piExperiment

Living Up to My Expectations: The Perfect Hamburger Macaroni

2010-08-01T22:17:00.000-07:00

Hamburger macaroni was one of the first recipes I searched for when I got into food blogging. It isn't a dish I grew up eating, but I always thought it looked so good. But despite my best efforts and several bookmarks, I never made any of the recipes I found. Why? Because I knew what I was looking for and it was clear that none of the recipes I found had it.

Based on the recipes I found, I realized that my take on Hamburger Macaroni might not be exactly the traditional. But I wanted it the way I always THOUGHT it would, or should, taste like. Flavorful, a little cheesy, a little spicy, and hearty. So I took the best of the recipes I had found to use as a guide and put together this: The Perfect Hamburger Macaroni.

The Perfect Hamburger Macaroni

4 servings

1 Tablespoon oil

½ cup Diced Onion (about half a medium onion)

3 cloves garlic

14.5 ounce can roasted tomatoes

2 Tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon italian seasoning mix

2 teaspoons crushed red pepper

dash of paprika

Salt and Pepper to taste

¾ cup Shredded Sharp Cheddar (+ ½ cup for topping, if desired)

1 lb. Ground Beef or equivalent Vegetarian Crumbles

1 lb. Small Pasta (like elbow macaroni, medium shells, or anything else of similar size)

If using ground beef, brown in a large skillet. Drain and set aside.

Cook pasta according to the package directions and set aside.

Heat oil in the skillet.

Add onion and cook until soft.

Add garlic and cook about 1 minute, until fragrant.

Add roasted tomatoes and tomato paste to pan. Stir to blend paste into tomato liquid.

Add italian seasoning, crushed red pepper, paprika, and salt and pepper if desired. Stir to combine.

Mix cooked ground beef or vegetarian crumbles into tomatoes.

Cook until sauce thickens, about 10 minutes.

Mix in shredded cheese. Once cheese melts into the sauce combine with cooked pasta.

If desired, top with another ½ cup shredded cheese and transfer to oven just until cheese melts.

For more great pastas check out this weeks Presto Pasta Nights- I'll post the link as soon as the dished are posted.

Inspired By Summer: Basil Cream and Strawberry Pie

2010-07-20T19:02:00.000-07:00

Yes, I've been a little lazy about getting this post up. I blame summer. And to be fair, summer inspired it so it deserves a little reward.

I think I was first inspired to try this idea by the farmers market. The perfectly delicious strawberries and fragrant basil spoke to me. In fact, it may have been their idea. And it really is a perfect summer pie. It is light and refreshing while the basil custard surprises those who don't expect it and has won over those who were skeptical of the idea before they tried it.

I truly love this pie and am so proud of this creation. Even if the strawberries and basil ARE responsible for the idea, I'm going to take all the credit for this pie.

Basil Cream and Strawberry Pie

Pre-baked 9” Pie Shell

1 lb. Strawberries

For the custard:

2/3 cup Sugar

3 Tbsp Cornstarch

3 cups Milk

½ cup loosely packed Fresh Basil leaves

4 beaten Egg Yolks

2 Tbsp butter, cut into small pieces

To pre-bake pie shell:

Line pie dish with rolled out pastry.

Line with aluminum foil and fill with beans or pie weights. I find it works best to fill the entire pie shell to the top with your weights.

Bake on the bottom shelf at 400° for 20 minutes.

Decrease oven temp to 375°.

Remove foil and weights. Poke holes all around the shell with a fork, twisting the fork slightly as you go.

Continue baking at 375° until the inside is golden brown and the shell is fully baked. Check at five and ten minutes, using the back of a spoon to press down any spots that puff up.

Cool shell before filling.

For the pie:

Wash and quarter the strawberries. (Reserve a couple of the prettiest ones if you would like to use them for garnishing.)

Separate ½ cup of the cut up strawberries. Mash slightly. Mix with remaining cut up strawberries and set aside.

In a medium bowl, slightly beat the egg yolks and set aside until needed.

In a medium saucepan, stir together sugar and cornstarch. And milk and whisk to combine with the dry ingredients.

Add basil leaves.

Heat over medium, stirring constantly, until thick.

Once thickened, whisk about a half a cup of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks, tempering them to prevent scrambled eggs from forming in your custard.

Add egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan while whisking, continue heating about 1 more minute while continuing to whisk the mixture.

Remove from heat and add butter, stir until melted completely into mixture.

Pour mixture thru a fine strainer to remove clumps and basil leaves.

Spread strawberries in an even layer across the bottom of the baked pie shell. Top with basil custard. Refrigerate until set, probably 4 hours is sufficient but I refrigerate overnight.

Garnish as desired with additional strawberries, bail leaves, and/or whipped cream.

Beyond Grilled Cheese: Smoked Salmon Croque-Monsieur, Two Ways

2010-07-01T21:18:00.000-07:00

I first heard of a croque-monsieur several years ago watching episodes of Rachel Ray. She is crazy about them and makes a few variations regularly on her shows. Once I tried one, I was pretty crazy about them too. If you like grilled cheese, you will like this.

Traditionally, a croque-monsieur is made with ham, and I generally use veggie ham but I was halfway thru putting this post together when I got my hands on some really good smoked salmon. (This stuff is amazing, truly the best smoked salmon I have ever had and you can get it here). The light bulb went off, and next thing I knew I was starting from scratch with smoked salmon replacing the ham.

The first time I made croque-monsieurs I must have gotten lucky because we did everything right. Since then I have made some that, while not bad since it is probably impossible to make this sandwich bad, were not as good as they could be. But along the way to getting it right again I learned a few things. So, let me share the secrets with you.

#1: Use sandwich bread. It normally seems intuitive that better bread equals better sandwich, and most people (like me) consider a fresh loaf to be better then bagged sliced bread. In this case however, sliced bread is the way to go (and according to my french roommate how you will find them made in their birthplace, Paris).

#2: If you are going to make these with cheese on the outside, shred it with a fine grater. This sticks to the bread better and gives a more uniform and thin layer.

#3: If your grilling it with cheese on the outside, grill it beyond the point of just turning golden. Grill it until the cheese gets crispy. When the cheese is still soft, the whole sanwich just seems kindof mushy and greasy.

Most of the recipes I have found include a few defining components: ham, swiss-style cheese (swiss, gruyere, emmental), and sauce (bechamel or mornay), and the bread.

How these components are combined also has general trends but still a variety of styles. Sauce on the inside and cheese outside. Cheese inside and sauce plus more cheese outside. Sauce and cheese inside, neither outside. So play around with it, and find your way.

After trying a few variations I have settled on two I like in particular, presented in this post: Extra Cheesy and Monte Cristo Style.

The Monte Cristo style is the Rachel Ray version I first encountered, with cheese and sauce inside the sandwiches, then dipped in egg batter and fried.

For the extra cheesy style I decided I like the cheese on the outside AND the inside. Yum, cheese...

Smoked Salmon Croque-Monsieur, Two Ways:

For Both Sandwiches:

Bechamel Sauce

2 servings

1 Tbsp Butter

1 Tbsp Flour

½ cup Milk

2 pinches Nutmeg

2 tsp Dijon Mustard

salt and pepper

Melt the butter over low heat in a medium saucepan

Sprinkle flour over melted butter and whisk to combine into roux

Add milk and increase heat to medium-low. Whisk to mix roux into milk so no more think lumps remain.

Add nutmeg and dijon mustard, a pinch each of salt and pepper.

Continue whisking, over medium low to medium heat, until sauce thickens to the consistency of country gravy.

Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary.

Monte Cristo Style,(from Rachel Ray):

(2 sandwiches)

Smoked Salmon, enough for 2 sandwiches (I used about 4 ounces)

4 Slices Bread

1 recipe Bechamel Sauce

1-1/2 to 2 cups grated Gruyere (or other swiss style cheese)

1 egg

1/3 cup Milk

Beat together egg and milk, set aside.

Spread all 4 slices of bread with Bechamel sauce, then sprinkle each with a thin but complete layer of cheese.

Top 2 slices of bread with smoked salmon, then top with remaining two slices of bread, cheese side down.

Heat large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, swipe with or melt a little butter in pan.

Dip sandwiches into egg mixture and place in heated skillet. Fry until golden brown, about 5 min.

Flip and fry second side until golden.

Remove from pan, slice in half, and serve immediately.

Extra-Cheesy Croque-Monsieur

(2 sandwiches)

Smoked Salmon, enough for 2 sandwiches (I used about 4 ounces)

4 Slices Bread

1 recipe Bechamel Sauce

3 cups grated Gruyere (or other swiss style cheese)

2 Tbsp Softened Butter

Spread all 4 slices of bread with Bechamel sauce, then sprinkle each with a thin but complete layer of cheese.

