Happy Valentine's Day 2008!

I mentioned that I was pretty busy yesterday and I think you will see just how much once I get done with today's lengthy post! We wanted to do something a little extra special for the Wednesday Treat Day this week as Valentine's Day is tomorrow!

The first thing I had to get going was the dough for some Cream Cheese Vanilla Shortbread Cut Outs. This dough has a couple special touches to make it a little more special - cream cheese and vanilla sugar. Once it had sufficiently chilled in the refrigerator, it easily rolled out and I cut out a mess of heart-shaped cookies. By the time I had re-rolled the dough once, I already had something crazy like 70 some cookies, so I stopped at that point - you might be able to re-roll the dough 1 more time without it going tough though.

You want to bake these cookies just until you see the slightly golden hint around the edges - the cookies will be sturdy enough at this point to work without them falling apart, but not too hard or crunchy. These buttery cookies were fantastic plain, but they looked a little naked as is. For some of the cookies, we decided to dip one-half into melted bittersweet chocolate. For others, we decided to sprinkle on some coarse red sugar in the center, before we baked them. For the rest, we thought it would be fun and a little different to pour over a White Chocolate Fondant Icing.

Fancy name maybe, but it is really quite easy to mix up and an excellent way to quickly add some pizazz to cookies. We added just a drop of red gel coloring to tint it a light pink - you could just leave it white, if desired, and add some fun sugars on top. We just lined up the cookies on a wire rack and poured the frosting on top of the cookies with a spoon. The best part about this type of icing is that you can re-use it - all you need to do is scrape up the excess and re-heat it (not too much though, it is at its best consistency around 100 degrees). If you find crumbs in the icing, you can just strain them out with a fine-mesh strainer! This type of icing will set with a glorious shine, but it will remain somewhat soft - you won't be able to stack the cookies as they will stick together.

I was multi-tasking at various points in the cookie making process, and got going on the cupcakes and frosting. So what kind did we make? Red Velvet Cupcakes of course! Lots of red velvet cakes and cupcakes use a cream cheese frosting, which we have done before and is decidedly delicious, but we wanted to make a more traditional frosting for these. While this is technically a buttercream frosting, it is not that exceedingly sweet kind that is based on shortening and confectioners' sugar.

This version gets its thick, silky body from a cooked mixture of milk and flour. I could tell what Jeff was thinking just by the look on his face when I was describing the process to him... "Umm... milk and flour? How is the world is that gonna taste good?". Well, it certainly doesn't taste like that once you add heaps of butter! You may look at the ingredients, see granulated sugar and think the result would be grainy. However, be assured that the sugar will completely blend into the butter and the frosting will be extremely luscious and smooth by the time it is ready. Just be sure that the cooked milk mixture has completely cooled before you begin to add it.

Now, back to these devilish cupcakes! Most recipes out there are quite similar - the differences come typically from the flour used, the amount of cocoa and how much red coloring is added. To give these the best soft and tender crumb, we used cake-flour in our cupcakes. With only 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder, you don't get an overwhelming chocolate bite when you sink your teeth into the cake, but the natural cocoa powder adds just enough subtle flavor so you know it's there. Buttermilk as the liquid keeps these incredibly moist and adds a slight tang to lure you to the next mouthful. We ended up garnishing the tops of the cupcakes with a few of the cookies and served the rest of the side for munching!

Recipes
Cream Cheese Vanilla Shortbread Cut Outs
White Chocolate Fondant Icing
Red Velvet Cupcakes
Buttercream Frosting

Stuffin' dough with lots of greens...

So it's Tuesday... you might be looking for the treat day post - but we've had to put it off a day. I've been quite busy getting the treats together and won't be finished with them until the morning. We'll grab some pictures bright and early before we send them into the office and talk about what we made tomorrow!

I probably should have planned a dish that was not so involved for dinner tonight, but I went ahead with these Spinach and Kale Turnovers anyway. Once I got into the groove, it didn't take as long as I feared! The original recipe called for a canned dinner roll dough, but I went ahead and whipped up a slightly smaller batch of our favorite Whole-Wheat Pizza Dough to use instead as it comes together in a snap.

While we waited on the dough to rise, I busied myself with the filling which is simply sautéed onions, garlic, chopped kale and tender baby spinach. The obligatory seasonings of salt and fresh ground black pepper are added, but an unusual pinch of fresh grated nutmeg brought just a subtle touch to heighten the fillings flavor. After a few minutes off-heat to cool slightly, a heaping mound of salty feta is added to round out the filling. The dough is equally divided and rolled out into small circles - the greens are then piled on and the dough is folded over to create the turnover. You could just crimp the edges with a fork if desired, but we gave them a thick ridge around the outside by folding the bottom piece of the dough over the top lip and sealing them together. The stuffed turnovers are finally spritzed with a bit of olive oil and showered with nutty Parmesan cheese before going into the oven. Now, these are fairly small, so we had a couple of them for a main dish - but you could also serve one of these as a side to another dish. I'm betting these will freeze quite well and should re-heat nicely for a quick weeknight meal or a light lunch!

