Feeling Peckish?

Sugar Cookie Bars

2011-08-23T12:00:00.001-07:00

Making sugar cookies is one of those activities that is high on my list of Things That Sound Fun in Theory But Usually Just End Up Being a Royal Pain (other items include carving jack-o-lanterns, shopping at thrift stores, and anything involving a sewing machine). At least once every October/December/February, I get to thinking about how it would be oh-so-cute of me to create pumpkin/star/heart-shaped sugar cookies to take to work/neighbors/a party. So I do it. And inevitably end up thinking “never again” as I’m rolling out dough for the millionth time while every surface of my kitchen is covered in either flour or powdered sugar.

The worst part is that, for me at least, all the repetitive rolling, cutting, baking, and frosting don’t really end up being worth it. Sugar cookies are fine and all, but I’d take a simple drop ‘n bake chocolate chip version over them any day of the week and twice on Sunday. In fact, if chocolate chip cookies required that kind of effort I would still make them on a regular basis because that is the kind of love I have for them.

These bars solve both of my sugar cookie issues, since they are both dead simple to make and a whole lot tastier than your average sugar cookie. All the recipe requires is making a simple dough, spreading it into a pan, and baking. No refrigeration, no rolling pins, no cutters. And making the cookies in bar form eliminates the issue of overbaked edges or dry, rolled-too-thin shapes. The end result is dense and buttery without being too heavy, and moist without becoming too light or fluffy. Plus the recipe is incredibly versatile, as you could serve these bars in whole, sheet-cake fashion, or cut and pile them on a plate for a different sort of presentation. Hell, you could even cut the unfrosted bars with cookie cutters and then decorate them if that’s the kind of crazy you’re into.

Sugar Cookie Bars (from the Keeping Up Coookbook)

1 cup butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 3/4 cups flour

1) Combine butter, cream cheese, and sugar until smooth.
2) Beat in egg, almond extract and vanilla.
3) Add dry ingredients, mixing until just incorporated.
4) With a floured knife (I used an offset spatula) spread dough into a greased and floured 12x17 sheet pan (sometimes known as a jelly roll pan).
5) Bake at 375 for 20 minutes, or until light golden brown on top.
6) Cool and frost with cream cheese frosting (recipe follows).

Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
splash of milk
food coloring (optional)

1) Blend butter and cream cheese well
2) Gradually add powdered sugar and beat until smooth.
3) Add vanilla and splash of milk to reach spreadable consistency.
4) Stir in food coloring, if desired.

Cilantro Lime Shrimp

2011-06-15T10:41:00.000-07:00

I’ve been in a bit of a cooking rut lately. I blame it on the whirlwind that was the month of May, which found Mike and I either out of town, celebrating a birthday or graduation, or grabbing whatever foodstuffs were handy for dinner while frantically preparing for the aforementioned vacations.

June has brought with it not only a return to our more-or-less usual routine, but also weather so beautiful that it seemed criminal to waste it indoors cooking or strolling the aisles of the grocery store. This means that dinner at the Cassity house lately has consisted of such gourmet offerings as egg salad sandwiches, hot dogs, and cold cereal. Aren’t you jealous?

In an effort to try and get my groove back, I dug some shrimp out of the freezer one morning last week, put them in the fridge to thaw, and started looking around for a recipe. This cilantro lime version I found produced flavorful, succulent shrimp that are the perfect balance of salty, sweet, sour, and hot. Served with some quinoa and a green salad, they were a perfectly light summer meal that came together so quickly that we had plenty of time to bask in the outdoors after dinner. Let’s just not talk about how the shrimp actually took two full days to thaw, so that on the night I planned to cook them we once again forewent a decent home-cooked meal and indulged our lonestar taqueria habit instead. That little debacle is entirely beside the point.

Cilantro Lime Shrimp (from The Gourmet Cookbook)

The recipe recommends sauteeing the shrimp, but I thought the smoky flavor of the grill would complement the flavors nicely so I grilled them instead. I’ve included instructions for both cooking methods. Also, these are originally meant to be served as an appetizer, so if you’re looking to serve them as a main course for more than 2 or 3 people I would up the quantities.

3 garlic cloves
1 1/8 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup orange marmalade
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons olive oil (plus more if sauteeing shrimp)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (adjust to taste)
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined (The recipe says 20-24 to the pound but I used 25-31 to the pound)

1) Using a large knife, mince garlic cloves and mash to a paste.
2) Mix garlic with 1 teaspoon salt.
3) Whisk together garlic paste, lime juice, marmalade, cilantro, 3 tablespoons oil, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt,and pepper in a small bowl.
4) Transfer 1/3 cup of the mixture to small serving bowl and reserve for dipping sauce.
5) Combine shrimp with remaining mixture in a large sealable plastic bag and seal bag, pressing out excess air.
6) Marinate shrimp in the refrigerator for 15 minutes, turning the bag once halfway through.
7) Drain shrimp and gently pat dry.
8) To grill shrimp: Thread shrimp onto skewers (if they’re wooden skewers make sure to soak them in water for 15-20 minutes beforehand). Place on an oiled grill and cook over medium heat until shrimp are pink on the outside and opaque (about 1 ½ or 2 minutes per side).
To pan fry: Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large non-stick skillet over moderately high heat.
Add half the shrimp and cook, turning occasionally until shrimp is cooked through, about 3 minutes total. Transfer to a platter and cook the remaining shrimp in 1 1/2 teaspoons of oil.
9) Garnish with cilantro and serve with dipping sauce.

Chocolate Hazelnut Ice Cream Sandwiches

2011-05-24T12:30:00.000-07:00

The last time I posted on this blog, I was all about the chocolate and peanut combination. Well, now it’s time to talk about its more subtle, sophisticated cousin, the one I love most of all: chocolate and hazelnut.

My first introduction to this combo was the ferrero rocher chocolates my mom always bought for Christmas, and oh man did I fall hard for those. Then came nutella, that European chocolate hazelnut spread that puts peanut butter to shame. I still remember eating it in a giant crepe with bananas on the street in Paris. Perfection. But it’s also pretty good on toast or eaten by the spoonful out of the jar. Basically what I’m saying is that I would eat this stuff if it were spread on cardboard.

And now that you know of my undying love of all things chocolate and hazelnut, let’s talk about these ice cream sandwiches. I was given the recipe posted below by my older brother and forgot all about it for a couple of years until I recently cleaned out my recipe folder. I had some chocolate wafers left over from making an icebox cake and, as fate would have it, the same brother who asked me to make them in the first place had recently returned home from grad school in Switzerland and I figured he was due a “welcome home” treat.

So I made these ice cream sandwiches and fell head-over-heels in love. A stellar combination of barely sweet dark cookies, crunchy hazelnuts, smooth chocolate ice cream, and the aforementioned nutella, these chic little frozen treats are the dessert equivalent of those small, elegant cups of after-dinner espresso. They are also the ultimate example of the “quality over quantity” mantra, as one of these tiny sandwiches feels more indulgent and satisfying than a giant Fat Boy. But that’s not to say I’ll judge you for eating two. Heaven knows the terms “restraint” and “nutella” don’t really pair well in my world.

Chocolate Hazelnut Ice Cream Sandwiches (from Better Homes and Gardens, Sept. 2008)

When I made these I totally ignored the instructions and just spread the nutella to my liking, smeared the ice cream all willy-nilly between the cookies, and pretty much made a giant mess. The end result was good but inconsistent. You couldn't taste the nutella in some of the sandwiches, and the ice cream didn't look very pretty. I would suggest learning from my rebel ways and following the directions instead.

16 chocolate wafer cookies (I used nabisco brand but you can also make your own)
1/3 cup chocolate hazelnut spread (nutella)
1 pint premium chocolate ice cream (I used Haagen Dazs)
1/3 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts*

1) Spread flat side of each wafer with nutella; set aside.
2) Scoop 8 ice cream balls, about 3 tablespoons each, and keep in freezer until ready to assemble.
3) To assemble sandwiches, remove ice cream balls from freezer and allow to soften for one minute.
4) Place 1 ice cream ball on each wafer and top with remaining wafer; press gently together.
5) Sprinkle edges with nuts. Place sandwiches on baking sheet lined with wax paper and freeze for 3 hours, or until firm. To store, freeze up to 2 weeks in self-sealing plastic bags.

*To toast and skin hazelnuts, spread nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for 5-10 minutes until skins crackle. Wrap hazelnuts in a clean towel and let steam for 5-10 minutes. Rub hazelnuts in towel until skins flake off.

Squirrel Bars

2011-04-26T09:02:00.000-07:00

There are few combinations more universally popular than the pairing of chocolate and peanut butter. And there are few examples of this pairing that I love more than squirrel bars. A favorite of my family’s , these cheekily named bars are essentially a peanut butter blondie with swirls of melted semi-sweet chocolate running across the top. They are a perfect combination of salty and sweet and, though they are fairly rich, they impart a generous dose of chocolate and peanut butter flavor without evoking the mouth-filling heaviness of, say, a Reese’s peanut butter cup.

I actually can’t believe it’s taken me this long to post about these, since they are frequently my go-to recipe when someone asks me to bring a treat to a shower, open house, etc. Squirrel bars look a little fancier than your typical brownie or cookie, but are easy and quick to make. Perfect for when you want to change things up a bit but don’t have a lot of time to make anything elaborate. Just be careful serving them to children, since word on the street is that they all have deathly peanut allergies these days.

Squirrel Bars (from the Ivory Favorites cookbook)

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup softened butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1) Cream together first four ingredients.
2) Add eggs and vanilla and beat until well blended.
3) Stir in flour and baking powder.
4) Spread dough in a greased 9x13 pan and sprinkle with chocolate chips.
5) Bake at 350 for 3 minutes, or until chocolate chips are nice and melted, like this:
6) Remove from oven and marbelize by dragging a butter knife or similar utensil (I use a chopstick) through the chocolate chips, like so:

Until they look like this:
7) Return the bars to the oven and bake for another 18-20 minutes, or until bars are a pale golden brown and set (mine usually don't take that long, so start checking after like 15 minutes).

*Don't be tempted to substitute milk chocolate chips- they don't impart enough chocolate flavor. Also, every time I have made these with chocolate chips that have been sitting in my pantry for quite some time, the end result isn't quite as pretty, since the chips don't melt enough to be marbelized. So if you're looking to achieve the result pictured above, use fresh chocolate chips (one sure sign that chocolate chips are old is if they are kind of white on the outside).

Mediterranean-ish Pasta Salad

2011-04-12T11:14:00.001-07:00

This is what I like about pasta salads: they’re easy to make and adapt to your tastes, they can be prepared ahead of time, and they are a relatively inexpensive yet filling dish to serve at a party, shower or other such function where you want to feed people without spending too much money. This is what I don’t like about pasta salads: just about everything else.

Maybe this is because when I think of pasta salad I immediately picture a bland mixture of tri-color pasta, broccoli, and black olives drenched in overly sweet Italian dressing, but even as I type that I realize that even the most artisan cold pasta creations from Tony Caputo’s don’t really do it for me. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll eat pasta salad (I’ll eat just about anything, really) but it’s never something I go out of my way to procure. I guess at the end of the day I just prefer my pasta served hot (preferably drenched in some kind of tomato cream sauce) and my salads to consist primarily of vegetables.

But like most of my deeply held convictions, I eventually came across an exception to my apathy toward pasta salad. It came in the form of a Mediterranean style pasta salad that my older sister created for a family dinner, and which I have susequently adapted and made for a handful of bridal showers, book club gatherings, etc. In my opinion, what sets this pasta salad apart is the homemade Italian dressing and the way it mingles with the oil of the sun-dried tomatoes and artichoke hearts to create a complex blend of flavors; the high ratio of other ingredients to the pasta (of course, if you like more pasta you can always change this aspect of the recipe, but I prefer more of the other stuff); and the use of whole wheat pasta, which lends a nutty depth to the dish. If there were ever a reason to reconsider my culinary opinions, this pasta salad is it.

Elena's Pasta Salad

When I made this pasta salad for a book club last week, I had every intention of measuring out the ingredients and writing everything down, since people often ask for the recipe and I’m tired of responding with, “well, you just kind of throw a bunch of stuff together…” But life happened and I did end up just throwing everything together in a hurry, like always. So just use these measurements as very loose guidelines and go with whatever ratio looks right to you. As mentioned above, I like to have an equal amount of pasta and non-pasta ingredients, but do whatever you like.

Also, some of the ingredients in this salad might sound fancy but they are actually a Costco shopper’s dream because they stay good for years. I bought big jars of artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, and kalamata olives at Costco for a good price and now they just sit in the back of my fridge until I need them.

1 pound whole wheat spiral pasta
About 1 cup artichoke hearts marinated in oil (not canned), quartered
About ¾ cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved
About ½ cup sundried tomatoes, sliced
About 8 oz. fresh mozzarella, cut into bite-sized cubes
About ¾ cup diced tomatoes (I had some baby heirloom tomatoes on hand, so I just used those cut in half)
1 ripe avocado, diced
About ½ cup Italian Dressing (recipe follows)

1) Cook pasta according to package directions and allow to cool to room temperature.
2) Once pasta is cool, place in a bowl with remaining ingredients and stir to combine. If making a day ahead, wait to stir in avocado and dressing until just before serving. Keep refrigerated.

Italian Dressing (via food.com)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon grated parmesan cheese

Combine all ingredients in a bottle. Shake to blend. Allow flavors to blend about an hour or so, Will even be more flavorful the following day. Be sure to refrigerate any leftovers.

Black and White Cookies

2011-03-15T15:05:00.000-07:00

I’m pretty bad when it comes to picking favorites. If you asked me to name my favorite food or favorite book, I would probably bombard you with an endless list of options that could all be considered my top choice. But there is one category in which I could easily pick a favorite, and that’s TV sitcoms. As far as I’m concerned, Seinfeld is by far the greatest sitcom ever made; it’s original, clever, and downright hilarious. Fellow Seinfeld fans may remember the episode in which Jerry and Elaine go to a bakery together and Jerry waxes philosophical about black and white cookies (“look to the cookie”) before eating one makes him sick. If you don’t remember this episode or haven’t seen it, you can catch the highlights here.

According to this New York Times article, Seinfeld solidified the black and white cookie’s status as one of New York’s trademark foods. I actually never encountered a black and white cookie in the times I visited The Big Apple (which is surprising, because I hit the city’s bakeries and I hit them hard) so my first encounter with this iconic pastry was a small, delicate version at a local bakery called Les Madelines that bore little resemblance to the black and white cookie of Seinfeld fame. I’m guessing it’s what black and white cookies would look like in France.

The first time I tasted a real black and white cookie ended up being when I baked them from a recipe found in my Gourmet cookbook last weekend. I could tell from the outset that the black and white would be my type of cookie: a soft, cakey base topped with a simple glaze that imparts a striking visual appeal without being too showy or cute. And while I’m usually a chocolate whore, I found myself enjoying the vanilla side equally (although the two flavors are really best when eaten in the same bite). These cookies may not hold the secret to racial harmony as Jerry claims, but they sure do wonders for a girl’s sweet tooth.

Black and White Cookies (adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook)

When I first made these, I followed the orginal recipe's specifications for cookie size and made them huge. The second time around I went for a medium version (pictured above), which I am more partial to simply because the large ones are a little much unless you're really committed to eating a cookie. But feel free to go with your own preference because I've included directions for both.

The other change I made in this recipe involve the icing, as I'm not too fond of lemon in my baked goods and I thought the process could be a little less hassle-free. I recommend making one of the icings first and frosting the cookies with it before making the other one so that neither one of the icings has a chance to solidify in the bowl.

cookies:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup (5 1/3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg

Vanilla icing:
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 to 2 tablespoons hot water

Chocolate icing:
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/8 teaspoon vanilla
1 to 2 tablespoons hot water
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1) Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a cup.
2) Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then add egg, beating until combined well.
3) Mix in flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately in batches at low speed (scraping down side of bowl occasionally), beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix until smooth.
4) For large cookies: Spoon 1/4 cups of batter about 2 inches apart onto a buttered large baking sheet. Bake in middle of oven at 350 until tops are puffed and pale golden, and cookies spring back when touched, 15 to 17 minutes.
For medium cookies: Spoon about 2 tablespoons of batter 2 inches apart onto a buttered large baking sheet. Bake for about ten minutes, or until cookies spring back when touched.
5) Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack and chill (to cool quickly), about 5 minutes (or you could just let them cool at room temp before you frost them if you have the time).
6) When cool, turn cookies flat sides up, then spread white icing over half of each and chocolate over other half (recipe follows).
7) Once cookies are iced, let them sit at room temperature for an hour or so, or until the glaze has set. Store in an airtight container in between sheets of waxed paper.

Vanilla icing:
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 to 2 tablespoons hot water

Chocolate icing:
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/8 teaspoon vanilla
1 to 2 tablespoons hot water
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

For vanilla icing: Stir together confectioners sugar, corn syrup, and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl until smooth (you want it to be the consistency of thick Elmer's glue, so add more or less water accordingly).

For chocolate: Same process as vanilla, only add cocoa in as well and use more hot water to thin to the same consistency as the vanilla icing.

Green salad with beets, goat cheese, and candied pecans

2011-03-11T12:13:00.000-08:00

As far as restaurants go, I am neither here nor there on the subject of The Cheesecake Factory. I know people who absolutely love this place and others who dismiss it as totally overhyped. I fall into neither camp, and consider Cheesecake Factory one of those places that I wouldn’t choose if the restaurant decision is up to me, but I’m perfectly fine with eating there should someone else pick it.

I can, however, recall a time when I had a pretty terrible experience at this restaurant. We went there with my in-laws and had to wait an unreasonable amount of time for a table (even by Cheesecake Factory standards), Mike’s meal arrived stone cold, and the salad I ordered wasn’t anything to write home about. It was called the french country salad or something like that and the description on the menu sounded right up my alley: greens tossed in a vinegarette dressing with roasted beets, pecans, and goat cheese. However, when the salad arrived it was swimming in dressing, the beets were mushy, and the goat cheese was limited to two small dabs (unusual for a restaurant that prides itself on huge portions).

As awful as the execution of this salad was, I still liked the idea of the ingredients together so when I found myself with both beets and goat cheese that needed to be used up, I decided to create my own version of it. I did a bit of googling to get ideas and it turns out that there are tons of variations of this salad out there. I drew inspiration from a few of the recipes and ended up with a simple salad that far exceeded the verison I sampled at Cheesecake Factory in every aspect except for the fact that I couldn't order a piece of white chocolate raspberry cheesecake after I finished it.

