Nummy Kitchen

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Pancakes

2012-02-15T20:47:00.007-05:00

I found this recipe one morning on allrecipes looking for a fun new pancake to try while picky husband was working. He is not a fan of pancakes with any other flavors than the traditional buttermilk pancake. Not even blueberry. I, on the other hand, love just about any pancake you can make, and the kids do as well, so when he is working it's fun to try something a little different. These were amazing and everyone loved them, a make again pancake for sure! In the original recipe the pancakes were served with jam, which was great, we also liked them with some raspberry syrup, as shown.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Pancakes
adapted from allrecipes.com

1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups skim milk
2 egg, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons natural peanut butter (I used Jiff, we like it with both smooth or crunchy)
2 tablespoons melted butter
cooking spray
1/4 cup strawberry jam (or fruit syrup, we love the Smucker's brand fruit syrups when we don't have any homemade around)

Combine oats, flour, baking soda, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Set bowl aside. In a separate bowl, whisk together the skim milk, eggs, peanut butter, and melted butter. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and stir in the wet ingredients, being careful not to over mix the batter.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and coat with cooking spray (I don't do this since our griddle is nonstick). Pour 1/4 cupfuls (a little more for larger pancakes) of batter onto the skillet, and cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip with a spatula, and cook until browned on the other side, about 2 minutes per side. Serve with strawberry jam.

~~~

The kids and I love these pancakes. They are hearty and will keep you full well until lunch time. The flavor and texture add a nice change of pace to the standard buttermilk breakfast pancake. These are also wonderful topped with sliced bananas, whipped cream, and a drizzle of honey :)

Corniest Corn Muffins

2012-02-14T10:37:00.021-05:00

I am finally posting about Dorie's Corniest Corn Muffins! These seem to be one of the most popular recipes in the book Baking From My Home To Yours and with good reason, they are delicious! You can find this recipe here at Serious Eats with a nice little commentary from Dorie, or you can find it here at Jilla's blog -- she was the hostess for this recipe when they were baked with Tuesdays with Dorie in March 2011. I don't remember why I missed these back then, I'm guessing it was because my oldest son's 5th birthday was early last March and we were busy celebrating all week long :)

I love all kinds of corn muffins so was excited to finally give these a try, I'd been wanting to bake them forever!

Corniest Corn Muffins

Dorie Greenspan -- Baking From My Home To Yours, my tiny changes in italic

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal
6 tablespoons sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg (optional) (I left this out, I love nutmeg but the family, not so much)
1 cup buttermilk (I used 1 cup skim milk and 4 tbsp dried buttermilk powder)
3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 tablespoons corn oil
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk (I just used two whole eggs)
1 cup corn kernels (add up to 1/3 cup more if you’d like), fresh, frozen or canned (in which case they should be drained and patted dry) (I used a whole 14 ounce can of sweet corn kernels, after measuring out 1 and 1/3 cup, there was only about 1/3 cup left, so I just added it all in)

Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. I dropped this down to 375 for some reason my muffins always get too brown for my liking at 400. Butter or spray the 12 muffin molds in a regular-size muffin tin, or fit the molds with paper muffin cups.

Working in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. In a large glass measuring cup with a spout or in another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, melted butter, oil, egg and yolk. I just mixed this all in one bowl. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don’t worry about being thorough – the batter will be lumpy and that’s just the way it should be.

Stir in the corn kernels. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin molds. I had enough to fill one Bakers Secret mini loaf pan and one Betty Crocker silicone heart muffin pan...

Slide the pan into the oven and bake 15 to 18 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean.

Pull the pan from the oven and carefully lift each muffin out of its mold and onto a rack to cool.

Serving: The muffins are great warm or at room temperature and particularly great split, toasted and slathered with butter or jam or both (if they’re not in breadbasket at dinner, that is). My favorite was to have a corn muffin is warm with butter and honey, yum! Definitely one of life's simple pleasures...

Storing: Like all muffins, these are best eaten the day they are made. If you want to keep them, it’s best to wrap them airtight and pop them into the freezer, where they’ll keep for about a month; re-warm in a 300°F oven, if you’d like, or split them and toast them—do that and they’ll be that much more delicious with butter.

~~~

These were absolutely delicious! Picky husband and I both loved them with butter for breakfast! I thought the kids were going to be excited about these, especially since they like cornbread a lot and anything baked in a heart shaped muffin pan is a quick sell, but they weren't as impressed as us adults were. I added jam to theirs and they still weren't keen on them? Maybe since I don't usually add corn kernels to our cornbread recipe they were a little apprehensive with the kernels? They all love corn though so I'm not really sure why these weren't a hit with them. Oh-well, you never can tell with kids. I think these definitely appeal to the sweeter, yankee cornbread fan in me and would make them again for sure :) Wishing everyone a happy Valentine's Day!

Pistachio Rose Loukoumi

2012-02-12T20:50:00.002-05:00

What are loukoumi? They are candies from Greece similar to Turkish Delight or Aplets & Cotlets which are somewhat popular in North America. Our theme of the week over at I Heart Cooking Clubs is In The Pink -- Pink Foods so I thought I would give Tessa's recipe for Loukoumi in her book Food From Many Greek Kitchens a try. There is a photo in the book of a beautiful plate of powdered sugar covered soft pink jelly looking candies studded with pistachios. That was what I was going for...

Loukoumi Rose Delight
adapted from Tessa Kiros -- Food From Many Greek Kitchens, notes in italic

2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 cup corn starch
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 teaspoons rose water
3 tablespoons shelled pistachios, halved lengthwise (I tried halving one but it was tricky and I didn't want to cut my finger, so I just put them in a ziplock bag and hammered them gently and then sifted off the really small crumbs and kept the bigger chunks)

red food coloring (I had red, pink, and rose, wilton tub colors and decided to go with "rose" which I'm kind of sorry I did and wish I went with the pink, the rose turned into super bright in your face pink, although I did google some rose loukoumi and they were the same color mine turned out, I just liked the soft baby pink of the loukoumi in the book better personally)

1/4 cup confectioners sugar, for coating
2 tablespoons cornstarch extra, for coating

Put the sugar and lemon juice in a pan with 3/4 cup of water. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil. Simmer without stirring for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a small dab is soft and pliable between your fingers when it's dropped into cold water (soft ball stage or 240 on a candy thermometer).

Combine the cornstarch and cream of tartar in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan and whisk in

1 and 1/2 cups water until smooth. Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly until thick. It got very thick and pasty quickly for me, as seen below.

Slowly stir in the sugar syrup. This was really tricky, everything got all lumpy and I thought I messed it up, but I kept whisking until it came together. Simmer over very low heat until very thick and pale golden, 60 to 70 minutes. Mine did not take that long, I'd say it turned rather quickly...

Stir often to ensure that your mixture isn't sticking to the pan. Brush and 8 and 1/4 by 4 and 1/2 inch dish with straight sides with oil and line with plastic wrap. The closest thing to that size I had was a loaf pan and I couldn't visualize how that would work, so I used an 8 by 8 inch square silicone pan that I had lined with aluminum foil that I had sprayed with cooking spray. Seemed to work perfectly.

Stir in the rose water and pistachios into the mixture and add the coloring drop by drop until you have a soft rose petal pink.

Pour spread?!? into the dish and cool overnight, covered.

Combine the confectioners sugar and cornstarch on a plate. Cut the loukoumi into 1 and 1/4 inch squares and toss in the sugar mix.

It will keep for week in a covered tin or box, not an airtight container.

~~~~

And there you have my first experience making loukoumi! I think I have had this candy before as a child, one of those taste induced memories was brought up when I bit into one of these. Even though I was not really happy with the color, I still thought these were pretty neat. My kids had fun watching the process and smelling the rose water and dusting them in sugar. Unfortunately these were not a hit with the kids or picky husband, although everyone was excited to try them, they didn't like them much, picky husband said "they taste like a rose, and we don't eat roses" ahh, some things are lost by him. I'm glad I had all the ingredients already in the pantry to make these. I wish I had some Greek friends to share these with because I think they are pretty good even if they weren't a new favorite for the whole family. I'd like to try them again without the food coloring, after I made these I read about a loukoumi colored and flavored with pomegranate juice, now that sounds delicious, as it was really more of a taste dislike than texture, I believe.

Apple Cake with Dark Rum Sauce -- Random Recipe #1

2012-02-10T17:20:00.013-05:00

I'm always trying to cook and bake things from my extensive cookbook home library (okay, two very full bookshelves, but might as well be a library) and have so many books that I haven't even tried one recipe from. One of my favorite ways to pick something to make, on a whim -- this is just for fun cooking here -- no meal or dinner party stress, is to randomly snatch a book off a shelf and randomly flip through the book to a page and make whatever is on that page. Is that crazy? I am a horrible decision maker and random is just so easy and to the point. I've done that since I was a kid looking at my mom's cookbooks, kind of like when you spin a globe and stop it with your pointer finger to pick a surprise vacation spot, remember doing that as a child? I do. Not like we ever went on any of those vacations, but they were sure fun to day dream about.

Anyway, I decided that I would do a little "series" and post about my random recipes. I do have some order to this, start on the top shelf, rotate shelves, etc. because I do love order, it's just the decision making that I find comfort in when it is random. For me a random recipe is a treasure waiting to be discovered, it's not the one you pick because you love the ingredients, or you saw a gorgeous photo of, or that was recommended by a blogging friend, the recipe is just there, waiting patiently for you to give it a try. My kids love to try the surprise recipes!

My first random book is from the top shelf, I didn't peek and just grabbed a book. It turned out to be Babe's Country Cookbook. Do you remember the movie Babe from the mid 90s? A sweet little movie I haven't seen since it was out in theaters. Will have to Tivo this and share it with my children :) I must have gotten this as a gift soon after the movie was out although I really don't remember where I got this sweet little book. I've looked through it many times over the years but never made anything from it. It has some delicious sounding recipes too, just didn't get around the making any. Just the perfect book to start Random Recipes off on...

The recipe I randomly flipped to is called Esme's Apple Cake with Dark Rum Sauce. Now I don't remember who Esme was in the movie, I'm thinking that she was probably the farmer's wife...anyway, this recipe was simple and I had all the ingredients already, score! -- don't you love when that happens?

Apple Cake with Dark Rum Sauce
adapted from Babe's Country Cookbook by Dewey Gram

Cake
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons water
2 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, seeded, and coarsely grated (about 2 and 1/2 cups) I did not have Golden Delicious and ended up using 4 smaller apples
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Rum Sauce
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 and 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup dark rum -- I used Myer's Rum Original Dark -- Jamaican import, mon :)

Preheat your oven to 350. Butter a 9 by 9 by 2 inch square baking pan. I lined it with foil and sprayed the foil with baking spray.

In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. In an ample bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter until creamy. Beat in the brown and white sugars until well blended and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and the water. On low speed, beat in the flour mixture until well blended.

Fold in the grated apples and chopped walnuts.

Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.

Baked in the 350 degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes -- I needed the full 35 -- or until the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool. Cut into nine squares.

Making the rum sauce: in a small saucepan, melt the butter, and whisk in the brown sugar and cream. I would say add it all in at once and then heat it up to prevent the chance of the cream to curdle, or at least warm up your cream first in the microwave. Cook over low heat, whisking ever now and then, until the sugar is dissolved, about 6 minutes. Set aside to cool. Then stir the dark rum into the cooled butter-sugar sauce. Serve with whipped cream. Makes 9 servings.

~~~

I had a nice time putting this cake together and finally trying a recipe from Babe's Country Cookbook. The cake was moist and delicious, a nice homey dessert. The apples seemed to melt right into the cake and the caramel-like rum sauce really took it over the top. My mom who was visiting enjoyed this cake very much and had two pieces. Two out of three kids liked this one too, although I served it to the kids as more of an "apple bar / snack cake" without the rum sauce since the rum doesn't cook off or anything, I didn't think it would be kid appropriate. I think you could just as easily leave the rum out of the sauce if you so desired. Thanks for reading along on my little random recipe adventure. I'm going to try to do this weekly but no promises, okay? :)

Nutella Tartine

2012-02-10T00:01:00.006-05:00

Time for French Fridays with Dorie! This week I learned something new, a tartine is a French open faced sandwich. I had no idea really, I thought it was some sort of dessert between a torte and a tart or something. Now I know. I love learning new things, always on that quest for knowledge, 'ya know? ;)

I also learned that this...

loaf of freshly baked by me brioche

PLUS

butter, nutella, sea salt (I currently have no Fleur de sel), and plain ole Smuckers Sweet Orange Marmalade (I have no bitter orange marmalade and couldn't find any)

EQUALS

DELICIOUS

and just to switch things up a touch, I made one with Strawberry Peach Champagne Jam, a special one for mommy...

These were happily gobbled up, after I cut them into fourths, the first quarter was gobbled up inside...

