Pinch of This, That & the Other: September 2011

Friday, September 30, 2011

Chocolate Truffle Cookies

I've never made cookies before quite like this. You whip together the eggs and sugar until tripled in volume. These cookies were very light but still tasty. They were a little too thin for my liking but I'm always willing to try something new, especially when it comes to chocolate and cookies.

Double Chocolate Cherry Truffle Cookies

From The Sweet Life: Desserts from Chanterelle

1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
5 oz bittersweet chocolate
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
8 tbsp (1 stick) butter
4 eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 oz semisweet chocolate chips

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cream of tartar and set aside.

Melt the bittersweet chocolate, unsweetened chocolate, and butter in a metal bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Stir frequently and remove from heat. Allow chocolate to cool for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, beat the eggs in a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on medium speed. Add the sugar and beat until the eggs triple in volume and hold the lines of the whisk, about ten minutes. Add the melted and cooled chocolate to the eggs on low speed. Beat until incorporated, then add the dry ingredients, chocolate chips, and dried cherries. Beat until just combined – do not overmix. Finish mixing by hand with a rubber spatula. The batter will be very runny. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least two hours. Preheat the oven to 350 F and line cookie sheets with parchment paper. For large cookies, use two tablespoons to scoop the batter into large mounds. Place 2″ apart on sheet and bake 12-15 minutes. For small cookies, scoop the batter with two teaspoons and bake 8-10 minutes. The cookies puff in the oven and fall a bit once removed.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Whisking Wednesdays #19

Welcome to Whisking Wednesdays!

Whew, another one of those weeks that just flew right by me and so fast that I'm late getting this party going! The weather has finally turned to Fall here in Japan and it is just absolutely incredible outside. I want to spend every minute of every day out there! Which leaves little time in the kitchen BUT sometimes you just gotta get out there and enjoy the weather a bit. Soon it'll be winter and I'll have plenty of time to make those warm hearty fill your belly meals while hiding from the cold. Halloween is coming, yeah! I'm already on the look out for some awesome Halloween treats I can make with my daughter!

Thank you all who participated in this week's Whisking Wednesdays and hope to see you back again this week!

What's more Halloween than candy corns? I love these Candy Corn Apples. They are just so Fall looking and make me want to go to a carnival!

#1
Lady Behind the Curtain
Candy Corn Caramel Apples

Did someone say bacon? Mrs. B has done it again and wowed me with one of her dishes! I'm a bacon girl and this chicken looks so juicy and the bacon on top, ohhh, how that just makes it all so much better!

#2
Misadventures of Mrs. B
Bacon Braised Chicken

I'm always on the look out for new bread machine recipes and this one looks like a good one. It is defintely on my list of breads to try out this week. There is just something I love about dough rising in my kitchen. It is something like homemade bread that I always feel makes my house feel so much more homey.

#3
A Season for All Things
Italian Bread from the Bread Machine

The Rules:

Please link up to the URL of your post, not the URL of your main blog. When it asks for "Name", type in the name of your recipe.
Please leave a link back to this post in your post or Grab My Button.
Share your delicious recipes from this week. You are welcome to link up multiple recipes.
Leave me a comment and let me know that you've linked up.
Please visit at least two others and comment on the goodies they've added to this party.
Also, I would love for you to follow me but it isn't a requirement.

This weeks theme is going to be just your favorite recipe you've made from the week. Whether it is a dessert, breakfast, dinner or snack.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Steak Sandwich

Ok so this is my new favorite sandwich. It is probably one of the best things I've eaten in recent memory and I could eat this every single day if I could get away with it. I love the new Food Network show Pioneer Woman because I'm a Southern girl and I love anything that is a down home kinda hearty meaty Southern dish. I saw this sandwich on one of her recent episodes and actually bought the stuff to make it that night. The sandwich is chopped cube steak. I use cube steak all the time, why did I not think of this! I love onions and peppers so I added a ton to my sandwich and my husband just had meat and cheese on his. So easy to throw together and so satisfying! I honestly can't wait to make this again!

