Fav of the week!

Home grown cucumbers! My vegetable garden has been a mixed bag of passes and fails. My greatest pass thus far has definitely been my cucumber plant! I strated it from seeds and it took off right away. I transfered it to the raised bed, only to have it out grow every other plant and start attaching itself to the lawn. It reminds me of the plant from Little Shop of Horrors (without the cravings for blood.)

If you want to try planting something this summer I highly suggest cucumbers! Just make sure you have plenty of room, preferably a wall or fence for the plant to climb.  I get about 3 to 4 cucumbers a day, I cant give them away fast enough. Interesting cucumber recipes to come!

Pb & J Bars

ROADTRIP! (say in frat bro voice)

Having me on your ROADTRIP means two things: rest stops and snacks. lots of both.

The conversation with my fellow roadtrippers usually goes like this,

me: " Need to stop at the next bathroom!"
roadtrippers: " Again?! We just stopped."
me: "Did I mention I made these homemade peanut butter and jelly bars!"

This bribe usually entertains my friends and family for the first 3 bathroom stops. Luckily these bars were so good, I got away with minimal complements for all my pit stops!

Easy to make and easy to pack up, peanut butter and jelly bars are a great twist on a childhood classic.

Follow this link from Ina Garten
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/peanut-butter-and-jelly-bars-recipe/index.html

Quote of the week

"You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces - just good food from fresh ingredients." 

- Julia Child

Spaghetti Puttanesca

Adapted: The Curvy Carrot

Simple. Simple. Simple.

Puttanessca sauce is the lazy foodies gold mine.

Every night can't be a well prepped, well planned meal. You need those nights where you can whip something up in 15 minutes and still feel like a superstar. Puttanesca is that night.

There are a few specific ingredients needed, such as anchovy paste and capers. Both can last a long time so I would suggest buying it next shopping trip and having it on hand for this quick meal fix. 

This dish is elegant enough for company and yet comforting enough as a meal for one.... in front of the tv....preferably watching bad reality shows.


Cooking: 15 minutes
Serving: 6

Ingredients:

1 pound spaghetti

5 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons anchovy paste

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes in juice (San Marzano is a great brand)

1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives

2 tbls drained capers

Pinch of sugar (optional)

3/4 cup chopped basil

Parmesan cheese, grated (for topping)

Cooking: 

1. Bring pot of salted water to boil

2. While pasta cooks, heat saute pan with oil on medium heat

3. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes, not letting it brown

4. Add anchovy paste, salt & pepper

5. Puree tomatoes in a blender

6. Add tomatoes, capers, olives, and sugar to pan.

7. Let sauce simmer, stirring, until pasta is ready

8. Mix pasta with sauce and add basil and grated cheese

**Tip: If you grate cheese on steaming hot pasta after draining, the cheese will stick to the pasta and soak up the sauce better

Quote of the week

"No one ever filed for divorce on a full stomach." - Mama Leone

Hummingbird Cupcakes

 

I didnt know why these were called hummingbirds, until I took a bite and the sweet & subtle cake with the rich & creamy icing made me want to sing. The name fits the cupcake perfectly. 

The cake is a mixture of yellow cake with pineapple, banana, and nuts. PINEAPPLES. I love when recipes have out of place ingredients.

The pineapple was perfect in both texture and sweetness, the banana gave a comforting hint of sweetness, and the nuts gave a much needed balancing of texture. The cream cheese frosting is decadent and perfect. End of story.

Cooking: 

Servings: 24 regular sized cupcakes

Ingredients:
Cupcakes 
1 1/4 flour, all-purpose
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soa
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup mashed banana (1 banana)
1/2 cup canned crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 cup pecans, chopped finely

Frosting
1 stick unsalted butter, room temp
6 oz cream cheese, room temp
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar

Baking:
Cupcakes
1. Preheat oven to 350 and line cupcake pans
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside
3. Beat together the egg, egg yolk and sugar for about 2 minutes. Color should be pale yellow
4. Add oil and vanilla and blend.
5. Mix in sour cream completely
6. Add flour mixture and blend until mixture is smooth
7. Add cinnamon, banana, pineapple and pecans, mix into batter
8. Fill cupcakes 3/4 to the top
9. Bake about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean

Frosting
1. Cream butter and cream cheese on low speed. Add vanilla and blend.
2. Add powdered sugar and blend for 2 minutes on medium speed ( this lightens the frosting)

Fav of the week!

Cupcake deck! This a great cupcake collection of 25 recipes. Each card in the deck has a beautiful picture and delicious cupcake. Inside the card are the ingredients and directions, making it a very portable grocery list and a perfect size to keep in the kitchen while baking. I made Hummingbird cupcakes (recipe above) from the deck and they were one of the best cupcakes I've ever made. This makes a great gift idea for any cupcake lover in your life!

Check out the link below

http://www.amazon.com/Cupcake-Deck-Elinor-Klivans/dp/0811857948

Shrimp Calzone

 Above: Shrimp Calzones, Below: Extra shrimp filling

Close your eyes and picture stuffed,warm, crusty pizza dough. As you take a bite you get a mouthful of warm tomatoes, melted cheese....and something else...SHRIMP!

What an amazing surprise these shrimp calzones were.

They make an adorable appetizer or a fun main dish. I got this ingenious idea from Giada  De Laurentiis. In full disclosure, she made her own pizza dough, and I used store bought. 

The shrimp is cooked in tomatoes and olive oil, and marinated with classic Italian flavors. The recipe only calls for 1lb of shrimp but since I had 2lb I doubled the ingredients and used the 2nd half for extra shrimp side dish.

