.
What do we do?
We swim, swim, swim!”

I am ecstatic that the storyline of Finding Nemo does not feature a salmon, because I’m pretty sure I’d feel forever guilty for eating, and enjoying immensely, a beloved children’s character. (Don’t get me started on Flounder from the Little Mermaid).

Salmon is an incredibly versatile fish thanks to its unique flavor. It is strong enough to stand up well to hoisin sauce and spice, yet a simple citrus and sugar glaze can accentuate its more delicate features. This glaze we use typically when we can get our hands on fresh wild Sockeye salmon. Since it’s a little more expensive than the usual salmon filets we purchase, I think it is important to really highlight the flavor of the fish, and let that be the star of the show.

I was not sure if simply broiling the fish would cook it all the way through before burning the sugar, but the recipe worked perfectly. The sugar in the citrus glaze caramelizes and crisps up underneath the broiler, providing a nice balance to the perfectly cooked, flaky salmon.
Broiled Sockeye Salmon with Citrus Glaze
From Alton Brown via FoodNetwork.com

Ingredients
1 side, skin-on, sockeye salmon, 1 1/2 to 2 pounds, pin bones removed
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons lemon zest
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Position a rack in the oven 3 inches from the broiler. Line a half sheet pan with aluminum foil and place the salmon on the pan.

Place the sugar, zest, salt, and pepper into the bowl of a small food processor and process for 1 minute or until well combined. Evenly spread the mixture onto the salmon and allow to sit for 45 minutes, at room temperature.

Turn the oven on to the high broiler setting for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, place the salmon into the oven and broil for 6 to 8 minutes or until the thickest part of the fish reaches an internal temperature of 131 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. Remove the salmon from the oven and allow to rest, uncovered, for 8 to 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

Pizza Chicken Roll-Up

2011-01-29T08:45:00.001-06:00

A surefire way to get out of a dinner rut is to think of some of your favorite meals, and then finding a way to use that flavor combination in a new way. One particular night, dinner ideas were impossible to come by. We wanted chicken, but couldn’t figure out if we wanted lemon pepper chicken, chicken and mushroom soup with couscous, chicken cordon bleu or something totally different. I knew we had some gruyere cheese in the fridge I didn’t want spoiling, so I asked if I could do a chicken roll-up in the spirit of a pizza. I no way proclaim that I am a pioneer in the kitchen in terms of the idea behind this dish, stuffing and rolling chicken is by no means a new idea, but I am very happy how this turned out, and it was something out of the norm for us.

And it actually looked interesting when it came out of the oven. But the important part was it tasted good. Success in the kitchen!

A couple of tips for pounding chicken thin:
1. Make sure your chicken is totally, thoroughly and completely thawed. Pounding out partially frozen chicken will make it fall apart even easier. Believe me, I know. And falling apart chicken is really hard to roll up.
2. Put plastic wrap on your cutting board, lay down your chicken, and then put another piece of plastic wrap on top.
3. Spritz a little water on top of the plastic wrap. This reduces the friction between your mallet/pan/brick/pounding utensil and the plastic wrap so you can more easily do step 4.
4. Instead of pounding straight up and down, hit the chicken with a diagonal downward force in the direction that you want the chicken to ‘stretch’ – so to speak. This will gradually pound the chicken down and out, instead of making it mush beneath your mallet.

Chicken Cordon Bleu meets Pizza

Our chicken breast was large enough that with all the stuffing, it was enough to serve both of us. You can easily adjust this recipe to feed more or less.

Ingredients
1 large chicken breast, pounded to ¼ inch thick
1/4-1/3 c tomato sauce
Pepperoni
1/4-1/3 c cheese of choice – I used gruyere
1/2 c panko breadcrumbs
3 Tbsp parmesan cheese
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 c flour
1 egg, lightly beaten

My chicken breast fell apart a bit when it was pounded out, so mine was terribly messy – if you try it, yours probably will be, too. But it is delicious.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lay out the flattened chicken breast out, and spread on the sauce.

Sprinkle with grated cheese of choice and top with pepperoni.

Roll chicken breast and secure with toothpicks.

Mix breadcrumbs, Italian seasoning and parmesan in a bowl. Set aside.

Dredge chicken roll in the flour, shake off excess. Dip it into egg and then coat thoroughly with parmesan/panko mixture.

Place seam side down in a baking pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until cooked through

English Toffee

2011-01-25T11:31:00.002-06:00

Side note: Engineer and an Oven is now on Facebook! Stop by and say hi! If you like what you are seeing here, please be sure to 'Like' my page and share it with your friends!

You can find me here: Engineer and an Oven

Thanks!

Now back to your regularly scheduled program.

Cooking sugar seems to be a bit of a complicated thing for me. Ever since we got our new range, I always miscalculate how high the heat on our stovetop actually is compared to what I would expect based on my old oven. Paula’s recipe says to cook the sugar mixture over medium-high heat until it reached 300 to 310 degrees F. In under ten minutes, my medium-high heat scorched my sugar mixture around the edges, and rendered my first batch inedible. Don’t think for a minute I didn’t try to salvage the mixture. I hate letting effort go to waste, so I figured I could still coat it with chocolate and it would mostly hide the burnt taste. I will go on record saying that was a flop, and not only had I wasted some butter and sugar by burning it, I now wasted a good bit of chocolate trying to hide it. Into the trash that batch went, and back to the stovetop I headed.

