Domestic Deep Thought

Homemade Caramels

2011-10-25T20:17:00.001-04:00

It's back! It's back! My desire to bake and blog is back!! I should modify that slightly. Technically, I still have no desire to "bake" anything -- no oven, no stand mixer -- and I don't know why (*whimper*). I do know, however, that I want to learn how to make every single kind of candy that exists. Not sure where this overwhelming need came from, but I'll take it... and so will you. :)

It's not like I've ever had any success with candy. My one previous attempt went terribly wrong when I broke the cardinal (sidenote: Go Cardinals!) rule of candy making -- never make candy on a rainy or humid day. Maybe the recent shift to cool, dry weather set off my internal baking barometer. Also, when's the last time you had homemade hard candy or homemade nouget or homemade gum drops? I was intrigued.

Also, my inner geek loves the precision and science of candy-making. A good candy thermometer is a must because a few degrees can make a huge difference. Plus, it has it's own language -- firm ball, soft ball, hard crack, thread, and so on -- to describe the stages of cooking sugar. These terms aren't used as much now that candy thermometers are reliable and inexpensive, but it's sort of fun to know that you can make taffy at the soft crack stage and toffee at the hard crack stage.

I thought I'd start with a classic candy: Caramel. Not the ooey-gooey liquid kind you drizzle over ice cream, but the chewy, semi-solid pieces of candy that are individually wrapped like little presents. While I was handing out my caramels to anyone who would try one, it was funny to hear how people thought caramel was made. One person said that it had gelatin in it to make it chewy and another person thought it was just melted brown sugar.

Turns out that caramel has five very basic ingredients: heavy cream, butter, sugar, corn syrup and water. You start things off by boiling the cream and butter in pot #1 and setting it aside to slightly cool.

Then the fun starts in pot #2. This is where the magic happens. First, you set up the candy thermometer against the side of the pot, making sure that the tip is submerged, but not touching the bottom. On medium-high heat, boil the sugar, syrup, and water and stir until the sugar is dissolved.. Once the sugar is dissolved, you stop stirring, but occasionally jiggle the pot to jostle the liquid around.

As the temperature goes up, the color of the sugar darkens. Later, you will need to carefully watch for the caramel to reach a perfect 248 degrees (firm ball stage), but for now, it's okay if the sugar/syrup/water goes above that -- I let mine get up to 300.

Once it's a nice golden color (or just stop at 300ish), grab Pot #1 and very carefully pour the cream/butter into Pot #2. IT. WILL. GO. CRAZY. And that's fine -- just start stirring and mixing it all together. That's why you need to make sure you're using a big enough pot. It also needs to be a heavy-bottomed pot so that it doesn't heat up too fast. Once the scalding liquid calms down, you'll probably see a flood stage line like this:

Aww, reminds me of the Great Mississippi River Flood of 1993. Memories.

Now you need to start watching the thermometer like the paparazzi on the Pitt-Jolies. The temperature was hovering around 300 before you added the cream/butter, but that addition will drop it below 240. You're going sit, watch, and occasionally stir until the candy thermometer reads exactly 248 degrees. Not 247 and not 249... 248 exactly. I actually took mine off the heat at approximately 247 and 3/4. I figured it might keep cooking just a smidge during the transfer to the pan.

This can take anywhere from 10 to 40 minutes depending on the stove, the pan, and the flame. So watch it!

Almost there...

As soon as it was ready, I poured the boiling caramel into the prepared pan. But of course, my first attempt at caramel wasn't going to go perfectly. I had prepped an 8x8 baking pan by lining it with parchment paper so it would be ready for the liquid caramel. However, apparently I did not leave enough of an overhang because the weight of the caramel made the sides flop into the sticky stuff immediately. I quickly transferred the pan to a cooling rack on the kitchen table, but all of the sides kept flopping over! Todd was out running errands, so with one arm I held the paper down and with the other arm, I grabbed just about anything on the table that was heavy enough to weigh it down.

Note: My pan has like a 1/2 inch flat lip around the edge, I'm not just magically balancing crystal on a rim.

And now we wait. At least 2 hours, but I think I waited closer to 4. The caramel magically solidifies into a chewy, yet melt-in-your-mouth candy. Neither Todd nor I had ever eaten homemade caramel before, so we were concerned, even though the flavor was amazing, that the texture was wrong. It's not quite as stick-in-your-teeth chewy as store-bought caramels. But then we realized that maybe this is the real texture of caramel.

Because this stuff is so sticky, cutting it into clean little pieces is challenging. I removed the parchment paper easily (PS: Do not grease or spray the parchment paper, otherwise your caramels will be greasy, and there is really no need), and transferred the block of caramel to a cutting board. I first tried heating my huge knife over an open flame on the stove, and although I felt like a bit of a bad-ass, I wasn't getting clean cuts because the caramel was too soft.

Then I tried putting the caramel in the freezer for 5 minutes, and that worked perfectly. It freezes very quickly, so you might have to let it thaw just a tad or it will break when you cut into it. I had to stick it back in a few times if I didn't cut it quickly enough. For some reason I liked the look of little rectangles instead of little squares.

Now onto a surprisingly fun part -- wrapping! I wrapped all of mine while watching Game 4 of the World Series, and I decided that that was my happy place. Sitting on the couch in my pajamas, watching the Cardinals play on tv, and wrapping cute little candies.

I'm not sure if this is the "proper" way to wrap candy because I sort of just made it up, but it seemed to work fine. First, cut out lots of little pieces of paper -- about this big:

Roll the paper over the candy.

Very gently twist one end of the waxed paper. Seriously, be gentle because it rips super easily. Now, you need to twist the other end going the same direction, so that you can open it by simply grabbing both ends and pulling. I was only good at twisting with my right hand, so I flipped it over and twisted the opposite direction. I'm making myself dizzy.

Note: I'm pretty sure this was one is actually twisted incorrectly. Doh.

All in all, I'm officially obsessed. I made two batches over the weekend and made complete strangers try it. I'm back to researching kitchen supply stores, reading my favorite food blogs, and drooling over Photograzing on my lunch break. Hopefully there will be lots of colorful new goodies in the near future!

Homemade Caramels (adapted from Epicurious.com)

1 cup heavy cream
5 tbsps salted butter, cut into pieces
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water

Line an 8x8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper covering all sides. Do not grease or spray.

In a small pot, bring heavy cream and butter to a boil, then remove from the heat and set aside.

Attach a candy or deep-fat thermometer to the side of a 3-4 quart heavy-bottomed pot. Boil the sugar, corn syrup and water, and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Once dissolved, continue to boil without stirring (but gently swirl the pan occasionally), until the mixture is a light golden color. I let mine get to 300 degrees.

Carefully, pour in the cream/butter mixture, turn down the heat to medium-low, and continuously stir. Don't worry about the crazy bubbles, they will go away. Simmer, stirring frequently, until the caramel registers 248 degrees on the thermometer (or "firm ball" stage). It took about 20-25 minutes for mine, but it totally depends on the heat and your stove. Just watch the thermometer very carefully.

At exactly 248 degrees, pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan and cool for at least 2 hours. Cut into cute little pieces and wrap in waxed paper, as above.

Guacasauraus Mex and Healthy Dippers

2011-08-23T10:00:00.000-04:00

Ooooh I love this dip. My friend Krissy made this for me while I was visiting Illinois back in July, and I've been wanting to make it ever since. I made some slight variations to the recipe, and with her permission and the original creator's permission, here it is. Plus, I've had the name "Guacasaurus Mex" (get it, like Tyrannosaurus Rex?) in my head for like two years now, and it's the perfect name for this dip! It's not exactly guacamole or salsa, but definitely south of the border, so it's Guacasaurus Mex!

Even though there's a lot going on in this dip, it honestly tastes light and fresh. Especially if you make it during this time of year because tomatoes and corn are so perfect right now. And it's even sort of healthy -- at least compared to practically any other dip you might find at the grocery store.

