The Futile Gourmet

A Rolling Scone Gathers No Mess

2012-02-11T18:23:00.004-05:00

This is kind of a scone mega post. Kind of. I'm rewarding my callers with brunch, and having 25 on a shift means this weekend is going be filled with cooking. And we all know I love brunch. I won't bore you with the 4 quiches I'm making (two spinach, sausage and potato, and lorraine), but I do want to post about the scones.

I've only ever made one scone recipe before, but they turned out so well that I'm going to alter that cranberry orange scone recipe in order to make blueberry lemon scones. It's changed somewhat. I added more butter and a little more cream. These scones are therefore richer, but the dough is also easier to handle. Additionally, I found a great recipe for maple pecan scones over at Kitchen Misfit that I just have to try. After all, if I ever want to own a bakery or anything of the sort when I retire, I had better starting mastering these classics. I'll start with an updated version of my cranberry orange scones.

Cranberry Orange Scones
yield: about 8 scones

2/3 cup heavy cream
1 large egg
1 tbsp orange zest
1/4 cup sugar

8 tbsp butter, chilled and cut into tiny bits
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1-2 tbsp orange juice
3/4 cup confectioner's sugar

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk the cream, egg, orange zest, and sugar together in a small bowl until well combined.

In another bowl, stir together the bread flour, salt, and baking powder. Blend in the butter with your finger tips or a pastry blender just until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

Stir the cranberries and the cream mixture into the flour mixture with a fork until it forms a sticky, but hopefully manageable, dough.

Knead the dough gently for 30 seconds just so it comes together. Shape the dough into a long rectangle and cut the scones into 8 triangles using a sharp knife. This is much easier than using a biscuit cutter and having to reshape the dough. Transfer the scones to the prepared baking sheet.

Bake the scones for about 15 - 18 minutes or until golden brown. Let them cool on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. In a small bowl, whisk together the orange juice and confectioner's sugar to make a glaze. Drizzle the icing over the scones. These scones are not too sweet, but the icing adds a little punch of sugar and orange flavor.

Blueberry Lemon Scones
yield: about 8 scones

2/3 cup heavy cream
1 large egg
zest of one lemon
1/4 cup sugar

8 tbsp butter, chilled and cut into tiny bits
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup frozen wild blueberries

extra cream and raw sugar to finish off the scones

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk the cream, egg, lemon zest, and sugar together in a small bowl until well combined.

In another bowl, stir together the bread flour, salt, and baking powder. Blend in the butter with your finger tips or a pastry blender just until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

Stir the blueberries into the flour first, followed by the cream mixture. Use a fork until it forms a sticky dough. Be careful not to break up the blueberries too much.

Knead the dough gently for 30 seconds just so it comes together. Shape the dough into a long rectangle and cut the scones into 8 triangles using a sharp knife. Transfer the scones to the prepared baking sheet. Brush the scones all over with cream and sprinkle with the raw sugar.

Bake the scones for about 15 - 18 minutes or until golden brown. Let them cool on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. All in all, this is a wonderful variation on the cranberry orange recipe!

Maple Pecan Scones
yield: 16 scones but this recipe can be halved

3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup chopped pecans

3 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp + 1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 sticks (20 tbsp) butter, cold and cubed

1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spread the oats and pecans out on a baking sheet. Toast in preheated oven for 10 - 12 minutes, stirring halfway through. They should be fragrant and toasty when finished. Let cool.

Raise oven temperature to 425 degrees. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until a coarse meal forms. Of course, a food processor makes this whole process much easier, but I digress. Add in the cooled oats and pecans.

In a separate bowl, whisk the milk, cream, maple syrup, and eggs until combined. Fold the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients until a cohesive dough forms. Divide the dough in half. Transfer each half to a lightly floured surface and pat into 7" circles. Cut each circle into 8 wedges and place the wedges on a parchment-line baking sheet. Bake at 425 for 16 - 20 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. If you wish, make a glaze using about 3 tbsp maple syrup and 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar to drizzle over the cooled scones.

Lemon Cupcakes!

2012-02-03T09:39:00.009-05:00

Sunday is the birthday of one of my student supervisors at work. She requested lemon cupcakes with cherry buttercream frosting, so I can only oblige her. However, I love blueberries and lemon as well. So I'm going to use the same lemon cupcake and top one dozen with cherry buttercream. With the second dozen, I'm going to fill them with lemon curd and top them with a wild blueberry buttercream. Naturally, fresh fruit is always the best, but since these fruits are getting pulverized by the mixer, I'm going to use frozen wild blueberries (I was lucky enough to find some delicious fresh cherries at the local Fresh Market). I think the best way to incorporate the blueberries will require that I let them thaw and drain since I want to to avoid adding excess liquid to my frosting.

Incidentally, about a year ago, I made some amazing lime cupcakes filled with lime curd and topped with lime frosting, but I never posted the recipe. The original recipe for Key Lime Cupcakes is found over at Bon Appetit. I have to say I preferred regular limes. Key limes have a lemony quality that I'm not fond of. Either way, I'm using a modified version of that recipe for my lemon cupcakes.

Luscious Lemon Cupcakes
yield: 24 - 28 cupcakes

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/2 cups sugar

4 large eggs
5 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp finely grated lemon zest (about 3-4 lemons worth)

2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 if you're using a dark pan). Line two 12-cup muffin pans with cupcake liners.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes on medium speed. Add the eggs, one at a time, followed by the lemon juice and lemon zest. The mixture may look curdled; don't worry.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours. Add the flour in three additions alternately with the buttermilk in two additions. Using a scant 1/3 cup batter, pour into lined muffin tins. I had enough batter for about 28, though I was very careful not to overfill because that seems to be a problem with me. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes.

Cherry Buttercream Frosting
yield: enough frosting for 1 dozen cupcakes

This recipe, and I think the whole idea my friend had for these cupcakes, comes from une Gamine dans la Cuisine. Those are some beautiful pictures!

1 cup of unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 tsp salt

3 to 4 cups of confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
zest of 1 lemon

1/2 cup fresh cherries, finely chopped

Make sure to avoid adding too much of the cherry juice to the frosting. It can break down the buttercream.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and salt until light and fluffy. Gradually add 3 cups of the confectioner's sugar. After the sugar, add the vanilla, lemon zest, and cherries. If the frosting is a little loose because of the cherry juice, add more of the confectioner's sugar gradually until it's of spreading consistency.

Blueberry Buttercream Frosting

1 cup unsalted butter
1/4 tsp salt

3 to 4 cups confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
zest of 1 lemon

1/2 cup thawed, drained, wild blueberries

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and salt until fluffy. Gradually add 3 cups of the confectioner's sugar. After the sugar, add the vanilla, lemon zest, and blueberries. The blueberries don't need to be chopped because the mixer will pulverize them enough. If the frosting is loose, add more confectioner's sugar.

Lemon Curd
yield: about 3/4 cup lemon curd

2 lemons, zested
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
pinch of salt

3 large egg yolks
1/4 cup lemon juice

4 tbsp butter, sliced into 4 pieces

Combine zest, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan. Whisk to combine. Add egg yolks and whisk until pale yellow. Whisk in juice and set pan over low - medium heat. Stir with a wooden spoon until thick. Usually, this takes 10 minutes of cooking over a medium low flame. Strain through a mesh sieve into a bowl. Add butter, one piece at a time and stir until combined before adding another piece. Cool. Cover and chill. This makes about 3/4 cup lemon curd (and can be used to make lime curd as well). This can be made up to 5 days in advance.

Notes on Assembly

For the cupcakes, both frosting recipes made plenty for the dozen cupcakes they needed to frost. So I may dial those recipes back in the future. I only used the lemon curd filling in the blueberry cupcakes to give them a real lemony bite. Otherwise, I simply used a rosette tip to pipe the frosting on top! Wonderful!

Earl Grey Cupcakes with Lemon Frosting

2012-01-26T10:29:00.011-05:00

Many of the recipes I researched seemed very similar: 1/2 cup butter, 1 cup sugar, 1 1/2 cups flour, etc. The method for getting the tea in the cupcakes did change. Some used tea steeped in milk. Others used teabags. Some even used the tea from the tea bags rather than loose-leaf tea. The starkest contrast between the cake recipes came in the form of leavening. 3 recipes using the same proportions of other ingredients used wildly different amounts of baking powder: one used 2 tablespoons (!), another used 1 1/2 teaspoons (and explained that the cupcakes fell), and a third used 2 1/4 teaspoons.

It's needless to say, but this made me want to find my own way. An Earl Grey cupcake is nothing more than a delicious yellow cake infused with tea. Therefore, to start, I needed a delicious yellow cake. I can't think of any better that Hershey's Golden Cake (found in my mother's vintage Hershey's cookbook and, apparently, nowhere online). I used the same recipe in the same amounts and made roughly two dozen cupcakes rather than three 9-inch layer cakes, and I added the earl grey tea. So for simple, golden cupcakes, use the cold milk, unadulterated by tea.

Thankfully, the recipes for the lemon frosting were much more consistent, so I'm using one found over at Honey and Jam.

Earl Grey Golden Cupcakes
yield: 24 cupcakes, at least

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup powdered sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract
5 eggs, separated

2 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 cup milk
8 earl grey tea bags

First, we'll start with the tea. In a small saucepan heat the milk to just below a boil. In a bowl, empty 3 of the tea bags into the bottom and add the remaining 5 bags, unopened. Pour the hot milk over the tea leaves and tea bags, and let it set until cool. Refrigerate until cold. You can do this the night before. This process ensures a strong tea flavor along with ensuring that the batter will be flecked with bits of tea leaves.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 if you're like me and your cupcake tins are rather dark). Line two 12-cup cupcake pans with liners.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the egg whites until medium-stiff peaks form. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter, shortening, sugar, and powdered sugar. Cream on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and egg yolks, one at a time until incorporated. Be careful not to over-mix. Add the flour in three additions and cooled milk in two, beginning and ending with flour. Fold in the whipped egg whites in 3 additions, being careful not to deflate them and mixing in the first addition to lighten the batter.

Fill cupcake tins no more 2/3 full and bake for 20 - 24 minutes at 325 (around 18 - 20 at 350), or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. I slightly overfilled my cupcake tin and came out with 24. Had I been a little more frugal with the batter, I probably could have gotten 26 out of this recipe. Frost with lemon frosting recipe that follows.

Lemon Frosting

1 cup butter, softened
3 - 4 cups powdered sugar
zest of 3 medium-sized lemons
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Gradually incorporate 3 cups of confectioner's sugar, one cup at a time until fully incorporated. Next, mix in the zest and lemon juice. If the frosting is a little too loose, incorporate more confectioner's sugar until it's of spreading consistency. This frosting is magic. Overall, everyone at work loved the cupcakes, but I need to find a better way to get more tea flavor into them...

Coconut Cupcakes

2012-01-13T10:10:00.002-05:00

It's been about a month and, truthfully, I've done quite a bit of baking in the interim. However, as it usually happens around Christmas, I relied pretty heavily on tried and true recipes. There is a lemon cookie recipe I need to post about on here, but otherwise I stuck to my usual gamut with the addition of the very successful Thin-Mint Cupcakes. Since Christmas, I've been on a baking embargo because of the ridiculous amount of sweets I consumed! It's about to be my best friend's birthday, though, and she requested coconut cake. How could I turn her down? These cupcakes were a hit, and I definitely plan on making them again.

This recipe is adapted from Ina Garten's Coconut Cake. Her recipe is delicious, but I wanted cupcakes that were more intensely flavored with coconut. To that end, I substituted coconut milk where her recipe called for milk in the cake batter. Additionally, I made a coconut pastry cream to be used as an optional filling for the cupcakes. In hindsight, I'm not sure that the coconut milk really made a difference in the flavor. I should know better than to question her expertise. However, the filling is to die for. I highly recommend using it.

Coconut Cupcakes
yield: about 16 cupcakes

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cups sugar

3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp pure almond extract

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pans
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt

2/3 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2, 12-cup cupcake tins with paper liners.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until light yellow and fluffy. Crack the eggs into a small bowl. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl once during mixing. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well. The mixture might look curdled; don't be concerned.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the dry ingredients and the milk to the batter in 3 parts, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Fold in the 4 ounces of coconut with a rubber spatula.

Pour the batter evenly into the cupcake tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Coconut Frosting

12oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon pure almond extract

3 cups confectioners' sugar

6 ounces sweetened shredded coconut

For the frosting, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and almond extract on low speed. Add the confectioners' sugar and mix until just smooth (don't whip!).

Frost cupcakes. There's no need to get too fancy with the frosting; simply press the coconut into the frosting to adhere. I topped mine with "luster pearls," a decorating splurge from Williams Sonoma.

Optional Boss Battle: Cocount Pastry Cream Filling

1/2 cup half & half
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup sugar, divided
1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
pinch of salt
3 large egg yolks

2 tbsp butter

In a medium saucepan, bring the half & half, coconut milk, vanilla, and 3 tbsp of sugar to a simmer over medium high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining sugar, cornstarch, salt, and egg yolks until smooth. Temper the egg yolks by gradually whisking in about 1/2 cup of the hot half & half mixture. Pour the tempered egg mixture back into the saucepan, reduce the heat to medium, and whisk constantly for about 30 seconds to a minute. The mixture will thicken very quickly.

Remove the pastry cream from the heat and whisk in the butter. Pour into a bowl and let cool. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold. Use as a filling in the coconut cupcakes by removing the center of a cupcake and piping in the pastry cream. Frost and top with coconut (and sugar pearls if you want to get fancy).

My Ideal Fruitcake

2011-12-13T11:06:00.009-05:00

I love fruitcake, when it's done well. But frankly, I'm not a fan of loads of spices and candied things in my fruitcake, or any at all for that matter. Between the alcohol, the dried fruit, and the citrus zest, fruitcakes have a lot going on in the flavor department without the addition of cloying spices like cinnamon, allspice, and cloves.

So when I decided to consult some recipes and develop my own fruitcake, I wanted to leave out the spices and accent the fruit angle. With that said, you won't find candied cherries or candied peel in this recipe. You may as well use Skittles and Starbursts if you go that route. What you will find is over 2lbs of fruit, bourbon, and lemon and orange zest. You will find a moist cake with a complex, fruity flavor. You will find my ideal fruitcake.

Fruitcake
yield: one bad ass fruitcake

6 oz calimyrna figs (about 8)
4 - 5 oz dates
8 oz apricots
6 oz currants
8oz raisins

1 cup good bourbon (I prefer Knob Creek or Woodford Reserve, but Maker's can work in a pinch)

Note: Don't go insane about the amounts. Eyeball it. 6 oz of figs is one package. Raisins come in 12oz boxes so use roughly 2/3 of the box.

First thing's first: chop the figs, dates, and apricots so that they're roughly the same size and a little bit larger than the raisins. Pour the bourbon over and stir the fruit so that it's all coated. Let this mixture macerate in the refrigerator overnight or longer if you can. Let the fruit come back to life a little bit. A quick zap in the microwave (5 minutes, stirring every minute or so) can speed this process up as well.

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tbsp vanilla
zest of 2 medium lemons
zest of 2 medium to large oranges
4 eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup almond flour (finely ground almonds)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease and flour a 9-inch bundt cake pan. Sift together the flours, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside. Bring out the macerating fruit. I let mine go for about 24 hours and there wasn't enough liquid to worry about draining off.

In the bowl of a mixer, cream the butter and sugar for 3 minutes on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add in the vanilla and the zests. Beat the eggs in one at a time until fully incorporated. Gradually add in the dry ingredients mixing until just combined. Fold in the fruit. Pour into bundt pan, smoothing the top. The cake pan will be quite full. Bake at 325 degrees for about 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 - 20 minutes.

Using toothpicks or skewers, poke holes in the cake, and brush the bottom with extra bourbon. Let it sit until the bourbon is absorbed. Invert onto a plate or cake carrier. Brush with more bourbon now that the cake is right-side up. Wrap in a bourbon-soaked cheesecloth, then in plastic wrap. Store in an airtight container adding bourbon to keep the cheesecloth moist as needed. Let it sit for two days at least.

Pumpkin Cupcakes Revisited

2011-11-22T09:44:00.004-05:00

I'm truncating two posts that have combined to make one amazing Pumpkin Cupcake. This time, trial and error more than paid off!

I don't mean to be getting all "Cooks Illustrated" on everything, but when I don't have a base recipe to start from, I tend to go to Taste Spotting in order to research other recipes that people have used. I judge based on looks, and then compare a few recipes.

Pumpkin cupcake recipes were all over the place, though. Some yielded around 14 and contained 2 cups of pumpkin, but another one yielded 24 yet only contained 3/4 cup pumpkin! Spices were actually pretty consistent throughout (1/2 - 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, and 1/8 tsp cloves were used pretty regularly).

Flour was fairly consistent with all-purpose. One used cake flour, but I'm not exactly sure why. Sugar was... interesting. It seems like the caramel notes of brown sugar would work well with the pumpkin, but only a couple recipes contained any at all. So, with all of that in mind, here's what I want out of a Pumpkin cupcake, and here's what that led to:

Caramel goodness = brown sugar
Toasty warmth = browned butter
Tenderness = buttermilk
Pumpkin like woah = 2 cups pumpkin puree

And here is what I've cobbled together from a few websites (more than one of which cited Martha Stewart's recipes as starting points). Additionally, I've truncated a later post containing my favorite buttercream frosting paired with these cupcakes: brown sugar-cinnamon. It's a perfect combination!

Pumpkin Cupcakes
Yield: 20 - 24 cupcakes

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves

Whisk dry ingredients together. Set aside.

1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 cups pumpkin puree

pumpkin butter (store bought or homemade)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners.

Place butter in a pan over medium-high heat. Swirl until fragrant and milk solids are beginning to brown. Remove from heat (browning may continue). Transfer to bowl of stand mixer and let cool.

Add sugars to browned butter and cream until wet, sandy mixture forms. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add in vanilla. Mix in the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk (3:2 ratio). Finally, mix in the pumpkin, just until combined.

Scoop batter into muffin tins, filling 2/3 full. Bake for 20-22 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes until turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Cinnamon Brown Sugar Buttercream Frosting
Yield: Enough frosting for about 2 dozen cupcakes

1 cup of butter, softened
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
4 cups confectioner's sugar, divided
3 tbsp half and half, divided

Cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the cinnamon and vanilla. Add two cups of the confectioner's sugar and beat until smooth. Add in about 2 tbsp of the half and half. Add in the remaining confectioner's sugar until spreading consistency. Add half and half if needed to make it more spreadable.

Thin-Mint Cupcakes

2011-11-06T08:25:00.003-05:00

Thin Mint Cupcakes. The idea came to me via an episode of "Unique Sweets." Now, that's a food show I love: no recipes given, just a bunch of foodies drooling over amazing desserts.

These guys are a little involved, but they're more than worth it. It starts with a cookie crust, followed by a moist chocolate cake, a mint buttercream filling, and it's all topped off with a smooth, creamy chocolate ganache. Thin Mint Cupcakes: Win.

Thin Mint Cupcakes
yield: 24 cupcakes

Chocolate Cookie Crust
Found originally at food.com

40 Nabisco Chocolate Wafer cookies (about 1 box)
6 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin tins with cupcake liners.

Crush the cookies by grinding in a food processor. Otherwise, use your hands and the bottom of a heavy, plastic cup of some kind. They don't have to be uniformly crushed; the butter will soften slightly larger crumbs.

Add the melted butter, vanilla, and salt. Stir until all of the crumbs are moist. Press into the bottoms of the cupcake liners. Bake for about 6 minutes. Watch them closely; you do not want them to burn. Let cool for about 20 minutes in pans on racks.

Chocolate Cake
I'm using a slightly modified Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake recipe

2 cups granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cups cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup hot coffee

Combine dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir to combine thoroughly. Add in eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Mix for 2 minutes at medium speed. Stir in coffee. Batter will be thin. Pour on top of cooled crusts in cupcake tins, filling about 2/3 full. This recipe makes enough batter for about 30 cupcakes, so there will be some left over.

Bake for 22 - 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes on wire racks before removing from pans and allowing to cool completely.

Peppermint Buttercream
I'm using a modified version originally found on Pink Parsely's blog

12 tbsp (1 and a half sticks) of butter, softened
3 cups confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
about 4 drops green food coloring
3 tbsp heavy cream

Cream the butter in a stand mixer until pale and fluffy. Add the confectioner's sugar gradually, beating after each addition. Add the vanilla, peppermint, cream, and food coloring, and beat until light and fluffy.

Fill pastry bag fitted with a wide or rosette tip with peppermint butter cream. Be bold. Plunge the tip into the center of the cupcake until it hits the crust and fill each cupcake with pastry cream. The cupcake will likely bulge and buckle. If some frosting comes out on top, simply spread it around or smooth it over. This makes the perfect amount of frosting to fill each cupcake, so don't go crazy.

Chocolate Ganache
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
4 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 tsp vanilla

Place chopped chocolate in a bowl. Heat the cream until bubbles form around the edges of the sauce pan. Pour over chopped chocolate. Add vanilla and let it sit for a couple minutes. Stir it slowly, allowing the chocolate and the cream to mix. Once the mixture is smooth and uniform, dip the cupcakes and place on a cooling rack.

This is one of those recipes of which I'm enormously proud. Other than the extra cupcakes that the batter makes, the only thing I would change is a slightly thicker layer of chocolate on top. Otherwise, these are Thin-Mint cookies in Cupcake form. Enjoy!

Apple Pie (the drink) and Cookie Mega Post

2011-10-15T15:26:00.001-04:00

A couple months ago, I started at my new job as the Phonathon Coordinator at the University of Kentucky, and I'm loving it! I get to interact with students on a regular basis, but I also go to meetings and use my writing skillz. Basically, it's the best of all possible jobs, combining the positive aspects of all my previous work experience. And I work with my best friend, so there's that, too. Basically, my work life is AMAZING right now.

I wanted to start by establishing my work because I made a wager with my callers this past Wednesday. For every $1000 they made Wednesday night, I'll make a dozen cookies for them on Sunday. Fast forward to today, and I've got 9 dozen cookies to make. Additionally, I wanted to make some Apple Pie, a delightful alcoholic drink (and I wanted to have the recipe posted for easy reference later on... and I will be making more later haha).

So let's start there.

Apple Pie
yield: 2-750ml bottles

6 cups Apple Cider (not juice, roughly half a gallon)
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
10 cinnamon sticks
1 vanilla bean, if you're feeling fancy

1 cup pure grain alcohol

Combine the first ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil over medium to medium-high heat. Cool completely and strain over a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth. Add alcohol. Keep cold (though it's good both warm and cold). Enjoy!

Next up, I wanted to modify my oatmeal cookie variation to the Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. This comes from comparing the Chocolate Chip cookie recipe with a traditional Oatmeal Raisin Cookie recipe. I've posted a similar recipe before, but these turned out perfect!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Variation
yield: about 3 dozen

1 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1 egg + 1 egg yolk
1 tbsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups bread flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

3 cups oats
1 heaping cup raisins

Sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. Cover the raisins in hot water and let them get a little less dry and sugary (this is an extra step that can be omitted; I just dislike the candy-like quality some raisins have).

