Lisa's Cooking Adventures

Frosted Sugar Cookies - Lofthouse Style

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa D.) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 01:43:00 +0000

A few weeks ago, just before Christmas, I went to Stop and Shop at like 10:45pm to get snacks for Ryan's lunch. On the way to the register, I stopped at the table with the Lofthouse Sugar Cookies. I can't remember the last time I bought these - maybe for a moms' group event a few years ago. But I thought I remembered them being pretty much the best thing ever. Super sweet - like sweet enough to make your teeth hurt. In fact, whenever I hear that saying, I actually think of the Lofthouse cookies.

In the car on the way home I took one out of the package and it was NOT what I remembered. It had such a chemical taste that I actually checked to see if it was made with sugar substitute. It wasn't. For a second, I thought that maybe I should buy another package to make sure . . . but that would leave me with 24 giant frosted sugar cookies in the house, a diabetic husband, and a four year old who would probably try to live solely on the cookies for a week.

So I went home and looked them up . . . .and I found a million different "Homemade Lofthouse Sugar Cookie" recipes. I've meant to make these for three weeks, and never got around to it. Once I finally had a little time to bake, it was first on my list. I chose this recipe -- minus the cranberries - and I loved it! The icing isn't the same consistency as the storebought - it's better! Lighter because of the cream that's mixed in, not too sweet and just all around delicious.

I did have a little issue with the bottoms of the cookies browning, but that's just because of my oven, which is temperamental. I made the icing pink because that's my favorite color, but I think they would be perfect for Valentine's Day!

Lofthouse Frosted Sugar Cookies - Adapted from Life's Simple Measures

Ingredients:

Cookies:

6 c. all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 c. sugar

3 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1-1/2 c. sour cream

Buttercream Frosting:

1 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

4 c. powdered sugar

Pinch of salt

6 tbsp. heavy whipping cream

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

2. In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. Add vanilla extract and sour cream and beat at low speed until combined.

3. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and beat at low speed until combined (dough will be sticky).

4. Divide dough into two sections and flatten into 1-1/2-inch thick rectangles, then wrap with plastic wrap. Chill in refrigerator for at least two hours or overnight until firm.

5. Heat oven to 425°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

6. Place a piece of plastic wrap or wax paper on countertop and place dough on top. Lightly flour top of dough. Roll dough out to 1/4-inch thickness. Using a 2-1/2-inch cookie cutter, cut out circles and transfer to baking sheet.

7. Bake 7 to 8 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool completely.

8. For frosting, in a medium bowl, cream together butter and vanilla extract. Slowly beat in powdered sugar and salt. Once smooth and creamy, add heavy whipping cream, 1 tablespoon at a time. Then beat frosting at medium-high speed for 1 to 2 minutes or until light and fluffy.

9. Once cookies have cooled, frost cookies and decorate as desired.

Quick Carrot Ginger Soup

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa D.) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 02:03:00 +0000

Tonight, I was feeling lazy and Kevin and Ryan were both sick. I was just about to eat leftover Boston Market for dinner when I ran across this recipe and it looked too good to pass up. I am SO glad I made it because it was delicious and now I have lunch for the week!

I added in a bit of sour cream to the pot at the end, right before using the immersion blender. Also, I sprinkled the soup with cayenne pepper and that added a little kick . . . yum!

Simple Carrot Ginger Soup (from Whipped: The Blog)
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1/3 cup peeled and finely chopped ginger root
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 1/2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
Pinch curry powder (optional)
Salt & ground pepper
Optional Garnishes: plain yogurt or sour cream, chives or parsley

Heat olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add onion, ginger and garlic; saute for 5-10 minutes. Add the stock and carrots. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered over medium heat until the carrots are very tender, about 30 minutes. Puree the soup with an immersion blender or in batches in a blender or food processor. Season with curry powder, salt and pepper to taste. This soup may be served immediately, keeps in the refrigerator for at least 3 days and freezes well.

Quick Tortellini Soup

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa D.) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 01:08:00 +0000

So part of the reason why I've been blogging so much less is because I am under a ton of stress at work, and by the time I get home, the last thing I want to do is make "real" dinner. I saw this tortellini soup last week on Melissa's wonderful blog I Was Born to Cook and I knew right away it was perfect for the week before Christmas, when I am running around more than usual. I picked up a package of tortellini at Trader Joe's yesterday and threw this together for dinner tonight - despite working until 3:30, picking up Ryan, going to the pediatrician to pick up proof that Ryan had his flu shot, going to the grocery store to buy supplies for Cookie Day 2011 (more on that later this week!), and then going to three places to find stamps and a white shirt for Ryan's Christmas show. I got home at 6 and we were eating at 6:25. Not bad! Plus we have plenty of leftovers for later this week, when I really run out of time to cook. Thanks Melissa for a quick and easy dinner idea that Ryan LOVED.

Quick Tortellini Soup (Slightly adapted from I Was Born to Cook)
3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
2 celery stalks, peeled and sliced
1 bag baby spinach
6c chicken broth plus 2c water
1 package tortellini
1 package seasoning (optional - I used one from roasted chicken couscous)

Bring the broth and water to a boil. Turn it down to a simmer, add the carrots and celery and cook 8-10 minutes. Add spinach and tortellini and seasoning (if using) and cook according to package directions on tortellini. Serve with grated cheese and crusty bread.

Secret Recipe Club - Dulce de Leche!