Steak Sandwich

1 package of cube steak (usually 3 pieces roughly), chopped
1 yellow onion
1 bell pepper
1/4 c. Worcestershire sauce
A few splashes of hot sauce
1 stick of butter
2 large hoagie rolls
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 slices provolone cheese

Add about 2 tbsp. of butter to a cast iron pan (or skillet) and throw in your peppers and onions and cook until almost tender. Take out and set aside. Salt and Pepper your meat. Then turn the heat up a bit so you get a good sear on your meat and add about another 2 tbsp. butter and toss in your meat. Add the onions back to the pan and add in the Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. Finish sauce with remaining butter. Generously butter a skillet and place hoagie rolls face down to get them nice and brown as well on both sides. Top roll with meat, onions, peppers and add cheese. Enjoy!

Chunky Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

I loved using oats and nuts but no one else in my house really likes these things, especially in a cookie or dessert. I saw Anne Burrell making these recently on Food Network and decided to treat myself a bit and use all the things everyone else in my house hates and make myself a delicious batch of cookies. Not to mention that I've been making a ton of different types of cookies lately trying to find one really awesome unique cookie for the Crazy Cooking Challenge reveal in October. Obviously this one wasn't the winner since I'm posting it here now. I really liked this cookie. You can see by the picture that I prefer my cookies still a tiny bit gooey in the center instead of crunchy. I'm a soft, chewy, gooey cookie gal. I changed the type of nuts in this recipe and opted to not use the sea salt at the end. I was surprised that I liked the hint of cinnamon in the recipe because I usually don't care for the combination of cinnamon and chocolate. But it was really good and very subtle.

Chunky Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 ounces block dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a small mixing bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon and kosher salt. In large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the brown sugar, granulated sugar and butter. Using an electric beater or the paddle attachment of the stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until it they are light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat them into the butter and sugar mixture. Add in the vanilla as well. With a rubber spatula or with the stand mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture into the butter/sugar mixture. Mix until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks and walnuts. Spoon the cookie dough by 2 tablespoon-size balls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Place the cookie dough balls 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet. Place the cookie sheet in the oven and bake for 12 to 13 minutes. Let the cookies cool for 2 to 3 minutes and then transfer them to a cooling rack.

Beef Vindaloo

I'm not gonna lie, I don't like Indian food. Not even a little bit. My husband and I have been to quite a few Indian restaurants over the years and neither one of us like anything but the Naan bread. But I love this dish. Probably because I absolutely love vinegar. I could drink it. When I make sandwiches I don't use mayonnaise or mustard I use straight up vinegar on them. My homemade dressings don't need oil unless I'm sharing it with someone. I'm a vinegar-holic. So I was drawn to this recipe because of the vinegar. I've made it probably about 4 times now and I really really like it. It is spicy with that nice vinegar taste in the background. I love making flatbread with this and soaking up all that sauce with it. I got this recipe from Aarti Party on Food Network. My only problem was finding certain ingredients. I had to make my own masala spice mix as I couldn't find one in a store but I had most of the spices on hand to easily do that anyways.

Beef Vindaloo

2 pounds boneless beef top sirloin steak, trimmed of all excess fat, cut into 1-inch cubes 

Wet Masala (spice blend): 

1 teaspoon cumin seeds (or 1/2 tsp. cumin) 

2 (1-inch) pieces cinnamon bark (or 1 tsp. cinnamon) 

6 cloves 

4 peppercorns

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

2 teaspoon paprika 

1/2 teaspoon cayenne 

6 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped 

1-inch thumb fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar 

3 tablespoon canola oil 

1 medium red onion, very thinly sliced

1 serrano pepper, sliced in half 

Kosher salt 

In a small skillet, over medium-high heat, toast the cumin seeds, cinnamon bark, cloves, and peppercorns until fragrant, about a minute or so. (Skip this step if you are using already ground spices.) Pour into a spice grinder, and process until powdered.   In a small food processor or blender, combine the toasted spice mix and rest of the wet masala ingredients (which is the garlic and ginger). Process until smooth. Place a large, preferably nonstick pot over medium heat, and add oil. When the oil is shimmering, add the onions and serrano pepper. Stirring frequently, saute onions until golden brown, about 12 minutes.   Add the ground wet masala, taking care because it will sizzle wildly. Stir quite vigorously, and turn down heat if it's bubbling too furiously. Don't wash the food processor cup yet. Keep stirring, with short pauses, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the masala comes together as one mass, about 2 minutes. Also, you may see little droplets of oil on the perimeter of the masala. That's a good sign!  Quickly add the meat, and stir, coating the meat in the masala. Stir and cook about 5 minutes until the meat browns.   Remember that dirty food processor vessel? Fill it with 1 cup of hot water swirl it around so it picks up any leftover masala, and pour that into the pot. Add 1 teaspoon salt, stir and bring the curry to a boil, then turn it down to a simmer. Cover and cook 45 minutes. Then cook with the lid ajar for another 15 minutes, to thicken the gravy slightly.  Check the meat at the end of the cooking time; it should be tender, and not chewy at all. Adjust salt if you like, and serve over rice over with flatbread.  

