03/10/2009



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Chocolate Brownie Cookies

First of all, I’d like to apologize for the exceptionally bad photography to follow. It was especially dark in the kitchen on this day and my hands were especially shaky. Maybe it was the excitement of what was to come—these cookies.

I got this recipe from Joy the Baker, though I had to leave the espresso powder out because I didn’t have any, so mine are not EXACTLY true to the original recipe, posted below. These cookies turned out fabulously so even though the photos are awful I had to share with you anyway.

From Joy the Baker

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (chopped or in chips)
3 Tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) butter
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon espresso powder (did not have, did not use)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoons salt
1 cup chocolate chips (optional) (did not use)

In a double boiler, or in the microwave, gently melt together the chocolate and butter.  To avoid heating the chocolate too much and possibly burning it, the best method is to heat till the butter is melted and the chocolate has partially melted, then remove from the heat.  Stir till all the chocolate melts.

In a separate bowl, beat together the sugar and eggs till they’re thoroughly combined. Add the hot melted chocolate, then stir in the remaining ingredients, including the chocolate chips, if you’re using them.  Refrigerate the batter like dough for 1 hour, to make it easier to handle.  (Totally missed this step, go me! Mine was definitely batter, not dough…really runny. But it didn’t really make a difference in the final product.)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Drop the cookie dough by the tablespoonfuls onto a baking sheet.  A tablespoon cookie scoop makes this task extremely simple.  Leave about 2″ between the dough balls, as they’ll spread as they bake.

Bake the cookies for 11 to 12 minutes, until their tops are shiny and cracked.  They won’t crack until the very end, so keep a close eye on them; when they’re cracked all the way across the top surface, they’re done.  The point is, you want these baked all the way through, but just barely; additional baking makes them more crisp rather than chewy.  Remove the cookies from the oven.  Wait 5 minutes then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool.

I just stuck this in the microwave for about a minute, then started stirring it all together. The heat of the butter (which will be almost fully melted after a minute) will melt the chocolate, which won’t be melted yet. This way you won’t burn the chocolate by heating it too long.

Mmm, delicious. Don’t eat this with a spoon despite the temptation. There’s more!

Eggs and sugar. What I did is add a little bit of the hot chocolate mixture into this egg mixture and stir it together just to heat up the egg mixture a little. That way, when I stirred both mixtures together, the eggs wouldn’t cook from the heat of the chocolate.

And this is the finished batter. If I had read the instructions carefully, I would’ve refrigerated this for an hour. But I didn’t, so it’s pretty runny. The only effect the non-refrigeration might’ve had was that it was pretty messy and the cookies may have turned out a little flatter than they would have otherwise.

Baking! I was really fascinated by the baking process of these cookies. I just watched them the whole time and it’s not like they suddenly start cracking—it’s a really subtle, gradual process. Make sure you pay attention towards the end so you don’t overbake them.

This is how they look after they’ve cooled. See, mine turned out pretty flat, but refrigerating the dough may help with that, so do what I say, not as I do.

Look at the beautiful crackly surface! Love it.

These are super moist and rich, and they really are just like brownies in cookie form. They’re super easy to throw together too, and you probably have everything to make them in your kitchen right now. I love recipes like that. Enjoy!

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14/9/2009



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Healthy Baked Mac N' Cheese

Well, healthier. It’s true! I got this recipe from my mom, but I don’t know where she got it. Mom, if you know, comment and let the good people know the source of the cheesy goodness in this post.

Anyway, I am kind of obsessed with mac n’ cheese. I posted a decidedly not-so-healthy version a while back (but oh man, was it good…) but this is a much lighter version that weighs in at only 356 calories per serving (divided into 6 servings total). And that’s opposed to…probably about twice that (at least) for most other versions of baked mac n’ cheese. So it’s a nice alternative, and it actually tastes good! Imagine that! No seriously, it’s really good. Onto the recipe!

4 cups cooked elbow macaroni or other pasta (about 2 cups uncooked)
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup 1% low-fat cottage cheese
3/4 nonfat or lowfat sour cream
1/2 cup skim milk
2 tablespoons grated fresh onion
1-1/2 teaspoons reduced-calorie stick margarine, melted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
Vegetable cooking spray
1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon reduced calorie stick margarine, melted
1/4 teaspoon paprika

Combine first 10 ingredients; stir well, and spoon into a 2 quart casserole (I only had a 3-quart dish…it did no harm) coated with cooking spray.  Combine breadcrumbs and next 2 ingredients; stir well.  Sprinkle over casserole.  Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Uncover; bake 5 minutes or until set. (I actually broiled it for the last few minutes just to get a nice bubbly crust on top).

