carrot cake w/ cream cheese filling and white chocolate ganache

I wonder if anyone will read this post. I mean the photos kind of really speak for themselves without having to say anything. But I want to mention the thought process for this one, or rather the creation for this is from it's brother the pb chocolate cake w/ chunky pb cheese filling and chocolate ganache. Ever since I made that one I've always wanted to make a white version. When I say white version I mean a white chocolate ganache. Can't recall that I've ever seen anyone make a white chocolate ganache before--I'm sure someone has and I've wanted to as well. Keep in mind if you do make this, the white chocolate ganache is a frisky, impatient little one. It needs constant stirring and monitoring; it's not that easy to get the right consistency like its dark chocolate brother. But once I did get it right it really was fun to watch it 'slowly' pour down the cake because it is REALLY thick and really slow to move. Almost like a melted fondant.





carrot cake w/ cream cheese filling & white chocolate ganache
cake & filling adapted from America’s Test Kitchen
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cook notes: If you like nuts in your cake, stir 1 1/2 cups toasted chopped pecans or walnuts into the batter along with the carrots. Raisins are also a good addition; 1 cup can be added along with the carrots. If you add both nuts and raisins, the cake will need an additional 10 to 12 minutes in the oven.

carrot cake
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 1/2 ounces)
1 1/4 ts baking powder
1 ts baking soda
1 1/4 ts ground cinnamon
1/2 ts ground nutmeg
1/8 ts ground cloves
1/2 ts table salt
1 pound medium carrots (6 to 7 carrots), peeled
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil , or canola oil

cream cheese filling (I halved all this as I only needed it for the filling)
8 ounces cream cheese , softened but still cool
5 TB unsalted butter softened, but still cool
1 TB sour cream
1/2 ts vanilla extract (I did not add this in)
1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar (I sifted mine)
(I added in a large pinch of salt)
(I added in a handful of toasted coconut to this and chopped/toasted pecans)

For the cake: Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 13 by 9-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line bottom of pan with parchment and spray parchment. (I did two regular cake pans)

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt in large bowl; set aside.
In food processor fitted with large shredding disk (see below for mixer method), shred carrots (you should have about 3 cups); transfer carrots to bowl and set aside. Wipe out food processor workbowl and fit with metal blade. Process granulated and brown sugars and eggs until frothy and thoroughly combined, about 20 seconds. With machine running, add oil through feed tube in steady stream. Process until mixture is light in color and well emulsified, about 20 seconds longer. Scrape mixture into medium bowl. Stir in carrots and dry ingredients until incorporated and no streaks of flour remain. Pour into prepared pan and bake until toothpick or skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking time. Cool cake to room temperature in pan on wire rack, about 2 hours.

For the frosting (See below for mixer method): When cake is cool, process cream cheese, butter, sour cream, vanilla, and salt in clean food processor workbowl until combined, about 5 seconds, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Add SIFTED confectioners' sugar and process until smooth, about 10 seconds. Then add in the toasted coconut and chopped pecans and stir.

Run paring knife around edge of cake to loosen from pan. Invert cakes onto wire rack, peel off parchment, then invert again onto serving platter. Using icing spatula, spread frosting evenly over surface of cake. Cut into squares and serve. (Cover leftovers and refrigerate for up to 3 days.) (So, I spread frosting in between the two cakes nice and thick since I was going to put a white chocolate ganache on the top. Do what you like at this point use the frosting all over or just in the middle. There was a good amount of frosting left over, so I just went ahead and froze the rest)

MIXER METHOD
Instead of Step 3 above, follow these directions: Shred carrots using large holes of box grater (you should have about 3 cups); transfer carrots to bowl and set aside. In bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment (or in large bowl and using hand-held mixer), beat granulated and brown sugars and eggs on medium-high until thoroughly combined, about 45 seconds. Reduce speed to medium; with mixer running, add oil in slow, steady stream, being careful to pour oil against inside of bowl (if oil begins to splatter, reduce speed to low until oil is incorporated, then resume adding oil). Increase speed to high and mix until mixture is light in color and well emulsified, about 45 seconds to 1 minute longer. Turn off mixer and stir in carrots and dry ingredients by hand until incorporated and no streaks of flour remain. Pour into prepared pan and bake until toothpick or skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking time. Cool cake to room temperature in pan on wire rack, about 2 hours.

Instead of Step 4 above, follow these directions: When cake is cool, mix cream cheese, butter, sour cream, and vanilla at medium high speed in clean bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment ( or in large bowl using handheld mixer) until well combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Add confectioners’ sugar and mix until very fluffy, about 1 minute.

Once the cakes were frosted in the middle I went ahead and let it chill in the fridge while I made the white chocolate Ganache and made some toasted coconut.

You can toast about ½ cup of moist coconut in the over at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until JUST brown. Set aside.

white chocolate ganache

a small saucepan or double boiler
14 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
½ cup heavy cream
½ tsp vanilla extract
1-2 TB butter

Melt white chocolate, heavy cream, and extract over a double boiler. Do not boil. You need to stir this A LOT. It will take a long time before it gets to a thick consistency.
Now if you want a little bit of shine to your Ganache add some butter into it just after you take it off the heat. When it’s melted then add butter and take off heat immediately. Stir to combine butter completely. Keep stirring. And stirring. I like to let my Ganache sit a bit before using; the longer it sits the thicker it gets.

assemble
Take the cake out of the fridge and gently pour on the white chocolate ganache. It should flow freely on it’s own or you can give it a little help with a wet spatula. This ganache is a lot thicker and slower to spread then it’s dark chocolate brother. So be patient with it and see how it flows. While the ganache is still at the soft stage make sure to add the toasted coconut on top before it hardens--optional of course.

Let ganache set up before slicing into it. When you are ready to slice into it, make sure to use a very sharp knife as this Ganache is thick and harder to cut.

espresso-cream cheese rice krispie treats

Yes indeed another espresso recipe, but I don't think you are going to mind back to back espresso recipes as this is one kicked up treat. I've taken the rice krispie treat added some cream cheese, espresso, toffee bits and a few other things. How many of you out there are coffee junkies? I am too and I just love finding new ways to use espresso in baked goods, and yes we can also say savory goods because espresso is used in sauces isn't it? Can I tell you these treats were absolutely fabulous. If you do make this, be prepared to eat it all. The combination of the espresso with the cream cheese with the added layer of toffee bits will make you keep going back for another bite, then another, and then another, then you wrap it all up and put it all away vowing NOT to eat another bite. But then five minutes later there you are unwrapping the plastic wrap to 'just have a small bite'. Am I right?
As a side note: I don't know if young kids should eat this because of the espresso in it, but you can use your own judgement. I highly doubt you'll want to share anyways.....