My version of the French Country Salad

I always feel like writing out quantities in salad recipes is kind of a waste since it’s tough to measure it out and you should really just go by how much of each ingredient you want in the finished product. So the quantities below really are just guidelines. And if you have some roasted asparagus on hand, I think it would make a great addition to this salad.

Even though I usually dismiss individual plating as too fussy, it really does work better for this salad. The first time I experimented with making it I made a huge bowl for my family’s Sunday dinner and it didn’t work too well because you really want a good balance of the ingredients and the dressing to thoroughly coat the salad and beets, which is harder to do in a large bowl than individual plates.

Salad:
2 medium beets, scrubbed
Olive oil
Sea salt
~6 cups salad greens
~4 oz. goat cheese

Candied Pecans:
2 cups pecans
1 tablespoon melted butter
½ cup brown sugar
½ tsp. vanilla

Dressing:
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
½ tablespoon honey

1) Make candied pecans by tossing the nuts with the butter and vanilla, then adding the brown sugar and stirring to coat the nuts.
2) Bake pecans on a foil-lined baking sheet at 375 for about 15 minutes, stirring halfway through. I would start checking them after ten minutes because the sugar can burn quickly. Once the nuts are golden brown and the sugar has solidified, remove them from the oven. Let cool completely.
3) Rub each of the beets lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with some salt. Wrap in tin foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 375 for about an hour (longer or shorter depending on the size of your beets), or until a fork goes through them easily.
4) Allow beets to cool, then peel and dice into small pieces.
5) Make dressing by whisking ingredients together. Drizzle desired amount of dressing over beets and greens and toss.
6) Divide salad evenly among plates and top with crumbled goat cheese and pecans.

Tomato Soup

2011-03-07T09:41:00.000-08:00

So remember how a little while ago I wrote about some blue cheese crackers that I was eager to eat with a bowl of tomato soup? Well, after I wrote that sentence I couldn’t get the idea out of my mind but there was one teeny problem with executing this plan, namely that I didn’t have a great tomato soup recipe.

The issue that I have with most tomato soup is that it is way too rich and intense to be enjoyed by the bowlful. It works well as a dipping sauce for grilled cheese sandwiches or breadsticks but that’s about it. I’ve found a few exceptions to this generalization, one of which is the tomato bisque posted below.

I found this recipe on a food blog and was immediately intrigued by the inclusion of butternut squash puree. In the same way that the potato in that broccoli cheese chowder recipe added some depth and thickness to that soup, so does the squash in this tomato one. It doesn’t add a particular flavor but keeps a soup that can easily become reminiscent of pasta sauce firmly anchored in spoon-and-bowl territory. Which isn’t to say that it wouldn’t be great paired with a grilled cheese sandwich, but for someone who wanted to enjoy her soup with just a few crackers, it was a perfect fit.

Tomato Bisque (adapted from melskitchencafe.com)

I made a couple of changes to the original recipe, posted here. The first was to reduce the amount of sugar it called for. I added half the original amount (1 tablespoon) when I first made it and I found that it gave the soup a sweet flavor that was totally not what I was going for. So from now on I'm just going to add enough sugar to take some of the acidic bite out of the tomatoes. I also switched up the cooking directions a bit so more flavor from the various seasonings gets infused into the soup.

1 medium butternut squash (for about 1 1/2 cups cooked squash)
1 tablespoon butter
¼ cup finely diced onion
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 can (14.5 ounces) Italian-style stewed tomatoes (or 1 can stewed tomatoes with 1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning)
1 cup chicken stock ( I used broth)
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 cup nonfat half-and-half (I used 1% milk and it worked beautifully)
Tapatio or other hot sauce to taste

1) Cut the butternut squash in half, lengthwise, so you have two long pieces. Scoop out the seeds and pulp from each half.
2) Place both sides cut-side down in a 9X13-inch pan. Add enough water to come about 1/4-inch up the sides of the squash. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for about an hour, or until squash is very tender when pierced with the fork in several places. If the flesh doesn’t easily give to the pressure of the fork, continue cooking in ten minute increments, and testing again, until the squash is tender.
3) Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the squash to a large cutting board or plate. Let it cool about 15 minutes before scooping out the flesh. If preparing the day before, scoop out the flesh and place in a tupperware. Let cool completely. Cover and refrigerate until using it in the soup. If using the squash immediately, scoop the squash into the blender.
4) While the squash is cooking, in a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and saute the onion until soft and translucent. Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, chicken broth, salt, basil, and sugar and let simmer for about ten minutes.
5) Add the tomato mixture to the squash in the blender (or, if you have an immersion blender, add the squash to the tomato mixture and blend in the pot). Process until smooth. Pour the blended mixture back into the saucepan and add the half and half or milk. Heat over medium-low until the soup is warm (but don’t let it boil or simmer to avoid the cream curdling). Serve immediately and add hot sauce to taste, if desired.

P.S.- I also tried Mel's split pea and barley soup last week and it was delicious. Highly recommended.

Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Tart

2011-03-03T09:06:00.000-08:00

I first had this savory tart when my friend Carly served it at a Christmas party she hosted this year. The moment I tasted this combination of sweet onions, salty cheese, and buttery puff pastry crust I immediately thought that I needed to get the recipe. This tart strikes me as a kind of elegant appetizer; the type of thing to serve at a function where you don't need to provide a full meal but want to have something more substantial than crudites or cheese and crackers on hand.

I ended up serving it on Sunday when we had friends over to watch the Oscars. This tart, along with some nutella-filled crepes, almost helped me get over what a lame snoozefest the Oscars were this year.

one box frozen puff pastry
1 large red onion
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
4 ounces plain goat cheese
4 ounces cream cheese
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon minced rosemary

1) Thaw frozen puff pastry on the counter, according to package directions (I think this takes about 40 minutes).
2) Slice 1 large red onion. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of brown sugar in a large skillet over medium heat.
3) When the sugar has melted, add the onion and sprinkle with salt. Cook and stir over medium until the onion is soft and starting to brown (about 15-20 minutes). Set aside.
4) Mash together goat cheese, cream cheese, and heavy cream. (This is easiest if both cheeses are at room temperature.)
5) Unwrap the puff pastry sheets, unfold them, and place on parchment-lined baking sheets. Pierce all over with a fork.
6) Spread cheese mixture over each sheet, leaving a 1-inch border around the edges. Mince 1 tablespoon of fresh rosemary and sprinkle evenly over the cheese, then distribute the caramelized onions evenly.
7) Bake at 450 for 15 minutes, until the edges are puffed and golden.

Tortellini Soup

2011-03-02T10:58:00.000-08:00

In a display of traditional gender roles that would make 1950s housewives proud, I’m the one who does most of the cooking at the Cassity home. I’m sure Mike would be happy to fill this role, but I love to cook and he doesn’t so why force it on him in the name of feminism is what I say. And since he doesn’t cook the meals he’s in charge of the cleanup afterward, which is kind of a nice trade-off in my opinion.

Lately I’ve tried to put more effort into planning our meals so I’m not left making a bunch of last-minute grocery trips or just giving in to the temptation of eating Lonestar fish tacos every night (living close to that place is dangerous). Usually I make a weekly dinner plan and include one or two more indulgent, made-from-a-recipe-I’ve-been-wanting-to-try meals. These are the kind of things, like chicken tikka masala or broccoli cheddar chowder, that usually end up posted on this blog. The other meals we have are usually just a pinch-of-this, sprinkle-of-that kind of affair and are pretty basic and wholesome.

I like to think of the soup posted below as a combination of these two meal philosophies. It includes sausage and tortellini to provide some richness and fat, but these two ingredients are suspended in a simple broth of good-for-you veggies. And while this is a recipe from a cookbook, it’s essentially just a guide and can be modified to accommodate whatever changes you want to make. Truly the best of both worlds.

Tortellini Soup (from the Ivory Favorites cookbook)
I didn’t have apple juice or white wine on hand when I made this so I just substituted water, but I think it could have used that dimension of flavor so I’ll be sure to have it next time. I also had a lot of baby spinach on hand so I stirred a couple of handfuls into the soup when it finished cooking. And if I were the only one eating this I also would have omitted the sausage but Butch loves himself some meat so here we are.

1 pound mild Italian sausage

1 onion, chopped
2 gloves garlic, minced

1 cup water

2 (13 3/4 oz) cans beef broth (I use Better Than Bullion Beef Base)

1/2 cup white wine or apple juice

3 carrots, sliced

1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

1 teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon oregano

1 cup sliced zucchini

4 tablespoons parsley, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1) In large soup pan, brown sausage.
2) Drain fat and add chopped onion and garlic and cook until tender

3) Add broth, water, wine, carrots, tomatoes, basil, oregano, zucchini, parsley and green pepper.
4) Simmer for 30 minutes or longer.

5) Add tortellini 5 to 10 minutes before serving and cook until tender, but not soggy.

6) Garnish each serving with parmesan cheese

Mac and cheese, two ways

2011-02-22T00:32:00.000-08:00

A couple of summers ago I lived in Sitka, Alaska. My culinary memories of this time mostly revolve around the delicious seafood that was in abundant supply there (if you haven’t eaten salmon or halibut within an hour of it being caught, then I would recommend adding that experience to your bucket list), but the other food that I associate with that time in my life is mac and cheese.

For some reason my roommates and I all developed quite the blue box fetish that summer. Perhaps it can be attributed to the fact that the summer in Sitka was the coldest and rainiest we’d ever experienced and mac and cheese was the cheapest and quickest form of comfort food, or maybe this phenomenon was just a result of it being available in bulk at the otherwise understocked grocery stores. Whatever the cause, the point is you could usually find one of the inhabitants of our apartment preparing a box of Kraft macaroni and cheese on any given day.

I usually reserved my weekly mac and cheese meal for Sunday afternoons after church. I would come home, change into some comfy sweatpants, and whip up some chemically altered cheese and noodles. In this process I discovered that I like my mac and cheese creamy. As in swimming in cheesy sauce. This means that when I prepared it from a box I would usually add more milk and sometimes a little more butter to achieve that consistency. It also means that for years I never had a homemade version of macaroni and cheese that I truly loved.

See, most homemade versions of mac and cheese that I’ve come across are of the baked variety, meaning they are made by making a roux and adding milk, cheese and seasonings to it, then stirring the cooked noodles in and baking the whole shebang in the oven. This approach has never really done it for me, as the outcome tends to be a firmer, more casserole-type dish. And even though some recipes recommend just eating the pasta and sauce before baking if you like a more creamy approach, I find that somehow there is a floury taste that carries over from the roux.

I found my mac and cheese salvation in Alton Brown’s stovetop recipe. This approach produces that creamy texture I love without using ultra-processed ingredients. It’s also super easy and is my favorite way to make mac and cheese. However, I live with a husband whose macaroni and cheese preferences differ significantly from mine in that he actually likes the baked stuff, preferably with crushed ritz crackers sprinkled on top (what the?) So for dinner one night I kept his preferences in mind by making some baked mac and cheese from a recipe that came highly recommended. He loved it, and, while I didn’t really care for it all that much, I can safely blame that on my personal preferences and not any flaws in the recipe. So here are both recipes for your consideration:

Baked Macaroni and Cheese (adapted from the Ivory Favorites cookbook)

I honestly think I would like this recipe if the sauce amounts were doubled. But then the butter and cheese amounts are doubled too so that kind of becomes a hard pill to swallow. Yet chances are that if you’re eating mac and cheese you’re in an indulgent mood in the first place so perhaps there’s no need to worry about it.

1 pound macaroni ( I used spiral pasta instead)
1/4 cup butter
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
Dash of hot sauce (I like siracha)
3 cups grated Cheddar cheese (medium or sharp)
~1/2 cup crushed Ritz crackers (optional)

1) Cook macaroni in boiling, salted water according to package directions and drain.
2) In large saucepan, melt butter. Add flour and stir. Pour in milk and cook, stirring constantly, until thick.
3) Add salt, pepper, and dry mustard, and then add 2 1/2 cups of cheese and stir until cheese is melted. Remove from heat and add cooked macaroni and mix together.
4) Pour into buttered 9" x 13" square baking pan, sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese on top (and Ritz cracker crumbs, if using). Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese (from Alton Brown via foodnetwork.com)
1/2 pound elbow macaroni
4 tablespoons butter
2 eggs
6 ounces evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Fresh black pepper
3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
10 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded (I prefer medium)

1) In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente and drain. Return to the pot and melt in the butter. Toss to coat.
2) Whisk together the eggs, milk, hot sauce, salt, pepper, and mustard. Stir into the pasta and add the cheese. Over low heat continue to stir for 3 minutes or until creamy.

Some Simple Valentines Day Treats

2011-02-11T14:32:00.000-08:00

I love Valentines Day. Always have. Even when I was single and didn't have anyone buying me flowers or taking me out to fancy restaurants. I just think that celebrating love in any of its forms is a good thing. Plus Valentines Day is a true chocoholic's dream, which is why I'm surprised that only one of the recipes below contains chocolate (and even then it's a humble rolo), but I guess that's because most of these treats were made with other people in mind. I think my own sweet tooth will be satisfied when I make my favorite chocolate covered strawberries this weekend.

Homemade Marshmallows (Gourmet, December 1998 via epicurious.com)

I mentioned these little guys in my previous post. Although I've never been too big on marshmallows, I have to say that I much prefer these to the store-bought version. They are light, fluffy, and perfectly sweet. Plus they were really fun to make, at least if your idea of fun is watching a sticky mess of gelatin and sugar syrup whip up into white fluffy deliciousness right before your very eyes. I cut these out with a small heart-shaped cookie cutter to make them festive, but if you really wanted to up the V-Day factor you could add a small amount of red food coloring to the marshmallow batter to make them pink. Oh, and I should probably tell you that these were fantastic dipped in chocolate (but really, what isn't?)

about 1 cup powdered sugar
3 1/2 envelopes (2 tablespoons plus 2 1/2 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup hot water (about 115°F.)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites*
1 teaspoon vanilla

1) Oil bottom and sides of a 13- by 9- by 2-inch rectangular metal baking pan and dust bottom and sides with some powdered sugar.
2) In bowl of a standing electric mixer or in a large bowl sprinkle gelatin over cold water and let stand to soften.
3) In a 3-quart heavy saucepan cook granulated sugar, corn syrup, hot water, and salt over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to moderate and boil mixture, without stirring, until a candy or digital thermometer registers 240°F., about 12 minutes. Remove pan from heat and pour sugar mixture over gelatin mixture, stirring until gelatin is dissolved.
4) With standing or a hand-held electric mixer beat mixture on high speed until white, thick, and nearly tripled in volume, about 6 minutes if using standing mixer or about 10 minutes if using hand-held mixer.
5) In a large bowl with cleaned beaters beat whites (or reconstituted powdered whites) until they just hold stiff peaks. Beat whites and vanilla into sugar mixture until just combined.
6) Pour mixture into baking pan and sift 1/4 cup confectioners― sugar evenly over top. Chill marshmallow, uncovered, until firm, at least 3 hours, and up to 1 day.
7) Run a thin knife around edges of pan and invert pan onto a large cutting board. Lifting up 1 corner of inverted pan, with fingers loosen marshmallow and let drop onto cutting board. With a large knife trim edges of marshmallow and cut marshmallow into roughly 1-inch cubes.
8) Sift remaining confectioners' sugar into a large bowl and add marshmallows in batches, tossing to evenly coat.

Marshmallows keep in an airtight container at cool room temperature 1 week.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

I know that red velvet cake is probably the most overdone Valentines Day dessert out there but I can never resist it so I made these cupcakes for a friend's birthday this weekend. Well, I actually intended to make these whoopie pies but then the laziness factor kicked in so I considered making whoopie pies from cake mix instead but eventually ended up just baking a quick batch of cupcakes. Yes, I did stray from my "always bake from scratch" ethos on this one but I figure that most red velvet recipes call for about a full bottle of red food coloring anyway so using a cake mix isn't that big of a deal. I do, however, insist on homemade frosting. Frosting from a can is a sad, sad thing.

1 Red Velvet cake mix (Duncan Hines brand is best)
1 small box instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
4 eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup water.

1) Using either a stand or hand-held electric mixer, mix all ingredients on medium speed for 3 minutes.
2) Spoon into paper-lined muffin tins (fill about 2/3 full) and bake at 350 for about twenty minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Frost with one of the following (I much prefer the cream cheese version- I only made the vanilla cause the birthday girl preferred it.)

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 stick butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2-4 cups sifted powdered sugar (depending on how sweet and thick you want the frosting to be- taste as you go)
2 tsp. vanilla

1) Beat butter and cream cheese together
2) Add sugar and vanilla and beat until of spreading consistency.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
1 stick butter, softened
4 cups sifted powdered sugar (depending on how sweet and thick you want the frosting to be- taste as you go)
2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup milk

1) Cream butter, then add the sugar and beat for a minute or two.
2) Beat in milk and vanilla. Add more milk if necessary to achieve desired spreading consistency.

Pretzel/Rolo/Peanut Butter bites

I wasn't sure what to call these things. I considered "homemade Take 5", since their ingredients are essentially the same as the candy bar, but that didn't really fit. Neither does the term "pretzel turtle", which is what these are called should you choose to put a pecan in the middle instead of the M&M. Honestly, given their perfect blend of sweetness and salt I would say they should be called PMS lifesavers. But I don't think I'll refer to them by that name when I hand these out to co-workers on Monday.

Checkerboard pretzels
Rolos, unwrapped
Peanut butter M&Ms

1) Place pretzels on a baking sheet and put one unwrapped rolo on top.
2) Bake at 300 degrees for about 4 minutes, or until Rolo is fairly melted.
3) Remove from oven and let cool for 1 minute, then place M&M on top.
4) Let sit for about an hour, or until chocolate hardens.

If you're looking for a more sophisticated Valentines Day treat, might I suggest these cupcakes? And these molten chocolate babycakes would be a perfect ending to a romantic dinner for two.

Hope all of you have a happy Valentine's Day!

Irish Blue Crackers

2011-02-10T05:36:00.000-08:00

Monday night was one of those nights where I cooked just for the fun of it. It was snowy and cold outside, Butch was at school, and I suddenly felt the need to make something more fun and whimsical than the tofu and veggie stir-fry I had planned for dinner that night. So I went ahead and whipped up some homemade marshmallows (which I will tell you about later) and, because I was on a roll and still had an hour to kill before I needed to start the stir-fry, went ahead and made these crackers too.

The cool thing about making things like marshmallows and crackers from scratch is that, for me at least, these are the kind of items usually purchased in boxes and bags from the grocery store and produced using unknown methods in distant factories. Creating them in your very own kitchen feels like solving a mystery or starring in your very own episode of Unwrapped. There is also something to be said for cooking with no other intent than to fulfill your curiosity about how a certain food is made. A truly indulgent first-world form of therapy to be sure, but I recommend it nonetheless.