Easy, right? It really is! It only takes a few minutes to put together. Here’s the proof:

Your cast of characters. Not shown: sour cream. It was behind the cheese and I forgot to move it. :( I just grated my onion with the large-holed side of my box grater. It only took about an eighth of the onion to get 2 tablespoons. Please don’t leave the onion out even if you’re not a huge fan of onion. I served this to two boys who don’t like onion and they both loved it. The onion is really important to the overall flavor and if you grate it, there won’t be big chunks and onion-haters won’t even notice!

The first order of business is to cook your pasta. Start this before you start anything else, and everything should be ready to put together at about the same time.

While the pasta’s going, prepare and combine your first 10 ingredients (cheddar through egg). You can stir this together now or wait for the pasta to come to the party.

Stir everything together when your pasta is done (al dente, this is very important as your pasta will continue to cook a little in the oven, and you don’t want it to be all gross and soggy, do you? I usually don’t even just do it al dente, I leave it slightly undercooked. I hate overcooked pasta! It’s the worst of all food sins!).

Pour the mixture into your cooking-spray’d casserole dish. Then mix up your topping (I used my fingers to mush the breadcrumbs with the butter—otherwise it would’ve been quite clumpy).

Sprinkle the topping over everything, then cover it with aluminum foil and put it into your 350 degree oven.

It’ll eventually come out looking like this. Yummm.

There’s a weird tint to this picture, but please ignore it and focus on the cheesy goodness.

And that’s it! Super easy, no? What could be bad about a healthier version of a dish that everybody loves? Nothing!

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03/9/2009



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Vegan Cookies n' Cream Cupcakes

So a couple of our friends moved in across the street from us, and as a welcome gift-type thing, I decided to make them some cupcakes. However, they are vegan. So the cupcakes, in turn, became vegan. I found the recipe at CHOW and they turned out amazing. In fact, believe it or not, I’ve made quite a few different vegan cupcake recipes in my time, and these are by far the best I’ve ever had. They may be the best cupcakes I’ve ever had, period.

Why, you ask? What is my rating system for cupcakes? Well, let me explain. The reason these are so awesome is because 1) the frosting is incredibly light and fluffy. I am ridiculously picky about frosting, and I hate cupcakes overloaded with rich, sugary, dense frosting. I like to actually taste/enjoy the cake. This frosting is light, airy, and doesn’t overwhelm the cupcake, even with a pretty good amount on top. 2) The cake tastes really great by itself and doesn’t rely on the frosting for flavor. 3) There’s an awesome variety of textures in these from the cake, the frosting, the chunks of cookie in the batter, the fine grains of cookie in the frosting, and the cookie on top. It’s tasty. 4) Additionally, many vegan cupcakes can turn out flat, dense, and even brick-like. These don’t. They’re just as moist and fluffy as regular cupcakes.

Ok, enough of my jabber. Onto the cupcakes! I know you all want to make them, and by golly, you should.

NOTE: This recipe makes 12 cupcakes.