(Above is my sweet Kindergartner who was sent home from school early after sustaining a classroom fall, ouch! My poor baby with a goose egg on his forehead. )

and the remaining three quarters were delivered to the back yard, where the kids requested their after school snack while enjoying this unusually warm and sunny February day.

The end :)

Tuscan Baked Eggplant -- Melanzane alla Parmigiana

2012-02-08T11:45:00.004-05:00

This dish is my contribution to I Heart Cooking Clubs February Potluck, and boy is it a yummy one! This recipe is from Tessa Kiros' cookbook Twelve featuring seasonal Tuscan cuisine. The photo in the book is very enticing and I've been wanting to make this dish since my first flip through of the book. I adore eggplant parmesan and this is pretty much the Tuscan version of that. I like it just about any way it is prepared, and if it on a menu while dining out, it is always my first pick.

Melanzine alla Parmigiana
Baked Eggplant with Tomato, Mozzarella, and Parmesan Cheese
Tessa Kiros - Twelve

3 medium eggplants / aubergines, cut into 1/8 inch thick slices
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
5 ripe tomatoes, skinned (I used about 10 smaller Roma tomatoes and did not skin then, just pureed the finished sauce with the immersion blender) or a 14 ounce can of peeled tomatoes, chopped
about 10 basil leaves, torn (this is where I was sad I didn't have my basil from my outdoor herb garden anymore and had to use dried, which was fine really, does anyone know if you can grow basil year round indoors?)
flour for dusting the eggplants
oil for frying
10 and 1/2 ounces mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/4 inch slices (I used shredded)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Recipe preface: Every Italian home cook has a slight variation of this classic dish.

Cut the eggplant slices and put them in a colander. Sprinkle with salt and leave for about 30 minutes to allow the bitter juices to drain away.

Preheat the oven to 350.

To make the tomato sauce, heat the two tablespoons of olive oil in a sauce pan. Add the garlic and as soon as you begin to smell the garlic, add the tomatoes and half of the basil. Season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the tomatoes have melted into a sauce. I then pureed the sauce with an immersion blender.

Rinse the eggplant slices and pat dry with paper towels. Lightly dust both sides with flour.

Heat enough oil to come up 1/2 inch up the side of a saucepan. I did this in my electric skillet, which is my favorite way to fry things lately. Heat the oil and fry the eggplants in batches until golden brown on both sides, add a little more oil if necessary. Doing this in the skillet meant about 3 batches, whereas if I had used a smaller fryer / pan it would have taken a lot longer, since the skillet has such a big surface area. Transfer them to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb the oil. The thin fried eggplant slices were so yummy at this point!

Spoon a little of the tomato sauce into a square or round oven dish of roughly 12 inches. Wish I had a round dish, I ended up using an oblong pyrex dish that was probably a touch too big. Cover with a layer of eggplant slices.

Add a few spoonfuls of tomato sauce...

then a layer of the mozzarella cheese.

Add some basil. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Repeat to use up ingredients.

Put into hot oven and bake for 20 - 30 minutes or until the top is lightly golden and crusty.

Cool slightly before cutting into servings. Serve hot or at room temperature.

~~~

This was so delicious, I think I could eat eggplant parmesan every day and never tire of it. If you are an eggplant parmesan fan I would definitely recommend giving this a try, even if you are on the fence about eggplant, this recipe might win you over. For me the main difference between this and most eggplant parmesan dishes I've made is that there is not breading, which at first I was a little skeptical about, but the flour dusting does its job and there is such a great eggplant flavor in this dish that I didn't even miss the usual bread crumb breading, which I must admit, I usually love :)

Basic White Loaves

2012-02-07T00:01:00.003-05:00

I am so excited to be posting our very first Tuesdays with Dorie recipe from our newest baking adventure guidebook, Baking with Julia! Being a part Tuesdays with Dorie during Baking From My Home To Yours was such a fun journey and I just loved it.

This week we tackled Craig Kominiak's recipe for White Loaves, from Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan. I had never heard of Craig Kominiak and apparently he got his start as a chef by cooking for the Navy, after five years of cooking three meals a day for 200 sailors, he enrolled in the Culinary Institute of America and has since become a famous baker at Ecce Panis artisan bakery.

The recipe makes two loaves, one loaf I kept traditional -- the above photo is it before rising.

And the second half of the dough I decided to have a little fun with and make a cinnamon sugar swirl, which according to the TWD website, a lot of people were incorporating into their loaves.

But I didn't just make another loaf, nah, I decided to have a go at a heart shaped swirl bread. I love making shaped breads, so fun to get creative with the dough and hope that your "art" comes out of the oven as you'd imagined while preparing it.

Why a heart? Is it because Valentine's Day is right around the corner? Nope! It is because today is our 9th wedding anniversary :) Yep, nine years with picky husband, and we've had so much fun. He loves bread and I am happy to make it often, add a cinnamon sugar swirl and he is one happy camper.

Drizzle on some icing (powdered sugar and skim milk) and you will have a breakfast treat sure to become a new favorite.

Both breads were a hit with the whole family, the plain loaf was great for sandwiches and toast, and the cinnamon swirl bread didn't even need butter.

I twisted the swirl so it made a few different swirl shapes as you sliced through the loaf. Some parts even looked like a cinnamon roll...

This bread was a hit with the whole family. Below is a photo of my youngest taste tester completely enjoying his slice after a messy morning art session (confirmed the marker on his hands). I am happy to say that this first Tuesdays with Dorie -- Baking with Julia recipe was a huge success and I can't wait to try our next selection, Chocolate Truffle Tartlets, they sound delicious!

Gorgonzola Apple Tartlets

2012-02-03T00:01:00.003-05:00

These absolutely delicious appetizer bites are my adaptation of our French Fridays with Dorie recipe of the week, Gorgonzola Apple Quiche. I loved the fruit and cheese combo but am not a fan of quiche and knew no one else in the family would be up for trying it, so I made little mini tarts instead.

I pretty much just left off the cream and egg off of the recipe and made minis instead of one big tart.

If you can't find imported gorgonzola, Bel Gioioso Cheese makes a delicious version made in Wisconsin. Meijer usually carries this cheese and I buy it often, it's so good!

Above is the measured out two ounces of cheese...

and here is the cheese mixed up with the cubed apples.

I prebaked Dorie's tart dough for 10 minutes, then baked another 10 after adding the apples and cheese.

These were absolutely delicious, and Dorie's tart dough was so nice and flaky. I drizzled a few with honey and that just took them over the top with the savory sweet flavor combination. These would be just perfect for an appetizer party or as wine tasting nibbles, and I would not hesitate to make these again. I'm sure that if you like quiche/eggs the recipe as written was just as palate pleasing to you as these tartlets were to me :) My mom was visiting and loved these as well, the kids were not fans, but it is more of a grown-up flavor.

Fresh Pasta with Piri Piri Pepper Cream Sauce

2012-02-01T08:34:00.008-05:00

The theme of the week at I Heart Cooking Clubs is Some Like it Hot - And Spicy! We are cooking recipes from author Tessa Kiros and now that I have added all of her books to my cookbook collection, I should have no problem picking a recipe, right? Well, maybe I wasn't looking hard enough but I did have some trouble finding a spicy recipe that was veg friendly.

Finally I decided I'd go with something based on one of Tessa's recipe for Piri Piri Sauce from her book Piri Piri Starfish, the first book of Tessa's that I purchased when we started cooking her recipes months ago. I had no idea what a Piri Piri was, was it some sort of Portugese Starfish? Well, no. Piri Piri is a small hot pepper that is popular in Portuguese cuisine.

I knew I'd never be able to find such an ingredient locally, so I went to amazon and found some jarred piri piri peppers for sale, they were about $25 and you got 12 small jars of peppers. I love trying new things and I figured I would be able to use them for the piri piri sauce and have a ton left to add into other recipes and possibly substitute these in for those canned diced green chilies that are in lots of Mexican inspired recipes.

Here is the recipe I used as a base for the cream sauce...

Tomato Piri Piri Sauce

Tessa Kiros -- Piri Piri Starfish

1 cup olive oil

3 ripe tomatoes, about 3 and 1/2 ounces each, sliced (I used 4 smaller Roma tomatoes = about 11 ounces)

1 and 3/4 ounces of butter (about 3 tbsp)

generous 1/2 teaspoon salt

large pinch of sugar

6 dried piri piri chillies, or to taste, finely chopped (I used 6 jarred peppers in place of dried)

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Recipe preface notes that this is especially good with grilled bread or over white rice, which is where I got the idea to use it as a pasta sauce base.

Heat the oil in a smallish heavy-based pan. Add the tomatoes and butter and simmer for about 25 minutes. Add the salt, sugar, piri piris and garlic and cook for another 5-10 minutes. Remove from the heat and puree roughly with a hand-held blender or food processor. If you like your sauce hotter at a pinch or so of ground piri piri.

Above photo is the sauce right when I added the peppers and garlic, before they had a chance to cook into the sauce, and below is a photo of the sauce after it had been pureed with the immersion blender.

Pour sauce into a sterilised jar, if you're not using immediately, and keep the surface covered with a layer of oil. Keep in the fridge and warm up or bring to room temperature to serve. This will keep for up to a month. Makes about 1 and 3/4 cups.

~~~

Part 2

I decided to use another Tessa Kiros recipe for the fresh pasta, I made the pasta in my lello pasta machine and used the linguine extrusion disc. The recipe preface says this can be made by hand or in a food processor. I'm just posting the ingredients so you can mix it and cut it however you prefer.

Fresh Egg Pasta -- Pasta all'uovo
Tessa Kiros -- Twelve

1 lb strong flour -- I just used all purpose, not sure if that was strong or not

1 teaspoon salt

4 eggs

To cook the pasta use 1 tbsp of salt and 1 tbsp of olive oil in the water to prevent it from sticking together and cook in boiling water for 3-4 minutes, depending on shape and thickness of pasta.

Pasta before and after cooking, and ready to be plated by Fred the Pastasaurus :) Had to throw a pic of Fred up here, I bought him a year or so ago and the kids just love him, how can you not smile when a dinosaur is serving your pasta?

Part 3

Okay here is the Piri Piri Cream Sauce part, that I made up for this IHCC theme...

1 cup Piri Piri Tomato Sauce (recipe mention previously)

1/4 cup cream

1/4 cup shredded Parmigano Reggiano*

1/4 cup shredded Grana Padano cheese*

*(or just use 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan)

Gently heat the sauce and cream in a small sauce pan, add the cheese and whisk until smooth and creamy.

You can add a touch more cream if it is too thick, but I did not need to.

Serve over pasta...

with extra parmesan.

And there you have it. It really wasn't too spicy but it did have a little heat to it. The unique flavor of the piri piri was right there and it definitely took over the dish, but not in a bad way. I would probably recommend this as a side dish rather than a main dish pasta, because the flavor is kind of intense. My four year old, who usually loves spicy food, took one bite and was not interested. Oh-well. I think it was a nice introduction to piri piri peppers for me and can't wait to try them in some other recipes.

I'm sending this off to Ruth at Presto Pasta Nights for Presto Pasta Nights #249 -- thanks, Ruth!

Orange Berry Muffins

2012-01-31T08:16:00.008-05:00

This is another Tuesdays with Dorie rewind recipe from the early days of TWD. I decided that starting this week I would start back at the beginning of the book and try to work my way through the recipes that I missed in the order they appear in the book. I'm planning on doing this on the "off Tuesdays" since next week we will start the new TWD group with the book, Baking With Julia (so excited!) and only post every other Tuesday.

The first recipe in the book is Orange Berry Muffins, these sounded so delicious and I was happy to give them a try. I love oranges and blueberries, and the recipe calls for buttermilk, which I love using in baked goods for that extra moist crumb.

Orange Berry Muffins

Dorie Greenspan

Grated zest and juice of 1 orange

About 3/4 cup buttermilk

2 large eggs

3 Tablespoons honey

1 stick (8 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1/3 cup sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup blueberries - fresh, preferably, or frozen (not thawed) -- I used frozen

Decorating sugar, for topping (optional) -- I skipped this, but kind of wish I wouldn't have

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. -- I had my oven temperature at 350, I like my oven temp a little lower when I'm using silicone bakeware, just personal preference -- Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups. Alternatively, use a silicone muffin pan, which needs neither greasing nor paper cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

Pour the orange juice into a large glass measuring cup or a bowl and pour in enough buttermilk to make 1 cup. Whisk in the eggs, honey and melted butter.

In a large bowl, rub the sugar and orange zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and the fragrance of orange is strong. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don't worry about being thorough - the batter will be lumpy and bubbly, and that's just the way it should be. Just a note, don't leave any clumps of dry flour. Stir in the blueberries. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. I had enough for two pans of heart muffins and a small pan of mini muffins.

