Archive | October, 2009

Get the hand cuffs: Pumpkin bread/cake

13 Oct

Sometimes in life, something comes along that changes you, truly shakes you to the core.  You can mark chapters in your life by this thing, you remember where you were the first time you saw this thing, and you spend the rest of your life telling everyone you know about this thing – even when the conversation is totally not applicable.

The pumpkin bread/cake I make is one of those things. In fact, it’s “get out the hand cuffs” good, as in, I need to be arrested for making something so delicious and nutritious.  And everyone else needs hand cuffs to stop themselves from eating too much, too quickly.

Brace yourself. If you don’t like to cook with recipes, I totally feel you on this. It’s a very forgiving recipe, but if you can’t bring yourself to bake it, I’ll understand, honest.

For those that feel the need to introduce themselves to a new vice, proceed.

I give you, Pumpkin Bread/Cake (clever name, I know, I know).

Pumpkin Bread/Cake

Pumpkin Bread/Cake

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

4:29 PM

Bread/Cake:

1c. Nonfat, plain yogurt

2 & 3/4c. Sugar

3 Eggs

2-2 & 1/2c. Pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling, just plain pumpkin)

3 & 1/2c. Flour (I used gluten free rice flour, it worked like a charm, but any flour will do)

1/2tsp. Baking Soda

1tsp. Cloves

1tsp. Nutmeg

1tsp. All spice

1tsp. Cinnamon

1tsp. Salt

 

Frosting:

8oz. Cream cheese (regular, not nonfat)

1tsp. Vanilla extract

1/2c. Powdered Sugar (add more as needed, after first 1/2c. Is incorporated)

1Tbsp. Butter

 

Directions:

  1. Cream butter and sugar together (can be done by hand, but if with mixer, on medium high for 4 minutes.)
  2. Add eggs
  3. Add pumpkin
  4. Add dry ingredients in 3-4 batches (which you combined first in another bowl)
  5. Grease two baking pans (I used 8×8″ square cake pans, great size, you can also use 2 rounds of 9″, 2 loaf pans of 8.5″ x 4″, or muffin tins, but I wouldn’t use muffin tins…)
  6. Evenly pour batter into pans, and use spoon or rubber spatula to evenly distribute to the corners.
  7. Bake @ 325 for 50 minutes. Check with a toothpick.

 

While it’s baking, mix up your frosting:

  1. Mix room temperature cream cheese and butter till incorporated
  2. Add powdered sugar
  3. Add vanilla
  4. Leave at room temperature to spread on bread/cake
  5. Let bread/cake come to room temperature, preferably overnight before frosting

You are what you eat: Smoked Turkey Sammy

13 Oct

As my dad used to say, “You are what you eat, so be careful!” (or something like that)

Smoked Turkey Sammy: rosemary focaccia, avocado, feta & tomato

So, even though it’s a nasty, rainy day outside, I decided to grab the leftover sammy fixin’s from the fridge, and whip up what I could.

Anyone can do this, honestly. I’m not reinventing the wheel, and I’m not pretending to do something amazing, but I am telling you it took me 5 minutes, it’s very fresh, and tastes great.

It cost me pennies….which is my pre-req for any recipe, save very special occasions, and what more do you want? I’m full!

Smoked Turkey Sammy

1 rosemary focaccia cut in half (you can toast it for an extra kick)

1/2 avocado, smashed into bread

4-5 slices smoked turkey breast (it really makes the difference, regular turkey not as good here)

tomato slices

salt & pepper

A quick assembly and some extra protein on the side in the form of a left over hard boiled cage free egg, and you’re set! Back to the keyboard faster than you can shake a stick at!

What’d you have for lunch today?

Dumpster Dish: Crespéou, an edible ticket to Provence

13 Oct

I just heard from one of my favorite experimental cooks, my Uncle Jeff.

Uncle Jeff is my mom’s younger brother. He’s the baby, like me. We get along famously, and he and my Aunt Lisa have always been very excited about my love for cooking. They gave me my VERY FIRST piece of AllClad. (*single tear of joy*) They also gave me a pair of purple pants that made me cry, I hated them so much. They love telling that story….but that’s  another post entirely!

Here’s the email he just sent my way:

 Crespéou

“We had this (similar anyway) at Boat Street Cafe a while back, and then I saw an old Julia rerun on KCTS and she made the same thing, but called it a “gateau de omelette”. So I tried it a couple of weeks ago, from memory only. It was REALLY good, definitely a next day dish, 100% better the next day, but a lot of fun to make, good use of leftovers, gave the allclad nonstick a good workout.

I used mushrooms, onion, leftover italian sausage, asparagus and tomato, with a little parm on each layer. Lisa said she could do without the parm.
Talk to you later, I seriously need to get to work.”
Love,
Jeff

http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-crespeou11jul11,1,3597791.story?coll=la-headlines-food

I told him I remember seeing the SAME old Julia episode a couple of weeks ago on KCTS (Seattle’s PBS), and wanted to try it myself. Sooooo, I think I’ll attempt a version this weekend. Stay tuned for some results and pictures.

Great Success!

13 Oct

So I just wanted to touch back and let you all know that Paul made the Tomato Chicken Bake last night to much acclaim. He said it was easy (YAY!), and that everyone loved it, ate it right up, and told him how good it was (Double YAY!!).

