My son and his friend drifted upstairs from the family room where they had been playing video games.
“It smells so good in here. What’re you making?” Continue reading
Tag Archives: dessert
Casey’s chocolate and beet brownies
on playing hookie
Did I spell that correctly? I guess so, since autocorrect remained silent on the matter.
You read correctly. This week I’ve got nothing new for you. I’d love to say that since the CSA started that I’ve been banging out new and wonderful recipes, or that I’ve got a bunch of posts queued up for you, but that would not be the truth.
Rather than sit here and whine about how busy or uninspired I’ve been, I’ve decided to serve you pie. Click on each title to view the recipes.
Happy pi day, plus one.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged #apple pie, #pie, apple hand pie, chicken pot pie, dessert, pot pie
Be someone’s Valentine
In the opening of the movie, “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”, the main character gives the opinion that Valentines Day is a “holiday invented by greeting card companies to make people feel like crap.”
For a long time, I agreed with this sentiment and refused to celebrate. ”I don’t need a declared day to show my love”, I protested. ”I won’t give in to another commercially fabricated holiday”, I cried.
Through the years I softened my view on this a bit. Valentines Day isn’t just a day for romantic love. It’s a time when people wonder about the hearts of others and themselves. If you’ve ever been to a children’s class Valentine party, you’ve no doubt observed how each card exchanged is carefully read and cherished. People are nicer to each other in general.
A little sweetness is never a bad thing, people, so get on out there and FEEL THE LOVE.
lemon coconut macaroons
1-14 ounce package flaked coconut, preferable unsweetened
4 large egg whites
1/2 cup slivered almonds
3/4 cup unrefined sugar
1 tsp lemon zest
1/4 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine everything except the egg whites. Add the egg whites to this mixture, combining well.
Form balls from approximately 2 tsp of dough and drop onto prepared cookie sheet. You can use a cookie scoop, but I use my hands to shape the balls (this can get a little sticky). You don’t have to space them much on the cookie sheet, as they will not spread.
Place cookie sheet in oven and bake for approximately 25 minutes or until cookies are set and starting to brown a little on the tops. Remove from oven and cool completely.
Side note: At Christmas time, I make a variation of these cookies called inside-out Almond Joy cookies. Simply omit the almonds from the mix. unwrap a bag of Hershey almond kisses and mold the coconut dough around each kiss, forming a ball. Make sure the dough is firmly snug around the kiss. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
mom’s brownies
This week! Am I right?
Our family made it through Hurricane Sandy unharmed. We never even lost power.
It saddens my heart to watch the news and see what some folks in the upper east coast states are having to endure. Many have lost much and so many people are still in the dark.
Jenn over at Jenn Cuisine has asked food bloggers to unite this week and post a recipe that “you would make for someone in need, to help them feel at home”…a comfort food, if you will.
The initial recipes that came to mind were chicken pot pie or this chicken soup. And of course, everyone likes pie.
Posted in Dessert
Tagged #baking, #comfort food, #FBS4Sandy, baked goods, brownie recipe, brownies, dessert, homemade brownies, hurricane Sandy
apple hand pies
As I sit and start writing this post, Hurricane Sandy is paying us a visit.
An uninvited guest, she imposes herself with pounding rain and wind gusts the likes of which I’ve never seen or heard.
We have moved the lawn chairs indoors and we have placed the potted herbs snug against the house. We’ve purchased bottled water, as well as beer, in case of extreme emergency (we have our priorities!). The batteries have been replaced in the flashlights and camping lanterns.
We have hunkered down and snuggled in.
Nutella macarons for V-day
I realize I’m posting early in the week, but I thought if you had these ingredients on hand, you might want to whip up a batch of these simple, yummy treats today for your true love.
My kids are getting older. I Realized last night that this is the first Valentine’s Day in 17 years that I would not be purchasing the themed box of cards to be handed out to classmates at a school party (which I always volunteered to help with).
