Almond Joy Ice Cream

Guys, I usually don't brag. Well, maybe I do about a few things- like my Beatles knowledge, or my encyclopedic TV theme song memory. But in the kitchen I am most definitely not a bragger. After years of blogging here and trying hundreds of recipes I'm just as slow with a knife as I was when I started. Recipes regularly take me longer than the estimated time. I regularly have recipes that just don't come out how I'm hoping. But, this time I'm gonna brag. And really, I don't have a right to because I didn't come up with this recipe myself, but every time I taste this dish I just can't believe it came out of my kitchen. Or, more aptly, my freezer. Sometime back I came across a recipe for Quick Coconut Ice Cream with Roasted Cherries and tweeted about wanting to make it. Now that warm weather is most definitely here in Texas it felt like the right time to pull out the ice cream maker and tick this one off the to-cook list. Cherries however are still rather costly right now. Instead I thought I'd go in the direction of one of my favorite candy bars, and I chose toasted almonds, toasted shredded coconut, and Ghiradelli 60% cacao chocolate chips. If you have an ice cream maker, and no aversion to the flavors of coconut, almonds, or chocolate then you need to make this ice cream NOW. In fact, I'm gonna have a bowl when I'm done with this post. It's the second batch I've made in as many weeks. I'm hard pressed to imagine ever making another flavor of ice cream again. But of course I will, because who doesn't want to eat lots of yummy ice cream? And I'll need lots of yummy ice cream to share on here!

Almond Joy Ice Cream
Adapted from The Kitchn; Makes 1.5 quarts

1 14 ounce can coconut milk
1 cup cream
1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
Pinch of salt
Sliced almonds
Shredded sweetened coconut
Ghiradelli 60% cacao chocolate chips, roughly chopped

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toast sliced almonds and shredded coconut for 5 minutes, tossing once or twice during.
  
• In a large bowl, whisk together the sweetened condensed milk and cream until very well blended. Add coconut milk and salt and mix until well blended again. Pour mixture into your ice cream maker and follow your machine's instructions to complete.
• Add your mix-ins according to the instructions of your ice cream maker.

My notes: I use slightly less than 1/4 cup of each mix-in. Once the almonds and coconut are toasted I transfer them to a bowl to cool. Once they're cool I add the chocolate and pop it in the fridge so that they'll be a little cool when I add them to the soft ice cream. Before making the ice cream I also pop the coconut milk and sweetened condensed milk into the fridge for awhile so that the ingredients are already cold when they go into the machine. These steps aren't absolutely necessary, just helps things come together. My machine's instructions say to mix your ice cream for 25-30 minutes. I typically run mine 25, and I add the mix-ins at the 20 minute mark. Your newly made ice cream should spend at least 2 hours in the freezer to firm up, longer if possible. And remember that homemade ice cream melts quickly since there aren't any preservatives in it!

10 Minute Fruit Tart

This weekend was, well, far from what I expect of a weekend. Very little relaxing and yet very little accomplished. Most of our time was committed to other people, with very little left to ourselves, most of which went to sleep. Saturday was my father-in-law's birthday and we'd made plans to have dinner at their place Sunday night. They asked us on Saturday to bring the fruit tart that he wanted for dessert. I said sure thing, and then promptly didn't concern myself with it again until Sunday morning. We had a very late night Saturday, so we slept in quite a bit. When I arose I popped open my netbook to check the weekly ads for our grocery errands. And then I realized that most of the stores were closed for Easter. I'm a genius. Now, not only can I not buy my regular groceries, but I can't find the fruit tart that my father-in-law requested for his birthday. Luckily there was a Kroger in our neighborhood that was open, but they of course didn't have any fruit tarts in their bakery. Now I was faced with having to come up with something on my own. Let's be honest here, this tart isn't anything amazing. I more or less pulled a Sandra Lee on this one, which I'm not very excited about. But, it came together quickly, easily, and everyone really enjoyed it. So, I figured why not share it? It's getting warmer, and with warmer weather comes more picnics and cookouts. Maybe you'll need a quick dessert, and maybe this will be it. I'm going to give you the rundown of what I did and how I did it to get this thing together in 10 minutes, not so much a recipe as a process I guess.

