All Things Delicious

WE HAVE MOVED!

2010-01-14T06:21:00.001-08:00

We have moved www.cocoandvanilla.com

Hope to see you there!

Candied Sweet Potato Cupcakes

2009-11-15T06:34:00.001-08:00

I have been MIA for a little bit but I'm back! I'm also back at a great time might I say-just in time for an MS Cupcake Club post. This month Karen from Karen's Cookies, Cakes, & More chose Candied Sweet Potato Cupcakes. I have to say I was really excited to try this recipe because I have never had a dessert with sweet potatoes, but it's so close to pumpkin it made sense to me. At the same time, I was also nervous because others may know something I don't as there are no desserts out there with sweet potatoes. Also, telling people I was bringing sweet potato cupcakes to a get together got me a couple confused and worried looks.

Every month at least a couple members of the club complain that the recipe was a muffin desguised as a cupcake. So this month, I will be one of those members. As delicious as they were...they were muffins. To prove they were muffins, I made some in a muffin pan and had them the next day and they were great!! These are way to dense to me cupcakes. I also did not like the marshmallow topping. It was a sticky disaster to work with and the taste was just 'eh'. So my verdict is if you are looking for a muffin recipe for the holiday season this good one but for cupcakes...I don't know!

Cinnamon-Pecan Coffee Cake

2009-10-20T04:23:00.000-07:00

This is the first month in my new cooking group The Cake Slice Bakers. For the next year, we will be baking cakes out of Nancie McDermott’s book Southern Cakes. For our first cake, the group has chosen a Cinnamon-Pecan Coffee Cake.
I’ll be honest, I didn’t know what to expect from this cake. Although, not an unusual combination of ingredients it is not a cake I have seen before. Having baked it, I can tell you it is fantastic. The flavor, aroma, and texture all work beautifully together. The butter gives the pecans a sweet candy like flavor, the cinnamon is surprisingly not overwhelming, and the cake itself is moist. As it name states, it would be perfect in the morning with a cup of coffee. And Pecans are so festive so it is a perfect cake to have on hand for the Thanksgiving and Christmas season.
Now let’s talk about where I went wrong and I really don’t know how I went wrong…well actually I do. You are suppose to lay one layer of the batter, top it with the cinnamon-pecan raisin filling, and then put another layer of batter on top of that and so on. Well I put too much batter on the first layer and didn’t have enough for the second layer and so my cake became a cake with no filling. Either way, the flavor was not compromised and given that we only have so much of a sweet tooth it worked out perfectly for us.
Check out the other lovely cake slice bakers here!

Recipe
Cinnamon-Pecan Coffee Cake
(Adapted from Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott)
Ingredients
For the Cake
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup milk
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs

For the Cinnamon Raisin Filling
1½ cups light brown sugar
3 tbsp all purpose flour
3 tbsp cinnamon
1½ cups raisins
1½ cups coarsely chopped pecans
¾ cup (1½ sticks) butter, melted

Directions
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 by 9 inch pan.
2. To make the filling- In one bowl, combine the light brown sugar, flour and cinnamon and mix everything using a fork or whisk. In another bowl, combine the raisins and pecans in another bowl and toss to mix them. In another bowl, melt butter. Take all three bowls and set aside.
3. To make the cake batter- In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. Also combine the milk and vanilla.
4. In the bowl of a electric mixer combine the butter and sugar whisk on high speed until pale yellow about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and beat for another 2 minutes.
5. Start slowly adding the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Alternate between the milk and flour.
6. Spread half the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Sprinkle half the cinnamon mixture over the batter and pour half of the melted butter on top of it. Then sprinkle half the raisins and nuts.
7. With a spatula spread the remaining batter over the filling. Finish by sprinkling the rest of the cinnamon, butter and nut mixture making sure to cover the cake evenly.
8. Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes-until the cake is golden brown. Let the cake cool before serving and you can serve out of the pan.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting....Kind of

2009-10-14T10:16:00.000-07:00

It’s a fun day today; I’m doing a MS Cupcake Club post! This month Kim from What the Whisk chose Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes. I should start of by saying there are two seasons in my house- College Football and waiting for College Football. So it’s with this that my fall cupcakes come in a different spirit then what Martha had in mind. Truth be told, we had all my husband’s friends over for the game on Saturday and I needed to bake my cupcakes but I couldn’t very well give a bunch of grown men, who are still holding on to their college youth, a cupcake with a perfectly formed marzipan pumpkin on it. It’s not times like this, when everyone is worried about the quarterback and his concussion and the faith of the world which relies on this football team, that you serve cute foods. Oh no! In times like this you suck up your pride and contribute to the insanity that is college football. After all, if the football team loses, I may not care but I will suffer the consequences of a grumpy husband for weeks to come. So with that I will do my part and I hope the MS Cupcake Club will forgive me and understand my predicament of being a football wife :)

As for the Cupcakes, like all the others in the book, I found to be great. Were they outstanding? No. I will probably try a couple more pumpkin cupcakes before I remake these. As for the icing, as I’ve mentioned before I am not a fan of Martha’s Cream Cheese Frosting. It’s far too buttery. I have to make a lot of alterations to meet my tastes.