In a stand mixer, combine the melted butter and the dark brown sugar thoroughly. Add egg, yolk, and vanilla; mix just until combined. Add dry ingredients and mix until incorporated. Stir in the oats followed by the raisins (drained). Chill batter thoroughly. I like to chill it for 3 hours at least, but it can be chilled overnight.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. I recommend scooping the batter into ridiculously large cookies because that's the way oatmeal raisin cookies should be: unabashedly large. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes. They should be soft, chewy, and delicious. In fact, these guys get chewier a while after being out of the oven (and they'll be chewy for days).

Additionally, I wanted to make something like Whoopie Pies. It turns out, though, that I hate Whoopie Pies. Instead, I'm going to make a chocolate sandwich cookie filled with what will hopefully be a fluffy, delicious, rich vanilla buttercream.

Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
yield: about 3 dozen sandwiches

3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tbsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1 cup butter, softened
1 3/4 cup granulate sugar
1/3 cup corn syrup
1 egg + 1 yolk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

extra sugar

Stir dry ingredients in a bowl to combine. In the bowl of a mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in corn syrup, egg, yolk, and vanilla, scraping down the side of the bowl. Gradually add the flour mixture. Beat on low speed until combined, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Cover and refrigerate the dough until firm enough to roll into balls (at least 1 minutes).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place sugar in a shallow dish. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in sugar to coat. Place cookies 3-inches apart on cookie sheet and bake for 9-10 minutes or until set. Cool slightly. Remove to wire rack to cool completely.

Creamy Filling

1/4 cup butter, softened
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tbsp cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix butter and sugar on low until incorporated (it won't be smooth). Add cream and vanilla, beating until spreading consistency. Add more cream as necessary. Spread on bottom of one cookie. Top with another cookie. Enjoy!

I can't believe I haven't posted this next recipe before! The recipe comes from Cooks Illustrated, and I've made it at least 3 times at this point (in less than a year). These are both incredibly tasty, and they look amazing as well!

Brown Sugar Cookies
yield: 2 dozen large cookies

14 tbsp butter, divided
1 3/4 cups dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt

1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
1 tbsp vanilla

2 cups plus 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup granulate sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt and brown 10 tbsp of the butter on the stove. In the mean time, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Additionally, in a small bowl, combine the 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1/4 cup dark brown sugar. This will be used to coat the cookies before baking.

In the bowl of a mixer, place the remaining 4 tbsp of butter. Pour the browned butter into the mixer, allowing it to melt the 4 tbsp of butter. Allow this to cool.

Add 1 3/4 cup dark brown sugar and salt to mixer and beat until there are no sugar lumps (about 30 seconds). Add egg, yolk, and vanilla, mixing until fully incorporated. Add flour, all at once, and mix for about a minute until fully incorporated. Give the dough a final stir with a spatula and score it in half.

Roll half of the dough into balls. According to the original recipe, you should get a dozen cookies from half the dough. However, my cookies might be a bit smaller since I got about 14 or 15 from each half. Either way, roll the dough balls in the sugar mixture and place on a baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Avoid over-baking (the dough will look raw in between the cracks of the cookie). When in doubt, err on the side of under-baking the cookies. Finished! These cookies require an extra step here or there, but the pay off is big: dark brown sugary flavor, nuttiness from the browned butter, and a beautiful crackly surface.

I have a confession to make. I definitely made a bet with the callers, but I'd be lying if I weren't so excited about baking all weekend long. And I never bake cookies, so this way it's all out of my system. Considering the next few weekends (with moving and visiting friends in other states) I probably won't have much time for baking for a couple weeks.

Recent notes...

2011-10-08T15:30:00.002-04:00

I was thinking that, getting into fall, I'd be wanting to make cookies soon. I don't know why, but fall just means cookies for me. I wanted to review this delicious recipe for brown sugar cookies. I could have sworn I had posted it before, but then I got into reading older blog entries unable to find the brown sugar cookies.

Blogs, tumblogs, livejournals, and, let's face it, Friendster pages, are definitely self-centered ventures. I've always said that I have mine for my own purposes; it's nice to catalogue my mistakes and happy accidents in baking and cooking (but mostly baking). I'm really happy with so much that I've put in here in terms of recipes. I've even forgotten some of the recipes I've posted! Basically, the whole experience made me want to write more regularly, even if I can't keep up with recipes for one reason or another.

Last week, for example, I made these AMAZING cream puffs. I saw the idea on "Unique Sweets" and had to try it. Basically, you just pipe pate choux pastry in the center of a square of puff pastry. Fold in the corners of the puff pastry and crease. It can be a little messy, but the magic happens in the oven: first the puff pastry goes to work expanding, and just as it finishes, the cream puff pastry starts expanding inside the puff pastry. You're left with this amazing, flaky, buttery pastry with a cavern in the middle. It's perfect filled with pastry cream and dusted with confectioner's sugar. It's rich and decadent, yes, but it's also airy and light. This definitely falls in the "happy accident" category and deserves a post of its own.

This weekend, I am making brunch for the students at the Phonathon. I've got fifteen students in the Sunday afternoon shift that starts at 1. What could be better than a brunch? So I'm going back to my standard quiche and cinnamon roll recipes. I'm adding a fruit salad to round out the meal. That's why there's nothing new this week: three quiche and a batch of cinnamon rolls certainly are a bit of work!

Next week, I'm not sure what to make. I do have some canned pumpkin still. Those brown sugar cookies could be nice as well if I can fin the original recipe. Oh, and I still want to try these "thin mint cupcakes" I saw on "Unique Sweets." Obviously, my creativity has to come from somewhere haha.

Daniel

Salted Caramel Brownies

2011-07-25T18:20:00.007-04:00

I recently failed at making brownies. I tried to make them healthier. I failed. Then I figured, "why on Earth should I try to make brownies healthy?!" Brownies are one sweet that are at their best when chock full of butter, sugar, chocolate, and (in this case) salted caramel sauce.

This recipe comes from a friend of a friend. I only modified* it because I do not have a 13x9 inch pan. This recipe works great for either an 8x8 or a 9x9.

Salted Caramel Brownies

Salted Caramel Sauce

1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp water

1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp sea salt (fluer de sel)
2 tbsp sour cream

Bring the sugar and water to a boil. Boil for about 6-8 minutes until an even, deep amber color. Caramel goes from brown to black in a hot second, so be watchful. Add the cream. It will sputter and seize and be all kinds of angry. Whisk away until everything calms down. Add the salt and whisk. Add the sour cream and whisk until smooth, slightly salty, and slightly tangy. This is the most delicious caramel sauce. Ever.

Brownies

1/2 cup butter, cut into 8 pieces
1 cup ghiradelli dark chocolate chips (roughly half of a bag)

2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp dark cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk

Mise-en-freaking-place

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8x8 or a 9x9 pan. Line the pan with parchment paper, buttering the paper afterwards.

In a large metal bowl over simmering water, melt the butter and chocolate chips together. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and cocoa powder.

Once the butter and chocolate is melted, add in the vanilla and the sugars. Stir until combined and cooled down. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing by hand until incorporated. Be careful not to over mix. Add the flour mixture and fold it in, again being careful to mix only until combined.

The mixture will be rather gloppy. Pour half the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth out the batter. Pour about 3/4 of the caramel over the batter, swirling it into the batter. Add the rest of the brownie batter and do the best you can with it. The caramel will peek out, so stir until you're satisfied. These guys are meant to be messy, but they'll bake up just fine.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes for the 8x8 pan, rotating the pan halfway through. If you use the 9x9 pan, I would reduce the cooking time by at least 5 minutes. As always, check the brownies for doneness sooner rather than later. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out with a few moist crumbs attached.

Top the brownies with the remaining caramel and a sprinkling of extra sea salt. Cool completely before cutting and serving.

*To make the recipe as it was originally double everything. The flour would actually become 1 1/4 cups, though, you would use 5 eggs, and you would want to use the entire bag of the chocolate chips.

Building My Repertoire

2011-07-08T18:31:00.011-04:00

So far, I've made two original cupcakes: the Limey Bastard Cupcakes and the Banana/Brown Butter Cupcakes. This week, I'm adding a S'mores Cupcake to the list.

Now, I'm aware that this is not an uncommon concept in a cupcake. However, I've always been disappointed with the execution. Usually, it's a chocolate cupcake rolled in graham cracker crumbs (or a graham cracker crust for the adventurous) with a marshmallow frosting. The frosting, at least, makes sense to me. A 7-minute or Swiss Meringue frosting is pillowy soft and very much like a marshmallow. That's clearly the best place for the marshmallow component. However, I've always wondered why no one makes a purely graham cupcake. After all, there is graham flour, and graham crackers can easily be crushed into flour.

I found a couple graham cupcake recipes, but they were either inaccessible or used with completely different fillings and toppings. I decided on Vanilla Garlic's Graham Cupcake to start with. I've made some alterations and decided the best filling is, without a doubt, a simple semi-sweet chocolate ganache. Sure, I love bittersweet as much as the next guy, but I only ever make s'mores with semi-sweet chocolate.

S'mores Cupcakes

Graham Cracker Cupcake

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
6 tbsp granulated sugar + 2 tbsp honey
3 eggs

1 cup milk

1 cup flour
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs*
1 tsp baking soda**
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

1-2 graham crackers, crumbled but coarse

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 12-cup muffin tin by lining the cups with cupcake liners.

First, crush the graham crackers until they are fine and powdery (a food processor works wonders here, but they can be crushed by hand as well). Measure out 1 1/2 cup. Sift the graham cracker flour, all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Next, in a stand mixer, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour. Scoop into the prepared cupcake cups. Top batter with crumbled, coarse graham cracker crumbs. Bake at 350 for 18 - 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Because of the graham crackers and the honey, these cupcakes will get a bit darker than you might expect.

*2 packages totaling about 16 rectangular graham crackers will give you enough for the crumbs and the crumbled ones
**Note to self: the original recipe had this, but without any acid in the rest of the recipe, I'm not sure it does anything...

Chocolate Ganache

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp fresh brewed coffee

Heat the cream until it's near a boil. Pour over the chocolate chips and let it sit for a minute or two. Stir or whisk until the chocolate is melted. Stir in the vanilla and coffee. Cool to room temperature and refrigerate until ready to use.

Marshmallow Frosting

3 egg whites
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
pinch of salt
2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine the sugar, egg whites, and cream of tartar in the bowl of a mixer, set over simmering water. Whisk for about 5 minutes until the egg whites are hot. The mixture should loosen up and be fairly white. Place mixer bowl in mixer and beat whites for about 5-7 minutes until stiff, glossy peaks form. Add vanilla and mix again. Use frosting immediately; it begins to harden after it has been exposed to air for a bit. Not harden in a bad way, but the texture definitely changes.

Assembly
Core out the cupcake, fill with the ganache and drop the frosting on top in large, luscious mounds. The frosting is delicious, it's amazing, and it's fat free. Yay frosting!

Building a Better Cupcake

2011-07-02T08:30:00.006-04:00

I got mixed reviews from the lemon cupcakes with the lemon mousse filling and white-chocolate cream cheese frosting (from the post below). The filling and the frosting were great, but the cupcakes missed the mark. So what I just got through doing was modifying the wedding cake recipe for 12 cupcakes. It was actually very easy, and the results are much closer to a cupcake version of the wedding cake than I could have hoped!

Wedding Cake Cupcakes

1 3/4 cups cake flour
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tbsp orange juice concentrate
1 tbsp vanilla

3 egg whites
1/8 tsp cream of tartar

1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar, divided
1/4 cup canola oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup cupcake tin with muffin liners.

Sift the dry ingredients together 3 times.

In a separate bowl combine the buttermilk, oj concentrate, and vanilla.

In a stand mixer whip the egg whites and cream of tartar until medium peaks form. Transfer to another bowl.

In the mixer, cream the butter and 2/3 cup sugar. Add the oil followed by the remaining sugar, making sure to scrape down the bowl a few times as necessary. Add the dry ingredients in three additions alternately with the wet in two additions, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Finally, fold in the egg whites in 3 additions using the first fold to lighten the batter.

Fill cupcake cups about 2/3 full, and bake for 30 - 35 minutes. The cupcakes should be beginning to get golden brown all over, and they should pass the toothpick test.

Fill with the mousse from below, top with the frosting, and enjoy! These work much better chilled than the lemon cupcakes, and the lemon flavor is more subdued.

Lemon-White Chocolate Cupcakes

2011-06-19T13:31:00.011-04:00

These are the cupcake version of the wedding cake I made quite a few posts ago. I've been wanting to make this delicious flavor combination in a way that doesn't require the time and effort of the wedding cake. However, I had to make some concessions. For the cupcakes, I used a simple lemon cupcake recipe, modified from a lime cupcake recipe I've used before. Instead of two fillings like the wedding cake, the cupcakes had one: the lemon-white chocolate mousse. The frosting remained the same delicious, fluffy frosting from the wedding cake, thankfully. The fillings and frostings are still a little labor intensive, but the only extra step (compared to my other cupcake recipes) is that it's necessary to make the lemon curd to use in the mousse. Of course, you could use store bought...

Lemon-White Chocolate Cupcakes

Lemon Curd

2 lemons, zested
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
pinch of salt

3 large egg yolks
1/4 cup lemon juice

4 tbsp butter, sliced into 4 pieces

Combine zest, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan. Whisk to combine. Add egg yolks and whisk until pale yellow. Whisk in juice and set pan over low - medium heat. Stir with a wooden spoon until thick. Usually, this takes 10 minutes of cooking over a medium low flame. Strain through a mesh sieve into a bowl. Add butter, one piece at a time and stir until combined before adding another piece. Cool. Cover and chill. This makes about 3/4 cup lemon curd (and can be used to make lime curd as well). This can be made up to 5 days in advance.

Lemon-White Chocolate Mousse

3/4 cup Lemon Curd
3.5 oz white chocolate
3/4 cup whipped cream

Warm chocolate in the top of a double boiler until melted. Set off water and let cool slightly. In the chilled bowl of an electric mixer, whip the cream until medium peaks form. With the mixer running on low, stream in the white chocolate until incorporated. Make sure not to over mix. Gently fold in the lemon curd in 3 additions. Place in a bowl, cover, and chill. This can be made 2 days ahead.

[Another delicious use of the mousse: piped over blueberries for a nice, decadent dessert. Top it with some whipped cream and it's pure heaven.]

White Chocolate Frosting

3 oz white chocolate

2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup powdered sugar, packed

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature

Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler. Remove from water and cool slightly. In the chilled bowl of your mixer, whip the cream and roughly half of the powdered sugar until medium peaks form. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. In the mixer beat the cream cheese and the remaining powdered sugar until fluffy and combined. Stream in the white chocolate with the mixer running on low speed. Remove bowl from mixer and scrape with a rubber spatula. Fold in whipped cream in 4 additions (using the first addition to lighten the cream cheese mixture). Place in a bowl, cover, and chill. Can be made a day ahead.

Lemon Cupcakes

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp lemon zest

3/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of a mixer cream the butter. Add sugar and mix to blend. Add eggs, one at a time. Then mix in the lemon juice and zest. The batter may look curdled.

Add the flour in 3 additions alternately with the buttermilk in 2 additions (beginning and ending with flour). Spoon roughly 1/3 cup of the batter into each paper liner, and bake for 20 - 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan, and cool completely.

Once cooled, core out the center of each cupcake with a small knife. Pipe in the lemon mousse. The mousse is fairly stiff, and these cupcakes should remain chilled once frosted, so it's okay if some of the mousse mounds up on top of the cupcake. Pipe frosting on the top of the cupcake, sealing in the mousse.

This seems like a lot of work, but it's really not. I tend to spread out my cupcake adventures over the course of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday so that I'm not doing it all at once. Remember to keep these cupcakes refrigerated and enjoy!

∏

2011-06-12T10:41:00.004-04:00

I'm going to post this for future reference. However, this is a flawed recipe. The filling was tasty, but the soy flour added an almost chalky texture that, in the future, I'd like to avoid. Maybe cornstarch will do the trick. I'm apprehensive towards regular flour for the same reason the soy flour didn't work out.

The crust was good, and it worked out very well with the diluted vodka. That was a success. However, blind baking it for only 12 minutes left it soggy after the filling was in it and cooked. I want a crisper, less doughy, crust. In the end, I scooped out the filling into ramekins, topped it with some of the top pie dough, and called it a day. I'd love to come back to this recipe in a week or two.

Quadruple Berry Pie

Start with the pie dough from the last post. Roll out half of the dough and fit into a 9-inch round foil pan. I despise pie plates, so much wasted space. Freeze until firm. Prick all over with a fork, cover in foil, fill with beans or pie weights, and blind bake on 350 for about 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool. In the mean time, make the filling.

1/2 cup soy flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup splenda)
1/4 tsp salt

2 cups blueberries
1 cup blackberries, cut in half or quarters if they're very large
1 cup raspberries
1 cup strawberries, cut to roughly the same size as the other fruit

1 tbsp cherry liqueur or brandy, optional
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp butter

egg wash + sugar

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Toss in the fruit until the mixture is cohesive, but be careful not to stir too vigorously or break up the fruit more than you have to. Sprinkle on the liqueur, lemon juice, and vanilla, and toss again.

Pour filling into cooled pie crust. Dot with butter. Roll out the other half of the pie dough into a circle about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. I had plenty to cover the pie with and scraps left over for decorations (if you swing that way). Make slashes in the top, lattice it, do whatever. I only opted for the, perhaps cliche, Pi symbol in the top of mine. I didn't even scallop the edges. I need practice with pie doughs and pie making.

Brush the top of the dough with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 - 45 minutes until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling away. Remove from the oven and let it cool. Personally, I prefer pie either at room temperature or just barely warm. I think I'll serve this with a dollop of lightly sweetened greek yogurt.

Hmmm... I am debating about this pie. The soy flour definitely flavored the filling. Not in a bad way, mind you, but it's definitely there. I'm not sure what to think. More pies will be coming. Maybe mini pies. Something to take some of the pressure off of the filling...

∏ / 2

2011-06-10T15:39:00.004-04:00

Pi / 2 Part One: The Crust

To clarify those who are not into math, I am making pie. Berry pie. Perhaps quadruple berry pie. We will see...

But first: the crust! I'm using the vodka crust I used for my quiche recipe. Here, it's in double-crust format. As an added bonus, since the filling calls for a little lemon juice, I thought I would add the zest of 1 lemon to the crust. Why shouldn't the crust be flavorful on its own, after all? Additionally, I've found something that actually makes the pie crust easier. Instead of using 1/4 cup each of vodka and water, I am simply going to use 1/2 cup diluted (42 proof) vodka. Brilliant! Clearly, I've diverged from the original Cooks Illustrated recipe.

Foolproof Vodka Pie Crust with Lemon

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
zest from 1 lemon, optional

20 tbsp (2.5 sticks) of butter, sliced into 1/2 - 1 tbsp pieces

1/2 cup diluted vodka, chilled.

Combine the dry ingredients and and whisk together in a large bowl. Place the sliced butter on top of the flour and chill thoroughly (I place it in the freezer for about 15 minutes). Combine with a pastry blender by hand* until the mixture appears similar in shape and size to cottage cheese curds.

Pour the vodka over the mixture and fold with a rubber spatula until the dough comes together. Divide the dough into two, flatten into 4-inch disks and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes and up to 2 days.

*I don't have a food processor, so this is a bit more labor intensive than the original recipe.

Makin' Banana Cupcakes...

2011-06-04T13:05:00.004-04:00

This is kind of a cheat. I'm using a banana muffin recipe from Ina Garten instead of a banana cupcake recipe. I've used the Banana Crunch Muffins before and can attest to how delicious they are. My only modifications are in the butter, flour, and sugar departments. I must say that the originals are definitely worth a shot (though I only ever added the diced banana and walnuts or pecans to them).

Banana Cupcakes with Vanilla Filling and Brown Butter Frosting

The filling and frosting can be made a day ahead, so I'll start with those recipes first.

Vanilla Filling

2 cup half & half
8 tbsp sugar, divided
1 vanilla bean, seeded
pinch of salt

3 tbsp cornstarch
5 egg yolks

4 tbsp butter, sliced into 4 pieces

In a medium saucepan bring the half & half, vanilla bean (the whole bean and the scraped seeds), salt, and 6 tbsp of the sugar to a simmer over medium high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining sugar, cornstarch, and egg yolks until smooth. Temper the egg yolks by gradually whisking in about a cup of the hot half & half mixture. Pour the tempered egg mixture back into the saucepan, reduce the heat to medium and whisk constantly for about 30 second to a minute. The mixture will thicken very quickly.

Remove the pastry cream from the heat and stir in the butter. Pour into a bowl and let cool. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing to the surface to avoid a skin from forming and chill until cold. For those of you that play the home game, this was the original recipe I modified to create the kahlua pastry cream a couple posts ago. It's worth noting that the recipe comes from Cooks Illustrated.

Brown Butter Frosting

This frosting comes in two parts: first, the caramel syrup; second, the actual frosting. It's a bit labor intensive, and I'm sure any other brown butter frosting would be good as well. This frosting, however, is delightfully complex and perfect with the cupcakes.

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water + 1/4 cup boiling water
sea salt to taste

Combine the sugar and the 1/4 cup water in a medium pan over medium high heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves, reduce heat to medium and cook until amber. Add the boiling water to the caramel to halt the caramelization process. Whisk over medium heat for a minute or two more until it's slightly thicker and add the salt (be aware that the caramel can be salty since it's only a component of the frosting; the salt in the caramel will be the only salt in all the frosting). Cool completely.

6 tbsp butter, browned and cooled
2 tbsp caramel syrup
2 cups confectioner's sugar
2 - 3 tbsp half & half

In the bowl of a mixer, combine the browned butter, caramel, and 1 cup of the confectioners sugar until thick paste is formed. Thin paste with 2 tbsp of half & half. Mix until incorporated. Add remaining confectioners sugar and mix until combined. If necessary ass more half & half or confectioner's sugar. Personally, I wound up adding about 2 1/2 cups of sugar and 3 tbsp of the half & half; it was very experimental, but the result was pretty phenomenal (though I'll be the first to admit that this is the style of butter cream that, to me, is too rich and sweet).

Banana Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter, browned and cooled

1 large egg
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp milk
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup ripe mashed banana (about 1 banana)

1 banana, medium diced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of a mixer, sift the first five ingredients together. Add the browned butter and mix until combined. In a separate bowl, whisk the wet ingredients together (all except for the diced banana). Add to the butter-flour mixture and mix until combined. Scrape the bowl and mix again, but don't over mix the batter. Fold in the diced banana.

Divide cupcake batter among 12-cupcake pan. Bake at 350 for 20 - 25 minutes until tops are firm and toothpick, inserted in the center of the cake, comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, remove from pan and finish cooling.

Assembly

Core out the center of a cupcake.

Fill with vanilla pastry cream.

Top with frosting.

Enjoy! I'm happy with how these turned out, but I think I want to do something to the vanilla filling. I'm not sure the flavors integrate as well as they could. I'll be getting some opinions from friends and coworkers in a couple days.

Brunch in Three Parts

2011-05-31T07:07:00.002-04:00

Part three: Quiche her?! But I hardly know her!

I can't believe I've never posted my quiche recipe before. It may not be what most people consider a quiche. Many quiche I've come across have a filling that's more of a puree of ingredients than anything. Mine is a dense, eggy tart and I love it.

