The Kitchen Counter

Cashew Fettuccine Alfredo

2009-07-16T14:12:00.001-04:00

I love pasta Alfredo. It's so yummy, especially if I make the sauce myself, instead of out of a jar. But it's so unhealthy -- all that butter and cream. So when I found this recipe, I had to try it.

Last night was (confession) the second time I made it, but I'm still figuring it out, and trying to work it into our rotation. I liked it better the first time I made it -- I don't think I used as much water. Last night the sauce was a little too runny, which washed out the flavor a little. I'm also playing with proportions, because the original recipe is too much for my husband and I, but I want more than half. So I'm playing around a little with it. I also ran out of fettuccine last night, so I had to supplement with spaghetti.

I served it with chicken, and it was really good. The recipe goes together really quickly. You'll definitely want to get the pasta going before you start the sauce. After processing the nuts, I added only a little water to start with, then gradually add more. I wouldn't add all of the water unless you like a runnier sauce.

With cashews, you still get fat in the sauce, but it's mainly unsaturated, instead of trans fats found in butter and cream. You also get a really great nutty flavor that goes well with the Parmesan cheese. I'd give this four stars, but my husband only gave it three.

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Cashew Fettuccine Alfredo

1 cup cashew pieces
2 1/2 cups warm water
olive oil
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
18 ounces fettuccine
chopped fresh parsley for garnish (optional)

In a food processor pulse the cashews until they form a paste then add a bit of the water and continue to process until you've got a smooth texture (or as close as you can get to smooth).

Set aside, then in a saucepan heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil and saute the minced garlic until it's beginning to brown slightly. Add the cashew/water mixture, stirring and scraping as it heats, until it begins to boil and thicken. Once thickened, removed from heat and stir in the salt, pepper and Parmesan, stirring until melted.

Boil the fettuccine and drain then add to the cashew mixture and stir to coat the noodles. Serve with chopped fresh parsley if desired.
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Original recipe found here.

Hot Creamy Cocoa Ice Cream

2009-06-25T11:38:00.000-04:00

So I wasn't even goign to worry about this week. I'm going out of town tomorrow, and I'll be gone for about 10 days, and I just have too much to deal with to try to fit a challenge in. That was before I knew the challenge was sugar. Okay, well, I actually made something on Monday night, and then saw the challenge when I checked the blog again on Saturday morning, and it happens to work out.

For this recipe, I didn't have enough normal unsweetened cocoa powder, so I supplemented with unsweetened dark cocoa powder. It ended up being about 1/2 cup normal and 2/3 cup dark. It turned out super super yummy.

The recipe can be found here on Scoopalicious.

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Hot Creamy Cocoa Ice Cream

1.5 cups of whole milk
3/4 cup sugar*
1 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa*
5 egg yolks
2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla

Combine 1/2 cup sugar and 1 cup cocoa in a small bowl. In a medium saucepan, heat milk and sugar/cocoa mix thoroughly. In a separate bowl, lightly whisk 5 egg yolks. Add heated milk mixture to egg yolks, whisking constantly. Pour egg/milk mixture back into the saucepan and add heavy cream and vanilla. Heat on medium heat, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula. Heat until the custard lightly coats the spatula. (Do not boil...you will get scrambled eggs) Remove from heat and pour through a fine strainer (helps to smooth the texture) back into a clean mixing bowl. This is where I added the remaining sugar and cocoa to perfect the flavor.

Cool over an ice bath and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Then freeze in your ice cream maker according to your machine's directions.

* this is a guesstimate since I kept adding cocoa and sugar until I got the flavor I was looking for

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Smoky Chipotle Chili Corn Chowder

2009-06-22T20:32:00.000-04:00

When I saw this recipe last month, I knew it was going to be soooo yummy. I really wanted to make it. I decided to try it this week for the potato challenge. Okay, I chose potatoes for the challenge because I wanted to try this recipe.

Okay, so I didn't buy canned chipotles chilis in adobo sauce. I already had a jar of just plain adobo sauce, so I used two tablespoons of that, which made the chowder a lot darker than the pictures. We decided that it was runnier than we would have liked, and to remedy that, I think next time I would only use 1 1/2 cups of vegetable broth, and 1 1/2 cups of milk, adding more milk if it was needed. I also might add a can of cream-style corn next time too.

Overall, it was good. My husband only gave it three stars, but said to definitely make it again.

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Smoky Chipotle Corn Chowder

1 tablespoon butter
3 green onions, thinly sliced, plus extra for garnish
2 cups red bliss potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups fresh corn kernels (2 medium ears) (or canned or frozen)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chipotle chilis in adobo sauce
2 cups milk (whole or low-fat)
1/4 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped, plus extra for garnish
1/3 cup diced cooked ham (about 3 ounces)

In a deep pot over medium-high heat, melt butter. Saute green onions for 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Add potatoes and broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; add corn kernels, salt, and chipotle chilis, and stir well. Cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Add the milk, Monterey Jack cheese, and cilantro. Turn off heat and allow chowder to cool for 5-10 minutes.

Puree soup in two batches until smooth, and return to the pot over medium-low heat. Stir in cooked ham and warm until thoroughly heated. Taste it; adjust seasonings accordingly. Garnish each serving with some finely chopped cilantro and green onions.

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Death by Strawberry

2009-06-08T11:22:00.000-04:00

You've heard of Death by Chocolate, right? Layers of whipped cream, chocolate mousse, chocolate cake, chocolate pudding, and anything else chocolate that can be thought of, stacked up in a trifle bowl? Well, this isn't it. Not exactly.

A few years ago, my mother-in-law was baking a Lemon poppyseed Bundt cake for a birthday/baptism party that afternoon, and when she tried to get it out of the pan (while still hot), it crumbled. Panic ensued. Between the two of us, we decided to make a lemon version of Death by Chocolate. We crumbled the baked cake into a bowl, made some instant lemon pudding, used the ice method to help lemon Jell-O set quicker, and grabbed some Cool Whip. It turned out really yummy. (You can see that here: Death by Lemon.)

Well, I quickly realized that it was easily adaptable to just about any fruit that I could find Jell-O and pudding flavors for. I really wanted to try strawberries, but I couldn't find instant pudding in a strawberry flavor. I looked online for a recipe (you can find a recipe for anything online, right?), but all I could find were recipes for pudding with strawberries (whole or chopped) in it. Hmm...I tabled the idea.

A few weeks ago, I was in the baking aisle at my grocery store and I saw a display with -- gasp! -- Strawberry Crème flavored instant Jell-O pudding! Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles! I could finally make Death by Strawberry! I'm pretty sure it's a seasonal item...I can't find it on the Jell-O website, so if you want it, go buy it now.

