The Best Cinnamon Rolls in the World!

No, seriously.



I made a variation of these cinnamon rolls from Joy the Baker this evening, and let me just say WOW. These were by far the best cinnamon rolls I've ever made, perhaps even the best I've ever had -- and that's saying a lot. The dough was beautiful. I mean, really, really, really gorgeous. It came together so easily, and rose like you wouldn't believe.



I made two pans, one large and one small. The large pan went into the fridge after the final rising, and will bake in the morning for breakfast. The small pan I baked tonight, and Brad and I had them for a late pseudo-dinner. They were delicious, and I can't wait to have more for breakfast in the morning.









Before baking:



And after!





Here's the recipe I used, with my changes included. For the original recipe, be sure to check out Joy's recipe here. My changes were pretty simple. I left out the spices and lemon zest in the dough, and then when I rolled it out, I spread it with softened butter, and sprinkled it with cinnamon, sugar and raisins. For the glaze, I just used a simple butter/powdered sugar/milk glaze. Joy's rolls would obviously have a much more complex flavor than mine, with all those yummy spices and lemon zest. Either way, you can't go wrong! : )

Cinnamon Rolls

Sponge:
2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1/2 cup bread flour
2/3 cup whole milk, cold
4 teaspoons honey

Final dough:
1 cup bread flour
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons butter, cold
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, room temperature

Filling:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

Frosting:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 Tbsp butter, softened
1 to 2 Tbsp milk

Mix the sponge: In a medium bowl combine all of the dry ingredients followed lastly by the milk. Stir together for 2 minutes, then cover with the flours, then the salt from the final dough. The flours are used on top of the sponge like a covering of plastic wrap. Allow to ferment at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Begin the final dough: While the sponge is fermenting, in a 4-qt mixing bowl fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter of medium speed until smooth and pale. Add the sugar and continue creaming at the same speed for 5 minutes. It should be light and fluffy. Add the eggs in 4 additions, mix until combined. The mixture will look very wet, and curdled. This is a lot of eggs, for the amount of butter; it won’t be completely incorporated. Don’t worry!

Add the flour covered sponge to the butter mixture. Mix on low speed until evenly combined. On medium speed, continue to mix with the paddle attachment for 2 minutes. Switch to the dough hook and mix on low speed until smooth and satiny. If the dough is sticking a lot to the sides of the bowl, add all purpose flour 1 Tablespoon at a time. Stop the mixer occasionally to scrape the dough off the bottom of the bowl. Mixing with the dough hook takes about 5 minutes. You can finish with a minute or two of hand kneading if you like.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl. Place a clean dish towel over the bowl. Bulk ferment at room temperature for 1 1/2 hours.

Flip the dough out of the bowl onto a lightly floured surface to fold the dough and redistribute the yeast. With a floured hand, pat the dough roughly into a rectangle. Lift the left side of the dough and fold it over almost to the right side of the dough, leaving about 2 inches of room. Lift the right side and fold it all the way over to the left. Lift the bottom of the dough, the side closest to you, and fold it almost to the top of the dough, leaving about an inch. Lastly, fold the top of the dough all the way down towards you. Return the dough to the bowl and cover as before, leaving it for 30 minutes.

On a lightly floured work surface, using a rolling pin, degas and roll the dough out to a rectangle 15 inches high and 12 inches long.

Spread with the softened butter, and sprinkle evenly with the sugar, and then cinnamon. Add raisins, if desired. Beginning with the long edge, roll up the dough and cinnamon sugar filling. Brush the edge of the seam with water and pinch closed. Cover with a towel and let rest for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Using a bench knife, or sharp kitchen knife, slice the dough into 1 inch cinnamon rolls. Place cinnamon rolls into a baking pan, leaving about 1 inch of space between. Cover the sliced cinnamon rolls with a towel and allow to rest and almost double in size, about 50 minutes. If the room is very warm from the oven, they will proof in as little as 35 minutes.

For the glaze, stir together butter, powdered sugar and milk with a fork; set aside.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, keeping an eye on them after 10 minutes, until they are a lovely golden brown. Remove from the oven and drizzle with glaze while still warm.