INGREDIENTS - CUPCAKES
  • 1 cup soy milk
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup canola oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract, chocolate extract, or more vanilla extract (I just used more vanilla because that’s all I had)
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder, Dutch-processed or regular
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup wheat-free, dairy free Newman-O’s (or other vegan Oreo-like cookies), coarsely chopped (approximately 10 cookies—chop and then measure)
INSTRUCTIONS - CUPCAKES
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line a muffin pan with paper or foil liners.
  2. Whisk together the soy milk and vinegar in a large bowl, and set aside for a few minutes to curdle. Add the sugar, oil, vanilla extract, and other extract, if using, to the soy milk mixture and beat until foamy. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add in two batches to wet ingredients and beat until no large lumps remain (a few tiny lumps are OK).
  3. Add in your chopped cookies (the pieces should be about pea-sized, they don’t have to be perfect) and stir in.
  4. Pour into liners, filling 3/4 of the way. Bake 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.
  5. Frost and top each cupcake with half a cookie, as you’ll see in the pictures below.
INGREDIENTS - FROSTING
NOTE: This recipe made way more frosting than I used. I don’t like a lot of frosting on cupcakes, and I used way more than I’d usually use, and I still had about half of it left. I would definitely half this recipe next time, but don’t if you like copious amounts of frosting on your cupcakes.
  • 1/2 cup nonhydrogenated shortening
  • 1/2 cup nonhydrogenated margarine, like Earth Balance
  • 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted if clumpy
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup plain soy milk or soy creamer
  • 1/2 cup wheat-free, dairy free Newman-O’s (or other vegan Oreo-like cookies), finely mashed (approximately 5 cookies—mash and then measure)
INSTRUCTIONS - FROSTING
  1. Beat the shortening and margarine together until well combined and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat for about 3 more minutes.
  2. Add the vanilla, soy milk, and your mashed cookies, and beat for another 5 to 7 minutes until fluffy.
Your cast of characters, minus the shortening. Pretend it’s there.
This is the soy milk and the vinegar curdling. I took a picture so you’d know what to look for. It should be quite bubbly. That is all.
Your dry ingredients. If you don’t have a sifter (or just a really crappy one, like me), then you can just use a whisk to combine them and get out all the clumps. Works just as well!
The soy milk mixture, the sugar, and the vanilla. With some stray cocoa. Shh, don’t tell anyone.
Beat that until it’s foamy, like so. Don’t be afraid of the high speed on your mixer.
Aaand this is what your finished batter looks like after you add the dry ingredients, beat them together, and stir in the chopped cookies. The lumps are the cookies, so in this case, lumps are awesome!
If you fill your liners this full, you’ll have exactly enough for 12 cupcakes.
Mmmm, fresh out of the oven. And cooling on a wire rack, just because they’re pretty. Don’t try to frost hot cupcakes. It’s not going to be awesome. Trust me on this, I have done it before. Just wait.
Frosting time! This is your vegan margarine and shortening, and this is where the magic happens. This is why this frosting is so good. The combination of these two ingredients is so much lighter and fluffier in texture than regular old butter. At least in my opinion.
After the sugar, vanilla, and soy milk, and before the cookies. I almost forgot to add them! You can add these all at the same time if you like, or do like I did and wait to add the cookies until the very end. Delicious. You can’t tell from the picture, but the texture is so creamy and amazing. I promise.
And then, chop 6 cookies in half to have half a cookie with which to top each cupcake. It looks so cute! And it’s an extra treat. You could be really fancy and use a pastry bag to frost these, but I am not fancy enough for that. If you are, go for it.

Here, have another picture because these cupcakes are so awesome. Surprise your animal-friendly friends with some; they’ll love you forever. Heck, even surprise your carnivorous friends with some—they’ll never know they’re vegan. Enjoy!
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31/8/2009



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Potstickers

Hi there. Long time no see. I’ve had a busy summer and I really haven’t been cooking as much as I should. I stopped blogging when everything involved in the process became too time-consuming and stressful, but I have not forgotten about it. I’ve decided to start again, but I don’t think I’ll be doing a set schedule (i.e. every Thursday). Rather, I’ll probably just do it whenever I have the time and the itch to blog. I think that will take off some of the stress and I’ll probably end up doing it more often than I would if I tried to stick to a stringent schedule. I know I have a lot of loyal readers (although none of you like to comment, *cough* hint *cough*) and I can see that many of you still check every day, so I will do my best to try to update regularly.

Anywho, onto the eats! Raise your hand if you have a food crush on Alton Brown (or just a plain old crush). I definitely admit that I do. I watch Good Eats obsessively. I love Good Eats more than any other show on the Food Network because it’s so darn informative. I learn so much about food and cooking every time I watch it, and though his recipes are certainly not quick-fix type recipes, he is so good at explaining that I’m not intimidated by any of the dishes he makes.

This past week and a half I was back home in Denver visiting, and I was ridiculously sick the whole time. It wasn’t fun. However, one afternoon I was stuck at home watching TV, and a Good Eats episode entitled “Wanton Ways” came on. Alton made several different dishes using wonton wrappers, but I was absolutely drooling when he made Potstickers. I’d actually never had potstickers despite how much Asian food I eat, because I never really knew what they were. After watching the episode, I knew I had to make Alton’s Potstickers as soon as I got back to Savannah. So I did. And guess what?

They were awesome.

