A Bitchin' Kitchen

Chocolate Peanut Butter Lava Cake for One

2012-02-15T00:00:00.003-05:00

Posted by: Maggie

Sometimes, you need hot, decadent, melty chocolate quickly.

Maybe you don't want to wait for butter to soften. Maybe you don't want to drag out your mixer, or dirty a lot of bowls. Maybe you simply don't want leftovers staring you in the face.

This is a recipe for when you're feeling impatient or lazy, but can't quell your chocolate cravings with a handful of chocolate chips, or that random chocolate Snack-Pak that's been hiding in your fridge and never seems to expire.

This takes 5 minutes to mix together, and 10-15 minutes to bake, depending on your oven. You can't tell from this photo, but when you cut into this, thick, fudgy, chocolately "lava" slowly pours out. Make it tonight!

Here's what you'll need:

Non-stick baking spray
Unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 large egg
4 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon peanut butter (or 1 tablespoon bourbon if you don't want PB!)
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon flour
Powdered sugar and berries for garnish, if desired

Place a baking sheet in the oven, and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a ramekin with baking spray, and dust with cocoa powder. Set aside.

Place butter and chocolate chips in a microwave safe dish, and nuke in 15-second increments, stirring in between, until melted. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg, sugar, and peanut butter until thoroughly combined. Whisk in chocolate mixture until incorporated. Lastly, mix in salt and flour.

Pour batter into ramekin, and place on the baking sheet in the oven. Bake for 10-15 minutes. You will know it's done when the top looks dry, but the cake still jiggles. Let cool for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edge to loosen. Carefully invert onto a plate, and garnish with powdered sugar and berries, if desired. Eat immediately!

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Source: adapted from Joy the Baker via Single Minded Women

Shirley Temple Cupcakes

2012-02-13T00:00:00.000-05:00

Posted by: Annie

Growing up, my sisters and I were not really allowed to have soda. Soda was reserved for "special occasions," like when we had birthday parties, or the occasional babysitter (poor babysitter.) So, on the occasions we were allowed to have it, it was a a BIG DEAL.

Typically the no soda rule applied to when we ate out in restaurants, but on the rare occasion we were given the "go," I can remember choosing a Shirley Temple. I think my main motivation behind ordering this classic drink was because I adored the maraschino cherries that came on top. When considering recipes to make for Valentine's Day, Shirley Temples came to mind - specifically, a recipe for Shirley Temple cupcakes that I had discovered on The Curvy Carrot a few months back.

These cupcakes are delicious and festive, and are the perfect addition to your Valentine's Day celebration.

What you will need:

For the Cupcakes:

1 1/2 cup flour, plus 1 tablespoon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup cherry 7-Up
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon maraschino cherry juice
Red food coloring

For the buttercream frosting:

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
Pinch salt
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon maraschino cherry juice

For garnish:

12 maraschino cherries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line a cupcake pan with paper liners.

In a large bowl, combine 1 1/2 cup flour, baking powder, and salt and whisk. Set aside.

Using a stand mixer and paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, approximately 2-3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, and combine well.

Lower the speed of the mixer and add half the flour mixture. Next, add half of the 7-Up and continue to alternate adding flour and 7-Up until completely added. Next add vanilla and almond extracts, and mix well.

Remove 3/4 cup of the batter and place in a small bowl. Add flour, cherry juice, and food coloring (to desired red color.) Distribute red batter to the bottom of each cupcake liner (approximately 2-3 teaspoons per liner.)

Top with remaining cupcake batter, being careful not to mix the two. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Be careful not to over-bake.

For the frosting, using a stand mixer, cream butter for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy. Reduce the speed to low and add salt, powdered sugar, extracts, lemon juice, and maraschino juice. Frost cupcakes, and top with a maraschino cherry.

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Source: The Curvy Carrot

Brie and Bacon Quiche

2012-02-09T01:23:00.000-05:00

Posted by: Maggie

Sooo, Valentine's Day is next Tuesday, as I'm sure you're all aware.

I totally neglected coming up with a Valentine's themed dessert to share with you, and definitely won't have time to do so in the next 5 days.

May I offer you a quiche instead? Eggs, cream, bacon, and copious amounts of cheese are romantic, right?

If you disagree, may I suggest making these red velvet cupcakes instead? Perhaps some mini-raspberry swirl cheesecakes? Maybe some chocolate cherry cookies? All thoroughly delicious options.

If you're not here for a Valentine's Day treat, let's move along and talk about this quiche. I bookmarked this recipe last spring, and finally got around to making it last week. Hellooooo, best quiche ever. I know quiche has a reputation as chick food for some reason, but Jeff loved this. He mumbled something through bites about calling it meat and egg pie instead, so if you're serving this to anti-quiche men, feel free to change the name.

Here's what you'll need:

1 frozen deep-dish pie crust, pre-baked if instructed (I didn't pre-bake mine)
4 ounces Brie, rind removed if desired, cubed
4 ounces Swiss cheese, diced
10 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
6 large eggs
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 dash each nutmeg, salt, and pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the pie crust on a small baking sheet. Evenly place cheeses in the bottom of the pie crust. Layer crumbled bacon on the top. Beat the remaining ingredients in a large bowl, and pour into the pie crust. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until a pick comes out clean. Cool for 20 minutes before serving.

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Source: Tasty Kitchen

Spiced Buttermilk Muffins

2012-02-06T00:01:00.004-05:00

Posted by: Maggie

I don't know about you guys, but I waste a metric crap-ton of buttermilk. I buy it constantly for baking muffins, quick breads, cupcakes, etcetera, but never manage to use up a full container before its expiration. I had a nearly full carton of it left in my fridge after making these pancakes for Jeff and I last weekend. I assumed it would go to waste like it always does, but as luck would have it, Kristina posted an amazing looking recipe for Spiced Buttermilk Muffins and rescued my buttermilk from its garbage can fate.

There's just one problem...I made these in an attempt to use leftover buttermilk, but now I'm going to buy MORE buttermilk, specifically to make these moist, flavorful, and delicious muffins again and again. Sigh. It's a vicious cycle.

Here's what you'll need for 16-18 muffins:

For the muffins:

1 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon buttermilk

For the streusel topping:

1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
1 heaping teaspoon ground allspice

Combine the ingredients for the streusel topping in a bowl, and set aside.

Line muffin tins with paper liners, and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, allspice, and cinnamon. Alternate adding dry ingredients and buttermilk to the creamed butter mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, beating slowly until just combined.

Fill prepared muffin cups three-quarters of the way full with batter. Top with streusel, and bake immediately (so the topping doesn't sink.) Bake for 18-21 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in the muffin tins, and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

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Source: My Life as a Mrs., who adapted these from Mimi's Cafe

Super Bowl Recipe Roundup!

2012-02-03T00:01:00.001-05:00

Posted by: Maggie

Hurray! The Super Bowl is this Sunday, which means it's the end of football 'til the fall, which also means that I get the undivided attention of my boyfriend again. I have lots of fun activities planned to fill our now empty Sundays, such as, hand holding, meaningful talks about our feelings, and long walks on short piers.

Errr, not that we really spent Sundays during football season together anyway. He usually hauls ass out of here at noon on Sundays to watch football on his comically oversized television back at his place. And we probably won't be spending Sundays together even now that football is over, because there's surely some other sport that he'll be watching, like hockey, or synchronized swimming, or badminton.

Oh well. I can't hate on football too much since like I said before, the Super Bowl is a day to watch funny commercials and eat good food. Therefore, I wanted to give you a list of some snacks, dips, and football friendly food we've posted in the past that would be perfect for game day!

Baba Ghanoush (<--Reminds me of a random reference in one of my fave movies, see 2:49)
Beef and Bean Chili
Chipotle Chicken Drumsticks
Fried Mozzarella Sticks
Hummus
Onion Dip
Pepperoni Pizza Dip
Spicy Roasted Chicken Wings
Spinach Dip (Cold)
Spinach Dip (Hot) (<--My version of heaven involves a spinach dip pond, and a canoe made from a baguette)
Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Sweet Potato Chips
Taco Dip
Warm Blue Cheese and Bacon Dip (<--Worst food photo EVER, but deeeeelicious)

What are you planning on making for the Super Bowl? Share in the comments; I always need new appetizer/dip/snack ideas!

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Swirl Brownies

2012-02-02T03:32:00.001-05:00

Posted by: Maggie

While I never post a recipe on here that I don't absolutely love, most of the baked goods I share aren't made with my own personal tastes in mind. Jeff doesn't like my favorite dessert combination of peanut butter and chocolate, and since I typically pawn off my desserts on him so I'm not tempted to eat them all, lots of the baked goods that I post are things I know he'll love.

If this blog was strictly about Maggie-friendly desserts, it wouldn't be an actual blog - it would just be a live streaming webcast of me face-planting into a bowl of peanut butter frosting and violently exploding all over my apartment a la Mr. Creosote. (<--Don't click there if you're about to eat, or just finished eating. You've been warned. If you know who Mr. Creosote is without clicking, consider yourself my new best friend.)

This is the first dessert recipe in awhile that I made specifically for me. I love and adore peanut butter, want to have a civil union with cheesecake, and would happily make brownies my prison bitch. A recipe combining my three twisted desires clearly needed to be made.

These do not disappoint. In fact, I don't ever want another dessert again. I'll stick a candle in this as my birthday cake in a few months. When I get married? I want my husband to feed me a big 'ole slab of this during the reception. Next time I make them, I might add peanut butter chips to the brownie portion. If it's possible to improve these, that would be the way.

Please go make these now. Thanks.

Here's what you'll need:

For the brownies:

14 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
6 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour

For the peanut butter cheesecake swirl:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
6 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13 metal baking pan with foil, and spray with cooking spray. Set aside.

Combine the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl, and microwave on 50 percent power, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted. This takes about 3 minutes in my microwave.

In a large mixer bowl, whisk together cocoa powder and sugar. With a mixer on medium speed, beat in melted chocolate mixture. Beat in cream cheese until fully incorporated. Add in eggs, one at a time, making sure to beat thoroughly after each addition. Beat in vanilla and salt. Lower the mixer speed and add flour until just combined.

Pour the brownie batter into the prepared pan, and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.

Now, make the peanut butter cheesecake swirl. In a medium mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese, peanut butter, and sugar for 3 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla until fully incorporated.

Drop the peanut butter mixture over the brownie mixture in blobs, and gently swirl with a knife or a skewer. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until center is just set. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

I tested these at both room temperature and chilled, and preferred the cold ones!

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Source: Annie's Eats, who adapted them from Kitchenist

Onion Dip

2012-01-30T18:07:00.000-05:00

Posted by: Annie

Oh dip, how I could eat it for every meal. One of my favorite dips has always been French Onion, but I confess - I have always made it from those delicious little Lipton powder packs and mixed with a container of sour cream. This homemade version of onion dip is a delicious and easy replacement, and is a perfect option for any upcoming Super Bowl parties!!

What you will need:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups onions, diced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sour cream
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a large skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Add onions and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook approximately 20 minutes until caramelized. Remove from heat, and allow onions to cool completely. In a large bowl, combine sour cream, mayonnaise, garlic powder, pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix in cooled onions. Chill for at least one hour for best flavor.

Serve with your favorite pita chips, pretzels, or veggies!

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Source: Alton Brown

Goat Cheese and Prosciutto Pizza with Fig Jam and Arugula

2012-01-26T00:35:00.000-05:00

Posted by: Maggie

It just took me about 7 hours to write the name of this post, because I couldn't figure out how to properly stuff all the goodness of this pizza into the title.

Therefore, this is going to be a short post, with none of my usual rambling.

I will just leave you with this:

Goat cheese, good.
Jam, good.
Prosciutto, gooooood.

Here's what you'll need:

For the crust: (Makes a lot of dough, you'll use 1/4 of it for this recipe)

1 teaspoon active dry yeast
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

For the toppings:

Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
5-6 tablespoons fig jam or preserves (I found this in the fancy cheese section, not in the jam section)
2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
1 ounce prosciutto, torn (about 2 slices)
Kosher salt, to taste
1 handful of arugula (I have man hands, so let's call this one LARGE handful)

To make the crust, sprinkle the yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm (not lukewarm) water. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flour and salt. Turn the mixer on low speed, and slowly drizzle in the olive oil, until it is combined with the flour. Next, slowly pour in the yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined.

Coat a large mixing bowl with olive oil, and transfer the dough to the bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, and transfer to the fridge to rise for at least 24 hours.

When it's time to assemble your pizza, divide the dough into 4 equal portions, and stick 3 portions back in the fridge for another time. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees while you're at it. Rub a small baking sheet with olive oil. Stretch your dough out into an awkward hybrid of an oval/rectangle, and place it on the baking sheet. Lightly drizzle the dough with olive oil. Next, smear the fig preserves on, followed by the goat cheese, prosciutto, and a light sprinkling of kosher salt.

Bake in preheated oven to 10-12 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. Let stand for a few minutes before slicing, and top with arugula immediately before serving.

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Source: crust recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman, and toppings are from yours truly, but they really aren't a unique concept.

Pepperoni Pizza Dip

2012-01-24T00:01:00.000-05:00

Posted by: Maggie

Does anyone else out there only care about the Super Bowl for the commercials and the food? Good, me too. This year, I tried valiantly to get into football, only to lose interest 3 weeks into the season. You may remember that I even joined a fantasy football league, only to get fed up with my players' inability to run around for a few hours without injuring themselves. Lame.

I think one of the big reasons I've always wanted to like it is because some of my favorite movies and television shows involve football - The Blind Side, Remember the Titans, Varsity Blues, and Friday Night Lights to name a few. I've determined that if professional football was shot in slow motion and set to dramatic music I would be super into it. I love Hollywood-generated football. Just not the real kind.

I know the Super Bowl is still almost 2 weeks away, but I wanted to post this recipe far enough advance for you to include it on your game-day menu. This spinach dip recipe used to be my favorite appetizer on the blog until I made this recipe. It is absolutely delicious, and super quick to whip up.

Here's what you'll need:

12 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
Generous pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup pizza sauce
Pepperoni slices, halved (I didn't measure these, just eyeball how much you want)
3 scallions, green parts thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using a mixer, combine cream cheese with spices. Evenly spread mixture in the bottom of a pie plate, and top with half of the mozzarella. Top mozzarella with the pizza sauce, and then layer on the remaining mozzarella.

Top with pepperoni slices and scallions, and bake for 15-20 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes, and serve with toasted baguette slices or crackers.

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Source: Adapted from Salad in a Jar

Oreo Cheesecake Cookies

2012-01-20T16:12:00.000-05:00

Posted by: Annie

Isn't there some saying that every seven years your taste buds change? Maggie and my mom are constantly mystified/annoyed with me because in their opinion, the list of foods I eat and don't eat is constantly changing. Unfortunately, about two months ago my taste buds decided I didn't like cheesecake. What? It's not like I had even eaten cheesecake recently, it's just that the idea of cheesecake was grossing me out.

Now I can accept my taste buds fickleness to some less desirable foods, but cheesecake is a dessert I need to like. Well, these Oreo cheesecake cookies brought my love of cheesecake back to life. The cookie combination reminds me of a cookie and cream cheesecake, and I hope now that cheesecake will stay on my like list for a bit longer - at least until I eat all the cookies.

What you will need:

1 stick butter, at room temperature
3 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup mini-chocolate chips
1 cup Oreo crumbs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar on medium speed until creamy and smooth.

Mix in sugar and vanilla and beat on medium until combined.

Stir in flour until incorporated.

Using a rubber spatula, stir in chocolate chips.

Place Oreo crumbs in a small bowl. Roll the dough into 1.5 to 2 inch balls and coat in Oreo mixture.

Place on cookie sheet and bake 12-15 minutes. Cool cookies on baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Store cooled cookies in an airtight container.

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Source: Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

Homemade Poppyseed Bagels

2012-01-18T00:34:00.001-05:00

Posted by: Maggie

Betcha didn't know that food blogging can be a dangerous hobby.

It's true. On Monday, while attempting to photograph my bagels from above, I grossly overestimated my sense of balance, and fell when the brown chair you see below violently swiveled to the right the second I managed to stand up straight on it.

The scene of the accident:

Fortunately, my ego was bruised worse than my bottom, and I carefully clambered back onto the chair and got my money shot. In the future though, I plan to invest in a stepladder before attempting any more overhead food photography. Or, perhaps I'll start wearing my bike helmet when taking photos that necessitate standing on my brown chair. Maybe I'll get one of those "I've fallen and I can't get up" medical alert devices for good measure. I mean, I may be 27, not 87, but I live alone, and have klutz tendencies. It just makes good sense.

Here's what you'll need for 5 large bagels:

3 1/2 cups bread flour, plus a bit more if necessary
4 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups warm water
Vegetable oil, for greasing
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar (not packed)
Cornmeal, for sprinkling
Poppyseeds

In a mixer bowl, combine the bread flour, instant yeast, granulated sugar, and kosher salt. Add the warm water, and beat with the paddle attachment, and switch to the dough hook when the mixture comes together. Knead for 5 minutes (using the dough hook,) adding in small amounts of additional flour if the dough seems too wet.

Transfer the dough to a large, greased bowl. Cover the bowl with a clean, damp tea towel, and allow it to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

30 minutes into the dough's rise, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Put a large pot of water on to boil. Sprinkle a large baking sheet generously with cornmeal, and lightly grease another.

When the dough has risen, deflate it, and divide into 5 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, poke your thumb through the center, and form into a bagel shape. Rest the bagels on the greased baking sheet for 10 minutes.

Your water should now be boiling. Add the dark brown sugar, let dissolve, and return to a boil. Drop 2 of the bagels into the boiling water. Allow to simmer for 1 minute, then flip them over and simmer for 1 more minute. Remove with a slotted spoon, return to the oiled baking sheet, and repeat with the 3 remaining bagels.

Transfer the bagels to the cornmeal sprinkled baking sheet. Sprinkle on poppyseeds. Bake for 25-35 minutes, until golden brown.

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Source: Adapted from "Make the Bread, Buy the Butter" by Jennifer Reese

Chocolate Chip Graham Cracker Cookies

2012-01-16T03:01:00.001-05:00

Posted by: Annie

You can never have too many versions of chocolate chip cookies! My kitchen is finally starting to come together, and these are the first cookies I have made in my new house - AND, the first thing I made using my brand new KitchenAid mixer :)

These cookies combine the flavors of graham crackers, dark chocolate, and peanut butter, and fill your house with one of the most delicious smells ever.

What you will need:

1 1/2 sticks butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup peanut butter M&Ms
2 cups dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, salt, and baking soda. Slowly add the flour mixture into the butter mixture and beat on medium-low speed until well combined. Finally, fold in M&Ms and chocolate chips.

Using a large cookie scoop, drop dough 2 inches apart on an un-greased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven, and cool on a wire rack.

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Source: All Recipes

Cranberry Orange Walnut Tea Bread with Sweet Orange Glaze

2012-01-11T01:00:00.000-05:00

Posted by: Maggie

Back in December, my Aunt Sharon sent me a message on Facebook recommending a cookbook called "A Passion for Baking," by Marcy Goldman. Aunt Sharon happens to be an excellent baker and cook, and I knew she wouldn't steer me wrong, so within minutes of reading her message, I clicked over to Amazon and snagged myself a gently used copy.

I strongly suggest that you all follow suit and go get a copy too, because this cookbook is awesome. It is full of just the kind of baked goods I like to make - delicious, simple, and non-pretentious. I decided to tackle the cranberry bread recipe first, partially because it was one of the recipes Aunt Sharon recommended, and partially because my friend/college roommate/former DC roommate, Rachel, recently asked if I had a good cranberry bread recipe. I didn't when she asked, but I totally do now!

Don't skip making the glaze for this bread - it really imparts a lot of moisture and flavor, and makes the bread extra delicious!