Plus, this makes a massive amount of dip. Four hungry, hungry ~~hippos~~ adults barely polished this off over the course of an hour.

I'll give you one of my favorite healthy-eating tips: use veggies instead chips as your dippers. Of course, chips are awesome and some are literally manufactured into scoops to hold massive quantities of dip, but if you think about it, there are some natural scoops out there too.

Yeah, see what I mean? If you cut a bell pepper right, the curve at the top (near the stem) will hold a ton of dip. Just make sure to cut thick strips or it's not quite sturdy enough.

I normally try to use baby carrots too, but I was noticing that all of the dip slides off because there's no inward curvature. Last night before our friends, Mike and Oz, came over for drinks and apps, I had an idea. I scrounged through three different baskets of kitchen gadgets and found my melon scooper. I grabbed a baby carrot, dug the scooper into one end... and voila!

A carrot scoop! Sure it doesn't look like much, but check this out:

Yikes. Ignore my cuticle. I swear I'll get a manicure next week.

Heck yeah! I was super impressed. It's a little tedious to scoop out every single baby carrot, and much easier to open a bag of chips, but this is so much healthier! Even Mikey ate his vegetables...

Guacasaurus Mex (adapted from Krissy's boss's recipe) :)

2 ripe avocados, pitted and diced (save the pits)
3 small-medium tomatoes, diced
5 green onions, thinly sliced
2 ears of corn, kernals cut off (raw, don't cook)
1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1-2 tsp cayenne pepper (adjust depending on how spicy you like it)

1/4 cup apple cidar vinegar
1/4 cup vegetable oil (or olive oil)

In a big plastic storage container with a tight-fitting lid, add the avocado (plus pits), tomatoes, onion, corn and black beans. Sprinkle salt, pepper and cayenne on top. Do. Not. Stir. Close the lid, double check that it's sealed, and shake everything all together. See, you need a container that's big enough to allow for some jiggle room. Otherwise, the ingredients will stay separated. It should look like this:

If it's not mixing quite right (my avocado stayed in big chunks), then you can gently stir it with a big spoon. Lastly, when you're ready to serve, whisk together the vinegar and oil. Drizzle the mixture over the top of the dip and stir to incorporate. If you won't be serving it for a while, close the container and refrigerate until it's time -- and then drizzle the vinegar/oil when it's time to be devoured. And trust me, it will be.

Pasta-Less Lasagna for Two

2011-07-31T20:32:00.002-04:00

Well hello there! I know, I've been totally MIA all summer, but I'm finally getting the itch to get back into the kitchen. Our little electric grill out on the patio has gotten plenty of use this summer, but the kitchen is just too hot and windowless -- not exactly my idea of where I want to hang out during nice weather. I think I was so blog-crazy last winter because the kitchen was so warm and cozy, and there was nothing better to do!

The final push that got me back into blogging was a super sweet message from a Facebook friend asking me when I was going to post a new recipe. I asked her if she preferred something sweet or something savory, she voted savory, and I immediately knew what I wanted to make. I've eaten too many burgers, hot dogs, and other BBQ fare this summer, so I opted for one of my old favorites -- pasta-less lasagna. I've made this once before, for a big family dinner, and it was a huge hit. But since it's just Todd and me for dinner tonight, I thought of a good solution to pare down the recipe -- a loaf pan!

As the name indicates, this lasagna contains no pasta. Instead, thinly-sliced zucchini and eggplant create the layers. Coincidentally, we were at a friend's BBQ last night, and they had a garden complete with eggplant and zucchini! I left with a belly full of pulled pork (from their backyard smoker) and a bag full of veggies -- thanks Pollacks!

A mandoline would definitely come in handy here to slice the veggies into thin, even strips, but you can also use a super sharp, giant knife. That's what I did because I was too lazy to dig out my mandoline. And it makes me feel very Top Chefy to use my biggest, bad a$$ knife.

The next step is sort of fun, and really important -- sweat the veggies. Zucchini and eggplant contain a ton of water, and if you don't get some of that water out, your lasagna will be a soupy mess. Once the veggies are sliced, layer them in colanders and generously pour salt on both sides of each slice. Place the colanders in the sink or on a rimmed tray or plate to catch the dripping water. Let them sweat for at least 30 minutes, and then completely rinse off the salt and pat the veggies dry with paper towels.

*Dramatic reenactment of my face every morning on the subway*

My other layers included meaty tomato sauce (I doctored up a jar sauce with onion, garlic, and ground beef), ricotta cheese mixed with chopped spinach, a very thin layer of homemade pesto (complete with homegrown basil, thankyouverymuch) and fresh mozzarella.

You can pretty much assemble it in any order you want, but always start with a layer of tomato sauce because anything else will stick to the bottom of the pan and burn. And finish it off with a layer of mozzarella for a nice golden brown, cheesy crust. My order: sauce, eggplant (thicker pieces for the bottom layer), ricotta/spinach, sauce, zucchini, ricotta/spinach, sauce, zucchini, pesto, mozzarella. Or something like that. You definitely don't have to be precise with the layering -- just arrange them to cover as much of the pan as possible. We're going for a rustic look.

Once it's baked through, stick it under the broiler for a few minutes to get the top layer of mozzarella all brown and delicious. If you absolutely must have pasta with your lasagna, make a small batch to go on the side. But trust me, you won't miss the pasta at all!

Pasta-Less Lasagna for Two*
(*Two very, very hungry adults -- we have enough leftovers for one of us to have it tomorrow.)

1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb ground beef, cooked
1 large jar store-bought tomato sauce
salt
pepper
cayenne pepper
(...or you can make your own sauce, however you normally do it)

16 oz part-skim ricotta
1 cup chopped frozen spinach, thawed and drained
pinch of nutmeg

1 medium eggplant
2 medium zucchini
salt
fresh mozzarella (sorry, forgot to check exactly how much.. it was a fresh, small ball)
pesto (optional)

First, prep and sweat the eggplant and zucchini. With either a mandoline or a large, sharp knife, carefully slice the zucchini lengthwise into 1/4 inch slices and the eggplant slightly thicker because it's the bottom layer. Place the slices into a mesh colander set in the sink or on a rimmed baking sheet. Generously salt the veggies on both sides. I'm talking a ton of salt. It's okay, you're washing it off later. In just a few minutes, you will literally see beads of "sweat" coming off the veggies. Let them sit and sweat for at least 30 minutes... work on the other steps during this time.

Second, while the veggies are sweating like a hooker in church, make the sauce. You can use your own recipe, but here's how I make mine. I basically take a very plain, low-sugar jarred sauce and doctor it up. Saute the onion and garlic in a hot saute pan, and then pour it into a medium-sized deep pot. Next, cook the ground beef in the same hot pan and then add it to the onion, garlic. Finally, pour in the jarred sauce, stir and cook on medium-low heat until it's cooked through. Add the salt, pepper and cayenne to taste. Set aside.

Third, in a small bowl, mix together the ricotta, spinach and pinch of nutmeg. Set aside.

Finally, assembly time! I used a 10 inch x 5 inch loaf pan. Spray all sides with cooking spray. As I said above, you can really layer this however you want, but always start with a layer of tomato sauce because anything else will stick to the bottom of the pan and burn. And end with mozzarella because it browns so nicely at the very end. My order: sauce, eggplant (thicker pieces for the bottom layer), ricotta/spinach, sauce, zucchini, ricotta/spinach, sauce, zucchini, pesto, mozzarella. Or something like that.

Bake for 40 minutes in a 400 degree oven. Broil it on high for a few minutes to get the top cheese layer all brown and pretty. Just watch the oven closely until it's a good color. Then, very important, let it rest and cool for at least 15 minutes. I was antsy and Todd was hungry, so we dug in too fast and it was sort of messy looking. But it was delicious!

MY PICK!! Coffee Ice Cream Tart

2011-04-05T00:00:00.003-04:00

It's here! It's here! My pick is finally here!! When I joined Tuesdays with Dorie back in June 2009, my pick seemed a million miles away. Over the last year and a half, I've pretty much taught myself how to bake, and Tuesdays with Dorie has been a huge part of my journey. It pushes me to bake outside my comfort zone and to try recipes that I never would have chosen on my own -- ie: le blanc-manger.