Now how exactly did these crackers turn out, you ask? I loved them but if you’re expecting the crunch of wheat thins or saltines then look elsewhere. These crackers are more like a flat, slightly crispy version of a buttery, flaky biscuit. The inclusion of blue cheese adds just the right amount of flavor without being overpowering (just ask Mike, who hates blue cheese but happily ate these crackers and was none the wiser until I informed him of the ingredients). They are just the kind of thing that I would want to crumble into a big bowl of tomato soup on a cold winter night.

Irish Blue Crackers (from Nigella Lawson's How To Be A Domestic Goddess: Baking and The Art of Comfort Cooking)

OK, so I really liked these crackers and so did Butch, but then my sisters tasted them and were not huge fans. But they are kind of fussy individuals so I’m not going to take their opinion as a general consensus. So if you try these will you do me a favor and let me know if you like them? I want to know if they really are gross and maybe I just love them in the same way that a mother loves an ugly baby.

3/4 cup cashel blue or other blue cheese, crumbled
scant 1/2 cup butter, softened
1 large egg yolk
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup blue cornmeal (I just used yellow. According to Nigella you can just use all flour)
pinch of salt
1 beaten egg for glazing (optional)

1) Mix the cheese, butter and egg yolk together.
2) Work in the cornmeal, flour, and salt until a soft dough forms.
3) Shape into a fat disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
4) Roll dough out on a floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick.
5) Cut into desired shapes (I used hearts because valentine's day is coming up) and place on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Brush with egg glaze, if desired.
6) Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes, until center is puffed and edges are crispy.

Chicken Tikka Masala and Naan

2011-02-04T13:40:00.001-08:00

I’ve been fascinated by Indian culture for just about as long as I can remember. Granted, this fascination didn’t exactly come out of nowhere or result from reading a lot of Rudyard Kipling. See, when we first came to the U.S. my parents were pretty involved in the Hare Krishna movement, so some of my first memories involve colorful events at the Hare Krishna temple in Boston, where I was surrounded by a sea of saris (how do you like that alliteration?), lively music, and bright flower petals.

Although my parents eventually joined the LDS church and moved our family to Utah, a bit of that devotion to the far East still remained. My dad keeps a poster of yoga asanas hanging on the wall of his study and books like the Bhagavad Gita and Autobiography of a Yogi sit alongside his copies of The Book of Mormon and Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, my sister and I still like to bust out the old vhs tape of Sita’s Wedding-- a bollywood classic and our favorite movie when we were kids-- to drool over the gorgeous costumes and music, and many of the wooden spoons in my parents’ kitchen are stained yellow with tumeric, a colorful spice used in Indian cooking.

Most of the Indian food my mom cooked was simple, vegetarian fare. Things like a potato and spinach curry that she called sabji, or a bright yellow rice dish with potatoes, cauliflower, and tomatoes that didn’t really have a name, at least not one I can recall at the moment. So I didn’t encounter rich dishes like this tikka masala or vegetable coconut kurma (my favorite) until I grew older and started venturing out to Indian restaurants, but rest assured that I loved them all at first bite.

Chicken tikka masala consists of chicken marinated in yogurt and spices, then grilled and served in a spicy tomato cream sauce. This version, though it might not be the most authentic recipe out there, tastes pretty darn close to the tikka masala I’ve had at my favorite Indian restaurants. Served with some basmati rice* and naan, it brought a welcome flair to our dinner table.

Chicken Tikka Masala (adapted from allrecipes.com)

When I went to make this recipe I found a note that I had previously made to double the sauce. I followed that instruction this time around but found that it was a little overkill. If you like plenty of sauce to soak up the rice and dip your naan in, I would say do about one and a half times the sauce proportions listed below.

Oh, and this isn't traditional but I added some frozen peas just because I had them and felt like it.

Marinade:
1 cup yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon salt
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
4 long skewers

Sauce:
1 tablespoon butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1) In a large bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, black pepper, ginger, and 1 teaspoons salt. Stir in chicken, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
2) Preheat a grill for high heat. Lightly oil the grill grate. Thread chicken onto skewers, and discard marinade. Grill until juices run clear, about 5 minutes on each side (Both times I’ve made this I haven’t wanted to use my grill so I just put the chicken on a wire rack on top of a baking sheet and baked it at 375 for about 15 minutes).
3) Melt butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic and jalapeno for 1 minute. Season with 2 teaspoons cumin, paprika, and 1 teaspoon salt. Stir in tomato sauce and cream.
4)Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. Add grilled chicken, and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in frozen peas (if using). Transfer to a serving platter, and garnish with fresh cilantro.

Naan (from food.com)

I was so excited to make this after seeing how simple this recipe was and what rave reviews it was getting. When mine turned out heavy and didn’t puff up too much, I immediately went to look for some kind of user error. Sure enough, my baking powder expired a year ago. So I’m going to go ahead and recommend this recipe anyway, since it seemed to work out just fine for 130 other people, who I’m assuming didn’t use old baking powder.

4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups plain low-fat yogurt

1) Mix together flour, baking powder and salt.
2) Stir in the yogurt till the dough is too stiff for a spoon, then knead it in the bowl till it holds together well, adding more flour if necessary.
3) Turn it out on a floured surface and continue kneading for about 5 minutes till the dough feels smooth and elastic.
4) Form the dough into a ball and put it in an oiled bowl, covered with a towel, to rest for an hour or longer.
5) Take the dough out and cut it into 10 equal pieces. Form each into a ball and press the balls flat into round discs.
6) Heat a large frying pan or griddle, either seasoned cast iron or a good non-stick finish.
7) Heat your oven to about 500 and have the broiler on (this is how the original recipe states it - I know with my oven it's either 500 degree oven OR the broiler, but you get the idea.
8) Take 1 piece of dough at a time and roll it out on a floured surface till it is about 8-10 inches across and less than 1/4 inch thick.
9) Lay it on the hot griddle and cook it over a medium heat for 4-5 minutes (I don't think mine took that long).
10) It will puff up in places or all over, and there will be some blackish-brown spots on the bottom.
11) Slide a spatula under the naan and transfer it to the oven, directly onto the rack, for a minute or two, just till it finishes puffing up into a balloon and begins to color lightly on top.
12) Remove naan from the oven and brush it lightly with melted butter if you like.
13) Continue this way with all the dough, stacking the breads into a napkin-lined basket.
14) Serve the breads hot, fresh from the oven, or let them cool and wrap them up.
15) To reheat, wrap them in aluminum foil, in packets of 4 or 5 breads and put them in a 400 degree oven for 10-15 minutes.

*Basmati rice is a long, thin rice that cooks up very dry and light. You can buy it at Asian markets and I believe in bulk at costco. I bought some from the bulk section of Whole Foods and it wasn't that great. Usually I just steal it from my parents' kitchen.

Not a recipe, but still worth your time

2011-02-03T14:57:00.000-08:00

I posted a link to this article on my facebook page this morning, but thought I would share it here as well:

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/01/a-food-manifesto-for-the-future/?WT.mc_id=OP-SM-E-FB-SM-LIN-AFM-020311-NYT-NA&WT.mc_ev=click

After doing a lot of reading on this subject for the past year and a half, I can say that I agree wholeheartedly with the points made in this article and hope that these goals can be accomplished in my lifetime. Many of the current methods used to produce food in our country are toxic for both our bodies and the environment and this issue really needs to be a matter of national concern rather than just some fringe movement dismissed as something only elitists and hippies care about.

To show just how messed up things are these days, I thought I would share an excerpt from an email I recently received from Christiansen Farm, a local farm from which Mike and I buy our meat. This enterprise is a truly admirable one in which animals are raised the way they should be. They sell top-quality beef, pork, and, until recently, chicken:

"...our plans [to sell chickens in 2011] have recently been squashed by the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF). Last winter we spoke extensively with the inspectors to find out how we could legally and safely process chickens for our customers. They helped us get set up under an exemption that allowed small farms to process their own poultry. Under this exemption, we had a young aspiring butcher process our chickens outdoors on our property following safety guidelines set forth by the department. This has worked wonderfully all year. Recently, we received a call from the department informing us that we would now have to take the live chickens to each of our customer's private property and process them on their property in order to continue under this small farm exemption. We protested their request stating that not only would it be economically unfeasible, less sanitary, and ridiculously time consuming, but that no city would allow for processing poultry in people's driveways. However, they refused to budge. Our only alternative is a costly one, which would require us to build a full blown processing facility. Even if we were able to justify such an investment the UDAF informed us that there isn't an inspector in Utah who is even certified to inspect our facility. So, for now poultry is on hold for 2011 as we explore our options.

So apparently the chicken sold in grocery stores--which comes from animals who stand in their own crap all day and get pumped full of all kinds of crazy drugs, then slaughtered using methods that are both inhumane and often unsanitary--are just fine to eat, yet chickens raised and butchered using traditional methods that farmers employed for hundreds of years are deemed unfit for consumption? Ethical issues aside, the sheer stupidity of this frustrates me.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed my moment on the soapbox. Tomorrow I'll be back to normal with a recipe for some delicious Indian food.

Curried Lentil Soup

2011-01-26T10:16:00.000-08:00

Two soup recipe posts in one week? It must be January. But while the broccoli cheddar soup I told you about on Monday is more of a rich indulgence, this lentil one lies on the opposite end of the soup spectrum. I guess the word I can best use to describe it is "wholesome."

I've actually had lentil soup on the brain for the past couple of months and have even gone so far as to bookmark about five or so recipes with every intention of making them. But for some reason it wasn't until I read Molly Wizenburg's column in the December issue of Bon Appetit that I finally got around to it. Maybe I ended up making this version because her description of the soup was so mouthwatering, or maybe it was just because I had all the ingredients on hand. Either way, I'm glad I did it because this soup lived up to every letter of Molly's beautiful description. I think it's going to become a winter staple around these parts.

Curried Lentil Soup (from bonappetit.com)

One quick note about this recipe: use a curry powder you like. I used the generic yellow stuff simply marked "curry powder" because I had it sitting in my cupboard, then added some cumin and cayenne pepper to give it more kick, but I really wish I had used something with a little more smoky depth to it. It would have made this soup even better.

(Image via bonappetit.com)

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, chopped, divided
2 tablespoons (or more) curry powder
1 cup French green lentils (I found mine in the bulk section of Whole Foods)
4 1/4 cups (or more) water, divided
1 15- to 16-ounce can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained, rinsed
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 lemon, cut into 6 wedges

1) Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onion and carrot; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook until onion is translucent, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes.
2) Add half of chopped garlic; stir until vegetables are soft but not brown, about 4 minutes longer.
3) Add 2 tablespoons curry powder; stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.
4) Add lentils and 4 cups water. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
5) Increase heat and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.
6) Meanwhile, puree chickpeas, lemon juice, 1/4 cup water, remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, and remaining garlic in processor.
7) Add chickpea puree and butter to lentil soup. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and additional curry powder, if desired. Add water by 1/4 cupfuls to thin to desired consistency.

Broccoli and Cheddar Chowder

2011-01-24T10:51:00.001-08:00

Doesn’t that name sound a helluva lot more appetizing than just plain old broccoli cheese? Actually the real name of this soup, found in The Gourmet Cookbook, is Broccoli, Red Pepper, and Cheddar Chowder. But I left out the red pepper because A) I didn’t really like the sound of it in this soup and B) red peppers aren’t in season right now and therefore too expensive for a gal on a budget.

Without the red pepper, though, this recipe is essentially Gourmet’s take on classic broccoli cheese soup, a dish that I’ve always had mixed feelings about. At its best, broccoli cheese soup is the epitome of winter comfort food—creamy and rich but chock full of wholesome little broccoli chunks. At its worst, it’s a thick, velveeta-filled sludge of mushy vegetables.

I was intrigued by this particular recipe when I saw that it used potato to give the soup some body rather than just the standard roux or unholy amounts of cheese. I made it for dinner on a cold winter’s night when we were feeling indulgent and, to be totally honest, wasn’t overly impressed. The soup was good, it was just a little bit on the thin side and had an almost sour aftertaste to it that I couldn’t quite pinpoint.

But then a miraculous thing happened. When I heated up the leftover soup for lunch at work the next day, I noticed that not only had the consistency thickened up a bit, but the strange sour taste from the night before had disappeared completely and the flavor of the soup was incredible. So from now on, I’ll be making this soup the day before I plan to eat it. Kind of a pain but the best things in life, they say, are worth waiting for.

Broccoli and Cheddar Chowder (Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook;also found here)

1 small head broccoli (1/2 pound)
1 large boiling potato (1/2 pound)
1 large onion, chopped
l large garlic clove, finely chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups (6 oz) sharp Cheddar, coarsely grated (I used mild)

1) Discard tough lower third of broccoli stem. Peel remaining stem and finely chop. Cut remaining broccoli into very small (1-inch) florets. Cook florets in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes.
2) Transfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice water to stop cooking, then drain. Reserve 3 cups cooking water for chowder.
3) Peel potato and cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Cook potato, onion, broccoli stems, and garlic in butter in a 3- to 4-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 8 to 10 minutes.
4) Add cumin, salt, pepper, and mustard and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add flour and cook, stirring, 2 minutes.
5) Add reserved cooking water and simmer (partially covered), stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in cream and cheese and cook, stirring, until cheese is melted, then season with salt and pepper.
6) Purée about 2 cups of chowder in a blender until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids) and return to pot. Add florets and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 2 minutes.

Cookies that contain candy.

2010-12-30T08:14:00.000-08:00

OK so I know the holidays are almost over and most of you are sick of sweets, but I had to share a couple of cookie recipes that I made this Christmas season before I forget about them. Incidentally, both of these would be a good way to use up some of that candy you got in your stocking if your haul happened to include candy cane kisses or Rolos (neither of which are that great when eaten plain, in my opinion).

Candy Cane Kiss Cookies (adapted slightly from ourbestbites.com)

(Image courtesy of Our Best Bites)

I made these cookies for a Christmas party with my high school girlfriends and they were a hit. Since then I’ve made them using both the shortening and butter mixture the recipe recommends and just butter alone. I have to say I prefer the butter, since shortening freaks me out a little and it didn’t seem to make that much difference in the texture of the cookie.

1/2 c. butter-flavored shortening
1/2 c. real butter
OR
1 cup butter

1 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp peppermint extract
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 c. flour, lightly spooned into measuring cups and leveled with a knife
1/4 c. + 2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 c. dark chocolate chips (semi-sweet)
48 Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses, unwrapped

1) Preheat oven to 350.
2) Cream together softened butter, shortening, brown sugar, and white sugar for 1-2 minutes on medium-high speed or until light and fluffy.
3) Add the eggs and vanilla.
4) Meanwhile, combine the baking powder, baking soda, salt, flour, and cocoa powder. Add to the butter/sugar mixture and mix until combined. Mix in the chocolate chips.
5)Drop the dough by the tablespoonful onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the centers are set but still soft.
6)Remove from oven and allow to cool for 1 minute. Top each cookie with an unwrapped Candy Cane Kiss. Allow to cool completely, long enough for the Kiss to harden. If necessary, after the cookies have cooled, they can be placed in the refrigerator or freezer to re-solidify the Kiss

Rolo Cookies (from the Ivory Favorites cookbook)

I originally bought Rolos intending to make an entirely different treat, but after finding out that peanut butter is literally the only flavor of M&Ms not available in holiday colors (a fact that seriously baffled me) I had to put the kaibosh on that idea. These cookies were a more than adequate substitute.

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cocoa
1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Bag of Rolo candies, unwrapped
2 Tbsp. sugar for rolling the cookie dough balls in (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees .

2. In a medium bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa. Set aside.

3. With a mixer, cream butter and sugars together until smooth.

Add eggs and vanilla and mix well.

4. Slowly add flour mixture to sugar mixture and blend well.

5. Using your hands, shape dough into small balls (mine were about the size of a ping pong ball, maybe a little smaller).

6. Press Rolo into center of ball and cover with dough.

7. Roll dough ball in sugar ( I skipped this step because I’m not a fan of that sugary texture) and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.

8. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes, until tops of cookies are slightly cracked.

9. Remove from oven and let sit on cookie sheet for 3-5 minutes. Move to a cooling rack and cool completely.

White Chili

2010-12-14T16:20:00.000-08:00

Is there a better winter dinner than warm, hearty soup? I made this one for a Jazz party and a friend asked for the recipe. Hansol, this one's for you:

White Chili

2 tablespoons oil (the recipe recommends vegetable but I use olive)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 (9 oz.) package frozen white corn (preferably shoepeg)
1 large clove minced garlic
2 (15 oz.) cans Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans chopped green chiles
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. coriander
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
3 cups chicken broth
3 tablespoons lime juice

Garnishes (optional):
Sour cream
grated cheese
tortilla chips

1) heat oil over medium heat in a large pot. Add onions and garlic and saute for about five minutes until onion is soft and translucent.
2) Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then let soup simmer for 20-30 minutes.

A roundup of Thanksgiving desserts

2010-12-08T10:34:00.000-08:00

OK, I know I probably should have gotten around to posting this sooner, before it was almost Christmas and you all still had Thanksgiving on the brain, but I am nothing if not the queen of procrastination. I am also the queen of stealing good ideas, so after years of hearing about people having pie parties the night before Thanksgiving in order to more fully enjoy the dessert portion of the holiday meal, I finally got my act together this year and had one of my own.

I’m not too big on pies, and I figured that most people would get their fill of them after Thanksgiving dinner, so instead I called my function a dessert party, and it was really just an excuse for me to bust out all the autumnal baked goods recipes that I’d had bookmarked for months but never made.

The party itself turned out to be quite fun, and, in my opinion, a perfect way to spend the night before Thanksgiving. It consisted of an assortment of friends and family dropping by to eat and mingle, with the Jazz game and baby Anna providing ample entertainment. On a cold, snowy night, our house felt warm and cozy as it was packed with people. This gathering might just have to become a tradition.

Of course I failed to take a single photo that night, including one of the dessert table. Luckily I found all of the recipes I made that night on the internet, so I’ve posted the links to the recipes (along with beautifully styled food photography that you sure won’t find on this site) and included my opinion of them, along with any changes/adjustments I made.

Pumpkin Brownies (via Smitten Kitchen and marthastewart.com)
I found this recipe on Smitten Kitchen, but the original can be found on Martha Stewart’s site. The Smitten Kitchen version reduces the amount of sugar in the recipe, which I’m thinking is a mistake. As much as I normally like my desserts on the subtle side, this one could have used a little more sweetness.

