It's all about the recipe. Really, it is. To be a good cook you just need a good recipe. I love trying new recipes and when I find a great one --not a good one, a GREAT one-- I love to share! If you like what you see here, click on "Follow" and become part of my "foodie family". Leave comments, too! Not only do I enjoy your reading your comments immensely, but they also help other visitors make a commitment (or not) to trying a recipe. And feel free to email a link to any recipe you find interesting (or tasty!) by clicking the envelope at the end of each post... to yourself or to anyone who would appreciate getting a few good recipes :) It's all about the recipe. Really, it is!
I looooove coconut so I HAD to make these. Had to. I am glad I did, too. This recipe is a keeper! I have coconut loving friends that are going to want to me to make these. I'll offer to bring them to their parties. I could offer to bring a trio of Rice Krispie treats...these, salted brown butter, and peanut butter. I could get a lot more invitations to a lot more parties!
I found this recipe here http://cravingchronicles.com/2010/05/25/toasted-coconut-rice-krispie-treats/ but had to change it up a bit.
Toasted Coconut Rice Krispie Treats
3 tablespoons butter
10 ounces mini marshmallows
1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1 teaspoon coconut extract
5 cups Rice Krispies cereal
1/2 cup toasted shredded coconut*
* To toast coconut, spread shredded coconut in an even layer on a cookie sheet and bake at 300F, stirring every few minutes, for 10-15 minutes or until coconut is golden brown. Don’t walk away from the oven! The coconut will brown very quickly, so keep an eye on it. Set aside to cool.
Prepare an 8 or 9 inch square dish by either buttering or spraying with cooking spray.
In a large saucepan, melt butter. Add marshmallows and heat over medium-low heat, stirring until melted. Stir in shredded coconut and coconut extract. Remove from heat. Add Rice Krispies and stir until thoroughly coated. Spread Rice Krispie mixture into prepared pan. With the back of a buttered spatula or using a sheet of waxed paper, press mixture firmly into an even layer. If desired melt chocolate chips and drizzle over the tops of the treats. Spread slightly, if desired. Sprinkle toasted coconut and press lightly to adhere to the chocolate and the top of the treats. (In the picture above the coconut was put down first, then the chocolate. Not a good idea. The chocolate fell off...) Cool at room temperature until chocolate hardens. Once cool, cut into squares and enjoy!
The strawberry cake was a success! YAY! Abby took the cake back to college for the birthday boy, but left some cupcakes here for us to enjoy (and photograph). The cake is bright pink, made from scratch-with with real strawberries! The cake packs a good strawberry taste. Taste! Not the boxed cake mix perfumed aroma that is supposed to stand in for taste. Yummy!
I think the frosting needs work. We used a basic cream cheese frosting...and I think it is a bit too much for the cake. A plain buttercream would be better, but I think a whipped cream frosting or a milk chocolate frosting would be best...or maybe we should have tried the posted frosting, too. DUH!
I am hoping Abby will send a picture of her cake. She's going to decorate it with chocolate covered strawberries with a white chocolate drizzle. It should look spectacular. This boy had better now propose. He'd be the third. In a year. Until then though, here's a picture of the cupcake she left for me!
I found the recipe here...http://www.mangiodasola.com/2010/04/strawberry-cake.html but had to change it a bit. I have included the strawberry frosting recipe from the site...perhaps we should have made that, too.
Strawberry Cake
2¼ cups cake flour (9 ounces)
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1½ sticks), softened but still cool
6 large egg whites (¾ cup), at room temperature
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
1 teaspoons almond extract
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups strawberry purée (recipe below)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray three 8-inch round cake pans with nonstick baker's cooking spray. Pour milk, egg whites, and extracts into 2-cup glass measure, and mix with fork until blended, set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix on low speed. Add in butter and continue beating at slow speed until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no powdery streaks remaining. Add all but ½ cup of milk-egg white mixture to crumbs and beat at medium speed for 30 seconds. Add 1/2 cup of strawberry purée and beat for 30-45 seconds. Then, add remaining ½ cup of milk mixture, and beat 15 seconds more. Add another 1/2 cup of purée, and beat for 15 seconds more. Stop mixer and scrape sides of bowl. Return mixer to medium (or high) speed, and beat 20 seconds longer. Do not over-mix. Divide batter evenly between prepared cake; using rubber spatula, spread batter to pan walls and smooth tops. Arrange pans at least 3 inches from the oven walls and 3 inches apart. (If oven is small, place pans on separate racks in staggered fashion to allow for air circulation OR bake them individually.) Bake until thin skewer or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 22 to 24 minutes.