espresso-cream cheese rice krispie treats
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3 TB salted butter
4 oz. cream cheese, room temp
2 Starbuck Via’s (the medium one)
A good size pinch of sea salt
10 or 11 ounce bag of mini marshmallows
8 ounce bag of chopped toffee bits (1 cup used in bars, remainder used for sprinkling on top)
6 and 1/2 cups rice krispies

Spray a 13 x 9-inch pan with non-stick cooking spray.
In a very large 6 or 8 qt. pan, melt the butter and cream cheese over low heat (low heat, do not let the cream cheese burn or cook!). For these next steps, please work fast. Once melted add in both the starbuck via’s, then a good sized pinch of sea salt, stir. Using a rubber spatula immediately add in the marshmallows—all the while keep an eye on the bottom of the pan, don’t let it burn! Ok to take pan off heat for a bit if needed. Once marshmallows are added just keep stirring until melted; you will be stirring a lot. After its melted take off the heat, add in the 1 cup of toffee bits, quick stir, and then add in the Rice Krispies until well combined.
This is when you have to work fast and stir until well combined; making sure to get the bottom well combined as well. (recipe by dawn finicane) Once all mixed then transfer mix to your prepared pan and push down into pan with spatula or water-wet hands. After it’s all smoothed over this is when I like to add a small sprinkling of sea salt to the top, then the rest of the toffee bits. (you might have to push the toffee bits down into mixture to make them stay in place. Place in fridge to set and cool. They need to cool completely before cutting. You will need a very sharp knife to cut these into bars.

Cut into bars or squares with a sharp knife. Depending on how you cut them they should make about 15-20 bars.

espresso bars

What's not to love here people? I mean we have butter, we have sugar, we have espresso, we have dark chocolate, and we have a sugary milk glaze. Breakfast and coffee in a bar--I'm all set. Let's just open a cafe that sells these and those chocolate dipped levain bakery cookies (and some coffee too, I guess), fabulous right?
I can't claim fame to these little gems, but I can say they were tasty with a HUGE side of addictive. You will eat way more than one bar. I would like to experiment again with these with new flavors be it cinnamon, ginger and hazelnut--hazelnut has to be worked in here somehow along with a creamy cream cheese glaze.
The only thing, if I were to make this again, I would use shaved chocolate instead of chips or pulse the chips in the processor to make them teeny tiny. The flavor of chocolate goes very well with the Starbucks Via, but it needs to be in small-meldable (if that's a word) flavors. Please note my changes.

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espresso bars
adapted from With Love & Butter 
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To get really flat bars, I find it works best to smooth them over with an offset spatula, using gentle pressure, just after they come out of the oven and before you apply the glaze.

bars:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed (I used light brown)
1 TB espresso powder (I used 1 Starbuck’s Via)
1 ts vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups flour (I used 2 cups)
1/2 ts baking powder
1/2 ts salt
(I added 1 ts cinnamon)
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I used 1 ½ cups)

glaze:
2 TB milk (I used half & half)
1 TB butter (I used 3 TB)
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 375 F with the rack at the middle level.
Mix the flour, baking powder and salt, set aside.
Line a 10×15 inch jelly roll pan with baking parchment or grease lightly.
Cream together the butter, brown sugar, instant coffee, and vanilla.
Blend in the flour mixture, until just combined, no overmixing. Then stir in the chocolate chips by hand. The mixture will be very crumbly, with barely enough dough to hold together the chocolate chips.
Use your fingers, palms, and heels of your hands to press the dough evenly into the pan. If necessary, cover the dough with wax or parchment paper and use a small rolling pin to flatten the lumps.
Bake 5 minutes, rotate the pan, and bake 5 to 10 minutes more or until the edges are just starting to brown (watch carefully). Cool in the pan 5 minutes before spreading with glaze.
For the glaze, put all the ingredients in a small saucepan on medium heat. Whisk until smooth and barely bubbly. Drizzle the glaze evenly over the bars and smooth out to the edges and corners with a rubber spatula.
Cool until the pan is just warm to the touch and cut into bars with a sharp knife.
Should make 28-32 bars.

morning glory whoopie pies w/ orange cream filling

I've always wanted to take my all time favorite muffin the morning glory and turn it into a whoopie pie. Finally, I've gotten around to it, and am starting to put a dent in my 'to create' or rather 'to test' recipe pile. The pile is huge and consuming my office--must get down in size!
Getting on to this little gem of a whoopie pie--it was AMAZING. Such great flavors and textures going on (I always say that don't I?). Well, you know by now I love lots of flavors and some textures going on in whatever I create. Originally I was going to use a plain old filling, but it just begged for an orange zest-like taste; a pineapple cream cheese filling would be awesome too, if you're ever so inclined.
These are incredibly easy to make. What makes them easy are those whoopie pie pans found at sur la table. If you don't have those you could use jumbo muffin pans, and don't fill them up to the top (maybe a 1/4 of the way?). Or use those mini cake pans or tart rings.

morning glory whoopie pie w/ orange cream cream filling:
use my recipe for morning glory muffins found here. bake in whoopie pie pans at 350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes or until cake tester in middle comes out clean (cooking time varies depending on oven). let cakes cool completely. i went ahead and chilled mine in the fridge before filling; they are easier to handle when cold and firm.

orange cream cheese filling:
8 oz. of cream cheese, room temp
1/2 cup +/- of sifted confectioners sugar
1 ts +/- of orange zest
1 tiny splash of orange juice

beat all in a bowl with mixer or whisk until well combined. then spread on the whoopie pies. i like to chill them a while before serving. the center filling tastes better when it's chilled. should make about 5-6 big whoopie pies (depending what pan you use and/or how much batter you fill them up with.

banana shortbread

Banana shortbread. Why hasn't this been in bakery shops yet? Seriously a wonderful combo: butter, flour, sugar, and bananas. What's not to love?
I have been dying to create this for a while now. Easy to make, even easier to eat. This is a tad bit moister than most shortbreads, that's because of the bananas, but to be honest I liked it a bit moister. I think a pineapple shortbread might be in order next. What kind of kicked up shortbread would you like to see/try?
Note: these banana shortbread wedges are fabulous dipped in melted chocolate!

