The Kitchen Of Magical Goodness

Potato Chip Cookies

2010-06-08T19:56:00.005-05:00

I love potato chips. I also love cookies. So it would make sense that I really enjoy these potato chip cookies. I know they sound weird and they kind of are. The texture is interesting and a bit different than most other cookies. The potato chips give them a bit of crunch almost as if they are aerated (similar to Aero, a British chocolate bar). I imagine the type of chips you use would change the texture even more. I went with plain Lays as opposed to Ruffles or thicker chips. First of all, thicker ones are harder to crush and I think they would be too noticeable in the finished product. These cookies don't taste like potato chips, but they might be just as addictive. They also get even better after a few days. So, if you have the chance, make them ahead of time.

Potato Chip Cookies

1 lb. butter
1 c. granulated sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
3 c. flour
1 1/2 c. crushed potato chips (Crush them with your hands for more consistently sized pieces)
powdered sugar, for dusting

1- Preheat oven to 350. Grease cookie sheet(s).
2- Beat butter until light and fluffy. Add sugar and beat well. Mix in vanilla, then add flour gradually. Add crushed potato chips to the mixture.
3- Drop from teaspoon onto greased sheet. Bake about 10 minutes or until brown around the edges. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cool completely.

Peppermint Meltways

2010-06-08T19:33:00.002-05:00

These are quite similar to my previously posted Candy Cane Shortbread. They have a much stronger peppermint flavor and the texture is a bit different since there are no candy cane pieces in the dough. I think I prefer the Candy Cane Shortbread, but these are a decent option as well for a wintertime treat. And yes, I am aware that I'm posting about a wintry cookie in early June, but I'm trying to get caught up on recipes that should have been posted months ago.

Peppermint Meltaways

For the cookies:
1 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. corn starch

For the glaze:
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 Tbsp. butter, softened
1/4 tsp. peppermint extract
1-2 Tbsp. milk
1-3 drops red food coloring, if desired
candy canes or hard peppermint candy, crushed

1- Preheat oven to 350.
2- For the cookies, combine butter, powdered sugar and 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract in a large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping the bowl often, until creamy. Reduce speed to low; add flour and cornstarch. Beat until well mixed. Cover and refrigerate until firm (30-60 minutes).
3- Shape rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into 1" balls. Place 2" apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Let stand 1 minute then remove from cookie sheets. Cool completely.
4- For the glaze, combine powdered sugar, butter, peppermint extract and enough milk for desired glazing consistency in small bowl. Stir in food coloring, if desired.
5- Drizzle glaze over cooled cookies. Immediately sprinkle with crushed candy.

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies

2010-06-08T18:55:00.004-05:00

These cookies seemed like a good idea and they came out tasting decently. I will say that they were more labor-intensive than I expected based on the recipe. The dough doesn't quite hold the cherries as easily as it should and the frosting is a little thick. The recipe indicates that the frosting will spread over the cookies as they bake, which they do... sorta. Because the dough doesn't hold the cherries quite right, you are depending on the frosting to help hold the cookie together. This means that you have to put the frosting on prior to baking in a way that it covers the cherry completely. If I were to make these again, I think I would either add some kirsch or other liquid to soften the dough a little bit.

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies

For the dough:
1/2 c. butter
1 c. granulated sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. baking cocoa
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
48 maraschino cherries, patted dry (I don't think I ended up using all 48, but they didn't go to waste as my dad decided to have an ice cream sundae.)

For the frosting:
1 c. (6 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 c. sweetened condensed milk
1-3 tsp. maraschino cherry juice

1- Preheat oven to 350.
2- In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients and gradually add to mixture. The batter will be firm.
3- Shape into 48(ish) balls about 1" round and place on ungreased cookie sheets. Push one cherry halfway into each ball.
4- In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the chocolate chips in the condensed milk, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add cherry juice. Stir until smooth.
5- Spoon 1 tsp. of the frosting over cherries on each cookie. The frosting will spread over the cookie during baking.
6- Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Fresh Apple Cake

2010-06-08T18:36:00.004-05:00

I made this cake when I had apples that I needed to use. It came out decently, but it is rather difficult to get a clean slice. This isn't much of an issue when you're having it with breakfast, but if you are slicing it up to put on trays like I was, then it's a problem. I imagine making this as muffins, mini loaves or even in a large loaf pan would be lovely. Doing so would also be a good option for those of you who are somewhat wary when it comes to tube pans. This recipe came from an issue of Good Housekeeping. I must've torn it out of a magazine at the doctor's office or some such location since I don't get Good Housekeeping but I have no idea where exactly.

Fresh Apple Cake

1 c. chopped walnuts
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
3 1/2 c. chopped Granny Smith apples
2 c. granulated sugar
1 c. vegetable oil
3 eggs
confectioners sugar for dusting (if desired)

1- Preheat oven to 325. Grease and flour 10" tube pan.
2- Place walnuts in a jelly roll pan and toast in the oven 7 minutes or until golden and fragrant. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking soda and salt. In another large bowl, combine walnuts, vanilla, cinnamon and 3 cups of apples. Reserve remaining 1/2 cup of apples.
3- In a large bowl, with mixer on medium-high speed, beat granulated sugar, oil and eggs until well blended. With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture. Beat 1 minute longer or until well combined. With spatula, fold in apple mixture (the batter will be thick). Spoon batter into prepared pan. Scatter remaining apple over top of batter and gently press into top of batter.
4- Bake 1 1/2 hours or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack until completely cooled. Remove from pan and dust with confectioners sugar if desired.

Blueberry Banana Snack Cakes

2009-12-22T21:25:00.003-05:00

The line between snack cake and muffin is one that is so fine that I choose not to walk it. The main difference here is that often with muffins you use the well method and add the wet ingredients to the dry whereas with this snack cake you do the opposite. Either way, these make a tasty treat. I think you could make these in a mini-loaf pan and have them come out nicely as well. They might even make a good gift.

Blueberry Banana Snack Cakes

1 1/4 cups sugar
2/3 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups ripe bananas, mashed (about 3 medium bananas)
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
powdered sugar

1- Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin pan with paper cup liners.
2- In large mixer bowl, combine sugar, butter, buttermilk, eggs and vanilla. Beat at medium speed until creamy. Add bananas and beat until well mixed. Add flour, baking soda and salt. Beat at low speed until moistened (do not overmix at this point or snack cakes will get tough). By hand, stir/fold in the blueberries.
3- Spoon batter into paper-lined cups to about 2/3 to 3/4 full. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from pan and let cool. Just before serving, sprinkle cakes with powdered sugar (this is optional if you want to keep them less messy).

Chocolate Chip Shortbread

2009-12-22T21:16:00.002-05:00

If you've looked over old entries, then you may have become aware of my affection for shortbread and my various attempts at making it. This recipe came out rather nicely. The major downside is in appearance. If you bake these long enough to get a light brown color then they get a bit dry. Perhaps if the dough was rolled out and cut into shapes instead of done as drop cookies then you could fix this problem. Fortunately, the taste is undiminished by the outside color. You could also make these as plain shortbread by leaving out the chocolate chips.

Chocolate Chip Shortbread

2 cups flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used mini chips.)
granulated sugar for topping

1- Preheat oven to 350.
2- Whisk together flour and salt. In another bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add vanilla. Stir in flour mixture until dough forms. Stir in chocolate chips. Form into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.
3- Form dough into 1" balls and place on ungreased baking sheet. Dip the bottom of a glass in granulated sugar and lightly press each ball into a disc shape. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Mint Chocolate Cookies

2009-12-18T19:35:00.002-05:00

There really aren't many better combinations than mint and chocolate. There's little you can do when blending these flavors that won't come out at least edible if not delicious. These cookies fell into the delicious category. I thought they reminded me of Andes mints. My mom said she thought they tasted like Thin Mints. Either way, delicious. These are basically the cookie recipe on the back of the Nestle Dark Chocolate and Mint Morsels bag, but hey, they've got a well-paid, well-trained staff coming up with recipes. Who am I not to steal them?

Mint Chocolate Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup baking cocoa (I'd avoid the super dark versions of baking cocoa out there right now for this recipe since the chips themselves are dark chocolate.)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 2/3 cups (10 oz. pkg) Dark Chocolate and Mint Morsels

1- Preheat oven to 325.
2- Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.
3- Beat butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in a large bowl until creamy. Add eggs. Slowly add flour mixture. Stir in morsels.
4- Drop by well-rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes or until cookies are puffed and centers are set. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes and then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Chewy Gingersnaps

2009-12-18T19:23:00.003-05:00

I've been baking up a storm recently. So now I'm going to get as many of the recipes posted as I can over the next few days. Some of them have photos and some don't. Mostly this is due to my camera's batteries running out, but also, I've come to accept that I am just not a very good food photographer. I may not be a very good photographer in general, but I'll leave that question for another day.

I'm not big on gingersnaps, though I love the smell. I was making holiday gift bags for my mom to give out with gift certificates to a coffeehouse and gingersnaps seemed both thematically and seasonally appropriate. Unfortunately my cookbooks and most of my recipes are in transit from my move, so I had to go out and find a new gingersnap recipe. This one is different from my regular one in that the cookies end up much bigger, flatter and chewier than my normal gingersnaps. I suppose these should really be called ginger-chews, but that just sounds gross. Overall, these are a nice alternative to the typical gingersnap.

