Just My Dinner

Taco Time!

2011-11-19T12:39:00.003-06:00

The problem with feeding just myself is that I frequently eat the same thing over and over and over again, with tiny variations. (The other problem is that since I share my fridge with three other people, I tend to lose my food to the depths of the fridge as one of them really likes to shop and stock up on things.) But somehow, by the time I ran out of Trader Joe's Soy Chorizo, I still wasn't sick of these. Maybe because they're super quick to make, and incredibly comforting. Maybe I have a strange idea of comfort food, but I'm okay with that. At least I've moved past my fish and chips phase of last month.

But in case you're wondering how I do it, here you go.

They key is the chorizo (onions, bell pepper, jalepeno, chorizo, extra chili powder.) Just finely chop the onions, bell pepper (I used orange), and jalepeno and saute them until soft. Add the chorizo and some extra chili powder, and heat through. Tasty and simple. Top with whatever you have on hand.

In a smaller pan, I heat up corn tortillas over medium-high heat, and then transfer them to a plate where I top them with some of the chorizo filling, and then depending on my mood, some of the following: salsa, cheese, cilantro, sour cream (I never actually choose this one), eggs.

Maybe it's not the healthiest, but it sure is tasty.

Gooey Butter Cake Cookies

2011-10-24T22:38:00.007-05:00

It's been over a month since I've last posted, and it's not for a lack of cooking. Or photographing my food. It's just that whole problem of either having a good recipe or having a good photo, but rarely both. And then being pressed for time. Or writing half a post and never posting it because by the time I finish it, I've forgotten what I did if it's something I came up with, or if it's something I adapted, I can't find the original recipe and/or forgot my modifications.

But I'm not posting now to tell you all the things I haven't done, but to tell you what I have done. To remind myself of what I've done, I made an album on flickr of food I've made at school. Sure, it dates back to stuff from freshman year, but now it's organized! So if you see anything there that looks tasty and lacks a link back to this blog, then pester me and I can try to figure it out and post about it! Most of them say coming soon, but that might be a lie. I may never blog them because I'm forgetful (and, in the case of this cake, I found it underwhelming.)

And then, when I'm not cooking or baking (which definitely doesn't happen enough) I'm either in class, watching The OC with my roommate, studying, writing papers, or doing stuff for My Car And My Guitar or something. I'm not going to provide you with some exhaustive list you don't want, because that's just less time I can spend talking about these cookies. Which are an abomination by the way.

Yeah. See those ingredients? I seriously can't believe I made them. Not only that I made them, but that I've made them four times. Or maybe it's five. They're easy, affordable, and comforting. A twist on that St. Louis classic, Gooey Butter Cake, in cookie form! And they're not too expensive or anything, especially when cake mix is on sale and you can get it for $1 or less, and then the 75 cent stick of butter, the 20 cent egg, and the $2 cream cheese. I keep forgetting about powdered sugar, but it's like 45 cents of that probable. Five bucks and an hour of my time (including clean up) isn't too bad for around 3-4 dozen cookies!

And okay, I forgot some ingredients in the picture above. So here's the correction:

But I never use the vanilla anyway.

But, like I said: Easy. Simple. Quick. Crowd-pleasing. So what are you waiting for?

Gooey Butter Cake Cookies
Makes 3-4 dozen cookies

1 box yellow cake mix
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese
1 stick (4 oz) butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
1/3 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350ºF and line 2-3 cookie sheets (or just bake in batches!) In a large bowl, beat together cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in egg. With a spatula or wooden spoon, stir in the cake mix. It will be very thick, and may take a while.

Pour powdered sugar into a small bowl. Roll heaping teaspoons of dough into balls and coat one side with powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet face up. Flatten slightly.

Bake cookies for 7-10 minutes, or until bottoms are browned and tops are crackly and dry. Enjoy!

Omelet for One

2011-10-17T17:42:00.003-05:00

If there's one thing I love about having a kitchen, it's being able to eat breakfast on my own schedule on the weekends. I don't have to worry about carrying pans and food to a dorm kitchen to cook, eat in a too large room by myself, and then immediately clean up. There's nothing relaxing about that, and that's something breakfast should be on a weekend morning.

With two of my roommates out of town, and another not allowed to eat until after her blood work, I took my time and made myself a nice breakfast. While making my dinner the night before, I'd cubed some potatoes and sauteed some half-frozen mushrooms that had stuck to the side of our fridge with garlic. I chopped up some onions, threw them in a pan, and cooked them up with potatoes. Having recently learned how to cook potatoes, I'm still really excited by this. Unfortunately, I'm not sure what I do. I think I just poke them until I think they're done. Meanwhile, I reheated the mushrooms, adding in some spinach with them.

In a small bowl I beat together my eggs with some milk, and poured it into a nice small pan, lifting the egg up as it cooked to let the runny egg flow underneath. Once it seemed almost cooked, I added the mushrooms, spinach, and some cheese, put a lid over the pan for about 30 seconds to let it finish cooking. I removed the lid, folded over the omelet, and slid it onto my plate along with some potatoes. Then it was time for Sunday Morning. Bon Appetit!

Eggplant Day

2011-09-11T11:47:00.004-05:00

Do you have those foods that at one point you absolutely detested and would avoid any dish at the mention of their name? Yeah, me too. But the number's gone down drastically in the past ten years. But there was a point in my life when, unless I didn't know it had eggplant in it, or it was nice and creamy like kashk-e bademjan, I wouldn't touch it. Just the thought of it grossed me out. It was gross and bitter with a weird texture.

Clearly, my opinion on eggplant has changed. I get super excited whenever my dad roasts eggplant on the grill knowing it means some sort of delicious garlicky eggplant dip is in my future. My mouth waters at the mention of fresh eggplants from my aunt's garden. And at the sight of gorgeous graffiti eggplant from a nearby farm at the grocery store for 99 cents a pound, I can't help but grab a gorgeous globe, just thinking of what I can do with it.

And then, I find out, that like me of the past, my roommates all detest eggplant. One will only touch it if it's deliciously fragrant and disguised, which isn't something I've mastered, and another is allergic, which is an acceptable excuse. Leaving me to come up with something easy and simple for one. And with my failure of planning while at the grocery store, I didn't have much to work with. I thought about making a pan-fried eggplant sandwich with carmelized onions, and somehow that turned into a really ugly, but tasty, dish. Layers of thinly sliced eggplant and tomatoes topped with garlicky sauteed onions and fresh mozzarella. Yum!

New School Year, New Post

2011-08-29T16:01:00.008-05:00

It seems that somehow this gets more neglected over the summer. Summer, when in theory I have abundant free time, easy access to groceries and a kitchen, and willing test subjects in the form of my family. Unfortunately, those three things don't quite add up, and it's difficult to cook and take pictures whilst spending 28 hours a week commuting (and out of that, about 100 minutes a day actually on various trains and buses, the rest of the time was spent standing still at stops or walking. I now have a love/hate relationship with the CTA.) And in addition to that, I'm also one-half of My Car And My Guitar, a music news/reviews site.

But now that I'm back at school, it seems for the first time since the week I left I have something to post, following in what seems to now be a tradition (the mini gluten-free cupcakes from last year, and the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies from the first Friday of my freshman year). And these aren't even the first thing I've made since I've been back. My first morning here, I borrowed my roommate's skillet and made a nice big (and bland) spinach omelet for three, and later that evening whipped up a batch of chocolate crinkles, with delicious smells wafting through our spacious apartment.

But last night, after being sadly (and predictably) disappointed by the VMAs (and the PDA in the living room), I opted to bake something interesting and bloggable. And with that, I present to you Spicy Double-Chocolate Mango Cookies (if you can come up with a better name, please, let me know.)

These tasty cookies pretty much require a glass of milk or your preferred equivalent. Rich and chewy, strong and spicy, they pretty much come on as a full-force attack. And didn't lead anyone to question my sanity before biting in as with those corn brownies I made freshman year.

So if you find yourself with a tiny bit of time on your hand, a Trader Joe's nearby (or time to put sugar, cayenne, and paprika on your mangoes), a warm oven, and a craving for something a little spicy, give these cookies a try.

Spicy Double-Chocolate Mango Cookies
Makes about 3 dozen cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg
1 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 ounces chili-spiced dried mango, chopped
3 ounces milk chocolate, chopped or 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat he oven to 350ºF. Line 2-3 baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, and cinnamon until well combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs until combined. Beat in melted unsweetened chocolate.

With a spatula or wooden spoon, stir in flour, followed by chopped dried mango and milk chocolate.

Place spoonfuls (I use a 2tsp. scoop) of dough 2 inches apart on prepared pans. Bake in oven for about 10 minutes. Let cool slightly and serve, or transfer to wire cooling rack and let cool completely before storing.

Modified Tuna Boats Not The Best Idea

2011-05-17T09:52:00.004-05:00

Coming home, I learned something new about my father. He doesn't really like tuna. After spending the unusually steamy May day job hunting, steaming hot food was the last thing I wanted to eat. So I set my eyes on making a macaroni salad, something I eat far too much of when I'm at school. The one I eat at school is elbow macaroni, roasted red peppers, parsley, and chunks of creamy smoked gouda and salami in a balsamic dressing. But I wanted to do something different, and after a failed brainstorming session with myself and some browsing, I came across something delicious looking on Simply Recipes A tuna macaroni salad that looked tasty and for which I had half the ingredients. I quickly texted my parents to make sure they were okay with the idea, and I got a quick, and brief, response from my dad: "No."

Since I like to make people happy, the macaroni salad was out of the question. And with that, my mind switched from being set on eating macaroni salad to having canned tuna for dinner. And my favorite recipe using a can (or two) of tuna would have to be these simple zucchini boats I've made quite a few times over the past four years. But this time, I decided to mix it up. Instead of basic and oven-roasted tomatoes, I decided to go with roasted red pepper and a jalapeno mayonnaise. Gorgeous tiny zucchini was just 69 cents a pound at the store, and I probably did not take advantage of that as I should have. With all my ingredients in my basket, I headed home and started prep on dinner.

After a failed attempt at roasting a red pepper (it kind of worked, my hand cramped up from holding the tongs before it had cooked long enough) and discovering that our mayonnaise had expired a few months ago after pureeing the jalapeno pepper in it, I made some quick swaps (some questionable greek yogurt and a generous dose of ancho chili powder and a dash of cayenne) that probably decreased the tastiness and increased the safety. But it worked, it was just... different. And not as good as usual, which is quite tasty.

So I'm not adding this variation to my list of things I've succesfully made. However, when Dad isn't around, I'll still make these zucchini boats.

There's a pie in my cupcake!

2011-04-03T15:58:00.006-05:00

Happy April! I'm a little belated with posting this, given that it's no longer April 1st, but they're fun for a party, and if decorated, I'm sure they'd actually be pretty. My butter just wasn't being nice, and neither was the microwave, so I opted out of frosting these cupcakes.

Over the summer, my friend texted me a picture of a chocolate cupcake with white frosting on top and a mini cherry pie in the middle that he saw online. I was intrigued, and told him I was tempted to try to make them. His birthday was a couple of weeks ago, and since it was midterms week, I decided to try to cut down on the weight of my groceries and the amount of time I'd spend on it, even if that meant sacrificing quality, so he could have a cupcake with a tiny pie in the center.

They're pretty simple to make, though because of the two steps, a bit more time consuming that just making plain chocolate cupcakes from a box, but only by about 20 minutes or so.

Surprise Cupcakes
makes 12 surprise cupcakes, but can easily be stretched to make more

1 box chocolate cake mix (and the oil, eggs, and water the recipe calls for)
1 package refrigerated pie dough for a double crust pie
a can of cherry pie filling (you'll need about 2/3 cup or so of filling, maybe less)
frosting of choice, optional

Preheat oven to 450ºF. Cut pie dough into 12 2" circles, and press into a mini muffin pan. Fill each with a spoonful of cherry pie dough. Cut out 12 1" circles from remaining pie dough, and top each pie with the dough, pressing edges together. Bake for about 8-10 minutes, or until edges are golden. Remove from oven and let cool until you can remove them from the pan, about 5 minutes. Decrease oven temperature to 350F.

Meanwhile, prepare chocolate cake mix as directed.* Line a muffin pan with 12 liners, and scoop a heaping tablespoon of batter into each one. Place a mini pie in each muffin cop, and top with another heaping tablespoon of batter so that they are completely covered. Bake in 350ºF oven for about 15-20 minutes, or until tops are dry and spring back when pressed lightly. Remove from oven. Cool slightly in pan, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Ice or enjoy as is!

• Since it should make enough for 24 cupcakes, you'll have extra batter. Alternately, you can buy/make more pie dough, or make more mini pies, and make that number of the cupcakes as described enough (my guess is around 30 total) or just make extra plain cupcakes with the remaining batter. A package of pie dough should have enough crust for about 14-16 mini pies. My guess is that a small can of cherry pie filling will probably make about 20 or so pies.

Another Cake With Alcohol

2011-03-18T17:39:00.007-05:00

I'm not an alcoholic, I promise. I don't even drink the stuff, and not just because I'm underage. I like water. And tea. And that's about it. But when I saw this recipe in the very first issue of Vegetarian Times that I ever bought, back in March of 2006, I decided I wanted to try it. I searched through the house, and couldn't find any Guinness, and there was no way I could make a "Guinness Cake" with the random bottles of beer I found in the fridge. So I put it in the back of my mind to try sometime, at a later date. And now, almost exactly five years later, I pulled out the magazine and gave the Guinness Cake a try. And I have a pretty good reason.

When I'm at home, I have dinner with my great-aunt and uncle on Friday nights. My great-aunt is Irish. She likes beer (thought not Guinness). And yesterday was her birthday. The first detail was irrelevant, but the last two reminded me of this cake, and provided me with the excuse I've needed to try it out. I sent a frazzled mother to the grocery store before breakfast (which, here, starts selling alcohol at 8 AM, meaning she had to wait a while) for beer, gathered up the rest of the ingredients, and whipped up this fairly simple cake. I couldn't get my cocoa/beer/butter mixture to be nicely mixed and smooth, but that didn't seem to ruin the final product. Not even my aunt's dislike of Guinness kept her from liking it, because the cake does not taste like Guinness. The beer instead seems to add some moisture and depth to the flavor of this nice and simple chocolate cake.

Also, like usual, I didn't follow the recipe exactly. We usually have yogurt in the house, so it didn't make sense to go out and buy sour cream unnecessarily. The recipe below reflects the changes. And, for some reason, the recipe on the VT site has a different name than the printed one, and mentions Guinness nowhere. Instead it suggests Darcy's Dublin Stout or Samuel Smith Imperial Stout as examples of black stouts to bake the cake with.

Guinness Cake
adapted from Vegetarian Times, March 2006
makes a 9" round cake, serves 8 or so

2/3 cup stout, room temperature (I don't know how to measure beer. It was too frothy at the top, so I ended up using 2/3 cup+ with the froth since I did a bad job pouring)
10 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2/3 cup strained yogurt or sour cream
powdered sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Butter a 9" round pan and line with buttered parchment or dusk with cocoa powder.

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, bring stout and butter to a simmer. Whisk in cocoa until smooth. Cool slightly.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.

Beat egg, egg yolk, and yogurt with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth and blended. Add beer-chocolate mixture and beat to combine.

Beat in flour mixture for 15-30 seconds on lowest speed. Fold batter using rubber spatula until completely combined. Don't fold too much. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake about 45-50 minutes, or until tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Cool about 10 minutes on rack. If cake needs loosening from sides of pan, run a small knife around edges. Turn out cake onto rack (if using parchment, peel off) and let cool completely. Sift powdered sugar over top of cake just before serving.

The Gluten-Free Layer Cake

2011-02-18T19:48:00.006-06:00

Last semester while talking to one of my roommates, it was discovered that she likes peach schnapps. She really likes peach schnapps, and, it's not something that makes her sick. Well, in moderation. I'm sure if she got a little too excited and drank a bit too much, she wouldn't feel so great. But since schnapps happen to be gluten free, she can imbibe in the candy-sweet alcohol as long as nobody's carding her.

It's not a secret that I don't shy away from baking, cooking, or lowering freezing points with alcohol, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that I decided to challenge myself to make a gluten-free cake incorporating the sickeningly sweet smelling schnapps.

Unfortunately, she never did get to try the cake that was originally imagined for her birthday, but all the gluten-tolerant tasters thought it was quite tasty. One even remarked, "Is this really gluten-free? It's really good." And, unless my checking all the labels failed me, it really is!

Making this cake was not without some slight hitches, mostly because of my lack of sleep and attention. I took all the ingredients out to bake the cake layers at 7pm last Friday night, after sleeping a mere 2 and a half hours in the previous 36. I failed to notice that I was looking at a recipe that made 80 mini cupcakes. A 6" cake does not require 4 pounds of batter, which I think is what I ended up with. I started divying up the batter by weight, hoping to make equal layers, and when the first one came out of the oven, I realized if I used more than just that for the cake, I'd end up with a leaning tower. I baked off a dozen cupcakes and a slightly smaller cake layer that I ended up omitting from the cake, deciding to go with a slightly shorter cake (If you follow the recipe below, yours may end up a bit taller than pictures from this recipe, but no worries! There's just enough frosting to take care of that!) Plus, it never hurts to have an extra 12 ounces of cake lying around. With the addition of some whipped cream and frozen fruit, it can be turned into a tasty (but extremely unphotogenic) mango trifle later in the week!

Peach Schnapps Layer Cake That Just So Happens To Be Gluten-Free
makes 1 6" 3 layer cake

For cake layers:
1 cups (200 g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups gluten-free rice flour all-purpose mix (I used 200 grams of Gluten Free Pantry All Purpose Flour)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup milk
*add a teaspoon of vanilla extract, especially if you want to skip out on the schnapps

2/3 cup peach preserves

For peach schnapps syrup:
1/4 cup (50 g) sugar
1/2 cup water
2 Tablespoons peach schnapps

For peachy buttercream:
1 cup/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
pinch salt
1/4 cup peach preserves

To prepare cake layers:
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a 6" round cake pan (mine's 3" deep).

Beat sugar and eggs in large bowl of electric mixer at medium speed for one minute. Add flour, salt, baking powder, xanthan gum, oil, milk, and vanilla and beat at medium speed for about a minute, or until batter is smooth.

Scoop batter in prepared cake pan. Place pan in center of oven and bake for about 45 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched or a toothpick in the center comes out with only a crumb or two. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for a few minutes, remove from pan and cool completely.

To prepare sugar syrup:
Heat water and sugar in a small saucepan, stirring, until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool. Stir in schnapps.

To prepare frosting:
Place butter in a medium bowl and beat until fluffy. Add powdered sugar and salt and beat until smooth. Beat in peach jam. (If planning on piping frosting, you may want to set aside some frosting before adding jam to prevent getting clumps stuck in your bag.)

To assemble cake:
Level the top of the cake. Slice cake into three layers. Place the base of the cake on a cake plate or large plate, sliced side up. Brush with syrup. Spread 1/3 cup peach preserves over cake layer, and top with another layer of cake. Brush with syrup and spread remaining 1/3 cup preach preserves over the layer. Top with the remaining layer of cake and brush entire cake with remaining syrup.

Scoop about 1 cup of frosting on the top of the cake and spread over the top and sides of cake, adding more frosting as necessary. Smooth sides and top, and, if desired, pipe designs with remaining buttercream.

Store in refrigerator for up to 2 or 3 days. Take out about 20 minutes before eating or it'll be too cold and not taste as awesome.

Truffles for Your Valentine

2011-02-14T22:37:00.007-06:00

It was approaching seven at night, and upon receiving a text from my friend about receiving a box of chocolates, I realized that it was Valentine's Day. And with Valentine's Day comes an excuse to eat chocolate whether you're single or otherwise preoccupied.

The dessert cases here at school had heart and red-themed treats within them, but if I was going to enjoy something chocolate or red, it was going to be on my own terms, and while celebrating the nice break from schoolwork. I was going to make truffles a week or so ago and bought the ingredients, and decided, what's a better thing to treat myself to on Valentine's Day?

I decided to add a festive twist, and with that, I cranked up the Taylor Swift, whipped out the cream cheese, chocolate, and raspberry preserves, and while covering the table and microwave in chocolate, made these yummy little morsels. I wiped the chocolate off my face, and then proceeded to wander around and share them with a grin upon my face.

Raspberry Chocolate Cream Cheese Truffles
makes about 36

1 8 oz. package cream cheese or neufchatel, softened
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, melted
1/3 cup raspberry preserves
10-12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate (melted but later on)
decorations (i.e. sprinkles, chopped nuts, etc), optional

Beat the cream cheese until fluffy and beat in the chocolate and raspberry preserves. Chill until firm enough to handle and then scoop and shape teaspoonfulls into balls.

Chill for half an hour or so, and then dip into melted chocolate and place on a sheet of wax paper or silicone mat (and top with sprinkles or something if desired).

Refrigerate for a few hours until chocolate is set.

Enjoy!

An Alternate Stir Fry

2011-02-09T10:30:00.002-06:00

Being at school, it's rare that I make my own dinner, unless you count the chips and leftover bean dip from the super bowl that I called "dinner" Monday night. Or there was that time I had brownies for dinner last semester...

Neither of those really qualify as dinner. However, repurposing leftovers to make something similar, but different, counts. And that's exactly what I'd been planning to do as soon as I realized that there was no way I would finish my original stir fry from dining services here.

The leftover stir fry (brown rice with some assorted veggies, tofu (that I'd eaten all of), and a sesame ginger sauce) served as my base. It was kind of old, so I made sure to heat it really well, meaning I brought it practically to a boil, which was probably terrible for the integrity of the vegetables, but I really don't want to die.

I added some torn up spinach (leftover from a tuna fish sandwich I made a week or two ago. I really need to work on using things quicker) and a bit of chili garlic sauce. I made a well in the center of the pan, added a bit of sesame oil, and cracked two eggs into the well, breaking up the yolks with my spatula. I let them cook a bit and then stirred everything together and left it in the pan as I washed some dishes, broke it all up so it wouldn't be a gigantic egg and rice patty, washed out the pan, and then came back up to my room to enjoy it as I did some reading for my environmental psychology class.

For the effort, I'd say it was quick, easy, tasty, and affordable. Unlike the cake I plan on attempting this weekend. Let's just say I should have a peachy time.

Pumpkin Pancakes!

2011-01-09T15:38:00.002-06:00

Last week was a breakfast week. Thursday morning was an attempt to satisfy my curiosity of what would happen if I stuffed eggs into wonton wrappers, and Friday was less "adventurous." That is unless you consider pumpkin pancakes chock-full of dark chocolate and toasty pecans adventurous.

Coming home from the Art Institute on Thursday night, still too full from a delicious late lunch of jibaritos to even think of dinner, I turned our thoughts to breakfast instead, asking my friend what he wanted to for breakfast. As soon as he started to open his mouth, I was quick to add "that isn't waffles." Well, that was solved quickly: pancakes. With chocolate chips. I added that I thought I had a can of pumpkin puree at home, and if that was the case, would pumpkin pancakes be alright with him. He wholeheartedly approved the motion. So the next morning, as I waited for him to wake up and greet the day (and help me with breakfast, but sometimes I get a little impatient), I puttered around the kitchen, looked up some recipes, and threw these together.

He approved. My mom approved of them cold out of a bag in the fridge the next day. And my Dad ate the few that remained this morning, and he thought they were tasty as well.

Pumpkin Pancakes
adapted from Sweet Potato - Pecan Pancakes
Serves 4 (maybe)

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon*
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg*
1/8 teaspoon ginger*
1/8 teaspoon allspice*
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chopped pecans, toasted
1/4 cup (1.5 ounces/45 grams) chopped dark chocolate
1 cup milk
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
190 grams (about 3/4 cup) pumpkin puree

Heat a large nonstick pan or griddle over medium heat (the way I learned to gauge the temperature was by flicking a drop of water, if the water rolls and then sizzles, it's the correct temperature.)