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Whisking Wednesdays #18

Welcome to Whisking Wednesdays!

I can't believe it is almost October! It is still in the high 80's daily here in Japan so it feels like Fall weather is never coming. I'm thinking of starting to make some pumpkin recipes despite the weather very soon. My baby girl is about to turn 4 and wants to go to school so very bad so this week has been filled with phone calls and tours of pre-schools for her. It is amazing how eager they are to leave home, make friends, learn and jump into the world that we all wish we could get out of sometimes! I hated school, I hated work but am thankful that I love what I do now, I love staying home and taking care of my babies everyday. It is a privilege that not all mothers are able to do and I love my husband so much for making it possible. Plus, that gives me plenty of time to get in the kitchen and bake up a storm almost every day which I too love! Oh yeah, did I mention we are currently getting slammed with a tropical storm.

Thank you all who participated in this week's Whisking Wednesdays and hope to see you back again this week!

The Rules:

Please link up to the URL of your post, not the URL of your main blog. When it asks for "Name", type in the name of your recipe.
Please leave a link back to this post in your post or Grab My Button.
Share your delicious recipes from this week. You are welcome to link up multiple recipes.
Leave me a comment and let me know that you've linked up.
Please visit at least two others and comment on the goodies they've added to this party.
Also, I would love for you to follow me but it isn't a requirement.

This weeks theme is going to be just your favorite recipe you've made from the week. Whether it is a dessert, breakfast, dinner or snack.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Roasted Broccoli w/ Cheese

Since I'm on a broccoli kick I'm trying new broccoli recipes to force my household to eat more of it. Broccoli is a superfood but try convincing my family of that, they don't seem to care! Like I mentioned in my Fresh Broccoli Salad recipe, I watched Alton Brown's Good Eats this week and it was on Broccoli. I've tried two out of the three recipes from that episode so far and absolutely LOVED them. This one was so good that I ate more broccoli than anything else for dinner that night. I've roasted broccoli before but never thought to toss in panco breadcrumbs to give it a great texture. Depending on the amount of cheese you use I consider this a pretty healthy side dish.

Roasted Broccoli w/ Cheese

1 pound broccoli, rinsed and trimmed
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup finely grated cheese (use your favorite, I use Cheddar)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Cut the broccoli florets into bite size pieces. Cut the stalk into 1/8-inch thick, round slices. Place the broccoli into a mixing bowl and toss with the olive oil, garlic, kosher salt and pepper and set aside.

Spread the panko into a 13 by 9-inch metal pan and place into the oven for 2 minutes or until lightly toasted. Remove the panko from the oven and add to the bowl with the broccoli mixture. Toss to combine. Return the mixture to the pan, place in the oven and roast just until the broccoli is tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, toss in the cheese and serve immediately.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Fresh Broccoli Salad

I love broccoli. I've been trying to find some new ways to make it for my family so they'll complain about having it a little bit less. I watched Good Eats with Alton Brown earlier this week and it was a rerun of one on broccoli. Yeah! I've learned long ago you can't please everyone with a meal though I try. My husband doesn't like raw vegetables and my daughter only likes raw vegetables. But it is always hard to find good recipes with a raw vegetable. Both my daughter and I really enjoyed this. The broccoli is very thinly minced up so it isn't over powering with it being raw. The vinaigrette was awesome. The tomatoes gave it fantastic flavor. The recipe called for nuts but since my daughter doesn't like nuts I opted to not add them. Plus, believe it or not I can't actually find fresh basil here in Japan so I had to use dried basil instead. My daughter actually liked this so much she asked for a second helping of this, which really made me happy!