Here's what you'll need:

For the bread:

1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 small orange, zested
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure orange extract
1/2 cup orange juice (I used bottled, I didn't bother juicing the orange that I zested)
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 cups all-purpose flour + 1 teaspoon, divided
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cranberries, half of them coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

For the glaze:

1/3 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and generously spray a 9x5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray. When I say generously, I mean generously. My bread was a bitch to get out of the pan even though I thought I sprayed enough. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and place the loaf pan on it. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in orange zest, egg, and extracts. Beat in orange juice and buttermilk. In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Switch mixer speed to low, and beat in dry ingredients until just combined.

Gently toss cranberries with the remaining 1 teaspoon of flour (this prevents them from sinking to the bottom of the loaf) and fold them, and the walnuts into the batter.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 55-60 minutes, or until bread is lightly browned, and springs back when gently pressed. Cool for at least an hour on a wire rack before removing from the pan.

To make the glaze, combine the orange juice, lemon juice, and sugar in a small saucepan, and simmer for 5 minutes. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.

Using a skewer, poke small holes in the bread surface. Drizzle glaze over cooled bread, and let stand for 20 minutes before cutting.

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Source: Adapted from "A Passion for Baking" by Marcy Goldman

Peanut Butter Nutella Brownies

2012-01-09T17:57:00.000-05:00

Posted by: Annie

These brownies almost didn’t happen - but I am oh so glad they did. Last weekend, Scott and I moved into our first place together! Super exciting, super fun, but also SUPER exhausting. I designated Wednesday as my first free opportunity to bake and I set forth to make Peanut Butter & Nutella brownies. Well, the universe was certainly working against me.

First, I realized that I did not have baking soda (woes of moving into a new place - baking staples need to be replaced,) so I had to stop at the food store on my way home. I arrived home, put on How I Met Your Mother, began to bake and finally began to relax… and then I realized I did not have any eggs. I literally sat on the floor of my kitchen in defeat (or maybe because we don’t have a kitchen table yet) and briefly considered giving up on my brownies, but decided that it was a waste of perfectly good ingredients, so I bundled back up and went out to the store.

When I arrived at the store I ended up buying not only eggs, but American cheese and beer?? I took my eggs and impulse purchases home and finished mixing up the brownie batter, to only realize that I had greased a 9x13 pan, did not have my 8x8 pan and the recipe clearly was made for a smaller pan…

At this point I stomped around and was debating cooking my brownies in a sauce pan (just kidding - sorta,) and then realized that duh… I could just double my recipe.

So, many issues later, I give to you Peanut Butter Nutella Brownies!

What you will need:

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 stick of butter (melted)
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup nutella
1/4 cup peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Next, grease a 8x8 baking pan or line with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.

Next, in a large bowl combine melted butter and sugar. Stir in eggs individually, and then add vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients and chocolate chips.

In a small microwaveable bowl, melt Nutella and peanut butter (approximately thirty seconds) until runny. Fold into brownie batter.

Transfer batter to the prepared pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely before cutting.

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Source: Adapted from Food Fondness

Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup

2012-01-05T23:41:00.001-05:00

Posted by: Maggie

Let me tell you a story about a gal named Bethany.*

*Totally not her real name.

I used to work with Bethany, and while she was a decent person deep down, she drove me batshizz crazy. Pardon my salty language.

I could probably write a good thirty blog posts about things Bethany did that made me want to put her in a poorly constructed cardboard box and ship her to [redacted state that she desperately wanted to move back to,] but you don't come here for that kind of negativity. Instead, I'm just going to share one Bethany story.

Most people know that it's rude to comment negatively on the appearance of someone's food - particularly while they're eating it. Bethany was not most people. She was blissfully unaware of manners and social mores, and informed me one day that the homemade black bean soup I was enjoying for lunch looked like "runny cow poop." That, my friends, is a direct quote. She then proceeded to talk about cow poop for 5 minutes, while I attempted to tune her out by playing scenes from The Room in my head.

Anyway, the point of me sharing this story is to acknowledge that this soup, at best, looks like regurgitated baby food. I can say that because I made it. I encourage all of you to make it as well because it's spicy, healthy, and gosh-darn delicious, and that's what matters. However, if the Bethany in your life comes into your office while you're eating leftovers for lunch and tells you that it looks like you're eating the sludge from the bottom of a spray tan booth drain, I fully support your right to:

a) pour this soup in her hair
b) punch her in the ears
c) call her a whiny strumpet
d) all of the above

Just don't come crying to me when you're charged with assault.

What you'll need:

15 baby carrots, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 teaspoons minced garlic (about 4 cloves)
2 pounds sweet potatoes (about 2 large potatoes or 3 small ones,) peeled and cubed
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
2-4 chipotles in adobo, chopped
2-3 tablespoons adobo sauce, from can of chipotles in adobo
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Garnishes: sour cream or greek yogurt, pecans

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium low. Add the baby carrots, celery, and onion, and cook for 10 minutes (if they start to stick add in a tablespoon or two of water.) Add in the garlic and cook for 1 additional minute.

Add in the sweet potatoes, vegetable broth, chipotles, adobo sauce, and spices. Bring to a boil, then simmer with the lid on for 20-25 minutes, or until the potatoes are very tender. Remove the soup from heat, and using an immersion blender puree completely. You can probably use a regular blender for this too, but I think you're supposed to let it cool first to avoid a freak steam explosion.

Season to taste with lime juice, salt, and pepper. Garnish with sour cream and/or pecans, and serve. This soup tastes even better the day after making it!

P.S. Christmas present shout-outs! Thanks Emma for the immersion blender, and thanks Annie for the creme brûlée dishes that I repurposed as soup dishes for this photo!

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Source: Adapted from Homesick Texan

Chicken Gyros

2012-01-02T09:00:00.003-05:00

Posted by: Maggie

Happy New Year everyone!

I'm pretty sure if I posted a cookie or cupcake recipe today, on the day after 83%* of people vow to eat healthier, you'd all find out my address, break into my apartment, pin me down, and force feed me leafy greens and oatmeal. That's not to say that I don't like greens and oatmeal...I just don't want a bunch of angry health nuts assaulting me.

In the interest of not being a diet saboteur, I bring you this chicken gyro recipe. It's one of my favorite low-calorie dinners that doesn't taste low-calorie. If you want, you can make it healthier with whole wheat pita...I just couldn't do that. I've expressed how I feel about most whole wheat bread products before. I love whole wheat sandwich bread, but I just can't do whole wheat pita bread.

You will have a lot of leftover tzatziki sauce if you follow the recipe as written, but I like to have it on hand as a dip for baby carrots and pita triangles, so I make the full amount!

*I made up this statistic.

What you'll need:

For serving:

4 pitas or flatbreads, warmed for 20 seconds in the microwave between damp paper towels
Diced tomatoes
Diced red onion
Dried parsley

For the chicken:

2 teaspoons garlic, minced (about 4 cloves)
Juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 heaping tablespoons non-fat greek yogurt (I recommend Fage)
1 tablespoon dried oregano
A few shakes of salt and pepper
4 boneless, skinless, chicken breast halves

Combine all of the above ingredients except for the chicken in a dish, and whisk together to make a marinade. Add in chicken, and turn to coat. Cover, and place in the fridge for 1 hour to marinate.

Meanwhile, make the tzatziki sauce:

16 ounces non-fat Greek yogurt
1 cucumber, peeled, diced, and very finely diced
1 1/2 - 2 teaspoons minced garlic (3-4 cloves)
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
Salt, pepper, and fresh lemon juice to taste

Using a thick stack of paper towels, squeeze the diced cucumbers to remove as much water as possible. Repeat if necessary. In a medium bowl, combine cucumbers with all of the above ingredients. Cover, and place in the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

After the chicken is done marinating, place on a foil lined baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until it is cooked thoroughly and juices run clear. 99% of the time that I make chicken I use these. They are relatively small, cook evenly, and are done in 20 minutes flat. The ginormous breasts (heheh) that I often see at the store might need even longer. Make sure they're cooked to 165 degrees to be safe. (Can you tell I'm kind of neurotic about cooking chicken?)

After your chicken is thoroughly cooked, allow it to rest for a few minutes, and then slice it into strips.

Assemble gyros with chicken, tzatziki sauce, tomatoes, onions, and dried parsley, wrap in foil for ease of eating, and enjoy!

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Source: Adapted from Elly Says Opa

Sparkling Champagne Cupcakes

2011-12-30T14:39:00.002-05:00

Posted by: Maggie

Happy New Year's Eve-Eve everyone!

I've been wanting to make these cupcakes since seeing them on Heather's blog last December. I loooove champagne, and I love an opportunity to make a holiday themed cupcake even more.

If your New Year's resolution falls into the drink less booze/eat less junk category that so many resolutions do, I recommend making these pronto, while you still have the chance.

What you're looking at here is a vanilla cupcake spiked with champagne, a champagne flavored pastry creme center, and a champagne buttercream. Festive, right?

Here's what you'll need:

For the cupcakes:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup champagne (no need to use the good stuff here...my $4 bottle of Andre worked quite nicely)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line cupcake tins with 17 paper liners. Adjust oven rack to middle position.

Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, and beat well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a separate bowl, stir together sour cream and champagne.

With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture and the champagne mixture to the butter/egg mixture alternately, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.

Using level 1/4 cup measures, divide batter between prepared cupcake tins. Bake for 17-22 minutes, rotating cupcake tins halfway through baking time. Set aside to cool completely before filling and frosting.

For the pastry creme filling:

1/2 cup heavy cream, divided
1/2 cup champagne
2 tablespoons cornstarch
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 whole egg
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup of the heavy cream and the cornstarch. Set aside.

In a saucepan, combine the remaining 1/4 cup heavy cream, the champagne, and the sugar. Stir to combine, and bring to a boil over medium heat.

While waiting for the mixture to boil, beat the egg, and yolks into the heavy cream and cornstarch mixture.

When the champagne mixture is boiling, remove from the heat, and add 1/3 of it to the egg mixture, whisking constantly so the eggs don't cook. Return the champagne mixture to a boil, and add in the egg mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly.

Continue to whisk until the mixture thickens, and remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla, and continue to stir until the butter has melted completely.

Allow the mixture to cool for 15 minutes before filling cupcakes. Using a paring knife, or one of these handy dandy cupcake corers (I got mine from Target) cut out the center of the cupcake, and fill with cooled pastry creme. I spooned mine into a large ziploc bag, and snipped off the end to make this easier.

You will have leftover pastry creme. I'm sure you can figure out what to do with it! Allow the filling to cool completely before frosting the cupcakes.

For the frosting:

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon champagne
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Add 1 cup of champagne to a small saucepan. Simmer over medium-high heat, until it has reduced to 2 tablespoons (about 7-10 minutes, but keep an eye on it!) Transfer to a small bowl to cool completely.

In a large bowl, beat together butter and powdered sugar on medium speed until fluffy. Add in reduced champagne, and the remaining 1 tablespoon of champagne and beat until smooth.

Store cupcakes in the refrigerator, and bring to room temperature 15 minutes before serving.

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Source: Sprinkle Bakes

Peanut Butter and Fleur de Sel Brownies

2011-12-24T14:51:00.000-05:00

Posted by: Maggie

Merry Christmas Eve! I know everyone is basically done with their holiday baking at this point, but I couldn't resist squeezing in one more recipe.

I recently discovered an awesome store called Spice and Tea, which is barely a mile from where I live in Virginia. It's a tiny store with walls of spices, teas, and fancy salts, and I literally could've spent hours in there just staring. I'm still in shock that I've lived so close to it for years and had no idea it existed. I tweeted a picture from when I was there a couple weeks ago if you want to take a peek at the insane wall of spices.

Anyway, I bought a little bag of fleur de sel when I was there. I've been drooling over this recipe that Lindsay from Love and Olive Oil made last month, and decided that they'd be the first thing I baked with my fancy new salt. If you make these for someone who loves the sweet and salty combo, or the peanut butter and chocolate combo, they'll pretty much worship the ground you walk on.

I hope all of you who celebrate have a very Merry Christmas tomorrow!

Here's what you'll need:

For the brownies:

10 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

For the frosting:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar
3/4 teaspoon Fleur de Sel (or another flaky sea salt)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Butter an 8 inch square pan, and line with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides. Butter the parchment paper.

In a microwave safe bowl, combine the butter, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Microwave in 30 second increments on 50 percent power until the butter is just melted. Stir mixture until smooth.

Add the eggs to the cocoa mixture one at a time, stirring well after each to fully incorporate. Stir in vanilla extract. Lastly, mix in the flour, and stir about 40 times, or until just incorporated. Do not overmix! Spread the batter evenly into the pan, and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs attached. Cool on a rack.

To make the frosting, cream the butter and peanut butter. Slowly add the powdered sugar, and beat until combined. Spread the frosting on the cooled brownies, and sprinkle with sea salt. Cut into 16 squares.

In an effort to cut these neatly, I froze them until the frosting had slightly firmed up. I wiped off the knife in between cuts, and dipped it in hot water, and shook off the excess before making each slice.

I put half of these in the fridge, and left half at room temperature. I strongly preferred the cold ones!

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Source: adapted from Love and Olive Oil, originally from Not Without Salt

Taco Dip

2011-12-20T00:54:00.000-05:00

Posted by: Maggie

I took three years of high school Spanish, spanning from my freshman through junior year. Ten years after my final class, I'd guesstimate that I have a Spanish vocabulary of roughly 150 words. I can count to 100, pronounce and accurately describe most menu items at Tex-Mex restaurants, and know a handful of Spanish curse words. Before going to Peru back in June, I brushed up on my Spanish pleasantries, learned how to order my beverages sin hielo, and reminded myself that el baño and la biblioteca are two very different places, that should not under any circumstance be confused.

I really wish that I'd paid more attention back in high school Spanish, because as an adult I can finally understand the value of knowing a second language. As a teenager, the only thing I cared about in that class was the "fiesta" we got to have every semester. Our fiesta was really just a day off from learning, where everyone brought in junk food to pig out on for the whole 45-minute class. This dip was always my contribution to our fiesta, much to my poor mom's dismay. She got stuck making this dip for every single Spanish class party. A considerate kid would've signed their mother up for napkin duty. I volunteered her for $15 worth of dip and tortilla chips, roughly six times throughout high school. Sorry Mom!

Gone are the days of sharing this taco dip with 25 of my grody classmates. My mom doesn't make this dip for me anymore; I whip it up myself whenever Annie comes to town. She was here last weekend to go on our annual Christmas bar crawl, and we inhaled this on her first night here.

You can make this recipe more homemade if you desire, but I just use canned refried beans and packaged guacamole. My mom has always used chopped tomatoes as a topping, but the winter tomatoes where I live taste like old cotton balls soaked in V8 juice, so I opted for Rotel instead. It was a delicious substitution that I think I'll stick with the next time I make it.

What you'll need:

1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 envelope low-sodium taco seasoning
1 16-ounce can refried beans
1 7-ounce package of guacamole (about 14 tablespoons)
1 - 1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
3-5 scallions, washed, dried, and thinly sliced
1 small can sliced black olives, drained
1 10-ounce can Rotel diced tomatoes, drained well, and squeezed of excess water between a thick layer of paper towels (I used the lime juice/cilantro variety)

In a small bowl, mix sour cream, mayonnaise, and taco seasoning. Set aside. On a large plate, spread the refried beans into an even layer. Spread the guacamole on top of the beans, and then spread on the sour cream mixture. Top with cheese, scallions, olives, and Ro-tel.

Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

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Source: My lovely mom, with a couple changes by me!

Pear Spice Cake with Walnut Praline Topping

2011-12-19T00:01:00.000-05:00

Posted by: Maggie

This cake would be delightful for Christmas morning brunch.

Or, for Christmas Eve dessert.

Or perhaps as a snack for Santa in lieu of cookies?

It doesn't matter what your reason is for making this delicious, moist, lightly spiced cake. Just make it soon, and enjoy it fresh from the oven with a hot cup of coffee or cocoa.

I promise you won't regret it.

Here's what you'll need:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice
1 1/2 teaspoons grated nutmeg
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/4 cup peeled, cored, and diced pear (I used about 2 pears to get this amount, but it will depend on the size of your fruit)
1 cup walnuts, toasted, cooled, and finely chopped

Move the oven rack to the middle position, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a bundt pan.

In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer on medium-high to combine butter, sugar, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add egg yolks 1 at a time and beat well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Reduce mixer speed to low, and add in flour mixture and buttermilk alternately in batches, and beat well after each addition. Gently fold in pears and walnuts.

Clean the mixer beaters. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until they just hold stiff peaks. Fold whites into the batter gently, but thoroughly.

Transfer batter into the prepared pan, and smooth the top. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a wooden skewer comes out clean. Cool in pan, on a rack for 10 minutes, and then invert onto rack.

I topped my cake with the praline topping while it was still warm to help the glaze spread easily, but if you prefer, you can wait for the cake to cool completely.

To make the glaze:

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup whipping cream
1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped, toasted

Stir brown sugar, cream, and butter in a heavy, medium-sized saucepan over medium-high heat until smooth. Boil for 3 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the walnuts, and carefully pour over the warm cake.

P.S. Here's a photo of (almost) the whole cake. I didn't get a nice pic of the uncut cake because Jeff and I cut into it at night, and by the time I had daylight for photographing it the next day it wasn't so pretty :)

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Source: Adapted from Joy the Baker, originally from Gourmet Magazine

Soft Gingersnap Cookies with White Chocolate Chunks

2011-12-16T01:24:00.000-05:00

Posted by: Maggie

(Please read the following as if a Gingersnap Cookie is speaking in the first person. A Gingersnap Cookie with the smooth voice of Isaiah Mustafa. Yup. I promise not to post again while exhausted and/or after spending too much time on the You Tubes.)

Hello Readers.

Look at your cookie. Now back to me.
Now back at your cookie. Now back to me.
Sadly, it isn't me.
But if you go to the grocery store and buy some molasses and white chocolate it could taste like it's me.

Look down, back up, where are you?
You're in your kitchen,
making the cookies your cookies could taste like.

What's in your hand? Back at me.
I am, I'm a warm, soft, cookie with those two Christmas flavors that you love.
Look again, the Christmas flavors are now melting in your mouth.
Anything is possible when your cookie tastes like molasses and white chocolate, and not high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils.
I'm on a diabetic horse.

What you'll need:

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar, plus extra for coating cookie dough balls
1/2 cup molasses
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 large eggs
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Using an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until creamy. Add in the molasses, canola oil, vanilla extract, baking soda, salt, and spices, and beat until well combined. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. With the mixer on low, gradually add in the flour. Do not overmix. Stir in the white chocolate chips.

Using a cookie scoop, form the dough into balls and coat in the extra granulated sugar. Place on the prepared cookie sheet, two inches apart. Bake for 7-9 minutes. Remove from the oven, and allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Repeat with remaining dough. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

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Adapted from: Two Peas & Their Pod

Beef and Bean Chili

2011-12-13T18:32:00.000-05:00

Posted by: Maggie

I was browsing through our recipe index recently, and realized that Annie and I have been complete failures in providing recipes in certain food categories. There are recipes for cookies, cupcakes, and vegetarian food galore, but only FOUR beef recipes in our entire 2-year history of blogging.

As an ex-vegetarian who now loves bacon and juicy medium-rare steaks (especially if the latter is wrapped in the former,) this realization was simply unacceptable to me. I decided that a giant, meaty pot of chili was a necessity in my life, along with a batch of my favorite cornbread recipe.

I know I've mentioned on here before that I'm not crazy about most leftovers, and this is absolutely an exception. I sent Jeff home with a large portion of leftover chili, and still had enough to eat leftovers over rice, over pasta, over a baked potato, and over Fritos. Not all in one night of course. Eating that much chili in one night would be a bad decision for even the strongest of stomachs.