BB-Ina's Beatty's Chocolate Cake

2009-10-12T04:42:00.000-07:00

For the month of September, the Barefoot Bloggers chose two chocolate cake recipes. The first one I had not heard good things about and the second was Beatty's Chocolate cake. I have wanted to make this cake for as long as I can remember because of all the great things I have heard about it. The funny thing about this recipe that I do have to mention is that although Ina calls it her friend Beatty’s recipe….it appears to originally be a Hershey recipe called the Black Magic Cake. The recipe is identical as in word by word and I find it odd that Ina doesn’t mention anything about this anywhere. But I digress, the recipe itself was very easy to make and was not too time consuming. The batter was extremely watery; I have actually never seen batter that was almost pure liquid. I admit I was worried, but it did form and everything turned out fine. I used cake circles to take the cakes out of the baking pans. This is not a cool and flip-over and remove cake type of recipe; even if you sprayed your pans trust me when I say at least one of your cakes will break in half if not both. You need to somehow support your cakes when you remove them. The cake itself was extremely moist and had a great flavor. The icing on the other hand, I did not enjoy too much. But I think that may have had something to do with the fact I knew there was a raw egg in there. Which brings to this question-what purpose does a raw egg yolk serve in icing? I left in the recipe when I made it because I was curious but I have never heard of this. I was a little surprised when I originally saw the recipe and saw an egg yolk in the icing. Apart from the egg yolk, I thought it could have been more rich and intense in flavor. It was too light and sweet for me. The verdict on this recipe is that-I would make the cake again but with a different icing recipe. If you are interested, you can find the recipe here.

Enjoy!

Gourmet Magazine Folds

2009-10-05T12:43:00.000-07:00

It's a sad day in the Foodie world today. Conde Nast Publications annouced that it is ceasing publication of Gourmet Magazine. I'm not shocked anymore with the state of the economy but Gourmet has been around for so long-68 years to be exact. It's the falling of an institution. Apparently Bon Appetit will continue publication, so that's at least some goods but I'm not going to lie-I'm going to miss Gourmet!

Healthy Low-Fat Turkey Chili...Diet Food that's Yummy!

2009-09-30T10:30:00.001-07:00

Believe it or not, I actually do not subside on a diet of cupcakes, cookies, and brownies….yes I know it’s hard to believe with every other recipe using a pound or two of butta, but I promise you that I eat healthy the majority of the time. For us that means lots of lean protein, healthy fats, and vegetables. We eat a lot of fish and eating out is usually sushi. We save our desserts and heavily rich dishes for the weekends or special occasions. Most of the desserts I make get given away or taken to parties. So having said that I thought I would share a dish that I make in my house at least every other week if not every week- low-fat turkey chili. Now I admit this is not the chili I would serve if I had friends over but it's a great fast, tasty and healthy meal for the family during the workweek when you don’t want to slave over the stove for hours.

Ingredients
1lb Extra-Lean ground turkey
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
4 heads of garlic, diced
1 cup of celery, chopped
2 cans of black beans(you can use another bean if you like)
Cilantro
Large can of whole tomatoes, 28oz chopped
tomato sauce 8oz
Spices
(I just eyeball it)
-onion powder
-garlic powder
- cumin
- turmeric
- cayenne powder
- paprika
- dried oregano
- chili powder

Directions
1. Heat the olive oil on medium heat and add onions. Cook onions until they are golden-about 5 minutes. Don’t burn them!
2. Add garlic and cook a minute.
3. Add meat then immediately add the spices. Now chop up the meat with a wooden spoon and cook meat until it’s cooked all the way through. At least five minutes.
4. Add celery. Cook a couple more minutes.
5. Add canned tomatoes and tomato sauce
6. After about half an hour add black beans. Also at this point taste and adjust salt and spices.
7. Cook another half hour or so. When Chili is cooked, I like to add a handful of fresh cilantro. You can omit if you want.
Enjoy!

Banana Pecan Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream Frosting

2009-09-30T04:23:00.000-07:00

Whew! I think I’ve hit some sort of record for longest time between posts. I have no excuses, but I do promise to try harder :D! Well I kind of have an excuse, I'm back at school and I'm just trying to get back into the groove of things. It's been a while since I've sat in a classroom and had to hand in homework. It takes some adjusting!
So with that, I will move on to the purpose of this post-a MS:Cupcake Club post. For the month of September, we had two recipes: the Zucinni Spice Cupcakes and this bonus recipe. The cupcakes we had to make for this last day of September were Banana Pecan with Caramel Buttercream icing and oh my goodness were they good. The icing was really to die for….well ok maybe not to die for but you it was good! I will admit though that it was kind of a pain in the ass to make. First you whip the butter, then you make the caramel, then you heat and whip the egg whites, and then you mix everything together. Now we all know Ms. Martha has 10 bowls for her electric mixer but I only have one, so I do wish I had read the instruction beforehand because by the time I whipped the butter I was out of bowls! Apart from being a pain in the ass to make, it really was heavenly. I froze a bunch of the icing, so I will let you know how defrosted icing tastes. Oh, and if you’re wondering why my icing is so yellow, I added food coloring to it. As for the cupcake, it was good but I’ve had better banana breadish/cake/muffins. It was a little on the dry side for me but overall it was good. This is the second Martha cupcake recipe I’ve been pleased with. I’m on a roll; I hope I didn’t jinx myself!

