Pepe's Key Lime Pie

After finding Key limes at the local grocery store, I decided to make a Key lime pie for Easter dinner. Since we're in NYC for Easter, I made the pie in an unfamiliar kitchen (my parents'). I say this because making this gave me more trouble than it should have. I'm attributing most of that to the fact I wasn't in my home kitchen.

For the graham cracker crust, I added a bit more melted butter (maybe 2 Tbs.) than the recipe called for as the mixture seemed too dry. I guess it didn't matter much: once I placed everything in the pie plate, the crumbs were simply pushed up the sides of the plate by my patting the crumbs in the center -- no real sticking necessary.

As for the filling, I suspect that using fresh key limes tastes better than using bottled juice, but squeezing those little bastards is a pain in the arse. Key limes are about the size of ping pong balls and, to generate a 1/2 cup of juice, my Dad and I squoze about 20 limes.

Incidentally, there is a flavor difference between Key limes and Tahitian limes: key limes are less tart, resulting in mellower pie. I can't help but think, though, that Tahitian limes could be used if they were cut with a bit of water. Or, if you wanted to go off the map a bit, blended with another citrus juice.

Until the stiff egg whites are added, the juice, evaporated milk and egg yolks don't look like much. But incorporate the egg whites and --poof-- enough volume to fill the crust.

I was a little concerned about over baking the pie and browing the top. Of course, I thought the bake time was 25 minutes, not 20, so I left it in for 23. Fortunately, the top of the pie was dry yet wiggled gently when I shook the plate. And, no brown spots.

It tastes pretty good, too. I'm not a real lime fan (which begs the question, "Why did you want to make key lime pie in the first place?" to which I'd answer, "Because I was able to buy key limes in Upstate New York.") but this is nice: a gentle zing from the citrus, offset by the whipped cream and graham cracker crust.

And the crust is really good. But since it's made of graham crackers, cinnamon, sugar and melted butter, I suppose that shouldn't really suprise. I could just eat the crust and be happy.

Another bag of Key limes remains -- and another Key lime pie recipe is in the works.


Pepe's Key Lime Pie

Crust:
1-1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs (about 8)
1/3 c. melted butter
1/4 c. white sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325-degrees. Mix ingredients together and press into 8 or 9 inch pie pan. Bake about 10 minutes; allow to cool completely before filling.

Filling:

4 egg yolks
2 egg whites
1 14oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 c Key Lime juice, fresh or bottled

Preheat oven to 325-degrees Beat egg whites until stiff. Set aside.

In another bowl, beat egg yolks well. Add sweetened condensed milk and continue beating. Slowly add key lime juice while beating. Fold egg whites into egg yolk mixture with spatula, being careful not to deflate the egg whites; mixture should be evenly blended.

Pour into pie crust. Bake about 20 minutes or until just set. Cool completely before refrigerating. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. Makes 6 slices. Top each with whipped cream. Keeps well for up to 3 days.

Whipped Cream:

2 c. (1 pint) heavy whipping cream, cold
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 tsp. confectioners' sugar

Just before serving, make the whipped cream. In a large chilled bowl, using an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream until soft peaks. Add the vanilla extract and confectioners' sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks.

Grade: A

Tags: cooking, baking, Key Lime Pie, dessert, Pepe's Cafe

Spring Break

Photo Credit.

We've leaving for NYC tomorrow to visit my parents for Easter, so things will be slow around here until we come back (...maybe; I made Q Cookies on the last trip). I want to hit up the new Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and, of course, Veniero's (plus other non-food-related locales).

I plan to make an authentic Key Lime Pie -- real Key limes, baby!-- this weekend; I've been dying to since I found a few bags at my grocery store the other day. Until I post the results (here's hoping it's good) check out this NY Times travel article on Florida and Key Lime Pie.

Happy Spring!

Not Recipe, Commentary

Today's Fresh Air featured journalist Michael Pollan discussing his new book "The Ominivore's Dilemma." In the interview, Pollan talks about the global costs involved in producing food. For example, corn -- found in a number of processed foods in the form of corn syrup -- is produced using an unbelievable amount of fossil fuel (meaning, it's not just our cars that are sucking up the world's supply of oil and oil by-products, so is that corn-syrup fortified french fry I ate with lunch).

Additionally, Pollan examined the business of organic food; while it's better than the food turned out on factory farms, a number of organic food producers have simply taken the factory farm model and applied it to organic farming. Which, if you're like me and try use organic foods whenever possible, is more than a little disturbing.

Finally, Pollan makes an interesting inference based on recent market developments. Sales figures show that more consumers are buying organic foods. Out of all the grocery store chains in America, the one with the greatest growth is Whole Foods. Based on this, Pollan believes that more people are concerned about where their food comes from and desire a greater connection with what they eat. For example, buying a burger from McDonald's requires very little thought on the part of the consumer, yet if a person purchases the raw elements of their food (say, a chicken breast, dijon mustard and scallions) and creates a meal with them, their engagement with the food chain, their part in it, and therefore nature, is much greater. Pollan notes that eating is our most frequent connection with the natural world. If you think about food not as something pre-fab from a box but as a living thing that we are harvesting to sustain ourselves (whether it's a cow or a carrot), that connection becomes all the more clear.

Perhaps this is why, at a time when our lives seem busier and our world more irrational, so many people retreat to the comforts of their kitchens: cooking from scratch puts us in touch with a slower -- and dare I say? -- more natural way of life.

Baked French Toast (aka Pain Perdu Cuit Au Four*)

Garnished with a bit of powdered sugar and glazed pecans.

Another recipe from Gourmet’s "Everyday Meals." Theirs did not include cinnamon but I added it anyway – it seemed like a good idea.

I used two 9-inch pie plates instead of a 13x9 baking dish (my 13x9 was on a 6 month sabbatical at a friends' house but this evening, sent in a purple glass replacement. Yay!). I also forgot to butter the baking dish; ditzyness strikes again.

I’m not a big fan of regular french toast as the consistency of soggy bread doesn’t do it for me. I enjoyed this though, as the bread's crust had a nice crunch to it. (Some parts of the bread – those that weren’t so stale? – were still too soft for my liking.) There’s also a custard that forms between the pieces of bread which was tasty, although I’d increase the amount of sugar to remove any similarity between it and scrambled eggs.

It’s a very filling breakfast; two pieces and a glass of cold milk are more than enough to sate the appetite.

Baked French Toast

Butter for baking dish
1 French baguette a day old, cut on a diagonal into 3/4-inch pieces
3 cups half & half or whole milk
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp. cinnamon, plus more for sprinkling (optional)
1/4 tsp salt
3 Tbs. sugar

Combine half & half, eggs, vanilla, salt and 2 Tbs. sugar; mix well. Butter a 13x9-baking dish. Arrange bread in one layer in the dish and cover with mixture. Let stand 30 minutes at room temp turning once or twice. While the bread is soaking up the liquid, set oven to 425-degrees with a rack in middle position.

After 30 minutes, sprinkle top evenly w. remaining sugar (plus cinnamon, if desired). Place on the middle rack and bake until custard is set and top is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Serve with maple syrup, powdered sugar, or jam.

Grade: (as rated by the Family judges): B+ to A-

*Still have no idea how to write French properly.

Hoisin and Honey Glazed Pork Chops with Three Pea Stir-Fry

These recipes come from Gourmet's "Everyday Meals,"

a cookbook that accompanies a Gourmet subscription.

I don't usually think of myself as ditzy, yet lately, all evidence points to the contrary. There were supposed to be scallions -- diagonally cut for maximum effect -- with the pork chops and, although I know I put them in my grocery cart, they did not make it to my kitchen. I did this with apples a few weeks ago, too. I like to imagine both of them are swirling around in a culinary Bermuda Triangle.

