Posted by: Megan | February 9, 2010

twd – Brownies For Julia

Before I begin here, let’s take a moment and revel in the gloriousness that is a brownie:


Oh, and you may congratulate me on my math skills again (wink, wink) because I made 1/8 of the recipe. Just enough to fill one muffin cup – which was perfect for me and Sabrina to split. Alexander ditched out on us for ice cream, and David doesn’t like brownies unless they are Tyler Florence’s Amaretto Brownies.

Fine – more for me.

Anyway, these brownies, made by Rick Katz for Julia Child – were very, very good -  I’ve discovered I really like the combination of unsweetened chocolate and bittersweet chocolate in my brownies. It gave them great chocolate flavor, but one that isn’t overly intense. You know, not too strong, not too weak. These straddled the line between fudgey and cakey, and had that chocolate “punch” that makes you say, “Hey – these are great!”.

So – with that mind blowing review, what are you waiting for? Head on over to Tanya’s blog for the recipe, and make these brownies STAT!

Coming next week: Chocolate Chip Cookies. If you hear a loud scream, it’s probably David as he’s running from the room as I try yet another chocolate chip cookie recipe. Hey, it’s for a good cause, right?

15 Comments

Posted in Bar Cookies, Tuesdays With Dorie

Posted by: Megan | February 8, 2010

Spinach with Shallots and Bacon

Whew! What a great game last night! I was rooting for the Saints (much to the dismay of the rest of my family) – but, like every year, I think I enjoy the commercials more than the game itself. My favorite one was the Doritos commercial at the very beginning of the game – when the dog was begging for a chip, but had a bark collar on – and the guy says, you have to bark for a chip – so the dog takes his collar off and puts it on the guy, then starts barking so the guy gets zapped! I almost spit out my drink laughing – I know, I know,  I’m easily amused!

Oh, and explaining “The Who”  to the kids – now that was comical. When the band first took the stage they both looked at me and said, “Who are these old guys?”

Um, yeah.

So after a night of excess (I‘m not pointing any fingers), let’s start off the week with something healthy. But this post is actually dedicated to my dad – because he thinks my children are unusual due to the fact that they ask for seconds of vegetables. I’ve always ascribed to the theory that vegetables should taste good – not mushy or overcooked. After all, I don’t like them that way, so why would they?

I was feeling creative the other night, and found myself not wanting to cook spinach the same way I usually do – in olive oil with a splash of lemon juice. And because we’ve recently become enamored with shallots – they aren’t as pungent as regular onions but add a pleasant flavor that isn’t sharp or astringent, I decided to toss a few into the pan along with several strips of bacon that I found in the fridge.

The result? Utter chaos – forks flying, the platter being passed back and forth at blinding speed – and when the dust finally settled, the platter was empty.

And both kids declared this to be the only way they want spinach prepared from now on.

Spinach with Shallots and Bacon – our new family recipe!

2 tbs. butter
2 tbs. olive oil
2 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
1 lb spinach

4 strips crisply cooked bacon, crumbled

Heat the butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the shallots, and cook, stirring frequently, until the shallots are lightly golden. Add the bacon, and continue to stir and cook to incorporate the flavors. Once the bacon is heated through, add the spinach and stir and toss until the spinach is cooked but not limp. Season with fresh black pepper and a pinch of salt. Serve hot!

8 Comments

Posted in Side Dishes

Posted by: Megan | February 5, 2010

Doughnut Muffins

Since I have Tuesdays and Thursdays off from work, I usually try to make the kids something special  for breakfast on those days. I have a bit more time in the morning because I don’t have to race around getting myself ready as well – since after I drop them off at school I come straight home and head into my bike/treadmill/clean the house/do laundry routine.

Hmmm – you probably didn’t need or care about that bit of information, did you? :)

Yesterday morning I took the time to make a half batch of these doughnut muffins – using a recipe that I’ve had my eye on for quite some time. And I’ll be honest with you – I’ll be hard-pressed to deep fry doughnuts again. Not only were these easy, they were the perfect size, too – just right for popping in your mouth.

But it was the look of sheer, unmitigated joy on the kids’ faces when they saw the doughnuts that made my heart melt.

Well, it was that along with the exclaims of “Mom, you’re the best”.

I never get tired of hearing that.

Doughnut Muffins - adapted  from Nicole at Cookies On Friday

1-1/2 cups flour       (I used half all purpose, and half white whole wheat – shhhh!)
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon baking soda
2/3 cup milk or buttermilk
¼ cup yogurt
6 tablespoons butter, softened
¼ cup sugar
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 egg

Topping
4 tablespoons butter, melted
½ cup sugar combined with 2 teaspoons cinnamon
-or- ½ cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 mini muffin tins with cooking spray.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and baking soda. In another bowl, combine milk and sour cream; stir to combine.

