Daisy Cupcakes

A while ago, I came across these darling daisy cupcakes on Bakerella's blog, and was waiting for an oppurtunity to try them out. I love the cute things she does on her blog (you should check it out!) Bakerella certainly is an expert at doing cute things with candy melts, while I am not. I made these cupcakes today for my daughter's Daisy Girl Scouts, and what I thought would be a quick and easy project took me an hour! (Making the actual daisies. I made cupcakes first, which didn't take too long, and then I made my homemade frosting, which was super fast). I just don't think I have a knack for working with candy melts. I melted them in disposable piping bags, and the candy kept hardening and not coming out smoothly. I didn't have the cool squirt bottles like she has. I'll just blame it on that. In spite of myself, I was able to turn out some mostly-cute looking cupcakes.

Chicken Korma

I made this dish recently for a potluck with an international theme. I've never eaten "real" Indian food, so maybe this is not authentic version, but I love the warm spiciness of this dish (not spicy hot.... I'm a wimp when it comes to that! I use a mild chili powder). I didn't have any ground coriander so I left that out. I love, love, love how all of the flavors taste when they're blended together. I love Garam Masala and will sometimes open my jar of the spice just to smell it. :) I was introduced to this spice by a friend from India, and I've been forever grateful. The only problem is, I just don't use it enough!

I served this dish with brown basmati rice, and garnished with lots of fresh cilantro.

Chicken Korma
from Allrecipes.com

1/4 cup cashew halves
1/4 cup boiling water
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 (1/2 inch) piece fresh ginger root, peeled and chopped
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 bay leaves, crumbled
1 large onion, minced
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon chili powder
3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - diced
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup plain yogurt

1. Place cashews in a small bowl, and pour the boiling water over nuts. Set aside for 15 to 20 minutes. Place garlic and ginger in food processor and blend until smooth; set aside.

2. Heat oil in wok over medium heat. Cook the bay leaves in hot oil for 30 seconds. Stir in onion, and cook until soft, about 3 to 5 minutes. Mix in garlic/ginger paste, and season with coriander, garam masala, cumin, turmeric, and chili powder. Stir in chicken, and cook for about 5 minutes. 3. Pour in tomato sauce and chicken broth. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Meanwhile, place the cashews, along with the water in which they were soaked, and the cream and yogurt into food processor. Process until smooth.

5. Stir the cashew mixture into the chicken and onions. Simmer for 15-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened to your liking.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Smoked Salmon Chowder

 

Right after Christmas, I bought two boxes of smoked salmon. They were on after-Chrismas clearance for about $2 or $3 for 8 oz. Having never tried it before, I only bought 2 boxes, in case I didn't like it. Well, I wish I could go back in time, because we just tried it for the first time, a few days ago, and we LOVED it! The kind I bought isn't the raw-smoked stuff that I usually see; it was fully cooked, and smoked. It was delicious; we used it in a salmon chowder. I have another fave recipe for salmon chowder (which I'm sure I'll share later) but this one was so good- I think I have a new favorite! (Ok, I like them both the same, in different ways!) My husband loved it too- he said something like "You know, you should print out recipes like this. So you'll remember where they are, and we can have it again." The poor guy knows that I rarely repeat a dish, so he wasy trying to make sure this one would be a repeat! With some of my homemade wheat rolls, this was the perfect dinner.

I adapted this from this Allrecipes recipe. I'll re-write the directions to show my changes.

Smoked Salmon Chowder

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
6 1/2 cups water

4-5 teaspoons "Better than Bouillon- Chicken Flavor"
1 pound red potatoes - cubed
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon paprika
8 ounces smoked salmon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
1 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
1 cup half and half

1.  In a large stockpot over medium-high heat, combine the butter, olive oil, onion, garlic, and celery. Cook 8 to 10 minutes, or until the onions are transparent. Sprinkle flour over the mixture and stir well to make a dry roux. Gradually add the water and stir until slightly thickened. Add bouillon, and stir in the potatoes, dill, tarragon, thyme, and paprika. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Stir in the salmon, lemon juice, hot sauce, pepper, and half-and-half. Simmer over low heat, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Do not let the chowder boil after adding the half-and-half. Serve hot.

Pizza on the Grill

Last night, we finally bit the bullet and did something we've wanted to do for a long time: grilled our pizza! It was fabulous. Even though there was gale-force winds outside, and the grill kept going out, we still had one of the best pizzas we've ever had. We were in a hurry because of time constraints, and I didn't get the dough as thin as I would have liked, but it was still good. I can't wait to do it again when we have more time, are more relaxed, and there is nicer weather. I also want to get better pictures- we were in a hurry to eat, and it was getting dark outside, so no great pics. Another reason to do it again!

