Archive for the ‘Recipes’ Category
Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes
Sunday, June 13th, 2010
I love my friends’ birthdays. Something about the excuse to spoil the crap out of my friends in embarrassing public displays of affection fills me with a joy I can’t explain. Now, it doesn’t stop me from being outwardly loud and obnoxiously loving on a regular basis, which most of my friends avoid me during these times, but then there’s one who reciprocates my affection. Meet Jay.
Jay is one of my roommates and he is my lovely lady killer. Yesterday, he turned 25, and I knew I wanted to make him something extra special. Step in Car Bomb Cupcakes. Now, I’ve never had an Irish car bomb, but they are traditionally a half a pint of Guinness, then a half an ounce of whiskey with half an ounce of Bailey’s, dropped in and then chugged. I’m not sure why someone would want to drink this, but the flavors sounded like a delicious combination for a cupcake!
I used Double Chocolate Stout instead of Guinness. The alcohol is burned off in one of the beginning steps of this, also, you can opt out of the whiskey in the middle and replace the Bailey’s with cream or half and half. Also, instead of doubling the recipe, i just made two batches but only one and a half times the filling and frosting.
Chocolate Whiskey and Beer Cupcakes
from smitten kitchen. (I’m not one to directly take from the site, but Deb puts the instructions in such a precise way I found it hard to reword, so not all the words are mine, but I followed them and all the pictures and fat calories from eating a dozen cupcakes ARE mine.)
Makes 20 to 24 cupcakes (but I got 30!?)
For the Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes
1 cup stout (such as Guinness)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
Ganache Filling
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 to 2 teaspoons Irish whiskey (optional)
Baileys Frosting
3 to 4 cups confections sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temp
3 to 4 tablespoons Baileys (or milk, or heavy cream, or a combination thereof)
1/4 tsp of mint extract
1 tsp of the ganache
Special equipment: 1-inch round cookie cutter or an apple corer and a piping bag (though a plastic bag with the corner snipped off will also work)
Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pan.
In a medium sauce pan, bring butter and stout to a simmer over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until smooth. Set aside to cool. Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl until blended well.
Beat eggs and sour cream together in an electric mixer until lighter in color, add chocolate mix, and beat slowly until mixed. Gently fold in dry ingredient mix until combined. Fill cupcakes about 3/4 of the way. Bake for about 17-18 minutes until tester comes out clean– rotate once. Cool completely before removing the centers.
Make the filling: Chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then stir until smooth. (If this has not sufficiently melted the chocolate, you can return it to a double-boiler to gently melt what remains. 20 seconds in the microwave, watching carefully, will also work.) Add the butter and whiskey (if you’re using it) and stir until combined.
Fill the cupcakes: Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped (the fridge will speed this along but you must stir it every 10 minutes). Meanwhile, using your 1-inch round cookie cutter or an apple corer, cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes. You want to go most of the way down the cupcake only about 2/3 of the way. A slim spoon or grapefruit knife will help you get the center out. Those are your “tasters”. Put the ganache into a piping bag with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.
Make the frosting: Whip the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, for several minutes. You want to get it very light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, a few tablespoons at a time.
When the frosting looks thick enough to spread, drizzle in the Baileys (or milk) and whip it until combined. If this has made the frosting too thin (it shouldn’t, but just in case) beat in another spoonful or two of powdered sugar. Ice and decorate the cupcakes.
Do ahead: You can bake the cupcakes a week or two in advance and store them, well wrapped, in the freezer. You can also fill them before you freeze them. They also keep filled — or filled and frosted — in the fridge for a day. (Longer, they will start to get stale.)
Posted in Baking, Cupcakes, Recipes | 1 Comment »
Cayenne Chili Rubbed Chicken Tostada with Avocado Salsa
Wednesday, May 5th, 2010
Happy Cinqo de Mayo! You don’t have to read my blog and/or twitter much to know, I eat a lot of Mexican food. I don’t know when it started, but I’ve always had a craving for some refried beans, a little cheese, and red onions. When I went to Colorado Springs over the weekend, I was at one of my favorite taco stands every other day, munching on delicious flour tortillas. Now, I’m back at home, thinking up food concoctions.
When I make food, I have an easily distracted mind. I generally need to have a few notes scribbled down to keep me going, especially on Post-Its. I love Post-Its and i have a pretty nice system:
Though this is an easy recipe, it has a few elements, so it might seems a little complicated. The good part is each element can easily be paired with other food to make a completely different Mexican meal.