The crust is a new experiment, but one that has definitely worked out. I'm using, verbatim, the Cook's Illustrated foolproof pie dough. I can't find a copy online, so I will post it here for my own benefit. Interestingly, it uses vodka (though I had to make a quick whiskey substitution) because the ethanol in the vodka adds moisture, making the crust easy to handle and roll out, while not contributing much water. The result? An easy to handle dough that isn't overly watery or leathery in texture.

Quiche

Cook's Illustrated Single-Crust Foolproof Pie Dough

1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar

6 tbsp cold, unsalted butter
1/4 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into 2 pieces

2 tbsp cold vodka
2 tbsp cold water

Combine 3/4 cup flour, all of the salt, and the sugar in the bowl of a food processor*. Pulse to combine, about 2 1-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until homogenous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 10 seconds; dough will resemble cottage cheese curds with some very small pieces of butter remaining, but there should be no uncoated flour. Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade.

Add remaining 1/2 cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.

Sprinkle vodka and water over dough. WIth rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Flatten dough into 4-inch disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.

Blind bake the crust in a 9-inch pie plate at 350 until golden and set, about 12 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes and make the filling in the meantime.

*I do not have a food processor. I used a pastry blender, kept everything chilled, and worked very quickly. As near as I can tell, the results were nearly identical to those in the recipe from "cottage cheese curds" to an easy-to-handle disk.

Spinach and Parmesan Quiche Filling

6 eggs
1 cup half and half
2 tsp salt
pinch of ground nutmeg

1/2 medium onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 10oz bag, washed spinach

1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, half and half, salt, and nutmeg to blend.

In a skillet over medium heat, saute the onion and garlic until softened. Add the spinach and only saute until it's partially wilted. Some raw leaves are fine; the varying textures are very pleasant in the quiche. Place the spinach mixture in the baked and cooled crust. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese evenly over the filling. Gently pour the custard mixture over the filling, moving the filling around so that it is evenly distributed and completely coated with the custard.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 - 40 minutes until the filling is slightly puffed and golden. Cool 10 minutes before serving.

Brunch in Three Parts

2011-05-29T10:48:00.006-04:00

Part Two: Pancakes

Alton Brown's recipe for pancake mix and instant pancakes creates, perhaps, the most delicious pancakes I have ever made. Why mess with perfection? Alton Brown's Pancakes.

Brunch in Three Parts

2011-05-28T12:37:00.008-04:00

Part One: Coffee Cake

I've found that breakfast pastries, coffee cakes and muffins in particular, hold up well to some healthier alterations. In this recipe, I used my applesauce+greek yogurt combination in place of butter. The resulting texture was less stiff and coarse than most coffee cakes; however, the wheat flour and crumb topping added some pleasant nuttiness. I used Splenda as well to help round out the healthfulness of this breakfast treat. The result? A low-guilt brunch accompaniment or a nice, light afternoon snack to tame that sweet tooth.

Low-Guilt Coffee Cake

Streusel Topping:

1/3 cup Splenda Brown Sugar Blend, packed
1/3 cup Splenda
1 tbsp butter, browned
1 cup sliced almonds, coarsely chopped

Combine the sugars with the browned butter until a wet sand forms. Toss in the almonds and combine. Set aside.

Coffee Cake:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour*
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt

3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup Splenda Brown Sugar Blend
1/4 cup Splenda
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup greek yogurt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter an 8x8 square pan. A 9x9 would work in a pinch, though you may have to reduce the cooking time.

Combine the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

Whisk the buttermilk, sugars, vanilla, eggs, applesauce, and yogurt together until smooth. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients. Using a rubber spatula, fold the liquid into the dry until incorporated. Stir until the batter is smooth and well combined. Fold in about 1/2 of the streusel topping.

Scrape batter into prepared pan and sprinkle the remaining streusel topping evenly over the cake. Bake at 350 degree for 25 - 30 minutes. Cool cake on wire rack for 15 minutes before slicing, serving, and enjoying.

*I used a combination of 1 cup whole wheat flour + 1/2 soy flour and the coffee cake turned out great. I would imagine most combinations of flours (wheat, all-purpose, quinoa, brown rice) would work fairly well in this cake, though you can simply use all-purpose to avoid the fuss.

Addendum: I went ahead and calculated the calories and whatnot. Keep in mind that most of the calories (1/3) and fat (3/4) comes from a good source: almonds. Still, this is a relatively light, low-guilt snack.

Assuming 12 servings per pan:

Fat: 7g
Calories: 185
Sugar: 11g
Protein: 9g

Cupcakes in three parts

2011-05-22T13:30:00.005-04:00

Sunday: Cupcakes and assembly

I developed the filling and frosting recipes on my own with the help of reliable sources like Cooks Illustrated and other blogger's experiments. Ultimately, my frosting turned out lighter and fluffier than most Bailey's frosting recipes I found (many were simply butter, confectioner's sugar, and Bailey's). I will say that the cream cheese subdued the Bailey's flavor a bit, but the flavor is still delightful. I suppose I'll get official results from my coworkers and friends tomorrow.

Rather than try to develop my own cupcake recipe, I decided to use a recipe from a reliable source: Dave Lieberman from the Food Network. Here's a link to his recipe for Chocolate Stout Cupcakes. The only things I changed were halving his recipe and not using his icing.

In general, I found his recipe incredibly easy. It's interesting that he uses a brownie or muffin method to make the cupcakes. For cupcakes (and regular cake) you incorporate dry ingredients into a fat/sugar mixture alternately with a liquid like buttermilk. However, these guys are less labor intensive; you simply incorporate the dry into the wet, fill some muffin tins and bake. Easy as pie. Or cupcakes. Or whatever.

Assembly

I took a small pairing knife and cored out each cupcake. I aim for a hole the size of a nickel and a depth of about halfway into the cupcake.

Then, I used a pastry bag fitted with a narrow tip to fill the cupcakes with the Kahlua pastry cream. *See below for pastry cream and frosting recipes.

Next, I used a wider rose tip on a pastry bag to frost the cupcakes. I started by going around the opening to 'cap' the pastry cream.

The result? Deliciousness. I will say that these cupcakes turned out very well, but the Kahlua pastry cream is definitely gilding the lilly a bit; they would be great with the frosting on its own if you didn't want to go to the trouble.

My apologies for the crappier than usual picture. For the life of my I can't find my digital camera...

Cupcakes in three parts

2011-05-21T15:22:00.002-04:00

Saturday: The frosting

Irish Cream Frosting

1 8oz package of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup of butter, softened

1/4 cup Bailey's Irish Cream Liqueur
2 cups of powdered sugar

Beat the cream cheese and the butter until combined and creamy. Stream in the Bailey's with the mixer running until incorporated. Mix in the powdered sugar until smooth.

Taste. Add a little more Bailey's for flavor or powdered sugar as needed. The frosting will appear a little thin compared to traditional American buttercream or cream cheese frosting, but put it into a bowl and let it chill. It will become a thick, luscious delight.

Cupcakes in three parts

2011-05-21T06:10:00.005-04:00

Friday: The filling

Kahlua Pastry Cream

2 cups half & half
1 tsp instant espresso powder
1 vanilla bean

1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch
pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks

4 tbsp butter
1/3 - 1/2 cup kahlua*

In a medium saucepan bring the half & half, espresso powder, vanilla bean (the whole bean and the scraped seeds), and 6 tbsp of the sugar to a simmer over medium high heat, stirring to dissolve the espresso powder and sugar.

In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining sugar, cornstarch, salt, and egg yolks until smooth. Temper the egg yolks by gradually whisking in about a cup of the hot half & half mixture. Pour the tempered egg mixture back into the saucepan, reduce the heat to medium and whisk constantly for about 30 second to a minute. The mixture will thicken very quickly.

Remove the pastry cream from the heat and whisk in the butter and kahlua. Pour into a bowl and let cool. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing to the surface to avoid a skin from forming and chill until cold. Can be made 3-5 days in advance.

*Two notes:

1.) The kahlua does not cook out. If this is a problem, simply eliminate it from the recipe; you will be left with a delicious mocha pastry cream because of the espresso powder.

2.) By removing the espresso powder and the kahlua, you will have a delicious vanilla pastry cream that is perfect as a filling for pate choux cream puffs or fruit tarts.

My French Obsession

2011-01-10T06:31:00.002-05:00

No, it's not the band Placebo with it's androgynously sexy lead singer. It's Macarons. I've attempted french macarons three times this weekend and each time I've been met with failure. Granted, I've been careless.

For my first attempt, I neglected to let the macarons rest before putting them into the oven; stupidity on my part.

For my second attempt, I adjusted the icing sugar content; again, stupidity on my part.

For my final, and perhaps most successful, attempt I can't quite figure out what went wrong. The macarons turned out quite tasty but they lacked a foot and were cracked on top. However, they didn't look like the examples of overbeaten-batter macarons that I've seen on the internet. I let the batter rest; I made sure to fold in the almond flour and icing sugar quickly but effectively. Basically, I've all but chalked it up to lack of experience making proper macarons. I've found another recipe on a blog that looks quite promising (my first recipe came from Bon Apetit magazine). I know these confections are not beyond my ability to make. That will be my challenge.

At least until I run out of almond flour. I mean, really, how expensive is that stuff?! On a delightful side note, I love being from a rural county in Kentucky. Our local Kroger is like most other Krogers; they have the health food section, but the specialty ingredients never move. I was able to find not only a bag of almond meal, but also a bag of Quinoa flour for 2.50 each on manager's special. Naturally I checked the expiration dates and they were months away; how could I pass it up? But I digress. I'll post later about my macarons.

I will also post about a delightful and tasty, if not messy, vegetable lasagna experience.

Dan

Cinnamon Roll Addendum

2010-12-31T09:44:00.002-05:00

I wanted to post a few changes to my cinnamon roll recipe. My previous recipe made delicious cinnamon rolls; however, I noticed that the dough was not as substantial and the cinnamon rolls fell apart easily. They were also overly sweet. I wanted to post a new recipe containing some changes that time has proven more than acceptable.

Begin these cinnamon rolls a day before you need them.

Cinnamon Rolls Improved

2 packages of active dry yeast
1/2 cup hot water
1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup milk (warmed)
1/2 cup prepared mashed potatoes, chilled

1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

In the bowl of your mixer, pour the hot water over the sugar and yeast. Let this mixture dissolve for about 5 minutes or so. In the meantime, combine the butter and milk in a pan on the stove. Heat until the butter is melted, but avoid overheating. To cool down this mixture, add the cold mashed potatoes.

Once the yeast mixture is ready, strain in the milk mixture to remove any potato lumps that may remain, stirring with a fork to combine well. Add the sugar gradually, still mixing with a fork. Then add the egg and salt. A fork seems to incorporate the egg more easily. Fit the bowl into your mixer with the dough hook attachment and add 2 cups of flour. Let the mixer go until a very wet dough is made and flour is incorporated. Now, add the remaining flour, 1/2 a cup at a time with the mixer running. Personally, I hold back 1/2 cup of flour to incorporate by hand.

Once the dough comes together, pour it out onto a floured surface and knead just until it forms a smooth ball. This should not take terribly long. I use the flour I held back to avoid having too stiff a dough. Let dough rest in an oiled bowl in the refrigerator overnight with wax paper covering it. The dough will proof overnight and will have doubled in size by morning.

Topping

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp cinnamon

Prep two 8 or 9 inch square or round pans by lightly buttering the bottoms and sides of the pans. Foil pans make for easy removal; you can simply cut the pan away from the rolls. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

Like my proofing process, my topping has changed substantially. Begin by rolling the dough out to a 12 x 24 rectangle, but avoid rolling it too thin. Cinnamon rolls should be unapologetically large with thick, cinnamon-and-sugar coated layers. Combine the sugars and cinnamon in a bowl. Spread the softened butter evenly over the dough. Sprinkle over the sugar mixture, pressing to adhere. Roll up the cinnamon roll tightly. Cut into cinnamon rolls about 1 1/2 inches thick. Rather than measurements, I shoot for about 10 - 12 cinnamon rolls.

Place them in the pans. Avoid overcrowding. These rolls need a chance to nearly double in size, but they do need the pan or other cinnamon rolls to grow with as well. 6 - 8 per pan seems to work fairly well. Let these rolls proof for at least an hour. The second rise may take a bit longer since the dough came from the refrigerator. Bake at 350 degrees for about 18 minutes, but check after 15 to be safe. You'll be looking for deep, brown tops and centers that are baked through.

Frosting

2oz cream cheese, softened
1 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup confectioner's sugar

These cinnamon rolls are not nearly as sweet as my past ones. The frosting is delicious, but you decide if it's necessary. Combine all ingredients together until a thick, smooth frosting is formed. Add more sugar or milk to make the frosting thicker or thinner as necessary. Top the warm rolls with the frosting.

I wanted to post these updates in part because my recipe and process has fundamentally changed; recording that change here will allow me to come back to it later. I’d love to experiment with these more, but I don’t get much of a chance. After all, even a successful experiment leaves me with about a dozen cinnamon rolls heh.

In the future, I see a great sourdough bread experiment -also Brown Sugar cookies (and a brown sugar snickerdoodle variant), french macaroons, and chocolate-orange tarts.

Hiatus

2010-11-09T22:46:00.004-05:00

I cooked for what felt like the first time in forever today. Since the move to Dayton and the start of work, I've relied pretty heavily on quick-fix meals and ready to eat dinners, not to mention the occasional pizza.

But it felt really good to actually cook today. I made some cold sesame noodles using carrots and a low-fat sesame sauce for lunch tomorrow. I'd love to post about that later, but I also want to tweak the sauce and my carrot-cooking method. In the mean time, I also made some really amazing chocolate truffles, the first confection of this holiday season.

I'd love to try Ina Garten's rum raisin truffle recipe, but I need to get comfortable with the basic process first. These are some pretty basic truffles that are creamy and amazing. They are at their most awesome when brought to room temperature, and they last in the refrigerator for a couple weeks.

Chocolate Truffles

4 oz Bitter-sweet chocolate
4 oz Semi-sweet chocolate

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp coffee liqueur

Almonds, cocoa nibs, cocoa powder, etc...

Finely chop the chocolates and place in a heatproof metal bowl. Heat the cream until it just boils and strain over the chocolate. Let sit for a couple minutes, then stir. All (or certainly most) of the chocolate should be melted. Let sit and stir occasionally until the resulting ganache is creamy and smooth.

Add the vanilla extract and coffee liqueur to the ganache, whisking until well blended. Let the mixture sit at room temperature for about an hour. If necessary, place in the refrigerator and allow the mixture to firm up.

Scoop mixture by teaspoonfuls onto parchment paper. Chill in the refrigerator and prepare your toppings. I chopped some cocoa nibs and toasted some chopped, sliced almonds for this recipe. Once the balls of ganache have chilled, roll in the toppings. Serve at room temperature but keep in the refrigerator to maintain freshness and firmness.

These will make some delightful work gifts and a nice dessert later this week. I can't wait to try out those rum raisin truffles. I'd also like to try some strawberry balsamic truffles, but we'll have to see how things go...

Just a quick note...

2010-08-01T22:45:00.003-04:00

Currently I am away from my kitchen; so for the next few weeks, posts will be sparse at best.

Also, corn chips and chocolate go surprisingly well together.

.
.
.

No.
Really.

I was watching this food network show (after so many they start to bleed together). It wasn't a cooking show per se, but it showed off different restaurants. One restaurant in particular featured a bar snack to accompany beer: pretzel sticks, corn ships, salt-roasted pecans, and melted milk chocolate.

I can't describe how well these components fit together. A new notch on the ol' salty + sweet headboard, I guess. It was delicious with a dark beer to boot.

Animal, Vegetable, Miserable...

2010-07-20T20:47:00.002-04:00

I have recently started eating meat again. Having moved in with the boyfriend, my meat-eating habits have become more commonplace than they once were. The problem is that I'm noticing more problems: upset stomachs, strange cravings, and generally unhealthy eating habits. Seemingly, by letting meat back into my diet in a major way, I've let other problems come in that have made me feel less than awesome.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not going vegan, but I definitely want to start eating more vegetables, fish, eggs, chicken, and keep other meats to special occasions. However, I can never curb my diet without attempting to get away from my ridiculous sweet tooth. Well, that's kind of a misnomer; it's also a fat tooth. This is where bran muffins come in. Healthy and chock full of fiber and protein, these guys make for a very filling breakfast and a great start to my day.

A Healthier Bran Muffin

Typically, store bought bran muffins have very little bran, loads of fat, and far too much sugar. I'd like to trim down on all of this and make a healthier version. This recipe produces a delicious muffin base that can be modified in at least a couple of ways.

1 cup Bran cereal (I use Fiber One bran cereal because it doesn't contain sugar or high-fructose corn syrup)
1 1/2 cups low-fat or non-fat milk

1/2 cup unsulphered dark molasses
1/4 cup splenda dark brown sugar
2 tbsp unsweetened applesauce + 2 tbsp nonfat greek yogurt
1 large egg

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

For the basic muffin mix, combine the bran cereal and milk and let it stand for 5 minutes. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and prepare a muffin tin with liners.

Add the molasses, brown sugar splenda, applesauce, yogurt, and the egg to the bran cereal/milk mixture. Mix until combined. While the bran will soften, don't expect it to totally dissolve until the muffins are baked.

In another bowl, whisk to combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the liquid mixture, and mix just until it all comes together (avoid over mixing). Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake at 400 degrees for about 18-20 minutes or until it passes the toothpick test. Because of the bran and the molasses, the muffins will get fairly dark. Cool, remove from the pan, and enjoy regularity like never before!

Alternatives:

Apple Cinnamon Muffins: Add 1 tsp cinnamon to the dry ingredients, and mix in 1 large finely chopped, Granny Smith apple with the liquid ingredients.

Mocha Muffins: add 1 tbsp instant coffee to the milk and bran. Add 1 tsp cinnamon to the dry ingredients. Finally, fold in 3 oz of chopped dark chocolate. This alternative naturally comes with a little extra fat and calories.

I've tried both of these alternatives and they worked out wonderfully. Both lent themselves to the dense texture that the bran and wheat flour provide. I imagine adding blueberries would make a delicious muffin as well. Pictured are the mocha muffins. I used parchment paper to fashion some muffin cups and plan to do so again; they provide plenty of support for the batter and they're the perfect size for unwrapping and holding the muffin.

Nutrition Data
(Compiled the old fashioned way with impeccable math skills, a pen, and some paper...)

Per regular bran muffin:
Calories: 170 calories
Fat: 1.5 grams
Fiber: 5 grams (or 20% of the daily recommended amount)
Protein: 3 grams (okay well maybe not as chock full of protein as I'd like...)

A Fail and a Success... Blueberry Jam

2010-07-18T08:07:00.005-04:00

So I decided to try out some Asian appetizers for my bf's birthday/going away party. He's going to China, so why not have some chinese appetizers? Ah the first of my attempts into Asian food. Well, not technically first, but eggrolls are pretty straightforward. I will say that store bought broccoli slaw mix and shredded cabbage make a delightful, easy filling when cooked with sesame oil and soy sauce, but I digress.

Pot stickers were a little tricky, folding and crimping the wonton wrapper and making sure the liquid evaporates after cooking them; I'm not used to either of these methods, but I guess we all live and learn. Well, the pot stickers stuck to the pan, but the filling was delicious. Note to self: use a non-stick pan... no, seriously.

Onto better and brighter ideas, at least until I get the nerve to attempt the pot stickers again. Now for some blueberry jam.

Blueberry Jam

Start with 1 pint blueberries
1/2 pouch liquid fruit pectin
juice of half a lemon and the zest of 1 whole lemon*
2 cups sugar

In a pan combine blueberries and sugar, crushing some of the blueberries so that the end result will have a nice texture.

Add in the lemon juice, lemon zest, and cook over medium to medium high heat until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to a full boil over medium high heat. Stir in pectin and boil hard for 1 minute.

Remove from heat and ladle into hot jars. If you're like me, I prefer to let this cool in the pan, transfer to a container and store in the refrigerator. In the fridge, it will last 2-3 weeks, thanks to the acid and the sugar. However, such a small amount of jam will not last even that long.

*I would like to say that you get a delightful, lemony zing in this jam. I love lemon and I love lemon with blueberries even more, so this is the perfect jam for me. However, if you're not such a fan, I'd reduce the lemon juice and zest by half.

Coming up next - healthy bran muffins. I know I'm an old man, but I love love LOVE bran...

Homemade Coffee Liqueur

2010-07-12T09:40:00.003-04:00

I'm not even sure where I got this recipe from, but I heard about it on one cooking show or another. Homemade coffee liqueur? I was doubtful. And truthfully, it's not really on par with Kahlua or other coffee liqueurs... it's something else though, something delicious. You can drink this straight; it's really not that strong. What's even better is mixing it with milk; because of the vodka, it's like an instant White Russian. Mixed with coffee and cream, it makes a pretty heavenly drink as well.

Homemade Coffee Liqueur

3 cups vodka

2 cups sugar (vanilla sugar works wonders here)
2 cups water

1/2 cup instant coffee
1 tbsp good vanilla

Combine the sugar and the water in a saucepan. Heat until the sugar is dissolved. Let it cool and add the instant coffee and vanilla.

In another container, pour in the vodka, followed by the coffee, vanilla syrup. Let it set for about 1 - 2 weeks, shaking it every day. After a week or two, you're ready to have fun.

I will say that this makes quite a bit of liqueur and, in the future, I may only half the recipe.

The Wedding Cake

2010-07-05T10:54:00.011-04:00

This White Chocolate and Lemon Wedding Cake originally comes from a Bon Appetit magazine that can be found at Epicurious.

The Wedding Cake

I’ve made this cake a total of three times including this most recent time. I’ve never made it as a complete recipe (ie a complete wedding cake). However, the recipe is incredibly helpful—half of it makes enough for either one 12-inch cake or one 9-inch cake and one 6-inch cake. To clarify, what I am providing here is one half recipe; this is really for my own benefit, since I always have trouble finding this recipe when I need it and have to go through halving the recipe each time. Additionally, I've altered some of the order of events for my own benefit.

The process of baking this cake is involved; it contains two fillings: lemon curd and a lemon, white-chocolate mousse. Lemon + white chocolate = heaven. So first up is the lemon curd. This can be made as much as a week in advance; it has enough sugar and lemon juice to preserve it for at least that long.

Lemon Curd

3 cups sugar
1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
1 1/2 cups lemon juice
18 egg yolks (reserve the whites for the cake)
1 1/2 cups butter, chilled and cubed

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, whisk the sugar and cornstarch together. Add in the lemon juice and whisk until incorporated. Add the egg yolks and half the butter, whisking until combined. Heat over medium heat, whisking continuously, until thick—thanks to the cornstarch it should thicken well before it gets to the boiling stage. In a large pot with plenty of space, it only took about 7 minutes to thicken.

Remove from heat and gradually add the remaining butter to help cool down the curd. Strain it through a sieve to remove any solids. Press some plastic on top, and chill until thickened and delicious.

As a filling, the lemon curd is delicious. It's great on toast as well, heh.

Lemon White Chocolate Mousse

2 cups Lemon Curd
8 oz white chocolate (Lindt continues to be my favorite both for taste and price)
1 1/2 cups whipped cream

This could not be easier. Keep the lemon curd chilled. Melt the white chocolate gently in the top of a double boiler. Do not overheat. In another chilled bowl, with chilled utensils, beat the chilled (get the pattern?) whipped cream until medium peaks form. Fold in the warm white chocolate. Next, fold in the lemon curd in three editions. Cover the bowl and chill for at least one day and up to four days.