10 Minute Fruit Tart

1 9 inch prepared graham cracker crust
1 large box instant vanilla pudding
3 cups milk
1 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pint strawberries, sliced
1 pint blueberries
1 pint raspberries

• Put the bowl you'll use for making whipped cream in the fridge to chill. Put your milk in the freezer. Rinse and pick over your berries.
• Take your milk out of the freezer; put your cream in the freezer. Combine your pudding mix and cold milk and follow the pudding's instructions; mine said to beat for 2 minutes, let set for at least 5. Once done beating put the bowl of pudding in the refrigerator. Remove your empty bowl and whipping cream from the fridge and freezer.
• Beat the whipping cream on medium-high until soft peaks form. Sprinkle the sugar and vanilla over the cream, and beat again until soft peaks form, being careful not to over-whip.
• Put your whipped cream in the refrigerator. Slice your strawberries to your desired size. By now the pudding should be set. Spread pudding evenly into the pie crust. Top with your fruit, in whatever design you'd like.
• If you want to go the extra step, I used a piping bag to pipe some of my whipped cream on top. I had some fruit leftover, and obviously plenty of whipped cream, which we topped the plated slices with at dinner. You could also spread a layer of whipped cream on top of the pudding and then top with the fruit, or keep all the whipped cream for the side. Whatever tickles your fancy.

My notes: Popping my milk, cream, and bowls in the fridge and freezer just helped things come together a little more quickly. Especially since I started on this as soon as I returned from the store, so my dairy products had been out of the cooler for a little while by that point. Homemade whipped cream takes so little time to make and I think it adds at least a little something to a dessert that relies so much on shortcut goods.

A Peach of a Cheat- Rustic Peach Tart

Sorry for that short break! I've been doing better at keeping up with posting, but I was working on two papers last week and studying for my History midterm. Then Friday I came home with a sore throat that I assumed was from all the dust I was kicking up moving equipment. The chills and fever that followed behind on Saturday proved me wrong. I'm still under the weather so, along with my cold, my kitchen's caught a bit of a cold too. But I happened to have this recipe in my back pocket, and figured now as good a time as any to share it.

I made this recipe awhile back, and it was a great, quick treat. I had a busy day, but Josh had an even busier one helping his dad chop up a tree that fell in their yard. I figured a hard day's labor earned him something special, even if I was busy. This, like the very popular donut recipe, is an idea from Real Simple magazine. I have to say, I'm becoming a big fan of their "Fake It, Don't Make It" features. I know that taking short cuts might not be seen as the classiest thing all the time, but we live in a busy world, right? I know I do! Wife, job, school, housekeeping- I have a lot of hats to wear. So, taking an easier route sure can help sometimes. Anyway, this particular easy-does-it recipe was for a Rustic Peach Tart. I just happened to have almost everything I needed on hand, so after a slight adjustment I got to quick work. Josh really liked his sweet reward, it was especially good with vanilla ice cream on the side.

Rustic Peach Tart
Recipe from Real Simple; Makes 6 servings

1 refrigerated pie crust, half of a 15 oz. package
16 ounce package frozen peaches, thawed for 30 minutes
1 teaspoon cornstarch (optional)
4 tablespoons sugar
Zest from 1/2 lemon
1 egg, lightly beaten

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Lightly coat a baking sheet with vegetable cooking spray. Place the pie crust on the sheet. Place the peaches in the center of the crust. Sprinkle with the cornstarch (if using) and toss. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of the sugar and the zest. Fold the outer edge of the crust over the peach filling. Lightly brush the crust with egg and sprinkle with the remaining sugar.
• Bake until the crust is golden and the peaches are bubbling, about 35 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

My notes: I didn't have a lemon to zest, so instead I added a scant teaspoon of cinnamon to the sugar. I mixed it in with all 4 tablespoons so that there would be cinnamon-sugar in both the peaches and on the crust.

A Bit of a Healthier Bite- Whole Wheat Brownies

I noticed this recipe from the September 2010 issue of Everyday Food, tucked into the back of the magazine, and it also ended up tucked into the back of my mind. I don't know if it's been noticeable here, but I love to substitute whole wheat into recipes whenever I can. It's especially easy in pancakes or muffins, but can be a little more difficult with the sweeter baked treats. This time around the recipe did all the work for me, so no worrying about whether or not my substitution would turn out to be a big mistake. I have always been suspicious of baking recipes that include applesauce. I know a lot of people that swear by it as a healthy substitution, but every time I've eaten something baked with applesauce (other than an actual apple dessert) it has seemed noticeable and not all that pleasant. I took a chance anyway, and I'm glad that I did. These brownies are far from being health food, with the butter and of course all that chocolate. But if you're going to make a brownie, and would like to save a couple of calories or sneak in a smidge of fiber, then this is a good recipe to try out. These brownies came out pretty cake like for me, so if thick fudgy brownies are your thing I wouldn't recommend these. I however, am indiscriminate when it comes to brownies. Fudgy, cake, or anywhere in between- I like them all.