Top 2 slices of bread with smoked salmon, then top with remaining two slices of bread, cheese side down.

Butter both sides of each sandwich with softened butter.

Spread a thin but even layer of finely grated cheese on a plate or cutting board. Press sandwich into cheese. Repeat so all 4 sides are covered in a thin layer of cheese.

Heat large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, swipe with or melt a little butter in pan.

Place sandwiches into the hot skillet and grill until the cheese later becomes brown and crispy, about 10 minutes.

Flip over to cook opposite side.

Remove from pan, slice in half, and serve immediately.

As Good As Dessert: Strawberry Cheesecake Stuffed French Toast

2010-06-21T22:13:00.000-07:00

For many years now I have been a big fan of going out to breakfast. For many people dinner, or maybe even lunch, seems like the more obvious choice. But a good breakfast is a great way to start off a Saturday or Sunday with friends, fueling up before any activities you have planned.

Plus your more inclined to follow up with something active, which is always nice following a big meal. It also doesn't hurt that I live in a neighborhood with almost universal mimosa specials all weekend.

One of my biggest breakfast weaknesses has become french toast. But not just ANY french toast, not your average french toast. Fancy french toast is what calls to me.

Crunchy french toast. Stuffed french toast. Banana bread french toast. When I see items like this on the menu I am helpless. I cannot resist. I must have it.

So when making a mimosa brunch at my place, I knew I wanted to put a great french toast dish on the menu. Originally I planned to make a cinnamon baked-style french toast. But checking out recipes, nothing called to me. And then I got inspired-

French toast, stuffed not with simple cream cheese but cream cheese dressed up to resemble cheesecake. And topped with a delicious strawberry spread. And made with sourdough bread, because I love the way sourdough french toast balances sweet topping. (It's the only french toast I will ever top with syrup.)

Strawberry Cheesecake Stuffed French Toast

Recipe makes 6 servings

(the filling and topping can be made ahead and stored in the fridge for a quick breakfast assembly)

For the Filling:

8oz. Cream Cheese

2 Tbsp Sour Cream

5 Tbsp Powdered Sugar

½ Tbsp Lemon Juice

Soften the cream cheese.

In a medium bowl combine all ingredients, whisking together until smooth.

Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

For the Topping:

1 cup Mashed Strawberries

1 cup Sugar

¼ tsp Salt

1/3 cup Water

2 Tbsp cornstarch (I used 3 and thought this was too much, so I am adjusting the final recipe. Your topping should be thinner then mine, which was more of a spread.)

¼ tsp Vanilla Extract

In a medium saucepan combine cornstarch, salt, and sugar.

Add water and mashed strawberries, stir to dissolve the dry ingredients as much as possible (there should be not large clumps).

Heat over medium heat until it begins to bubble. Continue heating for 2 more minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.

Allow to cool, refrigerate until ready to use.

1 Loaf Sourdough Bread: I recommend a good quality sourdough that is not too crusty, and a loaf will be much easier to work with then a boule

3 Eggs

1/3 cup Milk

Beat together eggs and milk, set aside.

Start heating a large skillet over medium heat and preheat oven to 350°.

Cut 6 thick slices, approx. 1-1/4” from the loaf of sourdough.

Cut an opening in each slice, leaving one edge intact.

Fill the open middle of each slice with cream cheese mixture.

When pan is hot, spray with cooking spray or swipe with a stick of butter.

Dip each stuffed slice in egg mixture, or spread a layer of the egg mixture over each side.

Cook slices in hot pan until golden brown (about 5 min), gently pressing down if necessary to cook evenly. Do not overcrowd pan.

When the first side is golden brown flip and cook second side.

When second side is cooked, transfer to a baking sheet and put in preheated oven to cook for an additional 8-10min. This will help to warm filling thru and cook any of the egg mixture on the sides of the stuffed slices that did not fry in the pan.

When filling is starting to turn golden and/or leaking from slices, remove from oven and transfer to plates.

Cover with strawberry topping and serve immediately.

It's safe to say we were all glad I thought up this little concoction. They were delicious. I only made 4, so there was leftover filling and topping. That worked out great the next day spread on some croissants.

For the Winos: Fresh Blackberry Pie with a Wine Glaze

2010-06-13T21:25:00.000-07:00

Have you noticed how amazingly good the berries are this year? I think it must be all the rain the west coast has gotten.

Whatever the reason, the raspberries and blackberries have been better then I can remember for years. And cheap too!

This pie is simply delicious. I made it twice in one week for my co-workers and they adored it. I gave out the recipe to several people, and it couldn't be much easier to make.

So make this pie, and make it soon, while the berries are still this good.

Wine Glazed Blackberry Pie

(adapted from this recipe I found on Tasty Kitchen)

Baked 9" Pie Shell*

6 - 6oz. packages of Blackberries (about 6 cups)

1/2 cup Water

1/2 cup Red Wine (I used Merlot. I think a Zinfandel would also be nice. Use whatever you drink.)

1/2 cup Sugar

3 tablespoons Cornstarch

*The recipe posted on tasty kitchen includes a recipe for a ginger pie shell. I used my standard pie crust recipe, the ginger just didn't sound appealing enough to me to change things up. But if it interests you, give it a try.

Pre-Bake your 9" pie shell:

I currently do this by lining a 9" pie plate with rolled our crust. Line with aluminum foil, then fill completely with beans or pie weights. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

Then I remove the foil and weights and poke holes in the bottom with a fork.

Continue baking, poking more holes if any parts start to puff up. Bake until the inside is golden brown and the shell is completely baked.

For the Wine Glaze:

In a medium sauce pan mix together sugar and cornstarch. Add water and wine, stir to combine with dry ingredients.

Add 1 cup of blackberries.

Heat over medium heat until thick and boiling.

In a lege bowl stir blackberries and glaze until fruit is evenly coated.

Fill pie shell with mixture and refrigerate until cooled and set, usually 4 hours is sufficient but I generally chill overnight.

UPDATE: This pie and some very tasty looking others can be found on the Summer Fruit themed July pie round-up by You Want Pies With That?

Damn Good: Scrambled Eggs with Leeks, Fava Beans, Crispy Breadcrumbs, and Parmesan

2010-06-04T13:03:00.000-07:00

Being my second egg recipe post it may SEEM that I like eggs, but I am actually not a big fan.

I particularly dislike scrambled eggs. Flavorless egg curds? It does nothing for me. However, this recipe from the Bon Appétit April issue stood out to me immediately.

It was while I was still looking for recipes using leeks. I have also been wanting make something with fava beans. The huge Fava bean pods at the Farmers Market have been enticing me, I'm not sure why. I have a tendency to become fixated on random things for no discernable reason.

After making this dish I have to admit that it is entirely possible I will NEVER EVER cook with fava beans again. They were very high maintenance, and I think lima beans would be pretty much the same.

I cut the recipe in half, but other then that I pretty much followed it. Thats pretty unusual for me, I can't really explain it. It's probably because I don't make scrambled eggs on my own.

Scrambled Eggs with Leeks, Fava Beans, Crispy Breadcrumbs, and Parmesan Cheese

Adapted from Bon Appétit, for 4 servings

(Recipe mostly split in half, I didn't decrease the amount of fava beans)

For the Breadcrumbs:

1 cups good quality bread torn in small pieces (recipe calls for French bread but I used sourdough)

1 - ½ tablespoons olive oil

Fine sea salt

For the Eggs:

1 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter

1 large leek, white and light green parts only, chopped and rinsed

1 cup peeled fresh fava beans or frozen (double-peeled)

6 large eggs (preferably organic)

¼ cup crème fraîche or sour cream

a couple dashes of fine sea salt

Wedge of Parmesan cheese

Thoroughly coat torn bread with olive oil and a pinch of salt

Spread evenly on a baking sheet and bake at 400° for 12-18minutes, until they are golden and crispy

Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to boil. Once boiling, add the peeled fava beans and cook for approx. 14 minutes or until tender

In a large bowl, whisk eggs with cream and salt

Melt butter over low heat in a large skillet or sauce-pan

Add leeks and sauté until tender, about 10 minutes

Stir in fava beans and increase heat to medium-high, then pour egg mixture into pan

Let sit (without stirring) until edges start to set. Then use a heat-proof spatula to gently stir mixture. Keep repeating, stirring more often as the eggs become more cooked

(There are good tutorials for easil;y making perfect scrambled eggs at Bon Appetit or Smitten Kitchen)

When eggs are still slightly creamy and a tad wet-looking, remove from heat and transfer to a serving dish

Top with crispy breadcrumbs and grated parmesan cheese

So, like I said before, I usually find scrambled eggs pretty gross. These were an exception! I may have to re-evaluate the opinion completely. They tasted better then I ever knew scrambled eggs could taste.