Fresh Broccoli Salad

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 lemon, zested
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1 pound broccoli, rinsed, trimmed and very sliced thinly (on a mandolin if you have one)
6 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
3 ounces coarsely chopped, toasted pecans or hazelnuts *optional
2 tablespoons chiffonade fresh basil leaves

Whisk together the vinegar, zest, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper in a medium mixing bowl. While whisking constantly, gradually add the olive oil. Add the broccoli and toss to coat. Cover and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Stir in the tomatoes, hazelnuts and basil. Cover and allow to sit, at room temperature or in the refrigerator, for another 15 minutes before serving.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Flatbread

I've been making this flatbread for a few years now and it is always a huge hit in my house. It isn't a quick throw together bread though as you do have to start it about 4 or so hours before you actually want to eat it. I love making this flatbread to dip into things like when I make something with extra sauce like Beef Vindaloo (recipe coming soon!). The original recipe is a Bobby Flay recipe though I can't remember exactly where I saw him make it but I'm pretty sure at some point on Food Network as that is where I usually see everything. This bread really is awesome and worth trying.

Flatbread

1 1/2 cups warm water (105 to 110 degrees F)
1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon salt
½ tsp. sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for bowl

Mix water and yeast in a large bowl and let stand 5 minutes to proof. Gradually pour in 2 cups of the flour and stir to incorporate. Mix for about 1 minute to form a sponge. Let stand, covered, for at least 1 hour.

Put sponge in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the dough hook, add the salt and oil, then add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, to form a dough. Remove from bowl and knead. Place in a clean oiled bowl and let rise, slowly, about 2 1/2 hours. Divide dough into 6-8 balls (depending on how big you want them). Let rise again for 1/2 hour, and then roll out. Heat skillet medium heat and add tbsp. butter and add one flatbread at a time browning on both sides (for about 45 seconds a side depending on heat), then repeat with adding more butter then browning flatbread.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Bread

I made a cinnamon bread recently that was really good and it made me want more. I love cinnamon. So of course, I upted the amount of cinnamon. This bread was really really good. It was like a giant cinnamon roll that you just unrolled and pulled apart. Next time, oh yea there will be a next time, I'm going to make a cream cheese glaze to drizzle over the top. We actually all went out to lunch while this bread was sitting at home rising and I made it as soon as we got back. Being that we were all full I didn't expect much to get eaten but between the 4 of us we ate the entire loaf in one sitting! Absolutely amazing bread! Like many amazing recipes I've made before I found this one at Chef in Training.

Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Bread

For the Dough:

2 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry yeast

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 ounces unsalted butter

1/3 cup whole milk

1/4 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Filling:

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tbsp. ground cinnamon

2 ounces unsalted butter, melted

In the bowl of a your standing mixer add your water, yeast and 1 tsp. of your sugar a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl whisk together 2 cups flour, sugar and salt and then set aside.

In a small saucepan, melt together milk and butter until butter has just melted. Remove from the heat and add in vanilla extract. Let mixture stand for a minute or two, or until the mixture is warm, about 110 degrees.

Pour the flour into the mixer, fitted with a paddle, and start to incorporate the flour into the yeast mixture. Pour in milk and butter mixture, then add eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. The mixture will be very sticky.

Place the dough is a large, greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel. Place in a warm space and allow to rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

While the dough rises, whisk together the sugar and cinnamon for the filling. Set aside. Melt 2 ounces of butter. Set aside. Grease and flour a 9×5x3-inch loaf pan with butter. Set that aside too.

Punch down the risen dough and pour onto a floured work surface. Knead about 2 tbsp. or so of flour into the dough. Simply sprinkle on work surface and over the top. Until you have a smooth ball of dough, like the picture above. Allow to rest for 5 minutes. On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out. The dough should be roughly 12x20. I don't really use a measuring stick or anything I just roll it out nice and big. So try to roll it as large as the dough will go. Use a pastry brush to spread melted butter across all of the dough. Sprinkle with ALL of the sugar and cinnamon mixture.

Next, it is time to slice the dough vertically, into six equal-sized strips. See picture to the right. Stack the strips on top of one another and slice the stack into six equal slices once again, see other picture to the right. You’ll have six stacks of six squares.

Layer the dough squares in the loaf pan like a flip-book, like picture below. Place a kitchen towel over the loaf pan and allow in a warm place for 1 hour or until almost doubled in size.

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Place loaf in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Then cover with aluminum foil and bake another 8 minutes or until brown and cooked through. That way the top won't brown too much while finishing cooking.

Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 20 to 30 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the bread and invert onto a clean board. Place a cake stand or cake plate on top of the upside down loaf, and carefully invert so it’s right side up.