Whole Wheat Brownies
Recipe from Everyday Food; Makes 16

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan
1/2 cup all purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1/2 cup whole wheat flour, spooned and leveled
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 large egg
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8" square baking dish; line with parchment, leaving a 2" overhang on all sides. In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, cocoa, baking powder, salt and baking soda.
• In a large bowl, stir together sugar, applesauce, and egg. Place butter and 6 ounces chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over (not in) a pot of simmering water; stir until melted. Stir chocolate mixture into sugar mixture. Stir in flour mixture. Pour into pan and top with 2 ounces chocolate.
• Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 40 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack. Use parchment to lift cake from pan and cut into 16 squares. (Store in an airtight container, up to 5 days.)

My notes: I skipped the whole butter/parchment step and just sprayed my glass pan w/ some nonstick canola cooking spray. I cut my brownies and just popped out one for each of us. I'm storing them in the pan until I pack them up for Josh to take to work. Whole wheat or not, I don't need to eat them all! Also, I used my favorite WW flour, white whole wheat. It's a finer grain that regular whole wheat, so I find it works better for most baking substitutions.

Simple Pleasures- Raspberry Sorbet

The July issue of Martha Stewart Living arrived in my mail box last Thursday, and I finally worked my way to the back of the magazine by Sunday morning. Which is where I discovered this super simple recipe for Raspberry Sorbet. It is starting to get really hot here, it's definitely summer in Texas, so I thought this might be just the thing to make to help keep us cool. And this easy fruit based dessert seemed like just the right treat to try while I'm still trying to work off those few extra pounds I picked up while on bed-rest. So I gave it a shot Sunday evening and the results were delicious. Definitely going to be returning to this recipe again.

Raspberry Sorbet
Recipe from Martha Stewart Living; Serves 4


1/4 cup water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 12 ounce bag frozen raspberries

• Stir the water and sugar together until the sugar has dissolved.
• In a food processor, pulse the frozen raspberries until coarsely chopped. With the processor running, slowly add the sugar water and pulse until mixture is smooth.
• Transfer to an airtight container and freeze for at least 30 minutes. Serve.

My notes: My only complaint about how this came out was the seeds. There were so many seeds! This recipe was so easy though I'll definitely use it again. I am looking forward to trying it with other frozen fruits like peaches, mangoes, or pineapple. If I do raspberries again I may press some or all of the mixture through a sieve before placing in the freezer. But seeds aside, the taste was fabulous. A great treat for the summer heat.

Have a Happy July 4th- with Blueberry Crumb Bars

I wanted to quickly share this treat with everyone for the holiday weekend. If you're like a lot of people, and okay maybe like myself, you might be having a last minute look around for something to take to that picnic/barbecue/cookout/fireworks extravaganza that you've been invited to this Independence Day. Look no further. In fact, you don't really even have to stick around here if you don't want to, because this recipe originally comes courtesy of Deb at Smitten Kitchen. If you read that blog, then you have probably already made these. How could you not? Her pictures nearly endangered my laptop due to the excessive drooling that occurred on sight. And truth be told these things live up to their photographic image. This is in fact the third time I've made these bars and I'm just now sharing them with you. Can I help it if any thoughts other than eating them went out the window, resulting in no photographs being taken? This time around I made these to take with us to Concert In The Garden last weekend. You may recall that last year I made these Fresh Peach Drop Cookies. I was tempted to make those again, but since we were doing a Friday concert this year I needed something I could make the night before and have no doubt of it holding up well till the next evening. These bars fit the bill perfectly. So, if you're even still here reading this and not already over at Deb's page drooling, here's the recipe. Make these. For reals.

P.S.- Since these are made with fruit they make a completely acceptable breakfast with a cup of coffee. No arguing, they do.

