Everyone Loves Cupcakes~ Especially Cream Filled Ones~

Cupcakes are fun to make and to eat, especially since they are a crowd favorite. I love to bring cupcakes to work or serve them for a delicious and perfectly portioned dessert for a dinner party. Over the holiday break, I took some time to experiment in the kitchen with cupcakes. I have always wanted to make filled cupcakes (since an old vice of mine was to consume those terrible little Hostess chocolate cupcakes as a freshman in college), but haven’t had the time nor patience to figure it out.

So, the closest to a cream filled cupcake I have made were these Devil’s Food chocolate cupcakes with a tangy, sweet cream cheese icing, topped with mini snow caps or non-perils.

Instead of scooping out the bottom with a mellonball, I sliced them down the middle (horizontally) and smeared icing in the middle. It’s like a cupcake sandwich! If you’re not used to making your own batter from scratch, any Devil’s Food box mix will do. You can top your cupcakes with sprinkles or other small candies~ I just adored the look of the snow caps especially for a holiday gathering.

Cream Cheese Icing:

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened @ room temp
• 1/2 cup butter, softened @ room temp
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon of fresh orange zest

Perfect Potato Leek Soup

Potato leek soup is one of those, thick, creamy, hearty soups that most everyone loves. The great thing about this soup is that you can prepare it for a vegetarian or meat eaters and everyone will be pleased. Subbing in a vegetable broth for a chicken stock doesn’t always mean that you will lose out on flavor: choose a low-sodium vegetable stock and be sure to season your soup well with pepper, garlic and fresh herbs.

I’ve made a few batches of this soup using vegetable broth and and it has always come out delightful. Twice I have used half and half to thicken up the soup which can be omitted if you have a dairy free diet.

Leeks are interesting vegetables. A man in the grocery store line in front of me questioned me about leeks- how they tasted and what I use them for. They have a very mild, almost sweet onion taste. Don’t be scared by the big green stalks- save those for making stocks. Do not put the tough, green stems into your soup- they don’t taste amazing. Also, be sure to rinse your leeks very well because like spinach, they have a lot of sand and dirt hidden in their folds.

I use Yukon Gold potatoes. It’s a rich buttery taste and I prefer those over your regular Idaho baking potatoes. I suppose fingerling or red potatoes might be interesting too and yes, I keep the skins on.

You will need:

4-5 yukon gold potatoes

3 leeks

2-3 cloves fresh garlic

1 carton of Vegetable broth

teaspoon fresh herbs (thyme, parsely)

1/2 cup of cream or half/half

Sautee the leeks in butter with a little salt and sweat them out for about 10 min. Add your garlic and fresh herbs.  Dice your potatoes and add them in with skins. Add in broth and bring to a boil. Cover and let simmer on low for about 20 min. or until potatoes are soft. Use a stick blender to blend your soup together. Let simmer for 15-20 min more. Salt/Pepper to taste. Add cream or half/half and serve hot with toasty french bread. Chives make a great garnish!

Fabulous Flatbread

The other day I was at the market and decided to pick up a package of freshly baked flatbread.   Usually, I am more of a pita pocket kind of girl (and frankly if I am eating bread, I am most likely eating a baguette) but I decided to give it a try.

A friend of mine actually baked his own flatbread and in the process, he created the biggest mess in his kitchen probably to date.  Here is his recipe:

• 3c flour
• 1c water
• 1.5tsp kosher/sea salt
• 1-2tbsp olive oil

Mix in a bowl until uniform. Add in any extra things, if any (spices, etc). Grab a small ball of the dough, and hand knead it until silky. Stretch it much like a pizza dough, getting it pretty thin. Oil heatedfry pan / pot: cook until browned/grilled.

If you’re not into making complicated breads, and in my tiny apt. kitchen I simply do not have the room to create bread. So, for a modest $2.99, I will purchase my flatbread, heat it up and eat it with soup, smear some chunky peanut butter on them for an open faced sandwich or perhaps, slice some tomatoes and basil with a splash of olive oil for a delicious lunch.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes go Blue

My boyfriend loves my garlic mashed potatoes. They are rustic, thick and creamy which is the best comfort food gets I think. But unlike a lot of people’s mashed potatoes, which resemble mountains of pure, white snow, my potatoes still have their skins on, either red or Yukon gold and are mashed into big chunks, not whipped into peaks. This is because I love tasting chunks of potato and roasted garlic- what a flavor!

Usually, I steam my potatoes first, then toss them in with milk, butter, fresh or roasted garlic, salt and pepper and mash away until I am satisfied with their consistency. This past week, in celebrating my boyfriend’s recent accomplishments in his career, I decided to make him garlic mashed potatoes….with a twist!

The day before we had gone to Central Market to purchase some fruit and cheese for our monthly indoor picnic. He was craving a good blue, so we bought a decent sized wedge of Maytag blue cheese. It is so thick and creamy, perfect with apple wedges or crumbled up in salads. But I decided that we should try them in the mashed potatoes and what a great decisions that was indeed.

