Savoring Time in the Kitchen

Creamy Orange Yogurt Pops

noreply@blogger.com (SavoringTime in the Kitchen) — Tue, 29 May 2012 19:44:00 +0000

I hope you all enjoyed a great weekend. If you live in the U.S., I hope you had a wonderful, long Memorial Day weekend with lots of outdoor time with friends and family! I know tropical storm Beryl messed up a lot of weekend holiday plans in the southeastern states and here in the Midwest, it was HOT with near record high temperatures!

Knowing what was in the forecast for the weekend, I decided something frozen and cooling was in order. I had just seen this recipe in the latest issue of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food but there are slight variations on this theme here, here, and here.

As much as these were extremely tasty, I think that next time I make them, I would dilute the orange juice concentrate just a little or use regular yogurt instead of the Greek yogurt that I used - both of which led to delicious but powerful flavors. Great for adults, but a little too intense for my not quite 3-year-old grandson.

PS: On a personal note, I've decided to enjoy our short, Midwest summer season as much as possible this year. I'm not going away but I won't be joining in any food links for a while and, if you don't see a post from me every single week, it's because I'm outside playing :) A computer-cation, you might say.

Creamy Orange Yogurt Pops

Adapted from Everyday Food - June, 2012 Issue
Printable Recipe

1 cup thawed orange juice concentrate
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups full-fat plain yogurt (I used Greek yogurt)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Combine orange juice concentrate and sugar in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir over heat until sugar is dissolve, about 3-4 minutes. Add yogurt and vanilla to orange juice mixture and stir to combine.

Transfer to a pitcher or measuring bowl with pouring spout and pour into ice-pop molds and insert sticks. Freeze until solid, about 6 hours (or can be kept frozen for a week in advance).

Briefly run molds under hot water to release pops.

Depending on the size of your molds, this will make 6-10 pops.

My Notes: Next time, I would probably dilute the orange juice concentrate just a little and instead of Greek yogurt, I would try regular yogurt.

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Quinoa Pilaf and Gardening

noreply@blogger.com (SavoringTime in the Kitchen) — Thu, 17 May 2012 20:49:00 +0000

Here is a delicious and healthy side dish that will go with almost anything. I recently served it with grilled chicken and have also served it with grilled fish. Now that gardening season is here in the Midwest, I'm enjoying light and healthy meals that are easy to prepare. I put my husband on grill duty and I prepare a simple side dish or salad. If I end up MIA for a week or two, just know that I am digging and planting :)

I really like the Ancient Harvest brand of quinoa that I find at my local grocery store because it is pre-washed and there is no rinsing necessary. For those of you who have still not gotten on the quinoa bandwagon, this is a delicious and easy way to get your feet wet. It was the first thing I tried making with quinoa. I love the chewy texture and nutty flavor! And, it is gluten free.

Quinoa Pilaf

Recipe adapted from Ancient Harvest Quinoa
Printable Recipe

Serves 4

1/2 cup carrots, diced
1/2 cup green onion, sliced thin using some of the green part
1/4 cup celery diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup fresh spinach, sliced very thin
4 cups cooked quinoa (cooked according to package instructions)
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil (or 1 tablespoon of each)
2/3 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted
Season to taste with any of the following: Oregano, basil, salt and pepper

You may also add sliced green or red pepper.

In a large sauté pan, saute the vegetables in the butter/oil until crisp-tender. Add spinach and sauté until wilted. Add oregano or basil and stir briefly. Add the cooked quinoa to the sautéed vegetables and mix well until incorporated and heated throughout. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Add toasted almonds and serve.

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Now back to work in my garden!

Parsley and Chive Pull Apart Rolls

noreply@blogger.com (SavoringTime in the Kitchen) — Thu, 10 May 2012 21:00:00 +0000

If you have chives and parsley growing in your garden right now (or have a generous neighbor with some), you need to make these delicious rolls.

I saw these in a poppy seed version on Joyce's blog Kitchen Flavors and the original recipe comes from Abigail Johnson Dodge. When I saw Joyce's beautiful rolls I decided right then that I had to try to adapt the recipe to my new bread machine!

The recipe included an herb version with using parsley and chives and my garden has been providing me plenty of those early spring herbs. I'm already imagining other herb combinations when my herb pots are overflowing this summer. The original recipe calls for half and half which I didn't have but I found a container of whole milk cottage cheese and I figured cottage cheese and chives go perfectly together so, why not? I whirred the cottage cheese in a blender to get it creamy and smooth and I added about 1 tablespoon of milk for consistency.

I also didn't have a big enough square pan to fit the rolls 4 x 4 as Joyce did, so I had to make 15 slightly larger balls to fit my Pyrex rectangular dish. I've made them twice already, once using the cottage cheese that I mentioned above, and the second time I used buttermilk instead. Both delicious! They look so cute in this folding bread basket that I received as a gift for my birthday ;) They are so soft and flavorful!

Spring Herb Pull-Apart Rolls

Adapted from Abigail Johnson Dodge
Printable Recipe

Note: This recipe has been adapted for the bread machine. Please see link to Abigail Johnson Dodge's original recipe above if you wish to make them by hand or stand mixer and to see her do-ahead notes.

Makes 16 rolls

1 cup (8 fl ounces/233 ml) whole milk cottage cheese, whirred in a blender until smooth and creamy with 1 tablespoon milk, or 1 cup Buttermilk
6 tablespoons (3 ounces/85 grams) unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces, plus 2 tablespoons (1 ounce/28 grams), melted, for glazing (optional)
3-2/3 cups (16 ½ ounces/468 grams) bread flour or all purpose flour
2-¼ teaspoons (1 packet) instant yeast (Fleischmann’s Rapid Rise, Red Star’s Quick Rise, or SAF Instant)
1/3 cup (2 ½ ounces/71 grams) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon table salt
3 egg yolks from large eggs
1/4 cup Chopped Chives
1/4 cup Chopped Parsley

Other flavor options:

Poppy Seed: 1 tablespoon plus one teaspoon poppy seeds
Black Pepper and Cheese: 2 cups (5 ounces/142 grams) loosely packed finely shredded extra-sharp Cheddar cheese and 2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper

In a small saucepan or in microwave, combine the creamed cottage cheese or buttermilk and the 6 tablespoons butter. Warm until the butter melts, stirring, and the liquid registers about 115 degrees (52°C) on an instant-read thermometer. Add the packet of instant yeast and allow to stand for five minutes.

Mix the egg yorks with a fork and add to the above mixture and blend.

Combine the flour, yeast, sugar, salt and herbs.

Add the wet and dry ingredients to your bread machine depending on the manufacturer's instructions. (Mine calls for putting the wet ingredients in first and then adding the dry ingredients on top.)

Set the machine for dough cycle only. It will knead the dough and perform the first rise in the machine.

Lightly grease a 9-by-13-inch (22.75-by-33cm) baking dish (I used a Pyrex dish).

When the bread machine dough cycle is completed (about 1-1/2 hours), turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and press down gently to deflate. If the dough is too sticky add a little flour to the work surface. Using a bench scraper or a chef’s knife, divide the dough into 16 equal pieces (or 15 in my case), 2 - 2-1/2 oz (57 to 71 grams) each. (To be sure of uniform rolls, use a scale to weigh the portions.)

Work with one piece of dough at a time, and keep the others covered with plastic wrap or a damp towel. With a cupped palm, press down gently but firmly, rolling the piece in tight circles on the work surface until it forms a smooth-skinned ball with a seam on the bottom. Put the ball, seam side down, in the prepared baking dish, cover loosely with plastic, and repeat with the remaining dough. The dough balls can be arranged in rows or placed randomly; just be sure they’re evenly spaced.

Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and let the balls rise in a warm spot until they’re about 1 ½ times their original size and have risen about three-fourths of the way up the sides of the baking dish (they won’t yet fill the dish), 40 to 60 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees (190 C) about 10-15 minutes before the above rising time is done and position an oven rack to the middle position.

Bake until the rolls are puffed and well browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush the tops with the melted butter, if using. Serve warm or bake earlier in the day and gently reheat in a low oven.

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Linking to the following:

Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm
Foodie Friday at Simple Living
Seasonal Sundays at The Tablescaper
On the Menu Monday at Stone Gable
Made with Love Mondays at Javelin Warrior's Cookin w/Luv
Your Cozy Home Party at Cozy Home Scenes
and
BYOB at Girlichef

Lemon Tart with Chocolate Almond Crust

noreply@blogger.com (SavoringTime in the Kitchen) — Thu, 03 May 2012 23:58:00 +0000

This is a recipe that I posted early in 2009 but is so good that it deserves a second post.

When I first made it in 2009, I decided to use a different recipe for lemon curd that I had been using that was quick and simple to make. I finally made the tart again this past weekend using the original recipe for lemon curd. It was amazingly creamy and so delicious! This is a tart that will satisfy both the lemon and chocolate lovers out there (I am both). I added some lemon zest to the recipe for an extra lemon boost.

The crust is like eating chocolate sable cookies. In fact, I had some crust left over that I rolled into a log, wrapped in plastic and refrigerated, and made into cookies!