Blueberry Crumb Bars
Recipe from Smitten Kitchen; Makes a 9 x 13 pan















1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cold butter (2 sticks), cubed
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
Zest and juice of one lemon
4 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 pan.
• In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, and baking powder. Mix in salt and lemon zest. Use a fork or a pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg. Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan.
• In another bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Gently mix in the berries. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berries.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

My notes: I have used both frozen and fresh blueberries for this recipe and both worked just fine. This time around I halved the recipe and used an 8 x 8 pan and fresh local berries. I think the fresh berries hold their shape a little bit better through the baking than the frozen, but that is completely unimportant as far as the flavor goes so feel free to use what you've got. Happy Fourth of July!

Coconut-Pineapple Loaf Cake

Well, things are still progressing slowly at the house but I had some good motivation to give my new kitchen a work out recently. I signed up to make a dinner for Josh's boss during her recovery from surgery and I of course wanted to go all out. You gotta impress the husband's boss, right? I wanted to make something that felt fresh and healthy to help cheer her up and help her on the road to wellness, and since I would be making the same meal for us I wanted to make sure it was something we love too. I know the family enjoys Mexican food, so I made a batch of my favorite guacamole, some cilantro-lime rice and a big pan of vegetable enchiladas. I decided I'd like to make something for dessert too and settled on this Everyday Food cake that I'd had on my to-bake list. We still don't have permanent internet at the house, so uploading pics is not something I can get around to yet. I was too busy cooking to take pics anyway. Photo via Martha Stewart.

Coconut-Pineapple Loaf Cake
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 10















1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 can (20 ounces) pineapple chunks in juice, drained well

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread coconut on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until lightly toasted, tossing occasionally, 6 to 10 minutes; set aside. Butter and flour a 9-by-5-inch (8-cup) loaf pan; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
• Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce speed to low, and alternately add flour mixture in three parts and sour cream in two, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix just until combined (do not overmix).
• Using a rubber spatula, fold pineapple and 1 cup coconut into batter. Spoon into prepared pan, and smooth top; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup coconut. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 65 to 70 minutes (cover pan with foil halfway through). Let cake cool in pan 15 minutes. Remove from pan, and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

My notes: I added 1 teaspoon of vanilla and used a can of pineapple "tidbits", which are smaller than chunks but larger than crushed. I think the slightly smaller pieces of pineapple made the loaf easier to cut. Also, I cooked my cake about 75 minutes after reading several reviews on Martha's website about undercooked results. This cake was really delicious and the flavors worked well together without anything being too dominant. I think I'll definitely make this again.

Playing Catch Up

So, it's not like I've been gone for a while. Oh wait, it is? Well, it's not like I completely overlooked all of the cooking I did during the holidays. What's that you say? That is exactly what I did? I see. Well, I have a feeling you'll forgive me. If you just make the recipe I'll be sharing with you now. I made this cookie, along with Espresso Double-Chocolate Chunk Cookies and Cheesecake Cookies, for my family's Thanksgiving gathering. I am most definitely not the first person to share this cookie recipe with you. It is the infamous chocolate chip cookie recipe that appeared in the New York Times. Molly has made it, Deb has made it, and the list could go on and on. The recipe, while not terribly hard, does require some effort and ingredients that I don't usually keep on hand. So, here's my somewhat dumbed-down version. Trust me when I tell you that these cookies, even in their remedial form, rock. And they aren't as overly fancy or fussy as the original recipe would suggest. My uncle gave me on of the best compliments I could probably receive- he said they tasted just like my grandmother had made them.

NYT Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe from David Leite in the NYT, Adapted by Moi














3 2/3 cups, minus 2 tablespoons, all purpose flour
1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons coarse salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1/2 stick salted butter, softened
1 ¼ cups light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ¼ pounds bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks, preferably about 60% cacao content, such as Ghiradelli

• Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Whisk well; then set aside.
• Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butters and sugars until very light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Reduce the mixer speed to low; then add dry ingredients, and mix until just combined. Add the chocolate chips, and mix briefly to incorporate. Press plastic wrap against the dough, and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. The dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.
• When you’re ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Remove the bowl of dough from the refrigerator, and allow it to soften slightly, about 30 minutes. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.
• Scoop about 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of dough onto the baking sheet, making sure to space them evenly. Bake until golden brown but still soft, 9 to 11 minutes. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies onto the rack to cool a bit more.

My notes: You can view the original recipe through either of the links I posted in the paragraph above, but this recipe is my adapted version. My changes include using all-purpose flour, a mixture of salted and unsalted butter, Ghiradelli chocolate chips, and baking smaller cookies. The original recipe calls for baking 1/3 cup of dough and makes about 24 cookies. I made mine smaller and got somewhere in the neighborhood of 4 dozen. I baked 2 dozen for Thanksgiving, a few more the next day, and I froze a big ball of dough for later. I baked that a few weeks ago and it made a dozen more. To freeze I double-wrapped the dough in plastic wrap and then put it in a large freezer bag. I thawed it overnight in the fridge and let it sit out for about 30 minutes again.