Recipes
Spinach and Kale Turnovers

Hoisin glazed pork chops...

I know it may seem like we don't eat meat all that often - we do have it at lunches or even at breakfast, but we just don't have it nearly as much for dinner any more. I don't think there is any reason behind it - we are just making whatever sounds good when I menu plan and it just happens to not be as heavy on the meat these days! Jeff asked if we could have some pork chops this week, so I pulled some from the freezer last night to make these Five-Spice Barbecued Pork Chops with Asian-Style Succotash for dinner tonight.

We seasoned a few boneless pork chops with five-spice powder and a grill seasoning blend - you can usually find a prepared blend in the market, but we make our own from a mixture of coarsely ground coriander seeds, salt, dill weed, paprika, crushed red pepper, garlic powder and fresh ground black pepper. Once they had fully cooked, we poured over thick and distinctly flavored hoisin sauce to coat the juicy pork.

While we were waiting on the pork, we started on the veggie succotash by heating a couple tablespoons of canola oil and adding some red bell pepper. After a couple minutes, garlic was added and once you could smell its sweet aroma, sliced snow peas, corn and a few green onions are tossed into the skillet. Cooked just until it was heated through, the flavors are freshened up by a jigger of fresh lime juice followed by an injection of heat from a few shots of cayenne pepper sauce. With a hearty piece of shiny glazed pork and a zesty colorful salad on the side, we were quite satisfied by the time our plates were cleaned. I had to remind Jeff that if he didn't stop picking at the leftovers, he wouldn't have any for lunch tomorrow!

Recipes
Five-Spice Barbecued Pork Chops with Asian-Style Succotash

Chard and Feta Tart...

9 new recipes done in the kitchen this week - Jeff wanted to pick the favorites this week, so his list were those Girl Scout Cookie-like Coconut Caramel Candy Bars, Three-Cheese Polenta Pie and reluctantly those Spicy Mumbai Potatoes (go hidden tofu!).

While we can usually sneak in some lengthy recipes during the week, I'm glad I waited to do this Chard and Feta Tart on a weekend. It was not like this recipe had a ton of work to do, but there was plenty of time in between steps!

A couple hours before we were ready to eat, I started on the delicious fresh thyme-infused cracker-like crust. This is not a pastry that you need to be afraid of - it comes together in a jiffy and just needs to rest in the refrigerator to ease rolling it out. No butter or shortening here, just a few tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil and some cold water for the liquid! Once we rolled the dough into a large circle, I rolled it up on the rolling pin and scooted it into one of those snazzy removable bottom tart pans.

After a few pricks with a fork to keep it from puffing up, the crust is baked off until golden and firm - it then needs to cool down before the filling goes in. The filling is a mixture of sautéed swiss chard (stems and leaves), a mess of garlic, a couple eggs and ricotta cheese. To add some pizazz, fresh lemon zest is added along with briny chopped kalamata olives and crumbled feta cheese to the filling. Baked until the center is set, make sure the tart has a few minutes to cool down before cutting and serving. I know the color is a little wonky, but we could only get a hold of red chard today and it ended up dyeing the white ricotta quite well! Pre-baking the crust ensures that it stays nice and crispy, which also makes this piquant tart sturdy enough to cut into smaller bites if you wanted to pass it around as an appetizer.

Recipes
Chard and Feta Tart

Goin' nuts over cookies!

We always have some sort of homemade nut butter in the fridge - be it peanut, almond or Jeff's favorite cashew butter. I've had some macadamia nuts chillin' out in the freezer since we made those Blueberry-Coconut-Macadamia Muffins late last year - I plucked them out this morning to make yet another nut butter so we could prepare these Macadamia Butter Cookies with Dried Cranberries.

Since the macadamias are rich in fat, the heat from the whirling blade will help extract the oils and it will take just a few minutes to turn those buttery nuggets into a smooth butter. Once combined with your typical cookie ingredients (no additional butter or oil necessary!), I found the dough to hold together well, yet just slightly tacky to the touch. It only took a 10 minute rest in the refrigerator and we could easily roll the dough into balls.

The tops of the cookies are dipped in crunchy granulated sugar and then the balls of dough are give a criss-cross pattern (think peanut butter cookies) on top with a fork. Just a small amount of fresh grated nutmeg give the cookies a subtle, yet fragrant special note that keeps you asking "Mmmm, what is that?!". The fruity dried cranberries acted as a nice counterpoint to the crisp and slightly chewy-in-the-center cookies. Bake these sturdy cookies until the edges are golden and the cookies have puffed up, but take them out when the centers are still more tan to keep that chewy quality.

Recipes
Macadamia Butter Cookies with Dried Cranberries

A dish of pork, soba noodles and sesame...

