Strawberries with Marscapone and Honey

I'm pretty dang proud of this dish. The inspiration came from a sample tasting at Whole Foods yesterday and from a posting in food blog I saw a long time ago. I can't remember the original posting, but the idea of stuffed strawberries stuck with me. Yesterday, I went to grab lunch at WF (or Whole Paycheck) and there was this tantalizing sample tray of strawberry pieces, covered in marscapone and drizzled with honey. I had 4.

This is a pretty simple dessert to make, but it can get messy. The kitchen was so hot by the time I started that the marscapone began to melt and liquify. Some of the berries were a little runny by the time I was done, but it was worth it! I simply kept them in the fridge until it was time to serve and this helped.

There weren't really any exact measurements for this...more of an eyeball what you think works for you. I added the honey to taste, and it was a little sweet. I like sweet things, but Alex doesn't. I think these would be just as delicious filled with plain marscapone, cream cheese, whipped cream or even greek yogurt! Endless possibilities.

Ingredients:
Fresh strawberries
Marscapone cheese
Honey

Instructions:
Clean the strawberries and remove the stem so they have a flat bottom to stand on. Using a small knife, make an X opening in the top point, almost to the bottom, but not all the way through.

If you're using marscapone and honey, mix together to taste. Fill either a pastry bag or ziploc bag with the filling (squish everything down to the bottom corner of a ziploc and then snip off the tip).

Nudge the point of the bag into the strawberry and fill it gently, until it comes out of the top. Repeat, chill and enjoy!

Latkes in June

When are mashed potatoes not mashed potatoes?

When they become latkes!! (thank you, thank you...I'll be here all week. Tip your waitress.)

When I made Alex his man meal, I accidentally made way too many mashed potatoes. Like, enough to feed the entire clan of J&K+8. Not that I'd have them over for dinner or anything, but just to give you a picture of how much there was leftover. I knew there was a way to make leftover mashed 'taters into pancakes, but I couldn't find a good recipe online. As usual, I turned to my What's Cooking nesties and voila - the perfect mashed potato pancake recipe!

It's a little strange to make latkes in June, especially when it's about 95 degrees outside, but they were so delicious. Like an unexpected treat! It was fun to eat a food that I associated with cold weather during the summer. Something about the contrast between the flavor memories and the reality of when I'm eating it just makes me smile.

This recipe comes courtesy of Big City Cooking and it was incredibly easy. Mariel's boyfriend just came back from about 9 months in France, so we had them over for dinner last night. Nothing says "Welcome back to Baltimore!" like latkes!

Ingredients:

2 cups mashed potatoes

1 egg, beaten
6 tbsp all-purpose flour
Salt and pepper

Optional: cheese. I used a few handfuls of grated parmesan.
Vegetable oil, for frying

Instructions:

In a bowl combine the potatoes, egg, flour thoroughly. Add salt and pepper to taste. In a large skillet heat oil.

Fry a large tablesoon of potato mixture, flatten with the back of a spoon. (I found that a small silicone spatula worked well for this. The spoon stuck to the pancake and the first few were a total mess! I would touch the spatula to the oil in the pan first and it didn't stick to anything.)

Cook for one minute on each side until golden brown. Remove from heat and drain. Serve with sour cream or applesauce.

Man Food: Meatloaf and Mashed 'Taters

Alex lives for meatloaf. You just say the word and he gets this faraway look in his eyes, like he's remembering his last great meatloaf meal. And then he starts waxing poetic about leftover meatloaf sandwiches...and well, it's just all downhill from there.

I took pity on my guy, since he's been putting up with a TON of low-cal, low-fat, Weight Watcher calorie conscious meals for the past few months, and made him a big ol' meatloaf. I loaded it up with chipotle peppers and jalapenos and served next to homemade mashed potatoes. And then I made him watch So You Think You Can Dance.

