Cookie Monster

New Blog

2010-12-26T22:35:00.001-08:00

If you follow me, and care, I've started a new blog:
http://chantillyetfoie.blogspot.com

Hope to see you there :)

Pineapple Spice Scones

2010-08-01T11:22:00.000-07:00

I went through a phase of really liking canned pineapple. The ease of not having to deal with cutting a pineapple and the ability to just open a can (without even the use of a can opener) sent me to request multiple cans from my grandma. However, this led to an high bulk supply of canned pineapple, Costco style. Now, in my last weeks in San Diego, I searched for various recipes to dispose of my excess. I found this recipe on the dole website, and since I had success with making scones my first time, I decided to try making pineapple scones. Since I only have an excess of pineapple chunks, and not crushed, I crushed my own. I poured the whole contents of the can, self-crushed chunks, juice and all, into the dough. However, this made the texture wet and sticky, unworkable and unthinkable of forming into scone-like substances. Instead, I threw the result into a 8x8 pan and made my own bar-like bread. I don't remember how long I cooked these, since I have been having trouble with my pineapple recipes coming out too moist/uncertainly raw.

Wowwwww, and now as I type up this recipe, I realize my mistake. I used 1 20 oz. can of pineapple instead of 8 oz. I should learn to read. BIG MISTAKE! At least they were edible, and I don't believe anybody got sick...
Plus my pictures look pretty decent.

Pineapple Spice Scones

from Dole

Ingredients:

2-1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided

2-/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 can (8 oz). crushed pineapple, undrained (or my case, 1 20 oz. can pineapple chunks, crushed)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Vanilla soy milk

3 tablespoons almonds, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions (for real scones):

1. Combine flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in mixing bowl. Stir to combine. Cut in butter with pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make well in center. Stir in undrained pineapple and vanilla until dry ingredients are just moistened and forms ball.  

2. Knead dough gently 10 to 12 times on a lightly floured surface. Pat dough to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut with floured 2-1/2 inch biscuit cutter.  

3. Place on baking sheet, sprayed with cooking spray. Brush tops with milk or cream. 

4. Combine almonds, remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly over tops of scones. Bake at 400^°F., 12 to 15 minutes. Serve warm.

papaya scones

2010-07-30T12:32:00.000-07:00

Coconut-Pineapple Loaf Cake

2010-07-29T13:53:00.000-07:00

Once again, a very "moist cake." This one I felt the need to get rid of the many cans of pineapple chunks my grandma has provided me with in the bulk supply of costco. I found this cake, but unfortunately I do not have sour cream sitting around. I've been running into a lot of recipes lately that call for sour cream, so I looked for a substitute and found that for every cup of sour cream, you can use a cup of yogurt plus 1 tsp. of baking soda. For this recipe, I did not have any plain yogurt, so I used 8 oz. of yoplait pineapple upside down cake yogurt and 1 tsp. of baking soda. I like to freeze my yogurts, so I thawed the 8 oz. I needed in the microwave at 20 seconds, and so the yogurt had a thicker texture than regular refrigerated yogurt. I was very satisfied with the outcome, and would definitely make again.

Coconut-Pineapple Loaf Cake
adopted from Martha Stewart
Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
1/2 teaspoon baking soda + 1 teaspoon added w/yogurt
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup (8 ounces) Yoplait Pineapple Upside-Down Cake yogurt
1 can (20 ounces) pineapple chunks in juice, drained well
Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread coconut on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until lightly toasted, tossing occasionally, 6 to 10 minutes; set aside. Butter and flour a 9-by-5-inch (8-cup) loaf pan; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce speed to low, and alternately add flour mixture in three parts and yogurt in two (remaining 1 tsp baking soda divided between the two parts), beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix just until combined (do not overmix).
Using a rubber spatula, fold pineapple and 1 cup coconut into batter. Spoon into prepared pan, and smooth top; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup coconut. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 65 to 70 minutes (cover pan with foil halfway through). Let cake cool in pan 15 minutes. Remove from pan, and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Housewoman

2010-07-26T15:48:00.000-07:00

Today, after my late awakening, almost into the late afternoon, I decided to be ultra-productive, and make some cookie dough, mop the tile floors, and bake a cake. The cake was due to my need to get rid of a bunch of bananas I haven't touched since I put into the fridge (which turned completely black, without loosing their shape or form). I found this recipe that instead of an upside-down pineapple cake, used bananas. It produced a very "moist" cake. The peanut butter cookies I have made before, also gluten free, but the idea to dip them in chocolate came from bakerella. Since I ran out of Baker's chocolate, I decided to use the chocolate fruit dip I had stored in my fridge. After letting the cookies sit out for two days, the chocolate still did not harden.

The pictures of the banana cake look unappetizing, as it looks more like an anchovie cake.
upside down banana cake:

I cannot find the exact recipe I used, but it is similar to the one found here.

PB cookies

Oats 'n Shit

2010-07-21T14:32:00.000-07:00

Gluten free recipe, Peter suggested I should promote to BJ's as new pizookie flavor called "Oats and Shit." When I first started making these, I didn't follow the instructions exactly and did not food process the oats (due to my lack of machinery). So when they started baking, they looked really mushy like they would not solidify into a cookie texture. However, after baking for the directed time, and letting them rest on the baking sheet, they molded into cookies, with nice crispy edges that had a carmelized taste. I'd like to brag and say that rumor has it, Anthony said they were the best fucking cookies he has ever had.

Salted Cashew Crunch Cookies
from Bake or Break
Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats, ground for 30 seconds in a food processor (I did not food process, because I did not have equipment)
2 cups salted cashew pieces or coarsely chopped cashews
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°.
In a medium bowl, beat butter, sugar, salt, baking powder, vanilla, and egg. Add oats and mix. Then, mix in cashews.
Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto lightly greased or lined baking sheets. Sprinkle each cookie with salt. Flatten cookies to about 3/8-inch thick.
Bake 12-14 minutes, or until light golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool on the baking pans.

Brownie filled Cookies

2010-07-18T22:00:00.000-07:00

I love making bigass cookies. And these top it. Consisting of brownie AND cookie, makes this masterpiece a brookie. When I saw these on bakerella, I immediately bookmarked them and knew I had to make them some point this summer. I had to take care that the dough stayed chilled, so that it was easier to work with. However, the dough was still frustrating, probably due to my disability of putting too large of brownie chunks inside the cookies. Cookies worthy for a celebration, and celebrate we did with the best ice cream everrrr.

Dough and Brownie:

Interior:

Brownie Pillow Cookies

from bakerella

Ingredients:
1 package brownie mix

1 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 oz. bag miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips (I just used regular sized chips)

Directions:
Make brownies according to package and let cool. Cut about ten 1 inch squares. I used a 13x9 pan.

For the chocolate chip cookie dough, beat butter with a mixer until creamy.

Add brown sugar and beat until smooth.

Add eggs, yolk and vanilla. Beat until smooth.

Combine flour, baking powder, soda and salt in a medium bowl and stir together with a wire whisk.

Add flour to butter mixture and beat until combined. Stir in mini chips.

Let dough chill covered in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Use a measuring cup to scoop batter by the 1/2 cup. Since it’s chilled, you may need to pack it with a spoon. Then use the spoon to remove the dough from the cup and place it on parchment paper. Work quickly so the dough remains chilled or either prepare one cookie at a time so the rest of the dough remains cold.

