Coconut Lime Cake

So, I'm cheating right now. Usually I don't like to just copy someone else's recipe entirely, but this one is going to have to be a little exception. I love this cake, and I make it very frequently. Unlike the original recipe (which I gratefully and humbly pilfered from SmittenKitchen), I usually serve it with a raspberry or strawberry coulis, it's not exactly the radical reinterpretation or perfected product of experimentation I usually strive for. Instead, this is just an old stand-by, tried and true recipe that you should make, because it's really good.

The cake is kind of crumbly, I've found, which I do not think is a bad thing. The icing topping gives it some necessary structural integrity. You should also be very careful about the cake sticking to the pan, so grease and flour it well (and seriously just have the patience to let it cool entirely before you pull it out of the pan--it's a tragic mistake I've made many times).


Coconut Lime Cake

ingredients

for the cake

• 1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
• 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
  
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
  
• zest of 1 lime
• 2 eggs
• 1 3/4 cup self-rising flour
• 3/4 cup milk
• about 3 tablespoons lime juice

for the icing

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• about 3 tablespoons lime juice

for the raspberry sauce

• 1 small bag frozen raspberries
• about 2 heaping tablespoons sugar
• coconut milk, to garnish (optional)

For the cake.  Carefully brown the coconut on a cookie sheet in the oven at 350 degrees.  Watch it carefully to avoid burning; stir once or twice if the edges brown faster than the rest.

Cream the butter, sugar, and lime zest together in a mixer until even and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating in between until even throughout.  

Mix half of the toasted coconut into the flour.  Also mix 2 tablespoons of the lime juice into the milk, and stir vigorously.  With the mixer on low, add some of the flour mixture, then half of the milk, then some more flour, then the other half of the milk, then the rest of the flour.  Make sure the mixture is smooth and even between each addition.

Pour the batter into a well-greased and floured 8x8 square baking pan.  Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, make the raspberry sauce by putting the raspberries and sugar in a small saucepan on the stove on medium-low.  Allow it to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the berries are very soft.  Smash them up, somewhat, for a chunkier sauce, or puree until smooth in a blender if desired.  Let cool.

Prepare the icing by mixing the powdered sugar with 3 tablespoons of lime juice, stirring until smooth.  If it's still too thick, add a little more lime juice (or milk, if you think the icing is too tart).  

When the cake comes out of the oven, allow it to cool completely (seriously, completely).  Run a knife along the edges of the pan, place a square plate or platter on top, and flip it over onto the plate.  Tap the pan if it needs a little convincing.  Turn the cake right-side-up onto another serving dish, and pour the icing over, followed by the remaining flaked coconut.  Serve with some of the raspberry sauce, with a little coconut milk swirled into it for contrast.

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies are not for the faint of heart. You may think, "Oh, well let me just go throw together some chocolate chip cookies real quickly," without a second thought. There is a science to this; a science which must be appreciated. There are also opposing philosophies. I strongly believe in the slight crispiness on the outside, chewy on the inside philosophy. You can disagree, but I'll think you're weird.

I use self-rising flour (which I think yields a better result), but you could make your own with 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, mixed well.


Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1.5 sticks unsalted butter, melted and allowed to cool slightly
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 2 cups self-rising flour
  
• 2 cups chocolate chunks (I like bigger pieces than just the chips)

Preheat the oven to 325.

Cream the butter and sugars in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer until very smooth (about 2-3 minutes). Add the eggs and vanilla, and beat until mixed (but don't over work the dough).

Add the flour, and mix on low until well-incorporated. Scrape down the side of the bowl as needed. Fold in the chocolate chunks.

Here is where you really need to pay attention. These steps are important. I'm not kidding.

Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes. This causes the melted butter to solidify a bit, making the cookies less likely to be flat. Scoop the dough into small balls (maybe about 2 tablespoons each), and place on the cookie sheet, well-spaced.

In my oven, I bake them for 13 minutes exactly: you'll probably have to figure it out in yours. The edges should be barely golden, the but the tops should not. Remove the cookie sheet, and immediately transfer the cookies to a wire wrack to cool (crucial). Be very careful to not break the cookies as they will be very soft. The exterior will crisp just a bit as the cool, and they will be perfect.