Zucchini-Spice Cupcakes

2009-09-13T09:23:00.000-07:00

I must have a lot of time on my hands because I joined another online cooking club. Ok not really, but it’s just that I really wanted to join the MS: Cupcake Club. The MS stands for The Martha Stewart, as they are attempting to bake their way through Martha’s Cupcake book. Why did I Join? Because, I love cupcakes! They are so proud and delicious in all their individual glory. Everyone feels special getting their own mini anything and cupcakes are like your own individual cake….a cake made especially for you and you only ;) So now once a month I/we will bake a new recipe from Martha’s book. I will not be posting the recipes since we are baking every recipe. I hope you follow along and enjoy!
This month Tracy from Tracy’s Culinary Adventures has chosen Zucchini-Spice Cupcakes on pages 44. I have never baked with Zucchini before, so I really had no idea what to expect. It didn’t help that my husband walked by and said ‘why can’t you bake something normal, like blueberry muffins or something’. Yea, I was off to a good start.
Having baked them, I can’t believe how good they were and my husband agreed. They were super moist and paired perfectly with the cream cheese frosting. I do have to say, I adjusted the frosting by adding more vanilla extract and sugar in order to balance the very strong butter flavor. Next time, I will definitely cut the butter by at least four tablespoons and keep everything else the same. I baked a full batch and took them to a get together and they were a hit. Everyone loved them. The next time I have a lot of zucchini, I will definitely make these. Thanks Tracy for the great suggestion.
Now if you want to check out what everyone else did go here!!!
Enjoy!

Daring Cooks Challenge-Indian Dosas

2009-09-11T15:36:00.000-07:00

Making the Pancakes- I made mini ones

Cooked pancakes

Mashing the chickpeas

Cooking chickpea filling

Making coconut curry sauce

All assembled and ready to eat!

Do you know what day today is? It’s a Daring Cooks Challenge day! This month, Debyi from the Healthy Vegan Kitchen is our host, and she chose a vegan Indian dish called Dosas. I have to admit, I was very excited about this challenge because I love healthy vegetarian dishes and I love Indian food, but have never attempted to cook it myself. Have I ever mentioned that I was vegetarian for six years and vegan for one? Well I was, but all that ended on one faithful night when I was craving Burger King….yes, Burger King, and a Whopper to be exact. Yes, I am ashamed but it was so good. I can promise you, I haven’t had another one since, but I am no longer vegetarian. The point of that little tidbit, however, is that I love vegetarian food and it’s been a huge part of my life.
Now, the dish Debyi chose comes in 3 parts: the pancakes (wraps), the chickpea filling, and the coconut curry sauce. Let me tell you this dish was really good and I would definitely make it again. The only real change I made to the recipe was cutting the Curry powder by about half. My husband hates a pronounced Curry taste and is convinced it makes him sick, so I had to accommodate him. I will also add this, I think this recipe assumes you have all non-stick pots and pans because the idea of cooking vegetables in no oil on my stainless steel pots and pans makes my heart palpitate. As for portion sizes, I think the curry coconut sauce can be cut in half. I had so much left over. I would also probably make a couple more pancakes. Over all though, a really good recipe! Thanks Debyi!

Indian Dosas
Adapted from refresh cookbook by Ruth Tal
Serves 4

Dosa Pancakes
1 cup (120gm/8oz) spelt flour (or all-purpose, gluten free flour)
½ tsp (2½ gm) salt
½ tsp (2½ gm) baking powder
½ tsp (2½ gm) curry powder
½ cup (125ml/4oz) almond milk (or soy, or rice, etc.)
¾ cup (175ml/6oz) water
cooking spray, if needed

Dosa Filling
1 batch Curried Garbanzo Filling (see below), heated
Dosa Toppings
1 batch Coconut Curry Sauce (see below), heated
¼ cup (125gm) grated coconut
¼ cucumber, sliced
Dosa Pancakes
1.Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, slowly adding the almond milk and water, whisking until smooth.
2.Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Spray your pan with a thin layer of cooking spray, if needed.
3.Ladle 2 tablespoons of batter into the center of your pan in a circular motion until it is a thin, round pancake. When bubbles appear on the surface and it no longer looks wet, flip it over and cook for a few seconds. Remove from heat and repeat with remaining batter. Makes 8 pancakes.
Curried Garbanzo Filling
This filling works great as a rice bowl topping or as a wrap too, so don't be afraid to make a full batch.
5 cloves garlic
1 onion, peeled and finely diced
1 carrot, peeled and finely diced
1 green pepper, finely diced (red, yellow or orange are fine too)
2 medium hot banana chilies, minced
2 TBSP (16gm) cumin, ground
1 TBSP (8gm) oregano
1 TBSP (8gm) sea salt (coarse)
1 TBSP (8gm) turmeric
4 cups (850gm/30oz) cooked or canned chick peas (about 2 cans)
½ cup (125gm/4oz) tomato paste
1.Heat a large saucepan over medium to low heat. Add the garlic, veggies, and spices, cooking until soft, stirring occasionally.
2.Mash the chickpeas by hand, or in a food processor. Add the chickpeas and tomato paste to the saucepan, stirring until heated through.

Coconut Curry Sauce
This makes a great sauce to just pour over rice as well. This does freeze well, but the texture will be a little different. The flavor is still the same though. My picture of this sauce is one that I had made, had to freeze, then thaw to use. It tastes great, but the texture is a little runnier, not quite as thick as it was before freezing.
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic
½ (2½ gm) tsp cumin, ground
¾ (3¾ gm) tsp sea salt (coarse)
3 TBSP (30gm) curry powder
3 TBSP (30gm) spelt flour (or all-purpose GF flour)
3 cups (750ml/24oz) vegetable broth
2 cups (500ml/24oz) coconut milk
3 large tomatoes, diced
1.Heat a saucepan over medium heat, add the onion and garlic, cooking for 5 minutes, or until soft.
2.Add the spices, cooking for 1 minutes more. Add the flour and cook for 1 additional minute.
3.Gradually stir in the vegetable broth to prevent lumps. Once the flour has been incorporated, add the coconut milk and tomatoes, stirring occasionally.
4.Let it simmer for half an hour.
Enjoy!