After the dough is on the parchment paper, make an indention and place a 1 inch square brownie in the center. Press the brownie down gently and work the remaining dough around the brownie. You can use your hands to shape the dough into a ball.

Chill the dough that you are not working with. Once you complete a sheet, chill the formed balls in the fridge until you are ready to bake. The key is to make sure the dough stays cold.

Prepare six cookies at a time using a large baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 18 minutes. Return the remaining dough to the refrigerator until time to bake the second batch.

Cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes and then cool completely on a wire rack.

Makes about ten cookies using a little less than a 1/2 cup of dough for each cookie.

If your cookies start to get too brown before they are done baking, you can place a sheet of aluminum foil over top for the last few minutes.

My face and Cookie:

Celebration of Faye's last day of server training! Cookie and Ice Cream (Rite-Aid Chocolate Malted Krunch, om nom nom) Party

Lime Bars

2010-07-14T13:09:00.000-07:00

Since Key Lime Pie is Anthony's favorite dessert, these were made in part by me and faye to seduce/bribe him into giving us both a day off to go to SeaWorld. Except everyone thought I was trying to bribe my way into a server promotion. Super easy recipe, definitely do-able with my lack of any type of tart or springform pan.

Won us a day at SeaWorld. SHAM SLAM! (now to be adopted/initiated into the entourage)

Lime Bars

by Evil Shenanigans

Ingredients:

For the crust: 

1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs 

6 tablespoons salted butter, melted

1/4 cup sugar zest of one lime

For the filling: 

2 large egg yolks 

1-14 oz. can fat free sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup lime juice

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 350F, then grease an 8″ square pan, line it with parchment paper that hangs over the edge of the pan by a few inches (so you can remove the bars from the pan more easily).

2. Combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, sugar, and zest. Press into the prepared pan, pressing the crust mixture one inch up the side of the pan. 3. Bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely.

4. Once the crust is cooled combine the egg yolks and condensed milk until well mixed. Stir in the lime juice and combine. It will begin to thicken slightly.

3. Pour the filling into the crust, making sure the filling reaches the edges. Bake for 15 minutes, or until just set.

4. Cool to room temperature, then chill for at least one hour, overnight is better. Pull the bars out of the pan using the parchment paper and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 16 squares with a serrated knife. To make cutting cleaner wipe the knife with a damp cloth between cuts.

Hershey's Chocolate Cake for the Chocolate Lover

2010-06-27T03:00:00.000-07:00

At 3 am, Faye and I slaved away to make this cake. After messing up and pouring granulated sugar instead of powdered sugar, we had to make a trip to CVS where the creepy security guard who had encountered us previosuly in the tgifridays parking lot and offered his semi-personal bathroom a week before and recognized us. I digress, but point is, that this cake was a very early morning ordeal. We opted not to make the mocha cake we planned for Elliott (sorry), which called for 3 lbs of powdered sugar anyways. The cake sat out all day at the party, probably not the best idea, especially for the strawberries. The ghiradelli touch was from Richie who suggested covering the whole cake with the squares Aaron always eats from work.

HERSHEY'S "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" Chocolate Cake

from Hershey's Kitchen

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
"PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING(recipe follows)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING. 10 to 12 servings.

"PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
2/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

Ingredients:

Directions

Dirty Bananas

2010-06-16T22:41:00.000-07:00

Having extremely ripe bananas, to the point where they are no longer brown, but blackening, so old that they no longer have their usual texture but are slimy and stick to the peel, I decided to channel my inner Martha Stewart (I usually don't make any of her recipes) and make a couple banana recipes to save waste and be resourceful. The first was a banana walnut chocolate-chip cookie, which spread out way too much when it was baked. It had a really cake-like texture, and the taste was pretty bland. My conclusion: they were shmehh, but I would probably never make again. Not very proud to take them to work/share. The second recipe was a banana cupcake, which was supposed to have honey-cinnamon frosting, but unfortunately I delayed the frosting process, and never got around to making it. So they remained plain banana muffins more-or-less. In a smell test, these proved to have a stronger banana scent than the cookies. And they had a nice texture, a good interior, which a slightly crunchier top. I would probably try making this again with the addition of the frosting. Until next time I let my bananas get to their worst...

Banana-Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies

from Martha Stewart

Ingredients
1 ½ cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon coarse salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar

1 large egg

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1 large)

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped into 1/4-inch chunks

1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (about 2 ounces), toasted

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together flours, salt, and baking soda ina small bowl; set aside. Put butter and sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add egg and vanilla; mix until combined. Mix in banana. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in oats, chocolate chunks, and walnuts.
2. Using a 11/2-inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown and just set, 12 to 13 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks; let cool completely. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers up to 2 days.

(my pictures are definitely not as clear as they used to be)
Banana cupcakes, sans frosting
from Martha Stewart
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 ripe bananas)

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Make a well in center of flour mixture. In well, mix together butter, mashed bananas, eggs, and vanilla. Stir to incorporate flour mixture (do not overmix). Dividing evenly, spoon batter into muffin cups.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan; cool completely on a wire rack.

Repeat Favorite

2010-06-12T17:52:00.000-07:00

Chock-full of Chip Cookies

Best cookies ever if you love lots of chips. These appear to have gotten even more chocolate chippier.

Yoda Pizza

2010-06-09T14:12:00.000-07:00

My friend London found this picture of a Yoda pizza on geekologie. Since I have a mild obsession with Yoda, and a slight attraction to his wrinkly, old-manish figure, I decided to take on the challenge and make this pizza for the bros: London and my fellow Yoda/Star Wars lover, Spencer. My first intention was to try having the cooks make it at work, but then that fell through and I decided to buy the ingredients and try sculpting it myself. I think it turned out well for the first time doing pizza art.
Raw:

Cooked:

Me, Yods, and Pizza:

Toasted Mushroom Macaroni

2010-05-20T20:48:00.000-07:00

First time cooking a real meal in a long time. I was really nervous/excited to make something because I planned on cooking dinner. I found this recipe and I had most of the ingredients on hand. The concept of toasting the macaroni also seemed interesting. It turned out good, I'm not really a big pasta eater, but the end result was light and fulfilling.

Toasted Mushroom Macaroni

Adopted from No Tea after 12

Ingredients:

4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 Tablespoon butter

8 oz. fresh mushrooms (approx 2 cups), thinly sliced

1 large or 2 small cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 cup apple juice

8 oz macaroni

2 cups chicken stock

1/4 cup whipping cream

1/4 cup mozzarella

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

salt to taste

Directions:

Heat a large heavy skillet over very high heat, add 2 Tablespoons of the olive oil to the pan. Sautee the mushrooms until browned, but not cooked all the way through, about 2-3 minutes. Reduce the heat and add the parsley, garlic, oregano and cook for another minute or so. Pour in the apple juice and simmer for 3-5 minutes. Remove the mushrooms and remaining sauce to a bowl, and set aside.

In another large skillet or saucepan, add the remaining 2 Tablespoons olive oil and the butter. Add the macaroni and stir it constantly until it is a deep golden brown, this takes me about 5 minutes. But do watch it carefully, its a bit like toasting nuts, the moment you step away from the stove it goes up in flames.

Once toasted, pour in the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered until the pasta is almost tender. I usually bring mine to the point just before al dente, it takes approximately 10 minutes.