I can't say EXACTLY why these are sooooo good, but I think it is worth substituting sour cream for milk in a plain batch, they may be what made the difference.

Utilizing My Cookbook Collection: Cod with Leeks and Tomatoes from Everyday Cooking

2010-05-23T22:49:00.000-07:00

I love cookbooks. I find them very inspirational. Especially ones with lots of pretty pictures.

This is probably why I needed to own Everyday Food: Great Food Fast cookbook. In addition to carrying the Martha Stewart brand name, it also has a picture of every single recipe.

But while I love looking at cookbooks, I rarely use them. My collection is not too big yet, but it is hard to justify buying ANY when I fail to utilize the ones I already have. ( For example, although I have owned this Everyday Food: Great Food Fast cookbook for almost a year and a half, this is only the second recipe I have made from it).

So I am making a concerted effort to try more recipes from my cookbooks. And this recipe was a logical choice for me. It was one of the recipes that first caught my eye when I initially looked thru the book. I have been trying to eat more fish. AND I have been wanting to cook with leeks, because I've never cooked with them before.

I did a pretty good job of sticking to the recipe, too. The only adaptation I made was to add some carrot, because I thought it would be a good addition.

Cod with Leeks and Tomatoes (and Carrots)

barely adapted from Everyday Food: Great Food Fast

2 medium Leeks

2 large Carrots

1 tsp Lemon Zest

2 tbsp Lemon Juice

1 tbsp Olive Oil

3 sprigs Fresh Thyme

Coarse Salt

Fresh Ground Pepper

2 ½ cups Cherry or Grape Tomatoes

4 Cod Fillets, 6-8oz a piece

Thinly slice white and light green parts of the leeks. Rinse thoroughly until no grit remains. Pat dry.

Peel carrots, then use peeler to make thinly sliced carrot shavings.

In a 9x13 glass dish toss together leeks, carrots, lemon juice and zest, leaves from the sprigs thyme, and a little salt and pepper. Cover with foil and bake at 450° until leeks soften, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, slice tomatoes in half and season both sides of the cod fillets with a little salt and pepper.

Remove baking dish from oven and stir tomatoes into the leek and carrot mixture. Place cod fillets on top and place foil back over the dish. Continue baking until fish is cooked thru, about 15-20 minutes.

Results:

I'm sorry to say I just did not think this recipe was anything special. The vegetables came out pretty good. I think the carrots were a good addition that worked well with the leeks and tomatoes. I haven't cooked much with thyme and I don't think it is my favorite herb, but I can't blame the recipe for that.

My main reason for being a bit disappointed was the fish itself: it just wasn't seasoned enough and came out pretty bland. If I make this again I will have to try to give the cod more flavor.

Veggie Taco Filling

2010-05-11T22:03:00.000-07:00

I adore tacos. All kinds of tacos.  

Crunchy shell, four tortilla, or corn tortilla. All yummy. Bean filling, rice filling, meat filling, or any combination. Then of course there's fish and shrimp, fried or barbecued. And potato tacos! Cheese baked to melt onto the shell, or sprinkled cold over the top. Tex-mex style. Baja style. 

OK. You probably get the point.

And one thing I have been wanting to work out a recipe for is a veggie taco filling. Diced up veggies and beans, sauteed and taco seasoned. I made a couple of half hearted attempts awhile back, but never really came up with anything that I was especially happy with.  Mostly because I was being lazy about spices.

But I think those tres leches cupcakes inspired me. Because I left work that day intending to make one thing for dinner (I can't remember what) and by the time I got home I was dead set on figuring out the veggie taco filling once and for all.

Veggie Taco Filling
(about 4 servings)

  
2 Tbsp Oil
½ cup Onion, diced
4 cloves Garlic, minced
1 can Corn (or about 1 cup of kernels)
1 can Black Beans (or about 1 cup), mostly drained but not rinsed
1 cup Tomatoes, diced
2 medium Zucchini, diced small enough to mix with corn and beans
1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp Chili Powder
¼ tsp paprika
¼ tsp Cumin
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp onion powder
a pinch of Salt

  

  
Heat oil in saute pan or large frying pan over medium heat

  
Add onion and cook until soft

  
Add garlic and cook about one more minute, until fragrant

  
Add zucchini and cook until it starts to soften and is almost cooked through

  
Add black beans, corn, tomatoes, and spices. Turn up heat if needed. Continue heating until zucchini is cooked and mixture is heated throughout.  

Serve with tortillas and all your favorite taco toppings!

I am pretty pleased with this recipe. It has a little bit of kick, but not too much. And I like the contrast with the sweet corn.  The sweet corn might add too much sweetness for some people though, or even for me if I'm in a certain mood, so I might omit it sometimes.  I think some diced up red bell pepper would also be a food addition to the mix, so I might try that next time.  This is probably just as much a starting point as a firm recipe.

Tres por Cinqo: Tres Leche Cupcakes

2010-05-06T21:51:00.000-07:00

I figure with all the days I bring baked goods to work for no reason, any possible excuse warrants doing it for a reason and therefor baking something for cinqo de mayo was a given. I wanted to let the occasion inspire me, so I decided on tres leches.

I didn't really want to do a cake though, I wanted to do cupcakes, so I decided to try individual sizing the recipe.

I'm not going to lie, it is a little more work then doing a full size cake. The cupcakes also came out a bit less milk soaked, although that could have been remedied with more patience/effort. No one would describe what I produced as dry though, and one co-worker mentioned that they appreciated a little less soaking because she finds tres leches to often come out too soggy. I guess it's a matter of taste.

All that really matters is that I was happy with how these turned out; tasty AND pretty.

Tres Leches Cupcakes

(Adapted from The Pioneer Women)

Cake:

1 cup All-purpose Flour

1-1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder

1/4 teaspoon Salt

5 Eggs, separated

1 cup Sugar, divided

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1/3 cup Milk

Tres Leche Mix:

1 can Evaporated Milk

1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk

1/4 cup Heavy Cream

Whipped Cream Icing:

1 pint Heavy Cream

3 Tabelspoons Sugar

1 splash Vanilla

4 Tablespoons juice from cherries

Approx 30 Maraschino Cherries

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt.

Beat egg yolks and ¾ cup sugar until the mixture turns light yellow. Add milk and vanilla.

Combine egg yolk mixture with dry flour mixture, stirring gently just until combined.

Beat egg whites until soft peaks form, then add final ¼ cup of sugar and continue beating until egg whites are stiff.

Fold beaten egg whites gently into the batter with egg yolks just until combined.

Thoroughly spray cupcake pans. Fill each cup about half way with batter. It is best to work quickly, because the batter will start to fall. I had good luck with my first 3 pans (I can only bake 1 pan at a time in my oven.)

Bake 8-10 minutes, until tops turn golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Wait about 5 minutes, then gently remove cupcakes from the pan. I used a fork the pull the cake away from the pan around the edges then they came out fine.

Allow cupcakes to cool completely. Then combine evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and ¼ cup heavy cream in a bowl. Whisk to combine thoroughly.

Cut waxed paper or parchment paper into squares. Put the cupcakes back into the muffin pan upside down in the squares. This will work better then muffin cups because the paper will be loose around the edges allowing the milk mixture to drip down the sides and be better absorbed by more of the cake.

Poke each cupcake with a fork 2 or 3 times.

Pour milk mixture over the upside down cupcakes, about 1 teaspoon at a time. Go thru the whole batch and then start again, repeat several times. At first the milk will pool on top but will be soaked in when you start again. It is amazing how much liquid this cake can hold!

I started by focusing on the tops and after 2 or 3 times I started letting some of the liquid drip down the sides. I repeated about 6 or 7 times. Continue repeating until the cakes seem thoroughly soaked and the sides of the cake are moist and sticky after rested a bit to absorb the liquid.

Let the cakes sit about 30 minutes. In the meantime beat the remaining pint of heavy cream with 3 Tablespoons sugar. (Honestly, this makes way too much whipped cream, but I made the whole recipe because I wasn't sure how much to use.)

When soft peaks form, add a splash of vanilla and juice from maraschino cherries. I was hoping to flavor the whipped cream with the cherry juice, but it wasn't as strong as I hoped and didn't soften the whipped cream, so add even more if you want a stronger flavor.