So without further ado, I offer you my long-awaited recipe:

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Death by Strawberry

1 strawberry flavored boxed cake mix
1 large (or 2 small) packages strawberry flavored Jell-O gelatin
2 packages strawberry crème flavored instant Jell-O pudding
1 tub Cool Whip, thawed
1 quart fresh strawberries, sliced

Bake cake mix according to directions on box. When cool, crumble into bowl. Prepare Jell-O gelatin as directed. Prepare pudding as directed.

When ready to assemble, repeat layers in a trifle bowl: Cool Whip, cake, Jell-O, pudding, strawberries. Finish the top with Cool Whip and arrange strawberries decoratively.

Chill before serving to help the whole thing set a little more.
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Grilled corn on the cob

2009-05-28T15:58:00.000-04:00

We had great barbecue fare for dinner last night. Chicken, corn on the cob, red potatoes, and watermelon. We topped it off later with root beer floats. So yummy. There are so many things you can do to corn on the cob, and this is just one basic twist on it.
2 ears corn on the cob
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

Boil the corn in salted water; remove, drain, and cool enough to handle. In one bowl, add garlic to melted butter. Add salt and pepper to taste. In another bowl (or on a plate), combine bread crumbs with Parmesan. Using a pastry brush, brush corn with butter mixture, coating all sides. Either sprinkle over the top or roll corn in bread crumb mix. Place over the grill for about 10 minutes, until crisp and toasted.

These measurements are approximations. I know I used 2 Tbsp of butter, 2 ears of corn, and one clove of garlic, but the rest is guessing on my part. These didn't turn out as good as they could have, mainly because my husband put them on the top rack of our grill, instead of the lower rack, closer to the heat, where they would get toastier. I would definitely make them again, though, and would in fact serve them to other people.

See here for original "recipe" (along with the "recipe" for the potatoes I made last night): PROUD ITALIAN COOK: Grilling Sides!

Chicken Parmesan

2009-05-18T23:35:00.003-04:00

Just pretend that this post showed up last night, okay? I made this meal last night, and I haven't posted the new challenge ingredient yet, so I think I'm okay.

I cheated a little bit with this challenge. I have made chicken parm in the past, but not very often, and this is my own concoction of it.

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Chicken Parmesan

2 chicken breasts
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 Tbsp flour (I use wheat flour)
1 1/2 Tbsp plain bread crumbs
1 1/2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
1 Tsp Italian seasoning
1 Tbsp olive oil
Pasta sauce
4 thick slices mozzarella cheese (or 1 cup shredded)

Preheat oven to 350^o. Cut your chicken breasts in half flat-wise, so that you have four thin slabs. Put the beaten egg in a pie plate, and combine the dry ingredients in another pie plate. Coat a non-stick pan with olive oil, and heat over medium heat. Dredge the chicken breasts through the egg (both sides), and then coat with Parmesan mix (both sides). Place in pan on the stove, and turn every few minutes to cook evenly. When browned, transfer to a greased 11x7-inch baking pan. Cover with pasta sauce, and top each piece of chicken with mozzarella. Sprinkle additional Parmesan on top if desired. Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Serve with buttered spaghetti noodles.

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I found that I need to use a non-stick pan for this, because my stainless steel sticks and pulls the coating off the chicken, even when I use plenty of olive oil on the pan. Then I'm just stuck with chicken, instead of chicken Parmesan. As for pasta sauce, use whatever is your favorite. I usually make my own with tomato paste, water, lemon juice, and dried herbs.

I wouldn't give this five stars, because it's not very exciting or impressive. It's good, but not that good. Four stars are adequate.

Jack Cheese Chicken & Black Bean Enchiladas

2009-05-18T23:34:00.002-04:00

When I chose black beans for the challenge for this week, I was at a little bit of a loss as to what I myself would make with them. See, I love black beans, but I do a lot of instinctive cooking with them (no recipe), and I really love everything that I already make with them. So why bother making something new? I'm not dissatisfied. At the same time, what would I make...I've temporarily exhausted my own black bean creations.

Well, the next day, I was going through my Google Reader, and found a recipe on one of the nearly 30 food blogs to which I am subscribed, that when I read the title, I thought "That's the one. That's the recipe I'm going to make!" And I did. And it was sooooo good.

Recipe is originally found here on Get Off Your Butt and Bake! I made these on Cinco de Mayo, and we had company over for dinner that night. I pulled them out of the oven, put them on the table, and we sat down to eat. I didn't get a chance to take a picture, but there is one on the above-linked website if you want to see. I served these with Mexican rice, strawberry water, and these brownies (the richest and yummiest I have ever eaten in my entire life).

(Side note: If you make the brownies, I would suggest almost doubling the amount of cinnamon in them. Use semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of milk chocolate. Cut into smaller-than-normal portions, and have lots of milk on hand. You'll need it! Oh, and I've got a picture of them here.)

I rate these enchiladas definitely five stars. My husband complained that they weren't "hot" enough. I love my husband. He's gotten used to my spicy Mexican cooking, and these weren't hot enough. Ironic, huh? Actually, in this case, I think it was that I used a different brand of salsa than usual. Even though it was still technically "medium" heat, it wasn't as hot as the stuff we normally use. But the heat can be adjusted easily according to your tastes.

I doubled the recipe for four of us, since it only makes four enchiladas. They are very filling. Served with rice and cornbread (which I intended to make but didn't have time for), you really only need one enchilada to fill you up (especially if you're saving room for the brownies). (Can you tell I really loved those brownies? I'm making more today. They have flour in them...Jillian, can I count them for next week's challenge?) ;)

Okay, here's the recipe. Enjoy!

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Jack Cheese Chicken & Black Bean Enchiladas

2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (4-ounce) can diced green chilies
1/3 cup prepared salsa, mild, medium or hot
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
4 (8-inch) flour tortillas
1 1/3 cups shredded Monterey jack and or Cheddar

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute 2 minutes. Add chicken and saute 5 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through. Remove half of the chicken and reserve for another use. (So why doesn't the recipe just call for a 1/2 pound of chicken then?) Stir in black beans, green chilies, and salsa and simmer 5 minutes, until sauce thickens and reduces. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro. Arrange 4 tortillas on a flat surface. Top each tortilla with an equal amount of chicken mixture. Roll up tortillas and place side by side in a shallow baking dish. Top tortillas with shredded cheese (1/3 cup per tortilla). Bake enchiladas 15 minutes, until cheese is golden and gooey!
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Derby Pie

2009-04-17T13:25:00.001-04:00

I made this last Saturday (but I made it for Easter, so it counts for this week, right?) and am just now getting around to posting the recipe. My mom has made this for years, but I never got the recipe from her until now. It's a dessert called "Derby Pie," but a cardiologist in my parents' church congregation re-named it "Coronary in a Pie Plate," which I think is quite apropos. It's basically a giant chocolate chip cookie in a graham cracker pie crust.