Then, just before placing the pork chops in the oven, I realized I'd left out the ginger. I pulled the chops out of the oven, scrambled around to mix the ginger in with the sauce, and popped the whole thing back in -- only to realize that the sauce already had ginger in it. I had added the ginger designated for the peas.

And yet even with the mishaps, both dishes came out very well. The extra ginger in the chops didn't overwhelm the sweet Asian barbecue flavor, nor did it scorch under the broiler. Both good things.

As for the peas, my version is actually Two Pea Stir-fry as my grocery store didn't have sugar peas in stock. It was still very good -- very little effort and lots of flavor. I served up both with a scoop of rice.

All in all, a tasty meal.


Hoisin and Honey Glazed Pork Chops
Serves 4

1 bunch scallions
1/2 cup Asian Oyster Sauce
2 Tbs. Dijon Mustard
2 Tbs. hoisin sauce
1 tsp. fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
2 Tbs. honey
1 Tbs. soy sauce
4 pork chops (2 lbs. total)

Put oven rack in middle position & preheat to 400-degrees. Cut scallions diagonally in 2-inch pieces. Whisk together remaining ingredient except port in a large bowl. Add scallions to pork, turning pork to coat generously with sauce.
Arrange chops in 1 layer in a 15 by 10-inch shallow baking pan, 1-inch deep. Spoon remaining sauce w. scallions over pork & roast until just cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes
Turn on broiler and broil pork 5 to 6 inches form heat until top is slightly caramelized, 2 to 5 minutes. Let stand, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Serve chops topped with pan juices.



Three Pea Stir-fry
Serves 4

1 Tbs. veggie oil
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 Tbs. fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1/4 tsp. dried hot pepper flakes
6 oz. sugar snap peas, trimmed and cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
6 oz. snow peas, trimmed and cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
1 cup frozen peas
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. Asian sesame oil
1 Tbsp. sesame seeds, toasted
Salt to taste

Heat oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot but not smoothing, then stir fry garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add sugar snap and snow peas and stir-fry until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Add frozen peas and cook until hot, about 2 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in soy sauce and sesame oil. Sprinkle with sesame seed and season with salt.

Grade: A (chops & peas)

Grand Marnier Brownies

Mmm, mmm good.

This recipe was a challenge. I wanted to create something that would be eligible for the next Sugar High Friday; this month’s theme requires that all desserts incorporate liquor into the recipe.

My initial thought was baba rhum. But then I read Chandra’s instructions: “let's try to stay away from the ever popular rum cake...”

Damn it.

Ok, on to brownies. A friend’s sister makes delicious frosted mint brownies – the base is cakey, the frosting is nicely minted – so I thought I could simply substitute the peppermint extract with Crème de Menthe. But I first needed make a brownie base. I didn’t care for the first one I tried, so I upped the chocolate factor. The brownie recipe below is the result.

Then I moved to the frosting. Adding a teaspoon of Crème de Menthe in place of the extract did nothing – the frosting still tasted like confectioner’s sugar. So I kept adding liquor until I wound up with a something that couldn’t be set near an open flame.

At that point, I decided to go in a different direction.

How about a chocolate orange frosting flavored with Grand Marnier? Finally – finally! – a winner.

Alone the brownies are great; with melted chocolate and cocoa in the batter, plus chocolate chips to up the ante, how could you go wrong?. But top them with chocolate orange frosting – which gains fruity notes and brightness from the orange zest and juice, decadence from yet more chocolate and cocoa powder, and sophistication from the Grand Marnier – and you’ve got a fantastic brownie. Really, the word brownie doesn’t do this dessert justice. It’s a broWOWnie (…or something far more clever).

Go on. Make it for your next dinner party or date that you want to impress, and watch people fall on the floor with jubilation.


Grand Marnier Brownies

For the brownies:

1 and 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
12 oz good-quality semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped or chips*
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract (or 2 tsp. vanilla and 2 tsp. Grand Marnier)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chunks or chips


Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Line two 8-inch square baking pans with foil, allowing for 2 inches of overhang. Grease foil, excluding overhang.

Place butter and 12 oz. chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute at 40-percent power; stir. Continue microwaving at 30-percent power in 30 second intervals, stirring every 30 seconds, until chocolate and butter have melted. Stir in cocoa and let cool slightly.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

Place sugar, eggs, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on medium speed until pale, about 4 minutes. Add chocolate mixture; beat until combined. Add flour mixture and beat, scraping down sides of bowl until well blended. Fold in cup of chocolate chips.

Scoop batter into prepared pans (it will be very thick), smoothing the top as best you can with a rubber spatula. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the brownies comes out with a few crumbs but is not wet, about 35 minutes. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes and then, using the foil lift brownies out of pan. Place on a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.


For the frosting:

3 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped or chips
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4 Tbsp. freshly squeezed orange juice
Water as needed
3/4 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar, divided
1-1/2 tsp grated orange peel
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 tsp. Grand Marnier

Melt chocolate in a microwave safe bowl at 40-percent power for 1 minute; stir. Continue microwaving at 30-percent power in 30 second intervals, stirring every 30 seconds, until chocolate has melted. Cool until lukewarm.
Mix cocoa powder and orange juice until smooth and thick but pourable, adding water by teaspoonfuls if necessary.
Beat butter, 1/3 cup powdered sugar, and orange peel in large bowl to blend. Add melted chocolate, vanilla, and salt; beat until smooth. Scrape sides of bowl; beat in cocoa mixture. Gradually add remaining powdered sugar and beat until frosting is smooth, scraping bowl’s sides frequently. Add Grand Marnier.

To assemble:
When brownies are completely cool, lift out of pans using foil; peel away foil and throw away. Smooth frosting over the brownies; garnish with chocolate curls, stripes made with melted chocolate, or orange zest. Cut into small squares, eat, and die happy.

Grade: A+

*I used Ghirardelli’s 60% Cocoa Bittersweet Chocolate chips throughout this recipe.

Clueless Gourmet Brownies

You can tell by the color that these lack a deep chocolate flavor.

I bought The Clueless Gourmet cookbook several years ago and, soon after purchasing it, made its brownies more a number of times. And then, for whatever reason, never made them again.

When I want a brownie now, I just doctor a very dark chocolate brownie mix by adding a half-bag of dark chocolate morsels and a half-cup to a cup of chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans) and bake to the chewy brownie directions (not cake-like) brownie directions. They're effortless and delicious.

But I'm trying to perfect a new frosted brownie recipe and I don't want to use a box mix. As a result, fond memories turned me back to the Clueless Gourmet. No chocolate chip or nut additions here -- I thought they'd distract from the flavors in the frosting.

As it turns out, it doesn't matter: I'm not using this brownie recipe for my frosted brownie plans. It's not they're it's not tasty -- they are -- but it doesn't have the deep chocolate flavor I'm looking for. Is it because I used the Scharffen Berger again? Maybe. When I eat a brownie, I want it to be sinful. These don't do that for me. The chocolate notes here are less of a deep, rich chocolate and more of a light cocoa.

Again, this is a good recipe. It does have a nice butter flavor not normally identifiable in brownies. Should you make these? Sure, especially if you don't have a lot of experience in the kitchen. There's a lot to be said for uncomplicated recipes.

They'd be overwhelmed, however, by the brownie frosting I plan to make, and that's a dealbreaker. Back to the drawing board.

Clueless Gourmet Brownies

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 stick unsalted butter, in 3-5 pieces
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Line an 8-inch square pan, or 9-inch cake pan or pie plate, with parchment. Place chocolate and butter in a bowl and microwave for about a minute; stir. Continue microwaving at 30 second intervals at 50-percent power, stirring after every 30 seconds until everything is melted.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the eggs and sugar for about a minute. Add the salt, vanilla and melted chocolate to the egg and sugar mixture. Stir until well blended. Fold in flour; when just combined, pour batter into pan.

Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until edges and top appear cooked and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out almost dry. Cool completely on a cooling rack.

Grade: B

Patate Douce Casserole Avec Peeps

Sissy William's recipe for Sweet Potato aux Peeps sparked the idea for both this recipe and its French title* (food sounds so much better in French).

I love the caramel-like sweetness baking releases in sweet potatoes, so to play that up, I added good amounts of brown sugar (3/4 cup) and butter (6 Tbsp.) to the mashed sweet potatoes. I'm also in love with the warmth, complexity, and aroma spices bring to recipes and since cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves complement sweet potatoes so well, I threw them in, too. The result is heady; I know something is good if I have to tear myself away from licking the bowl. (Which is not to say I didn't lick the bowl; I just stopped myself from burying my face in it.)

As for the peeps, the oven changes their consistency; like roasting a marshmallow over a campfire, the dry heat toasts the outside and liquefies the inside. On my plate, I didn't like eating the toasted peeps straight up but I loved mixing them in with the sweet potatoes -- the peeps fluff up the potatoes while adding a hint of sweetness.

These are good; so good. Make them very, very soon.

Patate Douce Casserole Avec Peeps

8 medium sweet potatoes
6 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
Peeps (about 20)

Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Wash the outside of the sweet potatoes and pierce all over with a fork. Place on a lined (foil or parchment) baking sheet and bake for 1-1/2 to 2 hours until soft and the potatoes' natural sugars bubble out of the fork-made holes. Allow potatoes to cool to room temperature (or pop them in the fridge and deal with them when you are ready).

Preheat the oven to 400-degrees. Scoop out the sweet potatoes' flesh into the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until desired consistency is reached (I like mine relatively smooth but dotted with sweet potato bits). Add melted butter, brown sugar, spices and salt; mix until well combined. Scoop mixture into a 9-inch pie plate and bake 30 to 40 minutes or until the center is hot. Arrange peeps around edge and bake 5 more minutes.


*As I don't know how to speak French, if the title for this recipe is completely nonsensical, please suggest a correction.

BBQ Chicken Casserole

This recipe comes from the back of a package of Simply Potatoes Shredded Hash Browns. It’s listed on the site and yet, when you click on the link, it just takes you to an all-purpose recipe page. Very wonky.

I’m posting it here (slightly adapted) because it’s very easy to make and very tasty to eat. (It pairs well with Patate Douce Casserole Avec Peeps -- and now you know exactly what we had for dinner.)

The barbeque sauce is the primary seasoning here, so choose one you love. I left out the cilantro leaves because they’re what I imagine evil tastes like.

BBQ Chicken Casserole

1 pkg. Simply Potatoes Shredded Hash Browns (or 20 oz. potatoes, peeled and shredded)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 lb. chicken breasts, skinless and boneless
1-1/4 c. bbq sauce, or more to taste (Recommended: Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey barbecue sauce)
Fresh cilantro (optional)

Preheat oven to 400-degrees. In a medium bowl, combine hash browns, onion, oil, salt and pepper and mix well. Spread the mixture in the bottom of a 9x13-baking dish. Top with chicken breasts; spread bbq sauce evenly over chicken. Bake until chicken is no longer pink, about 45 minutes. Top with cilantro if desired, but why ruin a perfectly good meal?

Grade: A

Magnolia Bakery's Famous Banana Pudding

My attempt at food styling & photography.

I love potlucks, if for no other reason than they give me an excuse to try out recipes. (The massive quantities of food don't hurt either. Of course, for every well-made Italian Wedding Soup, there's a hot dog helper being forced down unsuspecting throats. )

For today's lunch, we brought Shane's "Viva Lula Brazilian-style Black Bean Soup" (post TK), the Peeps on the Lawn dessert salad, and the Magnolia Bakery's Famous Banana Pudding.

It's very easy pudding to make (especially since it uses instant pudding) though there are time constraints. The condensed milk-water-instant pudding base has to be chilled for a minimum of 4 hours. Once you add the whipped cream and assemble, the recipe specifies chilling everything again for at least 4 -- but no more than 8 -- hours.

Who has that time? I made the base yesterday afternoon (it firmed up quickly, but I left it in the fridge for 4 hours anyway), assembled everything last night, and placed back in the refrigerator. It was eaten around 11:15am today so, all told, it sat in my fridge, fully assembled, for 13 hours.

It was fine. More than fine: really good. And now, 24 hours after it was first assembled, it's really, really good.

I'd never whipped heavy cream before so I was a bit wary; go too far and you'll get butter. I used the balloon whisk on my Kitchen Aid mixer, cranked it to 10 and, before I knew it, I had whipped cream. Surprisingly easy -- and now I'm eager to do it again, flavoring the cream with vanilla, mint, orange, coffee, amaretto, rum ... the list goes on and on.

As for the pudding, it had a gentle banana flavor when served this morning, though I'm sure if I had used riper bananas, the flavor would have intensified. (Having said that, the bananas I used were fully yellow with spots. Anything less ripe would have been a bad idea.) Now (again, 24 hours later) the flavor is spot on. Yum.

This pudding doesn't have the heavy mouth feel typical of pudding; the whipped cream really lightens the consistency, though remains rich and filling. It's much more a banana cream than a pudding. In fact, it might be nice to serve the pudding as a pie by placing it in a Nilla crumb crust (or graham cracker crust , or chocolate cookie crust) and topping it with dollops of sweetened whipped cream, some banana slices and a few cookies. (Hmm, you might even echo bananas foster by using a cinnamon graham cracker crust and topping the pie with rum flavored whipped cream...)

I pulled this recipe from The Recipe Link , which has an extensive list of sample cookbook recipes. The pudding recipe appears here as it does on Recipe Link.


Magnolia's Famous Banana Pudding

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups ice cold water
1 (3.4-ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix (preferably Jell-O brand)
3 cups heavy cream
1 (12-ounce) box Nabisco Nilla Wafers (no substitutions!)
4 cups sliced ripe bananas [Use the kitchen measurement convertor -- LR]

In a small bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat together the sweetened condensed milk and water until well combined, about 1 minute. Add the pudding mix and beat well, about 2 minutes more. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours or overnight, before continuing. It is very important to allow the proper amount of time for the pudding mixture to set.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the pudding mixture into the whipped cream until well blended and no streaks of pudding remain.

To assemble the dessert, select a large, wide bowl (preferably glass) with a 4-5-quart capacity. Arrange one-third of the wafers to cover the bottom of the bowl, overlapping if necessary, then one-third of the bananas and one-third of the pudding. Repeat the layering twice more, garnishing with additional wafers or wafer crumbs on the top layer of the pudding. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours - or up to 8 hours, but no longer! - before serving.

A Food Tour In Camera-Phone-O-Vision

Yesterday, I picked up the red Peeps exclusive to Target. While there, I took some photos before making my way to Kmart. (I went to Pier 1 as well but there was very little food to photograph.)

Resting comfortably at home.

At Target: the Peeps shrine.

Plush Peeps: now you can play with them without using the microwave.

Smores Peeps kit containing Peeps, Nestle chocolate (???) and graham crackers.

Chocolate crosses. "They're just like Jesus died on! Yummy!"

At KMart: the Peeps ring pop. I'm kicking myself for not buying this. This one was stawberry cream flavored; the other, marshmallow.

I love these; destructable candy is a great idea. The Easter Bunny brought one of these to Sadie last year; perhaps she will do that again.

Bunny peeps suffering from vitiligo .

-FIN-

Peeps on the Lawn Dessert Salad

A petite Peeps serving.

A plethora of Peeps.

WARNING: If you don't like your sweets super-sweet and neon-colored, don't make this. Instead, have some melba toast and a cup of sugarless tea while looking at some other recipes.