Orange and Almond Cake

2009-09-11T14:32:00.000-07:00

Fridays, I have no classes-yay for me!! So Fridays have become my favorite day of the week to cook, bake and try new recipes. Given that it’s still a work day for everyone else; it doesn’t quite feel like the weekend, so I like to try to do something semi-constructive. I also need to keep myself occupied so I don’t torture my poor husband who works from home. And so for everyone’s sanity, I bake and cook on Fridays. They(who they is, I don’t know) say Friday is probably one of the worst days to update your blog-no one is at their computer to read it but hey, I need something to do and such is the story of my life.

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but I love to try recipes with a cult following-one of the first recipes I did on my blog was the Zuni Chicken. I like to see what all the hoopla is about and see if it will become a staple recipe for me. I have a binder with about 20 recipes; I’ve been dying to try. Well today, I decided to make one of those recipes- Claudia Roden’s Orange and Almond cake. If you don’t know who Claudia Roden is, I’ll basically say she’s considered to be the foremost experts on Middle Eastern cuisine today. If you look below, you’ll see it’s quite the interesting recipe as the ingredients are scarce and not your typical cake ingredients. After having made it, I’ll say it is very different from what I’m use to. I know you will roll your eyes at this-but it is very orangey. I mean very very orangey…is that even a word? When you make this cake, you poach the oranges and then puree them in a food processor-skin and all. I think, I’d like to try this again but without the orange skin; it’s too much for me. I think it would be even nice with a different fruit. I do have to say though that I love almond flour. So the verdict on this recipe is: if the ingredients intrigue you then try it. If you love oranges then try it. If you hate oranges…stay away ;)

Orange and Almond Cake
Recipe
Adapted from Claudia Roden

2 large oranges
6 eggs
1/2 pound ground almonds
1/2 pound sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder

Directions
1. Wash oranges and place in hot water to simmer for 2 hours.
2. After 2 hours take them out, let them cook. If needed cut them open and remove sees.
3. Take oranges and puree in food processor.
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
5. Beat the eggs and then slowly add all other ingredients. You do all this in the food if you'd like.
6. Pour into a prepared springform pan or a regular 8inch pan and bake for about an hour or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Cornish Hens with Figs

2009-09-07T09:59:00.001-07:00

I’ve been dying to use figs in a recipe ever since I saw them on display at my grocery store last week. Then coincidentally a couple days ago, my husband came home with two fig tree branches. They do not have roots so we’re going to try to root them in water and then plant them in the ground. Keep your fingers and toes crossed for me!!! We had a fig tree at our previous house and it was so lovely to wake up to fresh figs….except of course when the raccoons, squirrels or possums got to them before me. But that is beside the point, the point is that I adore fruit trees! There’s something so exciting and magical about them-especially for someone who grew up in the city. I now have four fruit trees growing on my property, so that should be enough to keep me occupied year long. Well lets hope so anyways because I don’t want to plant anymore trees, I mean don’t want to be known as the weird lady with the overrun property.

Well back to the figs and a recipe. When I got this months Gourmet, I was so excited to see a Cornish hen and fig recipe. I immediately knew I had to make it. The result as you can see is really pretty. It was a fun recipe to make and it was really really easy. Even the most novice of cooks could make this and have it be a success. If nothing else, I'll guarantee you'll love the name- Figgy Piggy Cornish Hens. I get such a kick out of it...yes I am a strange one but I tell you it's the little things in life. If you are interested in the recipe it can be found here!

Enjoy!

Banana Date Cake

2009-09-02T14:35:00.001-07:00

Dates, I LOVE dates. No-I really really really love dates. I don’t know why but I think it has something to do with being Middle Eastern. It must be in my blood...that and eggplants. So I bought a big package of dates the other day and wanted to make something with them. I have this great recipe for banana date cake and I thought PERFECT! I love things like this because I am not a sweets person. I don‘t like anything overly sweet. But stuff like this is right up my alley. Having a slice of banana date bread and a cup tea, after supper, is perfection in book. The best part of this whole thing is that my husband loves it too and getting us two to agree on anything is nothing less than monumental.

Banana Date Cake or... Bread

Ingredients
5 very ripe bananas mashed
1 cup chopped dates, dusted with flour
1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup Greek yogurt

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a Bundt pan
2. Sift all the dry ingredients. Set aside.
3. Place butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and blend until smooth. Add eggs one a time, vanilla extract, mashed bananas, yogurt, cinnamon. Mix in dry ingredients.
4. Add dates to mixture. Make sure you’ve tossed the dates in flour or they will all sink to the bottom of your cake.
5. Spoon mixture into bundt pan
6. Bake for about 1 hour 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean

Enjoy!

Magnolia Cupcakes

2009-08-28T12:02:00.000-07:00

For the fifth day in a row the weather here has been awful-rain, thunder and lightening. I live in Florida....where is the sun? Well on the bright side, I decided to cheer myself up and bake some cupcakes. I've been wanting to make the Magnolia Bakery Cupcakes forever. I decided today is as good day as any, especially since I will not be leaving the house.

I have to say this is the first time I've made this particular recipe. I think they're good but the icing is very very very sweet-so be warned. Based on some reviews I read, I substituted half the milk for heavy cream in the actual cupcakes. All in All, it was a really easy and fast recipe. I've never been to Magnolia Bakery but the next time I'm in NYC, I will definitely stop by and try their cupcakes to compare. I'm curious if this is actually similar the recipe they use.