Chewy Gingersnaps

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cloves
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup dark molasses (come on, what's the point of mild molasses anyway?)
1/3 cup cinnamon sugar (you can use your favorite blend here... or eyeball it till it's the right color like I did)

1- Preheat oven to 350.
2- Sift together flour, ground ginger, ground cloves, baking soda, ground cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
3- Cream butter and sugar together. Beat in egg and molasses. Add 1/3 of flour mixture and stir until incorporated. Add remaining flour mixture and stir/mix until a soft dough forms (it will still be quite sticky).
4- Roll into 1" diameter balls and roll in cinnamon sugar (I used a cookie scoop to put the right amount of dough into the cinnamon sugar then once coated formed it into a ball. Less messy on your hands this way.).
5- Bake on ungreased cookie sheet until tops are rounded and slightly cracked, about 10 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes on the sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Matzah Ball Soup

2009-04-16T08:24:00.003-05:00

I'm behind in posting and have quite a backlog of recipes to add. I had hoped to put them in chronologically based on when I tried them out, but alas, that is not to be. There was a specific request for this recipe, so it comes first. And no, asking for the Cheesy Corn recipe will not hasten its appearance here. You know the rules.

Anyway, I made this soup for my Passover seder. I hadn't done my own matzah balls in a very long time or possibly ever. If I have, I think they were from a mix. Not that a mix is much of anything other than matzah meal. Regardless, I went all out on this one and did my own broth and matzah balls. It went over smashingly and I even made a second batch a few days later to use up leftover ingredients.

The glory of this recipe is that it can be tailored very easily to your specific tastes. Don't like celery but love carrots? Leave the celery out and add more carrots instead. Can't find a parsnip but have a turnip? Switch it out. Also, you can make this chicken broth and use it for all sorts of other soups or cook it down and use it as chicken stock.

Matzah Ball Soup

For the Chicken Broth:

Ingredients:

1 whole (3-4 pounds) fresh chicken
1 large parsnip quartered
2 leeks (white part only) cleaned thoroughly and quartered
1 small rutabaga quartered
3 ribs of celery with leaves halved
10 parsley stems
2 large carrots quartered
2 large onions quartered
8 peppercorns crushed
½ tsp dried thyme
Kosher or coarse salt
Salt and pepper to taste

1- Clean the chicken and discard giblets or other items in the cavity. Salt the entire chicken inside and out liberally with kosher or coarse salt. Let chicken stand for 35 minutes.
2- Wash salt from chicken and place in a large stockpot. Cover chicken with parsnip, leeks, rutabaga, celery, parsley, carrots, onions, peppercorns and thyme. Cover with 4 or 5 quarts of cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then immediately reduce the heat to simmer. Simmer for 1 ½ to 2 hours, occasionally skimming the foam from the top.
3- Remove the chicken to a large platter when it is still firm and not falling apart. Remove the meat from the chicken and save for other use or to put back in the soup later. Return the bones to the pot and simmer for one more hour.
4- Strain the soup into a large bowl and discard everything in the strainer. Refrigerate long enough to allow hardened fat to form on surface, then simply remove the fat setting it aside. Bring back up to heat with salt and pepper to taste.
5- For deeper flavor, you can repeat the process with another round of vegetables. If additional broth is needed, you may add more water and then the vegetables. Simmer for 2 hours or until the broth has the desired taste.

For the Matzah Balls:

Ingredients:

4 eggs
½ cup club soda
3 Tbsp vegetable oil or reserved chicken fat from broth
2 Tbsp finely chopped parsley
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup matzah meal

1- Whisk the eggs until blended. Add the club soda, vegetable oil or fat, salt and pepper. Blend in the parsley and matzah meal. Cover and refrigerate this mixture for about 1 hour.
2- Bring about 5 quarts of water to boil. Rub vegetable oil on hands and form matzah balls with about 1 ½ to 2 tablespoons of mixture (makes about 12-15). Drop in boiling water and simmer covered about 35 to 45 minutes depending on desired consistency.
3- Serve in chicken broth. You can cook the matzah balls in the chicken broth for either the last 15 minutes of cooking or for an additional 15 minutes depending on the size of the matzah balls and preferred texture.

Roasted Cauliflower and Tofu Curry

2009-02-28T03:25:00.003-05:00

I've started to realize that there are a ton of recipes that I've tried that haven't made it in here yet. So I'm going to make a concerted effort over the next few weeks to get some of them posted. The best time to start is now.

I made this for Rachel at one point as a thank you for letting me use her car or driving me around or taking care of Gloucester... I dunno, something. Anyway, I can't eat it so I can't speak to the taste personally, but she indicated that it was good. It's also fairly decent for you, so that's an added bonus. It's also a good vegetarian dish. I served this up over brown rice, but you can used whatever kind you like or even some other grain.

Roasted Cauliflower and Tofu Curry

1 lb extra firm tofu, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tsp olive oil
2 Tbsp curry powder (whatever kind you like will work but I used a madras variety)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp table salt
1 large onion, sliced into 1/4-inch half moons
1 medium head cauliflower, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces (Don't use frozen. It'll end up too mushy.)

1- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Gently press tofu between several layers of paper towels to remove excess water.
2- Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil, spices and salt. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until onions are very wilted and browned (about 8 to 9 minutes or possibly longer depending on how precisely they are sliced).
3- Combine cauliflower and tofu in a large bowl. Pour onion mixture into bowl and coat with cooking spray; mix with a spoon to thoroughly coat. Spread mixture onto a baking sheet in an even layer.
4- Roast, stirring 3 times, until cauliflower and tofu are golden brown and smell very fragrant, about 25 to 35 minutes.

Southwest Nacho Casserole

2008-07-27T19:53:00.002-05:00

This was one of the Books & Snacks 2008 dishes. It makes a decent amount of food, so it would be good for a crowd.

Southwest Nacho Casserole

2 lbs lean ground beef (I did half beef, half turkey)
1 cup water
2 envelopes taco seasoning
1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chilies
2 cans (16 oz each) refried beans
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (I used a four cheese blend)
1 cup chopped tomato
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 can (2.5 oz) silced ripe olives, drained
1 bag gold tortilla chips (extra thick)
chopped cilantro if desired
sour cream if desired

1- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 13x9 glass baking dish with cooking spray. Cook ground beef in a 12" nonstick skillet until thoroughly cooked. Drain and return to skillet.
2- Stir in water and taco seasoning into the skillet with the meat. Bring to a boil then cook for 2-4 minutes until thickened. Stir in chilies.
3- Spread refried beans into the bottom of the baking dish. Top with ground beef mixture. Cover tightly with foil.
4- Bake 30-40 minutes or until bubbly around the edges.
5- Remove from oven and uncover. Sprinkle with cheese, tomato, onion and olives. Arrange tortilla chips around the outside edges of baking dish. Return to oven and bake uncovered about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. If desired, sprinkle with cilantro and top with sour cream. Serve with remaining tortilla chips for scooping.

Mozzarella alla Caprese on a Stick

2008-07-27T19:28:00.003-05:00

Sorry for the blurry image. The photo was taken back before I had a digital camera and only had the one on my phone. I made this for the first Family Dinner I went to back in Champaign when the theme was food on a stick. Since then, I've made it a number of other times and have they always get a great response. The fact that they're super easy makes them even better.

Mozzarella alla Caprese on a Stick

8 grape or cherry tomatoes
1 tablespoon virgin olive oil
4 (1/2 -ounce) balls fresh mozzarella (buffalo or regular)
4 large basil leaves
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar (white or regular- using white limits discoloration, but I go with regular since it is what I already own)
Salt to taste
Fresh ground black pepper to taste

1- Make slits in each of the tomatoes (I usually do four around the sides from top to bottom). Marinate in the olive oil for 20 minutes.
2- Place the mozzarella balls in the balsamic vinegar and let set for 20 minutes. Remove the mozzarella and wrap in the basil leaves.
3- To assemble: Place one tomato on a 4-inch wood skewer, then the basil-wrapped mozzarella, then another tomato. Drizzle the remaining balsamic vinegar and olive oil over the entire kebab and season to taste with ground sea salt and cracked black pepper.

This makes four skewers. Recipe can be doubled, tripled, etc.

Maple-Glazed Walnuts

2008-07-15T23:15:00.003-05:00

I've made these for Books & Snacks 2008. They have yet to be tried, but I've made similar ones in the past. That is somewhat reassuring to my nervous disposition.

Maple-Glazed Walnuts

1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 1/2 tsp maple flavor
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp hot pepper sauce
2 cups walnut halves and pieces

1- Heat oven to 325 degrees. Line a lipped cookie sheet with foil and spray foil with cooking spray.
2- In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients except walnuts and mix well. Add walnuts and toss to coat. Spread on the prepared cookie sheet, separating any large clumps.
3- Bake for 17 to 22 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or until glaze thickens and adheres to nuts. Watch during the last 5 minutes to prevent burning.
4- Remove from oven and spread out nuts on waxed paper. Cool completely, then break apart.

Prosciutto And Melon Skewers

2008-06-07T13:54:00.003-05:00

Another food on a stick for Amy and Jim's shower. These look fancy, taste decadent and require no cooking. That makes them a win all around as far as I'm concerned. I do not have a melon baller (I know, I know), but I do have a small cookie scoop that worked just fine for the job. Because there are so few ingredients and no "seasonings," be sure that you go for good/high-quality items.