Peachy Keen: Fresh-Peach Drop Cookies

Last week as soon as Josh and I decided to go to the Concert in the Garden, I knew I had to find a great treat to take with us on our picnic outing. Something summery, something sweet, and most importantly something easy for hand-held eating. I thought I'd hit the jackpot when I found this recipe, and I was right. Josh used words like "heaven" and "gold" to describe these cookies. And he's not even very fond of peaches. I think that pretty much says it all, don't you?

Fresh-Peach Drop Cookies
Recipe from Martha Stewart Living; Makes appx. 4 dozen












2 cups all-purpose flour, plus 2 tablespoons
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large ripe peaches, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/3 cup peach jam or preserves
2 tablespoons fine sanding sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• Preheat oven to 375. Whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda.
• Beat butter and granulated sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add flour mixture, and beat until just combined. Add peaches and jam, and beat until just combined.
• Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment, spacing about 2 inches apart. (If not baking all of the cookies at once, refrigerate dough between batches; dough can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days.) Combine sanding sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle each cookie with 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon-sugar mixture.
• Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown and just set, 11 to 13 minutes. Let cool on sheets for 5 minutes, and then transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely.

My notes: Well, these cookies were pretty much exactly what I was hoping they would be- sort of like little, hand held peach cobbler bites. Can you believe this was the first time (that I can recall anyway) that I've bought peaches? These cookies could have used more fresh peach, but that could be my inexperience with the fruit. Perhaps I bought medium sized peaches, not large. I used regular sugar in the sprinkle topping, didn't see any sense in buying all new sugar just for a batch of cookies, ha. And upon typing up this recipe I realized that I didn't rotate the sheets, but that didn't make much of a difference. Oh, and lastly I got less than 4 dozen, but I also used my 1 1/2 T cookie scoop, so a bit more batter when into each cookie. Great summertime cookies!

Lemon and Blueberry Yogurt Cake

This weekend I was in the mood to do some baking, and I was also in the mood to work on my cooking goals- to cook at least two recipes from all of my cookbooks this year. It was a really Springy day yesterday, great way to start off the month of March, which put me in the mood for something light and bright. I decided to try out Ina Garten's Lemon Yogurt Cake from The Barefoot Contessa At Home. While looking over the recipe I decided I would add a handful of the frozen blueberries I had- a special touch for Josh who loves blueberries. This turned out really good, although a little stouter than Ina's since my loaf pans dimensions are a bit wider than what the recipe called for. No matter, as it's all in the taste and the taste is great. Just finished off another slice before starting this post, as a matter of fact. :)

Lemon and Blueberry Yogurt Cake
Recipe from Ina Garten; Makes 1 loaf












1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plain whole milk yogurt
1 1/3 cups sugar, divided
3 extra-large eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cups vegetable oil
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 1/2 x 4 1/4 x 2 1/2-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease over paper and flour the pan.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into one bowl. In another bowl, whisk the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it's all incorporated. Pour half the batter into the prepared pan, sprinkle in the blueberries, and top with the rest of the batter. Bake for about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the load comes out clean.
• Meanwhile, cook the 1/2 cup lemon juice and remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.
• When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully, place cake on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. Cool.

My notes: The recipe also called for a glaze of 1 cup confectioners sugar with 2 tablespoons lemon juice, but I wanted to keep it a little lighter. Instead once the first pouring with lemon-sugar mixture had finished dripping off the cake and had soaked in, I poured the mixture from the baking sheet back into the measuring cup and made another pass over the cake with it. Doubling it over gave it a nice soft glaze, but kept it feeling light since it's not a hard icing. I really like this cake, and Josh remarked on it's great flavor several times while eating his slice. Definitely going to make this recipe again.