He didn’t give me any constructive feedback, so I might have to make it myself and see if there’s anything I’d do differently in the future. Stay tuned, and happy Tuesday!

A case of the Mondays

13 Oct

So tonight, Paul (boyfriend), needs a recipe for Nerd Night.

What is Nerd Night? Glad you asked. Without giving too much away, and at the risk of embarassing him, Nerd Night is usually a Monday night when a bunch of the guys get together at one of their condos and watch football, play nerdy fantasy card games (MTG anyone?) and hang out.

Tonight Paul’s hosting, but he doesn’t get off work till 7:30, and the guys will be there at 8! That means he really needs a recipe that will feed the masses (usually 4-8 guys) that is little to no prep, and hands off, so he’s not in the kitchen much.

Here’s the recipe I left him for tonight:

Chicken Tomato Bake

PICT2101

Easy, hands off, done in an hour.  If you’re making 8 chicken breasts, you can either double the tomato sauce, or add chicken stalk or water to expand the marinade.

Ingredients:

4-8 chicken breasts (frozen)
1 can tomato sauce or tomato soup
1/2c red wine (anything is fine, even if it’s past drinkable)
1tsp. Poultry seasoning
1tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2tsp. Cayenne pepper
1tsp. Garlic powder
1tbsp. Olive oil
Salt & Pepper
Grated white cheese (parm, jack, mozarella, blue, goat, feta, whateva)

Directions:

1. You’ll have two casserole dishes, so you’ll either want to put them side by side on the middle rack, or you’ll put on one each rack, and split those racks so they’re evenly spaced in the oven.
2. Pre-heat your oven to 400F.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, dump:
 a. Tomato sauce
 b. Red wine
 c. Poultry seasoning
 d. Italian seasoning
 e. Garlic powder
 f. Olive oil
 g. Pinch salt and pepper
 h. Cayenne pepper
 
4. Place chicken breasts (frozen) in baking dish (you can spray the bottom, but it’s not totally necessary).  If you are serving 6-8ppl, you might need to split your chicken into two dishes.
5. Pour half the mixture over each batch of chicken (or all the mixture if just one dish).
6. Cover each piece of chicken with a bit of cheese. It will melt into the sauce so don’t use too much, or it’ll melt off and go to waste.
7. Cover tightly with tin foil (crimp edges).
8. Place on the center of the rack (or even space them if using multiple dishes).
9. Put in oven quickly, don’t let the heat escape.
10. Cook for 40 minutes. Do NOT open the oven. (If you have to use two racks, then set the timer for 20 minutes, switch the dishes top to bottom at the 20 minute mark and reset the time for another 20 minutes).
11. At 40 minutes, take one batch out (quickly shut the oven door). Remove tin foil and check the thickest part of the thickest breast for doneness.
12. If not done, replace for an additional 10 minutes.
13. Serve immediately with more cheese for people to doctor up their own servings.

 

I don’t have a picture of this one yet, sorry to say. But, please feel free to make this the next time you or someone you know is having a case of the Mondays, and send me your feedback! Did you like it? Did it bomb?! Did you modify or adapt? I’d love to use your feedback to alter this recipe for future use.

Thanks and here’s to a quick and painless end to this cold, cold day!

But then again…..maybe a cup full.

12 Oct

Welcome to my first post of what I hope will become a very fruitful resource for people seeking easy, fresh, quick recipes for every night, entertaining nights, family dinners, take-alongs, baking, and “Dumpster Dishes” (getting rid of what’s in the fridge and cupboard so nothing goes to waste!).

As time goes by, I’ll develop more categories for posts, and as with life, not everything will fit into a category I’ve created! (But isn’t that half the fun???)

I’ll share my own recipes with you all, and welcome the constant feedback and growing wealth of knowledge of you, the true foodies of the world!

For starters:

Here’s a great recipe I made recently, from the ever fabulous Better Homes cook book, with my own substitutions and additions!

Cappuccino Crinkle Chip Cookies

Ingredients

2Tbsp  softened butter
1  cup packed brown sugar
2/3  cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1  tablespoon instant coffee granules (I use 2 packets Italian Roast Starbucks VIA ReadyBrew)
1  teaspoon baking soda
1  teaspoon ground cinnamon
2  egg whites
1/2  cup nonfat yogurt
1-1/2  cups all-purpose flour (you can use gluten free also, works great)
1  cup granulated sugar (don’t worry, not going into recipe, only for dusting)

(I also added 1/2 to 1 cup peanut butter chips at the end of mixing.)

Directions
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat butter in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the brown sugar, beat for 4 minutes (trust me, this is a secret technique that will change your cookie life).  Add cocoa powder, coffee granules, baking soda, and cinnamon, beat until combined, scraping sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in egg whites and yogurt until combined. Beat in the flour in 3-4 batches. Don’t over mix after last batch. Stir in chips.

2. Place granulated sugar in a wide mouthed bowl (too small and you can’t work very well). Drop dough by heaping teaspoons into sugar and roll into balls till covered well. Place balls 2 inches apart (seriously, don’t skimp on this or they’ll bleed together) on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are firm. Transfer cookies to wire racks and cool. Makes about 32.

Make-Ahead Tip: Place in layers separated by waxed paper in an airtight container; cover. Store at room temperature up to 1 week or freeze up to 3 months.

And here’s the link to their version: http://www.bhg.com/recipe/cookies/cappuccino-crinkles/

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