Like, really awesome. Holy crap. And though a little time-consuming, it was not difficult at all. Let’s do this.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 pound ground pork
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped scallions
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped red bell pepper (note: I did not include this because I don’t like peppers, so you will not see it in the below photos)
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 2 teaspoons ketchup
  • 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon light brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 35 to 40 small wonton wrappers
  • Water, for sealing wontons
  • 3 to 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, for frying
  • 1 1/3 cups chicken stock, divided

Directions

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.

Combine the first 11 ingredients in a medium-size mixing bowl (pork through cayenne). Set aside.

To form the dumplings, remove 1 wonton wrapper from the package, covering the others with a damp cloth. Brush 2 of the edges of the wrapper lightly with water. Place 1/2 rounded teaspoon of the pork mixture in the center of the wrapper. Fold over, seal edges, and shape as desired. Set on a sheet pan and cover with a damp cloth. Repeat procedure until all of the filling is gone.

Heat a 12-inch saute pan over medium heat. Brush with vegetable oil once hot. Add 8 to 10 potstickers at a time to the pan and cook for 2 minutes, without touching. Once the 2 minutes are up, gently add 1/3 cup chicken stock to the pan, turn the heat down to low, cover, and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove wontons to a heatproof platter and place in the warm oven. Clean the pan in between batches by pouring in water and allowing the pan to deglaze. Repeat until all the wontons are cooked. Serve immediately.

Your cast of characters. Note the lack of red bell pepper.

All your filling ingredients go into a bowl. To mix, use a wooden spoon, or better yet, just get in there with your hands. It really works much better. Just make sure to wash your hands before and after, of course.

All mixed up. Appetizing, no? It smells amazing already at this point though.

So. Making the wontons. It’s pretty simple. If you need help, you should watch the actual episode of Good Eats from which this recipe originated. Just make sure not to overfill them, and don’t use too much water to seal. I did them all on a cookie sheet and covered with a damp paper towel. They don’t have to be perfect, they just have to be able to close completely. Try to get most of the air out when you seal it.

The perfect amount of filling. Don’t overdo it, please. Oh, also, I’m using round wonton wrappers because that’s all my Kroger had, but feel free to use square ones! Remember, you only need to brush the outside of one half of the circle/square to seal.

This is right after I’ve brushed the pan with oil (I used canola because that’s what I had). Do not overcrowd the pan! If you’re using a smaller pan, don’t put so many in at a time. At this point, you do not touch them for 2 full minutes! Resist the urge!

After two minutes, pour 1/3 cup-ish of chicken stock over them and quickly clamp on the lid.

Now let them sit undisturbed for another 2 minutes. I got my nails done professionally for the first time a few days ago. They’ll never look this good again, so enjoy it. Back to the food…

After two minutes, take off the lid and remove your potstickers one by one. They will probably stick a little. This is the point. Don’t worry—just be gentle with your tongs.

Move them directly into your preheated oven so they don’t get cold while you cook the rest. I just put them on a pizza pan. It worked out pretty well.

Rinse and repeat—literally! Between each batch, deglaze your pan with some water. You don’t have to scrape everything up though—I found the more tenacious residuals actually helped crisp up the later batches. Dump it out and brush the pan with oil again. Make sure you let the pan reheat properly after each de-glazing.

Now, cook up the rest and serve any way you like! Appetizers, dim sum, whatever. We ate them with rice and sweet and sour sauce for dipping. It was beyond delicious.

This recipe would probably feed at least four hungry adults (and that’s if you’re having them as a main course like we did). But we have leftovers, which is never a problem! :)

There is so much flavor and texture in these tiny little packages! Definitely try out this recipe. It’s pretty fun to assemble the wontons, too—an excellent task to delegate to kids or significant others while you start cookin’. ;)

Special thanks to my significant other, Pranas, for taking the action shots and helping assemble the mass amounts of wontons!

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11/6/2009



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Peanut Butter Oreo Pie

Guys, I failed at posting last week. I totally planned to, and then I just…forgot. I have been very engrossed in/distracted by my other blog, and I have been neglecting this one. I’m so sorry! I’ll be better, I promise. On that note, please enjoy today’s extra-yummy recipe.

Those of you who follow me on Twitter may have noticed this the other day:

I was talking about this pie. I saw it on the Pioneer Woman Cooks and it looked too delicious not to make. It’s right up my alley! I love peanut butter, and I love dipping Oreos in peanut butter (though I don’t usually like plain Oreos…). Also, it required so few ingredients and looked so simple that I couldn’t resist.