Prosciutto And Melon Skewers

12 thin slices of prosciutto
1 large ripe melon, such as cantaloupe
72 small mint leaves

1- Cut each slice of prosciutto in half lengthwise then fold in half lengthwise. Cut the melon in half, scoop out the seeds and peel away the skin. Cut the flesh into 72 equal pieces. If you are using a melon baller or cookie scoop, there is no need to remove the skin.
2- Thread a folded piece of prosciutto onto a skewer followed by a piece of melon and then a mint leaf. Fold the prosciutto around the melon piece and thread it onto the skewer a second time. Again follow with a piece of melon and a mint leaf. Do this one more time and then fold the end of the prosciutto over the top of the third melon/mint stack. When looking at the skewer, the prosciutto should be interwoven with three pieces of melon. Chill until required, but serve at room temperature.

Tabbouleh Party Pita Pockets

2008-06-07T13:41:00.003-05:00

The ones without cheese were my vegan option for Jim and Amy's shower (in addition to the veggies and fruit of course). My version isn't exactly traditional tabbouleh as I didn't use bulgur, so I just called them Party Pita Pockets. They were still tasty or at least people told me they were.

Tabbouleh Party Pita Pockets

2/3 cup bulgur wheat (I actually used couscous as I had it on hand and needed to use it up.)
Juice of 1 large lemon
1 small garlic clove, chopped
2 Tbsp chopped fresh mint
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced (Yes, I used canned to make my life easier.)
4 scallions, minced
4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
24 mini pitas (I got a package of whole wheat and one of white to further indicate the vegan vs. the not.)

1- Soak the bulgur wheat in a large bowl of cold water for 30 minutes; drain thoroughly (in my case, it was make the couscous and set aside).
2- Whisk together the lemon juice, garlic, mint, parsley and cumin in a small bowl. Stir into the bulgur wheat. Leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes and up to 8 hours.
3- Once marinated, add the tomatoes and scallions and mix well. If you intend to make the entire batch not vegan, you can also mix in the feta cheese at this point.
4- Lightly toast the mini pita breads and split each one across the top. Stuff with tabbouleh and serve. At this point, if you have not already mixed in the feta, you can sprinkle some of the crumbles on top of however many pitas you choose.

Sun-Dried Tomato And Olive Chicken Skewers

2008-06-07T13:22:00.003-05:00

I made these for Jim and Amy's shower because everyone likes food on a stick.

Sun-Dried Tomato And Olive Chicken Skewers

7 oz. sun-dried tomatoes preserved in oil
1/2 cup pitted ripe olives
18 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I got the ones cut into tenders to save time.)
1 cup fresh white bread crumbs (I used seasoned packaged ones for simplicity's sake.)
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

1- Place the sun-dried tomatoes with the oil and the olives in a food processor and process into a rough puree. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
2- Cut the chicken into 48 1" cubes and place in a shallow non-metallic dish (or a large ziploc bag, which is what I used). Cover with tomato-olive mixture and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
3- Preheat the oven to 400. Mix together the bread crumbs and parsley in a small bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4- Thread 2 pieces of chicken onto each of 24 wooden skewers then sprinkle with the breadcrumb mixture (I lightly pressed each side of the skewered chicken into the breadcrumbs to minimize the mess.)
5- Arrange the chicken on a lightly oiled baking sheet and bake until the chicken is cooked through and tender (start checking it at about 10 minutes- you may want to turn the skewers over halfway through cooking to ensure a better crust on both sides.
6- Allow the chicken to rest before serving warm. These can also be served at room temperature.

Broccoli And Cheddar Mini Quiche

2008-05-22T11:14:00.003-05:00

Yes, my pretties, I know it's been a while since I've posted. It isn't because I haven't been cooking. Nor is it that I don't want to share the magic. I've just been swamped with other work and updating here has fallen by the wayside. But I'm hoping to remedy that with a flurry of posts over the next few days of tasty magical goodness I've been making since the last time I was around. Let's begin...

I've often made mini quiche over the years as finger food for various events. Usually I've done bacon, swiss, green onion and pimento or spinach, swiss and bacon. This time I needed a vegetarian option since I was making them for Jim and Amy's work-folk wedding shower, so I went with broccoli and cheddar. The nice thing about mini quiche is that once you have the basics down, you can change out the filling to suit your needs. Also, you can make these ahead of time and freeze them if need be.

Broccoli and Cheddar Mini Quiche

Pie crust for 2-crust pie (You can buy pre-packaged or make your own.)
1 cup cooked chopped broccoli (I got frozen florets to help speed things along since I was
making a ton of other food.)
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
3 large eggs
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 cup heavy cream (You can also use half-and-half. I had heavy cream on hand so I went with it.)

1- Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease and flour mini muffin tins.
2- Roll out pie crust to about 1/8" thickness (or if using pre-packaged, go with it as is when all unfolded). Cut out as many 2 1/2" rounds as you can from the dough. I have a scalloped edge cookie cutter that works perfectly and gives the edges a nicely finished look. Carefully fit each round into the muffin tin.
3- Sprinkle about 1/2 to 1 tsp of the chopped broccoli into each muffin cup and top with a small amount of shredded cheese.
4- Whisk together the eggs, salt, pepper, mustard and heavy cream. I do this in a liquid measuring cup with a spout to make the next step easier. Pour the mixture into each
muffin cup until just short of the top of the crust (about 3/4 full) and sprinkle each with a bit more broccoli.
5- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until set. When you go to remove these from the tins, use the edge of a knife to lift each mini quiche out as opposed to flipping the tin over.

Candy Cane Shortbread

2007-12-17T10:50:00.001-05:00

It wouldn't be the holidays without candy canes and shortbread. So why not combine them? I suggest running the candy canes through a grinder. You'll get a better texture for the cookes since there won't be huge chunks of candy in them. It doesn't have to be as fine as sugar, but the more ground up, the better. I don't normally love peppermint things, but I did like these cookies. At first you think the candy cane is going to be overpowering, but the shortbread holds up nicely in the second bite.

Candy Cane Shortbread

For the Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 ground candy canes
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1/4 cup cornstarch

For the Frosting

1 cup powdered sugar
1-2 Tbsp. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/8-1/4 cup ground candy canes (Any larger chunks should be used here instead of in the cookies. The amount you need will depend on how much you sprinkle on top of the cookies.)

1- Preheat oven to 300 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2- In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the ground candy canes and vanilla and mix thoroughly. Gradually add the flour and cornstarch and mix until the dough forms.
3- Form into 1" balls and place onto prepared baking sheets. Gently press down on each cookie to flatten using fingers or a glass dipped in sugar (I prefer the glass method).
4- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the bottoms begin to brown.
5- Cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Combine the powdered sugar, 1 Tbsp. of milk and vanilla and mix until the frosting is smooth adding more milk as needed. Drizzle cookies with frosting then sprinkle with the ground candy canes.

Roasted Tomato Enchiladas

2007-12-17T10:30:00.000-05:00

I made these for Rachel as a thank you for driving me all over Philadelphia and for taking care of Gloucester when I've been out of town. I can't eat them, of course, but I've been told they are tasty. You can adjust the spiciness of them by how much you season the filling and what kind of canned tomatoes you get. You can also add cheese to the top if you want. These are good make ahead meals since you can prepare everything up to baking and keep them in the fridge. I'd be careful about freezing them since the tortillas may get soggy when thawed out. I make these and put them in individual tins so they can be made in single portions for a meal.

Roasted Tomato Enchiladas

15 oz. firm tofu
15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper (I use a black and red pepper mix.)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
4 large burrito-size tortillas (I use whole wheat since they are better for you. You can also get smaller size tortillas to make more enchiladas.)
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
29 oz. canned diced, fire-roasted tomatoes with green chilies (So you'll need two 14.5 oz. cans.)
1-2 dashes of hot sauce (optional)

1- Preheat oven to 350. Coat a deep, 12" skillet with cooking spray. Coat a 9" square baking dish with cooking spray.
2- Drain tofu and dice into 1/2" cubes. Add to the skillet and brown over medium heat until firm and the outsides are dry.
3- Spoon the tofu into a mixing bowl and add the beans and spices. Mix well. Divide the tofu equally among the tortillas and fold the sides into the center. Place the tortillas, seam side down, in the baking dish.
4- Coat skillet with additional cooking spray. Add onion and garlic and saute over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Add undrained tomatoes and cook over high heat until the mixture thickens slightly, about 3-5 minutes. Spoon over the tortillas.
5- Bake until thoroughly heated, about 10 minutes. If you are adding cheese, sprinkle over the tortillas about halfway through baking.

Crab Cakes

2007-11-18T21:54:00.000-05:00

I made these for Amy's birthday party. I've never made crab cakes before and have only very rarely used crab at all, but these came out really well. Plus they were super easy.