Chicken Tostada Ingredients:
Developed from Martha Stewart’s Simply Recipes
(serves two – takes about twenty minutes)
Four small flour tortillas
Refried beans
Cayenne Chili Rubbed Chicken
Avacado Salsa
Refried Beans
One clove of garlic, minced
One can of black or pinto beans, drained
Two teaspoons of chili powder
One teaspoon of cumin
A few pinches of salt and pepper
Half a red onion, chopped
Start by making the refried beans. Melt a couple tablespoons of butter in a saucepan. Add garlic and heat for about a minute. Add the beans. Stir and smash the beans. Let cook for a few minutes then give another stir and keep smashing. Continue until desired consistency and add seasoning and red onion. After about ten minutes, lower heat until ready to serve.
Cayenne Chili Rubbed Chicken
One chicken breast (about three ounces)
Two teaspoons of chili powder
One teaspoon of cayenne (if you want spicier go ahead)
Olive oil
Rub chicken down with the chili powder and cayenne. Heat pan and add olive oil. Add chicken. Cook for about three minutes on each side or until cooked all the way through, slightly blackened. Let rest for a couple minutes then slice.
Avacado Salsa
1/2 red onion, chopped
avacado, cut into medium sized chunks
2 T of lime
Combine lime and onion. At the last minute, fold in avocado. Serve.
Assembling the Tostada
Heat the flour tortillas about fifteen seconds on each side in a clean sauce pan. Put a layer of beans, another warm tortilla, then a layer of beans. Top with a few slices of chicken, some cheese and the avocado salsa.
Posted in Cooking, Recipes | 1 Comment »
Double Veg Sunday: Baked Kale Chips and Sauteed Swiss Chard
Sunday, April 25th, 2010
As you know, sometimes life just gets moving and doesn’t stop. I apologize for the lack of posts this week (I generally try to post at least twice a week.), but as delicious ingredients crop up in the market, it’s hard to stay out of the kitchen.
There’s not much more to say about how great just a little bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, and leafy vegetables can make a great snack. I’ll let the pictures do the talking on this post.
Baked Kale Chips
One bunch of kale
a Tablespoon or so of olive oil
a couple pinches of salt & pepper
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cut the kale into pieces. Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake for twenty minutes or a little longer to get nice and crispy. Serve!
Sauteed Swiss Chard
a bunch of swiss chard
a little olive oil
a pinch of salt and pepper
Cut the swiss chard in large pieces. Heat a medium saucepan over medium high. Add olive oil. then the root of the leaf. Sautee for a few minutes then add the leafier pieces. Cook until leaves are slightly wilted and serve.
Posted in Recipes | No Comments »
Roasted Butternut Squash Puree
Saturday, April 17th, 2010
Dear regular readers,
I am sorry. I know you must trust me in some capacity to talk to you about delicious recipes I find within a reasonable timeframe.
Well, I’ve been withholding. I’ve been withholding for quite some time.
Like since Thanksgiving withholding.
I’ve made this countless times and not once even thought, “Oh, my readers will love this.” for the simple reason that I eat it so fast. Not even an exaggeration.
This time, I finally caught myself before the eating. And this is my gift to you.
Love,
Christine “I Really Am Sorry”
Roasted Butternut Squash
(serves four | about fifteen minutes active time and an hour total)
2.5-3 pounds of butternut squash
2T of butter (or a couple glugs of olive oil if you want to go vegan)
2T of honey
1 tsp of pumpkin pie seasoning
a couple pinches of salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cut the squash in even sized chunks, about two inches. Cut up butter, drizzle honey, pumpkin pie seasoning, salt, and pepper, and toss with squash then place in a baking pan.
Bake until the squash is easily pierced with a fork (about an hour). Once soft, remove from oven and puree in small batches to prevent overflow in the food processor. Serve while warm.
Posted in Recipes | No Comments »
Pork Belly Tacos
Wednesday, April 14th, 2010
There are a couple tweets you may have noticed on Saturday.
First, I tweeted about a squirrel. A squirrel ate my garden. Many of my herbs and my peas were saved, but the spinach and lettuce– devoured by Jerk Squirrels. Looks like I will rely on local farmers to get some vegetables. Jerk. Squirrels. I’m not against wearing your fur (but only specifically yours.)
Then there was the other, odder tweet. I was on a mini-quest for pork belly. Though I’ve had plenty of bacon in my lifetime, I wasn’t very familiar with uncured bacon aka pork belly. Apparently it isn’t too popular with my meat guy, so it took a week since he had to look through his private stash. I love knowing the hands that raised the pigs, chicken, and beef I eat. When I went to pick up my pork belly, my meat guy was just setting up shop. He looked at me frantically and said, “This is usually $9.50 a pound, but if you go park my UHAUL, I’ll give it to you for $6.50.”