Ingredients:
1 spray cooking spray
1 1/2 pounds uncooked lean ground beef

1 cup rolled oats
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp garlic powder
4 oz canned green chili peppers, mild, diced
1 large egg (and as I'm typing this, I realize that I forgot the egg. It tasted fine, but fell apart a little)
1 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
8 oz canned tomato sauce, divided

Optional: 1-2 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, seeds removed.

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat a loaf pan with cooking spray.
Combine all ingredients, except half of the tomato sauce, in a large mixing bowl; set remaining tomato sauce aside. Spoon the meatloaf mixture into prepared pan and smooth the top.
Bake for 60 minutes; spoon remaining sauce over meatloaf and cook 5 minutes more.

Slice into eight pieces. Yields 1 piece per serving.

Oh, and did I mention that this is WW? Only 4 pts per slice :)

Turkish Vegetable Stew with Israeli Cous-Cous

sorry it's so dark! bad kitchen lighting at 8pm.

I'm so money sometimes, I don't even know it. I was fretful that we didn't have anything planned for dinner because I had forgotten to defrost the meat, but then I saw the eggplant in the fridge and remembered I had one more recipe stashed away for a meatless night. Yay!

I'm not quite sure what is Turkish about this vegetable stew, but it is mighty tasty. It took about 30 minutes from start to finish, so it's an easy throw-together for a hurried night. Our HD box came in yesterday and after dragging Alex away from it to get to the gym, it was all I could do to get him to stop playing with the channels and help chop vegetables. I must admit, though, watching the movie Speed Racer in HD is certainly an experience!

This recipe is light but filling, especially with the cous-cous. Israeli cous-cous is larger than normal, almost pea-sized. I was apprehensive about some of the herbs (dill and cumin? together?) but went along with it anyways. It makes plenty, enough for us to each have two servings and then take some for our lunches today. I imagine it will be even better after sitting for a night and marinating!

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked couscous, Israeli or toasted variety
1 TBS olive oil, divided
1 medium raw eggplant, cut into 1-inch chunks
2 medium zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and then sliced into 1/2-inch-thick pieces
1 medium yellow pepper, cut in 1-inch chunks
15 oz canned garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
14 1/2 oz canned tomatoes, diced, with roasted garlic
1/2 cup water
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup scallions, sliced
1/3 cup dill, fresh, chopped (I used a few tsp of dried)
1/2 cup crumbled fat-free feta cheese (or goat cheese)

Instructions:
Make cous-cous according to package instructions. When it's finished, stir in 1 tsp of the oil.
Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 teaspoons of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the eggplant; cook, stirring often, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add the zucchini and yellow pepper; cook, stirring often, until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
Stir in garbanzo beans, tomatoes, water, cumin, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 5-8 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in scallions and dill.
To serve, spoon a scant 3/4 cup of couscous onto each of 4 serving plates or bowls and top each with 1 1/2 cups of stew. Sprinkle each with 2 tablespoons of cheese and serve. (leave off the cheese if you want to keep it parve).

Chicken with Stewed Tomatoes and Artichokes

I'm back in the game, baby! Well, rather, my weekly meal planning is back on track. It makes my life so much easier. I just take some time on Sunday to pick out the weeks meals and then do my grocery shopping according to the recipes. This way, there is none of the "Ugh, it's 6PM. What the *&%^ are we making for dinner?" Although as I type this, I realize that I forgot to defrost the ground beef for tonights meatloaf, so this will be a pantry-raid night. Epic Fail.

Last night was a new recipe. I hit my kitchen groove and made my chicken dish, Crash Hot Potatoes, and another Lemon Rosemary French Yogurt Cake. I love that cake. It's so freakin' easy and delicious. Anyways, I digress...this post is about the chicken! This recipe (a WW one) is a good one. I made a few tweaks, but nothing major. Next time I do this, I won't cook the chicken for the full 25 minutes, because it was a tad dry, but overall I loved the flavor. I'm a big fan of artichoke hearts, so I added in a good amount. My changes are in italics.