Lemon Tart with Chocolate Almond Crust
Adapted from Food & Wine
Printable Recipe

This lemon tart satisfies both the lemon lovers and chocolate lovers!

Makes One 7" tart and serves 5-6

CHOCOLATE PASTRY

3/4 cups all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons of almond flour*
1/4 cup plus 1-1/2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
Pinch of salt

6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

1/2 large egg (whisk together and measure 2 tablespoons)

LEMON CURD

1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 large egg
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3 large lemons - be sure to zest lemons first)
8 large egg yolks
1 large egg
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
Bittersweet chocolate shavings, for garnish

In a food processor, combine the all-purpose flour, almond flour, sugar, cocoa and salt; pulse to blend. Add the butter; pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the egg; process until the dough just comes together. Turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic, flatten into a disk and chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter an 7-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. On a lightly floured work surface, roll the pastry out to a 14-inch round 1/4 inch thick. Fit the pastry into the tart pan, patting in with your fingers to level it. Run a rolling pin across the rim of the pan to cut off any overhanging dough. Tears may be patched with scraps. Line the pastry with a piece of foil cut to fit the bottom and fill with pie weights or dried beans.

Bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes, or until the crust is nearly dry. Remove the foil and pie weights and bake the crust for 15 minutes longer, or until firm. Let cool.

In a medium saucepan, combine 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon of the sugar with the lemon juice and bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar dissolves. In another medium bowl, beat the egg yolks with the whole egg and the remaining 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon of sugar. Pour half of the hot lemon syrup slowly into the egg mixture while whisking rapidly. Add the combined mixture back into the saucepan with the rest of the lemon-sugar mixture and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until the curd just comes to a boil, about 9 minutes; it should be the consistency of sour cream. If the curd has any lumps you can strain the curd through the sieve.

Preheat the oven to 300 while the lemon curd cools to room temperature, then whisk in the softened butter until the curd is light and fluffy. Add the lemon zest and mix thoroughly.

Pour the curd into the crust and bake for 20 minutes, or until set. Cool tart on a wire rack, then refrigerate until chilled. Unmold the tart and garnish it with chocolate shavings.

The baked tart can be refrigerated overnight.

*Almond flour is available at specialty markets. Or, finely grind 3/4 cup (3 ounces) of blanched almonds which is what I did.

My Note: I have reduced the original crust recipe by half since the original called for an 11" tart pan. However, the lemon curd proportions remains the same and it fills a 7" tart pan perfectly.

If you have left-over crust, roll it into a log, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour. Cut into slices, place on a parchment or silicone mat-lined baking sheet and bake for 9-11 minutes at 375. Yum!

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I'll be sharing this recipe at Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm, Foodie Friday at Simple Living, Seasonal Sundays at The Tablescaper,, Your Cozy Home Party at Cozy Home Scenes Made with Love Mondays at Javelin Warrior's Cookin w/Luv

A Salad for All Seasons

noreply@blogger.com (SavoringTime in the Kitchen) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 21:44:00 +0000

I first enjoyed this salad at a get together during the winter of 2010. A good friend had brought it to share and I don't know what has taken me so long to make it myself! I needed a salad that would work well with fish to bring to dinner at my daughter's home recently, so I went through the salad recipes I had saved on my computer and found it again. The original recipe also calls for pomegranate seeds and blue cheese which would be wonderful during the winter or with a heavier meal also. That's why I called this a salad for all seasons.

Rainbow Chopped Salad

Loosely Adapted from Epicurious
Printable Recipe

Yield: 8 servings

Dressing:

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (I found a delicious Blackberry-Ginger balsamic at a specialty store)
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
1/2 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup walnut oil

Whisk vinegars, shallot, and honey in small bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in oil. Season dressing to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Salad:

6 cups chopped organic romaine hearts
4 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
1 large, organic Fuji apple, halved, cored, diced
1-2 large, organic Bartlett pears, halved, cored, diced
1 mango, peeled, diced
3/4 cup Spicy Toasted Pecans (Recipe Below)

1/2 cup pomegranate seeds (optional)
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese (optional)

Combine romaine, cabbage, apple, pear, mango and pecans (and pomegranate seeds, if using) in a very large bowl; toss to blend. Add dressing and toss to coat. Divide salad among plates. Sprinkle with blue cheese, if desired, and serve.

Spicy Toasted Pecans
Gourmet | December 2004

Makes 2 1/2 cups

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco (I used a little more)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
2 1/2 cups pecan halves (10 oz)

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F.

Melt butter in a 2-quart saucepan over moderate heat, then stir in Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, pepper, and salt. Remove pan from heat and add pecans, tossing to coat well. Spread in 1 layer in a shallow baking pan and bake until fragrant and a shade darker, 8 to 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Pecans can be baked 1 day ahead and stored at room temp.

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I'm sharing this recipe at Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm, Seasonal Sundays at The Tablescaper,, Your Cozy Home Party at Cozy Home Scenes Made with Love Mondays at Javelin Warrior's Cookin w/Luv, and Meatless Monday at My Sweet and Savory.

Green Soup for Earth Day (aka Green-Eyed Monster Soup)

noreply@blogger.com (SavoringTime in the Kitchen) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 21:52:00 +0000

Are you still in a post-holiday food coma? Did too many jelly beans, chocolate eggs or bunny ears make their way into your mouth? This green soup is a wonderful and delicious way to feel like you've wiped the slate clean and cleansed your system. With several kinds of pepper added to spice it up; croutons, chive or cheese garnishes, you can convert even the most skeptical family member.

I've nicknamed this soup Green-Eyed Monster Soup in honor of the release of Michael Lee West's new novel A Teeny Bit of Trouble. I'm joining in the Teeny Templeton Cook-Off at Rattlebridge Farm hosting by author, Michael Lee West. I'm really looking forward to reading the further misadventures of a southern cook named Teeny after enjoying Gone with a Handsomer Man!

There's a new television commercial that shows a girl looking at a green smoothie with a nauseated look on her face and she opts to take a vitamin pill instead. Sad. I happen to love green smoothies - especially this recipe that I posted last summer.

I wasn't sure if my husband would have that same look on his face, but he ate two bowls of this soup! I'll look forward to making it again when really fresh greens hit the farmers' markets. I used Swiss Chard and baby spinach but feel free to use kale instead of spinach or any combination of greens you like. The good earth is the limit here!

The recipe was created by Anna Thomas, a screenwriter, producer and vegetarian cookbook author. Love Soup is her most recent cookbook and this soup is from that book. Here is an article written for the LA Times by Anna Thomas about her green soup , how it developed, and all the various ways she makes it. One version that caught my eye includes mushrooms for a more 'earthy' flavor. This recipe has a little Arborio rice added for bulk (an idea I found in our local newspaper) but cooked potato or squash could also be used according to the author.

The beautiful soup bowls and saucers were a gift from my blogging buddy, Kathleen, at Cuisine Kathleen. The design on the saucer and bowl is a clematis flower and the name of the pattern is called Clematis from Red Vanilla at Overstock.com. Kathleen knows how much I love clematis flowers and I have at least 70 different varieties planted. I love clematis like Kathleen loves dishes!

Kathleen has recently started hosting a dish 'party' on her blog called Let's Dish where you can share your favorite dishware. Even though I'm not into setting tables for fun, I thought this post suited her challenge for this week perfectly, which is appropriately called "The Good Earth" in honor of Earth Day next Sunday. This healthy garden soup and the lovely clematis-patterned soup bowls are my idea of the good earth's bounty and beauty!

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Green Soup

Adapted from Love Soup by Anna Thomas
Printable Recipe

Makes: 8 to 10 servings

Well-caramelized onions add a sweet and nutty flavor to this healthy soup. Arborio rice gives it a little extra 'body'. The peppers give it a nice "zing". A squeeze of fresh lemon juice, added to the plated bowl, adds brightness to the flavors and a little drizzle of olive oil, a velvety lushness.

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 large yellow onions (about 1 ½ pounds), chopped
1 ¼ teaspoons salt (divided)
2 tablespoons plus 3 cups water - divided)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
¼ cup Arborio rice
1 bunch Swiss chard, stems removed and chopped (about ¾ pound)
1 bunch fresh spinach, large stems removed and chopped
(Kale can also be used - or any greens of your choice)
4 cups vegetable broth or stock (I used low-fat chicken stock)
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon lemon juice, plus more to taste
Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
Shaved Gruyere, snipped chives and croutons for garnish (optional)

Add the 2 tablespoons olive oil to a large skillet with a lid. Add onions and ¼ teaspoon salt. Over medium-high heat, stir onions frequently until they begin to brown. Reduce heat to low, add 2 tablespoons water, and cover. From time to time, remove the lid and give them a good stir. Continue cooking until onions are very soft and a deep golden color - this will take 30 to 45 minutes. When the onions are almost done, add garlic and cook until fragrant, a few minutes. Remove from heat.

In a separate large stockpot, add remaining 3 cups water and remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Stir in rice and bring to a boil, reduce and let simmer 15 minutes. Add greens, stir, return to a simmer and cover. Let greens wilt and settle 10 minutes.

Add onions to stockpot and stir in stock or broth. Add seasonings and blend soup until very smooth with an immersion blender or in a regular blender (in small batches).

