Valentine’s Day

the cake! plus, the wonderful bouquet

Now, you all know Andy is super excited to have me writing about our Valentine’s Day dinner. Mainly I want to show off the gorgeous bouquet he gave me, hence he will be embarrassed, hence the prelude to this post. But he also created the glaze for the salmon and suffered through my not so creamy creamy mac n’ cheese and then thoroughly enjoyed the piece of Chocolate Stout cake. I’m actually including recipes in this post because I have all of them together, so listen carefully…

Creamy Wisconsin Mac & Cheese

Ingredients: For the breadcrumbs: 1 cup freshly made bread crumbs
1 teaspoon parsley
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2 cups milk
1 cup grated Wisconsin Parmesan Cheese
1 cup shredded Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese
1 pound small or medium sized pasta, cooked and drained

Directions: Preheat oven to 350°F. In a small bowl, whisk together the breadcrumb ingredients. Set aside.

In a medium pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour along with the spices and stir until smooth. Add the milk and whisk together until slightly thickened. Whisk in the Parmesan and Cheddar until smooth.

Place the cooked pasta in a large bowl; pour cheese sauce over the top and mix well.  Pour into lightly oiled baking dish. Top with a sprinkle of breadcrumbs. Bake covered about 15 minutes, then uncover and cook until hot and bubbly, about 10-15 additional minutes.

Andy’s Salmon Glaze
- maple syrup
- balsamic vinegar
- salt and pepper
Sprinkle salt and pepper over salmon. Combine syrup and vinegar in small dish, spoon over salmon.

Chocolate Stout Cake (from epicurious.com)

Cake:

• 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) salted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups plus 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3 large eggs, separated
• 3/4 cup chocolate stout, regular stout, or porter
• 2/3 cup freshly brewed strong coffee

Frosting:

• 1 pound bittersweet chocolate (54% to 60% cacao), chopped
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder

For cake:
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter and flour two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides. Line bottom of each cake pan with parchment paper round; butter and flour parchment. Place chopped chocolate in medium metal bowl. Set bowl over saucepan of barely simmering water and stir until chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove bowl from over water and set aside.

Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat butter and 11/4 cups sugar in large bowl until fluffy and pale yellow, about 2 minutes. Add egg yolks 1 at a time, beating until well blended after each addition. Beat in lukewarm melted chocolate, then stout and coffee. Beat flour mixture into chocolate mixture in 2 additions just until incorporated.

Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites and remaining 3 tablespoons sugar in another medium bowl until stiff but not dry. Fold 1/3 of egg whites into cake batter to lighten, then fold in remaining egg whites in 2 additions. Divide batter between prepared cake pans (about 3 cups for each); smooth tops.

Bake cakes until tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Transfer cakes to racks and cool in pans 20 minutes. Invert cakes onto racks; remove parchment paper and cool completely. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and store at room temperature.

For frosting:
Place chopped chocolate in medium heatproof bowl. Combine whipping cream and espresso powder in medium saucepan. Bring cream mixture to simmer over medium-high heat, whisking occasionally. Pour cream mixture over chopped chocolate; let stand 1 minute, then whisk until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Chill chocolate frosting until slightly thickened and spreadable, stirring occasionally, about 2 hours (or for quick chilling, place frosting in freezer until thickened and spreadable, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes).

Using serrated knife, trim rounded tops from both cake layers so that tops are flat. Place 1 cake layer, trimmed side up, on 9-inch-diameter tart pan bottom or cardboard round, then place on rack set over baking sheet. Drop 1 1/4 cups frosting by large spoonfuls over top of cake layer; spread frosting evenly to edges with offset spatula or butter knife. Top with second cake layer, trimmed side down. Spread remaining frosting evenly over top and sides of cake. DO AHEAD: Can be made up to 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome and refrigerate. Let cake stand at room temperature at least 1 hour and up to 3 hours before serving.

the meal...