Ingredients:

1 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, four 4-oz pieces, cut in half
1 medium onion, sliced
3 cups canned crushed tomatoes, with Italian herbs
28 oz canned artichoke hearts, without oil, drained and quartered
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp parsley, chopped (I didn't have)

Instructions:

Heat a large, nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over high heat. Brown chicken; remove and set aside.

Over medium heat, cook the onion until it's lightly browned. Add in the garlic and lemon zest, cook until fragrant. Return chicken to skillet and stir in tomatoes and artichokes. Cover partially and simmer for 20 minutes.

Stir together garlic, zest and parsley for topping. Sprinkle each piece of chicken with some garlic topping and serve. (I didn't do this because I didn't want the raw garlic on the chicken. I liked the way the lemon flavored all the sauce in the pan.)

Next time, I would do the parsley on top for a little color. I forgot to take a picture last night, so you get a picture of my lunch leftovers. Yum-o!

Midnight Crackles

Sometimes I will just hand Alex my Dorie Baking book and command "Pick one!" I didn't have time this weekend for the current TWD recipe (to be posted tomorrow by TWD bakers), a Pineapple Dacquoise that claimed to take about 8 hours from start to finish. I did, however, have a few bits of time here and there to bake a batch of cookies. Alex selected the Midnight Crackles, which I had been eyeing myself for quite some time.

These were pretty simple to make: throw the dough together and let it sit in the fridge for an hour or so, and then roll it into balls for baking. The cookies are intensely fudgey with an almost airy brownie-like texture, and just hint of the cinnamon and cloves in the background. I sprinkled a few with sea salt before baking because I love the salty/chocolate combo. Delicious!

If you do bake these, aim for 9-10 minutes in the oven instead of the 10-13. I did the first batch at 11 minutes and they were a bit too dry. The second batch, at 9 minutes, was perfectly fudgey. As Dorie herself says in the book "Better to under-bake than over-bake." She calls them crackles because of the finely cracked tops and although they are "midnight" in color, she claims that its really because of the hour that you're apt to crave them. So true.

Hmmm...I really should have brought some to work today. Blogging about them has triggered a huge craving!

Ingredients:

1 stick, plus 2 TBS unsalted butter (10 TBS total), cut into 10 pieces

1 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

10 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground cloves

2 large eggs

Instructions:

Put the butter, sugar and chocolate (in that order) into a 2-quart saucepan. Set the pan over low heat, and warm the ingredients, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth. Scrape into the bowl of your stand mixer, or another large bowl if you're using a hand-mixer.

Meanwhile, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cloves.

Working with your stand mixer, paddle attachment, or hand-mixer on low speed, add the eggs to the chocolate mixture one at a time, until they are well blended into the chocolate. With the mixer still on low, add the dry ingredients, mixing just until the dough is smooth and shiny; it will clean the sides of the bowl and form a ball.

Turn the dough out onto a work suface, and divide in half. Wrap each half in plastic and chill for at least an hour, up to 3 days. If the dough is solid when you remove it, let it sit on the counter for 30 minutes before working with it.

Getting ready to bake:

Preheat the oven to 350 and line two baking sheets with silicone or parchment paper.

Working with 1 tablespoon of dough at a time, roll the dough between your palms into smooth shiny balls (if it breaks, just knead it back together), and place on the baking sheet about 1-inch apart. Lightly press each one down a tad with your fingertips.

Bake for 9-11 minutes (the book says 10-13, but I found this to be too long), rotating the sheets from top to bottom, and front to back, at the midway point. The cookies should be lightly crackled and delicately firm on top when done. Allow them to cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to a cooling rack. Enjoy with a big glass of cold milk!

DP Dough Wanna-be

Ahhh, DP Dough calzones. How I miss thee. I have so many fond college memories of hanging out in the sorority house, eating DP Dough while watching yet another episode of Sex and the City or Queer as Folk. Ahhhh, my 20-year-old metabolism. How I miss thee even more.