Add lemon juice to taste after plating. Garnish each bowl with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, and if desired, croutons, chives and/or cheese.

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This week, I'm joining Let's Dish at Cuisine Kathleen, Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm, Seasonal Sundays at The Tablescaper, On the Menu Monday at Stone Gable, and, Your Cozy Home Party at Cozy Home Scenes and another Foodie Friday at Simple Living.

Brioche Sandwich Buns

noreply@blogger.com (SavoringTime in the Kitchen) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 19:22:00 +0000

I had fun playing with my new bread machine again this past week! I took a recipe not intended for a bread machine and used the "dough only" cycle since the dough needs to be shaped by hand. I wanted some really good rolls to make sandwiches with some of our leftover Easter ham and had saved this recipe from the LA Times and adapted it for a bread machine.

They turned out perfectly and were so tasty, it was hard not to eat them plain with a little bit of fresh butter. They will be wonderful with burgers on the grill this summer!

Brioche Buns

Adapted from the NY Times
Printable Recipe

(Recipe adapted for the dough cycle on a bread machine - see above link for regular recipe)

Makes 12 buns

1 cup warm water
3 tablespoons warm milk
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened.
1 large egg
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
3 cups bread flour
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water for egg wash
Sesame or Poppy Seeds (optional)

In a glass measuring cup, combine 1 cup warm water, the milk, yeast and sugar. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, beat 1 egg and soften butter in microwave until just barely melted - stir to combine. Add beaten egg and melted butter to yeast mixture.

In a large bowl, whisk flours with salt.

Add liquid ingredients and dry ingredients according to the instructions provided with your bread machine. Choose the 'dough' cycle.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

After the dough is kneaded and has risen in the bread machine, remove it to a work surface. Using a dough scraper, divide the dough into 3 equal parts and divide each of those parts into 4 equal parts. Shape each of the 12 parts into a ball, pulling the dough down and under the bottom of each ball. (Lightly oil your fingers if the dough sticks). Arrange the balls 2 to 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel and let buns rise in a warm place for about 1 hour. 15 minutes before the hour is over, set a large shallow pan of water on oven floor or lowest rack. Preheat oven to 400 degrees with the top rack in the center.

Beat remaining egg with 1 tablespoon water and brush some on top of buns. Add sesame or poppy seeds, if desired. Bake, turning sheet halfway through baking, until tops are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

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Joining Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm, Seasonal Sundays at The Tablescaper, On the Menu Monday at Stone Gable, and Your Cozy Home Party at Cozy Home Scenes and BYOB at Girlichef.

Easter Bunny Bait and Phyllo Nests

noreply@blogger.com (SavoringTime in the Kitchen) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 20:36:00 +0000

I've been busy as a bunny getting ready for Easter this weekend! The whole family will be together here ♥ This Bunny Bait will appeal to both big and little bunnies alike so if you're looking to attract some bunnies to your table, this will work!

I had seen the idea on Pinterest but it was made with white chocolate. Since I am not a fan of white chocolate, I made my Bunny Bait with melted, dark chocolate drizzled over the popped corn. I didn't want to make it too sweet, so instead of plain M&Ms, I added the new, pretzel M&Ms to the popcorn. Great combination! This is quick and simple to put together and would make a great hostess gift to bring if you are invited to someone's home for Easter brunch or dinner.

Last year, I made candy nests from chow mein noodles (see my side bar at right). This year, I used a Martha Stewart recipe for shredded phyllo nests. I prefer these phyllo nests because they aren't quite as sweet as the chow mein nests but, be advised, they do make quite a mess if you try to eat them, so serving them in a small bowl or dish would be a good idea.

The bunny napkins are all folded and in place (tutorial here)...

Martha's Eggs Shell Vases will hold the little blooms from the garden...and a McKenzie-Child herb pot, which was a gift from a sweet friend, Debbie, who shares my love of all things MC, is holding grass for the chocolate eggs to hide inside. The plates, chargers, napkins and egg cups are all from World Market. The bunny centerpiece came from my favorite grocery store's floral department.

The cute, rooster egg warmers that I started last year are finally finished and are covering plain plastic eggs that I painted on eyes and a beak with fabric paint. They will be used for a little Easter egg hunt for Mack.

Wishing all of you who celebrate, a very Happy Easter or Passover this weekend!

Bunny Bait

Adapted from many recipes found online
Printable Recipe

4-6 cups popped popcorn - not buttered and very lightly salted (you want the popcorn to be as dry as possible)
1 bag of M&M pretzel candies
Any other hard-coated pastel candies that you like
3-4 ounces of melted chocolate

Pop corn and allow to cool. Melt chocolate in the microwave for 1 minute, stirring to dissolve. Melt in additional 10 second intervals until melted, stirring again after each interval.

Place the popcorn on a large baking sheet. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the popcorn and allow to set. I put mine in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to set the chocolate.

After the chocolate has set, you can add any candies that you choose.

Place in clear plastic treat bags and tie with decorative ribbon.

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Shredded Phyllo Bird's Nests

Adapted from Martha Stewart
Printable Recipe

3-4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for tin
8 ounces (1/2 package) kataifi (shredded phyllo), thawed (See Note)
4 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, (optional)
Jordan Almonds or jelly beans to fill the nests

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush a 12-cup muffin tin with butter. Pull phyllo into 1-inch-thick bundles; cut bundles into 2-inch lengths. Place in a bowl; separate into a loose pile with fingers. Toss with butter, sugar, and cinnamon, if using.
Divide among 12 muffin cups; press into bottom and up sides. Cook until golden and crisp around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool; fill with jelly beans.

Note: I found Kataifi at a Greek import store.

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I'll be linking with Let's Dish at Cuisine Kathleen, Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum, Seasonal Sundays at The Tablescaper, On the Menu Monday at Stone Gable, and Your Cozy Home Party at Cozy Home Scenes.

Rosemary Herb Bread

noreply@blogger.com (SavoringTime in the Kitchen) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 21:32:00 +0000

There has been so many tempting bread machine recipes that I've seen other bloggers post over the past few years but I always thought I could get along without one. I did not want another appliance to store (and this is a fairly large one). I had lots of good reasons not to get one. Lots. Somehow, my WANT finally outweighed my NEED and I decided on an inexpensive model based on a recommendation from Patty Tierney at Olla-Podrida. She has some delicious recipes using a bread machine on her blog! I figured if I didn't like it, I wouldn't be out a couple hundred dollars, at least! The more serious baker might like the options that a more expensive model would have or, more likely, scoff at the thought of using one.

I rationalized that even if I used it merely to knead the dough I'd come out ahead with time saved, so I went on a hunt for recipes and chose this herb bread for the inaugural use of the new machine. I Googled "Best Bread Machine Recipes" and found this Rosemary Herb Bread (Jo's Rosemary Bread') that got over 800 rave reviews.

I decided to let the read machine make the bread from start to finish for the first time to make sure everything was in good working order, so I added the ingredients per my machine's recommended order and just hit Start. That's it! In less than three hours I had the most delicious-tasting herb bread and my house smelled wonderful. It's the perfect bread to serve with soup or dip in roasted garlic olive oil.

I tweaked the original recipe just a bit and added some ground flax seed and used some Original Mrs. Dash seasoning and also reduced the amount of rosemary which seemed excessive. Everything worked great and my machine turned out a delicious, fragrant loaf of bread. I can't wait to try more bread machine recipes!

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I'll be linking this tutorial with Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum, On the Menu Monday at Stone Gable, and Your Cozy Home Party at Cozy Home Scenes.

Grilled Rainbow Trout - A Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (SavoringTime in the Kitchen) — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 15:50:00 +0000

First of all, thank you for all the kind comments on my previous post about our new grandson!

Rainbow Trout and salmon are my two favorite fish to eat. I've been making salmon at home for a long time but have just begun using trout within the past two years. I first learned how to make sautéed trout (you can find that recipe here) and, just last week, I found a recipe for trout prepared on the grill. We've been having amazing, early spring weather here so grilling season has begun!

This preparation doesn't have the flour and cornmeal coating of the sautéed recipe so it's even lighter tasting. A lemon parsley butter is added after grilling. Green beans are the perfect side dish to serve with trout and the lemon parsley butter is fantastic on them as well. We're trying to avoid extra carbs during the week so there's no starch on the plate but roasted fingerling potatoes would be delicious with this.

We are fortunate to have a wonderful Rainbow Trout hatchery located not far from Milwaukee and I was delighted to see that our local grocery store just started carrying their trout. These babies are almost a full pound each! They are already partially cleaned when they arrive at the store so no insides to remove or scaling necessary.

Did you know that trout is among the top ten healthiest fish to eat and contains heart-healthy Omega-3 fatty acids? If you click on this link, you can find the other healthiest fish to eat.

To prepare the fish for grilling, start by using a thin, sharp knife and cut off the head just below the gills, the tail and any boney fins you can see or feel, including the large dorsal fin on the back of the fish.

The back fin can be easily removed by cutting around it. Leave the rest of the backbone in place so that the two sides of the fish stay together. The skin is left on. You don't have to eat it because the fish will flake easily off the skin after it is cooked (I don't eat it but my husband loves it).