Doug over at Cooking With Peeps suggested his Peeps on the Lawn dessert salad to use up the many, many peeps I've bought (90). He describes the dish as "a Snickers Salad with some Peeps on top."

Excited, yet troubled by a dessert that combines instant pudding, Cool Whip, Snickers, and apples, I did a Google search for Snickers Salad. Apparently, it's very popular and a must for many families' holiday dinners.

Gordon at Everything2 explains:

This dish is a family tradition in my wife's family. I first ran into (away from) it the first time they shared Easter dinner with me. Not being a fan of potato salad (or most creamy salads and side dishes, for that matter), I was hesitant to sample the small dollop that was occupying space on my plate that I thought would have been better suited to ham. Or mashed potatoes. Or more ham. By the time I worked up the courage to try some, and thus realize that it did happy things to my mouth, I was too stuffed to consider eating more. And although I know it tastes wonderful, its appearance and the concept of drowning chocolate bars in pudding and Cool Whip befuddles me.

I found that reassuring.

It is good, in a kitschy Lutheran* pot-luck-dinner-dish sort of way. I liked it, though my husband thought it was so awful ("Bleggh! Are you trying to kill me?" ), he washed it down with a glass of scotch. (Really, any excuse to drink his paint-thinner Laphroaig). To each his own.

Peeps on the Lawn is extremely easy to make; all you have to know is how to chop and mix.

Peeps on the Lawn dessert Salad (adapted; see the original here)

1 3.4 oz package instant French Vanilla Jello Pudding Mix
1 cup milk
1 12-oz container Cool Whip

2 tsp. vanilla extract (optional, but recommended)
Green food coloring
1 pkg. Snickers minis , chilled and diced
5 Granny Smith apples
Small chocolate pastel candies
Peeps

In a large bowl, mix pudding together with milk until combined; fold in Cool Whip and vanilla. Tint green with food coloring. Fold in chilled Snickers bars.

Just before serving, peel, core, and dice apples; fold into pudding mixture.Transfer mixture into serving bowl. Decorate top with Peeps and pastel candy. Enjoy festive Springtime dessert.

Many thanks to Doug and Gordon for their help!

Update: I served this in a large glass bowl today at an Episcopal Church luncheon -- it was well received. Shane thinks that next time, I should cut the peeps in half and line the bowl with them. That would go over big.

*Yes, I know what those Lutheran dinners are like. I was raised Lutheran.

Tags:

cooking, peeps, baking, Marshmallow Peeps, candy, Easter, spring, recipe, Snickers, Snickers Salad, dessert

Guest Recipe: Shane-boy’s Texas Bane 'n' Beef Chili Recipe

A Note From Your Webhost:

Even though my husband, Shane, was an air force brat, he identifies Texas as his home. He was born there and, before moving to Upstate NY, spent the longest part of his life there. His parents live in San Antonio as does his brother and sister-in-law.

I am from New York: born in Manhattan, raised on Long Island, educated in Manhattan, now living in Upstate NY.

I say all of this because while this is great chili -- fabulous chili -- the southern-isms in this recipe irritate the hell out of me. But Shane would only let me publish this with the Dukes of Hazard phrasing left in. (Stupid good ol' boy.)

I'd recommend letting the flavors meld in the fridge for 24 hours before eating. Simply reheat in the microwave. -- Laura Rebecca

Shane-boy's Texas Bane 'n' Beef Chili Recipe

"This recipe makes a lot of damn chili!" - unknown

"Ingraydients"

45 oz kidney beans, drained
45 oz black beans, drained
30 oz peeled whole tomatoes, cut in quarters, drained
12 oz tomato paste
12 oz diced tomatoes
2 lbs ground beef
2 Spanish onions, sliced into big chunks
1 Zucchini, chunked
24 oz mushrooms, sliced
12 oz pickled 'n' sliced jalapenos
4.5 oz minced garlic
8 tbsp olive oil
6 tbsp cumin
6 tbsp chili powder
6 tbsp garlic salt
6 tbsp salt
6 tbsp honey
3 tbsp oregano
3 tbsp pepper
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp habenero hot sauce
1 cup beer (Corona is best)

"Instrucshuns"

Drain ingredients to keep the final product from getting all watery; the black beans will break down and liquefy after being cooked for a while. Put tomatoes into big pot along with beans and tomato paste and beer, over medium-high heat, bring to boil, stirring all along.

Brown meat and 4 oz garlic in large skillet with 4 tbsp oil and spices (high heat), about 12 minutes. Drain meat juice into a saucepan and put the mushrooms in there on high heat, cook for about 10 minutes until nice and soft. Dump meat into the pot and stir.

Cook onions and zucchini and 4 oz garlic in large skillet with 4 tbsp oil until translucent and caramelized, with spices (high heat), about 6 minutes. Dump veggies into pot and stir. Dump jalapenos into pot and stir. Add remaining spices, and hot sauce to taste. Cook till it gets all gooey (about 40 minutes) and then it's ready to serve!

"Fixins"
Sour cream
Corn Bread
Coleslaw
Tortilla Chips
Cheddar & Monterrey Jack Cheeses
Dr Pepper, to drink

Grade: Immediately after cooking, B-; After 24 hours, A+

Yet More Peeps

I found the elusive white peeps last night -- still no idea on what to do with any of them.

I may have to do this:
I have to make dessert for a luncheon on Sunday, anyway; peep-topped cupcakes would probably go over well with the kids. But it doesn't seem that fun.

Of course, I could also make a Peep Waldorf Salad. Disgusting, but different...

Tags: cooking, peeps, baking, Marshmallow Peeps, candy, Easter, spring, recipe

New Banana Cake with Chocolate Butter Frosting

“A Butter icing is like a favorite cotton dress…simple and easy to put on…cooked white frosting like a perky street ensemble…and the extra touches of tinted coconut, toasted nuts, or allegretti are the gay accessories that make a costume ‘special.’ Your family will enjoy your ‘dressed-up’ cakes the more because they look so pretty.”

– Betty Crocker, "Betty Crocker’s Picture Cook Book" page 161

I had some very spotted bananas I planned to make spicy banana bread with, but I was missing a key ingrediant (orange juice), so that was out. After some digging, I came across the “New Banana Cake” recipe from Betty Crocker’s Picture Cook Book, first published in 1950. If you haven’t seen this, take a look –- it is a faithful reproduction, down to its sexist take of cooking and gallery of regrettable food-like pictures.

The cake was very easy to make. Having said that, the recipe was difficult to follow (at least to 2006 sensibilities), so I typed it out before proceeding (that’s what you see below).

To go with the cake, I chose the book’s Chocolate Butter Icing, which doesn’t use butter but shortening.

Essentially, sweetened Crisco.

I used butter.

I wound up substituting a lot of ingredients, which may be the reason the cake isn’t that great. I was out of sugar, so I used Splenda, there was only 1 ½ cups of cake flour left in the canister, so I added ¾ cup of all purpose flour, and – perhaps most egregious – I replaced the frosting’s cream with non-fat, non-dairy vanilla creamer.

After writing that, I’m surprised this thing was edible at all.

But it was edible, though nothing to write home about. The cake had a strong banana flavor but could have been sweeter; whether that’s the Splenda’s fault is up in the air. The nuts could have been chopped finer, as well. As for the frosting, it’s pleasant with a light cocoa flavor. I used the 99% cacao Scharffen Berger again and now wonder if the reason I can eat straight is because it’s not as intense as it could/should be. You would think it would result in a dark chocolate flavored confection but, in this and the fudge before it, it’s much lighter.

I don’t know that I’ll make this again. If I’m going to go to the time and effort to bake from scratch, the result should be fantastic, and this isn’t.

But buy the book: if not for the food, for the fun.