Stir in the mushroom mixture and cream and cook for a few more minutes to let everything come together in a beautiful creamy but not claggy sauce. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese and pepper. Taste for seasoning, add salt if needed, but the parmesan is usually just salty enough.

Muffins

2010-05-13T15:58:00.001-07:00

So I woke up at 630 this morning, to the sound of my lovely Heidi leaving for a morning run. For some reason I thought that the best idea would be to get up and start baking muffins for my roommate to return to. I started with the simple box mix, cranberry-orange flavored, finding that the ingredients were incredibly simple, and not knowing why I didn't just make these for the hell of it before. To add a special touch, I added some ghiradelli white chocolate chips to the mix.

The second muffins came from my desperate need to use my overly browning/blackening bananas. I always want/need bananas, use/eat one, and then the rest just brown and begin to mold. These were good, partially because I love anything with streusel topping.

Crunchy Crumb Banana Muffins
from the Mini Sam Tan Kitchen

Sift together in a large bowl:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Dash of mixed spice/cinnamon

Combine in a separate bowl and then fold into flour mix until just moistened:

3 large very ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 cup sugar (white or brown both work)

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/3 cup melted butter/oil

Dash of vanilla extract

Optional: stir in some chopped pecans/walnuts if desired.

Line muffin pan with paper cases and spoon batter in until 2/3 full.

Cinnamon Crumb Topping

Mix together:

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp flour

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Cut in 1 tbsp butter using a two butter knives or a fork until the mix resembles a coarse, crumbly cornmeal. Sprinkle generously over muffins before baking.

Bake at 350F for 20-30 minutes until golden brown/skewer comes out clean.

New Years Eve Dinner

2009-12-31T19:18:00.000-08:00

I made these two dishes for New Years Eve, while my dad made a ham to make it a "not so vegetarian" meal.

Nutty Warm Brussell Sprouts Salad
From Cooking Light

Ingredients

1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 garlic clove, minced
1/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs
3/4 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved (about 8 cups)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts, toasted
1/2 ounce shaved Asiago cheese

Directions

1. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add garlic; cook 1 minute or just until golden, stirring constantly. Add breadcrumbs; cook 1 minute or until lightly browned, stirring constantly. Transfer garlic mixture to a small bowl.

2. Separate leaves from Brussels sprouts; quarter cores. Heat remaining 1/2 teaspoon oil over medium heat. Add leaves and cores to pan; cook 8 minutes or just until leaves wilt and cores are crisp-tender, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; toss with breadcrumb mixture, salt, and pepper. Top with walnuts and cheese.

Pesto Quiche with Sun-dried Tomatoes
From The Gracious Pantry

Ingredients

1 cup spinach
1 cup broccoli
16 oz. carton of egg whites
1 cup shredded low fat cheese
1/4 cup parmesan
1 tbsp. italian spice
1 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup (generous) sun dried tomatoes (I used the kind packed in oil.)
1 tbsp. pesto
1/2 cup diced mushrooms (optional)
1 refrigerated pie crust

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Put all the ingredients (except for the crust) in a bowl and mix it all together to distribute the spices evenly.
3. Pour into your pie crust and place in a pre-heated oven for about 45 minutes, or until cooked through (There should be no liquid when you cut into it).

Bagel Sticks

2009-12-30T19:09:00.000-08:00

I saw this recipe when I was at the gym watching Rachael Ray while on the treadmill. It looked like an easy recipe, plus I still had a lot of extra refrigerated pizza crust at home. Dunking the dough in water didn't really work out because it just made the dough extremely soggy, so I resorted to just baking it in the oven. I didn't have all the necessary ingredients, so I just used cream cheese and salami (one of my favorite flavor combos). Here is the Rachael Ray recipe in case you want to try the real thing. Here is my rendition:

Scallion Cream Cheese-Stuffed Bagel Sticks

from Rachael Ray

Ingredients

1 package cream cheese (8 ounces), softened

3-4 scallions, sliced

1 ball store-bought pizza dough

1 egg, lightly beaten

Sesame seeds

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese and scallions until thoroughly mixed.

Cut each pizza dough into four pieces and roll each piece of dough out into 9-inch x 4-inch rectangles. Spread some of the cream cheese mixture lengthwise down the middle of each rectangle.

Brush one of the long sides of dough with egg wash and fold a half-inch of the short ends of the dough over the cream cheese. Then fold the long side without egg wash over, folding it over the cream cheese to enclose the filling and crimping slightly to secure. Transfer to a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining rectangles.

Drop a bagel stick into the boiling water and boil for 4 minutes. Remove and place on a baking sheet, seam-side down. Brush the top with remaining egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Repeat with the remaining sticks. Make three small slits in each stick to release steam and bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Steak & Pesto Pasta Concoction

2009-12-27T21:24:00.000-08:00

Nothing to eat? What to do? Pasta is the easiest thing to concoct out of a mixture of nothing, next to a salad. Its simple to throw a multitude of different ingredients into this base to produce a mixture that is edible and tastebuddingly satisfying. I made this for Julian for dinner. I used ingredients found in his pantry and fridge to create a pasta dish that was worthy enough to be eaten. This pasta dish included steak, fresh tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, some minced garlic, and creamy pesto sauce (made from a powder packet). Here's how it turned out:

blog birthday!

2009-12-26T23:23:00.000-08:00

Today is my blog's one year anniversary since its creation last December 26th. For this celebration I invited a few friends over to Julian's house to eat some treats. I would have liked to have put more time and effort into this occassion, but my family was coming home from Pacific Grove, so I had approximately two hours to shop, prep and prepare everything for my party. So I decided to go with crescent rolls, pizza sticks, and two different types of cookie dough. To make things easier for myself and to create a diversity of cookies, I separated a cookie recipe that produces a lot of dough into four quadrants, mixing in different types of chocolate chips and candies.

Cream Cheese Crecsent Rolls
This recipe I first experienced at Costco via samples. I thought it was really good, and its taste resembled a warm and soft bagel filled with cream cheese.
Ingredients:
2 cans (8oz) crescent rolls
1/2 block of cream cheese
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Unroll crescent rolls, and spread desired amount of cream cheese in the center of each roll. Then proceed to roll up crescents as you normally would.
3. Bake for 11-13 minutes, or until nice and golden brown.

Pigs in a Blanket
Ingredients:
1 package (of 8) hot dogs
2 cans (80z) crescent rolls
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 375°F. Cut hot dogs in half.
2. Separate dough into triangles. Wrap dough triangle around each hot dog. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake at 375°F for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Pizza Sticks
With these I kind of winged it. My first intention was to make a whole pepperoni pizza, but the dough would not cooperate. Instead it unrolled with holes, so I decided to make pieces of pizza, and call it pizza sticks. I used 1 can of pillsbury refrigerated dough, some tomato sauce, some mozzarella, and a few pepperonis. The outcome was slightly doughy pizza sticks. Satisfying enough to be eaten up, but I might have made some changes if I were to make these again.

Holiday Funfetti Cookies
from Pillsbury
I have never made funfetti cookies with frosting because I always find the cookies themselves to be extremely sweet. However, to make the cookies more festive and presentable, I decided to cover them with frosting. These turned out similar to the "lard" cookies you can buy in the supermarkets.
Ingredients:
1 box Funfetti cake mix
1/3 cup oil
2 eggs
1/2 (15.6 oz) can Holiday Funfetti frosting
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, combine cake mix, oil and eggs; stir with spoon until thoroughly moistened. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. With bottom of glass dipped in flour, flatten to 1/4-inch thickness.
2. Bake at 375°F. for 6 to 8 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets.
3. Spread frosting over warm cookies. Immediately sprinkle each with candy bits from frosting. Let frosting set before storing. Store in tightly covered container.