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa D.) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +0000

It's Secret Recipe Club Day again! I've been a horrible blogger, so I feel bad for whomever has MY blog this month. But I had a wonderful blog assigned to me - Manu's Menu. Manu (actually Manuela) is from Italy but lives in Australia with her husband and two daughters. Reading her story made me feel like I have led the most boring life ever. I was born in New Brunswick (Central NJ), spent most of my life in Parsippany (Northern NJ) and now I live in Westwood (Northern NJ). That is it for me as far as living in different places. Unless you count college . . . when I lived in New Brunswick for four years. I have not traveled very far.

Anyway, so Manu's Menu. I actually ~~made~~ tried to make one of her macaron recipes early on in the month. Let's just say it was not a success, and it was 100% not a recipe problem. It was user error. It was a total disaster and there is no photographic evidence that it happened, which is great. So I was all ready to do an entry for SRC about what a mess I made out of this gorgeous recipe, when I saw THIS pop up yesterday. I've wanted to make dulce de leche forever and have never done it. So, yay!!! It worked, and now I am going to use it to fill Christmas cookies this week . . . I will post back here and let you know how that works out. But I did eat some of it . . . with a spoon . . . and it is amazing and so, so easy. Thanks SRC and Manuela for inspiring me to finally give this a try!

Potato-Parsnip Pancakes

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa D.) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 03:25:00 +0000

Photography (n.): The reason why this blog is never really going to be read by more than my mom and four of my friends.

That picture over there is like a new all-time low. My little point and shoot camera needs more light than what exists in my house. So that's my thumb, because I had to hold this plate up to our dining room chandelier in order to have enough light to see the food.

Anyway . . . these were so delicious and the addition of the parsnip made such a difference. I love parsnips anyway - in chicken soup, or roasted, or pureed with carrots - and so I knew I would like this but I wasn't sure they would taste too different from regular potato pancakes. They did, in the best way possible.

Potato-Parsnip Pancakes (Sort of my own recipe, based on an article I read about changing up potato pancakes)
3 large yukon gold potatoes, peeled and grated
2 large parsnips, peeled and grated
1 bunch scallions, chopped
2 eggs
1/2 c flour
salt and pepper
Sour Cream and/or applesauce for dipping

Mix the potatoes and parsnips together and get rid of excess water by either pressing them in a clean kitchen towel (I actually used paper towels, which is environmentally unfriendly, since I ended up using like a quarter of a roll) or draining them in a colander (or whatever other method you find on the internet to drain potatoes).

Add the eggs, scallions and flour and mix well. Heat oil in a heavy skillet and scoop out about 1/4 c of the batter at a time. Fry until golden brown on both sides.

Pasta Puttanesca

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa D.) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 23:44:00 +0000

I should HATE puttanesca sauce. It has olives, capers, and anchovies. I HATE all three of those things; yet somehow when they are cooked into pasta sauce . . . they are delicious. I first made this after seeing Rachael Ray make it and and talk about how anchovies, when cooked, don't taste like fish at all. (They don't. They don't really taste like anything but they make the sauce taste extra delicious! It's supposed to be a nutty flavor, and I am not sure that's what it tastes like to me . . . it's just really good.)

I made this tonight because Kevin is out He's not really eating carbs, and while you can cut out the carb portion of a lot of things, I feel kind of ridiculous giving him sauce without pasta.

A final note on this: I made it a few months ago and didn't have fresh parsley, so I used dried. If you don't have fresh . . . don't bother. Somehow it's 100 times better with fresh parsley!

Pasta Puttanesca (slightly adapted from Rachael Ray)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 to 6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tin anchovy fillets, rolled with capers
1 /2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 can of sliced black olives
1 (32-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
A few grinds black pepper
1/4 cup (a couple of handfuls) flat leaf parsley, chopped
Pasta (I used rigatoni)

Directions

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add oil, garlic, anchovies, and crushed pepper. Saute mixture until anchovies melt into oil and completely dissolve and garlic is tender, about 3 minutes: Add capers, tomatoes, black pepper, and parsley. Bring sauce to a bubble, reduce heat, and simmer 8 to 10 minutes.

Toss sauce with cooked pasta.

Secret Recipe Club: Bourbon Bramble

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa D.) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 11:00:00 +0000

Last month I explained how the Secret Recipe Club works. I had a great time this month reading through the stories and recipes from Kate of Kate's Kitchen. I absolutely loved reading the stories that go along with all of Kate's recipes, and that was actually my downfall this month - I could NOT choose what to make because I just kept reading, and reading, and reading! So Kate, if you have google analytics, you probably noticed like 1000 new hits from Northern NJ. Yes, that was me, reading every entry you have on your blog!

So when it came time to actually choose something to make, I had a few contenders. Kate's recipe for Glop kept catching my attention. I loved that it was something that she remembered from growing up - and it sounded strangely similar to a homemade hamburger helper-type dish that has kind of crept its way into my family's life -- usually known as crumbled chop meat, sometimes known by one of a few more, um, "colorful" four-letter words. And let's leave it at that, lest anyone find out just how quirky we really can be.

So more than once this month I wanted to make Glop. But the stars just never aligned for me on this one. I set out to make it one night, assuming that I MUST have a box of Kraft Mac and Cheese in the pantry. Nope! Another time, I forgot to defrost the meat. Things just were not working out between me and Glop. I had my last chance a few nights ago, and we ended up going to the diner instead. It wasn't meant to be. It's not you, Glop. It's us! We're disorganized and we don't grocery shop as often as we should!