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and salt. Stir in pecans and chocolate.

In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, brown sugar, oil, vanilla, eggs, and pumpkin puree.

Make a well in the middle of the flour, and pour in the liquid mixture. Stir until no dry clumps remain.

Ladle 1/4 cup circles of batter onto the pan as fit. Cook until sides look cooked and there are bubbles all over. Flip over and cook until pressing down lightly on the center of the pumpkin leaves no indentations.

Serve with butter and maple syrup, or bourbon pecan sauce.

*Instead of the spices, you can substitute 1 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice.)

Breakfast Pot Stickers

2011-01-08T12:00:00.004-06:00

I like breakfast. It's probably one of my favorite meals of the day. I love eggs, homemade muffins, and other tasty, breakfasty sweets. But mostly, I like eggs. With vegetables. Actually, I'll eat that for any meal, but it seems most acceptable at breakfast time.

Since I bought wonton wrappers to make short rib ravioli for breakfast Monday night, I figured I'd try to use the wonton wrappers for something other than what I usually use them for: Pea Salad Cups

I haven't been home much lately for meals other than breakfast, so I figured, since breakfast burritos are so tasty, why not use a similar idea, but make potstickers instead of burritos. I scrambled some eggs with peppers, filled some wonton wrappers with the eggs, and pan fried them.

And it was tasty. All that was missing was a tasty spicy salsa to dip the potstickers in. Next time.

Breakfast Dumplings
serves 2-3, depending on appetites

20 wonton wrappers
3 tablespoons minced onion
1/2 bell pepper, finely chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded if less spice desired, finely chopped
1/2 serrano pepper, seeded if less spice desired, finely chopped
handful of cilantro, chopped
3 eggs
3 Tablespoons milk
salt
oil

Heat a bit of oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Saute onion in pan for about a minute, or until fragrant. Sprinkle with a bit of salt Add peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. Lower heat and add eggs to pan. Let cook about 30 seconds, and then, using a spatula, scrape the eggs, stirring occasionally, until cooked but not dry.

Remove eggs from pan and transfer to a small bowl. Spoon a rounded teaspoon of egg into a wonton wrapper. Wet edges of wonton wrapper with water and press together to seal. Repeat with remaining eggs.

Heat about 1/4 inch of oil over medium-high heat in a large pan until shimmering. Add pot stickers to pan and cook a minute or two, or until golden, and flip over and repeat with remaining side. Be careful not to get sprayed with hot oil.

Remove from oil and place on a paper-tower to drain. Serve, and enjoy with salsa if desired.

"Why aren't there walnuts in these brownies?"

2010-12-01T15:41:00.006-06:00

Because they have oats, Granma.

Right before heading home for Thanksgiving Break, I realized I had half a dozen eggs in my fridge that were going to go bad. I could do the easy thing: borrow a skillet and make scrambled eggs for me and a couple other people for dinner. Or I could bake 6 eggs worth of things. There was like a pound of butter in the fridge, so it wasn't like I had to go to the store or anything like that.

I wanted to try something new, and since I have a giant container of oats (and by giant, I mean a measly 2lb container) I decided to try out Bruce Weinsten's Oat Brownies from The Ultimate Brownie Book. I didn't vary much up, and I think next time, I might add some cinnamon to these, though maybe that's just because I really like cinnamon. And because I'm running out of vanilla extract.

They were fudgy, chewy, and crispy, all at the same time, thanks to the oats. He calls for toasted oats, but I find that when fighting over a kitchen with a bunch of other people, that's not really possible. When I finally did get control over the oven, it wasn't all easy sailing, but that may have made them tastier. The fact that the oven kept getting opened and closed (someone needed to make toast while I was using the oven), and all the rapping caused the brownies to collapse into a wonderful chewy goodness. (If you haven't noticed, I'm a fan of chewy brownies over cake-like ones.)

Granma's the only person who seemed disappointed by these brownies, but I think that's because she was expecting these brownies. Maybe one day I'll post the 9x9 version of that recipe... Winter break?

Oat Brownies
from Bruce Weinstein's The Ultimate Brownie Book
makes a 9-inch square pan of brownies (which is sixteen to the average person)

1/2 cup (63 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick (4 ounces/113 grams) unsalted butter
2 ounces (66g) semisweet chocolate, chopped (or chocolate chips in a pinch)
2 ounces (66g) unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup (218 g) packed brown sugar
1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (120 g) rolled oats (he recommends toasting them for 5-7 minutes, I omitted this step)

Position oven rack in lower third of oven. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Butter and flour/line with greased foil/whatever your preferred method of "preparing" a 9 in. square pan; set aside.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Place butter and both kinds of chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring between, until the chocolate is melted and stir until smooth and all evenly melted. Set aside to cool. (Or do this over a double boiler, removing from heat as soon as chocolate is melted. Butter will finish melting as you stir.)

In a large bowl, beat the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and eggs with an electric mixer (or, if you're working on your arms, with a whisk for about 6 minutes) until sugar has dissolved and the mixture is thick and creamy. Beat in vanilla and cooled chocolate mixture. Beat until smooth and uniform, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

With a spatula or wooden spoon, stir in the oats. Then fold in the four mixture until just incorporated. Don't beat up your brownie batter. Pour the batter into prepared pan and gently spread to corners.

Bake for 20 minutes or until top is dry and a toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs.

Set aside to cool on a wire rack for a while. Cut into desires number of pieces and enjoy!

A Friendly Hello

2010-08-29T09:32:00.010-05:00

I'm back at school now, as anticipated in my previous post. I have my own room, with paper thin walls, a new set of metro shelving around my desk displaying my bowls and pans to tempt me from my studies (and because I have trouble reaching the shelf in my closet), and three very sweet suitemates, one of whom has a whole host of food sensitivities.

But I'm not one to purposely exclude people, especially not in the first few days back, so I offered to look up some recipes and make some gluten-free cupcakes that we could deliver to our fellow residents of the building, and that she could enjoy.

So together (though it was mostly her, I just did the grocery shopping and provided the materials and recipe printout) we made vanilla cupcakes, and then, along with our other two suite mates, wandered the halls of our residence hall, meeting new people. Except I don't really remember anyone I met yesterday, which isn't a good thing... But hopefully people remember my suite mate's name, because she's running for res college president. So shh... it's too soon to campaign yet.

Gluten-free Vanilla Cupcakes
adapted from Cupcakes Take The Cake
makes around 80 mini cupcakes

2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 1/2 cups gluten-free rice flour all-purpose mix (I used 400 grams of Gluten Free Pantry All Purpose Flour)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 cup canola oil
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups of favorite frosting (if not homemade, make sure it's gluten free)
Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Place cupcake liners in mini-muffin pans. You probably don't own enough pans, so you'll probably need to bake the muffins in batches.

Beat sugar and eggs in large bowl of electric mixer at medium speed for one minute. Add flour, salt, baking powder, xanthan gum, oil, milk, and vanilla and beat at medium speed for about a minute, or until batter is smooth.

Scoop batter in prepared baking pan. Place pans in center of oven (or in top and bottom thirds and rotate halfway through baking(, and bake for about 15 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for a few minutes, remove from pan and cool completely before icing with frosting of your choice.

Share and enjoy!

Summer's Almost Over Again?

2010-08-24T10:07:00.007-05:00

I can't believe how much I've neglected my blog over the summer, but come to think of it, I've also neglected the kitchen. Between being busy surrounded by baked goods all day, not knowing when/who would be around for dinner, and being pretty tired after spending the day in 80º+ weather, I just never really cooked or baked much, all summer.

But that still doesn't excuse this neglect. There were things baked, there were things eaten. There were tasty salads that my dad whipped up from leftovers (can those ever be replicated though?). There was an almond pound cake I decided to bake in my 6" cake pan, with a batter-filled center that fell out-yet I managed to save it and it turned out quite delicious. There was my birthday cake, and adventures in making meringue buttercream that I ended up not using. There was a disgusting looking cake that was tasty to celebrate my friend's Notre Dame acceptance. There was my failure of a cake for my dad, that was eventually turned into a week of trifles. There was lots of smoky grilled salmon, courtesy of my dad.

But that still left me, somehow, with a blog with no posts since the beginning of June. It's the end of August practically, and I'm sitting in the waiting room while my mom's car gets serviced. And soon I'll be back to using a dorm kitchen, carrying my supplies up and down stairs, and making (and keeping) friends through their stomachs.

But I'll stop with my regretful babble. Because I have a recipe for you. It's kind of a tres leches cake, but I doubt it's very authentic, considering it's adapted from an old recipe from Cooking Light.

But it was a hit, despite being cut into 24 fairly small, yet rich, pieces, and served with some blueberries on the side. And the torched meringue top (sure, a broiler would've been easier, but where's the fun in that?) added a nice little twist as well, at least aesthetically, that is.

Tres Leches Cake
serves 12 (unless you make small pieces, in which case, 24 not-very-hungry people)

For the cake:
7 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sugar
3 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup all purpose flour

For the milk mixture:
1 cup half-and-half
1 can (12-oz) evaporated milk (fat free or 2% work fine)
1 can (14-oz) sweetened condensed milk (fat free works fine)

For the meringue topping:
3 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Grease and flour a 9x13 pan. (I'm usually a fan of metal pans, but in this case, a pyrex dish might work better. I transferred mine to one after baking when I realized that it made more sense with the milk mixture.)

Place egg whites and salt in a large mixer bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add 2/3 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Place egg yolks and vanilla in a large bowl (most stand mixers won't be able to mix this amount, so whisk by hand or use hand beaters); beat until thick and pale. Fold 1/3 of egg white mixture into egg yolk mixture. Gently fold 1/3 cup of flour into egg mixture. Gently fold in another 1/3 of the egg whites. Fold in remaining 1/3 cup of flour, followed by the rest of the egg whites.

Spoon batter into prepared dish. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly in center. Cool 5 minutes in pan on a wire rack.

For the milk mixture, combine the half-and-half, condensed milk, and evaporated milk in a 4 cup measuring cup, or bowl. Pierce all over the top of the cake with a fork, and pour the milk mixture slowly and evenly over the cake. It will be soaked, with milk mixture sitting on top a bit. Let it absorb for about 15 minutes or so.

For the meringue topping, beat 3 egg whites with a mixer at high speed until foamy. Combine 1 cup sugar and 1/3 cup of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer registers 238°F. Beating the egg whites at high speed, pour the hot sugar syrup in a thin stream over the egg whites. Stir in the extract. Spread over cake.

Refrigerate cake until ready to serve. Just before serving pop under the broiler for 10-15 seconds (keep an eye on it) or until the top is just lightly browned, or use a small torch and gently torch the top of the cake. (This step isn't necessary, but fun.)

Bourbon Chocolate Layer Cake

2010-06-12T09:43:00.006-05:00

Parents out of town. House to myself. Speakers set up. Saturday. Booze.

I'm not your typical teenager. Because all that added up to a layer cake for a family friend, not a crazy party. It was a variation of a cake I made for my RA's 21st birthday, the Chocolate Bourbon Cake from Simply Recipes. Only, instead of a bundt cake, I made a layer cake. Two 9 inch bourbon chocolate cake layers with whipped cream with a hint of bourbon in between and all around, and covered in a rich chocolate ganache.

I'll be honest, I don't know what it tasted like all together, but from the wonderful thank-you voicemail I receiver on Sunday night from the birthday boy, I can only imagine that it was tasty.

Bourbon Chocolate Layer Cake
cake from Simple Recipes
frosting and ganache from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle

For cake:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar
2 cups (242 grams) all purpose flour
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1/4 cup instant coffee or espresso (I used 2 Tablespoons of each)
1 cup bourbon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, room temperature
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda

For whipped cream filling/frosting:
1/2 cup (57 g) confectioner's (powdered) sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
3 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon bourbon whiskey

For chocolate ganache:
8 ounces (227 g) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup heavy cream

To make cake layers:

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease 2 9" round cake pans. For easier removal, grease and line bottom with parchment as well.

Place instant coffee in a 2 cup measuring cup and pour boiling water up to the 1 cup line. Stir to dissolve. Stir in bourbon and salt; set aside to cool.

In a large bowl or the bowl of a mixer, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy and not grainy. Add eggs in one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla, baking soda, and chocolate.

Add 1/3 of the whiskey mixture, followed by 1/2 of the flour mixture. Alternate the whiskey and flour, stirring or beating after each addition, with remaining whiskey and flour.

Divide evenly between prepared pans. Bake in oven for about 35 minutes, or until top is dry and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with one or two crumbs attached. Or clean.

Let cool in pans 15 minutes. Turn out onto wire rack to cool completely.

To make whipped cream:

In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and 1/2 cup of the cream until smooth. Place pan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Allow to boil for about 15 seconds. Remove tthe pan from teh heat and let cool completely.

Once it cools, using the whisk attachment of an electric mizer, beat the remaining 2 1/2 cups of heavy cream with the vanilla extract and bourbon at medium-high speed until the cream begins to thicken and the whisk leaves a train in the cream. Add the cooled cream and cornstarch mixture and beat until stiff peaks.

To make chocolate ganache:

Place the chocolate in a small heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a gentle boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and let sit for a minute. With a whisk, whisk the cream and chocolate until smooth. Let sit at room temperature until ready to use. If making far in advance, up to a week, refrigerate and warm to a pourable consistency. If the ganache is too cold before using it, place bowl over a bowl of simmering water, whisking until slightly warmed.

To assemble the cake:
Place to squares of parchment paper on a cake plate with the center crease across the diameter. Place the first cake layer face up on the plate. If overly domed, level the layers first.

Cover with about 1 cup of the whipped cream and spread to the sides. Top with other cake layer. Top with another cup of whipped cream and frost the top and sides of the cake. Freeze for about 5 minutes and then frost with remaining whipped cream. Freeze for 15 minutes.

Remove the cake from freezer and pour the chocolate ganache over the cake. Using an offset spatula, cover the cake with the ganache. Place in the fridge until set, and remove the parchment from under the cake.

Keep refrigerated until about 30 minutes before serving.

A Pretty Disappointment

2010-06-04T20:22:00.002-05:00

Last week I picked up the most recent issue of Cooking Light along with some groceries. I can't exactly carry my computer on the train with me, and cookbooks are too heavy, so something else would have to keep me entertained and help me come up with ideas during my three hours of commuting, though only maybe an hour of it is available for reading. I mentally kept track of the recipes that looked interesting, took ideas from some and followed others quite carefully, such as the Herbed Ricotta Tart. And tonight's recipe, the Peach Soup with a Shrimp and Crab Ceviche.

Now, I'm sure this recipe could be tasty. And I did halve it, not very well. And maybe the peach skins imparted an unpleasant bitterness, but I normally don't mind the extra fiber or the added texture.

Simple recipes require tasty ingredients. There isn't anything to mask the flaws, and therein may lie my problem. The shrimp was a little tough (pre-cooked and found in the freezer), the crab was crabby (my dad's description) and an overpriced disappointment, and the limes were bitter. But of course, I failed to taste the lime juice, really couldn't do anything about the crab meat at that point, and despite some salt, and the peaches sweetness, the bitterness overwhelmed the dish.

Fortunately, the night was saved by Wednesday night's leftovers from Klay Oven. And the chips and salsa my dad ate when he first got home and I was running behind on dinner due to bad planning, and getting home only an hour before him.

So, my summer continues, busy with work, and experimenting with dinners. And so far I've learned, just because it's pretty, doesn't mean it's tasty.

The KFC Double Down Adventure: By Ashleigh

2010-05-15T22:48:00.007-05:00

This is a stick-up! I want everyone to put their forks in the air slowly and hand over your good taste.

Ah, so this blog is a usually bastion of fine desserts and food, but here to bring some REAL CLASS is I, the ubiquitous Ashleigh, bringing you the wonders of the ultra-classy KFC Double Down. But really, this entry will be about the ridiculous lengths taken to acquire this gold-standard of fast food ridiculosity and how the DD is really just the culmination of a thousand of years of globalized oppression brought on by the…ahem. Nothing to see here! Moving on.

It all started with some ITG (In the Groove, the slightly more difficult and apparently more awesome version of DDR). No, actually, it started with Colin picking my friends (Mar and Agent Tsai) and me up from the 40, but really, who needs to know that? (Except now you know all of the characters in this little drama, see that was clevar.) So, we went to the arcade, owned some noobs at Ski Ball, got owned at ITG (except for Colin.) and decided to leave when the locals decided to cut in line and take off their shirts BEFORE playing.

I never thought I’d be thankful for douches but…I have a new found appreciation for them, as Axe-drenched tornado warnings. No sooner than we had buckled our seat-belts, the tornado sirens went off. Me, being a hardened Kansas veteran of many severe storms, determined, since the sky was not yet green, that we should go find a KFC anyway and watch the radar as we went. It was a great idea, and was working until Susan (the GPS) started taking us right into the middle of the storm. And then the sky turned green. And then we made a U-turn. Colin suggested that we go home and so Mar pushed the correct buttons on the GPS and we were off. As this point, my brain switched into full storm-excitement mode aka OMG I LOVE STORMS OMGOMGOMG THIS IS SO AWESOME mode ™. I was just staring at the sky, taunting my friends back home via text (who were super jealous), and occasionally offering reassurances to the team (yeah, we’re a team now). So, I didn’t really watch where we were going. I did start paying attention when we started crossing the river.

Me: “Hey Colin. I thought you lived near the university.”
Colin: “yeah, I do. Why?”
Me: “Uhm, we’re crossing the river.”
Colin: “#$@!”
Me: “Hey Mariam, did you press the ‘home’ button on Susan?”
Mar: “Yessss…”
Me: “Well, Colin’s from New Hampshire.”
Mar & AT: “…”

So they say everything happens for a reason, and in this case, by getting turned around in ghetto East St. Louis, we managed to avoid the worst of the storm AKA death by tornado. By the time we made it back across town, the sun was shining, the freeway was slightly flooded, and KFC was looking fantastic.

Susan decided not to be a jerk and guided us to the objective of the day. Too exhausted to brave the unsanitary confines of the restaurant, we opted for the drive-thru and the relative comfort of the apartment, which brings me to the food part of this blog.

The KFC Double Down, as you might know, is a “bunless” sandwich that consists of cheese, “Colonel Sauce” (mayonnaise, for real), and two pieces of bacon between two pieces of fried chicken. I’m probably going to shock the whole blogosphere by saying this, but it’s really not that gross. Honestly, if you slapped the whole thing between two buns, we’d have a double chicken burger with bacon. Which IS disgustingly disgusting, but it’s not the harbinger of doom that everyone’s been freaking out about. The most horrible thing about it was that it was incredibly salty, just like KFC’s fried chicken. I was genuinely disappointed in the lack of greasy-monstrosityness. As far as taste goes, it was very salty, so it was “good,” meaning that the four of us ate it rather quickly and guiltily. Sadly, the bacon and sauce were buried between the chicken breasts, and only a hint of cheese managed to squeeze through. In a way, this blog entry is like the Double Down, in that the two anecdotes that encapsulate the point of the entry are greater and more delicious than the objective.

We couldn’t subsist on a few bites of fried chicken alone after a long day of being storm chased, so we decided to take Agent Tsai (a Canadian) to Steak ‘n Shake, because “they don’t have those in Canada.” So, battle-scarred and hungry, we piled into the Subaru and told Susan to take us to the nearest SnS (but not before we gawked at a full double-bow rainbow for five minutes). Well, Susan decided to be a complete wanker and direct us to a Steak ‘n Shake that DID NOT EXIST. It was like the Twilight Zone, but unlike the Twilight Zone, we didn’t receive a somewhat twisted moral lesson or become trapped in some sort of inter-dimensional rift, I just yelled at the GPS and we found one that actually existed. Not quite as awesome, but I digress. Steak ‘n Shake, was well, steak(ish) for the half that couldn’t have a shake. The other half had shakes, but no steak. Did that just blow your mind? Because it really shouldn’t. I had the Frisco melt, which was a SNS burger on sourdough with “Frisco sauce” (just a crude imitation of the perfection that is In-N-Out’s Special Sauce). It was pretty good, although I really wasn’t paying attention to it; I was really hungry, and jealous of Mar’s mocha/vanilla shake. (Curse you lactose intolerance!) I think the ice cube sculptures were the best part of the meal…no, our waiter aka “Robo-man” was the best part. I think he might have been lobotomized. Because of lactose-challenged status of half of our group, we decided to seek dessert elsewhere.

Well, yours truly had a “brilliant” idea that we should procure a dessert-only reservation at Harvest. A couple of older, more knowledgeable college students had informed me that Harvest had excellent desserts, and had been there in casual wear. So, running with that information, we made reservations (that should have been our first clue) and finally made it there after becoming lost AGAIN. (Incidentally, Susan was grounded for a few weeks.) So, the amazing desserts thing was correct, but the casual wear? Let’s just add this experience to the awkward-things-Ashleigh-has-dragged-her-friends-into list. However, our waitress was wonderful, courteous, and kind. She suggested the bread pudding which everyone, except for Agent Tsai, ordered. I am not exaggerating when I say that this dessert was the best thing I’ve eaten in St. Louis, and possibly the best dessert I’ve ever had. It was warm, not too chewy, and the cream complimented the sweet vanilla bourbon sauce perfectly; the currants were an added bonus. It was a golden and glorious ending to our gastronomic adventure (that was only supposed to last a few hours by the way). Unfortunately, there are no photos of this wonderful dish, as we were all too cowed to whip out our cameras.

So thus ends my tale of April 24, 2010, despite its supreme ridiculousness, probably one of the best days of my freshman year. There’s something wonderfully relieving, de-stressing, and dare I say it, enjoyable about engaging in a good bout of insanity. (yeah, I just screwed up that parallelism. English teachers the world over just face-palmed) Many thanks to Colin for providing transportation and enabling the whole adventure, to Mar for letting me hijack this blog, and to Agent Tsai, for being a bulwark of stoicism in the midst of the storm. (aka silently panicking in the backseat. Well, to be fair, Mar was assisting, and Colin was “passive-aggressively” panicking, although I suppose he had a reason, being the driver and all.)

FUN FACT: This blog entry is longer than my last music history essay over 17th-century madrigals. Mar, this is how much I love you.

Kitchen, Knife, and Rootstock?

2010-05-13T10:56:00.004-05:00

Since I've gone to school my mom keeps mentioning restaurants to me that I've never heard of, whether they be new restaurants or restaurants they'd just never been to before. One of those restaurants, Rootstock, I heard about from both my mom AND one of her friends via twitter. I ate there with my parents back on December 29th, and, thanks to the contents of our fridge at the time, decided I'd write down the description of one of their flatbreads that sounded tasty and try to recreate my idea of it the following evening:
Prosciutto, garlic herbed sheeps milk cheese, arugula, brandied cranberry vinaigrette & pistachio

I never did get around to giving it a try, despite buying cranberry juice, pizza dough, and having serrano ham, manchego, and arugula in the fridge. (I never said it was going to be exactly the same thing, considering I don't actually know what exactly it is.)

Well, now, 135 days later, I've finally given it a try. Only without the prosciutto. And, okay, not really the same thing at all, but it was still tasty. The dressing was quite sour and strong (I liked it), and I served it with another idea from Rootstock's menu, via their website. This description: Black Earth organic burger, bacon-scallion aioli, red onion, Fiscilini cheddar, w/ mezclun greens & house pickles

Well, that translated into mini bunless burgers, and the use of a few shortcuts. No homemade aioli - yogurt was used instead, but the red onions were sauteed in lard (I know, I can't even believe I just said that. What happened to me in college?).