It was actually only a six passenger van and though I rarely drive, I managed to park it without drama.
I’m still upset about the squirrel but currently my belly is full of delicious pork belly which softens the blow of my anger.
Grab some roasted pork belly. I put about two pounds in the oven at 325 degrees for an hour plus with some salt and pepper a few days before hand. It was pre-sliced and the first night I made pork belly sliders. For the tacos, I warmed it up in a skillet with cumin, chili powder and pepper. I put some hot refried black beans– just cook a can of black beans (drained) on a very low burner with a tablespoon of butter, a couple tablespoons of water, cilantro, salt, pepper, cumin, and chili powder, crushing and stirring frequently for about twenty minutes. I added some shredded lettuce and tomatoes. Warm the tortilla in a hot pan for about ten seconds a side. Put all the ingredients in and serve! Nomnomnom!
Posted in Cooking, Pork, Recipes | 2 Comments »
Roasted Vegetables
Monday, April 12th, 2010
Dear Spring,
I love you. I really really do. I can’t get enough of being outside with you. I enjoy sitting out, sipping water in The Piazza. I like my friends who are coming out of hibernation. But look…
You’re killing me. The time I spend in the kitchen has fallen to very little. Bread baking is practically non existant and I can’t convince myself I want pizza enough to even fire up the mixer.
We’re going to work on this. You and I, Spring, because I think our relationship is worth it. I just want to know that when I’m rifiling for leftovers to take to work, you’re really killing me.
Love, Christine
This is my total cop out roasted vegetables recipe, but really it’s delicious, try it.
One large head of broccoli
One large head of cauliflower
Fifteen (give or take) brussel sprouts
Two tablespoons of olive oil
Two table spoons of honey
Salt and Pepper to taste.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut brussel sprouts in half. Cut broccoli and cauliflower to roughly the same size as the brussel sprouts.
Place in a pan that fits the vegetables (I used a 9×13). Drizzle olive oil and honey all over the vegetables then stir to coat well. Throw some salt and pepper on top.
Cook in oven for about 30-45 minutes (when all vegetables are tender.) Eat. Go outside and enjoy spring.
Posted in Recipes | 1 Comment »
Cashew-Crusted Chicken Pita
Wednesday, April 7th, 2010
Before we go on, I just have one thing to say. I am writing you this outside. I’m on our rusty patio furniture, outside and happy as a clam in shorts and short sleeves. Judge me for being mean all you want.
While you’re judging me for being mean, you might as well know that I also love chicken nuggets. Though I appreciate the beauty and taste of fried chicken, in reality, I would more often go for breaded chicken nuggets or patties, you know all the parts that naturally appear on a chicken. Sometimes I am so stuck in little kid mode, I can’t help but desire those little circles of goodness. The weird thing is, I’m not that into the fried stuff. Shove it in the oven and after twenty minutes or so, I am happily chomping.
Since I’m grown up now, I now know that those little nuggets are no good for me, but I didn’t want to leave it completely behind. Here’s my take on chicken nuggets, grown up and in a healthy, delicious sammich!
Cashew-Crusted Chicken Pita
(serves four | about twenty minutes prep and twenty minutes cooking time)
Cashew-Crusted Chicken
two chicken breast halves (I did mine in nuggets, but was much more time consuming)
1/2c flour
two large eggs
3/4c of roasted, unsalted cashews
1/2c of panko bread crumbs
1t of salt
1t of pepper
1 t of garlic powder
cooking spray
four pocketless pita/flatbread
1/2c of tahini hummus
olive oil
handful of spinach and cherry tomatoes per person
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and coat a 9 x 13 baking pan thoroughly with baking spray.
First, grind 1/2c of cashews very finely in a small food processor. Add panko and grind for 15-30 seconds.
Add the remaining 1/4 cup of cashews and pulse for 15 seconds (this will get a great cashew texture.)
Cut chicken breasts in half so there are four strips all together. In a shallow dish (like tupperware), combine flour, salt, pepper, and garlic. Mix well. In a second shallow dish, crack two eggs and beat well. In a third shallow dish (or a large freezer bag), dump the cashew/panko mix.
One by one, dip a strip (rhyme!) in the flour until well coated, then egg, then roll in the cashew/panko mix (if you choose to use the freezer bag, reserve all the strip to shake in the freezer bag at the end) then set in the baking pan. Once all strips are well coated, place in the oven for ten minutes, spray with cooking spray then flip and bake for another ten minutes.