Baked Apples

Baked apples are a rocky tradition in my household. For years we made them, but they had a rough track record. Maybe 60% of the time they were bad, really bad. I personally didn't care for them, and I kind of hoped the tradition would die a silent and painless death, leaving us to enjoy hot chocolate and clam chowder and eggs benedict and cherry chocolates and It's A Wonderful Life in peace. Mom even gave away the special apple baking dishes to a thrift store, hoping to seal the sad fate of the apples. Dad and the internet came to the rescue, however, and more apple baking dished magically showed up on our doorstep.

Determined to make them not gross this year, I kind of exerted a little "I have a cooking blog and I know what I'm talking about" attitude, thinking it would be met with some respect. I got none. Anyone who knows my family can imagine what happened next. Six type A personalities descended on the kitchen with yells of "Put a pie crust on it!" "Nobody wants raisins!" "Peel them!" "Ginger? What are you talking about?" It disintegrated into a contest of who could put an ingredient into the mix before someone else stopped them, but boy were the results good. Unfortunately, there was no recipe followed and no measurements made, so this is approximate. Sorry 'bout that.



Baked Apples

Ingredients

• Baking apples (we used Rome, but Macintosh work well, too)

for the apples

• A bowl of melted butter, to coat the apples
  
• A mixture of cinnamon and sugar, to taste, to coat the apples
• Raisins
• Nuts (we used almonds, but walnuts or pecans would probably be great, too)

for the topping

• A mixture of equal parts oats, brown sugar, flour, and butter, pulsed a few times in the food processor

for baking

• Orange zest and the juice of 1 orange
• A mixture of about 6 parts water to 1 part vanilla (a few tablespoons per individual baking dish, or just enough to coat the bottom of a large baking dish if you're doing them all together)

Peel and core the apples, then coat in the melted butter and cinnamon sugar. Place in individual baking dishes or all together in a large casserole. Stuff the open cores with the mixture of raisins and nuts.

Sprinkle the oat, sugar, flour mixture over each apple. Sprinkle a little orange zest and orange juice over each one. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the water/vanilla mixture in the bottom of each baker, or just enough to coat the bottom a the large baking dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake

I've been holding out on you guys. Sorry about that. A friend of mine sent over a link to me ages ago to a recipe for this cheesecake on SmittenKitchen, I made it, fell in love with it, and never even told you about it. Not only did that event on Deb's beautiful blog inspire my own food blogging and experimenting, but this cheesecake changed my life in a very literal way. I am a better person for the experience, and like the selfish monster I am, I didn't share it with you at all.

Now, when the big guns came out for Thanksgiving, I knew this one had to make a reappearance after its months in hiding. It takes a lot of work, but the depth of flavor you achieve by slowly caramelizing the sugar first is incredible. It's worth the effort.


Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 1 10-ounce box Chocolate Teddy Grahams (you really could use chocolate graham crackers if you wanted, but the Teddy's are so much more fun, plus they're a good source of calcium)
• 3/4 stick of butter, cut up
  
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
  
• pinch salt

For the filling:

• 1 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces high-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped up
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3 eight-ounce blocks of full-fat cream cheese, room temperature
  
• 4 eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Put the teddy grahams, butter, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor with the metal blade and pulse until the mixture is the consistency of coarse breadcrumbs. Press the crumbs onto the bottom and sides of a greased springform pan (this recipe makes enough crust to go all the way up the side: I like to take it past the top of the cake). Wrap the springform pan in at least 2 layers of wide aluminum foil.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a heavy saucepan, heat the sugar over medium heat until liquid and golden. Turn down heat to low and add the cream (it will crack, hiss, steam, and make all sorts of a delightfully sugary ruckus). Stir until the caramel is dissolved into the cream. Add the chocolate and sour cream, and stir until melted and even throughout.

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese for a few minutes until light (scraping down the sides as necessary). Reduce the speed to low and pour in the chocolate mixture; stir until incorporated.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for a few seconds in between each one.  Add the vanilla. Continue stirring until even.

Pour the filling into the prepared crust. Set the springform pan into a large roasting pan, and pour about 1.5 inches of water in the roasting pan surrounding the springform pan. Bake for about 1 hour 20 minutes, or until the middle of the cake is not quite set.

Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight or several hours to set. I have served it plain, or topped with caramel sauce, and both are great. Do whatever sparks your fancy.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

"Light and fluffy" doesn't even almost do this cheesecake justice. This stuff was light and fluffy, almost to a fault, but you couldn't fault it because it was just so good.

I have also taken on cheesecake as a personal challenge. You will notice in the picture that we are still suffering some cosmetic problems, however, I am determined to master these things soon. I will also offer a very strong word of advice: put as many layers of aluminum foil around it as you bake it as is prudent and possible. I have yet to bake one where water hasn't penetrated it somehow. I have no idea how, but soggy crusts really just aren't fun.


Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients
for the crust

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup pecans
• 1/4 cup crystallized ginger
• pinch salt
• 1/2 cup butter, cut into cubes
  

for the filling

• 3 8-ounce packages cream cheese
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 can pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 4 eggs

for the crust

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wrap a 9-inch springform pan in 3 layers of aluminum foil. In a food processor, place all the crust ingredients except the butter, and process until even crumbs throughout. Add the butter, and pulse until worked into the dough. Press the crumbs onto the bottom of the well-greased springform pan, and bake for about 25 minutes, until golden brown.

for the filling

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese until fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl if necessary. Adds the sugars, and cream them into the cream cheese. Add the pumpkin, cream, spices, and cornstarch and beat until even throughout. Scrape down the sides if necessary. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well in between.

Reduce the heat of the oven to 325 degrees. Pour the filling mixture into the crust in the springform pan, and plan in a large roasting pan filled with hot water. The water should come up to about 1 inch from the top of the springform pan. Bake for approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes, until the sides are firm and the center is somewhat jiggly.

Reridgerate in the springform pan serveral hours, or overnight to firm. Unlcok the pan and serve with freshly-whipped cream.

Caramel Apple Cheesecake

Wow. That's all I'm gonna' say. I was slightly blown away by this cake.

I'll be upfront with you, my expectations were astronomically low due to some serious cosmetic issues we were having, but inside there, it packed some serious awesomeness. It was like a great big slice of harvest, autumnal goodness right in your face.

This one is going to make an encore right quick, let me tell you.

I am, however, still not the best at making cheesecakes. They're kind of hard and temperamental. I have lately become a fan of the water-baking method (as described in this recipe), but beware--use AT LEAST two layers of aluminum foil. It is a sad, horrific day when you pull the cheesecake out of the oven, only to discover that water has leaked in and your crust is soggy. Sad experience has taught me this truth.



Caramel Apple Cheesecake

Ingredients

for the crust

• 12-15 honey graham crackers
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2-3 tablespoons honey

for the filling

• 2 1 tablespoon butter
  
• 2 gala apples
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3 8-ounce packages cream cheese
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoon apple juice
• t tablespoon vanilla
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup heavy cream

• 1 small jar caramel sauce

the crust
Preheat the oven to 350-degrees.

Place the graham crackers, butter (sliced into pieces), cinnamon, and honey in a food processor and pulse several times until the consistency of coarse breadcrumbs. Pour the crumbs into a well-greased 9-inch spring-form pan, and gently press along the bottom and up the sides as high as you can go. Wrap the bottom and sides of the pan in 2 or more water-tight layers of aluminum foil. Bake for about 10 minutes, then remove and set aside. Leave the oven on.


the filling
Peel, core, and thinly slice the apples. Melt the butter in a large, flat-bottomed skillet over medium heat, and toss in the apple slices and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. Saute until soft and slightly browned. Drain the juices, and let cool.

In a stand mixer or in a large bowl with hand beaters, whip the cream cheese for a few minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the sugars and cream well. Add the apple juice, vanilla, and cinnamon and continue beating on medium-low. While still beating, add one egg at a time, waiting until thoroughly mixed to add the next. Finally, add the sour cream and heavy cream, and fold in (or beat on lowest speed).

Pour in about half of the cream cheese mixture over the crust, then layer the apples over. Leave a little space between them and at the edge so the cake can fully form around them. Reserve a few slices to garnish the top. Pour the rest of the cream cheese mixture over, then form a little pattern or something on top if you're looking for presentation points.

Place the pan in a large roasting pan, and pour boiling water into the pan, so the water comes about half-way up the spring-form pan. This will help to reduce cracking and improve the consistency of the cake. Bake for about 1.5 hours at 350 degrees.

