I keep a couple of packages of puff pastry in our freezer in case we want to make a special treat. About six months ago, Bon Appétit featured a Spinach Puffs recipe with the most beautiful picture, and I just had to save the recipe and make it for Cam, who loves feta and spinach.

But I had a good problem: The recipe only uses half of the puff pastry. So I thought of Miami and my favorite treat when I lived there. Guava empanadas, with their tangy cream cheese and sweet guava paste, are so comforting and delicious. These Guava and Cream Cheese Puffs have the same shape as the spinach puffs. If you put them side by side, they look quite similar.

Both of these treats are like tiny puff cupcakes filled with scrumptiousness. That’s the only way I can describe these tiny pockets of happiness. Enjoy!

Spinach Puffs

Ingredients

• 1 10-ounce spinach leaves, wilted and chopped or frozen spinach, thawed and drained
• 3/4 cup crumbled feta
• 1/2 cup minced shallots
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 large eggs
• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry (from a 17.3-ounce package), thawed, rolled out to a 12-inch square, kept chilled

You’ll also need 

• A standard muffin pan

Preheat oven to 400°

Mix spinach, feta, shallots, oil and garlic. Add salt and pepper.  In a separate bowl beat 1 egg and add to the spinach mixture.

Cut pastry in three equal strips/pieces then cut each strip into 3 squares.  You’ll have a total of 9 squares.  Place the squares into muffin cups pressing centers into cups and making sure the corners of the squares are pointing up.  Pour filling among cups and fold dough corners over filling, pressing corners together to meet in center.

In a small bowl beat remaining egg to blend, brush pastry with egg wash and bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, rotating once, until pastries are puffed and golden. Cool in pan on wire rack, 10 minutes.  Gently twist pastries to release from cups. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 6-8

Spinach Puff recipe adapted from Bon Appétit, November 2012

Guava and Cream Cheese Puffs

Ingredients

1 8 oz. package of cream cheese

1 teaspoon half & half or milk

3 tablespoon caster sugar (superfine sugar)

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

1 cup guava paste, cut into 1/3-inch cubes (about 8 oz.)*

1 sheet frozen puff pastry (from a 17.3-ounce package), thawed, rolled out

to a 12-inch square, kept chilled

1 egg

You’ll also need 

• A standard muffin pan

Preheat oven to 400°

In a medium bowl mix cream cheese, half & half, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest mix well using a hand mixer.

Cut pastry in three equal strips/pieces then cut each strip into 3 squares.  You’ll have a total of 9 squares.  Place the squares into muffin cups pressing centers into cups and making sure the corners of the squares are pointing up.  Put 1 1/2 tablespoons of the cream cheese mixture in the center of each cup, top it with 1 cube of guava paste and fold dough corners over filling, pressing corners together to meet in center.

In a small bowl beat egg to blend, brush pastry with egg wash and bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, rotating once, until pastries are puffed and golden. Cool in pan on wire rack, 10 minutes.  Gently twist pastries to release from cups. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 6-8

*Want to know where to get Guava Paste? Try your local Latin markets or online at amazon.com

I eat salads all the time, so much so that I sometimes I found myself saying, “I’m sick of salads.”  Then I find a new recipe for a great dressing and guess what? There I am making and eating another salad. So silly… I know.

I blame the many options and combinations out there.

So here are three of my favorite dressings. These dressings can be used with almost any salad.   Enjoy!

Honey-Lime Dressing

Makes about 1 cup

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup lime juice
• 3 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground pepper

In a tall clean jar combine all ingredients.  Cover tightly and shake.  Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.  Serve with your favorite chopped salad.

Strawberry & White Balsamic Vinaigrette

Makes about 1 cup

 Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 5 tablespoons puree strawberry (about 6-8 medium strawberries)
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar (more if the strawberries are not too sweet)
• salt and freshly ground pepper

In a tall clean jar combine all ingredients.  Cover tightly and shake.  Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Mango Vinaigrette

Makes about 1 cup

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

4 tablespoons olive oil

4 tablespoons puree mango

1 tablespoon honey

1/4 teaspoon salt

In a tall clean jar combine all ingredients.  Cover tightly and shake.  Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.  Set aside in a cool place until needed.