See? Easy peasy. Additionally, each of the previous fillings makes excellent desserts in their own right. The lemon curd is such an amazing multi-tasker. Throw it in a pie shell and top it with some blueberries for a quick and easy tart or have it on some toast for a decadent breakfast. The mousse is just ridiculously amazing; there’s no other way to describe it.

The Frosting

8 oz white chocolate (Lindt continues to be my favorite)

2 cups chilled heavy whipping cream
2 1/2 cups packed powdered sugar (yes, packed)

3 8oz packages cream cheese, softened

In the top of a double boiler, melt the white chocolate.

In a mixer, beat the whipping cream and 1 1/4 cups (roughly half) of the powdered sugar until medium-firm peaks form. Transfer to another bowl.

In the mixer bowl, beat the cream cheese until it's light and fluffy. Add in half of the sugar, followed by the white chocolate.

Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture in 4 additions, using the first addition to just lighten the cream cheese. Cover and chill. Because of the use of cream, rather than butter, the frosting is spreadable right from the refrigerator. However, it needs to remain chilled once the cake is frosted.

Orange Buttermilk Cake

5 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
5 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups buttermilk
3 tbsp thawed frozen orange juice concentrate
2 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups egg whites (about 10 large reserved from the lemon curd)
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups sugar

This is a little involved. Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees and greasing and flouring the 12-inch pan (or the 9 and the 6-inch pans). Either way, your cake pans should have 3-inch-high sides.

Next, sift the cake flour, baking powder, and salt together three times in a bowl.

In a separate bowl, mix the buttermilk, orange juice concentrate, and vanilla.

Beat the egg whites in a mixer with the cream of tarter until medium peaks form. Transfer to another bowl. In the mixer, cream the butter and sugar together. Add the oil, followed by the remaining sugar. Make sure to scrape down the bowl frequently. Once everything is incorporated, mix in the flour alternately with the buttermilk (four additions of the flour, three of the buttermilk).

Finally, stir 1/4 of the egg whites into the batter to lighten and fold in the remaining egg whites in three additions. Bake in the prepared pan or pans of your choice. Bake the cakes as follows, based on the times provided in the original recipe. Note that the cakes will be a dark brown, but in my experience, these times can be reduced because our oven bakes hot.

12-inch pan: 1 hour and 25 minutes
9-inch pan: 1 hour and 18 minutes
6-inch pan: 1 hour and 10 minutes

Cool cakes in their pans for 30 minutes before removing. The original recipe recommends having used cake pans with removable bottoms, but I've had no trouble using regular cake pans since finding these sizes can be tricky.

The Assembly

Separate the cake, regardless of the size used, into three layers. Top the bottom layer with about 1 3/4 cups lemon mouse. Drop the lemon curd onto the cake (about 1/2 to 2/3 cup) and spread evenly. Make sure not to spread either filling to the edge of the cake. The fillings, even chilled, have a tendency to leak out of the sides.

The first layer, topped with both the mousse and the lemon curd. I highly recommend chilling the first layer thoroughly (for about an hour) before proceeding. After the second layer is complete, top with the third layer and chill for at least 30 minutes just to allow the fillings to set and firm up. If the curd leaks out the side at all, it will do so during this time, which is why it's important to let it rest before frosting.

Once the cake and the fillings have had ample time to firm up and set, begin frosting the cake. I've had the best luck by removing the frosting from the fridge and stirring it to loosen it up a few minutes before the cake is ready to be frosted. Start by frosting the sides, making sure to use enough frosting to "cement" the fillings in the cake. Traditionally, you begin by frosting the top of the cake and then work around the side, but by starting on the sides, you're preventing the cake from moving too much while you're frosting the top.

This is obviously the pitcure from the website because I totally fail at taking a picture of the finished result. However, with an offset spatula and a little work, the frosting was incredibly smooth, even, and shiny. Easily one of my better frosting jobs.

This cake is definitely a special, once a year event. It's worked wonderfully every time, but it can be a little tricky. When in doubt, keep everything well chilled. Up next, I need to post some more muffin recipes and I still want to try steaming some salmon in a pouch... after these past few weeks I need to start watching what I eat more closely!

A healthy, light, French dessert

2010-07-05T10:49:00.005-04:00

I served this with some oven roasted chicken, the light fettucini alfredo from a few posts ago, and some steamed broccoli. Needless to say, the meal was a hit.

Raspberry Clafoutis

This recipe was a pure experiment. I’ve grown comfortable with some basic substitutions for making slightly healthier desserts that are lower in fat and sugar. I’ll start with the original recipe then explain my low-fat, low-sugar substitutions.

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons sugar
pinch of salt

3 extra-large eggs
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
1/2 tsp almond extract

2 cups raspberries
confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Here are my substitutions. Rather than 3 tbsp butter, I used 1 tbsp melted butter mixed with 2 tbsp nonfat greek yogurt. Rather than the sugar, I actually used a blend of 1 tbsp splenda brown sugar, 1 tbsp fructose sugar, and 3 tbsp splenda granular. This is a complicated yet tasty mix, but I imagine using only regular splenda granular would produce solid results here as well. Now back to the directions…

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Butter a 9-inch gratin dish or cake pan.

In a bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, and salt. In another bowl beat the eggs, butter, almond extract, and lemon zest until smooth. Add the milk to the liquid mixture, and mix until incorporated. Pour the liquid mixture over the dry mixture until light and very smooth, about 3 minutes. Pour the batter into the gratin/pie dish, and top with the raspberries.

Bake for about 30 minutes, until the clafoutis is set and golden in color. Let it cool slightly then dust with confectioners’ sugar, cut into wedges, and serve with some ice cream.

The dessert is great, but the raspberries were just a wee bit tart. Up next, a Lemon Wedding Cake, and eventually I want to be cooking "en papilotte" (french(?) for in pouches)...

Blueberry Buttermilk Cake

2010-06-23T18:26:00.009-04:00

Keith (the bf) and his friends like to have these occasional get-togethers at each other's houses. Everyone makes a dish, the person who hosts makes the main course, and everyone has a great time (also there's a lot of wine involved). He and I hosted the last one and we made Ina Garten's Tequila Lime Chicken. Now anyone that's ever heard me talk about my fondness for the Barefoot Contessa knows this already: I love Ina Garten. None of her recipes that I've tried have ever turned out bad or, for that matter, less than perfect. They're incredibly and consistently spot on.

Needless to say, the Tequila Lime Chicken was a hit. This week, Keith's friend Shannon was hosting, and Keith volunteered us to make a dessert. I learned about this on Tuesday night, and since the dinner was Wednesday evening, I didn't have loads of time to plan.

Ever since it was published in the now-defunct Gourmet magazine, Raspberry Buttermilk Cake has been making its rounds on food blogs with various changes and alterations. The concept is simple enough: a tender, moist, single-layer buttermilk cake topped with some delicious, ripe berries. What could go wrong?

FAIL.

However, I was vigilant and determined. I have a new, professional stand mixer for Pete's sake!

Okay, okay, that was a cheap way to show off the mixer that I finally took a pic of. Either way, the cake was easy and quick to make so after the first fail, I decided to try it again. After double-checking that I did everything right, I looked at other blogs that had featured this cake. No one seemed to have any problems at all?!

I'm no pastry chef, but I certainly know my way around baked goods. The cake stuck in the pan, despite greasing and flouring, because the blueberries that are placed on top sunk down to the bottom of the cake. I'm not sure how other people had not experienced this before. I decided to take out double insurance. I lightly floured the blueberries, and I lined the cake bottom with parchment. The blueberries still sank, but the cake came out beautifully the second time around. I even made some berry-whipped cream to accompany it.

Blueberry Buttermilk Cake with Berry-Whipped Cream

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon zest
1 egg

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 cup blueberries, washed and dried
1/2 tbsp sugar

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9-inch cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper, grease the parchment, and dust the pan with flour.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. In the bowl of a mixer, beat the softened butter and sugar on medium speed for about 2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and lemon zest and mix until incorporated. Add the egg and beat well.

Add the flour in thirds, alternately with the buttermilk. Begin and end with the flour and mix until just combined. Scrape down the bowl of the mixer as needed. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the blueberries on top and dust the top with the 1/2 tbsp sugar.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 18-22 minutes or until it passes the toothpick test. The cake should be evenly browned and just beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan. Let the cake cool in the pan for ten minutes then invert and remove the parchment paper very carefully. This is a shot of the cake upside down after the parchment has been removed:

Berry-Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy cream
1/4-1/3 cup sugar
1 cup blackberries/raspberries

In a chilled mixer bowl, whip the cream until thickened but still soft. While whipping, mix in the sugar (to taste). Once the cream is thick with stiff peaks, whip in the berries by hand. It won't take long and the berries will break up, coloring the whipped cream and imparting there delightful berry goodness throughout.

After all of this, the dinner was canceled at the last minute and postponed until next week. Keith and I were left with two cakes, one in significantly better condition than the other. I decided to try to freeze the nice cake while Keith and I nommed on the less-than-nice cake with some whipped cream last night for dessert. While it wasn't picture perfect, it was damned tasty and the whipped cream was phenomenal!

Blackberry Cheesecake Pots (Pots de Gateau au Fromage?)

2010-06-20T09:32:00.007-04:00

The title is proof that I don't speak french.

The dessert, however, is proof that I love cheesecake. The problem with cheesecake, at least for me, is the time and quantity. Now, while I feel like I could eat a cheesecake by myself, this is not a feat to which I aspire. Frankly, I can't remember an event that's warranted baking an entire cheesecake anyway. That's where these delightful little pots come in. Single serving, cheesecake filling goodness. I only wish I had a nice crunchy biscotti or even a graham cracker to enjoy with these guys.

Blackberry Cheesecake Pots

8oz cream cheese (use light if you must, but for the love of all that is good, avoid fat-free)
1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla

1 pint blackberries, washed, dried, and divided

In the bowl of a mixer--a mixer just like my brand new professional Kitchen Aid maybe???--break up the cream cheese and beat until creamy and some air has been incorporated into it. Add 1/4 cup of sugar, 1 tbsp cream, vanilla, and beat on medium high until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is lightened.

In another bowl beat the remaining 1/4 cup of cream until slightly thick. Add 1 tbsp of sugar and beat until soft peaks have formed. Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture. The whipped cream may not be fully incorporated into the cream cheese. Add most of the blackberries (I reserved about 8 for garnishes), and mix on medium speed until the berries are broken up and the mixture is uniform.

Spoon into ramekins or any other fun single-serving dish and refrigerate to allow it to firm up. Garnish with remaining blackberries. Done! This is super fast and incredibly easy to make. It's decadent and definitely satisfies that cheesecake urge.

Now to see how I can make them a little lower in the fat department...

Other things I've tried lately...

I haven't updated in a bit, and this is my first post from my new apartment in Dayton. We're still unpacking everything. Ha. But I have cooked a bit and definitely have some fun things I want to mention.

Alton Brown's Pizza Pizzas dough is AMAZING and I will be using it again. I owe my friend Anne a debt of gratitude for teaching me how to make delicious pizza.

Kale chips... they've been around the blogosphere for a while and, given my penchant for trying healthy foods, I thought I'd give a recipe a whirl--two whirls in fact. The results of the first attempt were great. I simply tossed some kale with a little garlic infused olive oil, salt, pepper, hungarian spicy paprika, and baked them until they were dry. The results were great and tasty, though the chips don't withstand the test of time well. The second attempt was just disappointing, but I think I used a different, inferior variety of kale. I'll work on this more in the future.

Banana Maple Muffins

2010-06-06T21:28:00.006-04:00

Personally, it irks me when I read a food blog that claims to provide a "low-fat" and "guilt-free" muffin recipe but fails to deliver. As someone who takes nutrition seriously, when I see 1/3 cup oil (read: 75 grams of fat) in such a recipe, I know it's because of carelessness. I'm all for healthy fats in a well-balanced diet, but we can get those from other places than our "guilt-free" morning muffins.

I'm not sure if I can call these whole wheat. Truthfully, I'm using a mixture of white all-purpose and whole wheat flour because I'm a bit scared of the texture of a muffin made with 100% whole-wheat flour.

I'm using my yogurt/applesauce trick again (plus 1 tbsp of butter) in order to give these muffins some delicious texture. Additionally, since there's no crumb topping, these guys are going to be nice and light. Each muffin has only 190 calories and 1.5 grams of fat. I'm pretty darned proud of these muffins from a nutritional standpoint. The sweetness, and a good chunk of the calories, come from pure maple syrup. It's definitely a splurge, since I don't usually keep any in, but it definitely makes a difference in the flavor of these muffins.

Banana Maple Muffins

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsps baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

3 large mashed bananas
1 cup pure maple syrup
1 egg
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup fat free greek yogurt
1 tbsp butter, melted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

I love muffins because the directions are so easy. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line your muffin tray. Whisk together all of the dry ingredients until well combined. In another bowl mix the mashed bananas, maple syrup, egg, applesauce, yogurt, butter, and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Scoop into the muffin tin and bake for about 18 - 20 minutes or until the pass the toothpick test.

Having tried the recipe, and having failed to take any pictures, I'm not yet 100% happy with them. It might be some displeasure with the texture of banana muffins in general, but I think I may try the 100% whole wheat approach next time. And rather than mashing the bananas, I'll chop them and fold them into the mixture last. More experiments to come...

Oven-baked Fries

2010-06-04T20:15:00.004-04:00

This recipe comes courtesy of another www.tastespotting.com blog find. Basically, these are the best oven-baked french fries I've ever had.

The recipe is a bit heavy on the procedure--you have to soak the wedges in hot water, heat the oil on the pan, cover the fries in foil, then uncover them and later flip them over. However, the result makes the fries very much worth the preparation. I wish I had a better camera so I could really show the crispy outer layer of potato goodness.

Oven-baked French Fries

3 medium russet potatoes*
1 1/2 tbsps olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F and arrange an oven rack towards the bottom of the oven. Cut into roughly even-sized wedges, and soak them in hot water (from the tap) for 10 minutes, then drain and dry the wedges thoroughly.

Pour the oil onto your baking sheet, and place it in the oven to heat for 2-3 minutes. Remove the baking sheet and toss the potato wedges and hot oil together on the pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover the wedges with foil and place into the oven.

Bake for 5 minutes. Remove the foil and return to the oven for 10-15 minutes or until they have started to brown in spots on the bottom. Turn the fries over using tongs or a spatula and return to the oven for another 5-15 minutes or until nicely browned.

*This recipe definitely lends itself to multiplying or dividing as your needs dictate. Personally, I'd be hard-pressed to fit more than three potatoes worth of wedges onto a single baking sheet, but that's just me. I first made this recipe using only one potato and reduced the oil to just under a tbsp.

Blueberry Muffin Variation

2010-06-02T09:59:00.003-04:00

For this recipe, I was more diligent in my use of crumble.

I used whole wheat, unbleached all-purpose flour just because.

I kept with using only blueberries this time. No raspberry sinkholes, thank you very much.

I also added 1 tbsp of butter to the batter to help the texture along. For the original recipe, scroll down to my previous post. I told you I would be on a muffin kick and I think I'm incredibly happy with these blueberry muffins.

The fat content is still rather low, only about 3.5-4 grams per muffin. Frankly, it would have been about 1.5-2 grams without that damned crumble. But how can anyone resist?

A gift for my friend Amanda for all of her help this quarter. She is truly amazing!

Blueberry Muffins

2010-05-26T09:19:00.003-04:00

So I made these horrendous mexican chocolate snickerdoodle cookies a while back. I say horrendous because I tried to make them healthy. That's right, I broke the cardinal rule of baking: I attempted to alter a recipe that I had never used to begin with. And what's worse is that I attempted to make them healthy by substituting applesauce for the oil in the recipe. The oil -- that's why I thought I could get away with it. Of course you can't substitute applesauce for butter, but surely if a recipe calls for oil, then using applesauce is totally legit, right?

Fail.

However, the experience got me thinking -- these cookies came out all nasty and cake-y and weird. However, if you have something that's already meant to be cake-y, then applesauce could work as a substitute, virtually eliminating the fat from the recipe, right? Then, I realized I had been going about this all wrong. Let cookies have their fat -- they need it. But what doesn't need a lot of fat?

Blueberry Muffins.

I started with a basic recipe for blueberry muffins with a crumb topping. I still want to tweak some things. In particular, the muffins I made also contain raspberries simply because I had some extra laying around. The raspberries were tasty, but they didn't do too much for the structural integrity of the muffin, that's for certain. In terms of fat, there is still an egg yolk in the recipe, but I eliminated the oil, replacing it, quite successfully I might add, with a mixture of applesauce and nonfat greek yogurt (my new kitchen baking staple). The results were a firm muffin with a coarse crumb -- just how I like them. Like I said, I still need to do some tweaking, but this is a great place to start. I should note too that I may be on a muffin kick soon - they're one of my favorite foods, and I've never been 100% happy with how they turn out... at least up to this point.

Healthier Option: Blueberry Muffins

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup nonfat greek yogurt
1 egg
zest of 1 lemon
1/3 cup milk

1 cup fresh blueberries

Crumb Topping
1/2 cup sugar (a mix of white and brown is delightful)
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp butter, cubed

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a muffin tin either by greasing and flouring the muffin cups or by using paper liners.

In a bowl, whisk all of the dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl combine the applesauce, yogurt, egg,lemon zest, and milk. Pour the wet ingredients on top of the dry ingredients and stir or whisk together, just until combined. Avoid overmixing the batter -- I count to 10 and then stop. Gently fold in the blueberries.

Prepare the crumb topping: mix the sugar, flour, and cinnamon together. Cut in the butter until crumbs form.*

Fill the muffin cups to the top with batter and top with crumb topping. Bake at 375 for about 25 minutes. Start checking after 20, just to be safe but the muffins should be brown and puffed up. Rotating the pan may be necessary halfway through cooking if your oven heats unevenly. For me, this yielded 8 muffins in a 1/2-cup capacity muffin tin.

*I didn't substitute or alter the crumb topping in order to make it healthier. I did however, only use about half of the crumb topping for all of the muffins. Of course, you could simply eliminate it altogether.

I've really needed to post some things...

2010-05-22T10:04:00.004-04:00

But school has taken a turn for the crazy, hence my absence for the last two months. I definitely love writing in my blog and logging my recipes. It's something I plan on making time for in the future. I've even been working on a new Wordpress blog to replace this one since blogger's format is getting a bit old for me.

Either way I have about three interesting things I've been working on. First up is a new, light alfredo sauce I got from a Runner's World magazine. It sounded delicious, but I was concerned because I had previously tried a recipe from Runner's World that was kind of a total failure - as in, there was no fixing it - damned "pasta toss."

But it is Runner's World, not Chef's Wold.

Either way, this lighter alfredo sauce was AMAZING. Rocco DiSpirito provided the recipe and his trick was to use chicken stock and 5% greek yogurt to mimick the creaminess of alfredo sauce. BRILLIANT. Additionally, it removed the need for loads of butter and cream. I went a step further and used 0% (that's right, fat free) Fage greek yogurt. The results were nothing short of amazing. Now, of course, parmesan cheese still does contain some fat, but over all, this is definitely a healthier version.

Light Alfredo Sauce

2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp butter

2 tsp cornstarch
pinch of nutmeg
3/4 cup chicken broth

3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
3/4 cup nonfat greek yogurt

Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté for two minutes. In the mean time, combine the cornstarch, nutmeg, and chicken broth, stirring until the cornstarch is dissolved. Add the chicken broth to the garlic and bring to a simmer, raising the heat slightly, if necessary. Let the mixture thicken slightly, then add 1/2 cup of the parmesan cheese. Stir or whisk until the cheese is melted. Remove from heat and whisk in the yogurt until smooth and creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste. Use the reserved parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top of the dish.

I tossed this with some leftover spaghetti (I know I know, not the best sauce/pasta combo but it's what I had on hand) and some broccoli. The result was delightful, ridiculously easy to make, and comparatively healthy.

Next up is Alton Brown's pancake mix. I've recently been re-watching some Good Eats dvds I got from my wonderful friend Anne, and I've realized how necessary it is to get back to the basics sometimes. Brown's pancake mix will no doubt succeed so, having not tried to make a pancake with it yet, I have no hesitation in posting the recipe so that, in the future, I don't have to pull out the dvd again.

Alton Brown's Pancake Mix
(This can be doubled to the extent of making 6 times this recipe)

1 cup All-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar

Combine well and SHAKE!!!

For each cup of dry mix, you'll need the following wet ingredients:

2 tbsp melted butter
1 egg, separated
1 cup buttermilk

Combine the egg yolk with the butter and the egg white with the buttermilk. Whisk the liquid ingredients together. In a separate bowl, scoop out one cup of the pancake mix. Pour the wet ingredients on top of the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined (AB did it for a count of 10 seconds).

Heat griddle to 350 degrees and go wild. Wait for bubbles to appear on one side before flipping the pancakes.

I plan on trying these out tomorrow, but I have no doubt they'll work just fine.

The final food item I've been working on is a cold oatmeal. I love oatmeal - as far as breakfasts are concerned, it's hard to beat oatmeal - but it's decidedly a cool-weather food. So I've been experimenting, perhaps most successfully with soaking oats over night in applesauce in the refrigerator. Add some cinnamon and raisins and you've got a pretty delectable morning ahead of you. It will take time and experimentation though. I'd love to incorporate bananas into it. On a separate note - I just had a thought - why not carrot fettucini noodles and broccoli alfredo? That will be my dinner tomorrow night...

Ha!

2010-03-29T07:56:00.001-04:00

I love waking up to things like this from xkcd.

Eggplant Parmesan My Way

2010-03-28T20:42:00.006-04:00

Well, maybe not my way per se because it's a slight adaptation from a recent Bon Apetit recipe.

Basically, they updated the classic Eggplant Parmesan using broiled eggplant as opposed to the battered and fried variety. Since my goal is to make this a delicious, low-carbohydrate meal, I figured I would use the same method. Incidentally, if you happen to have a grill pan, grilled eggplant would be pretty damned delightful as well.

Low-Carbohydrate Eggplant Parmesan

1 medium to large size eggplant, rinsed and cut into 1/4-inch slices
salt

1 1/2 tsp olive oil
5 oz fresh spinach
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup part skim ricotta cheese
1 oz feta*
1/2 tsp oregano
salt and pepper
1 egg

1 8 oz can tomato sauce (or Marinara sauce if you don't have tomato sauce on hand)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Sprinkle the eggplant slices on each side with salt and layer on paper towels or on a nice, long cooling rack over the sink to drain. Let these guys sit for about an hour before continuing with them.

In the mean time, make the filling. In a large pan, heat oil and garlic over medium heat. When the garlic begins to sizzle, cook for about 2 minutes to remove some of the intensity. Add the spinach and cook until nearly wilted. Remove from heat (spinach will likely continue to wilt, if not, it's okay, the difference in texture is quite pleasant). Let cool.