The real trick to adding a strong cheese in with mashed potatoes is to not over do it. Put a little bit in, stir, melt taste. Repeat until you have the desired amount, keeping in mind that the blue cheese flavor should be a hint in the background, not in the forefront.

Fall is Here; Let the Soups Begin!

I’ve been waiting  and waiting through these unbearable hot, Austin months to start making soups again. Last fall I successfully made a delicious tomato basil soup and a spicy, thick cream of eggplant. Pair it up with toasted baguette, nice cheese and maybe a glass of wine and you have a delicious meal (or meals) for the cool, fall season.

Soups are surprisingly easy to make if you have the right equipment. You would need one large pot, 10 gallon would do, a stick blender or a food processor (I prefer the stick), and a good rangetop. In other words, if you know your burners are uneven, you will have to tend to your soup in order to prevent the bottom from burning.

The holy trinity in kitchen cooking, especially french cooking, is onion, bellpepper and celery. Most soups start out with this base, not browned but sweated out with salt and pepper. Add fresh garlic and thyme for an extra boost of flavor.

Another great tip is to use low soduim stock if you have not made your own chicken/fish/vegetable stock. The lower sodium content will ensure that your soup is not overly salted.

If you are making a creamy soup, be sure to use a heavy cream or whole milk. Add it in small pours to prevent any curdling.

For my tomato basil soup, I added a few chopped carrots to the holy trinity, used a couple of cans of diced tomatoes, and several sprigs of basil. Let simmer for about 20 min and then take your stick blender and go to town. The chunkier the soup, the better! You can garnish your soup with a few basil leaves, a dollop of goat cheese or a swirl of olive oil to add an extra touch.

Boxed Mac n’ Cheese: Tonight’s Dinner

Boxed macaroni and cheese? Really? But it’s not that healthy, nor gourmet nor inventive!

Well, it doesn’t have to be. Sometimes food just needs to be comforting, especially on a day with bad weather or after a long work week. One serving of  macaroni and cheese out of the box, or maybe two, won’t kill you but if you still have reservations about it, I have a few ways in which to jazz it up without adding a bunch of fat.

Firstly, you can use low fat butter and skim milk in making macaroni n’ cheese. Sure it isn’t as rich, but it still tastes good and I’ve been using lower fat dairy in my cooking for years. Secondly, do not be afraid to spice it up. Add some black pepper at least (or white), smoked paprika, nutmeg, cayenne…even some garlic powder or minced fresh garlic might be nice to try.

Ok, so it might sound gross but it’s one of my favorite comforting foods of all, thanks to my mother. Cheese n’ Peas is what we call it in my family and that’s simply noodles with cheese and green peas. Frozen peas are wonderful for this since they are frozen at the very peak of their tiny, round, green perfection.  So, adding something green, like peas, broccoli florets or maybe even edamames would be delightful.

Diced tomatoes are also great to throw in and so are cubes of ham. Or, you can add more cheese! Shavings of smoked gouda, sprinkles of Parmesan.  You get the idea right?

You don’t want to try and make your boxed orange stuff gourmet- you just want to add that little something that is going to both improve taste and get some actual nutrition in your meal.

Get creative with your macaroni and cheese. I’d love to hear suggestions!

Court. of img4.allyou.com

Adventure in the Kitchen: Peach Crisp

Apple crisp. Pear crisp. Peach crisp? No matter the fruit, crisps are not that difficult to make and are delicious with or without ice cream. I grew up eating fruit pies and crisps that my mother would make on a whim with fruit that was in season. Peaches; however, are an interesting fruit to turn into a crisp, because they are so juicy and have the potential to be either very sweet or just a little too tangy.

The other day, we picked up fresh peaches from Kingsland, TX, the same stand where we purchased the tomatoes. Some of them were a bit bruised, but they were easy to peel and slice away any funky parts.I decided to make my first peach crisp and this is how it turned out:

First: I marinated them in brown sugar, a pinch of nutmeg and a pinch of cinnamon in the fridge for about an hour. You don’t have to do this, but they became super juicy and the sugar created a nice glaze over the peaches. These were tangy peaches so I should have tossed in some honey perhaps or white sugar to cut the “sourness”.

Second: Make the crumble. Flour, butter, brown sugar. Get your hands messy and squeeze the pads of butter (cold out of the fridge is OK). You can release some agression while creating an amazingly sweet topping.

Third: Set the oven to 350 -375 degrees. Bake for 20 min or until bubbly and golden brown.

Wonderful to serve with vanilla bean ice cream. Don’t bother with the whipped cream unless it’s homemade. I can’t stand whipped cream and I hate it in the can. Oh, and I hate Cool Whip too.

Enjoy.

Ina Garten’s Chicken Salad is Amazing and so is She.

Sounds over the top and ridiculous, especially since I do not personally but it’s true: Ina’s chicken salad is amazing.  It’s easy to prepare, delicious and such a crowd pleaser.

In fact, I love Ina.  I do. It may be because she bares a striking resembelence to my adorable mother, but I think it also has something to do with her “Back to Basics” recipes. Great ingredients, not a lot of fuss, classy platings.