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Derby Pie
aka, Coronary in a Pie Plate

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup self-rising flour
1 cup walnuts or pecans
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 stick butter, melted and slightly cooled
10 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
Graham cracker crust

Preheat oven to 325. Mix flour and sugar, set aside. Chop nuts. Add nuts, eggs, butter, chocolate chips, and vanilla together in a bowl. Mix gently; add flour mixture. Mix until completely combined. Pour into crust; bake 1 hour. Cool completely. Cut into slices and serve.
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My notes on the recipe:

I didn't use self-rising flour. It's expensive and you can only buy it in at least 5 lb. bags, which is excessive for only needing 1/2 cup. You can substitute your own with a combination of flour, baking soda, and salt; but my mom said she's never bothered: she always uses normal flour. So that's what I did. The chocolate chips get pretty melty, so the nuts aren't really optional, as they give the pie its texture. I made my own pie crust, and didn't realize that I didn't need to bake it before adding the filling, so my crust ended up really well done. My mom also made this for Easter, and said that she only needed to bake it for 55 minutes in her oven, so if you try it, start checking it earlier.

Variations: use mint chips, butterscotch, peanut butter (with peanuts instead of walnuts or pecans), or cinnamon chips instead.

Meyer Lemon-Ricotta Muffins

2009-04-10T21:36:00.002-04:00

Tonight we had breakfast for dinner. I made this yummy Farmer's Casserole from my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook (which is really good and really easy, by the way), and some new muffins. I found the recipe on Recipe Girl, one of the way too many food blogs to which I subscribe. I had never really heard of Meyer lemons until this season (when they've been all over the food blogs). Apparently the Meyer variety are kind-of a cross between lemons and mandarin oranges: slightly sweeter than a typical lemon.

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MEYER LEMON- RICOTTA MUFFINS

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 cup granulated sugar
½ stick (1/4 cup) butter, softened
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 Tbs finely grated Meyer lemon zest (from 2 lemons)
1 cup lowfat ricotta cheese
1 large egg
1½ Tbs freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice
½ tsp almond extract
1/3 cup thinly sliced almonds
demerara sugar (coarse sugar), optional

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 12 cupcake tins with paper liners.

2. Whisk the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.

3. Using an electric mixer, beat sugar, butter, applesauce, and zest in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in ricotta, then egg, lemon juice and almond extract. Add dry ingredients and stir just until blended.

4. Using an ice cream scoop, divide batter among muffin cups. Place 3 to 5 almonds on top of each muffin and then sprinkle with coarse sugar (if desired).

5. Bake 18 to 20 minutes, or until muffins test done (toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean).

6. Place on wire rack to cool. Once cooled, store in covered container.
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My notes on the recipe:

I didn't feel like going to Trader Joe's to look for Meyer lemons, so I used normal ones. The muffins were still fine.
I grind my own wheat into flour, so I just set the mill on the finest setting, instead of buying pastry flour.
I had large lemons (that sounds like a bad euphemism), and one was adequate. I didn't really need two.
The applesauce I used was homemade stuff that a friend and I canned last Fall. Really good.
I used real (not imitation) almond extract.

I normally shy away from recipes that call for almond extract. I don't like the flavor. It's too strong, and it's usually enough to make me nix a recipe, based solely on that one ingredient. Reading this recipe, however, I thought that the lemon and everything else would be strong enough to overpower it. In the end, I could taste the almond extract, but it was the right amount of subtle.

The muffins were really moist. Lemon baked goods usually are moist already, but throw in the applesauce and the Ricotta, and these were really moist.

Definitely five stars from me. I would make these for a brunch with company coming over. I liked the balance between the sweet flavor (from the sugar, applesauce, and almonds), the tartness of the lemons, and the heartiness of the wheat. It was really good all around.

Chicken Salad Sonoma

2009-03-31T20:47:00.004-04:00

Chicken Salad Sonoma

Dressing

1 cup mayonnaise

4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

5 teaspoons honey

2 teaspoons poppyseeds

sea salt, to taste

ground pepper, to taste

Salad

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3/4 cup pecan pieces, toasted

2 cups red, seedless grapes

3 stalks celery, thinly sliced

Prepare the dressing by thoroughly mixing together all dressing ingredients in a bowl. Refrigerate until ready to dress the salad. Can be prepared up to 2 days in advance.

Cook chicken. Cool in fridge for 2 hours. Dice them into bite-sized pieces and transfer to a large bowl. Stir in pecans, grapes, celery and dressing.

Lemon Cake

2009-03-26T14:43:00.005-04:00

By the time Spring comes along, I am always DYING for a sweet, tangy lemon dessert! I made this lemon cake from The Barefoot Contessa, last week when we had some friends over for dinner.

LEMONICIOUS!!! That's all I can say. It uses quite a bit of lemon zest and fresh-squeezed lemon juice, so it is very lemony! The batter was heavenly - I could have eaten the whole bowl! But I didn't. I baked it. The recipe suggests baking in two loaf pans, but I love the presentation in a bundt pan, so I did that instead. I was a little stingy with the glaze at first, thinking I wouldn't need it all, but then I ended up passing the glaze around for everyone to spoon over their slice. So go ahead, use all the glaze!

You can find this delicious recipe here. HAPPY SPRING!!!

Green Rice

2009-03-11T10:12:00.000-04:00

This one was a little harder than I expected it to be. I didn't want to use a premade green sauce, because for me that wouldn't really "count." I wanted to use real tomatillos. So many of the recipes I found that called for real ones were just recipes to make the green sauce. Either that, or they were for a Mexican casserole that was already pretty similar sounding to the Chilaquiles I mentioned in my challenge post. Eventually I found this recipe for a side dish that sounded pretty good. I made it as instructed, no adjustments. I cooked it a little too long because I was working on chicken enchiladas at the same time, so it kind-of burnt to the pan a little bit.

We gave the rice four stars on flavor. I would probably make it as a side dish with a Mexican meal if I were having guests over to dinner. However, I only give it two stars for ease of preparation. It wasn't hard or complicated, but it was just more work than I want to put into a side dish, and rice of all things. And it wasn't even green! :(

The original recipe can be found here: Green Rice

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Green Rice

6 large tomatillos (about 3/4 lb)
2 tablespoons water
1/3 cup minced fresh cilantro
4 teaspoons minced seeded jalapeno peppers
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/4 cups uncooked long grain rice

Discard husks and stems from the tomatillos. Cook the tomatillos in boiling water in a medium saucepan for 4 minutes or until soft; drain. Combine the tomatillos and 2 teaspoons water in a blender and process until smooth. Pour the tomatillo mixture into a 4 cup glass measure, and add enough water to mixture to measure 2& 1/2 cups. Combine the tomatillo mixture, cilantro, jalapeño, salt and garlic in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Add rice; cover mixture, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, and fluff with fork.
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Chicken Parmesan Bundles

2009-03-06T21:24:00.001-05:00

When I saw this recipe, I knew I had to make it, and then I realized it would be perfect to use for this challenge. I made one adjustment. Instead of flattening six chicken breasts, I used three chicken breasts, and sliced them in half. It ended up being easier to roll them up, plus half the breast was enough for a serving. I ended up baking them for 35 minutes, and probably could have done about 2 minutes more.