So for my big day, I chose the Coffee Ice Cream Tart. I've probably skimmed through Dorie's cookbook a thousand times, and I never once noticed this recipe until my turn came around. I tend to gravitate towards the ones with pictures. :)

I am soooo happy that I found this one! I'm not just saying this because it was my pick, but the Coffee Ice Cream Tart is definitely one of my absolute favorite Dorie recipes! I loved the coffee-almond flavor combo. It reminded me dipping biscotti into a big cup of coffee.

Happy Husband hijacking my photo-taking. So cute. :)

My only issue with this tart was a bit of a catch-22. The crust was frozen along with the ice cream, so it became pretty impenetrable with a fork. But if I let the crust thaw a bit, then the ice cream melted too much. We ended up either chiseling away at the crust or picking it up and biting directly into it. It doesn't really matter though, because once it was in our mouths, we forgot about how it got there.

The recipe is a bit time consuming (with the repeated freezings), but it's pretty easy to follow. Plus, I love when Dorie includes store-bought goodies. In this case, the filling included "premium-quality coffee ice cream." Of course, there are some delicious extras added to it -- almond extract, nutmeg and almonds ground into a paste.

Note: make sure the crust is completely cooled before you add the ice cream mixture. I got a little antsy and poured in the ice cream a bit too soon... big mess.

We had our friends, Jeff and Lisa, over for dessert after an awesome dinner at the Wright restaurant in the Guggenheim Museum. They are some of my most devoted blog fans, so they understood the importance of this recipe for me! And come to think of it, my freestyle chocolate design is a little Kandinsky-esque!

Hello Jeff and Lisa!

Coffee Ice Cream Tart - (Dorie Greenspan, Baking, From My Home to Yours)

For the Crust
1 cup (4 ounces) toasted slivered or sliced blanched almonds
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
pinch of salt
1/2 stick (4 tbsp) cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces)
1 large egg
1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

For the Filling
1 cup (4 ounces) toasted slivered or sliced blanched almonds
1 quart premium-quality coffee ice cream
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract or 1 tablespoon amaretto
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped, for decoration

To Make the Crust
Lightly butter a 10- or 11- inch fluted tart pan and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.

Put the almonds, flour, sugar, nutmeg and salt in a food processor and pulse for about 10 seconds, or until the nuts are coarsely chopped. Toss in the pieces of butter and pulse until the dough resembles coarse meal. Add the egg and extract and continue to pulse until the dough forms clumps and large curds, about 10 seconds. Turn the dough out into the tart pan and wipe out the processor. (You'll use it for the filling.)

Press the dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the tart pan. Freeze for 30 minutes. (If you'd like, once the dough is frozen, you can wrap the tart pan and keep it in the freezer for up to 2 months.)

Getting Ready to Bake
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Butter a piece of aluminum foil and press it, buttered side down, snugly into the tart pan; put the tart pan on a baking sheet. Bake the shell for 20 minutes, then remove the foil. If the crust has puffed, press down with the back of a fork. Bake the crust for another 8 minutes or so, or until it is firm and golden. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack.

Scatter the chopped chocolate over the bottom of the hot crust and use a small icing spatula (or a pastry brush) to spread it even. Cool the crust to room temperature.

To Make the Filling
Put the almonds in the processor and pulse and process until they form a paste, a minute or two. Add the ice cream, extract or amaretto and the nutmeg and pulse the machine on and off in quick spurts, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, about 8 times, or until the ingredients are just blended -- don't process so long that the ice cream melts. Scrape the ice cream into the tart shell and smooth the top. Put the tart in the freezer for a least 30 minutes.

To Decorate the Tart
Melt the chocolate in a microwave oven or in a bowl over a pan of hot water. If you like, put the chocolate in a small piping bag fitted with a very small plain tip (the kind used for writing) and pipe a lattice or a series of zig-zags across the top of the tart. Or, for a more abstract look, dip the tines of a fork into the chocolate and drizzle the chocolate free-form.

Slide the tart into the freezer to set the chocolate, about 5 minutes, then cover and freeze for at least 4 hours.

TWD: Honey Nut Brownies

2011-03-22T13:10:00.000-04:00

It's official. I'm in a baking funk. For some reason I simply have no desire to turn on my mixer and make some magic. I think I overdid it a bit this winter because there was nothing else to do during our weekly blizzards. Like a recent batch of cookies, I'm burned out.

But this is needs to change -- fast! My pick for TWD is in a mere two weeks, and I can't let this little slump get in the way of enjoying a day I've been dreaming about for almost two years! I'm hoping that the coming sunshine and flowers of Spring will spring me back into action. Unfortunately, these "brownies" didn't do the trick.

You know the part in Love Actually (favorite movie ever) where Hugh Grant's character (the prime minister) is discussing Natalie with another assistant and the assistant calls her chubby? Hugh then says "Oooh, would we call her chubby?" That's how I feel -- no, not chubby -- more like, "oooh, would we call these brownies?"

Sure, there's chocolate in them, but there's chocolate in cake too. The honey is definitely the dominant flavor, and the texture is more like a quick bread than a brownie. Plus, Todd and I didn't like these. We like brownies. Thus, these are not brownies. Look at my mind's power of legal deduction.

It didn't help that I halved the recipe and baked it in a loaf pan. I read that someone else had done this and realized once they were in the oven that she had actually quartered the recipe. Yeah, so these suckers baked for like 90 minutes.

Suzy of Suzy Homemaker picked these Honey Nut Brownies, so go check out her blog for the full recipe.

TWD: Citrus Currant Sunshine Muffins

2011-03-15T09:40:00.001-04:00

These look awfully similar to last week's muffins, right? Maybe the outer shell looks similar, but the comparison stops there. Last week's were filled with every corn product known to man. These guys, on the other hand, have innards filled with citrusy goodness (orange zest, orange juice, lemon juice and lemon extract) and bits of apricots. I couldn't find currants anywhere, and honestly, I still can't tell you what a currant looks like.

I forgot to coat the apricot pieces with flour, so they all sank to the bottom. Oh well, I guess I sort of made two varieties -- one plain and one with apricots! I prefered the apricot side because I like finding chewy treasures, but Todd liked the plain half better. Either way, they were delicious!

Lauryn of Bella Baker chose these refreshing, citrusy muffins -- I'm thinking her recent move to Florida had something to do with this pick. Check out her blog for the full recipe! Ooh, I just did and it looks like she added a drizzle of glaze to the tops of her muffins... always a great idea. :)

Friday F**k Ups

2011-03-11T09:43:00.000-05:00

Just in case you're starting to think that my kitchen magically churns out delicious goodies, here are a few examples of my recent disasters.

First up, pie crust. I wanted to do a "Domestic Essentials" post on how to make a pie crust, but I guess the first step is to teach myself how to make a pie crust. :)

Living in NYC requires your kitchen table to be many things. We rarely use it as an actual table, but often use it as a desk, coat rack, junk receptable and kitchen counter space.

Looks pretty promising, right? Well looks can be deceiving because that dough was a mess -- falling apart, melting butter and sticking to everything.

Next up, Divinity. No, I'm not becoming a nun. Divinity is a candy that's sort of like a thicker, softer meringue cookie. I think it's a Southern/Midwestern thing, so if you haven't heard of it, that's probably why. I was looking for a new recipe to try and got super excited about this one because I would finally get to use my candy thermometer.

Things were going so well. The sugar was boiled to a perfect soft ball stage and the egg whites were whipped into pointy stiff peaks. But when I started to mix them together, I realized that I had violated rule #1 of candy making: NEVER make candy on a rainy day.