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banana shortbread
inspired from america’s test kitchen
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½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 ½ cups (7 ½ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
¼ cup cornstarch
2/3 cups + 1 TB confectioners’ sugar
½ teaspoon table salt
2 sticks (8 oz) unsalted butter, room temp
1 ½ bananas, wicked ripe, mashed w/ juice of ½ lemon

Pulse oats in spice grinder or blender until reduced to fine powder, about ten 5-second pulses (you should have ¼- to 1/3 cup oat flour).
In bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix oat flour, all-purpose flour, cornstarch, sugar, and salt at low speed until combined, about 5 seconds.
Add butter to dry ingredients, then add in the banana mixture, and continue to mix on low speed until dough just forms and pulls from sides of mixer wall, 5 to 10 minutes. (I chilled my dough overnight—I think it needs to be chilled at least 2-3 hours before using)
When ready to bake, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees.
Place closed collar of 9- to 9 ½-inch springform pan directly on parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet (do not use the springform pan bottom).
Press dough into collar in even ½-inch thick layer, smoothing top of dough with back of spoon.
Place 2-inch (oven safe) biscuit cutter in center of dough and cut out center. Place extruded round on side of rimmed baking sheet and replace cutter in center of dough. Open springform pan collar, but leave in place. (I did not open collar until see below).
Bake shortbread for 5 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 250 degrees. (release latch on the collar on springform pan, but don’t take off. Recipe by dawn finicane)
Continue to bake until edges turn pale golden, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Remove tray from oven; turn oven off.
Remove springform pan collar and cutter; score surface of shortbread into 16 even wedges, cutting halfway through shortbread.
Using wooden skewer, poke 10 holes into each wedge. Return shortbread to oven and prop door open with handle of wooden spoon, leaving 1-inch gap at top.
Allow shortbread to dry in turned-off oven until pale golden in center (shortbread will be firm but giving to touch when ready), about 1 hour.
Transfer baking sheet to wire rack; cool shortbread to room temperature, at least 2 hours. Cut shortbread at scored marks to separate and serve.

lox and glazed donut

Oh yes. Serious food cravings here. Stay with me, don't click away! I know this is odd, but you have to try this. This is the ultimate in salty and sweet. I know a lot of you are devoted foodies, and devoted foodies are open to new things. Right? Good.
And some of you may have already had this combo before and know exactly what I'm talking about.
Seriously good. Make sure you get the good kind of lox, ok? Oh and those krispy kreme donuts? Yeah, those are just PERFECT for this, especially when they are still warm.
I'm telling you....you have to try this.

sweet potato quesadillas w/ fig reduction, spicy corn relish and pecans

Aren't quesadillas fun? I mean you can literally put anything and everything in them. Not to mention the vast amount of cheeses out there that can be used in quesadillas is enormous. I have rarely used queso blanco cheese. Not because I don't like it, but because I haven't found what works good with it since it is a very mild cheese, almost like a mozzarella cheese. I just loved the layers of flavors in this sweet potato quesadilla. It has the sweet/saltiness of my fried sweet potatoes, the mildness of the cheese, the sweetness of the fig reduction and then some heat with the spicy corn relish. Of course I had to add my sweet & spicy pecans to it for extra crunch. I got those pecans (as everyone knows who follows me on Twitter) at Trader Joe's. It's gross really how much of those pecans I consume on a weekly basis. Have you tried them? Is there anyone out there that is addicted to them as I?
With these quesadillas, if I was to make them again I might go with a stronger tasting cheese next time, maybe a mild cheddar. Don't get me wrong these were good; I just love to always improve upon my creations the next time, then the next time, and so on.

Also, you may have noticed that my copyright logo/name are getting more bigger and/or prominent on my photos? This is because I have, again, been the victim of someone stealing my photos. But now they are cropping out the copyright stuff. This happened once before and I learned that I should put a visible copyright mark on them. I would hate to have to eventually make a visible watermark in the middle of the food photo. Why people steal others works and photos is beyond me.... If anyone can tell me how to add a visible watermark while retaining the quality of the photo I'm all ears.

Sweet potato quesadillas w/ fig reduction & spicy corn relish
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I used my sweet potato hash for the filling of this quesadilla.

Sweet potato hash
2-3 sweet potatoes, chopped into 1-inch cubes
EV olive oil
A few TB’s of butter
salt & pepper
caramelized onions
a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce
couple dashes of Tabasco sauce

Caramelize some onions (about 1 giant sweet yellow onion) after it's done caramelizing add a few drops of the Worcestershire sauce, set aside.
Heat up same skillet with some EVOO and fry up the sweet potatoes until nice & crispy, season with salt and pepper. Towards the end of cooking add a few tablespoons of butter to the skillet to melt into the hash. Then add in a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce, mix until combined. If you want a bit of heat like I do then add in some cayenne and/or Tabasco.

Use some of the hash place it the middle of a large tortilla, add a few chunks of queso blanco or queso fresco cheese, a few dashes of Tabasco (optional). Seal edges of tortilla with egg wash, fold over and seal and then fry up in a non-stick pan. The egg wash will seal up once it gets hot. Serve with fig reduction and/or spicy corn relish (see below).

Fig reduction
Is nothing more than this jam cooked over medium heat till it reduces and thickens a bit. If you’re not into making your own jam, then you can buy some premade and heat up. But I do suggest you try this fig jam recipe as it’s really good.

cinnamon fig jam
from eatingoutloud.com

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 lb. mission figs (about 10-12 figs)
1 3″ strip lemon zest
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 lemon juiced

Add water and sugar to a pan and place on a medium heat to dissolve.
Remove the stems from the figs and cut into quarters. Add to the sugar mixture along with lemon zest, cinnamon stick, and lemon juice. Bring the mix to a light simmer and leave the pan uncovered. Cook for about 1 hour or until the mix thickens. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

The spicy corn relish is from stonewall kitchen. I buy this stuff by the case -- it’s that good.

apple pie ice cream

Sometimes it really blows my mind that some people prefer smooth ice cream to chunky. I am not one of those people. I am one of those people that will order the ice cream filled with lots of stuff. (I think I've mentioned this before). When at the local ice cream stand I am that person scanning all the hand painted boards depicting all the flavors for the one that blatantly says "LOTS O' STUFF IN THIS FLAVOR" ice cream. My reasoning, (in case you care) is if you're going to have fattening ice cream (still fattening if it's smooth too) then why not go all out and have it with stuff in it. AND, (yes there's a part two), who doesn't love a little bit of extra texture and flavor with their ice cream base? Layers of flavor right? I know I need a little excitement in my 'there's gonna be junk in your trunk if you eat this ice cream so why not go all out'.
Latest creation of ice cream is an apple pie ice cream. Chunks of apple cooked in brown sugar then added to an ice cream base along with giant chunks of buttery cinnamon pie crust. Was it good? Yes, it was really good, really rich and flavorful so one would only need a little bit to satisfy an ice cream craving.

apple pie ice cream
by vanillasugarblog.com
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vanilla bean ice cream base
by david lebowitz (the ice cream master)

1 cup whole milk
A pinch of salt
3/4 cups sugar
1 vanilla bean
5 egg yolks
2 cups heavy cream
1 ts pure vanilla extract

Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a saucepan. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the milk with the tip of a paring knife. Add the bean pod to the milk.
Stir together the egg yolks in a bowl and gradually add some of the warmed milk, stirring constantly as you pour. Pour the warmed yolks back into the saucepan.
Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula. Strain the custard into the heavy cream. Rinse the vanilla bean and put it back into the custard and cream to continue steeping.

