The Sweet Touch

Grandma Sharp's Cabbage Rolls

2012-01-15T18:18:00.001-06:00

Happy 2012 everyone! Sorry for the long absence, one of my New Year's resolutions is to get back to blogging at least once a week, so please feel free to yell at me if I don't. Anyway, my parents decided to come down to celebrate New Years with Greg and I so my mom agreed to help me throw together a pot of my Grandma's famous cabbage rolls to eat on New Years Day (I think the cabbage was supposed to be good luck for the new year?). These puppies are the ultimate in comfort food, maybe not the prettiest or healthiest way to start the new year, but certainly the tastiest. They are super easy to make and they freeze well if you would like to save part of them for another day. The hardest part is getting the cabbage boiled and separating the leaves, but once you get past that it's smooth sailing.

Be sure to make your rolls in advance since they taste even better the second day. Per my mom's orders, you must also serve them with mashed potatoes and pumpernickel bread for soaking up the juices!

Grandma Sharp's Cabbage Rolls

- 1 or 2 heads of cabbage (I used one large)
- 2 lbs ground beef
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 cup minute rice
- chopped onion, to taste (I think I used one medium sized)
- salt and pepper, to taste
- minced garlic (we did not use it in this batch but it adds a nice touch of flavor)
- 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
- 8 oz. can tomato sauce

Core cabbage and bring to boil in a pot of salted water. Reduce to simmer and cook cabbage until tender, 30 min-1 hour. In the meantime, in a large bowl, combine ground beef, pork, rice, chopped onion, salt and pepper, and garlic, if using. Cool cabbage (or don't, but I warned you!), then gently separate leaves, trying to keep them whole.

Place a leaf on cutting board with stem side toward you.

Place about 1/2 cup of meat filling (loosely packed, do not pack tightly unless you enjoy rock hard, tough meatballs) on top of the leaf, fold sides in, and roll it up.

Place the cabbage rolls in a large stock pot or dutch oven side by side, seam side down, creating layers as you go.

The first lone roll. Don't worry little roll, your friends are coming!

Pour diced tomatoes and tomato sauce over the cabbage rolls.

Cover, cook on medium for 2 hours. If boiling too hard, turn down to lower temp. They are always best the 2nd day! Serve with mashed potatoes and pumpernickel bread.

Delicious!

Chicken Pot Pie with Peppery Chive Biscuits

2011-10-05T17:58:00.000-05:00

So, back to our dinner party from the other night. Yesterday I posted our dessert, Cream Cheese Stuffed Pumpkin Roll and today I will share with you our yummy fall dinner. As I stated earlier, this meal is a perfect make ahead meal. It's special enough to share with friends but easy enough to keep your sanity while entertaining, and we all know keeping our sanity is a good thing. This recipe calls for a 9x13 pan but I think it would be really cute to cook up in individual crocks if you had them. The ingredient list is fairly lengthy but most of it is stuff I already had in my pantry. That said, this is definitely a meal you want to make when you have a little extra time to devote to your dinner, but trust me it will be worth the wait. The biscuits alone are enough to send you right into a foodie frenzy!

Chicken Pot Pie with Peppery Chive Biscuits
from Joy the Baker (<- pretty much the coolest chick on the internets)

For the Biscuits:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

1/2 to 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper (depending on how spicy you like your biscuits)

1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

1/4 cup (2 ounces) unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes

4 ounces (half of a brick) cream cheese, cold (I used low fat)

3/4 cup buttermilk, cold

For the Filling:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 cups whole milk (I used skim)

4 ounces (half of a brick) cream cheese

salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

3 cups shredded chicken meat (I used a rotisserie chicken)

2 tablespoons butter or olive oil (I used olive oil)

1 small onion, diced

1 small garlic clove, minced

1 1/2 cup thinly diced carrots

1 cup diced zucchini (optional)

1 1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed

Start by making the biscuits. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, black pepper, and chopped chives.

Add butter and cream cheese to the dry ingredients. Use your fingers to quickly incorporate the fat into the flour. Break up the butter and cream cheese with your fingers until some of the fat is the size of oat flakes and some of the fat is the size of small pebbles. Always remember, less is more in these situations - if you over work your dough, the biscuits will turn out tough.

See the little chunks of butter? That's good!

Make a small well in the center of the fat and flour mixture. Add the buttermilk.

Can I just go swimming in there?

Using a fork, combine the wet and dry ingredients. Try to moisten all of the flour bits with the liquid.

Dump the shaggy biscuit dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead together until dough forms a disk about 1 1/2 inches thick.

Don't worry about making it look perfect, the less you handle it, the better!

Use a round, 1 1/2-inch biscuit cutter (I used a drinking glass that was about 2 1/2 inches and it made the perfect amount) to cut biscuits. Gather the dough scraps, knead for a few turns, and cut out more biscuits until no dough remains. I got 12 biscuits. Refrigerate the biscuits until ready to bake.

Next, make the filling. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Dice onion, garlic, carrots, zucchini (if using), and thaw the frozen peas. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Whisk in the flour. Mixture will be very thick. Heat for 1 minute.

Looks weird but stick with it.

Turn to low and add the chicken stock. Whisk until no flour bits remain. Whisk in the milk and add the cream cheese. Heat over medium low heat, stirring often, until cream cheese melts and the mixture is the consistency of warm, thick pudding (mine was a bit thinner, I'm assuming from the skim milk).

Add chicken, lemon, and nutmeg. Stir. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Remove mixture from heat and set aside.

In a skillet over medium heat, melt butter (or olive oil, if using). Add onions and saute until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add minced garlic and saute for one minute more. Add carrots, zucchini, and peas. Cook for about 3 minutes. The vegetables will not be entirely cooked through but they will continue to cook in the oven.

Remove from heat and add vegetable mixture to the creamy chicken mixture. Stir to combine.

Spoon filling into a 9×13-inch pan. Remove the biscuits from the fridge and place them on top of the filling. Brush the tops of the biscuits with heavy cream, buttermilk, or egg wash.

Bake for 20-23 minutes, or until biscuits are puffed and golden, and the sides of the pot pie are bubbling. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.

Enjoy the goodness that is chicken pot pie!

This recipe is definitely a keeper and one that I plan to repeat many times over the years, thank you Joy the Baker!

Hope you are all having a great week!

Rollin' In the Pumpkin

2011-10-04T14:54:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday we were lucky enough to have some friends over for dinner (check out The Sweet Art!), which gave me the perfect excuse to spend most of the day in the kitchen. I love Sundays where there is no rush and I can pour a little extra love into my cooking/baking endeavors. I have learned that when we are entertaining it is best for me to prepare as much ahead of time as possible. While I wish I were that person who can chitchat in the kitchen while measuring and mixing and end up with a fabulous meal, that just isn't me. So rather than stress myself out, I just choose recipes that can be made ahead of time with minimal last minute assembly required. I mentioned in an earlier post that I recently started using Pinterest, cue menu for dinner party.

I decided on a hearty chicken pot pie followed by a pumpkin roll for dessert, swoon! I will save the chicken pot pie recipe for tomorrow because right now all I have on my mind is that roll of spiced pumpkin goodness studded with chopped walnuts and stuffed with vanilla cream cheese frosting. This was my first attempt at making any kind of "roll" dessert and I think it turned out pretty well.

Cream Cheese Stuffed Pumpkin Roll

from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Cake:
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 eggs
2/3 cup mashed (canned) pumpkin
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Filling:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 15x10-inch jelly roll pan. Cut wax paper to fit the bottom of the pan and leave an inch overhang on each of the short ends of the pan. Lightly grease the wax paper and sides of the jelly roll pan.

Mix the sugar, flour, salt, soda, cinnamon, eggs and pumpkin in a large bowl and pour mixture over the waxed paper.

Sprinkle the walnuts, if using, on top of the mixture. (I did this but a lot of my walnuts stuck to my tea towel so next time I will probably mix the nuts into the batter.)

Bake for 14-15 minutes until edges pull away from the sides of the pan and center is done.

Lay a large, clean dishtowel on the counter top (it is best to use a dishtowel without any texture – a tea towel or similar towel works best). Spread a thick dusting of powdered sugar all over the towel.

When the cake comes out of the oven, turn the pan upside down on the powdered sugar-laden towel so the wax paper is on the top (helps if your husband is around to help you lift off the piping hot pan!).

Gently peel off the wax paper, being careful not to tear the roll.

Starting at one of the short ends, roll the pumpkin cake up with the towel to cool.

While the roll is cooling, mix the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar together until it is light and creamy. Once the roll is cool, unroll and with an offset spatula, carefully spread filling in an even layer over the cake.

(Spread all the way to the edges, I left space because I thought it would ooze out but it doesn't)

Roll it up without the towel and place in the refrigerator (covered with plastic wrap or wax paper) for about an hour before serving.

I dusted mine with additional powdered sugar before serving.

Enjoy!

Golden Butternut Squash Soup

2011-09-29T19:03:00.000-05:00

I guess I've been on a soup kick lately but with the changing weather it just feels right. In the past two weeks, I've made corn chowder, Greg made his famous chili (he's still deciding if he wants to share the recipe, har-umphh!), and last night I made this delicious butternut squash soup. We originally had this soup a couple of years ago around Thanksgiving when we were back in Ohio. We had driven all day and were told not to ruin our appetites with crappy fast food and we were oh-so-delightfully rewarded with this creamy soup, plus slices of toasted baguette with melted gruyere cheese on top. I didn't have the ingredients for the bread component last night but I highly recommend doing it since it really completes the meal.

Golden Butternut Squash Soup

from Cooking Light (recipe for toasts included in link)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
5 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
2 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled russet potato (about 12 ounces)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups sliced leek (about 2 medium)
4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 cup half-and-half
Chives for garnish, optional but delicious

Melt butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add squash, potato, salt, and pepper to pan; sauté 3 minutes. Add leek; sauté 1 minute.

Stir in broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until potato is tender, stirring occasionally.

Place half of potato mixture in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining potato mixture. (I used our immersion blender - if you like making soup these things are the bomb).

Stir in half-and-half. Cover and keep warm. Top each serving with about 1 teaspoon chives. Garnish with freshly ground black pepper, if desired.

On a side note, I joined Pinterest today and it is just as addicting as everyone said it would be!

Cinnamon-Streusel Coffeecake

2011-09-26T16:18:00.000-05:00

I have been reading King Arthur Flour's blog, Bakers' Banter for a couple of years now and I absolutely love it. The contributors are extremely talented and knowledgeable (getting to bake all day + write about it = dream job!), yet the recipes are very accessible. They include little tidbits about baking but don't smack you in the face with it - it's like being in the kitchen with a good friend, where you simply pick up new techniques by working with them, plus it's a lot of fun! Oh, and if you ask a question in the comments section they give great feedback, always a nice touch.

So, when I decided late Sunday afternoon that I wanted to make a coffeecake for Greg to bring to work I went directly to their website and after a quick search, came up with the perfect recipe. Believe it or not, I have never made a cinnamon coffeecake before yesterday, and this one will be hard to beat. Greg always has a group meeting on Monday and honestly, who couldn't use a little sweet treat to get the week started right?

Cinnamon-Streusel Coffeecake

from King Arthur Flour

Streusel Topping

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt (if you use unsalted butter)
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling

1 cup brown sugar, light or dark
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder (did not use since it was just to add color)

Cake

3/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon salt (1 ¼ teaspoons if you use unsalted butter)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sour cream or plain yogurt (I used yogurt)
1 1/4 cups milk (anything from skim to whole, I used skim)
3 3/4 cups flour

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan.

Topping - In a medium bowl whisk together the sugar, salt, flour, and cinnamon. Add the melted butter, using a fork to blend until combined. Set the topping aside. Note: I would be tempted to decrease the amount of topping as mine seemed to make a bit too much and a lot of it fell off when I took it out of the pan.

Filling - Mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa powder, if using. Set it aside. Note: Next time I might add some chopped pecans to give it an extra crunch.

Cake - In a large bowl, beat together the butter, salt, sugars, baking powder, and vanilla until well combined and smooth, then add eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream or yogurt and milk until well combined. Don't worry about getting out all the lumps. Add the flour to the butter mixture alternately with the milk/sour cream mixture, beating gently to combine.

Pour/spread half the batter (a scant 3 cups) into the prepared pan, if you have a kitchen scale half of the batter weighs about 28 ounces. Then sprinkle the filling evenly over the batter and top with remaining cake batter. Use a knife to gently swirl filling throughout the cake, as if making a marble cake. Finally, sprinkle topping over the entire cake.

Bake the cake until it's a dark golden brown around the edges; medium-golden with no light patches showing on top, and a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 55 to 60 minutes. When pressed gently in the middle, the cake should spring back. Note: Mine took around 70 minutes and my topping never got really golden but I'm glad I stopped when I did or else I think my cake would have dried out. (I'm starting to wonder if my oven is off because most of my baking requires extra time added on at the end...)

Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool for 20 minutes before cutting and serving. Serve cake right from the pan. You can also cover the unbaked cake with plastic wrap and pop it in the oven (after removing plastic wrap!) the next day if you want yummy breakfast smells, just add a few more minutes since the cake will start out cold. Definitely considering this for the holidays!

Other than the fact that this cake is delicious, I also like it because it makes makes 24 servings, which makes it perfect to share with a group.

What is your favorite weekend breakfast treat? Next on my list are cinnamon rolls, anyone have the perfect recipe?

Weekend Comfort

2011-09-23T13:56:00.001-05:00

This is one of my favorite meals to make as the weather starts to cool off. The last of the sweet summer corn is combined with chunks of veggies, potatoes and shredded chicken in a comforting creamy broth, and of course topped with crunchy bits of bacon. This is by no means a low calorie meal but I choose to believe it is healthy simply because it is a soup and all soups are healthy, right? This soup packs a punch with heat from both fresh jalapeno and crushed red pepper flakes, as well as a smoky spice from chipotle seasoning (I chopped up a chipotle pepper in adobo sauce since this is what I had and it still added the same smoky flavor). If you aren't a big fan of spice, you could easily leave these ingredients out but I recommend trying at least a little!

Corn Chowder

from My Baking Addiction <- Yummy website!

Ingredients

5 strips thick cut bacon; sliced into ½ inch pieces
1 sweet onion, diced
2 carrots peeled and chopped
2 stalks of celery chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
6 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon chipotle seasoning (or a chipotle chili in abobo sauce finely chopped)
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (add more if you like some heat)
6 cups vegetable stock
2 cups heavy cream
2 Idaho potatoes, peeled and diced
6-8 ears corn (I used 6)
2 cups cooked and shredded chicken (rotisserie works great here)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
green onions; sliced for garnish

1. In a Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium high heat until crisp; remove bacon with a slotted spoon and allow to drain and reserve for garnish.

2. Reduce heat to medium. Add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, jalapeno and thyme to the bacon drippings and cook until the vegetables are soft; about 8 to 10 minutes. Dust the vegetables with flour, chipotle seasoning, crushed red pepper flakes and stir to coat well.
3. Cook vegetables, flour and seasonings for 2 minutes; stir frequently.
4. Pour in the vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Add the cream and the potatoes, bring to a rapid boil. Allow soup to boil hard for about 7 minutes, until the potatoes break down. This process will help thicken the soup.
4. Cut the corn kernels off the cobs and add to the soup. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add in the cooked chicken. Simmer until the corn is soft and chicken is heated through; about 10 to 12 minutes.
5. Stir in the parsley. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the reserved bacon and green onions.

This recipe makes about 8 servings so we ate it for a few meals the week I made it and froze the rest for a quick, delicious meal some night when I don't feel like cooking. Hope you enjoy!

What are your favorite soup recipes? Please share in the comments. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Chocolate-Caramel Slice

2011-09-22T13:34:00.000-05:00

Or Millionaire's Shortbread, according to my hubby. Either way, this stuff is dangerous to have around. In keeping with my chocolate-caramel-sea salt theme from yesterday, I have another equally addictive recipe. My mom sent me this one earlier in the summer and it was love at first click. Rich, buttery shortbread topped with a thick layer of sweet caramel and finished with a thin layer of bittersweet chocolate, these bars pretty much represent all that I love about baking and sweets.