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Sweet as Sugar Cookies

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Whisking Wednesdays #17

Welcome to Whisking Wednesdays!

Ahh another week gone. Where does the time go? We've had tons of fun in the kitchen lately making cookies and homemade pasta. My kids both love helping me. My 1 year old's new word is "dough". He comes into the kitchen and when I pick him up he sees dough on the counter and points and gets so exciting saying "dough, dough". He loves to get his hands and my kitchen dirty! Hope you all had a wonderful week as well.

Thank you all who participated in this week's Whisking Wednesdays and hope to see you back again this week!

Not only does this pie look beautiful I love cherries, love, love, love em'. I have never had a chocolate cherry combination (nope never had a chocolate covered cherry!) before and this just really looks so pretty and I love dark chocolate in anything. Milk chocolate is good but dark chocolate is awesome. You can tell the crust is homemade and it just makes it so homey. I love making pie crust.

#1
Traveling Spoon
Cherry Almond & Dark Chocolate Pie

Like I've said a million times, I LOVE cinnamon! Everyone loves cinnamon rolls and the flavors that go with it. Plus the presentation really is cute.

#2
Sugarbeams and other Half Baked Adventures
Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes

Banana bread is just such an American classic. The smell of banana bread baking just fills the house and puts a smile on everyone's face. I too use yogurt in mine and it makes such a moist delicious bread. This one looks so good. Makes me want to tell the kids to stop eating all the bananas and let me make some. I love banana bread the day after for breakfast with my coffee. Ahhh, the simple pleasures of life!

The Rules:

Please link up to the URL of your post, not the URL of your main blog. When it asks for "Name", type in the name of your recipe.
Please leave a link back to this post in your post or Grab My Button.
Share your delicious recipes from this week. You are welcome to link up multiple recipes.
Leave me a comment and let me know that you've linked up.
Please visit at least two others and comment on the goodies they've added to this party.
Also, I would love for you to follow me but it isn't a requirement.

This weeks theme is going to be just your favorite recipe you've made from the week. Whether it is a dessert, breakfast, dinner or snack.

Fudgy Peanut Butter Brownie Bars

So like these brownies weren't the most amazing, fudgy, rich, decadent things ever, Anne Thornton had to make them even more off the charts by adding a peanut butter buttercream and a chocolate ganache topping! This peanut butter buttercream is probably one of the most amazing things on Earth! I could eat it all day and night for the rest of my life. I honestly had trouble spreading it over the brownies because I just wanted to eat it with a spoon. I want to just add it to or in or on everything now. This was probably one of the richest desserts I've ever made. Granted, I should have used a bigger pan so my bars weren't so thick but I didn't and they were pretty huge and quite heavy. I also didn't use the peanuts that were called for in the recipe as my household isn't big on nuts in anything so I opted to not use them. Anne Thornton has done it again with another absolutely amazing recipe that you just must try! These brownies are amazing but the buttercream is to die for!

Fudge Brownies

1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, plus more, softened, for pan

1 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/3 cups sugar

1 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 eggs, at room temperature

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

My daughter desperately waiting for the "go ahead".

1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a saucepan on medium-low heat. Once melted add in the cocoa, sugar and salt and stir until the sugar has dissolved completely. It should start to look a bit like the start of fudge. Turn off heat and allow to cool a bit. Add in vanilla and eggs and whisk until combined. Pour flour into the chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined. Add in the chocolate chips. Grease a pan, 9x13 or to make it easier to get the brownies out line with parchment paper or aluminum foil and then grease that. Bake 20-25 minutes or until edges are done, the center will still look a bit underdone. If you want to cook it more that is fine, I like mine still a bit gooey. Then cool completely. I prefer to refrigerate mine until completely set. Slice and serve. YUM!

Peanut Butter Buttercream Layer:

1 cup creamy peanut butter (don't use old-fashioned or natural)
1/2 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

While the brownies are cooling make the buttercream. For the buttercream: Mix your peanut butter and butter together in a stand mixer until they are totally blended. Turn your mixer down and slowly add your powdered sugar and fine sea salt. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Turn your mixer back to medium, add your milk and vanilla and keep mixing until it's fully blended. Dollop the peanut butter buttercream in heaping spoonfuls on top of the cooled brownies. Evenly spread it with the back of a butter knife the over the surface.