Chill thoroughly, then remove the vanilla bean and freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturers instructions. If you want to make the apple pie ice cream, this is where you would now add in the cooled sautéed apples and chunks of cinnamon pie crusts.

apple filling:
4-5 large Cortland or any other flavorful apples (I don’t recommend granny smith)
Fresh lemon juice
2 tb of butter
¼ or more of light brown sugar
Couple dashes of cinnamon

Peel and cut up apples into chunks. Toss apples with the fresh lemon juice in a ceramic bowl, set aside.
In a sauté pan melt the butter until bubbly (not brown), add in the brown sugar and let dissolve a bit, then add in the apples and let them cook down a bit—about 5 minutes while occasionally stirring. Recipe by dawn finicane. You don’t want to cook the apples thru, just soften them a bit. Cool completely before adding into ice cream

cinnamon pie crust chunks:
one (or two) pie dough recipe (use as much or as litle as you desire)
cinnamon-sugar

Take your favorite pie crust recipe and you can either bake this one of two ways. What I did was sprinkle the pie crust (generously) with cinnamon-sugar, then roll it up like a cigar. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough roll into ½ thick (or less) chunks. Place on greased baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees until light brown and crispy. The second way is to not roll the pie dough, but sprinkle the dough with cinnamon-sugar and just bake in a pie plate or cookie sheet as you normally would any pie. Recipe by dawn finicane. Once the pie crust is light golden brown and done, let cool and break apart into chunks. Let the cooked chunks of pie crust cool completely before adding to ice cream base.

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levain bakery cc cookie

Can I share a food obsession with you? Have you heard of Levain Bakery in NYC? To me, they have some of the best cc cookies. They are thick, really thick cookies loaded with chocolate chips and walnuts. A couple years ago I tried to clone their chocolate chip cookies, thought I was pretty close and then closed the book on it. Until now when I tried to clone them again, this time using a different type of butter: European butter. I think I am a tad bit closer to perfecting a clone-like version of this infamous chocolate chip cookie. The European butter did make the cookie taste far better. European butters have a higher butterfat content--so naturally anything with a higher butterfat is good for baking.

What do these taste like? First off, they are huge, can't tell from the photo, but they are about 4-5 inches across and 2 inches thick; they are like a shortbread, but moister cookie dough, a tiny bit dry, very buttery tasting, nice crispy outside, and with the addition of the European butter now it's not so dry.

Also made them into bar shapes (using a pan), then did a step further by dipping them in dark chocolate.
Seriously, it was that good, one could just open a bakery and JUST sell those choco-dipped bars.

levain bakery cc cookie (clone)
inspired from Levain Bakery NYC & CookieMadness.net
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8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted European butter, (cold & shredded like cheese)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 ts vanilla extract
3 cups all purpose flour (13 ½ oz)
3/4 ts sea salt
1 and ¼ ts baking powder
1/2 ts baking soda
12 ounces (2 cups) good quality semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts

If using dough right away, preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
(It’s best to chill, though; I chilled overnight (note: keep in mind this is a very dry dough, and will be hard to mix once you put the chips and nuts in; I used my hands Take the butter and using a cheese grater, shred the butter into a bowl, put it back in the freezer until ready to use.

In a mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and both sugars just until just combined.
Don’t overbeat. Add the egg and vanilla and beat just until incorporated.
Stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
When thoroughly mixed, add to batter and stir just until blended.
Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.
Divide dough into 12 big 4 oz lumps.
Mold into giant golfballs; do not press flat!
Keep them as balls on the cookie sheets. Bake on ungreased cookies sheets (one sheet at a time). (I chilled my dough balls for 20 minutes BEFORE baking).

Bake times (how I’ve done it the past few times; pick one if you dare):
Put the cookies in a 375 degree oven and set timer for 8 minutes.
When timer rings, without opening oven or removing cookies, reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake for another 8-10 minutes or until cookies appear set.
OR I did mine at 365 degrees for 18-22 minutes or until done. (Mine were done in 18 minutes) Makes 12 (mine made 13)

sushi bowl

Let's just call it delish bowl. I've seen these before on Tastespotting and thought how wonderful and colorful. What a way to brighten up the senses with all these colors beaming in front of you. I do eat a lot of sushi here and am not the greatest at creating that perfect roll. So I found this much easier. Plus you can add whatever you fancy, no matter the size. Right now I'm going through an avocado craving--so far lasting now into two weeks, and as I type this I want to make another sushi bowl with fresh uni. Oh that sounds so good. Finding fresh uni on cape cod is hard, you wouldn't think so since cape cod is on the ocean. But it is. The last place I had really fresh and tasty uni was in NYC. What would you add to your sushi bowl? I love to hear what type of sushi others love-I'm always up for trying new sushi.

How to assemble this sushi bowl?

sticky rice studded with toasted seseame seeds
sliced avocados
finely shredded carrots
raw salmon (or hamachi, uni mmm uni!)
pickled ginger (I ate way more ginger that what is shown)
wasabi
(not pictured soy sauce and chopsticks)
feel free to add whatever you fancy

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banana cheesecake w/ caramel-rum sauce

Have I told you my love affair with banana cheesecake? I swear I must have at some point in this blogging life. I adore the banana cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory, but sadly they are located far away from me. I've had it on my list for forever to create my own banana cheesecake to indulge in. And finally I've started that process; I think I've found the perfect recipe. I'm still kind of testing and experimenting, but this one is pretty darn good. And I just had to share it with you. My blogging friend at Chez What made a banana cheesecake and shared the recipe with me. I took his advice of using the lemon on the banana, but didn't take his advice on the sheddred wheat for a crust, but trust me I will next round.

I loved the addition of the caramel-rum sauce, but completely forgot the fresh whipped cream. If you do make this, please add on a large dollop of fresh whipped cream. The Cheesecake Factory does it, and it totally adds to the dish.

This cheesecake was so good, I had to give it away ASAP because I would eat the whole thing in one sitting. That crust, man that crust was amazing. Next time I might prebake the crust a bit to get it super-crunchy. This is a cheesecake I know Emeril Lagasse would be proud of, and that makes me happy happy. Emeril if you ever do read this--I will bake one for you and deliver it right to you or you can come to my house.