The small bones on a Rainbow Trout are very fine so usually there is no need to worry about removing them. If you see any larger ones located near the spine you can pull them out with a pliers or your fingers - but with all the trout I've prepared, they have never been an issue.

Some people like to freeze the heads and tails to make fish stock. We simply put them in a small bag and freeze them until the day we take out the trash.

Now, rinse off the fillet and pat dry with paper toweling. Place all the fillets you are planning to grill on a rimmed baking pan or a platter and brush both sides with a little olive oil and sprinkle a little salt and pepper on each side. Refrigerate until ready to use.

We use the flat side of a cast iron griddle when grilling fish. The fish browns beautifully and you don't have to worry about the fish falling through the grates of the grill!

The skin side is grilled first on medium-high heat for about 2-3 minutes then the fish is flipped over with a large spatula and the flesh side is grilled for another 2 minutes. It's done in no time!

Other than the grilling, all of the components of this meal can be prepared ahead of time. You can have a lovely, healthy meal in less than 30 minutes!

I prepared the green beans by boiling them for 6-7 minutes in lightly salted water and then drained and plunged them into ice water to stop the cooking. They were reheated in the microwave for 2 minutes while the fish was grilling.

Grilled Butterflied Trout with Lemon Parsley Butter

Adapted from Bobby Flay and The Food Network
Printable Recipe

Serves: 4 servings

4 (1-pound) trout without head, scaled, gutted, and butterflied (skin on)
Olive oil or canola oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Lemon-Parsley Butter, recipe follows
Parsley sprigs, for garnish
Lemon wedges, for garnish

If possibly, place a large cast-iron griddle on the grates of your grill with the flat side up. Spray the griddle with non-stick cooking spray. Heat the grill to medium high to high depending on how hot your grill gets. I prefer medium high on ours.

Brush the trout fillets on both sides with oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill, skin side down, until slightly charred and crisp, about 2 to 3 minutes. Carefully turn each fish over and continue cooking until just cooked through, 2-3 minutes longer. Remove from the grill and top each with 1 tablespoon of the Lemon-Parsley Butter. Garnish with parsley sprigs and lemon wedges and serve.

Lemon-Parsley Butter:

4-6 tablespoons of unsalted butter, at room temperature (can be microwaved to soften)
1-2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
Salt and freshly ground pepper

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I'll be linking this tutorial with Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum, Seasonal Sundays at The Tablescaper, On the Menu Monday at Stone Gable, and Your Cozy Home Party at Cozy Home Scenes.

It's A Boy!

noreply@blogger.com (SavoringTime in the Kitchen) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 01:45:00 +0000

This week we were blessed with our second grandchild - another boy. His name is Dane Robert and of couse we think he's the most handsome boy in the world - tied with his big brother for that title ;) We couldn't be more proud and happy grandparents! He was born on an extraordinarily beautiful day on March 13, when the planets Venus and Jupiter were creating a dazzling optical illusion in the sky, looking like they were only two fingers apart from Earth, and, during one of the warmest late winters on record which has bulbs blooming here earlier than I can remember.

I think the number 13 is a very lucky number for us!

Irish Potato Nibbles and A Brief Irish Potato History

noreply@blogger.com (SavoringTime in the Kitchen) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 19:24:00 +0000

Okay, so these look vaguely similar to nachos and I've seen them all over Pinterest by the name Irish Nachos but that's as close as the similarity gets since these are made with potatoes, cheddar cheese, sour cream and green onions. Dee-lish-ous!

I made my own waffle fries with my mandoline but I sliced them too thin so they were fragile and broke when I tossed them with oil and seasonsings. Next time, I'll make them thicker to withstand the tossing and flipping! I used the method Cuisine Kathleen used for oven fries in this post, using a hot water soak and then roasting them in the oven for a healthier nibble.

Did you know that the Irish did not start cultivating potatoes until the 1700s, after they were discovered in the New World and brought to Europe? With the introduction of the potato, a plentiful and cheap food source, the population increased greatly and especially among the poor.

Potatoes were so over planted and the so soil overworked that disease struck the potato crops. It was devastating to the huge number of potato farmers who were left with nothing else to eat. A million died and another million left Ireland!

No other nation in the world had their cuisine changed so drastically as the Irish with potatoes, with the possible exception of the effect of the tomato on Southern European cuisine. It is only in the past 50 years that the Irish diet is beginning to return to what it was at the start of the eighth century. More interesting information on this topic can be found here.

Irish Potato Nibbles
Inspired by 'Irish Nachos' from Various Sites

Russet potatoes, perhaps 1-2 per person, scrubbed

Shredded cheddar cheese

Sour Cream

Chopped green onions

Use the crinkle blade for your mandoline and slice the potatoes using this method - or simply buy some frozen waffle cut fries.

Place potato slices in a bowl of hot water for 15 minutes. Meanwhile preheat oven to 425.

Drain and wrap potato slices in a clean kitchen towel to absorb as much water as possible, then pat dry with paper toweling.

Place slices in a bowl and toss with a little olive oil and sprinkle on your choice of seasonings. Place on a heavy, rimmed baking sheet sprayed with non-stick spray and bake about 20-30 minutes, depending on your oven, turning over half way through baking.

Enjoy!

Dance a jig on over to the 4th Annual Blog Crawl at Cuisine Kathleen. I'll be sharing these recipes there in addition to Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum. Have a Happy St. Patrick's Day weekend everyone!

An Irish Roundup and a Winner!

noreply@blogger.com (SavoringTime in the Kitchen) — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 14:54:00 +0000

St. Patrick's Day is quickly approaching. In honor of all my Irish friends and anyone who is an Irish Wannabe on St. Patrick's Day, I decided to bring back a few of my favorite Irish recipes that I've made and/or posted over the past five years. (All recipes can be found at the end of the post).

The first is a the classic Irish mashed potato dish called Champ that I posted in 2008. The first time I made it, I decided I would never make mashed potatoes any other way. I love the addition of scallions for a fresh, springtime taste!

Another favorite Irish potato recipe is one called "Bird Flanagan Potato Pancakes" which were named after a colorful, Irish gentleman and practical joker. The dish was created in his honor at the Irish pub he would frequent. Shredded potatoes are combined with ham or Canadian bacon, scallions and cheddar cheese (preferably Irish) to make this delightful skillet pancake. My husband loves this dish! It could be a meal in itself with a salad on the side.

Lastly, here is a dessert that I had shared on a cooking forum before my blog was even created. Named Bailey's Irish Cream Pots they are made with Bailey's Irish cream, espresso coffee and decorated with caramel squiggles and chocolate shavings. So delicious!

Now for the winner of my EB Mine Giveaway prize pack from Eggland's Best and the Easy Breakfast and Brunch cookbook from Yours Truly. The winner is...........................after the break. Sorry, I've been watching too much American Idol :-) After compiling a list of the eligible entries, the winner, chosen by Random.org is Marigene! Please contact me at savoringtimeinthekitchen@gmail.com with your shipping information. Congratulations!

Thank you to Eggland's Best Eggs and to all of you for your comments! This is always the hardest part of a giveaway for me. I wish I had a prize for each and every one of you!

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Champ
Adapted from Full-On Irish by Kevin Dundon
Printable Recipe

Champ is a traditional Irish potato dish that has recently enjoyed a renaissance in contemporary cooking.

Serves 4-6

1-1/2 lbs potatoes, well scrubbed
7-1/2 Tablespoons milk
4 scallions or spring onions, finely chopped
½ stick butter
Salt and freshly ground white pepper

Cover the potatoes with cold water in a pan and add a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until completely tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife.

Heat the milk in a pan with the scallions for 5 minutes, or until the scallions have softened. Drain the potatoes in a colander, then peel while they are still hot. Push through a potato ricer or sieve, using a spatula. Beat 1-1/2 oz of the butter into the warm mashed potatoes and then mix in the milk and scallion mixture. Season to taste.

To Serve, spoon into a warmed serving dish and make a slight dip in the middle. Add the remaining knob of butter and allow it to melt into the champ.

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Bird Flanagan Irish Potato Pancakes
Recipe adapted from Elegant Irish Cooking by Noel Cullen
Printable Recipe

Serves 2-4

2 large potatoes
2 whole eggs
2-4 slices lean Canadian bacon (depending on thickness)
1 tablespoon chopped green onion
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Peel and grate the potatoes. Squeeze out excess moisture by placing the grated potatoes in a ricer and pressing down on the handle to release as much moisture as possible. Place in a bowl.

Slice the Canadian bacon into thin strips (julienne) and add to the potatoes along with the diced onion, parsley, cheese and salt and pepper to taste (I like lots of pepper). Combine thoroughly.

Lightly beat the eggs and add to the potato mixture.

In a crepe pan or nonstick sauté pan, heat oil over medium heat. Pour the mixture into the heated pan and press down to spread it out evenly and cook on both sides, until golden brown. This should take about 10 minutes. You can use a large plate inverted over the pan to help flip the pancake. I placed a cover, slightly ajar, over the pan during the last few minutes to help the potatoes cook through.