Why? Because humidity and candy don't get along...and rain is essentially 100% humidity. I'm not totally sure why, but it prevents the candy from coming together. Funny story: Todd and I got married in St. Louis, which turns a tropical jungle in the summer. At our tasting, I asked the very French pastry chef whether he could make a Croquembouche (you know, that tower of profiteroles covered in spun sugar) for our wedding cake. He shook his head and said, "too OOH-MEED." Huh? "Too OOOOOH-meed." Oh! It's too humid! Got it... no more candy making on rainy or humid days.

My poor mixer spun on high for almost twenty minutes before I gave up. She started to make a funny sound and was seriously overheating. I swear I even saw a bead of sweat running out of the engine. I'm sorry, mixer.

This is what they're supposed to look like, but the texture was all wrong. Don't worry, this little mishap hasn't scared me away from all candy-making. :)

Okay, up next -- a terrible excuse for a granola bar. After I created some delicious tropical oat bars, I thought that I could just alter the basic ingredients to make a super healthy version. I still think that it's possible, but these were just not good.

I used pumpkin puree, puffed cereal, honey, oats... all sorts of healthy things. The result was a soggy piece of Styrofoam. This is the type of stuff that gives healthy food a bad rap.

This last one is just sad. It's supposed to be a recipe for a single brownie. I guess it sort of tasted chocolately, but a brownie it was not.

See? It's not always pretty around here. If you screw up a recipe, who cares?? Just keep trying and I promise you'll get better!

TWD: Corniest Corn Muffins

2011-03-08T09:23:00.001-05:00

It's been almost a week since my last post, but it feels much longer! Last Thursday was my birthday (woohoo!), so Todd and I travelled to Florida to visit my parents (and bask in some warm weather) for a long weekend. I had grand plans to blog while I was there, but obviously the sun, drinks, and golf won out.

Q: What do you call a bear without any teeth??

A: A Gummy Bear!

Hahahaha. Look at that transition...a corny joke to get us talking about these corniest corn muffins.

These muffins were the perfect baby step back into the kitchen because they were finished in under 30 minutes and are pretty much fool proof. Mix the dry, mix the wet, combine and bake.

I've made Dorie's Savory Corn and Pepper Muffins several times, and these taste almost exactly the same...except less peppery. Maybe it was because I added some cayenne to these corn muffins. I thought a little kick would be tasty, and I was right.

When we got home from Florida, I made another big batch of gumbo (we're obsessed) and had the leftovers Monday after work. These corn muffins were a nice addition! Check out Jill's blog, My Next Life, for the full recipe!

Quick Mardi Gras Chicken Gumbo

2011-03-02T10:51:00.001-05:00

Mardi Gras is awfully late this year, right? I've never been to the real deal in New Orleans, but I have attended the ridiculousness that is the Soulard Mardi Gras in St. Louis. It's supposedly the craziest celebration outside of Louisiana, and I would have to agree.

Exhibit A:

This is 10:30 a.m. Todd paid a nice man $100 to drive us to Soulard in the back of a pick-up truck.
Good start to the festivities.

Me and Todd circa 2006

Maybe I'm getting old and boring, but you know how I'm celebrating Mardi Gras this year? I'm making some gumbo. Some really good, really fast gumbo. Maybe I'll wear some beads while I'm cooking and throw them at Todd if he shows me his moobs.

But seriously, this gumbo is super delicious and literally takes 30 minutes with the help of a rotisserie chicken and pre-cooked sausage. Plus, you get to make a ROUX! I could've included this in my Domestic Essentials series, but it would have been a really short post and the pictures aren't very pretty. So here goes... A roux ("roo") is a mixture of flour and some sort of fat (butter, oil or lard) that is used as a thickener in sauces, soups and gravy. The fat is heated, the flour is added, and it's constantly stirred until the raw flour taste is gone and it's the desired color of brown.

See, all the pictures would be this exciting.

For this gumbo (adapted from Martha Stewart's recipe), I used vegetable oil as the fat and whisked the roux until is was a pale golden brown. Then I added the peppers, onions, and garlic and let that cook for about 8-10 minutes. Next, I added the pre-cooked sausage to let it brown.

Now it's time for the liquids. Martha's recipe called for 4 cups of water, but I thought it would be much more flavorful with 3 cups chicken stock and only 1 cup of water. You could also use chicken broth, but stock is better -- bonus points if you use homemade chicken stock. I used the stuff from a box, and it was still really tasty.

Also, none of the 3 grocery stores in my neighborhood had frozen okra. Shame on them. So I had to use zucchini instead. If you can't find okra, make sure to substitute some other bright green veggie -- green beans or green peppers probably would have worked too. Bring all of this to a boil, stir in the shredded chicken and cook until the chicken is warmed through.

Oh, I almost forgot -- spices! Honestly, if I had had some cajun or creole spice mix, I probably would have used that, but I didn't. So instead -- I swear this is really what happened in my head -- I tried to think of spices in an Emeril Lagasse accent. I vaguely remember hearing him enunciate "papRIKa" and "CAYenne" with a Bam! at the end, so I used those. And it turned out perfect!

Quick Mardi Gras Chicken Gumbo (adapted from Martha Stewart)

3 tbsp vegetable oil
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 red bell peppers, chopped
1 large yellow onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, diced
1 tsp dried oregano or poultry seasoning
salt and ground pepper
1 package precooked andouille sausage (4 links), sliced into rounds (I used chicken sausage and it was great)
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup water
1 package (10 ounces) frozen okra or some other green veggie like zucchini, green peppers or green beans
1 rotisserie chicken (about 2 1/2 - 3 pounds), skin and bones removed, meat shredded
cayenne pepper
paprika
prepared brown or white rice (use instructions on package)

First, make a roux. Add oil to a deep pot or dutch oven. Once warm, add flour. Whisk constantly, about 5-7 minutes, until the roux is golden brown. Add peppers, onions, and garlic. Let this cook for 8-10 minutes and add oregano (or poultry seasoning), salt and pepper. Next, add sausage and cook for a few minutes to brown it.

Add chicken stock, water and okra. Bring to a boil. Stir in chicken and cook until it's warmed through. Season with cayenne (hot) and paprika (mild) to taste.

Serve with rice and mardi gras beads.

The Daring Bakers: Panna Cotta and Nestle Florentine Cookies

2011-02-27T18:52:00.001-05:00

I recently joined another fabulous online baking club -- The Daring Bakers! It's a fun group of bakers that want to try out challenging baking recipes. We receive our new challenge on the first of every month, and we post our results on the 27th. This month's challenge was Panna Cotta and Nestle Florentine Cookies!

Probably not the best idea, but I decided to attempt this challenge for Valentine's Day. I had never made Panna Cotta and honestly only had a vague idea of what it was -- sort of a gelatin/flan/pudding hybrid.

Also, I was determined to make a Red Velvet Panna Cotta even though I couldn't find a single recipe for one. Maybe that was a clue. I know that red velvet cake is really just chocolate cake made with buttermilk, so I figured that I could just combine a buttermilk panna cotta recipe and a chocolate panna cotta recipe --- right?

Hmm, not so much. The panna cotta had the right texture and consistency, and was actually really easy to put together, but Todd and I just did not like the sour, tangy flavor of the buttermilk. Not even the cream cheese frosting that I added to the top could save it. I will definitely another, more simple, panna cotta recipe in the future though!

Thank goodness that this Daring challenge also included these AMAZING Nestle florentine cookies. They are one of the easiest and most delicious cookies I've ever made. Plus, they're beautiful! I wish I had taken more pictures! I'm not going to give you the recipe for the panna cotta because it was nasty, but you definitely need to try the florenties. They are even delicious without any chocolate -- they sort of taste like the most amazing bowl of oatmeal you've ever eaten.

Nestle Florentine Cookies (from Nestle Toll House)

2/3 cup butter
2 cups quick oats
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup light or dark corn syrup
1/4 cup milk - any dairy product really works -- I used half and half I think
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
optional -- 1 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Melt butter in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan. Remove from heat and add everything else -- oats, sugar, flour, corn syrup, milk, vanilla and salt. Mix well.

