Sunday, February 28, 2010

Cappuccino-Chocolate Bites


These are some delicate cookies, but in the end they were yummy! A unique cookie to make for a special occasion! :)

Ingredients:
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon finely ground espresso beans
1/8 teaspoon coarse salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup confectioners sugar, plus more for dusting
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 1/2 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped
unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting

Whisk flour, espresso and salt in a bowl.


Put butter, and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment (again, I think you could use a hand mixer for this) and on medium high speed until pale and fluffy. Mix in vanilla. Add flour mixture; mix on medium low until dough comes together. Shape into a disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.


Preheat oven to 350. Let dough stand at room temperature for 10 minutes (my sister called and she struggled with this step, so I did not use it and I think mine came out a lot better...) Roll between sheets of parchment to 1/8 inch thick. Cut out rounds with a 1 1/2 inch cutter; space 1/2 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment.


Bake until set but not browned, about 9 minutes. Let cool on sheets, 5 minutes. Transfer to wire racks and cool completely.


Bring cream to a simmer. Pour over chocolate; stir until smooth. Press plastic wrap onto surface; refrigerate at least 4 hours or up to overnight. Whisk to soft peaks; transfer to a pastry bag (or ziploc!) Pipe about 1 teaspoon filling on bottoms of half of the cookies; sandwich with remaining cookies. *we decided to just dunk ours in the cream and chocolate mixture instead of make them into cookies*

Dust with cocoa and confectioners' sugar.


Enjoy!

Mac and Cheese with Red Peppers and Tomatoes


This is a highly labor intensive meal! Great at the end and well worth the work! Caution: Do not attempt to make this meal on your own! It may be possible...but it will take forever! :)

There are many ingredients that went into this meal along with two recipes on top of the actual mac and cheese recipe.

I am going to start with those two recipes before moving on to the actual meal!

First things first...Oven Dried Tomatoes! MAKE SURE TO READ THE DIRECTIONS!!
Ingredients:
2 pounds ripe plum tomatoes, cored and halved lengthwise
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Fresh herb sprigs, such as thyme, rosemary, or sage (optional)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Preheat the oven to 250. Arrange the tomatoes, cut side up, in a single layer on a parchment or foil lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt.


Bake until slightly shriveled but still plump, ABOUT 5 HOURS!! (yes, it took the whole time!)


*If not using immediately, refrigerate the dried tomatoes in a sealed container for up to 4 days. Or layer them with the herb sprigs, if desired. Add olive oil to cover, seal tightly, and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.* We made ours today, so we skipped this step!



Next, Bechamel Sauce
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 shallot, chopped
1/2 medium carrot, peeled and chopped
1/2 rib celery, chopped
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 cups milk
3 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 small bay leaf
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
Freshly ground black pepper

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallot, carrot and celery and cook, covered until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour with a wooden spoon and cook until it lightens in color, about 2 minutes.


Slowly whisk in the milk and bring to a boil.


Add the parsley, thyme, and bay leaf. Reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook, whisking occasionally, until the sauce is thick, about 15 minutes.

Strain the sauce into a bowl and season with salt, nutmeg, and pepper.


Press plastic wrap on the surface of the sauce until ready to use.



On to the actual recipe! Mac and Cheese with Red Peppers and Tomatoes
Ingredients:
1 pound ziti or penne pasta (we used a mixture of penne and bowtie!)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 clove garlic, smashed
2 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs, preferably sourdough bread
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme
6 ounces shredded sharp white cheddar cheese (about 2 cups)
4 ounces shredded fontina cheese (about 1 1/3 cups) *we could not find this so we used another cows milk based cheese*
3 ounces shredded smoked gouda cheese (about 1 cup)
1 recipe hot bechamel sauce (recipe is above)
10 oven-dried tomato halves (recipe is above)
1 roasted red pepper, seeded and diced (I cut the pepper in half and placed cut side down in oven while the oven was preheating and until it was roasted!)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400. Lightly butter a 9x13 inch casserole dish. Bring a large pot of cold water to a boil over high heat; salt it generously. Add the pasta and boil, stirring occasionally, until it just barely al dente (it will finish cooking in the sauce) Drain the pasta and put it in a large bowl and cool.


While the pasta cooks, melt the butter with the garlic clove in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the bread crumbs, parsley and thyme and toss to coat the bread crumbs thoroughly with the butter. Remove the garlic clove and sit the crumbs aside.


some of the cheeses are really smelly, but I have an amazing husband who grated them for me! :) love you babe!