Some reviews complained that these were too sweet but I think cut into small bites with a flourish of sea salt on top, they are the perfect treat. I am quickly stockpiling ideas for Christmas and this one will probably make the list too! I found it very helpful to cut these while they are still cold in order to get nice clean lines. I may also try lining the pan with foil next time so I can lift them out before cutting.

Chocolate-Caramel Slice

from Epicurious

makes 20-24 pieces (I would aim for 24-28)

Crust

1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 tablespoon ice water
1 large egg yolk

Toppings
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, diced
2 tablespoons golden syrup (such as Lyle's Golden Syrup) or dark corn syrup (I used dark corn syrup but apparently Lyle's can be found at World Market)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
3 tablespoons whipping cream
Flaked sea salt

For crust:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 11x7x2-inch metal baking pan. Blend first 4 ingredients in processor. Add butter. Using on/off turns, blend until coarse meal forms. Add 1 tablespoon ice water and egg yolk. Blend until moist clumps form. Press dough onto bottom of pan; pierce all over with fork. Bake until golden, piercing if crust bubbles, about 20 minutes. Cool completely.

For toppings:
Whisk first 5 ingredients in medium saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves, butter melts, and mixture comes to boil. Attach candy thermometer to side of pan. Boil gently until caramel is thick and temperature registers 225°F, whisking constantly, about 6 minutes (took me longer, just keep an eye on the thermometer). Pour caramel evenly over crust; cool 15 minutes to set.

Meanwhile, melt chocolate with cream in microwave in 15-second intervals, stirring occasionally. Spread chocolate over warm caramel; sprinkle with sea salt. Refrigerate until chocolate is set, at least 1 hour. DO AHEAD Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated. (I also froze these and they thawed perfectly).

Cut dessert lengthwise into 4 strips. Cut each strip crosswise into 5 or 6 (or 7) slices. Transfer to platter and serve.

The only complaint I had about this recipe is that my chocolate didn't turn out very smooth. In the past I have added a teaspoon or so of shortening and this helps make the chocolate shiny and smooth so I might try that next time.

Enjoy!

Dark Chocolate Caramel Truffles with Fleur de Sel

2011-09-21T18:00:00.000-05:00

I went on a chocolate kick a few weeks ago so be ready for some decadence coming your way. I have never made truffles before and these little suckers turned out great. These truffles are made from a fabulous mix of salty caramel blended with bittersweet dark chocolate, enrobed in a crisp, chocolate shell and topped with a sprinkle of fleur de sel.

They are intensely rich and the recipe says it should make about 32 but mine only made about 25 so next time I will try to make them a bit smaller - just a couple of bites is more than enough to satisfy your sweet tooth! I would love to make these again around the holidays a box them up as hostess gifts. They are easy enough to knock out a double batch but fancy enough to make the recipient feel extra special. Just be sure you leave yourself plenty of time because the recipe requires multiple rounds of chilling.

Dark Chocolate Caramel Truffles with Fleur de Sel

adapted from Epicurious (I made a couple of changes based on the reviews, original recipe can be found via the link)

Yields around 32

20 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped, divided (I only used about 16 ounces, choose a good quality chocolate since this is the main ingredient)

2/3 cup sugar

4 tablespoons water

2/3 cup whipping cream

1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Additional fleur de sel

Place 8 ounces chocolate in metal bowl over saucepan of barely simmering water (do not allow bottom of bowl to touch water); stir until chocolate is smooth. I used the microwave to melt my chocolate in 30 second increments and it worked just fine. Remove chocolate from over water.

Combine sugar and water in small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves, occasionally brushing sides of pan with wet pastry brush. Increase heat; boil until syrup is deep amber color, brushing down sides and swirling pan occasionally, about 4 minutes (mine took longer, just be sure you keep a close eye on it because it will turn fast!).

Add cream (mixture will bubble). Stir over very low heat until caramel is smooth.

Mix caramel and 1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel into melted chocolate.

Chill until truffle filling is firm, at least 3 hours.

Place cocoa in bowl. Using 1 tablespoon truffle filling for each truffle, roll into balls, then roll in cocoa. Arrange on baking sheet. Cover; chill overnight.

Line 13x9x2-inch baking sheet with foil. Place remaining 12 ounces chocolate (I think I used around 8 and used the microwave again) in medium metal bowl over saucepan of barely simmering water (do not allow bottom of bowl to touch water); stir until chocolate is melted and smooth and thermometer inserted into chocolate registers 115°F. Remove bowl from over water. Working quickly, submerge 1 truffle in melted chocolate. Using fork, lift out truffle and tap fork against side of bowl to allow excess coating to drip off. Transfer truffle to prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining truffles. Sprinkle truffles lightly with additional fleur de sel. Let stand until coating sets, at least 1 hour. (Can be made 1 week ahead. Cover and chill. I kept some of mine in the freezer and they tasted great so if you did choose to do these for the holidays you could probably make a big batch and then freeze until party time. Bring to room temperature before serving.)

Perfect as an after dinner treat with a glass of red wine and your honey...

Or for breakfast with a mug of steamy coffee when that bowl of cereal just won't cut it!

Hope you are all having a great week. Please comment with links to your favorite truffle recipes - I have a feeling this could become an addiction!

One of My Favorite Dinners, Chickpea Curry

2011-08-20T21:33:00.000-05:00

Greg and I have been making this dish for several years. It's cheap, easy and delicious to boot. I used to follow a recipe but I think ours has evolved a bit to best suit our tastes so I'm not sure where the original recipe came from. This recipe makes a ton (as in, we eat it for 3-4 meals) so feel free to halve it if you don't want to be eating it for a week straight.

Chickpea Curry

2 tbsp. oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 large garlic cloves, minced
2-3 tbsp. red curry paste
2 cans chickpeas
1 can coconut milk
2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. lime juice
1/4 cup fresh basil
4 cups cooked jasmine rice (This stuff is good!)

Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and cook until they start to brown. Add garlic and curry paste. Stir until garlic is soft and curry melts down. Add chickpeas, coconut milk and soy sauce. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, brown sugar and lime juice. Simmer for another 5 minutes, stir in basil, and serve over the jasmine rice.

This recipe is highly adaptable. We have left out the brown sugar and/or lime juice from time to time or swapped in cilantro for basil. It's perfect for a weeknight when you want a good, hearty meal but don't want to spend your entire evening in the kitchen and since it can easily be adapted, you won't have to run to the store to get the exact ingredients.

I hope everyone is having a good weekend. I have to admit, I am in kind of a funk so I thought doing some writing could help get me out of it. I've been in the kitchen baking all day so hopefully I will be back next week with some sweet treats. Thanks for reading!

Getting back in the swing of things...

2011-08-12T12:40:00.000-05:00

...or at least trying to! I can't believe it has been almost two months since I last posted. Does anyone else go through phases where they just have no desire to blog? I think with food blogs in particular this is an easy trap to fall into. It takes a LOT of effort to bake/cook, take decent pictures and write something worth reading. But I really do love it and more than anything, I love the connections I've started to make with other bloggers, especially here in St. Louis. Since I last wrote, Greg and I had a blast getting away for his birthday, celebrated our two year anniversary, I turned another year older and we went on our family vacation to Myrtle Beach, whew. So it has been a busy summer but mostly fun stuff!

Anyway, I hope to celebrate getting back into blogging with a simple recipe that I turn to when I need a quick, foolproof appetizer. We recently got together with our small group from church for a cookout and while I would normally bring a dessert, all of those spots were taken so I went for a delicious Roasted Red Pepper and Artichoke Dip. This recipe comes from an old Pillsbury cookbook and I follow it exactly except for the addition of toasted panko mixed with freshly shredded Parmesan cheese.

Warm Roasted Pepper and Artichoke Spread
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese plus about 1/4 to mix with panko
1/2 cup mayo
1 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese, softened (I always use the low-fat stuff and I don't think it effects the taste)
1 small garlic clove
1 (14 ox) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1/3 cup finely chopped roasted red peppers
1/2 cup panko crumbs, toasted

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In food processor, combine Parmesan, mayo, cream cheese and garlic, processing until smooth. Place mixture in large bowl and mix in artichokes and red peppers. Spread in an ungreased pie pan. Mix together panko and 1/4 cup Parmesan and sprinkle on top. (At this point you can cover and refrigerate until your guests arrive or bake immediately) Bake for about 25 minutes until throughly heated. Serve with tortilla chips, crackers, or sliced bread.

Note: I prefer to mix the artichokes and peppers in by hand to get a chunkier dip but if you are in a pinch for time you can toss them in with the cheeses and blend away! Also, the panko topping isn't necessary but does result in a nice crunchy layer on top.

Note #2: I have obviously been away from blogging too long. After writing up this entire post I realized I never took pics of my dip, d'oh! That'll learn me. Anyway, just envision a delicious, bubbly cream cheese dip packed with chunks of artichoke and roasted red peppers and topped with crispy panko:)

What is your favorite go-to dish that you bring to get togethers? I like to bring items that don't require many toppings or utensils to keep it simple! Hope you are all having a wonderful summer and I'm looking forward to getting back into commenting on all of your delicious blogs!

Happy Birthday Greg!

2011-06-17T17:31:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is my honey's birthday and I am whisking him away for the day so I wanted to stop in today and give him a birthday shout out! Thank you Greg for being the sweetest, funniest most awesome hubby I could ask for - I love you!

Most years I use his birthday as an excuse to try some crazy new cake or dessert but knowing we would be gone for the day, this year I decided to frost the cupcakes leftover from my ice cream cupcake project and send them to work with him to celebrate with his coworkers. Since starting the new job, things have still been hectic so I really needed to keep it simple.

My best advice for a super easy, yet impressive treat, is to invest in a $1 star tip for frosting cupcakes - I believe it is the Wilton 1M tip. You can buy a huge box of piping bags for about $10 and they will last a few years (I am still on my first box that I bought two years ago) or you can even use a large ziploc bag.

With a quick swirl on each cupcake, you will easily become the next Cupcake Wars champion! My biggest piece of advice for frosting cupcakes is to go fast, the worst thing that can happen is you end up scraping the frosting back into the bag and trying again. And of course, making cupcakes gives you an excuse to expand your sprinkle collection, because really, can you ever have too many sprinkles?

So Greg, if you are reading this, you now know we are going on a canoeing trip and camping - hope you are ready to fish me out of the river when I go overboard!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

A Lazy Yet Good Meal

2011-06-16T17:22:00.000-05:00

A couple weekends ago, Greg and I were looking for something quick but relatively healthy to eat on a Saturday afternoon. I had noticed over on Vanessa's blog, Presidential Living, that she had recently made a delicious looking asparagus and sausage frittata. We did not have any potatoes or sausage on hand like she used, but I did have plenty of eggs, asparagus and bright red cherry tomatoes.

I whisked about 8 eggs together with a splash of milk, stirred in some salt and pepper, plus fresh thyme, and poured the mixture over my chopped asparagus and toms.

Per Vanessa's instructions, I cooked it in my cast iron skillet at 350 degrees until it was set in the center, which took about 35 minutes.

I would love to have a taste of Vanessa's because I'm guessing the sausage gave it a really great flavor. In the future, I will probably mix in some cheese or at least sprinkle some on top before serving. I can't wait to try some new combinations in my next frittata. Here are some ideas I thought up while writing this post:

- Spicy chorizo with smoky roasted poblano peppers and queso fresco
- Crispy bacon with shredded potatoes, chives, a sprinkle of sharp cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream on top
- Diced garden veggies with herbs, served with warm goat cheese
- Sautéed wild mushrooms and spinach, topped with swiss cheese

Wow, I better stop now. My stomach is starting to rumble! What would be your unique spin on the classic frittata? Feel free to share in the comments, you guys always think of ideas that would never occur to me!

2011 Ice Cream Cupcake Contest: S'more Kebobs!

2011-06-15T12:49:00.000-05:00

There are few things in life better than homemade ice cream, except maybe homemade ice cream in cupcake form! I got the ice cream attachment for my KitchenAid Mixer a couple summers ago and I highly recommend you go out as soon as possible and get one for yourself (or drop lots of "subtle" hints so that your husband buys you one for your birthday). They cost a little over $60 but I'm assuming it will last a lifetime, which I consider a great investment!

Anyway, when local St. Louis blogger Stef, over at Cupcake Project announced the 2011 Ice Cream Cupcake Contest, it gave me the perfect excuse to break out my ice cream maker for my first batch of the summer. As cohosts of this contest, Stef and Bethany, from Scoopalicious (check out for all kinds of ice cream awesomeness), were able to offer a fabulous collection of baking cookbooks for the winner of the contest. For those who know me, cookbooks are one of my biggest weaknesses, after potato chips and red wine, of course. Surprisingly, I don't already own any of the cookbooks in the collection - mega score!

So let's get down to business. After creating Bobby Flay's Toasted Marshmallow Milkshakes a couple weeks ago, I started thinking, rather than add toasted marshmallows to vanilla ice cream, why not try to make an ice cream that actually tastes like toasted marshmallows? Naturally, my mind went to an ice cream cupcake s'more for the contest. I wanted to try to branch out as much as possible, so to go with the s'more/campfire theme, I decided to make ice cream cupcake s'more kebabs - YUM! I will warn you ahead of time, if you choose to try these recipes, give yourself plenty of time for freezing between steps. Here is the recipe I used for Toasted Marshmallow Ice Cream. I will put my notes in red.

Toasted Marshmallow Ice Cream
from The Roasting Rambler

10 ounces marshmallows
2 cups skim milk (I used whole to achieve a creamier flavor)
1 cup heavy cream
5 egg yolks
scant 1/2 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean (split in half and scrapped)
1 tsp vanilla
pinch salt

Move one of the shelves in your oven to the highest possible position and preheat the broiler at high for a few minutes. Meanwhile, line a large sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicon mat and spread the marshmallows over the pan in a single layer. Place the pan directly under the broiler and watching closely, let them start to brown. Once they start to toast remove and place in the refrigerator to cool completely. Then flip each marshmallow over and toast the other side. If the marshmallows start to expand too much make sure to remove them before they hit the heating element.

Making the ice cream base
Transfer the toasted marshmallows to the blender. Put the milk and the vanilla bean and scrapings in a heavy bottomed pan and turn the heat to medium. Stir regularly bring the milk up to a light simmer (it should be steaming, but not boiling much). While the milk warms up, put the egg yolks, sugar, and salt into a bowl and whisk together vigorously until the mixture is pale yellow.

Once the milk is hot, remove the vanilla bean and add about 1/4 cup of the milk to the egg yolk mixture while stirring. Once the milk and eggs are well mixed, add a litte more hot milk and mix again. You’re gently warming the eggs so that you don’t end up with creamy scrambled eggs. Then pour the yolk/milk mixture into the milk in the pan and start stirring gently, but constantly. Allow the mixture to heat back up to steaming, but make sure that the mixture doesn’t boil. The mixture should thicken up to about the consistency of heavy cream. Take it off the heat and stir vigoursly for about 3 minutes to cool slightly and then pour into the blender with the marshmallows. (Your blender will be very full, I let mine sit for a few minutes and gently pressed the mixture down before blending).

Cover the blender and run it for about a minute to mix well and then allow the mixture to sit for a couple of minutes (this helps the remaining marshmallow chunks to start breaking down). Run the blender again for about a minute and then add the vanilla and the cold cream and run the blender for about 30 seconds more. Pour the mixture into a bowl, cover, and place in the refrigerator. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours. Right before churning in your favorite ice cream maker, whisk the ice cream mixture to throughly blend everything together. Churn in your ice cream maker and then allow the ice cream to ripen in the freezer for at least two hours.

Now, my ice cream never did get super hard which made the kebab part a little difficult. I'm not sure if it would have gotten harder if I had used skim milk but either way it tasted delicious!

Chocolate Ganache Topped Mini Cupcakes

Ok, for the cupcake part I was bad and used a cake mix, the food blogger's nightmare. Sorry people! So you can use a cake mix too or your favorite chocolate cake recipe. I added one piece of Hershey's bar, broken in half, to each mini cupcake. I was able to make 48 minis plus 4 regular sized cupcakes out of one box of mix (I am saving extras for another project). Be sure to cool completely before adding ganache.

Easy Ganache

6 squares semi sweet baking chocolate
1 tub Cool Whip (frozen)

Melt together in the microwave for about 2 minutes (stirring every 30 seconds) until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is smooth and glossy. Allow to thicken for at least 15 minutes before topping your mini cupcakes.

Once your cupcakes are topped with ganache, freeze until firm. (I skipped this step and things got messy).

Now that your cupcakes and ice cream are made, it's time to make your ice cream balls. Simply take a packet of graham crackers and pulse several times in a food processor until it is mostly finely ground with a few bigger pieces throughout.

Working quickly, use a small cookie scoop and scoop smalls balls of ice cream, roll in graham crackers and put on a cookie sheet. Return to the freezer until they firm up again. Like I said earlier, my ice cream was never really firm but still tasted delicious. Set up an assembly line with your ice cream, graham crackers and cookie sheet before you start rolling.

Once all of your components are made and frozen you can begin to assemble. I made six skewers so I needed 12 cupcakes and 12 ice cream balls. Set up an assembly line with your ice cream, graham crackers and a cookie sheet. Working quickly again, skewer cupcake, ice cream, cupcake, ice cream and lay on your cookie sheet. Freeze again and serve immediately when you remove from the freezer.

Although my original idea was to eat the s'mores directly off the skewer, they are probably best served on a plate since they are quite messy.

Also, if you have leftovers like I did, feel free to put together a deconstructed s'more sundae or make a tupperware filled with ice cream balls covered in graham crackers and keep your ice cream "truffles" in the freezer for a quick treat!

Be sure to head over to Cupcake Project's Facebook page for more droolworthy submissions! Thanks again to Stef and Bethany for hosting this yummy contest!

Just popping in to say hi!

2011-06-08T16:51:00.000-05:00

Wanted to let you all know I started a new job (!!!) this week and life has been a bit hectic! Posting will probably be a little lighter than usual until I get into this new routine. I hope you all will stick with me through this transition. Just know that I am still reading your blogs, just maybe not commenting as much as usual - I LOVE all the summer recipes and cocktails I've been seeing on your blogs!

Hope you are all having a great week and if you are in the middle of this heatwave, I hope you are staying cool! It has been around 100 degrees in St. Louis for about a week now - yowzas!

Talk to you soon (hopefully!).

Ps. Any baking requests for future posts? I would like to try some new things, just need ideas:)

The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart

2011-06-03T19:53:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday everyone! Boy, have I got a good one for you today. I know I am a little late to the game and a lot of people have probably seen this recipe before, but I am still plowing my way through my beloved cookbook, Baking: From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan, and this is one I just had to share. This tart uses the same Sweet Tart Dough as the Spring Berry Tart I posted a few weeks ago, but instead of a pastry cream filling, it is loaded with buttery, lemony goodness.

I seem to learn something new every time I'm in the kitchen and today was no different - the lesson of the day: When life gives you lemons, get a great arm workout from squeezing them and then stirring them into a deliciously light, creamy lemon curd!

Lemon Cream Tart

from Baking: From My Home To Yours

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
Grated zest of 3 lemons
4 large eggs
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 4 to 5 lemons) (Tip: I have found I get more juice out of a lemon if I let it come to room temperature and roll it firmly over the counter before cutting and squeezing. It seems to "loosen up" the juices.)
2 sticks plus 5 tablespoons (10 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into tablespoon-sized pieces
1 fully-baked 9-inch tart shell (see below)

Getting ready: Have a thermometer, preferably an instant-read, a strainer and a blender (first choice) or food processor ready. Bring a few inches of water to a simmer in a saucepan.

Put the sugar and zest in a large heatproof bowl that can be set over the pan of simmering water. Off heat, work the sugar and zest together between your fingers until the sugar is moist, grainy and very aromatic.

Whisk in the eggs followed by the lemon juice.

Set the bowl over the pan and start whisking as soon as the mixture feels tepid to the touch. Cook until it reaches 180°F, whisking continually to prevent eggs from scrambling. You will see that the cream will start out light and foamy, then the bubbles will get bigger, and then, as the cream is getting closer to 180°F, it will start to thicken and the whisk will leave tracks. The tracks mean the cream is almost ready. Don’t stop whisking or checking the temperature. This part can take up to 10 minutes.

As soon as it reaches 180°F, remove the cream from the heat and strain it into the container of a blender (or food processor); discard the zest. Let the cream stand, stirring occasionally, until it cools to 140°F, about 10 minutes.

Turn the blender to high and, with the machine going, add about 5 pieces of butter at a time. Scrape down the sides of the container as needed while you’re incorporating the butter. Once the butter is in, keep the machine going—to get the perfect light, airy texture of lemon-cream dreams, you must continue to beat the cream for another 3 minutes. If your machine protests and gets a bit too hot, work in 1-minute intervals, giving the machine a little rest between beats.

Pour the cream into a container, press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface to create an airtight seal and chill the cream for at least 4 hours or overnight. (Cream will keep in the fridge for 4 days or, tightly sealed, in the freezer for up to 2 months; thaw it overnight in the refrigerator.)

When you are ready to make the tart, just whisk the cream to loosen it and spoon it into the tart shell. Best served chilled on the day you assemble.

Sweet Tart Dough
Makes 1 9" Crust

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick plus 1 TBSP (9 TBSP) very cold (or frozen) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk

Put the flour, confectioners sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse a couple of times to combine. Scatter the pieces of butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is coarsely cut in - you should have some pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and some the size of peas. Stir the yolk, just to break it up, and add it a little at a time, pulsing after each addition. When the egg is in, process in long pulses - about 10 seconds each- until the dough, which will look granular soon after the egg is added, forms clumps and curds. Just before you reach this stage, the sound of the machine working the dough will change- heads up. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and, very lightly and sparingly, knead the dough just to incorporate any dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing.

Butter a 9" fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. (If you don't have a tart pan a pie pan would probably work too) Press the dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Don't be too heavy-handed - press the crust in so that the edges of the pieces cling to one another, but not so hard that the crust loses its crumbly texture. Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer, before baking.

Preheat the oven to 375. Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil and fit the foil, buttered side down, tightly against the crust. (Since you froze the crust, you can bake it without weights.) Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake the crust for 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil. If the crust has puffed, press it down gently with the back of a spoon.

Bake for another 8 minutes or so, or until it is firm and golden brown. Transfer the tart pan to a rack and cool the crust to room temperature before filling.

I wanted to make this tart in its most pure and simple form this time since it was my first time making it. Dorie suggests layering with fruit or adding a dollop of whipped cream if you want to make it fancier. What would you add to this recipe to give it a special touch? I was considering a drizzle of raspberry sauce!

Hope you all have a great weekend - see ya Monday!

Zucchini-Goat Cheese Pizza

2011-06-02T16:30:00.000-05:00

It's been a crazy week so far. It is flying by so quickly, I think having Monday as a holiday does that. I'm here today to share a simple pizza recipe with you. Sometimes you just need a recipe that you can throw together quickly and still avoid the fast food trap. You can add any veggies you like to this pizza and with the farmer's markets in full swing, the possibilities are endless. I will post the link to the recipe but to make it even easier, I used premade pizza dough and sauce. Greg and I almost ate the whole thing in one sitting so if you are planning for more than two people you might want to make two pizzas.

Zucchini-Goat Cheese Pizza

from Vegetarian Times

Ingredients:
2 Tbs. olive oil, divided
8 oz. (1/2 pkg.) prepared refrigerated pizza dough
1 3.5-oz. log goat cheese, thinly sliced or roughly chopped
1 zucchini, peeled into thin strips
1 small red bell pepper, cut into rings

Sauce (I used jarred sauce but here is the recipe they suggest)
1 6-oz. can no-salt-added tomato paste
2 Tbs. finely minced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. red wine or red wine vinegar

To make Pizza: Preheat oven to 450°F. Brush large baking sheet or pizza pan with 1 Tbs. oil. (I highly recommend investing in a pizza stone if you like pizza as much as me. You can find them for as little as $20 and they last forever. You can also use them for baking bread.) Spread pizza dough in prepared pan.

To make Sauce: stir together all ingredients with fork in small bowl.

Spread Sauce on dough. Top with half of goat cheese. Spread zucchini strips over goat cheese,  top with bell pepper rings, then remaining goat cheese. Drizzle with remaining 1 Tbs. oil. Bake 10 to 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Cool 10 minutes, then cut into 6 slices.

Delicious, and (somewhat) nutritious!

Hope you are all having a great week. Even though it was a short one, I'm ready for Friday! I am planning on baking tomorrow morning and should be back with a weekend post for a Lemon Tart, yum!

Blue Cheese Burgers

2011-05-31T18:15:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the delay in posting this recipe. Once the weekend got started, I ditched the computer until last night. Last week I wrote about Bobby Flay's Toasted Marshmallow Milkshakes from his book Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries & Shakes. Greg had bought some fresh ground beef from the farmer's market and I wanted a recipe that would feature it, so I decided on burgers. There were about 10 different burgers I wanted to try, but I already had most of the ingredients for this one so I went for it.

Bobby recommends seasoning your meat with a simple dash of salt and pepper and adding additional flavor in the form of toppings and sauces, rather than mixing them into the meat itself. He suggests forming meat into patties no more than 3/4 inch thick and using your thumb to create an indentation in the center of each patty to prevent "bulging" as your burgers cook.

You can make these burgers with a simple crumble of blue cheese on top, or you can do what I did and kick it up a notch with Bobby's blue cheese sauce. And if you have any sauce leftover, go ahead and use it as a dipping sauce for some kettle cooked potato chips. Trust me, you won't regret this decision!

Blue Burgers

from Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries & Shakes
Serves 4

8 slices thick-cut bacon (I used 4 but go for 8 if you want to:)
1 1/2 lb. ground chuck (80 percent lean) (I used 1 lb.)
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 tbsp. canola oil
2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled, or blue cheese sauce (recipe below)
Chopped fresh parlety leaves, for garnish (optional)
4 hamburger buns, split and toasted if desired

Cook bacon until golden brown and slightly crisp. I just read about a new technique for cooking bacon. Place it on a foil lined baking sheet and put in a cold oven. Turn the heat on to 400 degrees and let bacon cook for about 20 minutes until crisp. Remove to a paper towel lined plate. You can also cook your bacon in a saute pan but I found the oven technique keeps the bacon nice and flat and allows it to cook more evenly since they are spread on a baking sheet.

Perfectly crisp and flat oven baked bacon.

Divide meat into 4 equal portions. Form each potion loosely into a 3/4 inch thick burger and make a deep depression in the center with your thumb. Season both sides with salt and pepper.

Cook burgers in a cast iron (or regular) skillet, using oil or on the grill. Mine took about 5 minutes on each side but you can choose how well done you would like yours. Top with blue cheese crumbles for the last few minutes or top with the blue cheese sauce when you remove them from the pan.

Place burgers on the bun bottoms and top with bacon and chopped parsley, if using. Cover with the bun tops and serve immediately.

Blue Cheese Sauce

makes about 2 cups (I halved the recipe)
2 cups whole milk
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
Pinch cayenne pepper
4 ounces crumbled blue cheese plus extra for garnish
2 tbsp. finely chopped fresh chives

Pour milk into small saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat.

Heat butter in a medium saucepan, over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the warm milk and continue whisking until the mixture thickens, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and cayenne pepper and continue cooking, whisking occasionally, for 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese. If the sauce is too thick, thin with a little more milk. Sauce can be prepared 1 day in advance, covered, and refrigerated. Reheat gently in a double boiler. Sprinkle with chives.

I could eat an entire vat of this stuff!

What are your favorite burger recipes? I think my all-time favorite is a classic burger topped with BBQ sauce and a thick slice of American cheese - delicious!

Bobby Flay's Toasted Marshmallow Milkshake

2011-05-26T16:58:00.000-05:00

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!

Lactose intolerant readers, turn back now. Ahead lies a recipe filled with milk, ice cream and toasted marshmallow goodness. You have been forewarned!

What you are about to witness is one of the best drinks I have ever experienced. I've been craving a DQ Blizzard for about a month now but never actually go out to get one. However, I was at the library the other day and as I was checking out their cookbook selection, one title in particular jumped off the shelf: Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries & Shakes, yes, yes and yes, please! The library is a great resource for trying out cookbooks to see if they have enough good recipes to invest in a copy for yourself. This cookbook is great so far - just the fact that his signature burger is topped with potato chips makes my heart go pitter patter.

Anyway, while flipping through the milkshake section, I came across a recipe for Toasted Marshmallow Milkshakes and I was sold. DQ can wait in line, there's a new milkshake in town. Bobby recommends throwing in some chocolate and crushed graham crackers if you want the full s'more effect, but I think it tastes fabulous as is.

Bobby Flay's Toasted Marshmallow Milkshake

from Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries & Shakes

makes one 16-ounce milkshake or two 8-ounce milkshakes (I drank a 16-ouncer, no problem)

Ingredients:

Nonstick cooking spray

9 large marshmallows (I made a couple extra to plop on top for decoration)

1/4 cup whole milk

11 ounces vanilla ice cream (about 1 3/4 cup packed)

Preheat broiler. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.

Arrange the marshmallows on the sheet, leaving space between them. Place under the broiler until the tops are a deep golden brown color, about 40 seconds. Remove from oven, carefully turn the marshmallows over, and broil until they are deep golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.

I often leave my oven door opened a crack when broiling so I can keep an eye on things.

Here they are after the first round of broiling.

Carefully flip them.

Here they are after the round two of broiling - the browner they are, the more "toasty" your shake will taste.

Combine the marshmallows and milk in a blender and blend for 5 seconds. Add the ice cream and blend until smooth, about 10 seconds. Garnish with toasted marshmallows if desired. Serve immediately. Sip. Smile!

Would you like a sip?

What is your all-time favorite milkshake? This one probably just took the spot for my number one! Be back tomorrow with one last burger for you to make over Memorial day weekend.

Twice Baked Potatoes

2011-05-25T17:12:00.000-05:00

Greg and I like to talk about food. We often discuss topics such as, what is your all-time favorite fruit (strawberries and pineapple)? or, what do you think is the most disgusting food in existence (water chestnuts, the texture kills me. olives, I am willing to try them once a year to see if I change my mind)?

One of our favorites is, if you had to live on one food for the rest of your life what would it be? Greg usually answers with bread or cheese, both good options. I always go with potatoes! My reasoning is that they are so versatile. You could probably make a different potato dish every day of the month and still come up with new ways to cook them. And yes, I realize I'm bending the rules a bit because I would probably need a few other ingredients in order to make some of the potato recipes, thus eating more than one "food," but it's my game and I can do what I want!

People who know me in real life know that I can easily kill a bag of potato chips if left to my own devices. Add a tub of French onion dip and you will find me a couple of hours later in a food coma on the couch. It's scary stuff.

Today, I bring you a recipe for twice baked potatoes. I often forget about this delicious baked/mashed potato combination, but I think it's perfect for cookouts. You can make them ahead of time and simply reheat when it's time to eat. I made mine to go with spicy BBQ ribs and coleslaw.

Twice Baked Potatoes

Ingredients:

4 large Russet potatoes, scrubbed

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup sour cream

2 scallions, finely chopped

4 slices bacon, cooked until crisp and crumbled

1/2 tsp. salt

freshly ground pepper

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place potatoes directly on rack in center of oven and bake for 30 minutes. Pierce each potato and continue to bake until tender, about 30 minutes. I skipped the oven and used the microwave instead. I pierced each potato and wrapped in a damp paper towel. I microwaved for about 8 minutes and then another 4 minutes. I only used the oven to reheat once I had refilled them with the potato mixture.

Allow potatoes to cool slightly, trim off the top to make a canoe-like shape. Carefully scoop out most of the potato into a bowl, making sure to leave the skin intact.

Mash the potatoes lightly with a fork. Add the sour cream and buttermilk. (I might also add a few tablespoons of butter here) Fold in the scallions (I saved the green portion of the scallion to sprinkle on before serving) and crumbled bacon. Season with salt and pepper. Refill the shells with the potato mixture, mounding slightly. At this point you could probably store them in the refrigerator, covered, until ready to finish. Sprinkle with the cheese, return to oven and bake for an additional 20 minutes until heated through, serve immediately.