All in all, it was probably a bit adventurous for my first night back in a kitchen. But hey, there's always take-out if nothing turns out edible.

an idea a month in the making

2010-05-06T18:17:00.009-05:00

So on April Fool's Day, I met my friend for dinner and he brought up the idea of putting nutella into brownies. Much to his surprise, I told him that I'd seen recipes for such a thing before, and we planned to meet again to bake some soon.

Soon is a relative term, and the semester is now almost over, and it wasn't until reading week that we were able to find a mutually agreeable time to bake the brownies. Which aren't just nutella brownies, they're nutella cheesecake brownies from alpine berry.

Her recipe is surprisingly simple, and extraordinarily rich. I didn't quite follow it (I'm sorry, but did I really need to unwrap that third stick of butter? The answer: no), but the brownies turned out anyway.

However, a week ago I made more sweet corn brownies, and my pan disappeared. I had to borrow a pan to make these brownies, and when I get home, I'll have to replace my pan. I'm not looking forward to that - I'm super indecisive, it took me forever to pick out a bundt cake. But I'll be optimistic, I have about 89 more hours for it to turn up before I completely lose hope.

And, it's not the end of the world. It's just a pan.

Nutella Brownie Cheesecake
adapted from alpine berry
Makes a 9x13 pan of very fudgy brownies

Brownie layer:
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2/3 cup Nutella (chocolate-hazelnut spread)
4 large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup natural cocoa powder

Cheesecake layer:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/3 cup Nutella

Preheat oven to 325ºF. Line 9x13 inch baking pan with parchment or greased aluminum foil.

First, make the brownie layer:
Combine butter, Nutella, eggs, and sugar in a large bowl and mix well. Stir in flour and cocoa powder and mix until combined. Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Set aside.

For the cheesecake layer, beat together the cream cheese and sugar. Beat in the eggs and Nutella until well combined.* Pour over brownie batter in pan.

Bake until the cheesecake layer looks set, about 50 minutes. Allow brownies to cool completely in the pan before cutting. If storing, keep refrigerated.

*I originally combined all the ingredients for the cheesecake layer together at once, but it was a little lumpy. Hopefully this will solve that problem.

Well, I could've been at a frat, but I decided to bake a cake instead

2010-04-10T11:47:00.005-05:00

I've been throwing out bananas a lot lately. It's really a shame. On top of it being a waste of perfectly good bananas, it's also a waste of money. Usually I have the foresight to throw ripe bananas into the freezer, but in falsely believing that "I'll just use them tomorrow," they get to be too black to even consider saving.

After a delicious three-course meal last night, courtesy of a very friendly family whose daughter is trying to decide where to go to school next year, my roommate and I returned to our room a bit after ten. And I saw the bananas.

I was going to make banana cookies, but there were three bananas. And I don't really have the patience to make a triple batch of cookies by myself. All that scooping would get old awfully fast.

So I decided I'd use my bundt pan, and some of the bananas already in the freezer. I picked out a recipe, started to defrost 5 bananas, and made a grocery list of things I could get on campus (plain yogurt, however, is not a possibility, but sour cream is!), and got to work. Well, sort of. Along the way, I was given the offer of going to a fraternity party, which has been on my to-do list for a while, but those bananas were calling my name. It'll just have to wait until another night.

And this cake is tasty, so I'd say worth the alone time. Granted, someone walked in on me dancing around the kitchen to All Time Low at 2 in the morning in an effort to keep myself awake, but hey, it was the awesome smell wafting down the hall that attracted them, so I'd say that's always a good sign.

Nutella-Swirled Banana Cake
heavily based on this
makes 1 large bundt

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 6-8 bananas)
1 cup (8 oz container) sour cream
1 1/2 cups chocolate hazelnut spread (Nutella)

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour a 12-cup bundt pan, set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until the sugar is incorporated and it's nice and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the bananas and sour cream.

In a 4-cup microwave safe bowl, warm up the nutella for about 15-45 seconds, depending on your microwave, until it's easy to stir. Stir in about 2 cups of the banana batter.

To make a more swirled cake: Alternate between adding the banana and nutella batters to the pan; gently swirl batters together by running swirling a knife through the batter after it has all been poured into the pan.

For a less swirled cake: Pour the banana batter into the pan. Pour the nutella batter on top of it.

Bake for 70-90 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted not near an edge comes out with just a few crumbs attached.

You may need to cover the top of the cake with foil to prevent it from overbrowning. If you have a 10-cup bundt pan, like me (I think), it's going to come up over the top of the pan, making for a less pretty cake that bakes slightly less evenly, but it still delicious.

Alternatively, you could use 2 loaf plans; reduce the bake time to 60-70 minutes.

Drunken Birthdays

2010-04-06T19:38:00.003-05:00

So today is my RA's 21st birthday. One of my floormates told me this fact last night around 10 pm. Which gave me limited time to think: Nutella Brownies for which I have all the necessary ingredients; the omnipresent banana oatmeal cookies; or, I could be "cheeky" and go with a bourbon cake. I was originally aiming for a bourbon pecan cake, since I love bourbon pecan sauce, but I couldn't find one that would be easy enough to make. And it seemed like most bourbon cakes called for bundt pans, which until 6 hours ago, I didn't have.

But with my heart set on making a bourbon cake, I made one. Even after the floormate who was going to make the cake with me had a sudden schedule conflict, I was undeterred, leading to a conflict of my own (oops!). I hung out in the kitchen alone, blasting my iPod and keeping track of the number of songs were by bands I'd seen live (62% of them were, in case you were wondering.) Once the cake had uneventfully made its way into the oven in my new pan, I settled down to read an article for my writing class as the lounge began to smell like a warm and comforting combination of whiskey and chocolate. I think I may have violated Redd Flag policy, with the wonderful smells wafting from the kitchen, but I'm pretty sure I'm not going to get in trouble for it. I mean, my RA did seem to like her cake...

This cake is boozy, quite so. There is no doubt that it's a bourbon cake, not at all. I think I sort of shocked my RA with it. She did call me "cheeky" for making a bourbon cake, and, in the e-mail that she sent out to the floor, made sure to note that this is the only time she'll ever be offering us something with alcohol in it.

So without further ado, here's the link to Elise's recipe. I didn't mess with it, except for not sprinkling the cake with bourbon after removing it from the pan. I used 72% cacao chocolate, and instant coffee. And so far, the cake has had a positive response. You just might not want to "taste" the batter. But really, this chocolate bourbon cake is definitely worth giving a try.

Oh, and those nutella brownies? Hold tight, because I plan on trying those out soon. And who knows, now that I have a bundt pan, I might just have to make another bundt cake sometime.

Springtime and Easter

2010-04-04T09:53:00.008-05:00

My friend's mom sent her easter cookie cutters and colored sugar, among other things, in the mail. So of course, she had the perfect excuse to make sugar cookies. A bit of planning, some distressed phone calls to her mom, and five people in a small dorm kitchen later, magic happened. Well, if sugar cookies can be considered, that is.

Sugar Cookies
recipe from Ashleigh's mom, we halved it, as reflected here, for a small and manageable amount of cookies

2 sticks (1/2 lb) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Slowly beat in flour. If dough is too sticky, add slightly more flour.

Roll dough out onto a floured surface to about 1/4" thickeness. Cut out into desired shapes. Reroll scraps.

Place on cookie sheet about 1/2" apart. Bake 7-12 minutes, or until edges are a light golden brown. Be careful, they can go from pasty looking to sunburnt really quickly.

Let cool. Frost or ice as desired.

Fall Dessert For Spring Break

2010-03-12T13:16:00.003-06:00

So I have problems with seasons? Is that really that bad? I mean, it feels like summer right now, there's piles of snow on the ground, and grocery stores carry practically everything year round. How am I supposed to not be confused?

Apples are delicious. Especially when they aren't of the Red Delicious variety, but more tart, like a Granny Smith, or crisp, like a Braeburn. I'm happy now. And you should be, too. I'm updating, and sharing a sort of recipe for something quite tasty. But maybe, just maybe, you should wait for cooler weather come November to make this. Because right now, I think something along the lines of lemon cheesecake fits the weather better. But maybe not the season.

But instead, out of the oven comes what resembles an apple crumble or cobbler, minus the topping. Spooned into bowls and topped with a maple whipped cream, it was a tasty ending to my dad's delicious dinner, far too fancy to be eaten on the couch while watching the Academy Awards. But that's (sort of) just what we did.

And this is also a testament to the reason I shouldn't start posts and finish them a month later. I don't remember what I did to make that. I just remember it contains apples, cinnamon, and maple syrup, and maybe some salt baked in the oven. And that the whipped cream was heavy whipping cream that I attempted to use almond extract in, didn't like the results, and covered it up with maple syrup. And then topped it with almonds, that if I had the foresight, I would have toasted.

Just In Time For Valentine's Day

2010-02-10T14:26:00.006-06:00

Raspberries. Chocolate. Two things my friend Ashleigh likes. Like I have in the past, I asked a few weeks ago for a flavor. She named strawberries. Next, I asked our friend who was going to help me for his idea. Brownies. But he just really likes brownies, so I wasn't too surprised.

Somehow the idea to make raspberry cheesecake brownies turned into deep dark raspberry brownies. Which is good. They're kind of like the raspberry brownies I used to get as a kid, a variation on the classic LMG brownies that so many people I know now miss. But that's okay, I've got them down. Sort of. The regular ones with the walnuts that is. It just takes a lot of strength to make a half sheet pan's worth of them.

But not to get carried away and completely off track, because those aren't the brownies we're talking about. Well, they are, but not quite. Because these rich, dense, fudgy morsels are not for the faint. Or for those who can't wield a heavy knife, because trying to cut these with a butter knife will lead to blisters. Trust me. They're also worth the blisters. And if you can find seedless jam, you might want to try it with that instead. Or straining your jam. But hey, I'm a lazy college student.

And while I made these as a birthday present, they're also the perfect Valentine's Day dessert. Unless you want to be boring and cliche and make a chocolate souffle.

Raspberry Dark Chocolate Brownies
adapted from The Professional Pastry Chef
makes an 8x8" pan of brownies, cut into desired size (about 30?)

9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
6 Tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup raspberry jam

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Grease an 8" square pan (for easier removal, line with two pieces of foil with a 1" overhang, grease the foil as well) and set aside.

In a double boiler or a large heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, melt together the chocolate and butter, stirring until smooth. Set aside to let cool a bit.

In a medium bowl beat together sugar, eggs, and vanilla until pale and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.

If slightly cooled melted chocolate is not already in a large bowl, transfer it to a large bowl. Fold the egg mixture into the chocolate. Stir in the flour (it doesn't hurt to sift it, but it's not necessary.)

Pour most of batter into prepared pan. Spread raspberry jam over top. Add remaining batter and smooth top.

Bake in over for about 30 minutes or until top is dry to the touch and a toothpick comes out not looking like raw batter has completely attacked it, but not entirely clean either. If the toothpick comes out clean you've overbaked the brownies. They will continue to cook as they cool.

Let cool completely before cutting, unless you want a big mess on your hands.

Sometimes it helps to refrigerate or freeze them to cut the brownies cleanly.

"But, Everyday's My Birthday" Cake

2010-02-02T15:48:00.008-06:00

I may not be the most observant person, but I'm not so blind as to not notice someone birthday when they've made a bit of a hullabaloo about it. Trying to convince me two months later that your birthday is two days away, well, I'm not going to buy that.

But that doesn't mean I won't bake a cake. I'll take any excuse to bake something. All you've got to do is ask. And then give me some time to get my act together and find my go-to recipe (that I usually use for ice cream cakes... but oh well).

So this time, I baked the cake (I wasn't supposed to do it alone, but I didn't realize that...) and then other people decorated it, after realizing what I was doing and getting all excited. I brought a pastry bag and a couple tips with me, and decorating is not really my thing, so I was more than happy to oblige.

It was kind of crazy, and corresponded with Lost starting up again, so the floor was quite quiet. And the person the cake was for disappeared right after we gave it to him. I wonder what happened to the cake. It was just sitting on the table last time I looked.

Moist and Devilish Chocolate Cake (aka my go to Chocolate Layer Cake Base)
from Tish Boyle's The Cake Book
Makes 1 9-inch cake

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup natural cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup neutral oil
2 large eggs
1/3 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 325ºF. Grease and flour a 9x3" round cake pan.

Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Whisk in sugar, followed by oil.

In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla extract. Stir into the flour mixture. Gradually whisk in boiling water until smooth.

Pour into prepared pan (if your pan is smaller, pour 2/3 way up the sides and use remaining batter to make cupcakes.)

Bake 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached and the top springs back when lightly touched.

Another Buttercream Frosting
adapted from somwhere, I need to stop scribbling recipes onto scraps of paper

1 stick (4 oz) butter, softened
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 t. salt
4-5 teaspoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat butter in a medium-large bowl until fluffy, about 30 seconds. Beat in sugar, salt, milk, and vanilla until no lumps remain and the frosting is fluffy!

Use as desired. Spread on with a knife or spatula, pipe on with a bag, or do whatever else it is you do with buttercream frosting.

making waffles in a waffle iron, what a novel idea!

2010-01-23T21:48:00.003-06:00

This morning my friend made pancakes and I made waffles. Her pancakes were fun, but not without their mishaps. There was the overheated pan, the overly reduced and cooked raspberry sauce, and some burnt butter involved... but none of that stopped it from being fun and tasty. Seven people in a tiny kitchen, random people walking in to use the microwave and looking at us like we're crazy, messes, pancakes in a mug... So, pretty much, an amazing Saturday morning.

Followed by a semi-productive evening that was derailed by my refusal to go to the library and study and the noise across the hall. Everyone just left to go bowling, informed me I'm lame for staying in, and I'm updating this. Next up: sleep. Then I'll read some more about Thomas Jefferson. But I'm already starting to wish I'd gone bowling. Oh well.

Banana Waffles
This was originally a pancake recipe from a book called Pancakes and Waffles, I think. I don't have the book with me, my mom e-mailed me the recipe last night. We made them as pancakes with sliced bananas last Saturday, and they were tasty that way as well. I used rice flour instead of oat flour, like was called for, and 1/2 cup yogurt. I would probably use more milk in them if making pancakes though, which is why I decided it would make a good waffle batter. I'm currently wondering if I could use 1 1/3 cups ap flour instead of an alternative, but I don't know much about flours.
Makes 8-10 waffles

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup oat flour
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup (6 oz) yogurt
2 small bananas, mashed

In a large bowl mix together flours, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt. In a small bowl whisk together egg, milk, yogurt, and bananas. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients until combined.

Cook in waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions. Or make pancakes. See note above.

Breakfast On The Floor

2010-01-18T17:01:00.006-06:00

The dorm floor that is. And not the actual floor as in where you walk, but as in the level of the building. And it was in the common room, and made in the mini kitchen off of the common room. Only the microwave was broken in there. It was interesting.

Maybe I should back up a little. I'm back at school! And this time, I brought my waffle iron with me. I don't think it's allowed, so shh... I won't start a fire. Or use it in my room, though that would be one awfully nice air freshener. And instead of waffles, well, I made french toast. Only it looks like waffles. I made breakfast that's confused about it's identity.

Despite being a confused french toast waffle, it was quite tasty. And I think a hit. Or people are too nice and just don't want to hurt my feelings. I thought it was yummy, not spectacular, but quite tasty topped with bananas and honey.

Does anyone have a waffle recipe they swear by? If so, let me know. I want to try some out. I mean, that's what a waffle iron is usually for, isn't it? Not that I don't suggest you try to make french toast in one... it just takes a bit longer than it would on the stovetop, but it's more fun this way.

French Toast Waffles
idea and recipe from TracyFood

2 eggs, at room temperature
1/2 stick melted butter, cooled
1 1/2 cups milk, at room temperature
2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 loaf challah (or other bread of choice), sliced into 1/2"-1" thick slices depending on the size of your waffle iron
syrup, honey, bananas, or other foods for serving

In a bowl (or if you want one less dish to clean, in a shallow baking dish), whisk together the eggs, butter, and milk until smooth. Stir in the flour, sugar, cinammon, and salt. Transfer to a shallow baking dish (I used an 8" square dish).

Right before placing on the waffle iron, dip a slice of challah into

Heat waffle iron according to manufacturer's instructions. Dip each piece of challah into the batter. Let sit for 15-20 seconds, flip over. Let excess batter drip off before placing on waffle iron. Cook like a waffle according to waffle iron's settings.

Repeat with remaining bread and batter.

Serve. And enjoy.

Merry Christmas, Almost

2009-12-24T23:01:00.004-06:00

As I prepare to write my letter to leave Santa, I feel like there's something else I should write down.
And that would be the recipe for the new cookie I tried this week: pistachio meringues!

I wasn't planning on making meringues, but this morning, I suddenly realized it was Christmas Eve and I still hadn't finished my cookie tins to deliver to the neighbors. I never bought pistachios or dried cranberries to make Pistachio Cranberry Icebox Cookies. The tassies and grasshopper squares looked lonely by themselves, and even though I made ginger crackles last week, they look out of place with the other cookies.

I looked up and noticed I had Delicious Living open to a hazelnut meringue recipe. Well, I didn't have any hazelnuts around, but I did have some ground up pistachios from when I made Pistachio White Chocolate Cookies. And meringues aren't that hard to make... my mind was set. As the last batch of tassies was cooling, I set out on these cookies, and awed my grandmother, though they were a little too sweet for her tastes.

Pistachio Meringues
based on this recipe
Makes about 30 small meringues

2 large egg whites
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup ground pistachios

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and preheat oven to 275ºF.

Bring water to a simmer in a pot that a metal bowl will fit over. Whisk together egg whites in sugar in bowl over the simmering water until the sugar is dissolved, about three minutes. Remove from heat. With an electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar, with cream of tartar, until still glossy peaks form, about 5 minutes.

With a spatula fold in vanilla extract and pistachios. Spoon onto prepared baking sheet, or transfer to pastry bag fitted with plain round tip and form 1" circles on baking mat. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until meringues are firm and dry to the touch and almost entirely dry on inside. Let cool on sheets for five minutes, then remove and let cool completely.

First Homemade Meal...

2009-12-21T22:41:00.002-06:00

A sandwich. And by me. Wait, that's a lie. My dad made tasty eggs for breakfast Sunday morning. So this is the second home cooked meal since I've been home. And I'm the one who made it...

I need to learn my way around the kitchen again. This was a lot harder than it should have been.

I showed up at the grocery store after Christmas shopping with no idea what I wanted to make. It hadn't been a particularly eventful day. I ran an errand for my dad, then for my mom, ended up at the mall alone, people watched, bought a few presents, got stuck in traffic, failed to merge at the right time and passed up Target, sang my lungs out to extremely summery songs with the windows rolled up, and talked on the phone.

It's amazing I'm still alive. And made it to the grocery store. And walked around the grocery store. And put things in my basket; took things out of my basket. Changed my mind. Stared at the seafood case. Grabbed some tortillas. Picked up chocolate chips. Put back the tortillas. Paced back and forth.

Eventually, I ended up in the checkout line. With a baguette, a bunch of kale, portabella mushrooms, a jar of red peppers, celery, and a bag of chocolate chips. The chocolate chips were unrelated to the rest of the stuff. And the celery was to go with the spinach dip in the fridge.

Bet you didn't think that those ingredients were going to turn themselves into a sandwich. Except they didn't. I softened the cream cheese, put it into the food processor, and then spent ten minutes unsuccessfully trying to get the jar of roasted red peppers open. I tried hot water, towels, t-shirts, paper towels, phone calls. Nothing worked. So much for the roasted red pepper spread.

But you know what, it was okay without. My mom was hesitant sitting down to eat, looking at her sandwich and soup (courtesy of the fridge and available at Jewel), but was pleasantly surprised. I guess kale, cream cheese, and portabellas do make a tasty sandwich.

recipe coming soon.

I don't remember what I did.

National Cupcake Day

2009-12-16T12:20:00.002-06:00

So apparently yesterday was National Cupcake Day. There's a crazy list of food holidays here. I'm not quite sure what it means, but who doesn't want an excuse to bake cupcakes?

The semester is winding down to a close. Well, not winding. It's more in your face than that, with exams and all, but it's different. In a few short hours, I will have finished my first semester of college, and most likely be freaking out at the state of my dorm room and inability to fit everything in my suitcase. I need my baking stuff! And clothes and my cameras and shoes and...
I need to learn to live more simply.

My roommate had some ripe bananas, so I took her bananas, the butter from the fridge (still working on it from the last post), went to the grocery store and picked up some sour cream and eggs, and got to work. A couple hours later, there was less food in the fridge than before, and 15 frosted cupcakes that quickly disappeared. I didn't even get a chance to get a picture of them all!

I ended up making a second batch, that was frosted significantly less liberally, even though I was considering making peanut butter frosting. Except I'm not sure I've ever had frosting that trumps this cream cheese frosting. It wasn't too sweet or too thick. It was just right. And of course, I didn't measure the sugar. It was a little lumpy, but that's what happens to powdered sugar when it sits on a shelf all semester.

Neil had 4 cupcakes, without frosting. I think that's a testament to the cupcakes themselves, frosted or not.

Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
adapted from a chocolate banana cupcake on a blog, but I scribbled it on a notecard and can't find the site now
makes 17 (or maybe 18?)

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
3/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup mashed banana (about 2-3 bananas)
1/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Prepare 18 muffin cups. In a small bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.

In a larger bowl, cream butter and brown sugar together until fluffy and smooth. Beat in egg, followed by banana and sour cream, and then the vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture

Spoon a scant 1/4 cup batter into each muffin cup. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until the tops spring back when lightly touched. Remove from pans to cool completely on wire racks. Then frost as desired.

Cream Cheese Frosting
can frost just 17, or a few more

8 ounces (1 package) cream cheese, softened
4 ounces (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup powder sugar, or to taste

Beat together cream cheese and butter until smooth and fluffy. Beat in salt and vanilla extract. Slowly add powdered sugar and beat to incorporate.

Butterful Blondies

2009-12-05T00:38:00.006-06:00

When I got back from class there was a checklist taped to all the doors along the hallway. It was a checklist for winter break, and what we had to do in our room before we left. I read the fourth line: "unplug everything." Which makes sense, because of standby power, and it's why my power strip has a switch on it, except, there's a tiny problem. And that is that our fridge and freezer are not empty. While my roommate's stuff is complete meals, I had seven sticks of butter, a package of cream cheese, melted chocolate, peanut butter, and a frozen overripe banana. In other words, the cast for a baking extravaganza. And less than two weeks to do it in. And I make things very slowly.

So I decided last night was as good a time as any to start. I was going to go to my roommate's dance theater performance, but I'm going tonight instead, and it's not like I'm getting any studying for that Psych exam anyway... Might as well procrastinate in a useful manner. And use up three-quarters of a pound of butter while I'm at it. (I got some eggs with my meal points... they cost more than my dinner.) My parents sounded a bit disappointed when I called them in response to a text of "What's up?" and told them I was alone and washing dishes. But it was all worth it!

These blondies are rich, delicious, and chewy. They have the approval of everyone who has tried them... though my roommate had to cut them herself, because I was too busy playing DDR.

Now I just need to use up that remaining pound of butter and half pound of cream cheese.

Classic Blondies
from Bruce Weinstein's The Ultimate Brownie Book p.118
Note: the recipe called for 2 Tablespoons of vanilla extract. I can't read, and with the chocolate chips, it's okay. If you choose to omit the chocolate chips, it would make for a very rich tasty blondie.

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 sticks (3/4 lb) unsalted butter, softened
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup (6 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

Position rack in lower third of oven. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Butter a 9X13 inch baking pan.

