Fresh Guacamole (Olé!)

Just in time for Cinco de Mayo, learn how to make this simple guacamole recipe!  It's a delicious swap for salsa, and nothing beats the freshness of lime, tomato and avocado in the summertime.

Ingredients:
- 2 medium-large ripe avocados
-1/3 cup chopped fresh tomato
-the juice of one lime
-1 clove minced garlic
-2 tbsp minced onion (red or white will work)
-1 tbsp minced jarred jalapeño pepper (if using a fresh jalapeño, then use half)
-1/2 tsp kosher salt
-1/2 tsp ground cumin
-2-3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro


First, a tip about buying avocados.  You can always judge ripeness based on how firm they are, like you would for peaches.  The outer skin should give a little when you press on it, but it shouldn't feel mushy.  


Start by juicing the lime into a medium work bowl, and then add all of the other ingredients except the avocado.  Start by cutting the avocado in half around the inner pit.  Carefully break the two halves apart and remove the pit.  Then use a small knife to score the avocado into little cubes while it is still inside the skin.  Take a large spoon and carve out your diced avocado pieces into another small bowl.  Repeat for the other 3 avocado halves.  Once you have your diced pieces, use a fork to break up the chunks a little bit and create a creamy base for the guacamole.  Work quickly, because avocados will turn brown without any acidity (that's why the lime is so important!).  Add the avocado into the bowl with the other ingredients and give it a quick stir to incorporate everything.  Take a taste to see if the guacamole needs more salt or pepper.  This is best to eat the same day (and it will probably get eaten up anyway), but you can store it in the fridge for a few days.  Just press plastic wrap onto the surface of the dip and then seal the bowl with another sheet of plastic wrap.  Enjoy!

Butter Cookies with Nutella Icing

Have you ever had those Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies (two delicious buttery cookies that sandwich a rich chocolate filling)?  If possible, these cookies are even BETTER.  I really enjoy the slice-and-bake aspect of it too; it makes these cookies very simple and easy to make ahead of time.  I took the dough recipe from Baking Illustrated, their "Vanilla Icebox Cookies" recipe, and then I made an icing to go with it.  

Cookie Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups unbleached flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 16 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Whisk together the flour and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.  Either by hand or with an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars at medium speed until light and fluffy, 1 to 1.5 minutes.  Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.  Add the yolks and vanilla and beat until incorporated, another 30 seconds.  Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix at low speed until a dough forms and is thoroughly mixed.

The dough should be soft but not sticky.  If it is too sticky to form with your hands, chill in the fridge for 10 minutes.  Divide the dough in half and roll each into a log about 6 inches long and 2 inches in diameter.  Wrap each log in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.

To bake, adjust the oven racks to the upper middle section of the oven and heat to 325 degrees.  Use nonstick baking sheets or line them with parchment paper.  Unwrap the dough logs and use a sharp knife to cut them into 1/4 inch slices.  Place them on the baking sheet with about 1 inch of space in between.  Bake until the edges begin to brown, about 14 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through.  Let the cookies sit for 2 minutes on the pan before moving to a cooling rack.  Wait for the cookies to cool before icing them.

Speaking of icing, all you need is 1/4 cup chocolate chips, 1/4 cup nutella, and 1/2 tablespoon of shortening.  Melt all three together in the microwave on half power, in bursts of 20 - 30 seconds.  When the chocolate chips have melted, stir until it is smooth, but let the icing cool a little before adding to the cookies.  I chose to drizzle the icing abstractly over the cookies, but it is also easily spreadable into a thin, glossy layer.  I think these are best served the day you bake them, but challenge yourself to see how long they last!  Enjoy!

Real, Delicious Gingerbread

Nope, I'm not talking about gingerbread cookies this time.  I'm talking about the real, original gingerbread recipe that people used to serve with a mug of tea for dessert in the olden days.  Okay, I'm not sure about the historical accuracy of that, but I would call this a pretty perfect dessert or snack when you're craving some warm sugar and spice.  This recipe is adapted from my Baking Illustrated cookbook; I only made half the recipe (just in case I ate the whole pan myself).  

Ingredients:

• 1 cup + 2 tbsp unbleached flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tbsp cocoa power
• 1/4 tsp cloves or allspice
• 4 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
• 1/3 cup molasses
• 1/3 cup + 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 cup milk + 1/2 tbsp of white vinegar (this was my substitute for buttermilk--if you have both, then use 1/4 cup milk + 1/4 cup buttermilk)
• 1 egg

Heat the oven to 350 degrees, and butter a standard glass loaf pan.  If you must, use an 8 x 8 square pan, but reduce the baking time by 8 - 10 minutes.  Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, spices, and cocoa in a medium bowl.  Here's a tip for measuring the molasses:  spray your measuring cup with cooking spray before adding the molasses.  It will slide right out of the measuring cup and be easier to clean!  For the wet ingredients, beat the sugar, molasses, milk mixture, and egg in a larger bowl with a whisk.  When the mixture is smooth, slowly add the melted butter into the bowl and whisk to thoroughly combine it.  In 2 - 3 batches, dump the dry ingredients into the wet, mixing with the whisk.  To keep the gingerbread tender, don't over-mix the batter.  Just whisk until there are no traces of flour or lumps.  Using a spatula, pour into your greased loaf pan and spread evenly.  Bake for 35 - 40 minutes until the top is firm; you want the gingerbread to still be moist, so try not to over-bake it.  This can be served warm or at room temperature, with or without a fork ;-)   Enjoy! 