 

How the RDI does a Snow Day…

jo's carmelized onion pizza!

then we started mixing…

then we had to make sure everyone shared our small table for preparations…

Yes, yes, yes. We have been very absent, and for this you must be a trifle forgiving. Were I to list the amount of activities Marge, Jo, and I have been engaging in… you would be weary. Very weary. And would wonder how we have enough time in the day to do any of them. I would like to be able to answer that question for you, but I don’t have very much time to write this. And need to write another post. And oh yes a play for class, and a post for the Sailing Club website, and an email to members, and …… you get my drift.
So for those of you who are aware, we had a snow day recently. Although the vast majority of this snow has now melted, there used to be an insane amount. And what does the RDI do on a day off? Plan a huge dinner, of course!

first we had to clean out our fridge.

mmm. apple pie and chicken!

Forgotten Entries

How often do you tell someone you’ll give them the recipe and then you never do?  Well for me it’s quite often now that I come to think of it.

Although I’m no longer a resident at the Red Door Inn, here are a few tasty recipes that we’ve made a few times over the last year.  Enjoy!

 

Caramel Corn (adapted from allrecipes.com)

The easiest way make this is in a large roasting pan.  If you’re a college student and don’t have one, you can easily pick up an aluminum pan at the grocery store,  or use 2 large cookie sheets.  Just be careful that the mixture doesn’t try out too fast if you use a sheet.

 

• cooking spray
• 4 quarts popped popcorn (I usually pop a few cups more than what the recipe calls for)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup corn syrup (light OR dark)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (this is just enough to bring out the sweet and salty flavors)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

 

1. Spray large shallow roasting pan with cooking spray. Add popcorn and place in preheated 250 degrees F oven while preparing caramel.   Just don’t leave it in there too long (<10 minutes)
2. Mix brown sugar, corn syrup, butter and salt in a heavy 2-quart saucepan. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil over medium heat.
3. Boil 5 minutes without stirring. Remove from heat. Stir in baking soda and vanilla; mix well.
4. Pour syrup over warm popcorn, stirring to coat evenly.
5. Bake for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven and spread on foil that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
6. Cool; break apart. Store in tightly covered container.

 

Feel free to add in some nuts or sunflower seeds before the baking process.  Otherwise you can always add some chocolate candies at the end.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Pizza

 

Dough

• 2 c          All purpose flour
• 1 package active dry yeast (or pizza yeast)
• 3/4 c     warm water (105°F-115°F)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 T         olive oil
• Corn meal

 

Toppings

• 2 medium onions
• 1 T         olive oil
• 1             garlic clove, minced
• ½ c        liquid (broth, wine, or water)
• 2 t           dried thyme
• 1 t           dried rosemary
• 1 t           dried sage
• ~ 1 c     goat cheese, left at room temp (Trader Joe’s has the best value for this)

 

 

Dissolve yeast in warm water, set aside for 5 minutes. In a large bowl, whisk together flour and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour and add the yeast mixture oil.

Stir dough until it begins to form a ball and leaves the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough out to a floured work surface and knead for 6-8 minutes until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. Add a light dusting of corn meal if the dough is too sticky to knead (or oil your hands with olive oil).

Brush a large, clean bowl with olive oil. Place the dough in the bowl and brush with oil. Cover with a damp, lint-free towel. Allow to rise in a warm place, draft-free place until doubled in size (about 90 minutes).

Roll out dough into a 12-13 inch circle about 1/8-inch thick. Transfer to a baking sheet.  (I made a rectangle out of my dough and filled the entire cookie sheet for a super thin crust)

Cover the pan with a clean lint-free towel and allow the crust to rise in a warm, draft-free place for 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 450*F.

Meanwhile, chop the garlic, and onions.  In a large pan over high heat add olive oil and onions.  Cook the onions until they begin to sweat, then turn the temp to medium and cook until they turn golden brown in color and start to taste sweet (this is from the heat breaking down all of the starches into simple sugars).  Add the garlic, liquid and herbs and cook until the onions start to fall apart.