Here's what you'll need for about 3 quarts of chili:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium onions, chopped fine
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 tablespoons minced garlic (about 6 cloves)
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 pounds 85-percent lean ground beef
2 (15-ounce) cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with juice
1 (28-ounce) can tomato puree
Salt
Toppings: limes, cilantro, sliced jalapenos, diced avocado, shredded cheese, diced red onions, and sour cream or greek yogurt are all good choices!

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium until shimmering. Add the onions, red pepper, garlic, and spices (except salt) and cook, stirring occasionally until the veggies are soft and the spices are fragrant (about 7-10 minutes.) If the veggies and spices start to stick to the bottom of the pan add a small splash of water. Increase the heat to medium-high and add half of the ground beef, breaking up with a wooden spoon and cook until no longer pink (about 3-4 minutes.) Add the remaining beef, breaking up with a wooden spoon, and cook until no longer pink.

Add beans, tomatoes, tomato puree, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Simmer with the lid on for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Remove the lid, and simmer for 1 more hour, stirring occasionally. I actually ended up simmering my chili for about 3.5 hours total since I was waiting for my dinner guest to arrive. If chili starts sticking to the bottom of the pot you can add in a bit of water and continue to simmer, but you probably won't need it. My pot isn't fancy - it's a thin, stainless steel pot from Target and I had no sticking problems.

Adjust seasonings to taste, and serve!

Side note: The chili is super duper thick on the first day you make it, and will thicken more as leftovers. In the interest of full disclosure, I wanted to note that the photograph above was taken on day 3 of my chili's life.

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Source: slightly adapted from Cooks Illustrated

Monster Cookies

2011-12-12T00:01:00.000-05:00

Posted by: Maggie

So, two weeks ago I did something kind of weird.

I baked three dozen cookies and wrapped them up all purty...

...and then I mailed a dozen each to three complete strangers in Illinois, Texas, and Georgia.

Why, you ask? Well I was participating in the 1st Annual Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap! I was assigned Lori, Lindsay, and Alison, and they each received a dozen Monster Cookies home-baked by yours truly. I received delicious cookies from Susan (who has the cutest little pug who I wish was shipped to me with my cookies!), Jill, and Michelle. Thanks ladies!

Of course I kept a couple for myself. These things are too good to give them all away. Not only are they delicious, they're simple, and you can convince yourself that eating three in a row is okay because oats are healthy.

In my experience, there are monster cookies that are crunchy, and monster cookies that are chewy. These are the chewy variety, and will stay that way for several days. Not that they'll last that long.

Here's what you'll need:

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 cups peanut butter

4 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup Christmas M&Ms, plus additional for decoration

Position oven rack to the middle. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars with an electric mixer. Add in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add in vanilla extract and baking soda, and mix well. Mix in peanut butter until well blended. Dump in the oats, and mix until combined. Mix in chocolate chips and M&Ms with a rubber spatula. Chill dough in the refrigerator for at least 90 minutes before using.

Using a large cookie scoop, drop cookies onto parchment lined baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Press a few M&Ms on top of the cookies. Bake in the preheated oven for 11-13 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes:

- I do not recommend baking more than one sheet of cookies at once. It's important that these cook evenly!

- This recipe makes 19-20 very large cookies. If you need to double it (which I did) you'll probably need to do it in separate batches unless your bowls are ginormous. This makes a LOT of dough.

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Source: Adapted from Everyday Home Cook

Bourbon Truffles

2011-12-08T04:05:00.001-05:00

Posted by: Maggie

Can we all just agree that one fabulous thing about being an adult is the ability to eat candy with booze in it?

I assume you're all nodding your heads in consensus.

Does anyone remember those little liquor filled chocolate bottles that used to come out at Christmas parties back in the day? As a kid I remember resenting the fact that I couldn't partake. Not because I was interested in drinking at the ripe old age of ten, it was just because I really wanted the chocolate.

When I saw this recipe it reminded me of those tiny, boozy bottles, and I instantly wanted to make them.

I'll warn you that these are a little tricky to work with - prepare to be covered in chocolate up to your elbows during the rolling process. I promise that they're worth the hassle, and if you pack them up in a pretty box they'd be a perfect gift to bring along to a Christmas party instead of the typical bottle of wine!

Here's what you'll need:

For the filling:

1/4 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 ounces milk chocolate, chopped
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup bourbon
Dutch process cocoa powder for dusting

For the coating:

1 12-ounce bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
Topping of your choosing (I used sprinkles, finely chopped nuts or melted white chocolate would also be nice!)

To make the filling, heat butter and cream over medium-low heat in a medium saucepan. Stir until the butter completely melts, and the cream simmers. Remove mixture from the heat, and stir in the milk and semi-sweet chocolate. Stir until melted and smooth (you may need to briefly return the mixture to the heat to help the melting process.) Mix in the bourbon, and transfer mixture to a bowl.

Cover with plastic wrap, and freeze for 40 minutes.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Scoop the filling by tablespoonfuls and drop onto the baking sheet. Cover and freeze for 20-30 minutes, or until the filling is firm but still moldable.

Spread the cocoa powder on a plate. Remove the filling from the freezer, roll the chocolate mounds into balls, and then coat in cocoa powder. The filling may be difficult to work with at this point - I just formed the filling into balls as best as I could, and re-rolled them again AFTER dipping in the cocoa powder to completely smooth them out.

Return the truffles to the baking sheet, and freeze them while preparing the chocolate coating. I recommend dividing the chocolate and the shortening, and making the coating in two batches, so it stays smooth. Add the shortening to the chocolate chips, and melt according to package directions.

Re-roll the truffles to remove any loose cocoa, and dip in chocolate. The best way I've found to get a neat coating is to gently remove the chocolate ball from the coating with a fork, scrape the bottom of the fork on the side of the bowl to remove excess chocolate from the bottom, and gently nudge the truffle off the fork, onto a baking sheet with a second fork or knife. Work quickly with the filling so it doesn't melt in the hot chocolate coating. Immediately sprinkle with your chosen topping after coating each truffle.

Refrigerate uncovered for 1 hour, or until firm. For best taste, allow to sit out for about an hour before serving. Makes 18 truffles.

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Source: Williams-Sonoma

Chocolate Chip Cookie & Oreo Fudge Brownie Bar

2011-12-06T23:29:00.000-05:00

Posted by: Annie

While I was making these brownies, I couldn't help but be reminded of the SNL skit "Taco Town." The skit is a parody of a commercial for a chain taco restaurant, and advertises the most ridiculous taco ever. The taco ultimately ends up wrapped in a blueberry pancake and deep-fried. For your viewing pleasure (and so I don't seem like I'm totally crazy) I have included a link:

As tempting as it was, I did not roll these brownies in a pancake and deep fry them. But, these brownies, like the taco town tacos, are truly three great tastes all rolled into one. When you make these brownies you can't help but relate to the taco town commercial as you are pouring a layer of brownie batter on top of an entire package of double stuffed Oreos, that are sitting on a layer of chocolate chip cookie batter...you get what I mean.

When Scott walked in and saw these brownies, he immediately had to try them - despite the fact that they had only been out of the oven for like ten minutes. Needless to say, he was floored. He may have even been speechless - maybe because his mouth was full of hot brownie, but seriously they are amazing. I also went a little "taco town" on these brownies and put additional hot fudge sauce on top - so, so, worth it!

What you will need:

2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 package double stuffed Oreos
2 boxes of your favorite brownie mix - I chose Ghirardelli Double Chocolate
1/4 cup hot fudge

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Butter a 9x13 baking dish, then line with parchment paper and generously butter the paper.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars. Using an electric mixer, beat on medium speed for approximately four minutes. Add in the eggs and vanilla. Lower the speed, and gradually mix in the flour, until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread the cookie dough in the bottom of the prepared dish. Top the cookie dough with a layer of Oreos.

Next, prepare brownie mixes according to package directions. Mix in hot fudge sauce. Pour brownie batter over the cookie dough and Oreos, and spread evenly. Bake for 45 minutes. Let brownies cool completely before cutting. Serve with additional hot fudge topping if desired.

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Source: Brown Eyed Baker

Spicy Penne alla Vodka

2011-11-29T15:07:00.000-05:00

Posted by: Maggie

Congrats to Nicole/comment #2 for winning our Anthropologie apron giveaway! Nicole has been contacted and will receive her prize shortly. Thanks to all who entered!

Annie makes amazing penne alla vodka. I've been asking her to blog about it ever since we started A Bitchin' Kitchen, but she's oddly protective of the recipe and refuses. Generally I despise food that is not at its intended temperature - for example, I'd rather eat boogers than cold pizza or cold fried chicken, but I actually ate a bowl of cold penne alla vodka while visiting her in Philly last fall. It's just that stinkin' good.

Anyway, since Annie is keeping her recipe on lockdown, I was forced to find another version to satisfy me. I turned to The Curvy Carrot, since I enjoyed the Pasta Puttanesca recipe that I got from her site earlier this year so much. Fortunately, her penne alla vodka recipe was also perfect, and I loved that it contained a generous portion of red pepper flakes. The added spice just made one of my favorite pasta dishes even better!

Here's what you'll need:

1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/3 cup vodka
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 pound penne pasta (I recommend making the whole box if you like your pasta less saucy)
Fresh basil leaves, chiffonaded

Set up a large pot of water to boil while you start the sauce.

Divide your can of tomatoes into two halves. Place one half in a food processor, and puree until smooth. Chop the remaining tomatoes into small pieces, and set aside. Combine your pureed tomatoes, and chopped tomatoes to equal 2 cups. Add the reserved juice to get to a full 2 cups if necessary.

In a large, deep skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and tomato paste and cook for about 3 minutes, or until onion is translucent. Add in minced garlic and red pepper flakes, and cook for 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and salt.

Remove pan from heat, and add vodka. Return the pan to the heat, and simmer for 8-10 minutes.

While the sauce is simmering, cook your pasta. At this point your water should be boiling. Add in pasta, and cook according to package directions.

After sauce has cooked for 8-10 minutes and reduced slightly, stir in the cream, and cook until heated through. Add the cooked and drained penne to the sauce, and stir to combine. Add additional salt to taste, and top with fresh basil.

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Source: The Curvy Carrot / Cooks Illustrated

Apple Pie Cupcakes

2011-11-28T13:23:00.000-05:00

Posted by: Annie

I made these delicious cupcakes for my best friend's birthday. Thanksgiving often falls on or around her birthday, and I know that many of her birthday celebrations have involved a slice or two of apple pie. Two years ago I made her these filled Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes. This year I chose to stick with the Thanksgiving theme and fill vanilla cupcakes with apple pie filling, and then top them with a delicious buttercream.

These cupcakes were actually part of a much larger gift. Back in October, one of my best friends, Dana, made me the most thoughtful birthday gift. She titled it "Annie's Favorite Things" and compiled a bunch of items that were specific to what I appreciate and love in life. Dana filled a colander with a vanilla cupcake candle, a cookbook, cocktail mix, Keurig pumpkin spice coffee, Diet Coke, and more. It was such a thoughtful gift that I totally ripped it off and reused the idea (thanks Dana!)

The birthday girl was thrilled with the cupcakes and her other "favorite things," and even though Thanksgiving has passed, these cupcakes still make a fabulous addition to any dessert table during the holiday season.

Lastly, don't forget to enter our blogiversary giveaway! It closes at 11:59 p.m. tonight!

What you will need:

For the cupcakes:

3 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk

For the apple pie filling:

2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 tablespoons sugar
3 large granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and diced

For the vanilla buttercream:

2 1/2 sticks butter, softened
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners.

To make the cupcakes, combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy (approximately 2 minutes.) Next, beat in eggs one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Mix in vanilla extract. Alternate beating in the dry ingredients and milk, in small increments, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.

Divide the batter evenly among cupcake tins. Bake 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Place cupcakes on a cooling rack.

To make the apple pie filling, melt butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add cinnamon and sugar and heat until bubbly. Lower the heat and stir in apples. Coat thoroughly with cinnamon sugar mixture. Cover and cook for an additional 10 minutes, until apples are tender. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely before filling the cupcakes.

To make the frosting, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until creamy. Stir in sugar and salt and beat on medium-low speed until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add vanilla and heavy cream. Mix on medium-low speed for approximately four minutes, until frosting appears light and fluffy.

To assemble, use a paring knife to cut out the center of each cupcake. Fill each cupcake with apple pie filling, and frost with buttercream.

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Source: Adapted from Annie's Eats, originally from Fatty Fat Fats

Triple Chocolate Cupcakes

2011-11-23T00:01:00.000-05:00

Posted by: Maggie

Things have been kind of cupcake heavy around here lately. Last month we had Annie's homemade funfetti, and my pumpkin spice cupcakes for two. A couple weeks ago, Annie shared some deeeelicious looking peanut butter cupcakes that had me wishing I lived up in NJ, just so I could try one.

Hopefully you guys are cool with the cupcake excess. I figure as long as we're bombarding you with sweets, and not like...liver, or haggis you'll keep coming back.

I made these cupcakes earlier this month for my dad's birthday, and we were both in agreement that they're mighty tasty! They're a dark chocolate cake, filled with a bittersweet chocolate ganache, and topped with a chocolate sour cream frosting. They're intensely rich, but not excessively sweet thanks to the use of bittersweet chocolate, and dark, dutch-processed cocoa powder.

I hope all of our U.S. readers have a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow with your friends and families! Don't forget to enter our Anthropologie apron giveaway if you haven't already. The winner will be randomly selected next week!

For the cupcakes (yields 13-14)

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup dutch-processed cocoa powder
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup full-fat sour cream

For the ganache filling:

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

For the frosting:

(if you don't like a 1:1 cupcake to frosting ratio like me, cut this recipe in half!)

14 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
9 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted after measuring
6 tablespoons dutch-processed cocoa powder
pinch of salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons full-fat sour cream

To make the cupcakes, adjust the oven rack to the lower middle position, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees (325 degrees if using a non-stick cupcake tin.) Line 14 cupcake wells with paper liners. Important note: obviously this recipe makes too much batter for one cupcake pan. I do not recommend baking the extra cupcake pan containing two liners at the same time as the full pan. The cupcakes will bake unevenly.

In a microwave-safe bowl, combine butter, chocolate, and cocoa. Microwave on 50% power for 30-second increments, stirring every 30 seconds until completely melted. Set aside to cool until slightly warm to the touch.

In a small bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, and baking powder to combine.

In a medium bowl, beat eggs with an electric mixer on low speed. Add in sugar, vanilla, and salt, and beat until fully incorporated. Add cooled chocolate mixture, and beat until combined. Pour about one-third of the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Beat until just combined, and then mix in the sour cream. Add in the remaining flour mixture, and beat on low speed until just combined. The batter will be thick and mousse-like.

Divide the batter evenly among cupcake tins. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Be careful not to overbake!

Cool cupcakes completely before filling with ganache and frosting.

To make the ganache, combine the chocolate and heavy cream in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat on full power in the microwave for 30-45 seconds. Stir, and continue heating at 15 second increments until fully melted. Remove from the microwave, and transfer to freezer. Allow the mixture to chill for 30 minutes. Stir every 5 minutes to promote even cooling. When the mixture has cooled and thickened, and is no longer runny, fill the cupcakes.

To fill the cupcakes, remove the core using one of the many handy cupcake coring doodads on the market these days (I got one at Target for about $6,) or just use a knife. Or an apple corer, whatever strikes your fancy. Fill the hole in the cooled cupcakes with the ganache, and set aside while you make the frosting.

To make the frosting, add the chocolate to a microwave-safe bowl, and microwave on 50% power for 30 second increments, stirring after each increment until chocolate is completely melted. Set aside to cool until barely warm. (This is important - if you add it to the other ingredients when it's too warm it will melt the butter and ruin your frosting!)

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese for 3 minutes, until pale and fluffy. Slowly mix in the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Beat in the cooled, melted chocolate, and lastly, the sour cream. Continue beating on medium speed until the mixture is smooth and thoroughly combined. Use immediately, and refrigerate any leftover.

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Recipes adapted from: Cupcakes - Cooks Illustrated, Ganache - Post Gazette, Frosting - Annie's Eats

Baked Potato Soup

2011-11-21T00:01:00.000-05:00

Posted by: Annie

The quest for the perfect potato soup began almost two years ago...in this embarrassing blog post where I was still at the mercy of my point and shoot camera. Since that post, I never made homemade potato soup again, but did sample potato soup from practically every chain restaurant on the East Coast (thanks boyfriend.)

I decided that with the crisp weather and my somewhat improved photography skills, this weekend would be a perfect time to try a different potato soup recipe. I browsed the internet for so many potato soup recipes, and was struggling between a copy-cat chain restaurant recipe, and Paula Deen's southern potato soup recipe, and ultimately sided with the Queen of Southern Cooking. I am so glad I did. The soup was better than any restaurant's I've had, and was full of bacon AND cheese...what more could a girl ask for?

P.S. Don't forget that we're giving away an Anthropologie apron! Click here if you'd like to enter!

What you'll need:

For the soup...

1 1/2 sticks butter
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 cup flour
3 14.5 ounce cans chicken broth
5 potatoes (baked, peeled, and diced into bite-sized pieces)
8 strips cooked bacon
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
8 ounces sour cream
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated

For the garnish...

6 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 bunch scallions, diced
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese

In a large pot, melt butter over low heat, taking care not to burn. Add in onions, and cook until tender. Add in flour, and stir constantly for one minute. Gradually add the chicken broth, continue to stir. Heat until the mixture has thickened and is bubbling. Next, add in potatoes, bacon, parsley, and heavy cream. Continue to cook for ten minutes. Stir in sour cream and cheese. Before serving, garnish with bacon, scallions, and more cheese if desired.

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Source: Paula Deen for Smithfield

Two-year Blogiversary Giveaway!!!

2011-11-17T00:01:00.003-05:00

Posted by: Maggie

Today marks the two year blogiversary of A Bitchin' Kitchen!!!

Annie and I are so tremendously appreciative of each and every one of our readers, and we want to thank you all for your visits, comments, and support by doing a celebratory giveaway today!

We bought the above apron from Anthropologie a few months ago in anticipation of our blogiversary. It is so cute that I have been tempted to take it for myself numerous times, but I have managed to resist! It is even more adorable in person than the picture depicts. Annie and I both love fun aprons, and actually gave each other aprons for gifts back at Christmas 2009:

The Rules and Other Important Things:

- There are two ways to enter, both listed below. You must leave a separate comment for each entry, and you may only enter each way once.

- The contest is over at 11:59 p.m. EST on Monday, November 28, 2011. The comment section will be closed at that time, and the winner will be notified Tuesday morning.

- I will be using Random.org to determine the winner. I will contact the winner, and they must respond within 72 hours or they will forfeit the prize and I will draw an alternate winner. After contact with the winner has been made, we will formally announce it here.

- We love our readers from all over the world, but we can only ship to the United States and Canada.

- This contest is sponsored by A Bitchin' Kitchen. Much to our dismay, Anthropologie does not know who we are.

- Last, and most importantly: I cannot see what your email address is when you comment, even if you're using a Blogger account. Please be sure to include an email address in the body of your comment, or a link to your blog (if you have one) if contact information is easily accessible on there.

How to Enter:

Required Entry:

- Leave a comment on this post telling me your plans for Thanksgiving, or what you did for Thanksgiving if you're entering after the holiday. If you don't celebrate, just say hello, or say I like turtles, or tell me a fun fact about yourself!

Optional Bonus Entry:

- "Like" us on Facebook, and come back and leave a comment letting us know that you did. If you already like us, just let us know!

Thanks in advance for entering, and if any of these rules are unclear please shoot us an email and we'll clear things up!

*Image via Anthropologie.com

Pumpkin Pie Cake

2011-11-14T00:01:00.001-05:00

Posted by: Maggie

I made this pumpkin pie cake two Friday nights ago. Jeff was over, and we decided to stay in instead of going to a late movie as planned. He was exhausted, and I was having flashbacks to the two previous, very, very bad times Jeff and I saw a movie together.