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

In a large bowl, cream the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer (stand mixer works better here, my hand mixer started to groan) at medium speed; continue beating until pale brown and thick, about 7 minutes, Add eggs one at a time, mixing well before each addition. Scrape down sides of bowls as necessary. Beat in fourth egg for about a minute; beat in vanilla.

With a spatula, stir in the chocolate chips, and then the flour. (If you do it the other way, nothing bad will happen, it just won't be as tender.) Do not beat up the batter, it will be very thick though, like cookie dough. Spoon into prepared pan, and gently spread to corners

Bake for 45 minutes, or until top is light brown and a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Set the pan on a rack to cool for at least 30 minutes, otherwise you'll end up with a mess on your hands.

Cut brownies into desired number of pieces while still in the pan. Carefully remove. Serve, or let cool completely before covering. Eat within 3 days, or freeze them for a couple months.

Look. Pretty Leaves. And Cake!

2009-11-10T22:31:00.004-06:00

I'm not very good at being a college student. I'm not productive late at night, though I am awake with the idea that maybe I'll actually get some work done, I don't sleep until noon on the weekends, and if I had a fake ID, I'd use it to buy some brandy to make the icing suggested for this cake. But the cake does not need a brandied brown butter icing, it holds its own just fine. It also has miraculously lasted three days, in part because I haven't been doing the best job of publicizing it.

This cake was the cake I mentioned before, with the turkey sandwiches. Only I wasn't expecting it to be a cake, I was expecting it to be more like a bar cookie, so I was a bit surprised when I got a nice tender cake with a muffin-like crumb. But it was a good surprise, because the flavors shine much more, and it is a lot less cloying, with its cakey lightness. It's just a little less picnic friendly than bar cookies would be.

This cake was easy to make, makes a lot of cake, and while I haven't yet done the math to figure out how much it cost to make, I don't think it was TOO expensive either. And did I mention tasty? My RA doesn't understand how I can just combine things and they taste good, but I don't just combine things and they taste good, I follow recipes, sort of.

So if you're in need of a tasty snack cake that has the tastiness of banana bread without the wholesome sounding name, and the yummy sweetness of toffee and milk chocolate, I'd highly recommend making this. Or asking someone to make it for you.

Banana Toffee Snack Cake
adapted from Better Homes & Gardens Biggest Book of Cookies
Makes a half-sheet of cake

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3/4 cup mashed ripe banana (2-3 medium bananas)
3/4 cup (6 oz) plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups chopped toffee bits (such as 1 bag Heath Toffee Pieces)

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a half-sheet pan. set aside.

Beat butter in mixing bowl with electric mixer on high for about 30 seconds, or until fluffy.
Beat in sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until combined, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally.
Beat in egg, mashed banana, yogurt, and vanilla extract until combined.
Stir in flour until just incorporated. Stir in 1 cup toffee bits.

Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle remaining toffee bits over top. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out free of batter. Or when you press lightly, the indentation does not remain. Remove from oven and cool in pan on wire rack.

Cut into desired number of squares. (I think it makes about 48 2x2" squares, but I didn't cut them in a systematic manner.)

Perfect Picnic in the Park

2009-11-09T18:24:00.003-06:00

I am not following in my parents' footsteps. Really. I'm not.

Even if they want to think differently. There's a difference between catering and "catering." And when I was asked on Friday if I would cater a picnic, it was not really "catering." If it was, I'm a pitiful caterer. And I didn't add a fee either.

Grocery shopping for ten people is difficult to do alone, especially when I had no clue what I was doing. How much turkey do I need to buy? Fruit gets heavy really quickly. And there are too many kinds of turkey to choose from. They sell sliced cheese in two places OTHER than the deli case. And Jarlsberg was difficult to find. But I found it. Next to more turkey. I circled the grocery store enough that I'm finally learning my way around it, and also probably looked crazy. But that's okay, because nothing bad happened.

So Sunday morning, I woke up five hours after I went to bed, hopped up, ate breakfast, gathered up my stuff for banana toffee snack cake (though I didn't realize that was what it was at the time), headed to the kitchen, and started on my baking.

Two hours later, I was making sandwiches, with help from a floormate. I'm scared of tomatoes, so I was glad she came and helped. She also came armed with a plastic knife. Those things work way better than metal butter knives on both ciabatta and tomatoes. I don't understand why they swapped those in for metal knives after 9/11 on airplanes; they might be more dangerous.

But the picnic. I've yet to mention the picnic. The one that I was utterly unprepared for, and was tasty, but could have been better. I forgot the napkins. But I remembered hand sanitizer, not that I took it out of my bag. No blanket or anything, but then I saw some picnic tables near where they'd set up the high line. And there was probably just barely enough sandwich. It was a good thing that someone also grabbed chips. And the snack cake went over well.

But I was amazed. I didn't know I could get so much praise for a turkey sandwich. It wasn't even my idea! I just listen to people's suggestions, sort of.

Turkey Sandwich on Ciabatta

1 loaf ciabatta (about 12 ounces)
1/2 lb sliced cajun spiced turkey
8 slices colby jack cheese
1 avocado, thinly sliced
4 leaves green leaf lettuce

Slice ciabatta lengthwise, so that there's a top and a bottom. Layer cheese along bottom. Top with turkey, then lettuce, and then avocado. Place other half of bread on top. Slice into desired number of sandwiches. Six is a good size.

Variation: Jarlsberg + tomato, with normal smoked deli turkey.

Fabulous Fall Weather and Pumpkin Pie

2009-11-05T21:02:00.010-06:00

The weather today was gorgeous. Perfect for spending time outside... which I did, for about twenty minutes in the park today, tagging along with people looking for good trees for slacklining, wishing I had a camera with me. But I didn't, and when I looked at my watch, realized I was running late for an appointment. It's amazing how warm 65 degrees and breezy can feel when you're rushing up a slight incline.

However, the weather is not at all related to pumpkin pie. I just felt like making a pumpkin pie, and that's exactly what I did. While it may not feel quite crisp enough yet to be December, I'll take this over last week's rain that made me consider building an ark. Pumpkin pie might just be the easiest thing I've baked since I got here. The only thing I've made that's been easier is probably super simple fudge with peanut butter on top. And technically, my roommate made it. So enjoy fall and be all seasonal. Bake a pumpkin pie!

Oh, and did you know that there's a pumpkin shortage?

Easy Pumpkin Pie
Note: Since starting college, I've come to like making things that are easy, simple, and require few dishes. Had I been ambitious, and had more pans, I probably would have made the dough from tassies and made miniature pumpkin pies. Much easier to share, but instead, this will have to do. Also, I had some leftover filling. Either follow the original recipe, use a larger graham cracker crust, or just bake off the extra in a mini-muffin pan.

Makes 1 pie.

3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 can (15 oz.) Pure Pumpkin
1 can (12 fl. oz.) Evaporated Milk
prepared graham cracker crust (if using unbaked homemade or frozen crust, follow instructions on Nestle's site)

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Whisk the eggs. Whisk in sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Stir in pure pumpkin. Gradually stir in evaporated milk. Pour into prepared crust.

Bake in oven 50-65 minutes or until center is set and a toothpick comes out clean. (I just do the jiggling test, once it no longer resembles Jello, it's good!)

Hide from hungry eyes and noses for an hour to cool, and then cut and serve.

To Prevent Monotony, We'll Call This Fudge

2009-10-08T14:09:00.004-05:00

But that's a lie. It's another brownie recipe! (What? They're popular here. I can't help it.)

Today is my friend's birthday. It's not an exciting one, or anything. The only milestone I've come up with is (rumor has it, though I can't find proof) is that he is now old enough to go to an Applebee's after 9pm in Missouri. Not sure how that makes sense though.

And as with most birthdays, I ask the person for some sort of suggestion. Two weeks ago I was told brownies, hence the Banana Brownies. For today, my question of "Name on or more the following: a flavor, a texture, an ingredient, or a color" received the response of "Wow umm... Fudgy?"

Which brings us to these brownies. I didn't want to make fudge in response to fudgy, because well, fudge is fudgy by definition. So I, once again, flipped through The Ultimate Brownie Book and picked out a recipe that looked like there was no way it wouldn't turn out fudgy. My roommates first response was "Wow, these are fudgy." And with one pound of milk chocolate in them, and some panicking with the oven (don't use an 8" pan, it'll overflow!) they turned out. Though maybe they could have used a few more minutes when baked in an aluminum foil pan. And would probably look a lot better if they weren't in a box the exact same color as them.

In the words of my roommate, "They taste a lot better than they look, and the cinnamon is wonderful."

Milk Chocolate Cinnamon Brownies
Makes a 9x9 pan of brownies, pick your size (recommends 16, I say more)
adapted from Bruce Weinstein's The Ultimate Brownie Book

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons ( 1 stick/4 oz) unsalted butter, softened
1 lb (16 ounces) milk chocolate, chopped, or 2 2/3 cups milk chocolate chips
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature

Position the rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Butter and flour (or line with aluminum foil if you have a temperamental pan) a 9x9 pan.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.

Place the chopped cholate in a heat-proof bowl and melt over a small pot of simmering water. Or, alternatively, microwave in a microwave-safe bowl on medium in twenty-second intervals, stirring, until melted. Stir in butter one tablespoon at a time.

Beat the sugar and eggs with an electric mixer at medium speed until sugar has dissolved and mixture is pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Beat in the chocolate mixture in two batches. Beat for about 2-5 minutes or until the mixture is smooth.

Fold in the flour mixture. DO NOT BEAT UP THE BATTER! Treat it nicely, with care. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it to the corners. It will be nice and thick.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the sides are set and doesn't jiggle and the top is dry. It will still be soft in the middle and set up as it cools Set pan on a rack to cool for about two hours.

Cut the brownies while they are still in the pan. (It might be easier to put them in the fridge if they are too gooey). Carefully remove them, and serve immediately, or store in an airtight container, either in a single layer or with wax paper in between.

P.S. You should check this out.

Brownies, Without Corn

2009-09-24T17:05:00.009-05:00

"I didn't get one of Mariam's brownies." "They're in here." "Oh, yeah. They're your birthday brownies."

I just overheard that coming from my the hallway. I found it amusing, if only because I was just starting to type my blog post. I guess I really do have that reputation I thought I was cultivating. And these brownies don't have corn in them (though I do have a can of corn just waiting to be baked into brownies again). No, today's brownies are more conventional, though they still aren't PLAIN brownies. If I wanted "normal" brownies, I would have spent $1.50 on a box of mix and just followed the instructions. There's nothing wrong with that, it just would have been too easy, and taken all the fun out of it. Not to mention, save me thirty minutes. I mean, I find Islamic marriage laws fascinating (no really, did you know that marriage "prevents sexual frustration and the temptation to sin?"), but they can wait forty-five minutes. That's what the bake time is for. Well, that and dishes.

So what's the verdict on these brownies? According to the birthday girl, "They taste like chocolate banana bread. Or, at least what I'd imagine chocolate banana bread to taste like." If chocolate banana bread was that rich, it'd be dangerous, because "bread" doesn't sound as sinful as "brownie."

Banana Brownies
Makes a 9x13 pan of brownies, you can decide how many that is (usually it's 24)
adapted from Bruce Weinstein's The Ultimate Brownie Book

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons ( 1 stick/4 oz) unsalted butter, softened
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mashed bananas (about 3 medium)
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (optional)

Position the rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Butter and flour (or line with aluminum foil if you have a temperamental pan) a 9x13 pan.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

Place 3 tablespoons of butter, the bittersweet chocolate, and the unsweetened chocolate in a heat-proof bowl and melt over a small pot of simmering butter. Or, alternatively, microwave in a microwave-safe bowl on medium in twenty-second intervals, stirring, until melted. Allow to cool for ten minutes.

Meanwhile, cream the remaining 5 tablespoons of butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until sugar has dissolved and mixture is smooth, about 4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating until each is thoroughly incorporated.
After the eggs have been incorporated, add the vanilla, bananas, and chocolate mixture. Beat until batter is smooth, about 2 minutes.

Fold in the flour mixture and chocolate chips, if using, until just combined. DO NOT BEAT UP THE BATTER! Treat it nicely, with care. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it to the corners.

Bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs attached and the top is dry. Set pan on a rack to cool for at least 30 minutes or so.

Cut the brownies while they are still in the pan. Carefully remove them, and serve immediately, or let cool completely before storing in an airtight container, either in a single layer or with wax paper in between.

For fudgier brownier, rap the pan halfway through baking.

Want another banana brownie recipe? Click here
Personally, I like the ones with actual banana slices better.

"Quick! Hide the corn!"

2009-09-12T19:25:00.013-05:00

One thing that doesn't take long to develop, and that you want control of, is a reputation. If someone's reputation may at some point proceed them, then it should be an accurate reflection of him or her. Otherwise they may not live up to it, or not be given a chance to prove themselves different.

I think I may be starting to develop a reputation. Those peanut butter cookies scared me, because they didn't live up to what people at home knew I was capable of. But here, they were scratch-made peanut butter cookies, which made them good regardless of their major flaws. They didn't have standards by which to be judged, they just had to be edible.

I feel like I redeemed myself (not that anybody else thought I needed redeeming) with the chocolate crinkles. And then the hideous, but tasty, banana-oatmeal cookies made an appearance.

So now, two weeks later, I'm not so sure that it's the same. Our whiteboard to our room bears messages of "Greatest floormate and baker" and "Next time no corn please!" I think there might be some expectations held of my baking now. Oops?

Sweet Corn Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting
from Bruce Weinstein's The Ultimate Brownie Book
I couldn't find a 14 3/4 oz can of cream-style corn, so I kind of had to guess at the amount, which is what is listed here, because it worked. And the cream cheese frosting, while a suggestion in the original recipe, along with buttercream, really is quite nice with the brownies.

For Brownies:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup canned cream style corn

For frosting:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 ounces butter, softened
1 to 2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a pan with parchment or foil (if you want to) and grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together at medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Then beat in the vanilla.

Beat in half of the cream-style corn, followed by half of the flour mixture. Beat in the other half of the corn, followed by the remaining flour mixture. Beat until well combined, scraping down sides as necessary. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread gently to the corners.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until the top is dry, and a toothpick comes out of the center damp with some moist crumbs attached. Set the pan on a wire rack to cool for at least an hour or two.

Meanwhile, make the frosting. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Add in the sugar 1/4 cup at a time, until desired consistency and flavor is reached. It shouldn't be too loose or too stiff. Let sit a few minutes before spreading over brownies.

Frost the brownies while still in the pan. Cut into desired number of squares (normal would be 24, I tend to make more smaller ones in case people don't like them, and so more people can try them). If the frosting is too soft, chill for 20 minutes, or until set. Lift brownies out with an offset spatula or, carefully, with a fork.

If frosted, store in the refrigerator. If unfrosted, they should stay fresh at room temperature for about three days.

What Not To Do At College

2009-08-31T23:39:00.004-05:00

Today I learned how to be a successful student. And nowhere on there did it mention baking, but it did mention time management skills. So far, I'm doing okay. I slept for ten and a half hours last night, and at my current rate, I'll get to sleep for about eight tonight. So far, so good.

Well, except for the fact that I haven't done my reading for Wednesday yet. So tomorrow I'll have to kick myself into gear, between classes, running, a meeting, and sleep, there should be plenty of time for that. Why do today what can be put off until tomorrow without any repercussions? It's not like I spent hours online playing Text Twist or video chatting with my nonexistent boyfriend five states away. Instead I made cookie dough, spent an hour and a half getting dinner (my stir-fry had banana peppers!), and then proceeded to spend the next two hours baking cookies. It takes some time when you only have one baking sheet. And I met four new people (and most likely can't identify them in a line-up), learned how to play "cutthroat," and amazed people by the fact that, yes, these cookies are made from scratch. And no, I don't think it's a waste of my time in college to bake. I love to see people's faces when I offer them cookies, or they walk into a room and see some stranger baking. It's fun!

These cookies put Friday's cookies to shame. It may be that I like brownies, and these cookies taste like brownies. And are significantly prettier and chewy. And much prettier. These cookies I'm not scared to walk up and down the hall with, and with their petite size, I don't feel guilty offering them to everyone either.

Chocolate Crinkles
pretty much the same as the recipe in Better Homes and Gardens Biggest Book of Cookies

3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
1/2 cup mild oil (I used canola)
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, granulated sugar, chocolate, oil, baking powder, and vanilla. Stir in the flower with a wooden spoon or awesome spatula. Cover and chill teh dough until easy to handle, about an hour or two.

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Shape teaspoonfulls of dough into balls. Roll in powdered sugar to coat generously, they will be much prettier this way. Place balls 1/2-inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake in oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until edges are set and tops are crackled and edges are set. Let cool slightly before removing from baking sheet.

Friday Night Cookies

2009-08-29T01:50:00.002-05:00

The first Friday night at college. Hot, sticky air. Lots of noise. Cramped spaces. Peanut butter cookies from scratch.

Yep. That would be me! I spent my first Friday night not in search of a wild party, beer, or a bed. I spent it making peanut butter cookies... well, I guess 8pm could be considered the evening here, in which case I did spend my Friday night doing other things... like playing Twister, card games, and getting pink grapefruit gelato and trying to figure out how inebriated the person limping down the hallway really was ("I'm fine, really, I'm fine." "Okay... if you say so.")

I fought with an oven that I couldn't figure out how to turn on, leading someone else to push buttons randomly and get it to work after I pretty much murdered the first batch of cookies. I panicked that I would set off the fire alarm when I forgot about the third batch, which someone else wanted to happen to see how many people came out of the building. All in all it was a good experience. Nobody complained nor went into anaphylactic shock. I'd say that's a sign of a successful night.

Milk Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies
from the back of a bag of Target chocolate chips

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
12 oz (1 bag) milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375.

Beat butter, peanut butter, sugars, and vanilla on medium speed until creamy. Beat in egg.

Mix in flour, baking soda, and baking powder with a spatula or on a slow speed until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place on cookie sheets. Press down with a fork to flatten.

Bake 8-10 minutes or until light golden brown. Let cool on cookie sheet slightly before transferring to a cooling rack or somewhere else. Do not eat directly off cookie sheet or you will be in pain and learn a lesson.

Raspberries, Sorbet, and Fudge: A Temporary Goodbye

2009-08-17T07:45:00.004-05:00

I've left home and at college now. It's a little weird. I don't start classes for over a week, my roommate isn't here yet, and the campus is fairly quiet. That, and I'm not at home where the kitchen is. This could take some getting used to.

Right before I left, I tried to take advantage of the kitchen I was neglecting, because I know that I'm going to miss it. I made zucchini bread, but not as much as I intended to, raspberry sorbet, and fudge. I was going to make tofu with bok choy for lunch one day, but I never got around to it with the leftover gormeh sabzi in the fridge. Hopefully someone in the house uses the tofu before it goes bad. But the best received thing I made was the dessert I made the night my aunt and Ed came over for dinner. I'd made the raspberry sorbet earlier in the day, and wanted something to go with it. Cookie cups would have taken a little too much time since I made it back to the house 5 minutes before my aunt showed up. Aunt B really likes chocolate, so I settled on fudge.

It was a tasty pairing. And super simple as well.

Almond Topped Fudge
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
3 cups (18 ounces) chopped bittersweet chocolate or chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup slivered almonds

Line a baking sheet with or 9" square pan with parchment paper.

In a saucepan or in the microwave, melt the chocolate. Stir in the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla.

Spread the fudge into a 9" square. Top with almonds and press down lightly. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Cut into squares and serve!

Since Everybody Could Use Another Potato Salad

2009-08-09T20:43:00.003-05:00

Just in case a lack of words and pictures hasn't made it obvious, I haven't been cooking much lately. Or at least not much new or noteworthy, and if it has been new and noteworthy, there weren't any pictures to back it up. That, and I just haven't been able to come up with much to say.

But here's something. And I didn't make it, which makes me sad. But it's an idea, from a potato salad at Whole Foods. Something different for the last month of potato salads.

Grilled (or cooked however) potatoes, tosssed with crumbled blue cheese, torn watercress and sliced scallions in a vinaigrette of olive oil, red whine vinegar, shallots, dijon mustard, honey, salt, and pepper.

How's that for simple and different sounding? Not that I could get the proportions right. Maybe I'll try sometime this week. Or not.

2009-06-01T21:05:00.002-05:00

About a year ago I purchased some buckwheat to make this buckwheat and calamari salad. The salad was delicious and one of those things on my list of things to write about that I just never managed to post about. But back to the buckwheat. I bought far more than I needed, so it just sat around, waiting to be used.

Enter Luisa, The Wednesday Chef. She posted about some delicious Chocolate Chip Cookies with Buckwheat Groats. I read the post and was immediately curious. She said they were good, and everything she'd ever said was good that I'd tried so far had been a success. So I bookmarked it, and thought about it, but for some reason, seemed to avoid making the recipe or touching the sad bag of kasha. Until nearly half a year later.

I sniffed the bag of buckwheat, deemed it acceptable, and set off to make the cookies right before entering my last week of school. While they weren't the prettiest of cookies, they were fairly tasty, with an unexpected crunch. Nobody who tried them disliked them. And I'm sure they won't disappoint you either if you give them a try. And then, with that leftover buckwheat, you really should try the calamari salad.

Recipe on The Wednesday Chef

A Vessel For Your Treat

2009-05-25T21:14:00.007-05:00

Friday night I decided I wanted to make dessert to take over to my aunt and uncle's house. There was only one problem: I couldn't decide what to make. So I flipped through some magazines and cookbooks, still was undecided, and looked at my watch. That made it easier. With an hour and a half, going to the grocery store was out of the question. I was limited to what I had in the house. I opened the fridge, saw some orange juice, and decided to turn it into sorbet. But it needed something more.

A pretty bowl.

With David Lebowitz's The Perfect Scoop in hand, I set off to find something to go with the sorbet, and settled on the Almond Butterscotch Cookie Cups. And I had everything I needed to make them, leaving me with enough time to make the batter (which can be made up to a week ahead of time), and then bake it and shape it!

I then proceeded to make them again for memorial day.

~~Almond Butterscotch ...~~
I'm trying to be better about copyright laws. So the recipe, since completely unaltered, does not appear hear. I'm thinking of trying one out with pepitas to go with mango sorbet, and if I succeed, that will show up. That and trying for ones without corn syrup, but I'm not sure if I'll be successful in that endeavor.

Failure Cookies, With Potential

2009-04-08T08:25:00.003-05:00

Sunday night I wanted to try the chocolate chip cookies in the February issue of Vegetarian Times, because they didn't look like normal chocolate chip cookies at all. They actually look pretty ugly, all thin and sort of brownish with the oats. But I thought they could taste good, and I'd never made cookies with oat flour before, I had everthing necessary to try to make them, and I really didn't want to go to bed and face the reality of spring break being over. Not yet.

But as soon as I put all the ingredients on the counter and chopped up the chocolate, it was too late to start. I'd be up far later than I wanted to be, and that would be bad. So I put everything away, and tried again on Monday.

Monday went a little better. I managed to get the batter made, but as soon as I went to open the oven, the door fell off.
And that should have prevented me from messing the cookies up. But it didn't. Impatient me figured the batter felt cooler, and tossed in the chocolate while my dad struggled to fix the oven door (I was helping him, a little...)
Chopped up chocolate + warm cookie dough = chocolate cookie dough.
That wasn't exactly what I was going for. But as soon as the oven door was back in place, and the oven preheated, I baked them off anyway. I thought they were too chocolaty (did I mention the dough was based off of ground walnuts) and masked the tasty cinnamon-hinted dough.