Pour the onion mixture over the pizza dough and spread it evenly over the entire pizza.  (This onion mixture will be used as the base instead of a red sauce.   Chunk the cheese into small pieces and drop on top of the onions.  (Use your fingers to break up the cheese if it is easier).

Bake the pizza in the center rack of a preheated 450°F oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the crust is brown on the edges.

 

 

 

Cookie Therapy

During a stressful week of finals, some college students like to relax by meeting up with friends, going out for a dinner, or catching up on lots of sleep.   For me, I like to cook, bake, and clean.

I spent the other day in the kitchen cooking paella for lunch (a Spanish rice and seafood dish), and baking cookies and cake while listening to music and dancing.  The paella was sub-par, but the baked goods were absolutely delicious.

I decided to make palmerita cookies and a banana-spice cake.   The cookies were SUPER easy to make.  I would literally say that any non-baker that wants to bake could make these without messing them up.

And the cake!  It turned out beautifully!  This was my second attempt of baking without even looking at a recipe and it turned out moist and flavorful without an excessive amount of butter or sugar.

I definitely recommend that you try both recipes.  If you have old bananas in your freezer (we had at least 12) this is just as easy to make as banana bread but served coffee-cake-style without the oily residue left on your hands.

Palmeritas

Makes ~50 cookies

• 2 sheets Pepperidge farm Puff Pastry (left to defrost for 1-2 hours, or refrigerated overnight)
• 1 ½ cups sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 400*F

2. Pour ½ cup of the sugar on a flat surface.  Unfold the first sheet of puff pastry onto the sugar and pour ¼ cup of the sugar mixture on top, spreading it evenly on the puff pastry.

3. With a rolling pin, lightly roll the dough until it’s a 13 inch square and the sugar is pressed into the puff pastry on the top and bottom.  Fold the sides of the square towards the center so they go halfway to the middle of the dough.  Fold them again so the two folds meet exactly at the middle of the dough.  Then fold one half over the other half as though closing a book.  You will have six layers.

4. Slice the dough into 3/8-inch slices and place the slices on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.  Place the second sheet of pastry on the sugared board, sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar, and continue as above.  (There will be quite a bit of sugar left on the board.)  Slice and arrange on baking sheets lined with parchment.

5. Bake the cookies for 6 minutes, or until caramelized and brown on the bottom, then turn with a spatula and bake for another 3 to 5 minutes, until caramelized on the other side.  Turning the cookies will prevent the middle of the cookies from peaking and will allow even coloration of the top and bottom. Transfer to a baking rack to cool.

Recipe is adapted from Ina Garden’s book Barefoot in Paris

Banana –Spice cake with So-Co Glaze

Serves 9

• ¾ c          light brown sugar, packed
• 1 stick    butter, softened
• 1              large egg
• 3              old bananas, no mashing required
• 1              large spoonful of plain or vanilla yogurt
• 2 c           flour
• 2 t           baking powder
• 1 t           baking soda
• ¼ t          salt
• ½ t          cinnamon
• ¼ t          allspice
• ¼ t          nutmeg
• ¼ t          ginger

1. Preheat oven to 375*F and grease a 9” square or circle cake pan.

2. In a medium mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar until well mixed.

3.  Add the egg, bananas, and yogurt one at a time, making sure that there are no large banana clumps remaining.

4. Mix dry ingredients in a separate bold and slowly add to wet ingredients until all combined.  Do not over mix the batter as the gluten will become gummy and stiff.