In the end, I took the "easy" way out -- I made these drinks a few weeks ago after seeing them on Kate's blog, never thinking that these would actually be my SRC entry - just happy that the SRC led me to discover a new fall drink. One that allowed me to trick Kevin into drinking - and ENJOYING -- the St. Germain liqueur that I bought over the summer, swore I would drink in champagne cocktails every Sunday for the rest of my life, and ended up forgetting for three months. It's a Bourbon Bramble. It was a perfect compromise between Kevin (a huge fan of Maker's Mark) and me (obsessive over weird liqueurs that are only good for one girly drink). I got to use St. Germain as well as creme de cassis, another champagne cocktail ingredient that I am happy to discover is useful for more than just a Kir Royale.

As the month flew by, the Bourbon Bramble ended up being my SRC choice. But Kate -- please be assured that Glop will one day find its way onto our table. And your blog has definitely become a regular read for me.

Bourbon Bramble (from Kate's Kitchen for the Secret Recipe Club)

1 oz bourbon
1 oz elderflower liqueur
1/2 oz creme de cassis
splash of lemon juice

Directions:

Mix in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake, shake, shake until it's too cold to hold. Strain into rocks glasses filled with ice.

Happy Blog-iversary to Me, Part 3: Sweet Potato Biscuits

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa D.) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 14:21:00 +0000

I don't know why, but I didn't get a picture of these biscuits by themselves. So here is one biscuit, on the edge of my Blog-iversary dinner plate.

I have to say that Paula kind of over-bills these biscuits by calling them "Fluffy Sweet Potato Biscuits". At first I thought it was some kind of baking mistake, since they weren't really fluffy at all. They weren't hockey pucks, either, but fluffy . . . not really.

When I looked at the link online, I saw that the biscuits on the food network website didn't really look different from mine. I had been picturing these giant, lighter-than-air biscuits. These were neither giant nor fluffy. They were thoroughly FINE though. Nothing exciting. (Then again, I might have just been so amazed by the pomegranate brussels sprouts that anything else paled in comparison.)

By the way, it's worth mentioning that I baked my sweet potato in the microwave - five minutes and it was done! I had too much going on in the oven to bake a potato, so I had to take a shortcut.

Fluffy (?) Sweet Potato Biscuits - Paula Deen

3/4 cup cooked mashed sweet potato (about 1 large sweet potato)
1/3 to 1/2 cup whole milk, as needed
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small bits

Directions

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet (with butter, oil or cooking spray).

In a small bowl, whisk together the sweet potato and 1/3 cup milk. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in the butter with your hands, a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the sweet potato mixture and fold gently to combine. Add the remaining milk a little at a time until all the flour is moistened. The amount of milk you will need will depend on the moisture of the sweet potato.

Sprinkle a small handful of flour on a work surface. Turn the dough out onto the surface and knead lightly 2 to 3 times with the palm of your hand until the mixture comes together. Pat the dough out into a 1/2-inch-thick round.

Using a 2 1/2-inch-round biscuit cutter, cut the dough into biscuits. Gently reroll the scraps and cut out more biscuits. Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet and bake until light golden brown and firm to the touch, 12 to 14 minutes. Serve these fluffy biscuits warm or at room temperature.

Happy Blog-iversary to Me! Part 2: Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pomegranate and Hazelnuts

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa D.) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 14:11:00 +0000

These brussels sprouts, I think, are the reason why Bobby Flay is my Food Network Boyfriend. They. Were. Amazing. I love roasted brussels sprouts, I love pomegranates, I love hazelnuts. Combine these three together and you have the PERFECT vegetable side dish for a holiday or any time that you want to impress anyone. It's so, so pretty and it's really delicious too. Of course, there are some issues: (1) lots of people have a fear of brussels sprouts; (2) getting the seeds out of a pomegranate isn't all that easy - and (3) I tend to have issues with toasting nuts without burning them, although I did fine this time - but I love them and it's worth the work.

The ONLY thing was that I couldn't find pomegranate molasses, so I bought some pomegranate juice and boiled it down until it was a little syrupy, then poured it over the sprouts. The molasses might be amazing, but I've never tried it, so to me this was fine.

I am already planning to make this for Christmas. It absolutely made my blog-iversary dinner special, and I'm already craving it again.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pomegranate and Hazelnuts (from Food Network Magazine, Nov. 2011)
1 1/4 pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
2 tablespoons canola oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
Seeds from 1 pomegranate
1/2 cup coarsely chopped toasted hazelnuts
Finely grated zest of 1 lime
1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Put the Brussels sprouts in a medium roasting pan; toss with the canola oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven until light golden brown and a knife inserted into the centers goes in without any resistance, about 45 minutes.

Transfer the sprouts to a large bowl and add the pomegranate molasses, pomegranate seeds, hazelnuts, and lime and orange zests. Season with salt as needed.

Happy Blog-iversary to Me! Part 1: Cranberry Walnut Relish

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa D.) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 21:09:00 +0000

I really can't believe I have been doing this blog for a year! In the beginning I think I had some weird idea that I was going to become the next Pioneer Woman . . . which quickly got ruled out when a good 50% of my blog posts were about what I did WRONG in the kitchen. I don't have the personality for self-promotion, and as a result my blog has evolved more into a place for me to keep my recipes with my "comments" on each one. I love when people comment on my posts (on the blog itself or in real life) but my cooking is not quite up to cult following status yet. And my pictures . . .well, they're not professional quality either.

BUT - it has been so much fun doing this blog for the past year! I have tried tons of things that I never even thought of doing before and I have gained so much confidence in the kitchen, it's unbelievable. I have even found myself cooking WITHOUT A RECIPE on quite a few occasions lately.