Overall, though, these were very good. Moist, dense, and a great take on the pumpkin/chocolate combination. I did make them in a 9X13 pan instead of the recommended 9x9 (which I would suggest doing unless you like your brownies really thick) and if I were to make them again I would probably drop the final pumpkin layer onto the chocolate batter in big spoonfuls, then swirl in with a butter knife, rather than just pouring it on. I’m thinking I would get a better marbleized effect this way.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding (via foodnetwork.com)
Thing is, I love the flavor of pumpkin but hate the smooth, gooey texture of pumpkin pie. When I saw this dessert on an episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay I knew it would be a perfect nontraditional take on the flavor of the season. It turned out delicious.

I skipped the caramel apple sauce on this one, and, due to a stove burner that likes to lie about its temperature, curdled the freaking crème anglaise. After losing my mind a little over the fact that I had just wasted a ton of egg yolks and a pricey vanilla bean, I set about googling ways to remedy the situation. I read through a bunch of complex solutions that would have been impossible given the temperamental state of the aforementioned stove before coming across a suggestion to just throw the sauce in a blender. Miraculously enough, it worked. A few whirls in the blender turned a curdled mess into a sauce as silky and creamy as any crème anglaise I’ve ever had. Thank goodness for the internet.

Other changes: left the bread out to dry the night before instead of toasting it, omitted the bourbon.

Pumpkin Cheesecake (via Smitten Kitchen)
Ah, the dessert that took 5 years off my life. After baking this cheesecake for ten minutes longer than the recommended time, the thing still jiggled like crazy. I gave it ten minutes more, then spent the next few hours obsessing over whether or not it would set. Luckily it did, and ended up looking exactly like the photos on the website. Crisis averted.

This cheesecake was good in terms of flavor, but I think I would like the filling to be a little more dense. Or maybe I did just underbake the thing. Who knows. I left the bourbon out of this recipe as well.

Rustic Apple Tart (via marthastewart.com)
I’m always looking for new apple desserts and this one seemed like a good variation on the traditional pie. I actually never got to taste this tart, as it was gone before I had a chance to, but everyone that tried it said it was good. However, if I had found it earlier I think I would have tried the Pioneer Woman’s approach to this dessert, as it seems infinitely easier and results in no pieces being left without those delicious puffed edges. Leave it to Martha to make things complicated.

Pecan Chocolate Pie (via She Wears Many Hats)
This was a “filler” dessert that I quickly threw together because I had all the ingredients and wanted to add something more traditional to the spread. I’m not a huge fan of pecan pie, but those that are said this one was great. Although the recipe doesn’t state this, I would recommend covering the edges of the pie crust in tin foil for all but the last twenty or so minutes of baking time. Oh, and in case you haven’t noticed a pattern already, my version of this pie was bourbon-free.

Baked Brie with Red Pepper Jelly (via Our Best Bites)
Ok, so I know this isn’t a dessert but I wanted to provide something not completely sugary in case people weren’t in the mood for sweets. So I served this baked brie and a mound of blue cheese drizzled with honey (sounds weird but is so good) alongside some sliced fruit and crackers. My only complaint about baked brie is that, unless you keep it warm somehow, it congeals fairly quickly, so I might not serve it next time I have a party like this. But I did love the combination of brie and red pepper jelly, especially when eaten with pear slices.

Fast White Bean Stew

2010-11-22T11:43:00.000-08:00

In an effort to eat better quality food, I recently started buying my meat from a local farm. This is advantageous in a lot of ways, but one of the few disadvantages is that you can’t pick and choose your cuts. With our recent pork order, for example, I received a few packages of thick, uncooked ham slices. I’m not a big fan of ham, so they sat in our freezer for the past couple of months until Mike, thinking that they were ordinary deli-style ham slices, put them in the fridge to thaw.

Imagine his disappointment when he realized that the contents of the package marked “ham slices” would not be going on a sandwich with mustard and cheese anytime soon. Instead we cooked the ham, cubed it, and, while Mike ate some of it in omelettes and the like, I went looking for a soup recipe to use it in. In my search I came across mostly split pea soup (which I love but Mike hates, so no go), or rich, creamy stuff like corn chowders that weren't what I was feeling at the moment.

I probably would never have made the recipe posted below if not for all the glowing reviews it received on epicurious.com. At first glance it seemed too minimalist to create a great soup and the ingredients struck me as kind of an odd mix. However, I had all the ingredients on hand so I decided to trust in the reviewers and make a batch. And man am I glad I did. This soup was incredibly quick and easy to make, yet it had the complexity and flavor of something that had been simmering away for hours. It was hearty and satisfying but still healthy: a perfect weeknight dinner for the busy, food-filled holiday season. If only I had some more ham…

White Bean Stew (From Gourmet Magazine, January 2007, via epicurious.com)

I did tweak this recipe just a little bit. Like many reviewers, I used baby spinach instead of the romaine or arugula that the recipe recommended. I also added a little bit of paprika and cayenne pepper to the soup to give it a little heat. Red pepper flakes would probably also work well. Oh, and I skipped the toasts. I thought this soup was filling enough not to need bread served with it.

2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cup plus 1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 (14- to 15-ounce) can stewed tomatoes (I used Italian style)
1 3/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 (19-ounce) cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained (3 cups)
1 (1/2-pound) piece baked ham (1/2 to 3/4 inch thick), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 (5-ounce) bag baby romaine, baby arugula, or baby spinach (10 cups loosely packed)
8 (3/4-inch-thick) slices baguette
pinch of paprika and cayenne pepper, if desired

1) Cook garlic in 1/4 cup oil in a 3 1/2- to 4 1/2-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat, stirring, until golden, 1 to 2 minutes.
2) Coarsely cut up tomatoes in can with kitchen shears, then add (with juice) to garlic in oil.(I skipped this step and just broke up the tomatoes with a spatula when I added them to the pot).
3) Stir in broth, beans, ham, and pepper and bring to a boil.
4) Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes. Stir in greens and cook until wilted, 3 minutes for romaine or 1 minute for arugula.
5) While stew is simmering, preheat broiler. Put bread on a baking sheet and drizzle with remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil.
6) Broil 3 to 4 inches from heat until golden, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.

Toffee Apple Dip

2010-11-19T16:05:00.000-08:00

I have kind of a complex about people coming over to my house. When we have guests over I don’t really care if the house is spotless or if my spaz of a dog is under control, but what I do freak out over is ---no surprise here--food. I need to feed people, plain and simple. So when Mike called me last week to tell me that friends were coming over for a Jazz game at 5:00 that night, my mind immediately went into panic mode thinking that I had no time to make anything for dinner.

Mike quickly reassured me that, since it was an early game, we could all go to dinner afterward and not worry about eating at our house. That seemed reasonable to me, so I went about my day fully planning on providing our guests only with a space to socialize and enjoy each other’s company without plying them with food the way I usually do.

However, the moment I walked in the door from work this sensible plan flew right out of my head, and was replaced by my characteristically dramatic stream of crazy thoughts: “What if people are hungry? What if they come straight over from work and need a snack? What if they don’t feel comfortable enough to ask for something to eat so they spend the game starving and never want to come back to our house again? What if we become known as the people that never feed anyone and everyone hates us?!” So I made this apple dip.

This dip is a funny thing to watch people eat for the first time. They usually take a bite and immediately say “what is this?” then marvel at the fact that something that is essentially just cream cheese and sugar could taste this good. Definitely a crowd-pleaser. And yet I still worried that there might be someone without a sweet tooth present so I went ahead and made nachos at half-time. Did I mention I have issues?

Toffee Apple Dip (from the Ivory Favorites cookbook)

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
About half of an 11 oz. bag of Heath or Skor bits (just add to your liking)

1) Beat cream cheese and sugar until fluffy.
2) Stir in vanilla and toffee bits.

Butternut Chicken Curry

2010-11-11T13:38:00.000-08:00

It surprises me how often I hear people make a blanket statement about not liking curry, since the term doesn’t really apply to one specific food or spice but a wide variety of South Asian dishes. To me a tangy, runny Thai curry tastes completely different from a thick, cumin-y Indian one. But that could be because I have yet to meet a curry that I didn’t like. In fact, once the weather starts getting cold and snowy like it did this week I immediately start craving Chanon Thai’s red curry with tofu. One bite of that stuff will chase the chill right out of you.

The curry recipe posted below is very much an Americanized, mild dish—perfect for those who are skeptical about eating this kind of stuff. I found it while looking through my cookbooks for a recipe to use up some butternut squash, specifically a savory one since it seems like most methods for cooking squash favor a sweet preparation involving cinnamon, nutmeg, etc. I loved the way this turned out—the bland, sweet flavor of the squash was a perfect complement to a slightly spicy, flavorful sauce. It was also simple to make and made for excellent leftovers throughout the week. Highly recommended.

Butternut Chicken Curry (from the Keeping Up Cookbook)

I did have to make a few tweaks to the original version of this recipe. I could tell at the outset that the one tablespoon of fish sauce it called for was going to be way too much so I reduced that amount, as well as the amount of onion. I added some carrots and red pepper, but you could really use any other veggies you want (potatoes, snap peas, mushrooms, etc.). I also had issues with my sauce being way too thick. I’m thinking this is because my chicken took twice as long to cook as the recipe indicated, so the squash broke down a bit and thickened the sauce. I solved this problem by adding some hot water every time it got too gloopy, but in the future I think I’ll just start cooking the chicken earlier in the recipe.

Note: most grocers carry curry paste, coconut milk, and fish sauce but you can find this stuff for a lot cheaper at your local Asian market.

1 small butternut squash, seeded, peeled and diced
1 (14 ounce) can of unsweetened coconut milk, lite or regular
1 heaping tablespoon mild Indian curry paste, such as Patak’s*
1/2 medium onion, diced
3-4 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces (I only used 2)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon Thai fish sauce
1 carrot, peeled and cut into chunks (or a bunch of baby carrots cut in half, which is what I used)
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and sliced
1 tsp. salt

1) Place squash and carrots in a microwave-safe dish and add enough water to just cover bottom of dish. Cover and microwave for several minutes until squash is tender. (mine took a lot longer than the "several" implies. About ten minutes total).
2) Drain water and set aside.
3) Bring 1/4 cup coconut milk and curry paste to a simmer in a large skillet over medium heat, whisking constantly.
4) Add onion and bell pepper and saute for 5 minutes (I would probably add the chicken at this point, too, but I can’t say that definitely because I haven’t tried doing it yet).
5) Stir in remaining coconut milk, sugar, salt, and fish sauce, then add chicken, squash, and carrots.
6) Simmer until chicken is cooked through, stirring often, 6-8 minutes. Serve over rice, couscous, or pilaf.

*I bought the “hot” version of the recommended brand and it wasn’t too spicy at all. If you like a little heat to your curry, I would suggest buying something stronger than the mild variety and adding more of it.

A pizza fit for Fall

2010-10-29T15:16:00.001-07:00

I like to think of pizza as a blank canvas. The possibilities are endless when it comes to sauce, cheese, toppings, etc. A while back I heard about a pizza made with butternut squash and blue cheese. I have no idea how I first found out about it (a google search revealed that the combo is pretty ubiquitous), but a rainy Sunday afternoon last week found me in the kitchen with some leftover pizza dough and blue cheese at my disposal, along with a squash sitting on the counter, so I immediately recalled that combination and got to work.

The end result of my experiment would have been perfect had my blue cheese not been oh-so-very-strong from sitting in my fridge for about a month. But even with the overpowering blue cheese flavor, this combo was still delicious. The saltiness of the cheese mingled perfectly with the sweet roasted squash, caramelized onions, and red bell peppers. Plus the combination of colorful ingredients made this pizza a feast for the eyes as well as the taste buds. Eating it kind of eased my sorrow over the fact that grilled pizza season is over.

Autumn Pizza

I didn't list amounts for the ingredients in this recipe, since that is going to depend on how big your pizza is and how much of each topping you prefer.

One pizza crust (my basic dough recipe is posted here)
Butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed
Olive oil
Kosher salt
One sweet yellow onion
Red bell pepper, thinly sliced
Mozzarella cheese
Blue cheese (or another dry, crumbly, salty cheese such as feta)

1) Toss squash with enough oil to thinly coat. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt. Roast at 400 for about 40 minutes, or until squash is fork-tender.
2) Saute onions in olive oil over medium heat. Add 1 tsp. salt and saute until onions are golden brown and reduced, about 20-30 min. (This process is called caramelizing and you can find more detailed instructions here).
3) Roll pizza dough out to desired thickness (I like mine pretty thin). Place on a baking sheet that is either sprayed with cooking spray or dusted with cornmeal and brush with olive oil.
4) Top with desired amount of squash, onions, bell peppers, and cheese (I would suggest maintaining about a 4:1 ratio of mozzarella to blue cheese. But that amount depends entirely on how strong your cheese is).
5) Bake at 450 for about 15 minutes (or according to crust recipe directions).

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

2010-10-25T13:47:00.000-07:00

The fall baking craze continues! I gave you all a bit of a break with the healthy beans and rice recipe I posted last week, but now I'm back with a delicious and sinful recipe for pumpkin cinnamon rolls. Tell your waistline I'm very sorry.

When I first saw the amount of spices in this recipe I was a bit nervous that I'd end up with something that tasted too strong, but these rolls actually ended up being quite lovely. They have just enough spice and pumpkin flavor to set them apart from regular cinnamon rolls without hitting you over the head with nutmeg or ginger. The cream cheese frosting really completes them, as it does most pumpkin goods. Make and enjoy, my friends.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls (adapted ever-so-slightly from goodlifeeats.com)

Dough:
1/4 cup warm water (not hot, about 110 degrees)
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
1/3 cup warm milk
1 large egg, beaten
3/4 cup pumpkin puree, either fresh or canned
1 tablespoon melted butter
2 cups (approximately) All-Purpose Flour
1 1 /4 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

Filling:
1 stick butter
2/3 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cloves

Directions:
1) In a large bowl, stir yeast into water to soften. Let rest for 5 minutes before stirring.
2) Add milk, eggs, pumpkin, butter, 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cardamom to yeast mixture. Beat vigorously for 2 minutes.
3) Gradually add remaining flour (all purpose), a little at a time, until you have a dough stiff enough to knead. Start with about 1 1/2 cups and increase if necessary.
4) Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead, adding flour as necessary, until you have a smooth, elastic dough.*
5) Put dough into an oiled bowl. Turn once to coat entire ball of dough with oil. Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
6) Combine the white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves in a small bowl, set aside.
7) Transfer the risen dough to a lightly greased work surface, and pat or roll it into a 16" x 12" rectangle.
8) Spread softened butter over dough and then sprinkle with the sugar mixture.
9) Roll the dough into a log the long way; it'll stretch to about 20" long as you roll. Using a very sharp knife, slice the log into 15 slices. In order to cut down on drag, it helps to rinse the blade in hot water, and wipe it off, between slices.
10) Place slices in a greased 9x13 inch baking pan (or in two 8 or 9 inch round cake or pie pans). 11) Cover with a towel and let rise until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.
12) Bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes, until rolls are brown around the edges and beginning to turn golden brown across the center.

*I had to knead in quite a bit of flour to keep the dough from being a sticky mess, so if you're nervous about using a lot, don't be.

Cream Cheese Frosting
4 ounces cream cheese
1 stick (4 ounces) butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 cups powdered sugar

1) Combine cream cheese, butter, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat until smooth and combined.
2) Add sugar to cream cheese mixture 1/2 cup at a time and mix until desired consistency is reached (I used about 2 1/2 cups).
3) Spread liberally on warm cinnamon rolls.

Black Beans and Rice

2010-10-22T11:37:00.000-07:00

I tend to be kind of obsessive when it comes to the things I like. Meaning that I’m the kind of person who, after Regina Spektor’s new album came out a couple of summers ago, listened to this song so many times on a road trip that Mike threatened to drop me off on the side of the freeway and leave me to the wolves if I pressed “repeat” one more time. It also means that I can eat the same thing for lunch day after day without getting sick of it.

I’ve never been much for the traditional packed lunch: a sandwich or frozen entree surrounded by odds and ends like yogurt, chips, fruit, etc. I like it best when my lunches consist of leftovers from last night’s dinner or some other form of “real food.” Not that this happens very often. Usually my mid-day meal is comprised of random stuff that I grab out of the fridge while running out the door to work. Lately I’ve been on quite the edamame kick (you can buy frozen individual bags at Costco), and for a while there when tomatoes were in season I would cut one into wedges, sprinkle with some sea salt, and call it lunch. Delicious, but not exactly filling.

Sometimes, though, I actually take initiative and plan my lunches in advance. For example, when I made this tzatziki, I kept it--along with some pita bread, grilled chicken, cucumbers, and tomatoes--in my fridge at work and ate it for lunch every day for a week. The beans and rice dish posted below was actually made with the intention of having it for dinner, but somehow we didn’t end up eating it that night* so it also turned into my week-long lunch. And boy has it been a good one. You wouldn’t think that something as simple as rice and beans would create a satisfying meal, but these beans are packed with flavor and, when you pair them with some cooked brown rice, you’re eating a complete protein that is cheap, filling, nutritious, and made with mostly pantry ingredients. Plus it ages well, actually getting more flavorful as I reheated it day after day. I will definitely be making this again. Or--more likely given my personality--again and again and again.

*By “somehow didn’t end up eating it”, I mean that our dinner that night consisted of pumpkin cinnamon rolls (recipe to be posted shortly). Don’t judge me.

Black Beans and Rice (adapted slightly from melskitchencafe.com)

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 white or yellow onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 (16-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon cumin
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
4-5 cups hot, cooked brown rice

1) In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat.
2) Add the bell pepper, onion and garlic and saute, stirring often, for about 15 minutes, until all the vegetables are soft and tender.
3) Stir in the beans, tomatoes, chicken broth, thyme, bay leaf, oregano and water; bring to a boil. 4) Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and the vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes. If the mixture becomes too thick, add a tablespoon or two of hot water to thin to desired consistency.
5) Stir in the fresh cilantro and season with salt and pepper; discard the bay leaf. Serve over the hot rice.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-10-21T08:46:00.000-07:00

There are many things to love about autumn: the beautiful leaves, crisp air, football season, the return of sweaters and boots into your wardrobe, etc. Mike pointed out another one a few nights ago when, as I was taking yet another tray of cookies out of the oven, he breathed a sigh of contentment and said “I’m so glad it’s baking season again.” Apparently at my house fall has come to be known as “baking season.”