Continue beating until firm peaks form. I went a bit past standard whipped cream.

After cakes have been sitting for 30 minutes, top with whipped cream and a cherry. Store in the fridge.

A Taste of Home: Spiced Up Fried Cheese Curds

2010-04-29T23:44:00.000-07:00

Do you know what a cheese curd is? If you don't, I'm sorry. You should go find them immediately.

Seriously, you can read this later.

They are the little lumps of cheese that have not been shaped into the bricks we usually buy them in. They are good, better then a slice off one of those bricks, and they are highly appreciated in the Minnesota/Wisconsin area.

They are good eaten fresh. They are really good battered and fried, and this is the #1 item at any summertime festival in Minnesota with food vendors.

I have a co-worker also from Minnesota, and thru some favor trading I received a bag of cheese curds this week straight from home. (For people outside the mid-west, I have also seen them at Trader Joe's.)

I ate a bunch of them fresh, but I could not resist the urge to fry some up. Especially with a batter recipe right on the bag! I also could not resist the urge to add some cayenne pepper to the batter.

Things were a little tricky and messy at first. I don't fry things very often. And I found the batter recipe on the bag a bit too thin, so I added some more flour to thicken it up. This helped things a lot, and by the second half of my batch they were coming out beautifully.

I'm really happy with the added spices too. It wasn't too much pepper, just enough that you get a little tingle in your throat.

Spiced Up Fried Cheese Curds

1lb Cheese Curds

2/3 cup Milk

1 cup Flour

¾ tsp Baking Powder

¼ tsp Salt

½ tsp Chilli Powder

2 tsp Cayenne Pepper

Vegetable or Canola Oil (for frying)

Heat oil in a pan or deep fryer

Combine flour, milk, baking powder, salt, chilli powder, and cayenne pepper.

Coat cheese curds in mixture.

Fry in hot oil, flipping if needed, until batter is golden and transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb the excess oil.

Eat while still warm. I would recommend ranch if you want to dip them in something, but I enjoyed mine plain.

Cheese Curd

My Favorite Meal of Convenience: Shrimp Succotash

2010-04-21T20:05:00.000-07:00

I really wish this dish was as easy to photograph as it is to cook.

This is my #1 go-to convenience dinner.  It's easy to keep the ingredients on hand and I can make it from start to finish, in one pan, in 30 minutes. (Including washing the pan.) AND it tastes great!

It should have been one of the first food I wrote about. It is one of those meals I truly wish to share with everyone on earth. But it is just so damn hard to photograph. Seriously, this is the third time I have tried and this is the best I can come up with. I am not sure it will ever get better then this.

So here it is.

Shrimp Succotash

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

½ cups Onion (About Half Of A Medium-Sized Onion), I Use Sweet Yellow Onion, Finely Chopped

2 whole Cloves Garlic, Finely Chopped

1-½ cup Zucchini, Cut Into 1/4-Inch Thick Half Circles (about 2 Medium-Sized Zucchini)

1 cup Corn, Canned

1 cup Peas, Frozen

1-¼ cup Lima Beans (Full-Sized Are Better Than Baby) OR Edamame Beans

Fresh Ground Pepper

30 whole Medium-Sized Shrimp, Fully Cooked Frozen Shrimp With Tails Removed, Thawed

1 cup Cherry Or Grape Tomatoes, Sliced In Half

2 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar

½ cups Fresh Basil, Coarsely Chopped (loosely Packed Before Chopping)

Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.

Once oil is hot, add onion, cooking for about 3 minutes until it softens.

Add garlic and cook for about 1 more minute, stirring constantly so garlic does not burn.

Add zucchini, corn, peas, and lima beans or edamame. Generously season the entire pan of vegetables with pepper. Stir to combine with the onion and garlic. Turn heat up to medium-high.

Stir in thawed shrimp. Continue cooking until zucchini softens and is just short of done.

Add halved tomatoes. Thoroughly season with pepper and saute again. Gently stir to combine tomatoes. Cook until tomatoes are just warmed.

Add apple cider vinegar. If the vegetables are sticking to the bottom of the pan, use it to scrape everything up from the bottom. Mix gently to thoroughly combine the vinegar without crushing the tomatoes.

Mix in the chopped fresh basil. Remove from heat and immediately transfer to bowls.

Sometimes I don't manage to keep basil around, since I killed a basil plant in under two weeks and bunches of it in the fridge don't last long. I make this without in that case and it still tastes great.

I am sure this would be good with other proteins too, if shrimp is not your thing I would try chicken, scallops, or maybe even salmon.  

You could also use fresh shrimp if you prefer and have the time, (I like frozen because it is easy to keep on hand) just add it to the pan before the veggies and give it a few minutes to cook.

I have also made this, omitting the shrimp, as a really flavorful vegetable side dish. 

Cherimoywhaaa? Cherimoya Pie

2010-04-14T22:01:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things about my neighborhood is the awesome farmers market I can walk to every Sunday.  I like to wander around at every single stand and make sure I get the best of whatever I am looking for.  The only problem I have is carrying it all home!

This also allows me to discover new offerings. Like these cherimoyas.  I had never heard of or seen a cherimoya but I thought they tasted pretty good so I was immediately determined to make a pie with them.  I bought 5 big ones and headed home. (I am not even going to try and describe the flavor, I have heard everything from bubblegum to pineapple.)

I bought them a bit under ripe so I would have a few days to do my research.  When they are ready to use they yield just a bit to pressure, similar to an Avocado.  They also have big black seeds that are somewhat poisonous and function as an insecticide when ground- I sure was glad I did my research on this because my first inclination had been to separate them from the fruit with my food mill.

A good web search also revealed that there is a pretty standard cherimoya pie recipe floating around out there.  It is similar to how I planned to go about making them into pie, using pureed fruit in a custard.  The custard usually used for these involved separated the egg whites, beating them, and folding into the rest of the custard mixture in the last step.  This produces a very light texture.  The only change I made to the recipes I found was to add some nutmeg, because I thought this would work well with the cherimoya. 

Cherimoya Pie (seems to be the standard recipe, found on many cherimoya recipe websites)

1lb. Cherimoya (about 1 and 1/2 large cherimoya for me) seeded and pureed until smooth
3 Eggs, separated
1 cup Evaporated Milk  
1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 tsp Vanilla
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
1/8 tsp Salt
10 inch deep dish pie shell

Line deep dish pie plate with crust.  Bake at 450 degrees for 5min. (These are the original directions, which I followed. Based on my experience I recommend a standard par bake until the inside is golden brown. Directions are provided in My Cherimoya Pie Recipe) 

However you bake your pie shell, set your oven to 375 when you are done.

Whisk egg yolks, evaporated milk, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, and salt into the pureed cherimoya.

Beat egg whites just until soft peaks form. (Do not do this until just before you are ready to use them, or they will fall.)

Fold beaten egg whites into fruit mixture until combined and no white streaks remain. Resist the urge to stir! Have patience, keep folding.  When combined pour mixture into pie shell.

Bake at 375 degrees until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.  The custard will puff up and turn golden brown on top.  The recipe I used said this should take about 35 min but it was much faster for me (I'm talking 15min, yikes!).  This could be a symptom of ghetto oven, so watch yours closely.

The results: 
Despite my concerns after it cooked so fast, this pie came out alright. The crust was a bit undercooked, hence my suggestion to pre-bake the bottom crust. 

The filling came out pretty good. This pie was very light and fluffy. I cannot emphasize this enough- VERY FLUFFY. And some people really liked that. I thought the texture was fine, it was the incredibly light flavor accompanying it that I was less excited about. 

Luckily, I had more cherimoya to use up so I decided to make another. This time I opted to make it using a recipe similar to a traditional pumpkin pie, in the hopes that this would produce a more dense custard with a more pronounced flavor to go along with it.

My Cherimoya Pie

2 cups pureed Cherimoya (from 2 large cherimoya)
1/2 cup Sugar
2 Eggs
14.5 ounce can Evaporated Milk
2 Tbsp Flour
1/8 tsp Salt
1 tsp Vanilla
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
1 pie shell

Pre-bake pie shell. Poke holes in the crust, line with foil and weights and bake at 375 for 20 min. Remove foil and weights, then continue baking until inside of shell is golden brown.

I used my 9-1/2" pyrex pie dish, and it worked well. This does not make enough filling for a deep dish pie, but there may be some filling left over if you use a standard 9" pie plate. Just fill it with as much as you can.

Beat together pureed cherimoya, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, nutmeg, vanilla, salt, and flour.