Weekly Menu - week of April 13

It's time for weekly menu planning again! I'm not cooking tonight (Saturday) because we're going to the local Strawberry Festival, but I'll be back in the kitchen soon enough. If we get home in time tonight, I'm going to make up a batch of cinnamon rolls to have for breakfast tomorrow. I was going to do that last night, but used up all my flour making pizza dough, so it had to wait.

We're dog-sitting for the in-laws this weekend, and they invited us to use their grill while we're there. We still haven't cleaned our gas grill that was in storage for the four years we were in Japan, so we haven't been able to grill at home yet. So tomorrow we're planning on bringing some food over when we care for the dogs, and having a BBQ while the kids play on the trampoline. And hey, since it won't be at our house (where we're trying not to eat meat), that means I can cook meat! ; ) Brad, who has very patiently and willingly gone along with me in our quest to eat a (mostly) vegetarian diet at home, has really been craving a steak, so I think that's what we'll have.

Sunday - BBQ day! Grilled steaks, baked potatoes, corn on the cob

Monday - Pasta with herbs and butter

Tuesday - Spanakopita

Wednesday - Cabbage rolls, mashed potatoes

Thursday - Leftovers

Friday - Black bean and rice enchiladas, Spanish rice, refried beans, Sangria

Saturday - Leftovers

Greek Hummus Pizza

I've had Greek Salad pitas on my menu for who knows how long now, but haven't ever gotten around to making them for some reason. They just always seemed to be the meal that got pushed back...and back and back and back. Today, though, I struck on the idea of making a Greek pizza, using hummus instead of pizza sauce. I've made Greek pizzas before, and just used a light olive oil glaze instead of pizza sauce, but I thought the hummus would add a nice dimension to it. And I was right!



This pizza is delicious! The hummus really did add to the overall taste of the pizza, but without overpowering it. I used about one cup of hummus, but you could use more or less to suit your taste. For the crust, I made a really quick, no-knead pizza dough recipe, and doubled the batch so the kids could make their own mini pizzas with the toppings of their choice. I baked the remaining dough by itself, spritzed lightly with olive oil and sprinkled with salt, for breadsticks.

Here are the kids' pizzas! Aren't they cute? They did such a great job! These are little mini pizza stones, about 8" in diameter, and perfect for personal pizzas. Love it!



Greek Hummus Pizza

1 recipe pizza dough
1 cup hummus
3 cups mozzarella cheese, divided
mushrooms, sliced
green bell pepper, diced
roasted red pepper, sliced
tomato, diced
red onion, diced
kalamata olives, halved
1/2 cup feta cheese

Prepare pizza dough. Press into a circle on a pizza pan or baking stone. Preheat oven to 425. Pre-bake pizza dough for 5 minutes before adding toppings.

After dough has pre-baked, spread the hummus over it in an even layer. Top with 2 cups of the mozzarella cheese, followed by the vegetables, and then the feta cheese. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese over all.

Bake 12 to 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and crust is brown.

Super Quick, No-Knead Pizza Dough

This is a really quick and easy pizza dough recipe. I prefer the kind that is kneaded and rises once or twice, but this is still really good, and is quick to make if you're in a pinch. It isn't rolled or stretched, either, and is just patted into the pan with floured fingers. It doesn't get easier than that!



This is also good for breadsticks. Just pat the dough into a pan, spritz with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and bake 10 to 12 minutes at 425. For pizza, top as desired, and bake 15 to 20 minutes at 425.

Super Quick, No-Knead Pizza Dough

1 pkg yeast
1 cup warm water
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups flour

Dissolve yeast in water. Add remaining ingredients and stir vigorously 20 strokes. Let rest 5 minutes. With floured fingers, pat into pizza pan.

Hummus

Hummus

1 can garbanzo beans, drained
1/4 cup tahini
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 to 1/3 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Pulse garlic in food processor to mince. Add remaining ingredients except olive oil, and puree. Once blended, drizzle in olive oil to the desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Variation: For a spicier hummus, add 1 to 2 Tbsp chipotle chilies, chopped, or 1 tsp of chipotle chile powder.

Make-Ahead Mexican Salad

I started making this recipe several years ago, and it's been a staple ever since. It's fast and easy, plus there's the added benefit of being able to make it ahead of time. Just mix it together the night before, and leave it in the fridge until the following evening. Or if you're home during the days, mix it up whenever you have a free minute, then stick it in the fridge until dinner time.