Four Kinds of Cookies
For the base of this dough, I used the NYT cookie because it produces a large quantity of dough

(White Chocolate Chip)

(Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chip)

(M&M)

(Butterfinger)
NYT Cookie dough
adopted from Ezra Pound Cake
Ingredients:
2 cups minus 2 tablespoons AP flour
1 2/3 cups AP flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
Mix-ins

Directions:
1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Separate dough into four sections and add desired mix-ins for each. Refrigerate for an hour or so.

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

4. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (about 1/3 cup) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Bake until golden brown but still soft, about 13 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day.

Castroville

2009-12-26T16:30:00.000-08:00

On our way home from Pacific Grove, my dad made a pit stop in Castroville to the Giant Artichoke Restaurant which sells deep fried artichoke hearts. I absolutely love artichoke hearts and these were meaty and fresh, even shelled within the fried batter.

Breakfast Sandwich of First's

2009-12-22T20:50:00.000-08:00

Tonight I made Julian a breakfast for dinner kind of meal. It wasn't my first intention to serve breakfast for dinner, but I looked for ingredients all over the house (mainly just kitchen) to inspire me or give me something to make. But it seems we're out of food. So I resorted to trying to make, for the first time, bacon, and also a fried egg.

Everything went well, and as of now Julian is still alive. So I guess I passed my test and now have the confidence to remake both.
Breakfast Sandwich
Ingredients
1 Parmesan cheese bagel
2 slices Swiss cheese
1 egg
3 pieces bacon
Directions
1. Toast the bagel, make the bacon, and fry the egg. Melt a slice of cheese on each side of the bagel, and layer the egg and bacon slices on the bagel. Microwave to meld the sandwich together and create and oozy goodness of cheese.

Chocolate Macadamia Lace Cookies

2009-12-19T20:42:00.000-08:00

This recipe reminds me of the cookies available at Whole Foods and Trader Joes. They are really good store-bought cookies. I tried to recreate them with this recipe I found online. However, I did not have the exact ingredients...so what did I do? What I always do (even if it makes the recipe not so good)...improvised! I did not have vanilla paste, so I used extract, which probably led to the cookies being even more fragile than initially intended. I don't know how I feel about these...maybe I used too much chocolate. Eating these gives you an extreme sugar rush, where you feel out of it and jittery. So maybe a word of advice, just follow the actual recipe, and maybe I'll try the same some day.

Chocolate Macadamia Lace Cookies
based on recipe by Gourmet Betty

Ingredients
½ cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 ounces semisweet chocolate, Ghirardelli or other fine quality chocolate, cut into pieces (I used chips, and I think I ended up using 1/2-3/4 cups of them).
1/2 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla paste (I substituted with vanilla extract)
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg, lightly beaten

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter and chocolate, cook stirring with rubber spatula frequently for about 5 minutes.

3. Pour butter mixture into small bowl and let cool slightly.

4. In a large bowl, combine chopped nuts, sugar, egg, vanilla, and salt until blended. Fold in butter and combine until blended.

5. Drop the batter by tablespoons about 3" apart.

6. Bake 6 -8 minutes. You know they're done when the cookies are bubbling and completely flat.

7. Let cool until hard enough to transfer to container. Very fragile, not very good cookies for transporting.

Levain Cookie Copycats

2009-11-22T22:47:00.000-08:00

Again, I made the Levain cookie recipe, but this time I used walnuts and chocolate chips in addition to chocolate chunks. I'm obsessed with massive cookies and I want to try the real version of these cookies,

Levain Chocolate Chip Cookie Clone

from vanilla sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter, cold
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt (I used sea salt)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 ounces (2 cups) good quality semisweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate (In addition, I used 2 squares of chopped Baker's chocolate)
1 cup nuts (pecans or walnuts) (I used walnuts)

If using dough right away, preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and both sugars just until creamy. Don’t overbeat. Add the egg and vanilla and beat just until incorporated.

Stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. When thoroughly mixed, add to batter and stir just until blended. Stir in chocolate chips.

Divide dough into 12 big 4 oz lumps. Bake on ungreased cookies sheets (one sheet at a time).

Bake times:

Put the cookies in a 375 degree oven and set timer for 8 minutes. When timer rings, without opening oven or removing cookies, reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake for another 8-10 minutes or until cookies appear set.

Pumpkin Party!

2009-11-03T23:05:00.000-08:00

Today I had a pumpkin party that consisted of pumpkin macaroni and cheese, pumpkin quesadillas, pumpkin pie bars, and Heidi's sweet potato casserole.
The pumpkin quesadillas were soooooo good (executed by London)!

Pumpkin Macaroni
Adapted from Aquired Taste

Ingredients:

1 Box Macaroni Noodles

1/2 Pumpkin Pie Pumpkin

1/2 cup Milk

1 bag Shredded Mozzarella
1/3 cup Pumpkin Puree

Directions

1. Cut the top off like you would if you were carving a pumpkin and set it to the side after cutting a bit of the flesh and guts/seeds off. Take a spoon and spoon out the stringy stuff and the seeds out and rinse it out. Cut half the pumpkin into chunks and put on to a cookie sheet to roast for about 20 - 30 minutes on about 400F in the oven.

2. Cook a box of macaroni noodles till they are al dente (about 10 minutes). Mix with 1/2 a cup of milk, and bag of shredded mozzarella.

3. At this time the pumpkin should be about done, take out the chunks and with a fork scoop out the fleshy part from the skin. Mash up the flesh and add it to the pan with the noodles, cheese, and milk. Mix them well and salt and pepper to taste. To enhance the pumpkin flavor, I added about a 1/3 cup of pumpkin puree to the mixture.

 
Pumpkin Quesadillas
made by London: 

 
Ingredients:
1/2 Pumpkin Pie Pumpkin, oven roasted
1/4 cup Black Beans
1/4 cup Canned Corn
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 bag Shredded Mexican Blend Cheese

 
Directions:
1. Use the other half of the pumpkin pie pumpkin from the previous recipe and cut into chunks.  Put on a cookie sheet to roast for about 20 - 30 minutes on about 400F in the oven.
2. Mix the pumpkin, black beans, corn and puree.
3. Place a tortilla in the pan and top with the pumpkin mixture, the cheese and the remaining tortilla.
4. Fry until both sides are golden brown and the cheese has melted.

 
Pumpkin Pie Bars
(Made previously on blog)





Sweet Potato Casserole
by Heidi 

2-1/4 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 cup half-and-half
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tea. salt
2 tea. vanilla
2 eggs
Cooking Spray

Topping:
1-1/2 cups mini marshmallows
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 tea. salt
2 TB chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted

1.  Preheat oven to 375
2. Place potatoes in large pot and cover with water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes or until very tender. Drain, cool slightly.
3. Place potatoes in large bowl. Add half-and-half, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 tea salt and vanilla. Beat with mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add eggs, beat well (mixture will be thin) Scrape mixture into 13 X 9 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
4.  To prepare topping, sprinkle mini marshmallows over top of potatoes. Combine flour, 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 tea salt in medium bowl. Cut in butter with 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. (move knives criss cross each other) Stir in pecans and sprinkle over potato mixture and marshmallows. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 16 servings.