Bake at 375 until a knife inserted comes out clean, approximately 25 min. The filling will puff up above the pie crust, but settles when it cools. The top will turn a light golden brown.

My results:

This pie was more dense then the original recipe produced, but still significantly lighter then a typical pumpkin pie. This must be the way the fruit cooks, but I may try reducing the recipe to one egg in the future to make the texture even more dense.

I felt this method did enhance the flavor somewhat. It still was quite light, but I was happier with what this produced. It tasted good, but I'm not sure it is as good as simply eating the fruit raw.

And at least one person compared it to cheesecake, THAT certainly isn't a bad thing.

Cherimoya Pie

Summer Already? Strawberry Sour Cream Pie

2010-04-08T22:05:00.000-07:00

I generally judge produce based on price. If it's cheap, it's probably good. So when I saw the first cheap strawberries of the year, I was thrilled. It seemed a little early, but I figured that maybe all the rain this year brought might account for that. I sniffed the packages, they smelled good and that should mean they taste good. So I bought 2 pounds.

Last year I spent about a month perfecting a fresh glazed strawberry pie recipe but never got around to actually baking them. Since it is still cool enough to roll out pie crust, I wanted to do something baked. Awhile back I had been promised some rhubarb and picked out a Sour Cream Rhubarb Pie recipe, but the rhubarb never came thru.

My interest in the sour cream pie has persisted, so I decided to make one with strawberries.

Unfortunately, I started cutting up the strawberries, and tasting them and they weren't good. They didn't taste like anything! (I still don't understand how they could smell delicious but have no flavor.)

Luckily I had purchased some blackberries the same day, and they were awesome. (Wish I had just stocked up on those. They followed the cheap rule.) I also had some frozen cherries in the freezer. I've always been suspicious of the frozen fruit pie idea but intrigued to try it, it could really open up the possibilities when things are out of season and I figured this was as good a time as any to give it a try.

First Try: Mixed Berry Sour Cream Pie

9” single crust

Filling:

2 cups sliced strawberries

1 cup frozen sweet cherries, thawed

1 cup blackberries

1 egg

½ cup sugar

1 cup or 8 oz sour cream

1 tsp vanilla

¼ cup flour

¼ tsp salt

Crumble Topping:

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/3 cup oats

4 Tbsp butter

Roll out crust and line pie dish, use a fork to poke holes in the bottom of the crust

Line with aluminum foil and fill with pie weights. Bake 20 min at 375°

Remove foil and bake another 10-15 min

Meanwhile, combine sour cream, sugar, vanilla, flour, salt, and egg

Soften (but don't melt) butter for crumble topping. Blend with sugar, flour, and oats using a fork or you hands

Fill pie shell with fruit

Pour sour cream mixture over the fruit

Spread crumble mixture evenly across the top

Bake at 425° on bottom oven rack for 20min, then lower temp to 350° and bake until edges puff and top turns golden brown (about another 15-20min for me, but that is ghetto-oven time, so yours might take longer)

The Results:

The flavor was good, but overall this pie did not meet my standards and expectations. I chose to use an egg in the custard mixture for this pie. Looking thru the recipes some people did this to ensure it would set, and I suffer from soggy bottom crust fear so this convinced me to use an egg. Unfortunately, his produced a VERY firm custard, I was looking for something softer.

Also, the amount of crumble I used completely covered the top of the pie. I was looking for a sparser covering of crumble.

Finally, this really needed a fully blind baked bottom crust. I went for more of a par-bake.  Easy fix.

The frozen cherries worked wonderfully though, and may be enough evidence for me to give a full-on frozen fruit pie a try sometime.

Luckily for me, there were lots of beautiful strawberries at the farmers market the following Sunday. And of course, in this case, I got to taste them first and pick out some really delicious fruit.  So I made this pie again, adjusting according to my previous results.

My second recipe is very similar to the first one. I decided to use all brown sugar, because I thought that would be a better complement to all strawberries. I omitted the egg from the custard and scaled down the crumble.  If you want complete crumble coverage, stick with the previous portion.

Second Try:

Strawberry Sour Cream Pie

9” single pie crust

Filling:

3 cups sliced strawberries

½ cup brown sugar

1 cup or 8 oz sour cream

1 tsp vanilla

¼ cup flour

¼ tsp salt

Crumble Topping:

2 Tbsp brown sugar

3 Tbsp flour

3 Tbsp oats

2 Tbsp butter

Roll out crust and line pie dish, use a fork to poke holes in the bottom of the crust

Line with aluminum foil and fill with pie weights. Bake 20 min at 375°

Remove foil and bake another 20 min or until the inside is golden brown

Meanwhile, combine sour cream, sugar, vanilla, flour, and salt

Soften (but don't melt) butter for crumble topping. Blend with sugar, flour, and oats using a fork or you hands

Fill pie shell with strawberries and pour sour cream mixture over the fruit

Sprinkle crumble mixture evenly across the top

Bake at 425° for 20min, then lower temp to 350° and bake until top turns golden brown and strawberry filling bubbles from underneath the custard

The Verdict: This pie came out awesome. I love the sour cream custard flavor with the strawberries.  The only change I would make is to next time cut the strawberries into smaller chunks instead of just slicing because I think smaller pieces would be easier to eat.

Breakfast For Dinner: Eggs Goldenrod

2010-04-04T20:19:00.000-07:00

This is one of my absolute favorite foods in the world. I grew up eating it for dinner, even though it would traditionally be considered a breakfast dish.

It is also one of the recipes I struggled to learn, even though it really isn't too hard. Being a family recipe, there were no measurements recorded. My sauce got too thin, too thick, too thin, too thick...Until I had way to much of it and I was thoroughly frustrated.

After I went off to college and didn't live at home any more this was one of the things I always asked for when visiting. Finally, after living across the country for a couple if years, I learned to make it for myself.

It's pretty simple really. A peppery white gravy, like sausage gravy but we never made it with breakfast sausage, just butter. (You could definitely use sausage grease if you were making some.) With hard boiled eggs. All over toast.

Eggs Goldenrod

(This recipe makes 2 servings with pretty generous helpings of sauce. That's how I like it, but it may make more servings for you if you like less, just add additional eggs.)

4 whole Hard Boiled Eggs

4 Tablespoons Butter Or Margarine

6 Tablespoons Flour

2 cups Milk

4 slices Bread (Not TOO Crusty)

Salt As Needed

Pepper To Taste

4 dashes Cayenne Pepper (Optional)

Hard boil the eggs. (I have had a lot of trouble getting hard boiled eggs just perfect. Recently I got this cool gadget, pictured with my eggs, from crate and barrel. It lets you know when your eggs are done by measuring how much heat it had absorbed. I waited until the whole egg turned black and they were just right.)

Peel eggs. Separate whites from yolks, slicing the whites into big chunks and reserving yolks. (If you are preparing this alone, it is a good idea to get the eggs to this point before starting the sauce.)

Melt the butter in a sauce pan over low heat.

Add flour, whisking until smooth and thick.

Add 1 cup of milk. Whisk to completely combine. Turn the heat up to medium-high and continue stirring constantly until it thickens. Add the remaining milk 1/4 cup at a time and allowing it to thicken before adding more each time.

If you are using white flour, keep repeating until the mixture is white like milk. If you are using whole wheat flour, look for all the yellow color from the butter to disappear.

This sauce is very forgiving. If it becomes overly thin to the point that it will not thicken enough, add 1/8 of a tablespoon more flour at a time. If you have already added the 2 cups of milk and it thickens up again while adding the spices, just add more milk a splash at a time. In the end, it should be the consistency of thick country gravy.

Use your non-stirring hand to toast the bread. Put two slices on each plate and top with the sliced egg whites.

Add salt, a little at a time. The amount will vary depending on whether you use salted or unsalted butter, but taste as you add because it will change from under-salted to overly salty very quickly.

Add pepper to taste. Lots of pepper. Cover the surface with ground pepper, mix, repeat three of four times. The gravy at this point should be quite peppery.

Add about 4 dashes of cayenne pepper, adjusting to taste. The goal is to have a good balance of heat and pepper. You should be able to taste both in the final sauce.

When sauce is done immediately spoon out to cover the toast.

Top it off with egg yolks, either simply crumbled and sprinkled, or worked through a fine strainer for fluffy, fine yolks.

Who Knew: I Love Banana Cream Pie!

2010-03-27T22:43:00.000-07:00

I've never really been drawn to banana cream pie. I'm not sure why but I guess I was just so uninterested in it that I assumed I didn't like it.

So then why did I make one, you might wonder. I think I just wanted to make the custard. Because I got a flat whisk and I wanted to use it. What can I say, shiny new kitchen utensils inspire me that way.