About three minutes before the chicken is done, stick the four pieces of flatbread in the oven to warm up. Remove from oven, slather a layer of hummus, then the spinach and cherry tomatoes, add the chicken and drizzle a little olive oil with a pinch or two of salt and pepper.
EAT!
Posted in Chicken, Recipes | 2 Comments »
Pulled Pork without a Slow Cooker or Dutch Oven
Wednesday, April 7th, 2010
Though I could fill my house wall-to-wall with electronic devices, I think gadgets have no place in the kitchen. Before I purchase any item, I think about how many uses it has. Where it would live. How much it would cost to ship if I move. How often I would use it. My logical side has snubbed me of almost every device I’ve thought would be fun to have, leaving me with things like a kitchen scale, a mixer, and a mandoline. Though they both have passed most of my tests, I cannot ever get past the weight and bulkiness of a slow cooker and/or Dutch Oven. Seeing as I do live with three other people with a well outfitted kitchen, I could never justify owning either.
Spring is in full force now. My friends are on their allergy medications, and I just came in from my first meal outside. I sipped a great beer, ate some home cooked Mexican food (recipe coming soon), and watched ants crawl along the wall on my back patio. I was completely relaxed, because I knew it’s about that time when the temperature will drop at night and nothing will be as great as some pulled pork or brisket and me, without a slow cooker or dutch oven, will be able to cook it.
If you are cooking this ahead of time, I would suggest doing the initial cooking when you have time, refridgerate/freeze (just be sure to leave time for a slow thaw) and wait until about two hours before it’s needed to cook the meat in your choice of sauce.
Pulled Pork:
(serves a pound a person | takes overnight marinating, 4-7 hours cooking, but 10-15 minutes active time)
pork shoulder with plenty of fattiness (the white lines)
olive oil
1 clove of garlic per pound
1/2 onion chopped per pound
two healthy pinches of salt and pepper per pound
one cup of vegetable, pork, or chicken broth per pound
one cup of water per pound (may need more)
The night before cooking, smother the pork with salt and pepper (I use other spices depending on what I’m making. i.e. if iti’s going to be used for Mexican food, I use chili powder as well) and massage it well into the pork. Pour a generous glug of olive oil onto the first side, rub. Repeat for the other side. Place in a large freezer bag and keep in the fridge about eight-twelve hours before cooking.
On cooking day, fill a pot with garlic, onion, spices, broth and water. Stir well. Turn the burner on medium and add pork. Make sure the pork is well covered with water (if it has a lot of fat, it will float to the top and that’s fine.) Bring to a simmer for a couple minutes. Turn heat to low and cover. Cook for anywhere between 3-6 hours (depending on how big the shoulder is) until you are able to shred with two forks. Remove from the pot, empty the water. Shred meat with two forks.
At this point, either reserve the meat for future use or add sauce and cook on low covered for another hour, stirring occasionally. Taste, season, serve!
Keep this technique in mind as I have a handful of great recipes using pulled pork and brisket!
Posted in Pork, Recipes | 2 Comments »
Christine and Bread: A Love Story
Thursday, April 1st, 2010
During my detox, I woke up from a dream that entirely consisted of bread.
I was in my kitchen and a lovely two pound boule was set before me. Taking my trusty bread knife, I sliced the entire loaf into several thick pieces then set them carefully in my preheated oven. As they toasted to a slight brown, I unwrapped the gold package of butter and mixed it with chives, dill, and pepper. I removed the slices from the oven, now warm enough to melt butter and put them on a large plate. Then, I used both hands to shove the entire sliced up loaf in my mouth. Like a cartoon comic, crumbs flew from my mouth and scattered everywhere and I lapped them up.
It doesn’t surprise me I dreamed about bread. I was on day 17 of 18 on my detox which has kept me far from anything with gluten and if you read my twitter, I really missed bread the most (I’m sorry about the fact I can’t shut up about it.)
Enter my first trip to France. At 18, after high-tailing it out of high school a semester early, my best friend, her mother, and I hopped a plane to Europe to spend a month. I had my first French croissants and baguettes and knew I could never love American bread from the store again. In the mountains of Colorado, I searched for baguettes that were even remotely close and fell short. I thought and scoured but was too intimidated to try making a baguette.
Here I am, a longer time than I wished away from France and I’m still obsessed with finding delicious bread. There are bakeries I’ve purchased from, but nothing really compares. On my birthday in 2008, alone and away from my family, I decided to take the plunge and make my first loaf of bread all by myself:
The results were phenomenal. I made a fantastic BLT with it and though I was in and out of my affair with homemade bread for a few months, I’ve entered a union with it wholeheartedly. I would rather eat no bread than store bought bread.
