Chocolate Chip Crumble Bars

Posted by: Annie

I learned something about myself as a baker. I SUCK at crumbling. These are supposed to be chocolate chip CRUMBLE bars, and mine kind of just look like normal bars. Don't get me wrong, they were delicious (I may have even eaten one on my way to work at 6:30 am with a Red Bull - epitome of health you are talking to here,) but my crumbles kind of baked all together to look like non-crumble. Crumble-fail.

I was actually very surprised at the texture of my Chocolate Chip non-Crumble Bars; they were very cakelike and incredibly moist. I made these bars for my good good good friend Jinnely who just received her master's from Temple University in Education! We have been friends since middle school (awww,) and now work together as teachers in Philadelphia. She graduated on Thursday evening and walked in to a big plate of these bars on her desk the morning of her big day.

Me and Jinnely!

What you will need:

2 cups flour

2 cups brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick butter

2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (1 cup for the topping, 1 cup for the batter)

1 egg

1 cup milk (I used fat free)

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl combine flour, brown sugar, butter and salt. Mix well and use a fork to crumble the mixture. Reserve 1 cup of the crumb mixture and set aside. Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips, egg, milk, vanilla and baking soda. Mix well and pour into a lightly greased 9x13 pan. Add 1 cup chocolate chips to the reserved crumb mixture and sprinkle on top of the batter. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the crumb topping is golden brown. Cool and cut into bars. 

Source

Bourbon Glazed Salmon

Posted by: Maggie

Everyone who knows me is aware that I enjoy a drink or three on occasion on Fridays, Saturdays, and Thursdays during kickball season. I'm mainly a beer or wine girl, but I really don't discriminate - except when it comes to tequila. Let's just say that I used to travel to San Antonio frequently for my old job, and had enough tequila on those trips to last the rest of my life.

I tried bourbon for the first time last fall at a karaoke bar. It made me feel all warm and tingly (probably because I was drinking it straight up), and I instantly fell in love. I don't drink it often, because a) if I'm drinking liquor I insist on a decent brand, and I don't like buying $15 cocktails on the regular, and b) I feel tipsy after one, whereas with beer I'm sober as a judge after three. I may be drinking it more often in the near future though, since making this recipe required the purchase of my very own bottle of Jim Beam.

This recipe was absolutely delicious, and if the glaze wasn't the consistency of maple syrup I probably would have attempted to drink it. The original recipe recommends broiling the fish to get it crispy, but the inside of my oven looks like this, and so I just cooked it on my countertop grill:

What can I say...I don't have a lot of kitchen storage.

Here's what you'll need:

3/4 cup bourbon

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground mustard

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon worcestshire sauce

4 6-ounce pieces salmon 

Coarse salt

Pepper

Olive Oil

In a small saucepan, whisk together the first seven ingredients and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer, and whisk frequently for 8-10 minutes, or until mixture reduces by half. Transfer the glaze to a bowl, and allow to thicken and cool while you make the salmon.

Rub your countertop grill (I use the Cuisinart Griddler and LOVE it if you're looking for a recommendation) or grill pan with olive oil, and heat over medium heat. Lightly brush both sides of the salmon with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill to desired doneness - I take mine off when it is just barely opaque in the thickest part.

Brush cooked salmon with glaze, and serve immediately.

Source: How Sweet It Is

Lemon Risotto with Peas

Posted by: Maggie

I'm so sorry. I know you all must be sick of lemon after the lemon linguine and lemon cupcakes. Truth is, I had a giant bag of lemons in my fridge that I didn't want to waste. I just crave that flavor once warm weather hits, and I got a little overzealous when purchasing them at my grocery store.

I promise to give you a break from lemon after this recipe because...

Annie got me an ice cream maker for my birthday!  I am very excited about this gift, and plan to share a non-lemon ice cream recipe with you on Monday.

This risotto might be one of my favorite recipes on the blog. It requires standing over the stove the entire time it is cooking, but it still comes together quickly enough to qualify as a weeknight meal. The original recipe says it makes 8 servings, but I got 3 out of it. That's a salad size plate in the picture, and I had two more equally sized portions off to the side. The blog where I found this recipe suggested serving this with salmon, and I think that you could get a perfectly sized meal for 3 people out of this recipe if you did that.

P.S. People using Internet Explorer - is our logo showing up at the top of the page for you? It is displaying fine on Firefox and Safari on my home computer, but not showing on my work computer that only has IE.

Here's what you will need:

4 - 5 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth (I used closer to 4 cups)
2 small shallots, finely chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups uncooked Arborio rice
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup white wine
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

In a medium saucepan, heat the broth, and keep it warm.

In a large non-stick skillet, melt butter, and saute shallots for 2-3 minutes, or until soft. Add the uncooked rice, thyme, and pepper, and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.

Stir in wine and lemon juice, and stir until all liquid is absorbed.

Stir in the heated broth, 1/2 cup at a time, letting all liquid absorbe between additions. Cook until risotto is creamy and rice is almost tender - about 20-24 minutes.

Add the peas, parmesan, and lemon peel.  Allow to cook another 2 minutes until heated through. Serve immediately.

Source: Susi's Kochen und Backen Adventures