I never thought of shrimp as an ingredient for pizza but the simple flavors of the shellfish and the familiar seasoning of the tomatoes made a comforting and filling meal.

Cook time: 35 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients:
2 tbl olive oil, plus extra for brushing
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup canned chopped tomatoes
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 tbl chopped fresh Italian parsley
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 pound uncooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Store-bought pizza dough
3 cups shredded mozzarella
1 large egg, beaten

Cooking:
1. Heat olive oil in saute pan. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes
2. Season shrimp in bowl with salt and pepper
3. Add tomatoes, wine, thyme, & parsley
4. Increase the heat until mixture is simmering and cook until liquid begins to evaporate, 7-10 minutes
5. Add shrimp to mixture, and cook until they start to turn pink,  about 3 minutes.
6. Take off the heat and set aside to cool, while you roll the pizza dough
7. Depending how large you would like your calzones divide pizza dough into 2,4,6 equal balls
8. Pound out dough into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick
9. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on dough then spoon shrimp mixture and top with desired amount of cheese (the more the better!)
10. Brush the end of the dough with egg wash
11. Fold over to make a pocket, pinch sides in a folding motion, or press down with fork.
12. Place parchment paper on 2 baking sheets, place the calzonse on top
13. Bake for 12-15 minutes
14. Brush with olive oil and serve!

Chocolate Babka

I don’t know what's more fun: saying “Babka” or eating it.

I made this chocolate swirl bread for my dad's birthday—it’s his favorite sweet. Like the beginning of most of my baking adventures, I started to research multiple cookbooks and blogs for chocolate babka recipes. I ended up combining 3 recipes to create my perfect Babka: Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook, Jewish Cooking in America Cookbook, & Peggy Cullen on Foodnetwork.com. 

I made the bread in two parts: the dough one night, leaving it to rise overnight. And the filling of chocolate and streusel the following day. The inside filling is the same mixture you used on the top of loaf. I split the dough in half and made to smaller loaves instead of 1 large since I did not have an adequately sized pan.

This delicious desert bread is literally bursting with flavors of chocolate, cinnamon, and buttery sugar.

Serious perfection.

Cook Time: 10 hours
Servings: 2 small loaves

 Ingredients:
 Dough
1/3 cup of milk
1 package active dry yeast
1/2 cup sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter
4 egg yolks
4 cups sifted flour
Pinch of salt

Streusel
3 tbl flour
3 tbl sugar
1 tbl butter, melted

Filling
3 oz semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 of the streusel
2 tbl melted butter

Baking:
Dough
1. Heat milk to lukewarm temperature and add yeast with a tsp of sugar. Stir.
2. Let sit 10 minutes until the yeast starts to bubble (if it does not bubble you are using bad yeast, do not continue baking. Your bread will not rise.)
3. Cut the butter into small cubes and place in food processor or mixing bowl.
4. Add egg yolks, yeast mixture and mix well
5. Slowly add the flour, salt, and sugar
6. Cover dough and leave in refrigerator for 6 hours or overnight
7. The next morning remove the dough and let stand for 45 minutes before continuing 

Streuesl
1. Whisk together the flour and sugar
2. Gradually add the melted butter
3. Mix with your fingertips until the mixture is in small lumps.

Filling 
1. Mix together the chocolate, sugar and cinnamon

Assembly
1. Reserve 2 tbl of the chocolate mixture and 3 tbl of the streuesl mixture. (This is for the top of the loaf)
2. Pound dough into a rectangle on a floured surface
3. Fill with the chocolate mixture the streusel. Make sure to leave 1/2 inch border on the long side of the rectangle to brush butter for rolling.
4. Brush melted butter on 1/2 inch of length side of the rectangle
5. Roll the dough towards the buttered side, forming a log
6. Pinch ends together to close the log, and form a ring.
7. Twist the ring into a figure eight
8. Grease and flour a loaf pan. Place parchment paper and grease and flour again
9. Place the dough in the pan and brush with butter
10. Preheat oven to 350 
11. Cover with towel, place in warm area and let rise for 1 hour. (It will not double until baked, but you will know when it's ready if your finger leaves an indentation)
12. Brush with melted butter again and sprinkle reserved chocolate and streusel on top
13. Bake for 45 - 50 minutes. If the top is browning too quickly cover with foil
14. Cool slightly before slicing

Quote of the week

When baking, follow directions.  When cooking, go by your own taste.  ~Laiko Bahrs

Fav of the week!

 

Organic Rainbow Carrots! When I saw these in the store I stared for a good 30 seconds. Red, white, purple carrots?? I got that creeping feeling of  "how has this existed without my knowledge," like when you see an insect with 30 legs and 2 heads. Probably not the best comparison because I was pretty thrilled with the carrots, and not so much with a double headed bug. Before you go out looking for some rainbow carrots you should know, they taste like a regular carrot. They do make a fun addition to any salad. And you know what they say, the more colors in a salad the healthier. Yum.

Salmon & Lentils

I had one mission: Find a salmon recipe my sister and mom ( salmon haters) liked. I knew I could intrigue them with the idea of lentils, since no of us frequently eat them.

This recipe from Ina Garten ( my idol) mixed Provencal flavors with a perfectly seared salmon. The lentils were really easy to make and I had enough leftovers for days!

The mix of the sweet and savory lentils and the salty and seared salmon was the perfect marriage. Both my mom and sister were running for seconds.

Mission accomplished!

Try the recipe here!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/salmon-with-lentils-recipe/index.html

Strawberries

Sweet, sweet strawberries. Pros of living in Florida: strawberries in April. Cons: heat stroke.  I only planted a couple of strawberry roots, so at most I get 2 ripe berries at a time; not enough to make a dish but perfect for a mid-day snack.