In a mixer bowl, cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg. Add the flour mixture alternatively with the milk mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix until all of the ingredients are incorporated, but don’t overmix.

Place 1 tablespoon of batter into each muffin cup. Bake muffins until they are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 12 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then turn them out of the pans. Apply topping while warm.

To apply the topping, roll the warm muffins in the melted butter and then roll in the cinnamon sugar. Alternatively, roll the warm muffins in powdered sugar. (If you top the muffins with powdered sugar, don’t roll them in butter.)

20 Comments

Posted in Breakfast, Cakes

Posted by: Megan | February 4, 2010

Chocolate Mousse Cake

Warning - if you are a card-carrying choco-holic, the following post may cause you to swoon …..


Don’t say I didn’t warn you. This cake means business. Serious business. It’s not for the faint of heart. And, under no circumstances should you judge its caliber or underestimate the intensity simply by looking at the photo.

Just imagine biting into the most luxurious, decadent, silky smooth cake you’ve ever dreamed of. Ok – are you there yet? This cake goes beyond that.

Richer than Bill Gates, and simpler than Forrest Gump, a small slice of this is guaranteed to satisfy even the most intense chocolate craving.

Satisfy most people, that is. Alexander and I had NO trouble demolishing our slices. And to prove that nothing exceeds like excess, he had his slice topped with vanilla ice cream.

I’m so proud of him!

Chocolate Mousse Cake – adapted from Francois Payard

11 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
9 tbs. (4 ½ oz) unsalted butter
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
5 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees, and place a rack in the center of the oven. Spray the bottom of a 9” spring form pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line the bottom of the pan with a circle of parchment paper, then wrap the exterior of the pan with 2 layers of heavy duty aluminum foil. Make sure the wrap it carefully, since the cake will be baking in a water bath.

Melt the butter in small saucepan over medium heat, then, remove the pan from the heat and add the chopped chocolate. Whisk until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs, then slowly pour the sugar/egg mixture into the pan with the melted chocolate, whisking constantly.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan, and place the pan into a larger pan. Put the dish in the oven, and carefully pour in enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the spring form pan.

Bake the cake for 50-60 minutes, or until the cake is just set and the center doesn’t jiggle.

Remove the pan from the oven, and carefully remove the spring form pan from the larger pan. Allow it to cool to room temperature, then chill it in the freezer for about half hour in order to unmold it. Or, chill it for several hours in the refrigerator.

Remove the sides of the pan, and invert the cake onto a plate. Remove the bottom of the pan, and then peel off the parchment paper. Invert the cake onto a serving plate. Dust the top with confectioners sugar to serve. Refrigerate leftovers (or freeze for longer storage).

11 Comments

Posted in Cakes

Posted by: Megan | February 3, 2010

Egg Free Chocolate Pudding

I had the best of intentions last week – really, I did.

You see, I was going to make the chocolate cream filling from Dorie’s Chocolate Cream Pie for Sabrina, since she had a whopping case of laryngitis.

I lied.

I had no intention of repeating a recipe.

Well, that’s only half true. The whole truth is I wanted to try a version that didn’t require egg yolks, because we were out of eggs.

Believe me, it caught me by surprise too. No eggs? In this house? Preposterous.

And yet, it happened.

Fortunately, I found this cornstarch-thickened version, and was able to whip it up in a flash. Easy enough, and it was everything I’d hoped for – rich, smooth, and very chocolatey.

Just right for a sore throat.

Egg Free Chocolate Pudding - adapted from a recipe by Sherry Yard

2 cups milk
¾ cup granulated sugar
3 tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tbs. cornstarch
1 oz unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
1 tbs. butter, at room temperature
1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract

In a medium size saucepan, combine the milk, sugar, cocoa powder and cornstarch. Whisk well, and bring to a boil over medium heat.

Remove from the heat, and add the unsweetened chocolate, and whisk gently until the chocolate has melted. Add the butter and vanilla, and again, whisk gently to blend. Strain into a bowl, and press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming. Chill for several hours (if you can wait that long!)

Yield – 2 cups

15 Comments

Posted in Comfort Foods, Pies, Snacks

Posted by: Megan | February 1, 2010

Cowboy Cookies

Let’s get one thing perfectly clear:

I don’t know any cowboys.

But if I did, I’m sure they would enjoy these cookies as much as we did. And by “we”, I mean Sabrina and myself – the boys didn’t want anything to do with them. Something about the coconut/oatmeal combination turned them off.

