Sweet Heat

It's hot in my kitchen... and it's not me. It's the oven. And the sun. And the fact that my air conditioner has yet to be installed for the summer. Alas, I must still satisfy the people in my life that understand how much butter goes into everything I bake and still demand more.

This post will encompass all of May's adventures in baking. I feel fatter just looking at it.

My co-worker got married a couple weeks ago and asked me to make some of the Russian Tea Cakes I'd brought into work once for the reception. Since it was for a special occasion I decided to go CUH-RAZY and make a batch with chocolate! Living on the culinary edge, I know.


Yes. The balls of butter were delicious.












Suivant...

I dislike peanut butter. A lot. But other people like it and once again I aim to please. I attempted a batch of Peanut Butter Brownies and even though I thought they tasted mediocre (I am biased) they were quite the hit.

I made them and the following two creations for an event at work and therefore wanted to invest as little effort as possible. The next recipes are simple enough for me to do all in one evening. Without doing methamphetamine.

Preheat your oven to 350ºF and grease a 13x9-inch baking pan.

Then, beat 3/4 cup of melted butter in a large bowl.

Mmm. Add the 1 3/4 cups of sugar and 2 teaspoons of vanilla. Following that, in a separate small bowl, lightly beat 4 eggs and then add them to the mixture and beat until it's all blended.

Stir in 1 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt until blended. Scoop out 1 3/4 cups of the batter and put it aside.

Stir in 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder into the bigger bowl of batter.

Spread the chocolate batter evenly (or you know, as close as you can get it... I lost patience, as demonstrated by the scars left by my spatula.)

Then spread the peanut butter batter you had previously put aside on top.


Luscious.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan. My oven is uncooperative and I can never just set a timer and walk away or things burn and then I throw them out the window. (TO THE HOMELESS.... ahem.) Completely cool them in the pan on a wire rack.

Slice them up and enjoy. As much as one can enjoy peanut butter.


I wanted to bake some cookies but then decided to make them more into a bar format, something thick and chewy and yes, high on the caloric value. So here is a recipe I thought up on the fly, which ended up being the most loved thing at the event. People like cookies.

Lacking-Clever-Name Cookie Bars

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Line a 9-inch square pan with foil, and then grease it.

Beat 3/4 cup packed brown sugar and 1/2 cup of butter (by the way, I always and only used unsalted butter as most recipes call for salt and well your baked goods usually shouldn't taste like salt,) in a large bowl at medium speed until all blended. Beat in 1 egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla until light and fluffy and like you want to smash your face into the bowl. Mix in 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

Add 1 cup + 2 tablespoons (I just added to it was right- do what I say,) of all-purpose flour until again it is all well blended.

Mix in 2/3 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips, 2/3 cup of white chocolate chips and 1/2 cup of nuts. I used cashews because (a) they are fattening and (b) it's what I had in my cupboard. Walnuts or pecans would be good too, I'm sure.

Spread the batter into the pan and bake for 23-ish minutes (again, watch them around 20 mins in) or until the center feels firm. Don't over-bake it as then it will lose the chewy consistency. I pulled mine own when it looked nowhere near done (but it was passed 20 minutes and I don't trust my oven) and let them cool before shoving them in the fridge to set and they were purrrfect.

I skipped a step.




When you release them from the scorching heat of the oven sprinkle leftover chocolate and white chocolate chips over the top (1/3 cup of each is good.) Let them melt and then spread it over the bars so they look like a mess. Cool them completely in the pan until they are set. Cut them in whatever shape you want.


I vote for triangles.
Lastly, I went a little extravagant and wanted to finally try making the Toffee Crunch Cheesecake I'd been thinking about for weeks.

Pre-heat to 350ºF. First thing you will need to do is make the crust. There are two ways of doing this. You can have fun or be lame. I vote for fun. Lame version: buy the Oreo cookie crumb that comes in a box. (See? Boring.) Fun: buy chocolate or vanilla cookies or wafers and SMASH THE SHIT OUTTA THEM. Seriously. Until they are almost dust. I promise you will enjoy this... if you don't smash them all over the floor.

Once the crumb is ready, combine 8 ounces of it (if you bought the box kind, you suck, and the box will tell you how much to use for a crust) with 1/4 cup of melted butter and then press it into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.

I can tell you, as I'm not scared of you, that I absolutely put more than 8 ounces of crumb at the bottom of that pan. I like a substantial crust and I could tell that what they were asking me to do was just not enough. So do what you feel is right. No pressure.


Time for the filling. Writing out recipes this way is tough. I should have told you earlier that your cream cheese needs to be room temperature. Once it is, beat 3 packages (8 ounces each) of softened cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup of packed light brown sugar in large bowl until nice and smooth. You will need 3 eggs, and you will need to add them one at a time beating them well into the mixture before adding the next one.



Gently stir in 1 3/4 cups of toffee bits
(I use the SKOR bits) and 1 1/4 teaspoons of vanilla.





Pour it into the prepared crust.