In a bowl, combine the cheeses, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Add the egg and mix until combined. Add the cooled spinach mixture to the filling. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Now back to the eggplant. Once the hour is up, preheat the broiler in your oven. Rinse the excess salt off of the eggplant slices under water and pat dry. Arrange on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Brush olive oil on both sides of eggplant and broil until brown, roughly 3-4 minutes on each side, but don't let these guys out of your sight - there's a hairsbreadth difference between delightfully brown and disgustingly black. Once the slices are finished let them cool until easy to handle.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place a heaping 1-2 tbsp of filling onto the center of each eggplant slice and roll up (I ended up having exactly the right amount - how often does that happen?!). Coat the bottom of a 9 X 13 pan with a little tomato sauce. Place eggplant rolls in dish like so:

Top eggplant rolls with remaining tomato sauce and parmesan cheese. At this point, these guys could be refrigerated for up to a day (as per the Bon Apetit recipe). Bake, covered in foil, for 30 minutes (40 minutes if coming straight from the refrigerator). Remove foil and continue to bake for 10-15 minutes more until sauce is bubbly and cheese is melted.

These did take some time to make, but they really weren't that complicated. Describing the process, now that was complicated! I had mine with a simply dressed side salad. This makes enough for 3 servings.

Total carbohydrates: 60.
Total fat: 25.

There are more carbohydrates if you use marinara sauce rather than tomato sauce. I have to say that the tomato sauce, after cooking and combining with the parmesan cheese and some of the filling, was incredibly tasty on its own - I think store bought marinara might actually have been overpowering had I used that. Per serving, and I have to say that it makes three hefty servings of three rolls a piece, it breaks down to 20 carbohydrates. This is a bit intense for my cleanse, but it can be a good reward at the end of a long day. Additionally, if you're careful with how much oil you use, this is a very light, but filling, meal as well containing only about 25 grams of fat total, or about 8 grams per serving. I didn't count the calories, but since most calories come from carbohydrates and fats, something tells me it would be pretty light.

*the feta cheese was a total add lib on my part - I had a tiny bit left over in the fridge but figured it would go well with the spinach and garlic and would provide a nice tanginess to the filling

It's been quite a while...

2010-03-26T12:52:00.003-04:00

Well, only a couple weeks. Since my last post I've gone through finals and most of my spring break.

Currently, in terms of my eating habits, I'm a little disappointed in myself. I've maintained my weight loss from last summer, and I've definitely toned up a bit as well, but I haven't lost any more weight. I'm setting a goal to lose 10 - 15 pounds by the end of spring quarter. That averages 1.5 pounds a week which, considering my running, should not be too difficult. The trick is going to be eating healthier more consistently. This past quarter saw a week or two of eating well followed by a week of eating not so well and weekend bingeing definitely occurred more often than I would have liked.

What I'd like to do is go through a 1 - 2 week carb cleanse, similar to phase 1 of the atkins diet where most carbohydrates (except for fiber) would be eliminated from my diet. In the past, especially when I've been eating healthfully, I noticed that my carbohydrate intake was restricted to vegetables like potatoes, sweet potatoes, and carrots, and occasionally some brown rice. This past winter quarter, and even fall quarter to some extent, definitely saw the end of that, so this cleansing process is really only to reset my eating habits. Also, the elimination of refined sugar will be particularly welcome since I have a sweet tooth that has gotten insanely out of hand in the past few weeks.

My plan after the next 2 weeks is to slowly become more reliant on healthy, whole-grain carbohydrates and vegetables. Ideally, I'd love to integrate oatmeal and other healthy carbohydrates into my breakfast options. However, for the rest of the day, I'd much rather stick with vegetables and fruits. Ultimately, I'd love to maintain this eating habit with a couple splurges during the week (which will definitely necessitate some dessert experimentation).

Basically, I'd really like to give this cleanse a shot and see what happens. First on the menu is an eggplant parmesan that should be pretty delightful. I've got a couple other recipe ideas to try out later, but I'd like to keep things as healthy and as vegetable-and-fruit oriented as possible right now. Updates and recipes to come...

Moroccan Chicken and Lentils

2010-03-07T21:31:00.002-05:00

At long last, my Moroccan Chicken and Lentils post. This recipe comes direct from my friend/colleague Jess. She gave me some of this to try and I had to have the recipe. The cinnamon flavor combined with the subtle heat in this dish is amazing. It's incredibly hearty on it's own but if you wanted to make it go farther, serving this with basmati rice or pita chips would be pretty amazing.

Moroccan Chicken and Lentils

1 8oz package baby carrots
1 1/2 cups lentils, uncooked
1 1/2 lbs frozen chicken breast tenders (although I used thighs for incredibly tender meat)
2 tbsp minced garlic
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground red pepper
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 (14 1/2 oz) cans fat-free, reduced sodium chicken broth

Place all ingredients, in order listed, in a 4 or 5-quart electric slow cooker. Cover and cook on high setting for 5 hours. Alternatively, cook on high setting for 1 hour, then reduce to low setting and cook for 7 hours.

Is that not ridiculously easy?! Also I was thinking that, if you wanted a vegetarian option, adding more carrots and a couple cans of chickpeas would be pretty out of this world. My only worry is that the chickpeas may get over cooked, so adding the chick peas halfway through the cooking process rather than at the beginning may be necessary.

This yields 6-1 cup servings and per serving has only 320 calories, 2 grams of fat and ridiculous amounts of protein and fiber.

After only a couple hours cooking. As it cooks down, the lentils get incredibly soft and break down a bit. The end result is not the prettiest image ever (but then, greyish green was never an attractive hue), but trust me, it's delicious.

Up next, I've got a really healthy, vegetarian pasta and white bean toss I'm working for a quick evening meal through the week that can turn into a healthy lunch option.

Stolen from my friend Charles' website, who stole it from...

2010-03-03T12:08:00.004-05:00

Not a typical blog update, but an interesting one none the less. This is one of those delightful maps of America. In this case, a map of Hamburger places in the U.S. The scariest part? McDonald's is black.

Moroccan Chicken and Lentils still to come, likely on Friday or Saturday.

I'll have the penne a la arabiata!

2010-02-28T22:24:00.001-05:00

The title comes from an hilarious Eddie Izzard piece from his "Full Circle" dvd discussing the Death Star canteen:

I can't help thinking of this bit any time I cook with penne. I want a pasta that's healthy and not too heavy, so my idea for this pasta casserole dish is to use one of those delightful maxed-out pastas (you know the kind, with protein and fiber and omega 3s and everything under the sun). Additionally, I'll use a mix of broccoli and spinach to account for vegetables. Finally, I'll keep with parmesan cheese (yeah yeah yeah, parmesan and not parmiggiano reggiano - but let's face it, I'm on a student's budget) to add flavor without a lot of extra calories. Basically, I see this as a glorified mac and cheese, with pan seared chicken on top. Sure the chicken could be cut up and baked with the pasta as well but when your entire dinner comes in one dish, I have a hard time not engulfing the entire thing.

Also, I've decided to try and start doing better at counting calories. I need to be more aware of what, calorically speaking, goes into my body, and in making these meals, sometimes it's easy to forget that every tsp of olive oil really adds up.

Spinach and Broccoli Penne with Pan-Seared Chicken

1lb uncooked penne pasta

1 tbsp olive oil
3 lean chicken breasts

1 tbsp butter
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp all purpose flour

1/2 cup chicken stock
2 1/2 cups milk

1 cup parmesan cheese

12 oz package frozen spinach
11 oz package frozen broccoli

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Begin by setting a pot of salted water onto boil. While that is getting going, set a large over medium heat and let it get warm. Add the olive oil to the pot and let the oil heat up. Rinse and pat the chicken breasts dry, season them with salt and pepper and place the chicken breasts into the pan. Sear until nice and brown, then turn over and sear on the opposite side (about 4-5 minutes per side. Once the chicken breasts are done, place on a sheet pan and into the oven for about 15 - 20 minutes to finish cooking.

In the meantime, your water should be boiling, so add the pasta.

Add the butter and garlic to the pot that contained the chicken and cook for a minute or two, max. Add the flour and combine to form a clumpy roux. Whisk in the chicken stock and cook the flour for a couple minutes longer. Then, add the milk and whisk to dissolve the roux. Let the mixture come to a boil, whisking frequently to make sure there are no clumps. Once the mixture boils, add the parmesan cheese and allow it to melt before adding the frozen spinach and broccoli.

Once you've added the veggies, the mixture will thicken and cool almost instantly because of the drastic temperature change. Keep the pot at medium and allow the mixture to warm through and just barely bubble. When your pasta is done, drain it and add it to the spinach and broccoli sauce. Remove the chicken from the oven, slice the chicken and serve.

I decided to do a little experiment with this recipe and count the calories and fat grams that went into it. I didn't leave out anything to make it super healthy, but I didn't go crazy with heavy cream and ridiculous amounts of cheese either. In the end, with everything accounted for, the fat grams were at 80 and the calories were about 2880. Dividing this total meal into 4 portions renders a very filling serving size (a little light on the chicken and a little heavy on the pasta though) of about 20 grams of fat and 720 calories. I feel like the calories were about average, but I was a little shocked by the fat. Overall, the butter and oil (1 tbsp each) contributed 25 grams and the cheese contributed 24 grams itself! All in all though, it's a solid meal on it's own, chock full of veggies, carbs, and a lean protein, so I'm pretty okay with this meal, at least once in a while as a break from soups and stews. Speaking of which, next up will be my friend Jess's Moroccan Chicken Stew!

Treats

2010-02-27T12:12:00.005-05:00

This week has been a week of stress, essay-writing, and hastily cobbled together meals. Case in point: I just finished up a soup consisting of vegetable broth, brussel sprouts, and green beans, thickened slightly with left-over mashed potatoes.

I'm not going to lie, it actually was pretty good. I love brussel sprouts in any form, and the mashed potato-thickened soup was creamy and full-bodied. But I digress.

I'm planning on cooking more this weekend and next week. Lately, I've been craving pasta, so I think some kind of chicken, spinach, broccoli alfredo bake is in order. Since casseroles tend not to keep as long as soups, I figure, by Friday at the latest, I'll be making a Moroccan Chicken and Lentil dish that can very easily be made vegetarian.

Right now though, I wanted to show off some fun food finds from this week.

More vanilla beans? Hell yes. I've been wanting to post this link for quite some time just so that it's easier for me to find in the future. Here's the product, 1/4 lb of Tahitian vanilla beans, excellent quality, arrived 3 days after I purchased them, vacuum-sealed and aromatic as all get out.

And here's the link (I know since it's an eBay store the site isn't as fancy as it could be, but trust me, 9 bucks for like 30 vanilla beans is totally worth it): Vanilla Products USA

Currently, I have vanilla beans in sugar and vanilla beans in vodka. Until I added more beans to my vodka batch it was getting quite dark. I figure in another month or two it will be the most amazing vanilla extract ever.

Next up, we have my favorite food in the world: eggs! Specifically we have more farm fresh eggs straight from my colleague's chicken's cloacae!

And finally, what I like to do with eggs when I really want to treat myself: get a lox and cream cheese bagel from Bagel Street Deli in uptown Athens, open-face it, and top it with scrambled eggs. Now that's what I call breakfast!

The Buttercream Gang

2010-02-21T08:48:00.006-05:00

I decided to say "eff it" to no sweets for today. Not that I'm going to go crazy or anything, I just have that vanilla sugar cookie dough in the freezer, and it's too good not to use some.

I want a simple frosting for the cookies, so the natural answer is a quick vanilla buttercream. Rather than a traditional buttercream (made by beating hot egg whites with sugar, then mixing in soft butter), I'll make a quick version with confectionary sugar, butter, heavy cream, vanilla extract and the seeds from a vanilla bean (these are going to be some violently vanilla cookies).

I don't really have the time to fool around with decorations, so I'm thinking simple round or square cookies with frosting - maybe using fork tines or something to that effect to further design the cookies, but we'll see if the frosting can hold up.

Gratuitously Vanilla Cookies

I used a recipe of the vanilla sugar cookies only this time I had brown sugar and I added the delicious innards of a vanilla bean.

Frosting
1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
seeds from 1 vanilla bean
2 -3 tbsp heavy cream

Mix the sugar and butter together on low speed in a stand mixer (or with a hand model) until well combined. Increase the speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes. Add vanilla, vanilla beans, and cream beating for 1 minute more. Add a little more cream if necessary to get to spreading consistency.

Gratuitously vanilla sugar cookie, meet chocolate milk.

Cooking Up is Hard to Do

2010-02-18T21:11:00.003-05:00

At least it is right now. The quarter is winding down and the weather has made it difficult to cook. I'm trying to back down on my intake of sweets lately as well, so I've got some delicious vanilla sugar cookie dough just setting and waiting in my freezer to be enjoyed.

I did attempt, this last weekend, to make the BLT soup. Frankly, I need bacon. I began by slow roasting some garlic cloves in a couple tablespoons of bacon fat. I then removed the garlic and added some flour to make a roux. After that began cooking, I added onions and sauteed until they were soft and the roux was a nice toasty brown color.

After that I added a couple quarts of my mother's home-canned tomatoes as well as a bunch of kale. Oh yes, I also added the roasted garlic, chopped back in as well. Basically, the taste of bacon came out very subtly, overwhelmed by the roasted garlic and tomato. It's not a bad soup at all, in fact it's quite tasty, and I especially like the kale. However, it's certainly not a BLT soup. I think, if I ever make this again, the use of croutons will be required, crispy bacon will make an appearance, the garlic will be reduced, and in all likelihood I'll keep the kale.

I do have to say I love my greens. Specifically, I love them sauteed with a little garlic, salt, and pepper. In the mean time I'm at a loss for what to make and I'm not in the best position to get ingredients, so future posting may have to wait. I do see meatballs, or perhaps vegetarian meatballs, in my future - maybe spaghetti? maybe chili?

Updates

2010-02-14T10:55:00.003-05:00

I have a few posts I really need to finish:

A delicious brunch this weekend (sadly without pictures :/)

Sugar cookies for my class tomorrow (because it's Valentine's day and, apparently, I teach elementary kids :P)

Cinnamon Rolls? I've really been wanting to make some lately - but time is a factor this weekend and they are definitely time consuming.

Then, of course, I need time to actually update/create these posts... but they will come. Also, this week or, perhaps, next weekend: BLT soup... yeah seriously.

Happy Birthday

2010-02-07T15:59:00.002-05:00

As of today, my blog is 1 full year old!

I'm kind of excited that I've been able to keep up regular posts and keep this thing going for a full year. I guess my goal now is to keep it up. This is a project I started, more or less, for myself. I hoped to encourage some creative ideas and take leaps I may not have taken otherwise. There's a lot I've done poorly, a lot I've done well, and a lot I'm just surprised I did at all (beer ice cream much?!)

It's needless to say that I'm really glad I started this blog.

Here's to hoping that the best is yet to come.

Meat and Potatoes

2010-02-06T21:18:00.001-05:00

The setting: My apartment when I'm in need of a break from research and writing my Master's Essay.

The potatoes: drizzled with olive oil, two cloves of smashed garlic, salt, and pepper. Roasted at 450 degrees for about 30 minutes. Why stop there? I decided to mash them with butter and a little milk. Crispy, roasted, mashed potatoes? WIN.

The meat: a steak, a delicious steak.

The method: I found this over on the Ideas in Food blog. Basically you take a cast iron skillet, sprinkle on some salt, let it get hot (start smoking) then put in the steak, turn down the heat to medium and turn regularly. You get an even caramelized, salty crust on the steak. Let it rest for 10 minutes to keep it at its juiciest.

My method: no cast iron skillet so I used a regular saute pan with an incredibly light coating of oil, sprinkling of salt, and everything else.

I made a jus after the steak was done - reduced wine and beef broth. Finished with a pat of butter. Simple.

The steak was amazing, but it will be even better when I bring up my cast iron skillet after spring break.

Also, I need to take less crappy pictures. Either way, it was a great Friday night dinner. I may need veggies at some point though, so lentil and canellini soup this weekend.

Drowning in Vanilla

2010-02-04T14:19:00.002-05:00

In the past, I've made vanilla extract to give as gifts to my extended family. The process is fairly simple: just let a few vanilla beans soak in some vodka/bourbon/frangelico* for about 6 months, shaking once a week or so. Over time the liquor will darken and smell strongly of vanilla. One large jug of booze = 3 - 4 vanilla beans.

This time though, I've got LOADS of vanilla beans (about 21). I've placed 18 in a glass container half-filled with vodka. This process keeps the beans plump. I should note that you can still use the beans that have been soaking in vodka. Simply pull one out, snip off an end, and the delicious vanilla beans come right out.

The remaining 3 vanilla beans have found their way into another jar filled with sugar that will, naturally, become vanilla sugar. I'm immensely excited about all of these vanilla beans. I think my first order of business is to make some crema di limoncello liquor and share some with my friends.

*I've personally tried vodka and bourbon. Vodka, in my opinion, is the best because it doesn't have such a strong flavor for the vanilla to compete against. My friend Mallory, the one who procured the vanilla beans, mentioned that her fiance (who has been to culinary school) highly recommends using frangelico.

New England Clam Chowder with Mung Beans

2010-02-03T10:25:00.002-05:00

*You can totally make this without the Mung Beans*

This is my first attempt at a crockpot soup. It's pretty basic and straightforward. Naturally, the only crazy ingredients are clams and clam juice, heh.

Crockpot Clam Chowder with Mung Beans and Roasted Garlic

1 head of garlic
1 tsp + 1 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, diced
3 medium carrots, diced
2-3 stalks of celery, diced
2 tbsp flour
1 cup white wine

4-5 medium yukon gold potatoes
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

3 8oz cans clams
1 12oz jar clam juice

1 8oz can fat free evaporated milk
1/2 cup heavy cream

Let's begin by roasting the garlic. Cut the top of the garlic off, exposing the tops of the cloves. Drizzle with 1 tsp olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and place in a shallow baking dish. Add 1/2 cup water to the dish and bake at 450 degrees for 45 minutes or until the garlic cloves are roasted, caramelized, and deliciously sweet.

Next, in a pan set over medium heat, drizzle 1 tbsp olive oil and let the pan and oil get hot. Add the onion, carrots, and celery, sauteing until brown, about 20 minutes. Add the flour to the veggies and cook an additional 2-3 minutes to remove the floury taste. Whisk in the wine and let it come to a boil and thicken slightly. Transfer the contents of the pan to the pot of a crockpot or slow cooker. Add the roasted garlic and all of the rest ingredients except for the evaporated milk and cream. Stir or whisk to dissolve the roux and break apart the roasted garlic (you can also mash the garlic before adding it to the soup).

Cook on high for 3 hours or low for about 5-6 hours. Add the milk and cream during the last hour of cooking. It's hard to beat some delicious, crusty bread with this soup. Also, for the health factor we've got clams that are great for zinc and selenium, potatoes that provide potassium and a good complex carbohydrate to balance the protein in the milk and clams. Additionally, for being so rich, it's relatively low in fat (since 1/2 cup heavy cream and 1 tbsp oil is really the only fat in the soup - about 60 grams for the entire pot which constitutes roughly 6-8 16 oz servings).

YUM!

Mung Bean and Farfalle Soup

2010-01-27T19:25:00.002-05:00

I decided to splurge and get a giant bag of Mung Beans from Kroger. I've never really had them before, and I've certainly never cooked with them. However, they're very nutritious so naturally I wanted to give them a try.

Basically, the two main options seem to be sprouting the mung beans or cooking them. I've tried both - sprouting takes a couple days but produces sweet little sprouts. I combined these with some edamame, soy sauce, sambal, and garlic for a delicious, light salad.

Cooking them requires furious boiling in 2:1 water:bean ratio for 10 minutes followed by roughly 1 - 2 hours of simmering. According to the package, you shouldn't season the beans until after they've cooked for at least an hour. Basically, I got the beans almost cooked through before adding them to the soup I made. Really, the soup is pretty basic and open to interpretation - I imagine potatoes in lieu of pasta would be delicious, as would frozen peas or other vegetables.

Mung Bean and Farfalle Soup

1 cup, par-cooked mung beans with cooking water

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, diced
2 carrots, sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced

1 qt vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups farfalle (I used Barilla pasta plus just for the extra protein/amino acid wonderfulness)
salt and pepper to taste

Add the oil to a medium sized pot set over medium-high heat. Once the oil is heated through, add the onion, carrots, and celery. Saute for 10 - 15 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic and cook an additional 5 minutes, reducing the heat to medium to prevent burning.

Add the beans to the vegetables, then add vegetable broth. At this point, season with salt and pepper. Increase the temperature to medium-high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the farfalle and cook until the pasta is cooked through (typically about 10 minutes). Add a little more water or broth if the soup is too thick, but the quart of broth and reserved cooking water ended up being perfect for me.

There you have it - pretty clear and straightforward. Cooked mung beans have a texture similar to green lentils, but lack a little firmness in their bite, comparatively. I'll definitely be using them again, but I need to build on this soup to make it more substantial and full of veggies.

I think I'm getting in the mood for clam chowder. hmmm... Maybe clam chowder with mung beans?

Drowning in Vanilla

2010-01-25T20:28:00.002-05:00

So my friend Mallory just placed an order for 1/4 lb of vanilla beans from this reputable online store. She offered to split them with me but neither of us know how much 1/4 lb is in vanilla beans. We found one site that says it may be as much as 36 vanilla beans. Holy shit. I think I've died and gone to heaven. More to come when we get the vanilla beans in. Oh, and did I mention it cost less than 8 bucks for the 1/4 lb?

Gluten-free Brownies

2010-01-25T19:09:00.003-05:00

My gluten-free friend Kat declared that these were so good she swears they weren't gluten-free. The initial recipe that I'm building from came from another friend Amanda. I've included the original brownie recipe because it is amazing in its own right.

Original, Amazing Brownies

2 cups sugar
1 cup butter
4 eggs

1 ½ cups + 2 tbsp flour
2/3 cup cocoa
¼ tsp salt

Cream sugar, butter, and eggs. Add flour, cocoa, and salt and mix thoroughly. Pour batter into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes. Do not overbake, or you will be sorry.

See? It's very straightforward and super easy. For my gluten-free version, I decided to use brown sugar to add some chewiness and my go-to gluten-free brown rice flour. Additionally, I added brewed coffee to make it moist and used Hershey's dark cocoa powder because it was all I had on hand. Ah, necessity really is the mother of invention (or reinvention as the case may warrant).

Gluten-Free Dark Chocolate Brownies

1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1 cup butter

4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp brewed coffee (left over from breakfast is perfect)

1 1/2 cups + 2 tbsp brown rice flour
2/3 cup dark cocoa powder (although regular would suffice)
1/4 tsp salt

Cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, vanilla, and coffee and mix just until incorporated and homogenous. Add the flour, cocoa powder and salt and mix until just combined. Pour into a greased and floured 9x13 inch pan and bake at 325 degrees for about 30 minutes. Again, don't over bake, the brownies should be just set in the center or ever so slightly wiggly. My time is based on using a glass pan.

The brownie on the bottom is inverted to show off it's amazing texture :)

I've made these bad boys twice now and, while the timing has varied slightly due to our oven not being the most accurate, they've turned out great both times - delicious, moist, and chewy - and all without gluten.

Up next, whenever I get time to finish the post - vegetarian mung bean and farfalle soup.

Sausage and Potato Soup

2010-01-18T21:49:00.003-05:00

I've been reintroducing healthy carbs back into my diet. I still don't buy bread or chips or, well, anything white. Since school started back I have cooked brown rice as kind of a go-to meal maker. I add a little tuna, olive oil, salt and pepper, and I've got a healthy lunch. I add some salsa and a over-easy egg (<3) and I've got dinner.