So for my blog-iversary this weekend, I picked out a few fall recipes from this month's Food Network Magazine, and then made my own main dish. I am going to blog all three this week, and the first is the easiest: it's Food Network Magazine's "Copy That" recipe for November 2011, Almost Famous Cranberry Walnut Relish (based on the Boston Market recipe).

This is super easy, like most cranberry sauce recipes: combine cranberries, orange zest, walnuts, water and sugar in a saucepan and cook on medium. It couldn't be any easier or tastier. I know that not everyone likes "real" cranberry sauce, but I really do and this recipe was so simple and really sweet-tart and good. Mine came out chunkier than the Boston Market version, which was by choice -- I left the walnut pieces a little on the large side and didn't cook the cranberries for too long -- and it was a little more orange-y (again, my choice). I also added in half a cup of water with the other ingredients, just based upon how it looked compared to other cranberry sauce recipes I've made.

If you like homemade cranberries, this is a must-try!

Cranberry-Walnut Relish (from Food Network Magazine November 2011)
1 orange
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries (about 8 ounces)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup chopped walnut pieces
1/2 c water

Finely grate the zest of half of the orange into a medium saucepan, then squeeze in all of the juice. Add the cranberries, sugar, water and walnuts and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens and the cranberries start to pop, about 8-10 minutes. Let cool.

Gingered Carrot Parsnip Puree

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa D.) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 15:15:00 +0000

So many people love fall. So much to look forward to - apples, pumpkins, cooler weather, pretty leaves on the trees, sweaters and boots, Halloween and Thanksgiving, our Jets tickets . . . lots of reasons to love the fall. Including this Rachael Ray Thanksgiving recipe, which highlights a weird reason why I love fall: parsnips! I know I could use them any time of year, but for whatever reason, I use them pretty much only in the fall or winter.

This bright orange puree (which had a consistency kind of like pumpkin pie filling) was super delicious. It's pretty healthy, too - there's butter in here, two tablespoons for 8 servings, but I bet you could cut it down and not even notice the difference. And the ginger flavor was maybe the best part - not too overwhelming but you could definitely taste it in there. We will be making this often.

One "tip" I would offer is that I always find that whole carrots have a sweeter flavor than baby carrots do - so I'd recommend using the whole ones for this recipe. That might just be personal preference, but I think they have a different taste and I really liked it in here.

Gingered Carrot Parsnip Puree (From Every Day with Rachael Ray)

1 lb. carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
1 lb. parsnips, peeled and thinly sliced
3 slices (¼ inch thick) peeled fresh ginger
2 tbsp. light brown sugar
2 tbsp. rice
Salt
2 tbsp. butter
Chopped chives, for garnish

In a large saucepan, combine the carrots, parsnips, ginger, brown sugar, rice and ¼ tsp. salt. Add enough water to cover by 2 inches and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.

Drain the vegetables, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. In a blender, in batches if necessary, puree the vegetables with ½ cup cooking liquid. Add the butter and 1 tsp. salt; add more cooking liquid for a thinner puree. Transfer to a serving dish and top with the chives.

Sauteed Green Beans with Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa D.) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 15:46:00 +0000

So in my last post I mentioned that we got a bunch of Thanksgiving recipes from Rachael Ray's magazine. This was one of them and it was a great variation on green beans with almonds - using pumpkin seeds instead of almonds.

We went to get a pumpkin on Saturday afternoon, and I had this great idea that we would use the seeds from our pumpkin to make these green beans. But then I started to think . . . we would have to move around our whole day so that we'd be home early enough to carve the pumpkin, roast the seeds, and then make our entire dinner. Also, the recipe wanted hulled pumpkin seeds, and I am not an expert but I guess that means they need to be removed from their shells. (That's what my mother said to me, anyway, when we were discussing how to do this). So I ended up buying them instead. They are packaged as pepitas. It was kind of an accident that I figured that out, but it was a lucky accident, because these were delicious!

We didn't have any coriander, though, so after googling "coriander substitutions" and basically finding out that there is NO substitute for coriander, we ended up using something that I have never heard of before - celery flakes. I know that celery seed exists, and celery salt, but I had no idea that you could buy dried flakes of celery. You can! The internet told me it was a good substitute, McCormick's makes it, my mom had it, and so we were all set.

This was really good - the pumpkin seed topping and the dill made it really different and delicious. The flavors were perfect together. I thought this would be a great way to make a normal dinner a little fancier - perfect for company.

Green Beans with Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
- From Every Day with Rachael Ray, November 2011

1 tbsp. EVOO
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
¾ tsp. ground coriander
¼ cup hulled pumpkin seeds
1½ lbs. green beans
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
Coarse salt
¼ cup chopped fresh dill

DIRECTIONS

In a large skillet, heat the EVOO over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the coriander, then add the pumpkin seeds and cook until lightly toasted, about 3 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling water, cook the green beans until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and transfer to a serving bowl.
Pour the pumpkin seed mixture over the beans. Add the lemon juice and ¾ tsp. salt; toss to coat. Add the dill and toss again.

Chocolate Martini

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa D.) — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 15:30:00 +0000

Tonight we had a little fake Thanksgiving at my mom's house, inspired by the new issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray. I tried a bunch of new side dish recipes - most of them came out really great, and all of them will be blogged in the next week or so - and I couldn't do a big meal without doing a fun drink to go along with it. Even though the magazine was full of fall drink recipes (including "Spider", Rachael's nickname for spiked cider . . . hmm, the verdict isn't in on that one yet. Not sure what I think of that.) I wanted something that felt a little more holiday-ish. This was perfect.

A word of warning: it was very strong. All three ingredients have alcohol in them, and I guess to cut it down a little you could add milk - since it's made with Bailey's, that would probably work. I loved it as-is though.