Yum!

So if you had only one food to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?

Simple BBQ Ribs

2011-05-24T16:25:00.000-05:00

Anyone else getting excited for the long holiday weekend coming up? We've had quite a few hot days here in St. Louis this spring but I always think Memorial Day marks the official kick-off to summer. Greg and I will be traveling over the weekend so I decided to cook up a Memorial Day feast last weekend for us to enjoy at home. I've made these ribs a few times and they always turn out great.

These ribs start out with a deliciously spicy rub and cook for 3 hours until they are fall-off-the-bone tender. Then they are smothered in a sweet and tangy BBQ sauce. And best of all, they are super easy to make, even for someone like me who is afraid of cooking meat! If you are looking for a recipe that won't keep you in the kitchen when you should be out soaking in the sun and the company of your wonderful friends and family this holiday weekend, try ribs. Your guests will rave about them and you will keep your sanity, the best of both worlds!

Simple BBQ Ribs

from Emeril

Ingredients:
2 racks baby back ribs
6 tablespoons Emeril's Rustic Rub, recipe follows (Note: I halved the recipe and still had a ton leftover)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon celery salt
Emeril's Bam B Q Sweet Original Barbecue Sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's Sweet 'n Spicy)
Rustic Rub:
8 tablespoons paprika
3 tablespoons cayenne (decrease if you don't want it to be as spicy)
5 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons garlic powder
3 tablespoons onion powder
6 tablespoons salt
2 1/2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 1/2 tablespoons dried thyme

Combine all ingredients and store in an air-tight container.

Yield: 2 1/4 cup

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with a piece of aluminum foil large enough to cover the pan twice (you will be folding this over the ribs and sealing.)

Place the ribs on the prepared baking sheet in 1 layer. In a small bowl, combine the Rib Rub, salt, pepper, and celery salt and stir to combine. Divide the seasoning evenly among both slabs of ribs, coating well on both sides. Fold the sides of the foil over the ribs and seal tightly on all sides.

I have a "thing" against posting pictures of raw meat to this blog so just envision a slab of ribs covered in a medley of spices tucked inside this foil.

Place the ribs in the oven and bake, undisturbed, for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or until ribs are very tender.Remove the ribs from the oven and peel back the foil so that the ribs are exposed.

Using a pastry brush or the back of a spoon, coat the racks lightly on the meaty sides with barbecue sauce. Return to the oven until sauce is thickened and lightly browned, about 20 minutes longer. Remove the ribs from the oven and set aside to cool briefly before cutting between the ribs and serving. Serve with more barbecue sauce, if desired.

Served with an ice, cold Schlafly brew!

Finger lickin' good!

Be back the tomorrow with my recipe for twice baked potatoes!

I've noticed people get very excited about their rib recipes. What are your favorite techniques for the ultimate rib experience? Please share your secrets for success in the comments, I'd love to give them a try!

Make these today!

2011-05-23T15:38:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday everyone! I had another recipe planned for today but after making this sweet treat last night I had to immediately post it. While browsing blogs a few days ago, I stumbled upon a recipe for Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars over at Baking Me. Just as Anne had stated, the minute I saw these bars, I had to make them. I had all the ingredients, including deliciously sweet strawberries from the famer's market, so I was ready to bake. These bars pack a triple punch - dense vanilla cake followed with a sweet, tart combination of strawberry and rhubarb, and topped by a crisp, buttery brown sugar crumble.

These bars would be perfect topped with a dollop of whipped cream for dessert or enjoyed with a cup of coffee for a sweet breakfast. I sent them to work with Greg and he texted me to say they were a hit. But don't worry, I saved a piece for myself. Quality control, right?

This is one of the best desserts I've had in awhile, and that says a lot considering how often I bake! Here is the recipe. Bake today and report back to me the feeding frenzy that ensues.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars

from Baking Me via White on Rice Couple and Martha Stewart

Streusel
1/2 cup Unsalted Butter, melted
3/4 cup Light Brown Sugar, Packed
1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 1/4 cup All-Purpose Flour

Whisk together brown sugar and salt, then stir in the melted butter. Add the flour and mix with a fork until large crumbs form. Refrigerate streusel mixture until needed.

Strawberry Rhubarb Mixture
1/2 pound Strawberries
1/2 pound Rhubarb
1 1/2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
1/3 cup All-Purpose Flour

Hull strawberries then slice into 1/4 inch pieces, place sliced strawberries into a medium sized bowl. Slice rhubarb into 1/2 inch pieces then place them in the bowl with the strawberries. Whisk together the flour and brown sugar then add to the strawberries and rhubarb. Mix well with a wooden spoon until strawberries and rhubarb are coated with flour mixture. Set aside until ready to use.

Cake
1 cup All-Purpose Flour, plus more for pan
3/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
3/4 cup Unsalted Butter, Softened, plus more for pan
1 1/4 cup Powdered Sugar, plus more for dusting
2 Eggs
3/4 teaspoon Vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9 inch square pan, (I used a glass pan that was about 11x7 and my cooking time was significantly longer) line with parchment paper, leaving a 2 inch overhang on each side, then butter and flour the parchment. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy, then add the vanilla and beat to incorporate. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping the sides and bottom as needed. Stir in the flour mixture until just combined.

Assembly
Pour batter into prepared pan and spread around evenly.

Distribute strawberry and rhubarb mixture evenly over the top of the batter.

Top with streusel.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 50-55 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean.

Allow cake to cool in pan. Once cooled, remove cake from pan using the parchment sides. Slice into squares and dust with powdered sugar. Serve with vanilla ice cream, whipping cream, or just plain.

Makes 16 squares

Sweet,

Tart,

Crunchy,

Delicious!

What is your favorite "breakfast" sweet? Please feel free to share your recipes in the comments. Hope you all have a great week!

Toasted Bulgur Salad with Corn and Tomatoes

2011-05-20T08:44:00.000-05:00

In an effort to clear out our pantry and use up all of those random half boxes of food, plus avoid the grocery store for one more day, I decided I wanted to cook a bulgur dish last night. After a quick search, I found a recipe that I could throw together with ingredients I already had at home. We ate this salad as our main meal, but in the future, I would love to serve it chilled as a side dish - perfect for a summer picnic! The toasted bulgur has a great nutty taste and a nice chew while the veggies add and extra burst of color and flavor. I have included a link to the original recipe (which looks delicious) but I made several changes to account for the ingredients I had on hand.

Toasted Bulgur Salad with Corn and Tomatoes
adapted from Epicurious

Serves 8 (Serves four if using as a main dish)
Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups coarse bulgur
2 3/4 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups frozen corn (Use fresh if in season)
1 medium tomato, chopped (I think the cherry tomatoes called for in the original recipe would be even better)
3/4 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup cilantro chopped, plus more for garnish
3 tablespoons lemon juice, or to taste

In a large heavy dry skillet toast bulgur over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, 5 to 10 minutes, or until it makes popping sounds and is browned lightly (Mine took about 7 minutes and turned brown really fast at that point so keep an eye on it). Transfer bulgur to a bowl and cool.

In a saucepan bring water with salt to a boil and stir in toasted bulgur. Reduce heat and simmer bulgur, covered, about 20 minutes, or until water is absorbed. Remove pan from heat and let bulgur stand, covered, 10 minutes. Transfer bulgur to bowl and cool.

While bulgur is cooking, in skillet heat oil over moderate heat until hot but not smoking and cook onions until soft. Then add corn, stirring, 2 to 3 minutes, or until just tender. Finally add tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste.

Cool veggie mixture and add to bulgur, tossing to combine. Stir in cilantro and squeeze lemon juice over salad. Garnish with additional cilantro and serve. I served ours warm but you can also make it ahead of time and serve it at room temperature or chilled.

Enjoy!

What is your favorite picnic side dish? The season is coming up so let's share ideas!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Homemade Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies!

2011-05-18T16:15:00.001-05:00

Hope everyone is having a great day! The sun is shining here and I am hoping to make it over to the Maplewood Farmer's Market tonight to get a few mid-week goodies. Then, Greg and I have plans to go to the movies tonight. We haven't been to the movies in months but one of our friends gave us an awesome Groupon for two tickets and a bucket of popcorn. I can't even remember the last time I had movie theater popcorn - it is the best, mmmm liquid butter!

Anyway, today I bring you a delicious recipe that is sure to stir up childhood memories. I was an Oatmeal Cream Pie addict while my brother could have lived off of Zebra Cakes. My mom rarely bought us Little Debbies but I played softball for about 5 years simply for the treats and little blue juice jugs at the end of the game (anyone else remember those?). I was visiting What the Dog Ate blog a couple days ago when I saw the recipe for these. After a quick mental scan of my pantry, I knew I already had all the ingredients I would need to make them, yes!

What's not to like about sweet, sugary buttercream sandwiched between two melt-in-your-mouth oat packed cookies? And they must be healthy because of the oats, right? They would be perfect wrapped in some wax paper and packed up for a picnic or piled high for an after school snack. Try these today!

Homemade Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies

from What the Dog Ate

Ingredients

Cookies
1 1/4 cups butter, unsalted, softened
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 cups quick oats (the only change I made here was to pulse the oats several times in a food processor so that there were some bigger oats pieces and some finely ground, but I'm sure it would be great either way)

Filling (I am leaving the measurements as listed but I only used about half the recipe so you could easily halve the ingredients and have plenty for filling. A little bit goes a long way!)
1/2 cup butter, unsalted, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat mat or parchment paper.

In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat the 1 1/4 cup butter with the granulated and brown sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and 2 teaspoons of vanilla. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

With the mixer on low, add in the flour mixture and then the oats.

I ground up my oats to have some bigger and some smaller.

Use a small cookie scoop to make uniform sized balls for the cookie sheet. Do not worry about pressing flat as they will spread when they bake. Refrigerate the scooped cookie dough for about 10 minutes.

Bake at 375 for 11 minutes. Remove from oven and leave on cookie sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 48 individual cookies.

Make the filling by beating the 1/2 cup butter with powdered sugar and up to 2 tablespoons of milk. Transfer to a zip lock type baggie with a corner snipped off.

Assemble the cookies by piping about a teaspoon of filling onto the bottom side of one cookie. I used about a quarter sized dollop and it was the perfect amount of sweetness. Top with another cookie.

Enjoy with a tall, cold glass of milk!

Thanks for stopping by! What is your favorite childhood treat? In addition to the Oatmeal Cream Pies, I also loved eating the Nutty Bars one layer at a time!

Versatile Blogger Award

2011-05-17T17:15:00.000-05:00

About a week or so ago, I was reading through the comments on this post (mmmm, brownies...), when I came across Anne's comment telling me she wanted to give me an award over at her blog. What? Me? An award?? I never get awards. I clicked over to Anne's blog at From My Sweet Heart and was shocked to see myself listed for the Versatile Blogger award among a group of awesome food bloggers, many of whom I read and draw inspiration from on a regular basis. As Anne stated over on her blog, this blogging stuff is HARD! I have had this blog since late 2009 but only recently started posting with any consistency. Between taking pictures, writing up posts, commenting on other's blogs, oh, and of course, the actual baking part, it takes a large chunk of time to continually post quality material.

I was very honored that Anne considered me for this award and it has inspired me to keep going. At the least, I hope to be able to look back on this blog down the road and see it as my journal through food. I am passionate about cooking and baking and believe that food (for me anyway) is strongly linked to memories. For example, I associate a fried avocado salad with a wonderful Easter weekend with my parents or Devil's Food White Out Cake with celebrating my Dad's birthday. Since keeping a traditional journal never worked out for me, I'm hoping that The Sweet Touch will be a record of all the great moments in life!

So, in keeping with the rules of the award, you must thank the person who awarded you by linking back to their post. You must tell 7 things about yourself. And you must pass the award down to 15 other new or newly discovered blogs.

Here are my seven random facts:

1. I love zumba! Even though I have no sense of rhythm, I think it's a blast.
2. My mom is my best friend (Hi, Mom!).
3. I could eat potato chips with a spoon. Step away from the Ruffles and no one gets hurt!
4. My husband is from England, but his accent keeps people guessing now that he's been here for a few years.
5. I love television - soaps, reality, dramas, you name it, I love it!
6. I have two fur babies, Roxy and Jasmine. They are the sweetest cats in the world.
7. I wish rollerblading would come back into style, loved that back in the day!

Now, here is my list of other awesome bloggers I would like to share this award with:

Presidential Living - bee keeping (!) and gardening with recipes mixed in
Every Little Thing - chocolate chili? yes, please!
The Sweets Life - I often check out this blog for simple, delicious weeknight meals
FoodSnobStl - healthy eating with a dash of sugar, yum!
What the Dog Ate - planning to make her Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies tonight
Bakergirl - delicious desserts!
Baking Me - my mouth is watering over her shortbread and jam cookies
Eat Laugh Love - I can't wait to try her bacon cheddar quick bread!
Katie's Feast - super creative meals over here
Kitchen Riffs - the Pimm's cup she recently posted reminded me of our trip to England, mmmm!
My Nikon Eats Food - she just got a job at a cupcake shop, awesome!
Sweet Life - check out her blog for yummy margaritas
Little Yellow Kitchen - blood orange and pomegranate mimosas, need I say more?
Baking & Creating with Avril - I bookmarked this blog after I saw her cookies sticks - perfect for dunking!
My Tiny Oven - a delicious mix of dinners and sweet treats

Whew! What a list. I warn you in advance, you could get sucked in for hours once you start clicking but it's worth it. Thank you again to Anne from My Sweet Heart. Oh, and if you haven't already had enough of a sugar fix, you should check out her Devils Food Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting while you are at it!

Any other new and interesting blogs I need to put on my list? Please share in the comments. Thanks for stopping by!

Share Our Strength Bake Sale

2011-05-16T17:47:00.000-05:00

I have to start out this post by saying how much I love the St. Louis blogger scene. We've lived in St. Louis now for about two months and as many of you who have moved around a lot know, it can be difficult to meet new friends in a new city. I was lucky enough to stop by Denise's blog at Eat Laugh Love where she did a post to promote the Share Our Strength Blogger Bake Sale. Share Our Strength is a national nonprofit with the goal to end childhood hunger by the year 2015. It's scary to think that children in our own neighborhoods aren't getting enough food and nutrients to live a healthy life. When I heard about the opportunity to contribute, I really wanted to get involved. I thought I had missed the bake sale but through a couple of comments and emails, I found out I could still get in on it! I had a great time baking for this event and it was lucky to meet some fabulous ladies (and gents!) in the process. I'm looking forward to attending future blogger events and getting to know all of these lovely St. Louis bloggers!

The amazing Stef of Cupcake Project, Kimberly of Rhubarb and Honey and Andrew of Andrew Mark Veety (check out his awesome homemade pretzels - people went nuts over these!) organized the event which was held at Sappington Farmers' Market. Even with the unseasonably cold, dreary weather, the St. Louis foodies came out in full force to support the cause (and feed their sugar cravings!). All in all, the event raised over $800!!

Since I only had a couple days to prepare for the bake sale, I wanted to make something I had already tried and succeeded at before. I also wanted to do at least one child friendly treat. I ended up going with Loaded Rice Krispie Treats and a twist on the classic Ohio State Chocolate Buckeyes Candy - YUM! Here are the recipes.

Loaded Rice Krispie Treats

Ingredients:
2 recipes classic Rice Krispie Treats
2/3 c. M&M's
2/3 c. sprinkles
2/3 c. white chocolate chips
plus a handful of each to put on top
*Choose any candy you would like. I would like to try crushed pretzels and bits of heath bars next time!

Place rice krispies and candy in a large bowl.

I would like to go swimming in a pool filled with this!

Follow directions for making a double batch of rice krispie treats. You can make a single batch but I like mine extra thick. Once butter and marshmallows are melted, pour mixture over rice krispies and candy and mix together. Working quickly, press mixture into a greased 9x13 pan and press extra candy into the top.

Allow to cool and cut into 12 squares. Watch kids go crazy when they see them at a bake sale!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites

Ingredients
1 1/2 c. creamy peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 stick butter, softened
1 lb. powdered sugar
9 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tbsp. Crisco
pretzels (I used the square-shaped "waffle" ones but any small kind will work.)

Mix peanut butter, vanilla, butter and powdered sugar. Roll into little balls and press between two pretzels. Put on wax paper or a silpat and freeze until firm.

Melt chocolate chips and Crisco in a small bowl. I melted mine in the microwave in 30 second bursts until it was smooth, about a minute. Dip each peanut butter pretzel bite halfway into the chocolate. Return to wax paper and freeze until chocolate sets. Delicious!

I hope you enjoy these super simple, super delicious recipes! If you would like to give to the cause, you can donate over at Share Our Strength.

What is your favorite bake sale treat? I'm a sucker for anything with bright colors!

Mom's Banana Nut Bread

2011-05-10T16:06:00.000-05:00

Today, I am sharing with you my favorite recipe for banana nut bread. I think the main reason I love this bread is that it reminds me of home. My mom is not a huge baker (although she is an amazing cook!), but whenever we had extra ripe bananas in the house it meant one thing - banana nut bread! There is nothing flashy or trendy about this banana nut bread, but served warm or cold, slathered with a thin layer of butter, it makes the perfect breakfast, dessert or middle of the night treat!

I'm guessing the recipe comes from an old KitchenAid Mixer booklet because it actually includes what level and for how long you should mix each step, plus it includes shortening which seems to be a taboo ingredient in the baking world today. But I'm a rebel so I'm keeping it in there! Side note: Does anyone else think KitchenAid's today aren't as strong as the old school ones? My mom's is a machine and mine seems to wimp out the minute I add flour (I still love it, don't get me wrong!).

Banana Nut Bread

1/3 c. shortening

1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 3/4 c. sifted all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. mashed ripe bananas

1/2 c. chopped walnuts

Place shortening and sugar in bowl and beat for a minute, scrape bowl and beat another minute. Add eggs and beat for 2 minutes. Sift together flour, baking powder, soda and salt into a separate bowl. Add half flour mixture and half of mashed banana. Mix for 30 seconds then add remaining banana and flour mixture, mixing and additional 30 seconds. Stop and scrape the bowl. Blend walnuts in on stir speed.

Love my Granny's old Corelle ware!

Pour mixture into a greased and floured loaf pan. (Mixture will be thick.) Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Allow to cool 10-15 minutes in pan then remove from pan and cool on rack.

Love my mom's old Corelle ware, too!

Enjoy!

What is your favorite "old school" recipe? Feel free to post links, I'd love to try them!

Crispy Margarita Chicken Tacos

2011-05-09T17:12:00.000-05:00

If you aren't already reading Jessica's blog over at How Sweet It Is you really need to start! Jessica posts incredibly creative recipes and can also tell a hilarious story. Last week I spotted her recipe for Crispy Margarita Chicken Tacos with Strawberry Avocado Salsa and I knew I had to try them for Cinco de Mayo. They turned out delicious!

Cinco de Mayo or not, make these asap! I commented to Jessica that in the future I will be making the salsa by the bucket. The strawberries really added a special something!

Crispy Margarita Chicken Tacos
from How Sweet It Is

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts
8 4-inch tortillas (I used flour)
3 cups panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
zest of 3 limes
1 teaspoon ground coriander
marinade:

1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup tequila
1/4 cup lime juice
zest of 2 limes
1 teaspoon ground coriander
salsa:
1 avocado, chopped
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/4 red onion, chopped
4 large strawberries, chopped
juice of half a lime
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
toppings: shredded lettuce, freshly grated monterey jack cheese, cilantro, lime wedges (I topped mine with queso fresco and cilantro, YUM!)

2-24 hours before making the tacos, combine the marinade ingredients in a baking dish. Tenderize chicken, season it with salt and pepper, then slice it into strips lengthwise. Add the chicken to the dish and let marinate in the fridge until ready to make.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Combine panko, flour, lime zest and coriander in a bowl. Lay a wire rack on a baking sheet and spray with non-stick spray. Remove chicken from marinade and coat strips in panko mixture, pressing so crumbs adhere. Lay them on the baking sheet then give them a quick spray of non-stick spray or olive oil. Bake for 10 minutes, flip, then bake 10 more.
While chicken is cooking, combine avocado, tomato, strawberries and onion. Mix with salt, pepper and lime juice.
Heat tortillas if desired, then serve with crisp chicken, salsa, and toppings. Spritz with lime wedges.

Delicious! Hope you enjoy!

Did you do anything fun for Cinco de Mayo? What is the most authentic Mexican dish you've ever made or tried?

When all else fails...

2011-05-06T14:49:00.000-05:00

bake brownies.

and follow the recipe to a t.

(what does that mean anyway?).

Now that I'm blogging more often, I have been trying lots of new recipes. I've also been trying to put a spin on recipes to make them my own. Sometimes I get wonderful results and I'm happy I tried something new. Other times, not so much. Here are some examples of recent baking fails:

I did get a few good pavlovas out of this batch, but others just stuck to the tray and the tops popped off!

This one, don't even ask. Ok, ask. No, they are not my attempt at making Mr. Hankey cookies. I was actually trying to make chocolate churros. Doesn't that sound good? Eh, not so much...

So when I woke up yesterday, I was determined to make something I knew I would love and that would be nearly impossible to screw up.

Brownies!

Now normally I would go straight for the box mix (it's good stuff!) but there is also something magical about a delicious homemade brownie. I remembered back to early in the year when Bon Appetit featured Browned Butter Walnut Brownies as the cover recipe and knew I wanted to try it. Although these brownies got mixed reviews (people seemed to love 'em or hate 'em), it was love at first bite for me!

Many of the reviews stated that the browned butter gave the brownies a distinctive "nutty" flavor. I'm not sure if this was actually due to the browned butter or the fact that they do have a cup of walnuts in them. That said, I will make it exactly the same in the future because I loved them. However, they are packed with nuts so you can always cut back if you wish.

Ok, all this talking is making me hungry. Let's get to the recipe!

Cocoa Brownies with Browned Butter and Walnuts

from Bon Appetit

Ingredients:

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder (spooned into cup to measure, then leveled)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, chilled
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup walnut pieces

Position rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 325°F. Line 8x8x2-inch metal baking pan with foil, pressing foil firmly against pan sides and leaving 2-inch overhang. Coat foil with nonstick spray. Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking until butter stops foaming and browned bits form at bottom of pan, stirring often, about 5 minutes.

Tip: I find that it is easier to see the butter changing colors if you use a pan with a light colored bottom.

Maybe I should have stopped here but I let it go a little bit longer...

...and ended up with this. The brownies still tasted amazing but just be careful because once it goes, it goes fast!

Remove from heat; immediately add sugar, cocoa, 2 teaspoons water, vanilla, and 1/4 teaspoon (generous) salt. Stir to blend. Let cool 5 minutes (mixture will still be hot). Add eggs to hot mixture 1 at a time, beating vigorously to blend after each addition. When mixture looks thick and shiny, add flour and stir until blended. Beat vigorously 60 strokes. Stir in nuts. Transfer batter to prepared pan.

Bake brownies until toothpick inserted into center comes out almost clean (with a few moist crumbs attached), about 25 minutes. (Mine seemed quite gooey after 25 minutes but I stuck with the recipe and they turned out fudgy and delicious) Cool in pan on rack. Using foil overhang, lift brownies from pan. Cut into 4 strips. Cut each strip crosswise into 4 brownies. They are rich so you could also cut each brownie in half diagonally and have twice the brownies!

Delicious! I ate four in a row and made Greg bring the rest to work to save me from myself!

Oh wait! I forgot I saved one for you (hope you don't mind I already took a bite out of it!)

Questions:
If you could only pick one food magazine to subscribe to, what would it be?

If you are recipe developer, how do you do it, especially when it comes to baking? I do ok when I'm throwing ingredients together to make a soup or a dinner, but I've had a ton of baking disasters when I try to do my own thing!

Have a great weekend everybody!

Chili-Glazed Pork with Sweet Potato Hash

2011-05-05T15:52:00.000-05:00

One thing I love about reading other foodie's blogs is that they give me tons of great (and often easy!) weekday meal ideas that I might not have tried on my own. I recently discovered fellow St. Louis blogger, Natalie, who writes over at The Sweets Life. Her recipes inspire me to branch out from the types of meals I tend to recreate over and over again. She recently posted a recipe for Chili-Glazed Pork with Sweet Potato Hash and I was sold. I've never tried hash before, let alone sweet potato hash and I was really happy with the results. Thanks for sharing Natalie!

Chili-Glazed Pork with Sweet Potato Hash

from The Sweets Life via Real Simple

Ingredients

1 pork tenderloin (ours was a little over 1 pound)
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon chili powder
kosher salt and black pepper
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled

2 large shallots, chopped
1 5-ounce package baby spinach, chopped

hot sauce (optional)

Directions

Heat broiler. (I went with Natalie's suggestion to roast at 350 for about 25 minutes until the meat reached an internal temperature of 160F rather than broil but feel free to choose whichever method you are comfortable with) Place the pork on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Rub with 1 teaspoon of the oil, the chili powder, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Broil, turning occasionally and basting with the maple syrup twice, until cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes (if you are roasting, allow 25-35 minutes). Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
Meanwhile, in a food processor fitted with the coarse grating disk, grate the sweet potatoes.
Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes and cook, tossing occasionally, until tender, 7 to 9 minutes more. (I also added about 1 tablespoon of maple syrup and some hot sauce to the mix). Add the spinach and cook, tossing, until just wilted, 1 to 2 minutes more.
Serve the pork and potatoes with the hot sauce, if desired.

With the help of a food processor, this recipe came together quickly and was perfect for a week night meal.

Enjoy!

Shaved Asparagus and Prosciutto Pizza

2011-05-04T15:52:00.000-05:00

Oh boy do I have a recipe for you today! I've been seeing shaved asparagus all over the web these days and actually had a taste of it at our fancy dinner out a few weeks ago. Many people simply toss it in some oil and vinegar, add a little s and p and eat it as salad. I wanted to take it up a notch by throwing it on a pizza with some goat cheese and prosciutto, yeehaw! It's really quite easy and there is something satisfying about using a potato peeler to make long curls of asparagus. Try this pizza today, you won't regret it!

Shaved Asparagus and Prosciutto Pizza

Ingredients:
1 recipe pizza dough (I like the one from this recipe, but choose your favorite)
1 bundle of asparagus
2-3 oz. proscuitto, cut into small pieces
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. minced garlic (about 1 clove)
2 oz. goat cheese (or more if you like)
salt and pepper

Begin by preparing your pizza dough. The recipe I use needs to be made in advance but you could also use a premade crust to make it even faster.

Heat pizza stone in oven at 500 degrees. If you don't have a pizza stone you can make your pizza on a baking sheet.

Don't worry about cutting off the ends of the asparagus. Instead, use that part to hold onto as you draw the peeler away from you to create thin strips of asparagus. There will be some thicker and some thinner strips. Don't worry, just go for it!

Set the asparagus aside and heat about 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and stir until it begins to brown (this can happen fast so keep a close eye on it, burned garlic = bad!). Add the goat cheese and stir until it melts. My pizza had a very subtle goat cheese flavor so feel free to add more if you like.

Spread goat cheese mixture over the pizza crust.

Put asparagus strips in a large bowl and toss with proscuitto, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and salt and pepper. Spread mixture over your pizza crust.

Bake at 500 degrees for about 10-12 minutes, until crust turns golden.

Cut into squares and enjoy with a glass of wine!

I have to admit, I usually stick with toppings like plain cheese or pepperoni for my pizza but this was a really tasty change. What is the most unique pizza topping you've tried? What is your favorite kind of pizza?

St. Louis Foodie Finds: Five Bistro

2011-05-03T17:23:00.000-05:00

When my parents were in town, Greg and I decided it would be fun to do a fancy dinner out one night. Well, let me tell you, St. Louis is a serious foodie city. After calling several restaurants that were already fully booked for Saturday night, I was starting to think we were going to have to eat at 5:00 with the early bird crowd or at 10:00 when all the servers were ready to go home for the night. Then I struck gold with a call to Five Bistro. Although Greg and I eat out quite a bit, this place was a real treat for the holiday weekend.

Nestled in a corner lot in The Hill neighborhood of St. Louis, Five Bistro was a welcomed escape from the recent string of torrential downpours and tornadoes that had been tearing through the area for over a week. The atmosphere was upbeat and chatter filled the room - I think everyone was just happy to be out for once! The one and only downside of our experience was the very loud and overly obnoxious group of six drunks dining next to us - you know the ones that want to relive every funny thing that ever happened to them and just how funny it was. Anyway, I digress.

We were greeted with our very knowledgeable and friendly server, Nancy. She walked us through the menu, describing Five's mission to use locally sourced, in season ingredients. In the end, my mom and I both decided to go with the four-course prix-fixe option while my dad and Greg chose their own entrees and shared everything else with us.

Our meal began with a complimentary amuse bouche of a savory cream puff filled with smoked trout mousse. It was the perfect way to start off our meal. Next came our appetizers. The table shared the salmon tartar with crispy water crackers and the paper thin beef carpaccio. Both were delicious and the servings were just the right size. For the next course, Greg and I shared the nettle soup and my parents shared a salad made with local greens. Next came our entrees. My mom and I both ordered the veal with polenta which was excellent. Greg devoured the trout special which came with roasted sweet potatoes and mixed veggies, and my dad enjoyed the roasted half chicken with vegetables. I should have taken notes on what everyone got because the menu changes on a daily basis, but just know that it was good! Finally, we ended the meal with a four layer chocolate dessert and my personal favorite, sweet honey goat cheese sandwiched between crisp sugar cookies, a perfect end to the perfect meal. We had a great experience at Five Bistro. The food was excellent but I believe having a great server that really knew the menu and treated us as if we were her only table really elevated our dining experience. Thank you, Five Bistro, for a wonderful night out in St. Louis!

Five Bistro
5100 Daggett Avenue
Saint Louis, MO 63110
(314) 773-5553

Remembering...

2011-05-02T16:42:00.003-05:00

Late last night, just as we were sitting on the edge of our seats waiting to see if Nene was going to completely blow her top on Celebrity Apprentice (does anyone know who went home!?), a newsflash came across the screen. President Obama had an important announcement to make. What could it be? And why so late at night?

Flashback to September of 2001. The whole world was still in shock from the events of 9/11 and I was off to my freshman year of college at The Ohio State University. I remember those first few days in the dorm. Everything was new - new friends, new classes, a new bed to get used to, overall, a new way of life.

But it was also an emotional time. As if starting college wasn't nerve wracking enough, our entire country was going through one of the scariest, saddest times in our history. I remember going to a candle light vigil a few days after the events. As we stood there honoring the memory of those lost, the glow of thousands of candles filled our hearts with hope that America would persevere, that we would never forget, but that we would rise above the tragedies of that day when so many were lost...

Fast forward almost ten years to May 1, 2011. President Obama appeared on the screen with news we had all been waiting so long to hear - Osama bin Laden was dead. In the words of President Obama, "We give thanks for the men who carried out this operation, for they exemplify the professionalism, patriotism, and unparalleled courage of those who serve our country."

So what better way to thank our military men and women for all that they do than with All-American Apple Pie? I just happened to buy this star pocket pie mold from Williams-Sonoma a couple summers ago and I thought it would add a special touch to this patriotic treat. I don't think this particular mold is still available but they do have a cute apple or you could try using large cookie cutters to make your own.

All-American Apple Pies
makes 7-8 small pies

1 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. shortening, cut into small pieces, chilled
1/4 c. butter, cut into small pieces, chilled
5-10 tbsp. ice water
1 heaping cup of diced apple (I used granny smith, check this post for a list of baking apples)
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 egg, beaten with 1 tsp. water, for egg wash
ice cream!

Make crust:
Combine flour, sugar and salt in food processor. Using on/off turns, cut in shortening and butter until coarse meal forms. Blend in enough ice water, 1 tbsp. at a time, to form moist clumps (I used about 8). Gather dough and form into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about an hour.

Make filling:
Combine sugars with cinnamon and toss to coat apple. Place in a strainer over a bowl for about 30 minutes to allow some of the juices to drain.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Roll out dough on a clean, floured work surface. Using the pie mold cut out 14-16 stars. If you don't have a pie mold you could simply cut into small squares or try using a cookie cutter.

Spoon a heaping tablespoon of the apple mixture into each pie.

Wet the edge of each pie with water and top with another cut-out before pressing into pie mold. Place on a baking sheet lined with a silpat. Brush with egg wash mixture and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, rotating your pan halfway through, until crust is golden brown. Remove to a rack and cool completely (if you can wait!) before serving with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Note: You could make this with a premade crust. I would recommend rolling it a bit thinner so that the corners of your stars don't get too doughy.

Enjoy!

Easy Weekend Meal: Chicken Potpie Empanadas

2011-04-29T17:22:00.000-05:00

Sometimes you just need a recipe that is quick and easy to throw together. As much fun as it is to spend a couple hours in the kitchen working on a grand masterpiece, it can also be just as rewarding to mix together a few ingredients and get back to relaxing! If you don't already subscribe to Real Simple's recipe of the day, you should! I have discovered several super easy recipes this way and they are great to pull out when I want something tasty but quick to make. Today, I am sharing with you a recipe for chicken potpie empanadas. It uses a premade pie crust, shredded rotisserie chicken and a mix of frozen peas and carrots. Ain't no shame in keepin' it simple!

Chicken Potpie Empanadas
from Real Simple

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 tablespoon flour
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 10-ounce box frozen peas and carrots
1 3- to 4-pound store-bought rotisserie chicken, meat shredded
kosher salt and black pepper
2 refrigerated 9-inch piecrusts (from a 15-ounce package, such as Pillsbury)

Heat oven to 400° F. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes.

Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.

Slowly stir in the broth. Cook until thickened, about 3 minutes. Add the peas and carrots, chicken, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Remove from heat.

Cut each piecrust in half. Spoon the chicken mixture over one side of each half-circle, leaving a ½-inch border.

Using your fingers, wet the border with water. Fold the crust over the chicken. Press to seal. Make three 1-inch slits in the top of each.

Transfer the empanadas to a baking sheet. Bake until golden, 15 to 18 minutes.

Notes:
This recipe could easily be adapted to make it a bit fancier. I would like to try it with rosemary roasted chicken and maple glazed sweet potatoes in place of the peas and carrots next time.
If making for children, you can cut each piecrust into thirds and to make smaller servings (they were quite filling!).

Enjoy!

Hope you all have a great weekend! What's your favorite easy recipe?

Love and Pavlova

2011-04-28T15:20:00.000-05:00

With the Royal Wedding less than 24 hours away I think most of us have weddings on the brain. Although tomorrow morning we will be celebrating the wedding of William and Kate, Greg and I celebrated another English wedding almost two months ago, and I must say it will be difficult for William and Kate to top it! Greg's brother Michael and his (now) sister-in-law, Tabatha were married in small church on the English countryside that was over 700 years old!

As I sat watching the ceremony, I thought about all of the weddings throughout the centuries that must have taken place at the church and all the love that filled this sacred space. That day, Michael and Tabatha made their love for one another official when they said their vows and became husband and wife. I am so blessed to be a part of Greg's family and really excited to have a new Mrs. P around! I wanted to share a sweet reading from the day of the wedding which still makes me tear up when I read it:

From The Velveteen Rabbit:

“What is REAL?” asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. “Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?”

“Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but Really loves you, then you become Real.”

“Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit.

“Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. “When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.”

“Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,” he asked, “or bit by bit?”

“It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get all loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”

Ok, here I am, welling up again! Anyway, here's to love!

So what does all this have to do with pavlova?

Well, in addition to the lovely traditional wedding cake we shared, we also had individual sized pavlovas at the end of our meal. Let me just say, I had never tried pavlova before, and I went absolutely nuts after I took my first bite. A thin, crisp outer layer envelopes the melt-in-your-mouth center of this sweet dessert and the fruit compote takes it over the top. It's hard to believe that such a simple recipe can produce such amazing results but it's true!

Now after doing some research, I found that pavlova actually originated Australia or New Zealand, but I will forevermore think of England when I taste this treat! I have to admit, my "pav" didn't turn out nearly as delicious as the one I had that day, but for a first effort I was pretty happy. For my next attempt I will make sure to do it on a cool, dry day and I will whip my egg whites a little bit longer to ensure they hold their shape.

Pavlova

from Simply Recipes

Meringue:
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar OR 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar OR distilled white vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup (6 ounces, about 6) large egg whites, preferably room temperature
Pinch salt

Topping:
2 pints fresh or frozen berries
1/4 cup sugar
Whipped Cream for topping

Place rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 275°. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Pour the vanilla and vinegar (if using) into a small cup. Stir the cornstarch into the sugar in a small bowl.

In a large bowl of a heavy-duty mixer, fitted with whisk attachment, whip egg whites, cream of tartar (if using) and salt, starting on low, increasing incrementally to medium speed until soft peaks/trails start to become visible, and the egg white bubbles are very small and uniform, approximately 2 to 3 minutes.

Increase speed to medium-high, slowly and gradually sprinkling in the sugar-cornstarch mixture. A few minutes after these dry ingredients are added, slowly pour in the vanilla and vinegar (if you didn't use cream of tartar.) Increase speed a bit and whip until meringue is glossy, and stiff peaks form when the whisk is lifted, 4 to 5 minutes.

Pipe or spoon the meringue into 8-10 large round mounds that are 3 inches wide on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicon liner. With the back of a spoon, create an indentation in the middle of the mound for holding the filling once meringue is baked.

Place baking sheet in the oven. Reduce oven temperature to 250°F. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until the meringues are crisp, dry to the touch on the outside, and white -- not tan-colored or cracked. The interiors should have a marshmallow-like consistency. Check on meringues at least once during the baking time. If they appear to be taking on color or cracking, reduce temperature 25 degrees, and turn pan around.

Gently lift from the baking sheet and cool on a wire rack. Will keep in a tightly sealed container at room temperature, or individually wrapped, for up to a week if your house is not humid.

If you want to make a berry sauce, heat a couple pints of fresh or frozen berries in a medium saucepan with about a quarter cup of sugar. Heat on medium heat, stirring once or twice, for about 5 to 10 minutes, depending on how much the berries are falling apart. Remove from heat and let cool.

If you want a step by step photo tutorial head on over to Simply Recipes!

Good.

Bad!

Really good!

Hope you enjoy!

Is anyone getting up early (or staying up all night) to watch the Royal wedding? I'm aiming to get up at 5 am but we'll see what happens!

Crispy Fried Avocado Salad

2011-04-27T15:01:00.006-05:00

With Cinco de Mayo just around the corner I've had Mexican food on the brain. Ok, who am I kidding? I always have Mexican food on the brain. While my parents were visiting, we decided to have a little fiesta one night, which included this Crispy Fried Avocado Salad. I've heard of fried avocado before but never actually tried it, so I figured this night was as good as any to give it a try. I think they turned out really good - warm and crunchy on the outside, cool and refreshing on the inside!

Crispy Fried Avocado Salad

inspired by Emeril

Serves 4

1 c. buttermilk

2 tbsp. hot sauce (I used Cholula)

3 firm-ripe avocados (You don't want them too ripe or they will turn to mush)

1 c. yellow cornmeal (You may not need this much)

1/4 c. creme fraiche (or sour cream)

2 tbsp. fresh lime juice

2 tbsp. chopped cilantro

1/2 tsp. hot sauce

1/2 chopped tomato

1/2 finely chopped jalapeno

1 slice of red onion, finely chopped

2 tbsp. chopped cilantro

3-4 tbsp. vegetable oil for frying

Here's a quick tutorial for cutting avocados.

Cut Wack (carefully!)

Slice Scoop

In a medium bowl, combine buttermilk, 2 tbsp. hot sauce and avocado slices. Soak for 30 minutes.

Sauce:
In a small bowl, combine the creme fraiche (or sour cream), lime juice, cilantro, and 1/2 tsp. hot sauce. Chill until ready to use.

Pico:
Combine chopped tomato, jalapeno, red onion and cilantro. Set aside.

Fried avocados:
Put cornmeal in a shallow bowl. Dredge soaked avocado slices in the cornmeal, shaking to remove excess cornmeal.

Heat several tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium heat. Place one layer of avocado slices in the pan for about 1-2 minutes on each side until crispy and golden. I had to repeat the process twice to fit all of my avocado. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate. Arrange on salad plates, drizzle with creme fraiche sauce and divide pico into the center of each salad.

Notes: Use more hot sauce if you like it really spicy!
Serve with dipping sauces on the side if you prefer to pick them up and dunk.

Enjoy!

Boeuf en Croute

2011-04-26T17:03:00.000-05:00

Holiday dinners are a time when I like to go out on a branch and give something new a try. Even if it's a total flop, I know my family will still love me (right, family?). I've got plenty of time to spend in the kitchen and if I'm lucky an extra set of hands to help get the job done (thanks Greg!). This year I was randomly watching the Cooking Channel a couple weeks before Easter and caught this episode of French Food at Home. I instantly thought, "This would be a perfect menu for Easter!" and bookmarked the recipes. In the end, I decided to stick with the Boeuf en Croute and Green Beans with Hazelnuts and Creme Fraiche. Greg contributed his famous sea salt and rosemary roasted red potatoes and Mom made her classic Deviled eggs. I chose Spring Berry Tart for dessert and we called it a meal! I apologize in advance for the lighting in these pictures but you can't always plan your cooking around the sun:) Here is the recipe and some pictures that I hope will help you if you ever want to make your own Boeuf en Croute.

Boeuf en Croute
from French Food at Home

Ingredients

1 1/3 pounds beef tenderloin
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons butter
Olive oil, for drizzling

2 shallots, minced

1 pound mushrooms, very finely chopped (We used about 12 ounces)

1 sprig fresh thyme, leaves picked

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup Madeira

2 tablespoons creme fraiche
Handful chopped fresh parsley leaves

2 (1 pound) packages puff pastry or frozen puff pastry, thawed (This part was confusing to me, I ended up using one and a half packages of pastry, but I think if you rolled out two sheets to be a bit thinner they would be able to fit around the beef, also mine turned out a lot more "puffy" than the one pictured with the recipe so rolling it thinner might help with this)

1 egg

1 teaspoon water

Directions

Season the beef with salt, and pepper. Melt a tablespoon of butter with a drizzle of the olive oil in a saute pan until hot, then sear the beef on all sides. Remove from the pan to a board, and let cool completely, then wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate.

In the same pan as the beef, prepare the mushroom duxelles: Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and fry the shallots until translucent. Add the mushrooms, thyme, and bay leaf, and cook until very tender. Pour over the Madeira, and bring to a boil, and cook until all the liquid has evaporated. Add the creme fraiche and cook down to a very thick paste. Season the mixture with salt, and pepper. Stir through the chopped parsley.

Roll out one block of pastry to a rectangle large enough to fit the meat with a roomy border. Place on a baking sheet.

You can see here where I added a portion from another piece of pastry. In the future, I would roll one piece a bit thinner to make it fit.

Remove the fillet from the refrigerator, and unwrap. Spoon the mushroom mixture into the center of the pastry and set the meat on top.

Roll out the second sheet to fit over the whole fillet generously. In a small bowl, beat together the egg and 1 teaspoon water. Brush the margins of the bottom pastry with egg wash, then drape the second sheet over, pressing to seal well. Trim the edge to a 1-inch border. Crimp the edges with your fingers. Refrigerate until ready to bake.

I cut off about 2 inches of pastry on the long sides.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Brush the whole surface of the pastry with egg wash and make two slits in the top with a knife to allow steam to escape. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees F, and continue to bake 20 minutes, depending on how well you like your meat done. Remove from the oven and let stand about 10 minutes before serving in slices.

Here is the link for the green bean recipe. They were very flavorful and a great accompaniment to the beef.

Hope you enjoy these recipes!

What is the fanciest meal you've ever made? Was it for a special event or just for fun?

Spring Berry Tart

2011-04-25T12:57:00.000-05:00

Another holiday weekend has come and gone, but we had a great time. My parents were able to come to town, we explored the city, rode out a horrible tornado, planted flowers and herbs (parsley, rosemary and cilantro, yay!) between storms, and most of all, ate...a lot.

Over the next few days I will be sharing our Easter dinner and dessert, plus a restaurant review from our fabulous dinner at Five Bistro. My favorite thing to do is visit with my family while I work in the kitchen. There's nothing like it! I spent a lot of time on Easter Sunday prepping in the kitchen and while our schedule planned for dinner at 6:30, I think it was closer to 8:00 by the time we ate. Luckily, everyone forgave me after they took the first bite of their meal. Although we saved dessert for last, I'm starting this series with the star of the show, Spring Berry Tart!

This tart starts with a sweet shortbread crust that melts in your mouth. It is filled with smooth vanilla pastry cream and topped with a crown of fresh berries. What's not to like? Once again, this recipe comes from my current favorite cookbook from Dorie Greenspan, Baking: From My Home to Yours. It is seriously one of my all-time favorite desserts, try it today!

Spring Berry Tart

from Baking: From My Home to Yours

About 1 1/2 cups Pastry Cream, cooled or chilled (Recipe Below)
1 9" tart shell made with Sweet Tart Dough (Recipes Below)
Fresh raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, or strawberries, or an assortment of berries
1/3 cup red currant jelly mixed with 1 tsp of water, for glazing (I used strawberry and it tasted great)

Smooth the pastry cream by giving it a couple of strong turns with a whisk. Spoon enough pastry cream into the tart crust to come almost to the rim, then even the surface with a rubber spatula. Carefully lay the berries on the cream, arranging them in any pattern that you like. I used blueberries, raspberries and sliced strawberries.

Bring the jelly and the water to a boil in a microwave oven or on the stovetop. Working with a pastry brush or a pastry feather, dab each berry with a spot of jelly. Or, if you like, you can glaze the entire surface of the tart, including the bit of pastry cream that peeks through the berries.

Sweet Tart Dough

Makes 1 9" Crust

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick plus 1 TBSP (9 TBSP) very cold (or frozen) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk

Put the flour, confectioners sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse a couple of times to combine. Scatter the pieces of butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is coarsely cut in - you should have some pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and some the size of peas. Stir the yolk, just to break it up, and add it a little at a time, pulsing after each addition. When the egg is in, process in long pulses - about 10 seconds each- until the dough, which will look granular soon after the egg is added, forms clumps and curds. Just before you reach this stage, the sound of the machine working the dough will change- heads up. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and, very lightly and sparingly, knead the dough just to incorporate any dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing.

Don't worry if the dough seems crumbly. Once it is pressed into the pan it will be fine.

Butter a 9" fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. (If you don't have a tart pan a pie pan would probably work too) Press the dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Don't be too heavy-handed - press the crust in so that the edges of the pieces cling to one another, but not so hard that the crust loses its crumbly texture. Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer, before baking.

Preheat the oven to 375. Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil and fit the foil, buttered side down, tightly against the crust. (Since you froze the crust, you can bake it without weights.) Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake the crust for 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil. If the crust has puffed, press it down gently with the back of a spoon.

Bake for another 8 minutes or so, or until it is firm and golden brown. Transfer the tart pan to a rack and cool the crust to room temperature before filling.

Pastry Cream

Makes about 2 cups
Storing: The pastry cream can be kept tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

2 cups whole milk
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch, sifted
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 1/2 TBSP unsalted butter, cut into bits at room temperature

Bring the milk to a boil in a small saucepan.

Meanwhile, in a medium heavy bottomed saucepan, whisk the yolks together with the sugar and cornstarch until thick and well blended. Still whisking, drizzle in about 1/4 cup of the hot milk- this will temper, or warm, the yolks so they won't curdle. (It helps if you have an extra set of hands for this part since you need to whisk and pour at the same time) Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remainder of the milk. Put the pan over medium heat and, whisking vigorously, constantly and thoroughly (making sure to get into the edges of the pot), bring the mixture to a boil. Keep at a boil, still whisking, for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat.

Whisk in the vanilla extract. Let sit for 5 minutes, then whisk in the bits of butter, stirring until they are fully incorporated and the pastry cream is smooth and silky. Scrape the cream into a bowl. You can press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the cream to create an airtight seal and refrigerate the pastry cream until cold, or, if you want to cool it quickly - as I always do- put the bowl into a larger bowl filled with ice cubes and cold water, and stir the pastry cream occasionally until it is thoroughly chilled, about 20 minutes.

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend. What was the best thing you ate over the holiday?

St. Louis Foodie Finds: Mokabe's Coffee House

2011-04-22T07:48:00.000-05:00

The first coffee shop Greg and I ever visited when we moved to St. Louis was Mokabe's Coffee House. We were sleeping on an air mattress and living out of our suitcases while all of our belongings made their way south in a huge moving truck. It was a bit stressful to say the least. So what do two people do while they wait in an empty house with their two freaked out cats? Coffee! Of course.

There is something about wrapping your hand around a piping hot cup o' joe that lets you know everything will work out just fine. So, with our laptop in hand (they have free wi-fi!) we made our way to this local coffee joint.

We were just recently back and had another great experience. Both times I had the exact same meal: a vanilla latte with extra foam and the Irish Oatmeal with fruit, fills the belly and comforts the soul. While we have been there for breakfast both times, they have an extensive menu if you want to stop in for a casual lunch or dinner. I am definitely interested in trying the Blue Mac burger next time! Oh, and the soft pretzel because what's not to love?

Mokabe's has abundant seating too. You can relax at an outdoor table, sit at the counter and watch the magic of coffee drinks being made, study at one of the tables on the first floor, or get lost in a good book in your favorite corner booth of the lofty upstairs.

Whether you are on the run and want to stop in to satisfy your early morning coffee fix or in the mood to linger with a good friend while you catch up over lunch, Mokabe's in the place to be.

Mokabe's Coffee House
3606 Arsenal St
St Louis, MO 63116
(314) 865-2009

What is your favorite coffee shop? What keeps you coming back? I love a good menu and friendly service!

Cherry Walnut Chocolate Biscotti

2011-04-20T09:44:00.000-05:00

Before we moved, I worked at a bakery back in Milwaukee. Over the summer, there was a period of time that I was in charge of opening in the mornings. I would stumble into the darkness and make my way to the lights. The entire bakery illuminated in the glow of overhead lighting and my morning had begun. The opening was down to a fine science, if I did everything in a certain order, the bakery was ready to open right on time for that first customer (and there was always one waiting on the stoop for me to unlock the doors). Usually the coffee finished brewing and the ovens went off just in time for me to bring out a steaming basket of bread and a plate of fresh cinnamon rolls for the first rush of customers.

However, every once in awhile, I finished early. These were the best days as I would be able to enjoy the early morning silence, the sort of magical time of day when the sun is just starting to peek out and the rest of the world is starting to come alive. In this time, I would sometimes sit with the newspaper - I loved Wednesdays for the food feature - for about five minutes.

And if I was really lucky, I would be opening on the day after biscotti baking. The end pieces were always set aside and were fair game to us. I would dunk the end of the biscotti into a steamy hot mug of foamy vanilla latte until it was dangerously close to crumbling into the bottom, before letting it melt in my mouth. Pure bliss!

My love for biscotti grew on those early summer mornings, but I never actually made my own, until now. I decided I wanted a decadent breakfast treat for Easter weekend and biscotti fit the bill. Not only are these a tasty treat, they also stay fresh for a week or more, perfect for a holiday weekend when I don't want to spend the entire time in the kitchen.

Cherry Walnut Chocolate Biscotti
from Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan (get this book today!)

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tbsp instant espresso powder (You can leave this out but I think it adds a depth of flavor.)
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
6 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chopped nuts (I used 1/2 cup chopped walnuts and 1/2 cup dried cherries.)
4 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat.

Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Jasmine wanted to be on the blog so she did her cute flop and roll in the background.

Cream the butter and sugar on medium speed about 2 minutes, mixture may be crumbly. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the eggs and vanilla and beat for another 2 minutes; don't worry if the mixture looks curdled. Reduce the speed to low and mix in the dry ingredients in 3 additions, mixing only until a dough forms. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix in the chopped nuts, chocolate and dried fruit.

This is the part where I try not to eat the entire bowl of dough - I have no fear of raw eggs.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead in any dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing. Divide in half and shape each portion into a 12 inch log. Flatten each log with your hand so they are about 1 inch tall and 2 inches wide. Place each log on the baking sheet and sprinkle with a little sugar. Bake for about 25 minutes, until slightly firm.

These look like giant Tootsie Rolls, mmmm Tootsie Rolls.

Be sure to leave plenty of space between the logs since they will expand quite a bit.

This is what they look like after the first round of baking.

Remove the sheet from the oven and let it cool on a rack for 20 minutes. (Leave the oven on.) Using a serrated knife, cut each log into slices between 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. Leave the slices standing up and arrange on the baking sheet. Return to the oven for another 10-15 minutes.

Transfer biscotti to a rack to cool.

These make a great gift and travel well if you are heading to Grandma's house for Easter - Enjoy!

Polenta Crust Veggie Pizza

2011-04-18T11:09:00.000-05:00

Saturday was a cold and windy day. It was one of those days that makes you want to stay in your jammies, wrapped in a fuzzy blanket in front of the tv. One of those days that makes you forget fresh green salads and spring fruit and yearn for good ol' fashion comfort food...with a twist.

As much as I love a classic style pizza I decided I wanted to try making a pizza using a polenta crust as the base. I have seen two types of polenta, one that is more like a cornmeal mush and one that will set up firmly and can be cut into slices. For this pizza, I obviously chose the second method and got to work. Now this pizza takes a little getting used to. At first bite, you might be a bit surprised at the soft texture. I found it was also very filling, even more so that regular pizza. I will list the toppings I used, as well. However, this crust would pair perfectly with any pizza topping that you fancy.

Polenta Crust Veggie Pizza

Ingredients:
Crust
1 c. yellow cornmeal
1 c. water
2 1/2 c. milk
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
Toppings
1/2 c. pizza sauce
1 small eggplant
1 small zucchini
1 small yellow squash
olive oil for cooking veggies
1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
sprinkle of blue cheese crumbles

Start by preparing your veggies. Slice zucchini and squash into thin disks. Now for the eggplant. There are many ways to prepare eggplant but most people will agree you need to draw out the extra water, which also removes some of the bitterness of the plant. I sprinkled each slice with salt and placed between layers of paper towel with a heavy baking sheet on top. I left it sit like this until my crust was in the oven.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In medium saucepan, combine cornmeal and water. Whisk until well blended. Add milk and garlic salt. Mix well and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly (be sure you reach the bottom of the pan or mixture will start to stick). Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until mixture is very think, stirring frequently.

Side note: I like that my pots have clear lids so I can see what's going on in there!

Looks kinda like scrambled eggs when it's done.

Remove polenta from heat and use a rubber spatula to quickly spread onto a baking sheet lined with a silpat. I tried to make mine as thin as possible since I knew it would be filling and that I still had to add toppings.

Bake for 10-15 minutes until polenta is set. It will still be "soft" compared to regular pizza crust but it will be solid enough to cut through.

In the meantime, cook your veggies. Heat 1 tbsp. of olive oil in a pan and add your slices of eggplant. Cook for about 5 minutes on each side until eggplant softens. Remove eggplant to more layers of paper towel to draw out excess olive oil. Add more olive oil to your pan and cook up the zucchini and squash until soft.

Spread 1/2 c. pizza sauce over your polenta crust and top with veggies and cheeses.

I tried this sauce from Local Folks Foods. It has a great zesty flavor!

Bake for another 5 minutes, or until cheese melts. Remove from oven and let set for about 5-10 before digging in.

Enjoy!

St. Louis Foodie Finds: Chava's Mexican Restaurant

2011-04-15T17:05:00.002-05:00

One aspect of St. Louis that Greg and I are most excited about is the abundance of unique restaurants that seem to pop up no matter what neighborhood we venture out to. People who know me "in real life" know that I have a slight obsession with Mexican food. And I don't discriminate, my dirty little secret - I love Taco Bell. There, I said it, the el gato is out of the bag.

But that's not what I'm here to talk about. I am here to tell you about a much, much, much better Mexican food eating experience. I was going through a bit of withdrawal because I hadn't eaten Mexican since we went out with friends before leaving Milwaukee over a month ago. So, we did a little research and settled on Chava's.

Located in the bustling Soulard area, Chava's has a prime corner location with plentiful outdoor seating available on the front and side. One section is covered with a canopy and twinkling lights, perfect for a special birthday celebration or just a fun night out on the town. Greg and I chose to venture inside as it was already cooling off and we got a great table for two next to the window.

We were greeted with a basket of warm tortilla chips and a bowl of smoky, spicy salsa. It was all I could do not to down the whole basket and call it a day! Next, we settled on an appetizer of jenas - baked jalapenos stuffed with Mexican sausage (chorizo?) and cheese. Normally, I would go straight for the guacamole or queso dip but I was really happy I tried something new. These were incredible and not at all greasy or over-filling. Just enough to get me ready for the main event, steak fajitas.

The meat was marinated and cooked until tender and the plate was overflowing with grilled peppers, onions and all the fixins'. The only thing that could have made my meal even better is if it was served on one of those piping hot skillets that keeps them sizzling while you build your fajita.

Luckily I have a husband who likes to share because he chose the pork tamales which were delicious. Steamed in corn husks and smothered in salsa verde and melted cheese, the tamales were a winning combination. We only wish we had saved room for dessert, fried cheesecake, what?!

I am really excited to return to this restaurant, after reading their website I learned they are famous for their El Mireko (ranchero chicken burritos flash fried and topped with chile con queso) and their fish tacos. I also think the fried tacos sound good (have you noticed I gravitate toward anything fried?).

Sorry I did not include any photos. I really prefer to enjoy the dining experience without stopping to take pictures! But check out their website for pics and more information.

Chava's Mexican Restaurant
925 Geyer Avenue
Saint Louis, MO 63104
(314) 241-5503

Classic Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

2011-04-15T12:39:00.000-05:00

This is the best pie I've ever tasted. I remember the first time I ever tasted it, a coworker had brought it in to work to share. How generous, knowing now how good it is I would have kept the whole thing to myself. But from that moment on I persistently nagged him for about a month straight until he finally got sick of hearing me, or really wanted some more strawberry rhubarb pie, and sent the recipe my way.

Never having much pie success in the past, or more specifically pie crust success, I decided I was going to give this pie my all and make it for Greg's birthday. That was two years ago and I have since recreated this pie numerous times. This pie is like the security blanket you keep with you no matter where you go. It's like a trusty friend who you know will never let you down. What I'm trying to say is, use this recipe when you don't want to stress about the outcome, because even when it's bad, it's still good!

So naturally, when we decided to have friends over last night, I settled on burgers, oven baked potato wedges, and my best friend, strawberry rhubarb pie.

Since those first attempts at making the perfect pie crust, I have learned several secrets that make success a bit more certain. Granted, I still have my days when, for the life of me, I cannot get the crust to turn out (I think sometimes it has to do with humidity and things like that, that's what I tell myself anyway), but here are a couple tricks that seem to help:

1. Cold ingredients, even frozen! Putting everything in the freezer prior to mixing (even your flour!) is a good start to making the perfect, buttery, flaky crust.

2. Don't mess with the dough too much. It is perfectly acceptable to see bits of butter and shortening throughout your dough. These will eventually melt into beautiful bites of flaky goodness.

3. Use a food processor or stand mixer to make your crust. They are quick, hence your ingredients remain cold.

With these few tricks up your sleeve, let's get started.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

recipe can be found on Epicurious

Ingredients:

For crust

3 cups all purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening, cut into pieces

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces

10 tablespoons (about) ice water

For filling
3 1/2 cups 1/2-inch-thick slices trimmed rhubarb (1 1/2 pounds untrimmed) I couldn't find fresh so I used frozen and it worked fine
1 16-ounce container strawberries, hulled, halved (about 3 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 large egg yolk beaten to blend with 1 teaspoon water (for glaze)

Make crust:
Combine flour, sugar and salt in processor. Using on/off turns, cut in shortening and butter until coarse meal forms.

What, doesn't everyone have a shelf in their freezer filled with chunks of butter and shortening?

Blend in enough ice water 2 tablespoons at a time to form moist clumps. Gather dough into ball; cut in half. Flatten each half into disk. Wrap separately in plastic; refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. Let dough soften slightly at room temperature before rolling.)

Make filling:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine first 7 ingredients in large bowl. Toss gently to blend.

Roll out 1 dough disk on floured work surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish.

Trick: Drape your crust over your rolling pin to prevent tears.

Trim excess dough, leaving 3/4-inch overhang.

Roll out second dough disk on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round. Cut into fourteen 1/2-inch-wide strips. I use a pizza cutter but a regular knife would work too.

Spoon filling into crust. Now comes the tricky part, making the lattice top. Here is a YouTube video showing how to do it, once you see how it's done, you will find it isn't really that bad. If you are still nervous about trying it on your actual pie, you can practice with strips of paper first. Arrange 7 dough strips atop filling, spacing evenly.

Trick: Use every other strip so that you will still have the correct lengths to go the other way.

Form lattice by placing remaining dough strips in opposite direction atop filling. Trim ends of dough strips even with overhang of bottom crust. Fold strip ends and overhang under, pressing to seal. Crimp edges decoratively.

Brush glaze over crust. transfer pie to baking sheet.

This is why you put your pie on a baking sheet!

Bake 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake pie until golden and filling thickens, about 1 hour 25 minutes. Transfer pie to rack and cool completely.

Enjoy with someone you love!

Inside Out Reese Easter Eggs

2011-04-12T15:20:00.011-05:00

Say what? Yep, I went there.

I've been seeing all kinds of recipes for homemade Reese eggs all over the Internets and decided I wanted to give it a try myself. Among my favorite childhood Easter memories are finding the egg hidden in my grandparents' mailbox every year, chowing down on my mom's dye stained deviled eggs and sinking my teeth into these chocolatey, peanut buttery treats. Now don't get me wrong, nothing can replace the original, but there is something about making your own that just makes it taste even more special.

The idea to make the inside out began when I realized I did not have regular peanut butter, but I did have dark chocolate peanut butter. Not sure what kind of normal person has chocolate pb and not regular but let's just go with it. From there, a dream was brought to life...read on for the dirty details.

Inside Out Reese Easter Eggs
Makes about 15 eggs

Ingredients:
3/4 c. chocolate peanut butter (I used Dark Chocolate Dreams from Peanut Butter & Co.)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 stick butter
2 c. powdered sugar
2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
10 oz. peanut butter chips
2 tbsp. vegetable shortening
jimmies or your choice of decorations

Mix peanut butter, vanilla, butter and powdered sugar together. Add melted chocolate chips to mixture. Mixture will be slightly crumbly. Form dough into "eggs" using your hands. Be sure to press the mixture firmly together. Place eggs on a wax paper or silicone mat lined baking sheet and freeze until firm (roughly an hour).

Ok, they aren't exactly cute yet, but bear with me.

Next, melt the peanut butter chips and shortening in a microwave safe bowl. I melted mine for about 20 seconds at a time stirring between until completely melted. Dip each egg in the peanut butter, covering to coat. I scooped mine out with a fork and transferred back to the baking sheet. Quickly sprinkle with jimmies before peanut butter coating sets.

Look! Chocolate on the inside, peanut butter on the outside!

If you have leftover melted peanut butter, go ahead and make yourself some pb bark, it's good for the soul!

Hope you enjoy this recipe!

What surprising twists have you tried on a classic recipe? Feel free to share links in the comments!

Simple Balsamic Roasted Asparagus

2011-04-10T09:45:00.000-05:00

In a world of cakes, candies and cookies, sometimes you just need...asparagus? Yes, over here at The Sweet Touch house, we do sometimes eat green foods. Crazy, but true. I rarely "crave" vegetables. Quite frankly, I question the sanity of people who do but that's a different story for a different day.

My belief is that vegetables don't have to be boring and bland. You shouldn't have to plug your nose in order to get down a bowl full of salad or a side dish of green beans. Likewise, asparagus, especially right now while it's in season, can taste delightful with just a few simple ingredients. Veggies such as asparagus can be quite intimidating if you have never tried them. Here are a few tips to get you started.