I’m lucky though. While making a loaf a few weeks back with a friend, I noticed her looking cluelessly at the raw dough. I instructed her to, “knead it.” She grabbed an end and punched it a little. I took it over, showed her a few tricks and soon, she was kneading it with me. After a short rest, it was time for shaping. I said, “Just make a boule.” She looked at me confused. It was then I realized that because of my family tradition, I knew quite a bit more about bread baking than the average Jane.
So, I found two great bread recipes that are perfect for first time bakers. You don’t have to know what the gluten is doing or if the yeast is alive or not. It’s also a very simple recipe that is a great start to baking your own bread. Here’s a step-by-step guide you can bookmark and come back to, so you don’t have to re-read my ramblings.
Posted in Baking, Bread, Recipes | 2 Comments »
Noodle Party! Jap Chae! EXCLAMATION POINTS!
Monday, March 29th, 2010
You may notice I love a certain punctuation mark that many people avoid like the plague. Though I can drop a semicolon like it’s hot, my punctuation of choice is the ever so lovely exclamation point! I know it can grate on the nerves, but personally, I love it. When I read about passionate people in their art, I get disappointed if they stifle their excitement. I enjoy candor, casualty, creativity, and alliteration (threw you for a loop there, didn’t I?)! In person, I get just as excited and silly about things. I laugh loudly, I pretty much smile until my cheeks hurt, and I dance. Oh, I dance and I have so many dances… especially revolving food. So, when I read Steph’s “About” on Momofuku for 2, I could only ask her, “Do you have a noodle dance?” Just to check if I wasn’t the only one…
And I’m not. So Steph, Shao from Fried Wontons for You, and I decided to throw a little party to bring together other noodle lovers!
This time we played with dangmyeon noodles, made from sweet potato starch, and also referred to as “glass noodles.” At first they don’t look like much, but they’re slurpy and they wiggle once cooked. Taste wise, I’ve always found them neutral. They are perfect to adapt a dance around.
Also, I’m super excited, because this is the first time I’ll be posting a traditional, Korean recipe handed directly to me from my mother! See, I made the ever so traditional Korean dish: Jap Chae!
I love the Korean language, its simplicity is astounding. Jap Chae is translated to “a mixture of vegetables,” because Jap Chae origins come from super thin cut veggies and only evolved into the dish I’m sharing later. It’s a great, light dish packed full of nutrients. My mother actually serves this at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners since Jap Chae squeezes in a few power veggies like mushrooms, spinach, and carrots in an interesting way. Now I have a supply of dangmyeon noodles, I’m sure I’ll be using them when I make a “leftover stir fry” (when I grab everything I need to use soon and make gobs of stir fry or fried rice.)
Make sure you check out the other noodle party participants and watch out on twitter and this blog to see when the next noodle party you can participate in!
- Momofuku for 2
- Fried Wontons for You
- Noodle Fever
- Jeroxie
- Yumorama
- Lovely Lanvin (She did it on twitter! Follow here for her steps: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 )
Jap Chae
serves four as a whole meal, more as a multi-course | takes about twenty minutes prep (not including time to curse at your brand new mandoline) and ten minutes to cook.
two bales of glass noodles/dangmyeon
1T of cooking oil
2 tsp of sesame oil (separated)
1 small onion chopped
3 cloves of garlic
3 medium carrots, julienned (I used heirloom carrots that’s why they’re so many colors!)
about 1/2 c of mushrooms (I used two portabello mushrooms, you can also use dried mushrooms, just make sure you rehydrate them)
1/2 lb of fresh spinach
2 glugs of soy sauce
a few pinches of sugar (to taste.)
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Throw in the noodles and cook for about five minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water then toss one tsp of sesame oil in the noodles to prevent sticking. You can cut them into shorter pieces at this point (though I can hear my mom in the background, “Cutting noodles shortens your life!”*) then put to the side.
In a wok or large sautee pan, add cooking oil over high heat, swirl to coat. Once the oil is very hot, fry onions and carrots for about one minute (not much longer) then add garlic and mushrooms for about thirty seconds. Add spinach until just wilted then soy sauce, sugar, and noodles. Fry for about two to three minutes then remove from heat. You can toss sesame seeds in if you’d like. At this point, I let it cool and serve it cold, but you can also eat it warm.
* – this is not a death threat from my mother.
Tags: jap chae, noodle party
Posted in Korean, Noodles, Recipes | 15 Comments »
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About Me
Hi! My name is Christine. I'm pretty excited about all this baking and cooking going on in my kitchen lately and I want to share these adventures with you.
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