My husband rated this meal 4 stars.

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Chicken Parmesan Bundles

4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained
1-1/4 cups Mozzarella Cheese, divided
6 Tbsp. Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
6 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1-1/2 lb.), pounded to 1/4-inch thickness
1 egg
10 RITZ Crackers, crushed (about 1/2 cup)
1-1/2 cups spaghetti sauce, heated

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Mix cream cheese, spinach, 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese and 3 Tbsp. of the Parmesan cheese until well blended; spread evenly onto chicken breasts. Starting at one of the short ends of each breast, roll up chicken tightly. Secure with wooden toothpicks, if desired. Set aside.

Beat egg in shallow bowl or pie plate. Mix remaining 3 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese and the cracker crumbs in separate shallow bowl or pie plate. Dip chicken bundles in egg, then roll in crumb mixture. Place, seam-sides down, in 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake 30 min. or until chicken is cooked through (165ºF). Remove and discard toothpicks, if using. Serve topped with the spaghetti sauce and remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese.
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The original recipe can be found here, at Get Off Your Butt and Bake!

Cooking challenge blog

2009-02-25T11:46:00.005-05:00

Are you stuck in a rut in the kitchen? Do you make the same thing over and over again? Do you have two weeks worth of meals that you rotate through? Are you sick of them? Come join us over at What's in {Your} Oven? to broaden your repertoire.

Each week a new challenge ingredient will be posted. Sometime during that week, your mission is to make a new recipe using that ingredient. Something you've never made before. Then post the recipe, a quick review, and a picture if you've got it. In order to participate, you must commit to at least two weeks out of four a month. We start on March 1st, so come join in the fun!

(I will still keep this blog open, and will post my challenge entries here as well as at WIYO.)

Frozen hot chocolate

2009-02-23T00:14:00.007-05:00

Hello to the few readers that I have (not that any of you are probably still around). I realize it's been a long while since I've posted anything on here. I guess I haven't really had anything new to post, and the same ol' same ol' isn't very interesting to me, so why would it be to you? (Maybe it would be since it's not routine for you.)

I made a super yummy (and deliciously easy) dessert tonight that requires sharing. It's frozen hot chocolate, or more correctly, Frrrozen Hot Chocolate. You may (or may not) have heard of Serendipity 3, the fancy (and expensive) restaurant in New York City that is a favorite of celebrities real and fictional (if you are a fan of 30 Rock, you heard this referenced in their Valentine's Day episode a couple weeks ago). Frrrozen Hot Chocolate is their creation, and if you get it in the restaurant, you'll be paying $8.50 a pop! It's good, but it's not worth that. Not when you can make it at home for next to nothing.

(Side note: if you're feeling indulgent the next time you visit the big apple, be sure to give 48 hours notice to reserve the world's most expensive dessert: The Golden Opulence Sundae. The dessert consists of five scoops of Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream infused with Madagascar vanilla, covered in 23-carat edible gold leaf, rare Amedei Porceleana and Chuao chocolate, American Golden caviar, passion fruit, orange, Armagnac, candied fruits from Paris, marzipan cherries, and decorated with real gold dragees. The sundae is served in a baccarat Harcourt crystal goblet with an 18-karat gold spoon.)

Okay, moving on to the recipe (which can be found here).

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Frrrozen Hot Chocolate: Serendipity's Best-Kept Secret

6 half-ounce pieces of a variety of your favorite chocolates (3 oz total)
2 teaspoons store-bought hot chocolate mix
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
3 cups ice
Whipped cream (optional)
Chocolate shavings (optional)

Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place it in the top of a double boiler over simmering water, stirring occasionally until melted. Add the cocoa and sugar, stirring constantly until thoroughly blended. Remove from heat and slowly add 1/2 cup of the milk and stir until smooth. Cool to room temperature.

In a blender place the remaining cup of milk, the room temperature chocolate mixture, and the ice. Blend on high speed until smooth and the consistency of a frozen daiquiri. Pour into a giant goblet and top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Enjoy with a spoon or a straw...or both!
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At first I thought it was going to take longer than I wanted it to, because of the cooling to room temperature step. However, when you pour in the 1/2 cup of cold milk, that helps speed it up. It doesn't really take very long at all. It's so easy, and so yummy. Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

2008-10-03T00:25:00.008-04:00

A friend of mine shared this recipe with me, and it immediately became a favorite. It's so yummy, and not entirely unhealthy for you. Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour (she used wheat flour)
1 cup oats
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup pumpkin
1 cup chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugars until light and creamy. Add egg and vanilla, beating until fluffy. Combine dry ingredients and alternate adding with pumpkin. Stir in chocolate chips. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes or until set.

Bake PINK for cancer research

2008-09-16T01:19:00.001-04:00

Baking Delights is holding a Boobie Bake-Off to help raise money for cancer research. October is breast cancer awareness month, and the bake-off will take place at the beginning of October. The idea is to bake pink. Anything pink. And then submit it, and readers can vote for their favorite. You can participate by baking and submitting an entry, or by voting. The cost to vote is $1 via Paypal, all of which goes to the Susan G. Komen foundation.

Mexican food

2008-08-26T17:03:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago I was on a Mexican food kick. Okay, so I always love Mexican food, this was just more so than usual. I remembered a really yummy dish I had had on my mission in California, and went searching for a recipe online. I found one that wasn't too hard, and tasted just right. and I've just got to share.

Chicken Chilaquiles (pronounced chee-la-KEE-lays)

1 1/2 lbs fresh tomatillos, husked rinsed and halved
2 large garlic cloves
1 large jalapeño, halved lengthwise stemmed and seeded
1/4 cup packed cilantro
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander
salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 lb shredded cooked chicken or turkey or shredded pork or shredded beef or fresh spinach, at room temperature (3 cups)
1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack pepper cheese (6 ounces)
1/2 cup farmer cheese (4 ounces)
1 scallion, sliced
8 cups tortilla chips (one 6-ounce bag)
1/4 cup sour cream
salsa (optional)
guacamole (optional)

Preheat the oven to 450°. In a blender or food processor, puree the tomatillos, garlic, jalapeño and cilantro until smooth. In a large saucepan, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the cumin and coriander and cook over high heat until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add the tomatillo puree, bring to a boil and cook until the sauce loses its bright green color, 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

In a medium bowl, toss the chicken with 3/4 cup of the pepper Jack, the farmer cheese, scallion and half of the tomatillo sauce; season with salt and pepper. In another bowl, toss the tortilla chips with the remaining sauce.