These were almost like a granola bar – crispy on the outside but chewy on the inside – and could be considered quite healthy, because I used Bob’s Red Mill 5 Grain Cereal instead of regular oatmeal. (I used up all the oatmeal making a double batch of granola bars for Sabrina.)

I really like the flavor and texture the cereal imparted onto the cookies, it made them seem more substantial – but I’m sure they would be just as delicious if you used regular oatmeal instead.

Cowboy Cookies - adapted from the NY Times

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbs. baking powder
1 tbs. baking soda
1 tbs. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tbs. vanilla extract
3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (I used Bob’s Red Mill 5 Grain Cereal)
2 cups sweetened flake coconut

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in bowl.

In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth and creamy. Gradually beat in sugars, and combine thoroughly. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each. Beat in vanilla.

Stir in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips, oats, and coconut.

For each cookie, drop 1/4 cup dough onto parchment lined baking sheets, spacing 3 inches apart.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, until edges are lightly browned; rotate sheets halfway through. Remove cookies from rack to cool.

23 Comments

Posted in Cookies

Posted by: Megan | January 31, 2010

Pancakes!

Did you know that February 24 is National Pancake Day?

Me either.

No worries, though – I’m ready for it and you will be too because I’ve got you covered here with the perfect pancake recipe, which I’ve taken from Elizabeth at Type A Mommy (a girl after my own heart).


These really are the best pancakes I’ve ever made – light, fluffy and the consummate vehicle for syrup – all the qualities you want in a pancake.  However, in the interest of fair and unbiased reporting, and to prove I’m not the only one that thinks these are that good, I asked Alexander for his thoughts. His response – verbatim – “Please stop trying other pancake recipes, these are perfect. Really, Mom, promise me you won’t throw that recipe away. And can you make sure there’s more in the freezer?”.

Of course, honey, it’s what I live for. :)

If, like me, you like to make extras of pancakes (waffles, etc) to keep in the freezer for school mornings, you might want to double the recipe. Unless Alexander is coming to breakfast – in that case, triple it.

Best Buttermilk Pancakes – adapted from Elizabeth’s recipe

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 slightly heaping tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
pinch of salt
1 egg
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Preheat a nonstick skillet over medium heat.
In a medium size bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the egg, buttermilk and vegetable oil, and whisk until smooth. Pour the batter by spoonfuls into the hot pan, forming 5-inch circles.

When the edges appear to harden, flip the pancakes and cook the pancakes on the other side for same amount of time, until golden brown.

Makes 8 to 10 pancakes.

20 Comments

Posted in Breakfast

Posted by: Megan | January 29, 2010

Lentil Soup with Spicy Italian Sausage

I have a confession to make.

No, I’m not hiding a stash of chocolate in my closet. Who said that?

This is the first time I’ve ever cooked lentils.

Ever.

In my entire life.

And I cooked them perfectly.


Score! I recently learned that David really likes lentils, and you know what? I didn’t know I liked them so much either. This soup is very hearty and warming and full of flavor. Just the ticket for a cold and rainy day – and we had plenty of those last week.

And in case you were curious – Sabrina couldn’t eat it (she’s allergic to lentils) and Alexander took one look at them and said, “No way”. I think it was the color that turned him off, because he does like most beans.

I didn’t change too much within the recipe – I used extra lean sausage from Fresh and Easy Market (no MSG or preservatives thankyouverymuch), and cooked it in the oven instead of browning it on the cook top. I just sautéed all the vegetables in the olive oil and added the sausage at the end of the recipe. In fact, next time I make it I might leave the sausage out completely. It was nice, but not 100 percent necessary. Some warm, crusty bread? Absolutely necessary.

And one more thing – a warning, actually  – this makes a lot of soup! Since it rained all last week, though, it made a perfect lunch. But there was still a lot leftover. Does anyone know if you can freeze lentils? I didn’t even think to try it. Oh well.

I’m submitting this to Deb from Kahakai Kitchen for her Souper Sundays post – check it out!