Pull the cake out of the oven, remove the foil, and regridgerate, still in the pan, overnight (or at least 6 hours). It needs this time to thicken and solidify, so really, don't skimp on it.

Before serving, pour the caramel sauce over the cake.

Baked Egg Rolls

So, I kind of have this moral aversion to deep-frying things. Although there is a very soft place in my heart for onion rings, sweet potato fries, coconut shrimp, thick french fries with the peels still on them, and Chick-Fil-A, I will probably never in the the entirety of my life ever deep fry anything at home. The first time I walked through a Krispy Kreme donut store where they have the big windows where you can see the gallons of boiling oil in which the fry those things . . . ughh, it kind of grossed me out a lot. I also envision the process being really messy. Maybe I'm wrong, but it's a big hurdle for me. Maybe I'm terrified of getting killed by spilling boiling oil all over me (which apparantley is a real concern in deep frying a whole turkey for Thanksgiving). Well, whatever the reason, I am pretty much always looking for alternatives to dropping perfectly healthy vegetables and goodness in boiling fat. I just don't see how this can turn out well.

However, there is a concession which must happen. These eggrolls aren't going to fool anyone. No one is going to think they're the real thing. However, I wonder how much "real" there really is in the "real thing" sometimes, so who cares. The trick is to have something warm, tasty, and good that you can pick up with your hand and will stay intact the whole time. These things deliver on all of those fronts. Good luck.


Baked Egg Rolls
enough for a crowd

Ingredients

• 2 large, chopped garlic cloves, minced
  
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped (white and green parts separated)
  
• 1 pound lean ground pork
• 1 head savoy cabbage, chopped into thin strips
  
• 4 large carrots, shredded
• 1 can bamboo shoots, diced
• 1.5 inches fresh giner root, grated
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 3-4 tablespoons soy sauce
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 packages (40) egg roll wrappers
  

Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a a wok or skillet. Toss in the garlic and the white part of the onions. Sautee a few minutes. Add the pork and cook until brown.

In a bowl, combine the pork mixture, cabbage, green parts of the onions, bamboo shoots, carrot shavings, and ginger. Mix well. Pour the oil and soy sauce over, coating well.

Take an eggroll wrapper, wet one surface lightly with a little water, and place a heap of the mixture in the middle. There's a little bit of an art to getting the right amount in there, so experiment. Fold over one corner, then the two sides, then tightly roll to the last corner. Press on the seams to make sure they're in place. Repeat with the remaining wrappers.

Spread the eggrolls out on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes. Serve with sweet-chili sauce, sweet and sour sauce, or something similar.

Baked Chocolate Tart

This recipe came from a good friend and old roommate who was kind of well-known for this chocolaty baby. I have kind of stolen it from him and proceeded to make it a bagillion times since I moved, and I love it.

I believe the recipes originally come from Jamie Oliver, the young, hip, British punk-star chef. You'll notice that he gives some of the measurements in weights rather than in cups. This made me a little angry at first, and I tried to do all sorts of weird conversions to figure out how much flour they were actually asking for. After a time or two, I just sucked it up and got a scale. It really is easier, and you get much better results when you use a precise amount. Don't be intimidated, and if you don't have a kitchen scale, just call me and you can borrow mine (I have two).


Ingredients
for the crust (makes 2 crusts)

• 1 cup (2 sticks) plus 2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  
• 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
• a pinch of salt
• just over 1 pound of flour (about 3 3/4 - 4 cups)
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup very cold milk

for the chocolate tart

• 5 ounces unsalted butter
• 5 1/2 ounces semisweet chocolate
• 8 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• pinch salt
• 4 eggs
• 7 ounces white sugar
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 3 heaping tablespoons sour cream

for the shell (must be done in advance)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. (I do this in a food processor, but you can do it with hand beaters or a pastry cutter if you want, although I can't imagine why you would want to). Cream together the butter, sugar, and salt. Then pulse in the flour and egg yolks, but be careful to not overbeat, lest you run the risk of tough dough. The mixture should look like big breadcrumbs. Add the milk, and gently work it into the dough. It should be kind of a big ball at this point.