Bake for 22 to 25 minutes. If you want to top the muffins with decorating sugar, sprinkle on the sugar after the muffins have baked for 10 minutes. When fully baked, the tops of the muffins will be golden and springy to the touch and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins will come out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.

~~~

I made these as an after school snack for my kids and they loved them warm from the oven. I thought they were delicious too, not too sweet, and can be eaten plain or served with butter and honey. Using frozen berries worked out fine but I bet they'd be even better with fresh. As much of a hit as these were fresh from the oven, the next morning the kids weren't liking them as much, I thought they were just fine, but their texture did change a bit, so I'd plan to serve these fresh. It was so fun to finally try the first recipe from Baking From My Home To Yours :)

Star Speculaas

2012-01-29T17:45:00.006-05:00

These delicious cookies are our Club: BAKED recipe for the 1st of February! We are posting a little early because we are teaming up with another baking group that is also baking through Baked Explorations for this pick. You can find the recipe for these cookies here at Baked Sunday Mornings if you do not have the book and would like to give these a try.

I decided to mix up this cookie dough in my food processor since it specified a hand pastry mixer to get the dough blended together and I just find using the processor so much easier and more consistent that using my hand pastry mixer. This dough formed perfectly in the food processor, it was such a cinch to toss all the ingredients in there and let it work some magic :)

This dough was very easy to work with and roll out and cut. I am not used to rolling out cookie dough this thin -- 1/4 inch, so it was a touch tricky to transfer my star Speculaas to the cookie sheet, but I managed to get the job done.

I baked my cookies for 10 minutes at 350 on insulated baking sheets, they were plenty done by that time and I think if I'd have baked them for 15 minutes they would have been burned.

They were plenty crispy crunchy at the 10 minute mark. Their aroma reminded my family of gingerbread, and I loved the little citrus twist from the orange zest. They were perfectly spiced and ideal for tea. I decided to add a little frosting and sprinkle border to half of the cookies.

I had a new shaker of Valentine's Day nonpareils (or shall I call them hundreds and thousands? I just can't resist, I love that name) that were begging be used even though it isn't quite February yet. I think the cookies turned out so pretty! All three of my little ones and picky husband liked these cookies very much, yay!

Even though I'm traditionally more of a thick gooey chewy cookie fan, I thought these were wonderful and enjoyed every crispy crunchy bite. They reminded me of the Moravian Spice cookies that I used to get as a child while visiting Winston Salem, North Carolina. I'm such a nostalgic person, and any cookie that can conjure up childhood memories is a win :)

Broth Braised Potatoes

2012-01-26T20:35:00.006-05:00

Time for another French Fridays with Dorie recipe! Our pick this week is Broth Braised Potatoes, the recipe can be found on page 358 of Dorie's book, Around My French Table. I didn't get too many photographs of this recipe since I made them to go with dinner and we ate them up quickly. My favorite is the above photo, taken just after putting the potatoes in the broth and before cooking. You can really see the pretty purple potato color along with the baby Yukon golds and baby red potatoes.

Here is the broth mixture heating up, I pretty much followed the recipe exactly except for using vegetarian vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. The flavor from the lemon peel was a nice surprise, and I was very happy to use some rosemary sprigs from my little potted herb garden.

Here are the potatoes all done and ready to eat, after simmering for a little under fifteen minutes. And below the potatoes are in their serving bowl ready for dinner! I served them with some green beans and chicken (for hubby and kids) -- I had some plain linguine pasta leftover for myself and drizzled some of the braising broth over the noodles and it made such yummy sauce!

The whole family enjoyed these potatoes, they had such a great flavor and the cooking times were right on. I don't cook potatoes a lot, seems like I just never know what to do with them and they are usually just for holidays, but can see making this recipe again for sure. The kids especially liked the purple potatoes and we decided to look up their origins online after dinner, from what I can tell they are native to South America and one site said that the Mayans and Incas used to serve these special purple potatoes to their kings. Not sure how accurate that is, but it was an interesting little food trivia tidbit for the night :)

Sweet Jamaican Plantain Dumplings

2012-01-25T22:23:00.014-05:00

I found this recipe for Jamaican Plantain Dumplings at foodnetwork.com while searching for a Jamaican recipe to make for the My Kitchen My World January destination, Jamaica. I think these are served as a bread / side for dinner, but since I was making these for an afternoon snack, the cinnamon and sugar coating sounded just right. I was also thinking the kids would be more willing to try these if I presented them as a sweet snack...

Jamaican Dumplings with Plantains

Tyler Florence via foodnetwork

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
1/2 cup milk (I had to use 1 full cup of skim milk to get the dough to the right consistency)
1 ripe plantain, peeled and cut into coins (I used 1 and 1/2 plantains)
Vegetable oil, for frying

Add the flour, salt and baking powder to a food processor and pulse to combine. Toss in the cold butter cubes and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs.

Add milk, a little bit at a time until it is completely worked into the dough. Once it comes together into a nice consistent ball and pulls away from the sides of the food processor, divide the dough into about 12 little balls.

Push a slice of plantain into the middle of each ball and pinch the dough around the plantain so it is completely covered by the dough.

Press each ball flat into a little cake, cover with a damp kitchen towel and allow to rest for 20 to 30 minutes before frying.

Set a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and add 1/4 cup of vegetable oil. Prick the dumplings all over with a fork. Working in batches, pan-fry dumplings until golden and slightly puffy, about 3 to 5 minutes per side.

Season with salt (I used cinnamon and sugar instead) and serve warm.

Season with salt (I rolled them in cinnamon sugar instead) and serve warm.

~~~

The dumpling had a great flavor and went well with the cinnamon and sugar even though the dumpling dough was not sweet itself. The plantain flavor was subtle yet yummy. My mom who was visiting liked these a lot and said they reminded her of paczkis. Unfortunately the kids did not really like these, not sure why, I think they were a little unsure about the plantains since they looked like blackened bananas, which they noticed when I was making these...oh-well. This were definitely a fun recipe to make, and I thought they were delicious :)

Mushroom Manchego Risotto Balls

2012-01-24T08:40:00.004-05:00

I made these delicious risotto balls shortly after I made this recipe for Mushroom Risotto and am sharing the recipe this week for I Heart Cooking Clubs January Potluck. It seems like everyone at IHCC was making some type of risotto balls and I just had to give it a go, especially since I had just made mushroom risotto and had a half batch leftover in the fridge. The recipe I used suggested mozzarella cubes inside of tomato risotto balls, which sounds wonderful, but I went with some Manchego cheese to stuff inside of these mushroom risotto balls and it was a match made in heaven!

Fried Risotto Balls
adapted from Tessa Kiros -- Apples for Jam

About 3 cups cold risotto (1/2 batch cooked risotto leftovers, I probably had closer to 4 cups)
4 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
2 eggs
1/2 cups small cubed cheese
1 and 1/2 cups dry bread crumbs (I used Italian seasoned bread crumbs)
oil for frying
optional lemon wedges to serve

Mix the risotto and parmesan together in a bowl. Lightly beat one of the eggs and gradually stir into the risotto, stopping when the risotto is damp but still firm enough to be shaped.

Moisten your hands with a little water; take a heaping tablespoon of mixture, and roll it into a ball. Make a tunnel into the center with your finger and push a cheese cube into it. Squeeze the ball to close the opening and seal in the cheese. Do this with the rest of the mixture.

Lightly beat the other egg in a flat bowl. Put the bread crumbs on a plate.

Roll the balls in the egg and then the bread crumbs and put on a cookie sheet or large plate. Chill for at least 30 minutes.

Pour about 1 inch of oil into a frying pan and heat until hot but not smoking. (I used my electric skillet for frying these, which is my new favorite way to deep fry, it is so easy. I had about 3 inches of oil and my oil temperature was about 355-360.) Fry the balls in batches, gently moving them around in the oil and turning them often so they brown evenly. Each batch will take about 2 minutes, then you can lift them out onto a plate lined with paper towels to absorb the excess oil.

Fried risotto balls are best served warm with a squeeze of lemon of juice but are also fine eaten at room temperature.

~~~

I love this photo with the stringy cheese, it reminds me when I first learned about fried Italian rice balls (many years ago, before they were uber popular, in one of my old cookbooks) with the name Suppli al Telefono, meaning telephone wires because the string from the cheese when you take a bite is long like telephone wires :)

These were absolutely delicious, the flavors of the cheese and mushroom risotto went so well together. In the recipe preface in the book the author mentions her children love risotto balls, so I was half expecting my kids to like these too, especially with the cute saying about telephone wires, but nope, all three of my kids gave these a try and did not like them :( I'm hoping it was because the manchego and mushroom flavors are a touch too "grown-up"? Ah well. Guess I will have to try the tomato risotto with mozzarella version for a more kid friendly risotto ball!

Blueberry Brown Sugar Plain Cake

2012-01-24T00:01:00.000-05:00

Another Tuesday eve and another Tuesdays with Dorie treat that I missed posting but baked along with the group on -- Blueberry Brown Sugar Plain Cake. This was our pick back in June 2011, and was hosted by Cindy at Everyday Insanity, thank you, Cindy! You can find the recipe for this simple and delicious cake here at Cindy's site if you do not have Dorie's book, Baking From My Home To Yours.

I remember being excited to make this cake since I love blueberries and "plain" / "no frosting required" cakes. This was a super simple recipe and the cake was so yummy. My kids loved it and I remember baking a second one of these shortly after the first one was gone because the kids requested it again. I only got a few pictures of this cake before it was finished off by my crew. This was a great recipe for sure, I loved the blueberries huddled together at the bottom, I think I'll be making this one again here very soon :)

Quatre Quarts Cake

2012-01-19T16:52:00.012-05:00

Today's French Fridays with Dorie recipe is called Quatre-Quarts, a French cake described as similar to an American pound cake. This recipe can be found on page 434 of Dorie Greenspan's book, Around My French Table.

Above are my ingredients all ready to go -- beaten egg whites, butter/sugar/egg yolk/vanilla mixture, and flour/baking powder/pinch of salt mixture.

Here is the cake batter in a heart shaped springform pan, sprinkled with brown sugar and ready to be popped in the oven.

Here is the cake after baking, the brown sugar sunk into the cake...

and formed little pockets of melted brown sugar around the bottom of the cake, visible in the above photo on the bottom right of the cake slice, yummy!

There are several suggestions on what to serve the cake with, sugared berries, jam, fruit coulis, whipped cream, creme fraiche, or ice cream with chocolate sauce. Dorie mentions this cake is served by mothers across France who make this as an after-school treat for their children, so that is exactly what I did.

My first grader (with her super excited "we're having cake" smile, pictured above) absolutely loved her slice of cake with sugared lingonberries and whipped cream. My two boys were too eager to play Sonic the Hedgehog so my little girl and I enjoyed a slice all to ourselves. A little while later the boys reemerged from their Sonic madness and also had a slice, this cake was enjoyed by all. Picky husband even had a piece with just whipped cream (he does not like lingonberries, crazy, I know) and said it was very good.

This was a wonderful after school or whenever treat and I'm sure I'll be making this cake again and again.

Roasted Tomato and Goat Cheese Pasta

2012-01-18T07:25:00.001-05:00

This is such a delicious pasta dish, especially if you are a goat cheese fan. I found this recipe here at foodnetwork.com one day when I was looking for something to make with some extra tomatoes I had. I used red Campari tomatoes and yellow cherry tomatoes.

Pasta with Slow Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Goat Cheese

Sara Moulton via foodnetwork.com

2 pounds red and yellow cherry tomatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 pound penne -- I used fusilli
6 ounces fresh goat cheese
1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces -- I was out of fresh basil so used a little dried to sprinkle on top
Additional kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.

Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Halve each tomato and place cut side up in 1 flat layer on the baking sheets. Drizzle the tomatoes with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and sprinkle on the salt.

Roast until the tomatoes are dried around the edges but still moist, about 2 hours.

Crumble the goat cheese into large chunks and refrigerate until ready to serve the pasta.

Cook the pasta in salted boiling water according to the package directions.

Remove 1 cup of the cooking liquid and reserve. Drain the pasta well and return to the pot.

Add the tomatoes, goat cheese, basil, reserved cooking liquid, and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Toss well and season with salt and pepper. Serve warm.

~~~

This is one of my new favorite pasta dishes. I can't wait to make it with fresh basil and garden fresh tomatoes. Even the kids liked this one and they are usually a little unsure about tomato dishes. One of the best parts is how easy this one is, all you have to do it start the tomatoes mid morning, and by lunch time you will be ready to make this dish.

I am sending this over to Alisha of Cook. Craft. Enjoy., who is hosting Presto Pasta Nights #247, thanks Ruth and Alisha!

All American All Delicious Apple Pie

2012-01-17T08:05:00.003-05:00

This pie was a Tuesdays with Dorie pick way back in October of 2010. One of those weeks that I baked along and didn't have time to post, well, I did have time to take pictures, and they'd been sitting in my "cooking photos" folder for way too long!