I didn't go grocery shopping until this afternoon, so I just layered it, snapped some pictures, then we ate it right away. ; ) Sadly, the tomatoes at the store looked absolutely awful, so we didn't get to have any in our salad. It would have looked so much prettier with it, but at least it was still yummy!



Make-Ahead Mexican Salad

2/3 cup salsa
1/2 cup sour cream
6 cup romaine lettuce, chopped
12 oz canned black beans, drained & rinsed
1 cup canned yellow corn, drained & rinsed
1/2 cup diced red onion
1/2 medium avocado, diced
1 medium tomato, diced
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Combine sour cream and salsa; set aside.

Layer remaining ingredients except cheese in a large salad bowl in the order listed. Spread dressing over the top, sealing to the edges. Sprinkle cheese evenly on top. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Toss immediately before serving.

Variations:
If desired, add chopped cilantro, sliced olives, or other desired ingredients.
Crumble Doritos onto individual servings.
To make this a heartier meal, add chunks of cooked chicken.

Spicy-Sweet Mahi Mahi

This was one of those "wing it" recipes. I used to struggle with cooking anything without a recipe, which probably stems from my early start as a baker when I was in early elementary school. You can't just toss stuff into a cake batter willy-nilly and expect it to turn out, after all. But over time I've gotten somewhat better at it, and now I really enjoy sometimes coming up with my own recipes, or at least my own twist on someone else's recipe.

When we visited the Tabasco Factory on Avery Island a few weeks ago, we picked up a bottle of Tabasco's new Sweet & Spicy Pepper Sauce. Brad requested that we have some grilled fish featuring the sauce, so that's what we did tonight. I thought the fish would be a little bland with only that sauce, so I threw together a quick zesty-tangy-sweet sauce to marinade the fish in, and then basted the fish with the Sweet & Spicy Pepper Sauce while grilling. Perfect!



I served this with an Almond, Mushroom & Shallot Rice Pilaf.

Spicy-Sweet Mahi Mahi

mahi mahi steaks or filets
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lime juice and lemon juice mix
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
2 Tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
salt & pepper

Whisk together olive oil, lime juice, lemon juice, honey, soy sauce, ginger and cilantro, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Pour into a shallow bowl, and add fish, turning to coat. Marinade in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.

Lightly grease a clam-shell grill (like George Foreman Grill) with oil or cooking spray. Remove fish from marinade and discard any unused marinade. Place fish on the grill, and grill until the fish flakes easily (should be about 2 to 3 minutes per 1/2-inch of thickness). Carefully remove from the grill, and serve.

Almond, Shallot & Mushroom Rice Pilaf

Here's a quick and simple side dish that tastes great and goes with just about anything!



Almond, Shallot & Mushroom Rice Pilaf

2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 small shallot, diced
1/2 cup coarsely chopped mushrooms
1 cup long-grain rice (I used basmati)
2 cups water
1/2 tsp salt

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Sautee almonds shallots and mushrooms for 1 to 2 minutes, until they just begin to brown. Add rice and stir for 2 minutes to brown lightly. Add water and salt; stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving.

Japanese Curry

Chocolate?



No! It's Japanese curry base!



I've mentioned it in a previous post, but we LOVE Japanese curry. We got hooked on it about a year and a half ago, and after that we ate it at least twice a month, usually taking the kids on a Saturday or Sunday for lunch. Before we left Japan, we bought a bunch of boxes of Coco's curry, and have been carefully rationing it out since we moved back to the U.S., since we don't have a means for getting more once we run out.

I also bought some packs of curry base at the 100 Yen Store before we moved, but hadn't tried it until tonight. I really didn't think it could hold a candle to Coco's. But it did! It totally did! You have no idea how exciting this is, because I can buy this online! We can have Japanese curry any time we want! Oh, happy day!

It's a breeze to make. Just boil some water, add the bricks of curry base, stir until melted, and simmer 5 minutes. You can also add beef or vegetables, but we prefer just the plain gravy.



This is the most important ingredient, though: Coco's spice.