A forewarning—this is probably the messiest recipe I’ve ever made. This is because I don’t have a food processor and had to use a blender to crush my Oreos. It worked for the most part, but it took soooo long and Oreos got EVERYWHERE no matter what I did. So, if you’re a neat freak without a food processor, probably don’t make this recipe. Also, peanut butter recipes are always messy no matter what.

Also—this is a rich pie. There’s no problem with using “light” and “low-fat” versions of the ingredients. I only had low-fat cream cheese and margarine instead of butter, but if I had them, I would have used low-fat peanut butter and Cool Whip Free too. It’s perfectly fine, and I promise your pie will be just fine either way.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

Crust:
25 Oreos
4 tablespoons butter, melted

Crush the Oreos until they’re fine crumbs. Pour melted butter over the top and stir with a fork to combine. Press into pie pan and bake at 350 degrees for 5 to 7 minutes, or until set.

Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

Filling:

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 8-ounce package softened cream cheese
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1 8-ounce package Cool Whip, thawed

Beat the peanut butter with the cream cheese until smooth. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add in the thawed Cool Whip and beat mixture until smooth, scraping the sides as needed.

Pour filling into crust, evening out the top with a knife or spatula. Chill for at least an hour before serving (I’d recommend at least two or three…I waited an hour and a half and it wasn’t set yet).

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Here’s what you’ll need. So few ingredients, I love it! The only thing not pictured is margarine, of which you’ll need half a stick.

This is where the trouble started. Notice the nice, clean table top.

Now notice all the Oreo crumbs (though I cropped this photo so most of the mess was hidden). And notice my lumpy crust. If you do use a blender (or smash them with a rolling pin or whatever) you’re going to have lumps in your crust. Don’t freak out—it really doesn’t make any difference at all in the final product. I promise. This is after the margarine has been mixed in and everything’s been pressed down. Not super pretty, but who cares? Then it goes in the oven to set.

Peanut butter and cream cheese. It helps if both your cream cheese and your peanut butter are super soft. It was hot and muggy yesterday here in Savannah, so I had no problem with that. Now beat the heck out of it!

Now add your powdered sugar and beat the heck out of that, too.

Lastly, add the whole tub of Cool Whip and incorporate it fully so it’s nice and creamy.

If your crust is cool at this point, go ahead and put the filling in the pie. If not, stick the filling in the fridge until your crust is cool. This is important!

This is a thing of beauty. Now, chill it for quite some time in the fridge. At least a few hours for it to set. Otherwise it will be a mess to cut. Actually, it most likely will anyway. This picture is from the next day, and I still couldn’t get a perfect slice:

Again, though, who cares? It’s still ridiculously delicious and it wouldn’t matter if it was just a big pile of mush in a bowl, I would still eat it with gusto.

Guys, make this. I am totally serious. It is so delicious. And it takes no time at all! So hop to!

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28/5/2009



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Breaded Chicken Parmesan

I’ve been cooking dinner for my friend Andy once a week in exchange for him driving me places, and this past week he requested chicken parmesan. I didn’t really use a recipe for this—I just kind of made it up as I went along, but it turned out to be delicious. Thus, the measurements below are approximate, so feel free to experiment with them as you go through the recipe.

Breaded Chicken Parmesan

3 medium boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
1 cup Italian-seasoned bread crumbs
2 eggs, beaten
Marinara sauce (to taste)
Sliced or shredded mozzarella cheese (to taste)
Shredded or grated parmesan cheese (to taste)
Pasta of your choice (optional)

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Pour your bread crumbs onto a plate or a shallow dish. Dip your chicken breasts in your beaten egg and then dredge each breast thoroughly in the bread crumbs.

3. Place your breaded chicken in a glass baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes.

4. Take out your chicken, cover in mozzarella slices, marinara, and shredded parmesan, then put back in the oven for another 10 minutes.

5. This is a good time to make your pasta, so get to it!

6. Serve chicken over pasta and enjoy!

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Your cast of characters:

Beat your eggs thoroughly. You could also use another coating, such as dijon mustard—the egg’s purpose is just so the bread crumbs stick.

Make sure you coat the chicken thoroughly. Don’t try to shake the excess off.

Time to go into the oven!

And here’s what they’ll look like after 20 minutes in the oven. They’re starting to get crispy at the edges.

Slice your mozzarella cheese and arrange the slices on top of your chicken, or if you’re using shredded cheese, just go ahead and sprinkle it right on top.