Cranberry Biscotti Cookies

2009-10-16T15:51:00.000-07:00

So with this recipe, I kind of failed. I didn't form a large enough loaf, so I ended up with just a large, rectangular, flat cookie on a tray. So I decided to cut it with an anchor cookie cutter ("DG spirited") and frost with melted white chocolate. With the little pieces in between I coated them also, as to not waste.

Cranberry Biscotti Cookies

from Pillsbury

Ingredients

1 pkg. Pillsbury Cranberry Quick Bread mix

½ cup butter, melted

½ cup white vanilla chips

2 to 5 tbsp. all purpose flour

2 to 4 tbsp. powdered sugar

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray large cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray. In large bowl, combine quick bread mix, butter and eggs; stir 50 to 75 strokes with spoon until mix is moistened. (Dough will be sticky.) Stir in vanilla chips.

2. Sprinkle work surface with 1 to 2 tablespoons of the flour. Turn dough out onto floured surface. Roll dough into ball, adding flour as necessary to prevent sticking. Divide dough in half; place on sprayed cookie sheet. Form each half into 9x3-inch loaf, placing 4 inches apart. Flatten tops slightly.

3. Bake at 350°F for 23 to 30 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from oven. Cool 15 minutes.

4. On cutting board cut each loaf into 3/4-inch crosswise slices. Place slices upright and 1 inch apart on same cookie sheet.

5. Return to oven; bake an additional 12 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven; sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cool 10 minutes. Serve warm or cool.

Dirt and Worms Cake

2009-09-16T23:52:00.001-07:00

This cake was my brother's request and I promised to make it for him before I left. I know Savemart sells 2-layer "Dirt and Worm" cakes in the bakery, but when I searched online I could only find recipes for "cakes" (more like trifles) consisting of cream cheese and broken up oreo pieces stuffed into flower pots or sand pails. However, I wanted to make an actual cake. So this is my rendition of what I believe to be a dirt and worms cake. I made two of these small cakes, one for my brother's pleasure, and another one to take to work for my self-declared going away party.

Dirt and Worms Cake
Ingredients:
1 box Devil's food cake mix
1 box Jell-O chocolate fudge instant pudding mix
1/2 package Oreo Cookies, crushed
1 6 oz. package gummy worms

Directions:
Bake the cake as directed on the package. Let the cake cool for at least one hour. Remove from pan and slice in half.
Prepare pudding as directed on package. Spread pudding onto the first layer of cake. Cover with crushed Oreo cookies.

Place second cake layer on top. Poke holes with a chopstick or other instrument similar in size in various places on top. Stick gummy worms through the holes until they reach the second layer but are still visible on the top. Spread pudding mix around the worms to coat the cake. Top with more crushed oreos.
Lick up any excess of pudding, oreo crumbs, gummy worms, or any sign of mess, and enjoy the cake!

Mexican Quiche

2009-09-14T21:52:00.002-07:00

This quiche tasted more like a cheeseburger than mexican inspired. But all the men in my family enjoyed it, including Julian. I topped it off with a dollop of sour cream, some slices of avocado, and jalepenos for my dad and brother.

Mexican Quiche

from Food Network

Ingredients

1 refrigerated pie crust

1-lb lean ground beef

3 large eggs, beaten

1 cup salsa

2 cups shredded cheese, your choice

1 small onion, finely diced

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp onion powder

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown ground beef in a large skillet. Add onion and cook until they are soft and translucent. Drain beef, stir in spices and cook 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in salsa. Add eggs. Fold in cheese and pour mixture into pastry crust. Bake 45-50 minutes until crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and let stand 15 minutes.

Italian Chicken Salad

2009-09-14T16:42:00.000-07:00

I was going to use leftover chicken for this recipe, but then I realized I only had one chicken breast left, and this recipe called for at least 3 cups. So I resorted to these butterball turkey breast strips my mom had purchased in place of the chicken. With all the flavors, you couldn't even notice the difference in meat. I forgot I even made the substitution and kept calling this chicken salad.

Italian Turkey Salad

adopted from Elizabeth's Edible Experience

Ingredients

Dressing:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

2 small gloves of garlic, chopped

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon salt

Salad:

3 cups sliced turkey breast

1 cup finely chopped red bell pepper

1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 cup of pitted ripe olive slices

3 (6.5 oz) jars of quartered artichoke hearts, drained

Directions:

To prepare dressing, combine first 7 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk.

Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil to a small skillet and saute red bell pepper until tender; about 8 minutes. When the peppers begin to soften, add the quartered artichoke hearts. Remove from skillet after 8 minutes and let cool.

To prepare salad, place chicken in a large bowl. Pour dressing over chicken and add the oregano, parsley and basil. Stir to combine. Add the artichoke hearts, red peppers and olives to the chicken mixture and combine.

Serve the chicken salad on fresh ciabatta rolls or over lettuce leaves for a perfect salad.

Sunday Football: Beans & Poppers

2009-09-13T23:20:00.000-07:00

This calico bean recipe is from my grandma. Since we cooked the calico beans in the crockpot, the first taste was really sweet. But then my dad decided to take of the lid and let them sit without a cover for a couple hours. This decision was positive because it allowed for the beans to absorb all the flavors and to even out between savory and sweet.

Calico Beans
from my grandma, Martha
1/2 lb. of Hamburger, browned
1/2 lb of bacon, cooked crispy
2 medium onions, chopped
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp dry mustard
2 cans pork and beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can lima beans

Brown the hamburger in a skillet and cook the bacon until crisp. Chop the onions. Dump all ingredients into a crockpot* and let it sit on low overnight or bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes.

*Since we cooked ours in a crockpot we doubled the batch, except we kept the same amount of onions (only 2) and just one can of lima beans.

These jalepeno poppers are interesting because they are not the typical deep fried jalepenos filled with cream cheese. They are actually healthier (if bacon can be healthy) because they are stuffed with chicken breast and wrapped with a piece of bacon.

Jalepeno Poppers
Ingredients:
Jalepenos
Chicken breast
Bacon
Mexican seasoning
Directions:
Cut jalepenos in half and core out seeds.
Insert a small piece of uncooked chicken breast.
Sprinkle with mexican seasoning on top.
Wrap with a piece of bacon, and insert a toothpick to hold it together.
Grill or bake until cooked through (about 20 minutes or so).
Sprinkle with cheese, and enjoy!

Spinach, Red Pepper, Mushroom and Feta Quiche

2009-09-11T01:29:00.000-07:00

This quiche initially was not supposed to have mushrooms, but I did not have another jar of pimentos and I was too lazy to go to the store again so I substituted with mushrooms I found in my pantry. And somehow we ran out of parmesan cheese (probably from when I made my beans) so I found some shredded asiago and used that in place. This turned out well, its probably my favorite quiche so far. The key is to find the perfect center because the crust is always irresistible.

Spinach, Red Pepper, Mushroom and Feta Quiche

adapted from Food Network

Ingredients

1 refrigerated pie crust
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 (4-ounce) jar chopped pimentos, excess liquid squeezed out
1 (4-ounce) jar shitake mushrooms, excess liquid removed
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 (10-ounce) package frozen leaf spinach, thawed, excess liquid squeezed out and chopped
3 large eggs
1/4 cup shredded Asiago cheese
1 cup milk
4 ounces crumbled feta

Directions

Preheat oven to to 375 degrees F.