Unsatisfied with the results, though my friends kept assuring me they were tasty, I tried again Tuesday afternoon. I figured I had a foolproof solution to turning it into a chocolate batter: leave out the chocolate.
Well, I will admit that I liked the second batch of cookies better... well, sort of. I liked their potential better. I just didn't bake them long enough, frazzled in the face of an English paper about Billy Budd and rushed them as soon as my mom walked in the house and I realized it was already 6 o'clock. Oops.

But they'll be good. Next time.

Asparagus Salad

2009-03-23T20:57:00.006-05:00

Spring is was in the air.
~~Those blue skies, pleasant breezes, temperatures in the 50s and 60s, the sound of lawnmowers, and the smell of green.~~ But that's gone now. Today was overcast, gray, and okay, maybe the temperature was right, but the mood wasn't. Until dinner that is. This salad spelled SPRING. Maybe not really (I don't think there's any way I can make an acronym with it. I could try. Or an acrostic with: aSparagus, pecorino Romano, lemon juIce, bostoN lettuce, eGgs.)

It was a very green dinner we had tonight. And I'm referring to it's color. An amazing and light asparagus salad and pasta with arugula pesto. What better way to mark spring than that?

Roasted Asparagus Salad with Pecorino, Lemon, and Olive Oil
from Cooking Light April 2009

The link to it is here: Roasted Asparagus Salad

I actually followed the recipe exactly as written. So I think it would be illegal to rewrite it.

A Cherry Birthday To You

2009-03-21T14:04:00.002-05:00

Among my friends I'm known for my baking. Most possibly because in the past year or two, I've been making more cookies and other treats that are easy to transport and share. So when I asked my friend last week what she would like me to make her for her birthday, her reply was "Not cupcakes." Which let me with far too many possibilities and far too many ideas. I asked her for a direction - something more specific, an ingredient, a flavor, a color, anything! A few days later, she came up to me and said, "Cherry." It took me a second to realize what she meant, but it worked out. I had a jar of cherries at home.

The first thing that came to my mind was cherry cheesecake, but I needed something more portable and fridge free. I remembered the cream cheese blondies with kumquats that I made a month or two ago, and since we had cream cheese, I figured I could make a thicker and less cakey version of them. So I tried. And failed. Well, the first time at least. They didn't cook all the way through, and the graham cracker crust seemed to insulate the insides. So the next day, I tried again. Only that time I had to go to the store. I traded the jarred cherries with frozen ones (practicality) and lost the graham cracker crust (it wasn't necessary, and I was out of graham crackers.)

I would say the results the second time were better. Gooey from the cherries, chewy from the cream cheese and brown sugar, and portable though sticky. And my friend, well, she told me she liked them, so I'd say they achieved their purpose.

Gooey Chewy Cherry Bars

8 ounces frozen cherries

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons (3/4 stick, 3 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temp

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped pistachios

In a small saucepan, combine cherries and 1 Tablespoon sugar. Cook over medium heat until thick and syrupy (not watery!),about 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 325ºF. Line a 9x9 inch pan with foil (optional) and butter. Set aside.

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

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, cream cheese, granulated sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until the sugars have dissolved and the mixture is smooth and thick, about 2-4 minutes, scraping sides of bowl as necessary.
Beat in the egg and vanilla.

Stir in flour mixture until just incorporated, followed by pistachios. Spoon half batter into prepared pan, spreading gently to corners. Top with cherries. Top with remaining batter.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the top is light brown and toothpick or tester comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Set the pan on a rack to cool for at least 30 minutes.

Warm Spinach Salad

2009-03-11T13:03:00.002-05:00

So I've been seriously neglecting my blog this year. Seventy days into the year, and there are barely a handful of posts. I've started cooking more, but when it's "let's throw these things together and hope it turns out tasty," precise measurements are neglected, and therefore recipes do not result. But I'm trying to make amends. It's much easier to blog when dinner starts with a recipe that I just failed to follow correctly - erm, made preferential changes to - like the tasty spinach salad I made Saturday night.

Saturday was spent knowing I needed to get a lot of homework done so that the week wouldn't be stressful, and simultaneously doing absolutely nothing productive - no baked goods, n o cleaner room, no organized cabinets, no ironed clothes, no meandering walks - to avoid it. In all honesty, whatever I did was so mind-numbing that I don't remember what it was - until my friend called at two asking if I wanted to see a movie. Yes, a legitimate way to procrastinate! Count me in. An hour and a half later I was settling into the recently renovated theater with the permanently reclined seats as the opening credits blasted Bob Dylan's "The Times Are A-Changing." Three hours after that, my dad picked me up and -surprise! - two more guests for dinner. I relayed to him the contents of our refrigerator and my original plans for our dinner, and since I had planned for leftovers, it was easily adapted. We had plenty of food.

Oh, the salad. While it was the risotto patties I was the most excited about, misinterpreting the word "has" and "can" led to a change. And while everyone loved the risotto, it was the salad that I found to be much more exciting. With just fifteen minutes, a flavorful, warm side salad resulted. I think I'm discovering warm salads a bit too late, considering it was in the 50s and 60s, but today it dropped back down to 20s.

Regardless, the salad with the crisp spinach, mellowed fennel and onions, and sharp sweet balsamic is a keeper.

Spinach Salad with Fennel-Red Onion Dressing
adapted from Jack Bishop's A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen

6 ounces baby spinach
3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small fennel bulb (about 8 ounces), stalks and fronds discarded or saved for another use, bulb thinly slices
1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
black pepper

Place spinach in a large bowl.

Heat the oil in medium skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add fennel, onion, salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened and carmelizing, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the vinegar and cook just until syrupy, about 30 seconds to a minute. REmove the pan from the heat and stir in ground black pepper to taste.

Scrape the fennel mixture into the bowl with the spinach, and toss to combine until spinach wilts slightly, about one minute. Serve immediately!

A Sweet Potato Salad for a Sweet Weekend

2009-02-23T20:17:00.011-06:00

I've already made this salad twice. And I ate 3/4 of it the first time. If that doesn't attest to it's tastiness, then I'm not sure what does. Or, I suppose, you could argue that I ate it out of convenience since it was already made and in the fridge. Which is true, but it wouldn't explain why I made it again for dinner tonight.

It took me three days to make this salad. I bought everything on Wednesday with the intent to make it that night, but it took me until Friday night to make it. It was the first thing I did when I got home, along with a double batch of banana-oatmeal cookies with chocolate-covered espresso beans. Actually, it was the only thing I did at home. After making dinner and eating some, I packaged some up in a container, threw it in a lunchbox with a fork and some cookies, and headed off to pick up my friend to go to a concert. Which would be another highlight of my night. In all of its loud glory (despite my purple earplugs), That Was Something and Go Crash Audio were the highlight of the evening, despite my chronic tardiness causing us to miss half of it.

And along for the joyous occasion on Saturday, my lunch was once again this salad, in between the actual competing at regionals and learning that we placed first. Meaning that the entire math team is going to state for a fourth consecutive year! That's not a bad streak. Though I doubt I have much to do with it.

But that has little to do with the salad. I just think you should give it a try. Even my dad gave it approval. It was much better than last night's not-so-succesful attempt at Saag Paneer. Anyone have a good recipe for that?

Sweet Potato Salad with Apple and Avocado
adapted from Vegetarian Times February 2009 p.67
serves 6 as a side salad, 3-4 as a main course

1 lb sweet potatoes (about 1 big one), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup frozen corn
1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1 medium red apple, diced (1 cup)
1/2 small onion, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/3 cup lime juice (from about 3 limes)
2 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 avocado, finely diced (mine was a small avocado, so I used the whole one)
4 cups mixed salad greens, baby spinach, or arugula
salt and pepper

Place sweet potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook about 3 minutes. Add corn and cook 1 to 2 minutes more, or until potatoes are tender. Drain in colander and rinse under cool water.
Meanwhile, toast pumpkin seeds in dry skillet over medium-high heat 3 to 4 minutes or until seeds begin to pop. Keep and eye on them, they burn easily. Transfer to a plate to cool.
Combine apple, onion, cilantro, lime juice, sweet potatoes, corn, and oil in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in avocado and toasted pumpkin seeds just before serving.
Divide greens among 4 plates and top with sweet potato salad.

Despite stirring in the avocado and pumpkin seeds just before serving, I think that this salad seems to hold up fairly well for about 2 days. It doesn't age well; the seeds just get soggy and the avocado browns a bit, but it doesn't turn absolutely gross and disgusting either.

Pistachio Cookies

2009-02-13T08:42:00.006-06:00

When I walked in the house on Tuesday, I knew that even if I went up to my room, I wouldn't do my homework.

So instead I went into the kitchen, sniffed around, found some pistachios and white chocolate, and set to work on a cookie. I remembered a macadamia butter cookie recipe I'd seen a couple years back in a Cooking Light magazine, and with my soon-departing friend in mind, set off to make a cookie she'd like.

The first batch came out burnt. But it had potential. Great potential. I just needed to be more careful with the oven.

The second batch came out a tad bit overbaked. But this time, you could tell they were good crunchy cookies.

And the third batch, while crispy, proved it was the oven, and not the cookie, that was the problem. So last night, between 5:15 and 6pm, the short window of time which I was in the house, I whipped up another batch (after buying more pistachios and white chocolate) and this time, they were exactly what I was looking for: subtle pistachio flavors, slightly overwhelming white chocolate scattered throughout, and the occasional sweet-tart kick from dried cranberries.

Pistachio-White Chocolate Cookies
makes 2-3 dozen cookies

2/3 cup (4 ounces/113g) unsalted pistachios or pistachio nut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
scant 1 cup (3.5 oz/100 g) all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 ounces/170 g white chocolate chips, finely chopped (or chips pulsed in food processor)
1/4 cup (1.5 ounces/40 g) sweetened dried cranberries, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350ºF/180ºC/Gas Mark 4. Line or grease two baking sheets.

In a food processor, process pistachios for 2 minutes or until ground into a paste, unless using purchased nut butter. In a large mixing bowl, combine pistachio butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Beat together until combined. Beat in egg and vanilla extract until smooth and evenly combined.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir into wet mixture. Mixture will be thick. Stir in white chocolate and dried cranberries until just evenly dispersed.

Drop tablespoonfuls of dough onto prepared baking sheet, two inches apart. Flatten with a fork in criss cross patterns or the bottom of a greased glass.
Bake for about 9 minutes, or until edges are golden. Let cool 1 minute.

Four-Day Weekend Blondies

2009-01-22T15:17:00.005-06:00

It's like a Friday afternoon. Only better, because it's three fifteen and I've been home for FOUR hours. Granted, my mom thinks I should be medicated and on the couch knocked out by Nyquil, but I'm full of energy. Sniffly, yes, but energetic. And with hands that have been washed far too many times today.

But that's what let's me bake. Well, I guess not exactly, but it's how I keep from worrying about killing anyone. Or at least giving them a cold. If I feel a sneeze coming, I run out of the kitchen. So far, this plan is working. I hope.

Today I baked with levkar for the first time. And the brownies turned out surprisingly moist, not unlike butter-laden brownies.

But this is not that recipe. Oh no, far from it. This is a recipe that I think Paula Deen might approve of. Actually, probably not, because it only has one stick of butter, and no nuts. And there are dried kumquats! The kumquats are optional, because I'm not sure where you would find them, other than crazy shops in Chinatown with a variety of dried/preserved fruits to sample and choose from. There were at least three kinds of kumquats, varying in salty sweet tartness. I'm sure dried apricots could be nice, though the recipe didn't originally have any dried fruit, it was just a suggestion at the end of the recipe for modifications (which also included crystallized ginger, adding extracts, nuts, etc.)

Time on my four-day weekend is ticking away, so I think I'll cut to the chase:

White Chocolate Cream Cheese Blondies (with kumquats!)
Adapted from Cream Cheese Blondies in Bruce Weinstein's The Ultimate Brownie Book, p.124
makes 24 2x2" blondies

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temp
1 large egg yolk, at room temp
6 ounces white chocolate, chopped (about 1 cup)
4 ounces dried kumquats, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 9x13 inch pan with foil (optional) and butter. Set aside.

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

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, cream cheese, granulated sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed (or, I'd recommend a stand mixer, my hand mixer wheezed a bit at the beginning) until the sugars have dissolved and the mixture is smooth and thick, about 4 minutes, scraping sides of bowl as necessary. (Weinstein recommends 8, but 4 seemed to be fine.)
Add the eggs one at a time, allowing the first to be incorporated before adding the second. Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla.

With a spoon or spatula, stir in the chocolate chips and chopped kumquats (if using). Stir in flour mixture until just incorporated. Spoon batter into prepared pan, spreading gently to corners.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the top is light brown and toothpick or tester comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Set the pan on a rack to cool for at least 30 minutes.

Cut blondies into 24 pieces. Serve immediately or let cool completely before storing. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days, or frozen for up to 3 months.

A Winter Break Adventure

2009-01-01T00:00:00.002-06:00

What? You say that doesn't look like a winter adventure?

And I'll be honest, there is nothing adventurous about rice krispy treats dipped in chocolate and sprinkles, or even making them. But the adventure is what led me to even consider making them, inspired by what I saw in the dessert case at Foodlife.
I'm sure dipped rice crispy treats on sticks are common. I'd just never seen one before, and it seemed like a neat concept. Other than the jaw pain I endured today trying to eat one straight out of the fridge (please, learn from my mistakes.)

I realize I still sound like a bore. But foodlife was not a part of the plan at all. It was merely that my friends and I decided we wanted to go ice skating, so I suggested we make it even cooler since the weather was warm (yes, 40 degrees is warm) we go ice skating in Millenium Park. Two hours later, we were on our way there. And pleasantly surprised to see that it wasn't too crowded.

And then there was a slight problem. An hour-and-a-half long problem that is. At 6:30 at night, ice skating is popular. There was a long line that we somehow failed to notice, attributing to onlookers or just ignoring. So ice skating was postponed.

The next day, arriving half an hour before the rink opened proved to be a much quicker solution. And three hours later we were off the ice and ready for lunch. Which is when I saw the rice crispy treats on a stick dipped in chocolate and then dipped in coconut. Mmm...

Neither my friend nor I were hungry enough for dessert, so when I got home, after making a nice fish dinner that, in order to be cooked perfectly, was eaten cold, made my version of the treats, sans sticks. I ran out of coconut, but it is my favorite of the toppings I used.

Dipped Rice Crispy Squares
makes 36

1/4 cup (1/2 stick, 2 oz) butter
1 (10.5 ounce) bag marshmallows
6 cups cripy rice cereal (Rice Krispies)
6 ounces milk chocolate (or semi-sweet)
1 to 2 cups assorted things to dip (shredded coconut, chopped nuts, sprinkles, etc.)

Line or grease a 9x9 square pan.
Melt butter in a heavy pan over medium heat. Stir in marshmallows, stirring until melted. Remove from heat and stir in cereal. Press into prepared pan and chill for 30 minutes.

Cut into squares (6x6, or other size). Melt chocolate, either over simmering water on the stove, or in the microwave on medium in 30 second increments until melted. Dip squares into chocolate and then coconut. Set upright on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Repeat for remaining squares.
Chill until set.

Full circle, almost

2008-12-31T17:08:00.005-06:00

My first post of the year was Oatmeal-Raisin cookies, and I'm ending 2008 with more cookies.

I guess that was a bit of a premonition about what my habits would be for the year, with cookie recipes now equaling muffin recipes, with 7 cookie recipes posted this year.
Make that 8 now.

I was not planning on making cookies today, but when I went to Trader Joe's today, I saw Miniature Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter cups. They were too cute to resist, and at the same price as a bag of chocolate chips for 12 ounces, too easy to toss into my basket. I figured I could use them in cookies of some sort.

Then it was crunch time. I told my parents I'd have a clean kitchen for them (I made banana muffins and espresso candied walnuts today) when they got home, I had to pick out what cookies I was going to make. I had just thrown out the bag from some Hershey Kisses and remembered that there was a recipe for peanut butter blossoms on the bag. I figured I could just use that as my base dough and work my way from there.

Quick, easy, and by the time my parents got home 30 minutes later, the last pan was in the oven.

Peanut Butter Cookies with Peanut Butter Cups
makes 30-40 cookies
Note: If you can't find mini peanut butter cups (I haven't seen them anywhere but TJ's), you can omit them or substitute chopped peanut butter cups or chocolate chips. Milk can also be used instead of buttermilk.
I also think this dough would work for thumbprints, but I haven't tried yet. I've yet to find a dough that I like for them.

1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 oz) butter, softened
3/4 cup (186 grams) creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 ounces (1 package) mini peanut butter cups

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line 3 cookie sheets with parchment or baking mats.

In a large bowl, beat the butter, peanut butter, and sugars on medium speed until combined. Beat in egg, buttermilk, and vanilla extract.
Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
Stir the flour mixture into the peanut butter mixture until combined. Stir in the mini peanut butter cups.

Drop rounded teaspoons of the dough onto prepared baking sheets spaced 1" apart. Bake for 10 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

2008-12-24T17:44:00.003-06:00

The temperature here has dropped twenty degrees today, so it feels cold out.
But if you plan to venture on out or still need a nice gift for the holidays, I have a few suggestions.
Granted, you would have to have the ingredients on hand and a bit of time. And it is Christmas Eve.

Candied Espresso Walnuts shown above
Christmas Mice
Super Easy Cream Cheese Truffles
Green Tea Sandwich Cookies
Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
Ginger Crackles
Pistachio Cranberry Icebox Cookies (or shortbread) - these are one of my neighbors favorites out of my cookie box
Pecan Tassies

But if you are looking for a nice little edible gift, the walnuts are my favorite. They're super easy to make, take about half an hour start to finish (well, 45 if you let things cool), and they make the house smell like a coffee shop. Or at least that's how mine smelled before dad started cooking brussels sprouts.

Mice for Christmastime

2008-12-21T15:22:00.003-06:00

My grandmother has been making mice for about a decade.
Yes, I said mice.
Like the one in the picture above. Except she didn't make it. Keri and I did. It was a team effort.

She taught me how to make them about six years ago, and the following year my friend Keri and I made them together. I'm not sure if we've made them since eighth grade (when I made a step-by-step tutorial, but this year we finally got around to making them again. And they're so adorable and fun to make!

Keri and I don't see all that much of each other. We see each other at lunch and in history, which is most all through high school, but it was fun to get together. And so the mice took four hours. But don't let that scare you. We easily could have been done in an hour, but we talked, ate lunch, and found fun ways to use the leftover chocolate- we crushed up candy canes to mix in and then poured the chocolate into molds.

Chocolate mice sort of instructions:
I have no clue about quantities, but we used 3 10-ounce jars of maraschino cherries, a 17.6 ounce bar of milk chocolate, part of a 12-ounce bag of slivered almonds (the smallest size should be fine, we needed 204 almond slivers that looked nice), 1 1/2 bags of Hershey kisses (the 11 ounce ones, or 102 hershey kisses), and part of a tube of red gel icing. The numbers were based on how many cherries with stems we ended up with, and that's what we ended up with.
Melt the chocolate, dip the cherries in, push the kiss on, stick in the almonds. Repeat. Place in fridge to harden up for a while, and then dot on eyes. For better instructions, see my how-to from eighth grade.

Last three pictures by Keri. She was having fun with the camera.

Chocolate and Cream Cheese = Truffles

2008-12-07T21:19:00.003-06:00

It's a fact. When I have a paper, I find ways to avoid working on them.
Okay, it's called procrastination and I'm sure we're all subject to it, but at least, well, okay, sometimes, I actually do something productive while avoiding what I should be working on.

Not that it's premeditated or anything. I was going to make Peppermint Cheesecake Brownies, but I wasn't sure what to do with the extra egg yolks that I would have leftover, and it seemed like it would be an hour of devotion at once.

Which is funny. Because that's how much time I ended up spending on something that I thought would be so much faster and easier. Which it was. Easier that is. Or at least simpler. Because it had two ingredients. I tried making it three, but that was a bad plan (and makes me glad I didn't make the peppermint cheesecake brownies).

The Philadelphia Cream Cheese coupon in the sunday paper had a recipe for truffles in it. I grabbed it for the coupon ('tis the season for tassies) but then realized it had a recipe (if you can even call it that) for truffles.

And they were surprisingly tasty.

Truffles!

1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, melted
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate (melted but later on)
decorations, optional

Beat the cream cheese until fluffy and beat in the chocolate. Chill until firm enough to handle (mine didn't need chilling, it set up pretty fast in my cold house) and then scoop and shape teaspoonfulls into balls.
Chill for half an hour or so, and then dip into melted chocolate and place on a sheet of wax paper or silicone mat (and top with sprinkles if desired).
Refrigerate for a few hours until chocolate is set.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T12:09:00.006-06:00

Mmm. Thanksgiving.
Actually, it's really not the tastiest holiday. I don't really like turkey, or gravy.

But cranberries. I do love cranberries. And oranges. Cranberries with oranges.
CRANBERRY ORANGE RELISH!

Every since Mom first made this cranberry relish about 8 years ago, I've been wanting it every year. So, for the past four years, so ensure I get it, I've been making it.

But for some reason, I failed to double the recipe this year. Oops. I'll just have to make some more tomorrow. Leftover sweet potatoes are no good without cranberry relish on top.

The food isn't what I like about Thanksgiving though (relish aside). It's my family. And no, I'm not trying to be a Hallmark card. I'm serious. Especially after dinner when we play games. Last year we played Catchphrase. Hilarity ensued. But there's an odd number this year.

Cranberry Orange Relish
adapted from the November 2001 issue of Gourmet (I think Mom made the entire menu that year)
Makes about 2 cups

1 (12-ounce) bag fresh cranberries
1 navel orange
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Place the cranberries, sugar, and cinnamon in the food processor. Zest the orange over the food processor, and then peel the orange and separate the segments from the pith and toss them into the food processor too (the segments, not the pith. That would be nasty.) Pulse until it's all chopped up.
Refrigerate for at least two hours to let flavor develop. And then hoard it.
Or be nice and serve it.

I'd recommend doubling this recipe if you have someone who relishes it as much as I do. Gourmet says it serves 10, but who are they kidding?

It Smells and Tastes Like Fall Now

2008-11-23T09:25:00.006-06:00

My friend Lauren really likes pumpkin bread. Or so she says. I've never actually seen her a room with pumpkin bread. So I told her I'd make some. And then about 10 minutes later, I realized it would be hard to give to her, and pumpkin bread is so much tastier (in my opinion) in the morning. And I usually see her in the afternoons.
So I made those pumpkin bites from last year, which are essentially miniature pumpkin muffins. And they sustained her through a frustrating Calc study session. (Aren't you glad you are out of high school?)
But I was determined to get a pumpkin cookie down. So I turned to the banana-oatmeal cookies I've made far too many times. Because if they work for bananas, why not pumpkin?

It turned out to be harder than I thought. The first few batches, while tasty, nobody could ever identify the pumpkin in them. By batch 4 or 5, I'd found the secret. Ginger and toasted pecans. For some reason, the ginger and pecan flavor is reminiscent of fall and pumpkins. Or maybe I'm just crazy.

Either way, you should try these cookies.
Did I mention they're also super easy?

Spiced Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
makes 30 or so small cookies

1 cup (130 g) whole-wheat pastry flour, or all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon (85 g) pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups oats (130 g)
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1/3 cup dried cranberries (Craisins)
1/3 cup white chocolate chips or 2 ounces white chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 350ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, sugars, and pumpkin puree until smooth. Whisk in egg and vanilla extract.
Stir in flour mixture. Stir in the oats, pecans, dried cranberries, and white chocolate.

Drop by tablespoonfuls on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until tops are dry and edges are lightly browned. Let cool on pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to rack to cool completely (or enjoy immediately.)