Crab Cakes

3/4 cup breadcrumbs (I used seasoned, but you could go with plain)
1 lb. fresh crab meat, drained well, picked over
1/4 cup mayonnaise
3 Tbsp chopped fresh chives
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp hot sauce
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 cup vegetable oil

1- Line baking sheet with waxed paper. Place 1/2 cup breadcrumbs in a shallow dish.
2- Mix crab, mayonnaise, chives, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, hot sauce and remaining 1/4 cup breadcrumbs in a medium bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix in egg.
3- Using 2 Tbsp for each, form crab mixture into twenty 1 1/2" diameter cakes. Coat cakes with breadcrumbs in dish, pressing to adhere. Transfer cakes to prepared baking sheet. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 6 hours.
4- Heat oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, add cakes to the skillet and cook till golden and heated through, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer cakes to paper towel to drain.

Lemon Pepper Garden Saute

2007-11-18T20:14:00.000-05:00

I made this for Amy's birthday party and made some grilled chicken also sauteed with lemon pepper as well to go along with it.

Lemon Pepper Garden Saute

1 Tbsp vegetable oil
3/4 cup red bell pepper strips
1/2 cup sliced onion, separated into rings
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 3/4 cups sliced zucchini
1 1/2 cups sliced yellow squash
1 3/4 cups chopped plum tomato
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
1 tsp lemon pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup parmesan cheese (optional)

1- Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper, onion and garlic, then saute 2 minutes. Add zucchini and yellow squash then saute 5 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Add tomato, basil, lemon pepper and salt then saute 1 minute or until heated through.
2- Remove from heat and sprinkle with cheese.

Beef Sirloin With Coffee And Chili Rub

2007-11-18T20:04:00.000-05:00

I actually made this with flank steak for Amy's birthday party. It worked out pretty well for a large group instead of individual steaks. I might tinker with the rub if I ever make it again, but it was tasty nonetheless. I think I'd add onion powder and maybe ground coriander and use espresso powder instead of the instant coffee.

Beef Sirloin With Coffee And Chili Rub

1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp instant coffee
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ancho chili powder (or other chili powder if you can't find the ancho)
2 (1 1/2 lb) boneless beef sirloins, cut 1 1/2" thick

1- Combine the first six ingredients in a bowl.
2- Rub both sides of the steaks and then let them sit for 30 minutes.
3- Grill steaks (or broil if you do not have a grill) on medium high until cooked to desired temperature.

Grilled Corn Salad

2007-11-18T19:51:00.000-05:00

I made this as a side dish for my baked flautas. I can't eat it, but have been told that it is quite tasty. Since you use the broiler to grill the corn, you don't have to wait till summer, though the corn will probably be better then. Next time I'll try the George Foreman grill to see how well the corn turns out on there.

Grilled Corn Salad

4 large ears of corn, husked
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and minced
2 stalks celery, minced
1/4 cup minced red onion
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp cumin seed (not ground cumin)
1/2 tsp salt
3 dashes hot sauce (or to taste)
Freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

1- Spray broiler rack with cooking spray and preheat broiler.
2- Spray the corn with cooking spray and broil, turning once, until corn is golden in spots, about 12 minutes (it may take longer depending on your broiler). Cool for 20 minutes.
3- Cut corn kernels off the cobs and place them in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and toss well.

Cauliflower Poppers

2007-11-18T19:41:00.000-05:00

I also added brussel sprouts to this, but it makes the dish more complicated since the sprouts have to be rinsed, soaked and baked a bit before mixed with the cauliflower. Apparently this makes a lot more than I had intended. I doubled the recipe and it was way more than needed. When cooked right, these are tender, but not mushy. Not quite the same as the battered and fried version, but tasty all the same.

Cauliflower Poppers

1 small head of cauliflower, cut into bite-sized florets (about 4 cups)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder (or more to taste)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder

1- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a baking pan or jelly roll pan with cooking spray.
2- Place cauliflower in a small bowl or ziploc bag. Add remaining ingredients and toss well to coat.
3- Spread the cauliflower in prepared pan so the florets are mostly in one layer. Bake until tender but not mushy, about 10 minutes, stirring halfway through.

Mint Chip Chocolate Cookies

2007-11-18T19:24:00.000-05:00

I made these for Rachel's party since I was out of town. I also took some into work since the recipe made a good amount of cookies. The real inspiration for them was that I had some of the Nestle Mint/Chocolate Swirled Chips in my pantry that I needed to use otherwise I was going to eat them. So I worked out this recipe. The mint flavor is pretty strong, so be sure to add the mini chocolate chips to help cut the mint and increase the chocolate. It also helps keep the cookies from drying out.

Mint Chip Chocolate Cookies

2 1/4 cups flour
2/3 cup baking cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 large eggs
1 10 oz. pkg of Nestle Mint/Chocolate Swirled Chips
2 oz. mini chocolate chips

1- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2- Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.
3- Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in a large bowl until creamy. Add eggs one at a time beating well. Add the flour mixture gradually then stir in both types of chips.
4- Drop by well-rounded teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet.
5- Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until centers are set. Do not overbake. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies

2007-10-22T10:41:00.000-05:00

I'm always on the lookout for new shortbread recipes. Much like my quest for the perfect corn spoon bread recipe that recreates the old Annie's Santa Fe spoon bread, I think that I'm trying to replicate something that I've had once before. I've had fantastic shortbread, but it's never exactly right. This one is decent, but again, not the droid I'm looking for.

Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1 Tbsp sugar

1- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2- Mix butter, brown sugar and vanilla together until fluffy. Gradually blend in the flour and cornstarch. Add chocolate chips.
3- Form into 1" balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Pour sugar into a small dish, dip the bottom of a drinking glass in sugar and lightly press down on each ball to flatten.
4- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the bottoms begin to brown.
5- Cool for 5 minutes, sprinkle additional sugar on warm cookies if desired and remove to a rack to cool completely.

Chessboard Cake

2007-07-08T20:57:00.003-05:00

This is the cake I made for Books & Snacks. It looks even cooler when in individual slices. This cut-away picture shows that the center creates kind of a mirror effect on each side of the cake. That's just the way it comes out, but when sliced, you don't notice that. Yes, you do have to have special equipment for this one, namely a Chessboard (or Checkerboard) Cake Pan Set. Mine was given to me which meant I absolutely took the first excuse to make one that I could. This is the recipe that came with the set. I think you could do a lot of interesting things with this set, like perhaps a white and red velvet cake or chocolate and orange cake.

Chessboard Cake with Fudgy Chocolate Frosting

For the cake:

4 cups cake flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
18 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups sugar
6 eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups whole milk
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled slightly

1- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour the three round cake pans. Place a round of parchment paper inside each.
2- Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.
3- In a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed till smooth and creamy. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time beating well after each. Continue beating until fluffy, white and increased in volume. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add the flour mixture in four additions, alternating with the milk (beginning and ending with the flour).
4- Pour about 1/3 of the batter (4 1/2 cups) into a medium bowl. Add the chocolate and stir until blended.
5- To form the checkerboard pattern, place the divider ring in one of the prepared pans and spoon the plain batter into the outer and center rings, filling them 1/2 to 2/3 full. Spoon about 1 cup of the chocolate batter into the middle ring. Gently lift the ring out of the pan. Wipe off any remaining batter and place the ring in the second pan and repeat the procedure with the plain and chocolate batters.
6- For the third cake pan, reverse the procedure. Place the ring in the pan and spoon the chocolate batter into the outer and center rings. Spoon about 1 cup of the plain batter into the middle ring. Gently life the ring out of the pan. It's important that each layer have approximately the same amount of batter so that they will be the same thickness when baked.
7- Set the pans on the same rack in the oven, if possible, and bake until the tops of the cakes spring back, 25-30 minutes. Transfer the pans to wire racks and cool for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans and cool completely on racks.

For the frosting:

4 3/4 cups confectioners sugar
1/4 tsp salt
12 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup whole milk
1 Tbsp vanilla
6 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled

1- Combine the sugar, salt and butter (you can use either a food processor or a mixer) until well mixed. Note that the ingredients will be dry and crumbly.
2- Add milk and vanilla and process/mix until smooth.
3- Add the chocolate and process/mix until well blended, smooth and creamy.

Assemble the cake:

1- Take a 10" round cardboard (or whatever plate you intend to use for the cake) and stack one of the cake layers on the bottom. Be sure to use one of the repeated patterns (white/chocolate/white).
2- Spread about 2/3 cup of frosting all the way to the edges of the layer.
3- Place the second layer (chocolate/white/chocolate).
4- Spread about 2/3 cup of frosting all the way to the edges of the layer.
5- Top with remaining cake layer (white/chocolate/white).
6- Spread thin coat of frosting over the top and sides of the cake.
7- Let the cake sit in the fridge until the frosting is set. This is important as the layers have a tendency to slide.
8- Frost with remaining frosting and let sit until set.

Cornbread Crostini

2007-07-08T20:57:00.001-05:00

Tasty munchies made for Books & Snacks. I had an idea like this a while ago and then saw a sort of recipe for them. You can either make your favorite cornbread from scratch or go with one made from a mix (8 1/2 oz. box). Just make sure you bake it in an 8x8 pan otherwise the crostini will be too small. Also be sure to store these in an airtight container otherwise they'll just soak up the moisture that you bake out of them.