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Bailey's Cream Pots with Caramel Squiggles and Chocolate Curls
Adapted form Full On Irish by Kevin Dundon
Printable Recipe

Bailey's Cream Pots with Caramel Squiggles and Chocolate Curls
Adapted from Full On Irish by Kevin Dundon
~from Savoring Time in the Kitchen

1-1/3 cups heavy cream
5 tablespoons Baileys Irish cream
1/4 freshly brewed espresso, cooled
9-oz mascarpone cheese
2-1/2 tablespoons sifted confectioners sugar, plus extra for dusting
Cocoa powder for dusting

Whip the cream in a bowl until soft peaks have formed. Place the Baileys Irish cream in a bowl with the espresso, mascarpone cheese and icing sugar. Beat until well combined, then fold in the cream. Divide between 4 1-cup ramekins or cups and chill for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

To serve, decorate with chocolate curls and caramel squiggles.

Caramel Squiggles
Also adapted from Full On Irish by Kevin Dundon

(Please be careful handling liquid caramel - it can leave a nasty burn if it touches your skin).

1/2 cup bakers or caster sugar (extra fine sugar)
Parchment or Waxed paper

Have a large piece of parchment or waxed paper ready on the kitchen counter.

Place the sugar in a heavy-based pan over low heat and heat gently to dissolve. Bring to a boil and boil until the resulting syrup begins to turn pale brown, gently swirling the pan to ensure even cooking. When the caramel is a rich, golden brown, dip the base of the pan into a sink of cool water to prevent further cooking for a couple of moments.

To make the squiggles, use a clean, small metal spoon, dip the spoon into the warm caramel and drizzle decoratively onto the parchment or waxed paper. Allow to cool and harden before using.

These are best used the day they are made.

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If you'd like to join in some Irish fun, please visit the 4th Annual Blog Crawl at Cuisine Kathleen. I'll be sharing these recipes there in addition to Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum, Seasonal Sundays at The Tablescaper, On the Menu Monday at Stone Gable, and Your Cozy Home Party at Cozy Home Scenes.

An "EB Mine" Brunch~

noreply@blogger.com (SavoringTime in the Kitchen) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 16:49:00 +0000

Refreshed and renewed, I have returned!

Last time, I mentioned that I would return with some Egg-citing news. Sit back, relax and stay awhile!

I was contacted earlier this month by Eggland's Best Eggs and asked if they could sponsor a brunch using Eggland's Best Eggs eggs to spread the news about heart health during "Heart Health Month" in February. Eggland’s Best provided me a gift pack, coupons, a gift card, and information on their eggs PLUS a prize pack to give away to one of my readers in the USA. More about the giveaway at the end of the post!

My husband and I have always enjoyed eating eggs a couple of times a week and one of our favorite no-time-to-make-anything-else dinners is a fried egg sandwich on whole grain bread. Eggs eaten in moderation, in conjunction with a well-rounded, healthy diet are no longer the dietary demons they were thought to be for most of the population. Sadly, many people have swapped eggs from their breakfasts only to replace them with refined sugars and starches which are much worse. Here is a very interesting article on cholesterol and eggs. Eggs can be incorporated into a heart-healthy diet, and are one of the most nutrient-dense foods you can eat.

Eggland’s Best eggs contain more than 2 times the heart healthy Omega-3 fatty acids than ordinary eggs, 2 times more Vitamin D and 10 times more Vitamin E, a vitamin associated with reducing the risk of heart disease.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), heart disease is the leading cause of death among men and women in the United States. However, there are simple steps you can take to help reduce your risk, including proper nutrition and daily exercise (the importance of which many people fail to understand). These lifestyle changes, along with not smoking, can help cut your odds of having a heart attack by 92% (Source: Woman’s Day, February 2012).

The first recipe I prepared for my EB Mine Brunch is a very special one to me. It's on the menu at my favorite French restaurant here in Milwaukee. It's so delicious and I was thrilled when I found a video of our James Beard-Awarding Winning Chef showing how to prepare them! A version of the popular French salad, Frisee et Lardons, this one gets it's earthiest from mushrooms rather than bacon and also from a nice drizzle of truffle oil. I found a great deal on white truffle oil at Marshalls/Home Goods so don't feel you have to spend a fortune on truffle oil.

The egg is briefly boiled in its shell, peeled, coated with panko crumbs and then fried to a crispy, crunchy outer goodness while keeping the center soft enough to help 'dress' the greens when broken. If you object to the deep-frying portion of this recipe, simply use a soft-poached egg instead and sprinkle some toasted panko crumbs over the top of the salad.

I am not a big fan of Frisee, but in this recipe it is briefly sauteed along with the mushrooms which softens and flavors it deliciously. The crispy coating on the egg, the mushrooms, and the drizzle of truffle oil make this a delicious and unique salad (and one that I dream about!). Recipe below.

The next course for my EB Mine Brunch was this delicious Baby Spinach and Pancetta Frittata:

You could also use smoked bacon in this recipe - or, replace the meat with sauteed mushrooms. I used a cast iron skillet to start the frittata on the stove top and then it is finished off under the broiler until puffy and set. Delicious! Recipe below.

The final course of my EB Mine Brunch (and where would we be without eggs to make our favorite cakes and desserts), was this exceptionally delicious Lemon Breakfast Cake.

It isn't often that a recipe makes me want to do a handspring (if I could do handspring, that is). This cake has the consistency of a muffin - dense and almost chewy and comes to you by way of Ilke's Kitchen . Thank you, Ilke, I am so grateful I found your blog and this recipe.

I'm not a big fan of overly-sweet sweets so I love that this cake is delicious just by itself without any 'dressing up'. If you want to 'dress it up' for company, just a light sprinkle of powdered sugar is all it needs.

Thank you for staying with me to the end of this post and now for the giveaway! Please see my Side Bar for more wonderway ways to use eggs!

I am please to say that Eggland's Best has offered to send one of you an EB Mine Gift Pack which includes the same, great items I received. This giveaway is open to residents of the United States. Please Like Eggland's Best on Facebook and Follow Eggland's Best on Twitter! If you Tweet about my brunch and giveaway, please use the hash tag #EBMine. For more information about Eggland's Best Eggs, including recipes, please visit their website. Simply leave a comment below to be entered into the giveaway~ If you'd like, please tell me your favorite way to use eggs!

EB Mine Giveaway:

2 Free EB Dozen coupons (Any variety- classic, cage-free, or organic)
1 Free EB Hard Cooked and Peeled variety coupon
1 EB Apron
1 EB Spatula
1 EB Whisk
1 EB Cutting Board
1 EB Mixing Bowl
1 EB Bowl Scraper
1 EB Coffee Mug
1 Plush Egg
1 EB Tote Bag

In addition, I would like to personally offer one of my readers this wonderful cookbook - Easy Breakfast and Brunch. The frittata recipe that I made here is from this book and there are many other delicious recipes included that I am anxious to try!

One winner will be chosen by Random.org on and only one entry per person will be counted. This giveaway ends on March 7 and the winner will be announced on March 8.

Thank you Eggland's Best - I love your eggs and the packaging is wonderful. Please give them a try!

Here are the recipes used in this post:

Oeuf Mollet with Champignons Truffle (Soft Eggs with Mushrooms and Truffle Oil)
Adapted from This Recipe
Printable Recipe

Serves 4 people

5 eggs, extra large
1 lb crimini mushrooms, washed and sliced thin
8 oz frisee (curly endive) lettuce, washed and spun
1 tsp chives, minced
1 cup Japanese breadcrumbs, ground fine
1 oz sherry vinegar
2 oz extra virgin olive oil
6 oz butter, unsalted
to taste sea salt
1 oz black or white truffle oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
Olive oil for frying *See note for alternative to deep frying below.
4 slices brioche or baguette (optional)

Put the oil into a deep pot and heat to about 350 degrees. *See note below for alternative to deep frying.

Bring a covered pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.

Fill a medium bowl with ice water.

Place four eggs into the boiling water, cover and cook for exactly 5 minutes and 45 seconds. Remove the eggs and submerge into the bowl of ice water. This will stop the eggs from cooking any further, resulting in eggs that have cooked whites and raw yolks.

While the eggs are cooling, take the remaining raw egg and crack into a small bowl. Add a teaspoon of water and salt to taste, whisk together.

Place the breadcrumbs into a separate bowl.

Start to peel the eggs carefully, placing them on a paper towel to drain some of the water.

Begin breading the eggs by taking them one at a time and placing first into the breadcrumbs, then place into the egg wash, then back into the breadcrumbs. Place the eggs in the refrigerator until needed.

Place a medium-sized sauté pan over high heat, add the butter, melt, add the mushrooms and sauté. Season with salt and pepper to taste and sauté until golden brown. Add the chives and half of the frisee, vinegar and olive oil. Stir until frissee is warmed.

Put the remaining half of frisee into a medium sized mixing bowl. Pour the mushrooms/frisee mixture into the bowl and toss together.

Fry the eggs in the oil for about 45 seconds.

Divide the salad into four salad bowls, top with a fried egg. Drizzle truffle oil over the egg and then season with the sea salt. Serve with toasted brioche or baguette.

*Note: You could use a soft poached egg and sprinkle toasted panko crumbs over the top of the salad rather than deep frying the egg, if desired.