There are a bunch of slightly different ways to make custard. I pieced together a couple of different recipes to get one I likes. (It seems that in my pie studies I have gotten really opinionated about my thickeners.)

And lo and behold, I LOVED IT!

Banana Cream Pie

9” or larger pre-baked pie shell*

2/3 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

3 cups milk

4 beaten egg yolks

2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 ripe bananas

Whipped Cream

In a large saucepan combine milk, sugar, and cornstarch.

Heat over medium, stirring constantly, until thickeners

Stir a small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks

Stir yolks into hot mixture and cook 1 more minute

Remove from heat and blend in butter and vanilla, let it cool a bit

Slice bananas unto the bottom of pre-baked pie shell.

Pour cooled custard over bananas

Top with whipped cream. I whipped 2 cups of cream but 1 probably would have been enough.

*I used a 9” pie, and there was quite a bit of leftover custard and whipped cream so next time I will use my 9 ½” pyrex,but I am not sure if it is enough to fill a deep dish. Of course, you could ways fill in with more bananas if needed.

Like I mentioned, I had quite a bit of extra custard and whipped cream, so I bought some of those packaged dessert cups and had a couple more days of desserts topping them with sliced banana, custard, and whipped cream.

Do It For The Kiddies

2010-03-25T11:39:00.000-07:00

There is a new badge posted on the very top of my sidebar. It's at the top because I hope everyone will notice it. It is for Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Petition.

Yes, this is related to his new TV show. I watched the preview Sunday, it wasn't bad. But whether you will watch the show or not, you should sign the petition.

Today's kids are eating too much crap. Too many of them are overweight. Too many of them will have health problems. And America's School Lunch Program is not helping, because too much cheap crappy food gets funneled into this guaranteed buyer.

Many of America's poorest children depend on the program for 10 meals a week. Instead of dumping our excess cheap food into them, we should be taking the opportunity to teach them to eat better. The show demonstrated that many of these kids are eating processed foods, like chicken nuggets, several times a week but won't eat a marinated and baked piece of chicken. Many won't even try it.

Taste is (mostly) cultivated. Kids who grow up eating junk will continue to eat junk in adulthood, and suffer the consequences. We cannot determine what children eat at home, but by serving high quality healthy meals at school we can make sure these a taste for healthy choices is cultivated which will lead to a lifetime of better eating and better health.

So click on the badge, it will take you right to the website where you can sign the petition to show your support for improving America's school food.

Simple Vegetarian Chili Cheese Dip

2010-03-23T21:20:00.000-07:00

My Mom makes this dip when we watch movies.

The first time I made it was in college, my roommate put together a little holiday pot-luck get together at out apartment. But I still had one paper to do before finals were over, and being me I had stayed up the whole night before working on it and was still working on it thru the party- until midnight when it was due. My Mom told me to make this because it is so easy but everyone loves it.

It is incredibly good. Dangerously good. I can only make a half batch about twice a year because I will eat every last bite.

Simple Vegetarian Chili Cheese Dip

8oz Cream Cheese

15oz can Vegetarian Chili

8oz or 2 cups shredded Cheddar, Co-jack, Cheddar-jack (Basically, whatever cheese sounds good to you)

For Serving:

Tortilla Chips

Shredded lettuce (optional)

Spread cream cheese in an even layer across the bottom of pie or square casserole dish

Layer chili over the top

Sprinkle cheese evenly over the chili

Bake at 350º for approx 25min, until cheese is melted and chili is bubbling underneath

Serve with chips. I also like to eat it with shredded lettuce. Because I'm really into health food like that.

St. Patty's Day Treat For Grown-Ups: Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

2010-03-17T21:06:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back I got the idea to make some Irish Car Bomb cupcakes, after making a Stout Chocolate Cake from Smitten Kitchen for a friends birthday. I love Irish Car Bombs and couldn't help but think cupcakes with irish crème filling and a whiskey glaze sounded pretty awesome.

Since it was so close to St. Patty's day, I waited it out and brought them in as a holiday treat for my co-workers. I wasn't sure how the whiskey glaze would go over, I even make these back-up cupcakes: the same stout cake with a simple irish crème frosting.

Both were gobbled up,but the back-up's were totally unnecessary. These Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes were a hit! They were also clearly more popular then the back-ups.

Stout Cake – makes 24 cupcakes

1 cup stout beer

1 cup/2 sticks unsalted butter

¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 ½ tsp baking soda

¾ tsp salt

2 eggs

2/3 cup sour cream

Irish Crème Filling

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 Tbsp powdered sugar

1/3 cup Irish Crème

Whiskey Glaze

2 Tbsp Butter

2 cup powdered sugar

1/3 cup Whiskey (Irish whiskey would be most appropriate, but honestly it's not what I used)

The directions on smitten kitchen say to bring the beer and butter to a simmer over medium heat, the whisk in cocoa until smooth and cool. The First time I made this cake I didn't notice this complicated step and just mixed everything together. This time I did it correctly. I am not convinced this makes a difference. Proceed according to your own discretion. I probably won't bother to do it again.

Whisk together dry ingredients. Add eggs, sour cream and butter and beer or chocolate mixture depending on how you did it. Mix just until combined.

Fill muffin tins ¾ or a little more full. I recommend using papers because this cake is moist and can be hard to work with if it's not wrapped in something.

Bake at 350º for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Meanwhile, beak together filling ingredients until soft peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to use.

When cupcakes are cool make a slice in the top with a knife. Fill a pastry bag with flavored whipped cream, using a small tip. Insert in the slot made in the top of the cupcake. Fill slowly, just until cupcake starts to spread open a bit like it might break in half if you keep going.

Simply mix together ingredients for whisky glaze with a spoon until combined*. Spread or decoratively drizzle over the cake tops.

*Warning: This glaze will smell pretty strong. The end product DOES taste like whiskey, but in a good way, so don't be afraid.

(For the back-up cupcake frosting I simply beat together 2 Tbsp softened butter with 2 oz softened cream cheese and 2/3 cup powdered sugar. I mixed this with 2 cups of the same whipped cream mixture I used to fill the Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes. This produced a very soft and light frosting. I dropped a spoonful on each cupcake (no filling) and spread it a little bit by gently pressing with the back of a spoon.)

C-fun's Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cake Mix Cookies

2010-03-10T21:31:00.000-08:00

I have a friend I like to call C-fun. In my opinion, she has a few signature desserts. They have a theme: chocolate and peanut butter.

Chocolate and peanut butter pie, chocolate covered peanut butter truffles, and the cake mix peanut butter chocolate chip cookies I'm writing about now.

She says she likes this recipe because it's consistent, the cookies always come out good. I like it because it makes a softer peanut butter cookie that doesn't crumble into a million pieces as soon as you take a bite. Plus it is super easy because the cake mix means very little measuring.

But I warn you, they are addictive.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cake Mix Cookies

1 box white cake mix

2 eggs

1/3 cup water

¼ cup softened butter

15oz jar creamy peanut butter

12oz chocolate chips (I used ½ milk, ½ semi-sweet)

Pre-heat oven to 375º

Scramble eggs with water

Whip to combine with butter

Add half the box of cake mix and peanut butter and beat until light and fluffy

Add second half of cake mix and stir until mostly combined

Add chocolate chips and continue stirring until thoroughly combined

Drop onto greased cookie sheet by rounded teaspoonfuls (I used a medium cookie scoop)

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until done

Cool on cookie sheet about 5 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack

For When Life Gets Busy: A Simple, Delicious Vegetable Pasta

2010-03-03T22:07:00.000-08:00

I love dishes that are able to deliver a lot of flavor with just a few simple ingredients.

It's especially important to have a few of these favorites around when life gets busy, and February was an especially busy month for me.

Here's a quick and simple pasta I threw together. A local food columnist I read religiously suggested flavoring simply with garlic and crushed red pepper. I wanted a more balanced dish so thought it would be good to add some vegetables, zucchini and grape tomatoes are two of my favorites and I almost always have them on hand.

Next time I think I will try it with a bit of lemon juice too.

Simply Delicious Vegetable Pasta

4-6 cloves garlic, depending on the size

2 tsp crushed red pepper

2 zucchini, cut into halved thin slices

2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half

1 lb strand pasta (like spaghetti or capellini)

2 tbsp olive oil

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large sauté pan, allow it to get warm but not too hot

Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to boil for the pasta and cook according to package directions, reserving a cup of pasta water when it is finished.

When oil is warm add garlic to the oil and cook just until flavor, and scent, is released. Be careful not to burn it!