Back in April, Jeff and I went to see Scream 4 in Chinatown. You'd think that a rated R movie at dinnertime would be full of other adults, right? Well, you'd be wrong. The theater was full of loud teenagers, and every other seat was illuminated by a cell phone screen. Worst of all, during the pivotal scene of the movie, two young girls "snuck" in (I use quotation marks because the word "snuck" inaccurately implies that they were quiet) and one of them proceeds to call up a friend, and asks the friend to catch her up on the first hour of the movie that she missed.

Well, I was not about to let that happen. I didn't wait 11 years to find out Sidney Prescott's ultimate fate to have it ruined by a cell phone conversation. The girl on the cell phone was probably not even eating solid food when the first Scream movie came out. After politely asking her to hang up the phone twice, a scene similar to this ensued, with me being Dr. Evil, and rude cell phone girl being Scott Evil.

Of course, this was nearly as disruptive as her cell phone conversation. In hindsight, I kind of wish I'd had the cojones to pry her cell phone away and hurl it at the wall.

Nearly six months went by without Jeff and I seeing another movie together. He was probably afraid I'd go ballistic on another rude movie patron.

Last month we decided to see Paranormal Activity 3. We both loved the first two, and were unwilling to wait for the DVD. This time we ventured out to a theater in the 'burbs, where I fully expected a more adult clientele.

I was wrong. There was a group of about 15 teenagers in the front row of the theater, who were talking, texting, and only paying attention to the movie for the purpose of providing loud, inane, commentary throughout the entire thing. It was awful, and it completely ruined the movie. People near them were shushing them the entire time which didn't help. No one seemed to want to go get a theater employee and risk missing part of the movie.

Anyway, as I mentioned before I went on my rambling tangent about rude movie theater patrons, I made this pumpkin pie cake last Friday, in lieu of going to a movie with Jeff. After our lazy night in on Friday, we decided to risk it and head to the movie on Saturday instead. We both wanted to see the Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas movie. I am now sensing that our immature taste in movies may be part of the problem. Anyway...it was glorious. We were two of about 20 people in the entire theater - 20 people who remained silent throughout the entire movie except for laughter.

As happy as I am that our terrible movie going streak is over, I'm even happier that we stayed in Friday night and got to eat this. This is super quick to throw together, thanks to the inclusion of a cake mix, and is extremely delicious warm from the oven, or chilled. To compensate for using a cake mix as the base, I made the whipped cream from scratch. If you want to do the same, just use an electric mixer to beat 1 cup of whipping cream with 2 1/2 tablespoons of granulated sugar for about 3 minutes on medium high, or until stiff peaks form. Easy peasy, and better than Cool Whip!

This recipe is a great Thanksgiving dessert if you want to deviate from the traditional pumpkin pie. It also makes a yummy breakfast. Don't judge, you know you want this for breakfast too.

Unrelated announcement: To celebrate A Bitchin' Kitchen's 2-year blogiversary, we're having our first giveaway here on Thursday! Make sure to come back and enter!

Here's what you'll need:

1 box yellow cake mix
3/4 cup softened butter, divided
4 large eggs
2 15-ounce cans pumpkin
1 1/2 cup sugar, divided
2/3 cup evaporated milk
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Remove 1 cup of the cake mix from the box, and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat remaining cake mix, 1/2 cup of the butter, and 1 egg. Evenly press into the prepared pan. In the same bowl, beat the pumpkin, the 3 remaining eggs, 1 cup of the sugar, the evaporated milk, and cinnamon. Pour mixture over crust. Using the same bowl (wipe it out first if necessary) combine the reserved cake mix, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/4 cup butter with a pastry blender until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over the pumpkin filling. Sprinkle the pecans on top. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until filling is set. If you want to eat it warm, cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting into it. Serve with whipped cream!

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Source: Mom!

Chicken-Shiitake and Wild Rice Soup

2011-11-11T01:06:00.000-05:00

Posted by: Annie

Confession: I love casseroles. For some reason, I feel like this is an embarrassing confession. Casseroles seem like one of those foods that are eaten but not spoken about - like EZ Cheese, ramen noodles, and those awesome snowball cupcakes that are seasonally dyed. We all know we eat them, but we would never advertise it. :)

Growing up, my mom made an amazing chicken and rice casserole. I believe I was the only child in the family who liked it. I also loved my mom's chicken divan casserole, and basically any dish that had a can of cream of chicken soup in it, was smothered with cheese, and then baked.

This soup reminds me exactly of my mom's chicken and rice casserole. While it was simmering on the stove, it smelled exactly like it, and I had to stop myself from dumping the soup contents into a casserole dish and baking it. However, once I tasted it I realized it was just as good (if not better than, sorry Ma!) the childhood casserole I was craving. I almost topped it with a little cheese, but decided to try it without and it was delicious. This soup will definitely become a fall staple!

What you will need:

1 tablespoon butter
1 small onion, diced
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup water
64 ounces low sodium, low fat chicken broth
1 cup pre-cut matchstick carrots (or if you can't find them, 2 chopped carrots)
2 stalks celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4.5 ounce long grain rice and wild rice combo (I used Rice-a-Roni)
1/2 cup white long grain rice
4 ounces sliced shiitake mushrooms
2 tablespoons light sour cream
salt and pepper, to taste

In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add onions and saute 3-4 minutes until tender. Stir in flour, and saute an additional minute. Pour in water, chicken broth, carrots, celery, garlic, and chicken. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Next, add both types of rice and mushrooms. Cook for an additional 25 minutes. Remove chicken from the broth and cut into bite-sized pieces. Return chicken to the soup. Stir in sour cream, salt and pepper. If too thick, stir in water as needed.

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Adapted from Skinny Taste

Spicy Macaroni and Cheese

2011-11-09T00:01:00.001-05:00

Posted by: Maggie

Ok, let me start by saying that this macaroni and cheese isn't really spicy at all, unless you're a total sissy.

I don't use my own sense of taste to determine if something is spicy or not, because I have recently taken to eating sriracha on just about everything, and have burned off most of my taste buds. I'm pretty sure I'd eat a dirty shoe if I could eat it with sriracha. Jeff however, does not enjoy spicy food, and agreed that while very tasty, this macaroni and cheese does not qualify as spicy.

Now that I've made that disclaimer, I'll tell you that this macaroni and cheese is extremely flavorful, cheesy, and delicious, and absolutely worth making. Just be sure to leave in the jalapeño seeds if you want more of a spicy kick!

Here's what you'll need:

4 cups elbow macaroni, uncooked
1/3 cup yellow onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup jarred roasted red pepper, finely chopped
2 jalapeño peppers, finely minced, seeds optional (wear gloves when cutting these!)
4 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups milk
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
6 cups of shredded cheese - I used a combo of about 2 parts colby jack, to 1 part pepper jack and 1 part sharp cheddar
Plain breadcrumbs

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Bring a large pot of water to boil. When the water is boiling, add the macaroni and cook until al dente (the pasta will cook a bit more in the oven.)

While the pasta is cooking, melt 1/2 tablespoon of butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add in onion, red pepper, and jalapeño, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender. Remove from heat and set aside.

At this point your pasta should be done - drain it and set aside.

In a large, deep skillet, melt 4 tablespoons of butter over medium high heat. When the butter is completely melted, whisk in the flour, and cook for two minutes, whisking constantly, until it turns light brown and starts foaming. Be careful not to burn it. Whisk in the milk until well blended. Cook mixture, whisking frequently for about 5 minutes, or until the mixture thickens slightly and begins to bubble. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and add the spices.

Gradually add the cheese to the mixture, one handful at a time, stirring constantly until well blended. About four cups in you'll think the sauce can't handle more cheese, but just add it gradually and it will all melt! Remove the mixture from heat.

Add the cooked pasta back into the pot, and add in cheese sauce, and the vegetables. Stir to combine thoroughly. Spray a large casserole dish with cooking spray, and transfer the macaroni and cheese to the dish. Top with breadcrumbs, and bake for 25 minutes.

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Source: Adapted from Annie's Eats

Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Chocolate Cheesecake Frosting

2011-11-07T14:35:00.000-05:00

Posted by: Annie

Usually when I bake, I have a motivation for doing so - such as I promised my students baked goods, or it's someone's birthday, or it is a certain holiday. However, with these cupcakes I simply was just craving a delicious peanut butter dessert.

My peanut butter craving all started last week. Lately, I have been in an oatmeal rut. I eat oatmeal almost every single morning, and at the urging of Maggie I started eating my oatmeal with a spoonful of peanut butter mixed in (heaven!)

When I ran out of peanut butter I attempted to be healthier, and purchased natural peanut butter. For years, I had looked at this peanut butter, warily examining the liquid that sat on top, and always concluded that natural peanut butter just wasn't for me. Well, all those years I was right - I still don't like natural peanut butter. The texture and the watery liquid brought out my inner picky child and I promptly chucked the peanut butter in the trash.

As a result, the next few mornings consisted of oatmeal without my delicious peanut butter mixed in, because day after day I would forget to pick up peanut butter after work. Finally, by the end of the week not only did I need the biggest container of Jif I could find, but I needed a dessert that gave me my peanut butter fix. Enter, peanut butter cupcakes with chocolate cheesecake frosting. Ahhhh-mazing.

What you will need:

1 stick of butter (softened)
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup skim milk
3/4 cup peanut butter chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cupcake tins with 12 liners.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream together butter and peanut butter until smooth and creamy. Add in sugar and eggs and beat until fluffy. Stir in vanilla extract.

In a separate medium-sized bowl, combine flour and baking powder. Add half of the dry mixture to the peanut butter mixture, and beat on medium speed until combined. Add the milk, and beat until combined. Beat in the remaining dry ingredients. Stir in the peanut butter chips.

Fill each cupcake tin 2/3 of the way full with batter. Bake 15-18 minutes. Cool completely, and decorate.

Chocolate Cheesecake Frosting:

1 stick butter (softened)
8 ounces cream cheese, one block (softened)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup dark cocoa powder
1-2 tablespoons milk, as needed

Using a mixer on medium speed, cream together butter and cream cheese until well combined. Stir in vanilla. Continue mixing, and add in 1/2 cup powdered sugar at a time. Mix in cocoa powder. Add milk 1 teaspoon at a time if frosting is too thick.

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Source: How Sweet It Is

1st Annual Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap - Go Sign Up!!!

2011-11-04T23:08:00.000-04:00

Posted by: Maggie

Hey everyone - no new recipe today, just a quick update. As I'm sure many of you know, Lindsay from Love and Olive Oil and Julie from The Little Kitchen are hosting the 1st Annual Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap.

I just signed up, and if you're a food blogger you should too! All the details are on the link above, but the basic idea is that you get the names of 3 other bloggers, send them cookies, and get cookies in return. The more people who participate the better, so go sign up now!

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Tacos with Chipotle Crema

2011-11-02T00:01:00.001-04:00

Posted by: Maggie

These tacos are super healthy, super delicious, and super cheap. They're also super full of flavor, and I made a super mess of my kitchen sink when I ate four of them while standing over it. Super duper.

I'm at a super duper loss for words for words today. I have had a terrible cold since last Monday, and I think the amount of Nyquil I've consumed over the past eight days has turned my brain into mush. I have stared at this screen for about 20 minutes trying to think of what to talk about to accompany these tacos and am coming up empty.

Oh wait, here's a kind of funny story. When I bought the ingredients for these tacos on Monday (beans and cabbage...) the coupon that printed out at the register was for Beano. That simply cannot be a coincidence given the ingredients I was purchasing.

Have I ruined your appetite by discussing gas medicine? I hope not.

These tacos have four fillings that you'll need to make - the potatoes, the beans, the cabbage, and the sauce. If it seems like a strange combination, just trust me and try it. I promise you'll love it.

For the potatoes:

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
1 tablespoon olive oil
Kosher salt, to taste
Red pepper flakes, to taste
Juice of 1 lime

For the cabbage:

2 cups shredded purple cabbage (I used my food processor to finely shred it)
1/4 cup yellow onion, diced
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
Juice of 2 limes
Kosher salt, to taste
Red pepper flakes, to taste

For the beans:

1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 cup yellow onion, diced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
Juice of 1 lime

For the sauce:

6 ounces non-fat Greek yogurt
3-5 tablespoons pureed chipotles in adobo (I pureed them myself in my food processor)
Kosher salt, cumin, and cayenne to taste

For serving:

12 small corn tortillas

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and line a baking sheet with foil. In a medium bowl, toss sweet potato chunks, olive oil, lime juice, salt, and red pepper flakes until evenly coated. Spread potatoes in a single layer onto the baking sheet, and roast in pre-heated oven for 40 minutes or until soft, stirring once or twice to ensure even cooking.

While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the cabbage. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl, and toss to combine. Set aside.

Now it's time to make the sauce. Combine your pureed chipotles, Greek yogurt, and seasonings in a small bowl, and stir well. This sauce has quite a kick to it, so gradually add the chipotle if your heat tolerance is low. Set aside.

To prepare the beans, heat olive oil over medium heat in a small saucepan. Saute the onions until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the cumin and stir until fragrant - about 30 seconds. Lastly, add in the beans and lime juice. Cook for about 5 minutes until beans have softened and the mixture is heated through.

Heat corn tortillas according to package directions (I just nuke mine for about 30 seconds between damp paper towels) and assemble tacos. Enjoy!

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Recipe source: Joy the Baker and the sauce is inspired by Emeril. I should also give Joy credit for photography inspiration since I pretty much mimicked the composition of her photo, as I had no idea how to photograph tacos and make them look nice!

Fall Funfetti Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream

2011-10-31T17:43:00.001-04:00

Posted by: Annie

I am officially in a very fall festive mood! This past weekend, Scott and I went out for Halloween dressed as Spartan cheerleaders from the 1990s Saturday Night Live skits that featured Will Ferrell and Cheri Oteri. It was actually the first time Scott and I ever dressed up for Halloween together (and this was our FIFTH Halloween as a couple!)

I stubbornly decided that I was not going to pay an absurd amount for a polyester costume that I could easily make, so not only did Scott and I have our first costumed Halloween, but I made our first Halloween costumes! (And by made I mean carefully ironing on pictures to black sweatshirts without setting the house on fire.) We were very successful cheerleaders and took our roles very seriously, as made apparent by the seventy-one pictures I found on my camera the next day. I will spare you all and only share this gem:

In addition to Halloween, the weather is amazing and fall seems to be officially here. To celebrate this awesome weather and fall season, I made homemade funfetti cupcakes using autumn colored sprinkles and topped them with even more sprinkles and a chocolate buttercream. I am so pumped to make these for every possible holiday that stores sell sprinkles for. (President's Day Funfetti cupcakes anyone?)

What you will need:

For the cupcakes:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/3 cup milk

1/3 cup sprinkles (any color you like)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cupcake tins with 12 liners.

In a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, for approximately 3 minutes. Next, mix in eggs and vanilla until combined.

In a medium bowl, combine flour and baking powder. Add half of the dry mixture to your sugar mixture and beat to combine. Beat in milk. Beat in the remaining dry ingredients. Lastly, stir in sprinkles.

Fill each cupcake tin 2/3 of the way full with batter. Bake 18-20 minutes. Cool completely, and decorate.

For the frosting:

8 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

6 cups confectioners sugar

2 sticks butter

6 tablespoons milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

Heat chocolate in microwave at 30-second intervals until melted. Set aside and allow to cool completely.

In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Using a mixer at low speed, beat well, frequently scraping the sides of the bowl. After one minute, increase the mixer speed to medium and beat an additional two minutes. Mix in the cooled chocolate and continue to beat at medium speed for an additional minute. If the frosting appears dry, add more milk, one teaspoon at a time.

Makes 4 1/2 cups.

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Source: How Sweet It Is (cupcakes) and Williams-Sonoma (frosting)

Mini Halloween Oreo Cheesecakes, and The Awkward Tale of Halloween '96

2011-10-21T06:05:00.000-04:00

Posted by: Maggie

I feel like a major buzz-kill by admitting this, but I don't really love Halloween. More accurately, I don't love dressing up for Halloween. I love haunted hayrides, corn mazes, pumpkin carving, and cute kids in costumes just fine. I don't love that 99% of costumes available in stores for grown ladies like myself are either trampy or matronly, with practically no middle ground.

The last time I really dressed up for Halloween was in 7th grade. Incidentally, it was also the last year I ever went trick-or-treating, but more on that in a minute. My mom had an old gypsy costume that I borrowed, and I piled on the makeup, crazy gold coin earrings, loads of dangly bracelets, and a headscarf. I was past the age of dressing up for school at that point, mainly due to my desire to invisibly walk the halls of Ocean Township Intermediate School without being taunted by the girls who had already figured out mascara, flat irons, and padded bras. Meanwhile, I still looked like the bastard love child of Art Garfunkel and Jan Brady. I'm ok now. May God bless Lancome Definicils, the Chi, and late teenage growth spurts.

Anyway, I got home from school that afternoon, and prepared to go trick-or-treating with one of my equally awkward friends. I have no recollection of what she dressed as for Halloween, but I do remember that she affected a British accent for the whole evening, not breaking character once, even though I'm fairly certain it had nothing to do with her costume. Birds of an awkward feather...

We traipsed through the neighborhood collecting candy, and finally arrived at one of the last houses on our route, which just so happened to be the home of my unrequited middle-school crush. He was blonde, all of his clothes came from Structure, and he was a bit of a troublemaker. Be still, my 12-year old heart. We walked up the pathway, rang the doorbell, and there stood my crush holding a bowl of candy and looking annoyed. I will always remember the eleven words he said to us next: "Aren't you girls a little old to be trick-or-treating?" His response didn't seem to faze my friend, but as I defeatedly walked home that evening, my heartbroken 12-year old self vowed never to trick-or-treat again.

When I went off to college, I tried to get in the Halloween spirit, once by dressing up in angel wings, a halo, and normal clothes, and once by wearing a helmet and carrying a sword. Although, in retrospect I think I may have stolen the sword from someone else's costume.

Those pictures were taken in 2004 and 2005, respectively, and I haven't dressed up since - not even in a half-assed construction worker with a sword kind of way.

Things are changing this Halloween. Who remembers Salute Your Shorts? If you were born in the early to mid-80s like Jeff and myself, and live in the United States, there is a strong chance it was one of your favorite childhood shows. Jeff is going as camp counselor Kevin "Ug" Lee, and I will be going as camper Z.Z. Ziff. My costume consists of a Camp Anawanna tee shirt, a whistle, peace sign/earth earrings (Z.Z. was a hippie, remember?) and a syrup bottle for administering awful waffles (link NSFW thanks to some perverted and inaccurate descriptions of an awful waffle, but it's the only site I can find with a definition. Sorry.) Fun, nostalgic, not trampy, and inexpensive? That is the kind of Halloween costume I can get on board with.

I may be wary of the dressing up side of Halloween, but I can easily get on board with the desserts. I found the recipe for these Halloween cheesecakes over on Gingerbread Bagels. Lindsey's Halloween spirit is infectious, and it's enough to even warm up a Halloween Grinch like myself to the holiday! These are super good, and since they're miniature and portion-controlled it means you'll have more room for Halloween candy!

Here's what you'll need:

15 Halloween Oreos, whole
6 Halloween Oreos, pulverized in the food processor
16 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup full-fat sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Orange gel food coloring

Preheat oven to 275 degrees, and line 2 muffin tins with 15 foil liners. Place one whole Oreo in each liner.

Place cream cheese in a large bowl, and beat on medium speed until smooth. Add in the sugar and beat throughly to combine. Add in vanilla extract and eggs, and beat until combined. Finally, gently mix in the sour cream.

Add in orange gel food coloring until the batter is your desired shade. Stir in Oreo crumbs.

Divide batter evenly among the muffin tins. You can fill these almost to the top since they don't really rise. Bake for 22 minutes, rotating pans halfway through. Chill overnight if you can wait that long!