Bake for about 45 mins. Cheesecake needs to be watched as once it's over-baked cracks begin to form all over it. You should remove it once it's almost-set aka you may think you're not ready for that jelly but you would be false.

Remove it from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool. Carefully run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cheesecake. Cool it COMPLETELY before removing the side of the pan. (I'm serious, don't screw this up.)

Cover that baby up and refrigerate it so it sets fully. Now, considering by this point it was almost 1:00am and I had been baking for hours, I lost track of time and the cheesecake stayed in the oven just a minute too long. Luckily for failures like me, you can shove toffee bits all over the cheesecake and camouflage that bitch! Magic.



I also (happily) decided to bring cupcakes to a baby shower at the last minute. They are having another girl, hence the pink icing! Too hot to be creative so I did the basic double-chocolate cupcake and buttercream icing. Classic. And pretty.

















I should stop eating batter.

FIN.

Spring Fling

Well hello, sunshine.

I felt like making something fresh, healthy and cheap. Oh and something that I could eat as soon as I get home from work that didn't require cooking- so this was made en mass to last a while.

Obviously you can change the quantities, make variations, do what feels right- this is just what I liked.

You'll need:

2 cans of chick peas (rinsed)
2 cans of red kidney beans (rinsed)
1/2 red onion (minced)
1 large shallot (finely minced)
1 red bell pepper (diced)
1 orange bell pepper (diced
1.5-2 cups of corn
garlic (to taste- finely minced)
parsley (to taste- minced)

For the dressing : Lemon juice, EVOO, sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

This is probably the simplest thing to make.

Throw the beans in the bowl...














Then throw everything else in the bowl...





Ooooh pretty.









Mix it all together and pour on the dressing...

and enjoy! It's healthy and delicious... yes, apparently that's possible.









So fresh so clean.

Hungry Hungry Hippo

Some days you just want to stuff your face.

It usually includes an unhealthy amount of carbs, and in this case I decided on an unbelievably delicious pugliese loaf.

If you haven't ever tried this kind of bread, you should. It has a very distinct rustic taste, crunchy on the outside crust and soft on the inside. Kinda like a country boy.



I wanted to make some bruschetta Julie & Julia style, but couldn't find heirloom tomatoes anywhere- probably too early in the season. So then I just made my own kind of bruschetta.


I rubbed the bread with a garlic clove (the bread acts as a kind of grater and the flavour spreads easily) and drizzled it with extra virgin olive oil and then pan fried it til it was a bit crustier in the middle. I'm sure grilling or putting it in the oven would have the same kind of effect. Once it was done I added some sea salt and pepper.

I cut some plum tomatoes into chunks and then added tons of basil and some more EVOO. Let the flavours make out for awhile in the bowl.


So simple but man, they just go so well together. I wish I had a backyard so I could plant the tomatoes and basil together (because according to some people that makes the tomatoes absorb the scent of the basil and then they're even more delicious.) Man, I'm a Nonna already.

Add salt and pepper to the tomatoes right before topping the bread, because the salt releases the juices of the tomatoes and bruschetta is messy enough as it is.

And there you go. It's so easy and definitely hits the spot.












But, a craving is never satisfied without meat. (These sexual innuendos are really not done intentionally... usually.) I made a quick marinade with olive oil, red wine vinegar, some worsteshire (love saying that word) sauce, rosemary, oregano, thyme and salt and pepper. You can't really go wrong when you just throw in a bunch of flavours you like.


I threw it all into a ziploc and let it sit in the fridge for 3 hours while I made dessert.

Eventually, I indulged.

Who needs a barbecue when you have your magical Cuisinart grill. Really, the key to most meat is letting it sit before you jump in. The juices need to re-settle so just setting it in the plate with a loosely covered piece of tinfoil for 10 mins makes a huge difference. And yes, this one was amazing. But I'm easy to please.







Dessert was simple. I'm always making cupcakes for other people (and inevitably these will be handed off to others because keeping a dozen cupcakes in your home is never a good idea) so this time I did it for myself.


Double chocolate (i.e. chocolate batter with chocolate chunks) baked to perfection, if I do say so myself.

I split the icing half and half. Vanilla for 6 and mocha for the other 6.

This icing is my secret weapon. People become obsessed. It could also give you a coronary. So much butter and sugar should not be allowed, but has to be.



Quite, quite unhealthy.

Then I decided to try something new from scratch, coffee and cocoa powder just make it so easy. Whipped some cream and added ingredients til it tasted heavenly.

I want to lick my screen.













And voilà. Bruschetta, steak and cupcakes, a happy girl makes.

You might have to brush your teeth twice.

My friend makes the best tzatziki I have ever tasted and considering the success I have had recently with having people divulge their secret recipes, I tried for one more. And won.

I will now share the joy with you.

You will cheesecloth. It took me approximately 17 minutes to find it in the grocery store (like many of the male gender that I know, I don't ask for directions.) You'll also need a garlic press. Honestly, I don't know why you don't own one already.

Other than that you'll need 5 cloves of garlic (or less, if you're a pansy,) extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, half an English cucumber and plain yogurt (Mediterranean styles.)