We keep lots of different oils on hand to use in cooking, but I have to admit that one of my favorites is toasted sesame oil. That dark, rich and pungent sesame flavor really perks up a lot of different dishes - even though tonight's dinner, Sesame-Ginger Pork with Soba Noodles, used just 2 teaspoons, it still packed a punch.

If you have easy access to soba (buckwheat) noodles, great - but if you don't and still want to make this, you can also use a whole-wheat spaghetti. While we waited for the noodles, we heated up the sesame oil and added some minced pickled ginger. When the sweet flavor of the ginger hit my nose, I raised the heat for the skillet and tossed in tender chunks of lean pork tenderloin. Once the meat had browned on all sides, it was lightly seasoned and we stirred in a few green onions and toasted sesame seeds.

Broth and some salty soy sauce were added to finish off the pork and begin creating a flavorful "sauce" for the noodles. Crisp slices of water chestnuts and the noodles are added off heat and the dish is freshened up with a sprinkling of chopped cilantro. At first it looked like it was going to be quite wet, but the noodles slowly drank up some of the excess liquid, without turning mushy, and turned out to be just saucy enough for us. With the generous pieces of tenderloin, this finished noodle dish with its poignant sesame depth from the oil and crunchy toasted seeds was a snap to prepare with minimal prep work and a pleasant way to bring a busy week to a close.

Recipes
Sesame-Ginger Pork with Soba Noodles

Chicken Hash and Rye Sticks...

We made a couple of fun recipes for dinner tonight - I took care of these Rye and Caraway Seed Sticks first as the other recipe was going to need my full attention.

These simple sticks are a combination of all-purpose and rye flours spiked with crunchy caraway seeds. Using your fingers, a few tablespoons of cold butter are rubbed into the flours until the mixture resembles coarse meal - you could probably do this in a food processor, but it is quite a small batch and it could get overworked quickly. Water is added until a soft dough is formed - once combined the dough is portioned out and rolled into sticks. Unless the dough is extra moist, try not to add any additional flour - a little friction will help you roll the piece out into long enough sticks. A scattering of additional caraway seeds on top reinforces that tangy rye-bread like flavor and the sticks bake until they puff and crisp up. Unlike breadsticks which tend to either be crunchy or soft and chewy, these are decidedly more buttery and are reminiscently of shortbread, though savory, and have a sturdy, yet sandy tenderness to them.

Once those were in the oven, I was able to turn my attention to our main dish tonight - Poached Eggs with Chicken Hash. To make sure the potato portion of this hash would be completely cooked by the time the rest of the ingredients were ready, we needed to give them a head start in some boiling salted water. Since they are fairly finely diced, this only took about 5 minutes. As we waited on the potatoes, we started cooking the chicken (feel free to use breast or thigh meat) and some meaty diced bacon until the chicken was browned all over. Onions and celery are tossed in and once tender, the par-boiled potatoes are added in to finish cooking the hash.

When the hash was almost done, I started the eggs - there are several different methods for poaching eggs out there. I've found it easiest for us to add them to just simmering water that had been seasoned with a touch of cider vinegar to help the whites set. Feel free to use whatever method works best for you.

Once we served the meaty hash with the soft-set eggs set on top, a few dashes of hot sauce was the last touch for us. Yes, you could certainly cook the eggs so the yolks are more firm, but once we broke into the yolks and watched that luscious golden stream flow through the hot chunky hash, we were in heaven! A completely filling meal with a bit of heat, crisp-yet-creamy potatoes, salty bacon and tender pieces of chicken - what else could we ask for?

Recipes
Rye and Caraway Seed Sticks
Poached Eggs with Chicken Hash

Polenta... cheesecake... pie?

Once I finally finished assembling tonight's dinner, Three-Cheese Polenta Pie, and placed it in the oven, it felt like it took forever to finish cooking. Jeff and I were waiting excitedly by the timer as it slowly crept down because it just looked and smelled so inviting.

Polenta is quickly becoming a staple around here (as you may have noticed lately!) - this recipe transforms it into a delicious crust to hold a cheesy filling. We have usually used a 4:1 ratio of liquid to cornmeal, but this uses less as you want the polenta very firm and moldable. Once prepared, the thick mixture is scooped into a pie plate and spread over the bottom and up the sides - the easiest way to achieve this is by dampening your hands to keep it from sticking. You may want to work it around with a spatula first and let it sit to cool down slightly so it is not so hot. This polenta "shell" is then placed in the oven to crisp up.

The filling is whipped up by combining ricotta cheese with a couple eggs, mozzarella cheese, a touch of flour, parsley and basil. The cheesy mixture is spread into the hot polenta crust, sprinkled with sharp fresh grated Parmesan cheese and placed back in the oven until the center is set. When I initially went through the recipe, I didn't really realize how it was going to end up once finished, but the best way I can think to describe this now is as a dense, moist and certainly savory cheesecake-like dish encased with a thick corn crust. Interesting, unique and kept my taste buds anticipating each bite - while good plain, think about topping it off with your favorite chunky marinara sauce to add one more layer of flavor.