For the crust, we used this recipe from Allrecipes.com. I used one cup of whole wheat flour, and 2 tablespoons of pesto instead of the basil. I followed the directions for grilling found on that recipe. I made two pizzas, and first we layed on some garlic-infused olive oil. (We used a really good quality Portuguese olive oil... it's yummy). Next went on two kind of cheeses made in the Azores: Queijo da Ilha (it means "Island Cheese" and it has a wonderful, mild, buttery flavor and texture. It reminds me of fontina.) The other cheese we used was Graciosa cheese, a stronger, nuttier ivory-colored cheese from the island of Graciosa. Then, we scattered on some Portuguese green olives, and on top of that went the Presunto- Portugal's Prosciutto. I had lightly browned in it a skillet first. This pizza was very flavorful, and the toppings were all from mainland Portugal or the Azores.

On the second pizza, I used my homemade pesto as a sauce, which was delicious. Then we used the two Azores cheese, more presunto, and some fresh cherry tomatoes.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Having young children is so fun during holidays. They get so excited about everything and make it all fun. Today for dinner, we had leftover salmon chowder, and to be green for St. Pattys, I made some homemade pesto and slathered that on a long, skinny sun-dried tomato baguette, and baked that for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees. Those pictures turned out terrible, so I won't be sharing them, but it was really yummy! At some later date I'll try to post that "recipe" with pictures.

I did make some yummy shamrock cookies from Taste of Home. I added a little more almond extract to the cookies, and cut down on the milk a little in the icing. Then I used a freezer ziplock bag with the corner snipped to pipe designs on the cookies.

Note: I would use parchment paper-lined baking sheets. I broke quite a few cookies because they stuck so badly, and I even started greasing my cookie sheets.

Pot o' Gold Cookies from Taste of Home

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup finely chopped almonds, toasted
Dash salt

ICING:
2 cups powdered Sugar
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons milk
Green food coloring

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in milk and extracts. Combine the flour, almonds and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Shape into a 10-in. roll; wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight. Unwrap and cut into 1/4-in. slices. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 325° for 14-16 minutes or until set. Remove to wire racks to cool. Combine the icing ingredients; decorate cookies as desired. Let stand until set. Store in an airtight container. Yield: about 3-1/2 dozen.

Vanilla Sugar Sweet Buns

Over a year ago, I spotted this recipe for Vanilla Sugar Sweet Buns. If you're interested in making these, make sure to click on thier links for a Step-by-Step guide, as well as thier printable recipe card. It's really helpful to see the pics of the steps required to form these rolls; it made it so much easier than just reading the directions. Also, the directions for kneading are a little different; this dough is very wet and I did it all in my Kitchenaid with my dough hook- just added flour until it was soft and elastic. I also added the seeds from one extra vanilla bean to the dough.

I finally made these last Friday for fun. I love using vanilla sugar- it is so delicate, yummy, and it makes me feel fancy! ;) If I were to make these again, I would just skip the egg wash. I don't really think it added anything and it made them brown too quickly. (The first pic is without the egg wash.) I would also add a light vanilla glaze to add a little bit of moisture and sweetness. (I ended up not using all the vanilla sugar called for- I should have sprinkled the extra on top of the rolls).

Vanilla Sugar Sweet Buns

Dough:
1 cup milk
1 vanilla bean or 2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup (melted) butter
1/3 cup vanilla sugar
2 eggs (beaten)
2 teaspoon instant yeast
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 - 4 cups all purpose flour

Filling:
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup vanilla sugar
Egg Wash:
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk

Pour milk into a saucepan. If using a vanilla bean, slice down the center and scrap each side to remove seeds and place in milk. Slowly bring milk to a scald (Do not boil)then pour into large bowl. Allow to cool to 105F - 110F. Mix in melted butter and vanilla sugar. Mix in 1cup of flour and beaten eggs till smooth. Add in salt and instant yeast. Sprinkle 1/2cup of flour on a flat surface. Pour out dough and add another 1/2 cup of flour on top. Knead for 8-10 mins adding a little flour at a time till smooth and elastic. Pour a little oil into a clean bowl. Place dough in bowl and flip to coat all sides. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 1 hour or till double in bulk. After dough has risen, pour out onto a flat surface. Cut dough in half, place one piece back into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Cut remaining dough into 8 equally weighted pieces. Mine were about 2 1/4 ounces each. Roll each piece to a 6 x 41/2 inch rectangle. Brush tops with a little butter and add a little vanilla sugar. Stack them to make 2 stacks of 4 pieces each. Roll the stacks into a 6 by 4 1/2 rectangle again. Starting on the longest end roll up the dough tightly. Pinch the ends and seam closed. Place the dough seam side down and set aside. You will have two rolled dough's now. Take out the other half of dough in the bowl and do the same with that half. At the end you will have 4 rolled dough's. Cut each roll into 6 triangles making 24 pieces. Place into a 11 inch round flan pan or tart pan. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 1 hour or till double in bulk. Brush with the egg wash and bake in a preheated 375F oven for 30 min. or till top is golden brown.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Happy Pi Day!