Spread half of the chips in an 8x11-inch baking dish; top with the chicken and cover with the remaining tortilla chips. Don't pack the chips down. Dollop the sour cream over the chips and sprinkle with the remaining 3/4 cup of pepper Jack. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the cheese is browned. Serve at once.

My own side notes: (1) I haven't served this with salsa or guacamole. It just doesn't need it. (2) Farmer cheese is a cheese curd type of thing. I use Queso Fresco, an authentic and popular Mexican cheese that is pretty similar. It's a semi-soft cheese with a lot of flavor. It can be found at Mexican markets, or here locally in Cleveland at the Super Wal-Mart. This is what it looks like. (3) Chilaquiles were made up to use leftover meat from other meals. I've only tried this with chicken so far. I usually boil 2 chicken breasts early in the day and let them cool before I shred them. I like the season the water with cumin, chili powder, oregano, garlic powder, salt, pepper, a bay leaf, chopped onion, and one stalk of chopped celery.

Death by Lemon

2008-08-24T19:21:00.005-04:00

Last year I posted this on my personal blog, but since that is now not available to the general public, I thought I'd post it again here. Also, I made it again this week.

Death by Lemon was born in a moment of panic. My mother-in-law had baked a lemon-poppyseed bundt cake for her young son's birthday last year. It was his eighth, and kind of a big deal. As she plopped the cake out of the pan and onto the plate, it broke. Forty people were showing up in about three hours. We started brainstorming. Finally, we came up with the idea to do a Death by Chocolate sort of thing. So we sent the guys out to buy lemon Jell-o, instant lemon pudding, Cool Whip, a lemon, and Lemonhead candies. Then we went to work.

Yesterday was Ben's company picnic (technically the department picnic). Our half of the alphabet was assigned to bring desserts. I asked Ben what he wanted me to make and he said Death by Lemon. Let me first state two things to which I objected (and about which I was right). Number 1: Anything that is served in a trifle bowl will be weird at a picnic. Number 2: Anything containing Jell-o, pudding, and whipped cream shouldn't sit out in the sun for several hours prior to consumption. Having made both of these points to my husband, he nevertheless responded "But it's so gooooooood!" Great argument, honey. So I made it.

So here's the recipe:

Death by Lemon

1 lemon cake mix
1 1/3 cups water
2 eggs
1 1/2 tablespoons poppyseeds
2 boxes (3 oz each) lemon-flavored Jell-o
4 cups water (2 cups boiling, 2 cups cold)
2 boxes (1 oz each) sugar-free lemon-flavored instant pudding (doesn't have to be sugar free, that's just what I grabbed)
4 cups cold milk
1 container (12 oz) whipped topping
1 box Lemonhead candies (for garnish)
1 lemon (for garnish)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix the cake mix, water, eggs, and poppyseeds. Pour into a bundt pan or tube pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Turn out onto a plate or into a bowl. Allow to cool completely before assembling trifle. When cool enough to handle, break into small pieces.

Mix Jell-o according to package directions. Set completely. When set, run a fork through the gelatin to "chunkify" it. Mix pudding according to package directions. Set completely.

Spread a thin layer of whipped topping on the bottom of your trifle bowl. Arrange a layer of cake over the whipped topping. Layer Jell-o over the cake, making sure that it is visible through the outside. Over the Jell-o, layer the pudding. Spread whipped topping over the pudding and repeat the layers. My 2-quart trifle bowl got a total of 3 layers of everything, ending with whipped topping.

For garnish, place several Lemonhead candies in a plastic bag and crush them. Cute two slices of the lemon each in half, and place the four pieces in a pinwheel pattern on top. Sprinkle the crush candies around the lemon slices.

Serve immediately or chill further.

I didn't need the full two boxes of either Jell-o or pudding, but I needed more than one. I had enough to fill the trifle bowl, plus do a miniature-sized dessert in a small Pyrex dish. That used up everything except the cake.

Pizza! Pizza!

2008-08-10T10:41:00.006-04:00

Okay, I'll admit it. I'm not a fan of Rachael Ray. She's just too perky. And after hearing it twice, "EVOO" just really gets on my nerves. Nonetheless, I have three 30-minute meal cookbooks. They were gifts. I was discussing with a friend this week how I have a ton of cookbooks, but always get my new recipes off the internet. She said she was the same way. So this week, I've been looking through some of my cookbooks for new recipes. Last night I stumbled upon the jackpot. This recipe is from 30-Minute Meals 2 by Rachael Ray. I made a few substitutions, which I'll note at the bottom.

Pizza with Chicken, Sun-dried Tomatoes, and Broccoli, aka "The Only Pizza You'll Ever Want"

CRUST

1 pkg (16 oz) pizza dough, brought to room temperature
2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Parmesan cheese

TOPPINGS

1/3 lb broccoli (from trimmed broccoli bin in produce section), about 1/3 head
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, cracked
1/3 lb chicken breast (cut for stir fry) or chicken tenders
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
10 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and sliced
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
12 to 15 leaves fresh basil, torn or stacked and thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 500. On a 12-inch nonstick pizza pan, stretch out your dough and form the pizza crust. Drizzle 2 tsp olive oil onto crust and spread it with a pastry brush to the edges. Sprinkle crust with Parmigiano-Reggiano or Parmesan cheese.

In a small covered saucepan, bring 2 inches of water to a boil. Separated broccoli tops into florets, discarding lower stalks, or reserve for soup. Salt water and add broccoli florets. Cook, covered, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain broccoli, set on cutting board and chop florets into small pieces.

Heat a small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil, garlic, and chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Brown chicken until lightly golden, 5 minutes. Transfer sautéed chicken and garlic to a cutting board, and chop into small pieces.

To assemble pizza, dot crust with chopped broccoli bits, garlic and chicken. Add spoonfuls of ricotta throughout and spread ricotta gently with the back of your spoon. Add sliced sun-dried tomatoes, scattering them around the pizza to the edges. Complete the assembly with a thin layer of shredded mozzarella, about 1 cup. Place pizza in oven on middle rack and lower heat to 450. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until cheese is deeply golden and crust is brown and crisp at the edges. Remove from the oven and let stand 5 minutes. Top with lots of torn or shredded basil. Cut pizza into 8 slices, using pizza wheel, and serve.

Substitution notes: I used a pre-made pizza crust. Otherwise that step was the same. I didn't have fresh broccoli, so I used frozen. I didn't worry about discarding the stalks. I just used it all and chopped it up really small after it was cooked. I also didn't have fresh garlic, so I used about 2 tsp garlic paste. I don't like sun-dried tomatoes, so I opened up a can of Italian-style sliced stewed tomatoes. I used a spoon to scoop out each tomato individually, and then sliced it into strips, and placed it on a paper towel on a plate to drain. I saved the juice for something else. I completely forgot about the basil at the end (because I don't have fresh basil right now either). Had I remembered, I would have sprinkled dried crush basil over the top at the end.