Recipes
Three-Cheese Polenta Pie

Giving the Girl Scouts a run for their money...

Today is Tuesday and you know what we're about to talk about - the weekly Wednesday Treat Day! Sometimes I just pick a recipe and run it past Jeff to see if he likes the sound of it, other times I deluge him with an array of options and let him decide based on the title. I used the latter method and he picked out these Coconut Caramel Candy Bars to try.

The bottom of these sturdy bars is a rich, chewy blondie-like base that is threaded with bits of toasted coconut. The dough is not dry and crumbly like some bar cookies, but it is not super sticky either - I found it to be too stiff to spread with a spatula and a bit too soft to use my fingers. When I make a dough like this, I prefer to cover the top with a piece of plastic wrap once it is in the pan and use a measuring cup to push and level the dough out. Much less messy!

Midway through baking, the pan is taken out and the hot partially-baked crust is strewn with chunky bits of caramel. The crust goes back to finish baking and melt the caramel. If I were to make this again, I would probably add a few more ounces worth of the caramel as the amount called for created a fairly thin layer. Chopped bittersweet chocolate is then added on top and after a few minutes of sitting on the counter, the chocolate has softened enough to create a smooth layer on top. The finishing touch is a scattering of toasted coconut to give a hint of what's to come.

With a dense thin base, a slick of hidden caramel and layer of chocolate on top, these neat and tidy bars are sure to please coconut lovers with a flavor somewhat reminiscent of those infamous Girl Scout Samoas.

Just a couple days ago, we used carrots as a starting point of thick dressing for a quinoa salad - the bright orange vegetable was once again highlighted tonight with this Carrot Orzo dish we made for dinner.

The carrots need to be finely chopped (to about the same size of the rice-shaped pasta), so to make quick work of them, they are roughly chopped and then pulsed in a food processor. The orzo and carrots are then briefly toasted for a few minutes in a couple knobs of butter. The liquid used to cook the orzo is heavy on the broth and light on the water, but you can play around with those ratios to suit your taste - the original called for much more water, but we just prefer the extra flavor. Once the orzo has absorbed the liquid, the pasta gains a creamy element by adding a handful of fresh grated Parmesan cheese. While a few chopped green minced onions brought a pleasant note at the end, what we thought really set this dish apart was the addition of fragrant fresh rosemary that brought this pasta dish to life.

Recipes
Coconut Caramel Candy Bars
Carrot Orzo

That evil and sneaky tofu strikes again...

We've prepared a few recipes with tofu now and have really enjoyed experimenting with the bland protein that comes in a variety of textures. The dinner we prepared tonight, Spicy Mumbai Potatoes, would be a good way to slowly introduce tofu as you would never know it was in this new take on twice-baked potatoes!

While you don't have to do this next suggestion, I always like to prepare baked potatoes by rubbing them with a bit of olive oil and sprinkling each with coarse salt. This allows the skin to get crisp and delicious with a salty bite that we enjoy. If you don't care for the skin on the potatoes, you could just skip this part.

The time needed for baking the potatoes will completely depend on how "large" they are... we needed to wait just over 60 minutes for ours to be tender enough - I think you could certainly do this part ahead of time and just refrigerate them once they have cooled, if needed. As the potatoes baked away, we continued on by sautéing a cup of thinly sliced leeks until they had softened and just began to turn golden. Minced fresh ginger and a couple cloves of garlic are then tossed in until they release their supreme fragrant aroma - once you smell them, the leek mixture is then spiced up with ground coriander, cumin and turmeric for a ting of golden color. Green peas, along with a little water to help cook them, are the last addition and take just a couple of minutes.

When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, most of the potato innards are scooped out - be sure to leave about a 1/4" border on the inside to give some integrity to the spuds skin. The potato meat is then smashed with a healthy dose of pureed silken tofu, with the leek and pea mixture being folded in last. This is then spooned back into the potato shells (or transfer it to a sturdy zip-loc bag and pipe it in!) and the filled shells go back into the oven to thoroughly heat through and the tops get a little crunchy.

Of course, I told Jeff after he scarfed down his portion if he noticed anything unusual - the only thing he commented on was the interesting (in a good way) blend of spices and how he loved the creaminess of the potatoes! Score another victory for tofu - of course, he gave the evil eye when he heard "tofu" and "hidden", but I think he was happy I didn't hide mushrooms inside! He did try the "but... but... but... I don't like peas!!" trick, however once again he ate them with a silly little satisfied grin! These are a little more adventurous than your average stuffed potatoes, but we are now both very excited to have the leftovers at lunchtime tomorrow!

Recipes
Spicy Mumbai Potatoes

Warm quinoa salad...

We went through 8 new recipes this week - our favorites this time were those tantalizing Banana Bars with Browned Butter Pecan Frosting, Baked Banana-Stuffed French Toast and the Wheat Berry Salad with Edamame.