Chocolate Martini (makes 2)
Vodka
Bailey's or other irish cream liqueur
Creme de Cacao (I used regular, although you could use the "white" or clear version as well)
Chocolate, for garnish

In a cocktail shaker, combine 4 shots (6oz) of vodka, 2 shots (3oz) of Bailey's, and 2 shots (3oz) of Creme de Cacao. Shake with ice. Strain into two martini glasses and shave chocolate on top.

Asian Chicken Pizza

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa D.) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 23:50:00 +0000

I've gotten lots of dinner ideas from my friend Lauren's wonderful blog, Lauren's Kitchen. But I have to say, this one may be my favorite! This came from another blog I follow, Stephanie Cooks - I saw it and liked it on there a while ago, but somehow didn't think to make it until I ran across it this weekend on Lauren's Kitchen.

This pizza was SO delicious. It was kind of similar to California Pizza Kitchen's Thai Chicken Pizza, which is one of my favorites. I forgot to put sesame seeds on here, and added in a bunch of cilantro with the scallions (since I cannot make anything without cilantro lately).

I bought my dough in the refrigerator section of Shop Rite (near the cheese and butter), and made sure to use a good amount of olive oil to stretch the dough on my pizza pan. I've had issues in the past with the dough being way too small for our 16" pizza pan, and either this was a bigger dough portion than usual, or the olive oil really worked to allow the dough to stretch. Either way this was a major success. (Well, for me anyway. Ryan wouldn't touch it because it was completely covered in "green things". He has had a ROUGH time lately since I've become more obsessed with cilantro than usual. I normally try to set some food aside for him without green stuff, but I forgot tonight. So he had an orange, two mozzarella sticks, and two crackers with peanut butter. Kid dinner fail!)

Asian Chicken Pizza

from Lauren's Kitchen, as found on Stephanie Cooks

Pizza dough

5 ounces of chicken, chopped into small pieces

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (less or more depending on how hot you want it)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

2 1/2 tbsp. honey

3/4 cup rice wine vinegar OR apple cider vinegar

1 cup mozzarella cheese

Olive oil

Sesame seeds (optional)

2 tbsp. sliced green onion (I also added cilantro - LOTS of it)

Preheat the oven to 450.

Combine the red pepper flakes, garlic, soy sauce, honey, and vinegar. Stir well, set aside.

In a small skillet cook the chicken. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Pour the sauce mixture into the pan. Heat over medium heat until it thickens and becomes syrup like, about 10 minutes. Add the chicken, toss well.

Form the dough. Top with a drizzle of olive oil, rubbing to coat the dough.

Top with the chicken/glaze mixture. Make sure it's evenly coating the dough.

Top with the cheese and sprinkle with sesame seeds if using.

Bake 10-12 minutes. Top with green onion (and cilantro!). Serve hot.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa D.) — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 02:11:00 +0000

I think that I am finally "the" office baker. Today I received three emails and two drop in visits asking if I was the one behind the baked goods. Compliments are always nice, although I guess I should want compliments on my work (since that's what I am getting paid for) rather than on my Kitchenaid Stand Mixer skills. But I am the very same person who once told a judge that I wanted to open a cupcake store if the lawyer thing didn't work out, so you can understand why I love the compliments.

(For the record, I wasn't in court at the time, just on a conference call. And it was very relevant to the conversation. I swear.)

So pumpkin snickerdoodles. Delicious! I subbed pumpkin pie spice in for the cinnamon/nutmeg/ginger in both the cookie dough and the coating. Otherwise I followed the recipe to the letter, and I love the result. This is another recipe that's kind of making its way through the food blogs that I read, so I am excited to add in my take on it.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles (slightly modified from Annie's Eats)

Yield: about 3-4 dozen cookies
Ingredients:
For the cookies:
3¾ cups all-purpose flour
1½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 t pumpkin pie spice
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
¾ cup pumpkin puree
1 large egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract

For the coating:
½ cup granulated sugar
2t pumpkin pie spice

Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Whisk to blend and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugars on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Blend in the pumpkin puree. Beat in the egg and vanilla until incorporated. With the mixer on low speed add in the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Cover and chill the dough for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Combine the sugar and spices for the coating in a bowl and mix to blend. Scoop the dough (about 2½ tablespoons) and roll into a ball. Coat the dough ball in the sugar-spice mixture and place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough to fill the sheets, spacing the dough balls 2-3 inches apart. Dip the bottom of a flat, heavy-bottomed drinking glass in water, then in the sugar-spice mixture, and use the bottom to flatten the dough balls slightly. Recoat the bottom of the glass in the sugar-spice mixture as needed.

Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until just set and baked through. Let cool on the baking sheets about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough. Store in an airtight container.

Manchego, Pear and Fig Panini

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa D.) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 02:05:00 +0000

This is basically a fancy grilled cheese sandwich. But it's SO much better than just a grilled cheese. The cheese is so buttery and salty, the pears add a little texture and sweetness that's not overwhelming . . . but the FIG SPREAD makes the entire sandwich. Don't even bother making this without the fig spread.

This was something I made knowing that Kevin was going to work late - it's not his kind of dinner. In fact, when I told him what I had, he just said, "Oh . . . " Also, since he's diabetic, he would prefer not to waste carbs on something that he doesn't love.

That's fine . . more for me!