Peachy keen

2008-08-10T10:27:00.003-04:00

Here's a recipe for all you peach-lovers. I've been wanting to make this for a long time, and i finally did this week. Personally, I as a little disappointed. I think the ginger is a little weird with the peach (it would have been better with cinnamon), and the outcome just isn't worth the amount of work it takes to cut 12 peaches up. If you just want to try the recipe out, I would recommend cutting it at least in half. All that said, if you love peaches and any derivative thereof, you just might love this.

Chilled Peach Soup

12 ripe peaches
1 1/2 cups low-fat milk, divided
6 ice cubes, cracked
1/2 cup nonfat sour cream
2 tsp honey
1 tsp powdered ginger
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg

Dip the peaches into boiling water for 20 seconds. Remove the peel. Quarter the peaches and place in a blender with 1 cup milk and the ice cubes. Process on medium-high speed until pureed. Add the remaining 1/2 cup milk, sour cream, honey, ginger, and nutmeg. Blend well. Serve immediately or chill further.

Nutritional information:
Per serving: 181 calories, 1.2 g. fat (6% of calories), 4.2 g. dietary fiber, 4 mg. cholesterol, 66 mg. sodium.

A substitution note: I didn't have a whole nutmeg, so I substituted 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg.

Peanut Butter Fudge Cake

2008-06-10T22:18:00.004-04:00

When I saw the pictures of this cake on this blog, I knew I had to try to make it. I had a perfect opportunity with tonight being the end of year court of honor in the Boy Scout troop that Ben works with, and the fact that he had signed "us" up to bring a dessert. The original recipe can be found here. I altered it slightly.

Because the court of honor dinner was going to be buffet style, I decided it would be easier to do cupcakes than a layered cake that people would have to slice and serve. I really can't say how long to bake them for, because my oven was being dumb last night (it's a gas oven) and I kept having to turn it off and then on again trying to get it to properly heat up. All told, my cupcakes were in the oven for around two hours before they were done.

In doing cupcakes versus a layered cake, you could probably get away with about half the frosting. I made a whole batch anyway (since this was the first time), and I'm going to put the rest on graham crackers with marshmallows I plan to roast over my stove.

Here are a few pictures of my cupcakes:

Update (7/8/08): I made these again tonight. In my oven, they baked for 20 minutes at 350 and came out just right.

Food, Glorious Food

2008-06-09T09:26:00.001-04:00

I like Paula Dean. I like butter like Paula Dean likes butter. This time I think Paula has stepped it up a notch into a territory that I might not dare to venture. I didn't know there was a way to make macaroni and cheese more calorie laden than it already is. But, Paula has done it. And you know what, I bet it tastes awesome. I just don't know if I can go there.

I was watching her show on Saturday morning. She took a cold casserole dish of mac n cheese. Cut it in squares. Wrapped the squares in bacon. Dredged them in flour, egg, and bread crumbs. Then deep fried them in peanut oil. Bring on the calories baby!!!

My stomach is feeling the grease overload just thinking about it.

For those daring enough to try it. Here's the recipe link for Lady's Fried Mac

Dessert Time

2008-06-04T08:22:00.002-04:00

My elementary school had the best desserts. At least once a month, maybe twice (if we were lucky) we'd have French dip Friday's with peanut butter fingers for dessert. Back in the good old days when the lunch ladies were as old and crotchety as could be. You know when they actually used the appliances in the kitchen to do more than heat up pre-packaged foods. This is where my love of peanut butter fingers blossomed. Thank you good old Jennie Pee-ed on Stewart Elementary school. I still love these delectable little numbers and want to share the love. Enjoy!! I hope you love these as much as I do, even if it's not French dip Friday.

Peanut Butter Fingers -- aka Peanut Butter Bars
3/4 C butter (aint nothing but the real thing baby)
3/4 C sugar
3/4 C brown sugar
2 eggs
3/4 C creamy peanut butter
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 C oats
1 1/2 C flour
1/2 tsp vanilla (I think I put in 1 tsp)
1 C peanut butter (more or less depending on how thick you want your peanut butter layer to be)

Cream together first 5 ingredients. Mix together next 4 ingredients and add to creamed mixture, then add vanilla. Bake at 350 for 10-15 min until brown in a sheet cake pan or jelly roll pan. While hot, spread the 1 C peanut butter. Let cool completely. Then frost with chocolate frosting

Chocolate frosting (I don't follow a recipe for frosting. I just make a buttercream frosting and add cocoa, but here is the one the recipe came with)

6 Tbsp butter, softened but not melted
2 C powdered sugar
1-2 Tbsp milk (add to desired consistency)
1 1/2 Tbsp cocoa
1/2 tsp vanilla

Creamy Ranch Chicken

2008-05-13T08:46:00.003-04:00

4 chicken breasts
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 packet dry ranch dressing mix
1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put the chicken breasts in a greased pan to go in the oven (I use corning ware). Mix the remaining ingredients together in a bowl. Pour over the top of the chicken. Cover and bake 45-50 minutes. Serve with white rice or angel hair pasta.

Mmmmm...chocolate!

2008-05-04T20:44:00.001-04:00

Yesterday my mom and Julie and I went to the Great Lakes Science Center to see Chocolate: The Exhibition before it left Cleveland. Mostly the exhibit was about chocolate, and its history and the process of making it. There wasn't a whole lot of tasting involved, sadly. There was a gift shop at the end, and of course I had to get something. They had t-shirts, cookbooks, postcard, pencils, chocolate pasta, puzzles and games, notecards, candles, and of course chocolate itself.

Well, of course I couldn't go to an exhibit like this one and not get anything. So I spent the majority of my time in the gift shop trying to decide which cookbook to buy. There were so many. I finally decided upon Essence of Chocolate: Recipes for Baking and Cooking with Fine Chocolate, by John Scharffenberger and Robert Steinberg.

This cookbook seemed like the most comprehensive of all of them, but it's also neat in that it's not just recipes, but every other chapter is informational about chocolate. It will definitely be worth its weight (and it's pretty heavy).

I also picked up some chocolate bars to try. Of course everything was super expensive, and each of these little bars cost $3.99! Ouch! But they were about the cheapest ones in the gift shop, and also sounded unique and yummy.

The Pistachio Toffee has turned out to be my favorite so far. The Carmelized Almond isn't too bad, although its dark chocolate is really dark. The Crunchy Fire is a little odd. It's got toasted pecans and chiles in it. Now, I like Mexican chocolate, but this was REALLY spicy even for me. It needed cinnamon to balance it out, or it needed to be milk chocolate instead of dark. Overall, it was too hot and bitter...some sweetness would have helped out. But it was still worth it. They're all good.

You're Cooking WHAT?!!