I made another quinoa dish for dinner tonight, but this time it had a fairly unique dressing. I'm not sure I would have thought to use raw carrots as a base for a dressing, but that is exactly what this Warm Quinoa and Broccoli Salad with Carrot-Ginger Dressing used as one of the flavor components!

You can use your favorite method for the broccoli - but to save on dishes, we actually just set a steamer basket on top bubbling quinoa and removed it when the veggies were bright green and still crisp-tender. While you wait for those two to finish, a blender makes quick work of the interesting dressing.

Raw carrots, minced fresh ginger, canola oil, seasoned rice vinegar, soy sauce and toasted sesame oil are the ingredients that compose the dressing - besides tinting it orange, the bright carrots added a thick body to that dressing which made it cling well to the salad. The bite from the fresh ginger was almost a little overwhelming for me, but Jeff quite liked it and thought it was just the right amount. Just two teaspoons of the toasted sesame oil added a rich and full flavor without loading the dish with unnecessary calories - our pantry was void of sesame seeds for an unknown reason, but some toasted on top would have been a nice way to finish off this salad.

Recipes
Warm Quinoa and Broccoli Salad with Carrot-Ginger Dressing

PB&J for breakfast... but not as a sandwich!

I had peanut butter on my mind when I woke up this morning and since I was itchin' to bake something, I baked up these Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins to go with breakfast.

We again used our favorite combination of all-purpose flour and whole wheat pastry flour to keep the muffins light, yet give them a little more nutrition - but as always, you could just use all-purpose if needed. With just a half cup of sugar for the recipe, we felt that the muffins were just barely sweet enough - which was actually good for us, however if you like your muffins fairly sweet, I would suggest sprinkling some crunchy raw turbinado sugar before baking on top rather than adding more sugar to the batter.

You have options for the filling - once half of the batter is spooned into the muffin tins, you could add a dollop of strawberry, grape or raspberry jam (or whatever flavor you think would go well with peanut butter). We opted for raspberry simply because we already had half a jar open in the fridge (now if I had an open jar of Nutella it would be another story!). With a filling like this, I wouldn't suggest trying to tell doneness by a toothpick - just lightly press on the center and if the muffin top springs back, they are done!

Even though the muffins have a strong peanut butter aroma, the flavor is actually quite mild. This allowed the hidden raspberry pocket to come through, yet not totally overtake the nutty flavor. I wouldn't call these muffins dense, but with the heavy peanut butter, they are not light as air either - pretty hearty and filling though!

Recipes
Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins

Woo.... glasses and contacts begone!

No post last night, which meant no dinner for me.... how come? Well, yesterday afternoon I finally gathered the courage and had Lasik surgery done! We arrived home around 4:30pm and after the 2 Valium they gave me, I didn't wake up (except for an hour around 10pm) until 8:30 this morning! That stuff really knocked me out. Don't worry, Jeff was well taken care of, he had snacks and dinner all laid out for him to munch on. So far I can see ok today, but it is still a little fuzzy and blurry at times - they say this is to be expected and my vision should continue to clear up over the next couple weeks. Has anyone else out there had a good experience with Lasik?

What else would I do for a thank you to the great nurses and doc that took care of me? In anticipation of things turning out well, I went ahead and baked a batch of our most requested brownie recipe, the Outrageous Oreo Brownies, to take in when I went back for my follow up today - I hope they enjoyed them!

I did feel good enough to make dinner tonight, so I chose a couple easy things to make - we started off by making this Apple-fennel slaw. This fresh and clean salad begins by thinly slicing a fennel bulb and tart Granny Smith apple. A couple carrots are grated and added to the above, along with some sweet currants and a drizzle of olive oil. This mixture is then refrigerated while the dressing is prepared.

Apple juice, mixed with just a teaspoon of sugar, is allowed to concentrate and reduce until it is roughly half as much as when you started. For a tangy bite, a couple shots of apple cider vinegar are added before the mixture is set aside to cool completely. Once the dressing is combined with the licorice-y slaw, the mixture needs sit in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes or so. This gives the flavors a chance to marry and keeps the textures crisp so you can fully enjoy this clean-tasting dish.

When I was at the market on Wednesday, I saw a couple of pears that looked great, but were still a bit too hard. Today they had just enough give, while still being firm, so I was able to make this Wild Rice with Pears, Pistachios and Cranberries to have along with the slaw.

The cooking time for wild rice can vary greatly, so start checking around the 40 minute mark to see if the rice or tender or not - our rice was ready in about 50 minutes. While the rice was bubbling away, we continued the dish by sautéing mild chopped leeks in a couple pats of butter until they were tender, yet not browned at all. The leeks are removed, another pat of butter is added and the sliced firm pears are tossed in. After just a few seconds, a small dose of brandy is poured in and the pears are left to soak up the flavor. The tender, but not mushy pears are combined with the leeks, the cooked rice, ruby dried cranberries and a handful of crunchy pistachios. The sweet pears, nutty rice and chewy cranberries made for a tasty adventure with delicious flavors and complimenting textures (though the colors look a little muddled!).