Ganache:

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
7 tablespoons unsalted butter

For the ganache: Melt the chocolate chips and butter together in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. Allow the ganache to cool down slightly for 10 minutes or so, then pour it evenly over the peanut butter buttercream layer. Smooth the ganache out with the back of a butter knife, making sure to cover the buttercream completely. Chill the brownies in the refrigerator until the toppings are set, 1 1/2 hours or so.

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Sweet as Sugar Cookies

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Fudgy Brownies

I love brownies. I think they are my husband's favorite chocolate dessert, especially if I add chocolate chips into them. I have a great brownie recipe I use all the time. However, watching Dessert First with Anne Thornton recently she shared her brownie recipe and I have to tell you, WOW! These are the most fudgy decadent brownies I've ever had. It is almost like eating fudge but in a brownie. They are so rich that I honestly only could eat one, and usually I never stop at just one brownie. I really really enjoyed these and definitely will be making this again and again. I think they may have been a tad too rich for my husband but I personally think the richer the better. Warm from the oven they reminded me of a warm gooey molten lava cake but a bit thicker. Definitely worth trying!

Fudge Brownies

1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, plus more, softened, for pan

1 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/3 cups sugar

1 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 eggs, at room temperature

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a saucepan on medium-low heat. Once melted add in the cocoa, sugar and salt and stir until the sugar has dissolved completely. It should start to look a bit like the start of fudge. Turn off heat and allow to cool a bit. Add in vanilla and eggs and whisk until combined. Pour flour into the chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined. Add in the chocolate chips. Grease a pan, roughly 5x5ish or to make it easier to get the brownies out line with parchment paper or aluminum foil and then grease that. Bake 20-25 minutes or until edges are done, the center will still look a bit underdone. If you want to cook it more that is fine, I like mine still a bit gooey. Then cool completely. I prefer to refrigerate mine until completely set. Slice and serve. YUM!

Homemade Ravioli

It has been quite some time since I've used my pasta attachment to my mixer. Probably because making homemade pasta takes a bit of time and when you have small children it isn't easily to find that extra bit of time. So I had actually decided to just reheat leftovers for dinner last night and was enjoying a few minutes of down time watching Secrets of a Restaurant Chef on Food Network. LOVE that show, by the way. Anne Burell was making homemade ravioli and I just got the itch. As she was throwing ingredients into her pasta dough on TV I was in the kitchen doing the same. Granted I don't see Ann Burell doing this with a 1 year old and a 4 year old in the kitchen wanting to be a part of every step. Once I finished the dough I had to run to the grocery store to buy stuff for the filling since I hadn't anticipated making anything I had not one single ingredient I needed on hand. By the time my husband woke up (he sleeps during the day sometimes because he works nights) I was in the kitchen with my 1 year old on my hip trying to put the dough through the pasta machine and make my ravioli. The pasta turned out amazing. It was really pretty simple to throw together, especially the finishing sauce. I think now that my kids are out of the tiny baby phase I might be able to start making homemade pasta a bit more often! This freezes really well too, so I made about half that night and froze the other half for another time.

My flour well.

Homemade Pasta:

4 c. all-purpose flour
4 whole eggs + 1 egg yolk
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp. water
1 1/2 tsp. salt

So the first thing you need to do is dump your flour onto your work surface and create a huge well in the center. Then you can add all your ingredients into the center of that well. If your well is too small you'll just end up with a bigger mess so you really want to make it BIG. The picture to the right is of what your well with all your ingredients in should look like. Use a fork (or your fingers) and pop your yolks and slowly start to incorporate the flour into the egg mixture in the middle. You can use a circular motion going around the edges of the flour until you have a rough dough. Then get your hands in there. Start kneading the dough together to get all bits and pieces incorporated. If the dough is too dry you can add a tbsp. more or two of water. At this point you'll start kneading the dough. This is a long process with pasta. You start out thinking wow this will never come together it looks all wrong but you have to give it time. Knead your dough for about 10-15 full minutes. It should be smooth and silky at this point. Put your whole body weight into. You now need to let your dough rest for about 1 hour. This is the perfect time to start getting your ravioli filling together.

Dough after 10 minutes of kneading.