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Spinach and Pancetta Frittata
Adapted from Easy Breakfast and Brunch
Printable Recipe

6 extra-large eggs
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
4 ounces pancetta cubes or smoked bacon, cut into strips
4 scallions, chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
1-1/2 cups baby spinach
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

12-inch heavy skillet (based on bottom measurement) – I used a cast iron skillet.

Preheat your oven to Broil.

Break the eggs into a bowl and beat briefly with a fork. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in the skillet. Add the pancetta or bacon and cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, until they start to brown.

Add the scallions, garlic, and spinach and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes or until the spinach has wilted and the onions have softened.

Pour the egg mixture into the skillet and quickly mix into the other ingredients. Stop stirring. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until the top has almost set. Slide the pan under the preheated broiler to finish cooking the top. When the top is puffed, it is done.

Serve hot or cold, cut into wedges.

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Lemon Brunch Cake

Adapted from Lemon Cake by Ilke's Kitchen
Printable Recipe

3 eggs
Zest from 1 lemon
200 gr (14 tablespoons) unsalted butter (softened at room temperature)
250 gr (9 oz or 1-1/4 cups) sugar
125 gr (4-1/2 oz or 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon) unbleached all purpose flour
125 gr (4-1/2 oz or 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon) Bob's Red Mill Brown Rice Flour
2 teaspoons baking powder

Lemon juice from 2 lemons (about 1/2 cup). I used Meyer Lemons which are in season right now.
4-5 tablespoons powdered sugar

Grease a 9-inch round cake pan and line with a parchment paper and place on a baking sheet. I decided to use a 9" tube springform pan which I buttered and then sprayed with Baker's Joy (great for good cake release).

In a mixing bowl, beat the softened butter with lemon zest for about 30 seconds on medium speed. Add sugar, continue beating until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time and beat until combined.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, rice flour and baking powder.

Add the flour mixture and mix until it is incorporated and you have a smooth batter.

Put the cake in a cold oven, then turn the oven on to 325 degrees. Bake for about one hour or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. I turned my cake over onto a cooling rack placed over a baking sheet right away after taking it out of the oven.

Add the lemon juice to the powdered sugar a little at a time so no lumps form and whisk together. Pour over the hot cake. Once the cake is cool, you can sprinkle with powdered sugar, if you like.

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I'll be sharing these wonderful recipes with Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum, and Your Cozy Home Party at Cozy Home Scenes.

General Tsao's Chicken

noreply@blogger.com (SavoringTime in the Kitchen) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:54:00 +0000

First of all, I want to tell you that I'm taking a short break to "rest and renew". I'll be back the last week in February with something Egg-citing!

General Tsao's Chicken...Here is a dish I had prepared earlier in the month to honor the start of the Chinese Lunar New Year. That was until I did a little research on it before posting and found out it's not an authentic Chinese recipe at all!

It was most likely developed in the United States by a Chinese chef and it became an instant success!

Maybe you have ordered this dish at a Chinese restaurant or ordered it for 'Take Out' at some time - I know we have. The fact that it isn't an authentic recipe direct from Asia doesn't diminish how delicious it tasted!

I will warn you that making this dish as written is a rather lengthy process but well worth the effort. Please see my notes at the end to see how you can prepare this without deep-frying and also be sure to double the sauce in the recipe. You won't be sorry :) This would also make a delicious appetizer and could be served as you would mini meatballs.

General Tsao's Chicken

Adapted from Allrecipes
Printable Recipe

Servings: 6

Orange zest and whole dried chiles give the sauce a delightful, restaurant quality flavor.

For the chicken - please see my note below if you wish to avoid the deep fry method*

4 cups vegetable oil for frying
1 egg
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (you may substitute chicken breast)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 pinch white pepper
1 cup cornstarch

For the sauce - please see my note below**

2 tablespoons vegetable oil (or olive oil)
3 tablespoons chopped green onion
1 clove garlic, minced
6 dried whole red chilies
1 strip orange zest
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3 tablespoons chicken broth
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons peanut oil

2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 cup water

Heat 4 cups vegetable oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Using olive oil for the deep frying would be a slightly healthier option.

Beat the egg in a mixing bowl. Add the chicken cubes; sprinkle with salt, 1 teaspoon sugar, and white pepper; mix well. Mix in 1 cup of cornstarch a little bit at a time until the chicken cubes are well coated.

In batches, carefully drop the chicken cubes into the hot oil one by one, cooking until they turns golden brown and begin to float, about 3 minutes. Remove the chicken and allow to cool as you fry the next batch. Once all of the chicken has been fried, refry the chicken, starting with the batch that was cooked first. Cook until the chicken turns deep golden brown, about 2 minutes more. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate.

Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Stir in the green onion, garlic, whole chiles, and orange zest. Cook and stir a minute or two until the garlic has turned golden and the chiles brighten. Add 1/2 cup sugar, the ginger, chicken broth, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and peanut oil; bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes.

Dissolve 2 teaspoons of cornstarch into the water, and stir into the boiling sauce. Return to a boil and cook until the sauce thickens and is no longer cloudy from the cornstarch, about 1 minute. Stir the cooked chicken into the boiling sauce. Reduce heat to low and cook for a few minutes until the chicken absorbs some of the sauce.

Serve with rice or with steamed broccoli, as I did. Or both! Top with additional orange zest and thinly sliced green onions, if desired.

*This would taste good with chicken breast cubes, seasoned and sauteed in a little oil without the egg and cornstarch. Simply add the sauteed cubes to the finished sauce as stated above.

**The sauce it so good, I advice doubling the sauce ingredients!

Chai-Spiced Love Knots

noreply@blogger.com (SavoringTime in the Kitchen) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:21:00 +0000

Last month, Val at ValSoCal posted a recipe for Espresso Glazed Breadsticks that looked so delicious I couldn't wait to try them! Rather than dipping them in an espresso glaze per her recipe, I decided to bake the espresso flavor right on them. While I was thinking about how to do that, I decided to also do a Chai spin on the seasonings since I love Chai-spiced tea. I also turned my bread sticks into love knots for Valentine's Day :) These are the perfect weekend treat paired with a hot cup of coffee, tea, Cappuccino - or milk.

With my less-than-perfect 'Barista' skills I made a heart in my Capuccino. The dunking was delicious!

The next time you have a morning to spread a little lovin', try these and thank you to Val for the inspiration!

Since there were several questions on how I made the heart outline in my cappuccino, I thought I'd answer here in my post as well as in the comments. My method was certainly not the professional Barista way of doing it. I took a toothpick and pulled the dark color from the outer "crema" ring of the espresso inward to the milk foam layer. It took several attempts at getting bringing enough of the dark layer in to get the heart dark enough. Here is a YouTube on how they really do it...

Chai-Spiced Bread Sticks

Adapted from Espresso Glazed Breadsticks at ValSoCal
Printable Recipe

1 can refrigerated bread sticks (such as Pillsbury)
6 tablespoons sugar (I used 5 tablespoons of regular granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon of coarse sparkling sugar)
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon vanilla paste or scrape 1/2 vanilla bean

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone liner.

Mix together the sugars and all of the seasonings with a fork until well combined.

Unroll dough and separate into strips and place on baking sheet. Sprinkle generously with sugar mixture. Pull and twist into pretzel shapes, if desired, or make simple twisted bread sticks and place on the lined baking sheet. Sprinkle the top with any remaining sugar.

Bake for 10 to 13 min or until golden on the edges. Remove and cool.

These are best eaten freshly baked, the day they are made.

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I'm happy to be joining Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum, Seasonal Sundays at The Tablescaper and Your Cozy Home Party.

"Be Mine" Chocolate Chip and Dried Cherry Scones

noreply@blogger.com (SavoringTime in the Kitchen) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:59:00 +0000

Looking for a delicious treat for your special someone (or your special self) for Valentine's Day breakfast or brunch? These heart-shaped scones could be the perfect start to a wonderful day.

Ah, the heart. The single most important symbol of our humanity throughout history. Many ancient philosophers though the heart was the place where our emotions originated. It should really be the shape of a brain, but that wouldn't be nearly as enchanting. Old customs die hard ❣ Any other symbol would be heart-breaking, and that's straight from my heart ❤

Heart Shaped Chocolate Chip and Dried Cherry Scones

Adapted from this recipe on Epicurious
Printable Recipe

The dough can be made the the day before, the shapes cut out and refrigerated on a baking sheet (unbaked) overnight. Just pop them into the oven the next morning and they'll be ready in 20 minutes.

Makes about 12.

2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, diced
1 teaspoon (packed) grated orange peel
3/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup coarsely chopped dried tart cherries
2/3 cup chilled buttermilk
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Milk (for glaze)

Preheat oven to 400F.

Place a piece of parchment paper or a silicone liner on a baking sheet.

Whisk 2 cups flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl. Add butter and grated orange peel; rub in with fingertips until coarse meal forms. Mix in chocolate chips and dried cherries.

Whisk buttermilk, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and almond extract in small bowl to blend. Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients; stir with fork until dough comes together in moist clumps. Gather dough into ball. Press out dough on lightly floured surface to 3/4-inch thickness. Using a 2-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out scones. Gather scraps, press out dough and cut out additional scones. Transfer to baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart. These can be made 1 day ahead up to this point. Cover and chill until ready to bake.