Happy Pi Day, everyone! We have to celebrate Pi Day around here, given that my husband is a math teacher and all. We went over to our friend's house for dinner and had a fun Pi-Day bonfire with them after a yummy dinner. I did make some pie today, but I'll have to wait till tomorrow to download the pics I managed to take.... I'm too tired right now from all the Pi-Day fun!!

I made two pies- my Key Lime Pie (already on this blog) and a new one- Caramel-Pecan Cheesecake pie from Taste of Home. The cheesecake one was so yummy; I'd definitely make it again. It doesn't really photograph well, and it was hard to get a clean cut, so the pic doesn't really do it justice. But it's really good!

Caramel-Pecan Cheesecake Pie
from Taste of Home

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 unbaked pastry shell (9 inches)
1-1/4 cups chopped pecans
1 cup caramel ice cream topping

In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, 1 egg and vanilla until smooth. Spread into pastry shell; sprinkle with pecans. In a small bowl, whisk remaining eggs; gradually whisk in caramel topping until blended. Pour slowly over pecans. Bake at 375° for 35-40 minutes or until lightly browned (loosely cover with foil after 20 minutes if pie browns too quickly). Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight before slicing. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 6-8 servings. Editor's Note: This recipe was tested with Smucker’s ice cream topping.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Crockpot Chicken Taco Soup

This is an extremely easy soup that I have been making for a few years. You just put the ingredients in the crock pot in the morning, and by evening, you have a delicious, flavorful soup. I wait until near the end of cooking time to add the corn- that way it stays a little firmer and sweeter. You can also throw in any tomatoes or sweet bell peppers that need using. Top this soup with anything you like- we like sour cream, fresh cilantro, and chopped avocados. Shredded sharp cheddar cheese is also a lovely addition. Don't forget to serve it with corn or tortilla chips!

Crockpot Chicken Taco Soup
adapted from Allrecipes

3-4 chicken breasts (can use frozen)
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves galic, chopped
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies
2 8-oz cans tomato sauce
1 1/4 cup water
1 tsp. chicken bouillon base (such as "Better than Bouillon" or Trader Joe's chicken broth packet)
1 15 ounce can black beans, drained
1 15 ounce can pinto beans, drained
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
fresh ground pepper, to taste
1-2 cups frozen corn

Toppings, optional:
sour cream
chopped cilantro
shredded sharp cheddar
chopped avocado
tortilla or corn chips

1.  Lay chicken breasts in a large crockpot. Add onion, garlic, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, bouillon, both cans of beans, and the spices. Cook on low for about 7-8 hours. Shred chicken with two forks, and stir in the corn. Cook another 30 minutes to one hour. Serve with optional toppings.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Oreo Brownies

I mentioned that the other day, I made some Oreo Brownies for our neighbors. A cooking friend found the recipe from Eat Me, Delicious Blog. The brownies looked beautiful, and I had all the ingredients on hand, so I went for it. These brownies are super, super rich. A small piece is really all you need. They were almost too rich for me. Made mostly of chocolate, butter, and Oreos, that's not suprising! They were really fun to make, and they are impressive-looking, with all of those large oreo chunks peeking through. Make sure you cut your oreos into big pieces- I cut most of them into thirds and some into fourths. These brownies really are easier to cut cold- but I liked to eat them at room temp. You really need some milk with these!

Oreo Brownies
from Eat Me, Delicious

2 sticks (1 cup) butter
1/2 pound semisweet chocolate chips
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3 eggs
1 tablespoons vanilla
1 cup + 2 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp flour
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups chopped Oreo cookies (25 cookies)

Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter and flour a 9"x13" baking pan.

In a heatproof medium bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, heat butter, chocolate chips and unsweetened chocolate until melted and smooth. Allow to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs, vanilla and sugar. Blend chocolate mixture into egg mixture; cool to room temperature.

In a medium bowl, sift together 1/2 cup flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture to chocolate mixture. In a small bowl, stir Oreos and remaining 2 tablespoons flour. Add Oreo mixture to chocolate mixture. Pour batter into baking pan and smooth top with a rubber spatula.