Green Tea Sandwich Cookies

2008-11-11T08:14:00.003-06:00

My friend's mom recently came back from Japan and with her she brought Green Tea KitKats. They're like normal kit kats, except the filling is matcha flavored, and the coating is a matcha white chocolate.

At lunch yesterday, when my friends and I got to talking about how tasty the kit kats were (and how long it had been since any of us had green tea ice cream). I said I'd make green tea ice cream, but then realized it would be hard to take it to school with me. So I decided to try to make cookies with a green tea filling instead.

I'd thought about making green tea sandwich cookies before when I saw a recipe somewhere, but never did. I just didn't feel like getting on the computer. So I turned to my Biggest Book of Cookies that one of my friends gave me for my birthday and looked for something similar to what I wanted. I usually don't like to make cookies that involve more than mixing, dropping, and baking, but I was inspired. And my two hours of work yielded only 22 cookies (there were more cookies, enough for closer to 30 sandwiches, but I ran out of filling and was too tired to make more; it was 10:30 at night).

I decided against dipping these rich, buttery cookies in a green tea-flavored white chocolate because they're fairly delicate, and delicious just the way they are. Hopefully my friends will like them!

Green Tea Sandwich Cookies
makes about 30
(adapted from a French Pistacho Buttercream recipe in Better Home & Gardens Biggest Book of Cookies)

Cookies:
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks; 6 oz) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted (or sift into bowl with butter)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
Granulated sugar (for coating)

Filling:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick, 2 oz) unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon matcha (green tea) powder

To make cookies:
In a mixing bowl, beat 3/4 cup butter on high for about 30 seconds. Add 1/2 cup powdered sugar and salt, beat until fluffy and combined. Beat in egg. Beat in flour on low, or stir it in. Cover and chill dough about 1 hour, or until easy to handle.

Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Using a teaspoon, shape dough into balls. Place on a cookie sheet (lined for easy cleanup, but it doesn't need greased regardless). Use the bottom of a glass dipped in the dough and then sugar to flatten each ball into a 1 1/2-inch circle.

Bake for about 8-12 minutes, or until bottoms are lightly browned. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool completely.

While the cookies cool, make the filling:
Beat the 1/4 cup butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, and green tea powder until light green and fluffy.

To assemble the sandwiches, spread about 1/2 teaspoon filling on the flat side of one cookie and top with another. If you prefer more filling, double the buttercream recipe.

How My Pumpkin Themed Night Was Squashed

2008-10-27T20:13:00.010-05:00

It all started when I was flipping through my copy of Great Food Fast and saw a butternut squash soup recipe with spiced toasted pumpkin seeds about two weeks ago. I had to make it, and it had been a while since I'd cooked dinner for my family. It hit me: make a three-coursed themed dinner.

Which is way too overambitious for me, especially with papers for school and college applications looming over me. But I figured I'd need a release.

I figured wrong. Later that week, my friends and I decided to make shirts for math team, and Saturday night was the only time. So I made plans for that evening - after dinner, that is. Which put dinner on a deadline.

I don't cook so well under pressure. Which is probably why when I first started, I made muffins in the afternoon. Okay, that's baking, but you get the point. There's no pressure.

On Wednesday, I picked up the October Bon Appetit, flipped it open, and it landed on the page with the Pineapple Upside-Down Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake (try saying that three times fast) and was hooked. I had the outer ends of my meal, all that was missing was the main course.

Which was picked out on Saturday once I returned from the last farmer's market of the season, and the grocery store. I had kale, and flipped through Veganomicon for ideas. I found something that used up the kale I'd just bought, and fit with my theme: Kale and Potato Enchiladas.

So, now that there's an insanely and unnecessarily long set-up, I'll sumamarize what went wrong in one word: timing.

I managed to get the soup and cake done no problem, unless you count the shopping for the cake*, but mom got home with the potatoes (and chili powder that I discovered we were out of) a bit later that I'd expected, which pushed things back a bit. At least I realized that it wasn't going to come together before it got too late, and the enchilada sauce and cooked potatoes were set to cool, and the sauteed onions were served with the soup. A loaf of rosemary bread thrown into the mix, and we had a nice light, overly gingered, autumn meal. Though I can't say I'll make the soup again.

And the cake. It lasted less than 24 hours.

*My local supermarket is well-stocked. But frozen pineapple juice concentrate? Nope. I could get Pineapple-Orange or Pineapple-Apple-Orange.

Pineapple Upside-Down Pumpkin Gingerbread
adapted from Bon Appetit October 2008
serves 10

Topping:
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
2/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons frozen pineapple juice concentrate, thawed (I cou
1 teaspoon mild-flavored (light) molasses
1 ripe pineapple, peeled (I used a peeled and cored pineapple)

Cake:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup mild-flavored (light) molasses
1/2 cup canned pure pumpkin
1/2 cup boiling water

Commotion in the Ocean: Cupcakes for Homecoming

2008-10-05T20:43:00.006-05:00

My friends told me that I had to go to the homecoming dance this year. Really go. As in with them. Not just be there, as that presence in a dress running around in her practical heels, awkwardly taking pictures of people doing things that pictures should never be taken of.

Which put me an unknown position. But one that has absolutely nothing to do with food. So I'm moving on. But I will say that the homecoming dance, while the music left something to be desired, was still fun with my friends, before, during, and after. Nothing beats singing I Want In That Way at the top of your lungs at school and then later trying to learn the Soulja Boy dance in the privacy of your friend's room.

But oh, yeah. The cute cupcakes. The theme for homecoming prompted me to try to make the Shark Attack cupcakes from Hello, Cupcake. But they would have been a pain to make, I didn't have time to go get black food coloring at Michael's, and, plus, they probably wouldn't have tasted all that great anyway.

Cute little cupcakes made with my go-to cupcake recipe, and a buttercream that involved butter, powdered sugar, water, and blue food coloring until the desired consistency/color was reached and topped with goldfish: much simpler and tasty.

So I enjoyed the football game, where my school actually won its homecoming game. That hadn't happened since I started high school.

Cornmeal Peach Cake

2008-09-20T10:09:00.004-05:00

I'm not sure what sparked my interest, randomly on a Friday afternoon. I was walking home from school, and decided I really wanted to make a cake with cornmeal in it. I was pretty sure I had cornmeal at home, had no recipe in mind, and wanted it to include fruit and honey.

I stopped at the grocery store, saw some smelly peaches, and knew what I was going to make.

Then I searched online, found a recipe, and tried to follow it. But the container of yogurt in the fridge turned out to be practically empty. Who puts a spoonful of yogurt back in the fridge? In our house the container usually gets licked clean!

But I wasn't around to see how the cake turned out, and while busy getting ready in my room to head out to the freshmen dance at school, I overcooked the cake. My expectations were low, and I put it on the counter to cool. As soon as my mom came home when the car, I grabbed my camera, told her about the cake, and headed to school.
When I got home with a headache two and a half hours later, the cake was practically all gone, with just a sliver saved for me. Apparently my Dad had to fight to save it. It was a hit with the seven people sitting out on the porch.

I guess those are results that say that my experiment worked.

Peach Cornmeal Cake
75 g AP Flour
78 g cornmeal
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
60 g butter, softened
75 g granulated sugar
30 g honey
1 large egg
55 g plain yogurt
1 to 2 peaches, sliced in segments (though raspberries or nectarines would also be tasty)

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9" round cake pan.

Mix together dry ingredients in a small bowl. Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl until fluffy. Beat in the honey and egg. Stir in half of the flour mixture, then the yogurt, and then the remaining yogurt until just combined.

Pour batter into cake pan. Top with peach segments arranged in a single layer.

Bake in 350ºF/180C oven for about 20 minutes.

Extra Egg Whites... Tasty "Flan" For Breakfast

2008-09-14T11:57:00.010-05:00

Sometime early in August, I found a tea shop in Chinatown that had green tea powder (or matcha). I've been looking for the powder for over a year now, and was thrilled to finally find it. A few days later, I made the green tea ice cream from David Lebowitz's book for a friend. It was delicious.

But the usual problem with making ice cream: inordinate amounts of egg whites are leftover. And it isn't that egg whites don't have uses, but I just normally don't have the time or the other ingredients to do something with them within a day or two of making the ice cream.

So why not plan ahead? I know, that would be a terrific idea. But it doesn't always work out that way. This time it did. So I made the flans in the morning, ended up with four egg yolks leftover from it, so at the end of the day, I just had two egg white leftover, and they contributed to the chocolate mousse I made a day or two later.

I'd been wanting to try these flans, and not seeing a time when I could make them for dinner with something else, I figured I might as well just make them for breakfast. I used some really tasty tiny red and yellow tomatoes I picked up at the farmer's market and basil I stole from our neighbor's garden. They turned out tasty too.

I also made a single large version instead of individual ramekins of them the next time I had the egg white problem (though I had a LOT of egg whites that time, so this didn't even make a dent in them) since I don't actually own the right size cups. It turned out nicely too.

See original recipe here.

Is four loaves in a month a bit obsessive?

2008-09-12T10:23:00.007-05:00

And that's not even including the 48 "muffin loaves."

I've been waiting all summer for zucchini at the market, and when it finally showed up, I'd found the perfect recipe to try. Heidi's Special Zucchini Bread looked a bit different, and, I guess to use it's name, special.

So I gave it a try, almost following the recipe exactly the first time, just omitting the lemon zest because I had no lemons (and could only find the ones with the neon green letter emblazoned on them) and crystallized ginger because, though I had it, am not a big fan of it. I bought what looked like a promising "east meets west" curry powder, and set out to try the recipe. And I augmented the few walnuts I had on hand with brazil nuts.

And it was tasty. At the first bite, I was unsure about the curry powder flavor, but by the second muffin I was sold. I had the two of them for lunch, and froze the rest. They really do freeze quite well.

The next time I made them, I omitted the poppy seeds, and once again used half walnuts and half brazil nuts, and made it with 2 ounces of butter and 2 ounces (in weight) of canola oil, and added some raisins. It was also good this time.

With it looking promising with the oil, I made it once again after my first Friday of school, but this time, used only oil. I beat the sugar with the eggs, and then added the oil. But the batter seemed oily. Before I stirred in the nuts (and after adding all the raisins I had in the house, about half a cup), I split the batter. Into one half, the half that ended up in the loaf pan, I put about 4 ounces of blue cheese that I had a wedge of sitting in the fridge that I feared would go bad. It turned out quite nicely. Different, but not at all unpleasant.
I did the usual thing with nuts in the other half, that became square muffin loaves.
But the all oil ones were a bit more dense. Maybe it was because of the splitting I over stirred them, or maybe it was the oil. Either way, when I made the bread for the fourth time this past Sunday, I started with two tablespoons of butter, beat that with the sugar, and then beat in 1/4 cup canola oil (I almost used walnut, which may have been an equally nice choice), and then continued with the recipe as Heidi had instructed, only sticking with my raisins and brazil nuts.

I think I've finally got it down. And I have a good 15 or so muffins in the freezer still.

Formerly Heidi's Zucchini Bread
makes one large loaf and twelve small square ones, or one normal loaf and twelve muffins

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
210 grams (about 1 cup) granulated sugar
105 grams (about 1/2 cup, packed) brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil, or other neutral oil
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups grated zucchini (about 2 large), with some moisture squeezed out and fluffed back up

385 grams (about 3 cups) whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 Tablespoon curry powder

6 ounces (about 1 cup, 170g) brazil nuts, chopped
3 ounces (about 1/2 cup, 85g) walnuts, chopped
70 grams (about 1/2 cup) raisins

Preheat oven to 350ºF and place a rack in the middle. Line one loaf pan with parchment (overhanging over sides for easy removal) or greased and floured, and grease 12 muffin cups.

In a large bowl or bowl of a mixer, beat the butter about 15 seconds, until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat again for about 30 seconds to a minute, or until the sugar starts to incorporate. Add the oil, and beat until it's incorporated. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well and scraping down sides between each addition. Stir in the vanilla and then the zucchini.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and curry powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in two batches, stirring between each addition. Don't overmix the batter, since the nuts still have to be stirred in.

Fold in the raisins, and about 3/4 of the nuts. Save some of the nuts to sprinkle on top of the load.

Portion batter into each of the twelve muffin cups. Pour remaining batter into loaf pan and smooth top. Sprinkle loaf with reserved nuts.
Bake the muffins and loaf side by side, removing the muffins after 15-20 minutes or until the spring back when lightly touched, and the loaf after 40-45 minutes.
Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.

Enjoy, or freeze for later enjoyment.

2008-08-24T12:26:00.000-05:00

Chocolate Mousse Cake

2008-08-22T08:58:00.006-05:00

My friend Kate and I were walking around and I stopped at Whole Foods to pick up some eggs. As we walked towards the register, Kate commented about how fascinating the water aisle is and I remembered a $4 .5 liter bottle of water I'd seen. I couldn't find it though, so I walked us over to the refrigerated water. It still wasn't there.

However, in the process, we walked past the bakery case. "I can't look at it," Kate had said. Me, being the mean friend I am, asked her why not. "Because I always want to buy one." So I told her to pick one out and I'd make it. She picked out one with a flower on top, and then a different one called "Death By Chocolate" and then looked at a mango lime mousse cake. "That seems too weird."

We settled on a chocolate mousse cake. And here it is:

Chocolate Mousse Layer Cake
(cake adapted from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle, mousse from Cooking Light, and ganache from The Cake Book)
makes 1 5" square cake

For cake layers:
2/3 cup (80 g) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons (30 g) natural cocoa powder
5/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon (176 g) granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons + 2 teaspoons (40 ml) vegetable oil
1 large egg
2 Tablespoons + 2 teaspoons (40 ml) whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (120 ml) boiling water

For chocolate mousse:
1 (12.3 oz) package firm silken tofu
4 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
2 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water

For bittersweet chocolate ganache:
6 ounces (170g) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

To make cake:
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 325ºF. Line a 10-inch square baking pan or 2 9x5 inch loaf pans with parchment and grease bottom and sides of pan and dust with flour.

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. Whisk in the sugar. At a low speed, using a mixer, beat in the oil for a few seconds until dry ingredients are crumbly.

In a small bowl whisk together the eggs until blender. Whisk in milk and vanilla extract. With the mixer at low speed, add egg mixture to flour mixture and mix until blended, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Gradually add the boiling water and mix just until blended and smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared pan (or pans.)

Bake the cake for 25 minutes (for two loaf pans) or until toothpick inserted in center comes back clean or it bounces back if lightly touched. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert the cake onto the rack (or using parchment paper, if made withe handles, remove) and cool the cake completely.

To make the mousse:
In a food processor, mix together the tofu and melted chocolate until smooth, about two minutes.

In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites and salt until stiff peaks form. In a small saucepan combine sugar and water and bring to a boil. Cook, without stirring until a candy thermometer reaches 250ºF. Slowly pour syrup into the egg whites while beating.

Fold in 1/2 of the meringue into the chocolate tofu mixture. Fold in remaining meringue, cover with plastic wrap, and store in refrigerator until ready to use.

To assemble cake:
Cut cake into four squares (or each loaf cake in half). Place on a small piece of cardboard cut to size and top with 2/3 cup of mousse. Place in freezer for fifteen minutes. Top with cake layer and mousse. Freeze for fifteen minutes; repeat with remaining cake layers. Freeze for thirty minutes after final layer of mousse.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring 2/3 cup cream to a simmer. Remove from heat and stir in 6 ounces chopped chocolate until smooth. Stir in vanilla extract. Let sit ten minutes.

Place cake on a wire rack and pour chocolate ganache over it. Spread to cover top and sides of cake. Decorate with whipped cream and chocolate curls if desired. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

Simple Summer Veggie Boules

2008-07-22T10:59:00.008-05:00

Yes. They require the stove.
But most of the work is chopping and hollowing out little rolls (if you can find them), so it's quite meditative. And the work on the stove is painless.

Last weekend I was at the library looking for a cheesecake book immediately following my yard-sale find: a mini cheesecake pan. I did find the book, but didn't check it out.
Instead, I checked out the Tassajara Cookbook because the picture on the cover of some sort of marinated tofu looked so fresh and bright. Or maybe it was just the overall look of the picture. I know, I know. Don't judge a book by the cover. But what else am I supposed to judge it by when I'm skimming the racks of new books at the library?

I picked out a few recipes from the book to try. The book mostly consists of spreads and dips and the likes (or at least the first two chapters, which is as far I read before having found things I wanted to try.) This also happened to be two days after cilantro, jalepenos and serranos were all suspect and before jalepenos were confirmed as the culprit, so I wasn't sure if I'd be able to find jalepenos or cilantro at the store. Which ruled out two of the things I'd wanted to try: Garlic, Cilantro and Chipotle Hummus and Anka's Roasted Red Bell Pepper Spread with Chiles and Lime (the latter being a double whammy.)

So I wrote a grocery list with three possibilities, depending on what looked good. I was really hoping to try the fig and kalamata olive tapenade since I'd had some tasty figs the week before, but that day the figs looked gross.

But I digress. I finally settles on two options: making the vegetable tapenade and stuffing it into hollowed out tiny rolls that I found in the deepest clutches of our freezer and caper-garlic hummus.

The vegetable tapenade is a keeper. Somehow, I didn't imagine it making so much, even though the recipe did say "Makes 4 cups." I think I may have ended up with more. I may have used more leek than it called for. Regardless of the quantity, it was tasty! And great wrapped in a lettuce leaf with fresh ricotta the next day. And wrapped in a lettuce leaf with leftover lamb the day after that.

What to do with it is up to you.

Sweet Veggie Tapenade
from Tassajara Cookbook: Lunches, Picnics, and Appetizers

Note: I returned the book to the library before copying down the recipe... Not my brightest move. But the book is on amazon, and it is one you can "look inside" of.

Little Bites of Cheesecake

2008-07-13T20:41:00.006-05:00

Sometimes things just happen right.

Yesterday Mom asked me if I would help her make some appetizers for a meeting she had today, and I was thrilled to help. (I ended up making assorted dips and some vegetable boules) but of course it is dessert I love making. Any excuse to make lemon curd is good with me. But I didn't make lemon curd.

I digress. The kismet thing. There was a yard sale we came across on our way to the farmer's market. I stopped to look and found a mini cheesecake pan. My plans for lemon curd tarts went out the window. How awesome would it be to make mini cheesecakes!

So that's what happened. And I still could have made lemon curd, but I had a jar (it's too eggy for me) in the cabinet, so I just used it and focused on cleaning up the kitchen instead.

Mini Lemon Ricotta Cheesecakes
makes 12 mini cheesecakes

Note: I adapted this from a Amy of Eggs on Sunday who adapted it from a recipe from Bon Appetit that doesn't require this special pan. It required ramekins, which I don't have.

Crust:
16 graham cracker squares (about 4 1/2 ounces)
3 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 Tablespoon honey or agave nectar
2 Tablespoons cold water

Cheesecake:
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 Tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
8 ounces cream cheese or neufchatel , room temperature
1/2 cup (3 3/4 ounces/110 g) whole-milk ricotta cheese
1 large egg

1/3 cup lemon curd
1/2 pint fresh berries

Preheat the oven to 425. To make the crust, pulse the graham crackers in a food processor until finely ground. While running the processor, add the butter, honey, and water. Process until thoroughly moistened.

Divide the crumb mixture among the wells of the mini cheesecake pan (about 2 teaspoon to 1 Tablespoon per well) and press down firmly with fingers to flatten.

Bake the crusts for about 5 minutes until the crusts are turning golden brown and slightly puffed. Remove the pan and let cool slightly.

For the filling, beat together the sugar, lemon juice, and lemon peel until the sugar dissolves. Add the cream cheese and ricotta and beat until well blended, about a minute. Add the egg and beat until incorporated.

Divide the batter among the wells of the pan (about 2 Tablespoons each).

Place the cheesecakes in a 400ºF oven and bake for about 20 minutes, until puffed and set around the edges. Cool on a rack and then chill about two hours, until cold. The centers will cave a bit, but that's fine.

Unmold the cheesecakes, top with a dollop of lemon curd and garnish with berries.

Broccoflower

2008-07-12T15:07:00.004-05:00

I was so excited to see this spiky broccoflower at the farmer's market on Saturday. I'd been wanting to try it after coming across it working on a project about fractals.

It tastes like cauliflower. But it looks so much cooler!

Right now my age is obvious.

The Toughest Question

2008-07-12T09:21:00.014-05:00

The hardest question to answer, I think, is that "what is your favorite food?" question. I don't know the answer. It depends on the day. I used to say, definitively, that is was khorosht-e karafs, but now I'm not so sure. So then the interrogator moves on to their next question, unhappy with that answer.

What's your favorite type of food?

Uh, edible?

But no, of course that's what they mean.

They want an easy to digest answer, like Italian, Greek, Thai, Mexican, Middle Eastern, etc.

None of those answers satisfy me though. None of them really mean anything. Well, they do, but to different people they mean different things. Take Italian for example; for some people it conjures up images of red checkered tablecloths, pizza, and spaghetti and meatballs. To another person, it may conjure up fresh seafood dressed simply in olive oil and some vegetables following a course of fresh pasta tossed simply with rapini. The answers really aren't that simple.

And then what about American? What does that mean? I don't even want to try to wrap my head around that.

Like this dish. It has Asian flavors, but is it Asian? Highly doubtful. It was conjured up in test kitchens, and is tasty. But it fuses together flavors and different cultures and fresh ingredients and fits them nicely onto my plate.

Now that's my favorite kind of food.

As for the actual dish composed of the elements above, it jumped out at me when I was looking at the index of the August issue of Bon Appetit and had avocado in the basement on Monday and saw Asian Avocado Salsa. Dad however decided to make something that wouldn't go with the salsa, and the watercress at the store was droopy. Wednesday night, with the remaining avocado, I made a small batch of salsa based on the recipe, and as per one of the suggestions in the magazine, tossed it with some summer squash Dad grilled, soba noodles, and topped with (accidentally untoasted) sesame seeds.

Asian Avocado Salsa
based on recipe in August 2008 Bon Appetit
makes about 1 1/2 cups

1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons mirin
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon wasabi paste*
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
3 green onions, thinly sliced on diagonal (about 3/4 cup)
1/3 cup 1/3-inch cubes jicama (about 1/2 4" jicama)
1 large avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, but into 1/3 inch cubes

In a medium bowl, whisk together vinegar, mirin, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt and wasabi paste. Stir in cilantro, green onions, and jicama. Gently stir in avocado.

*I used wasabi powder mixed with water to create a paste so I'm not sure in intensity how it compares to a purchased wasabi paste. However, if the salsa is mixed with pasta and vegetables, an extra 1/2 teaspoon or so does not hurt because the squash mellows it out.

Gingered Rhubarb Trifle

2008-06-29T09:25:00.007-05:00

So I had good intentions last week when I bought two bundles of thin luminous stalks of rhubarb at the farmer's market, sensing that it may be my last chance this year. Then I got home, didn't have time to clean and prepare it to freeze, and just threw it into the fridge Siberia, and forgot about it. Except for the few stalks I used in a strawberry-rhubarb cobbler on Sunday.

A week later, I figured it would probably be dead. The stalks had gone limp, but most retained their vibrance and were free of wrinkles. And like I had thought, there was no more rhubarb at the market.

I was already making a marble cake for my cousin because he wanted one (nothing different, just a classic chocolate and vanilla marble cake in a tube pan,) so making a rhubarb cake would have been a bit of an overload, though after weighing my rhubarb I found I only had half a pound. I had leftover cupcakes from making a TV dinner, and whipped cream from making caramel sauce, so I figured, why not try to make a trifle?