Now that Tuesdays with Dorie is done with the book Baking From My Home To Yours and only posting every other week for the new book, I figured I'd post all those old recipes I made but never blogged about, along with baking the ones I missed completely, on the off Tuesdays. Thank you to Emily at Sandmuffin for this delicious pick! I distinctly remember being extra excited about trying this recipe since apple pie is a favorite around here.

my little teddy bear crust cut-out

All-American, All-Delicious Apple Pie

Dorie Greenspan -- Baking From My Home to Yours

For a 9 inch Double Crust:
3 cups all purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
1 ½ tsp salt

2 ½ sticks very cold unsalted butter, cut into tbsp size pieces

1/3 cup very cold vegetable shortening, cut into 4 pieces

About ½ cup ice water

Put the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor fitted with a metal blade, pulse just to combine the ingredients. Drop in the butter and shortening and pulse only until the butter and shortening are cut into the flour. Don’t overdo the mixing- what you’re aiming for is to have some pieces the size of fat green peas and others the size of barley. Pulsing the machine on and off, gradually add about 6 tbsps of the water- add a little water and pulse once, add some more water, pulse again and keep going that way. Then use a few long pulses to get the water into the flour. If, after a dozen or so pulses, the dough doesn’t look evenly moistened or form soft curds, pulse in as much of the remaining water as necessary, or even a few drops more, to get a dough that will stick together when pinched. Big pieces of butter are fine. Scrape the dough out of the bowl and onto a work surface.

Divide the dough in half. Gather each half into a ball, flatten each ball into a disk and wrap each half in plastic. Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour before rolling (if your ingredients were very cold and you worked quickly, though, you might be able to roll the dough immediately: the dough should be as cold as if it had just come out of the fridge).

To Roll Out the Dough: Have a buttered 9 inch pie plate at hand. You can roll the dough out onto a floured surface or between sheets of wax paper or plastic wrap or in a rolling slipcover. If you’re working on a counter, turn the dough over frequently and keep the counter floured. If you are rolling between paper, plastic or in a slipcover, make sure to turn the dough over often and to life the paper, plastic, or cover frequently so that it doesn’t roll into the dough and form creases.

If you’ve got time, slide the rolled out dough into the fridge for about 20 minutes to rest and firm up.

For the Pie
4 pounds (about 6 very large) apples
3/4 cup sugar
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8-1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs (or dry bread crumbs)

2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into bits

For the Glaze (optional)
Milk or heavy cream
Decorating (coarse) or granulated sugar

Getting Ready: Butter a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. If you want to use a standard 9-inch pie plate, just reduce the amount of filling by about one quarter.

Working on a well-floured surface (or between wax paper or plastic wrap), roll out one piece of the dough to a thickness of about 1/8 inch. Fit the dough into the buttered pie plate and trim the edges to a 1/2-inch overhang. Roll the other piece of dough into a 1/8-inch-thick circle and slip it onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat. Cover both the circle and the crust in the pie plate with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 20 minutes, while you preheat the oven and prepare the filling. (If it's more convenient, the crust can be well covered and kept refrigerated overnight.)

Getting Ready to Bake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Peel, core and slice the apples. You've got a choice for slicing: you can cut each apple in half and then slice each half crosswise or lengthwise into slices about 1/4 inch thick, or you can cut the apples into chunks about 1/4 to 1/2 inch on a side. In either case, put the apples into a large bowl and add the sugar, lemon zest tapioca, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Toss everything together really well- I do this with my hands. If you've got a little time, let the mix sit for about 5 minutes, until juice starts to accumulate in the bottom of the bowl.

Remove the pie plate and top crust from the refrigerator and put the pie plate on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat. Sprinkle the crumbs evenly over the bottom of the crust-this will help keep it from getting too soggy (some sog is inevitable)- and then turn the apples and their juices into the crust. The apples will heap over the top of the crust. Pat them into an even mound. Dot the apples with the bits of cold butter.

Very lightly moisten the rim of the bottom crust with water, then center the top crust over the apples. (If the crusts-top and bottom- are still very cold and in danger of cracking when you work with them, let them sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes.) Either fold the overhang from the top crust under the bottom crust and crimp the crust attractively, or press the top crust against the bottom crust and trim the overhang from both crusts even with the rim of the pie plate. If you've pressed and trimmed the crust, use the tines of a fork to press the two crusts together securely.

Use a sharp paring knife to cut about 6 slits in the top crust. I just did a little crust cut-out with my mini teddy bear cookie cutter as the steam vent. I always use the wide end of a piping tip to cut a circle out of the center of the crust as a steam vent. if you'd like, brush the top crust with a little milk or cream and sprinkle it with sugar.

Bake the pie for 15 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees F, and bake the pie for another 50 to 60 minutes (total baking time is between 65 and 75 minutes), or until the crust is gorgeously browned and the juices bubble up through the top crust. After about 40 minutes in the oven, if the top crust looks as if it's browning too quickly, cover the pie loosely with a foil tent.

this is my sweet little guy T, at age four, just taking in all the goodness of a freshly baked apple pie

Transfer the pie to a rack and let it rest until it is only just warm or until it reaches room temperature.

~~~

I loved this pie, I think the first bite really got me with the lemon flavor from the zest, and I thought to myself, this could be the best apple pie ever! Picky husband, who is a huge apple pie fan, but likes his a certain way, enjoyed this pie but wasn't bowled over like I was. The kids all loved this one, come on, who wouldn't?

I love how the Dorie's pie crust performed, I had used it previously and was a little unsure if it was a favorite, but decided to give it another go with this pie and was so glad I did. I have made a few apple pies since this one, most recently Martha Stewart's Classic Apple Pie from her Baking Handbook which I baked for Thanksgiving, but this one is still one of my favorites :)

Winnie the Pooh Waffles with Honey

2012-01-16T10:18:00.008-05:00

These waffles are from Tessa Kiros' book Apples for Jam. I picked them to try for I Heart Cooking Clubs' theme of the week: White As Snow. Even though the waffles aren't quite white, I think they'll be an okay submission this week. They are made with whipped egg whites, and served with some white clouds of whipped cream, so that makes them applicable, right?

We love waffles around here, and I'm always up for trying another waffle recipe, even though we do have a family favorite. These ones were pretty good! The kids loved them and my daughter said they were "totally scrumptious" :) They are pretty substantial waffle, ready to stand up to lots of toppings and not get mushy. The boys called the waffles crispy and crunchy, which they liked. I ended up getting 7 smallish waffles out of the recipe.

Waffles
Tessa Kiros -- Apples for Jam

2 eggs, separated

1/3 cup superfine sugar -- I used powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
4 and 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup milk

Whisk the egg whites until the are fluffy and just holding soft peaks.

In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar and vanilla until creamy. Whisk in the better, then the flour and baking powder. (At this point my batter was really thick.) Add the milk, then fold in the egg whites.

Heat a waffle iron.

Add about 5 tablespoons of batter into each space and close the machine.

Cook, following the manufacturer's instructions, until the waffles are golden brown.

For this recipe I used my Villaware Disney Winnie the Pooh Waffler / Waffle Maker that has Pooh on one side and his buddy Tigger on the other of each waffle. The kids love character waffles, and what can I say? -- I do too :)

The waffles were great with whipped cream and honey and also some blueberries, what a fun "no school day" breakfast treat :)

Mississippi Mud Pie

2012-01-15T09:37:00.011-05:00

This Mississippi Mud Pie is our second January selection for Club: BAKED, thank you to Jess at The Saucy Kitchen for this pick. You can find the recipe here at Jess' site if you do not have the book Baked Explorations.

This was my first time making a Mississippi Mud Pie. According to the book there are two types of Mississippi Mud Pie, this one, which is kind of like a coffee ice cream pie, and another that is more chocolately without ice cream. I have had the later chocolatey Mississippi Mud Pie before at restaurants, but had never heard of this coffee ice cream version which is apparently very popular down south. The pie starts with a chocolate cookie crumb crust, I used some oreos sans middles, you can see one of my kids trying to grab a left over oreo middle (these were the berry ice cream flavor oreos).

The next ingredient is a fudge layer which is then topped with coffee ice cream. I made my own with a recipe from the book The Ice Cream Bible which was absolutely delicious. I don't use my ice cream maker that often and when I do schlep it out to make some ice cream for one of my baking groups I always wonder why I don't use it more often since it is so fun to make homemade ice cream. The kids love watching it churn and I have to admit, I like to watch it too.

This recipe was a lot of fun to put together, the kids had fun helping with almost every step. The whole family was very excited to finally try this one for dessert after the fudge drizzle set up. The kids loved this and I thought it was pretty delicious too. It was too sweet for picky husband, which I can totally understand, it was very sweet, but I think that's part of the charm of a Mississippi Mud Pie :)

New Orleans Fried Eggplant Sticks

2012-01-13T15:05:00.008-05:00

I made this delicious eggplant appetizer a while ago and have used this recipes many times since, these are so good! The batter and frying method also makes wonderful breaded eggplant slices to use with eggplant Parmesan type dishes. I found this one here at foodnetwork.com, thank you to Emeril for this wonderful recipe :)

New Orleans Fried Eggplant Sticks
Emeril Lagasse

6 cups vegetable oil -- for frying
1 large, long eggplant (about 2 pounds) -- I used two smaller ones
1 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon Essence, recipe follows
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 cup powdered sugar

Heat the oil in a large, heavy saute pan to 360 degrees F. I used my large electric skillet for the frying, makes it easier since it has an automatic temperature control knob.

Peel the eggplant and cut in half lengthwise. Cut each half into 1/4-inch thick slices (like long French fries).

Toss the slices with 1 teaspoon Essence and the salt to coat evenly.

Season the flour with the remaining tablespoon of Essence. Beat the eggs and milk in a shallow bowl.

Lightly dredge the eggplant slices in the flour to coat, shaking off any excess. Dip the coated strips into the egg wash, then back into the flour. In batches, fry the eggplant strips in the hot oil until golden, turning with a long-handled spoon as they cook to brown evenly, about 2 minutes.

Remove the eggplant to a paper towel lined plate to let cool very briefly before serving, these are nice and crunchy at first, but do get soggy kind of quickly, from the eggplant I think.

Put the powdered sugar in a small decorative bowl for passing at the table.

Dip in powdered sugar as you eat. I just lightly dusted them with the powdered sugar.

Emeril's Essence Seasoning Spice Blend

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container. Yield: about 2/3 cup

~~~~

I absolutely loved this recipe and it is now one of my favorite ways to prepare eggplant, I don't do it too often since they are fried, but they sure are yummy. The seasoning blend does make these a touch spicy so I decrease it when making these for the kids, but I'm sure most adults would like the kick. It definitely has that "bam" factor :) The powdered sugar was an interesting addition and if you like spicy savory sweet all combined, which I do, you will love it.

I think these would be a great appetizer for a Cajun dinner -- but make sure you serve these hot right after they come out of the fryer because they do get soggy kind of quickly, that's just the nature of the eggplant in this recipe. If you give this a try I hope you like it, if you are an eggplant fan, I'm pretty sure you will!

Mushroom Risotto -- Risotto ai Funghi

2012-01-11T18:57:00.003-05:00

Here is my pick for I Heart Cooking Clubs theme of the week, Rice is Nice. This recipe, Risotto ai Funghi/Wild Mushroom Risotto uses Arborio (Risotto) Rice and is from Tessa Kiros' book, Twelve. I recently purchased this book since we still have a few more months to cook Tessa's recipes, and this is the first recipe I've tried. I always love trying a first recipe from a new cookbook, not sure why, it just feels a little special for some reason :)

Risotto ai Funghi / Wild Mushroom Risotto

adapted from Tessa Kiros -- Twelve

Serves 6

20g (3/4 oz) dried, wild mushrooms, optional -- I used a 1 ounce package of dried porcini mushrooms

300 g (10 and 1/2 oz) fresh wild mushrooms, such as porcini and chantrelle or Swiss Brown mushrooms -- I used 10 and 1/2 ounces "Baby Bella" mushrooms, I found these in a huge pack at Sam's Club

6 cups vegetable stock or water

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 large white onion, peel and finely chopped -- I left off the onion, not an onion fan

2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

2 sprigs of thyme, leaves stripped off stalk -- I used about 1/4 tsp dried thyme

1 cup white wine

1 lb 2 oz arborio/risotto rice -- I used a 1 lb package of arborio so 2 ounces shy

1 and 3/4 oz butter

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving

a handful of chopped fresh parsley

Soak the dried mushrooms in 1 cup of warm water for 10 minutes. Drain (save liquid) and chop the mushrooms into pieces. Strain the soaking liquid to add to the risotto. Rinse the fresh mushrooms if necessary and wipe them with paper towels. Slice them finely. Heat the stock in a sauce pan.

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan and lightly saute the onion on a medium heat. When it has softened slightly, add the garlic, thyme, and the fresh and dried mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper, and saute for a few minutes to soften. Add the wine and when it has evaporated, add the rice, stirring to coat. Cook for a minute, lower the heat and add a ladleful or two of the hot stock, stirring with a wooden spoon.