Can we get a close up of the crust?

banana cheesecake with caramel-rum sauce
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cheesecake filling:
1 1/2 lb. (24 oz) cream cheese softened
¾ cup white sugar
3 eggs
4 mashed bananas, really ripe!
2 ts. good quality vanilla
1 ts. fresh lemon juice for the bananas

crust ingredients:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 TB dark brown sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, melted, cooled a bit
(I put a pinch of salt in the crust)


for the crust:
preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan.
To make the crust, mix the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, salt and butter in a bowl until well combined. Firmly pat the crust into the bottom of the prepared pan. Use a glass to press in the edges—it really helps. I like to make some of the crust go up the sides, up to you of course. Then bake in the preheated oven about 10 minutes or until "almost" golden brown.

for the cheesecake:
Preheat the oven to 320˚F. (I found this was the right temp for me. I’ve heard of turning oven to 350 degrees and baking for 5 minutes then down to 310 for remaining 50-55 minutes. You really have to find what works best for you and your oven temps).

Mash ripes bananas well and sprinkle just a little bit of lemon juice, not too much about 1 ts, set aside.
In a mixing bowl or mixer, combine cream cheese and sugar; beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Then add in the bananas and vanilla extract; mix well.
Pour into the crust. Bake for 1 hour. Or until the middle is not jiggly anymore.
Let cool in the oven for 1 – 2 hours. Do not open the oven door until cool. You must chill this in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours before serving. That amount of time was perfect for me.

caramel-rum sauce

1 cup sugar
6 TB unsalted butter, room temp
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, room temp (important!)
pinch of salt, optional
a splash of rum or dark rum, optional (room temp)

Cook notes: Please use a thick, sturdy pot for making caramel as you want even heat distribution and don't want your sugar to burn. And it is best to use a pan with high sides as the caramel mixture will bubble up. Please make sure your heavy cream is room temp and not cold. The cold will make the caramel not set up right.

Heat sugar on medium to medium-high heat in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. As the sugar begins to color and melt a bit, go ahead and stir it with spatula or wooden spoon. You want the sugar to come to a boil. Once it started boiling I stopped stirring.
Once all the sugar has melted and you have a dark amber color, this is the time to add the butter. Stir until butter melted, take off the heat, then add in the the heavy cream, very slowly. It will make a lot of noise and bubble up. Once added whisk/stir a lot! Keep stirring until smooth, add in your splash or two of dark rum (optional) and this is when you add in a tiny pinch of salt (optional). Keep stirring. Once smooth, let the sauce sit in pan for a while. If using straight away go ahead and do so, if storing let it cool a bit more before storing in glass jar. Make sure it's completely cool before placing in glass jar and storing in fridge.

banana-espresso crumb cake

Another crumb cake? Absolutely. When you go crumb cake you go big baby! I am on a crumb cake mission: to make as many flavor combos as I can. I love a good crumb cake. Yeah yeah I know I say it all the time, but a good crumb cake should have the following: moist cake, crunchy & thick crumbs with a hint of salt, and a higher or equal ratio of crumbs to cake. Right? Good.
So this inspiration comes from Baked. Inside that little jewel of a cookbook is a banana-espresso muffin recipe that is to die for. I took that recipe and turned it into a crumb cake. I did a bunch of tweaking and think I've found the right balance. And instead of using espresso, I used those little Starbuck Via's. I love those little guys. Have you tried them? They truly taste just like espresso, no bitterness at all. My only complaint is I wish they would come down on the price a bit for those of us that buy them in mass quantities.
This crumb cake was fabulous. I did not keep it in the house at all, I gave it away and fast. The original recipe for the banana-espresso muffins are just as fabulous too.
Note: the crumb topping makes A LOT of crumbs. Now I know my foodie friends love it that way, but I'm just warning ya. It's all good--all good.

banana-espresso crumb cake
fron vanillasugarblog.com
inspiration from Baked
print recipe

1 and ½ cups mashed, very ripe bananas (about 4)
¼ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
¼ cup half & half
1 large egg
1 and ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 and ½ packets of Starbucks Via
1 and ½ ts baking soda
1 ts sea salt
¾ cup bittersweet chocolate chips (I swear by Ghiradelli)
crumb topping (see below)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Spray a 8 ½ x 8 ½ pan (or a 9 x 9) with nonstick cooking spray. In a medium bowl, stir together the bananas, sugars, butter, half & half, and egg.
In another medium bowl, whisk together the flour, instant espresso powder, baking soda and salt.
Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients.
Pour the wet ingredients into the well and stir just until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Pour mixture into pan, then top with crumbs (see below).
Recipe by Dawn Finicane of vanillakitchen.blogspot.com Bake in the center of the oven for 35 - 45 minutes, depending on your oven. Watch them at the 35 minute mark; turn pan around midway through baking. Will be done when a toothpick inserted in the center of cake comes out clean. Let cool for 15-20 minutes before slicing in. If it’s hard to cut them, just stick it in the fridge to harden up.

crumb topping
1 and ½ cups flour
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 ts coarse salt
1 ts ground cinnamon
1 stick unsalted butter, melted & cooled
Confectioners' sugar for dusting, optional

In a medium bowl combine all dry ingredients, pour melted butter over and toss with a rubber spatula until large crumbs form. Sprinkle crumbs over batter.

raspberry buttermilk crumb cake w/ lemon crumbles

Good crumb cake, I mean good crumb cake with those crispy edges, warm moist center, a light fruit filling, and sweet GIANT crumb topping-- make that double thick crumb topping. Are you feeling me? Are you feeling the love? Good. Because you so need to make this. Are you a fan of the whole buttermilk-raspberry-lemon? Awesome. Then do me a favor? Make this. Why is this crumb cake so good? Well, I made it, hello. No, just kidding. It's so good because I put the lemon zest in the crumbles not the cake batter. So the lemon zest mixed with salt, butter and the brown sugar equals flavorlicious.
Note: I think you all know I am a crumb-freak, like my crumb cakes with a lot of crumb topping. So I made 1 and a half batches of the crumb topping and used it all.

raspberry buttermilk crumb cake w/ lemon crumbles
print recipe (recipe from vanillasugarblog.com)

cake:
2 cups AP flour
1 ts baking powder
1 ts baking soda
½ ts sea salt
1 stick unsalted butter, very soft/room temp
1 & ¼ cup granulated sugar
2 TB fresh lemon zest
1 large egg & 1 egg yolk
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup fresh raspberries

lemon crumbles:
1 cup AP flour
1 cup packed light brown sugar
½ ts sea salt
2 TB (or more if you're daring) fresh lemon zest
1 stick unsalted butter, melted & cooled

Preheat your oven to 350°F and place the rack in the middle.
Make the lemon crumb topping by melting the butter, letting it cool. In a bowl mix the flour, brown sugar, salt, lemon zest and add the cooled butter to it and stir well. Set aside till ready. Butter and flour a 9" round springform pan.
In small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Cream (with mixer or by hand) the butter, sugar until pale yellow and fluffy; add the zest, eggs, and beat well for an additional 2-3 minutes.
In batches, add the flour, alternating with the buttermilk until all is combined.