You can make these vinaigrettes and dressing a few days ahead and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Dress Rehearsal

I have Ugly Cake Syndrome. (I made that name up.) All the personal and online cake decorating classes I have taken have not helped me one bit.

Let me explain. I bake delicious cakes but don’t dare ruin them with my decorating skills. It’s depressing to look at them, so I don’t bother to fancy them up anymore.

I’ve written before about my lack of skills when it comes to making cakes and cookies beautiful. However, talking about it and then doing nothing is not going to help me get better at it, so I’ve decided to start a cake-decorating challenge for myself.

Let’s call this challenge a “dress rehearsal.” Here’s how it works.

Every other month I will try to bake a cake. (My waistline will thank me if I skip every other month!)  No matter how the cake looks, I will post a picture of it here, along with a narrative of what I learned in the process.

With so much practice, I hope I will one day make beautiful cakes just like the ones I constantly drool over.

I plan to stay away from cupcakes because I want to make big cakes.

Here are some of the cakes I baked in the last twelve months:

• Wacky Cake
• Sponge Layer Cake
• Olive Oil Mini Brownie Cakes
• Lemon Bundt Cake
• French Apple Cake
• Midnight Cake
• Tres Leches Cake

And of course, here’s the recipe for this scrumptious Blueberry Tea Cake.  Enjoy!

Blueberry Tea Cake

Ingredients:

• 8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups  sugar
• 2 Tbs. dark brandy
• 1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest
• 1 cup plain greek yogurt
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries + 1 cup dried blueberries
• Confectioners’ sugar for dusting (optional)

Preheat an oven to 350°F.  Grease and line an 8-inch square baking dish

In a bowl, mix the 2 cups flour, the baking powder, baking soda, salt and cardamom. Set aside.

In a separate bowl beat together the eggs and  sugar until fluffy. Using a wooden spoon, add in the 8 Tbs. melted butter, the brandy and lemon zest. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the yogurt and the milk, beginning and ending with the flour, and stir just until smooth.

With a rubber spatula, slowly fold in the blueberries.

Spread the mixture in the baking dish and bake in the preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes, until firm and lightly browned.

Cool cake in the pan.   Turn out onto a wire rack.  Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Makes one 8-inch square cake.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Breakfast and Brunch

Perhaps what is comforting to me may not be comforting to you, but how can you not find comfort from a dish that transports you back to the place you came from? How can you not find pleasure from the familiar scent of favorite food that reminds you of your childhood or your mom? That is what “comfort food” meant to me–until now.

The recipe that I’m about to share with you is none of those things. It’s not a recipe from my childhood or something my mom used to make. Most likely, these ingredients have met in a lot of other recipes before. There’s nothing unique about this recipe, and yet, in the past three months since we been making it, we have adored every bite of it every single time we gathered in our kitchen to eat it.

The smell of the garlic with olive oil, tomato, and cayenne pepper all stand out by themselves. They don’t compete but instead, seem to complement each other in a strange way. However, what I love the most is this recipe’s simplicity and how it becomes a different dish just by adding chicken or perhaps some fresh mozzarella just before serving it.

If you make it, I hope you find the same comfort we feel every time we eat it. Enjoy!

Fettuccine with Garlic and Tomatoes

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 1 pound uncooked fettuccine
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 8 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 (28-ounce) can unsalted diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 chicken breast (poached and thinly sliced) *
• 6 ounces fresh baby spinach
• 8 ounces fresh Mozzarella cheese *
• Freshly ground black pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat; swirl to coat.

Add cayenne pepper, garlic and sugar; cook 2 minutes, whisking occasionally.

Add tomatoes and salt to oil mixture; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chicken and cook 3 minutes.

Remove skillet from heat. Add spinach, cheese and cooked pasta; toss gently to coat and serve.

*You can also try this recipe without chicken and cheese.

If you decide to use chicken here’s a quick Poached Chicken recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 2 cups low sodium chicken broth

In a medium pot combine chicken breast and stock.  Bring to a boil over medium heat.

Cook 5 minutes and reduce heat.  Simmer, covered 10 minutes.  Flip once halfway

through.  Remove from heat and transfer to a plate, cover tightly and let it cool.

This recipe is perfect for chicken salads, pasta and paninis. 