Lentil Soup with Spicy Italian Sausage - adapted from Bon Appetit

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound fully cooked hot Italian sausage, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 large onion, chopped (about 3 cups)
2 large carrots, peeled, chopped (about 1 3/4 cups)
2 large parsnips, peeled, chopped (about 1 3/4 cups)
2 large celery stalks, chopped about 1 cup
21/2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning blend (I used Mrs. Dash Tomato/Basil/Garlic)
1 pound brown lentils (about 2 1/3 cups)
3 quarts (or more) low-salt chicken broth
1 5-ounce package baby spinach leaves

Heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook until browned, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer sausage to bowl. Add onion, carrots, parsnips, celery, and Italian seasoning blend to drippings in pot; cook until onion is translucent and vegetables begin to soften, stirring often, 7 to 8 minutes. Add lentils; stir to coat. Add 3 quarts broth. Bring to boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer until lentils are tender, stirring occasionally and adding more broth by 1/4 cupfuls if soup is too thick, 20 minutes.
Add sausage to soup and simmer until vegetables are tender and flavors blend, 10 to 12 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in spinach. Cook until spinach is wilted, about 3 minutes.

10 Comments

Posted in Dinner!

Posted by: Megan | January 27, 2010

Spinach Zucchini Ricotta Quiche

I don’t have too much to say today – I’ve come to the end of a very long and tiring road. It’s a relief, to say the least – and I can feel the weight of the last few weeks evaporating from my shoulders.

But instead of giving you a long, drawn out, complicated and sometimes almost comical “Explanation of the Situation” (and no, not the guy from the Jersey Shore), I will tell you that last night, David had surgery – and after a battery of tests and a misdiagnosis, he will indeed be just fine.

Which is good, because I threatened to kill him if he didn’t get better. :)

Where is all this going? I have no clue. I don’t know how this dialogue started, but let’s get to the point here – I found it very therapeutic to make and form a pastry crust last weekend after all the test results came back negative. I was in the midst of  half-supervising Sabrina as she formed paper into the various stages of paper airplanes for her Science Fair project. I couldn’t just stand there, I had to do something.  And after I had the crust all ready, I realized I wasn’t in the mood for a sweet pie, so I figured, hey, I’ll make a quiche! After all, what could be better than vegetables mixed with cheese baked into a crust?

Chocolate cake would be better! Well, I asked, didn’t I?

However, my doctor has advised me that as much as I’d like to, I simply cannot live on chocolate alone.

Little does he know…………

Mwah ha ha ha ha ha!

* ahem *

Back to the quiche  – in my opinion, it’s a good way to use up whatever stray vegetables are laying around – and in this case, it was a bag of spinach that was threatening to unionize with the zucchini if I didn’t get them out of the cold. Ha! So I cooked them instead. That will teach them not to complain.

The biggest difference for me this time around was the crust. I recently discovered Gale Gand’s pastry crust, and I think this one is “it”. I was skeptical about the use of red wine vinegar, but I couldn’t taste it in the final product. It was so light and crispy – the perfect surrounding for the creamy quiche filling.

I’ve given my version of the crust utilizing all purpose and white whole wheat, but if it suits you better, just use all purpose flour.

Pastry Crust - adapted from Gale Gand

1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp sugar
¾ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
¼ cup ice water
1 tsp red wine vinegar

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flours, salt and sugar – process just to combine. Add the butter, and process using on/off turns until you have a crumbly, sandy mixture – you should still be able to see pieces of butter.

Combine the water and red wine vinegar – and pour into the processor with the motor running. Process just until the dough comes together. Dump the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap, and form it into a flat disk. Wrap it up and chill it for an hour. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured board into a 10 inch circle. Gently place the dough into the pie pan, fold the edges under and crimp them decoratively. Chill while preparing the filling.

Ricotta Spinach Pie - adapted from Bon Appetit, 1996

3 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 10 oz bag fresh spinach
1 zucchini, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 15-ounce container ricotta cheese
8 ounce mozzarella cheese, grated
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 large eggs, beaten to blend

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until tender, about 8 minutes. Mix in spinach and sauté until wilted, about 2 minutes. Add zucchini and continue to cook until almost all liquid from spinach evaporates, about 3-4 minutes.Set aside to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, combine ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Mix in eggs. Add cooled spinach mixture; blend well.

Spoon cheese mixture into pie crust and smooth the top. Bake until filling is set in center and brown on top, about 40 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes. Cut pie into wedges.

14 Comments

Posted in Dinner!, Pies, Side Dishes

Posted by: Megan | January 26, 2010

twd – Cocoa Nana Bread

Holy stromboli! I just realized that it’s Tuesday – and although I had this post written in my head, that does not translate too well to the computer now, does it?

Sorry, my fellow TWD’s , for I did not make this weeks selection of Cocoa-Nana bread. I’m sure it’s wonderful, but bananas are persona non grata in this house.

And besides, David’s having surgery today – so I’ll be out of blogland for a day or two.

Coming next week: Milk Chocolate Mini Bundt Cakes. Oh yes, that should be just lovely~

8 Comments

Posted in Family

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