Brush scones lightly with milk; sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake until scones are crusty on top and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 15 minutes (or up to 20 minutes if refrigerated).

Serve warm or at room temperature.

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Joining Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum, Seasonal Sundays at The Tablescaper and Your Cozy Home Party.

Glazed Asian Drumsticks

noreply@blogger.com (SavoringTime in the Kitchen) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:25:00 +0000

If you love chicken legs but don't like all of the fat contained in the skin, here is a wonderfully delicious recipe for low fat drumsticks with an Asian flair. Browsing through the list of ingredients in the recipe, I just knew that the sauce and glaze on these was going to be fabulous and oh my, it was! I first found this recipe on the blog, Six Sisters' Stuff, but the original recipe comes from Skinnytaste - a great source for low fat recipes. I served the drumsticks with a quinoa pilaf and steamed broccoli, rounding out a great-tasting and healthy dinner.

I found the easiest way to pull off the skin from the drumsticks was to loosen the skin from the wide part of the drumstick and grab it with a piece of paper toweling over my fingers then pull down and over the small end of the drumstick. Then, I used my kitchen scissors to cut the skin away.

Glazed Asian Drumsticks
Adapted from Asian Glazed Drumsticks at Skinnytaste
Printable Recipe

8 medium chicken drumsticks, skin removed
Non-stick cooking spray or 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil
1 cup water
1 tablespoon Sriracha hot sauce*
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated**

2 tablespoons chives or green onions, chopped
1 teaspoon sesame seeds

*You can find Sriracha Sauce at most grocery stores and at Walmart.
** Tip - you can keep whole pieces of ginger frozen. Simple peel away the skin and grate. Place remaining ginger back in the freezer for next time!

Spray a large, heavy saucepan with non-stick spray or add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and place over medium high heat. Brown chicken legs for about 10 minutes, turning to brown all sides.

Add water, balsamic, soy sauce, sugar, garlic, ginger, hot sauce and cook on high until liquid comes to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered for about 20 minutes.

Remove cover and bring heat back to medium high, allowing sauce to reduce down, about 10-15 minutes, or until it becomes a thick glaze, turning chicken occasionally. Be careful that the glaze doesn't burn during this last step.

Transfer chicken to a platter and top with remaining glaze from pan. Sprinkle with chopped chives or green onions and sesame seeds.

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Joining Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum , Melt in Your Mouth Monday, and Your Cozy Home Party.

Quiche Maraîchère For National Pie Day

noreply@blogger.com (SavoringTime in the Kitchen) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 15:28:00 +0000

National Pie Day is January 23rd and instead of a pie in the traditional sense, I'd like to share a quiche recipe with you. Quiche is a savory pie, after all!

This one is from Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table Cookbook which is filled with wonderful recipes. I found the recipe on several...other... websites, so I hope Dorie doesn't mind that I'm sharing it here.

I brought this quiche to a New Year's Eve party as an appetizer and I received lots of compliments on it! It was so delicious, I made it again for my husband and myself for dinner with a simple side salad.

First the pie/tart crust is baked then heaped full of delicious sautéed vegetables - a mirepoix of sorts. Then, it's filled with an egg and cream mixture and baked. At first I was surprised at how little egg is actually in the mixture but went ahead with the recipe as written at it turned out perfectly.. Rather than Dorie's recipe for tart dough, I used my own Flaky, Tender No-Fail pie crust recipe that I got long ago from a friend, but you can find Dorie's tart shell recipe on one of the sites I referred to above or simply use your favorite recipe for pie crust.

After the filling is baked, a layer of grated Gruyère cheese is added to the top and then returned to the oven to melt to a golden brown. Now that's my kind of pie!

Quiche Maraîchère
Adapted from Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan
Printable Recipe

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2-3 celery stalks, trimmed and cut into a small dice
2 leeks, white and light green parts only, quartered lengthwise, washed, and thinly sliced
2-3 carrots, trimmed, peeled, and finely diced
1 medium red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and finely diced
salt and pepper

1 9-inch tart or pie shell partially baked and cooled (watch careful that your crust doesn't contain any cracks or the filling will ooze out. Add a scrap of pastry to the crack and bake a little longer, if necessary)

2/3 cup heavy cream
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2/3 cup grated cheese, preferably Gruyère

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the diced vegetables and saute for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, just until barely tender. Season with salt and pepper, then remove the vegetables to a bowl and let cool.

Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 400 F degrees. Put the crust on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spoon the vegetables into the tart shell and even them out. They should almost fill the crust. Whisk the the cream, egg, egg yolk together, season with salt and pepper, and carefully pour over the vegetables. Depending on how your crust and filling, you may have too much custard. Pour in as much custard as you can without it overflowing and wait a few minutes until it has settled, then add more if you can. Very carefully slide the baking sheet into the oven.

Bake the quiche for 20 minutes. Sprinkle the cheese over the top and bake for another 5 or 10 minutes, or until the cheese is golden (the filling should be puffed all over - especially the center), browned, and set. Note: This took a little longer in my oven.

Transfer the quiche to a rack, remove the sides of the pan, and cool until it is only just warm or until it reaches room temperature before serving.

Always Flaky and Tender No-Fail Pie Crust

Printable Recipe

This recipe makes enough crust for 1 single crust pie and 1 double-crust pie (3 crusts) and is easily cut in half or even thirds if you care to do the math. You never have to worry about over-working this pie crust dough - it turns out beautifully flaky every time.

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt

1-3/4 cups cold shortening

½ cup ice water
1 Tablespoon vinegar
1 large egg

Stir together flour, sugar and salt. Cut in shortening. Mix liquid ingredients together and stir into flour mixture. Divide into 3 portions and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Roll out on a well-floured surface.

Save scraps to fill any cracks in the crust, if they develop while baking.

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I'm joining Seasonal Sundays at The Tablescaper and Mosaic Monday at Little Red House and Your Cozy Home Party at Cozy Home Scenes.

Lemon Angel Wings

noreply@blogger.com (SavoringTime in the Kitchen) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 01:38:00 +0000

First of all, thankfully, Blogger has finally fixed the 'glitch' in the links and pages bar above. You can now access my Blog List above once again!

This is a recipe that almost did not get posted. If a recipe doesn't turn out or taste good, I can't justify sharing it. These Lemon Angel Wings cookies did not turn out well the first time I tried them. I was so disappointed because the recipe sounded wonderful. Lemon zest, sour cream, a puff-like pastry and glistening sugar all sounded delicious to me. But, after baking the first batch, they were flat and greasy-looking. Very unappetizing.

I still had some dough left in the refrigerator, which I was going to throw out, but decided to go back to the website where I found the recipe, and clicked on the link to where the recipe originated from, and found an error! There should have been more flour added to the dough.

I took the remaining dough out of the refrigerator and kneaded in some extra flour and tried baking another batch. This time - perfect! Puffy and flaky, not flat and greasy. It just goes to show you, sometimes mistakes are made - even with editors watching over.

These are called angel wings but many of you will recognize the shape of these cookies as palmiers, which is French for palm. That is what the shape should look like - the top of a palm tree. (I tried to pinch the top to make a heart shape but they did what they wanted to in the oven).

These are perfect with a cup of tea.

Do you see the green in the background of the above photo? That WAS green grass outside of my window last week. (Thank you to Jerry at Shadowhouse Creations for the lovely texture I applied to the above shot). Winter finally arrived last week and we got our first substantial snow fall.

This is current view outside of the same window. It was peaceful watching the big flakes fall. A perfect time to get cozy with a hot cup of tea and these cookies.

Now I can make angel wings in the snow!

Lemon Angel Wings

Adapted from Taste of Home
Printable Recipe

Makes 3 dozen

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (this is the correct amount)
1 cup cold butter, cubed
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
10 tablespoons sugar, divided (I used large sparkling sugar from Wilton)

Place flour in a large bowl; cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in sour cream and lemon peel until well blended. Place on a piece of waxed paper; shape into a 4 1/2 inch square. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Cut dough into four 2 1/4 - inch squares. (four equal squares). Place one square on a piece of waxed paper sprinkled with 2 tablespoons sugar. Cover with another piece of waxed paper. Keep remaining squares refrigerated. Roll out dough into a 12 inch x 5 inch rectangle, turning often to coat both sides with sugar.

Lightly mark center of 12 inch side. Roll up jellyroll style to the center mark, starting with a short side and peeling paper away while rolling. Repeat rolling from other short side, so the two rolls meet in the center and resemble a scroll.

Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate. Repeat with remaining squares, using 2 tablespoons sugar for each. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Unwrap dough and cut into ½ inch slices; dip each side in remaining sugar. Place 2 inches apart on foil lined baking sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 14 minutes or until golden brown. Turn cookies over; bake 5 minutes longer. Watch carefully, as they may not need this much time, depending on your oven.

Remove to wire racks.

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Joining Michael Lee West for Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum and Shannon at Your Cozy Home Party.

Pork Schnitzel with Lemon Caper Butter

noreply@blogger.com (SavoringTime in the Kitchen) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 22:39:00 +0000

My husband and I have been obsessed with capers lately! I've been using them in sauces for seafood, putting them in Caesar salad dressings and most recently in a sauce for sauteed pork tenderloin medallions.