Magnolia Vanilla Cupcakes
Adapted from Magnolia Bakery Cookbook: old-Fashioned Recipes From New York's Sweetest Bakery by Jennifer Appel and Allysa Torey

Ingredients
Cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Icing:
Vanilla Buttercream, recipe follows

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line tins with cupcake holders.
2. Combine the flours and set aside.
3. In your electric mixer bowl, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time.
4. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the milk and flours. Add the vanilla extract. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat.
5. Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about 3/4 full.
6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until center is not soft anymore.

Vanilla Buttercream:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
6 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1.Place the butter in a large mixing bowl.
2. Add half of the sugar along with the milk and vanilla.
3, On the medium speed, whisk until smooth and creamy, about 3 to 5 minutes.
4. Gradually add the remaining sugar- beat for another 2 minutes or so.
5. Make sure the cupcakes are completely, 100 percent cool before icing them or you will create a mess.

*you may want to taste it at this point and add more sugar if you like...the recipe calls for 6-8 cups of sugar but I think 6 cups is plenty
**at this point you may also add food coloring.

This will make 2 dozen cupcakes.

BB- White Pizza with Arugula

2009-08-25T16:18:00.000-07:00

Well it's that time again-time for a Barefoot Blogger post! This week Andrea of Nummy Kitchen has chosen Inas White Pizza with Arugula. Now here is the thing and when it comes to me there is always a thing. I think there are 2 types of people, those who like white sauces and those that don't. I frankly fall in the latter. Although, I don't strongly dislike them, I don't particularly like them. I like my pasta and pizzas with a nice red sauce. Now I promise I will never write about fat and calories on this blog, but I did do some quick calculations and one of these little pizza's should have at least 60grams of fat and I say at least because I lost one of the cheese wrappers with the nutritional info. Now I love my Ina and her use of 1lb of butter in every recipe but sometimes a recipe will freak me out. You know when it’s a dessert you can have a little piece and move on; when it’s a special occasion, you can chalk it up to it’s only one time; but when it’s for a week night dinner, I feel like it’s too much.

But I will say for the love my art ;) I did have a slice and I thought it was ok-I would have preferred a red sauce but then that wouldn't have been a white pizza with arugula. Now for you cheese lovers cover you ears….are they covered? Ok, I also felt there was just too much cheese going on. Blasphemy I know! Well anyways enough about me, we've all figured out I'm strange by now. Lets talk about people who had no idea how much fat was in the pizza and actually ate it-my husband and his friend. My husband thought the pizza was ok but highly impressed that I made the dough from scratch and his friend thought it was fabulous. So you see the moral of this story is that this recipe is neither here nor there and when it comes to a review. Oh and just incase you were wondering, I still me some Ina! Now don't forget to check to see what other Barefoot Bloggers thought!

You can find the recipe here.

Caprese Salad

2009-08-23T13:21:00.001-07:00

The summer just begs for fresh foods that are fast and easy to make. One of my favorite dishes that I like to make in the summer is a Caprese salad aka insalta Caprese. Basically, it is an Italian salad that originated from southern Italian island of Capri, and only consists of fresh Mozzarella, tomatoes, basil and olive oil. That is it- I told you it’s easy. I also like to add a bit of balsamic vinegar to mine but don’t tell the Italians, apparently this is some sort of sin….something to do with the vinegar bruising the cheese. But as with everything when it comes to cooking, I say do what makes you happy.
Some people like to serve this as an appetizer and some people like to serve it as a salad. I do both and it is always a hit. People love their Caprese salad. However way you serve it, be sure to have some toasted Italian bread on the side to serve with. Also, remember when you make recipes with very few ingredients and minimal preparation, the quality of your ingredients becomes paramount. So try to use the freshest ingredients you can and the best olive oil you can afford.

Caprese Salad

Ingredients
2 large ripe tomatoes (try to find ones with some stiffness to them so they cut nice and evenly)
Basil
1lb fresh mozzarella
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
* if you are like myself you may want to try some balsamic vinegar with it.

Directions
1. Evenly slice the tomatoes and Mozzarella
2. Clean and cut of Basil leaves
3. On a plate arrange in repetitive rows the mozzarella, tomato and basil.
4. Pour some a bit of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Also add vinegar if you are using.

Enjoy!

Daring Cooks Challenge- Rice with Mushroom and Cuttlefish

2009-08-14T05:30:00.000-07:00

The Sofregit

Making the Allioli

Assembling Everything

The final product

Closeup

This month Olga from Olga's Recipes is hosting our Daring Cooks challenge. Olga has chosen a Rice with Mushroom and Cuttlefish dish- essentially a Paella. This dish is by José Andrés, an accomplished Spanish Chef who now lives in DC and operates three restaurants. At the moment, this recipe is apparently a very important/popular Spanish dish(I can't confirm this, so I'm taking Olgas word for it ;))I have never made a Paella so this was actually a challange for me and that's exactly why I joined the daring cooks. So I was happy about that.

I used squid in my recipe instead of Cuttlefish and it really overpowered my dish. I usually try to buy fish fresh from Whole Foods or somewhere I know it will be fresh but I had to use my grocery store due to time. Well, I think my dish suffered as a result as it had a distinct fishy taste. But apart from that; the saffron, rice, tomatoes all worked beautifully together to create a wonderfully aromatic dish. Thanks Olga for introducing me to Spanish cuisine. I look forward to more Daring Cooks Challenges.