This stuff is POWERFUL. Even just a few shakes will knock you on your ass. When you order curry at Coco, you choose your spice level, from 1 to 10, and they add the appropriate amount of spice. I never could eat anything beyond a level 3, while Brad usually went for a level 5. Some crazy guys (probably those with small penises, you know) feel compelled to order a level 10, but they're obviously idiots (with small penises). Anyway, we bought this bottle of spice before we moved, and I'm so glad, because it turns ordinary curry into extraordinary.

We ate our curry tonight just like we used to in Japan...poured alongside a half-plate of rice, with flat bread, and a salad of greens topped with corn kernels, sliced hard-boiled egg, and Coco's creamy sesame dressing. Delicious!

Tuesdays with Dorie - The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart

It's time again for Tuesdays with Dorie! This week's recipe was chosen by Mary from Starting From Scratch. I was really excited about this lemon tart recipe. I've only made one tart prior to this (a yummy cranberry tart for Christmas 2005), and my tart pan has been sitting in my cupboard ever since, lonely and longing to be put to use again. Well, wait no longer, little tart pan!



The tart was fairly easy to make, though I did have a few small complications. First was the lemon cream filling. I don't know if there was something wrong with my thermometer, but after something like 30 minutes over the simmering (and at some points, full-on boiling) water, it never did reach 180 degrees. What the hell??? I finally just gave up at 165 degrees and took it off the heat. Does anyone have tips for checking the calibration of my thermometer? it's a digital, and I've never had problems with it before, but I have to wonder about it's accuracy after this recipe. Or maybe it's just me. I tried making lemon curd back in the mid-90s, and it never got to temperature, either. Hmmmm.

But I'm not upset, because the filling tastes fab. u. lous. It was all Brad and I could do to not dig in with a spoon and just eat it by itself. But we were good, and I covered it with plastic and stuck it in the fridge.

[UPDATE: I just realized while looking through the recipe that I only used 2 sticks of butter in the filling, and not the additional 5 Tbsp it calls for. FYI, it tastes glorious and the texture is just fine even without the extra butter, so feel free to leave it out if you make this tart. You could probably even get by with less than 2 sticks, in all honesty.]

Yellow is my favorite color, so I couldn't resist snapping a picture of all those gorgeous yellow ingredients!



I prepared the crust Saturday night after we got back from the football game. It came together really easily in my food processor, and pressed neatly into the tart pan. I was skeptical of the instructions to butter foil and press it against the dough, but I did it anyway. And yeah, when I VERY CAREFULLY removed the foil as directed, it peeled up half the dough with it. Nooooooo! I was ticked, let me tell you. I managed to piece it back together, and used some of the held back scraps to patch the rest, but I'm still annoyed that it came to that. Why not just bake it without the foil pressed so tightly against it? I don't get it.

But at least it turned out in the end! I decorated mine with thin lemon slice halves around the edge, and to be honest, I'm almost ridiculously pleased with how pretty it is. And it's just as delicious as it is beautiful! The filling is fairly tart, which I love, so the sweet pastry crust provides a great balance. This is definitely something I'll make again. In fact, I'm going to be preparing the food for an upcoming bridal shower, and I think this will have to be featured on that menu.



The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart
From Baking: From My Home to Yours

1 cup sugar
Grated zest of 3 lemons
4 large eggs
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 4-5 lemons)
2 sticks plus 5 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces, at room temperature
1 9-inch tart shell (recipe below)

Have an instant-read thermometer, a strainer and a blender or food processor at hand. Bring a few inches of water to a simmer in a saucepan.

Put the sugar and zest in a large heatproof bowl that can be set over the pan of simmering water. Off the heat, rub the sugar and zest together between your fingers until the sugar is moist, grainy and very aromatic. Whisk in the eggs, followed by the lemon juice.

Set the bowl over the pan and start stirring with the whisk as soon as the mixture feels tepid to the touch. Cook the lemon cream until it reaches 180 degrees F. As you whisk - you must whisk constantly to keep the eggs from scrambling - you'll see that the cream will start out light and foamy, then the bubbles will get bigger, and then, as it gets closer to 180 degrees F, it will start to thicken and the whisk will leave tracks. Heads up at this point - the tracks mean the cream is almost ready. Don't stop whisking or checking the temperature, and have patience - depending on how much heat you're giving the cream, getting to temp can take as long as 10 minutes.