New Banana Cake

2-1/2 cups cake four, sifted
1-2/3 c. sugar
1-1/4 tsp. baking powder
1-1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp salt
2/3 c. soft shortening
2/3 c. buttermilk
1-1/4 c. ripe bananas (about 3)
2 large eggs
2/3 c. chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
Grease & flour 2 9-inch pans or one 13x9 pan (I use 9-inch pans and lined them with parchment). Sift together four, sugar, soda, and salt. Add shortening, buttermilk & half of the bananas, mix to combine. Add the eggs and rest of the bananas, mix to combine. Fold in nuts & pour into pans. Bake 30 – 45 minutes, depending upon pan size. (Mine were done in 30 minutes.)


Chocolate Butter Icing

3 c. confectioner’s sugar, sifted
1/3 c. butter, softened
3 Tbs. cream
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted

Blend sugar with butter. Add cream, melted chocolate and vanilla, stirring until smooth.


Grade: Cake, B-; Frosting, B

Tags: cooking,baking, Banana Cake, chocolate frosting, cake, frosting, recipe, dessert

Peeps Season

So many Peeps, so few plans.

I can't imagine it's a coincidence that on the first day it actually feels like Spring, my annual Peeps obsession kicked in. I bought four 3-packs of the chicks today (no bunnies; I'm a purist) and now have to figure out what the hell I'm going to do with them.

I'm not going to eat them "raw" -- I don't buy them for their flavor. I buy them for their cheery colors and blank expression. Sure I'll eat some, but I don't think that's really the point.

Anyway, I want to find a recipe that incorporates the Peeps while using their aesthetics for maximum impact. The official website has several ways to decorate with them (including glue-gunning them to a hat) but I'm looking for something more (I don't need a Peeps sombrero).

If you have a Peeps recipe suggestion, please send them here.

Remember: only you can help can help a Peep get out of its box and into a better life.

Well, before having its head bitten off.

Tags: cooking, peeps, baking, Marshmallow Peeps, candy, Easter, spring, recipe

Ah! Fudge

Ah! Fudge.

Sadie the stepdaughter sampling sweets.

Read the recipe here.

Two things about fudge: 1) it's notoriously difficult to make 2) I've never made it before. Recipe ... for disaster! (Cue musical sting.)

But this month's Martha Stewart Living, which calls like a culinary siren,
had a fudge recipe replete with "money shots": a pile of it on a cake plate, a feminine hand stirring the molten mixture, an assortment of add-ins positioned just so.

"If you can make it without it crystalizing," said Carolyn, the same Carolyn mentioned below, "I'll buy your recipe, pans, butter, mixer and anything else you use to make the damned stuff." Everyone she knew had given up on making "real fudge" (her words) in exchange for the Marshmallow Fluff fudge recipe.

A challenge. I could get fudge and cash out of this? Hey, I'm in.

The recipe I used was not the one in the magazine but one I'd found on the website (for a boring reason*). They're fairly similar (they both yeild fudge...): one has cream, the other butter; one uses chocolate and cocoa, the other, solely chocolate.

I took the opportunity to buy to some chocolate products I've been jonesing for: Scharffen Berger's 99% Cacao Unsweetened and Ghirardelli's Unsweetened Cocoa. They're not what you would call cheap (I paid $10 for under 10 oz. of Scharffen Berger) but if I was going to make fudge, I was going for the gold.

I've used Ghirardelli in the past and been happy with the results, but wasn't as sure about the S.B. Though it has a great reputation, I've also heard people say it's bitter. Nobody wants bitter fudge.

While prepping, I tasted an S.B. shaving -- much smoother than expected. The aroma is wonderful -- deep, rich, and alluring -- so much so that I took another taste. (On the other hand, after sampling the S.B., Sadie ran from the room shouting "Water! I need WATER! Waaaaaaaaaaaaterrrrrr!" So I guess the lesson here is that 7 year olds don't like unsweetened chocolate.) I won't be snacking on the 99% Cacao anytime soon, but it's a great baking chocolate choice.

This is a recipe in which I HAD to have mise en place -- not my usual M.O. (I'm a disorganized, messy cook). But no mise en place = crappy confection.

I won't say this recipe is hard, but it does require precision. (Well, sort of. More about that in a minute.) There's no way I could have made it without a candy thermometer and I watched it like a hawk.

I could have used a bit more information in the website recipe (the magazine's instructions were much clearer; I wish I'd read those as well before proceeding), especially when it came to the phrase "Brush down sides of saucepan with a pastry brush dipped in water to prevent crystallization." Um, when? Before or after the sugar has dissolved -- or both? How much water should I use? Can I ruin the fudge by over-brushing the sides of the pan?

So, I winged it (or, uh, "fudged" it). I kept the pastry brush in a mug of lukewarm water on my range, and violently shook it before wiping the down the sides of the pan (my dog got wet more than once). I probably did this every two minutes while at the stove.

After bringing the mixture to 236-degrees F (soft ball candy stage), I was supposed to pour it into a buttered metal bowl, dot it with small pieces of butter, and let it cool to 110 to 118-degrees F. But I forgot to dot it with butter (whoops). By the time I realized my mistake, the fudge had cooled to 118-degrees. Frantic, I tossed my chilled butter into the microwave for about 45 seconds, figuring I could approximate the effect the molten fudge would have had on the butter. After microwaving, I was left with a mix of melted and softened butter. (Incidentally, the recipe says to pour the hot fudge into a metal bowl, let it cool, and then scrape it into a mixing bowl. Since my Kitchen Aid stand mixer is fitted with a metal bowl, I cut out the middle man by buttering the mixing bowl and pouring the hot fudge directly into it.)

Another issue I had was the mixing time. The recipe says to "beat, stopping occasionally, until fudge keeps its shape when dropped from a spoon and sheen is gone, 3 to 8 minutes." There was no way my fudge was going to do that in 8 minutes. let alone 3. It took me at least 13 minutes to achieve that stage, all the while worrying that somehow, I was going to screw things up.

I did not. The fudge came out extremely well, though I'm chalking that up to beginner's luck. Sadie nearly exploded after tasting it (her first taste of fudge ever) and now she won't stop asking for it. (This was flattering for the first 10 minutes... I can't really blame her though; who doesn't crave chocolate, sugar, and butter?) It's lighter than I expected it to be; I imagine the milk and butter mitigated the cocoa and chocolate's darkness. It is very rich, as fudge should be, and extremely tempting.

Carolyn was impressed. She still hasn't paid me though, the welcher.

Next time, I'll throw in some nuts. I'd also like to try the Fluff fudge recipe and see how it measures up.

Grade: A (with nuts, I'm guessing A+)


*Here's why: efficiency. After I'd finished teaching Business Communications, I was going to pick the kids up from school, and head straight to the grocery store. Before doing that, however, I needed to find out what ingrediants I needed; I found this fudge recipe before I came across the one in this month's MSL. See? Boring.

Crock-pot Pulled Pork

Another Saturday, another dinner party! Last night, we had Carolyn (not the banana bread Carolyn; a different one) and her family (sans teenage daughter, whose band was invited to play in Disney World) over for what turned out to be a smorgasbord:

Pulled pork sandwiches, shells and cheese, homemade apple sauce, hand-picked and home-frozen corn (we thawed it before eating), sparkling grape juice, salad, icebox cake, coffee, fudge and sugar cookies (plus cheddar cheese, wheat crackers, pepperoni, and Asian-flavored rice snacks for hors devours).

Needless to say, my jeans are a bit tight today.

I love making pulled pork; it’s effortless and delicious. Plus, it fills the house with a wonderful smell while it’s cooking.

Crock-pot Pulled Pork

1 Pork Shoulder "Butt," preferably boneless*
1 19oz. bottle of Dinosaur Barbeque’s Sensuous Slathering Sauce,** plus another for serving

Rinse and pat the pork butt dry. Place a thin layer of BBQ sauce in the bottom of your crock-pot. Place the pork, fatty side up, into the crock-pot and slather with the rest of the BBQ sauce in the bottle. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.