Ravioli Filing:

2 c. whole milk ricotta
3/4 c. Parmesan cheese, fresh grated
2 eggs
Salt, to taste
1 1/2 c. cooked spinach

I actually don't usually have fresh spinach available at my store so I have no choice but to make do with frozen. I just dumped a bag of frozen spinach into boiling (salted) water for 1-2 minutes then pulled it out and allowed it to cool. Make sure to squeeze out all excess water. Then toss it into the food processor and turn it on for about 30-45 seconds to allow it to chop almost puree the spinach. Add the ricotta, spinach and Parmesan cheese to a bowl. I like to add the salt and taste it before adding in the egg because you don't want a bland filling. Now whisk in your eggs. Pour the entire filling into a large ziplock bag that you can use as a disposable pastry bag. Cut the corner off so you can easily squeeze the filling out onto the pasta sheets when the time comes.

Rollin' out the pasta.

Adding in the filling.

Now back to your pasta. It is time to roll out the dough. I cut my pasta into 4 separate pieces. Make sure the ones you aren't working with stay covered. Cut off about 1/4 of the dough and flour it and flatten it a bit. Attach your pasta roller to your mixer or get out your hand roller. start feeding the dough in nice and slowly with it on setting 1. The first 2 times fold it in half and roll it back through on setting 1. After the third time, adjust your setting to 2. Each time go up to the next smaller setting until you get to setting 6. You can stop at 6. You might want to run it through an extra time on any one of the settings but you don't have to, that is up to you. Make sure to flour your pasta if it seems sticky, you don't want it to stick or it'll start ripping or sticking to itself.

Final ravioli product.

Now even off the ends but just cutting them with a knife. Place on your work surface and cut the size you want to work with. I just cut mine the size of my cutting board. Get a bowl of water and a brush to use as your glue. Brush the bottom half of the pasta with the water and then start adding dollops of the filling. You want about a heaping tablespoon for each one but I wouldn't do more than 2 tablespoons worth. Leave space between each so you can cut them and seal them properly. Then fold over the dough and match the edges up and press to seal. Then use your fingers to work around the filing and gently press the pasta down. You want to make sure to get all the air out of each one or they'll float in the boiling water instead of cook properly. Once sealed and all air removed it is time to cut them. I don't have anything fancy to cut mine I just used my circular biscuit cutter as that is what I had on hand. You can certainly make your edges fancier or use a ravioli cutter I just didn't have the time.

Finished ravioli.

Now the last part is the easiest. After all this work and effort it is nice to have the finishing sauce be so simple but so good. Drop your ravioli in salted boiling water for about 3 minutes. At the same time in a saute pan melt 1/2 stick of butter. You only want to cook about 8 at a time in the pan though. Add about 3 tbsp. of chicken stock to the butter. Take your ravioli directly from the boiling water and place in the butter pan. Sprinkle with a generous handful of Parmesan cheese, probably about 1/2 cup worth almost. Then place on plate and serve with additional Parmesan cheese. Of course, depending on how many you are making you can up the amount of butter and stock and just use a bigger pan if needed. Of course, I topped mine with crispy bacon to give it a nice crunch, why not. Enjoy!

Friday, September 9, 2011

S'mores Pie

I think my absolute favorite show on Food Network right now is Dessert First with Anne Thornton. This is one of her recipes. I have made almost 10 of her recipes and not one has disappointed me so far. She is amazing. This is so unbelievably simple but was really really good. I love chocolate, my daughter loves marshmallows and my husband loves pies so this was a win for all of us. This took no time at all to whip together for a simple treat. This is her actual recipe for this, here Spicy Smoky S'mores Bars. I didn't do mine in bars but more like a pie and I didn't add . I also didn't have enough of everything so figured my pie pan was half the size of the bars she was making. I also wasn't interested in the Smoky Spicy aspect so just left out the chipolte. I'm not a sweet and spicy dessert kinda gal.