Add zucchini and toss to coat with oil. Cook until it softens and begins to turn translucent.

Add tomatoes. Cook just a couple minutes until they warm thru and begin to soften. Add 2 tsp of crushed red pepper and toss with vegetables.

Add 1 Tbsp of water to pan to deglaze if necessary. Pour cooked vegetables over cooked pasta, being sure to get any oil left behind and all the bits of garlic and crushed red pepper.

Drizzle remaining Tbsp of oil over pasta and toss gently with tongs to combine. If pasta is too dry add more of the reserved pasta water.

I recommend serving topped with parmesan cheese.

I will also be posting this recipe (as I plan to do with all my pasta recipes) on this week's Presto Pasta Nights. For the 3^rd anniversary of the pasta round-up it will be hosted by it's creator at Once Upon a Feast. So look for it and a bunch of other delicious pastas this Fri.

Pear Lovers Pear Pie

2010-02-21T21:55:00.000-08:00

The first challenging pie I ever tried to make was pear.

It was my second pie. And my third, fourth, and fifth. Maybe sixth too, I can't remember. And I was never even really happy with it.

I didn't know all the things I know now. I believed that I couldn't par bake with a top crust. I had never even heard of using tapioca as a thickener. I simply didn't know how to prevent a soggy bottom.

To top it off, all the recipes I found were for “apple-tasting” pear pie. And it didn't make much sense to me to try so hard to make a pear pie if it was just going to taste like apple, which came out better with a lot less effort if I just used apples. So I hit a point where I couldn't improve it anymore and moved on.

But in a year of pie baking I had learned a lot. So I thought about trying again this year. I was pretty sure I knew how to get it to thicken up right this time. But I put it off for awhile because it still seemed pretty silly to put so much effort into a pear pie if it was just going to taste like apple.

I looked thru different recipes but they all seemed to be similar to the first one I tried or be combination pies that included a lot of other things I expected might overpower the pears and what I wanted was a pear pie that tasted like pear.

Finally, it dawned on me that the reason so many pear pies taste like apple is because they are flavored just like an apple pie. Cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon, and butter. I decided it would be better to make a pie that was seasoned to bring out and accent the pear flavor, instead of overpowering it. So I thought probably just cinnamon and vanilla would be best.

Attempt #1

(This attempt was pretty much futile. I knew I needed to thicken this pie with tapioca, but I was out and feeling too lazy to go get it, so I went without. Talk about setting yourself up.)

6 cups Bosc pears, peeled and sliced (about 6 pears)

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup sugar

¼ cup flour

Mix together sugar, cinnamon, flour. Toss with pear slices. Sprinkle vanilla over top, and mix to better combine the flavor.

Roll-out and par bake bottom crust until inside starts to turn golden.

Fill with pear mixture.

Cover with top crust.

Bake at 425 for 20 min, then lower to 375 and continue baking until thick and bubbly.

Results: I could tell during the baking process that the filling was not thickening as much as I had hoped, and the final product did have a soggier-then-desirable bottom crust. The filling wasn't too loose and liquidy though.

On the bright side, I was pretty happy with the flavor. It certainly tasted like pear.

Attempt #2 – Final version

6 cups peeled and cubed Bosc pear (about 6 pears) (peeling is optional)

½ cup sugar

2 Tbsp instant tapioca

1 Tbsp flour

1 ½ tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

Milk to glaze top crust

Roll out bottom crust and line pie plate. Refrigerate for 15 min before baking.

Poke holes throughout crust with a fork. Line with foil and fill with pie weights. Bake at 375 for 15 min. Remove foil and weights, continue baking until the inside starts to turn golden.

Meanwhile, toss pear cubes with tapioca, sugar, flour, cinnamon, and vanilla. I prefer cubes to slices when baking with tapioca because the pearls will blend in better then it does with slices. Let the mixture sit for at least 15min before baking to soften the tapioca.

This much sugar produces a mildly sweet pie. If you prefer a sweeter pie, use a whole cup.

Fill par baked crust with pear mixture. It's best to work quickly once fruit is in the crust so it stays crisp.

Roll out top crust.

I find a good strategy for when you want to par bake the bottom but still have a top crust is to cut out shapes and then lay them decoratively over the filling. This method doesn't require sealing the two crust halves at the edge.

In this case I cut out circles. Placed them on a plate to re-chill in the fridge before covering the pie; this makes them easier to work with.

I arranged the circles in a decorative pattern over the fruit, sealing overlapping edges with a little milk.

Brush milk over the top of the pie. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. (I've really been starting to get fancy, huh).

Make decorative venting slits in top.

Bake at 425 degrees on the bottom oven rack for 20 min. Lower to 375 and continue baking until filling is thick and bubbling, about 30 more min.

Results:

This pie came out fabulous. The filling was perfectly thickened and the bottom crust didn't get soggy. I made some minor adjustment to the filling spices and I was happy with the flavor. I really love how it actually tastes like pears!

I Miss Pizza Luce: Baked Potato Pizza

2010-02-16T21:07:00.000-08:00

Let me share an important lesson I have learned in life:

You Can't Replace Food

When you move or a favorite restaurant closes you can find new foods to love, but you can never replace what you have lost. You will always remember those dishes. Always want them.

I learned a new one this week:

SOMETIMES (the sometimes is important) you can recreate them

I moved from Minneapolis to San Diego. I ate out A LOT, so there are a lot of foods I miss and I can't even come close to fitting all of them in on any given visit. One place that I will always miss is Pizza Luce. Their food, all of it, was delicious. Pasta, pizza, sandwich's, dessert. And they DELIVERED. But of all their super duper good items the one I ordered the most, the one I miss, the one I cannot replace is the Baked Potato Pizza.

Really good pizza crust topped with mashed potatoes, broccoli, tomatoes, cheese, and then spread some sour cream on it when you eat it – it's amazing. So I decided to try and make it myself.

I'm not gonna lie, the first time did not work. But I got it. So let me share.

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups Mashed potatoes (about 1lb. If you are making them just for this)

1 cup broccoli

½ cup chopped tomato

1 cup shredded cheese, I like cheddar for this

your favorite pizza dough

Sour Cream for topping

How To:

Make your favorite pizza dough, or take it out of the package if your scared of yeast like me. I bought mine at Trader Joe's. Don't judge me, I make pie crust.

Roll out to about 12”, building up the edge a bit for the crust. Poke holes all around the middle with a fork.

Bake as directed until the center just starts to turn golden brown. I really recommend using a sheet with holes in the bottom or a baking stone if you want a crispy bottom. And check it about half-way through. If the holes baked closed and your crust is all puffed up, poke it a few more times with a fork.

Meanwhile, steam the broccoli 10-12 min until it is soft.

When the crust is done spread the mashed potatoes evenly over the center.

If you need to make some, a basic recipe is fine. I simply diced my potatoes and boiled until soft, then mashed with 2 Tbsp sour cream and a couple splashed of milk until they were smooth and creamy.

Sprinkle broccoli and tomatoes over the potatoes.

Cover everything with cheese.

Continue baking until the cheese is melted, about 10-15 minutes.

I might not be remembering the real thing correctly, it has been over a year since I last had Pizza Luce's Baked Potato Pizza, but this really hit the spot for me. This is one less food I have to miss and I couldn't be happier with the results.

A Lemon Pie, Keys Style

2010-02-14T22:23:00.000-08:00

After missing the season last year, I am really trying to take advantage of meyer lemons while they are around. I made the Shaker Lemon Pie I had been waiting for so long to try but had a couple lemons left over when I was done. My first idea was to take a key lime pie recipe, and replace the key limes with meyer lemons.

Although I liked both of the Key Lime Pie's I made this summer, I decided to go with the egg yolk recipe because I didn't have any sour cream around.

I had 4 average sized meyer lemons on hand when I made this. They left me a little short on juice. I supplemented with some regular bottled lemon juice from my fridge and it was just a little so I don't think it made much difference but I would recommend having 5 or 6 on hand for this recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cans Sweetened Condensed Milk (14 oz each)

1 cup Meyer Lemon Juice

4 whole Egg Yolks (discard Whites)

1 teaspoon Lemon Zest

Prepared Graham Cracker Crust

1 Cup Whipped Cream (use stabilized whipped cream if you need to top it before serving)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350º. Beat egg yolk together with lemon juice and zest

Add the entire two cans of sweetened condensed milk and combine completely.

Fill prepared graham cracker shell. Note: I used my 9 ½ inch pie plate and it was pretty full, so you will probably have excess filling in a standard 9 inch plate.

Bake for about 5-10 minutes, until small bubbles appear in the custard. The top should not brown.