In a large skillet, heat oil over moderate heat. Add onion and cook until softened. Turn up heat to moderately high. Add pimentos, garlic, and spinach and cook, stirring until just heated through. Drain off any excess liquid. Beat the eggs in a bowl and add the Parmesan and milk. Add the spinach mixture and feta, and pour into the pie shell. Bake on a sheet pan in the middle of the oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until just set.

SF Picnic and Ike's

2009-09-05T23:35:00.000-07:00

To celebrate my birthday, Julian and I went to San Francisco where I packed a picnic for us to have at the Golden Gate Park.

Along with sandwiches, watermelon and grapes, I made this bean salad to take along with us:

Since I didn't have White Balsamic Vinaigrette, I substituted with regular balsamic vinegar because I researched that the main difference was a sweeter taste in balsamic vinegar and that the white provides a more aesthetic appeal because of its neutral color. Based on my changes, my main suggestion would be to use less dijon if you don't want such a strong mustardy flavor.

Bean Salad with White Balsamic Vinaigrette

From Angela Tunner's Simply Summer

1 can (16 ounces) chickpeas

1 can (16 ounces) white beans

1 can (16 ounces) kidney beans

2 teaspoons minced garlic (I used about 2 cloves)

1 teaspoon sea salt, or more to taste

1/3 cup chopped Italian parsley

2 teaspoons chopped fresh chives

1 teaspoon dried tarragon (I had fresh, and used a little more)

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar (or more to taste)

Pepper, to taste

Fresh lemon juice (optional, to taste)

Basically this is a dump and mix recipe (of the highest order, of course!). Drain the beans and rinse them off in a colander so you get rid of all that slimy stuff they're canned in. Then put them in a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Since canned beans aren't as sturdy as dried, be careful while you mix so as not to break up the beans. Squirt with a little lemon juice if you'd like before serving.

Later in the evening, after our picnic and shopping, we ended the night by going to Ike's Place, a sandwich shop I saw Adam Richman visit on his San Francisco episode of Man v. Food. This wasn't the place where Adam faced a challenge, but it was just one of the pigout stops before he encountered the "Kitchen Sink" at the San Francisco Creamery in Walnut Creek. Ike's Place offers a set of sandwiches listed on the board, but then the guy offered us to look at the "Sandwich Bible" which had an overwhelming 188 different meat sandwiches, and also an additional number of vegatarian and vegan choices. I ordered the [Name of the girl I'm dating] sandwich which had Halal chicken breast, honey mustard, avocado and pepperjack cheese on dutch crunch bread. It was seriously the best sandwich I have ever had. It wasn't like a big hunk of chicken, and it wasn't just slices of meat. Some how it seemed to break up apart as I bit into it and I don't even know how to explain the flavor! They make their own bread and add a "dirty sauce," like a garlic aoili, that they bake into the bread. The only problem was that we went around 9pm, and the place is so small the only seating is outside. There were only 3 tables, all of which were taken up. So we got our order to go and devoured/indulged ourselves in Julian's car. But seriously, these sandwiches were so good I could have enjoyed one anywhere.

3506 16th St
(between Prosper St & Sanchez St)
San Francisco, CA 94114
(415) 553-6888

My Birthday

2009-09-03T21:32:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to get a standing mixer for a while, I even declared it my dream appliance. Since I'm moving into an apartment off-campus, my dad took me out last night to look at different appliances. He gave me the option of getting multiple little items like a blender, food processor and hand mixer. Or, since I will probably be baking a lot, a standing mixer. Well today, that's exactly what I got! After work I headed over to Best Buy and picked up my little baby.

To celebrate my birthday we went to my favorite sushi place, Sushi Garden, and then walked over to Marie Calendars to get dessert, and I of course shared my favorite with Julian. He didn't believe me that the soupy leftovers would be any good re-frozen, but I stand to prove him wrong!

Lunchtime Retry

2009-09-03T12:36:00.000-07:00

This is my version, and my attempt to replicate Julian's lunchtime surprise. Instead of white bread and american cheese, I used sourdough bread and swiss cheese. I also used a chicken burger patty with bacon and cheddar flavors instead of a regular burger patty. I made this for both Julian and my dad, and although I did not taste it, my dad assured me that he really enjoyed it.

White Chocolate Walnut Cookies

2009-09-02T16:24:00.001-07:00

From the time I tasted this batter I knew, these cookies will be good.

White Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies
adopted from recipe posted on Konosur

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) salted butter, cold, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large egg
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
12 oz. white chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts chopped and toasted

Adjust the oven rack to the top third of the oven and preheat to 300°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Beat the sugars and butters together until smooth. Mix in the egg, vanilla, and baking soda.

Mix the flour into the batter. Then stir in the white chocolate chips and nuts.

Scoop the cookie dough into 2 tablespoon balls onto prepared baking sheet, spacing the balls about 4-in apart. I used two tablespoon scoops and mashed them together and dropped them on to the baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until pale golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

Italian-inspired Salad

2009-09-01T21:25:00.001-07:00

For dinner I made a salad with sliced black olives, roasted zucchini, tomatoes and artichoke tapenade (available at Costco) topped with an Italian dressing. The key point is to roast the zucchini because it really takes on a different taste than when it is raw. I sliced the zucchini and coated it with olive oil cooking spray, sprinkled some salt and pepper on top and put it in the oven at 350 degrees Farenheit for about 20 minutes. About halfway through, so about 10 minutes, I flipped them over to prevent one side from cooking more than the other.

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Filled Chip Cookies

2009-08-31T15:43:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, I found these Hershey dark chocolate raspberry filled baking chips at BigLots! so I bought a couple packages. Today I finally used them. I was going to bake them into the NYT cookie recipe, but I was lacking butter, and later I found out I was lacking eggs as well. Anyways, I began with my usual, but favorite, chock-full of chip cookie recipe from my Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook, until I realized I needed to make a trip to the store for an egg. As I reached into the refrigerator for where the eggs should be, I realized I used my last 2 and had also borrowed 4 from Julian a few days before to make two cakes that I completely managed to destroy. This day was not one to remember as I experienced a kitchen meltdown after failing to bake not only one, but TWO, simple box cakes (might I add, in a bowl, to attain the shape of a dome). With these, I ended up salvaging one as an ice cream cake, and the other one as an ice cream mush cake that I despairingly presented to Julian's mom for her birthday. Ok, well back to the current topic and recipe: Chock-full of Dark Chocolate Raspberry Filled Chip Cookies.

Chock-Full of Chocolate Chip Cookies

from The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

6 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

24 oz. dark chocolate raspberry filled chip cookies

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.

Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, using an electic mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smoothly blended (one minute). Add the egg and vanilla and mix until blended (one minute). On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing until it is incorporated. Mix in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed.

Use a tablespoon to drop heaping spoonfuls of dough onto prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies 3 inches apart.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the edges are lightly browned and the centers are golden, about 15 minutes.

Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 10 minutes.

Funfetti Cookies

2009-08-27T10:03:00.001-07:00

I decided to make these cookies for the bowling sweeper potluck because they're easy, sweet, and a little bit of cookie is a good amount to satisfy.

Funfetti Cookies
from Pillsbury

Ingredients:

1 package Pillsbury Funfetti Cake mix

1/3 cup oil

2 eggs

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, combine cake mix, oil and eggs; stir with spoon until thoroughly moistened. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. With bottom of glass dipped in flour, flatten to 1/4-inch thickness.