Potatoes are a food I only recently started using again with any kind of regularity. They're great sources of potassium and, in general, they're a great carbohydrate option (hence why my last recipe and this one both use them). I love sausage in soup form - it's so rich and flavorful and a little goes a long way. In making this soup, I actually use a roux similar to making a gumbo. I also thought it would be nifty to use to some soyrizo - for no other reason than flavor.

Suasage and Potato Soup

1 package soyrizo
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups chicken broth

1 package spicy bratwurst (about 5 sausages)
3-4 tbsp flour
1-2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped
2 bell peppers (red, green, or yellow will work), chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
2 medium carrots, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
5 -6 small/medium potatoes

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

Okay so this gets weird really fast. First, I heated the broths in a pan and added the soyrizo, whisking to fully break it up. The result is a spicy, full-bodied broth that I cooled and chilled overnight to allow the flavors to develop. I used soyrizo, rather than chorizo, because it breaks down more completely and can "dissolve" into the broth.

The next morning I rendered the fat from the sausage, cooking it in the process.

I drained the sausage and left the 2-3 tbsp of fat in the pan. I added 1 tbsp of olive oil and the flour to make a thin roux. Cooking it for a minute until the flouriness was gone, I added all of the vegetables except the potatoes and garlic. (Who knew flouriness was a word recognized by the blogspot spellcheck - and yet blogspot is not?!)

I stirred and cooked the veggies for about 10 minutes or until they began to soften. During this time some of the roux had begun browning and some even got stuck to the bottom of the pan. I started to freak out a little bit, but I added in the soyrizo broth and the tomatoes. Once this got to temperature, everything that was stuck to the bottom of the pan dissolved into the liquid.

After that, I add the garlic, potatoes, reserved sausage, salt and pepper to taste, and about 2 tsp dried thyme. I let all of this just barely come to a boil. I covered the pot, reduced the heat and let it simmer for about an hour or so, until the potatoes were done. I skimmed excess fat off the top and bam, I had a delicious meal.

Now, I'll be the first to admit this is far from super-healthy, but if the Ohio winter has taught me anything it's that, sometimes, having a little fat in your meals isn't so terrible. And still, most of the soup is vegetables, broth, and crushed tomatoes so how can you go wrong?

Warming Heart Cockles.

2010-01-13T20:58:00.002-05:00

It's so very cold in Ohio right now. At some point, earlier in life, I could tolerate and even enjoyed the cold. Lately though, it, pardon the cliche, chills me to the bone. I've been craving soups. Nothing fancy or frou frou - just good, hearty soups and stews, so I decided to make a rich stew this weekend. Coupled with a recent dream I had about bacon, I think a meaty, hearty stew will be just what I need to warm the cockles of my heart through this snow we've recently gotten.

I found this recipe originally in La Cucina Italiana - a magazine I have to thank my fellow MA student, Mallory for. She gets the subscription and I get her leftovers, as it were. Initially, this was a veal stew chock full of vegetables. I simply made it a turkey stew, but still full of veggies. I heart veggies, what can I say? Also, and curiously I might add, the original recipe did not use wine, which I have decided to use to deglaze the pan after I've browned the meat and the vegetables. Also, I needed an excuse to buy some wine. Also, I needed an excuse to drink some wine :)

Turkey Breast* Stew
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
1 lb turkey breast cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
4 small-medium yukon gold potatoes
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup red wine (I used a shiraz)
3 cups vegetable stock

In a large pot heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat. Once the pot and the oil are hot, add half the turkey, making sure it's dry before you put it in the pot to ensure a good sear. Sear the turkey bits until brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and add the remaining turkey and brown.

Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the pot and, once it's hot, add the onion, celery, and carrot. Reduce the heat to medium, and cook for about 8-10 minutes or until the onion is soft and beginning to brown. Add the garlic, potatoes, and thyme cooking for an additional 5 minutes. Add the salt and pepper at the end.

Add the red wine to the pan in order to deglaze some of those delicious crusty bits. Finally, add the stock to the pot and bring the pot to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low or low, cover, and simmer slowly for at least an hour until the turkey is cooked through and tender.

Using a slotted spoon, remove the turkey and coarser veggies from the pot (who cares about the onions at this point, right?). Then pour off the liquid into another bowl. Return the empty pot to the heat and add 1 tbsp butter. Create a roux by whisking in 1 tbsp + 1 tsp flour to the butter. Cook the flour for about a minute to remove that floury taste. Slowly pour the liquid back in the pot, whisking constantly to combine the roux and thicken the sauce. Let the sauce come to a low boil and cook until it's reduced to about 2 cups (15 minutes, give or take). Add the turkey and the vegetables back to the pot and cook just to warm everything through. Enjoy! :)

*While I'm opposed to breasts of most kind, turkey and chicken breasts are particularly delicious. However, I'm sure an equal amount of any meat that you can brown effectively would work.

I made this last weekend, but am just posting now. Yay for crazy weeks! This weekend I'm making tiramisu and what should be a delightful sausage and potato soup / gumbo. Notes and recipes to come.

Grill, Interrupted

2010-01-02T12:13:00.003-05:00

The first time I’ve ever actually grilled was this past summer… in France… for fifty kids. It’s needless to say, but it was definitely an eye-opening experience. Just from grilling countless pork chops and sausages I learned so many basics about grilling. I try not to eat much meat out of the cholesterol-phobia that my parents have instilled within me (my dad’s side of the family is rife with heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, colon cancer – basically all things that can be avoided or at least kept under control with diet).

However, I’ve found myself wanting to grill more lately and in need of getting a grill pan. Living the grad student lifestyle hasn’t yet afforded me a grill, but I can get a close approximation with a grill pan.

Aside from that, I think it’s hard to beat high temperature oven roasting. At the beginning of my break, I roasted some leftover-from-Halloween roasting pumpkins to make some delicious puree now sitting in my freezer awaiting transformation into either pumpkin soup or perhaps a pumpkin and sage ravioli… but then again it’s hard to beat good pumpkin scones. Oh, the possibilities…

I also made this delicious salad from roasted vegetables last year. I don’t think I fully posted about it but, basically, after coating the veggies with olive oil and seasoning with salt and pepper, I roasted two eggplants, some red and green bell peppers, carrots, and onion. After it all cooled down, I sliced the larger veggies into similar-sized chunks and threw it all together with a little feta cheese. The only problem was the work put into the meal with the outcome of the food, in terms of quantity – it basically made three entrée-sized portions but took about 2 or 3 intense hours of careful roasting, seasoning, and preparing vegetables. You can’t beat a veggie salad in terms of health, though.

The other staple veggie I love roasting is the brussel sprout. Growing up I loved every green vegetable I ate, from asparagus to spinach to the tiny-cabbages that are brussel sprouts. When it comes to a quick side item, I always default to roasted brussel sprouts, onions, carrots, and potatoes. It’s a quick chop, season, and roast side dish that always has great results – something about the caramelized outer leaves and the tender center just brings out the best flavor from this humble little garden vegetable.

More thoughts, and more roasting, to come…

Citrus Circus

2009-12-17T09:00:00.003-05:00

I’ve learned to love the simplicity of citrus fruits – both in baking and in cocktails (although the latter category will require a later post where I can really try some interesting concoctions).

Most recently I’ve made some Lemon Drop Meringue cookies and a batch of Anna’s Orange Marmalade. On deck first are the Lemon Drop Meringues – oh meringue-based cookies, why have I thus far forsaken you? Meringues are so delightfully easy and super elegant if you only have a piping bag handy.

Lemon Drop Meringue Cookies

6 egg whites

1/2 tsp cream of tarter

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

4 tsp lemon zest*

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whip attachment (or by hand if you have the biceps of a Hungarian shot putter) whip the egg whites, cream of tarter, and salt until medium peaks form. Then, gradually add the sugar, a couple tablespoons at a time, until it’s fully incorporated and the meringue is standing at stiff, firm peaks. Fold in the lemon zest and fill a pastry bag fitted with a cute little rosette or other decorative tip.

Pipe onto parchment paper (or a silicone mat) and place baking sheets (you should probably have two full baking sheets – very little space in between them is necessary as no expanding happens during baking.

Bake at 200 degrees for 1½ hours, changing the baking sheets halfway through to ensure even baking. After the time is up, leave the oven door closed, turn the oven off, and leave the meringues alone for 1 hour. After the hour, remove the pans from the oven and let the meringues cool on their sheets before removing (or tasting as the meringues, right out of the oven, will still have a slightly sticky texture).

There – easy as cake… well, easy as meringues. Give it time, it’ll catch on as a phrase ;) Also, this recipe can be halved in a pinch. In fact, I’ve only ever halved it.

*The large amount of lemon zest is as reflective of the volume of the whipped egg whites as it is reflective of the lack of other lemon flavors available. While you could use lemon extract, I doubt other flavorful ingredients would work – lemon oil would probably prevent the egg whites from whipping, and I can’t imagine that the acid from lemon juice would be good either – but I am always interested in getting the most intense flavor possible so I will experiment with these guys more. As it stands, the zest is certainly enough for now.

Next up is Anna’s Orange Marmalade. This recipe comes from the wonderful Ina Garten and, more specifically, from one of her Barefoot Contessa cookbooks. As it stands, I don’t think any other Food Network chef can beat Alton Brown in terms of entertainment or raw, animal, sex appeal, but Ina Garten comes close (on both counts). Say what you will, I have yet to make a Barefoot Contessa recipe that hasn’t turned out both beautifully and tasty – that kind of talent deserves respect. One of her first recipes I tried that really won me over was Eli’s Asian Salmon. Go on, find it online and check it out, it’s a wonderful party recipe, and the blend of Asian ingredients has lead to so many other amazing recipes I’ve created.

Anna’s Orange Marmalade

4 navel Oranges, preferably juicy and seedless

2 lemons

8 cups sugar

Cut the oranges and lemons in half cross ways. Then slice them into incredibly thin half-moons and place, with any collected juices, into a large stainless steal pot. Add 8 cups of water to the pot and bring to a boil, stirring often. Once the mixture has boiled, remove it from the heat and stir in the 8 cups of sugar until it all dissolves.

Leave the mixture in the pot over night. (Don’t you love when recipes have this kind of step? I feel like, at some point in the initial development, the original chef just forgot about it altogether… until the next morning at least.)*

The next day, bring the mixture back to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and let it simmer, uncovered for 2 hours. Turn the heat up to medium and boil gently, stirring often, for another 30 minutes. Cook the marmalade until it reaches 220 degrees on a candy thermometer. To check the doneness, place a small amount of the marmalade on a plate and put it in the refrigerator until it’s cool but not terribly cold. It should be firm neither runny nor hard. If it’s runny, cook it down a bit more. If it’s too hard, add more water.

Pour the marmalade into clean, hot mason jars and process in a water bath to preserve the marmalade. Stores for up to a year.

*I love asterisks. I should note that, at the time I publish this post, I am only at this step and have yet to finish cooking down the marmalade. It’s looking rather amazing though :)

Wow

2009-12-15T12:49:00.002-05:00

I have to say, I started this blog as a way to catalogue my own experiments with cooking. It's provided a great repository of recipes (and trials and errors) that I've returned too frequently. Towards the end of this past quarter though, things were getting crazy with school and grad school applications and all the extra cooking I wanted to do became more like a chore than a nice relief. I definitely plan on continuing my blog and hopefullyI can keep up with the "something sweet and something savory" each week eventually. After I get into the swing of things, I'll be happy to have regular, weekly updates for a bit though.

In the meantime, it's been a really long time since I updated last. Being home comes with it's ups and downs.

Ups

large, warm, cozy bed and I don't have to pay the gas bill to keep it warm and cozy
I get to see all of my friends from undergrad and get to see my family for more than a couple days
I get to enjoy Lexington, Chinese places that deliver, and good pizza-and-beer places to eat.
I don't have to work (first break in more than two years, though I haven't calculated how long exactly).

Downs

No decent internet connection that lets me update or correspond with any sort of regularity. (Thankfully Danville is only a 20-minute drive from home)

I don't think I'll be able to completely update until I return to school, shortly after Christmas, but I definitely have some great recipes I want to log on here: starry starry night cookies from Confections of a Closet Master Baker, lime snowball cookies, cranberry bliss bars, and lemon drop meringues for starters. My dining room table (where all of the sweets are getting ready to be gift wrapped and given to friends and family) looks a little like a winter wonderland of Christmas confections - and I couldn't be happier with them :)

I also really want to try this dessert I saw on a some show or another. Basically, the chef made a large meringue snowman, half-baked it, scooped out the uncooked insides, returned the shell to the oven to crisp up, then filled the shell with chocolate mousse. TOO CUTE and I bet delicious as all get out.

My oh my oh, when I return to Ohio, great things will come :)

Super Mega Update

2009-11-15T20:33:00.005-05:00

Well, November is half way over and I've done a terrible job of updating lately. The past few weeks have been pretty crazy. Hopefully, this mega-update will suffice. I'm not sure how much I'll get to cook at home over the break. Scratch that - I'll get to cook a metric shit ton - but I don't know how often I'll be able to update.

Onto some of my more interesting recent endeavors. Tomato Soup with Ricotta Dumplings. Good, not great and probably not worth my time in the future. It was easy enough, but the dumplings were either too tough or too silky - they seemed to either be stones or they would simply melt into the soup.

Next up... mmm two delicious pomegranates become...

Beautiful, delicious pomegranate seeds: yay antioxidants!!! (Also, if Persephone ate only six of these to tide her over while she was in Hades, honky bitch was anorexic).

By reducing the amount of brown sugar, I actually have created some gluten-free peanut butter cookies that are both chewy and wafer thin - perfect for sandwiching with peanut butter mmmm... also, Reduced-Fat Jif = AMAZING

Finally, on this mega-update post: what won't I do for my class? Space Invader Cupcakes? Check... I'm kind of super proud of these guys. Fondant + Scissors = heaven. Period.

Cranberry Raisin Bagels

2009-10-30T17:27:00.003-04:00

It's been about 5 days since I made these guys, so I suck at updating, but still... I so love bagels...

I used the same recipe from last week (or a few posts ago). Only I substituted half of the bread flour that I normally use for all of my baking purposes, for whole wheat flour. This provides a nuttier flavor and texture.

Then, with the flour and salt, I added 3/4 cup each raisins and cranberries. Everything else about the recipe was the same as before - knead, let the dough rise, make bagels, boil, bake. After I boiled the bagels but before they went into the oven, I sprinkled oats on top - more for affect than anything.

I have to say, these bagels well exceeded my expectations. They were so much better than last weeks. I think I may have been a little more liberal in my use of water and thus my used of flour. In the end though the dough itself seemed softer. I definitely want to recreate these results in the future.

Coming up, more bagels, this time I' making jalepeno-cheddar bagels for my friend Jess, and tomato basil soup with ricotta dumplings. If I'm feeling extra awesome this weekend, I may make some peanut butter and jelly cookies.

Beer Ice Cream

2009-10-25T13:36:00.005-04:00

Featuring the best ice cream base I think I've ever made:

Beer Ice Cream

1 cup sugar
6 egg yolks
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 1/2 cups half and half

1/2 cup whole milk
1 tsp vanilla

2/3 cup dark stout (I used Founders Breakfast Stout)

For the base:

Whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, and corn starch. In a medium saucepan heat the half and half until it's boiling. Temper the egg yolk mixture with the hot cream, then return the mixture to the sauce pan and stir constantly, until thick. Then strain and chill. This is the best ice cream base ever, from here you can add 1 cup of milk and vanilla and whatever flavorings you want. Once you have the custard down, everything else is just making sure the liquids measure out correctly. For this recipe I also added 1 tsp instant coffee granules to the egg sugar mixture to give it a slightly coffee flavor.

For this recipe I reduced the whole milk by 1/2 cup and replaced it with 2/3 cup beer. Originally I planned on doing a one to one replacement, but decided I wanted a slightly beer-ier flavor. More water based liquid = larger ice crystals, so be careful of doing this.

Then I let the coffee/beer ice cream mixture chill in the refrigerator until it was nice and cold and put it in my ice cream maker for about 35 minutes.

*Gorgeous*

*Delicious*

Up next... cranberry raisin wheat bagels :)

Recipe Redux

2009-10-24T16:40:00.002-04:00

I've been terrible at posting this week. My laptop has been removed from my room to our kitchen which, one would think, would equal more posting. However, the opposite has been true.

So let's look back, shall we?

I made some banana bread using my recipe for banana muffins. However the only nut I had were some almonds. This was only moderately successful. I really do prefer muffins, but I just need to find my old banana bread recipe and make a loaf of that.

I failed miserably at a recipe of the ultimate chocolate chip cookies. This failure prompted me to purchase a hand mixer. When making those cookies by hand they only seem to work part of the time. A hand mixer is both affordable and will have multiple uses, potentially making my baking life easier.

Last night, I made a steak. I had just turned in my prospectus and had drink with the head of Rhet Comp and some other second year MA friends. I went home and fired up the range. I set a metal (not non-stick) pan on and let it get warm. Then I poured in a little oil and seared the hell out of it. Seasoning-wise I just put some salt and pepper on it. After I had seared both sides I put the steak on a pan and slid it into a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes. In the mean time I poured some beef stock and red wine into the pan to make a pan jus... poured it over the steak when it came out.

I haven't eaten any kind of meat in a few weeks. Not for any reason, I just don't keep it in my diet with any kind of regularity. This steak was heaven.

Up ahead, cinnamon raisin bagels and beer ice cream.

Bagels!

2009-10-18T13:33:00.003-04:00

My friend Rebecca definitely has domain over these, but I had to give them a try.

I mean, they're amazing and so delicious, how could I not make them on my own? Also, I've been craving carbs like woah. I try not to keep many around the house - it helps keep the weight down - but once in a while certainly can't hurt. I think, before I get crazy, I'll start with some plain bagels - no frills, no bacon maple bagels, nothing crazy at first.

Bagels, plain and tall

2 tsp active dry yeast (1 package, but the measurement is handy for future reference in case of multiplying/dividing the recipe)
1 1/4 cups warm water
1 1/2 tsp sugar

3 1/2 cups flour (plus more for dusting)
1 1/2 tsp salt

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the 1/2 cup of the water for 5 minutes. Don't stir the mixture. After the five minutes, stir the mixture. In another large bowl combine the flour and salt, and make a well in the center. Add the water/yeast mixture and half of the remaining water (3/8 of a cup for those keeping count). Mix and add more of the water until the dough comes together. It will be a little wet but still very firm.

Knead the dough for 10 minutes on a lightly dusted surface - a countertop works great, the back of your pet cat, not so much. After you've finished kneading, place the ball of dough (which should be smooth and elastic by now) in another bowl that's been lightly coated with oil. Cover with a damp towel and place in a warm, draft-free area to rise for about one hour.

Once the hour is over, punch the dough down. Yeah, I guess that means to physically punch the dough. Let it rest for 10 minutes. Divide it into 8 equal pieces (or as close to equal as you can manage). Shape each dough into a ball. Coat your finger in flour and press it through, slowly stretching the hole until it's about a third of the diameter of the entire bagel. The holes will close up when boiling so yeah, aim for width. Place bagels on an oiled baking sheet and let rest for 10 minutes.

In the mean time preheat your oven to 425 degrees and set a large pot of water on to boil. Carefully place the bagels in the boiling water and let boil about 2 minutes per side for delicious, chewy bagels. Remove to a paper towel or piece of parchment paper as you boil the rest. Very carefully place the boiled bagels on a lightly oiled baking sheet, and bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes until beautiful and golden brown.

Mmmm... part of a delicious an nutritious breakfast.

Considering my fear of doughs and kneading, I definitely think these guys were a success. In the future, I'll definitely be sure to add more water into the dough and more flour in the kneading process, and probably make sure to knead even more thoroughly, heh.

Still to come: banana bread, curry, cookies YUM!

The Great Ice Cream Experiment: Part One

2009-10-17T19:40:00.000-04:00

Sure, bacon improves most things, but ice cream?! I've been wanting to make maple bacon ice cream for some time now. Call it an obsession, but it's been in the back of my head for nearly a year. Something about the saltiness of the bacon and the sweetness of the maple syrup just creates an irresistible combination. Why wouldn't this work in ice cream form? I mean, after all what is ice cream but cream and eggs + bacon and maple syrup? It sounds like the makings of a delicious breakfast, certainly.

What seemed to work the best was pan frying the bacon until almost crisp. Then, I removed all of the fat (because something tells me that chunks of fat in ice cream would not be good eats), and chopped about 4 strips of bacon as fine as I could - basically I made bacon bits. Then, I put the bacon in a small pot to warm through and crisp up, and I poured roughly 1/3 cup maple syrup over it. This boiled almost instantly and reduced making a candy-like sticky bacon-maple syrup. I whisked this into the custard, placed it in my ice cream mixer and BAM bacon-maple ice cream.

It's definitely not traditional, but again it plays on the salty-sweet food pairing, like salted caramel.

Maple Ice Cream Base

1 cup maple syrup
6 egg yolks
1 tbsp cornstarch

Whisk this together until thick and well combined.

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1/2 tsp vanilla

Bring the cream to a boil in a sauce pan. Temper the eggs mixture by slowly whisking in about 1/3 of the hot cream. Once the egg mixture is warmed, add it back to the remaining cream in the sauce pan. Heat over medium low heat, stirring constantly until hot and thickened. It should coat the back of a spoon. The heating process took roughly 12-15 minutes. Don't let the mixture boil. Strain into a chilled bowl and stir to cool the mixture.

Whisk in the whole milk and the vanilla. Whisk in the bacon mixture mentioned above the recipe (ya know, if you want to go there). Chill thoroughly then freeze in your ice cream machine.

In the very near future: Curry. Bagels. Banana Bread. Cookies. Beer Ice Cream. It's going to be a fun weekend and start to the week.

Keeping it cheap and easy...

2009-10-11T08:37:00.005-04:00

So I decided to mesh cheap and easy with ridculous and delicious this week. On the cheap and easy side is Lentil Soup from a previous blog post. It's affordable and good for warming the cockles of your heart. Not to mention it's high in fiber and protein - yay.

I started with the same Lentil Soup recipe that I used last winter.

I did make a few changes: I'm using these beautiful homegrown leeks in the recipe, melted, in place of onions.

I decided to use a 28oz can of crushed tomatoes, as well, in lieu of diced tomatoes. Since I don't have an immersion blender, this version was not pureed smooth (a factor that made me want to use the crushed tomatoes).

Also, due to my lack of an immersion blender, this recipe is not pureed, but it is a nice, chunky vegetable soup, and it's hearty and warming to boot.

Oh yes, and the "ridiculous and delicious" portion... that is to come but, be prepared... I'm thinking it's maple and bacon ice cream time.

...like warm apple pie

2009-10-06T22:15:00.007-04:00

Similar to my fear of scones, my fear of pies stems from the pastry. I've made quiche before with moderate success, but I can never seem to get the crust right 100% of the time. For that reason, and the fact that a pie or quiche can basically be ruined if the crust isn't good, I've stayed away from pies. But the time has come that I must confront my pastry fears head on. Enter Gesine Bullock-Prado's book Confections of a Closet Master Baker.