Break it in half and form two long log shapes. Wrap them separately in plastic wrap. Place one in your freezer for the next time you want to make a tart, and place one in the fridge for at least an hour to solidify and firm up. Cut the dough into thin slices (around 1/8" to 1/4''), and arrange them on a greased tart pan with a removable bottom. Pinch the borders between the slices to fill in any cracks. Bake for up to 15 minutes, until the crust has colored barely (you'll bake it again with the tart, so don't go overboard).

for the tart
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Melt the butter, chocolate, cocoa powder, and salt together in a pan placed over another pan of boiling water. Stir constantly, making sure it doesn't get too hot. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs and sugar, then beat in the syrup and sour cream. Stir in the chocolate, mixing well.

Pour the chocolate into the tart pan, then bake it for 40 to 45 minutes. It will puff up quite a bit, which is kind of normal, so don't panic. It will crack and settle when it cools.

I like to serve with a sauce made of raspberries and a little sugar with fresh whipped cream.

Herb Roasted Red Potatoes

Roasted potatoes are a standard that pretty much anyone should have in his or her repertoire, and I have been really happy with this particular version. It's quite versatile, and I've been able to serve it with all sorts of different dishes, just by adjusting the herbs and additional vegetables you put in. You can use just one herb or a combination of many. Or if you are a potato purist, you can do it with just the potatoes themselves.



Herb Roasted Red Potatoes

Ingredients

• 3 lbs red potatoes (baby or regular will work)
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 tablespoons chopped, fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, sage, oregano, parsley)

Optional:

• 1 red or green bell pepper, chopped
• 1/3 red onion, or 1 scallion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
• A few strips of crispy bacon
  

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cut the potatoes into bite-sized pieces; this usually means cutting the baby potatoes in half, or full-sized reds in fourths or sixths.

Place in a roasting pan with any additional vegetables, and drizzle several good glugs of olive oil over top, then toss until everything is nicely coated. (If adding mustard or garlic, whisk them in a bowl with the olive oil in advance, then pour over the potatoes).

Even out the potatoes into a single layer. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and the fresh herbs. Place in the oven for 40 - 50 minutes, until potatoes are crispy on the outside, but tender inside when pierced with a fork. If they appear to be getting too done on one side, you can flip them about halfway through cooking.

Simple Peach Tart

This one is modified from a recipe from one of my all-time favorites, Ina Garten. Her "Rustic Apple Crostata" looked amazing, and not that difficult, but I had some fresh summer peaches I really wanted to showcase. The result was a surprisingly easy dish with a clean, unadorned summer flavor. Its kind of lumpy, homely appearance has an endearing charm to it, and it pairs perfectly with homemade vanilla ice cream for a perfect summer dessert.


Simple Peach Tart

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, cut up
• 1/4 cup very cold water

For the filling and topping:

• 1 1/2 pound fresh peaches, cut into wedges, skins attached
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• pinch salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold, unsalted butter, cut up

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

For the crust: in the bowl of a food processor with the metal blade, pulse together the flour, sugar, and salt until well mixed. Add the pieces of butter, and pulse until the butter is diced up and mixed with the flour, but still crumb-like. While still pulsing, add the cold water in a thin, steady stream. Keep pulsing until the dough is even throughout, but not yet smooth.

Roll the dough out on a oiled and floured cookie sheet or pizza pan to a circle about as large as a pie tin (make sure the dough isn't so thin that it will tear easily). Place the sliced peaches in the center of the dough, spreading them out but maintaining at least a 1 inch border around the edge.

For the filling/topping: back in the food processor, pulse the flour, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together until mixed. Add the rest of the butter and pulse until crumb-like. Sprinkle the mixture over the peaches, then fold over the edges of the crust onto the peaches.

Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, until the crust is golden and the topping is browned. Serve with ice cream.

Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberry shortcake. Everyone's had it a bagillion times, but the name itself begs the obvious question: what really is a shortcake? I mean, don't get me wrong; there's usually always cake involved, but I'm pretty sure that somewhere we've migrated away from what strawberry shortcake's founding fathers had envisioned.

I've had unnatural-looking strawberry gloop on top of angel food cake a whole bunch, and sometimes even on just straight-from-the-box yellow cake. As quick and easy as these alternatives are, they don't really satiate that part of my childhood that remembers made-from-scratch, flaky, slightly sweet drop biscuits with strawberry sauce and real whipped cream (Mom, with all her ultra-healthy ways, always had a soft spot for real whipped cream).