I love Oreo cookies. I love them so much I stopped buying them. If I buy them, there’s a very good chance I’m eating 99% of the contents of the package. But today I bent my rules, and gave in. No, I didn’t buy them. I baked homemade Oreos.

If you are like me, you probably don’t need to know what’s in an Oreo cookie or any cookie–as long as it is good and ready to eat right away.

But every now and then it is good to know how exactly such a beautiful thing came to be. This recipe is really basic. You have chocolate, cocoa powder, sugar, flour, etc., but the right combination of all these ingredients is heaven in every bite.

A word of advice, however. Don’t expect perfectly-shaped Oreos like the ones from the package. The homemade versions are imperfect round and oval shapes, but I promise you that you will totally ignore their odd shapes once you take the first bite.

Enjoy!

Homemade Oreos

Adapted from Joanne Chang’s recipe

Makes 20 Sandwich Cookies
 

Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled slightly

1 egg

1-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp.baking soda

Vanilla Cream Filling

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1-2/3 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 Tbs. milk
• Pinch of kosher salt

• You’ll also need two baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

Cookies

In a medium bowl, whisk together the butter and granulated sugar until well combined. Add in the vanilla and chocolate. Then add the egg and mix well.  In another bowl, combine  the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda until blended. Pour the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture, keep mixing until it comes together. It will have pretty much the consistency of Play-Doh. Let the dough rest at room temperature for about 1 hour to firm up.

Transfer the dough to a clean counter and with your hands, form dough into a log about 2 1/2 inches in diameter or roll into the size that you want.   Then wrap them in parchment paper, finish shaping in the parchment.  Refrigerate at least two hours.  (You can also make this ahead, wrap in plastic and refrigerate up to a a week or freeze for a month, if dough is frozen, thaw overnight in the refrigerator).

The log may settle and sink a little bit in the fridge, to maintain a nice round log you may want to  re-roll it every 15 minutes or so, if you like. If not, your cookies will be more oblong than round.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 325°F. Cut dough into 1/4-inch slices using a serrated knife.  As you are slicing turn a quarter turn each time you slice.  This will help keep their shape.  These cookies spread a little bit so place the slices about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the cookies are firm to the touch.  Make sure to check a few times after 15 minutes.  Remove them from the oven if they feel firm to the touch.

Let cool on the baking sheet on a wire rack to warm or room temperature. Try not to fill them while they are hot.

Vanilla Cream Filling

Put the butter  in a mixing bowl and, at low speed, gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla, add milk and salt until blended. (you can also make this filling by hand)  You should have about 1 cup. Scoop about 1 tablespoon of the filling onto the flat side of half of the cookies. Place remaining cookies on top, then gently press the cookies together to squeeze filling toward the edges. Store filled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 5 days.

We are still celebrating spring, and we’re trying to do as much as we can outside before our 80° F weather leaves us.

If anyone ever tells you that not much happens in the desert, don’t believe it. Here are some pictures to prove otherwise.

Also here’s a happy treat for you to try on your next picnic.

Feta Cheese Squares

Feta Cheese Squares

Adapted from The Illustrated Kitchen Bible by Victoria Blashford-Snell and Brigitte Hafner

Ingredients:

• 9 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 9 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoon poppy seeds
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

You’ll also need two baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C.

Cream the butter in a food processor. With the food processor still running add the olive oil, then the cheese, milk and baking powder pulse about 3 times to combine.

Then add half of the flour pulse a few times until blended. Add the rest of the flour and pulse again.  Turn out onto a work surface and knead (the mixture may be crumbly, but once you knead it briefly it will become smooth and soft).

Divide the dough in half.  Roll out to a 1/8 inch thick square.  Sprinkle with poppy seeds and cayenne pepper.  With a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1 inch squares, transfer to lined baking sheets about 3/4 inch apart.  Repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.  Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack and let it cool.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

This a real simply mixture to make, if you prefer you can also do it by hand instead of using the food processor.

When I think of Tenerife, I should think about the weather or the friendly people and of course, the ocean. But no, the only thing I can think of is this coffee.

You may be wondering, what exactly is a barraquito? Well it is a super sweet coffee drink from Tenerife, Canary Islands.

It seems like almost every place has its signature drink. In Tenerife they have the best and sweetest coffee. Here’s my version without the coffee liqueur.