As soon as it reaches 180 degrees F, remove the cream from the heat and strain it into the container of the blender (or food processor); discard the zest. Let the cream stand, stirring occasionally, until it cools to 140 degrees F, about 10 minutes.

Turn the blender to high (or turn on the processor) and, with the machine going, add the butter about 5 pieces at a time. Scrape down the sides of the container as needed as you incorporate the butter. Once the butter is in, keep the machine going - to get the perfect light, airy texture of lemon-cream dreams, you must continue to blend the cream for another 3 minutes. If your machine protests and gets a bit too hot, work in 1-minute intervals, giving the machine a little rest between beats.



Sweet Tart Dough

1 ½ cups all purpose flour
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 stick plus 1 tablespoon (9 T) very cold (or frozen) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces (I used only 1 stick of butter)
1 large egg yolk

Put the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse a couple of times to combine. Scatter the pieces of butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is coarsely cut in- you should have some pieces the size of oatmeal fakes and others the size of peas. Stir the yolk, just to break it up, and add it a little at a time, pulsing after each addition. When the egg is in, process in long pulses- about 10 seconds each- until the dough, which will look granular soon after the egg is added, forms clumps and curds. Just before you reach this stage, the sound of the machine working the dough will change- heads up. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and, very lightly and sparingly, knead the dough just to incorporate and dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing.

To press the dough into the pan: butter a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan, using all but one little piece of dough, which you should save in the refrigerator to patch any cracks after the crust is baked. Don’t be too heavy handed- press the crust in so that the edges of the pieces cling to one another, but not so hard that the crust loses its crumbly texture. Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes, preferable longer, before baking.

To partially or fully bake the crust: center a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F.

Butter the shiny side of aluminum foil and fit the foil, buttered side down, against the crust. (since you froze it, you can bake it without weights). Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake the crust for 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil. If the crust has puffed, carefully press it down with the back of a spoon. For partially baked crust, patch the crust if necessary, then transfer the crust to a cooling rack. To fully bake the crust, bake for another 8 minutes or so, or until it is firm and golden brown. Transfer pan to a rack and cool the crust to room temperature before filling.

Pour the cream into a container, press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface to create an airtight seal and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. The cream will keep in the fridge for 4 days or, tightly sealed, in the freezer for up to 2 months; thaw it overnight in the refrigerator).

When you are ready to assemble the tart, just whisk the cream to loosen it and spoon it into the tart shell. Serve the tart, or refrigerate until needed.

Nasty Nachos

Now, I know that this dish has an unappealing name, but it's so much better than it sounds! It's basically a nacho casserole -- taco meat, crushed tortilla chips, cream style corn, salsa and cheese layered together, then baked until hot and bubbly. The cream style corn sounds strange, but coming from someone who absolutely hates cream style corn, it works in this recipe, and it wouldn't be the same without it. The sauce from the corn helps bind the ingredients together, and adds some great flavor.

Next time I make this, I'm going to use Morningstar Crumbles instead of ground beef, or maybe even some drained and rinsed black beans, cooked with the taco seasoning. We have pretty much fallen off of our vegetarian game lately, and need to get back on track. But for tonight, this really hit the spot!

Ready to bake.



And out of the oven.



Nasty Nachos

1 lb ground beef
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 bag tortilla chips
1 can cream style corn
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 jar of salsa

Preheat oven to 400.

Brown the ground beef; drain well. Mix with taco seasoning according to package directions.

In a greased casserole dish, layer in the order stated:

1/3 package of crushed chips (about 2 handfuls)
½ hamburger mixture
½ can cream style corn
1 cup cheddar cheese
½ jar of salsa (about 2/3 cup)

Repeat layers. Sprinkle remaining crushed chips over the top. Bake until heated through, about 30 minutes. Cover with foil if the chips start to brown too much.

It's not pretty, but it's good!

French Toast

Really, are there many things better than breakfast for dinner? It seems to be one of those things that everybody loves. I remember back in college how excited some people would get when the cafeteria served pancakes, French toast, bacon and eggs for dinner (that, and they also got excited about Cheese It Up night, with grilled cheese, quesadillas and tomato soup...yum!). So as you can guess, breakfast for dinner tonight totally hit the spot!