5.  Pour batter into the cake pan and spread it evenly.

6. Bake for 30 minutes and remove once the center is set.

7.  Let the cake sit for 5-10 minutes and then poke holes into the top of the cake with a fork or knife.

8.  Add glaze (recipe below) and wait until it cools to serve.

So-Co Glaze

• ¼ c          Southern Comfort
• ½ c          powdered sugar

1. Mix the two ingredients together in a small bowl until no sugar clumps remain.

2. Drizzle over cake.

Egg in a Cup

Some mornings, I wake up and all I want is coffee, oatmeal, and more sleep.  Other mornings I wake up full of energy, feeling creative and ready to seize the day!  A few weeks ago, I had one of those mornings.  I woke up before sunrise, felt like a champ and therefore needed a breakfast of champions- EGGS!

Eggs are a great source of complete protein and so easy to prepare.  Make them whatever style you want: over easy, scrambled, or fried, they are delicious in any way you choose to prepare them.

That morning, I woke up and opened to find a fresh carton of eggs and a few leftover corn tortillas from chorizo tacos made a few nights before.  So….my creative ideas started to flow: breakfast tacos, chilaquilles, breakfast nachos (na-cho-nachos)……and egg in a cup!

What a wonderful idea- eggs in a cup.  I’ve never tried it before but I’ve seen it in a cookbook or two.  It’s the easiest-fanciest egg dish to make without spending more than 5 minutes preparing it.  Try it out for yourself, add any extra cheese, veggies, or cooked meat that you have leftover and personalize your own cup.

Egg in a Cup

1 egg per 1 6” corn tortilla

Cooking spray

Muffin tin

Cheese, herbs, veggies, or cooked meat in whatever quantity you desire

1. Preheat oven to 450*F.

2. Heat tortillas up in the microwave so they are soft enough to bend without ripping.

3. Spray a muffin tin with oil and then place the corn tortilla in the tin by lightly folding it.

4. Lightly spray the tortilla so the tips do not burn.

5. Crack egg into tortilla without breaking the yolk.

6. Add any toppings and then place in the oven for 15 or so minutes. (Watch carefully your first time since I am not exactly sure how long it took!)  the egg is fully done when the whites are no longer transparent.

7. Remove from oven and carefully place on a plate.

Carrot Whoopies and Sister Bonding Time

Em, baking away

This past weekend I was told that Emma had a surprise sister bonding activity for the two of us.  Having no idea what this could have been, Emma gave me a list of things that she might need for the activity.  Some of the objects included eggplant, red napkins, lawn chairs, pistachios, carrots, and peanut butter.  The list itself was exhaustive in length.  There was really no way that all the objects could come together for one activity.  So I worked my little brain and tried to decode the hidden activity.  This process was lengthy but in the end I knew that there had to be something with the carrots, specifically carrot cake…

Sunday afternoon came around and what do you know….carrot whoopie pies.  There was no need for the colored napkins or the Erlenmeyer flask.  Just pure and precious sister bonding while baking!

Below is a recipe for a different kind of whoopie pie.  This time we used muffin tins to bake the pies instead of a cookie sheet.  It turned out well but I personally prefer the flatter ones with less of an edge.  Another change we made to these pies is that we rolled then in nuts!  Delicious, instant beauty that adds a bit of a crunch to the soft cakey texture.  All I can say is that I have a great sister, and we had a great time in the kitchen baking and catching up with each other.

 

 

Carrot Whoopie Pies – Modified (makes 12 pies)

• 1 1/8 c   AP Flour
• 2 t           cinnamon
• ½ t          baking soda
• ½ t          salt
  

  make sure you butter the pan first for easy release!

• ½ c          butter, unsalted (1/2 c)
• 1/3 c      packed light brown sugar, heaping
• 1/3 c      granulated sugar
• 1              egg, large
• ½ t          vanilla
• 1 c           coarsely grated carrots (2 medium)

1. Preheat oven to 375*F.  Whisk flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt together.

2. Cream butter and sugars together until the sugar does not look grainy anymore. Add egg and vanilla at medium speed and beat until fluffy.