Add the mushroom water or 1 cup of the stock. When the stock has been absorbed, add another ladelful and continue stirring, taking care to gently move all the rice at the bottom of the pan so it doesn't stick.

After about 20 minutes of stirring and adding stock to be absorbed, taste the rice, adjust the seasoning, if necessary. The rice may need another 5 minutes or so. (I needed a little longer than the recipe calls for) It should have a creamy, slightly liquid consistency but still be slightly firm to the bite. Add the butter, the parmesan cheese and the chopped parsley and stir. Serve immediately with extra parmesan cheese if you'd like.

~~~

I made this for lunch one day when my mom was visiting. I knew my kids and picky husband wouldn't be game for trying this, but my mom and I thought it was good. I love mushrooms and enjoy risotto but had never had a mushroom risotto before and this was nice. I'm still not too sure if I like the texture of reconstituted mushrooms pieces, but that's just me. It was a nice warm comforting dish with subtle flavors. I think it would be great as a side dish rather than a main dish risotto. I'm looking forward to using the left-overs in pan-fried risotto cakes, or maybe I'll try the fried risotto ball recipe that Tessa has in another of her cookbooks.

Kids' Thumbprints

2012-01-10T08:22:00.002-05:00

Late is better than never, right? I like that saying. I spent many years being an 'on time or else' kind of person, with myself only, if others were late I wasn't bothered at all, but for me, I needed be on time. I despised being late, immediately racked with guilt should the dreaded moment I was late, eventually arrive. But, after having kids, being late just kind of happened. I was stressed out at being late at first, but now I just try to let it be and enjoy the moment.

Mind you, I'm still rarely late in real life, it still bothers me if I am, but with blogging, well, it is too easy to fall behind and be late. I was such a good blogger at first, I think the whole first year I blogged along with TWD I did not miss a single recipe. Then after that things just got so busy and blogging slid to the back burner. I missed baking along every Tuesday. Every now and then I'd jump back in, then fall back out. Just too busy!

Anyway here were are, two Tuesdays after the final "original TWD" end recipe, and I am posting. I baked along on time, but just didn't get to posting until now! Don't worry, these cookies are definitely worth waiting for. I think they are my very favorite cookie out of all of them that I have baked with TWD, and that's quite a few cookies!

Cookies with jam are my favorites, add some crunchy peanuts to the mix and I am a happy cookie muncher. These were so fun to make and my three little ones enjoyed lending their thumbs to the cookie cause. I am so happy I got to bake these ones with my kids, it was just a magical moment and I will always treasure having my little sweeties in the kitchen with my, wild and crazy as they are at ages six, five, and four, and full of boundless energy just bouncing around the kitchen :)

A very heartfelt thank you to Laurie, her helper, Julie and most importantly, the author of Baking From My Home To Yours, the world famous Dorie Greenspan -- visit her site for the recipe to these absolutely delicious peanut butter and jelly thumbprint cookies :)

I am planning to keep on baking through Baking From My Home To Yours, I want to bake all of the recipes that were chosen before I joined in July 2008 and all of the ones I missed through out the years. And I will definitely be game for TWD's next challenge, Baking with Julia, I've already gotten my book and am ready to go, and hopefully, not miss a single one!

Devil's Food Cake with Angel Frosting -- Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T14:43:00.005-05:00

Happy New Year! I hope everyone stopping by has had a wonderful holiday season filled with lots of happy memories! As much as I want to blog regularly, it seems like every year around the holidays I just can't find the time. I try not to stress about it and just enjoy the holidays as they seem to fly by so fast. New Year's Day has arrived and I'm posting a delicious cake from the book Baked Explorations, Devil's Food Cake with Angel Frosting.

This cake was our January 1st pick for the group Club: BAKED, thank you to Natalie at Just About Food for this choice. This is my second time baking and blogging about a Devil's Food Cake, you can see my first version, from the book Baking From My Home To Yours, here -- Devil's Food White Out Cake, baked for the group Tuesdays with Dorie. That time I used a really neat pan set that has a heart tunnel of frosting through the middle. That was my first time making this type of frosting and I absolutely loved it! It tastes like creamy marshmallow fluff, yum!

This time I went with three 9 inch round cake pans, the recipe calls for two 8 inch pans, but I could only find one 8 inch pan and didn't feel like looking that hard, my set of three 9 inch ones were right where they should be so they got used instead, naughty 8 inch pans taking off on my like that :) I did decrease the baking time to twenty minutes for the three pans and that worked perfectly.

This cake was absolutely delicious, so moist and chocolaty. I am usually not a big chocolate cake fan, but this one was really good. I would make it again if someone requested a Devil's Food Cake, I think this recipe is just perfect.

My daughter picked which sprinkles to decorate the cake with for a New Year's Eve dessert. Everyone really enjoyed this cake! Wishing you a very happy New Year from my family to yours! Looking forward to blogging more and visiting more blogs and sharing lots of delicious recipes in the new year :)

Winter Squash Pizza Bake

2011-11-20T11:02:00.002-05:00

Sliding in at the end of Orange Skies week at I Heart Cooking Clubs with this Winter Squash Pizza Bake. For Orange Skies week we were to use an orange fruit or vegetable recipe, and I've had my eye on the recipe for Winter Squash Pizza in Tessa's book Apples for Jam since I first flipped through it a few months ago. I love squash and pizza and this recipe just plain old sounded good to me.

Winter Squash Pizza

Tessa Kiros -- Apples for Jam, page 82

1/2 small winter squash (I used a butternut squash)

salt

5 to 8 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup all purpose flour, for dusting -- I only needed about 1/2 cup

1 - 8 ounce can tomato sauce

1 to 2 teaspoons dried oregano -- I used an Italian seasoning spice blend that included oregano

1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Peet the winter squash, cut out the seeds and cute the flesh into very thin long slices about 1/16 inch thick. Put the slices in a colander; sprinkle with salt and leave for about 1 hour. Rinse them very well and pat them dry. Preheat oven to 350.

Drizzle 2 and 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil into a round 10 or 12 inch baking pan (I used a 10 inch springform pan) and spread it to coat the bottom of the pan. Put the flour on a plate and pat both sides of the squash slices in it. Make a slightly overlapping layer of slices in the baking pan. Trickle the tiniest bit of olive oil over this layer; then repeat the layering and oiling until you have used up all the squash -- you should have four or five layers.

Mix a little salt into the tomato sauce (taste first and make sure extra salt is needed!) and dot here and there over the top of the squash. Put into the oven and bake for about 50 minutes, until the bottom is sizzling and the top is turning quite golden. Scatter the oregano over the top, crushing it between your fingers.

Sprinkle with the mozzarella and return to the oven for 5 or 10 minutes, until the cheese melts and browns slightly. I broiled for a touch at the end to brown the cheese.

Cool a little before serving in wedges like pizza.

I thought this was pretty good. I'm not quite sure about the "wedges like pizza" because the squash was very thoroughly cooked (meaning mushy, as squash gets) by the end of the 60 minutes in the oven. The edges were a little crispy with the cheese, but this was more of a scoop and use a fork kind of dish. I thought this would have been great served with some crusty bread to serve this on.

Although I enjoyed this, my kids were not convinced and only had one bite each, the in-house required bite to try something new to see if they like it, and they all apparently didn't...my kids are on an anti-squash kick lately and I'm not sure why since I love all kinds of squash. Maybe picky daddy's tastes are rubbing off (he is an avid squash hater). I would say if you love pizza and love squash, as I do, give this a go, but if you are on the fence and don't like the texture of squash maybe this isn't the one to turn you into a squash lover. I'm glad I tried it and could see making it again if I had some extra squash to use up, I would just be prepared to make a seperate dinner for everyone else :)

Banana Hazelnut Bread

2011-11-09T09:16:00.006-05:00

This recipe is my pick for I Heart Cooking Clubs November Potluck. We love banana bread at our house and I am always up for trying a new recipe even though we have a favorite. I had some extra bananas on their way out so I figured I'd give Tessa's Banana Bread recipe a try and add some hazelnuts, as were suggested in the recipe preface...

Banana Hazelnut Bread

Tessa Kiros -- Apples for Jam page 349

1/4 pound plus 1 tablespoon butter

1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

3 or 4 medium ripe bananas, mashed -- I used 3

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

4 tablespoons warm milk

approx 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts (optional of course, if you are not a nut fan)

Preheat the oven to 350 and butter a 12 by 4 inch loaf pan. I do not have a 12 by 4 inch loaf pan but recently purchased this Kaiser 10 by 4 inch loaf pan so gave it a try with this recipe and it worked perfectly.

Cream the butter and sugar until smooth and then whisk in the mashed bananas. Add the eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt and whisk in well. Sieve in the flour and baking powder and beat until smooth. Mix the baking soda into the milk and stir into the batter. Stir in nuts if using.

Scrape the mixture into the pan...

and bake for about 50 minutes, until the bread is crusty on the top and a skewer poked into the middle comes out clean. Turn out onto a rack to cool. Serve warm or cold, plain or toasted with butter, but allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container, where it will keep well for several days. I doubt it was last that long, our loaf didn't :)

I thought that this was a delicious version of banana bread that I wouldn't hesitate to make again. It's nice for me to think of humble homey banana bread, a family favorite, being baked in kitchens around the world. I personally loved the hazelnuts in the bread, but picky husband picked them out, sorry honey! Anyway, the kids liked this one as much as I did, so it was a winner in my book :)

Chinese Restaurant Style Sesame Tofu

2011-11-04T09:44:00.002-04:00

This is one of my very favorite tofu dishes. I love Chinese restaurant style fried tofu, and this recipe is even better than any restaurant tofu I've had. I found the recipe a few years ago and have used it many times. It takes a long time to prepare and is quite a bit of work, but it is easy, and in the end - all the work is worth it, in my opinion :)

The original recipe is for chicken, if you eat/like chicken, I bet it is fabulous! I swapped out the chicken for tofu and the first time I made this. I didn't really know what to expect, which is usually the case while trying to swap the meat out of a recipe for, and this was such a delicious surprise when it turned out. My only change to the recipe (other than swapping out the meat of course) is to dredge the marinated tofu pieces in cornstarch before frying. Here is a recipe I've posted previously that has more in depth directions if you are new to frying tofu: Sweet and Sour Crispy Tofu.

Chinese Restaurant Style Sesame Tofu
adapted from this recipe @ food.com
this will make about moderate 4 servings, I usually double it

1 - standard size block of extra firm tofu (I like Mori-Nu brand) cut into approximate 1/2 inch cubes, does not have to be neat or fancy, small triangles also work well

Marinade:

2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon cooking wine or 1 tablespoon dry sherry
3 drops sesame oil
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vegetable oil

2 cups cornstarch (for dredging the marinated tofu)

Sauce:
1/2 cup water
1 cup vegetable broth
1/4 vinegar (you can use white, apple cider, or rice vinegar, they all work nicely)
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 cup sugar (white or brown, brown makes a nicer, darker sauce, I think, but I've tried both and they both work fine)
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon chili paste or sauce like sriracha (more if you like spicy, less if you are serving to kids, like only 1/4 tsp)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Oil for frying
Sesame Seeds for sprinkling on top
Rice to serve with (I like jasmine or jasmati)

Mix the marinade ingredients (the first 9 ingredients listed) and marinate the tofu for 20 minutes. I like to use a shallow pan, the tofu is very fragile after marinating so you have to be gentle.

Whisk together all of the sauce ingredients. Pour them into a small pot and bring to a boil, stirring continuously. Turn the heat down to low, stirring occasionally, and keep warm while you are deep-frying the tofu.

Dredge the tofu in cornstarch, giving a nice thick coating, be gentle so the tofu don't break apart.
Add the coated tofu pieces a few at a time into your frying vessel (I like to deep fry in my electric skillet, so easy and you can add lots of tofu pieces at a time) and deep-fry until golden brown (about 2 minutes). Remove with slotted spoon. Drain on paper towels and then place tofu in warm oven (130 degrees) while you continue frying. Repeat with the remainder of the tofu. Just before you are finished deep-frying, bring the sauce back up to a boil.

To serve, put the tofu over a bowl of rice, spoon over some sauce, enough to coat the tofu and a little extra to flavor the rice. Sprinkle on sesame seeds and enjoy! It is important to not mix the tofu with the sauce until you are serving this because the tofu will get soggy quickly and tastes much better crispy crunchy.

If you give this a try I hope you enjoy it as much as we do! This is a favorite of my middle son, and my daughter who usually does not like tofu at all likes this dish, my youngest likes it as well. Go light on the chili paste if you are serving this to kids. Happy cooking!

Sautéed Tomatoes in Olive Oil and Rosemary over Mafaldine Pasta

2011-11-03T09:02:00.012-04:00

Over at I Heart Cooking Clubs the theme of the week is: In My Pasta Bowl... and in my pasta bowl there was a delicious mingling of flavors with Tessa Kiros recipe for Sautéed Tomatoes in Olive Oil and Rosemary (from her book Apples for Jam on page 46) served over mafaldine pasta. Mafaldine pasta noodles are long and thin mini ruffled lasagna type noodles that are just perfect for sopping up juicy sauces, they are one of my favorite pasta shapes and the kids love them too.

The tomatoes I used in this recipe are extra special since they are from my husband's grandmother's farm and were her last batch of the season. Picky husband hates tomatoes, but he gladly accepted their tomato offer while he was over fixing grandma's computer the other day because he knows I love them! There are a lot of great tomato recipes in Tessa's book Apples for Jam and this is another one. These are suggested to be served over toasted bread, with a meat main course, or as a way to dress pasta, and that's what I did. The rosemary is also pretty special because it is my first time using fresh rosemary from my very own rosemary plant, way to go herb garden :) I've had the plant all summer but had not used it at all, now that I have my own stash I will have to be on the lookout for more fresh rosemary recipes!

Sautéed Tomatoes in Olive Oil and Rosemary

Tessa Kiros -- Apples for Jam

About 6 ripe and firm but juicy medium tomatoes

4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and squashed a bit
2 small rosemary sprigs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper (optional -- I left off the pepper)

Cut the tomatoes into quarters from top to bottom. Heat the oil in a large nonstick frying pan and add the tomatoes, garlic, and rosemary sprigs. Cook over quite high heat at first, until the undersides of the tomatoes are deep golden. (the golden color was a little tough to achieve for me) Turn them gently. The skins may be loosening a but, which doesn't matter - just try to keep them as intact as possible. Sprinkle with some salt and pepper if you like.

Lower the heat and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the juice from the tomatoes mingles with the oil and makes a syrup in the bottom of the pan. If the garlic cloves seem to be getting too dark, just sit them on top of one of the tomatoes. Cook until the tomatoes have a lovely color and look roasted rather than boiled. (a little unsure if I achieved this desired effect, but they were delicious so I'm not complaining) Serve warm or even at room temperature. Serves 5.

While the tomatoes were cooking I was also boiling up a pot of pasta. I drained it and tossed it with a little butter to prevent sticky noodle syndrome and ladled over some sautéed tomatoes and their delicious sauce.

Topped with some freshly shredded parmigiano reggiano, I don't think you could ask for a better filling for your pasta bowl :)

Mini Vanilla Cake Doughnuts with Chocolate Glaze

2011-10-29T18:06:00.015-04:00

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend getting ready for all of the Halloween festivities just around the corner! Today was such a fun day, we made some fun Halloween themed treats with the kids, and the favorites were these mini donuts.

The recipe is a Tessa Kiros recipe, just perfect for I Heart Cooking Clubs theme of the week, Harvest Moon -- Foods celebrating Fall's bounty/Halloween-themed foods. The recipe is for Vanilla Cake and I made the cake batter and used it in my mini donut maker, Maxim Donut Bites, pictured below...

This is an almost retro, almost vintage, okay, okay, just old, small kitchen appliance from 1995. It is still going strong. I hadn't used it in years but after seeing all of these cute new mini donut makers all over amazon and at stores I had the yearning to trudge mine out and see if it still fired up. The kids were very excitecd, and I'm sure we'll be using this thing a lot more now that they know about it.

I also broke out my new heart doughnut pans and baked a few heart doughnuts as well, but mostly the minis. I know, hearts are for Valentine's Day, but I love hearts all the time, and we heart Halloween :) The heart ones were gobbled up too quickly to photograph.

Here is the recipe from the book Apples for Jam adapted for doughnuts:

Vanilla Cake Dougunuts

1/2 pound plus 2 tablespoons butter (2 and 1/4 sticks)

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon superfine sugar -- I used regular sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla -- I upped this to two teaspoons
2 and 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup half and half

Preheat oven to 350 or preheat your doughnut maker.

Beat butter and sugar together very well in a large bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each one goes in. Add the vanilla and sift in the flour and baking powder. Beat well, adding the half and half a little at a time. You will have a thick and creamy batter.

Scoop it into a ziplock bag and cut small hole at the end, squirt in enough batter to fill your doughnut molds half full and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes, depending on your pan, or about 2 minutes in your doughnut maker (or follow manufacturers directions for baking) remove to wire rack and cool completely before frosting or glazing.