Let cakes rest in pans for 5 minutes. Loosen from sides of pans with a knife, if necessary, and invert onto wire racks. Re-invert onto additional wire racks. Let cool completely, about 1- 1½ hours.
For Strawberry Puree
2 cups fresh strawberries,sliced and stems removed
1/4 sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
Place the cut strawberries in a blender. Add sugar and lemon juice. Purée the mixture until smooth. You will need 1 1/2 cups puree for the cake and 1/4-1/2 cups puree for the frosting.
Strawberry Frosting (did not test--but probably would have been better than the cream cheese frosting we did use)
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
1/2 cup shortening (can sub more butter for a less fluffy frosting)
3-4 cups powdered sugar (to taste)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 - 1/2 cup strawberry purée
Beat butter and shortening for 3 minutes. Slow down beater or mixer, and add powdered sugar one cup at a time. Once the mixture is well-integrated, add in the purée until desired consistency is reached.
Mmmm...must have been the thought of Cinco de Mayo... but I've finally found a great green sauce for enchiladas. Not spicy (although it would be easy to up the heat) but tasty and tangy, which it should be, having being made with 2 lbs of fresh tomatillos. I liked the flavor of the chicken poached in cilantro and mint, but I think that delicate flavor got lost when the sauce, cheese, and tortillas were added. So you might just want to make your own enchilada filling, and use this sauce. Delicioso
Don't assemble the enchiladas until 10 minutes before you want to eat (but the the sauce, the chicken, and the filling can be made a day or more in advance). I made the mistake once of assembling the enchiladas in the morning and refrigerating until ready to cook. The sauce soaked into the tortillas and by the time I had removed the casserole dish from the oven I knew that I had one horribly dry dish on my hands. So dry, that all the sour cream in the carton couldn't help...
Green Sauce (Salsa Verde)
2 lbs tomatillos (about 15), husks removed and washed
2-3 Serrano chilies or 1 Jalapeno (I'm a wimp, I used 1 Anaheim)
5 garlic cloves, chopped
1 small while onion, chopped
3 Tablespoons olive oil (divided use)
1 1/2 tsp. salt (more or less to taste)
1 cup chicken broth (saved from poaching the chicken)
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Char the tomatillo and chilies. Do this over an open flame on your stovetop, on the grill, in the frying pan, or in a hot oven. I grill over the gas burner on my stove. You are looking for the tomatillos to soften slightly and have a few charred spots. Remove tomatillos to a large bowl or platter to cool. Put the charred chili in a brown bag to cool. When cool, remove all the charred skin. Add 1 Tablespoon olive oil to a frying pan. When hot add onion and saute onion until soft, add the garlic, and saute about 2 more minutes. Put the tomatillos, peeled chili, onion and garlic in a blender and process until smooth. Heat remaining 2 Tablespoons olive oil in the frying pan. Add in sauce from blender and cook for about a minute. Stir in salt (to taste), chicken broth, cumin, and cilantro. Simmer for about 4 minutes and set aside.
For Chicken
1 small chicken, cut into 3 parts (or all thighs, or all breasts, or combo...about 2 lbs meat total)
8 cups water
1/2 yellow onion, coarsely chopped (skin still on)
6 garlic cloves
2 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt, divided use
8 springs cilantro
3 large sprigs fresh mint
1/2 tsp. black pepper
salt, to taste
Place chicken in pan with water, yellow onion, garlic, 2 tsp. salt, cilantro, and mint. Poach chicken until done, 20-45 minutes depending on cuts of chicken and thickness of meat. Let chicken cool in broth. Remove chicken from broth and shred. Season with salt and pepper. Add chicken bones back into broth and simmer for an additional 30-60 minutes to make a richer broth. Strain 1 cup of broth from pan and add to the green sauce above.
For the enchiladas
shredded chicken from above
2 cups monterey jack cheese (or mexican blend cheese), divided use
1 can sliced black olives, optional
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup salsa verde
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup vegetable oil
12 corn tortillas
Queso Fresco, crumbled (or additional shredded cheese)
Sour cream or Mexican Crema
1/2 red onion, finely chopped, optional
Combine shredded chicken, 1 cup shredded cheese, optional olives and onion along with 1/2 cup salsa verde. Stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Just before it's time to eat...