Cornbread Crostini

1 8x8 cornbread, baked, removed from pan and cooled completely

1- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2- Cut cooled cornbread into 1/2" slices then cut each slice in half.
3- Place pieces in a single layer on a large baking sheet.
4- Bake for about 10 minutes or until crisp, turning over once. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Lemon Apricot Chicken

2007-07-08T20:43:00.000-05:00

The meat dish made for Books & Snacks. I used the thin-sliced boneless, skinless chicken breast you can usually find pre-packaged in the grocery store. Sometimes subbing that out when a recipe suggests pounding out the chicken works and sometimes it doesn't. This is one where it does. If you are making a variety of other foods and want to save some time and mess, I wholeheartedly stand behind taking the short-cut here.

Lemon Apricot Chicken

For the chicken:

1/4 cup butter, melted
1 egg
2 Tbsp water
1 cup Bisquick or similar baking mix
1 Tbsp grated lemon peel (I used dried, though I would be interested in how it tastes with fresh.)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp pepper
6 small boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, about 1 lb. (I had more chicken, probably about 2 lbs. total in the thin-sliced version as discussed above.)

For the sauce:

2/3 cup apricot preserves
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp ground ginger

1- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spread 1 Tbsp of melted butter in a jelly roll pan, 15 1/2x10 1/2 (I used two pizza pans as I had already used my jelly roll pan for something else).
2- Beat egg and water slightly in a shallow dish. In another shallow dish, combine baking mix, lemon peel, garlic powder and pepper.
3- Flatten chicken to 1/2" thickness between plastic wrap or waxed paper (skip if using the thin-sliced chicken).
4- Dip chicken into egg mixture then coat with baking mix mixture. Place in the pan. Repeat with all pieces of chicken. Drizzle with remaining melted butter.
5- Bake for 20 minutes. Turn and bake about 10 minutes longer or until cooked through. Remove from oven and set aside to rest.
6- Prepare sauce by combining all ingredients in a saucepan until hot then spread small amount over the top of each piece of chicken. Serve any remaining sauce for people to add to taste.

Corn Pudding

2007-07-08T20:35:00.000-05:00

I made this for Books & Snacks and amazingly enough, it isn't horrible for you. Be careful about overbaking this. It's going to look a little underdone when you pull it from the oven, but if you leave it in too long it'll get dried out. I used more corn than the recipe originally called for with good results. I bet it would be even better with fresh corn. I just didn't have the wherewithal to deal with fresh for today's event.

Corn Pudding

3 Tbsp sugar
1/4 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper (You could use white pepper if you have it on hand to keep the colors clean, though there is so little pepper in it that you probably won't notice even if you use black pepper.)
2 cups fat-free evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups egg substitute
2 Tbsp butter, melted
6 cups corn kernels

1- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray.
2- Combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl.
3- Combine milk, egg substitute and butter in a large bowl. Whisk in the dry ingredients until smooth. Stir in the corn.
4- Pour mixture into prepared dish and bake for 40-45 minutes until deep golden brown and set.
5- Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Spinach Pie

2007-07-08T20:18:00.000-05:00

I made this for my Books & Snacks party. It made way too much filling, so I'm probably going to make a quiche-type item with the left over. It might make for an interesting warm dip if you used the extra in a glass dish with breadcrumbs on top. Anyway, if you used a deep-dish pie pan, you'd probably use it all. I just don't have one that deep. Ah well. It gives me stuff to experiment with. You can either make your own pie crust or buy some at the store. It's totally up to you.

Spinach Pie

Pie crust for a double crust pie
2 Tbsp butter
3 cups shredded zucchini (I just cut mine up into small pieces.)
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced (I used baby bellas aka porcini.)
1 tsp seasoned salt
1 10 oz. pkg. frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
15 oz. ricotta cheese
8 oz. French cream cheese, softened (You can use Boursin or a similar "garlic and herb spreadable cheese.)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 Tbsp Tabasco
1 egg, beaten with 1 tsp. water

4- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
1- Melt butter in skillet over medium-high heat and add zucchini and mushrooms. Sprinkle with seasoned salt and saute until tender. Remove from heat and set aside.
2- Combine spinach, ricotta, cream cheese, mozzarella, eggs and Tabasco in a large bowl. Stir in zucchini and mushrooms.
3- Line a pie plate with the bottom pie crust. Spoon in filling. Top with second pie crust. Cut vents and flute edges.
4- Brush with egg/water glaze.
5- Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, then at 375 degrees for 35-45 minutes until golden.
6- Remove from oven and let cool on wire rack for 30 minutes before serving.

Slow Cooker Pork Ribs

2007-05-20T09:03:00.000-05:00

These are one of my staples that I make for parties and events. They take planning since they cook for 8 hours, but everyone loves them, so they're worth it. You could use other types of ribs if you wanted, but pork baby back always work best for me.

Slow Cooker Pork Ribs

4 lbs. pork baby back ribs (If I can't go to a butcher, I usually end up with like 5 lbs. because of the way they are packaged.)
1 cup ketchup
1 cup barbecue sauce (Use your favorite. I like a mix of different kinds for mine, and that's a secret.)
1 cup chili sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 Tbsp vinegar (I use red wine vinegar.)
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1-3 dashes hot sauce

1- Heat oven to 400 degrees. Rub the ribs with salt and pepper (or a pork rub which is what I do) on each side. Cook for 15 minutes on each side to render some of the fat.
2- Cut up the ribs into slabs that will fit in your slow cooker and place inside.
3- In a large bowl, combine all the remaining ingredients. Pour over the ribs in the slow cooker.
4- Cook on low for 8-10 hours (The longer you cook them, the more they'll fall off the bone.)

Mediterranean Stew

2007-05-04T10:30:00.000-05:00

I was happy to get to make this as it is good for vegetarians and goes in the crock pot so you can put everything in before work and come home and have it done. I served this in day-old ciabatta rolls that I picked up at the store. You could easily use pumpernickel or some other type of bread bowl or just a regular bowl. I also topped mine with feta to add a nice tang. I think I might try to do this again and put the feta on top and set the bread bowl in the broiler to melt the cheese just a bit. This stew lends itself well to adding meat if so desired.

Mediterranean Stew

1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
2 cups cubed eggplant with peel, salted and drained
1 cup zucchini
1 10 oz. package frozen okra
1 14 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 cup chopped onion
1 14 oz. can chickpeas, drained
1 carrot, sliced
1/3 cup raisins
1 bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup vegetable stock (Try to find stock not broth.)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp paprika

1- In a slow cooker, combine the first 10 ingredients.
2- In a bowl, combine the remaining 8 ingredients.
3- Add the spice/liquid mixture to the slow cooker and stir to combine.
4- Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until vegetables are tender.

Balsamic Chicken

2007-05-04T10:23:00.000-05:00

I like the flavor of these, but I would like to make them on the grill next time instead of baking them. Either that or perhaps a broiling pan with holes and a drip pan underneath so that the oil from the marinade doesn't pool in the bottom of the baking dish.

Balsamic Chicken

1 - 1 1/4 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used cutlets so they would be thinner and I wouldn't need to pound them out.)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
2 tsp honey

1- Pound the chicken lightly until about 1/2" thick or pierce the chicken with a fork instead of pounding.
2- Combine the remaining ingredients in a large bowl.
3- Add the chicken and marinate for at least 4 hours (I went for overnight.)
4- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and roast the chicken for about 15 minutes or until thoroughly cooked depending on thickness.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

2007-05-04T10:07:00.000-05:00

This dip is chunkier than some others I've seen since I didn't use creamed spinach. I wanted it creamy in flavor and texture but keep the vegetables substantial enough that they could hold their own. I served this in the glass dish I baked it in, but you could reasonably put it in a small crock pot after baking to keep it warm.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

1 14 oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped (You could use marinated artichoke hearts if you wanted to add some additional flavor. They were a lot more expensive, so I decided not to.)
1 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed but not drained
1/2 cup cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (You could use a blend of Parmesan and Romano if you wanted.)
1 cup shredded Mexican four cheese blend (You could substitute Monterey Jack or similar if you cannot get the blend.)
1 tsp garlic, minced
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp lemon juice

1- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2- In a small baking dish (I used a glass 8"x8".) , mix together the cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon juice and cayenne pepper.
3- Once well blended, add the garlic, artichoke hearts, spinach, Parmesan cheese and Mexican cheese blend.
4- Bake for about 25 minutes until warm and bubbly. (The top gets a slight crust on it that can be avoided if you cover the dish with foil before baking.)

White Bean Dip

2007-05-04T09:34:00.000-05:00

No photo on this one as of yet because, honestly, how pretty can white bean dip really look? I made this as I have been having a craving for white bean spread since I ate at Abbraccio months ago. Theirs was thicker and more of a true spread than what I ended up with. I think I might tinker with mine in the future (perhaps by draining the beans and only using half of the liquid) to try to achieve that consistency. I think I'd also cut down on the rosemary. While I like the flavor, at times it seemed a bit overpowering for me. This recipe can easily be doubled, which is what I did. Also, you can just mash the beans, but if you have a food processor or in my case a stick blender, it works much better.

White Bean Dip

2 Tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp minced fresh rosemary (Do not used dried as the flavor will be far too strong.)
1 14 oz. can of cannellini beans (aka white kidney beans)
1 tsp lemon juice
salt
pepper (White pepper is nice so you don't have black flecks in the dip, but black pepper will work.)