2008-04-04T12:27:00.004-04:00

This isn't a recipe, but it's a funny food story that I thought you might enjoy. Yesterday, I was cooking some chickpeas (garbanzo beans) that I had in my food storage. My son, Logan, came into the kitchen and said, "What you making?" I said, "Chickpeas," and handed him one to taste. He looked at it for a second and then said, "You cooking BUMS?" I wasn't sure I heard him right, so I asked, "What?"

"Right there!" he said, pointing to the pan of chickpeas, "You cooking BUMS?!"

Apparently, he thought they looked like tiny little rear ends! I will never look at a chickpea the same again!

Lunch ideas

2008-04-02T12:17:00.005-04:00

Okay, I'm winding down my time at work (Friday is my last), so I will officially become a stay-at-home mom-to-be. I need help with the food aspect of that. For the next year or so I'll only really be making lunch for myself still. I'm not a sandwich person. I never really have been. I love sandwiches if I go out somewhere -- something fancy and really hearty, but at home when it's just bread, lunch meat, lettuce, and cheese, it gets old really fast.

What lunch ideas do you have (for one person)? I was thinking different kinds of salads (pasta salad, rice salad, veggie salad, fruit salad, etc.). Please leave comments with ideas. If you have a specific recipe, you can email it to me. If I do get recipes, I'll start to post them on here.

Dressing up and staying in

2008-03-27T09:39:00.003-04:00

This is a great recipe for dressing up boring brownies or plain old cheesecake.

Cool Raspberry Soup

1 package (20 ounces) frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed
1-1/4 cups water
1/4 cup white wine (optional)
1 cup cran-raspberry juice
1/2 cup sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 whole cloves
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 carton (8 ounces) raspberry flavor yogurt
1/2 cup sour cream (optional)

In a blender, puree raspberries, water and wine if desired. Transfer to a large saucepan; add the cran-raspberry juice, sugar, cinnamon and cloves. Bring just to a boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat; strain and allow to cool. Whisk in lemon juice and yogurt. Refrigerate. To serve, pour into small bowls and top with a dollop of sour cream.

I've made this twice, and I prefer it as a topping or a garnish to other more subtle desert flavors. It is good by itself, but it's a little odd, as it tastes like it ought to be paired with something. Also, its flavor doesn't allow it to be eaten a whole bowl at a time. I made a lemon cheesecake for Easter and topped it with this soup. I also put it over brownies and vanilla ice cream last night. Neither time did I use the white wine, but I don't think it needs it. The raspberry is a distinct flavor, and the cinnamon and cloves add an extra kick -- there's no need for wine also.

Turtle Brownies and Roasted Eggplant Spread

2008-03-21T15:15:00.004-04:00

If you want the recipe for Turtle Brownies, go here.

If you want the recipe for Roasted Egpplant Spread, go here.

Happy Easter and Happy Eating!

Magic Leprechaun Pudding

2008-03-19T14:32:00.003-04:00

Here is a fun St. Patty's Day dessert/treat idea for kids:

First, place a bit of "Leprechaun Gold" (butterscotch chips) in the bottom of clear cups. Then, fill the cup half-full with vanilla pudding. Add a couple of drops of green food coloring, but don't stir. Finally, fill the rest of the cup with pudding to hide the food coloring and top it off with more butterscotch chips. Tell the kids to stir the pudding while saying some magic words, and it will magically turn green!

Easy brownies

2008-03-06T09:42:00.004-05:00

I signed up to bring dessert to a church function last night, and forgot about it until yesterday morning, right before leaving for work. Not wanting to just bring store-bought cookies or boring brownies, I scanned quickly through my recipes at home, and settled on one that I could do after work.

Easy Raspberry Brownies

1 box dark chocolate fudge brownie mix
Water, oil, and eggs needed for brownie recipe
1 (8 oz) block cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup raspberry preserves
1 (1 oz) square unsweetened baking chocolate
1 tbsp butter or margarine

Mix, bake, and cool brownies according to directions on box. In a small bowl, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, and raspberry preserves until smooth and creamy. Spread over brownies. Refrigerate 15 minutes. In a small microwave-safe bowl, heat butter and baking chocolate for about 1 minute on 50% power. Stir until chocolate is melting and mixture is smooth. Drizzle over brownie topping. Chill for 1 hour or until chocolate is set. Cut into squares and serve.

I didn't have any raspberry preserves, so I used a normal (not dark) brownie mix and strawberry jam instead. I only had semi-sweet baking chocolate, which wouldn't make a really huge difference anyway. I didn't have time to chill it for an hour either, but they turned out pretty good anyway. Super easy, and you already have just about everything at home anyway.

Chocolate Sauce for Ice Cream

2008-03-05T13:23:00.005-05:00

1 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup butter

2 cups powdered sugar

1 1/3 cups canned milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Melt together chips and butter over low heat. Add sugar and milk. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add vanilla.

dinner anyone?

2008-03-05T08:46:00.002-05:00

My friend, Lindsey, showed me this recipe and instantly it became a family favorite. I love it because I can get all of the ingredients (except for the frozen dough) at my favorite money saving store Aldi. If you're not lucky enough to have an Aldi by you, then you'll still be able to find the ingredients in your local deli (it'll just cost you a little more).

STROMBOLI

Start out with two Rhodes frozen bread dough (thawed on the counter top for about 4 hrs). Roll them out till they look like the picture above.

Then put down slices of provolone cheese. I think the recipe calls for 5 slices per stromboli, but as you can see from the picture, I always add more. Can you ever have enough cheese?

Then add slices of salami. Again, I add more than the recipe calls for. :)

Next, add slices of deli ham.

Then add pepperoni slices.

Top with shredded mozzarella cheese.

Here's the tricky part. Fold in the ends first and then pull the sides over one another pinching all the way down until you have a good seal. (you don't want your precious cheese spilling out in the oven. That would be tragic!)

Flip over the stromboli. Place on a baking sheet. Sprinkle generously with italian seasoning.
Bake in the oven. I can't remember the exact temperature or time. I think I bake it at 350 until golden brown. (maybe 14-18 minutes. I honestly can't remember how long, so you'll have to just watch it. I'm absolving myself of any responsibility for you burning your stromboli!)

Cut into strips and serve with warm spaghetti dipping sauce. My kids love this recipe. Can't you see why? No veggies, just meat and cheese!!