When finished, the meat will be extremely tender; a steak knife will easily poke through. To shred, cut chunks from the butt and pull apart with two forks. Serve with the liquid in the crock-pot (run the liquid through a fat separator) and additional BBQ sauce, if desired. It’s great on a bun, mixed with rice, or all by itself.

Grade: A

*aka, Boston Butt. Ask your butcher for help in determining a good serving size for your needs.

**or your favorite brand of BBQ sauce

Tags: cooking, pulled pork, bbq, crockpot, recipe, pork, entree, dinner

Busy & Doctored Brownies

It's been a pretty hectic week around here, which has precluded me from doing much blog-worthy cooking. We ate corned beef and cabbage leftovers, homemade chicken soup, some take out and tonight, we had an impromptu potluck with some good friends. We had a great time: five kids and five adults feasting on smoked pork chops, shrimp stir-fry, rice (brown, jasmine, AND broccoli-cheddar) and salad. Plus, we topped everything off with coffee, brownies and a slew of candy (sour blue raspberry gummy bottles, chocolate covered marshmallow eggs, rock candy, and gourmet chocolate mints).

We are very full, but comfortably so.

Once I've recovered from tonight's meal, I'll begin tackling my cooking agenda:

Crockpot Pulled Pork
Fudge
Chicken and dumplings
Pudding (flavor TBA)

In the meantime, here's my doctored brownie recipe, the result of which we scarfed down tonight.

Happiness on a napkin.

Doctored Brownies

1 family-size pkg. dark chocolate brownie mix (such as Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup Ghirardeli Semi-sweet or 60% Cocoa Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Line a 9x13 inch pan with aluminum foil. Prepare mix as directed for chewy brownies (not cake style), then add the vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts. Mix to combine. Pour batter into pan and bake according to the package directions.

Allow brownies to cool in pan before using the foil to lift them out. Use a bread knife or pizza wheel to cut into desired size. Enjoy with a tall glass of cold milk.

Grade: B+ to A, depending on ingredients

Corned Beef, Cabbage & Potatoes

Photo-illustration courtesy of Google Image Search. I forgot to take a picture of our corned beef dinner before we ate it. Oops.

While St. Patrick's Day was this past Friday, we ate corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes today. (We had friends over for dinner on Friday who don't eat beef, so I baked up some fish and chips. Don't be impressed -- I bought them frozen at BJ's).

The thing I love about corned beef is that it's dead simple to make; it doesn't even merit an actual recipe.

Place your corned beef in a large pot and cover with cold water. Cover the pot with a lid and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook corned beef until tender, about 50 minutes per pound. (My corned beef was 3.5 pounds, so I cooked it for about 3 hours.)

When your corned beef is tender, toss in some potatoes (I cut up red potatoes to speed up the cooking) and cook until almost tender. At this point, remove the corned beef and cover with foil, allowing it to rest for approximately 20 minutes.

With the potatoes, toss in a head of cabbage, chopped into thin wedges and cook until tender (I like it a bit crunchy).

When ready, drain the potatoes and cabbage and toss with butter. Serve with corned beef slices cut against the grain. You'll probably want to sprinkle the cabbage and potatoes with salt and pepper and eat the corned beef with a spicy mustard (like Gulden's -- save the wussy flavor of French's for another dish).

Grade: A+

UPDATE: A great way to reheat leftover corned beef is to simmer it in beer. As for the potatoes and cabbage, just pop them in the microwave. Dinner in a flash!

Q Cookies

There are recipes everyone loves, and there are recipes that loved by only a few. This may be the latter. You’ll have to judge for yourself.

My dad’s mother – my "Me-ma" – came over from Italy in the first half of the 20th century. She was a fabulous cook; Sunday dinners were always replete with spaghetti and meatballs, ravioli, sweet peppers in olive oil, and scores of other things I was too young to take in.

The problem with this was that when her family wanted her recipes, she couldn’t supply them. Me-ma did her cooking from memory, sight and taste: a little of this, a handful of that, more water, less flour. There weren’t precise measurements, there was just Italian culinary magic.

Which is why her children and grandchildren now get so excited when they are able to recreate one of her dishes. My father is the front-runner – he’s able to make her sauce, her holiday soup (known more commonly as “Italian Wedding Soup”), her zeppolis.

But no one had her “Q cookie” recipe. Q cookies are crunchy, dry, lightly sweetened biscuits Me-ma would make by the hundreds. Her house in Astoria, Queens always had a stock-pot-cum-cookie-jar filled with them. I ate scores of cookies, washing them down with large glasses of cold milk. (I’m told, incidentally, that I named these Q-cookies when I was very young. One of the shapes Me-ma made was a circle with small cuts in it, which would make parts of the dough flare out during baking. The tail on the letter “Q” spikes out similarly. )

I thought it was only to remain a memory until I took an Italian Cooking course at ICE where I made a Crostate di Mele alla Romana – sort of an apple tart. The crust, called a pasta frolla, was a dead ringer for Me-ma’s cookies.

I didn’t care for the Crostata, but I was thrilled to find the pasta frolla recipe. I adapted the recipe to bring it closer to Me-ma’s, and had my dad taste the results.

The recipe yielded about 30 3-inch cookies but what’s pictured above is all that’s left – they passed the test.


Q Cookies
3 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup sugar
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 ½ sticks unsalted butter
3 large eggs, plus an additional egg for the egg wash

Mix together the dry ingredients in a food processor or stand mixer. Add the butter and pulse/mix until finely mixed in. Add the eggs and continue to pulse/mix until the dough forms a ball. Wrap and chill until ready to use. (I skipped this step and didn’t have a problem.)

Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Cover a cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper. On a clean, flat work surface, roll out the dough into desired shapes, making sure cookies are of a similar size and thickness. (This is a great project for kids – it’s a bit like working with Play-doh.) After placing on the cookie sheet, brush each cookie with the egg wash (a well-beaten egg mixed with a splash of water). Space the cookies about 1-inch apart.

Bake for approximately 10 minutes, and brush again with the egg wash. Bake until the cookies are golden brown, an additional 8 to 13 minutes.

Allow to cool and store in an airtight container. Enjoy with a large mug of coffee or a tall glass of milk. Dunking is encouraged.

Grade: A+, but I'm terribly biased.

Dog Biscuits

Apparently, all that fur makes him look slimmer. Maybe I should try that.

My husband and I just came back from taking Flurry, our American Eskimo dog, to the vet. I was quite worried about him as in the past month, he’s had two can’t-stop-running-seizure-like episodes, the second of which happened yesterday morning. They weren’t actually seizures – when we held him gently, he was able to voluntarily stop moving – but they were frightening.

Anyway, the vet thinks the problem is muscle spasms which are a) painful and b) scary for the dog, hence the uncoordinated running. The vet put Flurry on a diet, wrote a prescription for painkillers, and told us to increase his exercise.

I am so relieved that it isn’t anything too serious, I thought I’d celebrate by giving Flurry some extra petting and posting this dog biscuit recipe.

Don’t tell Flurry though; he has to lose weight.

Dog Biscuits
1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
½ cup cornmeal
2 Tbsp. dried milk
¼ tsp. garlic powder
1 egg, beaten
1 to 1-1/4 cups water or broth

Preheat oven to 250-degrees. Stir together dry ingredients, then add egg and water. If the dough is too wet or dry, add more flour or water, respectively.

Knead dough until smooth. Roll dough ¼-inch thick (preferably between two sheets of parchment paper) and cut with cookie cutters. Place cutouts slightly apart on a lightly greased cookie sheet (or lined with parchment) and bake 45 to 50 minutes or until lightly browned and slightly dry inside. Turn off oven and leave biscuits inside overnight. Store in an air-tight container.

Grade: I don't know -- I'm not a dog.