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat vegetable oil over high heat. Lightly fry tortilla in oil for about 5 seconds on each side or until soft. Drain on a paper towel. Repeat until all 12 tortillas are cooked. Dip tortilla into salsa verde, add in a scant 1/4 cup of chicken mixture, and roll. Place into baking dish, seam side down. Repeat until all tortillas and chicken are used. Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas in pan. Top with remaining 1 cup shredded cheese. Bake for 10 minutes. Finish off in a hot broiler for 2-3 minutes if you want nicely browned cheese. Garnish enchiladas with crumbled Queso Fresco and sour cream or Mexican Crema. Servir y disfrutar.
Ooops. Almost forgot to tell you where I found this recipe. In the San Jose Mercury News last month (don't have the date on the clipping) and it's attributed to Agustin Gayton.
My daughter Abby insisted I post these. She said they are delicious. She's a wonderful girl, but unfortunately suffering from dormfooditis. Nevertheless, these scones are good, and they do look pretty. They'd be good with a mother's day cup of tea, don't you think?
Scones are not supposed to be sweet, and not supposed to resemble a muffin, and these don't. They have the right texture for a true Englsih scone. Next time though, I will put a bit more sugar in them, and a bit less nutmeg. (I love nutmeg, so I was a bit overgenerous, and the scones ended up with a bit of an unappetizing yellow tinge.)
Here's where I found this recipe...Adapted from Joy the Baker, originally from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan http://homeiswheretheholmansare.blogspot.com/2010/04/strawberry-oatmeal-scones.html
Strawberry Oatmeal Scones
1 egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1/3 cup sugar (next time I might use 1/2 cup)
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Pinch of ground nutmeg
1 cup fresh strawberries, chopped
1/2 cup plus 2 T unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper.
Whisk together the egg and buttermilk and set aside. Combine the flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg in a mixing bowl. Add the cold butter pieces and cut in with a pastry blender or your hands, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add in the chopped strawberries. Pour in the buttermilk mixture and stir with a fork until the mixture comes together in one hairy ball (be careful not to squish too many strawberries). Place the dough on an ungreased baking sheet and pat into a disk about the size of a dinner plate and 1 1/2 inches thick. Cut the dough, like a pie or a pizza, into about 8 or 12 wedges. Pull wedges apart, so there is about 1 inch between each slice.
At this point scones can be refrigerated to bake later, or frozen to be baked much later. Place in preheated 400 degree oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes until golden brown (25 minutes if frozen--do not defrost before baking). Transfer to a wire rack to cool about 10 minutes before serving.
In the last few weeks, I have deemed only one new recipe worthy of posting, this one: Brown Sugar Ice Cream. My daughter Abby brought home a quart of Haagan-Daz's Brown Sugar ice-cream a few months ago. So when I ran across this recipe at http://dishingupdelights.blogspot.com/2010/04/brown-sugar-ice-cream.html it wasn't a completely foreign concept. Just for the record, this homemade version is wayyyy better than the Haagan-Daz version. The Haagan-Daz version has an odd texture and a more of a molasses flavor than a brown sugar flavor. This homemade version is simple, rich, smooth, creamy...
I served this last night with a Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp. The flavor combo was not quite right. I kept thinking this ice cream will be perfect with something...but what IS it? I was driving myself CRAZY...finally, almost 24 hours later, it has come to me. I was on the right track with the oatmeal crisp topping, but brown sugar ice cream needs...apples! MMmmm...can you imagine a warm apple crisp with oatmeal topping and a bit of Brown Sugar ice-cream on the side? Or, how about Apple pie with Brown Sugar Ice Cream? I know all you nut lovers are going to want to sprinkle a few toasted, glazed, or spiced walnuts or pecans over that!
The recipe below calls for whipping cream and whole milk. I've started going one step down on the dairy with all my ice cream recipes. For this recipe I used half-and-half and whole milk. Use anything you want: whipping cream, half-and-half, whole milk, 2% milk. The less fat in the milk or cream, the less creamy and rich the ice-cream. Next time I will use all whole milk or whole milk and 2%...or maybe all 2%...and I'll make an apple-oatmeal crisp...or maybe a peach-oatmeal crisp..