This is a very tasty recipe that I found in our local newspaper. It had achieved the recognition of being one of the top 25 recipes that the newspaper had tested and reviewed in 2011. It's an adaptation of a recipe from the Gourmet Today cookbook.

Since pork tenderloin is our favorite cut of pork, I'm always looking for new ways to serve it. This was...delicious! The salty flavor of the capers pairs so well with the breaded schnitzel. It was also a fairly easy dinner to put together and the cooking time is quick. I served it with a simple salad on the side.

Enjoy!

Pork Schnitzel with Lemon Caper Butter
Adapted from Gourmet Today
Printable Recipe

Note: I cut the recipe in half and only used 1 egg

Makes 4 servings

1 ½ pounds pork tenderloin, slice into 1-inch-thick rounds

6 tablespoons cup unsalted butter (divided in half)
3 tablespoons olive oil (divided)
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and patted dry
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 eggs
1 ½ cups fine dry bread crumbs

6 tablespoons vegetable oil (about) (divided)

Garnish:
1 ½ teaspoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Lemon wedges

Line 1 baking sheet with waxed paper and another baking sheet with paper toweling.

Pound pork tenderloin rounds between two sheets of plastic wrap to ¼-inch thickness. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a baking sheet with wax paper.

In a small saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons butter. Stir in capers, lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Remove from heat and cover loosely to keep warm.

Pat pork rounds dry and season with salt and pepper. In a shallow bowl or pie plate, beat eggs with ¼ teaspoon salt. Put bread crumbs in another pie plate or shallow bowl. Dip pork rounds in egg mixture, one at a time, allowing excess to drip off, then dredge in bread crumbs and place on wax-paper-lined baking sheet.

In a non-stick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil with 1 tablespoon butter over medium-high heat until foam subsides. Add 2 to 3 pieces of pork, without crowding meat, and cook, turning once, until golden and just cooked through, about 1 minute per side. Transfer cooked rounds to paper-towel-lined baking sheet and keep warm in preheated oven.

Cook remaining pork pieces in the same way, adding 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter for each batch.

Serve pork drizzled with caper butter and sprinkled with parsley and lemon wedges on the side.

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Joining Michael Lee West for Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum

Cauliflower Steak with Olive Relish and Tomato Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (SavoringTime in the Kitchen) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 23:13:00 +0000

I first saw this cauliflower steak recipe on Velva's blog, Tomatoes on the Vine last month and just tried it last night. My husband said I could make this for him ANY TIME, he liked it so much...and he's not a huge roasted cauliflower fan. The olive relish and the roasted tomato/garlic sauce are so delicious with the cauliflower! They really turn cauliflower into something special.

A whole head of cauliflower is cut into thick slices from top to bottom. The directions say to cut them into 1/2-inch slices, but I think 1-inch slices work better and the slices stay together better. There is a lot of waste with this method but I used all the pieces that broke off and cooked them in the same manner as the 'steaks'. You could probably even eliminate the 'steak' idea and just use florets but the presentation is worth the effort.

Cauliflower Steaks with Olive Relish and Tomato Sauce
Recipe by The Bon Appétit Test Kitchen January 2012
Printable Recipe

Serves 4

1 large head of cauliflower
1/2 cup pitted oil-packed black olives, finely chopped
3 sun-dried tomatoes, thinly sliced
3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided, plus more
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 garlic cloves
2 plum tomatoes, cored, quartered

Remove leaves and trim stem end of cauliflower, leaving core intact. Place cauliflower core side down on a work surface. Using a large knife, slice cauliflower into four 1/2" "steaks" from center of cauliflower (some florets will break loose; reserve). Note: I made my steaks 1-inch thick.

Finely chop enough loose florets to measure 1/2 cup. Transfer chopped florets to a small bowl and mix with olives, sun-dried tomatoes, 1 Tbsp. oil, parsley, and lemon juice. Season relish with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 400°. Heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a large heavy ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Working in 2 batches, cook cauliflower steaks until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side, adding 1 Tbsp. oil to pan between batches. Transfer steaks to a large rimmed baking sheet. Reserve skillet. Roast cauliflower until tender, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, return skillet to medium-high heat and add garlic cloves and tomatoes, one cut side down. Cook until tomatoes are browned; turn tomatoes over and transfer skillet to oven with cauliflower. Roast garlic and tomatoes until tender, about 12 minutes.

Transfer garlic, tomatoes, and 1/2 Tbsp. oil to a blender; purée until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Divide tomato sauce among plates. Place 1 cauliflower steak on each plate; spoon relish over. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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I'm joining Michael Lee West for Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum

Chocolate Chiffon Cake for Auld Lang Syne

noreply@blogger.com (SavoringTime in the Kitchen) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 18:01:00 +0000

Here is one of my all-time favorite desserts which I posted back in 2009 and thought I'd reprise for old time sake in celebration of the new year.

A feather-light, chocolate chiffon cake coated in an equally light and fluffy whipped cream frosting studded with toffee bits, this cake is sublime and would be a fitting end to any celebratory meal.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of you who stop to visit a Very Happy and Healthy 2012! I am grateful for all of your comments, support and friendship.

In remembrance of long-standing friendships and those yet to come...Cheers everyone!

Chocolate Chiffon Cake with Whipped Toffee Frosting
Printable Recipe

Serves 12

3/4 cup boiling water
1/2 cup cocoa
1-3/4 cups sifted cake flour
1-3/4 cups sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup canola oil
7 egg yolks, unbeaten
1 tsp vanilla

7 egg whites
½ tsp cream of tartar

Combine hot water and cocoa and let cool. Sift together dry ingredients. Make a well and add oil, egg yolks, cooled cocoa mixture and vanilla. Beat until smooth. In separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff adding cream of tartar. Pour egg yolk mixture in a thin stream onto entire surface of egg whites, gently cutting and folding with spatula until completely blended. Pour into ungreased 10” tube pan. Bake at 325 for 55 minutes and then at 350 for 10-15 minutes. Invert until completely cool. Run a long, sharp knife around sides of tube pan and invert onto a work surface. Split horizontally into 2-3 layers. Fill and frost with chocolate topping recipe.

Chocolate Topping-Filling (I double this recipe)

1 pint whipping cream
12 ounce package milk chocolate Heath bits (reserving 1/4 cup for sprinkling on top of cake)
1 16-17 oz jar rich, fudge topping such as Dove or Smuckers

Whip whipping cream until very stiff. Fold in other ingredients and frost cake layers. Refrigerate cake after frosting.

Can be frozen.

"The Stockings Were Hung..."

noreply@blogger.com (SavoringTime in the Kitchen) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 18:24:00 +0000

by the chimney with care...

Enjoy this old video of 'Twas The Night Before Christmas. Please forgive Santa lighting up his pipe! I'm sure he's been smoke-free for years :-)

If you'd like to learn more about the debate over the authorship of this poem, it's inspiration and how it forever changed the English-speaking world's concept of Santa Claus and Christmas Eve, click here.

Merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate and may the joy and beauty of Christmas fill your hearts with happiness~ Have a happy weekend, everyone!

Pecan Shortbread Cookies~

noreply@blogger.com (SavoringTime in the Kitchen) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 17:45:00 +0000

Get out your rolling pins and cookie cutters, here is the other award-winning cookie recipe that I promised to share with you from our newspaper's Christmas cookie contest. This cookie won first place in the "Cut Out" category and took second place overall. Shortbread has been one of my favorite kinds of cookies for many years and I loved the idea of a shortbread with pecans.

The heart shape also appealed to me since it is also used extensively in Danish Christmas decorating.

The original recipe had white and dark chocolate drizzles but I stuck with my fave - dark chocolate. These are delicious even plain without the chocolate drizzle. This recipe also called for cornstarch, which many shortbread recipes do, but I substituted rice flour, which I use in my regular shortbread recipe. You can find rice flour in the Bob's Red Mill section of the baking aisle.

Help yourself to a very, Merry Christmas!

Pecan Shortbread Hearts

Adapted from the Cutout Winner of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Cookie Contest 2011
Printable Recipe

1 cup flour
2-1/2 tablespoons cornstarch (I used rice flour instead)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup very finely chopped pecans (I used my mini food processor to chop them)
Powdered sugar or 2 ounces each dark chocolate and white chocolate for drizzling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Into medium bowl, sift together flour, cornstarch or rice flour, and salt.

In a large bowl, combine butter, sugar and vanilla. Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add the flour mixture and mix until the dough begins to gather together. Mix in nuts - do not over mix.

Gather dough into a ball and place on a sheet of waxed paper. Flatten dough with a rolling pin between 2 sheets of waxed paper to a thickness of about 1/8 inch. Remove top piece of waxed paper and cut out dough with a 1-3/4 inch heart-shaped cookie cutter.

Place hearts on a parchment or silicone mat-lined baking sheet about 1/2 inches apart. Bake until form to the touch and just beginning to color on the edges, about 10-15 minutes. Allow to cool 5 minutes and then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Sprinkle cooled cookies with powdered sugar or pipe melted chocolate decoratively across cookies or just enjoy plain.

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I'll be joining Michael Lee West for Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum