Grilled Vegetable and Sun Dried Tomato Sandwiches
I first made this last year when my mom came to visit me in Toledo for pre-wedding preparation, and I remember her loving them so much that I wanted to make it again. Since John isn’t visiting with me this time (he has summer school), I thought I would try to eat some of the foods that normally he would turn his nose up at – this way I can get my fill, without having to torture him :-). While he’s never tried these sandwiches, he’s not a big eggplant fan, and it also seems that he normally prefers meals if there is some meat included. So these sandwiches seemed like a perfect lunch/dinner option for my solo visit home. However, after enjoying them so much – I might have to try to convert him.
This is a pretty simple recipe, and it becomes a lot simpler if you don’t worry about measuring everything exactly. The basic gist is to make a thick marinade with a 2:1 ratio of sun dried tomatos and basil, which becomes the base for the whole sandwich. You use this marinade to flavor the vegetables, and then you put some of the marinade on the sandwich itself. I chose to use sun dried tomatoes in oil, because I like to use the flavored olive oil in the recipe – it has a very strong flavor, which can be good or bad depending on your taste. If you prefer, dry packed sun dried tomatoes can also be used, but you will have to add a little bit more olive oil to the marinade. Whatever you use, know that the marinade is really what makes this sandwich.
Another great thing about this summery delight is the variety of summer vegetables it works with. I personally love roasted red peppers and eggplant, but I think zucchini, portobello mushrooms, yellow squash, or any other summer vegetables would be great. In addition, I used ciabatta bread here, but a french baguette would also be excellent. By chopping the roasted vegetables you could even serve this as an open faced appetizer – endless possibilities
Grilled Vegetable and Sun Dried Tomato Sandwiches
Make 4 sandwiches
- 1 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped
- 1/2 cup loosely packed basil, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3-4 T. olive oil
- pinch of salt and pepper
- 3 red peppers, cleaned and sliced into 2 -3 inch slices
- 2 small eggplants, sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 4 ciabatta rolls
- 6 oz goat cheese
- spinach leaves for topping (optional)
1. Combine the chopped sun dried tomatoes, basil, garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper in a small dish.
2. In a large bowl, place the chopped eggplant and red pepper and toss with 2-3 T. of the sun dried tomato mixture.
3. Heat the grill to medium-high, and begin by grilling the peppers – I put them directly on the grate, but you could also use a grill basket if you prefer. The peppers will take longer to cook than the eggplant, so cook them for about 5 minutes and then add the eggplant. Continue to grill all the vegetables for 8-10 additional minutes, flipping half way through.
4. While the vegetables are grilling, slice the ciabatta rolls in half lengthwise and warm on the grill until slightly crisped. Top each with a generous tablespoon of goat cheese, followed by a tablespoon of remaining sun dried tomato mixture. Feel free to put goat cheese on both sides of the bread (if you are a goat cheese lover like me).
5. Top each sandwich with 3-4 slices of eggplant and 2 slices of roasted red pepper. Finish with spinach, if desired.
Inspired by Giada’s Recipe from the Food Network
Salmon Cakes with Lemon Yogurt Sauce
After 6 long weeks of studying (plus 2 years of med school), I finally finished that huge exam. Honestly, I will have no idea how it went until I get my score in about a month- but for now, I’m just celebrating being done! I spent the evening after my test in Toledo hanging out with friends, and then left the next day for a “vacation” to Brecksville with my Mom. While I put vacation in quotes, it really has been a vacation. Between a lot of wine and a lot of fun family time, we managed to make a trip down to the West Side Market. Of course, I had a blog menu all planned out – and my mom was really excited to take part in something that was going to go on the internet :-).
If you’re from Cleveland, or ever visiting, I highly recommend a trip downtown to see it. It’s a really unique atmosphere, with every other stand trying to sell you their best produce (or at least the produce they have too much of).
You can get some great deals on really fresh food, and they even have an indoor market where they sell meat, fish, cheese, baked goods, and even prepared foods like homemade pasta and crepes.
After getting all the ingredients at the market, we stopped at Penzey’s spices which is right across the street. I have wanted to go to Penzey’s for a while, so I was really excited that their new store happened to be so close. They have just about every spice you could ever want, including about 8 different varieties of cinnamon. I ended up getting poppy seeds, Ancho peppers and Garam Masala – all of which I’m really excited to use. And the prices are surprisingly reasonable ($8 total for my loot).
Now onto the Salmon Cakes! These babies have been one of my favorite dishes since way back when I was living in LA (that’s Louisiana not the cooler California version). I decided to try this recipe after Whitney had introduced me to crab cakes at Red Bar near Seaside, FL. I have no idea why I never tried a crab cake before this but I found that I loved them and am now constantly on the lookout for good ones.
However, the price of lump crab meat is daunting (especially here, far from the ocean), so I thought salmon cakes would be a nice alternative. These always prove to be delicious, and they are quite easy to make. I think the hardest part is removing the skin from the salmon filet – but most of the time the Fishmonger will do this for you, as long as you remember to ask.
While this recipe doesn’t call for a lot of ingredients, I think each of them is very important – so don’t skimp. I know adding pita to a salmon cake might seem a little strange, but the texture is much nicer than the usual breadcrumbs, and then you have some leftover pita bread sitting around your house (plus!). The coriander is the main spice, and it really complements the salmon well. If you like a lot of spice, feel free to up the cayenne pepper – but I usually only add a small pinch, and they are still plenty flavorful. Finally, the lemon yogurt sauce is a must to serve with these. It’s super easy to put together since you already zest a lemon and chop chives to put into the salmon cakes – the only other ingredient you need to buy is the yogurt itself.
I served the cakes with a cucumber salad – which complemented nicely but it not quite up to blog standards yet. Hopefully I’ll tweak it and share it with you soon!
Salmon Cakes with Lemon Yogurt Sauce
-Makes 4-5 salmon cakes or enough for about 3-4 people.
- 1 pound skinless salmon fillet, roughly cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 large pita round (~10 inches), torn into small pieces
- 1/4 cup light mayonnaise
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander
- small pinch of cayenne pepper
- pinch of salt
- 4 T. total chopped Chives (divided)
- 2 teaspoons total lemon zest (divided)
- 2 T. olive oil (for sautéing)
For the Sauce:
- 3/4 cup plain yogurt
- 1 T. lemon juice
- Plus half the chives and half the lemon zest from above
To prepare the yogurt sauce: Mix the yogurt, lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of chives and 1 teaspoon of lemon zest in a small bowl. Keep cold until ready to serve.
In a medium bowl, mix together salmon, pita, mayonnaise, egg, coriander, cayenne pepper, salt and 2 T. chives and 1 teaspoon lemon zest.
Form the mixture into 4-5 patties, about 3-4 inches in diameter. This can be done ahead of time – just cover with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge).
Heat the oil on medium-high in a large stainless steel skillet. Cook the salmon cakes on medium high for 3-4 minutes per side (6-8 minutes total), or until golden brown on each side.
Serve warm with lemon wedges and yogurt sauce.
Adapted from Epicurious
Peanut Butter Banana Bread
Studying all day can get a little old – so I really needed a change in my routine. I figured something new for breakfast would be a start. I secretly bought more bananas then we could eat, hoping some would end up “banana bread worthy” by the end of the week. And after avoiding the bananas all week, there were 4 bananas left on their last leg by Friday. Since I plan on eating this bread for breakfast, I figured what would be better than adding a little peanut butter to boost the protein, and the flavor. I found this recipe on Joy’s blog, which also happened to call for ground flax seed – more protein, more fiber – good stuff. After finishing off the raspberry bars in a ridiculously short time, I decided I needed to make a snack with a little more sustenance.
Then of course I had to go and ruin a perfectly healthy morning breakfast by adding chocolate chips to the batter. They were calling my name from the pantry, and I just couldn’t resist. I didn’t add too many. Promise. But really you could eat it for dessert if you so desire. You could also try adding butterscotch chips, or peanuts, or walnuts – or whatever happens to be calling your name from your pantry. I think next time I’m going to put both chocolate chips AND chopped peanuts – because I really love that peanut flavor. That’s one of the reasons this recipe calls for natural peanut butter – it has a much stronger peanut flavor than Jif.
This is a quick bread, and rightly named. It doesn’t take much time to make, and you don’t even need to get the mixer out. It’s pretty much just through all the ingredients in a bowl, mix, and bake. It’s moist and flavorful enough to eat just plain, but of course John likes to add butter to his.
Peanut Butter Banana Bread (with Chocolate Chips)
- 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 4)
- 1/3 cup plain or vanilla fat free yogurt
- 1/3 cup creamy all-natural peanut butter
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (or 1 cup whole wheat flour + 1/2 cup all purpose)
- 1/4 cup ground flaxseed meal
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 scant teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch of allspice
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips, or chopped peanuts
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9×5 loaf pan.
In a large bowl, combine all the wet ingredients – bananans, yogurt, peanut butter, melted butter, and eggs. Mix with a wisk. Then add the brown and granulated sugar and stir.
Then add the flour, flaxseed, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and allspice to the wet ingredients. (You could also mix the dry ingredients separately in another bowl to start, but I don’t think it’s necessary).
Mix until no lumps remain and then stir in chocolate chips, or your mix-in of choice.
Bake at 350° for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center come out clean. Let cool slightly in the pan, and then remove from pan and cool on a wire rack. Removing the bread from the pan lets the air circulate, so moisture doesn’t condense in the crust – which can make the bread tough.
Check out those chocolate chips – yummmm.
Adapted from Joy the Baker, Originally adapted from Cooking Light
Raspberry Crumble Bars
I’m really sorry for constantly tempting you with all these sweet treats. I really want this blog to be an even ratio of sweet treats to healthy dinners – but it just seems that all our dinners lately have been fairly un-blog worthy. Plus the fact that sweet treats just look so much prettier in pictures. At least these have raspberries in them, right?
I love raspberries. They are hands down my favorite berry. I know it’s not technically raspberry season yet, but as soon as I saw these raspberry bars on Brown Eyed Baker, I had a craving for them. My mother-in-law had given us some similar raspberry bars for Christmas last year, and to be honest I think I finished off the entire tin myself- John may have gotten ahold of one :-). They are delicious. They kind of taste like a raspberry pie, in an easy to eat bar form. When I finally left my dungeon (slash study room) to get groceries, I had my list all planned out to make these, and then the grocery store was completely out of raspberries. Sad day. But never fear, my knight in shining armor picked some up for me at costco. (Now of course I have an over abundance. Not complaining).
He also managed to get me this container of oatmeal:
Yes, that says 10 pounds. 10 pounds of oatmeal. I made 2 full batches of granola and have still barely made a dent in it. I figured these raspberry bars would help use some more of it up – but a 1/2 a cup out of a 10 pound box is really child’s play. So don’t be surprised if you see some more oatmeal using recipes around here.
Raspberry Crumble Bars
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided, cut into ½-inch pieces and at cool room temperature
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- ½ cup pecans, chopped fine
- ¾ cup raspberry preserves
- 1 cup fresh raspberries (frozen can be substituted, just thaw first)
- squeeze of lemon juice
1. Preheat oven to 375°. Line a 13×9 inch pan with tin foil, overlapping on the edges and spray with cooking spray.
2. Combine flour, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl. Mix on low using a paddle attachment, then add 1 cup of butter, 1 piece at a time. Mix on low until the crust begins to crumble like sand.
3. Reserve 1 1/4 cups of crumb mixture (to be used for topping). Spread the remaining mixture into the bottom of the foil lined pan, and press down to form an even crust. Bake for 14-18 minutes.
4. In the meantime, combine the raspberry preserves, fresh raspberries and lemon juice in a small bowl. Mash with a fork, leaving bits of berries intact.
5. In a separate bowl, mix together oatmeal, brown sugar, crumb mixture and remaining 2 T. of butter. Using your fingers, pinch the mixture until the butter is fully incorporated.
6. Remove baked crust from oven and immediately spread preserve mixture on top. Then crumble the streusel mixture on top of the berries, covering the top.
7. Bake for an additional 25 minutes, or until bubbling. Let cool in pan for about an hour. Let cool completely before slicing.
Source: Brown Eyed Baker
Chocolate Almond Biscotti
It’s Mother’s Day, and while I may be biased (aren’t we all), I think I have the best mom ever. She has taught me so much, and continues to inspire me, guide me, and encourage me through all of life’s twists and turns. I wish I could be with her today, but these pesky boards have me walled up in my apartment. (I actually wrote this post last week and saved it for today because I knew I’d be studying). Since I can’t be there to thank her in person for all she’s done for me, I really wanted to send her something in appreciation. I first started with the idea of chocolate-raspberry truffles, which I’m sure my mom would love but they need to be refrigerated and therefore are not mail friendly. Then I thought I’d make toffee, but I made this at Christmas and while it was delicious, it’s way to easy to eat all of it in one day (and then regret doing that). Then I thought about the fact that my mom, like me, is back in school. Speaking as a student myself, sometimes we just need a cup of coffee. I’m personally not a big coffee fan (diet coke is one of my guilty pleasures), but when I’m too tired to turn another page in my notes, coffee has been my friend.
I finally decided on these chocolate almond biscotti because they are perfect for a student, who can enjoy them with a cup of coffee during some late night studying. They also happen to be very mail friendly because they are sturdy and keep for a long time. If you’d like, you can pop them in the freezer and they will keep even longer. They are also delicious, but not so over the top that you will find yourself sneaking back to eat more and more – they are really best enjoyed dipped in coffee (although my mom loves chocolate, so I can’t really make any guarantees :-)). So thanks Mom for everything you have done for me, and for inspiring me with how hard you’re studying and how much your learning! I hope this biscotti make your late nights a little more enjoyable! Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there – you are truly appreciated!
Chocolate Almond Biscotti
– Makes about 32 biscotti
- 9 squares (9 oz) semi-sweet chocolate (or 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips)
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 1/2 t. baking powder
- 1/4 t. salt
- 5 T. unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 heaping cup slivered almonds
- 3 oz (1/2 cup) semi-sweet chocolate for drizzling (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 325°. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.
2. If using chocolate squares, coarsely chop them. Melt the chocolate in the microwave for 2 minutes, then stir to melt all the pieces.
3. Beat butter and both sugars together on high. Add the eggs and beat well. Then add the melted chocolate and vanilla. Slowly add the flour mixture, and mix thoroughly. Add the slivered almonds, as the last mix in.
4. Transfer dough to a floured surface and divide into 2 equal pieces. If the dough is too sticky, add a bit more flour. Roll each piece of dough into a log about 10 x 2 inches, and place on a baking sheet about 3 inches apart.
5. Flatten the rolls slightly by pressing down on them with a spatula. Bake at 325 for 40-45 minutes.
6. Remove rolls from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Then transfer to a cutting board and cut each roll diagonally into about 16 pieces. (*A very sharp knife worked better than a serrated one for me).
7. Lay pieces back on the baking sheet, and bake (still at 325°) for an additional 20 minutes.
8. Finish by drizzling with melted chocolate if desired. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks or freeze for future use.
Adapted from Baker’s Chocolate Squares
Blackberry Lemon Tart
The last few days have made me realize something – it’s probably a good thing I normally have to study all day. In the last 4 days, which I self proclaimed my vacation before I start studying for the boards, I think I have gone to the grocery store 6 times, Bed, Bath and Beyond twice, and the mall once. Despite the fact that I meant for this to be a relaxing break, I created numerous little projects for myself, and then convinced myself that they absolutely HAD to be done. Things like making this blackberry lemon tart, from scratch. (One of the trips to bed bath and beyond was to buy a tart pan, which I clearly HAD to have to make this). But I’m not complaining, because it was all a lot of fun.
For the last day before we lock ourselves away to start seriously studying, our friends had a little dinner party. At first I really wanted to make cupcakes to bring, but when I saw blackberries at the store, I changed my game plan, and searched for the perfect spring time dessert that would use blackberries. Like I’ve said before, normally I’m a sucker for a chocolate dessert. I still can never see myself ordering strawberry ice cream when there’s a chocolate chip on the menu – but making a super chocholately dessert didn’t really seem to go with the nice weather, and I know a lot of our friends actually like fruit-filled desserts. I also happen to be a sucker for marscapone cheese, so I knew I would like this. If you’re worried about making your own tart crust – don’t be! It was a lot easier than I thought, and as much as I try to convince myself that store bought crust is just as good, this recipe proved me wrong. This is a great spring time dessert, and it actually quite easy to put together. The only part that requires baking is the crust, which can be made ahead of time. Just assemble right before serving so that the blueberries don’t bleed onto the filling.
Blackberry Lemon Tart
For the Crust:
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 T. ice cold water
- 1 t. vanilla or almond extract
- 1 1/4 cup flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 t. salt
- 1 stick (8 T.) butter, very cold and cut into 1/4 inch pieces
In a small bowl, mix the egg yolk, vanilla extract and ice cold water. Keep cold.
Add the flour, sugar and salt to the bowl of a food processor. (If you don’t have a food processor, use a large bowl and pastry cutter, or 2 knives for the next steps)
Add the butter to the food processor and pulse until a fine meal is formed. Then add the egg mixture, and pulse until dough just begins to come together. Form dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into circular-like shape, a little larger than your tarte pan, and between 1/8-1/4 inch thick. To pick the dough up, roll it around your rolling pin, and then roll it back out onto the tarte pan. Press into the edges of the pan, and pinch off excess around the edges. To help reinforce the edges, you can fold the excess tarte dough back onto itself, and then trim any excess still left. Then chill tart for another 20 minutes (or until ready to bake)
When ready to bake, place foil on top of the dough, and fill with pie weights (which can be beans, peas, rice, etc.). NOTE: I used parchment paper on top of my dough, but did not bring the paper up around the tart edges. This causes the edges to fall slightly when baking so next time I will use foil, and cover the entire surface, so that the pie weights reach all the way around to the edges of the tarte, helping to support the structure.
Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until just golden. Remove pie weights and cool.
For the Filling
- 1 (8 oz) container marscapone cheese
- 3/4 cup light sour cream
- 4 Tablespoons powdered sugar
- 2 Tablespoons honey
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Zest of 2 lemons
- Blackberries for topping
In a small bowl combine all ingredients except blackberries, and stir vigorously, or blend with a mixer. Spread mixture into cooled tart and top with blackberries immediately before serving.
Adapted from The London Times
Patio Herb Garden
School is finished! (Well sorta…) We are done with all of our classes for the 2nd year of medical school, but we still have “Step 1 Boards”, which is this huge test that covers everything we’ve learned in the past 2 years. It’s kinda important, so if you don’t hear from me for a while – that’s why. I take ‘um June 9th, but I’m still gonna try to post occasionally until then (fingers crossed). I actually made a few freezer friendly meals, and stocked up my freezer so there would be some homemade food, without having to worry about it while studying. I still plan on cooking, (I’ll need some breaks!), but I know it will be nice to have a few things to just pull out and bake. As soon as I do bake them, I will take some final product pictures and share them with you (provided they taste as good as I’m hoping :-)).
In the meantime, I’ll share with you my other project this week – an herb garden! Growing up, we had a shady backyard, so my mom and I would plant herbs in little pots and keep them on the deck. While currently, I live in an apartment and don’t have the choice of a yard, I can’t really see myself ever getting away from making a cute potted herb garden. It’s just so convenient to have everything right on your patio, and unless you’re Ina Garten, you probably won’t be needing more than a few pots of herbs.
There is something very satisfying to me about watching a garden grow under the warm summer sun, and with fresh herbs costing about $3 a pack at the store, having them fresh on your back porch is an added bonus. It is, amazingly, actually cheaper to buy an entire herb plant, then it is to buy cut fresh herbs at the store. I got each of mine for 99 cents at Monnette’s Market (that’s a local Toledo chain, but any farmer’s type market would be a great place to look). Here’s a few tips I’ve learned about potted herb gardens.
Potted Herb Garden
1) Don’t buy fancy ceramic pots and expect them to last all winter. Last year I bought some nice pots, planning on planting my herbs in them for years to come, only to have them cracked and demolished by the ice and snow. So this year I opted for the $5 Walmart plastic brand. They’re not as cute, but they do the trick. If you just can’t resist the ceramic pots, just be sure to bring them inside in the winter.
2) Fill about 3-4 inches of the bottom of the pots with stones. Or if you’re like me and had a bunch of cracked pots with no purpose – you can crack them up some more with a hammer, and use that in the bottom of your pots. This will help the soil to drain so you don’t end up with water-bogged plants. My mom and I used to use styrofoam packing peanuts, which are great because it won’t weigh the pots down – but it seems that almost everywhere now sells packing peanuts that “degrade when exposed to water” (obviously those won’t work, but it’s a good trade-off for the environment I think).
3) Don’t plant too early, and watch out for the frost. Last year I planted on the first nice day we had in the beginning of MARCH! This is too early for a garden in Ohio, (but it would’ve worked fine in Louisiana.) It can also freeze pretty late into the spring, so if there is a chance of frost, just bring your plants inside or cover them with a beach towel or plastic wrap for the night.
4) Plant a lot of basil. A lot of recipes treat basil like lettuce, and you might even need 2 cups for one recipe. You can really never have enough, and it smells so good on the patio that I would recommend planting a lot. A trick to make it grow more bushy is to plant it deep into the soil, don’t be afraid to cover some of the leaves. Another trick I learned from our friend Linda, is to always pluck the flower buds off – this will also help to keep bushy, rather than stalky.
5) Plant mint in it’s own pot. I almost avoided planting mint all together this year because I didn’t want to buy a separate pot for it, but then I remembered that my favorite drink ever is mojitos, and mint is pretty much a necessity. Mint needs its own pot because it is actually like a weed. You really couldn’t kill it if you tried. If you plant it with other herbs, it will strangle them out, so it needs it’s own pot.
So here’s what’s in my herb garden….
ANNUALS – annuals tend to need more water than perennials, so make sure to water them at least every other day in the hot summer.
- Dill – planted with the soul intention of making some homemade ranch dressing. I can’t wait to share the recipe – it looks divine.
- Parsley – a nice accent to most meals, especially italian. I end up buying it at the store bi-weekly anyway, so I figured having it on the patio would be nice.
- Cilantro – the classic salsa flavor. You either hate it or love it, but I personally just don’t think it tastes like Mexican food if you don’t have cilantro.
- Basil – pesto, pasta, with goat cheese on sandwiches, with tomatos, etc. I ended up planting 5 plants of basil in their own pot because the possibilities for basil are endless.
PERENNIALS – Unfortunately not all of my perennials came back in full force this year. The cracked pots caused their roots to be exposed to the cold – so I think they will fare better this winter with plastic pots. I also plan on wrapping the pot with plastic, and covering the soil with some mulch. I chose to plant 4 of my perennial herbs in 1 pot. I think 3 per pot would be much better, but I couldn’t decide which one to cut out. Plus having them all in 1 pot will make it much easier to take care of would be much better, This is pushing it, but I wanted it to be easier to take care of them over the winter. Additionally, generally the perrenial herbs have a strong flavor, so you don’t need a lot to make a big impact.
- Chives – these came back in full bloom from last year, cracked pot and all. This is a hearty plant, and will also be used in the ranch dressing I can’t wait to make.
- Oregano – great for meatballs or any greek dish
- Rosemary – great on potatoes or bread, or as part of a dipping sauce with olive oil.
- Thyme – great for poultry
- Mint – a fast growing herb perfect for mojitos, desserts, and a variety of Lebanese dishes.
Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Bread
Have you ever made homemade cinnamon rolls? After receiving some delicious ones as a gift, we decided to give them a whorl ourselves this past Christmas. Yes, they were absolutely delicious – but they happen to be something that I’m not sure I can imagine myself making again. Just a little too much. Something I personally would prefer as a dessert , and with SO many wonderful options for dessert out there, cinnamon rolls wouldn’t be my first choice. It also probably had something to do with the fact that I think I ate 4 of them on Christmas morning and then felt like a dying sloth the rest of the day. So moral of the story, 4 cinnamon rolls = too much for me. But homemade cinnamon sugar pull apart bread = perfect.
This bread is really divine. It’s easier to make than cinnamon rolls, it’s unique and it uses ingredients I had around the house. I adapted it slightly from Joy’s original recipe, only because I almost never buy whole milk, and I hate buying it for the 1/2 cup that a lot of recipes call for. I know a lot of people just substitute skim – but I think of baking as a science, and I don’t like to mess with science. When you really think about it, skim milk even looks a lot different than whole milk. No milk mustache with skim. So I figured, what could I combine with skim milk to give me a milk mustache? Yogurt! The recipe came out great, even with fat free yogurt – but if you happen to have whole milk, just use 1/3 cup of it instead of the 1/4 cup milk and 2 T. yogurt.
Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Bread
- 2 3/4 cup flour + more for rolling
- 1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) quick rise yeast
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 T. butter (1/2 stick)
- 1/4 cup skim milk
- 2 T. plain fat free yogurt
- 1/4 c. water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 eggs, slightly beaten
- 4 T. butter, melted and browned in a frying pan (about 5 minutes on medium)
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
In a large bowl, stir together flour, yeast, sugar and salt.
In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, warm butter, milk and yogurt, until butter is just melted. Remove from heat, add water and vanilla and let cool for 3 minutes.
Using a spatula, stir the milk mixture into the flour mixture. Then add the eggs, and continue to stir with the spatula. Dough will be very sticky, but avoid trying to knead it with your fingers like I did.
If you must, add a little bit of flour. Just so that you can form the dough into some resemblance of a ball. This dough should be sticky so try not to overdo it on the flour.
Once formed into ball, place in a well greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
Once about doubled in size, place dough ball onto a lightly floured surface, and roll into a rectangular shape, about 22 x 14. ***Alternatively, you could refrigerate the dough ball at this point, and do the remaining steps the next day. (A good plan if you want this for breakfast).
Mix the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small bowl. Spread the browned butter over the surface with a brush, then sprinkle sugar mixture all over the dough. (It seems like a lot of sugar – but it’s worth it).
Cut the rectangle into 6 equal strips.
Then lay the strips on top of each other, and cut again into 6 pieces.
Place the pieces in a well greased 9×5 loaf pan. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes more.
Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes. You might need to cover the top with tin foil to keep it from overbrowning. Remove pan from the oven, let rest for 20 minutes, then slide a knife around the edges to loosen the loaf. Remove from pan and serve warm.
Slightly adapted from Joy the Baker
Salmon with Mango Salsa
For some reason whenever I put salmon on the weekly menu, it seems to get pushed back to another day, or another week. The last time I bought salmon, it sat in the fridge until I was afraid to look at it and had to throw it out. This is really a shame considering that once I actually make salmon, I LOVE it! This meal was no exception to my salmon “fear”. I had gotten all the ingredients for the salsa and couscous, but when dinner time rolled around, I was really hesitant to pick up the salmon and make this dinner. Because we didn’t really have anything else planned for dinner, and because if I didn’t make it, all the other ingredients would go bad, I couldn’t really talk myself out of it (although I tried).
As soon as I starting chopping for the salsa, I was over my fear and glad that I had decided to make the salmon. When I tasted the final product, I was even happier. I actually couldn’t believe that I was considering scraping this dinner for grilled cheese instead :-)! This dinner came together quickly, and was delicious! I served it over plain couscous that I cooked with chopped green onion and dried cranberries – which was also pretty yummy. I think once the weather gets a little warmer, I’ll grill the salmon instead of broiling it, but broiling is easy and it came out great.
Salmon with Mango Salsa
– Makes 3-6 servings depending on the size of salmon filet used (Estimate ~4 oz per person)
For the Mango Salsa
- 1 Mango, peeled and chopped
- 1/2 of a cucumber, peeled and chopped
- A few strips of red bell pepper, chopped
- ~1/4 cup of red onion, chopped
- ~3 Tablespoons cilantro, chopped
- Juice from 1/2 a lime
- pinch of salt
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix.
For the Salmon
- 1-2 lbs wild salmon filets
- Juice from 1/2 a lime
- 2-3 Tablespoons light mayonaise
- Salt and pepper
Preheat broiler. Sprinkle lime juice over the salmon. Spread mayonaise over the filet using the back of a spoon. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place salmon on a broiling pan lined with tin foil, and broil for about 10 minutes, until cooked through. To serve, cut into smaller filets, top with mango salsa, and serve over couscous or rice pilaf.
Source: A Spice Is Nice Original
Toffee Bars
You know the saying, “When it rains, it pours”? Well that was my day yesterday. A multitude of factors (in addition to the cold rain outside my window) lead to a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Okay, so actually it was only like a terrible, horrible, no good very bad 3 hours – but still upsetting. I’ll spare you the details, because I’m trying not to think about it, but in addition to a good dinner of commiserating with friends, I knew I had to come home and bake something. I had bought a giant sized bag of chocolate chips at Costco (they were on coupon special), with the intention of making all kinds of delicious treats with them. While I did make some delightful chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes and chocolate chip cookies, for the most part I have been enjoying the chocolate chips by the handful, mixed with some almonds and raisins (that makes it healthy….right?). I really wanted to avoid making plain chocolate chip cookies for the billionth time, so I scoured the internet for something that would not require a trip to the store, and that would use up some of my chocolate chips.
When I found this recipe on Ree’s blog, it seemed to fit the bill. I was a little skeptical that these “bars” would end up tasting just like a chocolate chip cookie in a bar form since they pretty much have all the same common ingredients you find in a cookie. I even thought about making the real toffee I made for Christmas instead – but that requires a candy thermometer, which I don’t have here. Anyways, these bars actually taste like… wait for it…. that’s right….. TOFFEE (I know, hard to believe given the name and all). I think it’s the increased ratio of brown sugar to butter in this recipe that gives it something extra special. These were super easy to put together, and were delicious. I’m actually a little scared that I’ve found such a wonderful sweet treat that only requires ingredients I usually keep in the pantry, and that can be made from start to finish in less than 30 minutes – dangerous! Apparently these freeze well…but I doubt there will be any leftover to find out for myself.
Toffee Bars
– Makes about 24 squares
- 2 sticks butter
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups chocolate chips
- 1 cup (finely) chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350°. Cream butter and sugar on high until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and mix. Stir in flour until fully incorporated. Spread the mixture onto a cookie sheet, trying to create some resemblance of a square. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or unti golden brown.
Once baked, sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top, and bake for 2 minutes. Then spread the chocolate using a spatula. Finish by sprinkling with chopped pecans. Cut bars into squares, and then let cool for at least an hour to let the chocolate harden (this was definitely the hardest part).
Barely adapted from The Pioneer Woman
Bunnies, Chicks and Eggs, Oh my!
Decorating cookies for every holiday is starting to become a tradition, and I’m more than okay with that! I have my final test of pre-clinical medicine next Tuesday (hooray!), but that makes going home for Easter weekend a little tricky. So what did I do instead? I went home this past weekend, and celebrated Easter a little early. We had a great visit, and collectively decided that decorating cookies is WAY more fun than decorating eggs. John even joined in on the fun, and he may have actually won the award for best cookie decorator (yes, this was hard for me to admit :-)).
While I was ridiculously excited about this set of 4 Easter cookie cutters I found, I think next time I might just stick to making eggs. The chicks and bunnies were cute, but there wasn’t very much room for creativity with them – I ended up just wishing that I had some more eggs to try out all the ideas I had. My favorite thing to do was to drag a toothpick through lines on the cookies, and create fun designs.
I made a double batch of royal icing (using a full 2 pound bag), and it was more than enough! To get started just see the tutorial I posted earlier. We actually had a lot of icing left over, but I wanted to make sure I had plenty to make 6 different colors (white, green, aqua, pink, violet, and yellow).
FYI – Those are John’s fingers (not mine).
I made the sugar cookies dough one day, then rolled it out the next, and then the next day we decorated the cookies back at home. Spacing out the project really makes it a lot less of a project, and more of a fun family activity. So instead of dying boiled eggs – try decorating some egg cookies this year! Finishing with an iced cookie is a lot tastier than a hard boiled egg :-)!
Peanut, Chicken & Soba Noodle Salad
This meal has been John’s favorite for a long time. That’s right, I said John’s favorite – Despite the fact that it has a weird looking buckwheat noodle, and is just about as far from a hamburger as you can get, John still loves this dinner. If that isn’t reason enough to make it, I really like it too. The first time I made it, I remember thinking, I have no idea how this is going to be – little did I know it would turn into a house favorite! I’m not usually a huge fan of ultra-healthy “hippie” food (no offense to the hippies out there), and soba noodles for some reason had that ultra-healthy sound to them. Take quinoa, for example. I know its uber healthy but every time I make it, I’m slightly disappointed. I still keep trying, but I usually end of thinking, “This recipe would’ve been better without the quinoa”, and then the leftovers sit in the fridge, untouched. This meal is not like that, at all. The soba noodles really add depth and a slight nuttiness to the meal. I made this once with spaghetti instead (because I didn’t have any soba noodles), and while it’s still good, it lacks the uniqueness and dimension that the soba noodles bring. So that’s my rant about soba noodles. You can find them in the Asian section of most grocery stores (I got mine at Kroger).
While this meal isn’t the quickest and easiest meal in my repertoire, it’s also not that involved, especially if you have the chicken left over or cooked in advance. I usually end up boiling the chicken because it’s the fastest way I know, but when summer comes, I’m going to marinate the chicken in some lime juice, and then grill it because I I think the grill marks on the chicken would be pretty in this salad. Oh and about that word – salad. I didn’t really know what to call this. It’s not really a salad – it doesn’t involve any lettuce and is more like spaghetti texture, but it’s a salad in the fact that you can eat it cold if you’d like. I actually prefer it refrigerated, but John likes to heat his up – so it’s just personal preference. I think this would be a great “salad” for a picnic lunch though (can you tell I have summer on the mind :-))!
Peanut, Chicken & Soba Noodle Salad
Makes about 6 Servings
For the Sauce:
- 1/2 cup natural creamy peanut butter*
- 1/3 cup warm water
- 2 T. honey
- 3 T. soy sauce
- 2 T. ginger, peeled and grated
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (or more if you like it spicy)
Stir all ingredients together until somewhat smooth. If sauce is still to thick, add another 1-2 T. of water, but also remember that the cooked soba noodles will likely add some liquid to the sauce.
*I like natural peanut butter here because I think it gives a stronger peanut flavor.
For the Salad
- 1 package (~10.58 oz) Soba noodles
- 5 carrots
- 5 celery stalks
- 3 green onion
- 2 large chicken breasts
- Sliced limes and Chopped peanuts for garnish (optional)
1. Begin by cooking the chicken – I usually simmer chicken in a pot of water at medium for 15 minutes. You can also wrap in foil and roast in the oven at 450° for 15 minutes, or marinate in lime juice for an hour, and grill. (Lime, and citrus in general, helps to keep chicken tender). Shred or chop the chicken into bite-size pieces.
2. Prep the Veggies. Peel the carrots, and slice very thin or shave with the peeler. (I got a julienne peeler at TJ Maxx, and it works great for this). Wash the celery, and slice on a diagonal to create large slices. Slice the green onions.
3. Cook the Noodles. Boil a pot of water, and cook the soba noodles for 4-5 minutes. Do not overcook (they cook a lot faster than pasta).
4. Assemble. If you want to serve the meal warm, quickly toss the sauce, soba noodles, chicken, and about 3/4 of the vegetables together in a large bowl and top with remaining vegetables to serve. If you want to serve the meal cold, rinse the soba noodles under cold water, toss with the sauce, chicken and 3/4 of the vegetables, and refrigerate for 10-20 minutes. Then top with the remaining vegetables before serving. A final sprinkling of lime juice and peanuts gives a lot of extra flavor to this meal.