And it worked. Though it wasn't until after I used ground ginger that I realized I had fresh ginger in the fridge. It was a hit at our party, though I think that it could have used a bit more rhubarb and the recipe reflects that chance.

Unfortunately, no pictures.

Gingered Rhubarb Trifle
serves 8?

1 lb rhubarb, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1/4 inch piece of ginger, or a pinch ground ginger
1/2 cup of water
3/4 cup sugar
4 cups 1-inch cake cubes (such as leftover cupcakes, pound cake, etc.)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 Tablespoons powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon finely chopped crystallized ginger, optional

In a heavy saucepan, combine rhubarb, ginger, water, and sugar and bring to a broil. Reduce heat and keep at a simmer until rhubarb is tender and most of the water has evaporated. Remove piece of ginger. Let cool.

Meanwhile, whip cream with powdered sugar until soft peaks form. Set aside in fridge.

In a glass bowl or trifle dish, place 1/2 of cake cubes. Top with 1/2 of rhubarb compote and 1/2 of whipped cream. Repeat layers with remaining cake, rhubarb, and cream. Sprinkle the top with crystallized ginger if using.

Cover tightly and refrigerate two hours or overnight.

A Crumb Treat For Father's Day

2008-06-15T08:29:00.005-05:00

Even though it's crumbly, it's not a crumby treat. (I just read Catcher in the Rye. That word was way overused in it.)

Yesterday, I bought a couple pounds of rhubarb at the farmer's market, and now I'm finding ways to use them (and the strawberries, which overnight turned to mush. Uh-oh!). The big crumb coffee cake and strawberry rhubarb pecan loaf on Smitten Kitchen both seemed like good ways to use them, as did the rhubarb and strawberry compote from Bon Appetit that I was going to make last night but didn't. The crumb cake seemed like a decadent father's day breakfast, since we normally have eggs prepared in one of a multitude of ways with lots of fresh veggies. Our usual breakfast "treat" is significantly healthier.

However, I couldn't resist, and I had a feeling that eggs and rhubarb wouldn't be the tastiest idea (maybe waffles with a rhubarb compote, but been there done that, well not with strawberries... never mind).

Unfortunately, as per usual, there was a little glitch. Cool completely before serving. Oops. So after eating half of the crumb topping waiting for my parents to get up so it would be super fresh and in the oven while we went for a walk, I noticed that sentence.
And then it started to pour. No, really. The kitchen got all dark and I had to turn on the light for the first time today at 7:30 in the morning even though they'd been off since I'd gotten up.

So off I went to assemble my crumble, and put it in the oven, though it was missing half of its topping.

Big Crumb Rhubarb Coffee Cake
adapted from Deb's adaptation at Smitten Kitchen
Serves 6-8
I ever-so-slightly improved the nutritional profile of the recipe. It now features whole grains! But it would still be better for dessert than breakfast.

For the rhubarb filling:
1/2 pound rhubarb, trimmed
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

For the crumbs:
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 1/2 Tablespoons melted butter
1 3/4 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
2 to 3 tablespoons water

For the cake:
1/3 cup sour cream
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 tablespoons oil
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch (optional)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons softened butter, cut into 4 pieces

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8-inch-square baking pan. For easier removal, you can also line with overhanging parchment. For filling, slice rhubarb 1/2 inch thick and toss with sugar, cornstarch and ginger. Set aside.

To make crumbs, in a large bowl, whisk together sugars, spices, salt and butter until smooth. Stir in flour with a spatula. Add water so that flour is not dry, just enough for it to come together. It will look like a solid dough.

To prepare cake, in a small bowl, stir together the sour cream, egg, egg yolk, vanilla, and oil. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add butter and a spoonful of sour cream mixture and mix on medium speed until flour is moistened. Increase speed and beat for 30 seconds. Add remaining sour cream mixture in two batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition, and scraping down the sides of bowl with a spatula. Scoop out about 1/2 cup batter and set aside.

Scrape remaining batter into prepared pan. Spoon rhubarb over batter. Dollop set-aside batter over rhubarb; it does not have to be even.

Using your fingers, break topping mixture into big crumbs, about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch in size. They do not have to be uniform, but make sure most are around that size. Sprinkle over cake. Bake cake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean of batter (it might be moist from rhubarb), 45 to 55 minutes. Cool completely before serving.

Ten-Minute Tofu

2008-06-14T20:47:00.004-05:00

I needed to use up some tofu in the fridge, and paging through Vegan Express at the bookstore, I saw what wasn't even called a recipe: it was simply a little paragraph on a page about simple tofu preparations.

Needless to say, I tried it with the tofu in the fridge, and it was super tasty. And super simple. I didn't even spend time pressing the tofu - all I did was blot it dry.

What was it?
Easy. Cut the block of firm tofu into 1" slices, blot dry, and cube. In a pan, heat about a tablespoon each of maple syrup (or agave nectar), soy sauce, and olive oil. Toss in the tofu, stir to coat, and continue to cook until browned.

See? Super easy. Serve with something (atop a salad, noodles, etc).

Kohlrabi: Purple is my favorite color

2008-06-09T20:11:00.004-05:00

After taking two SAT subject tests Saturday morning (and I'm starting to regret not voiding them,) I wandered over to the nearby farmer's market in hopes of finding some rhubarb to make a rhubarb cobbler that I cut out of the paper a few weeks ago. I saw a few lonely stalks, but it seemed like what rhubarb there had been was gone.

However, on my second lap around the market, I saw an amazingly bright purple vegetable. I had to get it. I asked what it was. Kohlrabi. I'd heard of it, but I guess I'd just never seen it. It was gorgeous. (Apparently it can also be green, maybe that's why I'd never noticed it.)

But I didn't know what to do with it. The girl at the stand said she liked it raw with some salt, and that it as sort of like jicama. I thought it tasted more like a mild radish, but I guess that's kind of what jicama tastes like. It had greens attached to the top too, and she said I could use those like turnip greens or kale or any other big leafy vegetable. I was excited!

So tonight Dad and I took to the kitchen for Kohlrabi: 3 ways. It ended up being two ways, and with a side of what dad dubbed "Indian-Iranian shrimp."

We have the cobbler for dessert because I found some rhubarb at the grocery store, but I haven't tried it yet. It doesn't seem too promising.

Kohrabi Salad
Mom dubbed this "white salad" because other than the strips of basil dad put on top, it was all white. Dad said it needs some red, so I suggested red quinoa. Mom likes it the way it is. It was a really tasty accompaniment to shrimp.
Serves 3-4 as a side.

2 medium kohlrabi, peeled and diced
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup quinoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
basil, optional

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.
Rinse quinoa five times (is this necessary? My computer was off and I'd never made quinoa before and the first recipe in my recipe binder said that. I'd love to learn more about quinoa.)
Add quinoa to boiling water and cook for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, toss kohlrabi with lemon and salt. Once quinoa is ready, drain, and toss with kohlrabi mixture. Top with basil, if using.

Grilled Portabello Sandwiches

2008-06-08T21:05:00.000-05:00

I don't remember seeing this recipe in June's cooking light, but when I was organizing the magazines, I saw a bookmark in it on the page. I'm glad I noticed it, because I made these for dinner on Friday, and they were tasty.

They took a bit too long, because our grill kept going out (maybe because of the wind? I don't know), but I can see making these again sometime soon. Probably because they took one of my favorite things to have on the grill (portabello mushrooms with balsalmic) and paired it with goat cheese, pepper, and basil, and then, grilled the sandwich so it's all toasty.

And the skinny super tasty grilled asparagus that we ate while the sandwiches were on the grill only helped to make things better.

Grilled Portobello Sandwiches
serves 4

I didn't change anything, other than using one bun fewer and saving the leftover mushroom for lunch the next day, so I'm just going to post a link to the recipe on My Recipes.com because I'm tired and having trouble keeping my eyes open.
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1734337

AP European History

2008-06-06T21:19:00.006-05:00

I love my history teacher. This year was the second year I've had her (I had her for World History freshman year); she is pretty much the reason that I took Euro. And it was a terrific year in that class!

I'm sure you're wondering what this has to do with food. Was I inspired by history to be driven to the kitchen? And haven't I been out of school for a week?

After the AP test, my history teacher invites her classes over for dinner. She makes chili and rotini pesto, and six (or maybe it was seven?) different types of cookies.

The most popular, among my friends and I at least, were the ginger crackles, so before I left to head home, I asked her for her daughter's recipe. The next week at school, she presented me with a packet of the cookie recipes. I was thrilled!

So when finals rolled around and my English teacher told us we could bring in treats along with our game projects, as unseasonal as it seemed, I decided it was time to make Ginger Crackles (along with ever festive M&M cookies, of course.) While they didn't bide too well at school (hey, what can I say? They were in a plastic bag and competing with a cookie cake, popcorn, candy bars) they were a major hit at my parent's office. Spiced without being too spicy. Apparently the Germans really liked them.

Ginger Crackle Cookies
Makes a few dozen. Don't remember exactly how many.
Note: I'm not calling these Shana's Ginger Crackles because I made some modifications, which didn't necessarily improve them, nor did it hurt them, based on what I had in the house. My dad really liked them and wanted me to record those changes. He'd never had them before. I'd run out of butter, so that necessitated that change... as well as the availability of the spice cabinet, allspice in place of cloves; and blackstrap molasses worksfine as well. Normally I make cookies with at least half whole-wheat pastry flour, but I used all-purpose this time. I think they would hold up to the WWPF though.

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/4 cup oil(well, I did 2 oz. by weight, it was slightly less I think. Or maybe it was more. I failed to take precise notes)
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

about 1/2 cup sugar, for rolling

Preheat oven to 375F and line two cookie sheets with parchment or silicone liners.

In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt.

In a large bowl beat together sugar, butter, molasses, egg and vanilla until smooth. Add flour mixture and beat on low speed or stir until flour is incorporated.

Pour sugar in a small bowl. Shape 1 tablespoon dough into balls (if dough is too sticky, chill for 30 minutes before proceeding, but not too long or sugar won't adhere as well.) Dip each ball in sugar to coat the top.

Place balls 1 inch apart of cookie sheets, sugar side up. Bake 9-12 minutes, rotating halfway through, or until tops are cracked and dry to the touch and edges lightly browned. Let cool on pans one minute; transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Effective Ads (Sort Of)

2008-06-02T20:19:00.005-05:00

Generally speaking, recipes that are in advertisements or on the back of bags are tasty. Usually they're reliable because the company wants the recipe to be tasty so that you make it again, and therefore also buy the product again.

And for a product like Bisquick, these recipes are wonderful and a definite way to create brand loyalty. What can you replace with it? (Okay, there might be things, but I don't use Bisquick, so I'm not sure what a replacement would be.) The recipes found on bags of flour, baking soda, or even in ads for tahini aren't nearly as likely to create the brand thing. However, some people buy the same brand over and over, or it may the only brand at your store, so it works. Like the peanut butter cookies on the baking soda (I just bought a new canister: same brand, but that has nothing to do with the recipe, it's the only aluminum-free one at the grocery store). And the Brain Power Pita Pockets in the ad for ... after seeing it for years (it has to be in every VT issue) I finally made it because it my cousin pointed it out. Somehow I'd always ignored it. Though of course, I didn't use Joyva - I used the brand of tahini that I had in the cupboard - the one that was the best value the last time I bought tahini.

I'm not sure where the long digression came from. But the point: I liked the sandwiches, as did my cousin. I'm sure they wouldn't appeal to everyone, and I do think they could possible benefit from some crunch, but they did lead me to buy something I never had before: alfalfa sprouts.

Brain Power Pita Pockets
Serves 2
adapted from Joyva tahini ad
This would probably, based on the whole "brain power" claim be a better lunch than dinner, and I think once school's back in session, this may be my lunch some days.
I used firm tofu because I couldn't find soft.

1/2 cup lowfat yogurt
2 Tbs. tahini
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

4 small whole-wheat pita breads, or 2 large
4 oz. soft tofu, well-drained and and cubed
2 ripe plum tomatoes, diced or 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 cup fresh spinach leaves, torn
1/2 cup alfalfa sprouts
1/2 ripe avocado, thinly sliced

In a small bowl, whisk together yogurt, tahini, garlic, and lemon juice. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, toss together the tofu, tomatoes, and spinach. Add 2 spoonfuls of dressing and mix.

Cut off and edge of each pita. Divide sprouts and avocado evenly between pitas; divide tofu mixture and stuff into the sandwiches. Drizzle or serve with remaining sauce.

Chewy and Creamy Carrot Cake Sandwiches

2008-05-31T09:04:00.007-05:00

I just can't seem to catch up. Maybe it's because instead of spending the time I'm online updating my blog, I spend it on facebook doing nothing of importance. (See Urban Dictionary for a glut of facebook related terms.)

And my poor little blog ends up neglected. Like with these ice cream sandwiches that I've been meaning to post for a week and a half now. That isn't that long of a time, but considering that I moved them to the top of my list of things to post, as unchronologically sound as that is, there is no excuse for this delay.

Other than neglect, that is.

I got the idea a couple months ago when I stumbled across Inside Out Carrot Cake Cookies from Gourmet. But I thought they'd be so much cooler if instead of a cream cheese frosting filling they had a cream cheese ice cream filling. But I didn't feel like making ice cream then and bookmarked the link.
Then the weather started to warm up, and looking through my bookmarks the week before memorial day, I saw the cookies and remembered the ice cream sandwich idea. I looked in the fridge, had everything for them, so instead of making lemon curd cupcakes like I'd been considering, I made these instead!

They were a hit. Next time, apparently, I need to make a double batch. Or make them larger.

Chewy and Creamy Carrot Cake Ice Cream Sandwiches
makes... I don't remember, somewhere between 18 and 24 sandwiches, I think
adapted from Gourmet and Bri's Ginger Cheesecake Ice Cream

For cookies:
1 1/8 cups (about 5 oz) all-purpose flour*
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick (1/2 cup, 4 oz) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup (2 1/2 oz) packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup (2 3/4 oz) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (about 5 1/2 oz) coarsely grated carrots (2 medium)
1 scant cup (3 oz) walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup (2 1/2 oz) raisins, chopped if large

Preheat oven to 375F and place racks in top and bottom third. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone liners.

Whisk together flour, cinnamon, ground ginger, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.

Beat together butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in carrots, nuts, and raisins at low speed; add flour mixture and stir or beat until just combined.

Drop 1 tablespoon batter per cookie 2 inches apart on baking sheets and bake, switching position of baking sheets (top to bottom, front to back) halfway through baking, until cookies are lightly browned and springy to the touch; about 10 to 15 minutes.
Let cookies cool on pans 1 minute; transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

For Cream Cheese Ice Cream:
4 oz cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Beat the cream cheese and sugar together until smooth. Beat in vanilla.

Heat the milk in a saucepan until bubbles just start forming around the edges. Slowly beat the hot milk into the cheese mixture. Stir in the cream and cover and refrigerate until chilled (about 4 hours) or overnight.

Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.

To assemble sandwiches:
Prepare lots of flat area in your freezer and some shallow plastic freezer-safe containers or plates.
Take 1 cookie and top with 1 to 2 tablespoons of cream cheese ice cream fresh from ice cream maker, or after being frozen and slightly softened. Top with another cookie and place in freezer immediately.
Repeat with remaining pairs of cookies.

Freeze 2 to 3 hours or until set. They thaw fairly quickly, so you don't want to remove them too soon from the freezer before serving.

I've Got A Major Backlog!

2008-05-30T20:46:00.011-05:00

It's been almost a month since I've last updated. And I have been cooking. I have not been making a lot of new things (lots of repeats, but I've never blogged or photographed them), or taking good pictures. I haven't even downloaded my camera since the beginning of May.

It's also been busy, being the last month of school and all. I've also had apathy for just about everything. Especially food styling. I have a list though, and I'm excited. Plus, summer means more light and outdoor shots, which are more fun. Except for when it's muggy.

Some of what I've neglected to blog about: the soda bread muffins from June's Bon Appetit the day it came in the mail because I felt like it; cocoa fudge cookies (for the fourth time); lemon buttermilk cookies (via Molly/Orangette); malted chocolate cookies for a Whoppers fan; actually tasty adventures with nopales; super easy peanut butter ice cream and some not as simple milk chocolate ice cream as birthday presents; oven fries I've been wanting to make since January; tried something new with the buckwheat calamari salad from Delicious Living; a newfound obsession with buttermilk and pancakes galore; finally trying coconut oil and making coconut mini cakes with pineapple; carrot-banana oatmeal muffins to sort of clean out the fridge; a memorial day dessert of inside-out carrot cake ice cream sandwiches (which are next on my list because they're apparently by a consensus of seven people the best frozen dessert I've made, and those plum ice-cream sandwiches are awfully tasty!) just because I had everything for the cookie part and had them bookmarked; gazpacho salad (via Deb over at Smitten Kitchen); amazing black-bean brownies that really are amazing (via Heidi@101 Cookbooks); and a lemon-poppy seed cake last night, my very first bundt cake.

I guess I was a tad bit busy. But most of those lack photos, or now that I just downloaded them, are pretty bad. Most are blurry. Some have terrible composition. It's pretty much a lose-lose situation. My layout's not pretty enough, and my writing far too bland.

But I'm starting with the coconut cakes before I lose the recipe that I wrote the receipt on the back of as I put it together. I adapted it from the golden vanilla cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World. I wanted to try out coconut oil. Had I used soymilk, this recipe would have been vegan as well, but my goal wasn't vegan, it was just an easy yummy coconut cupcake to go with the pineapple we had in the fridge. Or in, other words, a simple but elegant dessert that I could put together with what I already had in the house.

The mini cakes, which I baked in a dessert bar pan, can also be made in a muffin pan but will probably yield a few more. I was expecting between 6 and 8, but only ended up with five. The milk can be substituted with soymilk, or the milk and vinegar with buttermilk. Canola oil would also make a fine replacement for the coconut oil (use a bit less) and increase the coconut extract.

Coconut Mini Cakes
Makes about 5 cakes

1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons (45 g) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (30g) whole wheat pastry flour (or more all purpose)
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
3/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (50 g) coconut oil
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons (75 g) sugar
1/2 or 1 teaspoon coconut extract

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 6 muffin cups with nonstick spray or line with liners.

Combine the flours, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.

Whisk the milk and vinegar together in a measuring cup and set aside for a few minutes to curdle.

In a large bowl beat together the coconut oil and sugar. If coconut oil is too hard, microwave in oven to soften/melt.

Sift in half of flour mixture and then the soymilk mixture and coconut extract, mixing well. Sift in remaining flour mixture and stir until no large lumps remain.

Fill liners 2/3 way full and bake for 20 minutes or until done. Transfer to cooking rack to cool.

Spanish Class Project

2008-05-04T17:25:00.006-05:00

For our project in Spanish class we had to find a recipe from a Spanish-speaking country for something we'd never made before. The day we were assigned this, the Good Eating section of the Tribune highlighted Mexican immigrants and Mexican cooking. There was a picture of nopales, or prickly pear cactus, on the cover of the section so my partner and I decided we'd make something with cactus.

Our group decided on ensalada de nopales (though I thought the stuffed fried nopales sounded good - but like they wouldn't hold up), and hoped it would be tasty.
Today we made it and nopales are well, kind of boring. The salad itself isn't assertive at all and other than a slight sour flavor, is pretty bland. I'm guessing either we did something wrong, though we followed the recipe, or we just didn't have good nopales or a good recipe.
Even though it was a simple and straightforward recipe, it still took us an hour to make the salad, so it's probably a good thing that we didn't choose something more complicated.

But in case you want to make this boring recipe, here's the recipe, straight from our project:

Ingredientes
• 6 tazas de nopales picados
• 1 taza de cebollas verdes
• 1 taza de rábanos
• ½ taza de cilantro
• 4 cucharadas de aceite de oliva
• jugo de 2 limes
• ½ cucharadita orégano
• sal y pimienta
• 3 chiles de serrano

Utensilios
• Una tazón
• Unos cuchillos
• Una cuchara

Preparación
Primero, píca y limpia los nopales. Segundo, ponlos en agua hirviendo. Lava los vegetales y pícalos. Escurre los nopales cuando termina cocinarlo. Mezcla todos de los ingredientes en el tazón. Revuelve y tira la ensalada para una hora. Servir alado de carne, pescado, pollo, o tortillas.

The recipe we used, in English, is at Mexico Connect.

I still have two packages of nopales, and I know my mom likes them, so maybe she can figure out something to do with them.

Fig Cookies

2008-04-19T20:55:00.004-05:00

One of these days I will learn that baking when you have imminent plans is not such a great idea, unless that aforementioned baking relates to those plans.

Today, it did not. Have anything to do with my plans that is. Cookies are in no way a prerequisite to the movies.
I've had Sherry Yard's Fig Bars via Luisa at the Wednesday Chef bookmarked for a couple months now, and finally had to make them. When I spotted dried Black Mission figs at the store last week I was so ecstatic that I bought a handful to test out, and then went back the next day, after my semi-successful granola bars (and pleased with the figs - I learned the hard way after hating some dried cherries) and bought 1 1/2 pounds of them. That was probably a bit excessive, but I can't always seem to find dried figs.

I thought about making them Friday night, but I had plans at 6:30 and didn't have the 3 hours minimum that I knew I needed. So Saturday morning I took out a stick of butter, went out for breakfast, and started on them once I got home around nine...
And then had issues with the fig jam. I couldn't decide whether to cover and simmer or leave uncovered. I covered it half the time, and uncovered it half the time, because it seemed too runny. But I also had it on the stovetop for close to two hours! So at 11:30, the time I needed to be leaving for the movies to meet my friends, I was, stupidly, putting a second tray of cookies into the oven instead of putting them in the fridge to bake when I returned home from the movies.

I made it to the movies on time, thanks to something called a generous mommy with a car, and only missed half of a preview. Though my friends and I have now decided to see Made of Honor when it comes out.

Oh, and the fig bar cookies. They're really good. But the jury's still out on whether they're worth the effort for someone who hates rolling things out. They aren't complicated or hard to make - I just have issues with rolling dough. But the filling - just spread it on a cracker with some greek yogurt or cream cheese and...
Well, it's delicious. The spread isn't much effort, and the hint of orange makes it worthwhile. Or I suppose you could just stir orange zest into storebought preserves and enjoy that instead.

I didn't change anything at all from the recipe Luisa posted:
The Wednesday Chef: Sherry Yard's Fig Bars

30 Hour Trip: Super Long Summary of a Super Short Trip

2008-04-15T21:40:00.003-05:00

Please, ignore the frivolity of that. After I returned home from Denver, I realized that the entire trip from the time I left home on Saturday until I returned home on Sunday spanned the same amount of time as the return trip for Tehran. However, quickly exploring Boulder and Denver was much more fun, and a lot less tiring than traveling home was.

Also, this isn't all about food, so maybe it doesn't need saying, but I had fun over the weekend, which did involve two meals, so I suppose that justifies it.

From the Denver International Airport we drove to Boulder. Apparently it was the same distance as our hotel in Denver, just the other way. We drove near CU-Boulder because Mom couldn't remember where in Boulder she remembered the cute shops were. We drove through by the Greek homes, and since the weather was nice, it was a bit amusing people-watching from the car. I saw a large (maybe forty people?) group doing what appeared to be some sort of dance on one of the lawns. Once we parked we walked around the practically deserted campus, the streets with the bars and stopped for some banana fudge gelato at Glacier Ice Cream.

After looking around a record store, being offered some free chocolate cake where the air smelled sweetly of smoke, and Mom being sure that there was a downtown mall that she remembered from thirty years ago, we headed back to the car to look for the sign we'd seen earlier before we turned towards the campus. But on the way I had to stop into Stellar because it looked too cute. The tags on the clothes had the cutest descriptions, the dress I bought said "girl next door vintage lanz." How could you not be seduced by cute tags like that?