Not only do I have to read this book for the purpose of writing a book review in class, but I also thought it would be a good idea to try out some of the recipes. The previous scones, for example, were a take on a scone recipe from her book. So far I've had success, and I figured, if I want to make a pie from scratch, without first starting with the universe thankyouverymuchCarlSagan, I may as well start with what seemed like a full-proof recipe. And, hey, the less time I spend researching various recipes and creating a hybrid of my own, the more time I have to actually spend with the confections, right?

I should note that I quoted basically her entire recipe, interjecting pictures and captions of my own. Somewhere, right now as I post this, at least three MLA scholars are dying, but it made the most sense to me to present the information in the author's own, if not unauthorized, words, rather than my paraphrasing.

Apple Pie a la Confections of a Closet Master Baker

For quick puff pastry
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 pounds (5 sticks) cold unsalted butter
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 tsp lemon juice stirred into 3/4 cup cold water

For the filling
8 Granny Smith apples
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 vanilla bean, split
1/4 cup heavy cream

1 large egg
sanding sugar

For the puff pastry
"Place the flour in a large bowl. Cut the butter into 1-inch pieces. Add to the flour and incorporate with your hands, pinching and massaging the butter into the flour, making sure to leave discernible chunks of butter intact. You don't want to incorporate the butter so well that it is starts [sic] to look like cornmeal. Chunks of butter are good.

Dissolve the salt in the water. Add to the flour and butter and mix gently with your hands until dough comes together slightly.

Shape the dough into a rough square and let it rest for 10 minutes."

This is my giant mass of dough... it's just begging to get molded into a miniature sculpture of Mr. Belvedere... I don't know why...

"On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 1/2-inch-thick rectangle. Give the dough three single turns, followed by one double turn. If the dough feels rubbery after you have completed a few turns, let it rest a few minutes before you continue. Cover and refrigerate. Your dough block should be approximately 12/6 inches.

For the filling
Peel and slice the apples. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Combine the sugars, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt in a large bowl, add the apples, and toss to coat. In a sturdy pot large enough to hold the apples, melt the butter with the vanilla and cream. Add the apples and cook until the fruit is soft and the mixture thickens. Remove the vanilla bean."

The before shot...

And the after shot... so gooey and so delicious

To assemble the pie
"Once your quick puff is nice and cool, take a sharp knife and cut in half. Take a look at the dough where you've sliced through. You should see layers of dough and butter. Some larger chunks of butter will be peeking through. This is a wonderful thing. When you roll, you want to press down on these layers. You don't want to lay the cut side down; make sure the layers are parallel to the rolling table and you are pressing the layers down into each other, maintaining the layer structure and ensuring maximum puff and flakiness. Roll each piece into a 10-inch circle. Transfer the first circle to a pie plate and crimp the edges. Freeze for at least 1/2 hour. Wrap the second 10-inch round in plastic and refrigerate until you are ready to assemble the pie.
When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Take the frozen pie shell from the freezer and with a fork, stab the bottom of the shell a few times. Line the shell with foil or parchment and fill it with dry beans or rice as a weight. Bake until the edges are slightly golden and the bottom of the shell no longer looks wet and raw, about 15 minutes. This is called blind baking and ensures that the bottom pastry won't be soggy."

Clearly, this is one of my first pie crusts... and with the exception of quiche, it really is

"Beat the egg with 1 tablespoon water to make an egg wash.

Remove the foil and the rice or beans and transfer the filling to the shell. Place your second dough circle on top of the apples. Brush the top of the dough with the egg wash and sprinkle with sanding sugar*"

*The one thing I changed in this recipe - I didn't have sanding sugar, so I used raw sugar

"Bake at 350 degrees F until the top crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling, about 45 minutes."

I have to admit, I'm incredibly happy with this, visually... it's nice and golden and perfectly imperfect.

A PIE SERVER! My kingdom for a pie server!... and a cup of hot, strong coffee with just a wee bit of sugar and milk... mmm

All in all, I would definitely consider this a successful recipe and a great pie to start with for beginners. I will say the crust takes some getting used to and is a bit challenging. I think, for my purposes, this recipe will go through some modifications for when i make it again. Not out of any particular necessity, but I'd really love to try some brown butter in the filling and try half of the crust recipe, since half seemed to make more than enough for a bottom crust and decorations or lattice work on the top...

Chili goodness

2009-10-05T17:27:00.003-04:00

It's that time of year again - time for some delicious chili. With my new found love of tempeh, I've decided to start by marinating a pound of tempeh that I broke up in 1 1/2 chipotle chilis, 2 serrano peppers, 1 jalepeno, 2 cherry peppers and 4 cloves of garlic. I tossed in about 1 tsp of salt as well. This has basically sat for a day and, I can tell you, is spicy and delicious.

I'm a fan of heat, but not crazy, burn the hell out of my mouth heat. I like the flavor that accompanies it as well. So typically, I use a lot of chili peppers, but stay away from scotch bonnets and crazy fire like that.

Once the tempeh has sat for about a day or two, really the longer the better, it's ready to go.

2 tbsp oil
2 medium purple onions, chopped
2 bell peppers, the color is up to you, chopped
1 pablano pepper, chopped

tempeh mixture

1 dark beer (I think Rogue's Shakespeare Stout is perhaps my favorite chili beer, but since I couldn't find any, I'm using the Edmund Fitzgerald Porter made by the Great Lakes Brewing Co.)

1 can crushed tomatoes (strangely, italian style works really well as the subtle sweetness pairs well and cools down any excess heat brought on from the peppers.

2 cans of beans, mashed (I use cannelini beans as a default)

Chicken broth for extra liquid (about 1 1/2 - 2 cups worth).
1/2 - 1 tsp cumin, to taste
Salt and pepper

Start by heating some oil in a large pan. Add 2 medium or 1 1/2 large onions to the oil and saute until transluscent and beginning to brown. Next, add the bell and pablano peppers. Once those guys have started to soften, add the tempeh mixture and increase the heat to medium high in order to begin browning everything in the pot. Brown food is good food. Add salt and pepper at this stage, but don't go crazy... you can always add more later.

After about 10-15 minutes, add the beer, scraping up delicious brown bits along the way. Next add the tomatoes, broth, and finally the mashed beans. Bring this to a boil over medium high heat, then cover and reduce to low for 45 minutes to an hour.

Once the time is up, check the chili, add salt and pepper to taste. If it's a little too thin, cook uncovered for about 20 minutes longer. Cool, cover with cheese and crumbled tortilla chips and enjoy. This would also be delicious over a baked potato... omg drool...

Sconed to Death

2009-10-03T16:33:00.006-04:00

I've had traumatic experiences with biscuits and scones.

What can I say? I'm a super efficient kneader and, before I know it, I've got hard little rocks instead of moist, delicious scones. But I decided, since it's literally been years since I last attempted either of the confections, that I need to get over my fear and try out some scones. Also, I've been missing bread and bread-y things lately - to the extent that I woofed down a whole pizza for lunch. I'll chalk that up to a "metabolism booster" and run it off later or tomorrow hehe :P

Either way you can't combine 'classy' and 'morning pastry' without getting a scone. These delicious, moist little guys were a basic cream scone recipe with slightly more sugar, zest and cranberries. Who doesn't love dried cranberries?

Cranberry Orange Scones

1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 cup water

1/2 cup heavy cream, plus additional for sprinkling
1 large egg
1 tbsp orange zest
1/4 cup sugar, plus additional for sprinkling

6 tbsp butter, chilled and cut into tiny bits
2 1/4 cups bread flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp baking powder

Warm the water in the microwave and pour over the cranberries to rehydrate them. Let them set for 15 minutes, but the longer the better.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Whisk the cream, egg, orange zest, and sugar together in a small bowl until well combined.

In another bowl, stir together the bread flour, salt, and baking powder. Blend in the butter with your finger tips or a pastry blender just until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

Stir the cranberries and the cream mixture into the flour mixture until it forms a sticky, but hopefully manageable, dough.

Knead the dough gently for, like, 30 seconds. Don't knead to much or this shit will get tough. Pat the dough into a 1/2 inch thick circle. Cut dough with a round biscuit cutter (although you could always freehand triangles with a knife - don't go crazy and buy special stuff for this). Gather the scraps and gently, super gently reform into a round and cut out the rest of the scones. Using a 1 1/2 inch round biscuit cutter, I got about 8 out.

Place the scones on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silpat. Brush with a little extra cream and sprinkle with sugar. Bake the scones for about 15 - 18 minutes or until golden and delicious.

These guys are awesome and not terribly sweet. :)

I feel like this recipe could easily be altered for use with blueberries or most any fruit

Mini-update

2009-10-01T19:34:00.003-04:00

Sadly, the town of Athens, Ohio does not have anything like a CSA. I don't really even know what a CSA is - it seems to be something that you pay money into and each month you get fresh vegetables. It definitely sounds like a good investment to me.

However, what Athens does have is a colleague of mine, Kate Nuernberger and what Kate has is chickens. About 8 of them. And they lay rainbow colored eggs. And they're delicious. Two dollars a dozen. How can you beat that?!

Effing picture... I need some adobe software like woah

Also in this update - whatever happened to those Nocino walnuts? Well those little guys are good for lots of things. After the Nocino is bottled, I put some sweet marsala wine over the walnuts and made this delicious fruity, cinnamon-y, walnut-y, apperetif. It's also perfect for this weather. Let it sit for a month, and you're good to go. I'm ready to bottle this and enjoy it nearly every chance I get.

Even after this, I've heard of the walnuts being removed from their shells and used in homemade spumanti. I don't think I'll go quite that far, but the apperetif allows you to enjoy some delicious walnut-y booze right now. What's not to love?

Ensconced in scones

2009-09-29T21:23:00.001-04:00

This weekend scones and perhaps a tentative book review... I have to write one for class, so why not. Also, it's getting to be that time of year again, so I think it's time for some chili or curry. Which shall it be??? Maybe even, if I get crazy, some banana bread...

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

2009-09-27T18:42:00.001-04:00

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

2 large sweet potatoes
2 large russet baking potatoes

Pierce these guys all over with a fork and bake in the oven at 450 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour. When they're finished, cool them slightly, peel them, mash them, then let them cool completely.

1 egg
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
3 1/2 cups All purpose flour (I used bread flour and it worked really well)

Combine the egg and salt and pepper. Make a well in the center of the mound of mashed potatoes. (You can do this directly on a counter top, btw - it's loads of fun!) Pour the egg mixture into the center of the well and knead into the potatoes. Next knead in the cheese. Finally begin by kneading in 1 1/2 cups flour. Once this flour is incorporated add more flour until the dough comes together in a smooth but slightly sticky ball (I used all but about 1/2 cup).

Divide the dough into 6 equal portions. Roll one portion out into a rope about 1/2 inch thick and cut until 1/2 inch cubes, like so:

Roll the cubes into a ball and place on a floured baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough.

Once all of the dough has been turned into similarly-sized balls, take each ball and roll down the back of a floured fork to make indentations. According to a recipe I found on Epicurious, if you angle the fork at 45 degrees and stable it with one hand, then apply downward pressure with your thumb it will work every time. I did this, and I have to say it made indenting the gnocchi fairly easy.

Though many of you complain that while they're small, you meet an army of gnocchi

Once you get to this stage you can freeze the gnocchi, all in a single layer, then place in plastic bags and save for another time. There's no need to unfreeze before using.

To Cook the Gnocchi
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil on the stove. Drop the gnocchi in but don't over crowd them. It shouldn't take longer than 3-5 minutes for them to float to the top indicating that they are done.

Sage Brown Butter Sauce
This sauce couldn't be easier.

For one serving of gnocchi:
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp chopped fresh sage
salt and pepper
1/4 cup parmesan cheese.

In a saute pan heat the butter over medium heat until it's no longer foamy. Add the sage and cook until the sage is crisp and the milk solids in the butter have begun to brown - hence brown butter. Toss in some cooked and drained gnocchi, salt, pepper and parmesan cheese. Let everything heat through and allow the cheese to just start melting. Serve. Enjoy. Die happy.

The Tableaux is complete...

2009-09-27T18:28:00.003-04:00

I shall call this, "Oh my God they killed Frank!"...

I'm pretty proud of these guys. Stay tuned for the gnocchi post...

Sugar Cookies - I'm getting better at decorating

2009-09-26T16:07:00.004-04:00

This recipe is surprisingly simple. It's just your basic vanilla sugar cookie recipe. The frosting is something I've experimented with and found to be both tasty and aesthetically pleasing. It's basically a butter cream, but instead of butter I use white chocolate as the fat. That way, if you frost a warm cookie or slightly warm the frosting itself, it spreads easily, dries smoothly, and has a slight shine to it. Ah, dumb luck, you're my favorite sous chef.

Vanilla Sugar Cookies

For the Cookies:

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar*

1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 2/3 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

*This was the first time in recent memory I've found myself without brown sugar. However, I remembered a helpful hint - for 1 cup of light brown sugar you can substitute 1 cup white sugar plus about 2 tbsp molasses. Now, I'm much more likely to have brown sugar around than I am molasses. Luckily, my roommate happened to have some, and the recipe was saved.

Cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg, followed by the vanilla. In a separate bowl sift the bread flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add in 2 or 3 additions to the butter mixture until it forms a stiff dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gather into a ball. Press the ball into a rectangle and cut into 4 equal pieces. Wrap each piece in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to 1 one day. At this point, you can also freeze the dough for about 3 - 5 months.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness. (I've seen many recipes that make thinner cookies, but this dough benefits from being on the thicker side. When in doubt, err on the thick side.) Cut the dough using cookie cutters into whatever shapes you like, and bake, on a parchment lined baking sheet, for about 12 minutes or until just beginning to brown around the edges. You don't want to over bake these cookies - they should be more soft than crisp.

For the Frosting:

2 oz white chocolate
2-3 tbsp cream

1 1/4 cups confectioner's sugar
1/4 cocoa powder*

*I used Hershey's dark cocoa to make something close to black frosting - replace the cocoa with confectioner's sugar if you don't want chocolate flavored frosting and don't worry, the white chocolate taste, while noticeable, is not overpowering.

Melt the white chocolate with the cream in a bowl set over simmering water. Once melted, stir in the confectioner's sugar. The frosting should be thin, but it should thicken as it cools. If necessary add more confectioner's sugar and let it cool to see how thick it gets. For spreading purposes you can always re-warm the frosting in a bowl set over simmering water - in fact I'd recommend it as the frosting acquires a pleasant sheen as it cools.

Frost the hell out of the cookies. I actually used some fondant in order to make Space Invaders. This was only 1/4 of the dough since I was experimenting and wouldn't want to ruin the entire batch with terrible decorations. I think it turned out well over all - oh, and of course they were delicious ;)

This weekend...

2009-09-24T09:30:00.002-04:00

When I finally get paid from my job - then, then I will really start baking. Yay for somewhat expendable income (at least enough to afford some nice chocolate and kitchen appliances).

In the meantime, the first day of fall occurred this week and I think it's time for pasta. I've decided that if I want something carbohydrate-y, I'm going to make it myself this year, and I've been craving pasta. Naturally, homemade pasta is difficult to make, but I have tried homemade gnocchi before - delicious potato pasta.

Here's I'm thinking sweet potato gnocchi, just to make it that much more healthy. Typically, it's gnocchi is served with a sage brown butter sauce. I love brown butter, in fact, I love anything sweet and caramelly - so why not go all out. I'm going to incorporate caramelized onions and garlic into a sage brown butter sauce. They will provide a more substantial sauce to hold it's own with the gnocchi.

For sweets this week, well I'm getting depressed. I've made one bad batch of cookies, one good batch, and the more I think about those brownies the less happy I realize I was with the finished product. I need to get a hand-held mixer (at least until I can get a hands-free model). Let's start with something basic, because I'd like to work on my frosting skills - Sugar cookies, simple delicious sugar cookies. Maybe with a hint of nutmeg.

Let's get it started, recipes and updates to come.

Practicing the Art of French Cooking: Ratatouille

2009-09-20T20:18:00.003-04:00

I've looked in cookbooks and I've looked online. I've found many variations on this French "peasant dish" but there are quite a few standards to take note of: Eggplant is used as the primary vegetable, and it is accompanied by zucchini, tomatoes, onion, and garlic, most frequently. Most recipes have you cook the vegetables separately and then add them all back into a rich tomato-based sauce that is either baked (where most of the sauce evaporates) or cooked like a stew on the stove.

I'm cheating. I won't be using fresh tomatoes because, frankly, I don't have them right now, and canned tomatoes (especially home-canned tomatoes) are something I've come to appreciate both for the flavor and the ease of preparation (there will be no par-boiling baths and peeling messes here). Aside from that I think I'll keep this version on the stove-top and see what I can accomplish.

Also, the tempeh from two days ago - now enriched with the flavors of garlic and thyme - the two flavor notes I plan to accentuate in the dish itself... it should be delicious! Let's get started, shall we?

Ratatouille

2 large eggplants
2 green peppers
2 onions
4 medium zucchini
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
the tempeh from the previous recipe post

1 quart canned chopped or whole tomatoes (if whole, crush them with your hands - it feels WONDERFUL)

1 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper

1) Prepare the eggplants by chopping them into bite-sized cubes. Sprinkle with about 1 tsp salt and set in a colander in the sink to drain for 10 minutes- this gets rid of the slightly bitter taste eggplants can sometimes have. Rinse and pat dry.

2) While the eggplant is draining, chop, but keep separated, the peppers, onions, zucchini, and garlic. In a large pan set over medium heat add 3 tbsp of olive oil. Add the onions with salt and pepper and cook until softened and beginning to brown, about 12 - 15 minutes. Remove to a large bowl.

Next add the green peppers with salt and pepper and cook until softened - about 12 minutes. Remove to the same bowl as the onions.

Add more oil to the pan if necessary. Now add the zucchini with salt and pepper and cook until softened, followed by the eggplant in the same manner. Add more oil and salt and pepper to each vegetable to taste.

3) If your pot looked anything like mine, there will likely be some delicious brown bits on the bottom. Add the tomatoes to the pot with no more than 1/2 cup chicken stock if the tomatoes lack liquid.

Once the liquid heats up, make sure to scrape the bottom of the pot, then add the garlic, salt and pepper, and thyme. Let this mixture come to a boil, then add all of the vegetables back into the pot. The liquid should not cover the vegetables.

4) Bring the ratatouille to a boil and cover, reducing the heat to low, for about 30 minutes. Stir the stew occasionally. If, after the thirty minutes the sauce is still thin and plentiful, increase the heat to medium - medium-high and allow it to reduce for about another 30 minutes. That's about how long it took me.

5) Every recipe I've seen also claims that this is even better the next day which is why it's perfect for dinner this week. Anything that reheats and tastes better the next day is delicious by me.

An interesting note - despite it's French country origins, the process and result are remarkably similar to a vegetable curry, like Rebecca B's off to the side... with the exception of the crazy indian spices that is... still, it's delicious!

Gluten-free Peanut Butter Brownies

2009-09-19T09:13:00.007-04:00

Baked goods are so easy to make gluten-free. Here I adapted a chewy peanut butter brownie recipe by alter the amount of fat and replacing the all-purpose flour with rice flour. I expect the brownies to still come out less chewy than they otherwise would, since gluten is what makes baked goods chewy, but I think it will definitely help.

Gluten-free Peanut Butter Brownies

1 cup peanut butter
2/3 cup butter, melted

1 1/3 cup white sugar
1 cup packed dark brown sugar

4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

2 cups brown rice flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Combine the butter and peanut butter until well mixed. Add the sugars and mix until creamy. Next add the eggs, 2 at a time until incorporated. Add the vanilla. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the peanut butter mixture until well combined.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line an 8x13 pan with two sheets of parchment paper (one piece each placed across the width and the length of the pan with plenty of over hang - this creates an easy-to-remove brownie). Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 45 - 50 minutes or until top is set and springs back when touched.

What an odd picture? I have no idea how to go about changing it since it's saved and rotated a different way... weird. Either way the brownies may take longer than expected based on the pan you used. I used an 8 x 11 and it took quite a while, but they turn out delicious, rich and chewy.

Tempeh Tantrum

2009-09-17T20:30:00.006-04:00

So I've come to really like tempeh. I've read a lot about the negative effects of isoflavones (plant estrogen-like compounds found in soy products) on men and women (particularly those who are prone to estrogen imbalances). However, fermented soy products appear to still be healthy since the fermentation process alters their chemical make-up etc etc... either way tempeh is apparently great for you, in terms of plant based proteins, and it's delicious.

I want to flavor the tempeh to use in a ratatouille recipe. I know it's not traditional by any means, but I think it will be a great way to beef up peasant food without using chicken or meat. (I'm not a vegetarian, I just like exercising my options and eating healthy).

I've come to a problem - flavoring tempeh in an asian style is easy - soy sauce, fish sauce, sambal, ginger, rice vinegar, and you're set for life. But how can I go about infusing garlic and thyme (two main flavors in ratatouille) into tempeh? Then the answer came... confit - flavoring via fat. I've roasted some garlic, about 6 cloves, in a 1/4 cup of olive oil with about 1/2 tsp dried thyme for about one hour over medium low or low heat (just let it soften, don't let it brown). I poured that mixture over the tempeh and let it cool. After that I added some chicken stock, just to keep the tempeh moist and refrigerated for 24 hours - I want flavor here people, real flavor.

Needles to say, the flavoring worked really well. I used olive oil, and tried not to use too much just to stay healthy, but it was a great way to infuse the tempeh.

I'm totally using this in my ratatouille!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

2009-09-12T18:45:00.002-04:00

I love a good, chewy oatmeal raisin cookie. I want to modify my chocolate chip cookie recipe by adding cinnamon, oats and replacing the chocolate with raisins. The thing is, I think the oats may make the cookies less moist. Since I haven't tried this before I can't be certain, so I'm going to reconstitute the raisins in a little hot water before I add them to the batter. They'll likely dry out again in the oven and if not the excess moisture probably won't matter. Also, comparing different recipes I'm reducing the flour by 1/2 cup and using 2 cups of old-fashioned oats. Oh the joys of experimentation :-) (yeah those cumin raisin oatmeal cookies were an epic, throw-out-the-batter failure...)

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

1 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar

1 egg + 1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups bread flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

2 cups raisins + 1 cup hot water (let sit for 5 minutes then drain)
2 cups oats

Combine the butter and sugar thoroughly. Mix in the eggs one at a time followed by the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon separately. Add it in in 2 additions to the butter mixture. Finally, stir in the raisins and oats.

mmmm... cookie dough. Chill this mixture for 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or baking parchment. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto the cookie sheet and bake for 15 - 18 minutes or until delicious. I highly recommend testing along the way ;-)

Now it's time for a creamy homemade latte and an oatmeal raisin cookie - the best of all possible afternoon snacks.

Coming up next, since the previous entry was from last week, I'm making a healthy chicken salad - grape tomatoes, chick peas, spinach, and a reduced fat cream cheese and garlic dressing. We'll see how it all works out.

Tomato and Black Bean soup

2009-09-11T09:41:00.005-04:00

Okay. So I haven't updated, but I've been without internet at home, so it's been a little difficult. I did however make the tomato and black bean soup and raisin oatmeal cookies last week, though. The cookies... ah the cookies. I learned never to add cumin to cookies... yeah I thought it would taste good, but it did not. I'm never going to make that mistake again, but this weekend I will make the cookies again - just sticking to the classic cinnamon.