This time, I let the mixture boil on medium-low heat and, and while it took much longer for the mixture to come to temperature, I had no scorching or burnt edges. After pouring it out, spread it quickly, before it begins to set.

I like mine thin, so I spread it on a large parchment sheet. So thin in places that the mat would show through. After it set for a little bit, but was still warm, I sprinkled chocolate chips on top and let them sit until mostly melted. Then I just spread the melted chocolate on top of the toffee.

The fun part is after it all cools, you get to just break it apart. No muss, no fuss. I figured now would be a good time for quality control, and I was thrilled with the results. The toffee was sweet and buttery, and broke apart but still had a melt-in-your-mouth quality about it. The chocolate just sent it over the top. I love it, too , because it has so few ingredients, and they are ingredients I always have lying around in my pantry. Nothing exotic, just simple, delicious and decadent. Works for me!

English Toffee
From Paula Deen via the Food Network

Ingredients
14 tablespoons (1 stick, plus 6 tablespoons) butter
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cold water
1/2 cup chopped pecans (I omitted in my recipe)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Dash salt
1 (6-ounce) bag semisweet chocolate chips or thin chocolate bars
Directions
Generously butter a cookie sheet.

Directions
Put butter, sugar, and water in a heavy pan or skillet over medium-high heat.

Bring to a bubbling boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, about 10 minutes. Remove spoon from pan, and cook to a very brittle stage (300 degrees to 310 degrees F on a candy thermometer). Or, make a cold water test: candy will separate into hard, brittle threads when dropped in cold water.

Remove from heat and add nuts to mixture. Add vanilla and salt. Pour onto prepared cookie sheet and spread to 1/4-inch thickness.

Cool slightly, top with chocolate chips or chocolate bars, and spread as it melts. Cool completely and break into pieces. Store in an airtight container.

Linked up to:

Spinach and Bacon Mac N Cheese

2011-01-22T07:36:00.001-06:00

Holy Cow, I'm at my 100th post! Is it just me, or is that exciting? I figured for this occasion, I'd share a classic comfort food, jazzed up and blinged out. Ok, no bling, but this is definitely a nice spin on a classic macaroni and cheese.

Mac and Cheese night at our house is either a really good thing or a really bad thing. The past few attempts have yielded one of two results – a cheese sauce that otherwise tasted fine but curdled because I used fat free half-and-half, or a beautiful sauce and not-so-good flavors.

We have a restaurant by us that has a ‘make your own mac and cheese’ menu, where you can choose your add-ins, and it is mixed up fresh for you. My husband and I compromised between his highly carnivorous diet and my more omnivorous one and ordered mac and cheese with bacon and spinach. It was so good - creamy and velvety, with just the right hit of saltiness to cut through the richness of the cheese. I hoped that one day I could make macaroni and cheese that was this good. Unfortunately for me, the odds aren’t really in my favor when it comes to this American classic.

It wasn’t until a few nights ago that the hubby and I were trying to decide what to make for dinner, and I suggested macaroni and cheese. After what I think may have been a small nervous twitch in his eye, he actually agreed. I saw this recipe a while ago, put it in my ‘to make’ binder and forgot about it. While flipping through my recipes, the combination of the spinach and smoked gouda caught my eye. I realized that with the addition of some bacon, it would be very similar to the dish we enjoyed so much at the restaurant.

As fearful as I was about screwing up, this recipe seemed almost foolproof. This time, the roux worked beautifully, the sauce thickened up as expected and the flavors of this mac and cheese were out of this world. The spinach added a little bite to the recipe, and I used baby spinach so that the bitterness wasn’t too overwhelming, but was sturdy enough to stand up to the richness of the cheese sauce.

And how did it compare to the original version? My husband said it was a hundred times better than what we got at the restaurant.

What a sweetheart. He’s definitely a keeper!

Spinach and Bacon Mac N Cheese
Adapted slightly from Culinary in the Desert

Ingredients
1/2 c bread crumbs
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups fat-free milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded smoked Gouda cheese
1/3 cup (about 1 1/2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
Three strips of thick cut bacon, chopped
5 cups coarsely chopped fresh spinach
4 cups hot cooked elbow macaroni (about 2 cups uncooked)
Tabasco Sauce

Directions
Preheat oven to 350

Dice bacon into small pieces, cook in large saucepan until crispy. Scoop bacon out of pan with slotted spoon onto paper towels and set aside.
Keep saucepan (with the rendered bacon fat) over medium heat. Add onions and garlic; cook 1 minute. Add flour; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk, salt, and pepper, stirring constantly with a whisk until blended. Bring to a boil; cook until thick (about 2 minutes). Add cheeses; stir until melted. Add spinach, bacon and macaroni to cheese sauce, stirring until well blended.

Spoon mixture into a 2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until bubbly. Garnish with Tabasco sauce, if desired.
4 servings