Drop spoonfuls of mixture onto prepared baking sheets and flatten out the tops a bit. These suckers spread, so definitely leave plenty of room in between each one. I got maybe 6 or 7 on each cookie sheet.

Bake for 6-8 minutes, or until golden brown. Let them cool on the baking sheets before removing to a cooling rack (keep them on the parchment). If you want chocolate, melt the chocolate chips and either spread or drizzle the chocolate onto the cookies. Honestly, I liked the plain ones so much more. :)

The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies.

Filet Mignon with Warm Spinach, Walnut and Blue Cheese Salad

2011-02-24T21:53:00.001-05:00

Oooh this was tasty. Last Saturday night, Todd had an impromptu boys-only dinner so I decided to treat myself. After playing tennis in a bubble under the 59th street bridge, I stopped by the grocery store and picked up a tiny little filet mignon (about 5 ounces) and stuff to make a spinach salad.

This entire dinner comes together in less than 20 minutes, so you have to get everything ready and have a game plan. First, make a vinaigrette for the salad. I whisked together olive oil, red wine vinegar and a pinch of my secret ingredient - Better than Bouillon. I'm not sure why I added it -- it just felt right. And it tasted good. Set aside the vinaigrette.

Heat up a non-stick pan and add a small diced onion. Once the onion is soft and brown, add 1/4 cup of coarsely chopped walnuts and cook until toasted. Turn the heat to low and add the vinaigrette once the pan has cooled a bit.

Pour the warm vinaigrette, onions and walnuts over the spinach and mix. The warm dressing should wilt the spinach just enough. Cover and set aside.

Time to make the filet. Pat dry and liberally add salt and pepper to both sides. Put the same non-stick pan back on medium-high heat, and once it's hot add the steak. Don't touch it for 2-3 minutes! You can flip it once it looks like this:

When both sides have a nice sear, place it on a baking sheet and cook it for about 5 minutes in a 375 degree oven. I like my steak about medium, so I knew it was ready when my meat thermometer read 135. Make sure you let it sit for five minutes before cutting. You have to keep all those juices in there!

Oh, and definitely add a sprinkle of blue cheese on top of the salad. I'm lactose intolerant so I rarely enjoy blue cheese anymore... I think a night at home alone was the perfect excuse. :)

Filet Mignon

small filet mignon, about 5-8 oz
salt
pepper
drizzle of olive oil

Preheat oven to 375. Pat the filet dry and liberally apply salt and pepper to both side. Place non-stick skillet on medium-high heat and add a drizzle of olive oil. Add filet once its hot. Flip once the first side has a nice brown sear. After second side is brown, place on a baking sheet and bake for about 5 minutes to cook it to your desired doneness. Medium is 135. Let rest 5 minutes.

Warm Spinach Salad with Walnuts and Blue Cheese

2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
pinch of Better than Bouillon OR pinch of salt and pinch of pepper
1 small onion, diced
1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
4 cups spinach

1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles

Whisk together vinegar and Better than Bouillon. Slowly drizzle in olive oil, whisking the whole time until everything is incorporated. Set vinaigrette aside.

Add onion to warm non-stick skillet and cook until brown and soft. Add walnuts. Reduce heat to low and add vinaigrette once the pan has cooled a bit.

Pour warm vinaigrette, onions and walnuts over the spinach and mix. Should wilt just a bit. Top with blue cheese!

TWD: Toasted Almond Scones

2011-02-22T19:17:00.001-05:00

These were my first scones! I will definitely be making more varieties and adding these to my brunch repertoire because they were surprisingly easy. Plus, they sound so fancy, right? Sort of like I need to say it in a British accent. I bet William and Kate will be serving scones during their royal wedding festivities.

My friends and I made these during our most recent baking club meeting this past Sunday. We made breakfast for dinner, so scones were the perfect addition to the menu! We also made scrambled eggs with cream cheese and chives, sausage/potato hash, two kinds of bacon and the most amazing apple beignets. We were a bit scrambled ourselves (pun totally intended), so I only managed to take a few shots of the scones. We didn't even get the mandatory group shot of us nestled into the tiny NYC kitchen.

These aren't like the scones you find at Starbucks...they're better. They are only a tad sweet and have a nice almond flavor. I can't wait for Dorie's other scone recipes to be picked! Check out Mike's blog, Living out West, for the recipe!

B-Scotch Crunchies

2011-02-16T21:26:00.001-05:00

Butterscotch is one of my favorite flavors, so I decided to give it a cool new name: B-Scotch. When's the last time you called J Lo, "Jennifer Lopez"? Exactly. How about you make some of these B-Scotch Crunchies during this season of American Idol... you'll see what I mean. :)

Anyhoo, these no-bake cookies have only three ingredients -- two of which include the word butter -- and they can be completed in an hour with less than 10 minutes of actual work.

First, pour the corn flakes into a large bowl and set aside. In a small, heat-proof bowl (I used my Pyrex measuring thingy), melt the butterscotch in the microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring after each zap. Once it's all melted, stir in the peanut butter until smooth.

Next, pour the butterscotch-peanut butter mixture (OMG it smells so good) over the corn flakes. With a rubber spatula, gently stir until the corn flakes are completely covered in goo. Don't be rough with it... you don't want the flakes to crumble.

Drop little spoonfuls onto a lined cookie sheet. It's okay if it's not completely sticking together because once it cools, it will stick like glue. Delicious glue... like that paste we used in kindergarten. Is it weird that I know what that stuff tastes like?

Refrigerate until you can pick up a cookie without it falling apart, about 30 minutes. Stored in an airtight container, they will stay tasty on the counter for about five days. Honestly, I don't know if they freeze well because they've never made it that far in our apartment!

Todd just got home from a legal seminar in Newark, and in order to have a treat I made him give me a comment for the blog. He said "deliciousness."

B-Scotch Crunchies

2 1/2 cups corn flakes
1 cup butterscotch chips
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter -- not the natural kind

Pour corn flakes in a large bowl. Set aside.

In a heat-proof bowl, melt butterscotch chips in 30-second bursts, stirring after each zap. Add peanut butter and stir until smooth. Pour mixture over the corn flakes and gently stir with a rubber spatula until completely covered.

Drop spoonfuls of gooey flakes onto a lined cookie sheet. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes, or until set -- when you can pick one up and it doesn't fall apart. Stored in an airtight container, they will stay tasty on the counter for about 5 days.

TWD: Chocolate Oatmeal Drops

2011-02-15T10:36:00.001-05:00

If these cookies were in a beauty pageant, they certainly wouldn't win most photogenic. They probably wouldn't win the swimsuit competition either with all of that butter oozing out of their classy one-piece. But perhaps they would wow the judges with a complex, thoughtful answer to the judges' question about children living in the third world. Or something like that.

Caroline and Claire of Bake with Us chose this weeks recipe for Chocolate Oatmeal Drops. They are uber chocolately, not very sweet, and the oatmeal gives it a nice little hidden crunch. They were surprisingly soft too. My brother-in-law hated them with a capital H, but everyone else seemed to really enjoy them. I can't say that I'll ever make them again, but I'm glad I tried it out!

See, this is how you win a beauty pageant. Todd surprised me with a beautiful orchid plant for Valentine's Day! Now I just have to keep it alive!

The Uni-Baker: One Awesome Peanut Butter Cookie

2011-02-13T20:53:00.002-05:00

No, literally... one. I was so inspired after the success of my recipe for a single chocolate chip cookie that I decided to try out another variety. Peanut Butter! After one failure (it spread out into a giant flat sheet), I adjusted the ingredient amounts just a bit, and it worked. Todd and I just split a delicious, sandy-textured peanut butter cookie for an after-dinner treat. This cookie... mmm.

Oh, and I thought of an appropriate name for myself... The Uni-Baker! I promise that I live in Manhattan and not in a creepy cabin in the woods. The peanut butter cookie is basically made the same way as the chocolate chip cookie but with different ingredients, obviously. Refer back to my original post for any little tips and tricks!