Manchego, Pear and Fig Panini (Makes 1)
2 thick slices manchego cheese
1/2 pear (I used bosc), sliced, skin on
2T fig spread
1 long sub roll
2T butter

Slice roll, leaving a hinge on one side. Spread with fig spread, layer on cheese and pear slices. Heat butter in a pan, add sandwich to pan, and press with a cast-iron skillet. Cook 2-3 minutes, flip and press on opposite side for 2-3 minutes.

Secret Recipe Club - Hummingbird Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa D.) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 11:00:00 +0000

This month, for the first time, I took part in a fun food blogging exchange called the Secret Recipe Club. You apply to take part in the SRC, and on your assignment day they send you a link to the blog of another SRC participant. You can then choose any recipe from that blog, but you don't post or let the blogger know that you were assigned their blog until the "reveal day", when all of the participating bloggers post simultaneously and "reveal" their recipe.

The blog that I received in the exchange was www.ugogrrl.com. Susan lives in Nebraska, but is originally from Texas - and right away I was intrigued. I love the idea of Texas cooking, because I immediately think of Mexican food, which I LOVE. I saw in the tags on the left side of the blog that she had a LOT of Mexican recipes, and I was excited - I was sure I would end up making one of those. I had it narrowed down to two or three possibilities when a new post popped up - Hummingbird Cake. I had never heard of hummingbird cake until someone I work with mentioned how much she loved it a few months ago. I'd had it in the back of my mind as something I'd like to try, and so I knew right away -- this would be perfect for my family birthday dinner.

I made this at my mom's house, and as you can see - it's not technically a cake. My mom isn't a huge baker, although she is definitely a great cook, and somehow she's made it through 30+ years of cooking without layer cake pans. So I turned it into cupcakes, which I usually like better than cake anyway.

These cupcakes were fabulous. You could taste every one of the ingredients -- pineapple, coconut, pecans, bananas, cinnamon -- so delicious. I absolutely love cream cheese frosting, and I actually added in a spoonful of brown sugar to give the frosting a little extra flavor.

Thanks so much, Susan, for inspiring me to finally make a Hummingbird Cake! And of course, thanks to the ladies at the Secret Recipe Club for letting me take part in such a fun exchange.

Crockpot Shredded Beef Tacos

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa D.) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 02:35:00 +0000

Another crockpot recipe. Another taco recipe. I am getting a little repetitive lately, I think.

But . . .this one is different that the usual because IT WORKED. In the crockpot. Wow. (Of course, my picture is still a little odd, since I didn't feel like using my box grater, and so I grated my cheese with a microplane meant for zesting lemons. Oops!)

I guess I finally figured out what a lot of other people would probably have realized ages ago: I needed to more than quadruple the amount of liquid that the recipe called for, so that my slow cooker would not incinerate the meat. I was a little worried because I read a comment on the original recipe, something about how the meat becomes tough if it just boils in liquid in the cooker. But even though I used four cups of beef stock instead of 3/4 cup (and doubled the spices too) the meat was fine. Better than fine - it was delicious!

My mom makes shredded beef tacos in the pressure cooker, and I think I still like hers better, but this was a good imitation. Now I want to go back and try all of the recipes that everyone RAVES about and I tried and hated - being sure to multiply the liquid ingredients by four. Crockpot meals for everyone this fall!!! :)

Shredded Beef for Tacos (adapted from Elly Says Opa!)
1 (2 lb.) boneless beef roast

1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 Tbsp. tomato paste
4 cups beef broth
1 tsp. parsley
4 tsp. chili powder (I use a hot version)
3 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. cayenne
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. oregano

Heat a large, heavy bottomed skillet over medium high heat, and add the oil. Sprinkle the beef roast liberally with salt and pepper. Once the oil is hot, add the roast to the pan and brown on all sides, about 2 minutes per side. Place in the crockpot.

To the pan, add the onion and cook for about 2 minutes before stirring in garlic and tomato paste. After another minute, stir in the beef broth and spices. Scrape up any browned bits, and then pour the seasoned broth and onions over the top of the roast.

Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Shred with a fork. (To soak up any extra liquid, you can turn the crockpot to high for a little bit after shredding the beef.)

(Note: I cooked on low for 6.5 hours, put it in the refrigerator for 8 hours, shredded the meat, and put it back in the crockpot for 1 hour on high. But my crockpot is kind of crazy and I think most people will be OK with 8-10 hours.)

Wild Hibiscus Champagne Cocktail

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa D.) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 02:22:00 +0000

From www.wildhibiscus.com

How fun is this?! My brother, sister-in-law and niece gave me these Wild Hibiscus Flowers. They come with a recipe booklet, but the obvious way for me to use them: champagne cocktails. The flowers are really cool looking, and the syrup that they come in is flavored with strawberry and rhubarb, and turns the drink a pretty pink color.

I loved it. Perfect for a girls' brunch, or for drinks before going out . . . or for eating Eggo waffles and watching the Jets win big over the Jaguars this afternoon :)

Apple Dip

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa D.) — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 02:34:00 +0000

I am afraid that, now that I know that this dip exists. I might just make it for myself and eat the entire thing at midnight on a random weeknight . . . even without the apples (removing any pretense of it being a nutritious snack). It's way too simple, way too delicious, and does not require a trip to the store or anything.

Ryan's theme in school this week was apples, and one of the things they did was to taste-test red, green, and yellow apples. His favorite was green - I think because green is his favorite color, rather than because he actually loves the taste of granny smith apples. But whatever the reason, in the supermarket on Thursday and again today he was really interested in looking at the different apples and talking about them. While we were parked in the apple section today, I remembered that I'd heard of some kind of cream cheese dip for apples, and I looked it up. Like I said, it was beyond simple and everyone who tried it today loved it.