I wanted to come up with an easy, yet special treat for today. My daughter won’t even consider a dessert without chocolate, or a peanut butter sandwich without Nutella spread. Incorporating my latest fancy for macarons, I present to you the Nutella macaron…
Nutella Macarons
one 13-ounce jar of Nutella
1 1/4 C. all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 large egg
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl, beat together butter, 3/4 cup of the Nutella, and egg until well blended. In a separate medium bowl, toss together flour with baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until well combined (it will be a sticky dough). Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, adding a little flour if necessary. Separate dough into 18 equal pieces. Roll each ball into a round ball. Place each ball on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake 12 minutes or until set, being careful not to over bake. Cool 10-15 minutes on cookie sheet. Cut each cookie with a serrated knife. Spread the bottom of each cookie with 1 tsp Nutella and replace top.
meyer lemons: dessert and liqueur
Does everyone have a lemon bar recipe?
It seems so, but most people think of them as a summer dessert. Peak season for this fruit is the same as other citrus varieties-November to early March-and while it may not be seasonal exactly where I live, it is grown slightly south of here. The Meyer lemon was named after Frank Meyer, who worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the early 1900′s and brought this fruit back from China. It is more of a cross between an orange and a lemon, making it less bitter. Also, the rind is supposedly edible (a fact that I haven’t verified personally).
Aside from cheesecake, these lemon bars are the only non-chocolate dessert my youngest daughter will eat.
Tagged #cocktail, dessert, lemon bar, limoncello, liqueur, Meyer lemon
a pumpkin pie craving
Ever since I had to work through Thanksgiving, I’ve had a craving for pumpkin pie. The rest of the traditional Thanksgiving meal is fine, and I really missed my mother-in-law’s cooking this year, but the thing I really missed was not having any pumpkin pie.
I came across this recipe on one of my favorite new blogs, foodloveswriting. I love her blog because Shannalee does what I seem to be gravitating toward these days-more photo-blogging than recipes and cooking (probably a seasonal thing for me).
I didn’t change much about her recipe apart from using my own crust recipe. Also, I didn’t roast a pumpkin for puree, canned organic pumpkin worked very nicely (and neatly).
I’ve included a few photos in this post from the train garden at Homestead Gardens in Davidsonville. My husband and I had a free afternoon and strolled through the garden center. I’ve always heard the decor is beautiful and that the train garden was especially impressive.
pumpkin pie
1 unbaked pie crust
2 eggs
1 cup sucanat or brown sugar
1 Tbsp flour (I used whole wheat)
2 cups organic pumpkin puree (NOT pumpking pie filling)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
12 ounces organic heavy cream
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
In a large bowl, beat two eggs lightly. Add the rest of the ingredients. Mix together well.
Pour mixture into unbaked pie crust, leaving a little space at the top. Bake for 10 minutes at 450 degrees; then lower the temperature to 350 degree. The original recipe says to bake another 40-50 minutes, but mine took more like 65 minutes. It’s done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Posted in Dessert
Tagged #baking, #pie, Chrsitmas, Davidsonville, dessert, Homestead Gardens, Maryland, pumpkin, pumpkin pie, recipe
triple ginger cookies
These cookies are not for the faint of heart…they are heady, complex, and spicy with three different kinds of ginger-fresh, ground, and candied-so if you don’t like ginger, it’s probably not for you. However, if you love ginger like I do, then these cookies won’t disappoint.
They are labor intensive, and if they weren’t my favorite winter cookie, I probably wouldn’t bother. At a time of year when gingerbread and ginger cookie recipes abound, these are a different sort. The bite of the cookie is complemented by the lemony frosting.
triple ginger cookies
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softenend
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup candied ginger, minced
1 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced
turbinado, or raw, sugar
icing:
2 cups powdered sugar
2 Tbsp powdered egg whites
1 Tbsp milk
zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Whisk flour spices, soda, salt, and pepper together in a bowl, set aside. Cream butter and both sugars with a mixer until smooth. Add egg, beat until incorporated into butter and sugars. Add molasses, candied ginger, and fresh ginger. Gradually add flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Chill dough until slightly firm, about an hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop or roll dough into large balls, approximately 2 1/2 inches. Coat with turbinado sugar and place on cookie sheet, spacing about 3 inches apart.