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Source: Gingerbread Bagels

Tiramisu Trifles

2011-10-18T00:03:00.002-04:00

Posted by: Maggie

Almost everything you see posted here is something I've made within the past week, or two weeks at the most. Neither Annie or I have a huge backlog of recipes waiting to be posted like a lot of food bloggers seem to (P.S. super-jeal of you bloggers who do since I'd looove to post daily!), so it's easiest just to share recipes with you as we make them.

However...on occasion, a really awesome recipe slips through the cracks, and doesn't get posted in a timely manner. I made these trifles about 5 weeks ago on a night that I cooked for Jeff. I made us roasted garlic crostini and homemade spaghetti and meatballs, and I wanted a dessert to go along with the Italian theme. I even hinted about the recipe over on Twitter and never delivered!

Now, weeks later, you finally get to know that the mystery desserts I mentioned on twitter were tiramisu trifles. I'm sure you've all been waiting with bated breath. Right?

This isn't your traditional tiramisu by any means, and I'm pretty sure that real Italians would scoff at my use of Oreo cookies over ladyfingers, and ricotta over mascarpone, but they were extremely delicious and simple to make. I also liked that I wasn't left with a ton of leftover dessert - I used large stemless wineglasses to serve these, and it perfectly filled three glasses.

Here's what you'll need:

For the base:

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 cup ricotta cheese

1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 1 tablespoon Kahlua if you have it)

1 teaspoon instant espresso granules

For layering:

1 cup heavy cream, whipped with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 cup chocolate cookie crumbs (Grind Oreos in a food processor without the cream centers. The centers are easily scraped out of divided cookies with a butter knife.)

For the garnish:

Fresh Strawberries

Chocolate shavings

Prepare the whipped cream and cookie crumbs (indicated under the "for layering" portion of the ingredients) and set aside.

Combine whipping cream and granulated sugar (from the "for the base" section of the ingredients) in a medium bowl. Beat until cream is stiff, and set aside.

Combine ricotta cheese, cocoa powder, vanilla, and instant espresso granules in a medium bowl. Beat until blended.

Add ricotta mixture to the whipped cream, and gently fold in with a rubber spatula until no white streaks remain.

To assemble, start with a layer of the ricotta mixture. Next, add a layer of the whipped cream, and then a layer of cookie crumbs. Repeat until all ingredients are used, and garnish with chocolate shavings and fresh strawberries.

These can be refrigerated for up to a day before serving. I made these about 4 hours before serving, and the cookie crumbs stayed crisp, however on day 2 they had absorbed a lot of moisture (but were still delicious!)

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Source: My Baking Addiction

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

2011-10-14T00:28:00.001-04:00

Posted by: Annie

I found myself awake this past weekend at 7:50 a.m. Like, really? My alarm goes off every day for work at 5 a.m. and I dream about the weekend when I get to wake up naturally and sleep past nine. Of course, once I wake up and realize I have lots of errands to run, lessons to write, and cookies to bake, the guilt kicks in. That is how I end up baking pumpkin snickerdoodles in the kitchen at 8 a.m. on a Sunday morning.

Last year I made these gems, which at the time became one of my favorite pumpkin recipes. While pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are still up there, pumpkin snickerdoodles are my new favorite. These cookies scream fall, and fill your house with the best scent EVER.

Pumpkin the cat, meet pumpkin, the cookie:

What you will need:

For the cookies:

3 3/4 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the coating:

1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Dash of allspice

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Whisk together to blend. In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugars on medium speed until well combined. Next, still on medium speed, beat in pumpkin. Then, add the egg and vanilla extract. Beat until combined, but do not over mix. Cover the dough, and refrigerate for one hour, until firm.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and spices for the sugar coating. Scoop dough (approximately 2 1/2 tablespoons) and roll into a ball. Roll the dough ball in the sugar mixture, and place on the lined baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie. Take a drinking glass with a flat bottom and moisten with water. Dip the glass in the sugar mixture, and use it to flatten the dough balls. Re-sugar the glass as needed.

Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes. Remove when the centers of the cookies have set. Let cool on the baking pan for approximately 5 minutes, and then transfer to wire cooling racks to cool completely.

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Source: Adapted from Annie's Eats/Recipe Girl/DLYN

Spicy Bean and Rice Burritos

2011-10-12T00:11:00.003-04:00

Posted by: Maggie

I have made this recipe so many times, and have neglected to share it with you for one reason: I cannot take a good photo of it. Beans just aren't pretty, especially when they're all smushed into a tortilla. Don't let this homely burrito fool you though...it's super delicious, and could give Chipotle a run for their money.

One of the best things about this recipe is that it's customizable based on how healthy you want to be. I went to a wedding on Saturday with exceptionally delicious food and cake, and may have had several drinks more than what would be considered reasonable. When you start your day with a Bellini at 9 am, and finally finish it with an Irish coffee at 11 pm, you're going to want something healthy-ish for the following days, and fast. Needless to say, I made some healthy tweaks when I cooked this on Monday.

Side note: If any of you are getting married anytime soon, have a photo booth at the reception. They are so much fun, give your guests something to do besides abuse the open bar, and your guests get a ridiculously awesome party favor:

(Me & my fave culinary guinea pig!)

To somewhat healthify this recipe, I used brown rice instead of white, fat free greek yogurt instead of sour cream, and reduced-fat cheese instead of regular. I did stick with regular flour tortillas though, because whole wheat tortillas make me sad. If anyone knows of a brand that doesn't taste like sandpaper, please enlighten me.

I've said it a million times on here that I'm not crazy about leftovers, but these are definitely an exception. I have the rest of the burritos all assembled and wrapped in foil in the fridge, ready to heat up for the rest of the week.

P.S. Don't forget that we started a Facebook page! Feel free to "like" us if ya want!

Here's what you'll need:

For the filling:

1 tablespoon canola oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 pepper from a can of chipotles in adobo, minced
1 tablespoon sauce from a can of chipotles in adobo
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Several dashes cayenne pepper
1/3 cup water
1 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 15 ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups cooked rice (I used brown)
1/4 cup fresh salsa

For serving:

6 burrito-sized tortillas, warmed
8 ounces shredded cheese (I used a reduced-fat Mexican blend, Cheddar or Monterey Jack would also be good!)
Shredded lettuce
4 green onions, chopped
Fat-free Greek yogurt (or sour cream)

Heat canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, chili powder, chipotle, adobo sauce, cumin, and cayenne. Cook briefly until fragrant, about 30-60 seconds. Add in drained and rinsed beans, and water. Bring to a simmer, then lower heat to medium-low and cook for 8 minutes, mashing the bean mixture slightly. Remove from heat, and stir in rice and salsa.

Divide mixture evenly among the center of each tortilla. Top with cheese, lettuce, green onions, and greek yogurt. Roll up, and serve!

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Source: Adapted from Cooking Light

Petit Pains au Chocolate

2011-10-10T17:54:00.001-04:00

Posted by: Annie

I can't pronounce the name of this dessert. I could awkwardly say "petit pains au chocolate" when I started baking these delicious pastries. But then, I acted like an impatient child and I bit one of these delicious bundles of chocolate in half as soon as it came out of a 400 degree oven, and proceeded to burn every taste bud off my tongue.

So now, I can't really taste anything, let alone say fancy French names. Don't worry though, I will not let my burnt taste buds get in the way of me eating approximately four more pains au chocolate before dinner!

What you will need:

Two sheets puff pastry (1 17.3 ounce package), thawed, and each sheet cut into 12 squares
1 large egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
4 3.5 ounce semisweet chocolate or milk chocolate bars cut into 6, 2 x 3/4 inch pieces
Granulated sugar
Powdered sugar

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Brush each puff pastry square with egg wash. Place a chocolate in a corner, and roll up dough, covering the chocolate. Pinch edges together to seal the chocolate inside. Repeat with the remaining dough and chocolate. Place the prepared pastries on the baking sheet and brush with egg wash. Sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 15 minutes, until golden brown.

Cool on a wire baking rack. Dust lightly with powdered sugar before serving.

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Source: Epicurious

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes for Two

2011-10-07T00:03:00.000-04:00

Posted by: Maggie

Hey guys...we started a Facebook page! It would make our day if you'd go over there and "like" us! Please and thank you :)

Moving along...

Remember back in August when I made Jessica's brilliant Vanilla Cupcakes for Two?

They were awesome, and I've showed a remarkable amount of restraint with this recipe. I thought that knowing how to make two delicious cupcakes would lead to doing so every day, but fortunately for my bottom I was incorrect.

However...I've had it in the back of my mind since first making the recipe that I wanted to try my hand at turning it into some different flavors. Well, Jeff was tired of listening to me whine about pumpkin shortages, and brought me a can. I immediately decided to come up with a pumpkin version of cupcakes for two, and 3 batches later I have a winner!

The first batch was awful, the second batch was mediocre, and the third batch was like a party in my mouth. This cupcake is moist and tender, with a light pumpkin flavor and a lot of fall spices. Top it with cinnamon buttercream, and shove it in your face hole. You will thank me.

Here's what you'll need:

For the cupcakes:

1 egg white
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons canned pumpkin (not pie filling)
1/4 cup cake flour
1/4 heaping teaspoon baking powder
1/2 heaping teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
pinch of ground cloves
pinch of salt
1 1/2 tablespoons whole milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line your muffin tin with two liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together egg white and sugar until thoroughly combined. Whisk in oil, vanilla, and pumpkin until fully incorporated. In a small bowl, combine cake flour, baking powder, spices, and salt. Gradually stir dry ingredients into wet until just combined. Lastly, stir in milk. The batter will be very liquidy.

Divide the batter between two liners filling slightly more than 3/4 full. You will have a small amount of batter left that you can eat with a spoon, or just throw away, depending on how afraid of salmonella you are. Bake for 15 minutes, or until cake is set and a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs attached. Cool completely before frosting.

For the cinnamon buttercream frosting:

1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted after measuring
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Beat together butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in cinnamon until throughly incorporated into frosting. Makes enough to generously frost two cupcakes.

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Cupcakes heavily adapted from How Sweet Eats, and frosting is by me!

Seasoned Sweet Potato Chips

2011-10-05T00:03:00.001-04:00

Posted by: Annie

I have Yam versus Sweet Potato confusion.

Growing up, I was a very difficult child and hated baked potatoes. As a result, my mom would always make me what I thought was a baked yam. They were orange in color, sweet tasting, and in my opinion far surpassed the baked potatoes that everyone else was eating.

This week, I bought potatoes that were labeled yams and had the following text exchange with Maggie:

...and then I was very concerned. Was I making yam chips? Sweet potato chips? I then went to the most excellent source of information ever - Google. I read this and now believe that I possibly bought sweet potatoes that were mislabeled as yams. Nevertheless, these chips are awesome, and fallish, and make me very excited for the crisp fall weather that has begun.

What you will need:

2 medium-sized sweet potatoes, scrubbed clean and sliced into 1/8" slices
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon paprika

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Add sweet potato slices and oil to a re-sealable bag or large tupperware and shake to coat. In a small dish, combine the seasonings and add to the sweet potatoes. Shake again to evenly coat. Lay potato slices on a foil-lined baking sheet, and bake 12-14 minutes (around 12 minutes mine were getting dark, so keep an eye on the potatoes while cooking!)

Remove the potatoes from the oven and flip. Cook for an additional 10 minutes until crisp. Place potatoes on a wire cooling rack to cool (they crisp up more while cooling.)

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Source: Simple Comfort Food

Sweet Potato Ice Cream

2011-10-03T00:01:00.001-04:00

Posted by: Maggie

I know what you may be thinking...sweet potatoes? In ice cream? Blech.

Hear me out.

I cannot find any canned pumpkin in Alexandria, Virginia. Actually, let me rephrase. I cannot find any Libby's canned pumpkin in Alexandria, Virginia. The other brands are watery and worthless when it comes to baking. "Give me Libby's or give me death!" - Patrick Henry. Yep, pretty sure our Founding Fathers are all rolling over in their graves as I type this.

I used my one single can of Libby's pumpkin (purchased last fall) on pumpkin bread and pumpkin oatmeal a couple weeks ago. I didn't know at the time that I would have so much trouble tracking it down this fall. Jeff lives 40 minutes away from me, and was supposed to bring me a can last weekend, since apparently there is no shortage out where he lives.

Welllll, he forgot. I got sad. I turned to my second favorite orange fall food for comfort, the humble sweet potato. I stopped being sad when I remembered bookmarking We Are Not Martha's Sweet Potato Ice Cream last year, back before I had an ice cream maker.

This stuff is so delicious that I barely miss pumpkin. Sure, I'll buy it if my grocery stores ever get their acts together and stock the shelves. I have about 300 pumpkin recipes starred in my Google Reader after all.

Note: If you use the very popular Cuisinart ice cream maker for this, keep an eye on it as it churns. This recipe makes slightly more than 1 quart of ice cream, and mine overflowed a bit!

Here's what you'll need:

2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
5 egg yolks
1 cup sweet potato puree (see recipe for instructions, or buy it pre-made. I used 3 small sweet potatoes and had a bit of leftover puree.)
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

To make the sweet potato puree, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil, stab potatoes several times with a fork, and bake for 60-90 minutes (depending on size of potato), or until fork tender. Let cool completely, then cut in half and scoop out the flesh.

Add the sweet potato flesh and 1 tablespoon of water to a food processor, and process until completely smooth. Measure out 1 cup, and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, heat the cream, milk, and sugar until the sugar has dissolved completely and the mixture is hot.

In a medium-sized heat resistant bowl, lightly whisk egg yolks. Slowly pour half of the cream mixture into the egg yolks, whisking the entire time. Next, pour egg/cream mixture into the remainder of the cream in the saucepan, whisking the entire time. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly for 6-8 minutes, or until mixture has slightly thickened and coats the back of a spoon. Do not let it boil!

Pour the mixture through a mesh strainer into a medium-sized heat resistant bowl. Whisk in the sweet potato puree and spices until thoroughly combined.

Cover, and refrigerate the bowl for at least 12 hours before churning in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. It took about 20 minutes in my Cuisinart. Freeze for several hours before serving. Let it sit for about 10 minutes before scooping for the best texture!

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Source: We Are Not Martha, originally from Sweet Bytes

Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad

2011-09-29T00:05:00.001-04:00

Posted by: Annie

I am probably the last person on Earth to discover Greek yogurt, but boy did I discover it!

I cannot stop eating it, and am so pleased that my latest food obsession is significantly more nutritious than my last food obsession (Nutella on toast every morning of the summer, anyone?)

I am particularly obsessed with Fage Greek yogurt, and have chased this brand all over NJ. I am a tad bit food store loyal to Wegmans, and when I say a tad bit loyal, I mean I worked at the store for almost six years and used to drive thirty plus minutes to shop there when I lived in Philly. Now that I am back in NJ, I live a mere five minutes from the nearest Wegmans, but have been grossly disappointed with their Fage stock. They are out every single time I'm there. This has forced me to go to their "nameless competitor" - that is how desperate I am to get my hands on Fage.

So, last Wednesday I went off to the "nameless competitor." I rushed inside and grabbed eight, yes eight, containers of my prized yogurt, checked out, ran out to my car, and it wouldn't start. Battery = dead. Sad story, but I moved on because let's get real - nothing could ruin my day, I had Greek yogurt goodness.

Monday of this week, I went to Wegmans to give them another chance at fulfilling my Greek yogurt needs. Well, before I even went in my car battery died, AGAIN. Long story short, I didn't get yogurt, but I did get a new car battery. Today I had a successful trip to the store for Fage, sans dead car battery, and made a delicious chicken salad with a yogurt-based dressing. Enjoy fellow Greek yogurt lovers!

What you will need:

For the salad:

2 cooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts (mine weighed a total of 1 pound,) chopped
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1/3 cup diced onions and diced celery (mixed)

For the dressing:

8 ounces plain, fat-free Greek yogurt
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
1 squeeze lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl, mix chicken, cranberries, almonds, celery, and onion. In a separate small dish, prepare dressing by mixing yogurt, curry powder, soy sauce, lemon juice, and salt and pepper together. Combine dressing with the salad ingredients and mix well. Serve on your favorite bread, or on top of fresh greens!

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Adapted from: Iowa Girl Eats

Roasted Butternut Squash Orzo

2011-09-26T00:04:00.000-04:00

Posted by: Maggie

"Remember when Ross tried to say butternut squash, and it came out squtternut bosh?"

Yeah, that line was replaying in my head on a loop the entire time I was making this recipe.

Around this time of year, I usually get my butternut squash fix by purchasing as many of the Lean Cuisine Butternut Squash Ravioli meals as my grocery store gets in stock. While those are mighty tasty, I kind of feel like garbage when I overdo it on the frozen food, so I turned to this recipe instead.

This was my first time cooking butternut squash, and it really reminded me that I need to upgrade from my $6 knife I purchased at a grocery store back in 2004. (Ahem. Hint. Christmas is in 3 months.) Those suckers are hard to cut. I had several close calls, but I managed to get through the recipe with all of my fingers intact, and ended up with a delicious and healthy dinner.

Also, for those of you who don't follow my word vom on Twitter and may have missed it, I attended the DC VegFest on Saturday, and wrote about it for DCEventJunkie.com! I would love if you'd go over there and check it out!

Here's what you'll need:

1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed, and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 small red onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup orzo pasta
1 cup (packed) baby spinach, chopped
3/4 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and line a baking sheet with foil. In a large bowl, toss squash, onion, and garlic with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Spread out in a single layer on the baking sheet, and roast for 40-50 minutes, or until the squash is tender. Give the vegetables a good stir a couple times while they're roasting.

While the squash is roasting, cook the orzo pasta according to directions on the box. Drain and set aside.

After the veggies are done, chop the roasted garlic. Add the squash, onions, garlic, spinach, and cranberries to the orzo. Toss with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.

Printer-friendly (All of my other printer-friendly pages stopped working yesterday, so this one may stop working too. If anyone can help me figure out why, I will give you a million dollars. That's a lie, but I will be super grateful.)
Adapted from: Two Peas and Their Pod

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

2011-09-21T19:09:00.004-04:00

Posted by: Maggie

These ugly muffins aren't going to win any beauty pageants.

They're kind of flat. They're brown and bumpy. They're not covered in colorful frosting and pretty sprinkles like their more attractive cousin, the cupcake.

But...they're damn good. They don't need to be pretty because they have personality. They're super moist, with banana flavored batter and chunks of banana and loads of delicious chocolate chips. I shoved two of them in my mouth this morning, and promptly put the rest in the freezer because I really don't want to be forklifted from my apartment someday as a result of eating too many baked goods.

Make these the next time you have a couple overripe bananas sitting around. Your home will smell heavenly and if you live in an apartment building like me your neighbors will be jealous. I get some kind of perverse satisfaction out of making my neighbors jealous with delicious food smells. They probably don't even notice, but I like to pretend they do.

Here's what you'll need:

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 overripe bananas
1/2 cup light brown sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used half milk chocolate and half semi-sweet)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, and line a muffin tin with 12 liners.

Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. In a small bowl, roughly mash one of the bananas so that it's still slightly chunky and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together the brown sugar and the other banana on medium speed for 3 minutes. Add the melted butter, egg, and vanilla, and mix well. Gradually add in the dry ingredients, mixing only until just combined. Fold in the mashed up banana and chocolate chips with a rubber spatula.

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups, and give the pan a good thwack on the counter to release any air bubbles. Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in muffin tin for 3 minutes, and then turn out on a wire rack to cool completely.

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Source: adapted from Tyler Florence via Food Network

Peanut Butter Blossoms

2011-09-19T00:29:00.003-04:00

Posted by: Annie

These cookies almost didn't happen. Almost two weeks ago, I purchased a giant wholesale sized bag of Hershey Kisses from Costco with the intent of being a nice teacher and having candy in my classroom. Well, this bag never made it to school. It started in my room, and then Scott and I would put it on the coffee table to munch on while we were watching television. And then, you know, a handful would be thrown into my purse, and before I knew it, the bag was dwindling in size and I was falling into a Hershey Kiss induced coma.