Serve alongside or top with whipped cream if desired.

This pie came out really well. It is not too tart and not too sweet, the kind of pie that can really be a crowd-pleaser. Since the recipe uses 2 cans of sweetened condensed milk it would probably doesn't require meyer lemons, and is worth giving a try with regular lemons.

But don't hold me to that yet. I will have to try it another time.

I ♥ Macaroni and Cheese

2010-02-11T23:15:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't really? Actually, I have met a person or two who doesn't appreciate the stuff and I cannot comprehend it.

I love pasta. I love cheese. I love all kinds of mac and cheese, from the kraft box to the fancy schmancy stuff. Creamy varieties and baked varieties. With vegetables or rpoteind mixed in, or just pasta and cheese. Each version holds a place in my heart (and stomach).

If you agree with me on this topic then you MUST go check this out. The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board is assembling a Macaroni & Cheese Blog - 30 days 30 ways with macaroni & cheese.

These 30 recipes have been posted by an awesome assortment of food bloggers, and then span anything your heart could desire. The range of ingredients is really impressive. And I just needed to spread the word.

Good Enough To Be Dinner: Zucchini Almond Sauté

2010-02-09T00:16:00.000-08:00

For most people this would constitute a side dish. I, however, consider this a perfect light dinner.

I have smitten kitchen to thank for this recipe. I have never prepared a recipe so soon after seeing it posted. But I absolutely love zucchini (seriously, I can barely cook anything without it. Not in the recipe? I will find a way to get it in).

It is a minimalist dish. You barely need anything to make it - zucchini, almond slices, and parmesan cheese.

And if I don't have it on hand, I often make it without the cheese. Still good, but with cheese is better. But thats no surprise since with cheese is ALWAYS better.

Anyway...getting back on track. Don't let this short list of simple ingredients fool you. There is sooo much flavor in this preparation.

Ingredients (all approximate):

2 medium zucchini

¼ cup sliced almonds

½ Tbsp olive oil

¼ cup shaved parmesan

salt

pepper

Method:

Heat oil in a large skillet or sauté pan over med-high heat.

While oil is heating slice your zucchini into matchsticks. I will show you how I like to do this not because I think you are dull, but because it quite honestly took me several tries to figure out a good way to do this.

When oil is hot, add almond slices to pan. Mix around to coat with oil, and heat until most pieces are golden brown and the nuts become fragrant.

Add zucchini to pan and toss with nuts. Add a bit of salt (I usually do about one turn on my grinder) and generously pepper.

Cook, tossing frequently, until zucchini just warms thru and softens slightly. It should still be somewhat firm and not completely translucent.

Transfer to bowl and top with parmesan. Serve (or eat) immediately.

I'm An Options Girl. Fruity Soft Cookies, 2 ways.

2010-02-04T22:34:00.000-08:00

I have been going thru a thing. I'm not going to elaborate because this is supposed to be about food, not my personal psychoses. I just bring it up because I almost never make cookies. But this thing...last week it wanted cookies. So I baked a whole lot of cookies.

I had some leftover pineapple and coconut, so I got this idea to make some soft cookies filled with with pineapple, coconut, and cherries- I added the cherries cuz I thought they'd be really cute topped with little maraschino cherries.

The only problem I had was it took a bit of searching to find one that didn't rely on shortening or margarine to make soft cookies. I feel strongly about baking with 100% butter whenever possible, because IT HAS FLAVOR. Shortening does not have flavor, so it just seems like a waste of calories to me. (And no, I will never stop commenting on my dislike of shortening whenever it comes up).

According to my research, butter tends to make a crispier cookie. But you can still get soft cookies with butter if you balance it with some egg. But even following this reasearch, I just didn't feel confident enough in my cookie abilities to wing it (I mean, I haven't made cookies in about 2 years. And those were the cake mix kind).

Luckily I found this pineapple cookie recipe that was 100% butter, so I went with that recipe and just jazzed up the mix-in's a bit.

It made a ton of cookies.

And when I was done, I decided I thought they would be really good with a chocolate cookie base. So I found this recipe and adapted it to suit my fruity mix-ins.

Ingredients:

Chocolate Cookie	White Cookie
1 1/4 cup butter, softened	1 cup butter, softened
2 eggs	2 eggs
2 cups sugar	1 cup sugar
	1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla	1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda	1½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt	½ tsp baking powder
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4 cups flour	4 cups flour

For Both:
½ cup canned pineapple, drained
1/3 cup maraschino cherries, chopped
(plus approx. 36 whole ones for topping cookies)
1 cup sweetened coconut flakes

Method:

Preheat oven to 400°

Combine softened butter, sugar, and eggs and beat until smooth.

Add salt, baking soda, & vanilla and baking powder or cocoa powder. Mix thoroughly.

Add flour 1 cup at a time and combine. The dough will become VERY thick and dry. If it is too thick to work with reserve last cup until after mixing in the fruit.

People with stand mixers are very lucky at this point. I am not one of those people.

Chop the pineapple chunks to desired consistency. I chopped them pretty fine for one batch of cookies, and then left them in bigger chunks for the second batch because I thought it was too subtle. Both ways worked fine. I like it chunkier, but go with your personal preference.

Combine into cookie dough with chopped cherries and coconut flakes.

Dough will be much more moist after mixing in the fruit. If it is too sticky to work with put it in the fridge for about 10min before spooning it out and it will be much easier.

Use a medium scoop or spoon to make approx 2 Tbsp sized balls You should get about 36 cookies.

Place on cookie sheet (I rubbed a little butter on mine to prevent sticking.)

Make indent in the top of the ball with your finger and place whole cherry.

Bake at 400° for 8-10 minutes or until done. The white cookies will be golden over the top when they are finished.

The Verdict: The cookies came out very well and co-workers gobbled them up, a good thing since I had so many. They were just as I envisioned them, perfectly soft (almost cake-like) with bits of fruit. I am more of a crunchy cookie girl, but I enjoyed them thoroughly and declare them a must-bake for soft cookie lovers. I will hold onto this recipe.

Incredibly Good Sloppy Joes

2010-01-28T20:33:00.000-08:00

I have developed a bit of a backlog.

I was un-inspired. I am learning to use Photoshop. Then my hard drive died. So I am gonna get back on track, starting with this quick recipe.

I am not one of these vegetarians who has learned to live without my favorite meat dishes. I am thankful everyday for fake meat. Unlike hamburgers, which was possibly my favorite meat food and I will miss forever and cannot be suitably replaced, sloppy joes made with veggie crumbles are indistinguishable from the real deal. I love not feeling deprived.

I love sloppy joes. NOT MANWHICH. The mixed yourself kind that are soooo much better, and really not hard enough to justify using the sauce out of a can.

This is the recipe I have been using. It'll make about 4 sandwhiches, depending on how much filling you use for each one. I actually have this recipe memorized.

1 lb ground beef or equivalent veggie crumbles

½ Tbsp oil (for veggie crumbles)

1/3 cup sweet yellow onion, diced

1/3 cup bell pepper (I like red), diced

¾ cup ketchup

1 Tbsp mustard

½ tsp garlic powder

3 tsp brown sugar

(and if you like a little spice add 1/2-1 tsp cayenne pepper, depending on how spicy you like them)

If using ground beef, brown in a large skillet with onion and pepper, drain an excess grease when it is cooked thru

If using veggies crumbles heat oil in large skillet and cook peppers and onions until tender

Over medium heat add remaining ingredients (including veggie crumbles for vegetarian sloppy joes) and mix thoroughly. Heat until mixture is heated thru-out.

Serve on buns, with cheese if desired. I recommend toasting your buns, and I always buy onion buns for these.

If you want to make a cheesy sloppy joe, after much experimentation I recommend melting a cheese slice on the bottom half of the bun before adding the meat filling. Cheese on top tends to get lost in all the wonderful sloppy joe flavor.

300 Pies!

2010-01-19T13:39:00.000-08:00

I got a new cookbook. Pie by Ken Haedrich.

It is all pies. (And some pie crust too).

I haven't made anything yet. I have been in a bit of a pie slump. I just haven't been feeling the magic lately. Hopefully I will pull out of it soon.

But the recipes look great! Aside from the fact that Mr. Haedrich and I clearly have different ideas about the suitability of vegetable shortening in pie crust; he favors a crust with some shortening while I refuse to use it. EVER.

Why? Cuz it has NO FLAVOR.

But shortening crust aside, this book is full of great recipes. He includes a lot of recipes that combine fruits, which is great, and it has tons of the more unusual pies recipes that I love to try out.