The amount of baking I do in the summer tends to be minimal. Probably because I’d rather spend any free time doing other non-indoor activities, and frozen yogurt or a snow cone always sounds like a better cure for a sweet tooth in the hot summer months than a rich cookie or brownie. However, the moment the thermostat drops and the sun starts to set long before bedtime, you will often find me in the kitchen looking for an excuse to transform butter, sugar, and flour into something tasty. Luckily fall happens to be my favorite time of year to go running, otherwise it might also become known as the Season in Which I Buy Bigger Pants.

Usually my token fall pumpkin recipe is this bread, but last weekend I decided to try these cookies after my sister recommended the recipe. Prior to making these I had never tasted a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie that I truly loved. Most were too bland, some were too dry, others were ridiculously over-spiced. This recipe struck the perfect balance, and my goldilocks-like search for the perfect pumpkin chocolate chip cookie came to an end. I’ll probably make them a few more times before Thanksgiving comes around. After all, it is baking season.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 ½ cups canned pumpkin
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
½ cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 ½ cups sugar
½ tsp. salt
2 ½ cups flour
¾ cup chocolate chips (you can use milk or semi-sweet, I used a mixture of both. And I probably used about a cup, maybe a little more)

1) In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except flour and chocolate chips. Mix well.
2) Add flour and mix to combine.
3) Stir in chocolate chips.
4) Drop by spoonful onto greased cookie sheets.
5) Bake at 350 for about 15-17 minutes.*

*When it comes to cookies, I am usually paranoid about overbaking. Nothing worse than a dry, crunchy cookie, right? Well in this case I would actually be more worried about underbaking, as these cookies will be pretty gooey if you don’t bake them long enough and, because they are so moist, it’s hard to overbake them. I left mine in for about 17 minutes as opposed to the 15 the recipe called for and that worked perfectly.

Apple Pie

2010-10-15T10:13:00.001-07:00

If you visit my parents’ house anytime during the months of August through October, you will most likely find their back patio lined with boxes of peaches, plums, tomatoes, nectarines, and other farm-grown delights typical of this time of year. My parents have always been big on eating lots of fruit and vegetables, so to supplement what their garden produces my dad makes a weekly trek to the Murray farmer’s market.

Those of you that know my dad as a calm, softspoken person really need to see him in action at the farmer’s market. He bounces from stand to stand examining peaches, haggling over the price of bell peppers, chatting with the farmers he has come to know on a first-name basis, and looking more like a buyer for a high-end department store than a guy buying tomatoes for his family. To my dad, the farmer’s market is serious business. I should know: one time he and my mom were going to be out of town for the weekend so he asked me to fill in for him as the produce purchaser for the family. I was given a wad of twenty dollar bills and a hand-drawn map of the market detailing which farmer sold the best corn, where I could get the best price on plums, the name of the stand that sells my dad’s favorite cranberry walnut bread, etc. I was overwhelmed to say the least.

The upside of my dad’s obsession is that every time I go to my parents’ house I leave with my arms full of delicious fresh produce. My parents practically force the stuff on me and I am more than happy to accept. Right around the end of September my haul starts including apples. Lots and lots of apples. I devour my favorite varieties—honeycrisp and jonagold—almost instantly, but a few no-name apples inevitably wind up forgotten at the bottom of the produce drawer. A little too soft or unsightly to be eaten straight-up, these apples are the ones that find new life as apple pies.

I don’t care how stellar an apple pie recipe claims to be, the secret of a great apple pie is the apples. If the apples taste good, so will the pie. And don’t judge by appearance here- I’ve found that the ugly misshapen apples my dad brings home from the market taste a million times better than the perfectly-shaped, waxed ones you find at the grocery store. I usually like to use a mix of sweet and tart apples in my pies, and will taste the apples as I peel and slice to make sure I like them. The recipe below is very much a bare bones take on apple pie, so if the only apples you have at your disposal are lacking in flavor, I would recommend using a more complex recipe. Otherwise, go right ahead and bake this pie. And please serve it warm with vanilla ice cream. Otherwise I might be inclined to think that your mama didn’t raise you right.

Apple Pie

I wish I had a crust recipe to share with you on this one, but I am a bit of a pie crust slut and have never used the same recipe twice. I’ve tried everything from the recipe on the back of the Crisco can to Smitten Kitchen’s all-butter crust and have yet to declare a favorite. They’ve all been good, though, and when I am ready to give up my pie crust promiscuity and commit to one favorite recipe, you all will be the first to know.

1 nine-inch double-crust pie pastry
5-7 apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
¾-1 cup sugar (depending on how sweet or tart your apples are)
¼ tsp. nutmeg
1-2 tsp. cinnamon (just add to your liking- I usually use the lesser quantity)
2 Tbsp. flour
2 Tbsp. butter
1 egg, beaten with 1 Tbsp water (for egg wash)

1) Place apples in a bowl with sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and flour. Stir to coat all the apples.
2) Place bottom pie crust in a 9-inch pie plate and mound apple mixture on top.
3) Cut butter into small pieces and dot the apple mixture with it.
4) Top with the second crust and crimp edges to seal.
5) Brush top crust with egg wash and cut a few slits in it (I do about 6 I think).
6) Bake pie at 450 for ten minutes, then turn the oven down to 350 and bake for an additional 40 minutes, or until apples are soft.

Cinnamon Rolls

2010-10-05T12:26:00.000-07:00

It seems like Mormon culture dictates that a lavish breakfast be eaten during the Sunday morning session of General Conference. Some people make egg casseroles, others prepare German pancakes or french toast, but cinnamon rolls seem to be the most popular option when the time for “church in your pajamas” rolls around. Growing up I never had the standard Utah conference viewing experience because my parents interpreted the talks into Russian, so us kids were hauled downtown along with them when we were younger and left home to fend for ourselves as soon as we were old enough. This year's conference actually marked the first time that neither one of my parents had to interpret the Sunday morning session, so we celebrated this newfound normalcy by gathering the family together for some conference viewing and a breakfast of—you guessed it—cinnamon rolls.

Making homemade cinnamon rolls might sound like an unnecessary pain in the butt to some, my dear husband being among them (“why don’t you just buy the Pillsbury ones?”) but the finished product is well worth the extra effort. This is mostly because the homemade rolls taste a lot better, but also because you don’t have to worry about strange chemicals and preservatives creeping in. Plus I find the whole roll-making process, as long as you don’t feel the need to rush through it, to be very zen. There’s something soothing about rolling the dough out and feeling it under your hands as you shape it. Kind of like play-doh for adults. I’m already looking forward to making a batch on a snowy afternoon while listening to Christmas carols.

There seem to be many methods of making cinnamon rolls. Some produce a flaky, buttery roll topped with thick cream cheese frosting, while the opposite end of the spectrum yields hearty whole wheat specimens filled with raisins and nuts. The recipe listed below is my favorite take on the cinnamon roll: a soft, white yeast dough filled with plenty of cinnamon sugar and topped with a thin frosting that seeps into the warm rolls and acts like more of a glaze. Delicious.

Cinnamon Rolls (Adapted from The Pioneer Woman)
Do you read the pioneer woman’s blog? If not, you should. She is delightful. And her recipes, although not really my style of everyday food, are terrific. Besides her cinnamon rolls I’ve also made her pot roast, brisket, and chocolate sheet cake. All of which are fabulous.

I’ve scaled down the quantities of PW’s recipe and changed the ingredients around a bit for the filling and frosting, but you can find her original post here. It includes beautiful step-by-step photographs of the entire process (which you should know you won’t find around these parts) so use it as a guide when making these for the first time.

The Pioneer Woman also created a “Notes on Cinnamon Rolls” post to address some questions about this popular recipe. I would recommend checking that one out as well. And now, without further ado, a yellowish, low-quality photo of one these cinnamon rolls taken with my cell phone. Enjoy:
Oh, and the recipe (yields about 2 dozen rolls):

Dough:
2 cups Whole Milk
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
1/2 cup Sugar
1 package Active Dry Yeast (2 ¼ tsp.)
4 1/2 cups All-purpose Flour, divided
1/2 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda
1/2 Tablespoon (heaping) Salt

Filling:
1 cup softened butter
1 cup brown sugar
Generous Sprinkling of Cinnamon

1) Mix the milk, vegetable oil and sugar in a pan. Scald the mixture (heat until just before the boiling point). Turn off heat and leave to cool 45 minutes to 1 hour.
2) When the mixture is lukewarm to warm, but NOT hot, sprinkle in yeast. Let this sit for a minute. Then add 4 cups of all-purpose flour. Stir mixture together. Cover and let rise for at least an hour.
3) After rising for at least an hour, add 1/2 cup of flour, the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir mixture together. (At this point, you could cover the dough and put it in the fridge until you need it – overnight or even a day or two, if necessary. Just keep your eye on it and if it starts to overflow out of the pan, just punch it down).
4) When ready to prepare rolls: Sprinkle rolling surface generously with flour. Take half the dough and form a rough rectangle. Then roll the dough thin (mine was probably about a ½ inch, maybe a little thinner), maintaining a general rectangular shape.
5) Spread about ½ cup (1 stick) softened butter over the dough. Then sprinkle 1/2 cup of sugar over the butter, followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon. (These quantities are all approximate- just add them to your liking).
6) Roll the dough in a neat line toward you. Keep the roll relatively tight as you go. Pinch the seam of the roll to seal it.
7) Cut the rolls approximately ¾ to 1 inch thick and lay them in buttered pans (I’ve found a dozen rolls fit perfectly in a rectangular 9x13 pan).
8) Repeat this process with the other half of the dough. Let the rolls rise for 20 to 30 minutes.
9) Bake at 375 degrees until light golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes.

Frosting
1 lb. Powdered Sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 Tablespoons melted butter
Enough milk to achieve desired consistency (about 1/3 cup)

Mix together all ingredients and whisk until smooth. It should be thick but pourable. Taste and adjust as needed. Generously drizzle over the warm rolls.

Fresh Tomato Sauce

2010-10-04T11:18:00.000-07:00

There is something so satisfying about basic cooking. The kind of cooking that requires no fancy ingredients, complicated techniques, or any kind of stress. The kind of cooking that allows you to turn off your brain and let your hands do all the work. The kind of cooking that turns a bowl of excess tomatoes on the verge of spoiling into a vibrant sauce that beats anything you could ever buy in a grocery store.

I made this sauce last weekend while Butch was at priesthood session and I had the house to myself. Usually I spend this night hanging out with my mom and sisters or girlfriends, but this time around I was very much craving some alone time. I had every intention of relaxing (I even rented a movie from redbox), yet somehow I ended up in the kitchen making homemade cinnamon rolls (recipe will be posted shortly) and tomato sauce.

If I could recommend any sort of therapy for feeling overwhelmed and stressed out, it would be to spend some time in the kitchen peeling and chopping tomatoes while listening to the Pandora station of your choice (I picked The Arcade Fire), then curling up on the couch with a good book as the fruit of your labors simmers away on the stove. It’s a time-consuming process but a dead simple one that will make you feel surprisingly competent and useful. If you’re anything like me, you will feel a great sense of accomplishment in knowing that, although you may not have control over the abstract worries in your life, you can still work some magic with a tomato.

Fresh Tomato Sauce (From The Gourmet Cookbook)
This recipe is a very bare-bones sauce that lets the amazing flavor of fresh tomatoes dominate, but you can change it up by adding more vegetables (carrots, celery, onion) or seasonings (crushed red pepper, oregano) of your choice.

6 pounds fresh tomatoes, peeled*
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
5 garlic gloves, thinly sliced
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
¼ cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

1) Core tomatoes and halve crosswise.
2) Working over a sieve set over a bowl, squeeze tomatoes gently to remove seeds.
Discard seeds and reserve juice.
3) Coarsely chop tomatoes.
4) Heat oil in a large pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until just golden (about 1 minute).
5) Add tomatoes, reserved juice, sugar, and salt.
6) Bring to a simmer and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thickened and reduced to your liking (mine took about an hour).
7) Stir in basil and salt to taste.

*The easiest way to peel tomatoes is by blanching them. Make an “X” with a paring knife in the skin on the bottom of each tomato, then lower them with a slotted spoon into a pot of boiling water for about ten seconds. Plunge into a bowl of ice cold water to stop the cooking process, then peel off the skin at the “X” (it should slide right off).

Raspberry Cheesecake Trifle

2010-09-28T13:24:00.001-07:00

A while back I was reading an article in a goofy women’s magazine entitled “How to Maintain Your Weight During the Holidays” or something to that effect. What was unusual about it, however, is that I still remember the author’s clever intro to the article. Of course I can’t quote it directly, but she said something like “I always hear people saying to eat before you go to a party, but then I think ‘what’s the point of going if you don’t eat?’ Oh, people. Right.”

I love to socialize as much as the next person, but I’d have to say that I’m with the aforementioned author when it comes to my party priorities. Case in point: I threw a bridal shower for my best friend last month. The shower involved no cutesy decorations or elaborate games. It consisted only of friends gathering in my living room to chat and munch on Mediterranean pasta, green salad, pita triangles and hummus, cantaloupe with fresh mint, a platter of chocolate chip cookies, and raspberry cheesecake trifle.

When it comes to desserts, trifle is a definite showstopper. True, it starts looking downright sad and messy once people dig in, but before that first spoon is sunk into the trifle those pristine layers of custard and fruit are definitely worth all the oohs and aahs that escape people’s mouths when they see them shining through a glass bowl. This trifle in particular is quite the beauty— juicy red raspberries juxtaposed with pale layers of creamy, cake-y goodness. And its pretty appearance is matched only by this trifle’s delicious flavor. Plus it is a cinch to make and is assembled in advance, which makes it perfect for entertaining. So next time you find yourself hosting a gathering, don’t stress over decorations or party favors. Make this trifle instead.

Sylvia’s Raspberry Cheesecake Trifle

This recipe was given to me by a friend of the family, who made this trifle for my sister’s bridal shower. It easily feeds up to twelve people, and is perfect for those springtime occasions when you want a fruity dessert but nothing is really in season yet. My family has kind of made it our traditional Easter dessert. In fact, I think the photos below were randomly taken while transporting the trifle from my house to my parents.’ Classy. But at least you get an idea of what it’s supposed to look like, right?

2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened*
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
½ tsp. almond extract
1 cup sour cream
1 cup whipping cream (measure one cup liquid cream- then whip it)
2 bags frozen raspberries
1 prepared angel food cake

1) Combine first six ingredients (I use the whisk attachment on my KitchenAid to get rip of any lumps)
2) Cut angel food cake into bite-size cubes and fold into cream cheese mixture
3) Layer cake mixture and raspberries in a large bowl, beginning with the cake and ending with the raspberries.
4) Cover and refrigerate overnight, or until raspberries are thoroughly thawed.

*I have messed this recipe up by not letting the cream cheese thoroughly soften. I ended up with little lumps of cream cheese in the cake mixture and it was not a pretty sight. So make sure your cream cheese is soft and smooth- I find Philadelphia brand works best.

Russian Salad

2010-09-21T10:46:00.000-07:00

All right, I know I’ve already done my fair share of whining about the end of summer on this blog, but will you indulge me for just a little while longer? See, last night Mike and I ate the kind of meal that I know I will daydream about during the dark, cold winter months. Right now with the onset of fall I’m finding the prospect of rich soups and stews exciting, but I know once January hits and I’m staring down yet another root vegetable my mind will inevitably wander back to the simple freshness of summer meals. In this case, grilled teriyaki salmon and zucchini, quinoa with mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes, corn on the cob (my very favorite food), and the tomato-and-cucumber concoction my family refers to as “Russian Salad.”

I really don’t know why, since my family is Russian and many of the salads served at my parent’s house are decidedly influenced by that heritage, this particular salad was bestowed that title. But that mystery is not what matters here. What matters is that, after you see the brief list of ingredients for this salad, you must not turn up your nose and dismiss it as something that could only be enjoyed by Eastern Europeans. Please trust me when I tell you that sour cream, when combined with juicy, garden-fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, loses its thick creamy density and transforms instead into a pleasantly light, tangy, pink (!) dressing that some of us (not going to mention any names here) have been known to slurp from the bottom of the bowl after the substantial part of the salad has been eaten.

Earlier this summer I made a variation of this salad from one of Ina Garten’s cookbooks. It was way more complicated and not nearly as good. I think simplicity definitely wins out in this case. However, because this recipe is so simple, you want to use only the best and freshest ingredients. Meaning underripe hothouse tomatoes and flavorless cucumbers aren’t gonna cut it. Use only the tomatoes and cucumbers that you would want to eat all by themselves; the kind that (sigh) are only available in the summer.

Russian Salad

1 ripe tomato (I used a bunch of halved cherry tomatoes in the photo above)
1 ripe cucumber
½ small red onion, thinly sliced (I usually leave this out)
Sour cream
Salt, to taste
Minced fresh dill, if desired (I rarely have the dill on hand-this salad is fine without it but even better with the dill)

1) Peel cucumber and cut in half lengthwise, then thinly slice.
2) Cut tomato into pieces approximately the size of the cucumber
3) Combine tomato, cucumber and onion (if using) in a bowl and add a heaping tablespoon (the eating kind, not a measuring spoon) of sour cream.
4) Stir together and add salt and dill to taste. You can also add more sour cream if you think it’s necessary. It’s hard to add too much because the excess will just get watery and sit in the bottom of the bowl- it won’t coat the other ingredients.
5) Let the salad sit for about 5 or 10 minutes before serving.

Leslie's chocolate chip cookies

2010-09-14T13:01:00.000-07:00

I am convinced that the world would be a better place if everyone had neighbors like the Knaphus family. Theirs is the kind of home where the whole neighborhood is routinely invited over for scone parties on Sunday afternoons, donuts are fried up in the driveway every Halloween, and on any given day the living room couches are filled with various neighbors and friends dropping by to visit. Last summer the K-naps got a snow cone machine, and ever since you will find their front lawn teeming with kids and families on hot summer nights. A small block party that the Knaphuses threw a few years ago in their driveway has evolved into Hollystock, an annual event that requires the closure of a whole street due to the high turnout. It truly is the stuff of simpler times.

I was lucky enough to grow up across the street from the Knaphuses. My siblings and I are good friends with their boys and our family still congregates at their home frequently. No matter how large or small the occasion, be it Christmas Eve or a Utah football game, one element of these gatherings is constant: the food is amazing. Besides being some of the nicest people you will ever meet, Chris and Leslie are both fantastic cooks. I drool at the memory of Chris’ marinated tri-tip steak and look forward to the Superbowl every year not because of the game but because it means I will get to have some of Leslie’s delicious Superbowl bread (it’s essentially a giant cinnamon roll in the shape of a football but somehow tastes so much better than a normal cinnamon roll).