3. Mix in carrots at low speed until combined.  Slowly add flour mixture and beat until just combined.

4. Place 1 T per cookie 2” apart on a baking sheet (use baking paper to avoid sticking and burning) OR place 1 T batter in a greased muffin tin.  (We tried this and they left the whoopie pies to be flatter than normal.)

5. Bake for 11 minutes or until centers are cooked through.  Remove from oven and cool while you prepare the frosting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cream Cheese Frosting

 

• .4 oz       Cream cheese, at room temp
• 2 T          Butter, unsalted, at room temp
• ½ t          Vanilla extract
• ½ t          Cinnamon (optional)
• Dash      Nutmeg (optional)
• 2-3 c       Confectioner’s sugar
• Chopped pecans (for rolling)

1. Mix the cream cheese and butter in a mixture until well combined.

2. Add vanilla and spices if you choose and stir until incorporated.

3. Slowly add confectioner’s sugar until thick in consistency but not overly sweet.  Add milk if the frosting becomes too thick.

4. Frost 1 cake and top with another cake.  Roll the sides in chopped pecans and enjoy!

Just a side note, I know I have posted a number of whoopie recipes, there might just be one last one before the year is over.

Why pork?

When my parents were in town last weekend something strange happened.  They offered to take me to the grocery store to stack up on food for the next few weeks and strangely enough my shopping purchases switched from whole grains, fresh fruit, cheese and legumes, to pork roast, pork sausage, and pork pork pork!  Why?   I have no idea.  I’ve never been a huge fan of pork.  It has always been a tasteless meat which can be hard to season and sometimes impossible to cook without drying it out .

 

So into the kitchen I went, still pondering the reasons why I wanted to buy pork in the first place.  With sautéed brussel sprouts and butternut squash soup on the stove and slow cooked pork with apples, cranberries and sauerkraut in the crockpot, this meal worked warmed me up on a cold winter night..  This meal was paired with some Weise beer leftover from the family gathering over the weekend and a fresh loaf of rye bread from the store.  With only 30-40 minutes of total preparation, this turned out being a delicious meal for a cold Sunday night.

 

Sautéed Brussel Sprouts

 

Note: You can buy sprouts on the stock at the farmer’s market for ~$4 or you can get a bag of them at the store for ~$2.  I had fun picking off the sprouts but in the future I might stick to the bag; less work, consistent sizes, and did I mention less work?

 

• 1 stock Brussels sprouts (or 1 bag from the store)
• 1 T salted butter
• Salt and pepper to taste

 

1.  Heat up 1 inch of water in a pot over medium heat.  Bring to a boil, add sprouts and cook for 4-6 minutes until they are almost cooked through.

2.  Remove water from pot, return pot to stove and add butter, salt and pepper.  Cook over medium high heat for 3-5 more minutes, stirring occasionally until the outsides start to partially brown.

3.  Keep warm until ready to serve.

 

 

Pork and Kraut

 

• 1              pork roast (bone-in, bone-out, doesn’t really matter)
• 2 T          butter
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 lg can Sauerkraut, drained and rinsed
• 2              Granny smith apples, cored and thinly sliced
• ½ c          Dried cranberries (or ¼ c dried juniper berries if you have them  **do not eat juniper berries, just add for flavor**
• ¾ c          Brown sugar
• 1/3 c      Cranberry port mustard (you can use any whole grain mustard)
• 1-2 c       water (or 1 c water, ½ c wine)

1. Melt butter over medium-high heat in a sauté pan.  Meanwhile pat pork dry and season with salt and pepper.  Add the pork roast to the pan and cook until all sides turn slightly brown.  This will help seal in the juices and the flavor of the meat.

2. Place pork into a crock pot and coat the top of the roast with mustard.  Surround the roast with all remaining ingredients and pour the water over on top before placing the cover on.  Turn on low for 4-4.5 hours or until the roast has cooked all the way through.

3. When ready, slice meat and serve topped with kraut and fruit.  Enjoy!