Add your sauce, covering everything well, and then sprinkle some parmesan on top.

Pasta is an excellent part of a satisfying Italian meal, so I highly recommend it. I used spaghetti, but you can really use any pasta you like.

Mmm, cheesy. Perfect.

Delicious. This was a big hit. Almost everyone loves chicken parmesan, right? And it’s so easy too! Enjoy!

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22/5/2009



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Pasta Carbonara

I found this recipe via the Pioneer Woman while browsing for a quick, easy pasta recipe that wouldn’t require an hour-long trip to the store. This recipe did the trick. It’s quite tasty—though next time I make it I would reduce the amount of bacon by about half. It was just too much for me to handle! But overall, this was really yummy and really easy to make. The below recipe makes four servings—I halved it, so don’t get confused by the amounts in the pictures!

Pasta Carbonara

1 lb. pasta (I used spaghetti, but you could also use linguini or any pasta, really)
4 eggs
1 lb. bacon or pancetta (I used turkey bacon because it’s all I had on hand, but I wouldn’t recommend it for this recipe)
1 1/2 cups parmesan cheese
8-12 cloves of garlic
1 large onion
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup white wine (or substitute another cup of stock, which I did)
1/2 stick butter
1 handful of parsley
1-2 tablespoons black pepper

Slice up your bacon into 1-inch-wide pieces. Cook on your stovetop until nicely browned and crisp. Meanwhile, cook your pasta until al dente. Then, chop your onion (a rough dice is fine) and slice your garlic into thin slices.

When the bacon is done cooking, scoop it out with a slotted spoon and set it aside on a paper towel or plate. Reserve the bacon grease. Throw the diced onions in over medium-high heat for a couple minutes, then throw in your garlic and cook for another couple minutes. Remove the mixture from the pan with a slotted spoon, or drain it—either way, just get rid of the grease.

Put your empty pan back on high heat until it starts to smoke a little, then pour in your white wine, or 1 cup of your stock. Whisk thoroughly until the pan is deglazed. Then add 1 cup of stock. Return the bacon, onion, and garlic to the pan. Let simmer over medium heat.

Crack your eggs into a large bowl. Add most of the Parmesan cheese and rough chop the parsley, adding that as well. Leave a little Parmesan and parsley out for garnish. Mix it all together with a fork.

Add your still very hot cooked pasta (this is important—the pasta will essentially cook the egg, so it’s imperative that the pasta is super hot) to the egg mixture, then add the bacon/onion/garlic mixture. Then add 1/2 stick of butter and mix everything together. Sprinkle black pepper (to taste) on top. Garnish with parmesan and parsley.

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Remember before you look at the pictures: I halved the recipe! I also don’t have pictures of every single step—sorry!

Don’t ask me why there are three eggs there…I have no idea. There should be two. The third egg is useless.

Cooking the lovely faux-bacon. This didn’t work super well because turkey bacon has so much less fat than real bacon, and therefore kind of messed with everything else. But it was probably a lot healthier! Use real bacon if you have it.

Deglazing the pan.

I can never find Italian flat-leaf parsley, and I always have such trouble chopping regular parsley into small pieces. I think I need better knives. The large pieces of parsley didn’t bother me at all in this recipe, though.

This is the point where you take your tongs and mix it all together. The butter will melt really quickly and the cheese will melt and it will all become instantly delicious.

Mmm, so good. Again, I’d suggest cutting out some of the bacon—unless you’re a big fan of bacon. Otherwise, this pasta was really delicious, filling, and a quick dinner fix that impresses. Enjoy!

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14/5/2009



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Triple Chocolate Brownies

I realized the other day when my friend Andy was bugging me to make brownies that I’ve never posted a real brownie recipe on here…which is strange, because I love brownies. There are so many brownie recipes out there that yield such different results, so I don’t have one on file that I automatically rely on.

I found this recipe via the Food Network (where else?) from Nigella Lawson, one of my favorite FN chefs. She really knows how to make sweets simple and delicious. I was really pleased with this recipe because it’s pretty easy, but it yields some fantastic results. It’s a classic, rich, moist, decadent brownie in no time at all. These brownies were a huge crowd-pleaser!