1- In a medium skillet with sides (if you are going to use a stick blender, I suggest using a wide bottomed saucepan), heat the olive oil and then add the garlic and rosemary.
2- Saute the garlic and rosemary briefly then add the beans, bean liquid and lemon juice.
3- Let the mixture cook down and mash the beans and add salt and pepper to taste. If you are going to use a stick blender, mash the beans slightly and then use the blender.
4- Once the desired consistency is reached, remove from heat and let the mixture cool. It can be served warm or cold, but not hot.

Double Chocolate Cookies With Raspberry Icing

2007-05-01T08:06:00.000-05:00

I made these to send to friends for birthdays. The original recipe did not have the icing or the raspberry flavor, but to be honest, when I tried one without the icing, it needed something. So I started adding. In addition to the flavor, I think it makes them much prettier. You could use other flavors, of course, depending on your taste. Kirsch would make for nice cherry flavor, but no color. Bailey's would be a nice pairing. And of course there are a myriad of non-alcoholic flavorings. I just happen to have a well-stocked bar. The texture is similar to those Crinkle Cookies that are very chocolatey and covered in powdered sugar. Don't worry if you don't know what I'm talking about, I'm sure I'll make them at some point.

Double Chocolate Cookies With Raspberry Icing

For the Cookies:

1 lb. semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used a mix of a bag of semisweet chips and some chopped Ghirardelli semisweet from a bar to help cut down the time and effort.)
2 cups all-purpose flour (Do NOT use cake flour here. It would make the dough far too sticky.)
1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa powder (Ok, so if you can't find full Dutch process cocoa, Hershey's is now making something you can use in a pinch. It is their Special Dark Cocoa and it is part regular cocoa and part Dutch process. I am nearly out of my Dutch process so I used part full Dutch process and part Special Dark.)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
10 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp instant coffee granules (These can get kind of grainy in the cookies. I suggest running them through a grinder/chopper to break them up further. It's not necessary, but I would do it in the future for my cookies.)
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp raspberry liquor

For the icing:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1-2 tsp milk (I used whole milk as I had some on hand.)
1-2 tsp raspberry liquor

1- Melt the chocolate either in a double boiler or the microwave. Set aside.
2- Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Set aside. (This step is very important as the cocoa and baking powder tend to clump.)
3- Cream together butter, white sugar and brown sugar. Beat in the eggs, instant coffee granules, vanilla and raspberry liquor. Stir in the melted chocolate. Using a spoon (as the batter will be incredibly thick and could burn out the motor in a mixer), stir in the dry ingredients. Do not overmix. Cover and let sit for 35 minutes (I put mine in the fridge and this seemed to help with the set up though it did make scooping the dough a little more difficult).
3- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper and drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto the sheet with 2" between them. Do not overcrowd your sheet.
4- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Cookies will be set but soft. Leave the cookies on the sheet for 10 minutes before transferring them to a rack or plate to finish cooling.
5- Make the icing by combining all the ingredients in a small bowl. Add more powdered sugar or liquid to reach preferred consistency (I like being able to drizzle the icing and so like it to be thinner). Spread or drizzle icing over mostly cooled cookies and let set until dry.

Chocolate Raspberry Cake

2007-04-26T12:29:00.000-05:00

I made this for Jim's Second Annual 29th Birthday. I was a little concerned at first because I had to do some on the spot tinkering as I didn't have some of the required ingredients, but overall, it worked out well... at least, that's what everyone's been saying. This cake is very rich and very chocolatey. If you prefer milk chocolate, I suggest a different cake. It is somewhat labor intensive, but the instructions make it look far worse than it really is.

Chocolate Raspberry Cake

For the Raspberry Glaze:

You could use 1/2 - 1 cup of seedless raspberry preserves. I didn't have any, so I made a concoction of my own that worked quite well (and that I think I would prefer over the preserves.) This made more than I needed, but had I been plating the slices of cake, it would have been a nice garnish. You could probably use half and have enough for the cake itself depending on how much raspberry flavor you want.

2 6 oz. packages of frozen raspberries
1/4 cup raspberry liquor
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 packet of gelatin
2 Tbsp cornstarch

1- Place raspberries and liquor in a saucepan and heat gently until raspberries are thawed and begin to cook down.
2- Add sugar and stir to dissolve.
3- Continue to simmer the raspberries until most of the solid chunks are gone.
4- Strain through a tight sieve and discard the seeds and any large pieces.
5- Return the liquid to the saucepan and add the gelatin and cornstarch, whisking until completely dissolved.
6- Chill the mixture until you have a spreadable consistency.

For the Ganache:

1 1/4 cups heavy cream
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 Tbsp light corn syrup
1 pound semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used semisweet morsels so I wouldn't have to chop the chocolate.)

1- In a saucepan, bring the cream, butter and corn syrup to a boil.
2- Add chocolate and remove from heat. Swirl slightly so that the cream mixture covers the chocolate. Let the pan sit for three minutes.
3- Whisk until smooth and chill, covered, for at least two hours.

For the Cake:

1/3 cup sifted Dutch-processed cocoa powder (although in a pinch you could use regular unsweetened)
1/3 cup flour (I would suggest all purpose here as opposed to cake flour based on the final texture of the cake.)
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 pinch baking soda
3 whole large eggs
3 large egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt

1- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour a 9" round cake pan.
2- In a small bowl, whisk together cocoa powder, flour, cornstarch and baking soda.
3- In a metal bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, sugar and salt. Place over a pan of simmering water and whisk until lukewarm. Remove from the heat and mix on high until cooled and doubled in volume. You will also notice that the mixture has paled in color significantly.
4- Fold in the cocoa mixture in thirds.
5- Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for 30 minutes (the cake should be pulling away from the sides of the pan and be firm to the touch).
6- Remove from pan and allow to cool on a rack.

For the Syrup:

1/3 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup raspberry liquor

1- In a small saucepan, bring the water and sugar to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.
2- Cool the syrup and then stir in the raspberry liquor.

For the Chocolate Glaze:

1 cup heavy cream
8 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (Again, I used semisweet morsels.)

1- In a saucepan, bring the cream to a boil and remove pan from heat.
2- Add chocolate and swirl until completely covered. Let the pan sit for two minutes.
3- Whisk until smooth and pour through a sieve to remove any lumps.

Cake Assembly:

1- Cut the cake into three rounds and place the first layer on a cardboard cake round. (You can get by with a plate here if you have to, but be aware that it should not be too much bigger than the cake itself.)
2- Brush the layer with the Syrup. Spread half of the Raspberry Glaze on the cake and then 1/3 of the Ganache (be sure to bring it back to room temperature in order to ease spreading) over the Raspberry Glaze.
3- Top with the next layer of Cake and repeat with the Syrup, remaining Raspberry Glaze (reserving a bit for garnish if so desired) and 1/3 of the Ganache.
4- Place the last layer of cake on top, brush with Syrup and spread most of the remaining Ganache on top.
5- Fill any gaps on the sides of the cake with small amounts of Ganache so that the edges are smooth.
6- Chill the cake until the Ganache is set, about 30 minutes.
7- Set the cake on a rack over a pan to make clean-up easier and then pour the Chocolate Glaze over the top of the cake.
8- Spread the Chocolate Glaze over the top and sides of the cake until smooth.
9- Chill the cake (or let stand at cool room temperature) until the Chocolate Glaze is set. (I kept mine in the fridge overnight.)

Tequila Lime Chicken

2007-04-13T09:00:00.000-05:00

I made this for Girls' Night along with my Black Bean Flautas. I made some that were without the topping for me and the rest with it for the other ladies. Fortunately that meant I didn't need to tinker with the basic chicken recipe to avoid onions. Apparently this recipe is based off of a dish at Applebees (I think), but since it is something I'd never order in a restaurant, I can't say for sure.

Tequila Lime Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup shredded cheese (I used the four cheese Mexican blend. Other options would be cheddar, monterey jack, colby jack or some blend of these.)

For the Marinade:

1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
2 Tbsp lime juice (fresh if you can)
1 Tbsp lime zest, chopped (or about one lime's worth)
3 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 cup tequila

For the Dressing:

1/4 cup mayonnaise (Do NOT use Miracle Whip.)
1/4 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp milk
3 tsp tomato, chopped
2 tsp green chile pepper, chopped
1 1/2 tsp mined onion
1/4 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp hot pepper sauce
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp dried dill
1/8 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp ground black pepper

1- Combine all the marinade ingredients in a medium bowl and mix together. Poke holes in the chicken breasts with a fork on both sides. Add the chicken to the marinade and turn to coat. Refridgerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.
2- Make the dressing by combining all the ingredients until well combined. Cover the bowl and chill until needed.
3- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick foil for easier clean-up.
4- Grill or broil the chicken for about 5 minutes on each side or until mostly cooked through (I used my George Foreman grill).
5- Arrange the chicken in the baking dish and pour about a tablespoon of marinade over the top of each breast. Discard the rest of the marinade. Spread a layer of the Dressing on each breast and then top with about 1/4 cup of the shredded cheese.
6- Bake for about 15 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked and cheese is melted.

Chocolate Butter Spritz Cookies

2007-02-22T09:42:00.000-05:00

I made these for Valentine's Day to bring to work. Because I was using a smaller cookie size with the press, it made a ton of cookies. However, people seemed to really like them. I wouldn't advise making them too big as the taste works best when kept small. I think they'd make a great cookie to have with coffee, tea or hot chocolate on a cold day.