S'mores Pie

2 sticks unsalted butter softened
18 plain graham crackers (about 2 packages)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
3 cups milk chocolate chips
3 1/2 cups mini-marshmallows

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In your food processor, grind the graham crackers into a fine meal (you need 2 cups). In a large bowl, combine your crumbs with the sugar, salt and melted butter. The mixture should look and feel like wet sand. Set aside a heaping 1/2 cup of the crumb mixture for the topping. Evenly press the remaining crumb mixture into the bottom the foil-lined pan. Pop your crust into the oven and bake until it is golden brown and your kitchen smells of graham crackers, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the crust from the oven and allow it to cool on a rack or on a dishtowel on your counter. Melt the milk chocolate in a saucepan over low heat, stirring continuously until fully melted. Do not turn up the heat to hurry this process, you must keep it on low. Alternately, you can microwave the chocolate on low power, stirring after 2 minutes. Preheat the broiler. Pour the melted chocolate over the cooled graham cracker crust. Spread the chocolate evenly over the crust with a butter knife. Sprinkle the marshmallows over the chocolate and press them lightly into the chocolate. Sprinkle the reserved crumb mixture over and in between the marshmallows so that you cannot see the chocolate peaking through the marshmallows. Broil 6 inches from the flame until the marshmallows are golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Refrigerate until the chocolate is hard, 2 hours or so.

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Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Crazy Cooking Challenge - Macaroni & Cheese

This month's Crazy Cooking Challenge was Macaroni and Cheese. I was surprised at how difficult it was for me to find a macaroni and cheese recipe that intrigued me enough to try as I find my Dad's macaroni and cheese recipe to be all I've ever really needed. I've never actually tried a homemade stove top macaroni and cheese. I remember as a kid eating the boxed Kraft Macaroni and Cheese about a billion times but as an adult I've never had a boxed macaroni and I've never made one for my children. So I started with just a general macaroni and cheese search and eventually stumbled across Misadventures of Mrs. B. I pretty much followed the recipe other than changing the cheese a bit and not adding in hot sauce. I'm not big on spicy anything or the taste of spice so left that out, though I'm sure it wasn't noticeable. The first thing that pulled me in was that it was a stove top macaroni and cheese recipe and that she got the recipe from Alton Brown. I love Alton Brown and watch way too much Food Network. I also really liked that her blog not only had recipes but cooking tips and basic information like how to make clarified butter. Looking through her recipes I found so many amazing pictures that really drew me in and made me want to try the recipes. Pictures are worth a thousand words. No matter how good something is, if the picture doesn't look appetizing then you aren't going to want to try that recipe. I can definitely say that isn't the case about Mrs. B's pictures, they look amazing! Mrs. B also does some writing on her blog that was really interesting to read. I enjoyed her stories and thoughts. So not only are her recipes worth checking out, you'll find plenty of very interesting and entertaining pieces to read as well. Definitely a blog worth checking out! I'm glad I stumbled upon it!

Stove Top Macaroni & Cheese

1/2 lb. dry elbow macaroni
4 tbsp. butter
2 extra large eggs
6 oz. evaporated milk
1 tsp. salt
Fresh black pepper
1 tsp. dry mustard
6 oz. extra sharp cheddar, shredded
5 oz. colby jack cheese, shredded

In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente and drain. Return to the pot and melt in the butter. Toss to coat. In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, pepper, and mustard. Stir into the pasta and add the cheese. Over low heat continue to stir for 3 minutes or until creamy.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Whisking Wednesdays #16

Welcome to Whisking Wednesdays!

Not sure about the rest of you but I've been cooking up a storm lately with so many new recipes I've wanted to try. Of course, with two small children it isn't quite as easy to get them posted though! I hope all of you are enjoying the last bits of warm weather and Summer before we hit Fall. I'm getting excited for the change of seasons as before we know it Christmas will be here. I know, most people aren't thinking about Christmas yet as it is only September but Christmas is my favorite holiday so I'm always thinking about it. But first my little girl is turning 4 in a month. I can't believe that! Keeping my eyes open trying to figure out the perfect cake or cupcake recipe to make for her!

Thank you all who participated in this week's Whisking Wednesdays and hope to see you back again this week!

The Rules:

Please link up to the URL of your post, not the URL of your main blog. When it asks for "Name", type in the name of your recipe.
Please leave a link back to this post in your post or Grab My Button.
Share your delicious recipes from this week. You are welcome to link up multiple recipes.
Leave me a comment and let me know that you've linked up.
Please visit at least two others and comment on the goodies they've added to this party.
Also, I would love for you to follow me but it isn't a requirement.

This weeks theme is going to be just your favorite recipe you've made from the week. Whether it is a dessert, breakfast, dinner or snack.

Pages

Friday, September 30, 2011

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Friday, September 16, 2011

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Fudge Brownies

Peanut Butter Buttercream Layer:

Ganache:

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Fudge Brownies

Friday, September 9, 2011

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Tuesday, September 6, 2011