This dish has three distinct steps:
1. The Sofregit- This is a tomato based sauce
2. Allioli- This is a garlic/olive oil mayo
3. The Paella and assembling everything together.

This Recipe is incredibly long and my ADD has kicked in, so I will direct you to here for the recipe.

Enjoy!

BB-Mango Banana Daiquiris

2009-08-12T17:17:00.000-07:00

It is the second Thursday of the month, so you know what that means- we have a Barefoot Blogger post. This month Veronica of Supermarket Serenade has chosen Mango Banana Daiquiris. First of all, before I go any further, let me be a child and tell you how super excited I was when I saw that this recipe required minimal ingredients and no cooking or baking. Not sure why but I felt like a child whos teacher forgot to assign her homework.

Anyways, my intention was to make this recipe over a weekend when I typically have friends over. However, due to a string of unfortunate events, like both my husband and I getting food poisoning, I was unable to do so. But, never one to let an opportunity for a good drink pass me by, I made this on a Wednesday afternoon. Well let me tell you, it's not quite the happy hour drink but, nonetheless, it was still enjoyable. To me this is the quintessential drink to enjoy on hot summer day while sitting by the pool reading a magazine. It is cold, cool and refreshing, just what you need while you are baking under the sun instead of baking things in the oven. However, don't get me wrong this works just as well on a Wednesday afternoon or Tuesday afternoon or Monay afternoon....well you get the point.

Be sure to check out the other Barefoot Bloggers!

Mango Banana Daiquiris
Adapted from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics- Ina Garten
2 cups chopped ripe mango (1 to 2 mangos, peeled and seeded)
1 ripe banana, chopped
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (4 limes)
1/4 cup sugar syrup*
1 1/4 cups dark rum
Mango slices, for serving

Directions
1. Place the mango, banana, lime juice, sugar syrup, and rum in a blender and blend until smooth.
2. Add 2 cups of ice and blend again until smooth and thick.
3. Serve with slices of mangos as garnish.

*To make simple syrup, heat 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water in a small saucepan until the sugar dissolves. Chill.
Serves 4

Enjoy!

Man-Catcher Brownies- aka best brownie recipe ever

2009-07-31T10:51:00.000-07:00

Brownies are like chocolate chip cookies: everyone has a recipe and everyone thinks their recipe is the best. Well I'm here to tell you that my brownie recipe is in fact the best ;) I promise you that if you try you it you will agree but first you have to take a leap of faith and not judge this recipe by its name. Yes, this recipe is actually called Man-Catcher brownies. Let me tell you that 1. I already have a man, 2. If I didn't have a man, I most certainly wouldn't want to 'catch' him, and
3. Say I did want to catch him, I can think a couple of other things to catch him with than brownies. Ok, so we've all agreed it's a stupid name. Now lets move on to the actual brownie. This recipe produces the most dense, fudgy, chewy brownie you have ever tasted. Not only that it is super easy to make which is always a hugein my book.

ManCatcher Brownies

Ingredients
12 ounces (3 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups cocoa powder, sifted (natural or Dutch process)
6 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
* I add a teaspoon of instant espresso

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking pan with nonstick spray.
2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. When the butter has melted, remove from heat and add the cocoa powder. Stir them completely and let cool.
3. In your mixer bowl, whisk the eggs, then add the sugars and vanilla extract. Then add the chocolate mixture. Once you've whisked all these ingredients, fold in the flour and salt until just combined.
4. Spread the batter evenly in the pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or do the toothpick trick. Insert a toothpick in the brownie, if it comes out clean it is ready. I really like my brownies fudgy so I tend to underbake mine. If you cook it too long you get a cakey texture.
5. Transfer the pan to a wire rack; cool completely before cutting the brownies.

Enjoy!

Orzo Salad

2009-07-29T11:23:00.000-07:00

Did you know Basil can grow and multiply like weeds? If you did well good for you :P If, however, you are like myself and had no idea and thought it would be fun to sprinkle the flowers everywhere, well you have a Basil farm on your hands. I currently have more Basil than I do neighbors, friends and or recipes. So I'm on a mission to start using up some of my Basil. So don't be surprised if you see ten recipes in a row with Basil. Ok, not really but I really am on a mission to start using up some of this Basil, and to start I'm making my favorite Orzo Salad.

If you've never had Orzo, it's basically pasta shaped like rice. Orzo in Italian means barley due to it‘s resemblance to a barley grain. It is frequently used in soups, salads, or as a side in place of rice and pasta.

This Orzo salad is one of my favorites because it's easy to make (less then 30 minutes); you can make it ahead of time, in fact it tastes better if it sits a couple hours or overnight; it travels well in the heat, as there is no mayo in it; and it tastes delicious, trust me when I say everyone will love it.

Orzo Salad
Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients
4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups orzo
1 (15-ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups red grape tomatoes, halved
3/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
About 3/4 cup Red Wine Vinaigrette- Recipe below
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
1. Put broth in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Add orzo and cook until al dante (7-10 minutes.)
2. Drain orzo and put in a large bowl to cool.
3. When Orzo is completely cool, add the tomatoes, onion, basil, mint and garbanzo beans. If you are making this ahead of time you may want to consider adding the mint and tomatoes closer to serving time.
4. Add the vinaigrette.
5. Serve at room temperature.

Vinaigrette Recipe*
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* I personally think this is way too much dressing and cut mine in half.

1. Mix all the ingredients together.

Serves 6.

Enjoy!