Triple Chocolate Brownies

  • 3 sticks plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 12 ounces best-quality bittersweet chocolate
  • 6 eggs
  • 1 3/4 cups superfine sugar
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup white chocolate buttons, chips, or morsels
  • 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate buttons, chips or morsels
  • Approximately 2 teaspoons confectioners’ sugar, for garnish
  • Special equipment: Baking tin (approximately 11 1/4 inches by 9 inches by 2 inches), sides and base lined with baking parchment.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt the butter and dark chocolate together in a large heavy based pan over a low heat.

In a bowl or large measuring jug, beat the eggs together with the superfine sugar and vanilla extract.

Allow the chocolate mixture to cool a little, then add the egg and sugar mixture and beat well. Fold in the flour and salt. Then stir in the white chocolate buttons or chips, and the semisweet chocolate buttons or chips. Beat to combine then scrape and pour the brownie mixture into the prepared tin.

Bake for about 25 minutes. You can see when the brownies are ready because the top dries to a slightly paler brown speckle, while the middle remains dark, dense and gooey. Even with such a big batch you do need to keep checking on it: the difference between gooey brownies and dry ones is only a few minutes. Remember, too, that they will continue to cook as they cool.

Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar to serve.

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Your cast of characters:

Start melting your chocolate. Use very low heat and stir often. You can start the other steps while doing this. When it’s smooth and pretty lump-free, take it off the heat.

Eggs, sugar, and vanilla, beaten together thoroughly.

Definitely make sure your chocolate is cooled at least a little before adding it to the egg mixture or it will cook your eggs, and you don’t want that.

Add your flour and salt and fold it all together. Then stir in your chips and you’re good to go.

Pour it in your baking dish and bake for approximately 25 minutes. I used a different sized baking dish than what is mentioned, so I needed about 35-40 minutes.

Cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and serve. Yum!

These are really fantastic. They’re super moist and rich, and pretty darn easy to make. If you like, add some walnuts or other nuts. I definitely would have added walnuts if I didn’t have some very picky boys (who refuse to eat brownies with nuts in them) waiting to devour these. This will definitely be my go-to brownie recipe from now on! Unless, of course, I magically find a better one. Any recommendations?

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08/5/2009



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Lasagna

Again, I failed to post last week. I have a good excuse, I promise. I was moving. It’s all very exciting. Our new place has beautiful new appliances and a much awesomer and more manageable kitchen than the last one, and the whole situation is much better. I vowed that I would make this week’s post extra-awesome due to my failure to post anything last week, so I guarantee that this is one of the best real food (i.e., not baked goods) recipes I have posted to date.

Lasagna! Everyone loves it, right? Actually, I don’t. I’m really not a huge fan of most lasagnas because I’m very picky about what I want in a lasagna. I honestly only made this because I promised my friend Andy (a big lasagna fan) that I’d make it for him. A lasagna has to be heavily cheese-based for me to enjoy it. I’m a cheese fiend. Especially when it comes to Italian cheeses like parmesan, mozarella, and ricotta—all of which this recipe uses in full force. So if you like a good, cheesy lasagna—and yes, there is beef in there too—you’ve come to the right place.

I generally look to the Food Network when I’m looking for a good recipe, and I found one via the Neelys on FoodNetwork.com. It was pretty simple (important for a first-time lasagna-maker) and didn’t use a ton of expensive ingredients (important for a cash-poor college student). However, there were some elements of which I was not a fan. They used cottage cheese instead of ricotta (WHAT?! No thank you!) and cheddar cheese (again, WHAT?!). So, I made some modifications and pressed on. It came out wonderfully and I am now officially a lasagna lover. Well, a lover of this lasagna anyway.

I’m trying this new thing where I post the recipe in full first, then the step-by-step pictures. I figure it will make the recipes easier to print out without all the filler text and photos I add in. Bear with me.

Lasagna
Based on the Neelys’ “Mama’s Lasagna” recipe and modified

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for pan
  • 1 pound ground beef or turkey (I’m sure you could also use sausage for more kick)
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 (14.5-ounce) can stewed tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 (8-ounce) jar tomato sauce
  • 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
  • 1 (8-ounce) box no-boil lasagna noodles
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 cups ricotta cheese (low-fat is totally fine, that’s what I used)
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
  • 2 teaspoons freshly chopped parsley leaves
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon seasoning salt
  • 1 (8-ounce) bag shredded mozzarella
  • 1 (8-ounce) bag shredded Parmesan

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly oil the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish.