~~~

To top the doughnuts I made a quick chocolate glaze, I didn't measure really, but it was pretty much 1 and 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips, 1/4 cup corn syrup, and 1/4 cup half and half, microwaved together for 2-3 minutes and half power, stirring vigorously after every 30 seconds. Add a little time as needed and add some extra light corn syrup if it is too thick. It should be shiny and glossy and easy to dunk the doughnut tops in -- you could also spread it on the doughnuts, just make sure to add any desired sprinkles asap so they will stick.

These ended up being the perfect snack and a perfect fun halloween treat to make with my kids and their neighborhood friend. I wish I had snapped some pictures, but it was kind of crazy managing kids and sprinkles and chocolate glaze :) Happy almost Halloween!

Mini Fig Cakes for Fall and Ginger Jazzed Brownies

2011-10-25T14:03:00.008-04:00

Another Tuesdays with Dorie twofer here, just can't seem to get them up on time! This week our recipe pick was A Fig Cake For Fall, picked for us to try by Ursula of Cookie Rookie, thank you Ursula! I looked and looked for fresh figs but could not find any, so I used dried figs instead. I also switched out the lemon for an orange and made a half batch of mini cakes instead of one big one.

Here are the cakes before baking, I only had enough batter to fill five jumbo "Baker's Secret Texas sized" muffin cups.

Here are the dried figs simmering in the orange scented honey wine sauce, yum!

Here is what they looked like after baking and dusted with some powdered sugar, sadly, I let my wine sauce simmer too long and it turned into more of a thick caramel, and not in a good way, so I couldn't use it on my cakes, but the little taste I had was delicious!

I topped them with whipped cream and they were absolutely delicious, although different from their intended version, they were enjoyed. You can see that the dried figs sank to the bottom, but that was fine...

Now on to last week's recipe, Ginger Jazzed Brownies, picked for us to try by Clivia of Bubie’s Little Baker...

While I was buying fresh ginger, I saw this little jar of chopped ginger and had to give it a try. I love ginger but hate chopping it and thought the finely minced texture (almost a paste) would work perfectly in these brownies, since last time we made the chocolate gingerbread with TWD the ginger chunks were a little too overpowering for my clan. I ended up loving this jarred ginger and immediately went to amazon to see if I could order it in bulk, sadly, to no avail -- come on Christopher Ranch, sell on ammy!

The jarred ginger worked perfectly and I personally loved these brownies, they were so delicious! My kids and the neighbor kid loved them too, I heard they were "awesome!" -- which always makes a baking mommy smile. Picky husband on the other hand, poor guy was excited to try these, and I failed to mention they were ginger brownies, he took one bite and said "yuck!" and thought they were gross. Sorry, honey, I will make you regular brownies soon :)

Rigatoni with Tomato, Eggplant, and Ricotta

2011-10-19T09:52:00.014-04:00

This delicious dish was my pick for I Heart Cooking Clubs theme of the week: Peasant Food. Pasta is so inexpensive and easy to store in the pantry that it is always on hand at my house. Sometimes I go a little crazy buying fun shapes or fancy imported pastas, but for this dish I used good ole rigatoni that you can find at any supermarket; and, just maybe, right in your own pantry :)

The kicker that really makes this dish "peasant food" is that the eggplant was free since it was from my garden!! Now, take the word garden lightly here, this was actually my first year planting any vegetables, and I just had a few plants in a small area next to my back porch. The kids were excited to plant the vegetable plants and loved harvesting our teeny tiny crop. Our very first garden consisted of one zucchini plant, one summer squash plant, two eggplant plants (only one of which produced), one acorn squash plant, and one jalapeno pepper plant -- that only produced one unedible gnarly little pepper. Anyway, it was a fun experience, along with our first herb garden which we also planted this year, and we will probably try gardening again next spring. On to the recipe...

~~Penne~~ Rigatoni with Tomato, Eggplant, and Ricotta

Tessa Kiros -- Apples for Jam

1 small eggplant

salt and freshly ground pepper

5 tbsp olive oil

1 large garlic clove, peeled and squashed a bit

1- 14 ounce can tomatoes

3/4 of 1 - 16 ounce package of penne (I used rigatoni)

1/4 cup salted mature ricotta or finely grated parmesan cheese (I used 1/2 cup of regular ricotta, I can never find the hard ricotta, ricotta salata I believe it is called, and this is peasant food, right? so I used what was on hand even though it changed the recipe a little)

3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (thank you, herb garden!)

Cut the eggplant into slices about 1/4 inch thick and about 1 inch across. Toss them into a colander, sprinkle with a teaspoon of salt, and leave them for about 40 minutes to drain off any bitter juices.

Heat half the olive oil with the garlic clove in a smallish pan over medium low heat until you can just smell the garlic. Add the tomatoes and season with some salt and pepper. When it comes to a boil, lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes, until it all melts into a sauce. Break up any bits of tomato with a wooden spoon as you stir. Keep warm.

Rinse and drain the eggplant pieces and pat them dry with paper towels. Heat the remaining oil in a nonstick frying pan (I used my electric wok) and saute the eggplant over medium heat until it is crusty and golden in places on the outside but still soft inside.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water, following the package instructions. Drain, keeping a cup full of the water.

Put the paste in a large serving bowl. Add the eggplant, the tomato sauce, cheese, and parsley and mix together thoroughly, adding some of the pasta cooking water in the pasta seems dry. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

I made this for lunch one day when my four year old and picky husband were home. I absolutely loved it, I think it is a wonderful recipe and would make it again for sure, and use extra eggplant since that was my favorite part. The eggplant was amazing, I don't know if it was because it was homegrown or the preparation but this was the tastiest eggplant ever, and I adore eggplant! My four year old liked this but didn't love it. I was very surprised picky husband was even game for trying this one, he hates most pasta but I think he was trying to be nice, anyway, he is not an eggplant fan, but said that this was the best eggplant. He did not like the pasta...oh-well. If you like pasta and eggplant, this is a winner recipe for sure :)

I'm sending this along to HoneyB at The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch for Presto Pasta Nights #236, thank you for hosting, HoneyB!

Mini Sawdust Pies

2011-10-15T09:24:00.003-04:00

Time for another Club: BAKED treat! This one is called Sawdust Pie, and according to Baked Explorations it was created in the late 1970s, at Patti's 1880 Settlement Restaurant (I googled Patti's and found out it is still around and going strong, and on the current dessert menu, there it was, Sawdust Pie) despite it's old timey name suggesting it is from much earlier. It became popular after being published in a Bon Appetit magazine in the 1980s and has seemingly since fallen off the culinary map. I personally had never heard of Sawdust Pie, and was excited to give it a go.

Since picky husband does not like pecans or coconut, both of which are in this recipe, and the kids are kind of hit or miss with new recipes I decided to halve this recipe and use my mini square tartlet pan. The hardest part of the recipe was fitting the pie dough into the squares, which wasn't even that hard, just a bit tedious, but worth it for these cute little Sawdust Pies all the way.

I was surprised at how little liquid goes into this recipe, only egg whites and a touch of vanilla are mixed into the dry ingredients. Scoop the mixture into your prepared pie dish of choice and you are ready to bake.

Above is before baking and below is after. The filling rose quite a bit so I am glad I didn't over fill the crusts!

The pie is supposed to be served with whipped cream and bananas, we were out of bananas, but served with whipped cream, these little pies were absolutely delicious! I could definitely see making these again or even the whole pie as a holiday pie, especially if you are serving this to a pecan and or coconut fan :)

A big thank you to Tessa at Cookin' Chemist for picking this recipe for us to try, you can find the recipe here at her site if you do not have the book Baked Explorations, give this retro recipe a try for sure :)

Basic Biscuits & Apple Nut Muffin Cake

2011-10-11T12:12:00.003-04:00

Time for a Tuesdays with Dorie twofer! I didn't get to last week's recipe on time, but late is better than never, right? I made the Apple Nut Muffin Cake with an apple fresh from the orchard and it was delicious!

my three sweeties at the apple orchard

All three kiddos loved the cake, which I cut into squares for a quick breakfast snack. I followed the recipe almost exactly, my only change was to use a 9 by 13 pan since I couldn't locate my 8 by 8 one, so my muffin cake squares are a little thinner than they should be, but that just made them easier to munch :) Thank you to Katrina at Baking and Boys for this TWD pick, you can find the recipe for Apple Nut Muffin Cake here at Katrina's site if you do not have Baking From My Home To Yours.