The last time I saw Mom, we sat down and pulled out that old shortcake recipe from where it had been hiding, and I threw in a few little twists to the strawberry sauce that I got from Bon Appétit magazine. Unfortunately, this was such an impromptu event that upon realizing that there was no whipping cream available, we opted to just use the stuff from the can. I would recommend against it, except in emergency dessert situations.


Strawberry Shortcake

Ingredients

Shortcake biscuits

• 2 Cups flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 1 beaten egg
• 2/3 cup milk

Strawberry Filling

• 2 quarts fresh strawberries
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon orange zest
• splash lemon juice

• Whipped cream to top
  

Biscuits



Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Cut the butter into the sugar, flour, baking powder with a food processor with the plastic dough blade (you could do this by hand, but it's such a chore) until the mixture looks like meal or fine crumbs. Transfer to another bowl and add the egg and milk, stirring until just mixed. Drop heaping spoonfuls of the dough onto a greased cookie sheet (enough to make 8 biscuits) and bake for about 10 minutes until the tips and ridges turn golden brown. Don't overcook or it becomes too hard and not dessert-like.

Strawberry Filling

Cut the strawberries into slices of fourths. Heat a little oil or butter in a large saucepan and sauté the strawberries until slightly soft. Add the sugar, cinnamon, orange zest, and lemon juice and stir until the sugar is dissolved in the juice. You really don't want this to be too runny, but it should thicken as it cools.

Cut the biscuits in half, and thickly layer the strawberries and whipped cream on the bottom half. Place the top on and serve. There you have it: childhood summer memories on a plate.

Marti's Not-so Secret Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

So everyone has those tried and true family recipes, right? So, being the intense investigative culinary reporters that we are, we've gone after the best of them. I think we struck gold on this one. We'll have to apologize to Marti's mom for putting it on the internet. Sorry, Mom.

I am usually up for some experimentation, but having attempted several variations on this one, I suggest against it. I never quite got the same consistency. This is just one of those time honored standards to keep in the repertoire.



Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup shortening
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 cups flour
• 10 ounces chocolate chips (almost a full bag)
• 2 cups oats (optional)
• 1 cup nuts (optional)

Preheat the oven the 350 degrees. Cream the shortening with the sugar thoroughly. I use a Kitchenaid Artisan mixer, but Marti, the matriarch of this recipe, prefers a Bosch. We won't go there in this recipe, but that rivalry may be expounded upon later.

Add the eggs one at a time to the creamed sugar mixture, and beat thoroughly until very smooth. Add the vanilla, salt, and baking soda. Once completely mixed, slowly add the flour, scraping the sides of the bowl if necessary. If you can pick up the dough without it being too sticky, it's the right consistency. If it's still sticky, add a little more flour.

Once the dough forms, slowly mix in the chocolate chips (and oats or nuts, if using). Form small balls of dough and place on a thoroughly greased cookie sheet. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, until the tops just BARELY turn golden brown. Do not overcook, or this cookie baking exercise will end sorrowfully in a pool of tears.

Warm Chocolate Melting Cake

The very name "warm chocolate melting cake" fulfills my inner yearnings. My entire extended family went a cruise a few years ago, and this dessert was on the menu every night. I cannot tell you how many of these amazing mounds of molten chocolatey goodness my family ate that week. We ordered two per person, or got one in addition to other desserts. It kind of became an addiction, and we would sheepishly try to find ways to hide the fact that we were eating so many.

"But I don't want dessert!" "Order a warm, chocolate melting cake anyway, and then sneak it to me. I've already had two tonight!"

Somewhere in my mind, I had labeled this as one of those "too good to be humanly possible to make at home" recipes, and I'll be honest, there are some very complex recipes out there.
I found this very simple one from a fellow food blogger, twisted it around just a little bit, and here it is, presented for your enjoyment. These are quite rich, so don't make them too big. I like to tone them down a little by serving them with fresh fruit and a big scoop of homemade ice cream.


Warm Chocolate Melting Cake

Ingredients

• 4 1/2 ounces dark / semisweet chocolate
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• 2 whole eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons flour

Out of the ordinary equipment

• Individual ramekins, or little souffle dishes

Melt the chocolate and cream together in a double boiler until very smooth, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and let cool somewhat.