Recipes
Apple-fennel slaw
Wild Rice with Pears, Pistachios and Cranberries

Bananas and French toast... a good match!

I had to grab some more bananas at the market today - between those banana bars yesterday and tonight's dinner, I ended up using all of the ones I had set aside getting ripe to throw in the freezer!

I know we just did breakfast-for-dinner a few nights ago, but it has been forever since the last time we had French toast and Jeff asked if we could make it sometime this week. Since you actually mash the bananas on the bottom slice of bread for this Baked Banana-Stuffed French Toast, you will want a hearty type for this - we used a medium-sliced whole wheat bread. If you use a softer bread, be sure to mash the bananas in a bowl and spread them on the slices instead.

Since our bananas were very ripe, I didn't add anything to them - if you still want to make these and your bananas are not as sweet as you would like, add a sprinkle of brown sugar when you mash them. The assembled toasts are then dunked in a mixture of eggs and milk that is spiced up with vanilla, cinnamon and a pinch of fresh grated nutmeg. They are briefly cooked in a pat of butter just until both sides are golden - the toasts then slide into the oven to continue baking until the banana filling is warmed through.

Firm and not soggy, you can dress these golden stuffed French toasts in a couple of ways - they were just fine with a dusting of confectioners' sugar as seen above. But, below, a drizzle of warm pure maple syrup brought a tempting whole new dimension to them.

Recipes
Baked Banana-Stuffed French Toast

Sharp banana bars...

It's that time again for another edition of baking for the weekly Wednesday Treat Day for Jeff's co-workers. I've been letting some bananas go to get nice and ripe to put in the freezer, but decided to mash a couple so we could make these Banana Bars with Browned Butter Pecan Frosting.

I had enough bananas to get the full cup required for the recipes (about 2 large), but if you run short, just fill the rest of the cup with applesauce and it will be just fine. I love pairing brown sugar when using bananas, so these bars use a duo of sugars for sweetness - while the granulated sugar helps with the sweetness, the brown sugar gives these a rich depth. The bars are more soft and moist, rather than dense and chewy, and stay quite tender from the use of sour cream.

If you wanted a lighter treat, you could simply dust the top with confectioners' sugar, but we went a little more decadent with a browned butter cream cheese frosting to slather on top of these sharp banana-flavored bars. Browning the butter before using allows it to gain a very nutty flavor which plays off some toasted pecans we added on top. The butter can go from browned to burned fairly fast, so be sure to watch closely - remove the butter from the heat just when it begins to turn golden. Sometimes confectioners' sugar-based frostings can be a bit too sweet, but the cream cheese in the mixture helps to tone that down a bit. You could mix the pecans right into the frosting, but adding them on top adds a nice visual touch and allows those that don't care for nuts to sweep them off before they dig in.

I've had some Israeli Couscous sitting around in the pantry from the last time we used it and came across a recipe that sounded good to us when I was menu planning on Saturday. Israeli couscous, sometimes labeled as pearl couscous, is much larger than regular couscous - roughly about the size of a while peppercorn.

Because of the size difference, it does take quite a bit longer to cook - however, it is just as easy. This recipe prepares the couscous by pouring boiling water over and letting it sit, covered, for an hour. There may be some liquid left by the time they are done - just drain that off and you won't have to worry about them being too moist. The couscous is done when the pieces are plump and tender, yet not soggy or gummy.

There was a bit more to do while we waited, so we continued on with this Israeli Couscous and Corn Salad by sautéing onions, corn (still using up the fresh kernels we froze from the farmers market this past summer!) and red bell peppers, spiced with coriander and caraway seeds, until the vegetables were tender. Once the vegetables and couscous are tossed together, some minced jalapeños are added for a spicy bite, along with green onions and mint for a cooling freshness. With a few quick strokes of a whisk, a sweet lime-honey dressing is combined from fresh lime juice, canola oil, rice wine vinegar, honey and lime zest to coat the colorful salad with a snappy finish.

Recipes
Banana Bars with Browned Butter Pecan Frosting
Israeli Couscous and Corn Salad

Spicy Mexican chicken soup...

While you will find many versions of this Mexican chicken soup, Caldo Tlalpeño, Jeff and I both liked the combination of flavors and thought the preparation time to complete the dish was good for a busy weeknight.

One of the main flavors that seemed to be fairly consistent among all of those recipes is the addition of a smoky heat from chipotle peppers. You may be surprised to see a whole head of garlic used, but because the individual cloves are separated and simmered along side a couple chicken breasts, this process removes the bite allowing the garlic to become quite mellow. The chicken and garlic are poached in the same liquid that will be the base for the soup later on, so you will want to be sure to skim any of the foam or debris that float to the surface.