When it comes to pancakes and French toast, Brad and I are almost polar opposites. I like loads of syrup on mine, while Brad prefers there to be just the lightest amount of syrup...just enough to lend a hint of sweetness to the pancakes or French toast, but not overpowering them. When he's done eating, his plate usually only sports a drop or two of unused syrup. I, on the other hand, love my pancakes and French toast SWIMMING in syrup. And tonight I splurged on one of my very favorite things (something I don't do very often) and put peanut butter on my French toast, then topped it with syrup. OMG, YUM! That's how we usually had pancakes and French toast growing up, although Brad thinks I'm a complete freak for liking it. I think he's a freak, however, because he doesn't even like peanut butter at all, in any capacity, so his opinion about my French toast today doesn't hold much weight with me. ; )

Ahhhh, marital bliss! hee hee hee...

Here's my French toast. Doesn't it look happy, all slathered in peanut butter and swimming in syrup?



And here's Brad's French toast (with much more syrup than he usually uses). Doesn't it look sad? Doesn't it look like it feels slighted? Poor, poor French toast, sitting on the side of the pool, only able to dip its toes in the syrup, wishing it could jump in and swim with the French toast cool kids. So sad...



I take a pretty generic approach to French toast, but here's the recipe in case anyone wants it.

French Toast

4 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
10 slices bread

Preheat a large skillet or griddle. I don't have a griddle so I use an electric skillet because that way I can cook 6 slices at a time. If using a griddle or electric skillet, set the temperature to 375. If using a skillet on the stove, heat it to medium. Spray fairly liberally with cooking spray.

Whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla and cinnamon in a wide, shallow dish. Dip bread slices in egg mixture, one at a time, flipping to soak both sides. Don't skimp on this, as you want the egg mixture to soak into the bread. Place the bread in the heated skillet. Cook for a few minutes on each side (lift up a corner to see if it's brown enough on the bottom), then flip and continue cooking on the other side. At a temperature of 375, by the time they're nice and brown on the outside, they'll be cooked through in the middle.

Serve immediately, with lots of peanut butter and syrup. :wink:

Weekly Menu - week of April 6

It's menu planning time! Here's what I've come up with for this week. Sunday and Monday are carryovers from last week, that I never got around to cooking. This week's meals are mostly from my collection of tried & true recipes, so nothing new and exciting this week, but it all sounds good!

Sunday - French toast

Monday - Nasty Nachos (a casserole)

Tuesday - Japanese curry with rice, salad, and flatbread

Wednesday - Spicy-Sweet Mahi Mahi with Almond, Shallot & Mushroom Rice Pilaf

Thursday - Make-ahead Mexican Salad

Friday - Greek Hummus Pizza

Saturday - eating out

Meringue Cookies

After seeing Jenn's posts about making meringue cookies with her daughter, I was compelled to make some myself. We used to buy these a lot at the commissaries in Bremerton and Yokosuka, but it's been a long time since I've had one. I always figured they would be way too much work to make at home. I tend to have those kind of misconceptions about recipes that involve something as complex as (gasp!) filling a pastry bag, or baking in two parts (as in a crust and a filling). I am such a dork, because it's not like those things are even difficult, it's just that I often look at them as disqualifiers for recipe selection. Silly Food Slut...

Anyway, these were an absolute breeze to mix up! I didn't have a pastry bag on hand, so I used my Pampered Chef Easy Accent Decorator instead, and it got the job done just fine.

There are a bunch of different ways you can make these...with different flavorings added (peppermint, vanilla, chocolate), with nuts or chocolate chips folded in, tinted with food coloring, or with crushed peppermint candies sprinkled on top. I went the very basic route, because I'm in a very basic kind of mood today. ; )

I tried several different shapes, but I think these hearts are my favorite!



Meringue Cookies

2 egg whites
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup white sugar

Preheat oven to 200. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or foil.

In a large glass or metal mixing bowl, beat egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar to soft peaks. Gradually add sugar, continuing to beat to stiff peaks. The mixture will start to look glossy. Pipe onto the prepared baking sheets, or use two spoons to drop them in mounds.

Bake for 90 minutes. The meringues should be completely dry on the inside. They should not brown. Turn off the oven, keep oven door open a bit, and let the meringues sit in the oven until they have cooled completely. Carefully peel from the foil or parchment paper.