What’s her trick? Instead of poaching her chicken breasts in water, she roasts them. Split chicken breasts on the bone is important as well because the bone adds that extra flavor. Just season with olive oil, salt and pepper, roast on 375 for about an hour or until golden brown and juicy. This is the only cut of meat that I would consider eating again after my 8 years of a meatfree diet.

Next, let the chicken come to near room temperature (warm). Cube it and toss it in a bowl with diced, fresh celery. Add minced taragon, salt and pepper to taste. The taragon is the most wonderful, complimentary herb to chicken besides rosemary. Add in as much or as little mayo as you like: some people like their chicken salad swimming in Hellman’s; other’s like it dry.

The recipe is here. My boyfriend and his friends can vouch that it is one amazing sandwich to be had. I use toasted potato bread and some mescaline leaves to make a glorious, juicy chicken salad sandwich.

courtesy of foodtv.com

Roasted Tomatoes: Tonight’s Dinner

I’ve been reading recipes lately that involve hours and hours of roasting tomatoes under a low heat. Since I am a huge tomato fan (I mean, I could sustain myself solely on tomatoes for the rest of my life if need be), I was intrigued and decided to give it a go.

Since my oven in my 5X5 kitchen is uneven, I gave it a go at the boyfriend’s house which is equipped with a much larger kitchen and a sexier, gas powered oven. We purchased fresh tomatoes off of a stand in Kingsland, TX yesterday and so I decided these would be perfect for delicious roasting.

First: I halved the tomatoes and sprinkled them with cracked pepper, kosher salt and dried oregano. I drizzled some olive oil and set the oven to 275.

Next step: wait. Wait about 2 hours and they will be caramelized and wonderful!  I also put several cloves of garlic still in the paper (you do this to protect the clove from drying out) and I threw in some slices of eggplant, also sprinkled with cracked pepper, kosher salt and dried oregano. You have to turn the slices though, otherwise you will get an uneven roast.

After giving the roasted delights a rough chop, I tossed in some fresh basil, shredded mozzerella cheese and some more olive oil. Spaghetti is a great pasta to use, but next time I will use a penne. I find that pasta with ridges collects all that wonderful juice and flavor. Garnish with seasoned bread crumbs, open a bottle of wine and you have one deliciously, roasted tomato and eggplant pasta dish.

Happy tummy.

Making Meals Last

I often find myself searching for recipes for meals that can last for one or more days. Left-overs are inexpensive, time savers that can be reinvented into new dishes or side items. In this economy, we are all making our dollars stretch as far and as long as we can. Sunday evenings are the typical times of the week when I try to plan out all of my meals. Since I know I will have to bring a lunch everyday to work, I usually resort to quick, re-heatable meal ideas or perhaps even a Lean Cuisine or two.

I believe this task can be extremely difficult, or near impossible, for people who do not like to or know how to cook. Resorting to buying dinner and lunch every day is expensive and frankly, can be way unhealthy.

Here are some of my ideas I’ve had in order to stretch meals and my dollar without stretching my waistband:

Casseroles

Casseroles are easy, one pot meals that you can make on a Sunday night for the week. Typically, casseroles feature noodles, cheese, meat or fish and vegetables but you can get creative with what you put into it. One thing to be careful of is fat and salt content when cooking with larger portions of cheese, heavy cream or canned soup. Stick to low fat canned soup options, 2% cheese and pile in the veggies for a good dose of fiber. You can also use whole grain noodles or brown rice for your carbs.

Salads

Pasta, rice, fruit, green…there are so many different types of salads you can make in advance. Instead of baked pasta dishes which again can be loaded with fat, opt for lighter pasta salads featuring fresh tomatoes, peppers, and herbs. A cold wild rice salad with peas in a white wine vinaigrette will be a great side item to a sandwich instead of chips. Fruit salads are wonderful for when you crave something sweet and green salads can be made a night before you want to eat them, just don’t dress them! Your lettuce will get too soggy and limp.

For one of my favorite pasta salad recipes, you will need:

• One Package of Whole Wheat Pasta (Penne, Rotini, Bow Tie
• Several different sized tomatoes (Grape, cherry, heirloom, whatever you like!)
• One Shallot
• 3-4 Cloves of Garlic. minced
• Fresh Basil
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• White Wine Vinegar
• Salt/Pepper to taste
• Toasted Pine Nuts

Boil the pasta in salted water. When finished, you can rinse with cool water or simply place in the fridge if you have the time. When the pasta is cool, it’s easier to work with. Chop the garlic, shallots, basil, tomatoes, and place in a bowl with the pasta. The pine nuts should be toasted until they are light, golden brown at 350 or 375 degrees in a toaster oven. Add the pine nuts, and a drizzle of olive oil.  Add a splash of white wine vinegar and some salt and pepper to taste. Toss again, then place in the fridge to marinate. Serve chilled

Soups and Marinara Sauce

Soups and sauces are wonderful to keep frozen in individual portions to reheat at a later date. You can use your tomato sauces to top off an eggplant sandwich, toss in a bowl with penne, or use as pizza sauce for a homemade pie. I also notice that soups can be tastier after a day or two because the herbs and flavors all have a good, long chance to get to know each other.  Use low sodium broths for your soups for a healthier option.