Persian Tomato Cucumber Salad

2009-07-26T14:27:00.001-07:00

A staple food in every Persian household is the Tomato Cucumber salad also known as Salad-e-Shirazi. If you have any Persian friends or have been to any Persian restaurants, you will undoubtedly have had this dish. Growing up- and still to this day, this is one of my favorite foods. I can literally eat this by the pound and I’m ashamed to admit I put it on everything from rice to chicken. Yes I get strange looks but hey we all have our ‘thing‘.

Seriously though, this salad great for the summer when it’s oh so hot that all you crave is cold and refreshing foods. This is perfect served with grilled meats or served as an appetizer. Another great thing about this salad is that is healthy, fresh and flavorful! How often is something that is good for you also yummy? I can also proudly say that I have also turned my husband on to this. He has me make a huge batch that he eats for several days. If you have never had this, try it and let me know what you think!

Persian Tomato Cucumber Salad

Ingredients
2 medium tomatoes
Half of a long English cucumber
Half of a white onion
1/4 cup lemon juice (fresh squeezed preferred as always but bottled works too)
2 tablespoons of dried mint
Salt and Pepper to taste
*you can also add a tablespoon or two of extra virgin olive oil if you would like

Directions
1. Dice up all the ingredients and put in a bowl.
2. Add mint, lemon juice, salt and pepper and olive oil if you are using it.
3. Taste and adjust salt and pepper, mint and lemon juice to your taste. Once you have made this several times you will make it your own. Serves about 4.

note: other variations of this recipe include using fresh lime juice instead of lemon.

Enjoy!

Peach and Blueberry Crumble

2009-07-22T16:43:00.000-07:00

Peach and Blueberry Crumble- My very first Barefoot Blogger Post!!!!

Barefoot Bloggers are a group of bloggers who love all things Ina Garten aka Barefoot Contessa. Every month two different bloggers are chosen to pick an Ina recipe for all of us bloggers to try and write about on the same day (the second and fourth Thursday of every month). This month Aggie of Aggie’s Kitchen has chosen Ina's Peach and Blueberry Crumble.

I have to admit that I have never been fond of desserts with fruit in them, on them...anywhere near them ;). In fact I can actually go so far as to say, I go out of my way to avoid them. Why…I have no idea. I mean I love fruit and I love dessert but I've never loved them together or rather I should say I've never given them a chance together. So this recipe was a good opportunity for me to try something new and open up my horizons. I made the recipe when my mother in law was here with my husbands 14 year old cousin. The adults all really enjoyed this recipe, but the 14 year old looked at it, made a face and ran the other way. There are some people who equate dessert with chocolate and that’s it. I’m glad to say I am no longer one those people ;) I actually really enjoyed this recipe but if I had to change one thing- I would probably cut the sugar in the crumble by half. I found it a little too sweet for my taste. Since I enjoyed making this recipe so much, I can’t wait to try other fruit combinations!

Peach and Blueberry Crumble
Ina Garten-Barefoot Contessa at Home

Ingredients
For the fruit
2 lbs firm, ripe peaches (6-8 peaches)
2 tsp grated lemon zest
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup fresh blueberries (1/2 pint)

For the Crumble
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 lb (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place the peaches in boiling water for a minute or so, until their skins peel off easily. Place them immediately in cold water. Peel the peaches, slice them into thick wedges, and place them in a large bowl.
3. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, granulated sugar, and flour. Toss well. Gently mix in the blueberries. Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes. Spoon the mixture into ramekins or custard cups.
4.For the topping, combine the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the butter is the size of peas. Rub the mixture with your fingertips until it’s in big crumbles, then sprinkle evenly over the fruit.
5.Place the ramekins on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and back for 40 to 45 minutes, until the tops are browned and crisp and the juices are bubbly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

You can these early, store the unbaked crumbles int he refrigerator and bake before dinner. Serves 5 to 6.

Enjoy!

Cheesecake Brownies

2009-07-15T16:19:00.000-07:00

Today we are getting ready for my Mother in Law to visit from New York. She only usually visits a couple times a year so we get pretty excited to see her. Usually when I have company over I like make a huge batch of chocolate chip cookies, but some reason today I really wanted to make brownies. However, I really didn't want to make your typical brownie, I wanted something with a twist. So I set out in search of a new and interesting recipe. That's when on Martha's website I found a brownie recipe made with Mascarpone Cheese. I absolutely adore Mascarpone cheese, so I was sold. Well let me tell you this recipe is not only fast and easy but it's truly delicious. My favorite part is the contrast in textures which you don't get with the typical brownie!! My husband who is the true critic in the house gave it his two thumbs up, so I know I will be making this again.

Cheesecake Brownies
Adapted from Martha Stewart

IngredientsMakes about 5 dozen
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for pan
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
5 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 pound mascarpone cheese or cream cheese

Directions
1.Preheat overn to 350. Butter a 9x13 baking pan.
2. In a bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
3. On a double boiler melt chocolate and butter together.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the shisk attachment beat 3 eggs and i cup of sugar until thick and fluffy-do this on high speed, you'll see the color get lighter and the texture change.
5. On low speed add melted chocolate, vanilla extract and dry mixture. Stir and spread into prepared pan.
6. Wash your electric mixer bowl and add paddle attacment. Beat cheese, remaining eggs, yolks, remaining vanilla and remaining sugar on medium speed until smooth.
7. Pour over chocolate mixture bake 35 minutes.