I made today's TWD pick, Basic Biscuits, yesterday when my kids got home from school. They were wonderful, were the the best biscuits I've ever made or had? Could have been, yeah, they were that good! I mixed the ingredients in the food processor (a tip I've learned from Baking From My Home To Yours) to ease up preparation (not that it was that difficult in the first place. I also always just cut my biscuits one time, unless I'm going for specially shaped (i.e. heart) biscuits. It is quick and easy, gives them a rustic almost square shape, and no scraps to re-roll :)

Above is before baking, below is after. I baked on an insulated baking sheet lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray. I baked for 14 minutes just like the book said, although I usually take my biscuits out a touch sooner, these were just perfect.

Look at how light and fluffy and "top hat high" these got, love that part of Dorie's description in the recipe!

All in all, two perfectly delicious TWD treats in a row! A huge thank you to Jennifer at Cooking for Comfort for this recipe pick -- you can find Dorie's recipe for Basic Biscuits here at Jennifer's site, this one is a keeper :) I'll leave with an extra shot of the Apple Nut Muffin Cake, a side view so you can see all the goodies (apples, raisins, walnuts) baked in...yum!

Whole Wheat Pluot and Apple Pie

2011-10-10T14:14:00.003-04:00

I recently made Whole Wheat Apple Pluot Pie, just perfect for I Heart Cooking Clubs theme of the week: Orchard Fruit. Picky husband and I took our three little monkeys to the u-pick apple orchard last weekend and had an amazing time. Just look at that gorgeous view of the orchard and my little sweeties...too fun :)

So while the apples in this recipe are fresh from the orchard, the pluots are from Sam's Club...wish we could have gone all local but the kids are in love with the pluots and we just have to buy them every week now.

Whole Wheat ~~Apricot~~ Pluot and Apple Pie
Tessa Kiros -- Apples for Jam

Pastry:
1 and 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup firmly pack light brown sugar
7 tbsp chilled butter, cubed
1 egg, plus 1 egg yolk
a few drops of vanilla extract
I had to add about 1/4 cup water to help the crust stick together but probably could have added a touch less

About 3 Apples -- I used 4 smaller ones
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp light brown sugar
1 tbsp water
1 tsp cinnamon
about 10 fresh apricots, halved, or quartered if large, pits removed -- I used about 7 pluots
about 3 tbsp superfine sugar -- I just used regular sugar

To make the pastry, put the flour, sugar, and butter in a bowl. Work it all together with your fingers until you have a sandy mixture. Add the egg, extra egg yolk, and vanilla, and carry on mixing until you have a smooth ball. Wrap it up in plastic wrap, flatten, and put in the fridge for about 30 minutes. I mixed up the pastry in my food processor.

Meanwhile, peel and core the apples, and cut them into chunks. Put half of the butter in a nonstick pan and add the apple chunks, the brown sugar, and a tbsp of water. Put the lid on and cook over medium heat for about 15 to 20 minutes, until the apples collapse and turn slightly golden on the bottom. Stir in the cinnamon and squash the apples into a puree with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 400. Roll out the pastry on a sheet of parchment paper to a circle of about 12 to 13 inches, dusting with a little flour if necessary. Using the parchment paper, flip the pastry oven into an ungreased 9 and 1/2 inch springform pan. I used my heart shaped springform and plastic wrap.

Let it settle in before peeling off the paper and pressing the pastry onto the bottom and sides of the pan. Don't worry if the pastry tears, just patch it and press the gaps together.

Spread the apple over the bottom and put the ~~apricots~~ pluots on top. Scatter with superfine sugar, more or less, depending on the sweetness of your fruit.

Dot with the rest of the butter, then fold the pastry edge in and over to cover the edge of the filling. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the top of the fruit is golden brown in places, and the pastry crisps. Serve plain or with yogurt and whipped cream. Serves 6 to 8.

~~~
This was an absolutely delicious fall fruit recipe. All three of my kids really loved this one! Picky husband gave it a try but didn't finish his piece, he is not a big stone fruit fan. I thought it was wonderful and would make it again for sure. It wasn't really sweet, but it was sweet enough to really enjoy the fruit flavors. It would be great for a brunch. I'm sure I'll be making this one again since it was such a huge hit with the kids -- I loved it too :)

Tomato Lasagna

2011-10-06T15:25:00.009-04:00

This is my dish for the I Heart Cooking Clubs October Potluck. Who doesn't love a lasagna at a potluck? This is a basic lasagna with a tomato sauce and bechamel sauce sandwiched between layers of noodles, simple and delicious. I made this for our unofficial monthly lasagna night, usually a weekend day when there is nothing planned, and I have plenty of time to make picky husband's favorite meat lasagna and a vegetarian friendly lasagna. The kids get to pick whichever lasagna they want, and we always have enough leftovers for a few quick lunches during the busy week.

This is the second Tessa Kiros recipe I've try (thank you, IHCC) and another good one! Here is what Tessa has to say about her Tomato Lasagne in the book Apples for Jam...

"This is a straightforward recipe to which you can add a few blobs of goat's cheese, some dollops of pesto, a little cooked spinach, or broiled long slices of zucchini between the layers. This is just lasagne noodles, a good tomato sauce, and bechamel, and my children love it..." I love all of Tessa's suggestions for add-ins and was planning to use a special limited batch goat's cheese I have in the cheese drawer, but I completely forgot to add it in while making this, so this is the plain and simple version...

Tomato Lasagne

Tessa Kiros -- Apples for Jam

Tomato Sauce:

1/2 cup olive oil

3 cloves garlic, peeled but left whole

salt

3 (14-ounce) cans diced tomatoes -- I used two cans of whole San Marzanos and one can of regular diced tomatoes

About 12 basil leaves, torn

1 cup hot water -- I only used about 1/2 cup

Bechamel Sauce:

1/4 lb butter

2/3 cup all purpose flour

4 cups milk, warmed -- I used skim

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Freshly grated nutmeg -- I used ground, about 1/4 teaspoon

3/4 (16 ounce) package lasagne noodles

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

For the tomato sauce, heat the oil and garlic in a large pan. When you begin to smell the garlic, add the tomatoes and a good pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and cook uncovered for about 20 to 25 minutes, until it has all merged into a sauce. Add the basil and 1 cup of hot water toward the end of the cooking time. Puree until smooth, minus the garlic if you'd prefer. (I didn't puree, just mashed with a potato masher, garlic and all)

To make the bechamel, melt the butter in a small (I'd say medium) saucepan over lower heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly, then begin adding the warm milk. It will be immediately absorbed, so work quickly, whisking with one hand while adding ladlefuls of milk with the other. When the sauce seems to be smooth and not too stiff, add salt, pepper, and a grating of nutmeg and continue cooking, even after it comes to a boil, for five minutes or so, mixing all the time. It should be a very thick and smooth sauce.

Preheat the oven to 350 and grease a deep 8 1/2 by 12 inch baking dish. Drizzle some bechamel over the bottom of the dish to cover it very thinly. Put a slightly overlapping layer of lasagne noodles on top. Dollop a thin layer of tomato sauce over that, spreading it with the back of the ladle. Add about two ladlefuls of bechamel in long drizzles, and the cover with a sprinkling of parmesan. Add another layer of lasagne noodles, then tomato, bechamel, and parmesan as before, and then repeat the layers one more time. I just repeated until I was at the top of my baking dish and out of bechamel, I did have about 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce left. You should have about 4 tablespoons of tomato sauce and a good amount of bechamel left. Make a final layer of lasagna noodles and cover with all the remaining bechamel. Dollop the tomato sauce here and there and sprinkle with and remaining parmesan.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until it is bubbling and golden on top. Serves 6 to 8.

~~~

This was a delicious dinner. The bechamel was so rich and creamy, one small serving of this lasagna was very filling. My two oldest wanted meat lasagna, so only my youngest, who is four, and I ate this one but we both liked it. I wouldn't hesitate to make it again, and definitely think Tessa's add-in suggestions would be fabulous. The leftovers were great reheated in the microwave, and I think that it tasted even better the second day :)

I'm sending this along to Ruth at Once Upon A Feast for Presto Pasta Nights #234 -- thanks, Ruth!

Thai Curry Noodles with Tofu

2011-10-01T13:51:00.007-04:00

September's cooking destination at My Kitchen My World was Thailand and I made these Thai Curry Noodles with Tofu. I had a ton of different Thai recipes bookmarked and the Thai noodle dishes were especially calling to me. When my husband and were newly married we lived in Texas and there was this little hole in the wall Thai place that I absolutely loved. I really miss their Pad Thai!

I found this recipe here at about.com's Thai recipe area. This was my first time making a curry seasoning without using "curry powder" in a jar. I know. Everyone makes their own curry seasoning, but for me, the different varieties of jarred curry powder always seemed to add just the right amount of flavor for me. Now that I've dipped my toe into making my own spice blend, I'm sure I'll be experimenting with different curry mixes quite often, even if I'm the only one who really likes curry in our household. Luckily for me curry makes great leftovers and the flavors deepen over time.

Thai Curried Noodles with Tofu

"This curry noodles recipe is a condensed version of an ancient Thai noodle dish called "Kao Soy". Since it would take an hour or more to make the original recipe, I've simplified it somewhat while still maintaining that delicious original taste. You can use dried egg or wheat noodles for this dish - or splurge and pick up some fresh noodles at your local Asian food store or grocery store deli. A delicious curry noodle recipe you'll be sure to enjoy." -- from about.com

•dried or fresh egg or wheat noodles - enough for 2-4 people

•1/2 package medium-firm tofu, cut into cubes

•1 red bell pepper

•1 green bell pepper (I used two smaller green peppers)

•handful of fresh shiitake mushrooms (I used regular white mushrooms)

•1/2 cup coconut milk (I started with 1/2 but ended up using 3/4 cup)

•1 lime, cut into wedges (I bought a lime just for this, but forgot to add it!)

•3 Tbsp. soy sauce

•oil for stir-frying

Curry Paste

•1/2 tsp. turmeric

•3 cloves garlic

•1-2 fresh red chilies (de-seeded if you prefer less spice) (I used 1 dried Japanese chili)

•1 thumb-size piece galangal or fresh ginger (I used ginger)

•1 Tbsp. ground coriander

•1 tsp. cumin

•1/2 tsp. ground cardamon

•1/4 tsp. ground cloves

•1/4 tsp. cinnamon

•2 Tbsp. fish sauce or vegetarian fish sauce (available at Vietnamese stores), OR 2+1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce

•Optional: sugar to taste (I added 1 tbsp brown sugar)

Cook noodles according to instructions on package. If boiling dried noodles, be sure to rinse well after cooking with cold water to keep them from sticking together. Tip: The noodles will be stir-fried later, so try not to over-cook at this point. Set aside.

To make the curry paste, place all paste ingredients in a food processor or chopper. Process well. Or, mince ingredients well and pound together with a pestle & mortar.

Heat a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add 1-2 Tbsp. oil and swirl around, then add the paste. Stir-fry briefly to release the fragrance (30 seconds to 1 minute).

Add a few Tbsp. of the coconut milk and stir into the paste, then add the vegetables.Stir-fry 2-3 minutes, or until mushrooms are cooked and bell peppers are bright in color. Tip: Add a little more of the 1/2 cup coconut milk if your wok/pan becomes too dry.

Add the remaining coconut milk plus the soy sauce. Stir-fry everything together, then add the noodles and tofu. Tip: If your tofu is soft and will fall apart, add it just before serving, gently folding it into the noodles. Using 2 utensils, gently stir-fry the noodles, lifting and turning them as you do so. Stir-fry in this way until noodles absorb most of the coconut-curry sauce (1-2 minutes).

Taste-test the noodles, adding more fish or soy sauce if not salty enough, and a little sugar if too sour. If your noodles happen to be too salty for your taste, add 1-2 Tbsp. lime juice.

Serve noodles hot from the wok.

These were so tasty, I would make them again for sure. The only thing I would change is to probably fry up the tofu in a little oil first to make is crispier, other than that, perfect curry noodles :)

Ricotta Gnocchi with Tomato Pesto

2011-10-01T12:21:00.001-04:00

Welcome to a brand new season of I Heart Cooking Clubs where we are now cooking and baking recipes from chef Tessa Kiros! I have to be completely honest and say I'd never heard of Tessa until she was on the poll for picking the next chef, where had I been? Although Tessa (as far as I know) does not host a cooking show on TV, she is the author of numerous books featuring different cuisines that are close to her heart.

As I flipped through the pages of her cookbook, Apples for Jam, I was enchanted. So many beautiful photographs, drawings from her little girls, memories written for us to enjoy, and to top that all of, tons of recipes that sounded good! If this book is any indication of her others, looks like I'm going to have a lot of fun during this session of IHCC!

The recipe that first jumped out at me and said, "make me today!" was Ricotta Gnocchi with Tomato Pesto. I love gnocchi and had all of the ingredients on hand, and was extra happy to find a use for some of the last summer basil that I grew in my herb garden this past summer. We are about to have our first frost of the year, and I don't think I can take my herb garden inside, maybe though...not even sure if it would last if I tried to? I'm new to the whole herb gardening community -- anyway, here is the recipe...I have stuck with Tessa's ingredients exactly, but have shortened up the directions a touch, let me know if you have any questions.