Now for those leftover egg whites...Pavlova! I'll post the recipe soon. I've promised a friend of mine I would for about 6 weeks now...
Enjoy!
Brown Sugar Ice Cream
Makes 1 quart
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream (see note above)
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar, divided
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 large egg yolks
Combine heavy whipping cream, whole milk, (or your choice of milk/cream products) and 1/2 cup brown sugar in heavy large saucepan. Bring cream mixture to simmer over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
Meanwhile, whisk yolks and remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar in large bowl of an electric mixer until very thick, about 2 minutes.
Gradually whisk hot cream mixture into yolk mixture. Return mixture to saucepan. Stir over medium heat until custard thickens and thermometer inserted into custard registers 180°F, about 6 minutes (do not boil). Strain custard (if needed) into large bowl set over another bowl of ice and water. Cool custard completely, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Cover and chill overnight (I was only able to chill for about 3 hours).
Process custard in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer ice cream to container. Cover and freeze until firm, at least 6 hours and up to 1 day.
I think he's closing his eyes! Do you think he knows how good it's going to be?
In the US, a "good" dinner is a main dish, maybe a veggie, a starch and a green salad. In England, the norm for a "good" dinner is a main dish, mash and three veggies. I'm English. Three veggies, please! I love my veggies. Love them, love them, love them. I never met a veggie I didn't like. Roasting veggies is surprisingly easy and brings out the sweetness in the veggies. Ever roast a cauliflower? No? You're missing out! Here's the recipe (from Epicurious.com)
Roasted Cauliflower
8 cups cauliflower florets (you'll need one huge head of cauliflower or two smaller heads)
3 T. olive oil
1/4 tsp. salt
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Put the small florets into a large (gallon) sized Ziploc bag or large bowl. Mix the olive oil and salt together then pour over the cauliflower. Shake the bag, or stir the bowl, to cover the cauliflower evenly with the oil and salt. Spread cauliflower onto a large baking sheet (the metal kind with 1/2 inch or 1 inch sides). Place sheet into hot oven. Shake pan after 15 minutes to rotate florets. Continue to roast for another 10 or 15 minutes or until cauliflower is tender and sports nice golden brown spots.
Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today! Will you be roasting some cauliflower soon. What other veggies do you like to roast?
YAY! Halibut season! You have to try this recipe. I love this recipe. The lemon peel and the panko are the magic ingredients--along with some good quality halibut (which can often be found at Costco), of course. If I were collecting my favorite recipes, this would definitely be one of my top ten. I found this recipe on epicurious.com in 2008. See that fillet in front? I just ate it. Don't you wish you were me?!
Pan-Fried Halibut
2 lbs. halibut (1 1/2 inches thick) fillets, not steaks
1 1/2 cups (3 1/2 oz.) panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
grated peel of one lemon (about 2 tsp.)
2 tsp. Kosher salt
pepper, to taste
1 T. finely chopped parsley
3 egg whites
1/4 cup buttermilk
3 T. olive oil
Cut fish into single serving pieces. Combine panko, lemon peel, salt, pepper and parsley in a shallow dipping bowl. In another shallow dipping bowl combine egg whites and buttermilk. Dip fish into egg white mixture and then into panko mixture. Heat olive oil in a large skillet. When oil is hot add panko covered fish. Cook fish until panko is golden and fish is opaque in center, 3-5 minutes (depending on thickness of fish) on each side. Remove to serving plate.
This will probably be the last of my citrus posts for awhile. So let's use up the rest of those oranges, lemons and limes so we can move on. Before we close this chapter though, here's a recipe for a citrusy pound cake...with a pepper kick. Not a big kick, more of a love tap, really! The citrus isn't overwhelming either, just another love tap! The pepper kick develops over time. I tasted this cake on day 1, no pepper. Day 2, ohhhh, there's the pepper!
Triple Citrus Pepper Pound Cake
1 1/2 cups cake flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
1 T. lemon zest
1 T. lime zest
1 T. orange zest
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
4 eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
Preheat the oven to 325 F. and prepare a 9X5 loaf pan. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, black pepper and salt. With an electric mixer, cream the butter with the citrus zests until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar and beat an additional 2 minutes. With the mixer on medium low speed, pour the egg mixture into the bowl, and mix until blended. On low speed mix the flour mixture in, adding it in 4 additions. After the last addition, mix on medium speed for 30 seconds. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 60-75 minutes, until a toothpick inserts into the center comes out with only a few crumbs attached and the sides of the cake are pulling away from the sides of the pan. Let the cake cool in the pan for 5 minutes, and then invert the cake onto a cooling rack. Cool completely before slicing and serving. The pepper flavor develops over time. Wait 24 hours!