I decided I needed to do something "productive" with my giant bag of Hershey Kisses, and peanut butter blossoms immediately came to mind. So, to any readers out there considering making these cookies, my advice would be to buy a normal-sized bag of Hershey Kisses, or else accept that you will be finding little silver wrappers in your car, purse, and bed (ahem), for weeks to come.

Here's what you'll need:

48 Hershey Kisses
3/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup shortening
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Granulated sugar for rolling

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Unwrap your Hershey Kisses.

In a large mixing bowl, combine shortening and peanut butter. Mix well.

Next, add both sugars to the shortening/peanut butter mixture and beat until light and fluffy. Add egg, milk, and vanilla, and mix well.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add the dry mixture into the peanut butter mixture and mix well.

Shape the dough into 1-inch balls and roll in granulated sugar. Place on an un-greased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes until the edges are lightly browned. Remove from the oven, and immediately place a Hershey Kiss in the center of each cookie. Place on wire rack to cool.

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Source: Hershey's

Pumpkin Bread

2011-09-14T14:35:00.001-04:00

Posted by: Maggie

Uhhh...we're almost two weeks into September, and I haven't posted a pumpkin recipe yet.

That's just not right.

Annie shared a recipe last fall for pumpkin apple bread, but I still wanted to post the pumpkin bread recipe that we both grew up eating. I call this my mom's recipe, but she may have gotten it from a cookbook or magazine somewhere back in the day. Despite living 215 miles away from my mom now, I almost felt like I was back in her kitchen when I had a slice this morning for breakfast.

For those readers who haven't been around for long, here are some of our past pumpkin recipes in case you're looking for fall baking inspiration:

Pumpkin Butterscotch Blondies
Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake Brownies (best. thing. ever.)
Pumpkin Pie Bars
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Looking through those past posts made me realize how much my photography has improved over the past year. Granted, it's still nothing to write home about, especially compared to my food photography idols (Joy the Baker, and My Baking Addiction in case you're wondering.) Definitely an improvement though. Hurray for natural light!

Here's what you'll need:

2/3 cup shortening (I know...don't yell at me anti-shortening people of the world!)
2 2/3 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 15 ounce can pumpkin
2/3 cup water
3 1/3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
2/3 cup chopped walnuts
2/3 cup raisins (I used golden raisins because they're what I had on hand)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottoms only of two 9" loaf pans. Mix shortening and sugar in a large bowl. Add eggs, pumpkin, and water. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and cloves. Gradually beat dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Gently fold in nuts and raisins. Divide batter evenly between two pans, and bake for 60-70 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool for 45 minutes to an hour before removing from pans. Cool completely on a rack before slicing.

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Banana Pancakes

2011-09-09T16:36:00.004-04:00

Posted by: Maggie

I was planning on waiting til Monday to share these pancakes with you, but it's such a good lazy Saturday morning recipe that I figured it would be more logical to give it to you before the weekend.

I don't really like bananas until they're covered in black spots - anytime before that I find them to be too firm, and not sweet enough to eat. Since I always wait until my bananas are super ripe, and since I tend to overbuy them, I always end up with a couple that I waste. In the interest of not throwing away perfectly good food, I made these delicious pancakes. This is definitely a recipe that I'll make again and again - it was super easy, I had all the ingredients in the house, and it kicked the butt of every pancake mix I've ever tried.

This recipe makes 8 pancakes that are approximately 5 inches in diameter each. I was just cooking for myself when I made these, so I stuck the 5 pancakes that I didn't eat in the freezer, and plan to reheat them in the oven at some point according to the directions here. Has anyone ever tried this? I'll be sure to update this post once I know how they turn out after being reheated from frozen.

Here's what you'll need:

Butter for greasing the pan
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 small, very ripe banana, peeled and mashed well
1 cup milk (I used 1%, but any type should work)
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Maple syrup, sliced banana, and butter for serving

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together mashed banana, milk, eggs, and vanilla until thoroughly combined. Using a rubber spatula, fold wet mixture into dry ingredients until just combined. Do not over mix or your pancakes will be tough! The batter will be slightly lumpy.

Preheat your griddle (or frying pan). Butter the griddle and spread around so the cooking surface is evenly coated. Using a dry 1/3 measuring cup, scoop batter onto the griddle. Cook pancakes until the bottom is golden brown, and small holes start to form on the uncooked side. Flip pancake to the uncooked side, and cook for about 2 minutes more, until golden brown.

Repeat with remaining batter until it's all used up. If you can't cook a lot of pancakes at once due to having a small griddle, or just a frying pan, here's a tip that I use sometimes: Preheat your oven to 200 degrees, and line a pie plate with foil. As you cook the pancakes, stick them in the pie plate to stay warm, and gently cover with foil so they don't get dried out.

(Note: I updated this recipe on 9/12 to clarify the addition of butter to the recipe. When I made this, I only used butter on the skillet, and did not add it to the batter as the original recipe instructed. I think it's probably why they turned out so fluffy, instead of flat! If you would like to use butter in the batter please refer to the original recipe at the link below. Sorry for any confusion!)

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Source: Williams-Sonoma

Vegan Chili

2011-09-07T17:07:00.001-04:00

Posted by: Maggie

You know those people who use the word literally, when really they mean figuratively? Like...when they're hungry, they'll say I *literally* almost died of starvation. Or I *literally* almost ate a small child. Or, when they're extremely tired - I *literally* fell asleep standing up. Well, I'm usually one of those people. I was an English major in college - I have no excuse for this linguistic faux pas.

So, just know, that when you read the next sentence, I do actually mean literally this time. Monday, was literally the most humid afternoon I have ever experienced in Northern Virginia. I walked outside, armed with a grocery list detailing all of the ingredients that I needed for a big pot of chili, pumpkin beer, and other fall delights, and almost instantly started melting. My hair clung to my neck, my jeans stuck to my legs, and the makeup that I'd applied just to go to the grocery store (yep, I'm that girl) started sliding off my face. I have lived in this notoriously humid area for almost 5 years, and have literally never felt humidity as intense as what I experienced on Monday - the day that was supposed to be the unofficial beginning of fall.

Fortunately, I was undeterred in my quest for fall goodies. Once Labor Day rolls around, I get a little gung-ho about celebrating fall, and I wasn't going to let humidity stop me. A quick trip to Whole Foods got me all the ingredients I needed for this chili, as well as a 6-pack of this awesome pumpkin beer.

I've been so excited about celebrating fall this week, that I even joined a fantasy football league. I'm really, really, really not a football person, but I'm trying to train myself to like it. You see, I started dating my boyfriend Jeff in April 2009. For the past two football seasons, I have sat grumpily on the couch every Sunday while he yells words I don't understand at the television. The extent of my football knowledge is as follows: a) a touchdown is 6 points, and b) Mark Sanchez has an absolutely breathtaking hiney. Anyway...my draft party was last night. This is what I ended up with; hopefully it doesn't suck! Pardon my handwriting...I learned cursive in a Catholic School, yet it looks like I write with my feet.

Here's what you'll need for a big, delicious pot of chili:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1-3 cloves garlic, minced (optional, because I forgot the garlic and it was still delicious without)
2 bell peppers, chopped (I used yellow and red)
1 vidalia onion, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon cumin
3 tablespoons chili powder
Pinch of kosher salt
Pinch of cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons oregano
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes, with juice
1 can mushrooms, drained
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
Juice of 1 lime
Sliced avocado, for garnish

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium. Add in your garlic, carrots, peppers, and onion, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add in the rest of the ingredients, and cook for 40 minutes over medium low heat, stirring occasionally. Adjust seasonings to taste (I added more cayenne and chili powder, but the amounts listed in the recipe are good starting points.)

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Source: Oh She Glows (an awesome healthy living blog with great vegan recipes! Even carnivores like me can enjoy them!) Originally adapted from Maintenance with Ashley

Bacon Parmesan Chickpea Salad

2011-09-02T00:59:00.002-04:00

Posted by: Maggie

Sooo...this "salad" happened. This "salad" is made of healthy stuff like chickpeas, onions, and green pepper...which I then corrupted with loads of cheese and bacon grease. I feel kind of dirty calling it a salad. Anything that tastes this delicious, that gets sauteed in straight-up grease should not bear that title.

Semantics aside, you should probably make this immediately. We can talk about a different name for it later.

(P.S. Have a great Labor Day to all our U.S. readers! Enjoy your long weekends!)

What you'll need:

1 15 ounce can of chickpeas, rinsed, drained, and patted as dry as possible
1 slice of bacon, chopped
1/4 red onion, finely chopped
1/4 green pepper, finely chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
Fresh parsley to taste, chopped
Kosher salt, to taste (about 1/4 teaspoon should do the trick)

Fry your bacon over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon from pan and drain on a paper towel, leaving the grease in the frying pan. Add the onion and pepper to the frying pan, and saute for about 2 minutes.

Toss the dry chickpeas with the paprika and pepper, and add to the frying pan with the vegetables. Cook and stir frequently for 5 minutes, and then add in garlic. Cook for one additional minute.

Remove mixture from heat, and stir in cheese, chopped bacon, and parsley. Salt to taste and serve immediately.

Makes enough for a meal for a hungry person, or a large side dish for two.

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Source: the brilliant Jessica of How Sweet Eats (my co-blogger and I mostly read different food blogs, but this is one that we both adore!)

Miranda Lambert's Raspberry-Lemon-Yogurt Bread

2011-08-30T14:06:00.001-04:00

Posted by: Maggie

When I saw this recipe over on Kelly's site last week, I knew that I had to make it before summer was over. I adore the combination of tart citrus and juicy berries - possibly even more than I like chocolate. I know, blasphemy. But come on, in the summer I want to be refreshed, not weighed down by rich, heavy (albeit delicious) chocolate.

The fact that this recipe comes from one of my favorite country stars of all-time made this bread even more appealing. Apparently, Miranda Lambert is quite the cook, and shared this recipe with Self Magazine in a recent issue. Now that I know she has delicious recipes like this in her cooking arsenal, I think Miranda needs to take some time off from recording awesome music and hanging out with her hot husband to write a cookbook!

If you're not familiar with Miranda Lambert, please watch this immediately, so that you too can become a fan:

Tags: Only Prettier, Miranda Lambert, Miranda Lambert Videos

Now that that's out of the way, here's what you'll need for one delicious loaf of bread:

Vegetable oil cooking spray
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup fat-free lemon yogurt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
Grated zest of one lemon (tip: I recently discovered that it's much easier to zest organic lemons. The skin is less bumpy, and as an added bonus you're not ingesting pesticides!)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
2 cups raspberries (I used frozen, but feel free to use fresh)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Generously spray your loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside. In a large bowl, combine flour, 2/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a medium bowl, combine yogurt, eggs, melted butter, lemon zest, vanilla extract, and lemon extract. Stir together to thoroughly combine. Pour yogurt mixture into flour mixture, and stir to combine. Don't over-mix or the bread will be tough. I didn't even use my mixer for this recipe - just a spoon! In a separate bowl, toss raspberries with the reserved 1 tablespoon of sugar. Gently fold raspberries into the batter. Scrape batter evenly into the loaf pan, and bake for 60-65 minutes, or until the top springs back when you gently touch it.

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Source: Adapted from Eat Yourself Skinny

Bread Pudding

2011-08-25T18:14:00.001-04:00

Posted by: Annie

This week is my last week of freedom. This Monday, school is no longer out for summer, and my days of lounging at the beach and playing at the pool are coming to an abrupt end. However, the dorky student I was in high school has translated to me being a dorky high school teacher and I am a teeny bit excited about my new teaching supplies and the general idea of a fresh start to a new school year.

Today I had a whole list of errands to run and supplies to purchase to prep for next week, and I realized that I should really enjoy the free time I have left before my evenings are filled with grading papers, writing lesson plans and going to bed at absurdly early times. So at 11 am this morning, I found myself salvaging a two-day old french baguette and making my first bread pudding. This bread pudding would be delicious served after dinner warm with ice cream or even as a breakfast dish. OR, if you are anything like me it tastes delicious standing up over the sink, because we all know that when you eat desserts standing up, they do not count. :)

What you will need:

1 stale french baguette

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 cup raisins (optional)

4 eggs, beaten

2 cups skim milk

3/4 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Slice baguette into half-inch slices and then rip each slice into smaller pieces. Arrange the bread in the bottom of an 8-inch casserole dish and drizzle with melted butter. Sprinkle raisins on top if desired. In a medium bowl, combine eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. Pour egg mixture evenly over the bread and using a fork push push down the bread to ensure that the bread soaks up all of the mixture. Bake for 45 minutes until the bread is springy to the touch.

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Slightly adapted from: All Recipes

Creamsicle Cookies

2011-08-22T00:45:00.004-04:00

Posted by: Maggie

Before I talk about these cookies, can I just mention how difficult it was to get that darn orange sliver to balance on top of the cookie stack? I must have replaced it about 10 times while trying to snap a photo. Oh, the trials and tribulations of food photography.

I've had these cookies from The Girl Who Ate Everything bookmarked for quite some time now, and am so glad I finally made them. I thought that a recipe reminiscent of an ice cream truck favorite would be the perfect way to start wrapping up summertime, since it is (finally) almost over. It has been years since I've had a creamsicle, but the flavors of this cookie bring me right back to childhood.

Here's what you'll need:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
Zest of 2 oranges
1 3/4 cups white chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars together until creamy. Beat in egg and vanilla until thoroughly incorporated. Gradually beat in flour mixture, being careful not to over-mix. Lastly, mix in orange zest and white chocolate chips.

Line your baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough into balls, and bake for 8 minutes or until just golden around the edges. I got 29 medium sized cookies out of this recipe.

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Source: The Girl Who Ate Everything who got it from Baked Perfection

Spicy Roasted Chicken Wings

2011-08-15T14:05:00.001-04:00

Posted by: Annie

Hello. My name is Annie, and I have been absent from this blog since July 4th. I have been a terrible co-blogger to Maggie, and vow to get back in the blogging game! My absence from the blog world has been due to my recent move from Philadelphia back to New Jersey, and also due to the hardships of my summer job that requires me to take the two best kids to the pool or beach every day. I know - tough life. I also have moved back in with my mom, and have had to adapt to her kitchen, and cooking and baking on her turf! Ok, excuse time is over.

This past weekend Scott and I spent a lovely day at Ocean Grove beach, and spent the evening making Pioneer Woman's amazing wings, roasted red potatoes, corn on the cob, and devouring a loaf of french bread. I will say this, the wings were outstanding, the meat literally fell off the bone, and the skin was crispy and so flavorful. Make these now!!!!

Here's what you'll need:

24 chicken wings
2 sticks salted butter
1 tablespoon Morton's hot salt
1/2 cup lemon juice

First, clean and pat dry your chicken wings. Set aside. Next, in a medium sauce pan, melt butter and then stir in seasoning and lemon juice. Using tongs, dip each wing into the sauce and place on a baking sheet. I placed a cooling rack on top of my baking sheet, which I think really upped the crisp factor. After all the wings have been dipped in the butter mixture, take the remaining butter and use a pastry brush to give them one last coating. Sprinkle the wings with a little more seasoning. Roast the wings in the oven at 400 degrees, for approximately thirty minutes. Half-way through cooking, flip the wings and give them an extra coating of butter and seasonings if desired. Place the finished wings under the broiler for a few minutes, until they are nice and golden brown.

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Source: The Pioneer Woman

Vanilla Cupcakes for Two

2011-08-08T22:06:00.002-04:00

Posted by: Maggie

I kind of wish I never made this recipe...

Now that I know how easy it is to make two perfect little cupcakes, I'm concerned that I'll do it way too often. Since there is no waiting for the butter to soften, these cakes were mixed up and baked in a matter of 20 minutes. Amazing. And addicting.

I topped these with cream cheese frosting since I had a little bit of cream cheese leftover from the blueberry lemon cheesecake bars, but you can use whatever you want. Even canned frosting...your secret is safe with me!

Here's what you'll need:

For the cupcakes...

1 egg white
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 heaping teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1 1/2 tablespoons milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line your muffin tin with two liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together egg white and sugar until thoroughly combined. Whisk in butter and vanilla until fully incorporated. Add in flour, baking powder, and salt, and stir until completely incorporated. Stir in milk.

Divide the batter between the two liners, and bake for 15-17 minutes, or until cake is set. (Note: The original recipe said to bake for 10-12 minutes, but mine took 16. You may want to keep an eye on things starting around 10 minutes just in case my oven was running cool or something.)

Let cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting:

2 ounces cream cheese, softened (1/4 block)
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

Beat together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add in the powdered sugar and beat until fully incorporated and creamy. Color with gel food color if desired.

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Source: How Sweet It Is (cupcakes)
Muh Brain (frosting)

Seared Salmon with Dill Dijon Sauce

2011-08-04T15:12:00.002-04:00

Posted by: Maggie

It's time for something healthy. I give away or share the majority of the baked goods you see on here, but that doesn't change the fact that I had two slices of the peach pie, and two of the cheesecake bars over the past week and a half.

In the interest of not giving myself diabeetus, I decided to end my sugar binge and make this easy, healthy, and delicious salmon recipe. This recipe makes enough sauce for about 4-6 servings of salmon, but I just cooked one piece and will probably end up using the rest of the sauce as a dip for carrot sticks or fingers.

I am all about sauce on my food. Oftentimes I will specifically order something at a restaurant because I think the sauce sounds delicious. I recently ordered a patty melt specifically because it was served with chipotle ketchup. Not because I actually wanted a patty melt. This sauce does not disappoint. It is so rich and creamy from the greek yogurt that you will have a hard time believing it's fat free. And the dill...oh yum. I challenge anyone to find an herb that smells better than that stuff.

Make it for dinner tonight - I promise you won't regret it!

Here's what you'll need:

1/4 cup dijon mustard
1 6-ounce container fat-free Greek yogurt (I swear by the Fage brand - it's the creamiest!)
3-5 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, removed from tough stems

4 6-ounce salmon fillets
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil

Mix dijon, yogurt, and dill in a small bowl. Set aside in the fridge until you're ready to serve.

Rinse salmon fillets and dry thoroughly. Season the non-skin side with salt and pepper. In a non-stick skillet, heat canola oil over medium high heat until shimmering. Place salmon seasoned side down into pan, and cook for about 3 minutes on each side, or until salmon flakes easily with a fork.

Serve fillets with sauce spooned over the top, and additional dill for garnish.

Source: Adapted from Blue Kitchen

Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars

2011-08-01T23:36:00.003-04:00

Posted by: Maggie

Blueberry and lemon is one of my all-time favorite flavor combinations. I have been sitting on this recipe for over two years, ever since Emily first posted it on her blog. I'm not sure why it took me so long to make this, but I am kicking myself for not making it sooner. These things are delicious. Thank goodness I gave most of them away, because I could have easily polished off the pan.

Fortunately for my waistline, my dad moved to Arlington, Virginia (precisely 3.1 miles away from me!) on Sunday, and I was able to give most of these bars to him. I'm so excited to have him living here in the area. The rest of my immediate family all lives in New Jersey (now including co-blogger Annie - she just moved back to Jersey from Philly), and it's nice to know he's just a short drive away!

In unrelated news...

1. I have watched the first two seasons of Friday Night Lights on Netflix Instant in the span of 13 days. I'm not proud of this. I'm just kind of appalled at the level of couch potato commitment that takes, and felt the need to share it. P.S. Watch Friday Night Lights if you don't already. I know I'm turbo late to the party, but now I want to talk to people about Tyra and Landry and how stinkin' cute they are.

2. Jeff and I ended up being hermits on Saturday, and stayed in to watch The Shining (which both of us have seen many, many times) instead of going to see Horrible Bosses as planned. We googled stuff about The Shining while watching, since we're movie trivia nerds, and ended up finding this gem:

Image via

Yes, that is a cuckoo clock. Yes, Jack Nicholson pops through on the hour and yells "Hereeeeee's Johnny!" No, it is not available for sale. Yes, I got irrationally angry when I found out it was art, and not a mass produced item.