You can’t go wrong with coffee, condensed milk, and whipped cream.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup condensed milk
• ½ cup regular coffee
• Whipped cream
• Chocolate shavings

Preparation:

Pour the condensed milk in the bottom of a glass  add the coffee.  Serve with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

This post is an update; Original post published on March 9, 2012.

After a long weekend filled with one too many slices of tall chocolate cake, we decided to go on a self-imposed, low sugar diet.

For the past week, there has been very little sugar in our lives, and I tell you, the sugar withdrawal (if there is such a thing) is getting to me.

I’m having all these crazy thoughts about making lots of cookies and cakes–pretty much anything that may have a bit of sugar.

Then, when I was feeling really desperate, something glorious happened: This recipe came to save me. Thank you!

This recipe makes about 16 biscuits, so 1/3 cup of sugar divided by 16 still counts as “low sugar.” Enjoy!

Sweet Biscuits with Dried Wild Blueberries

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 cup dried wild blueberries
• 1 large egg

You’ll also need parchment paper

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350°F.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add butter, and beat until mixture resembles coarse sand.  With the mixer running on low add eggs yolks and continue to beat dough until smooth.  Add dried blueberries.

Place dough between 2 large pieces of parchment paper.  Roll out  to a 9- X 11-inch rectangle about 1/4-inch thick.  Remove top sheet of parchment paper and transfer to a baking sheet.

In a small bowl, beat egg and 1 tablespoon water.  Lightly brush top of dough with egg wash.  Bake until golden about 18 to 20 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack and then cut into 2 X 3-inch biscuits.

Adapted from La Cucina Italiana, January 2013

We are celebrating Spring… we are celebrating Easter.

We took a tasty, perfect bag of breadsticks and made them super happy with

white chocolate, pink sprinkles and white sugar pearls.

So simple to make, it us took about 15 minutes.  Super festive and all

you’ll need is to change around the colors of the sprinkles and it will go

well with any celebration.  Enjoy!

You’ll need:

• 1 cup of white chocolate chunks
• breadsticks
• sprinkles

Microwave chocolate at high 1 1/2 minutes or until chocolate melts, stirring every 30 seconds  Dip the breadsticks in the melted chocolate.  Twist to let the excess chocolate drip off.  Let it set for a minute on parchment paper and shake sprinkles on all sides.

Refrigerate about 5 minutes and that’s it!

The Sweet Side of Matzoh

Here’s recipes that can be prepared any time of the year.

Deciding to make them was a quite simple. You see, it seemed like everywhere I looked in the store I could see packages of matzo crackers staring at me. And I had two different recipes from last year sitting on my desktop folder of recipes, patiently waiting for me to finally try them.

Let’s just say I had no choice. Once I bought the matzoh crackers, I had everything I needed and more. In fact, one box was enough for both of these scrumptious recipes (one with just chocolate and another one with chocolate, candied kumquats and coconut chips).

You may be able to restrain yourself and eat just a few of these treats. For me it will be a challenge not to eat every bite. Enjoy!

Caramel Chocolate Matzoh Crunch

Adapted from Marcy Goldman via Epicurious

Ingredients:

• 4-6 unsalted matzohs
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup coarsely chopped chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate

You can also add the following toppings:  Candied Kumquats and Roasted Coconut Chips

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Line one large or two small cookie sheet with aluminum foil.  Spray with nonstick spray and arrange the matzohs in a single layer.  You may need to cut a few extra pieces to fit any empty spaces.

In a medium saucepan, melt butter and add sugar stirring constantly.  Boil until it turns a caramel color.  Remove from heat and pour over the matzoh, covering them evenly.

Put baking sheet into the oven and bake 5 minutes or until bubbly.  Keep an eye on your oven, make sure mixture is not burning.  Remove from oven and sprinkle with the chocolate. When the chocolate chips melt a bit, spread them over the matzoh evenly with a spatula or knife.

Break up into pieces and chill in the freezer until set.

Here’s my Candied Kumquats Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 pound fresh sliced kumquats, seeds discarded
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest

In a medium saucepan combine kumquats, sugar, water.  Bring to a boil stirring to dissolve sugar.  Add lemon zest, reduce heat and simmer until peel is translucent.  About 30 minutes.

Cool.

The idea of adding candied kumquats and coconut flakes came from Dani Fisher’s recipe via Design Sponge