Tessa's Ricotta Gnocchi

2 cups good quility ricotta cheese

3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1 scant cup all purpose flour
salt

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, if you are making the tomato pesto, make sure it is ready before cooking the gnocchi. Mix together the ricotta, parmesan, flour, and a pinch of salt. With lightly floured hands, roll out into thin sausages (about 5/8 inch thick) -- cut with a sharp knife into little dumplings, about 3/4 inch long.

Drop into boiling water and cook until they float to the surface and are done. (Book says 45 seconds, I needed about double that, so 1 and 1/2 minutes) Lift out with slotted spoon and put into warmed serving bowls (I added a little butter to my bowl so they wouldn't stick together).

Serve with tomato pesto and grated parmesan.

Tomato Pesto

1/3 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes (I used a can of san marzanos)
salt
1/2 cup basil leaves, torn
4 tablespoons pine nuts
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

Heat 3 tbsp of olive oil in a sauce pan with one of the garlic cloves.

When it sizzles, add the tomato and season with salt. Simmer over medium heat for about 15 minutes until the tomato thickens and becomes smooth, crusing it up with a spoon from time to time.

Finely chop the other garlic clove and put it in a small processor with the basil leaves and pine nuts. Pulse until finely chopped. Add the remaining olive oil and the parmesan, pulse just long enough to combine. Stir into the tomato sauce and heat for 30 seconds. Remove whole garlic clove before serving. Use sauce to top the gnocchi.

And there you have it, my first Tessa Kiros recipe and it was a huge success! I made these for dinner with my daughter and she had so much fun helping roll and cut and drop these into the pot. She even enjoyed the tomato pesto, which surprised me since she is an avid tomato hater. Now my two boys, they were not fans of this dish, but it really didn't matter, I just made them something else. Nothing was going to spoil these delicious gnocchi and the special mommy daughter time we enjoyed while making them together :)

Pumpkin Cheddar Muffins

2011-10-01T11:35:00.011-04:00

It's October 1st, time for some fall baking, right? These savory treats are our pick for Club: BAKED today. Thank you to Billie at Chocolate & Chakra, you can find the recipe for these muffins here at her site.

At first I was a little nervous about these, even though I love both pumpkin and cheddar, I wasn't sure how well these would go over with my picky husband and semi picky kiddos...but I needn't have worried, these were delicious, and everyone, yep, even picky husband, thought they were very good.

I made them as mini muffins for breakfast, with some cider on the side and mulling spices boiling away on the stove. My six year old daughter asked why it smelled like autumn in the house :)

I decreased the baking time to 375 since my mini muffin tin is the dark metal kind and I know they tend to over brown things. They were just perfect! My other tiny change was to leave out the black pepper, the cayenne alone packed plenty of punch. I topped most with the cheddar and pepitas but had about 5 that I left without toppings since I had used up all of my extra sharp cheddar and I didn't feel like shredding any more. Above is without toppings, below is with. Both versions were great, but of course I liked the cheddar and pumpkin seed topped ones best.

Happy fall baking, everyone!

Flip Over Pluot Cake

2011-09-27T08:50:00.001-04:00

Time for Tuesdays with Dorie! I haven't posted a TWD treat in way too long, but I wanted to jump back in and try to finish with the group. The TWD bakers are so supportive and creative and I've truly enjoyed baking with everyone since I started this blog in 2008. The featured Tuesday treat of the day is called Flip Over Plum Cake, picked for us to try by Becky at Project Domestication, thanks, Becky!

I love fruit desserts and this just seems like the perfect season for a plum cake. I happened to have some Pluots (plum / apricot hybrids) that I picked up at Sam's Club and decided to use those in this cake. While I was cutting them up I had to give a piece a try and they were the tastiest pluots or plums I've ever had, they were so sweet and flavorful!

I almost thought 1 and 1/2 cups of sugar would be too much for them in the cake but went ahead anyway. In the end I thought I probably could have decreased the sugar without any problems, but I know that would always depend on the sweetness of your fruit. I have had some super tart plums in my day and know those would probably need the full 1 and 1/2 cups.

My sweet five year old was not getting along with his siblings playing outside, so he came in with a frown and I let him help me make this. He did a wonderful job mixing and was so proud. This is the perfect easy dessert to bake with a kid :) After baking and cooling we all enjoyed some of this delicious fall Flip Over Plum Cake as dessert. It was a hit and for me the texture reminded me of a cobbler, but cake or cobbler, what ever you want to call it, it was good!

Spinach and Mushroom Calzones

2011-09-25T10:01:00.007-04:00

Doesn't this look just delicious? I made these a while ago and uploading the photos for this post made me instantly crave a spinach and mushroom calzone! I made these using Jamie Oliver's Calzone recipe, which I had wanted to try ever since I Heart Cooking Clubs featured Jamie as their current cook along chef. This is the last week of Jamie cook alongs, they are on to a new chef next week, so sliding in as a last minute entry are these yummy packets of cheesy veggie goodness.

I know this post and the recipe are really long, but they are simple, don't worry :)

~~~

Spinach and Mushroom Calzones
slightly adapted from Jamie Oliver (my changes in italics)

1 pizza dough recipe, recipe follows (I used Jamie's recipe but mixed it in my bread machine, I'm sure you could use your favorite dough recipe and it would work just as well)

Dough Recipe

7 cups strong white bread flour or Tipo "00" flour or 5 cups strong white bread flour or Tipo "00" flour, plus 2 cups finely ground semolina flour

1 level tablespoon fine sea salt

2 (1/4-ounce) packets active dried yeast

1 tablespoon raw sugar

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 1/2 cups lukewarm water

Sift the flours and salt onto a clean work surface and make a well in the middle. In a large measuring cup, mix the yeast, sugar and olive oil into the water and leave for a few minutes, then pour into the well. Using a fork, bring the flour in gradually from the sides and swirl it into the liquid. Keep mixing, drawing larger amounts of flour in, and when it all starts to come together, work the rest of the flour in with your clean, flour-dusted hands. Knead until you have a smooth, springy dough.

Place the ball of dough in a large flour-dusted bowl and flour the top of it. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and place in a warm room for about 1 hour until the dough has doubled in size.

Calzone Ingredients

Flour, for dusting

Olive oil

1 pound mixed mushrooms (such as chanterelles, shiitake, enoki and cremini), cleaned and torn up (I just used white button mushrooms)

4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely sliced (I used about 1 head of roasted garlic, smashed)

4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves picked (I used a pinch of dried thyme)

1/4 cup butter

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup tomato sauce

11 ounces spinach leaves, washed and spun dry

2 (4-ounce) balls good-quality mozzarella, torn into pieces (I used freshly shredded mozzarella)

First, make your pizza dough. Preheat the oven to 450 to 500 degrees F, then tear the punched-down dough into 4 pieces and roll each out on a floured surface. You want to get them roughly circular, about the thickness of a silver dollar, and 12 inches across. You can now either keep these in the refrigerator, stacked and separated with olive-oil-rubbed and flour-dusted aluminum foil, until you're ready to cook them, or you can put your topping on and cook them straightaway.

Pour a large glug of olive oil into a hot frying pan. Add the mushrooms and toss briefy in the hot oil before adding the sliced garlic and the thyme. Fry until the mushrooms are cooked and smell fantastic. Drop in the butter and toss the mushrooms in it to make them tasty and shiny. Season with a little salt and pepper.

Add the tomato sauce to the pan and stir.

Cook for a few minutes, then add the spinach (in batches if you need to) and stir again. Simmer away the liquid until you're left with a thick, tasty mixture that's not too moist (otherwise it will burst through the dough when you're cooking the calzone).

Divide the mushroom and spinach mixture evenly between the 4 pizza bases and spread it out nicely.

Top with pieces of mozzarella and season with salt and pepper.

To make your calzone, carefully lift the far edge of the pizza dough and pull it over the top toward you - you basically need to fold it in half (imagine it looking like a big Cornish pasty!). Crimp the edges so none of the filling can spill out. Place the calzone side by side on a floured baking sheet, (use 2 if needed), pizza stone or granite slab.

Cook for 10 to 15 minutes on the bottom of the preheated oven until the dough is puffed up and golden on top and the filling is hot.

~~~

And that's all there is to it! These were so good, probably my favorite calzones ever! I made them as dinner for me and my kiddos while picky husband was working late one night. The kids were a little apprehensive about trying these, since they watched me make them and they are a little weary of spinach, but everyone ended up loving these, score one for Jamie Oliver :)

Picky husband hates mushrooms and really doesn't like spinach, mainly why I made them while he was working, but calzones are great for picky family members because you can really personalize them any way you want. Give these a chance if you are on the prowl for a new calzone recipe, especially if you are a spinach and mushroom fan, you will not be disappointed!

Honey Spiced Madeleines

2011-09-23T08:32:00.016-04:00

I haven't posted a French Fridays with Dorie recipe since last March when we made the oh so delicious Beggar's Linguine. I can't believe it's been so long. I know I've missed a ton of yummy recipes but really wanted to jump back in with these Honey Spiced Madeleines, and here they are!

Above is the "before baking" shot. I was happy to take out my madeleine pan and put it to good use, the last time I baked madeleines was for Tuesdays with Dorie when we made Chocolate Fluff Filled Madeleines back in January 2011, and boy were they delicious! I only made them the one time, but as soon as I took my madeleine pan out, my daughter said, "remember when you made those chocolate ones with sprinkles, those were so good!" I was surprised she remembered just what pan I had used to bake those, and will definitely be making them again for her since they made such a big impression!

Above is the "after baking" shot. I baked them at 400 for exactly 11 minutes, the minimum amount suggested in the book. I think they were almost perfectly done, maybe a touch overdone, next time I think 10 minutes would be spot on for my oven.

These babies had some huge humpage going on! They looked just like I'd hoped they would. The aroma while baking was just spicy enough to get you into the holiday baking mood. My only change to the recipe was to use the zest of one small lemon instead of the orange, since I had just used my last orange earlier in the day packing my kids' lunches for school. Will have to add oranges to the Sam's Club shopping list! All in all these were a huge success, even picky husband liked them, and we all thought they would be perfect served with tea! So glad to be back cooking with FFwD this week :)

Bananas Foster Fritters

2011-09-15T14:04:00.004-04:00

Sorry it has been forever since I posted last! I don't know what to say. Things have just been so busy and I decided to take the summer off from blogging. Well, it wasn't really that I decided to take it off, it just sort of happened, and now it is September and I just can't believe how fast the past few months have flown by.

Just about every day I thought of something fun to blog about, or wondered how some of my fellow food bloggers were doing, or wondered what recipe my "groups" were doing this week and felt so behind that I just would never catch up and I should just "hang up the towel," but in the end I really missed Nummy Kitchen and sharing with everyone, so what better day than today to just jump back in?

These delicious treats are the current selection for Club: Baked and they are delicious! I made them as a mid morning treat and they were eagerly gobbled up by picky husband and all three kiddos. You can find the recipe here at Stephanie's site if you do not have the book Baked Explorations, thanks for hosting Stephanie :) They reminded me of banana bread and I'm sure will be requested again here soon!

That's all for today, folks! Not a lot of photos or anything fun like that, I think my food photography "skills" (and I use that term ever so lightly) need a little more polishing than usual since my hiatus...bear with me :)

New York Style Crumb Cake

2011-07-01T21:59:00.015-04:00

I can't believe myself, barely able to keep up with minimum blogging currently, and now a member of the new Club: BAKED, a group that is baking through the book Baked Explorations. At first I knew nothing about Baked other than that they make a very popular brownie, so I was a little apprehensive about the new group, but I have so enjoyed baking along with the Sweet Melissa Sundays group and this is kind of the next chapter of that group, so how could I say no? Plus I really needed some new kitchen inspiration, and have missed blogging, so here I am!

Our very first recipe is New York Style Crumb Cake, hosted by our Club: BAKED creator, Karen at Karen's Cookies Cakes & More, thank you Karen! You can find the recipe here at Karen's site, and check out her jumbo muffin pan version. I happen to have a couple of those jumbo muffin pans and can't wait to use them with this Crumb Cake recipe, yum!

The cake was easy to put together, no problems with the recipe, whew! I baked it in an insulated 9 by 13 pan for the full 55 minutes, which was just perfect. I was worried if I used an uninsulated pan it might be a little to crispy crunchy around the edges for our liking. You can't see the big crumbs very well on the individual piece in the photos, so here is a picture of the cake just out of the oven, with plenty of giant crumbs :)

This was delicious, my kids loved it and so did my mom who was visiting. Picky husband is at work and hasn't sampled this yet, but I think it will be a huge hit for him when he gets home! This is definitely the recipe for Crumb Cake, no questions asked!