Bake 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted 3 inches from center comes out clean; do not overbake. Allow to cool. Refrigerate, tightly wrapped, until cold; cut into squares.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Mini Vanilla Bean Cupcakes

We had our neighbors over for dinner the other day, and I got a little too excited and made two different desserts for the occasion. I made Mini Vanilla Bean Cupcakes, with Vanilla Bean Butter frosting, and some Oreo Brownies. I'll get to the Oreo Brownies later; today I'll just talk about the cupcakes.

I originally got the idea for the Vanilla Bean frosting from my baking and blog friend, Grannyloohoo. On this post, she mentions a vanilla bean cream frosting, and I immidiately knew I had to make it! I have a large stash of vanilla beans hanging around, so I added the seeds from one bean to a batch of butter frosting. For the cupcakes themselves, I took this recipe and added the seeds from two scraped vanilla beans to the batter. Then I made them into mini cupcakes, and baked for 12 minutes. I got 58 out of the recipe. I frosted the mini cupcakes using a 1M tip, and practiced making different swirly designs on top.

Vanilla Bean Frosting

1/2 cup salted butter, softened

1/2 pound powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped out

1-3 TBS. milk

Cream butter and powdered sugar together. Add vanilla extract and vanilla bean seeds. Add milk, a little at a time, until frosting is at desired consistency.

This made enough to frost all of my mini cupcakes, with enough left over to make 4 graham cracker sandwiches. :)

My Version of KaseSpaetzle

The other day we had an easy dinner of German Bratwursts, green broad beans, and I wanted to have a Spaetzle dish to go along with it. I remembered my mom telling me about a dish they serve in Germany, which consists of basically spaetzle, sauteed onions, and emmental (a kind of swiss) cheese. This is my easy version, using dried packaged spaetzle. I'm sure this would be even better with fresh spaetzle. The leftovers (the spaetzle combined with the green beans, and sliced bratwurst) were even better the next day, stir-fried in a little olive oil.

My Kasespaetzle

2 cups dry spaetzle

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 red onion, sliced thinly

1 1/2 cups shredded emmental cheese

2 tablespoons chopped green onion

salt, to taste

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add spaetzle and cook until done, 8-10 minutes for dry. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat oil and butter and cook onion slowly, over low heat, until carmelized. When spaetzle is done, drain well, and add to the skillet with the onion. Add emmental cheese, and stir until melted. (Some may clump together). Season with salt, and top with chopped green onions.

Homemade Reeses Bars

My mom made a really delicious version of these Reese-like bars growing up, and someday I'll post her recipe. I didn't have enough peanut butter on hand the other day to make hers, so I made these ones instead. They are so good- I used natural peanut butter, and you must store these in the refrigerator, or they'll be a gooey mess. Also, I used a mix of milk and semi-sweet chocolate in the topping, and I added some natural peanut butter to that too. The mix didn't melt smoothly, probably because of the rougher texture of the peanut butter, but it's still very yummy, even if it's not perfectly smooth and shiny.

Homemade Reeses Bars

1 cup butter, softened
1 packet (about 8-9) whole graham crackers, crushed into fine crumbs
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup natural, creamy peanut butter
1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup milk chocolate chips
2 tablespoons peanut butter

2 tablespoons butter

In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together the butter , graham cracker crumbs, confectioners' sugar, and 1 cup peanut butter until well blended. Whip until light and fluffy. Press evenly into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 inch pan. In a metal or glass bowl over very hot water (almost simmering), melt the chocolate chips with the peanut butter and butter, stirring occasionally until smooth. Spread over the prepared crust. Refrigerate for at least one hour before cutting into squares. Store, covered, in the refrigerator.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com**

Lasagna

I make lasagna sometimes for company. It's yummy, filling, and you can save time, and stress, by making it ahead of time, and then baking when needed. I think this allows the flavors to blend better, as well. I try to avoid overly-salted food, so when I make this, I use no-salt-added tomato sauce (but I do use regular tomato paste and crushed tomatoes). This makes a great meal with some focaccia and a green salad, or some steamed green beans or broccoli.

Lasagna

1 pound extra- lean ground beef
1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage
1 medium/large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
1 (14.5 ounce) can no-salt-added tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
9 oven-ready lasagna noodles
16 ounces ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, sliced
8 ounces provolone cheese, sliced
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. In a large pan, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, Italian seasoning, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (or 190 degrees C).*

3. To assemble, spread 2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange 3 noodles over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with some of the mozzarella/provolone cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella/provolone, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining sauce, mozzarella, provolone and Parmesan cheese. (You may have some mozzerella and/or provolone left over). Cover with foil sprayed with cooking spray. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

*To prepare ahead of time, assemble lasagna completely, and cover with cooking spray-lined foil. Refrigerate. When ready to bake, heat oven to 375 (or 190 C). Bake for 40 minutes; uncover and continue baking for 20 minutes, or until heated through and cheese is starting to brown on top.