These will get soggy quickly in humid weather. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

Sausage, Biscuits & Gravy

Well, last week's menu was derailed midway through the week. I've not been feeling my best for the past couple days, so one day Brad picked up Raising Cain's chicken fingers for dinner (YUM!), and the next day he grabbed a frozen pizza from Target on his way home from class, and we ate that. I'm feeling somewhat better now, though, and am ready to get back on my game! Today I made the first component of the next Tuesdays with Dorie recipe: The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart. I'll post more about it on Tuesday, so be watching for that. If the whole finished product tastes as good as this one part I made, we're in for a treat!

Now, about food we ate today. This morning, true to my declaration to get back into the kitchen, we had a full-on, no-shit Southern breakfast: sausage, biscuits, gravy and grits. OH, BABY!

We could have had some eggs with it, but eggs are healthy, and we wouldn't want them to get in the way of all that yummy, unhealthy other stuff.

I'll confess that we cheated and used frozen Pillsbury buttermilk biscuits (shut up, they are really good, and better than anything I've been able to make from scratch), and used Jimmy Dean's pre-cooked sausage patties, but I'm OK with that.



Yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yummmmmmmmm!

Salmon Salad Sandwiches

When I bought salmon for last night's dinner, I told the fish guy that I needed enough for two people, and, well, he gave me enough for four. I feel a little bit better about how much I paid for it (we are on a tight budget, after all, being two full-time college students, neither one of us working, and raising two kids to boot), seeing as how at least we'll get two meals out of it. But what to do with leftover salmon? I've had cold salmon before, poached in white wine and served with a cucumber sauce, but that wasn't appealing to me right now. After some quick web browsing and brain storming, we settled on salmon salad sandwiches.

There has got to be a better name for this. Tuna salad sounds fine, but salmon salad? It just sounds wrong for some reason, like school cafeteria mystery meat's quirky cousin. Huh. I'm not sure what to do about that. But hey, regardless of what you call it, it's tasty!

What would you call it?

I had fun taking pictures of this. I thought it was hilarious to take an artsy picture of basically glorified tuna salad on cheapo white bread. Ah, I crack myself up.



This is how we actually ate it, though, with some leftover Quinoa Salad.



Oh, and I told Meg that it was "pink tuna fish", and she couldn't wait to try it. LOL

Let me preface the recipe by saying that I'm not giving any ingredient amounts. I know that I'm super finicky about how I like my tuna salad, which of course carries over to salmon salad, and I'm sure others are, too. Just use the amounts to suit your own personal taste. If you like just a hint of mayo, no problem. If you prefer your mayo with a hint of fish, go for it. These are just broad guidelines for making salmon salad.

All right.

Salmon Salad Sandwiches

Cooked salmon (I imagine you could use canned salmon -- something I've never tried -- but mine was leftover roasted salmon)
Mayonnaise
Green onions, thinly sliced
Dill, fresh or dried
Salt & Pepper
Bread

In a medium mixing bowl, flake the salmon. Add mayonnaise to suit your taste. Gently fold in green onions and a little dill. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Chill until serving. When you're ready to eat, slather this on the bread of your choice.

Roasted Salmon

I've been craving salmon something fierce lately, as I mentioned in an earlier post, so we put the at-home vegetarian diet on hold for one day, and I splurged on some gorgeous salmon from Whole Foods. It was no Copper River Salmon (man, I love that stuff!), but it was still yummy.

I went with my standard, go-to salmon prep (olive oil, lemon and dill), and roasted it because we haven't set up our gas grill yet since moving here. I made roasted rosemary baby potatoes, and some simple roasted asparagus to go with it. Great dinner! There are a couple pieces of salmon left, so tomorrow we're going to try making some tuna salad-style salmon salad sandwiches for lunch. I've never had salmon salad like that before, but I figure it's worth a shot. We'll see!

Look how pretty!



Oven-Roasted Salmon

Salmon filets
olive oil
1 lemon, thinly sliced
fresh dill sprigs, or dried dill
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 425. Bring one of the racks up to the top third of the oven.

Line a baking pan with aluminum foil. Place salmon filets on foil, skin-side down, and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Lay dill sprigs on top of salmon, or sprinkle with dried dill. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Arrange several lemon slices over the salmon, overlapping slightly.

Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until salmon is cooked to desired doneness. Remove lemon slices, and cut each filet in half crosswise. Using a spatula, gently lift salmon off of the skin; discard skin. Serve warm.