You start by mixing together the flour, baking powder and salt in a very small bowl. Then, in a cereal-sized bowl, thoroughly mix the peanut butter, brown sugar and butter. Add the scant bit of egg and mix. (Scramble a whole egg and scoop out 1/4 teaspoon). Cover the remaining egg and place back in the fridge. You can use it in tomorrow morning's eggs...or for another batch of cookie.

Next, add the dry (flour, etc) ingredients into the wet (pb, etc) and stir until the flour disappears -- don't overmix. Once the dough comes together, roll it into a ball. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of sugar (regular, not brown) on a small plate. Resist the urge to eat the raw dough, and roll the ball through the sugar until it's all covered.

Place the dough ball on a cookie sheet and press a pretty criss-cross pattern into the top with the back of a fork. Bake for 15 minutes, cool and eat!

One Awesome Peanut Butter Cookie

1 1/2 tbsp flour*
pinch salt**
pinch baking powder
1 1/2 tbsp smooth peanut butter, not the natural kind with oil
1/2 tbsp butter, room temperature
1 tbsp light brown sugar, packed
1/4 tsp egg
1/2 tsp sugar, for rolling

* Note: In case you don't have a 1/2 tablespoon measure, 1/2 tbsp = 1 1/2 teaspoons
** pinch = itsy bitsy, way less than 1/8 of a teaspoon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder. In a cereal-sized bowl, thoroughly mix together the peanut butter, brown sugar and butter -- until creamy. Add the 1/4 tsp egg and mix. It should thicken just a tad.

Add the dry ingredients, one half at a time and mix until the flour disappears -- don't overmix. Roll into a ball and roll through the sugar until covered. With a fork, press criss-cross pattern into dough. Bake for 15 minutes, or until edges start to brown. Let cool completely before enjoying!

Oreo Truffles

2011-02-10T10:51:00.002-05:00

Yowzer. These little suckers are delicious. So delicious that your eyes automatically close. It's like you can't focus on the world beyond what's going on inside your mouth. They are perfect for Valentine's Day because who doesn't love a truffle? Even if you don't have a Valentine, make them for yourself. But the best part is that they are the easiest truffles ever!

A few weeks ago, the CVS around the corner was selling packages of Oreos for a dollar. You can't buy anything in NYC for a dollar, not even a soda, so I had to buy some. I knew I'd figure out something to do with them.

First, finely crush about 4 cups of Oreos. I double-bagged the Oreos and went to town with a meat pounder. Pour the crumbs into a bowl and add 8 ounces of Philly cream cheese, room temperature. I suppose you could use low-fat or fat-free cream cheese, but they won't be quite as delicious. Stir in the cream cheese until evenly distributed.

Next, grab a hunk of dough and roll it into a ball. Since these don't get baked, you can make all different sizes if you want. Place on a wax-paper lined baking sheet and refrigerate or freeze the little balls for about 20 minutes.

Next up, melt some chocolate chips or your favorite chocolate in the microwave in 30-second spurts. Roll the chilled dough balls around in the chocolate until they are covered. I used a shallow bowl and sort of scooted the ball around with a spoon until it was covered in chocolate. Place back on the baking sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes, until the chocolate is set. Devour, like so:

Thanks Greg!

Oreo Truffles

4 cups Oreos, finely crushed
8 oz Philly cream cheese
1 cup chocolate chips

Mix crushed Oreos and cream cheese until uniformly combined. Roll into little balls and place on a wax-paper lined cookie sheet. Refrigerate or freeze for about 20 minutes.

Place the chocolate chips in a shallow bowl and melt in the microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring each time. I think I had 3 rounds. Make sure not to overdo it.

Roll chilled truffles in the chocolate. Set back on cookie sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until the chocolate is set.

TWD: Bourbon Bread Pudding

2011-02-08T09:07:00.001-05:00

Okay fine, I just made plain bread pudding without the bourbon. Even though I'm not a bourbon fan, I was going to try it in the bread pudding because Dorie definitely knows what she's doing. Todd and I had a small Super Bowl party (go Packers!!), so I had him pick up a bunch of stuff at the much cheaper suburban grocery store. His list included a very small bottle of bourbon. I was picturing a cute little bottle of Maker's Mark.

I should have been more specific because he brought home a flask-sized bottle of Jim Beam. You know, the stuff that conceals nicely into a brown paper bag and is consumed under a bridge. Obviously, I'm not a bourbon connoisseur, but I think I know enough to realize that Jim Beam is nasty....right??

Needless to say, I left out the bourbon. Also, I had two friends in town over the weekend and was a little under the weather. Similar to last week, I didn't put 100% into making this. I didn't use measuring spoons and sort of eyeballed the amounts of liquids. I did, however, use Challah (holla!) so that made up for any deficiencies.

We had so many appetizers, dips and Italian sandwiches that the bread pudding wasn't devoured. But it was pretty tasty -- and pretty pretty! Check out Sharon's blog, Simply Southern, for the full recipe... including the bourbon!

Recipe for ONE Chocolate Chip Cookie

2011-02-03T10:24:00.002-05:00

That's right, a single cookie. Not a cookie cake or a giant cookie -- just one, normal-sized cookie. Sometimes you just don't want to bake an entire batch, right? Well now you can bake just ONE cookie! It's super easy to whip together, and you can have a fresh-baked cookie in less than 20 minutes. Let's get started.

Really, it's just a normal chocolate chip cookie recipe, but it's pared down to teeny tiny amounts. Plus, you don't use nearly as many dishes, and the ones you do use are itty-bitty. You'll need 3 bowls (small, medium and cereal bowl sized), a fork, your measuring spoons and a baking sheet lined with a scrap of parchment paper.

First, in the medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and salt. In the recipe (found below), when I say a "pinch," I mean itsy-bitsy, like less than an 1/8 of a teaspoon pinch. Mix this together with the fork.

Next, we need to cream the butter and sugar in the cereal-sized bowl. The butter (1/2 tablespoon) needs to be room temperature so that you can smash it into the sugars. So, if the butter is coming straight from the fridge, put the pat of butter in the tiny bowl and zap it for 5 seconds in the microwave. Don't melt it... it's perfect when you can see a thumbprint when you press it.

See the fingerprint?

Place the butter and both sugars in the cereal bowl. With the fork, smash these together until creamy -- for at least minute or two (longer than you think). I sort of used the side of the bowl and pressed the mixture between the tines of the fork.

Next, we need to add about a 1/4 teaspoon of egg. Crack an egg into the smallest bowl (you already used this to zap the butter if you needed to) and gently scramble with your fork. This is the trickiest part because the egg is sort of all stuck together, but try to scoop out 1/4 teaspoon of egg. Add it to the creamed butter/sugar and mix thoroughly. Then add less than 1/8 teaspoon of vanilla and mix.

It's starting to smell like cookie dough, right?? Now pour half of the flour mixture into the cereal bowl and mix until just combined. Then do the same with the other half. If it looks a little dry and like it's not coming together, add a tiny drizzle of water and use your hands to form a ball of dough.

Next, add 1/2 tablespoon (same as 1 1/2 teaspoons if you don't have a 1/2 tbsp spoon) of chocolate chips. I used mini ones to go along with the "mini" recipe, but I'm pretty sure normal ones would be just fine. Congrats! You've just make cookie dough!

If you leave out the tiny bit of egg, you could just eat the raw dough. Yikes, I'm definitely going come home a little intoxicated one night and make myself a single serving of cookie dough. It's gonna happen.

Roll the dough into a ball and form a little patty. Bake for 15 minutes at 375 degrees. Trust me, it's honestly a great cookie. I made a "batch" for Todd and asked him if it "tasted liked a chocolate chip cookie." His response: "Yeah, a really good chocolate chip cookie. Maybe your best." I'd say that's quite an endorsement!

I just thought this was a funny picture. All of the other photos are so zoomed in that you couldn't really tell how tiny it was. Yup, you're making one cookie. :) I'm going to try pare down lots of other cookie, brownie and cupcake recipes into single-servings. Leave a comment with any requests or ideas!