Artichokes

2008-03-02T11:01:00.006-05:00

I grew up in Southern California. I would never want to live there again. The biggest redeeming benefit that California has for me (for living there -- I have no problem with vacationing/visiting) is its incredible produce. I also served my mission in California, but in the Salinas Valley, Hollister, etc. We had amazing produce there. I loved going to the little Mexican family-owned vegetable/fruit shops and getting the best goods I could, at totally great prices. One area I served in included Castroville, the "Artichoke Capitol of the World." I never had time to make artichokes as a missionary, but I ate them growing up. My mom cooked them from time to time. Since moving away from the West Coast, however, I have rarely seen an artichoke worth buying. This week, I did. I bought them and made my first attempt at artichokes. They turned out very well, but they're an awful lot of work to prepare and eat for being just a side dish. I won't right now go into the details of cooking them, but here are a couple of pictures:

Easy crock-pot chicken

2008-02-18T16:54:00.003-05:00

I had some friends over for dinner last night, and had an easy company stand-by in the crock-pot all day. Every time I make this dish, people say "Wow, this is really good...what's in it??" That was my reaction the first time I had it. It's really simple.

8-10 chicken breasts
1 jar apricot-pineapple preserves
1 bottle Italian dressing
1 envelope dry onion soup mix

Put it all in the crock pot and cook on high all day.

When I do it, I rarely do so much chicken, so I pare down the rest of it as well. Also, I think I've only once ever found apricot-pineapple preserves, so I usually buy apricot preserves and pineapple preserves separately. Last night when I made it, I used 4 chicken breasts, a couple of scoops of each kind of preserves, as much dressing as I thought would keep the chicken moist, and still a whole packet of soup mix. I also had some canned crushed pineapple open, so I dumped that in as well (undrained...good for flavor, sweetness, and moisture). I've also put dried apricots in as well in the past, but I liked the pineapple better.

I put this all in the pot on high around 10:30am, turned it to low around 5:15, and we ate at about 6:15. Much longer and the chicken would have been too dry.

I don't really have a name for this meal. When I first had it, it was at the bishop's house in my first mission area, so I refer to it as "Sister Green's Chicken." I serve it over rice.

Chocolate Fondue

2008-01-28T12:08:00.003-05:00

For those of you who came to Mary's baby shower at my house, you probably loved the chocolate fondue that we had as part of the dessert bar. If you didn't come, you missed out. It was good stuff. I can't claim to have come up with the recipe on my own, as this was the first time I'd ever done chocolate fondue. Truth is, that afternoon at work, I scanned through probably over 75 recipes online, looking for one that just popped out at me. This is what I settled on:

Chocolate Fondue

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/3 cup water
1 cup milk
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp liqueur (Creme de Menthe, Grand Marnier, Kahlua, etc.)

Combine sugar and cocoa in heavy 3 quart saucepan, blend in water and stir in both milks and butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until begins to boil. Remove from heat, add vanilla and liqueur, pour into fondue pot and use low Sterno flame to prevent scorching. Makes 3 1/4 cup sauce.

I didn't use liqueur, largely because I didn't have any. If I had had any, I would have added it prior to taking it off the heat, so as to cook out most of the alcohol while still retaining the flavor. I did use a tiny bit (1 tsp) of cherry brandy, but it wasn't enough flavor to pop out at all.

The thing I thought was funny was that everyone kept commenting on how thick the sauce was. I was worried while I was stirring it on the stove because it was too thin, and didn't seem to be thickening up at all. Turns out it did later.

Enjoy!

Heaven Sent These for Breakfast

2008-01-24T10:39:00.002-05:00

This is my standard, foolproof, crowd-pleasing pancake recipe. I added fresh blueberries to mine this morning. They're mmm-mmm good!

Darigold Buttermilk Pancakes

2 cups flour

1 1/4 teaspoons soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs, unbeaten (I beat mine)

2 cups Darigold buttermilk

1/4 cup melted butter

Mix or sift dry ingredients thoroughly. Add remaining ingredients. Stir lightly to just moisten dry ingredients. Mixture will be thick and lumpy. Drop by tablespoons onto lightly greased griddle, spreading batter with spoon. Turn cakes as soon as browned on bottom. Cook until other side is browned. Makes twenty 4-inch pancakes.

From www.darigold.com

Must-haves

2008-01-17T14:35:00.005-05:00

So this is what I was thinking of last week that inspired me to start The Kitchen Counter in the first place. You will probably find it rather un-inspiring, just in that it's nothing very special.

These are my top three must-have kitchen gagdets. Other than the regular spatulas, knives, etc., these are three things I can't live without in the kitchen.

First: the olive oil mister

This thing is great. I bought it at Bed Bath and Beyond (follow the link here to the product page) a little over a year ago, and it's been the best addition to the kitchen. I like it because I don't have to pull out the whole big bottle of olive oil (or vegetable oil, which isn't as good for you anyway) to coat a pan before cooking, and I don't have to use butter, either. You fill it halfway or so with olive oil (by the way, it would work with other oils, lemon juice, etc.), and when you need to use it, you pump air into it, thus creating pressure, and then spray the pan or whatever.

Second: the garlic press

This is actually the same garlic press as the one I have. It has a press for mincing as well as one for slicing. While I've only had occasion to use the slicer function once or twice, I love being able to use fresh garlic for everything I cook. I have never in my adult life purchased a jar of minced garlic. Basically, you just peel the "paper" off of a clove of garlic, put the clove inside the press, and close it. The hammer pushes the garlic through the tiny holes, and then you scrape it off with that black scraper. Mmmm...I can almost smell it now.

Third: scissors

I have two pairs of scissors in my kitchen. The first is a pair of fairly typical kitchen shears.

These are good for myriad uses. The thing I use them for most commonly, perhaps, is slicing green onions. I can't remember the last time I did that with a knife. It is the most inconvenient way to slice green onions, but with a pair of scissors, it's a snap.

The second pair of scissors I have is a basic three-for-ten-dollars pair. I don't use these for cooking/preparing purposes -- they're not built to stand up to it. They are, however, very convenient for opening plastic packages, cutting ties, etc. All those things that you don't want to use your NICE shears on, thus wearing them out faster.

Do you have any must-have gadgets? What are they?

Old links

2008-01-16T14:37:00.002-05:00

To get things started on a relevant note, I am including links to all entries on my personal blog that are kitchen/cooking related. This will be an easier way to reference, rather than try to re-post each of these (including pictures, etc.).

Gra'ma, if you read this blog, you may want to skip this entry

Kitchen fun

Chicken, Hominy, and Cilantro Chili

Funky chicken

When Life Gives You Lemons...

New recipe

Tuuuurrrrrkkkkeeeeyyyy!!!!!!!!

Kitchen substitution

Bright ideas

2008-01-15T18:55:00.001-05:00

I have my own blog. I update it regularly. I don't know why that isn't enough for me. For some reason, it isn't.

I seem to do a lot of blogging about cooking or other kitchen adventures. I was thinking of a blog idea a few days ago along those lines, and thought, "I should just start a kitchen blog. And it could be collaborative, because I have other friends who do a lot of kitchen blogging as well!"

So that's how The Kitchen Counter came to be. I have yet to tell any of my friends about it, but it's here for me in the meantime. I hope it will be a fun and successful venture.