The Tomato and Black Bean Soup was a success from start to finish

Tomato and Black Bean Soup

1 medium onion
2 tomatoes, chopped
3 garlic cloves
1 tbsp adobo sauce (from a can of chipotle chilis)
salt and pepper to taste
2 120z cans black beans, rinsed and drained

1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup red wine
1 lemon

In a large pot heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat until hot. Add the onion and cook for about 15 minutes until soft and starting to brown. Next add the tomatoes, garlic, and adobo sauce. Cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste, and the two cans of black beans. Let this heat through, cooking over medium heat for another 5 minutes. Finally, add the can of crushed tomatoes, chicken broth and wine. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for about 1 hour. Remove from heat and add the juice of 1 lemon.

The lemon juice adds a pleasant tartness that pairs well with the slight heat from the adobo sauce. All in all this is a very refreshing, not-too-heavy summer soup! It also served as a great post-run meal with tortilla chips and cottage cheese.

New recipes weeeeee!

2009-09-06T08:38:00.002-04:00

That is, new recipes to come. I'm back in the states and can't wait to start cooking again. I'm going to keep the same schedule as last year since it worked out so well. I'd love to add an occasional extra recipe or two a week in if I can, but right now my schedule is something sweet and something savory just about every weekend.

For starters how about some healthy bean and tomato soup and oatmeal raisin cookies?

Nothing crazy and nothing french to start with. I just moved into my apartment and need to get a feel for the kitchen and oven before I start doing anything super awesome.

I can't wait!!!

More food!

2009-08-24T05:33:00.002-04:00

First, some fruit confiture. I was right, they did taste incredibly sweet. Still, there is something to be said for aesthetic appeal.

Second, a gift from two AWESOME campers. We got it about a week after they left. A huge wheel of cheese and some sausage from their region. Such a French gift, such awesome campers!

Lyon and more ideas...

2009-08-12T15:06:00.002-04:00

So I think I'll need to make a blog post reviewing my past blog posts and compiling all of my ideas so that I have some direction for my cooking when I get back home.

I spent today in Lyon with some fellow counselors. We travelled around, saw the zoo park, and shopped. We also came across a wonderful little chocolaterie... naturally I had to go in and look at the local delicacies.

The little green guys are called something that translates roughly to 'cushions' and they are indeed the speciality either of Lyon or of that specific chocolaterie. Next to it was a kind of marzipan peach filled with liquor. That was a treat just for me, heh.

The cushions contained a chocolate orange ganache filling that was then wrapped in marzipan. The marzipan helped cut the ganache so it wasn't terribly rich. Basically, it lived up to its name as a light cushion of chocolate. As I have mentioned in my previous posts, I'm not a fan of orange infused chcocolate. They're great as seperate, distinct flavors, but in one ganache it's just too much.

It's a bit lower on my list than, say, maple bacon ice cream, but I definitely would like to try my hand at candies and confections like this. I didn't purchase any, but the chocolatierie also had some fruit confit; whole fruits that had been cooked in a sugar syrup. The appearance is beautiful even though I imagine the taste to be just this side of diabetes-inducing. I will have to try those as well.

Something tells me these treats will be abundant as I get closer to Christmas... they will make excellent gifts wrapped in celophane and all decorated up fancy-like :P

Three days off in France

2009-08-01T13:07:00.005-04:00

So I get to post some... which is actually quite nice. Granted I'm finished with my time off now. Work starts back promptly at 9am tomorrow and I can say with a disturbing amount of certainty that in 24 hours this beautiful, grand estate will once again be lousy with pubescent children. In the meantime, however, I just wanted to share some pictures I took and some food I've eaten. I really need to try this orange and chocolate tart that the local bakery makes.

Try to remake it at home that is. It's hard to tell if the filling is orange curd or an orange pastry cream - either way it's covered in delicious chocolate ganache. Personally, I'm not a fan of orange infused chocolate, but that's why I love this tart - there are two distinct layers that let each flavor come through.

Also there are some pretty amazing gardens around Aze which definitely make my runs and hikes much more enjoyable. I think everyone around here has a green thumb.

And this is perhaps nature's most beautiful color, in my humble opinion.

Part of me can't wait to get back... I've got so many ideas for the fall and new desserts to try out. It just occurred to me that in the sugar free category, many french pastries I've had don't really contain much sugar. In general, they aren't overly sweet, so it strikes me that using a substitute of some kind could still make for a delicious treat.

It's the Summer...

2009-07-18T02:23:00.002-04:00

And I'm not in Italy so I'm not getting gelato...

When I get back home I need to pack up the ice cream maker because it's coming with me to Ohio. I've been wanting to experiment with some different flavors for a while but just haven't gotten the chance.

1.) Caramel with caramel swirl.
2.) Cinnamon because, hey, who doesn't love cinnamon?
3.) Bacon and Maple. yes, definitely yes.
4.) I need to remake this green tea and honey ice cream I used to make... AMAZING

What I Do On My Days Off

2009-07-15T06:51:00.003-04:00

Go to the local boulangerie and send my blood sugar into the upper atmosphere. Here is an eclair and something made from two cream puffs and filled with the same filling... basically two eclairs, one tall and the other long, heh.

Seriously, I need to make pate chaux when I get home. Oh, and learn how to make a nice solid pastry cream. It's so versatile... in tarts with fruit, flavored with chocolate, vanilla or caramel (or basically anything at all). Oh the plans that come to my mind...

Another Update.

2009-07-13T02:38:00.002-04:00

The food here may kill me. I mean, yeah I'm in France, but it's nothing more than summer camp food.

Weird, French summer camp food.

Blech.

Like cold canned vegetables eaten with mayonaise. Or weird animal that I swear had to be rabbit. Or strange little white root vegetable that was not a turnip or parsnip.

Occasionally we're fortunate enough to have something pretty delicious for dessert like eclairs or cream puffs, for example. These delightful treats made me realize how much I need to make some pate chaux when I get home. Either for dessert or with cheese and herps for something savory, I must perfect this really simple pastry dough.

Also, if I hadn't mentioned it, I'm going to start making my own bread. I figure if I want to eat it, I had better learn how to make it. I'd like to work up to a heart french loaf studded with kalmata olives and feta cheese.

More thoughts to come later...

A Very Long Disengagement

2009-07-09T06:53:00.002-04:00

Various food related notes to myself:

Must make something involving pears and chocolate and fortified wine or pear brandy.

I want to start making my own bread when I get back home. Good, solid french bread. After all, why not?

Baked Alaska? yes, definitely yes.

Practicing the art of French pastry? Fruit tarts with almonds? yes, definitely yes :-)

-Currently in Aze, France at summer camp. I'll be here for at least 2 1/2 more weeks. I'm enjoying it for sure, but the food is cafeteria style and quality. Even the bread is rubbish. And we had dougnuts for dessert last night?! wtf?

Nocino!

2009-06-24T16:01:00.001-04:00

Ah the much coveted Nocino. I first tried making this last year with some moderate success. Most of the recipes I've seen recommend waiting a full year after the bottling of the liquor before it's imbibed. Needless to say, I did not wait a year by any means and consumed a batch within the first 6 - 8 months (with the help of some friends that were willing to aid in my experiment heh) - It was good, but I plan on practicing patience this time.

I would consider my first attempt a moderate success. I definitely need to practice patience this go around, and also want to tweak some of the ingredients as well. The original recipe I cultivated from other websites/ an italian family's recipe contained pure grain alcohol, cinnamon sticks, cloves, a small branch of juniper and lemon peel. As far as flavor profiles go, I think this round will take advantage of the cinnamon sticks, but I'll use orange peel, vanilla, and some star anise to create a mellower, hopefully more balanced flavor to play off the bitter sweetness the walnuts provide.

As far as alcohol goes, I've found as many recipes that use vodka as ones that use pure grain alcohol. The difference seems to be that, after the Nocino has sat, the recipes made with vodka don't have to be watered down. The watering down process would add the over all volume. So, since I have the walnuts, I'll do two batches this year. The variable between them will be the use of anise seed (whole star anise being difficult to find around here).

Nocino

1 liter Vodka
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 orange peel
1/2 vanilla bean
1 tsp anise seed
25 green walnuts, rinsed and quartered

Combine the ingredients in a glass jar that can be sealed and let it sit until the Autumn equinox/end of August/beginning of September (I've found recipes swearing by all three). At this time drain the Nocino through cheesecloth or a coffee filter into bottles. This makes one batch, I double it, so by the end I should have about 3 bottles of Nocino. It should be ready about a year after bottling, although, if the past has been any indication, it's perfectly safe to drink sooner than that ;-)

Funny story; keep the walnuts, peels and everything else in the jar after you've bottled the Nocino and pour over a bottle of Marsala wine - after ten days re-bottle the marsala and keep it chilled for a delightful apperetif (at least it worked spendidly last time. I'll update when the time comes.

Tomorrow I leave for France, so posting this summer will likely be non-existent, but do intend on keeping some kind of food log with me for the many delicacies I will enjoy.

Blueberry Shortcakes

2009-06-23T09:17:00.004-04:00

Sugar Free Blueberry Shortcakes

*This was adapted from a recipe I found in a recent Bon Apetit and is likely over at Epicurious

Delicious Blueberry Sauce:
4 cups blueberries, fresh or thawed and rinsed if frozen
2 tbsp splenda brown sugar
1/4 cup splenda granular

Lemon Thyme Biscuits:

3/4 cup chilled buttermilk
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 1/4 cups brown rice flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tbsp Splenda brown sugar + 1/4 cup Splenda granular
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/3-inch cubes

*The primary alterations were in the sugar and the flour departments - the combination of brown rice and whole wheat flours produces a very tender crumb and I feel it's much healthier than regular all-purpose flour - I should try these at some point with only brown rice flour*

Mix the buttermilk, thyme, and lemon zest together in a small bowl. If you don't have buttermilk it's easy to make some by adding roughly a tbsp of lemon juice or vinegar to a cup of milk. For this recipe, for this amount, I just estimate about 3/4 of a tbsp for the 3/4 cup milk.

In a separate bowl, whisk to combine the flours, Splenda, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Rub the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips or a pastry blender. When the mixture resembles coarse meal/small pea-sized dough pieces/grated parmesan cheese. every other cliche for what this mixture looks like add the buttermilk. Combine the dough with a fork. It will be sticky, and you should handle it as little as possible.

Empty the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat it into a rectangle. Kneading shouldn't be necessary, and is not recommended to make a tender dough, but you may have to press the dough together. Cut the rectangle once down the middle and twice down the long side to make 6 small rectangles. Put these on a baking sheet and into a 425 degree oven for about 12 - 15 minutes or until they pass the toothpick test. They should be lightly brown around the edges.

Split these guys wide open and fill with sugar free vanilla ice cream* and the blue berry sauce for one heck of a sugar-free dessert. I served these on Father's Day and they were definitely a hit.

*Sugar free whipped cream could also work, but I was lazy and the ice-cream is less fattening :-)

Yogurt Cheese

2009-06-21T22:10:00.004-04:00

This does not sound terribly appetizing. Granted if you adorn any word with 'cheese' it can kinda make it sound disgusting. However, yogurt cheese is just yogurt that has been drained over night. I place a large container of plain yogurt in a sieve lined with cheese cloth (or a paper towel can work as well) over a bowl, and I let it set overnight in the refrigerator. What you have is incredibly thick, almost cream-cheese-thick, yogurt and the whey that's been drained off.

I've been told you can consume whey (in about a 1 tbsp per glass of water ratio) to help with digestion. I think it used to be a kind of panacea for stomach ailments. Either way, the product I'm interested in is the thick yogurt cheese left over. At 8 grams of fat per 1 cup, yogurt definitely beats cream cheese and condiments like mayonnaise, but the consistency is typically too thin.

I used this yogurt cheese to create two spreads that both worked great on bagels as a healthier alternative to cream cheese. For the first spread I combined equal parts yogurt cheese and peanut butter. This provided a subtle tanginess and a profound creaminess to usually heavy peanut butter.

The second spread I tried consisted of a little chopped onion, a crushed clove of garlic, a little thyme I had laying around, and some salt and pepper. Here I was going for a kind of garlic and herb cream cheese substitute. Because of the inherent lightness of the yogurt, the extra flavors were definitely profound. I loved it, but I can see how it might be too garlicky or too onion-y for some people.

I ended up using the remaining yogurt cheese as a way to lighten up some tuna salad (combined with a little mayo, salt and pepper, and red wine vinegar) and to add some creaminess to an otherwise heavy broccoli casserole (I have my mom to thank for that suggestion). I definitely want to experiment more with this next year...

*I wish I had bagels, but toast works as well

Plans before France

2009-06-12T16:23:00.004-04:00

So while I'm at home I have a few very specific plans and things I'd like to accomplish before I leave for France:

Make yogurt cheese. Do stuff with this, report back.

Make a sugar free lemon cake with glaze.

Make Nocino... my recipe to come :-)

Practice my carrot noodles and, in general, asian food.

I will update a few times, hopefully, before I leave.

:D

It's that time of quarter again

2009-06-02T16:33:00.003-04:00

Well, we're approaching the end of the quarter so I'm not sure exactly how much cooking I'll be able to get done. Finals are due next Monday and Tuesday, so hopefully I'll have some time to have fun before I move home. I should be able to cook there as well before I leave for France for the summer.

That of course will mean about a two month break from blogging and cooking in favor of playing with kids all day long.

I'm pretty sure I'll have time this weekend to whip something up though (one potluck final on Monday will supply, if nothing else, a little motivation).

Until then, the times, they be crazy

Sugar-free (and gluten-free) Peanut Butter Cookies

2009-05-29T22:27:00.005-04:00

These cookies are the easiest and most straightforward recipe I've got: peanut butter + egg + sugar = delicious. In this case the paste made from the sugar and peanut butter constitutes the dough of the cookie that is held together by egg. If I use natural peanut butter, my theory is that the cookies will require slightly less of the sweetener (splenda cup-for-cup sweetener + splenda brown sugar in this case). I've found, in the past, when working with anything being removed from a recipe or any healthier take on a recipe is called for, flavor has to be added when flavor is removed, so I've decided to try a half batch of these guys with a little vanilla, perhaps to cut the fake sweetener taste.

Sugar-Free Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup natural peanut butter, creamy-style
1/3 cup splenda brown sugar
1/3 cup splenda sweetener
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg yolk

I find the natural peanut butter, while it seems more liquid-y than regular peanut butter initially (especially if you're opening a new jar), it definitely requires less dry ingredients in the end, hence the volumetrically deficient sugar substitution and the use of only the yolk of the egg.

Mix everything together until a ball of dough forms. The dough should be stiff and easily hold its shape in your hand. For the first batch, I flattened balls of dough with a fork dipped in splenda (the same way I would with the normal recipe). However, something about cup-for-cup sweeteners seems to hinder the elasticity of the dough, making it puffy and crumbly rather than producing the thin, chewy cookie texture I like.

Now for the second batch, I flattened them with the palm of my hand, almost as flat as I could make them, then ran the tines of the fork across to get that familiar pattern (we do, after all, eat first with our eyes).

I cooked both batches for about 10 minutes on 325. This will require further experimentation with liquid ingredients to help the dough become less elastic when in contact with heat. I think the second batch, though, had a marginal measure of success. I see more recipes to come... definitely one with a little fat and flour. I think those may help.

Weekend Plans...

2009-05-29T18:35:00.003-04:00

This weekend I'm thinking of going back to my roots with the savory and make a nice pot of soup, so maybe no news there, but sweets wise I decided, since I need to cut down on my sugar intake, and my dad's diabetic, why not try my hand at something delicious yet sugar free? Sure I could just substitute fake sweetener of some kind in a recipe, but you're either greatly increasing the density of your food or you're significantly decreasing the volume (based on whether you use a cup for cup sweetener or substitute individual packets). I keep thinking sugar-free cookies as these dense little balls (although my mom has made some delightfully tender ones before).

I think sugar-free baked goods require a re-imagining of the recipe altogether. We'll see what happens.

Hot Cocoa and a brownie

2009-05-28T06:55:00.004-04:00

My snack last night...

Some bittersweet chocolate chips heated with soymilk, a little vanilla, cocoa and a wee bit of sugar. Oh, and who needs marshmallows - this guy is 1/3 Amaretto :D

Practicing the Art of French Cooking: Chicken Chasseur and Brown Rice Risotto

2009-05-26T18:01:00.001-04:00

So a friend on facebook showed me a link to a recipe for Chicken Chasseur as the savory dish this week. From a little research I've learned that "chasseur" means hunter, so the idea of this dish is an earthy chicken dish. To that end, most recipes I've since found leave the chicken bone-in and include mushrooms as a primary ingredient to the typically tomato-based sauce. Also, earthy herbs are frequently used, most commonly thyme. As all classic french country cooking goes, at least from my remedial knowledge of it, one should use what one has on hand.

Currently I don't have any thyme (or time... grad student at the end of the quarter oh snap!) but I do have some rosemary that will lend itself both to the sauce and the brown rice risotto I'm serving with it (it will be like a combination of french and italian country food). Furthermore, I have no qualms picking up mushrooms, and have most of the other ingredients for the sauce on hand: crushed tomatoes, onion, chicken broth and wine. I expect this to be a wonderful meal :D

Brown Rice Risotto

This is a healthier take on the classic italian dish. There is no cheese, so the creaminess comes directly from the rice and the incorporation of the chicken broth. Due to the length of time it takes to make the risotto, you should start and finish it before beginning the chicken.

2 tbsp butter
1/2 small onion, chopped finely
1 clove garlic
1 cup brown rice
1/2 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped

1/2 cup dry white wine
4 cups chicken broth

Go ahead and put the chicken broth in a small pan and allow it to come just to a simmer.

Place the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Once it starts to sizzle, add the onions and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and rice, allowing the butter to coat the rice grains. Cook until the onion is brown and the rice is appearing translucent. The mixture should smell nutty.

Add the wine and cook, stirring constantly until the wine is fully absorbed. Next begin to add the broth, 1/2 cup at a time, until it is fully absorbed. The process, start to finish will take about 40 minutes. It won't be as intense as regular risotto because the rice will take time to absorb the liquid. Add a little liquid each time, stir and cover for a few minutes. Come back to it, uncover, let the liquid reduce, add some more and repeat.

It seems excessive, but because brown rice typically takes longer to cook in general, then specifically in risotto, it will take longer as well. If the mixture is too dry add a little more chicken broth or water, but the end result should be pleasant and creamy. You can certainly add about 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese at this juncture, but for my purposes, serving the risotto with the chicken chasseur, I feel the cheese may be a bit out of place.

After about half of the liquid has been incorporated:

The final result:

not as creamy as regular risotto, but the texture and the healthiness win me over every time

Chicken Chasseur

1 tbsp olive oil
3 boneless chicken breasts
salt and pepper

1 tbsp butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves
8oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tbsp flour
1/3 cup dry white wine
6 oz (almost one can) chicken broth
8 oz crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 tsp rosemary
2 tbsp chopped parsley

Mise en-friggin-place

Start by getting a large pot or deep pan on medium-high heat. Add the oil and let that heat up as well. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and cook in the oil until browned on both sides, about 6-8 minutes total. Remove the chicken breasts from the pan.

Add the butter and reduce the heat to medium low. Add the onion to the pan and cook until almost brown, about 12 minutes. Increase the heat to medium-high, and add the garlic and mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms are brown, about 5 minutes. Add the flour and cook for an additional minute to remove that floury taste. Next, add the wine and cook until the sauce is smooth and the wine is incorporated. Add the broth, tomatoes, rosemary, and 1/2 tsp salt.

Once everything is mixed in, add the chicken along with any delicious juices that may have accumulated. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes longer until the chicken is cooked through. Finish the sauce with the chopped parsley, and a pat of butter for good measure :D Serve with the brown rice risotto.

Now that is what I call dinner... (and yes I waaay over-sauced but it's just so darned good)

Advanced Brownie Theory - Gluten-Free Brownies

2009-05-25T11:29:00.002-04:00

So in preparation for some gluten-free treats this weekend, I decided to experiment and develop my own brownie recipe that is kind of an amalgam of Alton Brown's theory, Ina Garten's practice, and my own experience with the world's best chocolate chip cookies. These are definitely not the One Bowl Brownies of yore... these guys are the mother of all brownies.

You see, for me, brownies have to be fudgey and rich. If I want cake-like brownies (or anything cake-like for that matter) I'll just make a cake and call it a day. Brownies, though, can be so much more. I used bittersweet chocolate in the hopes of getting a rich flavor, enhanced that with cocoa powder and instant coffee granules. I'm not a big fan of chunks in just about anything (I kind of like uniform texture in baked goods / desserts) but I added some chopped semisweet chocolate that should just melt into the batter creating these pockets of wonderful all over the place.

Bittersweet Chocolate Brownies

8 oz bittersweet chocolate chips (I used ghirardelli)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

4 eggs
1 1/2 tsp instant coffee granules

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Butter an 8 x 8 square pan pan, and line with a single sheet of parchment paper for easy removal. Preheat oven to 300. Get ready for AMAZING.

In a double boiler, melt the butter and chocolate chips. Take it off the heat and let it cool for about 5 minutes or so.

Mix the eggs first; they should be pale yellow and have an even consistency. Then sift/whisk the sugars, flour, cocoa powder, and salt together. While mixing, slowly add the dry ingredients to the eggs; the batter will be thick. Then add the vanilla and finally add the butter/chocolate mixture slowly, stirring all the while to ensure even incorporation. Pour into the pan, and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a wee bit of crumb on it (I start checking at 35 minutes). Definitely do not over bake these guys.

Lift the parchment out of the pan and cut while still warm. Then, let them cool completely. (Alton Brown uses a pizza cutter to avoid mashing and, if you have one, I highly recommend its use as well). Either way, cut them before they cool.

Let's count the ways I messed up my own recipe, shall we? 1.) I inadvertently doubled the amount of coffee when I made it. 2.) I left out the vanilla, realized it, pulled the brownies out after cooking for like a minute, stirred it in the pan.

Even with those mistakes, these guys turned out amazingly delicious (and actually the coffee thing just made them coffee-chocolate brownies - originally the coffee serves only to enhance the chocolate flavor, not to provide a flavor profile of its own). Oh and to make non-gluten-free brownies, just substitute all-purpose flour for the brown rice flour. This was a huge success; I now have my very own brownie recipe!

Banana-Coffee 'Latte'

2009-05-24T18:09:00.003-04:00

Trying to kick that expensive coffee habit?

Wanting to get more fruit in your diet?

Well I've got just the beverage for you!

Banana-Coffee 'Latte'

1 medium-sized banana
3/4 cup coffee (strength is all on you)
3/4 cup milk or soy milk
a touch of maple syrup, sugar, or faux sugar (I use 1 packet of truvia stevia-based sweetener)

Chunk up the banana into a blender. Add the coffee and blend until smooth, then add the soy milk and sweetener and pulse a couple times. Don't throw everything in together, the banana won't always get properly blended and integrated.

It's even frothy like a latte should be...

Much like the banana muffins that used espresso, this drink makes use of the surprisingly wonderful banana-coffee combo. It's a pretty decent breakfast, especially for those not accustomed to eating much for breakfast (I would have granola bar with it or something, personally). The banana makes the drink thick and luscious, the milk is there for creaminess, and coffee adds wonderful caffeine. In short, what's not to love? This is ideal for people wanting to cut back on the purchased coffee due to calories or financial straits (like being a student). I plan on taking one of these to class every day this week. YUM!