I posted the other day about falling into a cooking rut, so I was determined (read: fixated) on making at least one new recipe this week. I tweaked a WW pizza recipe to become a calzone and it satisfied my craving without carb overload. I hadn't started off with the idea of making it a calzone, but I didn't have enough filling to spread out over the whole length of pizza dough. Being the kitchen goddess/genius that I am, I simply folded the dough over and pretended that I had planned to make calzones all along. Ta dah! I'm cool like that.

Alex and I ate our dinner while spending time with the new addition to our family - the Samsung flat-screen TV. He's wanted one for so long and finally broke down and bought it. Hey, Sears was having a great sale - and he got 10% off. That's my boy! This 46-inch beast is gigantic. I honestly don't even know what to do with it, except stare in fascination. I can't wait to watch Iron Chef Japan in High Def. That's going to be a total trip.

Back to the calzone! This was pretty easy to make, except for the whole putting-the-leaves-in-the-blender part. They were supposed to form a paste, but instead, they got stuck way in the bottom, underneath the chopping blades and were a total pain to get out. Next time, I'll use our hand-held blender instead. Alex loved this, although I suspect that I could have served him cat food and he would have been just fine, eating it in front of his new love...Samsung.

Ingredients:

10 oz pizza dough, uncooked, about 12 inches. (I used the Pillsbury Thin Crust rollout dough)

cornmeal

1 cup arugula leaves

1 cup fresh basil

2 oz goat cheese

2 TBS parmesan cheese

1 tsp olive oil

Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400 (or whatever the dough instructions say).

Sprinkle cornmeal onto your baking sheet or pizza stone and spread out the dough. Combine arugula, basil, parmesean, oil and salt/pepper into the blender and pulse until it forms a paste. Spread it onto the dough (half of the dough to make a calzone, all of the dough for regular pizza) and dot with goat cheese. If you're making a 'zone, fold over the dough and crimp the edges closed. Bake 9-13 minutes, until the dough is golden brown and crispy, and cheese has melted.

For Toodle...

Another blogger friend gave birth to a healthy baby boy today. Busted (aka Schmoodle) lost her beautiful twins, her Doodles, last March, and today, she and her husband welcomed their son, Toodle (not his real name, silly) into the world. For Busted, I am so happy for you.

It's Been a While...

Yes, internets, I'm sorry. It's been a long time since I posted. I'm cooking and baking, but nothing new. Sometimes I get in a repeat rut where I just make things that I can easily throw together (mandel bread, mac & cheese, etc). However, I did want to alert you to a really cool giveaway that I just entered!
Mrs. Southern Belle is doing a customized name plaque for a winner, in honor of her birthday. You can learn more about it here! But don't enter b/c I want to win :-)

Fennel Crusted Ahi Tuna

I love ahi tuna. Just give me a big ol' bright pinky red slab of raw ahi and I'm a happy girl. The absolute best seared ahi tuna I have ever eaten was actually in Ann Arbor, Michigan, when we were there for my sister-in-law's (Mariel) graduation from UM. She took us to a really nice restaurant (the name escapes me) and I just about cried when my entree was all gone. It was that good, and I have yet to meet its equal. But, that doesn't stop me from trying.

This recipe is from Epicurious, and Mariel loves to make it. She toasts the whole spices and then grinds them in a mini-coffee grinder. Tre chic. We loved it so much that Alex re-created the recipe the other night. It was almost as good as hers...almost. The whole spices really make a difference, so if you can get them, please do so! The whole recipe can be found here, but we only use the spice mixture (not the whole aioli sauce).