One trademark of Knaphus cooking is Leslie’s chocolate chip cookies. They are found at virtually every Knaphus function and are known by most people as “Leslie cookies.” I have yet to meet a person that does not love them. When I got married Leslie threw me a bridal shower and gave me her tricks of the trade: baking sheets, parchment paper liners, a cookie scoop, and the recipe for these cookies. I had to laugh when I noticed that her recipe yielded about eight dozen of these suckers. I guess you don’t become my favorite family in the neighborhood by running out of cookies.

I’ve been trying to figure out what makes Leslie’s cookies so good and it comes down to this: In my opinion, chocolate chip cookies fall into two camps. There are the rich, buttery ones loaded with semisweet chocolate that are amazing when warm but taste a little too heavy once they’ve cooled down, and then there are what I call “cookie jar” cookies- the ones that taste a little less intense at first and therefore age much better. Leslie cookies are pretty much the ideal form of this type of cookie. I’m thinking what makes that the case is the use of milk chocolate chips and the addition of instant oats to the equation. For those of you thinking “she didn’t mention that this was an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe”, let me state that I ate these for years without ever suspecting they contained anything of the sort. I’m guessing most connoisseurs of Leslie cookies would say the same. Because the oats in this recipe are instant and not the heartier rolled oats, they impart a subtle grainy flavor to balance out all the butter and sugar without changing the texture of the cookie. But don’t just take my word for it, go ahead and make a batch. And, if you feel like taking a page out of Leslie’s book, go share them with your neighbors.

Leslie’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

Don’t worry, I halved the original recipe so you won’t end up with a ton of cookies. This yields about 3-4 dozen. Also, the recipe Leslie gave me called for rolled oats but she told me that she always uses instant so I’ve made that change in my copy.

2 sticks softened butter (1 cup)
1 cup brown sugar
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
Scant 3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 cup instant oats
1 (12 oz.) bag milk chocolate chips ( I like Guittard brand)

1) Cream butter and sugar
2) Add eggs and vanilla and mix until incorporated
3) Add flour, soda, salt, and oats
4) Stir in chocolate chips
5) Drop by rounded tablespoons (or use a cookie scoop- mine is about 1 ½ tablespoons) onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
6) Bake at 350 for about ten minutes, or until bottoms of cookies are lightly browned.

Tzatziki

2010-09-08T10:58:00.001-07:00

Any picky eater can tell you that food is about more than just flavor. Some can’t handle tomatoes because of their wet texture, others hate the stringiness produced by melted cheese, etc. I am far from a picky eater (I can count the number of things I absolutely will not eat on one hand), but I too realize that the experience of eating can be as much about how a food feels as how it tastes. For example, one of my favorite culinary sensations is that interplay of hot and cold that occurs when you take a hot food and pair it with a cool, creamy condiment. Think nachos topped with sour cream, buffalo wings dipped in blue cheese dressing, or apple pie served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Apparently the Greeks also recognized the genius of this pairing, as evidenced by tzatziki. This Greek cucumber yogurt dip can be eaten in a variety of ways, but my favorite is as a sauce for gyros or as an accompaniment to souvlaki. The cool notes of cucumber, dill, and mint, along with the tang of yogurt and vinegar, marry perfectly with the smoky taste of grilled meat and warm pita bread. Eat it on a sun-drenched patio to kick the Mediterranean experience up a notch.

I’m sure there are plenty of recipes out there for preparing your own authentic gyro meat, but so far I haven’t felt the need to go there. Instead I made a “light gyro” of sorts by marinating chicken tenders in a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, lemon pepper, and garlic, then grilling them over medium-high heat until done. I threw that onto a grilled pita with some tomatoes and cucumbers and topped it with the tzatziki. Delish.

Tzatziki
(adapted slightly from The Gourmet Cookbook)

3 cups plain yogurt (or Greek yogurt if you can swing it. I like fage brand best.)
1 seedless cucumber (those plastic-wrapped ones also called English or Hothouse cucumbers), peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
2 small garlic cloves, minced
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
¾ Tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill
½ Tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint
½ Tablespoon white wine vinegar
½ teaspoon salt

1) Put yogurt in a large sieve or colander lined with a double thickness of cheesecloth and set over a large bowl. Let drain for 24 hours (skip this step if using Greek yogurt).
2) Transfer yogurt to a clean bowl; discard the liquid collected in the bowl used to strain yogurt.
3) Stir in remaining ingredients and refrigerate, covered, for at least 4 hours.

Grilled Pizza

2010-08-26T13:29:00.001-07:00

The end of summer always leaves me with mixed emotions. I’m excited for fall, which is my very favorite season, and yet I never feel like I’ve gotten my fill of those only-in-the-summer things. I want more boating, more camping, more s’mores, more time by the pool, more popsicles, more long days, etc. And last night I discovered yet another item to add to this list: grilled pizza.

If there was ever a reason to curse my nasty procrastination habit it is the fact that I did not try this method of cooking pizza back in June when I first heard of it. The idea was always in the back of my mind, but somehow it wasn’t until this week that I actually got my butt in gear and threw some pizza dough on the grill. All I can say is that if I hadn’t been such a slacker, this pizza would have been a weekly summer staple. It is that good.

For those of you thinking “it’s just pizza made on a barbecue instead of an oven–how is that anything special?” trust me when I say that the flavor produced by this method is out of this world. Mike even claimed that it tasted exactly like the pizza at our favorite Italian-style pizzeria. I wouldn’t go that far, but I’m thinking that if you love the taste of pizza made in a wood-burning oven, this is the closest you’re going to come to recreating that sensation at home (unless you do in fact have a wood-burning pizza oven in your home).

So friends, this is your chance to learn from my mistakes. Don’t let these last barbecue-friendly weeks of summer go by without trying this at least once.

Grilled Pizza

The recipe for this pizza dough was given to me by my good friend Megan. I love it because it is very basic, requires no rising time, and is virtually impossible to screw up. Feel free to use any pizza dough that you love, though. Just make sure that it is homemade or good quality storebought, as a co-worker once told me that she tried to grill Pillsbury dough from a can and the results were disastrous.

1 packet active dry yeast (2 ¼ teaspoons)
1 cup warm water*
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1) Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar.
2) Add water mixture to flour, salt, and olive oil.
3) Stir together until a dough forms.
4) Knead the dough for a couple of minutes (or use the dough hook attachment if you have a KitchenAid).
5) Let the dough rest for five minutes. It should be fairly smooth and elastic.
*You want the water to be just barely warmer than lukewarm. Hot water will kill the yeast and turn your dough into a sticky mess.

Grilling Instructions:
OK, so these instructions aren’t going to be super specific and detailed because I mostly just fiddled around with the grill and didn’t pay too much attention to cooking times and all that. I’m thinking that instructions will probably vary based on the type of grill you have and how thick your dough is anyway so I’m just going to give a general idea of how I went about it.

1) Preheat a grill to high heat.
2) Roll out pizza dough to desired thickness.
3) Lightly oil grill (I use a paper towel dipped in olive oil) and place pizza dough on it.
4) When that side is cooked (should only take a minute or two) remove it from the grill using tongs or a spatula and place pizza on a plate uncooked side-down.
5) Turn the grill down to medium-low.
6) Top the pizza with toppings of your choice. For the pizza above, I brushed the crust with a little olive oil, then topped it with thin tomato slices, torn basil leaves, and fresh mozzarella.
7) Slide pizza back onto the grill and close cover.
8) Cook until cheese is melted and the bottom crust is nicely browned. (Mine took about five or ten minutes). If the pizza dough is cooked before the cheese is melted, just take the pizza off the grill and throw it under the broiler for a minute or two.

Buttermilk Pound Cake

2010-08-20T09:01:00.000-07:00

Whenever I ask someone what they would like me to bring to a function, my hope is that their answer will be “dessert” or “a treat.” This is partly because I love to bake but also really love to eat, so making a pan of brownies or a batch of cookies for just Mike and I is bad news. I’m also what my friend Marianne calls a “feeder”, meaning that I love nothing more than to cook for people, and while a good salad might be appreciated, that combination of sweetness and fat we call dessert seems to be where people really feel the love.

This cake was first made in response to my Mother-In-Law’s request that I bring dessert to a Father’s Day barbecue. Strawberries were in the peak of their season so I wanted to incorporate them in a dessert but didn’t feel like going the angel food route (too sweet) or making a traditional shortcake (not sweet enough). This pound cake turned out to be a perfect compromise. It is sweet but not overly so, and has some substance and density to it without tasting excessively rich or buttery like most pound cakes. In fact, I think the term pound cake is a little misleading here, as the cake this recipe produces is more of a really moist loaf cake.

But what’s in a name? The bottom line here is that, if you are a feeder like myself, you should make this cake the next time your cooking skills are called upon. Serve it with some fresh berries and whipped cream, or even just a scoop of good ice cream. Jazz it up with different flavorings or glazes if you’re feeling adventurous. And rejoice in the fact that, if your friends and family are anything like mine, you’re making them very, very happy.

Buttermilk Pound Cake

(I would like to tell you that one day this site will contain beautifully styled food photography, but I'm afraid these hastily taken phone shots are as good as it's gonna get).

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs at room temperature*
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons flavoring of your choice (I used vanilla)

1. Cream butter, gradually add sugar, beating at medium-high speed of an electric mixer until well blended (about 5 minutes).
2. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
3. Combine flour, soda, and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture ( I keep my mixer on low when I do this).
4. Stir in flavorings.
5. Pour into greased and floured 10-inch tube pan (I used my bundt pan).**
6. Bake at 325 degrees F (163 degrees C) for 1 hour, or until inserted tester comes out clean.

*I used to ignore this instruction but I've found that room temp. eggs really do make my cakes better. If you've forgotten to take the eggs out of the fridge prior to starting your recipe, just put them in a bowl of barely warm water (not too warm or you'll cook the poor things) for about five minutes. That should do the trick.
**I think this cake would actually be better baked in two loaf pans, asthetically speaking. If you go this route, watch the bake time. I'm guessing it will be about 40 minutes or so.

Black Bean Burgers and "Fries"

2010-08-06T09:44:00.000-07:00

As I’ve mentioned before, I was raised by vegetarian parents and didn’t eat meat until I was about twelve or so. I guess you could say that my adolescent rebellion took the form of chicken nuggets and, like most adolescent rebellions, was pretty short-lived. Turns out that my early tofu-filled years resulted in my not really having a strong hankering for meat. I love barbecue ribs and chicken wings, but more often than not I pick the seafood or veggie option if given a choice.

I made these burgers because I wanted a meatless alternative to hamburgers that wasn’t overly processed and filled with all kinds of crazy ingredients. Needless to say, these are not the thing to eat if you’re craving beef (because, obviously, they taste like beans), but if all you’re after is the burger experience (bun, patty, toppings) then give them a try. I’ve been surprised to see how many people have preferred this option when we’ve offered both the bean and beef varieties at barbecues this summer.

The beauty of this recipe is that it’s very adaptable to your personal tastes. Want spicy burgers? Add a diced jalapeno or chili powder to the equation. Don’t like garlic? Leave it out. I like the mix of spices listed below but if you don’t then feel free to change it up. I usually serve these burgers on Earth Grains thin buns, topped with a spread of either hummus or mayo and some fresh veggies (or sauteed onions and peppers are absolutely divine).

Black Bean Burgers (from food.com)

1 (30 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 onion, minced
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon sweet basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 eggs
salt and pepper to taste

1. Place black beans in a bowl and mash with a fork or potato masher until of desired consistency.
2. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
3. Divide into 6-8 equal portions and shape into patties.
4. Place patties on a medium-hot grill for several minutes per side.

Oven-Baked Fries
I hesitate even calling this a recipe because it is so simple, but here you go. You can use this same method for Sweet Potatoes as well.

2 medium-sized russet potatoes (or however many you need)
Scant tablespoon olive oil (or enough to lightly coat the potatoes)
Seasoning of your choice (I use Johnny’s seasoning salt).

1)Scrub potatoes well and cut into wedges, strips, whatever you want.
2) Toss potatoes in olive oil until thinly coated and place on a baking sheet. (you may be tempted to just toss the potatoes and oil on the baking sheet but I find that the potatoes get soggy if they have any excess oil on them).
3) Sprinkle liberally with seasoning and bake at 450 degress for 30-40 minutes, or until potatoes are tender on the inside and crispy on the outside.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

2010-06-04T14:43:00.000-07:00

Prior to making this recipe, I had never had a pineapple upside-down cake. To me they’ve always seemed sort of old school—the kind of thing made by a grandmother who keeps dishes of butterscotch hard candy on her coffee table and collectible porcelain figurines on her bookshelves. Yet somehow I got it into my head that this would be the perfect dessert to take to a LOST finale party last weekend, probably because it is vaguely tropical and as ‘70s as the Dharma initiative itself.

Now that I have made a pineapple upside-down cake, I’m kind of wondering where it’s been all my life. A perfectly moist vanilla cake topped with a layer of caramelized fruit—what’s not to love? I found the recipe, appropriately enough, not on some swanky food blog or website but in my copy of The Joy of Cooking, that classic American cookbook that so much resembles an antique I find it hard to believe the recipes still work. Consider my mind changed on that one.

This recipe calls for maraschino cherries, pecan halves, or prunes as fillers for the holes in the pineapple rings. If you want to go full-out retro, then by all means use the cherries. I used blackberries because they were what I had in my fridge and maraschino cherries make me want to barf. Also because I like to think that the presence of fresh berries helps downplay the kitsch factor and brings pineapple upside down cake—in all its golden, buttery glory—into the 21st century.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

7 slices canned unsweetened pineapple rings
9 tablespoons butter, divided
Scant ¾ cup packed brown sugar
Maraschino cherries, pecan halves, prunes, or fresh berries
2 large eggs
8 tablespoons buttermilk, divided
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
¾ cup sugar
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt

1) Drain pineapple and place on paper towel to absorb the excess juice.
2) Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a 9 inch cake pan (either in the oven or on the stovetop).
3) When the butter is melted, tilt the pan so that the melted butter coats all sides. The excess will settle in the bottom.
4) Sprinkle brown sugar evenly in the bottom of the pan.
5) Top with pineapple rings and “filler” of choice (if using).
6) Whisk together eggs, 2 tablespoons buttermilk, and vanilla.
7) Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer for a few seconds to combine.
8) Add 6 tablespoons softened butter and 6 tablespoons buttermilk and beat on low just until flour is moistened.
9) Increase speed to medium (or high if using a hand-held mixer) and beat for 1 ½ minutes.
10) Add egg mixture a third at a time, beating for 20 seconds and scraping the bowl after each addition.
11) Pour batter over pineapple in pan and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean.
12) Shake the cake lightly to loosen sides from the pan (I just went around the edges with a butter knife). Let cake cool for at least five minutes before inverting onto serving plate. Serve with loosely whipped, lightly sweetened cream.

Tex-Mex Stuffed Peppers

2010-05-28T12:45:00.000-07:00

So I’m going to get a little opinionated here for a second: I think most people eat way too much meat. I’m not saying that we all need to be vegetarians and embrace tofu, but I think the notion that meat should make up the bulk of most meals is downright ridiculous. What’s more, this idea has led to a system of producing cheap meat that is entirely unsustainable and bad for our bodies, the environment, etc.

I am by no means ahead of the curve on this issue, and have really only thought about where my meat comes from in the past year or two, after reading this book and watching this film. Since then I have made an effort to only buy properly raised meat* and adopt Michael Pollan’s philosophy when incorporating it into meals: “eating a little meat isn’t going to kill you, though it might be better approached as a side dish than a main.”

The recipe that follows is perfect for a dinner made following that principle. These peppers are hearty and filling enough to be a meal in themselves, so any meat you serve with them would be a dinner footnote, not the main event. I’m not particularly fond of meat so I’m fine eating these peppers on their own with a salad on the side, but for people like my carnivorous husband a small piece of grilled steak or chicken would serve as a great accompaniment.

I got this recipe from my friend Stefanie, and the original version can be found on her blog here. I modified it both to make it meatless and use the ingredients I had on hand. I served these with some sliced avocado and salsa on top, as well as a little additional sour cream, but they are flavorful enough not to need that kind of embellishment. I guess I just like to gild the lily sometimes.

Tex-Mex Stuffed Bell Peppers
(Sorry, no picture this time. But seeing as the photos I post on here are usually quite ghetto I don't think you're missing much)

1 cup brown rice
½ small yellow or white onion, diced
Olive oil (about a tablespoon)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 ½ cups frozen corn, thawed
1 Tbs. Chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. dried oregano
½ tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
½ cup sour cream (I only used a few tablespoons- just enough to bind the filling)
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
4 large bell peppers (preferably red, orange, or yellow)**, trimmed, seeded and cut in half, lengthwise
½ cup shredded Monterey jack cheese.

1) Cook rice according to package directions
2) Saute onion in olive oil over medium heat until transluscent, about 3 minutes.
3) Add dry seasonings, corn, beans, rice, and sour cream to the onions (I sprinkled a little of the cheese in, too). Heat through.
4) Remove pan from heat and add cilantro.
5) Stuff filling into pepper halves and arrange in a greased pan.
6) Sprinkle cheese on top and cover with foil.
7) Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes, or until peppers are soft and cheese is melted. Remove foil for last ten minutes of baking.

*A cost-effective way to buy quality meat is through local farms, like this one. They only sell in bulk though, so I am always looking for people to split these shares with. Let me know if you’re interested.
**Green peppers are actually just red bell peppers that have been picked earlier, so they are less sweet and more tough. I don’t really care for them in this recipe, but that might just be a matter of personal preference.

My favorite chocolate cake

2010-05-04T13:38:00.001-07:00

This cake is known by many names. I believe the technical term for it is gâteau au chocolat fondant, but in Molly Wizenburg’s book A Homemade Life (which is where I found this recipe), she refers to it simply as “Winning Hearts and Minds Cake.” When I first made this cake for a birthday luncheon, my siblings gave it a less flattering moniker: Ugly Cake.

True, this cake is no beauty queen. Next to the one my sister made--a fluffy white thing covered in clouds of whipped cream and fresh fruit--it did indeed look too brown, flat, and, well, ugly. But then we tasted it. And discovered that underneath that rustic, crackled exterior was a damp, fudgy cake whose texture I can only describe as a mix between a brownie and a souffle. With no icing or frosting to sweeten it up excessively, it tasted only of pure, rich chocolate. I can’t speak for the rest of the family, but for a chocoholic like myself it was pure heaven.