While those two bubble away, a chopped onion and an Anaheim chile pepper are cooked until they soften and have a tinge of golden on them. The garlic is moved to a blender, the chicken is set aside to cool slightly and the onion mixture is married with the broth mixture. Part of that broth, along with the spicy chipotle, are added to the garlic and buzzed together to create a smooth purée. Since we only need one chipotle from the entire can, I chopped the rest of the peppers and froze them in one tablespoon portions to use at another time. I have found they do keep for quite awhile if you keep them in an air-tight container in the refrigerator though.

This purée is added back to the soup base - to speed up the next part, the recipe calls for instant brown rice which cooks in just a few minutes, rather than the 30 to 40 minutes it would normally take. When the rice is tender, the soup is ladled into bowls that contain shredded pieces of the tender poached chicken breasts. Crisp, peppery slices of radishes are added on top, along with some chopped fresh cilantro and a squirt of lime juice. Unlike the last time we needed one, the market actually had some avocados... unfortunately for us, they were hard as rocks! So again, toss some creamy chunks on top for a cooling contrast. As a side, we served some basic cheesy quesadillas made with a blend of Mexican cheeses.

Recipes
Caldo Tlalpeño

Wheat Berry and Edamame Salad...

I mentioned yesterday that we spent some time in St. Paul. We decided to go over and check out the winter carnival - not quite what I was expecting, but we did think the ice carvings were pretty impressive! And yes, it may not be quite "Minnesotan" of us, but we skipped the traditional "hot dish" that many enjoy (and my stomach thanks me!).

Here are some snowmen...

Notice the poor little guy in front who got a little to close to the "ice" fire and melted!

Here are some characters from the Wizard of Oz...

The back of the display was just as neat!

Tonight's dinner is one that could easily be served as a side, but we ended up just having a bit more of it, along with some of that cornbread that was in the freezer from a couple weeks ago, and called it a meal.

This Wheat Berry Salad with Edamame is not a necessarily a speedy recipe per se, but the majority of the time needed is just spent waiting on the wheat berries - they require about an hour of simmering to soften. When the wheat berries are ready, a couple cups of edamame are tossed in and allowed to cook along with them until they become tender. I was just about to bring another pot of water to a boil to cook the green soybeans, but stopped myself when I realized I should just add them to the wheat berries and save a pot to clean!

For some contrasting texture, crisp celery, sweet chewy currants and chopped sun-dried tomatoes are added to the cooked wheat berries and edamame. We used oil-packed tomatoes, but if all you have is dry, just soak them in some hot water for a few minutes to plump them up. To dress the salad, a garlicky balsamic dressing is created by combining balsamic vinegar, extravirgin olive oil, crushed garlic, salt and fresh ground black pepper. Light and refreshing, you could also toss in some cooked shrimp or chicken to make it a little more filling.

Recipes
Wheat Berry Salad with Edamame

Chewy candies bursting with fruity flavor!

We were out and about in St. Paul today and had to run some errands afterwards, so no treat baking for us today. However, earlier this week, I wanted to send in an extra treat that was a little more unique and unexpected for Jeff to share with his co-workers.

These Cranberry-Raspberry Jellies were definitely a task and required lots of downtime, so we spread the process out over a couple days. Back in September, Mom brought us up a basket of goodies from the farm - one of the items not shown was a few bags of freshly picked sweet raspberries! I've been hoarding them in the freezer, but we finally decided to pull them out for these fun squishy candies.

To get a very intense cranberry-raspberry flavor, we used a cranberry juice cocktail concentrate, in addition to the frozen, but thawed, raspberries and cranberries. While a little of the juice is used to bloom a few tablespoons of gelatin, the remainder is combined with the fruit, fresh lemon zest, juice and granulated sugar. This thick mixture boils and bubbles away slowly to extract as much flavor as possible and until a candy thermometer registers firm ball stage (about 244 degrees).

Once we reached that magical number, we removed the syrup-y mixture from the heat and stirred in the bloomed gelatin. At this point, you need to move with a little more vigor as it starts to set somewhat quickly. So the end candy is silky smooth, all of the skins and seeds need to be remove - this is accomplished by straining the mixture through a fine sieve. Use a sturdy wooden spoon to carefully mash as much of the hot sticky liquid as you can out of the two berries - the resulting mixture is then poured into a baking pan to set. After a few hours at room temperature, the jelly needs to chill in the refrigerator which will make cutting them a little easier.

While the jelly is firm and set, it is still very s-t-i-c-k-y, so you need to make sure your cutting surface is generously dusted with granulated sugar and your knife is lightly oiled between cuts - just be patient and take your time. Once cut into small squares, all cut surfaces are coated with sugar and are left to dry at room temperature for a few more hours. The texture of the finish candy is soft and very chewy - the first description that came to my mind was a gumdrop that had an intense fruity flavor you might find in a jolly rancher. I was a little nervous that the sugar on the outside would push the sweetness of them over the edge, but it did not at all - they were sweet yes, yet because the cranberries are quite tart, the jellies had a nice balance to them. Fun, different and worth the effort!