Chocolate Butter Spritz Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sifted confectioners sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 egg yolk
1 Tbsp milk
1/2 Tbsp Kaluha
1/2 Tbsp brandy
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour

1- Preheat oven to 375.
2- In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter then add confectioners sugar, brown sugar and cocoa powder. Beat until combined. Beat in the egg yolk, milk, Kaluha, brandy and vanilla. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with a mixer. Stir in any remaining with a spoon.
3- If making drop cookies, place rounded teaspooonfuls onto baking sheets. If making pressed cookies, pack the dough into a cookie press fitted with the desired plate. Press the cookies out onto an ungreased cookie sheet about 1" apart.
4- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cookies are firm but not brown.

Mocha Shortbread Attempt One

2007-02-22T09:14:00.000-05:00

I was not really pleased with how these turned out. There were mixed feeling from my guinea pigs. No one disliked them, per se, but there was a pretty large range of whether people tasted the coffee flavor or no. I have some serious ideas on how to adjust the recipe. I will update with that when I give it a trial run.

So here they are as I made them:

Mocha Shortbread Attempt One

1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup confectioners sugar
2 cups flour
1 Tbsp unsweeted cocoa powder
1 tsp espresso powder

1- Preheat oven to 325.
2- Cream together the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Sift together the flour, cocoa and espresso powder. Mix into the butter mixture in batches until a soft dough forms.
3- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead lightly until smooth.
4- Pack the dough into a cookie press fitted with the desired plate. Press the cookies out onto a lightly buttered cookie sheet about 1" apart.
5- Bake 10-15 minutes until the edges are firm and cookies are very slightly browned.

King Cake

2007-02-20T17:39:00.000-05:00

For years I have wanted to make a King Cake for Mardi Gras, but I always seemed to remember the plan when it was too late to go through the whole process of letting it rise and whatnot. This year I managed to plan enough ahead to make one. Now, I decided to go slightly nontraditional with the recipe, but still included a small plastic baby (of course warning everyone not to choke). According to the new tradition, the person who gets the baby has to host the next Mardi Gras party or provide the next year's King Cake.

King Cake

1 plastic baby trinket
Green, purple and yellow colored sugars

For the bread:

1 envelope active dry yeast
2 Tbsp warm water
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp orange rind (I used dried, but you could use fresh if you wanted.)
1 tsp lemon peel (Again, I used dried.)
2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/4 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into very small pieces

1- Dissolve the yeast in the warm water in a small bowl and set aside until frothy.
2- Combine the salt, sugar, milk, orange rind and lemon peel in a mixing bowl (if you plan to use a dough hook, you can put this in the bowl for your mixer). Mix in the yeast mixture.
3- Sift together the cinnamon and flour.
4- With mixer on low speed, add the eggs to the liquid ingredient mixture. Then gradually add the flour mixture until incorporated. Knead for ten minutes or until a smooth, elastic dough is formed. Add the butter pieces in small amounts, but quickly so they do not melt.
5- Turn the dough into an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 1 hour.
6- When the dough has doubled in bulk, punch down and put in the fridge overnight.
7- Preheat the oven to 350.
8- Roll dough out to a 6x18 rectangle. Spread the filling out in the middle over the whole length leaving a 1" margin around the edges. Place the baby in the filling. Fold the length of the dough over the filling and roll up tightly with the seam side down. Put one end inside the other to seal the dough in a wreath shape. Place the cake on a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 45 minutes or until doubled in bulk.
9- Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
10- When the cake cools, spread the glaze over evenly and decorate with colored sugars.

For the filling:

1 cup pecan halves, broken up slightly and roasted (I think I would use pecan pieces next time.)
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 pinch of salt
2 Tbsp molasses
2 Tbsp light corn syrup

1- Combine all of the ingredients together.

For the glaze:

1 cup confectioner's sugar
1 Tbsp bourbon
milk

1- Combine the sugar and bourbon.
2- Add enough milk to make the glaze fluid enough to spread thinly.

Almond Cherry Coffeecake

2007-02-07T10:08:00.000-05:00

I had some dried cherries leftover from the Cherry Cream Cheese Braid that I wanted to use up and get out of my cupboard. So I turned to the internet and found a dried cherry cake recipe that I changed up to make my own. I took it to work and everyone liked it, but the almond rather overpowered the cherry. I have listed the recipe as I made it with my suggestions for the next time around.

Almond Cherry Coffeecake

1/2 cup chopped dried cherries (I would increase this to a cup.)
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 tsp. almond extract (I would eliminate this.)
1/2 tsp. Kirsch (I would up this to 1 tsp. You could use cherry extract if you don't want to spend the money on Kirsch.)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup white sugar
6 oz. light black cherry yogurt (I would use 8 oz. of black cherry.)
2 oz. light vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 egg white
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/8 cup flour
2 Tbsp. butter, melted

1- Combine cherries, hot water, almond extract and Kirsch in a bowl. Let stand for 20 minutes. Drain cherries and pat dry. Set aside.
2- In a large bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, baking powder and white sugar. Add yogurt, eggs and oil. Stir well. Fold in cherries. Pour batter into a greased and floured 9" round cake pan.
3- Combine brown sugar, almonds, 1/8 cup flour in a small bowl. Stir in melted butter until well mixed. Sprinkle over the top of the cake. (You will have a lot of topping. If you felt like doing the ratio math to lessen it a bit, you probably could.)
4- Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Serve warm or room temperature.

Welsh Rarebit

2007-01-16T14:50:00.000-05:00

No picture on this one because it is rather unattractive. I don't think there is anything you could do to this recipe to make it pretty. However, when I made it for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, everyone liked the taste. Once you get past the ugly nature and silly name, you have what Petras described as a fancy, open grilled cheese.

Welsh Rarebit

2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp mustard powder (or to taste)
1/2 tsp cayenne (or to taste)
3/4 cup strong dark beer (I used Guinness.)
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce (or to taste)
1 lb. Cheddar, Double Gloucester or other English cheese, grated (I used a mixture of aged white cheddar and Dubliner.)
4 to 8 pieces lightly toasted bread (I put thin slices of Italian bread in the broiler so I could toast lots at a time.)

1- Put butter in a saucepan over medium head and, as it melts, stir in flour. Continue to cok, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and very fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in mustard and cayenne, then whisk in beer and Worcestershire sauce.
2- When mixture is uniform, turn heat to low and stir in cheese, again stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and pour into a broad container to set (you can refrigerate for up to a day at this point).
3- Spread mixture thickly on toast and put under broiler until bubbly and edges of toast are crisp. Serve immediately.

Creole Bread Pudding With Irish Whiskey Sauce

2007-01-15T16:24:00.000-05:00

I got this recipe from a magazine that Mr. Watkins showed me at work. He said I should give it a try someday since I'm such a baker. Well, that sounded like a challenge to me. So I made it for the First Annual Turducken Day Dinner. It is eggier than most bread puddings I've had, but I think that makes for a nice change. It's dense but good. I had some and just picked around the raisins. A good reason to use dark ones instead of golden ones. One of the group at dinner said it was almost like french toast in a dessert form. I would absolutely make this again.

Creole Bread Pudding with Irish Whiskey Sauce

For the bread pudding

3/4 lb. French bread in 1/2" slices (I used a long, thin Italian bread because I couldn't find French bread. I think it worked out just fine.)
1 cup dark raisins
18 large eggs (Yes, for serious.)
4 1/2 cups heavy cream (Yes, for serious.)
2 cups sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup unsalted butter

1- Arrange the bread in overlapping rows in a 9x13 dish (the deeper the better). Sprinkle with raisins.
2- Beat eggs, cream, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon and nutmeg in a medium bowl.
3- Pour half over the bread and press down. (I put a piece of foil down then put another 9x13 pan on top and weighed it down with heavy stuff.) Let it sit for 15 minutes.
4- Pour the remaining egg mixture on the bread. (The recipe calls for pressing it down again, but when I tried that it ended up spilling some of the egg mixture out so I skipped it. If you have a deep pan you may be okay.) Let it sit (pressed or no) for 15 minutes.
5- Combine 1/2 cup sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon. Sprinkle over the bread. Dot with butter.
6- Bake at 250 for 1 1/2 - 2 hours until just set in the center. (I baked it until when I pushed down in the center no more egg mixture came to the top.)

For the sauce

1 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
7 large egg yolks
1/4 cup Irish whiskey (I used Jameson's.)

1- In a medium saucepan, bring cream and milk to a boil. While waiting for the mixture to boil, whisk together sugar and egg yolks together in a medium bowl.
2- Whisk in hot milk/cream mixture. (Be careful to temper the eggs a bit before just pouring in the hot milk or else you'll scramble the eggs instead of getting a sauce.)
3- In a double boiler, cook the milk/egg mixture over just simmering water stirring constantly until it thickens slightly, about 12 minutes or so. (It doesn't get ribbon thick. You'll notice the slight thickening by added resistance on the spoon while you stir.)
4- Pour through a fine sieve. (My mixture didn't have any lumps so I skipped this step... perhaps because I tempered the eggs.)
5- Stir in whiskey.

Serve the bread pudding at any temperature you like. I wouldn't go with seriously chilled. Room temperature worked for us. The whiskey sauce should be kept cold and served on the side.