1. Buy it in season. Asparagus season runs roughly from April through June, so now is a great time to give it a try!
2. I don't discriminate against different sizes of asparagus but some say that the thinner spears are more tender, less "woody" and cook faster, so if in doubt I would go thinner.
3. Store your asparagus upright in a shallow mug or bowl filled with water to keep it from drying out.
4. To determine where to cut your asparagus, gently bend near the base of one spear and see where it snaps in half. Cut the rest of the spears in roughly the same place.
5. This one is for Vanessa ;) If you have an urge to grow your own asparagus, the tomato serves as a good companion plant because they both protect each other from bad stuff (research done by my husband, the scientist/wikipedia addict).
And finally,
6. Choose a simple recipe that enhances the natural flavors found in your asparagus.

Here's a recipe my mom taught me several years ago that is impossible to screw up. It uses ingredients you probably already have in your pantry so hurry to the store and get your asparagus then we can get started!

Ready? Ok, here we go!

Simple Balsamic Roasted Asparagus

- bundle of asparagus
- about 1 tbsp. olive oil
- about 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
- about 1 tsp. minced garlic
- salt n pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. (*Side note* If you are cooking out your could probably wrap the asparagus in a foil packet and put right on the grill.) Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil (I do this to help during cleanup time but it isn't necessary). Cut woody ends off each asparagus spear and place in one layer on the sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar (I usually just put on a couple glugs of the bottle but if you aren't sure you can use a measuring spoon). Sprinkle garlic over the top and add salt and pepper to taste. I like to use a more coarse sea salt to add some texture. If you need to, use your hands to make sure all of the spears are evenly coated. Bake at 425 for 10 minutes, carefully stirring the mixture about halfway through. Serve it up!

Enjoy!

Macaroon Easter Egg Nests

2011-04-07T12:24:00.000-05:00

Since Easter is so late in the month this year, I haven't seen many fun Easter recipes popping up just yet. However, all of the stores are going full steam ahead with the Easter candy, which means I am on my second bag of those addictive Cadbury mini eggs. I started with a bag of the classic and then yesterday, found a bag of dark chocolate. Dark chocolate, I tell you! This is my weakness so naturally I bought another bag. (Side note: Did you know these famous mini eggs have there own Facebook page? Check it out!)

So once I got home, I started brainstorming ways I could incorporate these eggs into a fun Easter cookie and I decided I wanted to put them in little "nests." Sometime last year I tackled macaroons (not to be confused with macarons, although people do interchange the spellings) and I remembered the little bits of toasted coconut slightly resembled the twigs in a nest.

If you have never had a mararoon, you really should try these. I don't really like coconut and even I think they are tasty. They are light and airy, slightly sweet, and a bit chewy. And of course the trio of dark chocolate eggs in the center doesn't hurt! I revisited the recipe I used last time from Ready For Dessert by David Lebovitz but made a couple of changes to get the nest effect.

Macaroon Easter Egg Nests

adapted from Ready For Dessert

Makes about 20 nests (His recipe makes 30 but I made mine a bit bigger to hold the eggs)

Ingredients:

4 large egg whites
1¼ cups sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon honey
2½ cups unsweetened coconut (I used sweetened and thought it worked great)
¼ cup flour
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
small chocolate eggs (I used Cadbury minis)

In a large skillet, mix together the egg whites, sugar, salt, honey, coconut and flour.

Heat over low-to-moderate heat on the stovetop, stirring constantly, scraping the bottom as you stir.

When the mixture just begins to scorch at the bottom, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Transfer to a bowl to cool to room temperature.

(At this point, the mixture can be chilled for up to one week, or frozen for up to two months.)

When ready to bake, line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Form the dough into 2-inch mounds with your fingers evenly spaced on the baking sheet. Gently press a slight indentation in the center of each cookie. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until deep golden brown. As soon as you remove from the oven, (carefully) add 2-3 chocolate eggs (depending on the size of your cookies) to each "nest." Cool completely.

Notes: Avoid packing the dough when transferring to the baking sheet - you want your cookies to stay light and airy.
Also, if you feel like making these during other times of the year, they taste amazing dipped in melted chocolate (as the original recipe suggests).

How sweet are these? Wouldn't they be cute as and extra treat from the Easter Bunny?

Here, I made one for you - Enjoy!

Blood Orange Basil Olive Oil Cake

2011-03-30T15:12:00.000-05:00

Wow, that was a mouth full of a title.

This was my first attempt at an olive oil cake and I really liked it. This is the cake to make when you probably shouldn't be eating cake. I like to think of it as "healthy," since it does have fruit and olive oil in it! If you are looking for something more on the decadent side, I highly recommend trying this or this or just eat a stick of butter. Just kidding...sort of.

But really, this cake is light and airy, with a hit of tart blood orange citrus accented with basil olive oil. If you are looking for the perfect light dessert to complement a hearty dinner, this is for you!

Blood Orange Basil Olive Oil Cake
adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients:
3/4 cup basil olive oil, plus additional for greasing pan
1 tbsp. blood orange zest
1/3 cup blood orange juice (2-3 oranges)
1 cup cake flour
5 large egss, separated, reserving 1 white for another use
3/4 cup plus 1 1/2 tbsp. sugar

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350. Grease 9" springform pan with some oil, then line the bottom with a round of parchment paper. Oil parchment.

Finely grate enough orange zest to measure 1 tbsp and whisk together with flour. Halve orange, then squeeze and reserve 1/3 cup fresh juice (you might need to use 2 or 3 oranges to get enough).

Note: Do not wear your favorite white shirt when squeezing these babies.

Beat together yolks and 1/2 cup sugar with an electric mixer at high speed until thick and pale, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium and add olive oil and reserved orange juice, beating until just combined. Using a wooden spoon, stir in flour mixture (do not over beat, remember you want it to be light and airy!) until just combined.

Beat egg whites (from 4 eggs) with 1/2 tsp. salt in another large bowl with cleaned beaters (I transferred the flour mixture to a different bowl and cleaned out my KitchenAid bowl and beater) at medium-high speed until foamy, then add 1/4 cup sugar a little at a time and continue to beat until egg whites just hold soft peaks, about 3 minutes.

Fold egg whites into yolk mixture gently but thoroughly.

Transfer batter to springform pan and gently rap against work surface to release any air bubbles. Sprinkle top evenly with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar. Bake until puffed and golden and a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center of cake comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool cake in pan on a rack 10 minutes, then run a thin knife around edge of pan and remove side of pan. Cool cake to room temperature, about 1 1/4 hours. Remove bottom of pan and peel off parchment, then transfer cake to a serving plate.

I garnished my cake with whipped cream and a sprig of basil. If you have never made your own whipped cream, I beg of you, stop whatever you are doing right now and go do it! It is easy and so much better than the stuff in the spray can (and yes, I realize that stuff is darn good too!).

Adding the sprinkle of sugar on top gives it a subtle crunch as you take a bite!

Enjoy!

Devil's Food White-Out Cake

2011-03-28T09:06:00.000-05:00

Nothing says happy birthday more than layers of dense fudgy cake sandwiched between clouds of super fluffy, marshmallow frosting.

So, Happy Birthday, Dad!

We were lucky enough to head home for the weekend to celebrate with my parents. This cake is a Dorie Greenspan classic from her famous cookbook, Baking: From My Home to Yours. The family agreed it tastes like a more delicious version of the Hostess Ho Ho. We ate ours chilled, which I think brought out the deep chocolaty flavors and sweet marshmallowy filling.

Divide batter evenly between two 8 inch pans. I use a kitchen scale.

Use cake strips to prevent the "dome effect" in your baked cake.

Be sure to rotate your tray half way through to ensure even baking.

Cakes are done when they are springy to the touch.

Mad scientist time! Warning: This part takes awhile!

Don't worry if it doesn't look perfect, it will soon be covered with more gooey frosting and cake crumbs!

I swirled the frosting by holding an offset spatula against the cake and slowly rotating my cake turn table.

The cake crumb decor is very forgiving.

Do I have to wait till Dad blows out the candles before I dig in?!

If you are relatively new to the baking scene, I highly recommend this cookbook. It has tons of great recipes for cakes, cookies, breakfast treats, ice cream and more! The directions are simple and straight forward, but the results are out of this world!

(Super)MoonPies!

2011-03-21T11:17:00.028-05:00

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Did anyone else see the supermoon over the weekend? Yeh, me either. But, many of the pictures I saw were stunning. It was the biggest and brightest moon in 18 years! *Side Note-18 years ago was 1993, how is that possible? I thought 1993 was just yesterday.*

Anyway, when Greg first mentioned this phenomenon, my mind immediately turned to what food would be fun to celebrate. Naturally, my first thought was, MoonPies! Did you know the MoonPie has been around since 1917? Originally distributed to hungry coal miners, it soon became known as part of "the working man's lunch." In the 1960's, MoonPie makers developed the double decker in order to fit their product in the new vending machines of the time. My thoughts are, why have one layer when you can have two?

Thus, my mission to create a homemade (Super)MoonPie began. This recipe begins with a sweet, honey-kissed graham cracker base. I based my recipe on one I found on Smitten Kitchen. I halved her recipe in an effort to save my waistline and was able to cut 15 rounds, which translates to 5 double decker cookies, more than enough!

I also used light brown sugar instead of dark and decreased the bake time to about 10 minutes to keep the crackers a little bit softer than the traditional graham cracker.

How satisfying to make something that I once thought could only be purchased at the store!

Use a spatula to gently transfer the cookies to a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet. Dough will be sticky so use flour as needed.

These cookies are great on their own. I'm sure they would also be good smeared with jam!

For the filling, I simply heated about a half a jar of marshmallow creme and added a heaping tablespoon between each layer. *This is where the recipe takes a turn toward the decadent!*

Then I melted about 2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips to encase the entire cookie. Here is where it got a little bit tricky. Because the chocolate can only get so thinned before it burns, you might notice it isn't the smoothest coating. If (when) I make these again, I will probably take the time to make ganache, which is essentially heated heavy cream mixed with chocolate to create a smooth, silky coating.

Mmmmm!

I let mine chill and set up for a bit in the fridge before diving in! The sweet marshmallow creme softens up the lightly crisp graham crackers and the chocolate blends the flavors into a taste experience sure to bring back childhood memories of this yummy treat. Enjoy!

On the Lighter Side

2011-03-20T19:31:00.008-05:00

After moving only a week ago, Greg and I have already been spoiled with several days of beautiful spring weather here in St. Louis. We live across the street from a park and have been taking advantage of it on a daily basis. We've been walking, running (ok rogging, my version of the run-jog-try-not-to-die-because-you-haven't-worked-out-in-a-month, you know what I'm talking about), or biking almost every day and it actually has me thinking about healthy eating. Between wrapping up our old jobs, traveling to England and moving 400 miles away we've pretty much been living on fast food for about a month now. I know this rarely happens (those who know me know that I could *almost* live off of fast food and diet coke) but I actually started craving fruits and vegetables and good ol' home cooked food.

Fast forward to my first trip to the grocery store since moving into our new house. Although the layout of the store was new, I felt oddly at home amongst all the familiar produce options. The tall, slender asparagus bundles, crates of bright orange clementines and bunches of leafy romaine bursting from the shelves gave me a sense of calm I hadn't felt in weeks. The inspiration for a delicious salad came in the form of some of the most juicy, luscious looking strawberries I have laid eyes on since the peak of last year's strawberry season.

With my cart full and my heart happy, I headed home to make dinner. That container of strawberries never made it into the salad, but instead went straight to our tummies. So, another trip to the grocery store and another pound of strawberries later, it was time for action. I've been using balsamic dressing on my salads for ages but recently I've been reading about people using a balsamic reduction and wondered what the difference was between the two. A quick google search later and my research was complete. A balsamic reduction is simply a boiled down version of balsamic vinegar mixed with a touch of sugar. For me, simplicity is key on these precious warm spring days so this salad has only a few ingredients but boy do they pack a punch!

Summer Spinach Salad with Balsamic Reduction

Serves 2

- 2 large handfuls of spinach
- 4-6 large strawberries, sliced
- handful of blueberries
- 1/4 c. blue cheese crumbles
- 1/3 c. balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 tsp. sugar

To make the balsamic reduction put about 1/3 c. balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Add about a teaspoon of sugar to the mix and reduce to medium heat. (I give these measurements as rough estimates, but I basically put in a few good glugs of balsamic and a few pinches of sugar.) Stir the mixture frequently and keep an eye on it because it can go from sweet and syrupy to thick and burned very quickly. I would suggest taking it off about 3-5 minutes before you think it's done because it seemed to thicken up more as it cooled.
While your balsamic reduction cools, divide the spinach onto chilled plates and top with strawberries, blueberries and blue cheese crumbles. Drizzle with the balsamic reduction (don't go overboard here, a little bit goes a long way). Enjoy!

Branching out: After tasting this recipe, we both thought it was delicious as is. However, it is a great recipe for add-ins or substitutions such as toasted walnuts, dried cranberries or thinly sliced pears.

Happy Birthday Mark & Helene!

2010-04-13T16:59:00.007-05:00

Easter weekend was wonderful this year! It was our first time hosting the entire family (us two, Mark & Helene, Mom & Dad) over a holiday weekend. It was great having everyone together again, we hadn't seen M & H since our wedding week! Another added bonus of having everyone together was getting to celebrate M & H's birthdays in person. Mark's is April 10 and Helene's is the 12th, which makes them easy to remember and twice as much fun! I texted Mark earlier in the week to ask if Helene had any favorite flavor combos (he will eat anything so I knew he would like whatever I made!) and he suggested raspberries with dark or white chocolate - YUM! I have never made a cake with fruit filling so I figured now was as good a time as any. I began searching online and ended up doing a combination of two recipes. I used the cake and frosting recipe from a post I found on Tasty Kitchen. I created the raspberry filling and garnish based on this recipe. Long story short, I love baking but I like to keep things simple. The cake recipe from Tasty Kitchen was a doctored cake mix (still tasted darn good to me) and the ganache was a simple chocolate melted with Cool Whip that I had already done for another recipe and knew it was impossible to screw up! Anyway, here are the results:

Yummy raspberry filling!

The cake was incredibly moist and I doubled the ganache recipe to make it extra thick and fudgy - a smalllllll slice was more than enough to feed my sweet tooth! ;) The most time consuming aspect of this recipe was straining the raspberries through a fine mesh strainer. I'm wondering, did I not puree them enough before straining, or is it just a laborious task? I felt like i was standing there pressing it through with a spatula forever. Any suggestions? I think it's true in baking that sometimes to make something a little extra special takes a little extra TLC and maybe that is the case with this raspberry filling because it sure did taste amazing!

Be back soon with Dorie Greenspan's famous World Peace Cookies, and yes, they are that good!

Check out this "Eye Candy"

2009-11-11T19:58:00.005-06:00

I know it is late for a Halloween post but I think these turned out too creepy not to share. I made my first batch of cake balls after discovering Bakerella back in the spring (yeh, I'm not really sure how it took me so long either - she rocks!). For my first attempt, I made red velvet Easter themed cake balls and sent them to my brother and sister-in-law. Fast forward 7 months and they were still requesting more, so when Halloween rolled around I knew it was time to send over another batch. Hmmm, what creepy, Halloween-y, sphere shaped item could I turn into a cake ball? I know! BLOODY EYE BALLS! They were so fun to make, and actually easier than my original batch because I decided to poke them with forks and serve them on a platter. Having the forks as part of the treat made them very dunkable. The basic cake ball recipe can be found on Bakerella's website but all you really need to do is bake a cake, let it cool and then crumble into a large bowl. Next, mix in an entire can of frosting until the entire cake is moistened. Using your hands or a small scooper create the cake balls. Chill in the fridge (I left mine over night and it helped a lot) then melt chocolate and dip each ball. Place an M&M on before the chocolate hardens. Once you are done with all the dunking, take some red chocolates and melt. Place in a small ziploc or piping bag (I used a #2 tip) and add "veins" to each eye ball. This project was fun!! Here are the pics:

I thought the tray gave it a bit of a dark, dungeon feel...or not?

Close up.

Eye on a fork! Nom, nom, nom!

Enjoy!