First you will line a colander (or sieve, if that's what you call it) with cheesecloth and place it over a bowl. Pour the yogurt on top of the cheesecloth and let it sit for about an hour (I left it for 2 hours and it was still dripping) so as to get rid of all the water in the yogurt.

I was really surprised by how much water came out. After an hour the bowl looked like such:

And it was double that in double the time.

When you are satisfied, pour the yogurt into a bowl (or a container that you'll store it in when it's all finished.) Grate the cucumber and add it to the yogurt, but try and avoid adding the water from the cucumber into the yogurt or the entire straining process is basically useless.

It may look like a lot of cucumber but it's really not. Once it's all mixed in you don't even see any green.

Add the oil and salt and mix it well.












Then, crush the garlic til you can't crush it no more.



And then mix it all over again, make sure there aren't any chunks of garlic stuck together (unless you're into that sorta thing.)

Some people like to let it sit in the fridge for awhile but who could really resist enjoying it right away??



Yes, please.

He said you gave him a cavity.

Being one who likes to spoil (read: increase the chances of obesity) the masses with baked goods, I often bring things into my coworkers. My team alone has 20 people, and with an office of around 200 already hyper yet constantly sugar-hungry individuals I can never bring just one batch of anything. Screaming matches have ensued. Between grown adults.

I digress. Last week I brought in the best brownies in the world. They are my mom's secret recipe and it took me 24 years to con it out of her. Worth the wait. So rich that it takes a big (wo)man to handle more than one.



Oh mama. I brought in 60+ brownies and they were gone within 20 minutes.

I have to mention that there was a slight accident during the baking process. As I was lifting the second batch out of the pan there was a rupture. Oops. The casualties:



The 'accident' looks somehow even more delicious than the finished product.

I also made some jumbotastic cookies. Mini-chocolate chips + Skor bites = love.

It takes a lot, a LOT of self-control to not just go at this bowl with a spoon.

Alas, they made it to the end.



Someone asked me why I bother to bake for coworkers. Once I had delivered the goods to my team members I pointed out the smiling faces to said individual and said, "SEE!! They hate their lives when they're at work but if I can do one thing to make them smile and not commit suicide in front of me I WILL." I think he got the point.

Fromagerie.

Oh God, fresh baguettes. Nothing is better. NOTHING.



I have French bakeries both behind and in front of my apartment building so you can imagine how often I buy baguettes. Often. But one fine day I decided to throw a few things together and make one of the best little lunches I've ever had. (So good that the ingredients are in my fridge right now and awaiting consumption.)

So, cut open your baguette(s) and lay as much as you want of them open side up on a cookie sheet.



Gruyère. Grate as much as you see fit. There is never enough.



Then, leeks. Leeks are underrated by most and forgotten by many. Even half the cashiers at groceries stores have no idea what they are. You should start incorporating leeks into your life right now.

First, chop up and sauté the leeks in butter (or oil, if you roll that way- though I don't understand it) until they are soft. Add salt and pepper. Then let them cool in the bowl while you cut up the other ingredients.



Parsley and onion. You could use shallots or a different kind of onion, I just threw it what I like.
Once the leeks are cool, fold in the onions and parsley and then the cheese until it's all one big bowl of love.

Pile it onto the bread. Broil in the oven for a few minutes, as soon as it reaches the melted/golden/browned point that you desire.

And then... ugh just eat it all.



I'll be in the kitchen.

Shhhhhhoufflés

Intimidation is putting it lightly. I had this idea that making soufflé would just result in ramekins full of fallen hopes. I was wrong. As usual. To up my challenge I made my first soufflés with a 'advanced' recipe (according to Curtis Stone's opinion.)

According to my mother, it's all in the folding of the egg whites. Before I could even get to that, I had to get those egg whites to form 'stiff peaks'. That's not a sexual innuendo. Soft peak, stiff peak, I just want it to look like Julia Child did it herself. This is something that takes patience. Even with my magical best friend mixer (thanks, Kitchenaid) it took a lot longer than I expected. Eventually I got this result:



And that was good enough for me.

The concept of folding egg whites so just enough air gets in also scared the bejesus out of me. What if I folded too much? Or not enough? Baking is science. I never said I was a scientist.
Regardless, I forged on and the result was magical. Prior to making any of the actual soufflé, Curtis Stone instructed me to do all sorts of things. Like make a raspberry sauce that resulted in 2 cups of deliciousness but you only really need like 4 tablespoons to paint the inside of the ramekins. The bastard.

After pouring the batter in and putting them in the oven, I thought I had enough time to start cleaning up. Again, Curtis was pulling one over on me.



Not only had they risen, but the tops were already beyond golden and I was about to rip them out of the oven until the nightmares of the beauties smashing down came back to me. That didn't happen. I wasn't even gentle. I pulled them out and served them right away... I wish I had taken a picture of the inside. They were absolutely perfect. I would eat soufflé every day if I didn't have to deal with stiff peaks.



Why so fancy?