For serious?

I made popcorn for the kids a couple weeks ago, for movie night while we watched Enchanted (one of the cutest movies ever, by the way). When my 5 year old saw that I was making popcorn, she got all excited and said "oooooh, do you have any cream cheese?" Huh? Yep, my crazy kid likes cream cheese with her popcorn. Now, her obsession with cream cheese is nothing new. This kid will literally eat a brick of cream cheese like most people eat a candy bar. She discovered it when I was making a cheesecake and she swiped the remaining bits of cream cheese on the Philadelphia wrapper. After that, we couldn't leave an opened container of cream cheese in the fridge, or we would find it later with a bunch of finger dip marks in it. That crazy kid...

So yeah, she somehow came up with the idea to combine cream cheese with popcorn when we had a babysitter over, and now she doesn't want her popcorn any other way. I humored her today -- we were having Mommy & Meg's Day of Fun, after all -- and stirred a couple tablespoonfuls of cream cheese into her popcorn. It took some work to distribute it evenly, but you know what? It was actually pretty good!

I tried to get some pictures, but it's kind of hard to adequately show white cream cheese on white popcorn. You can get the idea, though, I'm sure, and that smile on her face says a lot, too.

Tuesdays with Dorie - Gooey Chocolate Cakes

This week is my first Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, Gooey Chocolate Cakes, chosen by Leigh of Lemon Tartlet! I joined the group last week, and have been so excited to take part in the fun!



The cakes were fairly simple, and very quick to mix up, but I did have a few small complications with the recipe. First, the only muffin pan I have is a stoneware piece, which typically requires the baking time to be extended by 4 or 5 minutes. These cakes cook so quickly, though, and are supposed to be gooey inside, so it was hard to know how long to bake them. I ended up extending the cooking time by 3 minutes, which turned out to be a little too long. The cakes were somewhat gooey inside, but I was hoping for a more molten texture.

The other issue I had was in regards to greasing and flouring the muffin cups. My stoneware is pretty well seasoned, such that most muffins and cupcakes just pop right out, and I should have just stuck with that. But I hated the thought that they might not turn out neatly after baking, so I greased and floured them as directed. Yeah. When I turned the cakes out of the pan, they were all white from the flour! Who wants that??? Grrrr. I dusted them with a powdered sugar-cocoa powder mixture to make them more attractive, so it wasn't a disaster or anything. Next time I will probably forego the greasing and flouring, and just trust my stoneware to let go of the cakes when it's time.

I'm wondering what others' experiences were with the flouring. I just barely sprayed mine with cooking spray, and then floured them lightly. Did I do something wrong?

Anyway, they tasted fabulous, and were enjoyed by all. The kids, who were already in bed, came creeping out saying "something smells like dessert." Hee hee hee! We let them have a little bite, then sent them back to re-brush their teeth before returning to bed, and then today they're having the leftovers for an after school snack. I figured they'd be way too rich for little girls (5 and 9), but they loved them!

All in all, the recipe was a success, and I will definitely make them again!

Gooey Chocolate Cakes

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon salt
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate -- 4 ounces coarsely chopped and 1 ounce very finely chopped
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
6 tablespoons of sugar

Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. butter (or spray – it’s easier) 6 cups of a regular-size muffin pan, preferably a disposable aluminum foil pan, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Put the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

Sift the flour, cocoa and salt together.

Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, put the coarsely chopped chocolate and the butter in the bowl and stir occasionally over the simmering water just until they are melted – you don’t want them to get so hot that the butter separates. Remove the bowl from the pan of water.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and yolk until homogenous. Add the sugar and whisk until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add the dry ingredients and, still using the whisk, stir (don’t beat) them into the eggs. Little by little, and using a light hand, stir in the melted chocolate and butter. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups and sprinkle the finely chopped chocolate over the batter.

Bake the cakes for 13 minutes. Transfer them, still on the baking sheet, to a rack to cool for 3 minutes. (There is no way to test that these cakes are properly baked, because the inside remains liquid.)

Line a cutting board with a silicone baking mat or parchment or wax paper, and, after the 3-minute rest, unmold the cakes onto the board. Use a wide metal spatula to lift the cakes onto dessert plates.