Toss the pasta with the cheeses. Fold in the bechamel sauce, then the tomatoes, red pepper, salt, and pepper.


Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish and scatter the bread crumbs over the top.


Bake until the sauce bubbles and the crumbs crisp and brown, 25 to 30 minutes, (ours didn't even take this long!)


Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.


Enjoy!



*As mentioned in the beginning...it is a long process, but definitely worth it!*





Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Baked Eggs with Farmhouse Cheddar and Potatoes


This was an amazing meal! Great flavor!! I highly recommend making this ASAP! :)

Here we go!
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 pounds red skinned potatoes, diced
1/4 chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
8 large eggs
1 cup shredded extra-sharp Farmhouse Cheddar (4 oz) we used a little more!
*we couldn't find Farmhouse Cheddar so we used a extra-sharp Vermont Cheddar


Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Melt the butter in a large, well seasoned cast iron skillet over medium heat (we don't have a cast iron skillet, so we used a 5 quart saute pan). Add the potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and brown. Stir in the parsley, garlic, salt and pepper and remove from heat.


Push the potatoes aside to make 4 evenly spaced shallow nests and break 2 eggs into each. Bake until the egg whites are cooked and the yolks are still runny. Sprinkle the cheese over the eggs and continue baking until it just melts. Serve immediately!


Again, this was AMAZING!!


Enjoy!

Monday, February 22, 2010

Grilled Plum Salad with Aged Gouda and Pecans


This was a great smelling meal! I could not wait to eat it! Hope you feel the same! :)

Dressing Ingredients:
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar (I used red wine vinegar)
1 teaspoon honey (I added a little more!)
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil


Mix together the vinegar, honey, salt and black pepper in a large bowl. Slowly add in olive oil until all mixed together and then set to the side.

Salad Ingredients:
4 ripe plums (quartered, and de-pitted)
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
3 cups torn escarole leaves
1 bunch watercress (about 3 cups)
4 ounces aged Gouda, thinly sliced
1/2 cup pecan halves, toasted
*I could not find escarole or watercress at my grocery store - so I used a Spring Mix


Heat a grill pan over medium heat. Brush the plums with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill the plums until slightly soft, about 1 minute. Cut the plums in half and mix with dressing - let sit for 15 minutes.


Before serving, toss greens with dressing and top with pecans and cheese.


Enjoy!

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Chinese Peppered Pork Chops


These were amazing! Easy quick meal with lots of flavor! :)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons medium-cracked ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 1/4 inch thick loin pork chops (we used 2 butterfly cut pork loins..there was extra marinade but just enough for two!)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil



Put soy sauce, garlic, sugar, pepper and salt in a ziploc bag and mix together before placing pork chops in the bag. Rub the marinade into the pork chops and then let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.


Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet and place pork chops on the skillet, shaking excess marinade off before putting it on the skillet (because we used only 2 pork chops we could cook them at the same time, but depending on your pan size you may have to repeat the cooking process until all pork chops are cooked)


Once they are cooked through take them off the skillet and serve! We made two sides: one side was corn and the other was mashed potatoes. Great compliments to the pork chop and marinade!


Enjoy! :)

Friday, February 19, 2010

Banana-Walnut Chocolate-Chunk Cookies


Here we go! First Recipe and they were amazing! Tonight, Jay and I were watching our nephew, James Connor, and he was a big help with the baking of the cookies! He loved every single step of it! :)

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped into 1/4 inch chunks
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (about 2 oz.) toasted



Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

(The walnuts need to be toasted before going in the batter..so while my oven was heating up I placed the chopped up walnuts on a baking sheet to toast them! Watch them to make sure they don't burn)


Whisk together both flours, salt and baking soda in a bowl.

Put butter and both sugars into a bowl for an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. (I used my kitchenaide mixer, but I think a hand mixer will work as well)
Reduce speed to low and add egg and vanilla; mix until combined.



Here is James checking the progress!! :)


Stir in oats, chocolate chunks and walnuts.


Scoop out cookies and place on cookie sheets covered with parchment paper. Place the cookies 2in. apart from each other.


Bake cookies for 12 minutes rotating them halfway through. Cool on cookie sheets for 5 minutes before moving to wire racks to cool completely.



Then Enjoy! :)


Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Welcome!

Hello!

I have decided to take on 2 cookbooks this year and work along side my sister in trying new things. We have purchased the cookbooks and will plan our meals together and then discuss what we have thought of them! I will take it one step further and blog about my journey in using the cookbooks. I hope that you will enjoy my posts and try some of the meals as well.

Enjoy!