2. Bake at 375°F. for 6 to 8 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets.

Steak Quesadillas

2009-08-27T01:32:00.000-07:00

With the leftover steak from the night before, we decided to make quesadillas. My dad made some homemade guacamole and sauteed some onions and red bell peppers to add to the quesadillas. I used both cheddar jalapeno wraps and spinach wraps layered with sharp cheddar cheese, steak, and the onion/red bell pepper mixture. The night was good as we ate outside and spent some quality father, daughter, son time together.

Jello Poke Cake

2009-08-26T00:17:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was Julian's friends birthday, so I decided to make him a Jello poke cake with a box of "Party Rainbow Chip" and a box of orange Jello. I think Pillsbury won with the name "Funfetti," because Betty Crocker's Party Rainbow Chip does not have flow easily or have a nice ring. I think "Rainbow Party Chip" would be better, but Julian and I discussed that they are rainbow chips and not party chips. I guess I'm biased (or just lazy), and I refer to anything with multi-colored chips as Funfetti. These pictures aren't very good, and I cut the cake up into smaller quadrants instead of giving Jul's friend an entire 13x9 cake to take home.

Gelatin Poke Cake

adapted from Kraft Foods

Ingredients:

1 pkg. funfetti cake mix

1 cup boiling water

1 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Orange Flavor Gelatin

1/2 cup cold water

1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed

Directions:

Prepare cake batter and bake as directed on package for 13x9-inch baking pan. Cool cake in pan 15 min. Pierce cake with large fork at 1/2-inch intervals.

Stir boiling water into dry gelatin mix in small bowl 2 min. until completely dissolved. Stir in cold water; carefully pour over cake. Refrigerate 3 hours.

Frost cake with whipped topping. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Love my beans!

2009-08-25T20:36:00.000-07:00

I love beans! Recently, just this summer, I have realized my obsession for beans. It started in the dining halls filling condiment cups with kidney beans. And then my dad's crockpot beans, and then Kate's moms beans, that I ate and craved for several days straight when I was in Florida. I've been planning to make these beans ever since I got back. I've collected the ingredients, I've just been waiting for the right meal to pair them with. Tonight my dad and I made a mini feast. My dad cooked Sutter Sirloin steak on the grill, and I made beans and a roasted vegetable salad. If anyone has some good recipes for beans, post 'em here!

Here are the recipes for the sides I made:

Anita Bruce's Baked Beans

from June Newman
Ingredients:
4 slices diced bacon, browned
1 28 oz. can Van Camp's pork & beans
1 16 oz. can red kidney beans
1 16 oz. can Bush's large butter beans
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup ketchup
1/4 lb sharp cheddar cheese, cubed
2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 cup parmesan cheese (more or less)

Directions:
Mix and bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese before serving.

Tip: Works well in a crock-pot. Heat on low for about 3 hours or until cheddar cheese is completely melted and beans are bubbly.

I made a double batch of this recipe because there's nothing wrong with leftover beans!

Roasted Vegetable Salad

adapted from Everyday Food

Ingredients:

2 carrots, cut into 2-inch matchsticks

1 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch chunks

1 small red onion, cut into wedges, layers separated

1 cup sliced mushrooms

2 tablespoons olive oil

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

2 heads romaine, chopped

1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 450 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, and onion with 1 tablespoon oil; season with salt and pepper.

Roast until vegetables are tender and browned, 20 to 25 minutes, tossing once.

In a serving bowl, whisk together vinegar and remaining tablespoon oil; season with salt and pepper. Add lettuce, and toss. Top with roasted vegetables and goat cheese.

Ingredients

Oreo Cheesecake

2009-08-25T13:28:00.000-07:00

This, by far, is my best cheesecake ever. I never really realized how off the density of my cheesecakes were until one dessert at Uno's changed my outlook on how cheesecake should be. The cheesecake my dad and I shared was so rich, dense, and smooth. I knew I had been making mistakes, and therefore, creating a proper cheesecake became on my list of baking to-do's.

Let me recall my cheesecake history...

First: Mini Kraft-recipe cheesecake bars that I cut down into bite-sized pieces. These had the taste of cheesecake, but I didn't feel they were official as I didn't use a springform pan.

Second: My brown apple disaster of a cheesecake. There was no way that cheesecake should have even turned out. I was too ambitious for my own good. Especially for being a beginner and trying to tackle such an involving recipe.

Third: My banana cream cheesecake for Julian's birthday. Again, I messed up. The cake fell into the back of the oven, spilling liquidy cheesecake into the bottom of my oven, sending me into a frenzy, causing me to place the cheesecake outside of the heat for quite some time to prevent this mess from burning. Not good. Plus, the recipe called for a 10" springform pan, but mine is only 8". So I had a lot of extra that I made into a mini cheesecake, but still, I think I overfilled the main cake anyways.

Most recent: Oreo cheesecake, a Cheesecake Factory copycat recipe. Again, this recipe called for a 9" springform pan, but I used my 8" again and made the leftovers into a little pie. Except this time I was smart and I didn't fill the pan to the rim. I let this rest the proper amount of time, and boy was it worth it. This has had the best texture I've ever achieved. It is so dense compared to any of the other cheesecakes I've attempted, and perhaps at the time, though I had mastered. Although my other cheesecakes have had the flavor of cheesecake, they certainly have not had this consistency. Lets just say that this 8" cheesecake stands at less than a quarter of a piece after one day of its presentment.

Copycat Cheesecake Factory Oreo Cheesecake

From The Recipe Secret Blog

Ingredients:

Filling
1 1/2 pound cream cheese
1 cup sugar
5 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup flour
8 ounces sour cream
5 Oreo cookies (coarsely chopped for the batter)
10 coarsely chopped Oreo cookies for the topping

Crust
1 1/2 cup Oreo cookie crumbs (about 25 Oreo cookies finely chopped)
2 tablespoon melted butter
9″ spring form pan (buttered on bottom and sides)

Directions:

1. Mix melted butter with Oreo crumbs and press in the bottom of the spring pan and 1 1/2″ up the sides, set aside.
2.All Ingredients must be at room temperature before beginning. Beat cream cheese with a mixer on low until fluffy.
3. Slowly add sugar and continue beating cream cheese until mixed well.
4. Add eggs one at a time and continue to beat until blended.
5. Measure the vanilla, salt and flour, pour into cream cheese and egg mixture and beat until smooth. Add the sour cream and beat.
6. Stir in the coarsely chopped oreo cookies with a spoon.
7. Pour cream cheese into the spring pan and place the nine coarsely chopped Oreo Cookies on to of the cream mixture.
8. Place pan on the top rack and in the middle of a preheated oven at 325 degrees F and bake for one hour and 15 minutes.
9.After that time, keep oven door open and let the cheesecake stay in the oven for one hour. Remove from oven and let cool enough to place in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

I filled my 8" springform pan until it there was enough room under the rim to prevent sloshing of the batter as I walked it over to the oven. Then, for the extra, I created another crust using crushed oreos and melted butter in a pie tin, and then poured the extra batter over. I baked this cake for about 45 minutes, until the edges started turning brown and the center was set.

Fail.