Flatten the balls with the bottom of a measuring cup. Keep some water in a slightly larger measuring cup or a shallow dish. Dip the cup you are using to flatten the balls in the water every 3-4 cookies or you will want to kill me the cup will stick to the dough.
Bake 15-18 minutes, or until set. Let cookies cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack to finish cooling.
Whisk all ingredients for the icing together until smooth, then spread approximately a Tbsp of icing on each cookie.
Posted in Dessert
Tagged #baking, #Christmas, #food, #homemade, #photography, Baltimore, cookie, cookies, delicious, dessert, ginger, gingersnap
2 for Tuesday
There is a radio station I listened to when I was younger that, on Tuesdays, would play two songs by an artist. The disc jockey would announce “two songs coming up from your favorite artist.” Even though my musical tastes have, shall we say, evolved tremendously since those days (Despite what my teenage daughter might think!), I’m offering my version of the “2fer”…acorn squash. Roasted and prepared two ways-one sweet, one savory.
It seems that when I make the roasted squash bread, sometimes it’s more orange and has a stronger, richer squash taste. Not sure what to attribute this to, since I’m uncertain how to judge if the squash is ripe or not. Nevertheless, it’s still delicious every time. The raw sugar on the top gives it a nice, sweet (but not too much) crunch.
Just as when I bake zucchini bread, I freeze individual slices on a parchment lined cookie sheet, then wrap them individually. This makes it so easy to pop one in the toaster oven for a minute or two. So delicious with a bit of cream cheese or apple butter.
penne with acorn squash
2 acorn squash
1/2 cup leeks, washed and sliced thinly
1 pound penne
4 teaspoons olive oil
6 ounces pancetta, diced to 1/4 inch thickness
1/2 cup chicken stock or broth, preferably homemade
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup light cream
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Slice the squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds with a spoon. Cut each half crosswise into wedges, about 1/2 inch thick. Lay the slices on a baking sheet and spray with organic olive oil cooking spray. season with salt and pepper. flip the squash and do the same to the other side. Bake about 30 minutes, turning the slices over halfway through baking, until soft and slightly carmelized.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to directions. Drain pasta, reserving approximately 1/2-1 cup of the pasta cooking water. Let pasta sit in colander for now. Peel squash and cut into chunks.
Heat 2 tsp olive oil over medium heat in large pot (you can use the same one you cooked the pasta in). Saute the pancetta and leeks together until pancetta is slightly crispy and leeks are transparent and tender. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the chicken broth/stock and scrape up any brown bits in the pan. Stir in the rosemary. Add pancetta, leeks and squash to the pan. Stir in penne. Add cream to the mixture and stir gently to coat. This is where you can add a bit of the reserved pasta water if it’s too dry. Stir in Parmesan cheese. Serve with additional parmesan on top.
roasted acorn squash bread
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 1/4 cup squash puree
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
1/4 cup raw sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts
To make squash puree: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut one large acorn squash in half and scoop out seeds with a spoon. Place each half on a cookie sheet coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake in oven approximately 50 minutes or until fork tender. Remove from oven and let cool. Scrape squash into bowl with spoon.
Lower oven temperature 350 degrees. Lightly oil and flour a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
Whisk all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt, allspice and cloves in a medium bowl until combined.
Beat squash puree, sugar, honey and oil in a large mixing bowl with electric mixer or a stand mixer until smooth, about 1 minute. Beat in eggs and egg whites. Reduce speed to low and add dry ingredients until combined. Fold in chopped walnuts.
Pour into prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle with raw sugar. Bake approximately 75 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Start checking for doneness at around one hour. Cool in pan for 10 minutes after removing from oven, then turn out onto a wire rack and let cool.
*What radio station did you listen to when you were younger?