Recipes
Cranberry-Raspberry Jellies

Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes... for dinner!

We haven't done breakfast-for-dinner in awhile, so for tonight's meal, we each had a few of these Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes. I enjoy making pancakes or waffles as one can usually scale the recipe up or down without much problem - I like to make a batch and a half sometimes to freeze the leftovers for those mornings Jeff needs a speedy breakfast before work (someone likes to hit that devilish snooze button).

These pancakes gain a darker speckled appearance with a more pronounced flavor than most because of their even ratio of buckwheat to whole-wheat pastry flour. With a good cup of buttermilk, these pancakes were light and had a slight tang to them, but I found the batter to be a little runny. I let the batter sit for about 10 minutes to see if the flour would soak up a little more of the liquid - it didn't seem to change much and the first few pancakes were fairly thin. Don't get me wrong, thin pancakes are just as tasty, but I like seeing some heft to them. By the time I got to the last couple of scoops of batter though, it was a little better and they came out a bit thicker.

I used tiny frozen wild blueberries and since the batter looked thin, I decided to just sprinkle them on the pancake once they began to cook. I've learned that they tend to bunch up in the center if the batter is on the thin side. The pancakes are just slightly sweet with only a tablespoon of honey in the batter, which would make them a perfect vehicle for a dusting of snowy confectioners' sugar and a rush of warm pure maple syrup (even better if you spike the syrup with a few blueberries before you warm it!).

Recipes
Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes

Flounder... the other white fish?

While Jeff loves shrimp, he doesn't tend to venture much further than that. Our seafood area of the recipe section to the left is fairly tiny compared to the rest and even so, most of those recipes involve shrimp! So, in an effort to get more fish into our diet, I made this Flounder with Smoked Paprika and Asiago Polenta recipe for dinner tonight.

Because the flounder will be quite strongly seasoned, a side of creamy polenta will get us started as a great canvas to set off the fish. If you want to cut down the time to prepare this part, you can use the finer-textured quick-cooking polenta which can be ready in about 5 minutes. If you can spare the 25 to 35 minutes (or longer if you can!) I prefer the depth of flavor that develops while cooking with a more coarse cornmeal. Once the polenta is ready, a good handful of Asiago is stirred in to add a little saltiness and a sharp flavor - to keep it creamy while you finish with the fish, be sure to just keep the pot covered. This will help slow down the polenta from setting up.

The fish is rubbed with a coating made from olive oil, smoked paprika and garlic powder. Once coated, the fillets are quickly cooked in a skillet just until they begin to flake - you could also do this in a grill pan, if desired. Now, the original recipe did call for Tilapia for the fish and Parmesan for the cheese in the polenta, but flounder looked superb at the market this morning and we wanted to add a slightly different flavor in the soft polenta. If you like a bit of spiciness, use a hot smoked paprika if you can locate it - besides the rich smoky flavor, it has a nice balance between a bit of heat and a touch of bitterness.

Recipes
Flounder with Smoked Paprika and Asiago Polenta

Huh? Rusty potato soup?

The weather people are promising a warm up this weekend (30 degrees again! woo!), but until then it is still very cold outside and suppose to drop to -17 tonight. Perfect night to cozy up with a steaming bowl of this Ecuadorian Potato Soup we had for dinner this evening!

This soup has an intriguing combination of flavors and a special ingredient that slowly bleeds into the liquid creating a rusty color. What is it? Annatto! Besides dying the soup, the ground seed lends a uniquely earthy flavor with a slight peppery note. Annatto can also be found in variety of cheeses and butter as a coloring agent.

Once some onions are sautéed and the annatto, along with cumin, are added to briefly toast, thick chunks of a few starchy russet potatoes are added to the pot. Milk, cilantro and a few pieces of chopped jalapeño are also added and allowed to simmer until the potatoes are tender. So the soup retains some texture, the potatoes are partially mashed with a potato masher, rather than pureeing the soup - if you prefer a silky soup though, I don't see why you couldn't stick an immersion blender into the pot and whirl away. To add some body, the soup is thickened slightly by tempering a lone egg yolk with a bit of the hot liquid and then whisking it back in and allowing the mixture to simmer for a few minutes.

While some chopped cilantro and jalapeño were natural additions to sprinkle on top, I would have never guessed what comes next. While I thought the ingredient was a little odd at first, Jeff and I both were pleasently surprised! The recipe calls for a few chopped hard-cooked eggs as one of the finishing touches - the firmer texture seemed to play well and the bit of richness from the yolks was a nice contrast to the light soup. I'm sure it would have been even better if we didn't have to miss out on one of the last toppings for the soup. It called for some creamy chopped avocado, but when I was at the market this morning to pick up a few other ingredients they had not gotten their shipment today or for the last few days either - next time!

Recipes
Ecuadorian Potato Soup