We're going apple picking soon and I can't wait to make this again. In the description, the person who sent this into Allrecipes mentions that you can change up the cream cheese or add in anything you want but I thought it was perfect as-is.

APPLE DIP

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Stir together the cream cheese, brown sugar, and vanilla extract until the sugar has dissolved, and the mixture is smooth.

Crockpot Fail: Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa D.) — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 03:22:00 +0000

Surprise! I made something in my slow cooker that turned out overcooked, dry, and pretty much tasteless. That's more like it . . . I knew that the fabulous chicken taco chili from last week had to be a fluke.

Last night at 8pm I put my chicken, Frank's Hot Sauce, and ranch dressing packet into the crockpot. This recipe is super easy and requires no pre-cooking, which I like. As I was stirring I got nervous. It wasn't nearly enough liquid. The directions said to cook it for 6-8 hours on low. So I put it on and since the low options are either 8 hours or 10 hours, and since my crockpot thinks that the "warm" setting is another way of saying ridiculous microwave-like cooking, I set my alarm to wake me up at 2:00 in the morning. I got out of bed at 2am (completely blind - I really need to have glasses, not just contacts) and turned it off. I took the plug out and removed the ceramic insert and put it on the counter so that it REALLY wouldn't keep cooking at all. But that wasn't enough. I put the chicken in the refrigerator this morning, figuring that I should do EXACTLY what I had done with the chicken chili. But this time it was too late. The meat was dried out and had a kind of flavorless spicy-hot taste.

It wasn't good.

If I was going to try this again, I might either: (1) cook it for four hours rather than six; or (2) increase the liquid - but not by adding more hot sauce. Maybe chicken broth? I don't know. If anyone has any suggestions, please add a comment. I am so burnt out (pun intended!) on crock pot cooking. I WANT TO LIKE YOU, slow cooker. But I just don't. . .

Tequila Lime Shrimp Tacos

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa D.) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 01:53:00 +0000

Why am I posting these pictures? One guess. That's right, because my pictures of our dinner tonight are awful. Beyond awful. They are really, really bad. And this recipe for Tequila Lime Shrimp Tacos, like many of the recipes I write about here, deserves better than a dimly lit cell phone picture taken after we've already eaten 75% of the meal. So instead, I have pictures of the three main ingredients: shrimp, tequila and limes. Yum!

Wendy at The Weekend Gourmet references the book that this recipe came from: 300 Best Taco Recipes. I think this might be something I need to buy ASAP. Because I absolutely loved these tacos. I followed the directions to brine the shrimp, and I really did taste a difference. Their texture was really nice and they had a ton of flavor. I think the brine allows the shrimp to soak in more of the flavor from the sauce. They didn't taste like tequila actually, since the sauce cooked for a bit. They were just really lime-y and good. The sour cream and lime sauce (I skipped the mayo since neither of us love it) made the whole dish. So two pieces of advice: do the brine, and make the sour cream sauce.

Oh and another piece of advice, one which I did NOT follow: make margaritas to drink with these tacos. And buy Tostitos. I was really tempted, but I went food shopping ($$$), bought Ryan's gym uniforms ($$$) and went to Target ($$$$$$$) today, and then I used my last bit of tequila in the sauce for the shrimp, so going back out to buy chips and more tequila ($$$) wasn't in the cards for me today. Next time. I promise myself, next time I will have margaritas with these tacos.

Crockpot Chicken Taco Chili - Skinny Taste

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa D.) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 02:22:00 +0000

For one reason or another, I have been resisting this crockpot chicken taco chili recipe forever. I love chicken chili. I love tacos. I love weight watchers, and this recipe is only 4 points for 1-1/4 cups of chili. And (as you know if you've read the first month or so of entries I did back in October 2010) I really want to love the crockpot.

But as you ALSO know if you have been reading since the beginning, the crockpot and I do not get along. I have had more disasters with that thing than I care to remember. I think that recipe I linked back to was the day I decided that the crockpot was not going to work for me. I may have tried a few more things but it was obvious that we were going to have to go on a break from slow-cooking, and we did, for a LONG time.

I ran across this recipe yesterday afternoon. I know tons of people have made the chicken taco chili and raved about it. So this week, we have been running around like crazy. We're getting used to our new house (and new supermarket. Food shopping takes twice as long when you don't know your supermarket) and this was Ryan's first week at his new school. My paralegal was on vacation this week, so work was crazier than usual. This was the PERFECT week to try the slow-cooker again.

I AM SO GLAD I DID.

This chili is amazing. And low points, so I didn't even feel (that) guilty that we basically used it as a dip for Tostitos. It wasn't too spicy, so even Ryan didn't have anything to complain about. It just had a nice mild taco flavor. I cooked it overnight (for only 8 hours on low, rather than 10, to try to avoid drying out the meat), then turned it off right when the 8 hours was up. I let it sit on the counter for an hour until I left for work, when I put it in the refrigerator. When I got home I took it out, shredded the chicken, and added everything back together and set the crockpot on warm for about an hour. PERFECT.

Every other meat dish that I have ever made this way was a dried out, shriveled, overcooked mess. This was perfect. It was just like I've always read other people describing their slow coked dishes. I FINALLY get it - why so many people are crockpot obsessed. I feel like I want to make this once a week and bring leftovers for lunch every day. We'll see how long this lasts . . .

Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili
(Adapted from Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes - www.skinnytaste.com
Servings: 10 \ Size: 1 1/4 cups • Old Points: 3 pts • Points+: 5 pts
Calories: 203.7 • Fat: 1.4 g • Carb: 33.3 g • Fiber: 10.0 g • Protein: 16.9 g

1 onion, chopped
1 16-oz can black beans
1 16-oz can kidney beans
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
1 15-oz can corn
2 14.5-oz cans diced tomatoes
1 small can diced green chiles
1 packet taco seasoning
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
24 oz (3-4) boneless skinless chicken breasts

Combine beans, onion, chili peppers, corn, tomatoes, tomato sauce, chiles, cumin, chili powder and taco seasoning in a slow cooker. Place chicken on top and cover. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 6 hours. Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. Warm in slow cooker for an hour or until heated through.

Linguini and Shrimp with Lemon Oil

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa D.) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 01:37:00 +0000

Giada. On the one hand, I can't stand to hear her over-enunciating all of her Italian words. She's always making weird faces. She's way too skinny to be a convincing chef.

But then . . .I always like her food. This shrimp pasta was no exception. I love arugula and I love shrimp sauteed in garlic. The lemon oil was PERFECT drizzled over the pasta - light and exactly what I had in mind for dinner tonight.

Unfortunately, this was kind of a fancy-ish dish (not hard to make and didn't take a long time, but it has a special-occasion feel to it) and I chose to make it and bought all the ingredients before I found out that Kevin was working late. Ryan is getting picker (if that's even possible) so I had to take out some plain pasta and throw butter on it. That meant that it was me, sitting at the dining room table with this gorgeous looking pasta bowl and a glass of wine, while Ryan sat next to me complaining because the pasta "wasn't shaped like anything" - it was linguine that I cut up for him.

This seemed like it would be good for a small dinner party with white wine and really great bread. It was also delicious for a random weeknight, but I felt like it wasn't getting enough attention tonight. Either way I think this recipe is exactly the kind of thing I think of when I think of Giada's cooking - light, Italian, and really good.

(I am going to add in one more picture because I love the way this looks:)

Linguini with Shrimp and Lemon Oil - Wilting the Arugula

Adventures in Dining Out: Andiamo in Haworth, NJ

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa D.) — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 15:16:00 +0000

As I mentioned yesterday, we've been in more restaurants in the past two weeks than probably the rest of 2011. I am not crazy about that - mainly because that means Ryan could go for days eating nothing but mac and cheese and drinking chocolate milk for every meal. I know we could obviously go healthier for him, but when you are paying for it as you are eating rather than once a week at the grocery store, it seems like a waste to order something that we KNOW he won't eat.

My birthday was on Saturday and we were going back and forth on whether we wanted to get something quick and easy and cheap (since we've been spending tons on food) or if we wanted to do a normal birthday dinner - meaning a nicer place. This was complicated by the fact that this area is sort of new to us - it's further north than either of us have ever lived before, so although we are 10 minutes from the house where Kevin grew up, there are lots of other towns that are 10 minutes in the opposite direction that we really don't know that well. Early in the day we went to Ryan's absolute favorite park, which is in one of the tiny northeast Bergen County towns that I don't really know at all - Haworth. It used to be a huge pain to go there since it was like 45 minutes (with traffic of course) to get there from Wood-Ridge, but now that it's only a 10 minute drive, I don't have an excuse not to go. I mentioned this park to my friend a few months ago, and she said that if we went there we should go to Andiamo for pizza. So as we were deciding where to eat I remembered that conversation and looked them up . . . and we ended up there, because it seemed family friendly and not too expensive, and the food sounded good too.

Before I tell you what I thought of it, I have to describe Kevin's reaction. He was highly suspicious of the process by which I chose this restaurant. This is for a variety of reasons, most of which are going to bore you to death if I try to describe them. So he wasn't into it at all, and then we got there early - at 5:30 - and there were FOUR cars in the parking lot. This caused a five minute discussion about whether we should go somewhere else. In the car, I looked the place up on Yelp and found mostly good reviews so we went in over his protests. But . . . HE LOVED IT. It was totally his kind of place. The owner talks the ears off of all the customers, and Kevin ordered a pasta dish with hot sausage and cherry peppers that actually caused him to sweat. You'd think that was a bad thing, but apparently not in this case. Then we ordered dessert and they had tartufo on the menu. That sealed it. There is nothing Kevin loves more than tartufo. (If you've never had it, it's ice cream with cherries and nuts in the middle, all covered in chocolate - like magic shell. Kevin is a tartufo connoisseur, if there is such a thing.)

All those things I just described are actually likely - when combined - to make me like a place less. I usually just want to eat and talk to Kevin and Ryan - and not have to be "on" and laugh at someone else's jokes. But this was not too stressful. The owner seemed genuinely nice and interested in what we thought about the food. I did order pizza - margherita, actually - and it was REALLY good. I don't usually love thin crust pizza but this one was great! Not too much cheese, and really good sauce. For dessert they had a chocolate pudding special that Ryan said he wanted - but he ended up eating more of Kevin's tartufo and I loved the pudding which had coconut and almonds and was really good.

My favorite part of the entire meal was my dessert martini. YUM. I don't know exactly what was in it - the dessert menu wasn't on the website, so I couldn't check - but I know it was Van Gogh chocolate vodka, Baileys, and Godiva liqueur, with a few other things in there too. Oh my goodness. I would go back for pizza and chocolate martinis anytime.

(I should add that for what we had, it was a little expensive. Kevin's dinner, a special, was almost $25. But if we'd stuck to pizzas like we had planned, it would have been completely reasonable. I don't think I've ever ordered a special - for exactly that reason - in any restaurant. I am too cheap!)

We liked Andiamo a lot and will definitely be back - absolutely worth a try if you're in the area.