Zuni Roast Chicken with Bread Salad

2009-07-13T09:38:00.001-07:00

We have a bit of a predicament going on in my house, as the only meat I will eat is Chicken and the only meat my husband will not eat is well yes you guessed it-chicken. So it appears as though it has become my lifes mission to come up with chicken recipes that my husband will not only eat but enjoy and not act as though he is being handed down a fate worst than death by being served chicken. The only recipe I can actually say that has accomplished this thus far has been the Zuni Cafe Chicken. If you ever have a chance to google this recipe, you will see it has somewhat of a cult following and for very good reason-it is darn good. What makes this chicken so good you ask? Well it has great flavor and it is oh so succulent. I am telling you no part of this chicken is dry, not even the breasts!

For this recipe Chef Judy Rogers only has 2 real hard and fast rules:
1. You must use a small chicken under 4 pounds prefereably 2-3 1/2 pounds. A jumbo roaster she says will be too lean and won't tolerate the high heat.
2. You must salt your chicken at least 24 hours in advance. This is will make the chicken tender, moist and give it flavor. Judy explains "First, salt helps dissolve some of the proteins within and around muscle fibres that would otherwise resist chewing. A second process is more complex, Initially salt does draw moisture from cells-whence the widely accepted belief that it dries food out. However, the quiet trauma of osmosis is temporary. With time, the cells reabsorb moisture, in reverse osmosis." Seriously she spends pages and pages explaining the process in detail. Every home chef needs this book in their collection.

This recipe may be bit more involved in that it requires a little planning and foresight, but trust me it is well worth the effort. The recipe is accompanied by a bread salad that you should at least try once. I usually do not make the bread salad with it as it's a bit labor intensive for me. I usually just serve it with my favorite side dish.

Zuni Roast Chicken with Bread Salad
Adapted from the Zuni Cafe cookbook by Judy Rogers

Ingredients
For the chicken
One small chicken, under 4lbs
4 sprigs fresh thyme, marjoram, rosemary or sage,
Salt
freshly cracked black pepper

For the salad
Generous 8 ounces slightly stale open-crumbed, chewy, peasant-style bread (not sourdough)
6 to 8 tablespoons mild-tasting olive oil
1-1/2 tablespoons Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon dried currants
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar, or as needed
1 tablespoon warm water
2 tablespoons pine nuts
2 to 3 garlic cloves, slivered
1/4 cup slivered scallions (about 4 scallions), including a little of the green part
2 tablespoons lightly salted Chicken Stock or lightly salted water
A few handfuls of arugula, frisée, or red mustard greens

Directions
Chicken
1. Wash and thoroughly dry your chicken.
2. Season generously with salt and pepper.
3. Add the herbs- take your finger to the edge of the cavity and slide under the skin and make a pocket, then slide the herbs all the way through. Repeat to the other breast.
4. Wrap loosely and refrigerate.
5. To make chicken, Preheat oven to 475.
6. Heat a small roasting pan or skillet. It does not need to be larger then 10 inches. I used a 12 inch cast iron skillet. Dry your chicken and place on baking dish breast side up.
7. Place the center of the oven and watch for it to start browning. After 20 minutes. if it doesn’t brown, raise the temperature until it does. The skin should blister, but if the chicken begins to burn, reduce temperature by 25 degrees. After about 30 minutes, flip the bird over. Roast for another 10 to 20 minutes, depending on size, then flip back over to recrisp the breast skin, for the final 5 to 10 minutes.
8. Total oven time will be 45 minutes to an hour.
9. Remove Chicken

Salad
1. Turn on broiler. Cut up bread into irregular chunks without the crust.
2. Combine 1/4 cup of the olive oil with the Champagne or white wine vinegar and salt and pepper.
3. Combine 1/4 cup of the vinaigrette with the torn bread in a wide salad bowl.
4. Place the currants in a small bowl and moisten with the red wine vinegar and warm water. Set aside.
5. While the chicken is in the oven, put the pine nuts in a small baking dish and heat for a couple minutes.
6. Take about a tbsp of olive oil and put in a small skillet, add the garlic and scallions, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until softened and add to the bread.
7. Drain the plumped currants and fold in.
8. Add chicken stock or lightly salted water over the salad and fold again.
9. Add salt and pepper as needed.
10. Put the salad in a shallow baking dish, cover with tinfoil and put in oven about 5 minutes before chicken is due to be removed from oven.
11. Lift the chicken from the roasting pan and set aside on a plate. Turn of heat but leave bread salad for another 5 minutes to continue to heat. Carefully pour the clear fat from the roasting oven, leaving the lean drippings behind. Add about a tablespoon of water to the hot pan and swirl it.
12. Remove any remaining fat from roasting pan. Turn heat to medium-low heat and add any juice that has collected under the chicken, and bring to a simmer. Stir and scrape to soften any hard golden drippings.
13. Put bread mixture into a salad bowl and add a tablespoon of the drippings. Add the greens and a bit more vinegrette.
14. Cut the chicken into pieces, spread the bread salad on a warm platter, and place the chicken on top.

Phew that was long!! Enjoy!!!

All Things Fresh

2009-07-12T10:10:00.000-07:00

So I spent a large portion of my weekend working on my garden and doing yard work. One of the things that gives me the greatest joy is living of my own land...so to speak. So recently I planted an herb and vegetable garden and 2 citrus trees (meyer lemon and clementine). We have 2 coconut trees on our property that are always fun when we're in the mood for a pina cloda ;) We also live on the water which allows us to catch and eat fresh fish whenever we want. Not living in a huge metropolitan city makes it hard to get very fresh and organic produce so it's nice that I'm able to grow some of my own things. Anyways, since there is no recipe today I thought I would share pictures of my garden.