I recently made this cake again for yet another family function. This time around my siblings and I realized it needed a different name--one that conveyed all the deliciousness trapped in that plain package. Here’s what we came up with:

Inner Beauty Cake

7 oz. good quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (look for at least 60% cocoa content)
1 3/4 sticks (7 oz.) unsalted butter, cubed
1 c. sugar
5 large eggs
1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

1. Preheat the oven to 375F and butter an 8" round cake pan (I used a 9" and it turned out just fine). Line the bottom with parchment paper and butter it as well.
2. Put the chocolate and butter in a microwave safe bowl and melt it in 30 second bursts, stirring often, until smooth (you could also use the double boiler method if you’re more comfortable with that).
3. Once smooth, add the sugar and stir well to incorporate.
4. Set the batter aside to cool for 5 minutes.
5. Once cool, add the eggs one by one, stirring well after each egg ( I find this step easier if the eggs are at room temperature).
6. Add the flour and stir. The batter should be dark and silky.
7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until the top is crackley, the edges are puffed and the center jiggles only slightly or not at all.
8. Remove the cake from the oven & cool in the pan for 15 minutes. To remove, place a dinner plate over the cake pan & flip it over. The cake will be upside down at this point. Remove the parchment paper, then put another plate on the "top" (which will ultimately be the bottom) of the cake & flip it once more so the “crackled” side is showing.
9. Serve with a dollop of loosely-whipped cream.

Mexican Rice

2010-04-30T13:02:00.000-07:00

I wouldn’t consider myself an overly enthusiastic lover of Mexican food, but the number of times that lonestar taqueria appears on my bank statement each month and the many combinations of beans, cheese, tortillas, and vegetables that regularly grace my dinner table would prove me wrong.

This rice is one of the staples in my Mexican food repertoire. I always make it to serve with enchiladas, since all that sauce is just begging to be sopped up by something. You could also serve it alongside tacos or inside one of those huge southwestern burritos. Possibilities are endless here, people.

Mexican Rice (from allrecipes.com)

½ small white or yellow onion, finely diced
About 1 tsp. oil (one turn of the pan)
3 oz. canned diced tomatoes
2/3 cup uncooked long grain rice
1 ½ cups water
½ tsp. chili powder
½ tsp. cumin
1 tsp. salt

1) In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Stir in onion and saute until translucent.

2) Pour the rice into the pan and stir to coat grains with oil. Mix in cumin, chili powder, tomatoes, salt and water.

3) Cover, bring to a boil then reduce heat to low. Cook at a simmer for 20 to 30 minutes or until rice is done and liquid is absorbed.

Hummus

2010-03-31T18:41:00.000-07:00

My husband and I are definitely not a match made in culinary heaven. He grew up on hamburger helper and standard “meat and potatoes” fare, while I was raised in a vegetarian household where borscht and homemade sushi made regular appearances on the dinner table.

Our brief courtship was an exercise in compromise. Mike helped me discover a dormant love of barbecue ribs, while I encouraged him to do crazy things like add tomatoes to his turkey sandwiches. Still, after deciding to get married I honestly wondered if his picky eating habits and my love of gastronomical experimentation would ever mesh into a coherent dinner menu.

The turning point came one afternoon shortly after Mike and I got engaged. We were on our way to a Utah football game with friends and stopped at the grocery store for some gametime snacks, one of the selections being a tub of hummus and pita bread. I thought there was no way Mike would touch the stuff with a ten-foot pole, but not five minutes later the guy who won’t eat cream cheese or onions was proclaiming his love for Middle Eastern chickpea spread. Since then he’s been converted to sushi, margherita pizza, curry, and a number of other foods that were previously on the WILL NOT EAT list. Apparently hummus is one heck of a gateway drug.

Hummus

This is a very basic recipe for hummus. I’ve kept the seasoning amounts to a minimum, since you can always put more spices in but you can’t take them out. So just start with these amounts and adjust at the end. This recipe would also be terrific with the addition of some sundried tomatoes or other colorful ingredients. I see a roasted red pepper and kalamata olive variation in my future.

1 (15 oz.) can garbanzo beans
¼ cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 garlic clove, pressed
½ tsp. ground cumin
Salt and pepper to taste

1) Drain garbanzo beans, reserving the liquid.
2) Blend beans, 2 tablespoons of the reserved liquid, and remaining ingredients until smooth. (I used my immersion blender, but you could use a regular blender or food processor)
3) Add liquid until desired consistency is reached.
4) Adjust seasonings to taste.
5) Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of paprika, if desired.

My kind of cupcakes

2010-03-04T08:07:00.001-08:00

Unlike most people I know, I’m not a huge fan of cupcakes. I definitely have a sweet tooth, but I prefer the richness of cookies or brownies to light cakes topped with tooth-aching frosting. Nor am I much for the whole “food as a craft project” notion (it’s pretty safe to say that I’m the anti-Bakerella), so the thought of baking cupcakes for the sake of decorating them doesn’t hold much appeal, either.

I know the recipe listed below has the term “cupcakes” in the title but you can safely leave behind all notions of buttermilk cake and creamy swirls of powdered sugar-based frosting. A variation of Nigella Lawson’s equally delicious chocolate loaf cake from her cookbook How To Be A Domestic Goddess, these cupcakes are not so much cute and sugary as they are subtly intense and aromatic. They are also ridiculously easy to make (perfect for those as impatient and messy as myself), as the icing is nothing more than a simple ganache spread on top of the cakes and left to set. No pastry bags or sprinkles required.

Chocolate Cupcakes

2 ounces best bittersweet chocolate, melted
½ cup butter, softened
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 large egg
½ tsp. vanilla
½ cup boiling water
½ cup flour
½ tsp. baking powder

1) Cream the butter and sugar
2) Add egg and vanilla and beat well
3) Fold in the melted and slightly cooled chocolate. Careful not to overmix- you want the chocolate incorporated, you don’t want a light airy mass.
4) Gently add the flour (to which you’ve added the baking powder), alternately spoon by spoon with the boiling water until you have a smooth, fairly liquid batter.
5) Pour batter into 12 lined muffin tins (each will be about 2/3 full).
6) Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Let cupcakes cool completely, then frost with the following:

1 ½ ounces milk chocolate
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate (I used about 2 ounces semisweet, 1 ounce bittersweet)
¼ teaspoon vanilla
¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons cream
(Sorry the measurements are a bit screwy, I cut the original recipe in half after discovering that it made enough ganache for an army of cupcakes)

1) Place all ingredients in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly until the chocolate is melted.
2) Remove from heat and whisk until the mixture is of spreading consistency (it will still be pretty runny compared to regular frosting)
3) Spread onto cupcakes with the back of a spoon
4) Leave to set somewhere cool, although preferably not the fridge.
5) Decorate as you wish (I took Nigella’s suggestion and simply placed one brown M&M in the center of each cake).

Note: If you can, make these the day before and store in an airtight container. They moisten up beautifully and the chocolate flavor really wakes up.

Cafe Rio-ish Recipes

2010-02-19T09:21:00.000-08:00

If someone were to write a book about Utah’s culinary history, I’m guessing there would be a whole chapter devoted to Café Rio. I can’t think of another restaurant that caused quite as big of a stir in the Salt Lake valley as this Southwestern eatery. And, judging from the array of knock-off recipes for Rio’s famous creamy tomatillo dressing or shredded chicken filling the pages of recipe blogs and local cookbooks, imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery.

Below is my take on homemade Cafe Rio. This meal is perfect for serving at a large gathering or party because everything is simple to make and can be prepared in advance, plus you lay out the components and let guests assemble everything themselves so that you don’t have to deal with catering to the needs of picky eaters and the like.

I serve the following recipes with these accompaniments:

Tortillas (preferably the cook-and-serve kind)
Salsa or pico de gallo
Shredded romaine lettuce
Grated cheddar cheese
Sliced avocado or fresh guacamole
Black beans
Sour cream

Café Rio-style Pork

This pork doesn’t have the syrupy texture of Café Rio’s, but the flavor is really similar. I’ve had other recipes made with soda and all kinds of random ingredients, but I still like this simple one the best.

2 pound pork roast (I use tenderloin)
1 cup pace picante sauce or similar salsa (something runny, tomato based, and relatively free of chunks)
1 cup brown sugar

1) Mix brown sugar and salsa together and pour over roast.
2) Cook meat in a well-greased crockpot on low for ~5 hours, or until pork shreds easily*
3) Shred meat with two forks and mix with the rest of the sauce.

*The original recipe I was given says to cover the roast and bake at 350 degrees for 3 hours, but I’ve never tried this method so I can’t vouch for it.

Creamy Tomatillo Dressing

My approach to this recipe is pretty loose. Sometimes I use a whole bunch of cilantro, sometimes 3 tomatillos, etc. I just taste as I go and adjust to my liking- I suggest you do the same.

1 pkg Hidden Valley buttermilk ranch dressing mix*
1 cup Buttermilk
~3/4 cilantro bunch, chopped (I use the leaves only)
½-1 small jalapeno, seeds removed
1 cup mayonnaise (I use this homemade version)
1 tsp. lime juice
2 tomatillos
¼ tsp. minced garlic**

1) Blend all ingredients in a blender or food processor
2) Refrigerate for at least one hour

*This stuff is expensive and contains MSG and other nasty chemicals, so I’ve been meaning to replace it with the dried herbs from this homemade ranch (minus the dill). If you try it, let me know how it goes.
** Most of these imitation dressings go way too heavy on the garlic. I’ve had a few where all I could taste was the garlic flavor and not the tomatillos. The original recipe I had called for one whole clove, and it was absolutely disgusting the first time I made it. So if I have one word of advice it’s this: go easy on the garlic! You can always add some more later if you feel it needs it, but remember that garlic gets more pungent as it sits so give the dressing some time in the fridge before you add more.

Cilantro-Lime Rice

If you want to make this closer to Cafe Rio's, try adding a small can of diced green chiles.

4 T butter
2 ½ cups white rice
4 ½ cups chicken broth (I sometimes use half broth, half water)
1 ½ tsp. salt
4 T lime juice
4 T chopped cilantro (I usually add more- I heart cilantro)
½ tsp. cumin

Combine all ingredients in a rice cooker and cook on normal setting OR
Combine all ingredients in a pot, bring to a boil, then cover with a tight-fitting lid and simmer until rice is done.

Whole Wheat Pancakes

2010-01-21T08:17:00.000-08:00

The old adage “the whiter the bread, the sooner you’re dead” might be a bit extreme, but we all know that whole grains are better for us than the processed white stuff. I actually prefer wheat or multigrain bread to white in most cases (can’t say I’m too crazy about whole wheat pizza crust or whole wheat English muffins, though), and I am absolutely over the moon for whole wheat pancakes. To me they seem to have so much more flavor and depth than their plain white counterparts. And there is something about cooking them that makes me feel like I’m on Little House on the Prairie. I’m weird, I know.

I made these for dinner last night and my white bread junkie of a husband actually liked them. We ate ours with some pure maple syrup (in my case) or strawberry jam (Mike’s preference). I’m sure they would be delicious topped with some fresh fruit or a chunky fruit syrup as well. I think I’m going to try adding some blueberries to the batter as soon as they are in season again.

I found this recipe in my beloved Ivory Favorites cookbook. If you don’t have one, get your hiney down to Make-A-Wish foundation and buy one. I have yet to cook something out of this book that I didn’t completely love, and that’s no exaggeration.

Whole Wheat Pancakes

1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
½ tsp. salt

1) Combine all ingredients and beat with a wisk until combined (careful not to overmix, though. A few lumps are okay).
2) Heat a nonstick griddle or pan on medium heat (350-375 degrees on an electric griddle).
3) When the pan is hot, drop the desired amount of batter onto it and cook until edges look done and the middle is no longer bubbling (about a minute for a ¼ cup of batter).
4) Flip the pancake and cook for a minute or two longer, or until the pancake is no longer doughy in the middle.

Stuffed Mushrooms

2010-01-13T08:48:00.000-08:00

I’ve found mushrooms to be a polarizing food. People either love them or hate them enough to insist on calling them a fungus every chance they get (hi, husband!). I bet you can guess which camp I fall into. If not, let me just tell you that I drooled all over my keyboard when I found this recipe.

Some folks prefer their mushroom caps stuffed with fancy ingredients like crab or sausage, but I have found that I like them best when they are filled with, well, more mushrooms. The recipe listed below is a very basic filling of chopped mushrooms bound together with a savory cheese mixture. Simple, festive, and delicious. Make them for your next fancy dinner (just make sure you’re not entertaining mushroom haters).

Stuffed Mushrooms

16 oz. whole white button mushrooms
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
½ teaspoon oregano powder
½ clove garlic, finely minced
¼ cup grated parmesan (the stuff in the green can)
2 ½ tablespoons milk

1) Wipe any visible dirt from mushrooms with a towel (or if you are a clean freak you can rinse them with cold water- just be sure to dry them afterwards).
2) Separate stems from mushroom caps
3) Chop stems into small pieces
4) Combine cream cheese, oregano powder, garlic, parmesan, and milk until you have a smooth, homogenous mixture.
5) Stir in mushroom stem pieces
6) Using a teaspoon, spoon filling into each mushroom cap.
7) Sprinkle with a little more parmesan, and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. These suckers need to be eaten while they are still warm, so either serve them straight out of the oven or keep in a heated dish.

Pecan-Topped Yams

2009-11-24T12:36:00.000-08:00

Of all the foods that regularly show up on the Thanksgiving table, yams are probably the least likely to make an appearance on any other day of the year. The turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, etc. usually come around again at Christmastime or on an equally special occasion, but yams? They seem to be reserved exclusively for the end-of-autumn feast.

So if these orange beauties are showing up on your Thanksgiving menu this year, it’s best to make them memorable. If you usually serve yams topped with marshmallows or candied in syrup, I beg you to give this method a try instead. The end result is still sweet, but with a greater complexity of flavor and a bit of earthiness to it.

This recipe comes from the Ivory Favorites cookbook, and has been served at my family’s Thanksgiving dinner for years. This dish is ideal for Thanksgiving because it can be assembled a day ahead, then popped into the oven an hour or so before dinner (these need to be served warm, but not piping hot). These yams are very rich, and, in my experience, the amount listed below will easily feed up to 12 people.

Pecan-Topped Yams

4 cups cooked and mashed yams*
½ cup melted butter
¼ cup-1 cup sugar**
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Pecan topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup chopped pecans

1) Combine yams with melted butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
2) Mix well, then pour into a greased 9”x 13” glass dish.
3) Combine brown sugar and flour; mix well.
4) Stir in melted butter and nuts
5) Crumble nut mixture over the top of the yams
6) Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes, or until set.

*I cook the yams by cutting them into thirds and steaming them in a pot of hot water with a steamer basket until they are fork tender (usually takes about an hour).
** I know this is a wide range, but the amount of sugar you use depends on how sweet your yams are and how tooth-aching you want the finished product to be. I always add the other ingredients first, then taste and see how much sugar to add. I usually never use more than a half cup even though the recipe calls for a full one.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

2009-11-20T08:38:00.000-08:00

Next week is Thanksgiving, which means that autumn is officially drawing to a close. What better way to see it out than by baking some aromatic pumpkin bread? I guess you really could make pumpkin bread at any time of year, but to me it's very much a "fall" thing.

I don't like my pumpkin bread particularly spicy, so I cut down on the original quantities of nutmeg and cinnamon called for in this recipe. If you like yours to have more spice to it up the quantities a little, and maybe even get crazy and add some allspice or ground cloves.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

2 1/2 cups white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3 cups sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. salt
16 oz. cooked or canned pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
1 c. oil
4 eggs, beaten lightly
2/3 c. water
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips (I usually use more- just add to your liking)

1) Mix dry ingredients together (first 7 ingredients on the list)
2) Mix wet ingredients (pumpkin, water, oil, eggs) separately then stir into the dry ingredients.
3) Stir in chocolate chips
4) Pour batter into two greased 9x5 loaf pans (I used one 8x4 pan and about 5 mini loaf pans- not sure of their exact dimensions)
5) Bake at 350 for 60-70 minutes (less time if you're using smaller pans- my mini ones took about a half hour), or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Homemade Ranch Dressing

2009-11-17T14:06:00.000-08:00

You know how some things are just not worth the trouble of making from scratch because the store-bought variety is both better and cheaper? I am here to tell you that Ranch dressing is one thing that most definitely does not fall into this category. The homemade version blows Hidden Valley out of the water, plus it is a cinch to make.

I have to credit my older sister for finding this recipe, which can be found in its entirety here, but since I'm nice I will type it out for you all neat and simple like.

In the summer I might try making this with fresh herbs, but it's absolutely delicious with the dried stuff, most of which is probably located on that spice rack you got as a wedding gift.

Homemade Ranch Dressing

1 cup mayo
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. of each of the following:
onion salt
garlic salt (or fresh minced garlic)
parsley, fresh or dried
chopped chives, fresh or dried
dill, fresh or dried
pepper

1) Mix mayo and buttermilk in a bowl
2) Stir in remaining ingredients
3) Refrigerate for at least one hour.

Potato Gnocchi with Tomato Cream Sauce

2009-11-17T09:43:00.000-08:00

I can’t remember the first time I tried gnocchi. I only know that for years now these little potato dumplings are what I order whenever I go to an Italian restaurant. For the record, I still think the ones at Confetti’s are the best I’ve had in Salt Lake.

Like souffles or puff pastry, gnocchi tend to have a certain scare factor associated with cooking them at home. Every cookbook in the world will warn you of the extensive time involved, as well as the potential risks: put in too much flour and the gnocchi are heavy, don’t add enough and they disintegrate, handle the dough too much and you’re also in trouble. While these statements are not unfounded, it’s not like the process is rocket science. Here’s what I have found to be true in my limited gnocchi-making experience:

The Bad News:
-You’ll need to buy a potato ricer to make these suckers. A lot of recipes will simply call for mashed potato, but to get gnocchi that are light and fluffy you’ll want to use a potato ricer.
-Gnocchi are not a quick meal. I once decided to make them on a Monday night after work and nearly ended up in tears.
-Making the dough is not an exact science, and depends a lot on feel, trial and error, etc. If you’re uncomfortable cooking without precise measurements, this might be a little stressful for you.
-Don’t plan on serving gnocchi to a crowd. You have to cook them in small batches, so they aren’t ideal for parties larger than 6 people.

The Good News:
-Unless you want to employ your potato ricer for other meals, you can buy a crappy 5 dollar model like the one I have. It ain’t the greatest, but it gets the job done.
-Although these sound all fancy and foreign, the ingredients needed to make gnocchi are dirt cheap and you probably have them on hand.
-Like other pasta, gnocchi are versatile. You can serve them simply with sauce, use them in soup, saute with some vegetables, etc.
-Gnocchi can be kept frozen for up to a month. So although it takes a couple of hours to make the original product, you can freeze them and have a quick dinner later on.