Inspired by Cooking Light
Lemon Bars
I have never really been a lemon bar lover. In fact, if I have to chose between a fruity dessert and a chocolate one – chocolate will win out every time. (Well, unless you count Twizzlers as fruity dessert :-)) That being said, our friend Lydia has made lemon bars for us a few times, and every time I try one, I am pleasantly surprised. With the weather being over 80 degrees on Sunday, I just had this craving to whip up a batch of lemon bars. The result was so summery that I now officially have spring fever! I actually really like the box mix of lemon bars, but I will tell you that these have a definite extra punch of lemon flavor. So be warned: True Lemon Lovers Only!
Lemon Bars
For the Crust
- 1 3/4 c. all purpose flour
- 2/3 c. powdered sugar
- 1/4 c. cornstarch
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 sticks (12 T.) butter, slightly softened, cut into 1 inch pieces
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13×9 baking sheet with parchment paper, then line the pan again with parchment in the opposite direction to allow you to lift the bars out when finished. In a food processor, pulse the flour, powdered sugar, cornstarch and salt. Add the butter and pulse until mixture resembles course meal. Sprinkle mixture into the pan and press down evenly with fingers. Bake until slightly golden, about 20 minutes. In the meantime start on the filling…
For the Lemon Filling
- 4 large eggs, slightly beaten
- 1 1/3 c. granulated sugar
- 3 T. all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (about 2 lemons)
- 2/3 cup lemon juice, strained (about 4 lemons)
- 1/3 cup milk (I used skim, but whole would be better)
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Whisk eggs, sugar and flour in a medium bowl. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, milk and salt and blend. Once the crust is golden brown, reduce oven temperature to 325° and pour the lemon mixture into the warm crust. Bake for about 22 minutes, or until the filling feels firm.
Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature (at least 30 minutes). Remove the lemon bars from the pan by lifting up on the parchment (The bars may bend, but won’t break). Cut bars using sharp knife and cleaning the knife between cuts. Sift powdered sugar on top right before serving.
Slightly adapted from Cook’s Illustrated
Healthy Granola
I’ve really been trying to eat more yogurt, and more fruits and vegetables. It’s not that I don’t like these things, in fact I actually really love them – its just that sometimes I forget how good they are. I figured having granola around would be a perfect way to insure I’d eat both yogurt and fruit in the morning. If I have some awesome granola in the pantry, how could I pass up a fruit, yogurt and granola parfait for breakfast?
I’ve tried a bunch of granola and I’ve learned that some granola should actually be in the grocery store right next to the “Cookie Crisps” cereal, because it offers about the same nutritional value. I’ve got nothing against Cookie Crisps, but if your trying to make yourself a healthy breakfast, don’t be tricked by some “healthy” granola impostor at the store. This granola actually is healthy, and the flax seed really helps to up the nutritional value. Flax seed adds some fiber, and it’s the best source of Omega-3 fatty acids you can get – but you barely notice it’s there. You could definitely try upping the amount used if you’re feeling adventurous. I found mine in the same aisle as the flour, and it’s sold at most grocery stores. A lot of granola recipes call for dried fruit, but since I tend it eat this with yogurt and fruit anyways, I like mine plain.
Healthy Granola
- 5 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
- 1 3/4 cup sliced or slivered almonds
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1/3 cup flax seed, milled
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 cup applesauce
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
Preheat oven to 300º. Mix the brown sugar, honey, applesauce and oil in a small bowl or a measuring cup. In a large bowl, stir together oats, almonds, salt, cinnamon, ginger and flax seed. Add the applesauce mixture to the dry ingredients and stir to moisten all the oats.
Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray, and spread the granola evenly on the sheet. Place in the oven for 30 minutes, then remove, and flip the granola using a spatula, cook for 20-25 minutes more. Remove from oven, and let cool on the cookie sheet. It will still seem a little moist when you first removed it from the oven, but will crisp more as it cools.
Chipotle Almond Chicken Mole
If you’re looking for a change from your ordinary weeknight menus – look no further! When I first saw this recipe, I knew I wanted to make it because it would really add a lot of interest to our normal weeknight menu rotation. While being very unique, it doesn’t call for a bunch of crazy ingredients – you could find everything at Walmart if you wanted. I was a little worried John wouldn’t like this since it’s not your typical American fare, but to my surprise I think he liked it even more than me! It has a smokey flavor, and yet is a little bit creamy because of the ground almonds used in the sauce.
When planning meals for the week, I put Spicy Bean Burritos on the menu, because they also call for chipotle peppers in adobe sauce, and that way I knew the can I bought wouldn’t go to waste. If you like your dinner on the spicy side, then use the entire chipotle pepper. Personally, I like just a hint of heat, so I removed the seeds from the 2 peppers I used, which really cuts down on the spice. I also happened to have some corn tortillas left over from Chicken Enchiladas , so that helped to cut down on ingredients to buy (corn tortillas last forever, or so it seems).
The recipe makes a lot of sauce, so it could really accomodate anywhere from 2 – 4 large chicken breasts. If you don’t want to make the whole batch, just freeze the sauce and use it over some leftover chicken at a later point in time. We ate it plain, but I’m planning on serving the leftovers over some cilantro-lime rice, yummmm.
Chipotle Almond Chicken Mole
- 2/3 cup roasted almonds (salted is fine)
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
- 2 garlic cloves, smashed
- 1 (14.5 oz) can fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
- 2 chipotle peppers in adobe sauce, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 (6-inch) corn tortillas, torn into small pieces
- 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 2 – 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of all fat
To prepare the chicken:
Preheat oven to 450°. Sprinkle chicken with salt & pepper and wrap, individually, in tin foil to keep the chicken moist while baking. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 25 minutes. Slice into strips. *This can be done up to a day ahead of time. As an alternative, you could poach the chicken breast in water for 15 minutes, or use leftover chicken breast from another meal.
For the Sauce:
Place the almonds in a food processor and process for 2-3 minutes or until smooth (it takes a little bit of time, but should end up looking like peanut butter). Keep in the food processor.
In a large skillet heat oil on medium heat. Add the chopped onion and garlic cloves. Sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients through broth: tomatoes, chipotle peppers, sugar, cumin, salt, cloves, tortillas, vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer for 15 minutes.
Add the tomato mixture to the food processor with the almonds. Also add 1 T. vinegar. Puree mixture until smooth. Return mixture to pan and add the chicken to heat through. Serve over rice if desired.
Adapted from Cooking Light
Potato, Corn & Leek Chowder
A couple weeks ago, I thought the soup making weather for the year was over – clearly I was wrong. I guess a good way to embrace the cold, is to look at it as one last opportunity to make a warm wintery soup! When I was planning the grocery/menu list this week, I asked John what soup he would want for a (fingers crossed) last soup of winter meal, secretly hoping he would pick this soup. Without any coaching from me, he said, “How about the potato one you make?”, so that sealed the deal – it went on the menu. It also happens to be a quick meal (chopping is the only kitchen time), and a one pot deal (less clean up)!
What I like about this soup is that it’s a potato soup, with more than just potatoes and cream. It has has a lot of vegetables in it, so it really feels like a balanced meal. It does use some whole milk, but just enough to give it that creamy texture, while still keeping it healthy and relatively low fat. I do realize that just before this I posted a recipe primarily made of butter and sugar – but what can I say, I like my sweets sinful and my meals, well the opposite. This soup is pretty filling, and this recipe makes a lot – so if you’re not feeding a crowd, you might want to try halving it. However, this is one of the few meals where I think the leftovers actually taste just as good or better than the original meal. This is a rare finding for me, so I don’t mind making the whole thing and eating it later in the week. I’ve never tried freezing it, but if you try it – let me know how it turns out!
Potato, Corn & Leek Chowder
Servings: about 8 bowls Prep Time: 20 minutes (for the chopping) Stove time: 25 minutes
- 2 Tablespoons Butter
- 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped leeks (about 2 leeks)
- 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
- 1/2 cup finely chopped red pepper
- 2 cups whole milk
- 3 Tablespoons flour
- 3 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
- 2 pounds yukon gold potatoes (about 8), peeled and cubed
- 2 cups corn (frozen or fresh)
- Dash of Salt & Pepper
- Scallions/Chives/Parsley for topping
Melt butter in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add the leeks, celery and red pepper and stir until tender (3-4 minutes).
Slowly add the flour and milk to the pan, stirring constantly. Once mixed, add the rest of the ingredients (chicken broth, potatoes, corn, salt & pepper). Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Then cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20-25 minutes (or as long as you want – the starch from the potatoes will continue to thicken the soup).
Serve by topping with your choice of parsley, scallions, chives, or a mix.