Sweets for the Sweet

I know, I know- sure, I got our Valentine's Day dinner posted before too long after the day, but here I am almost a week later posting the dessert I made for us. But things kept me a little busy this weekend. Things like taxes. Blech. And a friend's wedding. Hurrah. Anyway, here I am with the goods, tardy but not absent. I worked with what I had in the kitchen, which included semisweet chocolate and half a bar of cream cheese. This recipe is supposed to turn out different than it did in my case, but that's because I decided I wanted more of a flavored topping than a completely marbled cream cheese brownie. So I sort of plopped the cream cheese mixture on top of the brownie batter and ran a knife through it to marble it just a bit, but keep most of the cream cheese sitting atop the chocolate. I liked it a lot, but I'll try it the regular way sometime soon too.

Super Fudgy Brownies with Cream Cheese Crust
Recipe from Everyday Food; Makes 16












Brownie batter:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for pan
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs

Cream Cheese batter:
4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush a 9" square pan with butter. Line bottom and two sides with a strip of parchment paper, leaving a 2" overhang on the two sides. butter paper, and set pan aside. In a small bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
• Place butter and chocolate in a large heat-proof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth; remove bowl from pan. Add sugar; mix to combine. Add eggs, and mix to combine. Add flour mixture; mix just until moistened. Transfer batter to prepared pan.
• Whisk cream cheese and butter. Whisk in sugar, egg, and flour. Spoon mixture over brownie batter, leaving some spots of brownie batter showing through. Run knife through pan to marble top.
• Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached., 50 to 60 minutes. Cool in pan 30 minutes. Using paper overhang, lift brownies out of pan; transfer to a rack to cool completely. Use a dampened serrated knife to cut into squares. Store in an airtight container.

My notes: Doing it this way you will probably have a bit of the cream cheese batter leftover. Just an FYI.

Saturday Night

Saturday night our good friends Spencer and Deb were coming over for dinner. I didn't take any picture, I was too busy enjoying myself. But I thought I would put links to the recipes I used, since they are especially good this time of year. For dinner we had a salad, some beer bread, and slow cooker beef stew. Everyone really enjoyed it, and we have plenty of leftovers for dinner tonight. For dessert I made Eve's Pudding, which I'd been eager to make again for quite some time. I think it turned out even better this time, despite the fact that I messed up the batter and had to start over. Luckily I'd given myself plenty of time and had it in the oven before they arrived. Easy dinner parties are such fun!

I Got You, Browniebabe

Well, again, sorry it's been awhile. Josh is feeling much better, but then I was sick last week. But now I'm feeling better myself, and I've got a Browniebabe entry to share! Lately Browniebabe, hosted by Myriam at Once Upon A Tart, is the only blog event I have been participating in regularly. Hopefully that will change soon, but I haven't wanted to miss out on the chance to win one of Myriam's fabulous aprons. If I don't win one soon, I might just have to resort to actually buying one. Okay, honestly I'll have to buy one, cause there's no way I'm gonna beat out all the fabulous baking bloggers out there. But it's still fun to try!

This time around I made blondies, which I had never attempted before. I perused the world wide web and settled on a recipe from Sherry Yard, which I found via Chubby Hubby. This recipe had everything I was looking for- it seemed easily adaptable to whatever little tweaks I wanted to make, and it used vanilla. I'm always looking for an excuse to use my Mexican vanilla. I'll regret being so eager when I'm down to that last teaspoon, but for now I'm more than happy to pour a little bit of that sunshine into a mixing bowl.

Cherry Almond Blondies
Recipe adapted from Sherry Yard
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 ounces unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon light corn syrup
1 tablespoon Mexican vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup slivered almonds

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with rack in center of oven. Grease a 9"x13" baking pan and line the base with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper.
• Triple sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.
• Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until soft and creamy (about 1 minute). slowly add the sugars and beat on high speed until fully incorporated and the mixture is light and fluffy (about 10 minutes). Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
• Add the eggs, one at a time. Be sure each egg is completely incorporated and scrape down the sides of the bowl before adding the next one. Add the corn syrup, vanilla, and almond extract.
• Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined. Add dried cherries and almonds and combine with rubber spatula.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

My notes: I reserved about a teaspoon of the flour and tossed the cherries and almonds in it, which is supposed to help keep your mix-ins from sinking to the bottom. I didn't really notice much of a difference though. I slightly over-baked mine, as my timer didn't ring, but I caught them fairly quickly. I took these over to the in-law's for my husband's grandmother's birthday this weekend and they were a hit. I'll definitely make them again.

Healthy Treat

Josh went back to the doctor today and got a prescription for Nexium (which incidentally is expensive without insurance), so hopefully he'll be on the road to recovery tomorrow morning. For tonight's dinner I made scrambled eggs, and some turkey bacon that I picked up on the way home. Josh has lost 7 pounds over the past week, so I figured he could use the protein. And to try and cheer him up I put together a little sundae for dessert.