One Chocolate Chip Cookie

1 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour
Pinch of baking soda*
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp brown sugar, packed
1/2 tbsp butter, room temperature
1/4 tsp egg
1/8 (or less) tsp vanilla
1/2 tbsp (same as 1 1/2 teaspoons) chocolate chips, mini or regular
*"Pinch" here is less than a normal pinch. I mean an itsy-bitsy, less than 1/8 of a teaspoon pinch.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place a scrap of parchment paper on a cookie sheet.

In the medium bowl, add flour, baking soda and salt. Stir together and set aside.

In a cereal-sized bowl, add room temp butter (zap 5 seconds if necessary) and both sugars. With a fork, "cream" the butter and sugar for at least a minute or two, until smooth and creamy. Add egg and thoroughly mix. Add vanilla and stir.

Next, add the flour mixture, one half at a time, and stir until it disappears into the dough. Add a drizzle of water if it looks a bit dry. Add chocolate chips. Roll the dough into a ball and press flat like a little patty. Bake for 15 minutes!

Pour a glass of milk and enjoy your homebaked cookie!

TWD: Great Grains Muffins

2011-02-01T09:33:00.000-05:00

I didn't have any jam, so I figured a drizzle of maple syrup would do the trick, right?? These Great Grains Muffins were pretty good, but not wow. If the Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins were a big 'ole 10, these were a 7. I didn't put all of my efforts into these though, and you could taste it. Other TWD'ers loved them, so I'm guessing that it was me, not the recipe.

Any variations I made to the recipe were completely done out of availability and laziness. No whole wheat flour? Just used more all-purpose. Cornmeal past its "best by" date? Ehh, it smells fine. What fun dried fruit should I include? Well, I have raisins.

Yeah, so they're not that exciting, but the texture of the oatmeal and cornmeal was nice, and the hint of maple syrup was great. Todd had one straight out of the oven, and he really liked them. See:

But as I'm writing this, he's poking around in the kitchen looking for an after-dinner treat. Looks like he's going to defrost a Lemon Poppy Seed Muffin instead of going for the Great Grains Muffins that are sitting on the counter. Oh well... maybe I should try them again with some gusto!

If you want to give these a try, check out Christine's blog, Happy Tummy, for the recipe!

Dark Chocolate-Dipped Oranges with Sea Salt

2011-01-29T10:10:00.001-05:00

I have a confession. I hate oranges. I hate the texture, the juice, and that slurping sound required to eat one. However, I realize that 99% of the population does not share this aversion, so after I taught myself how to supreme citrus (just because I thought I should know how), I wanted to make a treat for Todd. Since he loves dark chocolate as much as a premenstrual woman, I knew it had to be included.

I've seen several variations of chocolate-dipped citrus around the blogosphere lately and decided to give it a shot. Obviously, this is super easy. After you supreme your favorite citrus -- oranges, clementines, tangerines, etc -- melt 1/2 a bar of premium dark chocolate either in a heat-proof bowl set over simmering water (recommended) or slowly in the microwave (stop and stir every 20 seconds and don't over-zap it).

Carefully dip half of the orange in the melted chocolate and then gently shake it or let some of the excess drip off. Place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper or parchement paper. Once they are all dipped, sprinkle just a few big sea salt crystals on the still-warm chocolate. Place in fridge and let set for about 30 minutes. Done! If you don't eat them all in one sitting, place back in the fridge until you're ready for more!

And although I did not try these, Todd said they were amazing. So did my doorman.

Dark Chocolate-Dipped Oranges with Sea Salt - makes 15-20

2 large navel oranges, supremed
2 oz (about 1/2 bar) of premium dark chocolate
1 tbsp sea salt or any large crystal salt

Melt chocolate in a heat-proof bowl over simmering water (recommended) or melt slowly in microwave -- 20 second bursts, stirring each time, until just melted.

Dip orange slice in chocolate. Gently shake or let the excess drip off. Place on parchment or wax paper-lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle just a few flakes of salt (optional). Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Best the day it's made, but will last another day or two in the fridge.

Domestic Essentials: How to Supreme Citrus

2011-01-27T09:36:00.001-05:00

It's citrus season! I find it sort of ironic that citrus season occurs in the depths of winter, don't you? I'm not sure if the Rotary Club does this everywhere, but we always got a huge package of citrus every winter. Since you might have an abundance of oranges, tangerines, grapefruits, clementines and other goodies sitting around, I thought it might help to learn how to supreme (soo-prehm) them -- a/k/a "how to cut them all fancy schmancy."

Why do you need to learn how to do this? I'm not talking about cutting up an orange for soccer practice. Rather, I'm talking about how to cut citrus so that each segment is clean and free of all that white membrane and pith junk. You can add supremed citrus to salads, fruit salads, eat them on their own, or make some pretty cool desserts -- my next post will cover a super easy treat.

First of all, I'm using an orange, but this works for just about every type of citrus. Second, it's best to use a small, very sharp paring knife. Third, if you have small cuts on your hands, this might hurt a bit. :)

Step 1: Cut off the top and bottom of the orange so that you can see the flesh inside (see top photo).

Step 2: Working with the shape of the orange, slice off the peel in sections.

Step 3: See the white outlines around each segment? That's our guide. Hold the orange in one hand, and cut right along a white outline all the way to the center of the orange. Do the same with the white outline on the other side of that segment. Carefully pull out segment.

Step 4: Keep doing this, segment by segment, all the way around the orange.

Step 5: You might pull out some pieces that need some clean up. Any white membrane should be removed.

Please don't judge my cuticle. I know, it's horrible.

That's it! So easy, right?? I got all of these segments from one large navel orange.

Make sure to check in again over the weekend. I'll be posting a delicious, healthy snack using these supremed oranges. Hint: it involves dark chocolate. :)

TWD: Nutty, Chocolately, Swirly Sour Cream Bundt Cake

2011-01-25T10:04:00.000-05:00

This was my first bundt cake! I seem to have every baking pan under the sun except a bundt pan. My baking/cooking club met last Sunday, and Vicky brought a bundt pan for us to use. I had heard that this cake has the tendency of getting stuck in the pan, so I was very happy to see a bright red silicone pan already greased and ready to go.

This cake is delicious. It's a moist orange/vanilla cake with a crunchy swirl going all through the middle. More on the swirl below. This was the perfect finish to our "Italian Feast" menu of lasagna, seafood linguine (pasta from scratch), chicken piccata, and brussels sprouts.

We met at Becca's apartment this time and had a slight hiccup right from the get-go. Becca didn't have a mixer (yet -- she's registered for one), and the recipe required a lot of beating. My apartment was only four blocks away, so I grabbed the necessary ingredients, mixed up the batter, and walked it back! I'm sure some people were confused by the girl walking down the street carrying a mixer bowl with a spatula sticking out one side.

Nah-- they've seen far weirder. My favorite is the lady who walks her dog and the dog is carrying her purse in its mouth.

This is the swirl -- dark chocolate, raisins, walnuts, cinnamon and sugar. Ahhh-mazing. I'm pretty sure I didn't execute the swirl correctly, but somehow it landed right in the middle of the cake.

Beginner's luck for sure.

Yikes. I didn't have too high of hopes for it at this point. Also, I had no clue how to unmold it, so I just let it completely cool in the pan for several hours before I made my attempt. Rachel helped me flip it over and it came out perfect on the first try. Phew!

This is Daniela, Vicky's niece. She came to our baking club and was a seriously great little cook. Not only did she help me make the bundt cake, but she also taught us all how to make homemade pasta with a hand-crank. She wants to come back and teach us the "old fashioned way" to make pasta the next time. Adorable.

Check out Jennifer's blog, Cooking for Comfort, for the complete recipe!