In a large saute pan, over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon oil and saute meat, onion, and garlic until meat is browned, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon. Drain pan of fat and add stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, then mix in ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, parsley, salt, pepper, and seasoning salt.

Spread a little of the meat sauce in the bottom of the prepared pan. Lay half the noodles in the bottom of the baking dish, overlapping by 1/2-inch. Spread half the egg and ricotta cheese mixture evenly on top. Sprinkle half the mozzarella and shredded Parmesan evenly over the ricotta cheese mixture. Pour half the meat sauce on top. Repeat layering in same order. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup grated Parmesan on top. Bake in center of oven 30 to 35 minutes until sauce is bubbling around the edges. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

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Your cast of characters:

Your meat mixture should look about like this before you drain it:

Mmm, saucy!

Your ricotta/parmesan/egg/parsley mixture. This is totally the best part of the lasagna. In my humble opinion, anyway.

I didn’t take a photo of every step of the assembly, but it’s pretty self-explanatory. It’s fun building a lasagna, no? This is layer 4. It goes sauce, noodles, ricotta mixture, shredded cheeses. Repeat.

And this is what it should look like before it goes in the oven.

…aaand after it comes out. Perfect!

Definitely let it sit for those 10 minutes, they are crucial. I used that time to heat up some frozen garlic bread. If you’re feeling ambitious, a Caesar salad would be a nice addition.

Not a great picture (I was in a hurry to eat), but you get the idea. This lasagna is awesome. It’s super cheesy but not overwhelmingly so, and all the other flavors are readily apparent as well. It’s a great first-timer’s lasagna, so if you’ve never made it before (like me), don’t be intimidated. This recipe is super simple and totally worth it. You’ll have yummy leftovers for days!

Enjoy!

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23/4/2009



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Peanut Butter Brownies

This is another recipe from the wonderful Smitten Kitchen. This was one of those recipes where, when I first saw it, I thought, “Why are these not in my oven RIGHT NOW?!” If you’ve ever read this blog before, you know that I am kind of obsessed with the combination of peanut butter and chocolate. Naturally, I had to make these.

Peanut Butter Brownies

For brownies
2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 large eggs plus 1 large yolk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (9 ounces)

For ganache
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (9 ounces)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

Make brownies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F with rack in middle. Butter a 13- by 9- by 2-inch baking pan, then line bottom of pan with parchment paper and butter parchment.

Beat together butter and sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until mixture is light and fluffy, then add peanut butter and beat until incorporated. Beat in whole eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla. Reduce mixer sped to low, then mix in flour until just combined.

Mix in chocolate chips (1 1/2 cups) then spread batter in baking pan, smoothing top. (It will be thick, almost like cookie batter.)

Bake until brownies are deep golden, puffed on top and a wooden pick inserted in center come out with some crumbs adhering, 40 to 45 minutes. NOTE: Make sure to watch these. I put mine in for 40 minutes and ran upstairs to get some things done before the brownies were finished cooking. When the timer went off, they were way too close to being burned for my taste—still fine, but just darker than I’d like. If your oven isn’t the greatest (like mine), don’t leave them unattended for the last 10-15 minutes or so.


Cool completely in pan on a rack, about 1 1/2 hours.

Make ganache: Put chocolate chips (1 1/2 cups) in a heatproof bowl.

Bring cream to a boil in a small saucepan, then pour over chocolate chips and let mixture stand for one minute.

Gently whisk in butter until it is incorporated, chocolate is melted, and a smooth mixture forms.

Spread ganache on cooled brownies and let stand until set, about 15 minutes.

I apologize for not having photos of this process, but it all happens rather quickly. It’s ridiculously easy though, so don’t worry.

I waited 15 minutes and my ganache wasn’t set yet (it’s pretty hot and humid here today, so that probably had something to do with it) but I had to slice them and dig in anyway.


Oh man, these were tasty! I wish the peanut butter flavor was more apparent, though. That’s one thing I would have changed if I had known ahead of time. Also, this isn’t exactly a Weight Watchers recipe, so feel free to substitute margarine instead of butter and low-fat peanut butter instead of full-fat, like I did. Every little bit helps, right? There’s no subsitute for heavy cream though, so just grin and bear it. Just don’t drink a gallon of it, though. :)

These are basically slightly peanut-buttery blonde brownies with ganache topping, and they’re fantastic. If you prefer a stronger peanut butter flavor (like me), feel free to experiment and play around with it! They’ll be delicious, I promise.

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