Slightly adapted from Cooking Light
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes
Cupcakes are pretty much the trendiest food item on the market, but to be honest I’ve never made a batch of cupcakes completely from scratch – that is until yesterday. I’ve been wanting to try these cupcakes since the day I saw them on Annie’s “Best of 2010” list, but it just never seemed like the right opportunity. After all, cupcakes aren’t exactly a “snack food” you want to have around the house. Plus, these particular cupcakes have an embarrassingly large amount of butter in them; which is half the reason I chickened out on making these several times. Finally, I decided to get over my fear, and went for these cupcakes, butter and all.
Of course, they were delicious! They have brown sugar batter with chocolate chips, are then filled with an eggless cookie dough, and then topped with a frosting that actually tastes like cookie dough. So if you even have a slight fondness of cookie dough- you will love these! If you think they sound too rich, don’t worry, so did I. I thought for sure I would only be able to eat half a cupcake, but they were actually perfect, and of course eating a whole cupcake by myself was no challenge. I particularly thought this was a great “first cupcake”, because it’s something you really couldn’t try to replicate with a box mix. I made these over the course of a couple days – baking the cupcakes one day, filling them the next day, and then frosting them right before serving. I would recommend this unless you have a 4-hour block of time to spend in the kitchen all at once. I found I had too much icing left over with the original recipe, so I corrected it below to make a slightly smaller yield. Additionally, I wrote the recipe out to make 12 cupcakes, because when I made 24 it was just too many- you really only need one of these! And as a final suggestion, make sure you have some friends to share these with, because they are delicious (and dangerous!).
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes
Yield: 12 cupcakes
For the Cupcakes:
- 1 ½ sticks butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/3 cups flour
- ½ t. baking soda
- ½ t. baking powder
- 1/8 t. salt
- ½ cup milk
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream butter and sugar with a stand mixer until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, and salt. Alternating with milk, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until all the flour and milk are used up. Blend in vanilla. Stir in the chocolate chips with a spatula.
Line 1 cupcake pan with liners (12 cupcakes). Divide batter evenly between the cups. Bake at 350 for 16-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
For the Filling:
- 2 Tbsp. butter, room temperature
- 3 Tbsp. light brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
- ¼ tsp. vanilla extract
- ¼ cup mini chocolate chips
Using a mixer, combine butter and brown sugar and beat until fluffy. Add flour, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract, and mix until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Refrigerate mixture to allow it to firm slightly. While waiting for the mixture to chill, using a small, sharp knife, cut a cone shaped portion out of the center of each cupcake. (You won’t need the part you cut out anymore, so you can discard it, or make cakeballs out of it, or eat it with ice cream…etc.) Place a chunk of filling in the center of each cupcake, flattening the top, to make it easier to frost.
For the Frosting and Topping
- 10 Tbsp. (1 stick + 2 Tbsp. butter), softened
- 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 4 tsp. milk
- 1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- Mini Chocolate Chips
- Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies*
Combine butter and brown sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time. Then add the flour, salt, milk and vanilla extract, and mix until smooth. Frost as desired. (I used a 2D Wilton pastry tip).
Sprinkle finished cupcakes with mini-chocolate chips, and push a mini-chocolate chip cookie into the center of the frosting.
*I made mini chocolate chip cookies by rolling very small dough balls from chocolate chip cookie dough, but I think Famous Amos or Cookie Crisps Cereal would also work well!
Slightly adapted from Annie’s Eats, inspired by Hello Baker
Adaptable Focaccia
There are a lot of recipes for focaccia out there, but I wanted one that had simple ingredients, simple instructions and a short rising time. I knew I wanted to make focaccia to go with the strawberry goat cheese salad we were having for dinner, but of course I didn’t start looking for a specific recipe until about 5 pm the day I wanted to eat it. This bread it perfect because it didn’t require multiple rises, can be ready in a little over an hour – and still came out wonderfully. Then again, how wrong can you really go with fresh bread? To make sure I still got an airy focaccia, I actually preheated the oven for a few minutes, then turned it off, and then put the bread inside the oven to rise. It wasn’t hot by any means, but it was definitely warmer than the ambient air, and this helped the bread rise a little faster.
I thought about halving this recipe, because I was wondering what just the two of us were going to do with so much bread, but I figured, its only flour and water so I might as well make the whole thing and then freeze what we don’t use. Well of course I should know by now that bread will never go to waste in this house! John actually cut the focaccia down the middle and made a wonderful looking sandwich for lunch. I included a variety of ideas for topping this bread, because it is very adaptable. I went with a few caramelized onions, fresh minced garlic, salt, pepper and Herbes de Provence, but I think next time I would up the caramelized onion to a full small onion, because I barely noticed the flavor. As soon as the weather gets nicer I can’t wait to use some fresh rosemary from my porch garden, mixed with some lemon zest to the mix to give it a summery feel. I don’t really think you can go wrong with whatever you put on this bread – so have fun!
Adaptable Focaccia
Prep time: 15 minutes + 5 minutes Rise time: 45 minutes + 15 minutes Bake Time: 20 minutes
- 2 1/4 teaspoons rapid rise yeast or 1 packet
- 1 cup warm water + 2 Tablespoons
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 3 1/2 cups flour plus more as needed
- 1 Tablespoon salt
- 1/4 cup olive oil + some to brush on top
Topping Ideas
- Fresh rosemary and lemon zest
- Caramelized onion and garlic with shredded parmesan
- Kalamata olives and feta cheese with scallions
- Herbes de Provence, salt, pepper and parmesan
- Any combination of the above
1. Warm the 1 c. water to about 110º. Add the yeast and sugar to the water, and let sit for a few minutes. (This proofs the yeast to make sure you get a airy, and quick rise)
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the dough hook attachment, add the water/yeast/sugar mixture. Slowly add the flour with the mixer on a low speed.
3. Mix the salt with about 2 T. water (just to start the dissolving) and then add to the mixer.
4. Add the 1/4 cup olive oil, and turn the mixer up to medium (2-4 on a Kitchen Aid).
5. Knead the dough for 7-8 minutes, until smooth. If the dough is sticking to the sides of the bowl, and not forming a nice ball, add a little bit more flour and continue to knead. *At this point I also preheated the oven to 350, only for a few minutes.
6. Remove the dough from the mixer, and place in a well oiled bowl. Turn the dough over to slightly coat in oil, and cover with plastic wrap. (The oil prevents the dough from forming a “crusty skin”, which is more common if you are having the dough rise in an extra warm place).
7. With the oven now turned OFF, place the bowl of dough in the oven or in another warm place, and let rise for 45 minutes.
8. Once doubled in size, remove the dough from the oven, and using your hands, flatten the dough about a 10×12 inch rectangle. It should be around 1/2 inch thick.
9. Place the dough rectangle on a greased cookie sheet, cover with plastic wrap or a towel and let rest/rise for at least 15 minutes (longer is fine).
10. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and you can get your toppings together. If you are caramelizing onions, this would be the time to do it. Or chop up your rosemary, shred your parmesan, or zest your lemon.
12. Brush the top of the bread with olive oil, sprinkle with a little bit of salt. Using your finger, press down on the top of the bread 10-20 times to create dimples. Top with toppings of choice.
13. Bake in the 400° oven for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown.
Recipe adapted from Tyler Florence, with some insight from Pink Parsley.
Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad
This past weekend, we had a little post-St. Patrick’s day celebration with some friends, and everyone was kind enough to bring something to go along with the corned beef sandwiches I made. To be honest, I didn’t like the corned beef or the coleslaw topping enough to share the recipe, but I did get another delicious idea from this mini-potluck. Our friends Lexi and Brad made a delicious salad with strawberries, goat cheese, almonds, and homemade poppyseed dressing. It was so good that I have been thinking about it since Friday!
I vowed to eat more fruits and vegetables this week, and what better way than with strawberry salad. The part I liked the best was definitely the goat cheese. I’m a big goat cheese fan, but surprisingly enough I don’t know that I’ve ever put it on a salad. Since it’s a very soft cheese, you can’t really chop it or shred it, but crumbling small pieces worked pretty well. I chose to go with a raspberry vinaigrette for the salad because I wanted something super light, but the poppyseed was also delicious. For the raspberry vinaigrette, I added Herbes de Provence, which is usually a mix of rosemary, thyme, sage, anise and lavender – but it varies a lot from mix to mix. In all honesty, at some point in the past, I was out of rosemary and in the middle of making dinner, so figured I’ve got this stuff ,and it has rosemary in it – I’ll try it. Since then I haven’t actually replaced my rosemary, I always just substitute Herbes de Provence – it just sounds so delightful, don’t you think?
Raspberry Vinagarette
- 3 T. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 T. water
- 3 T. Raspberry Balsamic Vinegar (I even found this at Walmart)
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon Herbes de Provence or Rosemary (or 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary)
- 1 tablespoon honey
- Dash of salt and pepper
Wisk all ingredients until combined.
Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad
- 4 cups spring mix salad
- 1 cup of strawberries, sliced
- 3 oz goat cheese, crumbled
- 1/4 cup Pecans or Almonds (or both)
Place the almonds or pecans on a small baking tray and sprinkle with salt. Toast them under the broiler for a couple of minutes. Be sure to watch them the whole time! They go from toasted to burnt in about 2 seconds (speaking from personal experience). Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl, and toss with raspberry vinaigrette.