3. One of my favorite things about having a blog is finding out how readers happened upon our site. I regularly check our stats to see what search terms people are using to find us. Yesterday, someone searched for "my boyfriend calls me a devil." Someone searched for "squirrel sitting in refrigerator" (edited for spelling) a few weeks ago. To both googlers, thanks for stopping by, and I am sorry you only found recipes here instead of useful solutions to your problems. To devil girlfriend, I suggest telling your boyfriend that said nickname hurts your feelings. To squirrel person, I suggest donning protective clothing, gloves, and head gear, opening your fridge slowly, and letting the squirrel out. I would not suggest cooking it, as I hear they are gamey. That is your daily advice, courtesy of A Bitchin' Kitchen.

I will stop rambling and give you the recipe now!

Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar

Filling:

12 ounces (1.5 packages) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Zest of 2 lemons, grated
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 large eggs
1 pint blueberries

Crumb Topping:

1 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup finely chopped almonds, toasted
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13x9 pan with aluminum foil, leaving an overhang to lift bars out. Spray foil thoroughly with cooking spray.

For the crust, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, beat together sugar and butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low, and gradually beat in flour mixture until just combined. The mixture will be crumbly; that's how it's supposed to look! Press mixture firmly into the bottom of a prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside.

For the filling, beat together cream cheese and sugar on medium speed in a medium sized bowl. Add in lemon zest, lemon juice, and almond extract, and beat thoroughly to combine. Beat in the eggs until combined (about 1 minute). Pour the filling over the top of the crust, and sprinkle with blueberries. Return pan to oven, and bake for 20 minutes, or until set.

To make the topping, combine the brown sugar, flour, toasted almonds, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Stir together until mixed. Knead in pieces of butter using a fork or pastry blender until butter is well incorporated. What I do at this point to make sure I get sizable crumble chunks on my dessert is this: Take the crumble mixture you just make, and pack it into two or three balls. Crumble the ball into pieces. This way, chunks will stay together and you will get the perfect crumble texture. I just typed crumble a lot. Crumble, crumble, crumble. Sprinkle the crumbles over the cheesecake layer. Return pan to oven, and bake an additional 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool for an hour before lightly covering and chilling for 2 hours.

Slice into 15 bars, and enjoy!

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Source: Sugar Plum

Spicy Pasta Salad

2011-07-29T20:01:00.002-04:00

Posted by: Maggie

Holy cow. This might be my favorite pasta salad ever. The Pioneer Woman posted it a little over a month ago, and I have been thinking about it with an alarming frequency ever since. You see, I love chipotles in adobo - the starring ingredient in this recipe. I would take a bath in that stuff if it wouldn't burn, and if I wouldn't smell kind of odd. There are soooo many recipes that can be improved by adding their smoky goodness, particularly pasta salad.

I made this a few hours ago, and just had a bowl of it for dinner. I wanted to wait until tomorrow to really let the flavors get to know each other, but my desire for instant gratification kicked in and I could no longer wait. Even after only a few hours in the fridge it is fantastic, and I can't wait to have it for breakfast tomorrow. Yeah, you read that right. Breakfast.

I have a really high tolerance for spice, and added about 5 times the amount of adobo sauce that PW called for, and then minced up one of the peppers too and threw it in there. I think it tastes great, but if you aren't a huge fan of spice work your way up to that amount.

Have a great weekend everyone! I have a friend's baby shower tomorrow afternoon, and Jeff and I are going to see Horrible Bosses tomorrow night. Anyone out there watch It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia? Jeff and I are huge fans of that show, and I'm excited to see Charlie Day playing a different role in Horrible Bosses. Although, from the trailer it looks like he might just be playing the same lovable idiot we know from Sunny. It you don't watch this show, and are a fan of dark satire and ridiculous humor, I implore you to check out the clip below, laugh, and Netflix the entire series immediately. The clip below isn't too bad, but if you have kids in the room you might want to shoo them away, lest they learn some salty language and questionable behavior.

And with that, on to the recipe!

12 ounces penne pasta
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup whole milk (I'm sure you could use low-fat or skim here - I just had whole leftover from making ice cream, and since it was what PW called for I went ahead and used it.)
4 tablespoons white vinegar
4 tablespoons adobo sauce from a can of chipotles in adobo
1 minced chipotle from a can of chipotles in adobo
1/2 teaspoon salt
black pepper, to taste
1 container grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise
8 ounces smoked gouda cheese, cut into small cubes
24 whole basil leaves, chiffonade

Cook your pasta according to the package directions. Drain, rinse until cool, and set aside.

In a small bowl, mix mayonnaise, milk, vinegar, adobo sauce, salt, and pepper. In a large bowl, stir together the pasta, tomatoes, minced chipotle, and gouda. Toss with the dressing, adjust seasonings as needed, and stir in basil.

Chill before serving if you have enough self control to not dig in right away!

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Source: The Pioneer Woman

Peach Lattice Pie

2011-07-27T13:54:00.002-04:00

Posted by: Maggie

The first real pie I ever made was when I was 6. By real, I mean one with a crust and fruit, not something like this. I was in Mrs. Barone's 1st grade class at Holy Trinity School in Long Branch, NJ. I'm sure there was an educational reason why Mrs. Barone had 20 six-year olds baking in the rectory on a school day, perhaps as part of a math lesson, or as a reward for good behavior. All I know is that we made apple pie, and it took me 21 years to ever make another pie.

This is me on the first day of first grade. Little did I know at the time, that 21 years later all I'd remember doing in first grade was making pie. Actually, that isn't my only memory. I remember crying when the cafeteria tried to feed me an eggplant parmesan sandwich. Adult Maggie thinks that sounds delicious. So, both of my first grade memories are food related. Shocker.

Until yesterday, I found pie crust kind of intimidating. Now that I've made one, I have no idea why I was so intimidated all this time. While the process was certainly time consuming, it was really simple. Now all I want to do is use my newfound culinary confidence and make an apple pie, a cherry pie, a blueberry pie, a strawberry pie, and umm...what other fruits can I stuff in a pie?

Please make this pie while peaches are still deliciously ripe, juicy, and in season. It's so packed full of peaches it's practically a health food. They cancel out the butter and shortening in the crust, promise. Speaking of shortening, I know a lot of people like to avoid it, but I think it's why this crust is so delicious and flaky. Use it. It won't kill you. Actually, it might, but only if you eat it every day by the truckload.

Here's what you'll need:

For the piecrust:

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons vegetable shortening
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/4 inch pieces and frozen for 30 minutes
10-12 tablespoons ice water

For the filling:

6-7 medium peaches, ripe (about 6 cups total)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup granulated sugar
pinch cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
pinch salt
3-4 tablespoons potato starch (I found this in the kosher section at my grocery store, and the original recipe states that you can substitute pulverized Minute tapioca)

In a large bowl, stir flour, sugar, and salt together. Using a pastry blender, cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Sprinkle the frozen butter on the flour mixture. Use the pastry cutter to cut the butter in, until there are no pieces larger than a pea remaining, and the mixture is light yellow.

Sprinkle 5 tablespoons of ice water over the flour mixture. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the water. Sprinkle 5 more tablespoons over and repeat. Continue adding water until a small portion of dough holds together when squeezed. You can add up to 2 additional tablespoons of water.

Remove the dough from the bowl, and form into a cohesive ball. Divide the ball into two sections, one slightly larger than the other. Form the large section into a 5-inch rectangle, and the small section into a 4-inch disc. Refrigerate for one hour, or up to two days before rolling.

After dough has chilled (if chilled for longer than an hour let stand at room temperature until malleable) roll the larger piece of dough into an 11x15 inch rectangle. Carefully transfer the rectangle to a parchment lined baking sheet. Using a pizza or pastry wheel, trim edges, and cut out 8 strips of dough, measuring 1 1/4 inches wide by 15 inches long. Freeze strips on the cookie sheet for 30 minutes.

Roll the smaller piece of dough out into a 12-inch circle. Carefully place into the pie pan, and press into corners. Leave the dough that overhangs the lip in place, and place crust in refrigerator.

In a large pot, put 3 quarts of water on to boil. Fill a bowl will cold water, and 3 trays of ice cubes. Adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position, and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and dry the peaches, and using a paring knife, score an x into the base of each peach. When water is boiling, add the peaches to the water, cover, and blanch for 2 - 2 1/2 minutes (larger peaches will need 2 1/2.) Using a slotted spoon, remove peaches and immediately place in ice bath for 1 minute. Remove from water, and peel. The skins should slip right off if you start from the x you made at the base.

Pit and slice the peaches into 3/8 inch slices. Toss in a large bowl with 1 cup sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and potato starch. Transfer to the dough lined pie plate.

Remove the dough strips from the freezer. If they're too frozen to be workable wait 5-10 minutes. Weave a lattice top, trim off the excess lattice, fold the rim of the shell up over the ends of the lattice strips and crimp. Lightly brush the lattice top and crust with 1 tablespoon water, and sprinkle with sugar. Place pie on a baking sheet, and bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 375 degrees, rotate pie, and continue baking for 25-30 minutes more. If the crust is getting too dark while baking, cover edges with foil.

Cool cooked pie on a wire rack for 2 hours before serving.

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Source: Cooks Illustrated

Thai Peanut Butter Noodles

2011-07-25T15:11:00.002-04:00

Posted by: Maggie

If you need a quick lunch or dinner that is made with stuff you probably already have in your cabinets, this is the recipe for you. Except for the time it took to boil a pot of water, this meal came together in 10 minutes flat - far less than the time it would take to order a similar dish via takeout. It is much healthier too, since I was able to control the amount of oil and salt added. I used Jif peanut butter and regular pasta, but you could up the health factor by using whole wheat pasta and natural peanut butter if you prefer!

Here's what you'll need:

Half a box of thin spaghetti
1/2 heaping cup of crunchy peanut butter
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
1/3 cup chicken broth
1-2 tablespoons water (to thin the sauce if necessary)
3 chopped scallions, for garnish
red pepper flakes and salt, to taste

Cook spaghetti as directed on package, and drain. While the pasta is cooking, combine peanut butter, ginger, garlic, oil, honey, and chicken broth over medium heat. Whisk thoroughly to combine ingredients, and stir frequently until heated through. If the sauce is too thick, add 1-2 tablespoons of water and/or additional chicken broth to thin it out. Toss sauce with drained pasta, and season to taste with red pepper flakes and salt. Serve immediately, garnished with chopped scallions.

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Adapted from: Ramshackle Glam

Fried Mozzarella Sticks

2011-07-22T00:05:00.015-04:00

Posted by: Maggie

I love fried mozzarella. Honestly, is there anything better than hot, crispy, deep-fried cheese dipped in marinara sauce? Annie certainly didn't think so as a child. She wouldn't order anything other than fried mozzarella when our family went out to eat.

A bad mozzarella stick experience prompted me to make these at home. Jeff and I ordered takeout a few weeks ago, and happened to get mozzarella sticks with our pizza. Because...who doesn't need additional ways to stuff their face with hot cheese and sauce..amiright? Anyway, while the pizza was delicious, the mozzarella sticks were lukewarm. Rubbery. Flavorless. The marinara sauce was cold.

I refused to be relegated to a lifetime of mediocre fried cheese. I made these, and my mouth rejoiced. Well, it rejoiced after the burning stopped. Don't eat one of these right out of the hot oil. I'm super smart in case you haven't noticed!

Here's what you'll need:

8 mozzarella cheese sticks, cut in half to make 16 sticks
1 cup flour
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup panko bread crumbs, slightly crushed into finer crumbs
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
Pinch of garlic powder
Canola Oil for frying
Marinara Sauce for dipping

Beat together eggs and milk in a small bowl and set aside. Mix bread crumbs, parsley, and garlic powder in a small bowl, and set aside as well.

Set up an assembly line with the flour, egg mixture, and panko mixture. First dredge mozzarella sticks in the flour, then dip in the egg, and then roll them in the panko. It won't stick very well...don't fret, we're going to double dip it! Repeat the prior steps, but don't re-dip in the flour.

Place mozzarella stick on a parchment lined baking sheet, and repeat process with additional pieces of cheese. Place tray of breaded sticks in the freezer for 30 minutes.

15 minutes into freezing, heat 1 - 1 1/2 inches of canola oil over medium heat in a large, deep, heavy bottomed skillet. It depends a lot on your stove, and the pan you're using, but my oil took about 15 minutes to get to a temperature appropriate for frying. To tell if it's ready, sacrifice one mozzarella stick to the hot vat of oil, and if it fries up perfectly in about 2 minutes without cheese oozing everywhere, and without tasting like an oil slick you'll know it's good to go.

Fry the remaining mozzarella sticks in 2 batches, for about 2 minutes total, flipping the sticks over halfway through. Drain on a paper towel lined plate, and serve right away with warmed marinara sauce.

Adapted from: Tasty Kitchen

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Roasted Banana Ice Cream

2011-07-20T00:16:00.002-04:00

Posted by: Maggie

This is the second recipe I've made from David Lebovitz's "Perfect Scoop" cookbook, and I think it's safe to say that I'm now addicted to making ice cream. I selected this recipe because I had 3 overripe bananas languishing on my counter, and I wanted to use them up on something other than banana bread. Plus, the oh-so-reliable Wikipedia says it's National Ice Cream month, and who am I to let such an occasion go by without celebrating?

For those of you who also like to make homemade ice cream, I wanted to share this company that I recently found. They're called Sweet Bliss, and make plain white pint and quart sized disposable ice cream containers. The first time I made ice cream, I stored it in a regular tupperware, and it turned into a freezer burned rock hard mass. I searched and searched online for a place to purchase a more appropriate storage vessel for my frozen treats.

I wanted disposable containers, but most places make you buy eleventy billion of them at once. Not happening. I live in a 600 square foot studio in a high rise apartment building. Closet space is at a premium, and there is not a shot in hell that I'm storing enough ice cream containers to last the zombie apocalypse, especially when there are shoes and purses to be stored.

Enter, Sweet Bliss. I was able to purchase a reasonably sized 25-pack of pint containers and a 25-pack of quart containers, that will surely last me for many, many years. As an added bonus, they fit neatly on a shelf in my closet. Sweet Bliss has no idea who I am, and are not paying me to advertise their product - I'm just a fan and wanted to share!

Here's what you'll need for the ice cream:

3 medium-sized ripe bananas, peeled
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces
1 1/2 cups whole milk (do not sub low-fat or skim - the texture of the final product will be off)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Cut peeled bananas into 1/2 inch chunks. In a 2 quart baking dish, combine bananas, brown sugar, and butter. Gently toss with your hands to thoroughly combine, and bake for 40 minutes, stirring once halfway through.

When banana mixture is done, add the bananas and the syrup that has formed in the baking dish to a food processor or blender. Add in the milk, sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, and salt. Process or blend for about 30 seconds, or until smooth.

Chill the mixture in the fridge for at least 12 hours (I waited for about 20 hours,) and then freeze chilled mixture in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions. For those of you who use the popular Cuisinart model (the kind I have,) the ice cream took a little less than the recommended 20 minutes to be done.

Makes 1 pint.

Addendum: I have never posted nutrition information on here before, but I often figure it out for stuff I make and thought it might be useful to others if I shared! I won't be posting it for everything because that will be tremendously annoying to figure out, and frankly, I don't always want to know how much damage I've done. I hope on the occasion that I decide to figure the nutrition stats that you all find it helpful! Also, I usually calculate nutrition stats using a program like fitday.com, or by adding up the data on the products I use, so be advised that there may be a slight margin of error when you make it!

Serving Size: 1/4 of recipe
Nutrition per Serving: 255 calories, 7 grams fat, 49 grams carbs, 4 grams protein

Spinach Dip

2011-07-18T17:03:00.002-04:00

Posted by: Maggie

Happy Monday!

Not.

Please pardon my attitude...it is hot as sin here in DC today, which makes me unreasonably grumpy. In honor of this miserable weather, I present to you a recipe that requires no stove, no oven, and no microwave.

Those of you who have been reading A Bitchin' Kitchen for awhile may remember that I shared a recipe for Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip back around Christmas. Hot spinach dip will always be my personal favorite, but this cold version of spinach dip is so simple and delicious that it deserves a place on the blog as well. It uses a packet of salad dressing mix, so any readers who are strictly against packaged stuff like that may want to avert their eyes now, and come back for Wednesday's very homemade recipe! (Hint: It is in celebration of National Ice Cream Month!)

Here's what you'll need for about 2 cups of dip:

2 packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed, and thoroughly wrung out (I used my potato ricer to wring out the spinach and it worked like a charm!)
1 cup mayonnaise
1 packet ranch salad dressing mix
Pinch of nutmeg
2 scallions, green parts chopped

In a medium bowl, combine the wrung out spinach and scallions. In a small bowl, thoroughly mix together the mayonnaise, salad dressing mix, and nutmeg. Add the dressing mix to the spinach mix, stir together, and chill until you're ready to serve. Tastes best when served with crackers, tortilla chips, or a spoon!

Source: My lovely Mom!

Bittersweet Chocolate Cherry Cookies

2011-07-15T17:35:00.001-04:00

Posted by: Maggie

Does anyone else wind up with random baking ingredients left over from other recipes in their cabinet? Do they stay there for all eternity, or at least until a desperate chocolate craving hits and you end up eating that last quarter cup of chocolate chips from the bottom of the bag.

Yeah...me too...until these cookies.

This cookie was intended as a way to use up some dried cherries I had floating around from when I made baked brie last month (it's not on the blog, it was too dark to photograph when I made it), and the bittersweet chocolate was left over from when I made frosting for these bad boys.

I probably wouldn't have gravitated towards this recipe unless I was trying to use up ingredients, but I am so. glad. I. did.

The slightly bitter chocolate chips, the tart dried cherries, and the perfectly sweet chocolate cookie dough complement each other perfectly, and I am super excited for Jeff to come over and taste test them himself.

I slightly adapted this recipe from one of my favorite bloggers, Jessica, of How Sweet It Is. Also, check out this post that she did where she rips cookies in half and stacks the halves (did that make sense at all? She explains it better...) Instead of rolling my cookies in a ball like I usually do, I used the rip and stack method, which made the tops nice and jagged, like a bakery cookie.

Here is what you need:

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
Heaping 1/2 cup dried cherries
Heaping 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Cream together the butter and sugars until smooth. Add in the eggs and vanilla, and beat until combined.

In a separate bowl, stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Gradually beat in to the butter mixture on low speed, until just combined.

Fold in cherries and bittersweet chocolate chips. Refrigerate dough for 10-15 minutes, just so it's easier to work with and doesn't spread as much.

Using the "rip and stack" method, form your cookies and place on baking sheet, spaced about 1.5 inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes, and cool on cookie sheets for 3-4 minutes.

Homemade Oreos

2011-07-13T23:38:00.001-04:00

Posted by: Annie

Store bought cookies...

No offense to them, but they must don't make it into my grocery cart anymore. I have nothing against them, except that I have guilt, major guilt. How can I buy packaged chocolate chip cookies when I know that I can make them myself?

All guilt aside, sometimes a girl just needs an Oreo, and a double-stuffed one at that. With this recipe, I can avoid hiding packages of Oreos at the bottom of my cart and make my own at home - and, stuff them with as much frosting as my heart desires! Triple stuffed anyone?

What you'll need:

For the wafers:

1 1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 large egg

For the filling:

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Arrange oven racks so that there are two in the middle of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Using an electric mixer, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. On low speed, mix in the butter and the egg. Mix until the dough comes together.

Take rounded tablespoons of dough and scoop onto the lined baking sheets. Lightly moisten hands and slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once while baking. Set baking sheets on rack to cool.

Now, for the best part. To make the Oreo filling, combine butter and shortening and slowly beat in the sugar and vanilla. Increase the mixer speed to high and beat the mixture for 2-3 minutes, until the filling is light and fluffy.