Pour your batter into the baking pan and use a spatula to smooth. Don't fill pan with batter, only fill about 1/4 full. Top batter with the raspberries, Don’t push the rasp down into the batter; the berries will sink in during baking. Now top the cake with the lemon crumb mix; use large clumps and disperse evenly.
Note: there will be extra batter and possibly crumbs leftover. I made an smaller cake with the leftovers.
Bake for approximately 30 - 35 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean and the top is golden brown.
Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 10-15 minutes, before releasing the sides of the spring form and sliding off bottom to transfer to a cooling rack (with the berry/sugar side up).
Let cool completely before serving.

buffalo chicken chili

So the last few weeks have been crazy busy for me not to say stressful. After having just left a horrible rental that had a horrible kitchen I was finally ready to start cooking in my new kitchen in my new home. Then BAM, the flu hits me like a Mac truck. Literally a week after getting settled into my new home I get the stomach flu, then I get the flu. And now, as I type this I am still sick, not as sick as before, but better. I've never been this sick before for this long. Whatever bug it was called it was morphing from stomach flu to flu flu to 'I-feel-better-now-oh-wait-no-you're-not-better-flu'. Strangest flu I've ever had. I thought it was the swine flu too, but it wasn't. It was so hard to just stay in bed and do nothing, I love to keep busy. And have you ever watched daytime TV? Awful. Thank goodness for Food Network. Did you know that Barefoot Contessa is on two times during the day? Yeah, so everyday, the highlight of my day was watching Ina at 1pm then again at 4pm. I just love when she says "isn't that fabulous?" I always say "oh heavens yes!".
It feels like it has been decades since I've baked or cooked anything. I've been eating a lot of toast, ginger ale, live active cultures, chopped ginger, saltines, and other granny-foods. I just want some damn chili already--I need hot chili to open up my sinuses!! Not really having the strength or patience for 'from scratch foods', I made a quick 'everything-in-the-cupboards-must-go chili'. Yeah, I know, it's really not from scratch. Shame! I know I know. It really was good though and I have valid excuses. So if ever there is a night or two when you are strapped for time, really don't want to cook because you are recovering from the flu and are craving buffalo chicken chili, well have I got just the perfect recipe for you!

Note: while having the flu I am walking, talking and breathing, but I still have the memory of a tsetse fly, so I think I got all the ingredients down, maybe not.

buffalo chicken chili w/ blue cheese drizzle
print recipe

Chili:
3-4 chicken breasts
Salt, pepper, and olive oil (rubbing on chicken to roast)
1 large red onion, diced
3-5 cloves garlic, crushed (I can't remember how much, enough to kill a cold)
½ finely chopped carrots
A couple tablespoons chili powder
1 TB ground cumin
2 jars of Newmans Own Garden Salsa (might need a bit more)
½ cup spicy bbq sauce
Couple big squirts of ketchup (fancy eh?)
1/4 cup or so of Coca Cola
Some chipotle peppers, diced
1-2 TB honey
1 cup black beans
1 cup red kidney beans
Some fresh lime juice
(add whatever you want, it's chili, it's easy & laidback)

Creamy blue cheese topping:
½ cup or so of creme fraiche (or sour cream)
¼ - ½ cup blue cheese dressing
Chopped fresh chives

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rub chicken breasts with olive oil and season with salt & pepper. Bake in oven until done, about 25 – 30 minutes. Let cool, then chop into chunks, set aside.
In a large pot, pour in some olive oil, then heat up the red onions, carrots, whatever else veggie you want to use up. Sautee them a bit, then add in the garlic, the chili powder, cumin, chipotle peppers, Mix a bit, then add in the salsa, bbq sauce, ketchup, Coke, honey, all the beans, and the chopped cooked chicken. Heat mixture through and taste-test; see what else it needs. I added in some lime juice, salt & pepper, and some fresh lime juice.
If you want the blue cheese topping, just mix all the ingredients and let chill in fridge a bit before using. Serve with buttered toast or corn chips. Taste even better the next day.

chocolate mousse on puff pastry w/ raspberries

Are you guilty, like me, of eating puff pastry plain? Taking strips of puff pastry rolling them in sugar and cinnamon or making them savory by sprinkling them with cheese baking till a perfect crisp and then devouring? I have all intentions of making something grand with my puff pastry (and it's not cheap to buy either), but then there are some days where I just want to make it simply for the sake of eating it for that "buttery crunch".

This time I made something fun out of the puff pastry.
Taking a perfect chocolate mousse, adding it to a baked crispy puff pastry, then drizzling it with some chocolate ganache and fresh raspberries.
Heavenly. Puff pastry and chocolate will always be a match made in heaven.
This is fairly easy to make too, the only downside is that it does not keep. Pretty much has to be eaten right away--no problem right? We all know puff pastry does not keep it's crunch after about four or so hours, maybe longer. But can I just say the crispy puff pastry teamed up with the chocolate mousse, the fresh raspberries and a int of chocolate ganache is just heavenly. I mean I know I always say this, but really all those flavors in one bite...oh baby! So good. See the photo below, two bites.
And should you not want to make chocolate mousse from scratch?
Use pudding!  So easy.



chocolate mousse on puff pastry w/ ganache & raspberries
print recipe

Chocolate mousse (from epicurious.com):
2 cups chilled heavy cream
4 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
7 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped

Cook Notes:
you might want to do the ganache first as it needs a bit of time to cool.
Don't have time to make the mousse? Use instant pudding in a pinch.

for the custard: Heat 3/4 cup cream in a 1-quart heavy saucepan until hot. Whisk together yolks, sugar, and a pinch of salt in a metal bowl until combined well, then add hot cream in a slow stream, whisking until combined. Transfer mixture to saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until it registers 160°F on thermometer. Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and stir in vanilla.
Melt chocolate in a double boiler or a metal bowl set over a pan of simmering water (or in a glass bowl in a microwave at 50 percent power 3 to 5 minutes), stirring frequently.
Whisk custard into chocolate until smooth, then cool.
Beat remaining 1 1/4 cups cream in a bowl with an electric mixer until it just holds stiff peaks.
Whisk one fourth of cream into chocolate custard to lighten, then fold in remaining cream gently but thoroughly.
I then chilled my mousse in a glass bowl, covering the mousse with plastic wrap until ready to use.

puff pastry: Unroll the puff pastry and shape into whatever size you like. I did a long rectangle.
Bake according to package directions. Let cool a bit, and then fill with ready chocolate mousse.

chocolate ganache strips:
If you want to decorate the pastry with chocolate ganache strips then:

6 ounces 70% cacao bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
¼ cup heavy cream
2 TB unsalted butter, room temp

Melt the chopped chocolate with the heavy cream in a double-boiler. Make sure to stir occasionally until fully melted. Once melted, take off the heat and add in the butter bits. Make sure to whisk this up good. The better you whisk the glossier and smoother the ganache. I waited about an hour and a half for it to cool then poured it into a plastic bag to pipe onto chocolate pastry.
Just before the Ganache strips set up, decorate with raspberries.
Let set up about 15 minutes and sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar, optional.