Spicy Banana Bread

In the pan and on the plate.

Spicy Banana Bread
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed bananas
1/4 cup orange juice
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Grease and flour a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. Soften butter to room temperature. Sift flour with baking soda, salt and spices. Cream butter and gradually add sugar, beating until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with mashed bananas and orange juice, stirring only to blend. Fold in nuts and vanilla. Pour batter into greased loaf pan and bake one hour. Let cool 30 mins. in pan.

---

When Carolyn, my oldest friend, told me she had a recipe for "Spicy Banana Bread," I thought it might be another example of fusion desserts. Like wasabi infused chocolate, or chipotle spiked ice cream, I expected a heavy dose of chili pepper.

Yeah...I was wrong.

This quick bread is spicy, but not in a pepper or mustard way. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves are deepen the bread’s flavor, complementing the gentle sweetness of the banana and sugar. I'm a real spice fan, so next time I'll increase the amount of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves and see how things turn out.

Carolyn also suggested using older bananas, and she’s absolutely right. Don’t make this banana bread, or any other, with those barely ripe bananas you get at the store. Wait until they’ve got lots of brown freckles on them – that’s when they’re sweetest. In fact, a banana that’s too brown to eat straight (simply from an aesthetic perspective) is perfect for banana bread. But if you’ve only got one too-brown banana, just toss it in the freezer. The peel will get very dark but the banana inside will be fine. When you’re ready to make bread, just pop the banana out of the deep freeze and thaw.

Making the batter was simple – smooth sailing all the way. Baking it up was a little different. I was worried my oven was still running too hot, so I took a peek after 45 minutes. The bread looked done but the toothpick test revealed a batter-y inside. Uh-oh. I reduced the temperature to 330-degrees and baked for another 10 minutes. No darker but a bit less wet. Then, I moved the temperature back to 350 and baked for another 16 minutes. Done! This time, the bread was cooked throughout and perfectly browned with a nice centered peak. (Plus, the house was filled with the spicy scent of baked goods.) Lesson learned: the oven’s thermostat has been recalibrated – no need to bake at a lower temp.

Very tasty, and the flavors seem to intensify as the bread cools. A great accompaniment to a well-brewed cup of tea. I can't wait to toast a slice and smear it with butter.

Grade: A

Tags:cooking, baking, banana bread, recipe, dessert, spicy banana bread, snack

Guest Review: Chocolate Chip Macaroon Angel Food Cake

TIP: Cutting angel food with a regular knife will squash the cake. If you don't have an angel food cake comb (above) saw through it with unflavored dental floss.

This recipe comes from Creighton, the 12 year old daughter of two good friends. She has made this -- by herself -- on several occasions. In fact, it was the dessert of honor when her family joined ours for a chicken-and-rib dinner. She did a wonderful job (it's a delicious cake) but I'll leave the rating up to Creighton.

Cake*
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup cake flour (OR 1 cup minus 2 TBS. all-purpose flour)
12 (about 1 1/2 cups) egg whites
1 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1 miniatureture semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Topping
1 cup sweetened whipped cream
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut, toasted

Heat oven to 375-degrees. Stir together powdered sugar and cake flour in small bowl; set aside.

Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in large mixer bowl at medium speed until foamy (1 to 2 minutes). Beat at high speed, gradually adding sugar, 2 TBS. at a time. Continue beating, adding almond extract, vanilla, salt and scraping bowl often, until stiff and glossy (6 to 8 minutes).

Gradually stir flour mixture, 1/4 cup at a time, into egg mixture by hand just until flour mixture disappears. Gently stir in chocolate chips and 1/2 cup coconut.

Gently spoon batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan. Cut gently through batter with metal spatula. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until cracks feel dry and top springs back when touched lightly. Invert pan on heat-proof funnel or bottle; cool 90 minutes. Remove from pan. Decrumb cake with fingertips.

Place cake on serving plate. Pipe top and around bottom of cake with sweetened whipped cream; sprinkle with toasted coconut.

Creighton's Grade: A

*A 16 oz. angel food cake mix can be substituted for the homemade cake, although Creighton always makes her angel food from scratch.

Tags: baking, cooking, Angel Food Cake, dessert, chocolate chip macaroon

Hot Oven (Check it and see…)

This oven thermometer has been discontinued. Pity.

I finally got it through my thick skull that my oven has been running too hot. After burning one too many breads and cakes ("Just trim the edges; it’ll be fine") it finally dawned on me: "I bet the thermostat is out of whack."

From what I’ve read, this is a pretty common problem. Since my oven thermometer recently broke (well, OK -- a year ago), I reduced the heat by 15-degrees and baked a Pumpkin Pecan Quick Bread mix I had lying around (from William Sonoma) to test things out.

The bread baked up beautifully. Yay! Problem solved.

Later, I found this article on oven temperature calibration and adjusted my oven. I think it worked but time will tell. I’ll keep you posted.

Tags: baking, cooking, oven, temperature, thermometer

Raspberry Cream Cheese Breakfast Buns, Part II

Read Part I.

The Raspberry Cream Cheese Breakfast buns, both large and small. (They look like they're getting ready to face-off, don't they? "RUMBLE IN THE KITCHEN!")

I suspected that these “buns” would be more like muffins (that is, more cakey and less bready) and, as it turns out, I was right: they’re basically muffins. Delicious, tempting, wonderful muffins, and definately not buns.

The dough was much stickier than I expected, which made it difficult to A) place into lined muffin tins and B) swirl in raspberry preserves. (In a nutshell, it was a lot easier to make the dough than to prep it for baking.)

I doubled the recipe (below) and used standard muffin cups so instead of 9 buns, I got 24 with leftover batter (which I used to make 5 larger muffins). I also increased the vanilla and used Bonne Maman preserves, which I love. (I almost made them with a friend’s homemade strawberry jam, but I was in too much of a raspberry mood. Still, strawberry, blueberry, currant or even peach preserves would work well here. Just make sure they’re of good quality.)

Another issue I ran into: raspberry preserve overflow. At the last minute, I decided to double-line the muffin tins with paper liners – and I’m lucky I did. Several of the muffins would have been raspberry-glued to the pan but with the extra liner, I was able to lift the muffins out intact, leaving the outer liner stuck behind.

Next time, I’ll make larger muffins (unless doing a bake sale) because, just look at them -- they're gorgeous. I'll also use disposable foil muffin cups placed on a parchment lined baking sheet or disposable aluminum tray. Not only will they be easy to take out of the oven, but clean up will be a snap. I also might try placing a dollop of preserve in the middle of the muffin (place a bit of batter in the tin, top with preserve, and then top with more batter) instead of swirling.

Issues aside, this is a fabulous recipe. The muffin bottoms are delicate and tender, while the tops have a gentle crunch. The flavor is sweet (but not overly so) and comforting, with nice hits of butter, vanilla, and of course, raspberry.

According to the site, this is the Magnolia Bakery’s most popular breakfast item. After tasting them, it’s not a surprise -- they’re a must bake.

Raspberry Cream Cheese Breakfast Buns

1-3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 8oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 c. sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 c. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup raspberry preserves
Confectioners’ sugar (if desired)

Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Grease and lightly flour (or use muffin liners) 12 standard muffin cups.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese, butter, and sugar until smooth in a large bowl, about 3 minutes.

Add the eggs and beat well. Add the dry ingredients in two parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla.

Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, filling them about two-thirds full. Drop 3 small dollops (about a teaspoonful each) of raspberry preserves onto the top of each bun and, using the tip of a sharp knife, swirl the preserves into the batter, forming a decorative pattern. Bake for 25–30 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the bun comes out clean.

Allow the buns to cool for about 30 minutes before dusting with confectioners’ sugar and serving.

Grade: A+

UPDATE: the Raspberry Cream Cheese muffins sold out first at the fundraiser. Whee!!!
Overall, the bake sale raised $170.04 to benefit Happy Tails.