Individual Teriyaki Meatloaves

2007-01-08T11:42:00.000-05:00

There's no picture for this one as the meat I used was frozen and so didn't caramelize and look pretty enough for a photo. But it still tasted good so that's all that really matters, right? Anyway, this is a good make ahead complete dinner that can be frozen and kept for a later date, which means less grabbing of Fairmount Pizza on my way home. So that's a good thing as well.

Individual Teriyaki Meatloaves

1/4 cup unseasoned bread crumbs (the Italian seasoning ones would taste a bit strange with the teriyaki)
1/4 cup teriyaki glaze/marinade
1/4 tsp garlic-pepper blend
1 lb of ground beef (or beef/buffalo/turkey/other meat mix of your choice)
2 cups baby carrots
1 15oz can baby corn, drained
8 small red potatoes, quartered (These were not in the original recipe, but I like them added.)

Preheat oven to 400. Make four 18"x12" foil sheets and spray with Pam (or if you are using the Reynolds Release foil you can omit this step).

In a medium bowl, beat the egg until mixed. Add bread crumbs, 2 Tbsp teriyaki glaze and garlic-pepper blend. (I also added salt as I love it, and the teriyaki glaze I have isn't too salty.) Mix until well blended. Add the meat and mix well. Form the mixture into four individual loaves (about 4"x2" and about 1" thick).

Place 1/2 cup carrots, 1/4 cup baby corn, 2 red potatoes and one meatloaf onto a sheet of foil. Drizzle with additional 2 Tbsp of teriyaki glaze. Seal the edges by bringing the ends together and folding the seam over a few times making a rectangular packet. Repeat with other foil and loaves.

Bake for 25-35 minutes on a cookie sheet or pan. The recipe suggests turning the packet over halfway. I did this and it made a bit of a mess as some of the glaze comes out. When I tried it a second time, I did not flip it and it came out just fine.

Individual Creme Brulee

2007-01-02T09:21:00.000-05:00

Recipe to be added later.

Dinner Party

2006-12-23T15:02:00.000-05:00

Sean and I hosted a dinner party at his place on December 19th. This is the table. We had the chicken previously listed on the site, cheesy corn, mashed potatoes, rice pilaf, broccoli, asparagus, two types of rolls and cornbread with cheese (aka cheesy cornbread). I feel like there was something else, but I can't seem to recall right now. Then for dessert we had the Cherry-Cream Cheese Braid previously listed here and Maple Apple Dumplings which I will post about the next time I make them when I have a picture to share. All in all, I think everyone was pleased. Everyone included Petras, Rob, Sean, Charlie, Ann, Kurt, Marley and Sean's parents. Kurt brought the giant jug of Beringer. We did, in fact, drink it.

Crispy Chocolate Peanut Butter Squares

2006-12-13T21:57:00.000-05:00

These were a hit at work today. The consistency is a little hard to deal with when stirring in the peanut butter mixture, but that's mostly because I am used to the stickiness of rice krispie treats. This also caused certain bites and certain squares to have more peanut butter flavor than chocolate. I think I might try adding a bit of cocoa powder or perhaps melt some chocolate chips into the melted peanut butter mixture to help temper the occasionally overwhelming peanutty flavor. But super easy and something a bit different, so that works for me.

1 cup sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup smooth peanut butter
6 cups Cocoa Krispies (or off-brand if you like)

In a heavy medium saucepan, combine sugar and corn syrup over medium-high heat; stir frequently until mixture boils. Allow to boil 30 seconds without stirring. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter. Place cereal in a large bowl. Pour peanut butter mixture over cereal; stir until well blended. Pour cereal mix into a greased 13x9 pan and press down using waxed paper or greased spatula. Cover tightly and let sit to cool. Cut into squares.

Report On The Cherry-Cream Cheese Braid

2006-12-13T09:21:00.000-05:00

Well, the votes are in from the folks at work. The Cherry-Cream Cheese Braid is a hit. I'll be putting that one in the "to keep" file. I just have to remember to keep a bit of a closer eye on it while it is baking to keep it from getting overdone. Also, I think I'd like the glaze to be a bit thicker so I might go lighter on the milk.

Cherry-Cream Cheese Braid

2006-12-10T23:08:00.000-05:00

This is all packed up and ready to go to work tomorrow for the taste test, but I figured I'd go ahead and post the photos anyway. I baked it for a bit too long so it got more brown than I wanted. Also, my rolling pin has gone MIA apparently so I had to roll out and shape the dough by hand into the proper form which made for less than pretty braiding. Ah well, let's hope the taste makes up for the lack of prettiness.

1 lb of white bread dough (You can make your own or buy frozen bread dough.)
1/2 cup cream cheese, softened (You can use 1/3-less fat if you want.)
2 Tbsp sugar, divided
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup dried sweet cherries
1 1/2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp milk (I used skim as I do with almost everything.)
1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar
2 1/2 tsp milk
1/4 tsp vanilla

1- Preheat oven to 375.
2- Roll dough into a 12 x 8 inch rectangle on a large baking sheet coated with cooking spray.
3- Combine cream cheese, 1 Tbsp sugar and 1 tsp vanilla in a bowl and stir well. Spoon cheese mixture lengthwise down the center third of the dough. Sprinkle cherries over cheese mixture and drizzle with honey.
4- Cut 12 (1 inch wide) strips along edges of dough from edge of filling to edge of dough. Fold strips, alternating sides, at an angle across filling. Brush top of loaf with 1 Tbsp milk. Sprinkle with remaining 1 Tbsp sugar. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until golden.
5- Combine powdered sugar, 2 1/2 tsp milk and 1/4 tsp vanilla, stirring well. Drizzle over warm braid. Let cool until glaze is dry.

Library Staff Association Cookbook

2006-12-05T23:02:00.000-05:00

I bought a cookbook with recipes from librarians today to help fund the Staff Association at the library. We'll see how it turns out. You can all get ready to be impressed by the fierce cooking skills of those in the information services profession.

Crunchy Stuffed Chicken Breast

2006-12-05T22:41:00.000-05:00

I made these as one of the main dishes for the Sunday night The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines watching party. I made two sets, one with onions and one without. I can't speak to the one with onions, but the other was quite good. Here is the main recipe with a few notes on some of the changes I made. I thought I ended up with a lot more marinade and topping than I needed, but better too much than not enough.

Serves 4

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 Tbsp butter
1 garlic glove, crushed
I Tbsp Dijon mustard

For the stuffing
1 Tbsp butter
1 bunch scallions, sliced
3 Tbsp fresh breadcrumbs (I actually used seasoned dry ones as I had them on hand.)
2 Tbsp pine nuts (The next time I make these, I think I'll toast the pine nuts to alter the flavor profile a little.)
1 egg yolk
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (Do NOT substitute dried for this as it will mess with the consistency of the stuffing.)
salt and black pepper
4 Tbsp grated cheese (I used Parmesan.)

For the topping
2 bacon slices, finely chopped (I actually used pancetta as I had it on hand.)
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs (Again, I used seasoned dry ones.)
1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 400. To make the stuffing, heat 1 Tbsp of the butter in a frying pan and cook the scallions until soft. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. To make the topping, fry the chopped bacon until crisp, drain and add to the breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley.

Carefully cut a deep pocket in each of the chicken breasts using a sharp knife. Divide the stuffing into fourths and use to fill the pockets. Put in a buttered ovenproof dish.

Melt the remaining butter, mix it with the crushed garlic and mustard and brush liberally over the chicken. Press on the topping and bake uncovered for about 30-40 minutes or until tender.

Fruit Pizza

2006-12-03T23:41:00.000-05:00

Well, it's not a new one really. I've been making this one for years, but it's been a while since I've made it. And I had been asked for the recipe recently. So I think this is one I'm going to share with the world.

The thing about this dessert is that you have to make sure to get the best fruit you can as it really is the star. Avoid canned fruit as they are too syrupy and will soak through to the cookie. Plus you will end up with a lot of extra to make a nice fruit salad. This is handy for those who may be watching what they eat.

1 pkg. sugar cookie dough (I like the tube of Pillsbury dough)
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbsp milk
2 Tbsp chopped orange rind (I use the kind you get in the spice aisle)
Assorted fruits

Glaze:
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup orange juice
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp orange rind
1/2 tsp lemon rind

Spread the cookie dough out on a pizza pan (you can either slice it up and lay it out or just roll it out). Bake according to the directions until well browned. Cool.

Whip cream cheese, sugar, milk and rind together then spread over crust. Decorate with sliced fruit. Set aside.

Make glaze. Combine sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan. Add the liquids and bring to a boil. Cook for one minute then add rinds. Cool. Brush onto the fruit. Avoid pouring too much glaze or else it will make the cookie soggy. Wrap the pizza and chill.

This can be made a day in advance but will not last more than two days because the juice will soak in.

Greetings From The Kitchen Princess

2006-11-15T15:53:00.000-05:00

Stealing an electronic page from my friend's playbook, I have decided to start up a record of the cooking and baking that I do. My goal is to try one new recipe (most likely these will be baked goods) per week. I'll be posting pictures, editorial comments and recipes as I go along. I've had people asking for years for my secrets and now some of them will be revealed... but not all. A girl's got to keep her magical aura somehow.