*I don’t actually measure out how much of anything I put into a salad, so this is just a rough suggestion.
Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread
I really love baking. It probably has something to do with the fact that I really love sweets, and sweets are generally baked. It also has something to do with the fact that baking requires measuring and exactness – which oddly enough makes it a nice relaxing break from our everyday chaotic lives. I like the idea that I can relax while at the same time doing something productive- and I have something to show for it when I’m done! The only problem with this is that one can only desserts so much. If you would like to bake something, but fear (like me) that brownies will disappear in an embarrassingly short time, this bread would be the perfect choice. This bread is perfect for slicing for breakfast and running out the door with. I like it just plain, but John (of course) likes to add butter to it.
Like any yeast bread, it requires a lot of waiting around for the dough to rise – but each step actually takes very little time. It’s really perfect to make on a day you were going to spend at home anyways. It can make a nice break from something monotonous (like studying) because after each step, you have to wait around for 40 minutes to an hour anyways. I included step by step pictures, but only because they are fun, not to make this seem like it’s a really difficult recipe! Each step is very simple. The trickiest part is making sure to completely seal the loaf before baking – so that no cinnamon sugar mixture leaks out and burns on the sides of the pan. This recipe makes 2 loaves, so you have one to give to a friend or freeze – but if you only want one, it can easily be halved. When freezing this bread, I wrap it in aluminum foil, and then place it in a freezer bag, and it freezes wonderfully.
Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread
Makes 2 standard (9×5) loaves
For the dough:
- 2 1/4 tsp. instant yeast (or 1 packet)
- 2 cups warm milk (~105-110˚ F)
- 34 oz (6 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
- 8 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3 tsp. coarse salt
- 3 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 cup raisins
- Cooking spray
For the filling:
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
Start by combining milk and yeast in the bottom of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Add the flour, softened butter, sugar, eggs, salt, & cinnamon. Turn the mixer on low speed (2), and knead the dough for 3-4 minutes. Add the raisins and continue to knead for 3-4 more minutes. The dough should be smooth and clear the sides of the bowl. If it is too sticky to handle, add a little bit more flour and knead for a few more minutes.
Remove the dough from the mixing bowl, and place in a large bowl coated with cooking spray. Turn the dough over to lightly coat the outsides with oil. Cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel. Place in a warm, draft free place and let the dough rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled. I like to put mine inside a turned-off oven.
Take the dough out and divide into 2 equal pieces. I weighed mine using a food scale, but if you don’t have one you can just eye ball it.
Working with one piece of dough, flatten it into a circle using your palms.
Then fold the dough into thirds, like a letter.
Then fold again into thirds, the opposite direction. The purpose of this is 2 fold. First of all, it basically serves as a very gentle kneading, which releases any gas built up in the dough, and gives the yeast access to new nutrients. But do not “knead” the dough, or over-handle it -because this will destroy the gluten strands that give the bread it’s airy and light weight texture. Secondly, this method helps to shape the dough into a rectangle, which is helpful in the next step.
Once each loaf is folded, place them seam side down in an bowl coated with cooking spray. (Each loaf should get it’s own bowl at this point.) Cover with plastic wrap or a towel, and allow the dough to rise for an additional 45 minutes.
Once the dough has risen for the second time, roll out one ball of dough into a 15×11 inch rectangle.
In a small bowl combine the sugar, water and cinnamon. Brush the rectangle of dough with the slightly beaten egg, and then spread about half of the cinnamon sugar mixture over the rectangle, leaving a small border at the edges. (If you want to be very exact, you can mix 3/4 c. sugar, 1 T. cinnamon, and 2 T. water for the first loaf, and then do this again for the second loaf.) *Note: if you add too much water to the cinnamon sugar mixture (which I have done before), it will seep out of the loaf, and create a burned sugar crust to your bread. So while mixing together the sugar-err on the side off too little water. The amount in this picture is a little too liquidly.
Fold in about one inch of the edges of the dough, in order to seal the cinnamon-sugar mixture in.
Starting with the unfolded edge of the dough, roll dough into tight log. Press gently as you roll to ensure the dough is sticking to itself – this will help prevent the cinnamon sugar mixture from seeping out.
Once the dough is rolled, pinch the edges of dough together tightly. Use some water to make sure the dough adheres.
Place dough seam side down in a heavily greased 9×5 inch baking loaf, and repeat with remaining roll.
Cover each loaf pan with a towel or plastic wrap, and let rise again for 40 minutes so that the dough just rises above the edge of the pan.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Brush the remaining egg over the top of each loaf in order to give it a shiny, finished appearance (I didn’t do this for this loaf, hence the less than perfect surface). Loosely tent a piece of aluminum foil over the top of each pan, to prevent the top from over browning.
Place loaves in the oven and bake for 45 minutes. 20 minutes into baking, remove the foil “tent” to allow the surface to brown. Remove from the oven, allow to cool slightly and then remove from pan and cool on a cooling rack.
Recipe found at Annie’s Eats, and originally from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook
Twice Baked Potatoes
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I figured what would be better than a POTATO with the colors of the Irish flag! I made mine with broccoli, scallions, and cheddar, so I could get the green, white and orange effect. I hope this brings a little St. Patrick’s Day spirit to your day!
My better half is interviewing people this week, so it’s just me here until tomorrow. Cooking for 1 can be tricky, but I think this recipe fits the bill – It’s quick, easy, and I had all the ingredients on hand. The recipe is for 4 potatoes, but can easily be adapted to make just 1, or 8. I often forget how great a good baked potato can be. In college, my friend Christine, once had a “Baked Potato Party” in which she baked a bunch of potatoes, and then had all kinds of fun toppings for us to put on them. It was such an easy and creative idea, and I have been wanting to do it ever since – maybe this will inspire you to host your own. Whatever you put on your baked potato, it can be a hearty, and filling meal that’s easy and cheap to make. I also included some suggestions for alternate stuffed baked potatoes , which I am now dying to try!
Twice Baked Potatoes
- 4 russet potatoes – scrubbed and patted dry
- Olive Oil and Salt
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- 3/4 cup light sour cream
- 1/4 cup skim milk
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3/4 cup chopped broccoli, steamed
- 1/2 cup chopped scallions
Preheat oven to 400°. Rub potatoes with a small amount of oil and sprinkle with salt. Place potatoes directly on rack and cook for 45-60 minutes. Do not wrap potatoes in foil because this will make the skins soft and it will be difficult to scoop the filling out later.
In a large bowl combine 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese, sour cream, milk, garlic powder, broccoli, and 1/4 cup scallions.
Remove potatoes from oven and let cool slightly. Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise. Using a soup spoon, scrape out as much potato as you can while leaving the skin intact – leaving about 1/8 inch. The potatoes taste better when there is less plain flesh left in them. Add the flesh to the large bowl with sour cream mixture. Mash the flesh until combined.
Spoon the flesh back into the potato shells. Place filled shells on a baking sheet coated with aluminum foil. Sprinkle remaining cheddar cheese over the tops of the potatoes.
Return potatoes to the oven for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted and starting to brown.
To serve, top with remaining scallions.
Variation 1: Blue Cheese, Onion and Mushroom Potatoes
- Substitute 1 cup crumbled blue cheese for the cheddar, and 1 cup sautéed mushrooms and onions for the broccoli.
Variation 2: Goat Cheese & Caramelized Onion Stuffed Potatoes
- Substitute 1 cup of herbed goat cheese for the cheddar, and 3/4 cup caramelized onions for the broccoli.
Variations inspired by America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook
Royal Icing – Recipe and Tutorial
So maybe St. Patrick’s day isn’t considered a major holiday for most people, but those people didn’t grow up in my family. In my (half) Irish family, St. Patty’s day is probably the next big holiday after Thanksgiving and Christmas. I had been wanting to decorate St. Patty’s day cookies pretty much since I finished the Valentine’s Day ones. It worked out perfectly, because my festive mother was here to help me decorate them! I mentioned earlier that I really wanted to try to get good enough at royal icing to post a “How to” – and I think I have just about reached that point. I’ve made it enough times now that I have it down to a science. It’s kind of addicting, so be careful. My mom and I are already planning next year’s St. Patty’s Day cookie decorating, and we were even brainstorming about Easter….
A lot of people wonder – “Why use royal icing?….Doesn’t buttercream taste better?”. And I’ll say, yes if you are eating icing by itself, buttercream is definitely the way to go – but with a buttery cookie underneath royal icing adds a perfect amount of sweetness without being too rich. Plus the royal icing seals in the moisture of the cookie, so your cookies can be made ahead of time, and will last a lot longer. More importantly, it’s just not possible to decorate with buttercream the way you can with royal icing. Ever wonder how professional cookies get that completely smooth surface with multiple colors and no “spread marks”? That’s right – they use royal icing.
So here’s the recipe, followed by a long tutorial. I tried to include as many pointers as possible, but for the most part you can figure out what to do looking at the pictures.