Yogurt Banana Split
Recipe by moi
1 baby banana, peeled and split
low-fat vanilla yogurt
granola
maraschino cherry

• Pretty self explanatory- top the split banana with yogurt, then granola, and top with a cherry.

My notes: The cherry is key, in my opinion. The combination of the banana and cherry flavors really gives you that banana split taste. And it's really pretty good for you, especially since I used the low-fat granola I made a couple weeks ago.

Weekend Extravaganza!

Hmm, that title might be a bit much, but I feel like being a bit over the top. I solved my baking dilemma. Or rather, the weather solved it for me. The torrential rains, lightening, and thunder made their way through Friday evening resulting in a cloudless bright Saturday morning. The sunny skies doubled my yearning to do some baking, but I didn't feel like doing anything big. Between Jane's strawberry post over at This Week For Dinner, and the grocery store circular advertising strawberries on sale, I figured it must be kismet that I try the strawberry shortcake recipe I've had my eye on. After a trip to the store I returned home with my supplies, and quite a bit more, ha. The recipe I'd had my eye on is from I Like You: Hospitality Under The Influence by Amy Sedaris. I loved this book, but I had yet to make any of the recipes. So, I set out to rectify that. I washed and quartered the strawberries, then tossed with a little over a tablespoon of sugar and popped them in the fridge.

Sweet Cream Biscuits
Recipe from I Like You...by Amy Sedaris; I got 8 biscuits

2 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups heavy cream

• Mix dry ingredients in a bowl and add heavy cream. Using a wooden spoon or spatula pull together unti lit tightens and transfer to a well-floured surface. Form into a large ball and press out with the hell of your hand to 1" thickness. Cut into 2"x2" squares and place on a sheet tray. Moisten the tops with some heavy cream and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 450 degrees, 10-15 minutes or until golden brown on top.

My notes: Those instructions were a little confusing to me. I wasn't clear if I was suppose to reserve some of the heavy cream for the tops, or if it all went in the mix. After looking up another recipe online I decided that the 1/4 cup was for the tops. I'm pretty sure I was wrong on that. The biscuits turned out great, but I think they would be just a bit sweeter if that 1/4 cup cream had been in them. Also seems like you could add some more sugar, if you like your shortcakes a bit sweeter. The cream and sugar crusted top was awesome though.

While at the store I grabbed a lemon-pepper rotisserie chicken (also on sale) a bag of field greens and some cherry tomatoes. So, for dinner we had the chicken with a three cheese salad, comprised of the greens, quartered tomatoes, carrot coins, mozzarella, parmesan, and feta. And followed with the strawberry shortcake for dessert. To assemble the shortcake I cut the biscuits in half, spread a small amount of whipped cream I had made before dinner on the bottom biscuit, topped with strawberries, biscuit top, and big dollop of the whipped cream again. In the future I think I'll just poor the strawberries and whipped cream on a whole biscuit. Trying to cut through the biscuit top down to the bottom was a little messy with the berries in the middle.


On with the extravaganza! This morning I decided to take a stab at those Orange-Ricotta pancakes I saw on Everday Foods yesterday, thanks to the encouragement of Jenny. Well, I am notorious for having difficulty with pancakes, and these were no exception. It took me forever to perfect just my Labor Day pancake, which is my regular go-to recipe. I had difficulty with Ina Garten's Zucchini Pancakes, and I had difficulty with these damn things. While they tasted great I couldn't get the cooking temperature just right, which affected the cooking time, blah blah blah. I made them, they were edible, but they were no works of art. I baked up some bacon in the oven as an accompaniment. That was delicious, but a bit tepid by the time the darn pancakes were done. Overall, a nice breakfast, especially since it's a meal I rarely make. Could have been better, but not gonna beat myself up over it.

Orange-Ricotta Pancakes
Recipe from Everday Food; Serves 4

15 oz. part-skim ricotta cheese
1/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
Appx. 2 teaspoons orange zest
2/3 cup all purpose flour

• In a medium bowl, whisk together part-skim ricotta cheese, sugar, eggs, and grated orange zest (1 orange). Whisk in 2/3 cup all-purpose flour until just combined.
• Heat 3 tablespoons canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Working in batches (and adding more oil to skillet as needed), add batter, using a scant ¼ cup for each pancake. Cook until browned, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer pancakes to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain. Serve hot, dusted with confectioners’ sugar or drizzled with maple syrup.