In another bowl, beat the eggs, egg yolk, sugar, salt, and vanilla until very frothy and light. Gently stir in the chocolate mixture, and mix until even and smooth. Don't overwork the batter: you need to keep it light and fluffy.

Gently sift the flour over the top of the mixture (you really don't want it to be clumpy at all), and stir in. Pour the batter into 6 well-greased and floured ramekins (if you're going to get them out at the end, it's crucial that they don't stick, so grease well).

Place the ramekins on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes. This is tricky stuff: you want the outsides to be cooked and cake-like, but the insides still molten and gooey. Watch carefully. A finished cake shouldn't jiggle much in the center.

You can either serve them in the ramekins, or without the ramekins. If you're going to get them out, let them sit for a minute or two, then (carefully) place serving dishes upside-down on top of the ramekins and invert. This is why they must be greased well: sticking = dessert disaster.

Serve with fresh fruit, whipped cream, or ice cream.

Cranberry-Pear Tart with Macadamia Phyllo Crust

So for Thanksgiving this last year, my family had an iron-chef challenge. I was assigned cranberries, and I decided early on to bring my 'A' game. After 2 months of experimentation, brainstorming, and tempting intermediates (cranberry-brie wontons being the most promising), I decided on this amazing entry.

It's a combination of two different recipes--one from the Whole Foods website and one from the back of a box of Athens Phyllo dough--with a lot of variations.

Now the important questions, did I win the iron chef challenge? In all technicality, no, I came in second; however, it was discovered after the fact that the winner (my sister's fiance, with Pumpkin Cheesecake Cupcakes) used cake mix, and thus, I feel should be disqualified.


Cranberry-Pear Tart with Macadamia Phyllo Crust

The Crust:

• One half-box (20 sheets) frozen phyllo dough (paper-thin sheets of dough for Greek pastries; usually in grocery store frozen foods with the puff pastry, pie crusts, etc.)
• One half-cup macadamia nuts, finely chopped or ground
  
• 1 stick melted butter

The Filling

• 4 bosc pears
• Several tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 12-oz bag of fresh cranberries
• 1 or 2 spoonfuls of raspberry jam
  

Out-of-the-ordinary equipment

• Scissors
• Tart/quiche pan with a removable bottom (I use an 11-inch pan)
• Brush or something to spread melted butter
  

NOTE: the phyllo dough is really temperamental and will dry out/crack if you're not careful. Keep it covered when not using.

Using the bottom of the tart pan as a pattern, cut a large circle out of 20 sheets of the phyllo dough (usually a package has two sleeves of dough, each with 20 sheets). Before using each sheet, brush it with melted butter. Layer the sheets in the tart pan, making sure to cover the sides of the pan, also. In between every few layers, sprinkle some of macadamia nuts (being sure to leave some for the final topping). Don't let the crust come up much past the edge of the pan: it'll just burn in the oven.

Peel and slice the pears into 1/3 - 1/2 inch wedges. Melt enough butter to cover the bottom of a pan, and saute the pears till slightly translucent at the thin parts and slightly browned. You'll probably need to do it in 2-3 batches. Retain as much of the liquid as you can in the pan. After you're finished with the pears, add the cranberries to the pear juice / butter in the same pan. Check over the cranberries because sometimes they still have stems attached. If you need to add a little more butter, go ahead. This is Thanksgiving, you can splurge a little. Cook until the cranberries start to pop and break open. Add up to 1/4 cup sugar to taste (I don't really like it super-sweet). Add the raspberry jam, and mix well. It should be pretty gloopy at this stage.

Pour the cranberry gloop into the phyllo crust, and then arrange the pear slices on top making it presentable: this is a competition, after all. Sprinkle the top with the leftover ground macadamia nuts. If you want some presentation points, put 2-3 whole cranberries and a whole macadamia nut in the center of the tart on top. The heat of the oven with brown the nuts and cause the cranberry to pop a little, making a cool little garnish.

Bake the tart at 350-degrees for 15-20 minutes. Watch carefully, though, because the phyllo can burn easily; watch the edges of the crust, and if they're getting dark, you tart's probably about done.