2009-08-24T15:43:00.001-07:00

This is completely embarrassing and I don't know why I'd even attempt to try making fried chicken alone when I've never even made chicken before. My plan was to make chicken and waffles, an idea that has been schemed across many diners, drive-ins and dives shows I've watched recently. Faulty is placed in following a recipe intended for 2 1/2 lbs. of chicken. Then there is the fact I lacked buttermilk, flour and Ritz crackers. So I substituted with half and half, bisquick mix and Triscuits. I had my mind set that I was going to make fried chicken, regardless. This was not even the worst part. I think I win here for being an idiot when I poured oil into a heated pan. Oil started splattering everywhere. I'm surprised I survived and am not a mishap burn victim. Well, despite these unfortunate events, the chicken started to look fairly decent. It had a nice brown crispy coat of crushed crackers. But when I cut into the meat to make sure it was cooked, it was as it had never even touched heat.

It will be a while before I try making chicken again. Or at least until I am officially trained.

Crescent Dogs

2009-08-23T16:41:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I made crescent roll dogs for my dad and brother. I used lunchables mini beef sausages and off-brand crescent rolls. But mmm, were they flaky and just as good. These are some of the most simplest things to make, I think I might make these for our bowling sweeper potluck this upcoming Thursday night. If I can quote my brother, he thinks "the people will just go ape sh*t for it."

Pancakes, Approved.

2009-08-23T10:58:00.001-07:00

This morning I made peanut butter chocolate chip pancakes using Hungry Jack pancake batter for my base. I was successful in cooking these thoroughly, and flipping these without the intestinal goo(uncooked, inside of the pancake) flinging everywhere. I used about 2 handfuls of semi-sweet chocolate chips, and a heaping spoonful of chunky peanut butter. The batter produced about 6 silver dollar sized pancakes.

Then I tried to get creative with my waffles. This is where things got ugly. Usually I'm really good at making crispy waffles on the waffle iron. For my waffles I use Krusteaz Belgian waffle mix. Once I tried substituting with Hungry Jack and following those instructions for waffles, but my end product was limp and soggy. So now I rely on Krusteaz again. Well, today I tried adding marshmallows to my batter, but it made the waffle split in half, leaving me to scrape off the remnants from the scorching hot iron to keep the scraps from burning. This is my failure of a waffle.

Oreo Cookie Cookies

2009-08-22T23:47:00.000-07:00

I love anything cookies 'n cream, like ice cream. But I don't really care for oreos by themselves because I feel like they're so processed. Yet my favorite part of cookies 'n cream ice cream are the huge chunks of cookies. I saw this recipe on Nosh and Tell and the chunks of oreo just looked so good! I decided to try these, and while I making these I realized the recipe got even better when it called for one tablespoon of vanilla extract. My favorite part of cookies is the vanilla extract and I always let my measurements pour over the one teaspoon most recipes call for. And as I write this I go out to taste another one to give an accurate review :). Even after setting, the chocolate chips stay gooey, while the oreo cookie gives it a nice crunch.

Overall, the cookie is much crunchier than it is chewy, but that's mostly around the edges. I like the color of these for some reason because you can see the speckles of dark oreo cookies throughout the cookie, and then decent sized black chunks of oreo peeking through the top. While I was informing my parents of what I was making, they were confused by the repetitiveness of the name "Oreo Cookie Cookies" and thought I was saying "Oreo oreo cookies" and instead thought I meant to saying something along the lines of "Chocolate oreo cookies."

Oreo Cookie Cookies

from Sugar Cooking

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
20 oreos, crushed

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Add in the crushed oreos. Beat on low speed for just a few seconds to break up the oreos in the dough. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon.

Drop cookie dough a rounded tbsp at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Wild Mushroom and Blue Cheese Quiche

2009-08-21T21:00:00.001-07:00

It has been a long time since I've had a quiche. My mom used to make them all the time when I was younger. My favorite part was always the crust. I enjoy it so much I would like to just make a pie of crust to eat by itself. I decided I'd give my try at making a quiche. I found this recipe for a wild mushroom and blue cheese quiche, and it worked out that I had most of the ingredients on hand. I tend to choose recipes that I know we have a lot of the ingredients lying around. And I've also figured out that my style is kind of semi-homemade because I like to use shortcuts like refrigerated crust. I really liked this quiche, it reminded me of this caramelized onion and gorgonzola focaccia bread I used to get at farmer's market from the Word of Mouth Bakery. I thought the mushrooms might be weird coming from a jar, but the balsamic vinegar and garlic really changed the smell and flavor. Making this was very aromatic and delicious. The blue cheese had a strong taste, be cautious if you're not really into blue cheese. The site where I got this recipe from states "Not only does blue cheese taste wonderful in quiche, but it's an unexpected surprise for even experienced quiche-eaters." I would agree as it is a very dominant flavor of this quiche. Since I used a refrigerated pie crust, I only used the recipe to make the filling.

Wild Mushroom and Blue Cheese Quiche

adopted from Cooking.com

Ingredients:

1 pillsbury refrigerated pie crust

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter

1 cup chopped onion

10 oz mixed mushrooms (cremini, shitake, oyster)

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 garlic clove, minced

1 1/4 cups crumbled blue cheese

1 cup whipping cream

3 large eggs

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1/4 teaspoon (scant) salt

Pinch of ground black pepper

Directions:

Melt butter in medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in mushrooms. Cover and cook until juices form, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Stir in vinegar and garlic. Simmer uncovered just until juices evaporate, about 5 minutes. Cool mushroom mixture completely.

Roll pie crust into a pie pan as directed. Spoon mushroom mixture evenly over bottom of crust. Sprinkle half of blue cheese over.
Whisk cream, eggs, parsley, salt and black pepper in medium bowl to blend. Slowly pour custard over fillings. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake quiche on baking sheet until puffed and golden brown, about 35 minutes. Turn off the oven but let the quiche remain in the heat for about 5-10 more minutes. Cool on rack 15 minutes.

Cheaters S'mores

2009-08-19T22:08:00.000-07:00

What happens when you crave the great outdoors? You make indoor S'mores! I made these in our microwave, and the only reason I am posting this is because of how ridiculous the marshmallows look.

We used cinnamon graham crackers, a large Hershey's chocolate bar, and chocolate swirled marshmallows. The swollen marshmallows were nothing a top layer of graham crackers couldn't fix.

Big Apple Sausage Pancake

2009-08-19T14:59:00.001-07:00

Almost every morning I will wake up and ask my brother if he's hungry. And usually the answer is yes. My favorite thing is to try find something I can make, especially since he is my little guinea pig and will eat almost anything. This morning I was digging through our freezer and found these sausages. I found on the back this recipe, and I decided to try it since I had everything it required. It turned out like a huge cakey, muffiny, pigs-in-a-blanket flavored pancake. My brother, Will, said "smells good" and could not wait to eat as this recipe was a first timer and completely unexpected.

Baked Apple Pancake with Sausage

From the back of the Hormel sausage package

Ingredients:

1 package (12-ounce) maple-flavored HORMEL® LITTLE SIZZLERS® Pork Sausage Links

2/3 cup milk

1 egg beaten

2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

1 cup buttermilk baking mix

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup finely chopped apple

Directions: 

Heat oven to 400°F. Grease a 10-inch round pie plate. Prepare sausage links according to package directions; drain. In large bowl, stir together milk, egg, and melted butter. Combine baking mix, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg; add to milk mixture. Stir in apple. Spread in pie plate. Arrange sausage links in spoke fashion on batter. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with syrup, if desired.