My notes: Uhhh, yeah, I kind of already typed it all up there, ha.

And last, I'm gonna backtrack to Thursday night when I made a Crustless Broccoli-Cheddar Quiche. It was so incredibly easy, and delicious. It's funny because this recipe has been on my to-make list since before Christmas, but for some reason I was really intimidated by it. I guess words like quiche can be a bit overwhelming for a novice cook. Now I'm so glad to have a nice, easy recipe that can be thrown together in a pinch.

Crustless Broccoli-Cheddar Quiche
Recipe from Everday Food; Serves 4
Butter, for ramekins or pie dish
Coarse salt
1 10 oz. package frozen broccoli florets
6 large eggs
1/2 cup half-and-half
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 4 8 oz. ramekins or a 9" pie dish; set aside. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Add broccoli; cook for 1 minute. Drain well; transfer to a cutting board and blot dry with paper towels. Chop coarsely.
• In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, half-and-half, 1/2 teaspoon salt, ground pepper, and nutmeg. Stir in broccoli and cheese.
• Place dish(es) on a rimmed baking sheet. Ladle mixture into dish. Bake until golden brown, 35-40 minutes.

My notes: To make this recipe even easier I bought a 10 oz. package of chopped broccoli and used bagged shredded cheese. I cooked the broccoli in the water for 2 minutes and then set it in a strainer over the emptied water pot while I got everything else ready, allowing it to drain and dry very well. I generally use pre-shredded cheese in most recipes that call for it. I also went the pie plate route, because my ramekins weren't the right size. I definitely recomment this recipe. It was fast and delicious for dinner, but would also be a nice brunch recipe.

Sugar High Friday #28

Alrighty, to help me stick with my resolution to keep up this blog I decided to have a go at participating in some blog events. This will be my first entry in the monthly Sugar High Friday event, created by the Domestic Goddess and this time being hosted by Cardamom Addict. Not only is this my first entry in Sugar High Friday, but it's my first blog event entry ever. Hopefully I do everything right! So, on to the sweetness.

For round #28 Cardamom Addict has come up with the theme Sweet Seduction. Very fitting for the month of February, no? I was thinking, and thinking, rolling ideas around in my head. And then it hit me while I was re-reading my February issue of MS Living. The very first sight in the "Warming Winter Puddings" article was a delightful looking dish, called Eve's Pudding. Named so for the first lady of Eden and the inclusion of her weapon of seduction, the apple. Cardamom Addict mentioned several different angles to approach from- something you've made to seduce someone, something your planning to make to seduce someone, something someone made to seduce you, or something you wish someone would make to seduce you. In my mind this particular item falls into two of those catagories. I used the possibility of this delicious dish to help sweeten the deal when convincing Josh to take me to Ikea, so I suppose you could say I used it to seduce him. And then, there is the lovely thought of sharing this decidedly British dessert with Colin Firth, after he whipped it up for me. Remember how helpful in the kitchen he was in Bridget Jones' Diary? Before I get too distracted, let's get to the recipe.

Eve's Pudding
Recipe from MS Living; Serves 8 to 10














1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened,
plus more for baking dish
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Salt
1 3/4 pounds baking apples, peeled,
quartered, cored, and cut into 1/8" thick
slices
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup whole milk
Heavy cream, for serving

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8 1/2" square baking dish; set aside. Whisk flour, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt ina medium bowl; set aside.
• Put apples, 1/4 cup sugar, the lemon juice, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt into a large bowl; toss to combine. Transfer to prepared baking dish, and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons water over top; set aside.
• Put butter and 6 tablespoons sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition. Mix in vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture, alternating with milk. Mix until combined.
• Spread batter over apples, and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake until batter is cooked through and juices are bubbling, about 40 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack 15 minutes. Spoon into dishes; serve drizzled with cream.

My notes: I (so, so, sadly) don't have a stand mixer. I used my regular handheld mixer up until the flour point, and then mixed with a rubber spatula from there. Also, my square baking dish happens to be 8", not the above-mentioned 8 1/2". I baked the pudding on a foil lined baking sheet, in case of any over-spill. None occured, so I imagine that 1/2" isn't all that important. Lastly, I also sprinkled a little cinnamon atop the batter with the remaining sugar, to add a little color, and because I love cinnamon. :)