Royal Icing
- 4 cups Powdered Sugar (About 1 Pound)
- 2 Tablespoons Meringue Powder
- 5 Tablespoons Water (to start)
Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low (Speed 2 or 4) for 7-10 minutes, or until the sheen has disappeared and the icing has a matte appearance. It will be too thick to use at this point so you will be adding more water later; however, getting it to this texture makes a difference in the final product.
How to Decorate with Royal Icing
- 1 -2 batches of Royal Icing and Sugar Cookies
- Small plastic containers with lids
- Pastry Bags (I like disposable so you don’t have to clean them)
- Couplers and Decorating Tips (I use size 3)
- Toothpicks
- Gel Food Coloring
- Miniature Squeeze bottle (optional)
First, start by planning out what colors you will want to use, and how much of each. For these cookies, I made 5 colors: Green, Light Green, Orange, Black, and White. According to color need, divide the white icing into the containers. Add about 1 additional teaspoon of water to each container. Stir to incorporate. You may need to add another teaspoon or 2 in order to get a good consistency for piping. The key is to get the icing thin enough that you can easily pipe a smooth line, but thick enough that the icing will still dry quickly.
Using toothpicks, add a little bit of gel food color and stir with a spoon. Continue adding color until you achieve the desired tint. For dark colors, like black or red, you will need a lot of gel.
Prepare your pastry bags by cutting about 3/4 of an inch from the tip. Place the coupler inside the bag, and secure the appropriate tip. I prefer size 3 for edging the cookies, but I used a mix of sizes 2-4, because that’s what I have. If you do not have pastry bags and tips , you can try using a ziploc bag and cutting the corner to make a VERY small hole. I only spent about $10 for all the couplers, tips and bags, but if you are only going to make these once, it might not be worth it.
Fold down the edges of the pastry bags, and using a spoon or knife, scoop the icing into the pastry bag. You only need a very small amount of icing to edge the cookies, but I think it’s easier to work with if you have a moderate amount of icing in the bag. Also, it’s easy to simply squeeze the left over icing back into the original container when you are finished.
Pipe the icing around the edges of each cookie to make an outline. To get the smoothest line possible you do not want the tip to be touching the cookie.
I think it’s better to work quickly and let the icing lie smoothy, than to try to get an absolutely perfect shape for the outline. If you look at these, some of the cookies have a smoother outline, and some are more squiggly.
Once the cookies are lined, squeeze unneeded icing back into the container. Now it’s time to thin the icing for flooding. Add 1 teaspoon water at a time to each icing, stirring after each addition. You want the icing to be thin enough that when a spoonful of it is poured back into the container, it takes about 4 seconds for it to disappear into the pool of icing. It is better to err on the side of too thick of icing than to thin. If you accidentally make the icing too thin, add a little bit of powdered sugar to get it back to a normal consistency.
You should now let the icing set for about 5 minutes in order to get the air bubbles to rise to the surface. The first time making this, I didn’t do this, and you end up with air bubbles on what was supposed to be your smooth surface cookie. Once the air bubbles have risen to the surface, gently stir the icing through once, just to pop them.
If you are using mini squeeze bottles, this would be the time to transfer the icing into the bottle. It’s easier to do if the icing is in a flexible plastic container, because you can bend the container to funnel the icing in. This was my first time using squeeze bottles, and it does make it a lot easier to flood the cookies, but it also makes one more thing to clean when finished.
Now flood the cookies. If you are using squeeze bottles, just squeeze it around the edges and move inward to fill the cookie in.
If you are not using squeeze bottles, spoon the icing onto the top of the cookie, and then spread it to the edges using a toothpick. 2 pointers: 1) If you spread the icing over just over the edge of the piping, it will help to blend the piping with the flooded icing. 2) It looks a lot better if you over-flood the cookies, so that the icing ends up creating a dome look on top of the cookie. If you under-fill them, the center will sink down and the outer edge piping will be very visible.
If you want to decorate the cookies with sprinkles, as I did with the pots of gold, it’s best to put this on while the icing is still wet. If you want to pipe a design on top of the cookies, it’s best to let the cookies dry for at least 45 minutes (or overnight). For the “plaid” effect on the cookies, I cleaned up while letting the cookies dry, and I just used the little bit of icing I had left in my pastry bags and piped perpendicular lines over several cookies in a row.
Let let the cookies dry for several hours or overnight before packing them up. The cookies should then be stored in an airtight container or cellophane bags. These cookies will last for at least a full week, and once the icing has dried, it is very sturdy. Therefore these cookies can be made in advance and are great for mailing.
Inspired by Annie’s Eats
Panko Crusted Salmon
Back on the homefront, I’m trying to make the best out of my last 3 days of my last spring break…ever! Because THE BOARDS are looming over our heads, I’m not really sure if I’ll be able to make it home for a visit before July – so my Mom decided to make the trek here to visit! Unfortunately, the weather was really awful in Cleveland (so much for spring), but my Mom’s a brave lady, and she tackled the snow to make the drive to Toledo. I’m really glad she did because we had a lovely day “fliting” around, and of course I wanted to make a special dinner for the evening.
This dinner exceeded my expectations. I knew I wanted to make salmon – but salmon is such a hearty fish that I have trouble deciding what to do to make it special without overpowering its great flavor. While visiting my favorite “club” – Costco – I was flipping through Ina Garten’s new book, and saw a recipe using Panko with Salmon. Because I have also really been wanting to use Panko, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to try it. I didn’t buy the book, so this is my own adaptation.
It turned out to be really easy but it tasted, and looked gourmet (win-win!) I loved the lemon zest in the crumb coating, and you definitely shouldn’t skimp on it. I also think that salmon is one of the fish that you need to be careful to buy “Wild Caught”. It’s a little more expensive than the farm raised, but it’s a lot healthier and has a better flavor. For some fish – it doesn’t really matter, but salmon is not one of those fish. Panko crumbs can be found in any local grocery store, usually near the Asian food.
Panko Crusted Salmon
Serves 4-5
- 1 lb Wild Caught Salmon filets
- 3/4 cup Panko
- 1/4 cup finely chopped parlsey
- zest of 1 large lemon (or 2 small)
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
- 1 Tablespoon Mayonaise
- Salt & Pepper
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a small bowl combine the Panko, parsley, lemon zest and olive oil. Stir until well blended and Panko is evenly coated with olive oil. In an even smaller bowl, mix together 1 T. each of Dijon mustard and mayonaise.
Place salmon filets on a baking sheet coated with aluminum foil. Sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper. Spread the Mayonaise and Dijon mixture evenly over the filet. Sprinkle the Panko crumb mixture evenly over the fish. The mustard mixture should help the coating to stick, but press to adhere.
Bake the salmon for 10-15 minutes (Using a 1 inch filet 15 minutes was good for me).
Serve with lemon wedges. Also good with rice pilaf and roasted asparagus.
Inspired by How Easy Is That? by Ina Garten.
Pirouettes AKA Cigarettes Russes
So I finished my test (yeah!) and as it turns out, blogging actually helped my grade – so I think its safe to continue! Almost immediately after the test, we left for Taos, New Mexico. We had a great visit with my in-laws, ate and drank well, and even got some skiing and hiking in. Apparently we brought the bad weather with us, but it was still better than the cloudy skys we came back to in Ohio. I was planning on taking a break from cooking while on vacation – but of course I got the urge to bake after about 10 hours. Actually I’ve had the urge to bake these particular cookies for several weeks. I kept putting them off because they looked kind of complicated, but spring break seemed like the perfect time to try these out!
The reason I have been wanting to make these cookies for so long, is that you really can’t buy them anywhere! Sure, you can buy filled Pirouettes, but I like the plain and simple taste of just the wafer – without hazelnut, mint, or chocolate cream inside to ruin it. Pepperidge Farm does actually make the simple “Cigarettes Russes” (without the filling), but the only place I have ever seen them is inside of the entertaining pack of assorted cookies, and even then you only get like 2! So while I really did enjoy making these cookies, there was also a utilitarian reason for making them.
I actually tried making these twice. The first time they did not work out …at all. I’m going to blame it on the 7,500 altitude in Taos, NM, but honestly I think there were a bunch of factors that caused the initial demise of these cookies. The second time was much better, and now I know the specifics of how to make them perfect – and lucky for you, I’ll share that info with you :-)!
Cigarettes Russes
- 6 Tbs. (3/4 stick) softened butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 4 egg whites at room temperature (the first time I took them straight from the fridge – which didn’t work)
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/8 tsp. salt.
1. Preheat an oven to 425°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with silicone liners. (Do NOT use Parchment. If you don’t have silicon liners you could try a greased cookie sheet, but this didn’t work as well for me)
5. Add the vanilla and beat until blended.
6. Mix flour and salt together, and gradually add to buter mixture. Stir to combine.
Chocolate Dip
- 3 oz semisweet chocolate
- 1 tsp butter
- 1 tsp corn syrup (if you have it – I didn’t so I didn’t use it)
Adapted from Williams Sonoma
Spice Is Nice 