Now that you have the rundown, here is a very basic gnocchi recipe. I made these on Sunday and committed the cardinal sin of adding too much flour so my gnocchi were a bit heavy, but I have adjusted the recipe so you (hopefully) don’t make the same mistake.

(image courtesy of city-data.com)

Gnocchi

2 pounds russet potatoes
1 ½- 2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch nutmeg
1 egg, beaten

1) Bake the potatoes at 400 degrees for about one hour, or until fork tender.
2) Let the potatoes cool for a few minutes, then peel the potatoes and pass through a potato ricer or food mill (you want the potatoes to be cool enough to handle, but still hot).
3) While the potatoes are still warm, add the beaten egg, salt, and nutmeg.
4) Add the flour, starting with one cup, and lightly knead the dough with your fingertips.
5) Keep adding flour until the dough isn’t sticking to your hands, but still has a bit of sticky softness to it. Knead lightly until you have a homogenous dough, then separate it into 6 pieces.
6) On a lightly floured surface, gently roll each piece into a ¾ inch thick rope.
7) Cut each rope into 1-inch pieces.
8) Roll each piece over the tines of a fork to get that classic ridged gnocchi shape (this takes some practice. If you don’t want to deal with it you can just poke a hole in them with the tip of your finger- the idea is to make the gnocchi a little rough so that sauce will adhere to them).
9) Bring a pot of well-salted water to a boil.
10) Drop gnocchi in about ten or so at a time, depending on the size of your pot (you don’t want them on top of each other)
11) When gnocchi float to the top of the water (this will take about 3 or 4 minutes), wait another 30 seconds or so and remove them with a slotted spoon.
12) Serve immediately or keep in a heated serving bowl.

Serve with your favorite pasta sauce and grated parmesan cheese. (Recipe for one of my favorite sauces below).

To freeze: place gnocchi on a parchment-lined baking sheet and put them in the freezer until they are firm (about an hour or so), then place in a ziploc bag.

Tomato Cream Sauce
I made this sauce to go with the gnocchi I served on Sunday, and man alive was it good. This is a fairly chunky tomato sauce, but if you like yours smooth then just puree the tomatoes or use all tomato sauce instead of canned tomatoes. I kinda just threw it together with the stuff I had on hand but I’ve tried to backtrack and come up with some exact measurements, instructions, etc. Here goes:

42 oz. canned diced tomatoes, drained.
14 oz. tomato sauce
2 tablespoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tsp. salt*
1 tsp. dried basil*
~8 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 cup cream

1) Heat olive oil in a deep skillet or saucepan over medium heat.
2) Add garlic and saute for a minute or so
3) Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, basil, and salt (at this point I broke up the tomato chunks a little with the tip of my spatula so they weren’t quite so big).
4) Simmer uncovered on low heat for about an hour, or until the mixture is reduced to your liking
5) Add fresh basil and simmer 5 more minutes
6) Add cream and simmer for ten minutes more.

*These are the measurements I’m most unsure of. I always just sprinkle in seasonings and taste the sauce throughout the cooking progress to see if the amounts need adjusting. I suggest you do the same.

One Cake, Three Ways (For Ashlee)

2009-10-25T16:44:00.000-07:00

Most of the cake I truly love tends to fall into the non-traditional camp. I like rich flourless cakes (more of a brownie feel) or banana bread-type loaf cakes more than I do the layers-with-frosting kind of thing. That said, there are times when only a traditional cake will do. When those occasions arise, I immediately reach for this recipe. It was given to me by my best friend’s mom, who is a bona fide domestic diva and a second mother to me in many ways.

Yes, this cake is ridiculously fattening. Yes, it uses ultra-processed ingredients. Both of these things might have stopped me from making it had I not tasted the finished product first, but I’m glad I did because this cake is delicious. Moist, flavorful, and everything a cake should be; none of that dry, crumbly texture that so many cakes fall prey to.

This recipe started life as a chocolate cake, but the method outlined in it can be used to create many different flavors and types of cake. I’ve listed 2 variations below the chocolate one, and I’m sure there are many more that you could try.

DeAnn’s Chocolate Cake

1 Devil’s Food cake mix (Duncan Hines brand is best)
1 small box instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
4 eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup water

1. Using either a stand or hand-held electric mixer, mix all ingredients on medium speed for 3 minutes
2. Pour batter into two 8'' or 9” greased pans
3. Bake at 350 for about 27 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean
4. When completely cooled, frost with chocolate frosting (recipe below)

Frosting:
4 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 stick butter, at room temperature
enough milk or cream to make spreading consistency

Beat all ingredients except milk on low speed until combined, then keep beating and add milk slowly until desired spreading consistency is achieved.

Almond Poppy Seed Bundt Cake

Same ingredients as chocolate cake except:
-Use yellow cake mix instead of devil’s food
-Use french vanilla pudding instead of chocolate
-Add 2 tablespoons each of poppy seeds and pure almond extract to the batter.

1) Mix on medium speed for 3 minutes
2) Pour into a well-greased bundt pan
3) Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes, or until tester comes out clean.
4) When completely cooled, glaze with the following:

Glaze:
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1-2 teaspoons pure almond extract

1) Whisk powdered sugar and milk together until smooth and of pouring consistency.
2) Add 1 tsp. almond extract and mix well.
3) If glaze is too thick, thin using small amounts of milk until correct consistency is achieved.
4) Taste and add more almond extract if needed for flavor.

Red Velvet Cake
-Same ingredients and directions as chocolate cake except instead of devil’s food use red velvet cake mix
-I have made this both as a layer cake and a bundt cake, so follow the baking times for whichever method you like to use.
-If making a bundt, I like to stir a handful or two of semi-sweet chocolate chips into the batter
-I always frost this cake with cream cheese frosting:

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 stick butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2-4 cups sifted powdered sugar (depending on how sweet and thick you want the frosting to be- taste as you go)
2 tsp. vanilla

1) Beat butter and cream cheese together
2) Add sugar and vanilla and beat until of spreading consistency

If you are making a layer cake, frost as usual, but if you are making a bundt I suggest putting the frosting in a ziploc bag (or legit pastry bag if you have one) and letting it firm up in the fridge for a while, then cutting the tip off the ziploc bag and piping the frosting on the sides of the bundt.

Waffles with Caramel Apple Syrup

2009-10-22T09:04:00.000-07:00

I am a big fan of the “Breakfast for Dinner” concept. Mostly because I don’t have the time to make eggs, pancakes, or any of that other stuff in the morning, but also because I think there is a certain sense of whimsy in having French toast or egg-in-a-hole as your evening meal. It makes life seem a little less hectic and stressful, and a little more like the days of slumber parties and Saturday morning cartoons. Plus any excuse to eat things containing high amounts of sugar and call it a meal is just fine by me.

A while back I found this recipe on a blog called The Jet Set. I instantly knew that it would make a perfect Breakfast for Dinner, and I was right. The caramel apple syrup was full of flavor without being overly sweet, and it was a great way to use up some old apples I had sitting in my fridge. Besides being a topping for waffles I think this syrup would work well as a crepe filler or maybe just poured on top of some vanilla ice cream for dessert. I am still looking for a perfect waffle recipe, and, although these yeasted waffles were very good, I would like to experiment with some others so if you have a great one please send it my way.

I served these suckers topped with some freshly whipped cream, alongside some crisp bacon and orange juice. I suggest you take advantage of the dwindling days of apple season and do the same.

(I forgot to take a picture until I was almost done eating, plus it was taken with my ghetto camera phone. Sorry about that)

Caramel Apple Syrup
4-5 medium tart apples (the flavor of this syrup is going to depend almost entirely on the quality of apples you use, so choose wisely)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup

1.Peel, core, and dice the apples.
2. In a large saucepan heat 1/4 cup butter over medium high heat until melted. Add apples.
3. Sprinkle with salt and a couple tablespoons of the brown sugar.
4. Turn the heat to high and stir while apples caramelize, about 4-5 minutes.
5. As the apples brown, turn down the heat to medium to prevent scorching. Add the remaining butter and sugar.
6. Reduce for another 3 minutes, until sugar is melted, stirring often (I let mine reduce a little longer, about 5 minutes). Add syrup and serve over waffles or pancakes.

Yeasted Waffles:
1 3/4 Milk
1/2 cup butter
2 cups white flour*
1 Tbl sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp yeast
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

1. Heat the milk up until hot, but not boiling.

2. Add the butter to the milk and melt. Cool slightly.

3. Beat the eggs lightly and then add to the milk mixture, along with the vanilla.

4. Put all the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine. Add the wet ingredients and stir until combined, a few lumps are OK.

5. Cover with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for 12-24 hours.
6. Heat your waffle iron a good 10-15 minutes before you use it. Whisk your batter and ladle it into the iron. Cook until golden. Serve immediately.

*The recipe originally calls for 1 cup wheat flour, 1 cup white, but white is all I had on hand the night I made these.

Chicken Taco Soup

2009-10-19T09:42:00.000-07:00

I was once looking through a cookbook by Ina Garten in which there was a recipe for chicken breasts stuffed with goat cheese and fresh basil. She described this dish as her “easy dinner”- what she makes on those nights that she doesn’t feel like cooking.

Can I even tell you how much I would like to live in a world where my “easy dinner” consisted of chicken with goat cheese and basil? Pretty sure if I ever made that for dinner Mike would run to the police reporting spousal abuse. And, as much as I like cooking, stuffing and baking chicken just doesn’t sound that appealing on nights when I feel like being lazy.

In this age of modern technology, my definition of an easy dinner is one that is ready right when you walk in the door from work, creates minimal dirty dishes, and is a complete meal in itself. The soup recipe below meets all those requirements, plus it is relatively healthy and uses simple ingredients. It requires some assembly in the morning, but all you have to do before eating is shred the chicken and grate some cheddar cheese. Perfect for those chilly nights you would rather spend curled up on the couch than standing over a hot stove.

Chicken Taco Soup
(Adapted from the original listing at allrecipes.com)

1 (16 ounce) can chili beans*, undrained
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
1 1/2 cups sweet frozen corn
8 ounces (1 cup) tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups water
2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained (I use the mild version of Rotel brand, but use the regular if you like a little more heat).
1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning
3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts (I only use 2)
shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
sour cream (optional)
crushed tortilla chips (optional)

1) Place chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, water, and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker. Add taco seasoning, and stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients.
2) Cover and cook in slow cooker on low heat for 5 hours.
3) Remove chicken breasts from the soup, and allow to cool long enough to be handled. Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup, and continue cooking for 2 hours. (Since I work all day, I just put frozen chicken in the crock pot for about 8 hours, then shred it and let the soup cook for only as long as it takes to get the table set- I don’t think it makes a huge difference either way).

Serve topped with shredded Cheddar cheese, sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips, if desired.

*You want pinto beans in a spicy sauce, not a can of chili with ground beef in it. I only include this note because Mike has called me from the grocery store before to clarify this distinction.

Peach Cobbler

2009-10-12T12:30:00.001-07:00

I have mixed feelings about fruit desserts. I love fruit pies, crisps, cobblers and the like, but I just can't bring myself to make them most of the time. Fresh fruit(when it's in season) is so good on its own that adding the extra sugar and fat seems downright wasteful. In my book, the more mediocre and readily-available fruits like apples are fine to tamper with, but when it comes to sweet, delicate specimens such as peaches, nectarines, berries, etc. my policy has always been to leave well enough alone.

As you can tell from the title of this post, I strayed from that policy a couple of weeks ago by baking peach cobbler. My excuse is that my in-laws have a peach tree and were kind enough to give us a case of them one evening. Mike and I feasted on fresh peaches for the next few days, but it soon became apparent that we weren't going to finish them before they spoiled: a perfect reason to try out a peach cobbler recipe.

This cobbler is a very traditional one- a sweet biscuit-like topping with fresh peaches bubbling in their juices underneath. Mike prefers the made-with-a-cake-mix-and-sprite take on peach cobbler that is usually made in a dutch oven, but I find it to be way too sweet and overpowering for my taste. This version is more complex and lets the peaches dominate the flavor of the dessert.

Peach Cobbler

Ingredients:
8 large peaches* (I think I only used about 5 or 6)
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking powder

1)Grease 8'' square baking pan
2)Peel and slice peaches into pan
3)Combine remaining ingredients to make a dough (I used the paddle attachment on my Kitchen Aid, but you could use a hand mixer or even just a spoon)
4) Crumble dough on top of peaches
5) Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes (mine took a little longer- more like 40 or 45 minutes- but that might be because my oven is a piece of crap).

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

*If your peaches aren't terribly sweet (mine weren't) toss them with a tablespoon or two of sugar before putting the dough on top.

Baked Potato Soup (Another Re-Post)

2009-10-07T08:58:00.001-07:00

Here is the recipe for the soup I made last night. It is adapted only slightly from the Ivory Favorites cookbook (a fabulous cookbook available through Make-A-Wish foundation). It’s simple, easy to make, and oh-so-very-comforting to eat. After the crazy day I had at work yesterday, this soup made me feel like a new woman.

Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients:
3 Tablespoons Butter
1 cup finely chopped onion
2 Tablespoons flour
14.5 oz chicken broth (or enough to barely cover the potatoes- I usually end up using about 20 oz. or more. Oh, and pacific organic chicken broth is sold at Costco for a steal of a deal).
4 medium-sized baking potatoes, cut into ½ inch cubes (I only use 2 of the huge mutant Costco ones)
1 teaspoon basil
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon garlic salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon white pepper
1 cup half and half

Optional garnishes:
Green onions or chives
Cheddar cheese
Bacon bits

1) Melt butter over medium heat in a 2-quart saucepan
2) Add onion and saute for 1-2 minutes
3) Sprinkle flour over onions and saute for 5 minutes
4) Pour chicken broth in and stir (I usually add a cup or so at this point just to “deglaze” the pan and wait until I add the potatoes to pour in the rest).
5) Add potatoes and spices
6) Bring mixture to a boil, then simmer on low for 20-40 minutes, stirring occasionally. (The recipe says to cook the mixture for 20 minutes, but I’ve found that I like to let the potatoes cook until they are practically falling apart and their starchiness has thickened the broth up quite a bit. I usually take a potato masher and smash a few of them up in the pot when they’ve finished cooking to make the soup even more thick. So, if you’d like the soup to be more of a liquid base with distinct potato chunks, cook it for the 20 minutes. Otherwise, let it cook longer).
7) Stir in half and half. Heat through.
8) Garnish with what is listed above, or any other baked potato toppings you like.

I like to serve this with a simple green salad and some crusty bread or rolls (if you can handle the starch overload that is).

Molten Chocolate Babycakes (Re-Post)

2009-10-07T08:48:00.000-07:00

This is a recipe I randomly posted to my regular blog, but I thought I would put it over here as well, since I like to think of this blog as an online recipe file of sorts.

This recipe comes from the cookbook How to be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking by Nigella Lawson, and, as the name implies, produces individually portioned chocolate cakes that are runny in the middle. Ice cream on the side is an absolute necessity.

Molten Chocolate Babycakes

scant 1/4 cup soft unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
12 ounces best bittersweet chocolate (I stock up when ghirardelli is on sale)
1/2 cup sugar
4 large eggs, beaten with a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
6 individual 6-ounce custard cups
baking parchment

1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Put in a baking sheet at the same time.
2) Lay 3 of the custard cups on a sheet of doubled baking parchment. Trace around them, then cut out the discs as marked and press into the base of the greased cups.
3) Melt the chocolate and let it cool slightly.
4) Cream together the butter and sugar, then gradually beat in the eggs and salt, then the vanilla.
5) Add the flour, and when it is all blended add the melted chocolate and blend to a smooth batter.
6) Divide the batter among the 6 cups and place them on the baking sheet in the oven.
7) Bake for 10-12 minutes (12 minutes if you make the batter up ahead of time and refrigerate it in the cups).
8) Tip each babycake out onto a small plate or shallow bowl. Add a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. Serve immediately.

Note: You can make this batter up ahead of time and refrigerate it in the custard cups. I have even made them up a day or so in advance and they came out just fine. Also, if you don’t need to make all six, the recipe works just fine when halved.

Chocolate Icebox Cake

2009-10-05T14:08:00.001-07:00

Last fall for my little sister’s birthday I baked a decadent flourless chocolate hazelnut cake. In order to make it I had to peel and grind fresh hazelnuts, dirty every mixing bowl I own, and resist the urge to scarf down the jar of nutella the recipe called for. In short, it was a royal pain in the butt.

I also had a few late-autumn apples going bad in my fridge that day, so I decided to throw together an apple pie for some variety. And, sure enough, the time-consuming labor of love chocolate cake was largely ignored by my family, who instead devoured the apple pie like it was their last meal on earth.

I like to pride myself on learning from my mistakes, so when I was asked to make dessert for my dad’s birthday luncheon on Sunday I kept it simple and made apple pie the star of the show. Only I have never been one to resist the urge to experiment, so I also took this as an opportunity to make a scaled-down version of the Chocolate Icebox Cake found on the Smitten Kitchen site.

Guess which one my family went nuts for? Yep, once again the “afterthought” recipe stole the show. Only this time around I was not bitter, since I was also overjoyed at discovering such an easy recipe. This cake requires no baking, and would therefore be perfect for those hot summer days when you want a decadent dessert but the thought of turning on the oven sounds about as appealing as climbing into a hot tub.

When I was making this recipe, I really wasn’t sure what the final outcome was going to be. I could tell what both the wafers and whipped cream tasted like individually, but didn’t know what a night together in the fridge would do for them. The result was better than I had even imagined. The cream softened up the wafers quite nicely and made them almost cakelike, with barely-there layers of sweet cold cream in the middle. It was like eating a classed-up version of an oreo; not distinctly chocolatey or overly sweet, but downright delicious.

Here is the recipe (I halved the ingredients when I made it, and used the method described below to create six layers instead of eleven).

Chocolate Icebox Cake:

3 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 (9-ounce) packages Nabisco chocolate wafer cookies
Unsweetened cocoa (or chocolate shavings)

1) In a large bowl, beat cream, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form.
2) On a flat serving plate, arrange 7 cookies side by side in a circle, keeping 1 cookie in the center.
3) Spread with 1/2 cup whipped cream, making a 7-inch circle. Repeat with remaining cookies and cream, making 11 layers of cookies and ending with a layer of cream (there will be a few cookies left over). Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

To serve, dust top lightly with cocoa powder or chocolate shavings.

(Image courtesy of Smitten Kitchen).