We found Pearl Street Mall, but at that point it was after six o'clock and most places had closed. Some were open, such as Lighthouse Bookstore which smelled too strongly of incense for me to even get past the doorway, Goldmine Vintage with its selection of new and old clothing including an adorable blue dress that I couldn't resist trying on and getting, a store with a Princess dress in the window that I don't know the name of, and Boulder Arts and Crafts Cooperative Gallery. It was light out when we went in and dark when we emerged from the gallery. We were getting hungry, and started looking for a place to eat. We first stopped at a place with an hour and a half wait, and then when Mom found a place with a fifteen minute wait she put her name down. I wanted to keep walking, and next door I found The Kitchen, which looked like the kind of place that I would have seeked out with weeks of planning. I walked in and they could seat the two of us at the community table. I had a hunch that I'd read about the place before, and after we'd sat down and I saw the chalkboards, I was fairly sure. It turned out that I've read two or three articles about the restaurant that I saw in the hallway leading to the bathroom.

We started with the spicy greens salad with a mild chevre and deliciously candied pecans; also, the calamari and sausage ragu with polenta which was tastier and more delicate than we'd imagined. I'm not even a big sausage fan and I liked it because it was more calamari. We were tempted by their pastas, but wanted to save room for dessert. After a long debate we chose to split the pan roasted steel head trout. It was served next to braised lentils with pancetta and a lemony sauce. The lentils weren't too heady for the fish either. (The other entree we'd been considering was the lamb shank with onions and polenta verde (there are greens pureed into it). For dessert we had the Pot au Chocolat which was amazingly decadent with cream. The only bad part was it was late when we got back to the hotel. But early starts on Sundays aren't usually an option anyways.

Sunday morning we drove over by Civic Center Park. It was pretty deserted and a bit scary at 8:30 in the morning. And nothing really opens before ten. But we took a stroll in the brisk weather around the area, walked over to 16th Street Mall where everything was closed, figured out where Bump & Grind was, and then entertained ourselves walking until 9:45. When we got back to Bump&Grind, a small cafe at 17th and Peninsula in Denver, there was a line of about twenty people. I freaked out a bit and got in line. I guess men in drag serving breakfast really was worth it and appealing. Breakfast was large and satisfying, with amusing names that I wish I could remember. Though I saw a bit more than I would have liked to of some of the waiters -er, waitresses.

We walked over to the Denver Art Museum and waited for it to open, and gazed up at the library. I could move to Denver - it has a gorgeous library that looks like a painting.

After the museum though, it was a quick stroll to 16th Street Mall which was bustling and not all that interesting, and then the airport. I guess 24 hours in the area really wasn't that long.

Places:
Glacier Homemade Ice Cream
1350 College Ave. and other locations
Boulder, CO
303-442-4400

Stellar Clothing Co.
1203 Thirteenth
Boulder, Co 80302
303-443-5190

Powell's Sweet Shoppe
Have a candy you haven't seen in years? They probably have it. We picked up a Hello Kitty marshmallow pop for my cousin here.
1200 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO
303-213-3060

Goldmine Vintage
Clothing
1123 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO
303-447-0065

The Kitchen
If your in Boulder, I'd stop here. It's open for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner and is simple and unpretentious.
1039 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO 80302
303-544-5973

Bump & Grind Cafe
I was only there for their brunch, served by waiter in drag, which is quite a popular event and on Saturdays and Sundays starting at 10. I'm not sure about the rest of the week. Sorry that I don't have a more precise address, but the place is hard to miss.
17th and Pennsylvania
Denver, CO

Denver Art Museum
Didn't have quite enough time to spend in it. But how can you not like a place with lots of art AND interactive stations where you can make your own postcard. Elsewhere I grabbed a card that said INSPIRED on one side and on the other was a quote from Ansel Adams in the 1930s.
"A strange thing happened to me today. I saw a big thundercloud move down over Half Dome, and it was so big and clear and brilliant that it made me see many things that were drifting around inside me."
www.denverartmuseum.com

Oh no, I'm becoming a cookie monster!

2008-04-12T21:21:00.004-05:00

The night before the child-killing test on the Russian Revolution, what was I doing?

I know I should say studying, but I could only study for so long, and even though I was leaving for Iran in 48 hours and was planning on making shortbread to take with me, I couldn't help but find a cookie to use up the super-ripe bananas in the fruit bowl and some of the eggs. Of course, muffins probably would have been more effective, but I remembered the time I made muffins that SHOULD have been cookies and unable to find my recipe, I decided to look online for a banana cookie recipe. I found one at Bakingsheet (now Baking Bites). Though the recipe was terrific unaltered, I woke up early the next morning and changed them up a bit and they seemed even more banana-y when I took out the chocolate and added some chopped nuts. Oh, and to answer the rhetorical question simply: baking cookies.

Out of fear of overbaking these, I keep undercooking them and they turn into mush. But the one cookie sheet that I managed to leave in the oven long enough turned out deliciously crispy cookies that were browned and nice and soft on the inside. I'm still struggling with that balance of baking time - though I will admit the other batches were definitely undercooked.

Now, three weeks later, I had to make another batch. And they disappeared (and its dark out and I'm too lazy to take a picture - what's wrong with me?) before I got a new, better picture.

Banana Oatmeal Bread Cookies
adapted from Bakingsheet
makes a few dozen

1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour (or all purpose)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 small/medium banana (about 1/4 cup), mashed
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350F and line two baking sheets with a Silpat or parchment paper.

In a small bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a large bowl cream together butter and sugar. Beat in egg and banana, and then vanilla extract. Either on slow speed or by hand, gradually stir in the flour mixture. Stir in the oats, chocolate chips, and pecans.

Drop by tablespoonfulls 2 inches apart on baking sheet. Bake 12-15 minutes.

Delayed Vegan Valentine

2008-03-10T19:19:00.007-05:00

A month or two ago one of my friends decided she was going to be vegan after reading a book about something. She never said what the book was. This was not too long before valentine's day, and since I usually take the treats I make to lunch with me, I felt bad if I took treats I couldn't share with everyone at the table (since they all eat nuts, I don't worry about those like I did in the past when I ate lunch with a nutty anti-nut friend).
I checked out Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World from the library last year because with a title that cute how could I resist? However, being anti-margarine and shortening, as well as an omnivore, I never did anything but flip through it. But I'd tabbed pages that lacked offenders and wanted to try them. But then I returned the book. So when my friend mentioned being vegan, I figured it would be a nice surprise. So I checked out the book again, picked out my recipe for an icing (Super Natural Agave Icing), and bought everything for either vanilla or chocolate cupcakes. Then I reread the recipe: soy milk powder. And I began a three-week quest for the stuff short of ordering ten pounds of it from the internet. I only needed 1 1/2 cups. So then I gave up, but the plain soymilk was still sitting in the basement fridge. In the past I've enjoyed soymilk in my cereal, but that's because vanilla soymilk is sweet and I didn't want to open the soymilk until I knew I could finish it. Unfortunately, it's almost March 11th, the date on the package.

So it was time to make the cupcakes, and the chocolate ganache to match.

(Coincidentally, I also started reading Vegan Virgin Valentine - or more accurately, listening to, on my iPod today. The character's name is Valentine though.)

Golden Vanilla Cupcakes
adapted from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World by Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero
makes 12-15 cupcakes
My dad said these seemed like corn muffins to him. They weren't patient enough to wait for them to cool or for me to ice them this morning. When I had one, I pinpointed the flavor. It was a mild flavor from the soy milk.

1 cup soymilk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup canola oil
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (or more vanilla)

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line muffin pan with liners.

Whisk the soymilk and vinegar together in a measuring cup and set aside a few minutes to curdle.

Whisk together the soymilk mixture, oil, sugar, and vanilla extract and other extracts in a large bowl. Sift in the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and mix until no large lumps remain.

Fill cupcake liners 2/3 way full and bake for 20 to 22 minutes or until done. Transfer to cooling rack and let cool completely before frosting.

Rich Chocolate Ganache Recipe
adapted from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World
Note: It makes more than enough for 12 cupcakes, so I made truffles, like suggested in the book, with the leftovers. It suggested using a chocolate with up to a 60% cacao content, but the lowest vegan chocolate I had was 70%, and I wasn't about to compromise the vegan value of the cupcakes after getting this far. And one of my friends said she likes the ganache topping better than a buttercream anyway, so I guess it was worth it.

1/4 cup soymilk
4 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

In a small saucepan bring soymilk to a simmer. Remove from heat and add chocolate and syrup. Stir until smooth and set aside until ready to use.

A Cake for A Potluck with Paella

2008-03-09T10:51:00.003-05:00

As I mentioned last night, Dad was making paella for the potluck at our house. Mom contributed with tuna empanadas, and I was in charge of dessert. While the main course was a mish-mash of paella, kuku-ye lubiya (a Persian-style frittata with green beans), breaded shrimp with veggies, salad, and two different mast-e khiar (cucumber yogurt). I focused my dessert though to follow through with a theme started by the paella.
I have a recipe for a bizcocho de naranja in a magazine I picked up in Barcelona last year, but I used a different one that I made before and had notes on it so I knew that it would turn out tasty. I didn't want to risk a bad cake without time to try to save it.

Last time I used orange juice from a bottle since we already had it in the house, and this time I freshly squeezed it. Also, instead of following the recipe, I used Brown Cow cream top yogurt to make the cake, and since it was a new container and I didn't stir it up, most of the yogurt used was the cream top, which probably contributed to some of the richness, but the original recipe called for low-fat yogurt. I also probably need to find a better garnish because raspberries are not super tasty (and outrageously priced) this time of year. It just looks so boring without it, but tastes fine.

Bizcocho de Naranja (orange yogurt cake)
adapted from Cooking Light, July 2005
Serves 12 (or so)

1 cup freshly-squeezed orange juice
a large pinch crushed saffron threads
2 cups (9 1/2 ounces; 275 g) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1/4 cup plain yogurt
6 tablespoons good-quality olive oil

3 Tablespoons orange marmalade
1 Tablespoon Grand Marnier or other orange-flavored liqueur

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan with at least 1 1/2 inch sides.

Bring juice to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat; stir in saffron. Let stand 10 minutes, or while you are doing other steps.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt with a whisk in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl (or bowl of a mixer), beat sugar, egg, and egg white at medium speed until thickened, about 5 minutes. Add yogurt, beating well. Gradually add oil and the juice mixture, beating until well blended. Add half of flour mixture; beat just until blended. Add remaining flour and beat until just blended.

Spoon batter into prepared 9-inch cake pan. Bake for about 40 minutes or until a wodden pic inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove and cool completely on wire rack.

Place cake on serving platter. Combine marmalade and liqueur in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer stirring constantly. Remove from heat and spread mixture evenly over top of the cake, allowing to drip over sides. (If you like lots of glaze or don't like the look of the chunks, you can either double or strain it because this doesn't make a whole lot of glaze, its a very thin layer.)

Spanish inspired cookies that ring Iran

2008-03-08T17:36:00.004-06:00

Tonight we're having a potluck, a themeless one because of technical difficulties that prevented us from contacting our family soon enough to insist upon a theme. But Dad's making paella, so I decided to make the bizcocho de naranja that I made a year or so ago when Dad made paella.
To go along with it as well, I figured I should make something else, just in case. So I flipped through The New Spanish Table by Anya von Bremzen and the very last recipe is for Chocolate-Dipped Almond-Stuffed Figs. That definitely caught my eye and I added it to the grocery list. But the dried figs were too expensive and too small at the first store and had too many preservatives in them at the second store. After I made my cake, I remembered having seen a recipe for a pistachio shortbread that I had all the ingredients for, so I measured out my pistachios just to make sure, and then decided to make it. The smell was familiar - like Iranian treats, so the cookies work perfectly for tonight whether I pretend I'm going with the Spanish theme or appealing to my family's preferences.

The scent of saffron and the presence of pistachios placed into something Scottish. It's a multi-ethnic cookie!

But you can find the recipe on page 451 of The New Spanish Table, here or here. The latter also has the recipe for chocolate-dipped almond-stuffed figs that I was going to make until I couldn't find figs and had everything to make the shortbread.

Granola Bar Weekend

2008-03-05T20:31:00.003-06:00

I'm not sure what possessed me to make granola bars, but I had some sort of urge to make them on Friday night that was unfulfilled. I made corn tortillas, and when I was done with that, I decided to make granola bars. Mom told me she'd be home soon, so I didn't have enough time. And discovered I didn't have quite enough almonds, and despite having other nuts around, I was determined to use almonds.
So on Saturday, after the SAT (how fitting SATurday), I came home and made granola bars. I did have a paper due on Tuesday, but this is me and when the pressure comes pounding, I do something else.

The granola bars I made on Saturday were straight from The Kitchen Sink, though mine didn't come out nearly as photogenic. And I have an inability to cut things. Oh, and I used cherries instead of cranberries.Other than my parents complaining they were too hard (something I like about CRISPY granola bars), they were good. But I noticed the crumbs after eating them were almost always the whole flax seeds.

So on Monday, while my friend was editing my paper for me, I set out to make another batch of granola bars, but this time without coconut (which somehow sneaked its way in) and with ground flaxseeds (which somehow ended up as a mess in the garbage can.) The wheat germ in the container I couldn't get open was rancid, so for some reason I chose to use oat bran instead (these'll definately clean you out) and I added more honey after measuring (so weight is given for it and the tahini with estimates for volume). I personally liked these better, even though the fruit was EXTREMELY chewy and I left them in the oven a little too long because I chose to ignore to timer and continue what I was working on.

Sesame Pistachio Crisp Granola Bars
makes 16 bars, or however many pieces you choose to cut it into

2 1/2 cups (≈265 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup (≈40 grams) oat bran
1/4 cup (≈20 g) shredded coconut
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1 cup (≈150g) almonds
1/2 cup (≈60 g) pistachios
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt or 1 tsp. of finer grain salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
130 g honey (that's probably around 1/3 to 1/2 cup, I think)
80 g tahini, a ground sesame paste (that's probably around 1/4 to 1/3 cup)
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 325ºF. Line a 8x8 or 9x9 baking sheet with two perpendicular pieces of parchment paper in a cross with overhangs for easier lifting; grease paper.

Mix together oats, oat bran, coconut, sesame seeds, almonds, and pistachios and spread out on a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet. Toast in oven for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine salt, cinnamon, honey, and tahini in a large saucepan. When the oat mixture has about 5 minutes left, heat over medium heat, stirring, until honey and tahini make are warm and thoroughly mixed. Turn heat to low. Stir in oat mixture and dried fruits.

Press into prepared pan and bake in oven for about 30 minutes or until just turning golden. Let cool completely in pan on rack. Cut into desired size pieces.

Lentils and Peppers

2008-02-19T19:51:00.007-06:00

My mom's sick, and I wanted a nice, easy, simple dinner that would be hearty without being too heavy since she wasn't very hungry. I also wanted to use the baby peppers in the fridge that were going bad. I had no expectations for the dinner, and even though it took a lot longer to make than I expected (well, not longer, but I thought I'd have time to sit down and do some homework while the lentils were cooking), it turned out nice. And then Mom went to bed. I still have to do my homework though...

Stewed Lentils with Sweet Peppers
serves 2 to 3

2/3 cup dried lentils
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
pinch nutmeg
pinch allspice
pinch crushed red pepper
1/8 teaspoon dried rosemary
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 small tomato, chopped

for pepper topping:
2 bell peppers, cut into thin strips
1/2 white onion, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons olive oil

yogurt, for serving

Bring lentils, spices, and enough water to cover by an inch to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat and let simmer, covered, 35 minutes or until tender. Add tomatoes and garlic and cook until most liquid has evaporated.

Meanwhile, coat a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. Toss peppers and onion slices with oil and bake in a 425ºF oven for 10-15 minutes, stirring once, or until starting to brown at the edges.

To serve, portion lentils into bowls, top with a dollop of yogurt, and roasted vegetables and enjoy.

Warm Grain Salad for a Cold Night

2008-02-18T19:12:00.005-06:00

Usually I don't make recipes that aren't accompanied by photos. I flip through magazines and am attracted by the pictures. I pick up cookbooks with gorgeous covers that are filled with color pictures. In other words, I judge a recipe by its picture.
Which I realize is totally the wrong way to do things. I mean, I can easily think of a handful of dishes that I love that are absolutely hideous and would take an enormous amound of talent to make appear appetizing. (Ghormeh sabzi is one, I mean, its a dark green stew with brown bobs and chunks of meat and kidney beans bobbing around. If anything, its the kidney beans that might save it.) This dish is not one of those. This picture does not do it justice because we were sick and hungry and didn't have the patience for me to try to get a good picture; my goal here was just not blurry.

Oh, wait, I was talking about a cookbook. I picked up A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen by Jack Bishop, and couldn't put it back down. I mean, who could when there are gorgeous squash blossoms on the cover and a tomato-goat cheese tart on the back. It made me start dreaming of summer.
And yes, there are 8 pages of color inserts, but I kind of ignored them and flipped straight to the back of the book where the winter section is. And I wasn't dissapointed. I immediated ripped up a piece of paper and bookmarked two recipes. I still haven't even flipped through them all yet. The first one, a warm farro salad with roasted mushrroms and sheep's milk cheese, is what the picture above is of. I had the cheese in the fridge, so why not give it a try?
It was good - though not as good as it could have been, though that is all due to my modifications. The mushrooms, tomatoes, and shallots were awesome after roasted in the oven, and the cheese went wonderfully with it. The only problems were that I forgot to buy parsley and couldn't find any arugula and used spinach instead. It was good with spinach, but I think arugula would have been a bit nicer with it.

Since I didn't change anything about it, I'm not sure it would be right to post it here. So if you want to try it, it's on page 360 of the book.

Now I just need to try a few other recipes from it, like the Carribean Black Beans with Sautéed Plantains.

Beans for Dessert

2008-02-18T14:25:00.006-06:00

My favorite Chinese pastry is based on something that isn't even Chinese at all. Red bean paste, which fills my favorite pastries in Chinatown, is Japanese. I think. I hope I just didn't misunderstand everything just now, but I'm fairly confident that what I'm saying is correct.

So after spending Friday in Chinatown for my friend's birthday, I bought some azuki beans on the way home with thoughts of making red bean paste filled mochi, since I figured I could use the rice starch I have to make paloodeh, and Iranian frozen dessert. But then I couldn't figure out how to make the super sticky, smooth, and gooey red bean paste since most recipes I found were for a rustic tsubushi-an, or mashed red beans. Which is totally fine with me, because it means I can make one of my favorite ice cream flavors instead: red bean ice cream.

For some reason, before Saturday, it never occured to me to try to make red bean ice cream. I've been keeping my eye out for matcha powder to make green tea ice cream, and was going to make candied red beans as a topping for it...but the thought of making red bean ice cream didn't occur to me. So when I found this recipe, I knew I had to try it.

So, sort-of following a recipe for tsubu-an, I set of on my quest to make the ice cream. And along the way, ate quite a bit of the extra tsubu-an. I've discovered it's quite tasty cold with some warm oven-roasted rutabaga, topped with some spinach, and wrapped in a flour tortilla. It was a very sweet meal, but that's okay with me.

Red Bean Ice Cream
adapted from Closet Cooking

1 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar, divided
2 egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup mashed or pureed cooked and sweetened azuki beans (tsubushi-an)or red bean paste
1/2 cup sweeted azuki beans (tsubu-an)*

In a pot, bring milk and all but 2 Tablespoon of the sugar to a simmer.

Meanwhile, whisk together egg yolk and reserved 2T of sugar. Whisk in about 1/4 cup of the hot milk a tablespoon at a time to temper. Whisk the tempered egg yolks into the hot milk in the pot and heat over low heat until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon or has reached 170F or 77C.

Remove from heat and whisk in cream and pureed azuki beans. Let cool and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, 4 hours or overnight.

Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Add whole azuki beans in last few minutes of churning.

*If you want my versian of tsubu-an, which isn't perfect, but works. It came out undercooked a bit while cooked right in other places. Soak beans overnight and then, in a pot combine 1 1/2 cups azuki beans, a heaping half cup of sugar, and water to come about 1 inch above the beans. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat. Simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until super tender. Add more water as needed.

Will You Be My Valentine?

2008-02-14T22:43:00.005-06:00

So Valentine's Day.

It's not exactly my idea of a great holiday. Except for the whole excuse to give people chocolatey treats and not look like the crazy person you are. (What? Is it not normal to give people oatmeal raisin cookies, pumpkin bites, or blondies just because you feel like it?)

So now the sob story. Actually, it's too embarassing and emotionally charged for me so I'll spare you. It boils down to I didn't make it to the store on Tuesday and was distressed. Wednesday was math team (I did pretty well, but got home too late to do anything), and slept in on Thursday. So I wore green and black and said Happy Valentine's Day only in response to the handful of people who said it to me first.

So after school Thursday, a few of my friends came over and while they were playing DDR (okay, just Kate at the time), I whipped up a batch of these heart shaped goodies. Or squares, if you feel like being boring. We (okay, Kate supervised after failing to assemble a parchment triangle, which I also can't figure out) decorated them with a white chocolate drizzle, which made them pretty and festive.

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Crispy Hearts
makes 16 square bars in a 9x9 pan

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup chocolate chips
3 cups crispy rice cereal
white chocolate, melted to drizzle (optional)

In a saucepan stir peanut butter, honey, and chocolate chips together over medium heat until melted and well blended, about five minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in cereal.
Press into a greased 9x9 pan pan, or into a shape on a greased baking sheet if cutting into shapes with cookie cutters. Let cool 1 hour and then cut into desired shape and drizzle with white chocolate, if using.

Bananas, Bread, and Boredom

2008-02-09T22:48:00.000-06:00

Okay, that's a lie. It wasn't boredom. It was more like it was Thursday evening and I didn't want to do my homework. I wanted to make butterscotch blondies. But I didn't want them to be dark again. And then I remembered the apricot blondies in the current F&W magazine. But that still had the light brown sugar issue. And then the whole fact that we don't have any dried apricots, and I didn't really want to use dried cranberries.

So I was in the kitchen waiting for Mom with the car to go buy some brown sugar since it was kind of slimy out. Okay, slushy. And the temperature had dropped a few degrees, so it was starting to get icy and I didn't want to fall in the dark, despite my obnoxious colored clothing that makes me easy to see. And there was the end of some stale whole wheat bread and overripe bananas on the counter. So...

I guess it makes sense where I'm going from there. I wanted to use up the bread. It became tiny little cubes, magically. And then two of the gigantic aromatic bananas turned into a olfactory pleasing puree with some milk, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a single egg for good measure. I wasn't trying to make anything fancy. No water bath or precooked custard for me. This would just be baked soggy bread.

I poured the banana puree over the bread, stirred the gooey mess, and put it in the fridge. Until breakfast today, when it turned out to be a lot richer than I expected. And quite sweet. All it was missing was a nice sauce, some creamy ice cream, or a dollop of whipped cream. Maybe next time.

Banana Bread Pudding
makes 3 8-ounce portions or 6 4-ounce

4 ounces stale bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 large ripe bananas (or about 1 cup pureed)
2/3 cup milk
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons sugar (or less, depending on how sweet you like it)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch salt

Place cubed bread in a medium bowl. In a blender or food processor, blend together bananas, milk, egg, vanilla, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

Pour banana mixture over bread and stir to coat. Let stand 1 hour or refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 3 to 6 small ramekins (4 to 8 ounce). Divide bread mixture evenly. Bake until browned on top and bubbly, about 20 minutes for 4-ounce puddings. Cool for about 5 minutes, and serve in ramekins or run a knife along edge and invert onto a plate.