Ingredients:
2 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
1.5 tsp kosher salt, divided
2 1/2 pounds ahi tuna steaks (serves 6, about 1 1/4 inches thick)

Instructions:
Combine the first 3 ingredients in heavy small skillet. Toast over medium heat until fragrant, shaking skillet occasionally, about 3 minutes. Grind spice mixture in spice grinder (or a coffee grinder, small immersion blender, etc). Transfer to bowl; mix in 1 teaspoon salt. Prepare barbecue or your non-stick skillet (high heat). Coat the tuna with about 4-6 tablespoons oil. Sprinkle with spice mixture, making sure to fully cover the tuna. Grill tuna until seared outside and rare in center, about 4 minutes per side. Let it rest for about 10 minutes, then slice and serve.

TWD: Parisian Peach Tartlet

Thank you for this recipe, Jessica. I think this was, by far, the EASIEST Dorie recipe. I had everything I needed already in the kitchen. Puff pastry? Check. Peaches? Check. Butter? Duh. Brown sugar? Double check. A husband who loves dessert? Clearly, check.

I was a little worried because my puff pastry was pretty old, but since it had been in the freezer, I hoped it would be okay. It puffed up beautifully and flaked very nicely. I don't think it was the tastiest, but that's okay. This tart is so simple and so beautiful, I can see myself making it for dinner parties many times over. I kept it small, using the individual pastry squares that came in the package, and trimmed the edges to make them a little rounder. I used mini-cookie cutters on my scraps and they became puff pastry snackies, sprinkled with parmesan and baked for about 8 minutes.

The original TWD recipe is a Parisian Apple Tart, but I wasn't in the apple mood. It's summertime and all the delicious stone fruits are calling my name. Peaches, plums, nectarines, etc...I just can't get enough! I served the warm tart to Alex, topped with vanilla ice cream of course, and he loved it. He doesn't like things to be very sweet, so I only used 1 tsp of brown sugar per tart. However, it wasn't quite sweet enough for me, so next time, I'll use 1.5-2 tsp on at least some of them.

Great recipe, as always, Dorie.

Roasted Brussell Sprouts

I was a strange child. And if you know me IRL (in real life, for those less blog-savvy readers), you're nodding your head in confirmation. Yes, Beth was totally weird. I sang to myself, danced in the outfield when I was placed there for kickball, talked to my stuffed animals and absolutely loved lima beans and brussell sprouts.

I shunned lima beans once I tasted edamame a few years ago (I'm a fickle gal), but my love of brussell sprouts has remained. However, they became a little boring after a while. Then, last year, my sister-in-law made these incredible roasted sprouts for her annual Fakesgiving dinner (you read that right...Fakesgiving...not quite the real thing, but just enough to whet your appetite), and I fell in brussell sprout love all over again. Roasted and salted, they take on this amazing new flavor and have this gorgeous color. I could have eaten the whole bowl, but I restrained myself for the sake of the other guests.

I didn't get the chance to make them after that night and the recipe fell by the wayside...as recipes often do. Last week, the local market had a sale on brussell sprouts, and I had a truly Pavlovian response when I saw them. I didn't have the exact recipe that Mariel (SIL) used, but I made one up in my head based on my previous roasting experiences.

They turned out great! All crispy and golden-brown, with just the right amount of flavor and seasoning. It's really more of a winter dish, since they are in season then, but it hit the spot last night. The rest of the dinner was part of our "Eat Down the Fridge/Pantry" experiment. This is where you only cook meals using things that are already in your fridge/pantry, and refrain from buying anything else until you've cleared out an overstocked kitchen. The main chicken dish wasn't really anything special, but the brussell sprouts were the total star. I give it two snaps up.

Ingredients:
Brussel Sprouts (fresh, washed and cut in 1/2)
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Optional other vegetables to roast alongside - onions, shallots, red peppers (ick!), carrots...endless possibilities!

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400. Spread some olive oil onto a sheet pan or baking dish, and toss around the sprouts until they are well coated. Sprinkle with S&P liberally (moreso on the pepper than the salt) and shake until well coated, again.
Roast until browned and soft, about 35-45 minutes, depending on the size of the sprouts and your oven.

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