thai noodle soup

Alright, it's time for winter to move along now. I'm tired of the snow, I'm tired of the cold. I need a second mortgage for my heating bill this year. Last year us New Englanders had a pretty rough winter and we all promised, rather comforted ourselves with the fact that we would be blessed with a warm, sunny spring and easy summer. Did that happen? No. We got a rainy cold spring and an even rainier (is this a word?) summer. So basically it feels as if we've been through one very lonnnnnnng double winter. I know the sales at our local tanning salons are up, way up. People are craving that heat and sun, myself included. My bones are just so cold this winter. Soups and tanning salons do help a lot to warm them up. So does a whirlpool tub, but I have to wait a while before I have the money to re-do my bathroom.
I stole this recipe from Kevin over at Closet Cooking. When I saw this I instantly knew it would warm up the bones. Plus this soup is filled with a a lot of healthy ingredients. Serve this baby hot and you will feel renewed! This is a terrific soup for cold ass freezing winter.
I made a few slight changes to the recipe.

thai chicken noodle soup
From closet cooking (makes 4-6 servings; served 3 in my house)

1/2 pound rice noodles
6 cups chicken stock (I used 5 cups)
1 pound chicken breast (cut into bit sized pieces)
1 carrot, sliced thinly on an angle (I used 2 carrots)
2 stalks lemongrass, peeled & chopped
2 kaffir lime leaves, thinly sliced (couldn’t find these)
2 birds eye chilies, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 thumb sized piece galangal or ginger, grated
1/2 pound baby bok choy, separated
4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, de-stemmed & sliced (I used 6 oz. as I LOVE these)
1/4 cup coconut milk (I used 1 cup)
2 tablespoons fish sauce (I used 3 TB)
1 lime, juice & zest
pepper to taste (I added salt too)
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2 green onions, sliced

Bring a pot of water to a boil and remove from heat.
Add the noodles, cover and let sit until cooked al dente, about 5-8 minutes.
Drain and rinse in cold water.
Meanwhile, bring the chicken stock to a boil in a large pot.
Add the chicken, carrots, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, chillies, garlic, galangal and simmer until cooked, about 5-8 minutes.
Add the bok choy, and shiitake mushrooms and simmer until the bok choy just wilts, about 1-2 minutes.
Reduce the heat and mix in the coconut milk, fish sauce, lime juice & zest, salt and pepper.
Taste and adjust the seasoning as required.
Remove from heat and mix in the noodles, cilantro and green onions

cheesecake brownies

Nothing fancy this time around, just some good old yummy kicked up brownies. I used the recipe from david lebovitz. Cream cheese with brownies, come on, it's way better than a plain old brownie. Never tried a brownie with cream cheese before, well I have, but it was awful. The cream cheese just melted away into the chocolate. Don't like that. If you're going to put cream cheese in a brownie mixture I am a firm believer you should see the cream cheese filling before, during, and after baking. Right? Good. So, that's why I tried Dave L's way--perfectly done, perfect pairing.

Note: If you want swirls, and just chunks of cream cheese, then swirl the cream cheese batter around more than I did. I love big globs of the stuff.

(remember when my oven died and I had to use my toaster oven? well, these brownies were made in my toaster oven. granted I have a convection toaster oven from cuisinart, but still they came out great nonetheless. toaster ovens are handy little gems aren't they?)

cheesecake brownies
from david lebovitz
print recipe

6 TB (85g) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4 ounces (115g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
2/3 cup (130g) sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup (70g) flour
1 TB unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 ts salt
1 ts vanilla extract
1/2 cup (80g) chocolate chips

cream cheese mixture:
8 ounces (200g) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk
5 TB (75g) sugar
1/8 ts vanilla extract
(I used a pinch of salt)

Line a 9-inch square pan with foil, making sure it goes up all four sides. Use two sheets if necessary. Mist with non-stick spray or grease lightly.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and beat in the 2/3 cup (130g) sugar, then the eggs.
Mix in the flour, cocoa powder and salt, then the vanilla and chocolate chips. Spread evenly in the prepared pan.
In a separate bowl, beat together the cream cheese, the yolk, 5 tablespoons (75g) of sugar, vanilla, and salt until smooth.
Distribute the cream cheese mixture in eight dollops across the top of the brownie mixture, then take a dull knife or spatula and swirl the cream cheese mixture with the chocolate batter.
Bake for 35 minutes, or until the batter in the center of the pan feels just set.
Let cool, then lift out the foil and peel it away. Cut the brownies into squares

greek nachos

So the superbowl is coming up. I'm not a big fan of football, but any event that gives me a reason to eat appetizer-based foods is a reason to celebrate. Right? And I'm hoping that Bravo TV will do us non-football fans a favor and run a couple Top Chef marathons? In my eyes, appetizer-type foods are really the best pig out foods, as long as there are a few to choose from. If you are looking for an easy appetizer to serve for a superbowl party, make sure to add this one to your list. It is very easy to assemble together and has incredible layers of flavors. These greek nachos I stole from my friend over at Macheesmo. (Originally they come from Mark Bittman). With these greek nachos, I pretty much followed the recipe, but used whole wheat pita instead and omitted the mint as I am not a fan of mint unless it's in ice cream form.
I also added in a few more spices to the meat and pita. The sauce for these nachos is OUTSTANDING. Oh heavens was it good. I had some leftover and used it on sammies, as a dip and with my hummus rollup. A very versatile sauce indeed.



Ideas for your superbowl party:

Don't forget those cheesy tater tots I made. You know I can't forget them.

Want to get a little funky and make some pineapple-bacon crackers?

How about some hummus with artichoke bread?

Or maybe some agedd cheddar & cranberry crackers? Savory indeed.

The one dish that would steal the show is my General Dawn's Tso Chicken. Can easily be served as an appetizer.

Do you want fries with that? Sweet potato fries w/ spicy caramelized onion-horsey sauce

Make mini curry chicken burgers w/ tzatziki sauce

Are you a slider fan? Try these tangy capicola & cheese sliders outstanding & very addicting! I warned you.