To assemble your Oreos, use a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch round tip, and squeeze a teaspoon sized amount of cream onto the center of one of your wafers. Do your best to find a matching size wafer to place on top, and gently push the cookies together to evenly fill the cookie. Repeat for the remaining cookies.

Source: With Sprinkles on Top

4th of July Recap & Black Bean Burgers

2011-07-05T21:30:00.004-04:00

Posted by: Annie

Somehow my Fourth of July celebrations did not include one cook-out! It did include me eating my first ever Philadelphia Cheesesteak (go Jim's!)...

And culminated with me eating this (shhh...hot dogs were boiled, not grilled!)

And this:

After my weekend, I was craving something healthy and grilled, and Black Bean Burgers (courtesy of Annie's Eats) fit the bill. I ended up using my indoor grill, but it still fulfilled my desire to grill, and still felt summery!

What You Will Need:

3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
3 tablespoons, plus 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided use
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed, divided
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 red bell pepper, seeds removed and finely diced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, minced
1/4 red onion, or 1 whole shallot, minced

Place a medium skillet over medium heat. Mix panko with 2 teaspoons of the olive oil, and add to the heated skillet to toast. Stir often until the breadcrumbs appear light golden brown in color. Remove from the stove, and let cool to room temperature.

In a large bowl, add 2 1/2 cups of the black beans, and mash with a fork until relatively smooth. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, cumin, salt, and cayenne. Whisk together.

Add the egg mixture, toasted panko, remaining beans, bell pepper, cilantro, and onion/shallot to the mashed beans. Stir well until thoroughly combined.

Using heaping 1/2 cup measurements, divide the mixture into six portions. Pack into approximately 1-inch thick patties. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat, and cook until the patties are golden brown on each side (approximately 5 minutes per side.)

Garnish with your favorite burger toppings! I topped mine with cheddar, avocado, tomato, and a dollop of sour cream!

Summer Berry Tart

2011-06-28T22:42:00.002-04:00

Posted by: Maggie

Look at me actually posting something seasonal, and appropriate for the upcoming 4th of July holiday! I always seem to have the worst timing when it comes to recipes I make, and I always want things like pumpkin at totally inopportune and unseasonal times (umm...like now. It's hot here and I'm craving fall.)

I have to put my desire for fall aside for now, because berries are so gosh darn delicious in the summer that they almost make this disgustingly hot season worthwhile. I do not like summer at all. I just despise the heat and humidity, and all the people who tell me that my hair "doesn't look that bad" when it frizzes so much that I look like Art Garfunkel's long lost sister. The only thing I like about this season is that berries aren't sour and disgusting in June, July, and August like they are the rest of the year. Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries are my favorite fruits, and I usually eat them all before I have a chance to bake with them.

Come on, look how pretty? Who wouldn't scarf all these down before making dessert? These practically are a dessert! (As you can tell from the pic below I originally planned to use strawberries on the tart too, but changed my mind and just ate them!)

Inhale all the berries you want for the next couple months, but make sure you set aside a small stash to make this tart. It was one of those desserts that I didn't have high expectations for - I just thought it would be something for Jeff and I to snack on - and it totally blew both of us away. We may have polished off the whole tart in two days. It's fruit, so it's ok.

Here's what you'll need:

Flour for your work surface

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

3 tablespoons powdered sugar, divided

A combination of blueberries and raspberries (blackberries and strawberries would also be great!) I didn't measure the fruit, just eyeball it according to your own tastes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, slightly roll out puff pastry sheet, and transfer it to a parchment lined baking sheet. Gently score a 1 inch border around the edge of the puff pastry with a knife, being careful not to cut all the way through. Brush beaten egg on the border you've created, and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake until golden and puffed, about 18-22 minutes.

Using the tip of a knife, gently re-score the border of your puff pastry without cutting through. Gently flatten the center of the pastry sheet. Cool at room temperature for about 20 minutes.

While cooling, make the cream cheese mixture. Beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the heavy cream, lemon zest, and 2 tablespoons powdered sugar, and beat again until smooth. Spread the mixture in the middle of the cooled pastry sheet.

Arrange your fruit in desired pattern, and sprinkle with the remaining powdered sugar. Store leftovers (if there are any!) in the fridge.

Source: Real Simple

Mexican Quinoa

2011-06-26T17:41:00.001-04:00

Posted by: Annie

I am a complete creature of habit when it comes to my food. Typically I eat the same thing for breakfast and lunch, and then decide on one thing to eat for dinner Monday through Thursday. Very, very boring for a food blogger, I know. In the winter I was constantly making black bean soup. I would make a pot on Sunday and eat it every night for dinner during the work week. Lately, I have not been in a black bean soup mood (maybe it is the 90 degree days we have been having here in Philly! Yuck!), but I think this Mexican Quinoa will be my summer replacement for black bean soup!

1 cup dry quinoa, rinsed

2 tbsp olive oil, divided

1 large white onion

10 medium crimini mushrooms, diced

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved (I could only find grape tomatoes!)

2 small avocados, peeled and diced

2 tbsp lime juice

Salt to taste

Cook quinoa on the stovetop by adding one cup dry quinoa to 1 and ¾ cups water. Cover and simmer for twenty minutes, until cooked and all the water from the pot has evaporated. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil.

While the quinoa is cooking dice the onions and mushrooms and sauté over medium heat in one tablespoon olive oil. Heat until lightly browned and the moisture has been cooked from the mushrooms.

Add the cooked quinoa and black beans to the pan with the mushrooms and onions, stir, and heat through.

Add two tablespoons lime juice and lower the heat. Mix in the tomatoes and avocado. I served mine with a dollop of low-fat sour-cream and hot sauce!

Source: Daily Garnish

Overnight French Toast Casserole

2011-06-18T12:47:00.002-04:00

Posted by: Maggie

So, I've been gone for awhile with no explanation. Sorry. Or should I say...lo siento?

I'm leaving for a work trip to Lima, Peru bright and early tomorrow morning - a trip which is a result of a couple weeks of insane hours at work, and very, very little cooking. While most of the trip will be spent working, I'm super excited to have ceviche and pisco sours somewhere other than the Latin American bar across the street from my office!

Annie was in town visiting last weekend (we went to see the Glee tour!) and I made this french toast casserole for our breakfast one morning. It was obviously way too much food for the both of us, but it would be excellent if you're hosting brunch and don't want to stand over the stove all morning flipping pancakes for people.

Back with more recipes (and pictures of my trip!) soon!

For the French Toast:

1 loaf crusty sourdough or french bread
8 eggs
2 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla extract

For the Topping:

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
nutmeg, to taste (optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick cold butter, cut into small pieces

Grease a 9x13 glass pan with butter. Tear your bread into small pieces, and place evenly in pan. Beat together eggs, milk, heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla, and pour mixture evenly over bread. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.

You can make the topping at night and refrigerate separately from the casserole, or mix it together in the morning. To make the topping, mix all the dry ingredients together. Add butter pieces, and using a pastry blender or 2 knives mix together until it resembles coarse crumbs.

When it is time to bake the casserole, sprinkle topping over bread mixture, and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Serve immediately with maple syrup.

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Source: The Pioneer Woman

Campfire Delight Cupcakes

2011-06-02T23:15:00.002-04:00

Posted by: Maggie

Have you noticed that we're big fans of cupcakes around these parts?

Not counting this post, Annie and I have 106 recipes on this blog, 12 of which are cupcakes. 11% of our recipes are cupcakes. Ridiculous. Yet, I continue to bake them.

Of all the delicious things I make (I'm so humble, I know...) nothing elicits a happier response from my culinary guinea pigs than cupcakes. I'm a sucker for praise and admiration, so I keep baking them. When I made lemon cupcakes back in April, one of my coworkers told me the unexpected treat made her day. That's some powerful cake, man.

Jeff and I went to a Memorial Day barbeque last Sunday, and when I asked the hostess what I could bring she specifically requested cupcakes. I was more than happy to oblige, since I look for any excuse to pawn off baked goods to willing recipients.

When I saw Sweetapolita's recipe for a sky-high, dark chocolate and toasted marshmallow layer cake a few months ago, I'm pretty sure I drooled on my laptop for a solid five minutes while gazing at the delicious looking photos. But, I make cupcakes - I don't do layer cakes. I don't even own a cake pan. While I could have put forth a smidgen of effort and adapted the recipe for cupcakes myself, that's not my style. I forgot all about the cake until a couple weeks ago when she posted the cupcake adaptation of her Campfire Delight cake.

These cupcakes were crazy delicious (anyone remember that reference? I know it's so 2005.) My friends at the barbeque gobbled them up. One guy there compared the cake portion to "a Hostess cupcake that actually tastes fresh." Sorry Hostess, but he's right.

I doubled the recipe and ended up with 53 cupcakes. I sooo did not need that many. The original, un-doubled recipe (as written below) was supposed to yield 18, but be aware that you may end up with a lot more. These cupcakes expand a lot, so be sure not to overfill your cupcake tins.

For the Cupcakes:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup black coffee
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line your cupcake tins with paper liners.

Sift all dry ingredients into a large bowl. In a separate medium bowl, add all the wet ingredients. With your mixer on medium speed, slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix for 2 minutes. The batter will be quite soupy - this is ok!

Pour batter into the prepared cupcake fan, filling just slightly more than halfway. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs. Cool cupcakes in pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes, and then remove from pan to cool completely.

While you're waiting for the cupcakes to cool, make your filling. DO NOT, make this filling with a hand mixer. You can cream together the butter and sugar with one, but put it away before adding the marshmallow fluff. I'm pretty sure mine is going to die very, very soon as a result of doing so, because the second I turned it on the filling spun around the beaters like cotton candy and got all up in the mixer's crevices. I don't know if a stand mixer would be any different, or if it would have helped had I used a paddle attachment like the recipe indicated. Use your best judgment about your kitchen tools, but I would recommend spraying a metal spoon with non-stick spray and just stirring this together the old fashioned way.

For the filling:

8 large marshmallows
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 ounces Marshmallow Fluff
Pinch of salt

Arrange the marshmallows on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place baking sheet on lower rack of your oven, and toast marshmallows under the broiler until they are brown. Mine took about 3 minutes, but keep an eye on them since they burn very quickly. Cream together the butter and powdered sugar until well blended. Add vanilla and mix on high for 2-3 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, and stir well with a non-stick spray coated spoon until well combined.

When your cupcakes are cool, cut a small portion out of the middle with a paring knife, or use one of those handy dandy cupcake corers to make the job easier. I recently got mine at Target for around $5. Using a small piping tip, fill the hollowed out portion of the cupcake with the marshmallow filling.

For the Frosting:

(Double this recipe if you frost heavily, like I did in the picture.)

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup icing sugar, plus more as needed
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup Classic Ovaltine
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
1/4 cup whipping cream

In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugar until well combined. Add in vanilla and Ovaltine, continue to beat until combined. Add in the melted chocolate, and beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Beat in whipping cream on medium high speed for about 2 more minutes. I added about 2 additional cups of powdered sugar to get it to piping consistency.

Frost cooled, filled cupcakes with frosting, garnish with chocolate sprinkles and a Whopper candy, if desired.

I recommend storing these in the fridge due to the cream in the frosting, but be sure to bring them to room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving.

Source: Sweetapolita

Baba Ghanoush

2011-05-24T11:28:00.001-04:00

Posted by: Maggie

I ate a good third of this recipe as my dinner the other night. I decided that since eggplant is a vegetable, and since olive oil contains good fats, and because garlic is good for blood pressure that it was ok to scoop up this delicious concoction with half a baguette. Whatever. Still a health food.

I always go back and forth with which middle-eastern dip I like better - this, or hummus. They're basically the same recipe, except one has chickpeas and one has eggplant. When it comes to my homemade versions, baba ghanoush is the clear winner. As for packaged versions, hummus wins. Packaged baba ghanoush is kind of tasteless, which is precisely why you should make this.

Serve this with sliced baguette, pita chips, cut up pita bread triangles, tortilla chips, or crackers. Serve it warm right after you make it, or chilled (I like it best warm, but I did enjoy the chilled leftovers for lunch the next day.) Whatever you do, just make it as soon as possible.

What you'll need:

3 medium eggplants
4 Tablespoons Tahini
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup lemon juice (about 2 large lemons)
3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/3 cup fresh parsley, minced
Kosher salt, to taste

Prick the surface of each eggplant several times with a fork so that it can release steam while cooking. Preheat your broiler to high, and place eggplant on a foil lined baking sheet. Blacken the eggplant under the broiler for about 25 minutes, turning every few minutes. You want to get the eggplant really shriveled, and super tender. (Side note: You could also do this on a grill, but I wouldn't recommend an indoor one - mine was far too weak, and I gave up and switched to the broiler.) If you don't mind heating up your kitchen, a broiler is the way to go.

Set eggplant aside to cool for 5 minutes. Cut the eggplant open, and scoop out as much of the flesh as possible into a large bowl. Mash the eggplant with a fork, and mix in the remaining ingredients.

I have to stop blogging about foods that I've been out of for days. Now I just want to make this again.

Source: The Pioneer Woman

Chocolate Ice Cream

2011-05-20T11:31:00.003-04:00

Posted by: Maggie

Happy Friday! Is anyone doing anything fun this weekend? I'm going to see Bridesmaids tonight with one of my girlfriends and I'm super excited. I have the gross-out sense of humor of a 14-year old boy, and I hear that this movie will strongly appeal to that side of me. I'm really not big on serious or sad movies. I'll watch them on occasion if something really interests me, but I think life is too short to spend 2 hours watching something that will just depress you.

I present to you today the only recipe for chocolate ice cream you will ever need. It is perfectly rich, perfectly creamy, and unless I'm in a major time crunch I don't ever see myself buying chocolate ice cream from the store again. It comes from David Lebovitz's "The Perfect Scoop" cookbook, which Annie was kind enough to give me for my birthday last month (in addition to an ice cream machine!)

I'm feeling kind of brain dead this morning, so instead of rambling on about uninteresting drivel, I thought I'd share this little game I've been seeing on some of my favorite blogs over the past few months. I don't know about you, but I'm incredibly nosy, and curious about the lives of bloggers outside their blogs. So I hope this doesn't bore you to death - I'd love to see your own "ABCs" in the comments and learn more about our readers!

Age: 27 (hellooooo scary age)
Bed Size: Full, much to my dismay. I used to live in an old rowhouse in DC, and when I bought my bed I was worried a queen wouldn't make it up our narrow staircase.
Chore you Hate: Unloading the dishwasher.
Dogs: I like dogs, and grew up with a very sweet pug named Humphrey, but I am honestly more of a cat person. Since my apartment is tiny I don't have any pets, but I like to pretend that our family cat Pumpkin, who lives far, far away in New Jersey is mine. Isn't he cute?

Essential Start To Your Day: Diet Coke. At least two of them. Preferably from a nice chilled can, but I've been known to drink it from a warm bottle out of desperation.
Favorite Color: Green!
Gold or Silver: White gold. That's right, I'm difficult and didn't choose one of the actual options.
Height: 5'6 3/4" according to the doctor, but I round up to 5'7"

Instruments that you can play: I have played the piano since I was 5, and I was a band geek in high school. I played flute mostly, but halfway through senior year I started playing piccolo on occasion.
Job title: I'm a contractor for the Department of Justice.
Kids: None yet, but I like them!
Live: Old Town Alexandria, Virginia

Mom's Name: Patricia/Patty/Tricia...Mom? Do you read this thing still? Love you!
Nicknames: Well, the name on my birth certificate is Margaret, so Maggie is a nickname. Some of my friends from kickball started calling me Muh-G-G. My college roommate's boyfriend called me Magnum. A friend from middle school/high school called me Meeeg (long e.) My grandpa called me Bird Turd. My boyfriend has been known to call me Devil Woman. Apparently I'm a very nicknameable person.

Overnight Hospital Stays: Other than when I was born, just one. I got really dehydrated back in 6th grade from a bad case of the flu, and spent 2 nights hooked up to an IV at Monmouth Medical Center. Good times.
Pet Peeve: I could write a whole separate blog about all of my pet peeves, but slow walkers annoy the crap out of me. I try to be patient. I work one block from the White House, and I understand that it's a beautiful and historic area. But at rush hour, I just want people to get out of my way so I can get to/leave work.

Quote from a Movie: One of the few serious movies that I love, love, love is "Blow." I've always liked this quote: "So in the end, was it worth it? Jesus Christ. How irreparably changed my life has become. It's always the last day of summer and I've been left out in the cold with no door to get back in. I'll grant you I've had more than my share of poignant moments. Life passes most people by while they're making grand plans for it. Throughout my lifetime, I've left pieces of my heart here and there. And now, there's almost not enough to stay alive. But I force a smile, knowing that my ambition far exceeded my talent. There are no more white horses or pretty ladies at my door."

Righty or Lefty: Righty
Sibling(s): Annie and Emma
Time you Wake Up: I set my alarm for 6 a.m. and usually make it out of bed around 6:30 a.m. On weekends I get up around 9.
Underwear: I can only think of hilariously gross things to write here that are not food blog appropriate, so I'm moving on to the next letter...

Vegetables you Dislike: The only one I can think of is Yellow Squash, but I haven't tried it in years. I probably like it now - I'm really the least picky eater ever.
What makes you Late: I procrastinate getting ready in the morning. I always have to check facebook, read my email, etcetera, and that majorly slows me down.
X-Rays: Too many to count. I'm accident prone.
Yummy Food You Make: I like to think everything, but these are some of my favorites.
Zoo Animal: I'm a fan of the pandas.

Anyone still there? Have I bored you to tears?

If you're still around, here's what you'll need to make some delicious ice cream:

2 cups heavy cream
3 Tablespoons Dutch Process Cocoa Powder
5 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, warm 1 cup of the cream with the cocoa powder, whisking to thoroughly blend. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 seconds, whisking constantly.

Remove from the heat, and stir in the chopped chocolate until smooth. Stir in the remaining 1 cup of cream. Pour the mixture into a large bowl and set aside.

Using the same saucepan, warm the milk, sugar, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Going very slowly so you don't cook the yolks, pour the milk mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a spatula, and scrape the bottom of the saucepan as you stir. When the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spatula, remove from heat.

Pour the mixture through a mesh strainer into the chocolate mixture, and stir until smooth. Mix in the vanilla extract. Stir the mixture over an ice bath until cool. Chill the mixture in your fridge for at least 8 hours, and then freeze according to your ice cream maker's directions.

Source

Best Ever Potato Salad

2011-05-18T22:46:00.001-04:00

Posted by: Annie

I have always been somewhat close minded about potato salad that does not come from my mom's kitchen. I have always preferred my mom's classic potato salad, and had little interest in exploring other varieties - until now. About two weeks ago, we hosted a party at my house for my roommate's birthday. We were having a cookout, and I immediately thought that the first cookout of the season must have potato salad.

I remembered reading on Brown Eyed Baker about a potato salad that involved bacon drippings, and decided I would venture out of my safe potato salad bubble and make a new dish. Let's just say, I am no longer only loyal to my mom's potato salad (sorry ma!)

Bacon drippings combined with red potatoes all sorts of deliciousness completely won me over.

What you'll need:

4 cups cubed red potatoes
10 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1 stalk celery, diced
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 medium green pepper, chopped

Boil the potatoes until they are soft enough to be pierced with a fork. Drain the potatoes and put aside. While the potatoes are boiling, fry the bacon in a skillet over medium low heat. Using a slotted spoon, remove the bacon and drain on a paper towel lined plate. Pour out all but 2 Tablespoons of the bacon drippings. Stir in the sugar, mayo, mustard, and salt and whisk together. In a large bowl, mix together the potatoes, eggs, celery, onion, and green pepper. Mix in the dressing, and stir well to coat all the ingredients. Finally, mix in the bacon. Cover, and chill in the refrigerator for up to 3 hours before serving.

Source