Tags: baking, cooking, temperature, Magnolia Bakery, recipe, muffins, raspberry

Arborio Rice Chicken Soup with Escarole

There's a brightness to this soup from the last minute addition of lemon juice. It's a great late winter meal, when spring feels like its right around the corner. Pair it with a crusty bread and a good white wine.

Arborio Rice Chicken Soup with Escarole

2 TBS Butter
1 cup carrots, diced
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup onion, diced
1 tsp salt
6 cups chicken stock
1/3 cup Arborio Rice
2 cups escarole, chopped
Juice of one lemon
3/4 cup grated parmesan

In a large soup pot, heat the butter over medium heat. When hot but not brown, add the carrots, celery and onion & stir to coat with the butter. Reduce heat to low, cover the pot & sweat the veggies until they start to soften, about 8 minutes.

Add the salt and stock and bring to a boil. Stir in the rice. Allow the stock to return to a boil, stirring frequently. Cover the post and cook until the rice is done, 10 to 15 minutes.

Just before serving, stir in escarole & lemon juice. Adjust the seasoning. Transfer to warm bowls, sprinkle with parmesan & serve.

Grade: A

Lace Cookies

With and without chocolate.

Everyone loves these cookies; make them and people will genuflect before you. They bake up very thin and crisp but after a day or so, they soften up and become chewy (which is how I prefer them). They have very little flour in them but lots of butter and sugar, which is why they spread so much.

You can serve them as is, use them to garnish other desserts (so lovely and elegant placed in a scoop of ice cream) or use them (as I do) to sandwich melted chocolate between them. Ohhh, delicious.

Lace Cookies
1-1/2 cups uncooked regular oatmeal
1-1/2 cups light brown sugar
2 TBS. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 cup melted butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350-degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Mix the oatmeal, sugar, flour, and salt in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter, then add the egg and vanilla and mix well. Arrange the batter by half-teaspoonfuls on the sheet, about 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Cool slightly and remove the cookies with a spatula as soon as they are firm. (If they become to hard, pop them back in the oven for a moment to soften –- but my kitchen if icy and I've never run into this problem, so you probably won’t have to worry about it.)

Yields about 60 cookies. Once the cookies cool, place them gently in an airtight container or continue to the next step.

Chocolate Filling
1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips (I prefer Ghirardelli)

Place chips into a microwave-safe ziplock bag. Microwave for approximately 1 minute on 40-percent power, and “smush” the chocolate with your hands. Continue microwaving the chocolate for 30 second intervals at 30-percent power until melted, smushing between turns.

Once your chocolate has melted, snip a small corner off the ziplock to create a homemade pastry bag. Place a small dollop of chocolate in the center of a lace cookie (flat side up) and delicately top with another cookie (flat side down against the chocolate). Press the cookies together gently so the chocolate spreads evenly. Rest to dry on a cooling rack.

If you have leftover chocolate after filling the cookies (you probably will) squeeze the chocolate into another ziplock bag. Line your cookies up on your cooling rack, placing paper beneath the rack to catch extra chocolate. Make a tiny snip in the ziplock bag’s corner so that when squeezed, you’ll get a thin ribbon of chocolate. Working quickly, squeeze the chocolate over the cookies on a diagonal from left to right. Your cookies should have little chocolate stripes. Repeat the technique, this time moving from right to left. Now your cookies should have a diamond pattern on them. Don’t worry about being perfect; they’ll look beautiful. (If you’re feeling ambitious, melt white chocolate and drizzle on the cookies for a nice contrast.) Once dry, store in an airtight container.

Grade: A+

Tags: baking, cooking, cookies, lace cookies, recipe

Raspberry Cream Cheese Breakfast Buns, Part I

Continuing with the Magnolia Bakery kick, I'm going to make these this weekend for a breakfast fundraiser. They look pretty damn good. I'll let you know how they turn out (and how much money they raise).

Read the recipe and results in Part II.

Tags: baking, cooking, temperature, Magnolia Bakery, recipe

Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars

This recipe comes from the March issue of Everyday Food (and is very similar to CDKitchen's version. I made these last weekend for a potluck dinner and they were devoured. Rich, chewy, and chocolately, more than one person asked for the recipe.

The recipe calls for pecans and semi-sweet chocolate, which I substituted for walnuts (had pounds of them in my freezer) and Ghirardelli's 60% Cocoa Bittersweet Chocolate chips. I don't care for eating these chips straight but in this recipe their darkness offsets the bar's sweetness, resulting in a rich, but not cloying, treat.

Next time, I'll make them with pecans, which will really push them over the top.

Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars

Crust:
1-1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. packed brown sugar

Filling:
3 large eggs
3/4 c. corn syrup
1/2 c. granulated sugar
2 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted
1 (11.5 oz.) package chocolate chips
2 c. coarsely chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13 inch baking pan with foil (this will help you lift the bars out of the pan after they’ve completely cooled).

For the crust, mix together the flour, butter and brown sugar in small bowl until crumbly. Press into prepared baking pan and bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

While the crust is baking, prepare the filling. Beat eggs, corn syrup, granulated sugar, and butter in medium bowl until completely combined. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts. Pour evenly over baked crust while the crust is hot. Bake for an additional 25 to 30 minutes or until set. Cool in pan on wire rack.

Grade: B+ (with pecans, much higher)

Tags: baking, cooking, chocolate, pecans, recipe,Everyday Food,pecan pie bars, dessert, bar cookies, cookies

Magnolia Bakery Cupcakes

It's pretty but looks can be deceiving. Back to the drawing board.

I woke on Sunday morning unusually motivated. Not only did I want to take the whole family (including the dog) for a walk by the lake but I got it into my head to make cupcakes. Since Lazy Sunday has been rattling around in my brain, I decided to use the Magnolia Bakery's recipe.

This recipe is excerpted from More From Magnolia: Recipes from the World Famous Bakery and Allysa Torey's Home Kitchen. People rave about these cupcakes and they look so gorgeous, I had to make them.

The final result was tasty and pretty but I think I could have done better. My biggest problem was keeping the butter at room temperature -- or rather, warmer than room temperature. It's been very cold here this week, with temperatures below freezing, and my kitchen is always cold. I left the butter on the counter to soften but after two hours, it remained solid. Even after microwaving, the butter re-hardened once inside my KitchenAid mixer (which lives on the cold counter). I ran the KitchenAid bowl (sans butter) under some hot water, which worked temporarily. Then I pulled out my hairdryer and aimed it at the bowl while I mixed. Fun but overall, probably detrimental .

The recipe says to mix the butter for 3 to 5 minutes, which caused the butter to separate into that odd curdled look that overbeaten butter can get. Not only did that happen with the batter, but with the frosting, as well. I can't help but think that my temperature issues were a large factor in this.

The cupcake flavor is quite good: delicate with vanilla notes. Next time, I'll increase the vanilla or add another essence; almond or orange would work nicely. The texture could have been finer; it's a bit chewy. I thought I overmixed the batter following the addition of the flour but after thinking about it I didn't -- I mixed the ingredients just until they were combined. I wonder if it's the self-rising flour.

As for the frosting, it's definitely edible: buttery and sugary and lovely tinted pink. There's something about it, though, that I'm not crazy about. As they point out in the recipe, it's not really a buttercream but "an old-fashioned confectioners' sugar and butter frosting" (the difference being, I think, that buttercream has more butter in it). Plus, I felt the flavor dominated, not complimented, the cake. I'd like to try another butter cream recipe with this cupcake, either vanilla or a good chocolate (mmm, imagine the combination of chocolate buttercream on top of an almond or orange flavored cupcake).

Grade: B- to B

Tags: baking, cooking, cupcakes, frosting, Magnolia Bakery, recipe, dessert