Greek Nachos
(adapted from mark bittman via Macheesmo)
print recipe

12-16 pitas, cut into eights. (I used whole wheat)
1 1/2 pounds ground lamb (I used ground beef)
1 ts cumin
(I used 1 oversized ts greek oregano)

Olive oil, about ¼ cup or so, for the coating on the chips
Salt & Pepper for chips
(I used some garlic & onion powder for chips)
(I sprinkled the chips, just before baking, with paprika)

Feta Sauce:
1 Container (17.6 ounces) Greek yogurt
1 to 1 1/2 Cups Feta Cheese
1 Lemon, juice and zest
3 TB fresh mint (did not use this)
2 TB olive oil

Toppings: (whatever your taste buds crave)
1 red pepper, diced
1/4 Cup sun-dried tomatoes, diced (I used regular tomatoes)
1/2 Cup feta, crumbled
1/4 Cup kalamata olives, diced
1/2 red onion, sliced
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
2 jalapenos, de-seeded and diced

Take a small bowl, fill with ¼ cup (or less) of olive oil, mix in some salt & pepper, and a few pinches of garlic & onions powders, mix well.
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Take your cut pita wedges and place on a baking sheet, make sure not to overlap them. Brush or drizzle the chips with a generous amount of the oil mixture. Just before baking sprinkle them all with a light coating of paprika. Bake until they begin to color, turning once or twice, about 10 minutes or less. When done you may or may not need to sprinkle with salt. Do a taste test and see. Keep the chips warm in the oven until ready to use.

In a blender or food processor, combine feta, yogurt, 1/4 cup olive oil, zest and juice of lemon; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Blend or process until smooth. (You can also mash mixture by hand, with a fork.)

Put two tablespoons of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and cook onions until soft, about 5 minutes. Add beef, cumin, Greek oregano, and sprinkle with salt and pepper; continue cooking until meat is cooked through, about 5 to 10 minutes more.
Put chips on a serving plate and top with beef mixture, sauce, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, and whatever else you desire. I highly recommend using the olives, red onions, and cukes. Should serve four.

gingerbread cookies

Just a quick post to thank everyone who sent me well wishes with the move to my new home. I am finally in and have left the money pit behind. Good riddance right? I have a normal house now; one with a working newer stove, a working newer fridge, heat, concrete foundation, etc... Goodbye to the days of ocean water in the basement, families of racoons living in the attic, crappy landlords, fridges in the living room, oh I could go on and on. Right now as I type this I have mountains of boxes to unpack, a kitchen that is partially together, not to mention lots of stress. But everyone tells me the stress will decrease as the days pass--I hope.
Obviously I'm not doing any baking, but thought I'd share a post with you from the days when I had a working oven...way before Thanksgiving. Here is a recipe and photo from my archives (I need to weed through the archives more as I have a lot of stored up recipes and photos).
I'll try my best to keep up with posting and replies on all your blogs--I miss you guys dearly. And miss all your blog posts.

As for these cookies, they are the perfect gingerbread cookies, you will never need another recipe. It hails from the folks at America's Test Kitchen. You can make them flat or thick. And trust me when I say, it has the perfect balance of flavors; nothing too strong nor too weak.

Chewy Gingerbread Cookies
from Baking Illustrated
print recipe

3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons softened unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons milk

In a food processor, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. Process about 10 seconds until combined.
Scatter the butter pieces over the dry mixture and process again until the mixture is fine and sandy, about 15 seconds.
With the machine still on, slowly pour in the molasses and milk and process until the dough forms a soft moist mass, about 10 seconds. It will be VERY soft and sticky. (This dough can also be made in a stand mixer).
Divide the dough into roughly two portions. Place one portion between two sheets of parchment paper, and roll out to about 1/4" thick. Repeat with the other portion of dough.
Leaving the dough between sheets of parchment, stack on a baking sheet and freeze until firm, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Take one of the dough sheets from the freezer and peel off the top parchment sheet, then replace. Flip the dough over and remove the other parchment sheet.
Use desired cutters to cut shapes out of the dough, and transfer to the baking sheets with a metal spatula. The scraps may be gathered and rerolled to be cut into more shapes.
Bake cookies until they just slightly give in the middle when pressed, about 8 to 11 minutes, rotating sheets halfway. Do not overbake or they will became hard crispy gingerbread.
Let cool on sheets for a couple of minutes, then remove and finish cooling on wire racks. Makes about 30 cookies

general 'dawn' tso's chicken

Finding a decent Chinese take away where I live is like looking for a needle in a haystack. It cannot be done. To get good Chinese I have to go to Baaahston into Chinatown for the real stuff. And for good Italian I go to the North End. Do I go into Boston a lot? Hell no. I'm lucky if I cross the bridge to leave the island. So that leaves me with recreating some of my favorite Chinese dishes at home. If any of you are General Tso chicken lovers then have I got the perfect dish for you. This was so so so so good. I'm a fussy eater of my own cooking creations, I have to have perfection or I will not eat it. I scarfed this one down. It was way better than PF Chang's--and that's saying a lot from me. Sorry PF Chang's, I still love you and will still come for the shrimp with candied walnuts & melons.

general dawn’s spicy tso chicken
by Dawn
print recipe

Vegetable oil, for deep frying
4 boneless chicken breasts (you can use dark meat)
3 eggs
2 ts cayenne pepper
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup plus 2 TB cornstarch
1 – 1 ½ cups of panko crumbs

Sauce:
1 large orange, zested
1 ¼ cups orange juice (with pulp is best)
½ cup dark brown sugar
3-4 TB plum sauce
1 stick of unsalted butter
2 ts hot pepper flakes
2 TB Worcestershire sauce
1 – 2 TB cornstarch

1 red bell pepper, cut into small strips
¼ - ½ cup of sweet & spicy pecans (I found at Trader Joe’s)

In a large heavy-bottomed pot, use about one bottle of veggie oil or enough oil to cover your pot about 1/3 of the way full. Heat pot over medium heat until oil reaches 350 degrees F.
Cut chicken into 2 or 3-inch pieces.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, cayenne, salt & black pepper, set aside.
In another large bowl mix the flour, cornstarch and salt & pepper, set aside.
In a medium bowl put the panko crumbs in.
Dip the chicken in batches, first in egg mixture, then in the flour mixture and shake to coat. Then coat in the panko crumbs, making sure to push down and get them nice and coated. Line them up on a tray to get ready for frying. It’s best to let them sit for a few minutes to absorb all the dry coatings.
To prepare sauce use a large sauté pan, melt 6 TB of the butter, then add in the orange zest, orange juice, dark brown sugar, hot pepper flakes and Worcestershire sauce. Stir, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and add in the 3-4 TB of plum sauce, bring to a boil again and sprinkle on the cornstarch (use your hands or a sifter to avoid any cornstarch clumps). Stir well, let cornstarch dissolve, taste as you go, it might need a pinch or two of salt. Let simmer a bit till thickened—maybe 10 minutes? Add the last 2 TB of butter, stir until melted.
Carefully place chicken in hot oil and fry in small batches until golden and crispy; should take about 5 - 8 minutes. Transfer cooked chicken to paper towels to dry a bit. (this recipe belongs to dawn finicane)
Add the cooked chicken to the sauté pan with the sauce and toss until evenly coated. Then add in the red pepper strips and pecans, toss again and serve with white sticky rice.