You can make marmalade for breakfast. Yes you can! It's amazing! I have made orange, lemon and lime marmalade with this recipe. It's so QUICK! I am so impressed. I have had better marmalades, but they weren't made in 15 minutes from the citrus in my backyard. This recipe is a winner.
Notes from original recipe:
Do not double the recipe, the microwave will not like it and you will end up with a giant mess.
Use a high-sided microwaveable container (I used an 8 cup Pyrex measuring cup) to microwave the marmalade
After you get the basic technique down, play a bit...add a touch of booze or spice!
Microwave Marmalade
Thinly sliced zest (with no white stuff) from 1 lb of citrus
3/4 lb citrus (all peel, white rind and seeds removed)--tangerines, lemons, limes, oranges or combination
1 1/4 cup white sugar
1-tablespoon rum (optional) (I used Cointreau)
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
Peel and seed fruit, removing and discarding all the whit pith, and white stringy bits from the outside and down the center of the fruit. Weigh the peeled fruit and removed zest, you'll need 3/4 lb. of pulp and zest. Place zest, pulp and sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Puree, making sure all the peel and section skins are reduced to a pulp. Pour pureed mixture into a high-sided microwaveable bowl, adding optional alcohol and nutmeg. Cover tightly with plastic wrap pierced a few times to vent. Microwave on high for 5 minutes. Stir; remove platic wrap and return to microwave for 7 minutes. Remove, stir and check thickness. At this point, depending on the juiciness of your fruit (oranges mainly), return mixture to the microwave for another 2-3 minutes. Marmalade will thicken as it cools. Makes 2 cups. Keep in refrigerator for up to three weeks. Can be frozen for longer storage.
It's cold and raining here in California. Surprisingly cold. Soup weather cold. But it's Tuesday at 6PM. I'm in the grocery store, hungry, and wanting soup for dinner. Do I grab a can? Noooo...those cans do NOT contain "soup"! The contents of those cans have a soup LOOK and when warmed they have soup TEXTURE, but they really don't have any taste. Look and texture can fool some people to think the can contents have taste, but they don't. Oh dear, I got on my processed food rampage, didn't I? So sorry. To make a long story short...this soup is one of my favorites. Once you have all the ingredients it can be on the table in less than 20 minutes, and it tastes d-i-v-i-n-e. Don't be scared of the ingredients, trust me and try it! My 15 month old grandson slurped up his bowl and then whined until he got to have some of mine. This is one soup where the broth is probably more yummy than the shrimp! Can you imagine? BTW, don't use Jumbo Shrimp, they are too big for one bite and don't fit on the spoons. You can make this with all shrimp, or half shrimp and fish, or use scallops or half scallops and half shrimp or half fish...it's all good.
Coconut-Lime Shrimp Bisque
1 T. olive oil
5 chopped shallots (about 3/4 cup)
1 T. minced fresh ginger
1 tsp. ground turmeric
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
8 oz. bottle Clam Juice (In a pinch, can sub chicken broth, or a can of clams with the juice)
14.5 oz. can petite diced tomatoes
13.5 oz can unsweetened coconut milk (the low fat version has no taste)
grated zest of one lime
1 1/2 - 2 lbs med/large raw (shelled) shrimp, firm white fish (cut into pieces about 1 1/2 inches square, or scallops (or any combination of the three)
3 T. freshly squeezed lime juice (from one large lime)
2 green onions, sliced
salt and pepper, to taste
Heat oil and saute shallots until tender, about 3 minutes. Add in ginger, turmeric, and cumin and saute for an additional minute. Stir in clam juice, diced tomatoes, coconut milk, lime zest, and shrimp, fish and/or scallops. Simmer until seafood is cooked, about 7 minutes. Stir in lime juice, green onions and salt and pepper, to taste. Serve. See how fast this is to make? You can do it! Makes 4 -6 servings.
Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today. It's always so good to have you here!
Posts