Black and White Cookies

2011-01-23T21:54:00.002-05:00

Why are these cookies decorated with Team in Training stuff? Because I'm selling them in the coolest fundraising event ever... and ONLINE BAKE SALE! I stumbled upon a super cute blog a few weeks ago, Steph's Bite by Bite, and noticed that Steph was running a race through TNT. In order to raise the necessary amount of money, she was enlisting fellow bloggers to donate baked goods. All funds received go to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I immediately signed up and donated these black and white cookies! Well, not these cookies, I'll bake a fresh batch. :)

Here's how it works: On Monday, January 31st from 7am EST to 9pm EST, go to Steph's blog to bid upon a ton of baked goods from bloggers like me. If you win, you will give Steph your shipping information and payment, and she will pass it on to the blogger who baked the goodies you want. Then, the baker will bake you a fresh batch and ship it to you! So make sure to check it out... and bid on my cookies!

Black and white cookies are a classic New York treat. I don't think I ever noticed them back in the Midwest, but the second I moved to NYC, they were everywhere! New Yorkers are very opinionated (no? really?) about whether the black side or the white side is the best. Todd's cousin Josh requested an all-white black and white cookie. Is it even a black and white cookie anymore?? Haha. Clearly, you can see which side Todd falls into:

Todd took one bite, and I snatched the cookie out of his hand to take a picture.
It wasn't very nice of me, but he's sort of used to it

These cookies are a bit time-consuming, but they are surprisingly easy to make. I think some people are intimidated by the perfect side-by-side icing, so I'm going to show you, step-by-step, how it's done!

First, you make the dough. The cookie's texture more cake-like than cookie-like, so the dough is actually a pretty thin batter. So after everything is mixed in, it needs to chill in the fridge for an hour. Then I use an ice cream scoop to arrange the cookies on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Instead of leaving puffy globs of batter, I use the back of a spoon sprayed with Pam to flatten out the tops a bit.

After these are baked and completely cooled, it's time to frost. I first make a big batch of vanilla frosting and divide it in two. Then one half gets the addition of cocoa powder and a drizzle of water. The consistency needs to be thin, but not so thin that it won't stay put. Also, you have to make sure that the vanilla and chocolate are the same consistency so that they look good next to each other. You'll have to add water to the chocolate icing until it's the same as the vanilla. Once the icing is ready, spoon it into two small baggies.

Time to frost! Maybe this is totally obvious, but maybe it isn't --- you flip the cookies upside down and frost the flat bottom of the cookie. First, take the vanilla baggie and make a tiny snip in one corner. Maybe practice uniformly squeezing out the icing on a paper towel or something if you have never done this before. Grab a cookie, flip it over, and draw an outline of of the white side, like so:

Drawing an outline makes it easier to have symmetrical and precise sides. Then, squeeze the frosting into the middle and carefully spread it to the border with a small knife or off-sided spatula. It's sort of liking a coloring book where you draw the lines and get to color.

Do this with each cookie before moving to the chocolate side. Snip the chocolate baggie, create an outline, and fill in the chocolate side.

Let the frosting set for about 20-30 minutes. Pick your favorite side and enjoy!

Black and White Cookies (adapted from Martha Stewart and Epicurious)

1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup reduced fat buttermilk
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure lemon extract

2 cups confectioners sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla (clear vanilla would be best)
2 to 3 tablespoons water
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (high quality -- I use Ghiradelli)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. (I normally skip sifting when a recipe tells me to, but this a must do -- you want the flour light and airy)

In a medium bowl, whisk eggs and sugar until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add buttermilk, and whisk to combine. Whisk in melted butter and extracts. Add flour mixture, and stir to form a smooth dough. Cover with plastic wrap, and chill for about an hour.

Using an ice cream scoop, drop six globs of batter on each cookie sheet. With the back of a spoon sprayed with cooking spray, lightly flattened the tops. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until edges begin to brown. Transfer cookies to wire rack, keeping parchment paper under them. Let cool completely before you frost.

To Make Frosting

Combine confectioner's sugar, corn syrup, vanilla and one tbsp water. Whisk together. Slowly add more water until it's a smooth, spreadable (but not too thin) consistency. Transfer half of this frosting to another bowl and add cocoa powder and another tbsp of water. Add more water until it's the same consistency of the vanilla.

Frost cookies as directed above.

What I Really Eat: Sautéed Kale and White Bean Salad

2011-01-20T09:38:00.002-05:00

Today I realized that I might be painting an unrealistic picture of my life on this blog. For instance, you might think that Todd and I have gorged ourselves on ding dongs, tropical granola bars, pecan brownies and lemon poppy seed muffins all in the last week. While I did in fact bake all of those, that does not mean that our pantry looks like the Keebler Elves live here.

I do a pretty good job of getting it all out of my kitchen asap. The granola bars went to my co-workers, the brownies were for Raul, the ding-dong madeleines were a disaster so they went in the trash, and the lemon poppy seed muffins...well, those stayed here :)

We're actually very healthy eaters and love to exercise. Todd is almost constantly training for a marathon or triathlon, and I go to the gym or run outside 3-4 times per week. Actually, as I'm writing this, Todd has his bike trainer set up in the living room and he's cycling:

So from now on I'm going to try to give you a better idea of how I really eat. I never think of those things as being blog-worthy, but maybe you would enjoy them too!

First up, Sautéed Kale and White Bean Salad. I found some really nice-looking kale at the grocery store and decided to make it along with grilled chicken one night for dinner. Always buy three times the amount of kale that you think you need -- it cooks down to nothing! This much kale made maybe three servings:

I had never made kale before (other than a bad attempt at kale chips), so I sort of invented my own method of steaming/sauteing it. After I washed it and trimmed off the tough stems, I dropped a bunch in a hot non-stick skillet with about 1/2 cup of water. It wasn't quite doing anything, so I got a lid and covered it -- voila! It worked!

There was so much kale that I had to cook it in batches. Once it was all done, I put it all back in the pan and added a drizzle of olive oil, a can of white beans, sauteed red pepper and onion, pepper and a secret ingredient I got from my mom -- Better than Bouillon Vegetable Base. A tablespoon of this stuff goes a long way and makes anything it touches super savory and delicious. Love it.

Don't let the super green color of this dish scare you away. Kale is delicious and super healthy. You could also mix it with some spicy sausage and pasta if that's more up your alley. Todd had the leftovers for dinner the following night, and he loved it!

Sautéed Kale and White Bean Salad

2-3 big bunches of kale, washed and trimmed
1/2 cup water
1 red pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 15oz can white beans, drained and rinsed
2 tbsp Better than Bouillon Vegetable Base
olive oil
pepper

First, heat a large non-stick saute pan and add onions and peppers. Cook on medium high until soft. Set aside.

In the same hot non-stick pan, add 1/2 cup of water and then a large handful of kale. The water will start to steam the kale -- cover with a large lid to speed up the process. Once soft and wilted, set aside and repeat until rest of kale is ready.

Quickly (and carefully) pat dry the hot pan and drizzle with olive oil. Add the peppers, onions and kale. Stir in white beans. Finally, add pepper to taste and the bouillon. Stir gently until bouillon covers everything. Serve warm.

TWD: Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

2011-01-18T09:15:00.001-05:00

My pick for Tuesdays with Dorie is coming up in April (yay!!), and these lemon poppy seed muffins were going to be my pick! So obviously, I was pumped to bake these. Don't worry, I've come up with something else. I'm crossing my fingers that a certain recipe isn't picked in the next 2 months. :)

My apartment smells so freaking good right now. Especially in the dead of winter, it's so nice to have a lemony scent wafting around. It makes you feel like it might actually be above 25 degrees outside. Actually, Todd just walked in the door and said that we need a candle that smells like that.

The recipe comes together very fast, and I love any excuse to use my zester. You rub the sugar into the zest to get an aromatic lemon-sugar.

Then you just whisk the dry ingredients, whisk the wet ingredients and combine. It's a pretty thick batter, so I used my ice cream scoop to get it into the muffin tin. Once it's cooled, a simple glaze tops it off.

Check out Betsy's blog, A Cup of Sweetness, for the recipe!