Chicken and Dumplings

      After a rough week at work and several nights of not cooking my own dinner, I felt like tonight was the time for a comforting, leisurely, drink-a-glass-of-wine-while-you-cook dinner.  So I immediately thought of this Cook's Illustrated recipe that I was lucky enough to try over Thanksgiving.  I've always been sort of Ho-Hum about Chicken and Dumplings, but this is THE BEST RECIPE for chicken and dumplings.  I promise.  The dumplings are arguably the best part--light and airy, with surprisingly good flavor.  I made a couple of changes to the recipe.  For instance, i used peas instead of celery, vermouth instead of dry sherry, and the rendered chicken fat instead of butter for the dumplings :-)

IngrediENTS

• Stew
• 6bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 2 1/2 pounds), trimmed of excess fat
• Table salt and ground black pepper
• 2teaspoons vegetable oil
• 2small onions , chopped fine (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 2medium carrots , peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
• 1celery rib , medium, chopped fine (about 1/2 cup)
• 1/4cup dry sherry
• 6cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
• 1pound chicken wings (see note)
• 1/4cup Chopped fresh parsley leaves
• Dumplings
• 2cups unbleached all-purpose flour (10 ounces)
• 1/2teaspoon baking soda
• 1teaspoon sugar
• 1teaspoon table salt
• 3/4cup buttermilk , cold
• 2 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter , melted and cooled about 5 minutes
• 1large egg white

INSTRUCTIONS

1. 1. FOR THE STEW Pat chicken thighs dry with paper towels and season with 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add chicken thighs, skin-side down, and cook until skin is crisp and well browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Using tongs, turn chicken pieces and brown on second side, 5 to 7 minutes longer; transfer to large plate. Discard all but 1 teaspoon fat from pot.
2. 2. Add onions, carrots, and celery to now-empty pot; cook, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, 7 to 9 minutes. Stir in sherry, scraping up any browned bits. Stir in broth and thyme. Return chicken thighs, with any accumulated juices, to pot and add chicken wings. Bring to simmer, cover, and cook until thigh meat offers no resistance when poked with tip of paring knife but still clings to bones, 45 to 55 minutes.
3. 3. Remove pot from heat and transfer chicken to cutting board. Allow broth to settle 5 minutes, then skim fat from surface using wide spoon or ladle. When cool enough to handle, remove and discard skin from chicken. Using fingers or fork, pull meat from chicken thighs (and wings, if desired) and cut into 1-inch pieces. Return meat to pot.
4. 4. FOR THE DUMPLINGS Whisk flour, baking soda, sugar, and salt in large bowl. Combine buttermilk and melted butter in medium bowl, stirring until butter forms small clumps; whisk in egg white. Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and stir with rubber spatula until just incorporated and batter pulls away from sides of bowl.
5. 5. Return stew to simmer; stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Using greased tablespoon measure (or #60 portion scoop), scoop level amount of batter and drop over top of stew, spacing about ¼ inch apart (you should have about 24 dumplings). Wrap lid of Dutch oven with clean kitchen towel (keeping towel away from heat source) and cover pot. Simmer gently until dumplings have doubled in size and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 13 to 16 minutes. Serve immediately.
   
   
   This gave me a chance to use my new Staub "La Cocotte" that I got for Christmas.  
   
   I was curious about the word's meaning and was delighted to find this: 

   — n
   1.	a small fireproof dish in which individual portions of food arecooked and served
   2.	a prostitute or promiscuous woman The French are so cheeky.

Favorite Gingerbread Cookies

I love making gingerbread cookies for Christmas.  I discovered this recipe several years ago on Recipezaar (now called Food.com--whatever), and have found it to be the best for making cutout gingerbread cookies.  This time I didn't have all of the spices it called for so I changed the recipe a little bit to compensate for that.  I think they turned out even better!
Original spice list: ginger, allspice, cinnamon, cloves (1 tsp of each)
My spice list:  cinnamon, garam masala (the Indian spice blend), nutmeg, ginger, and cocoa powder

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp garam masala 
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup butter, cut into 8 pieces
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3 cups flour plus more for dusting

In a medium saucepan, heat the sugar, molasses, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, garam masala and salt.  Stir constantly until it comes to a boil.  Immediately remove from heat and stir in the baking soda.  The mixture will become light and foamy; next, stir in the butter, mixing until it melts.  With a fork, stir in the egg and then the cocoa powder.  In 3 - 4 doses, add the flour to slowly incorporate it into a dough.  Dust a work space with a little bit of flour and dump the dough out, using your hands to knead it into a ball.  If the dough feels too sticky, add a bit more flour and continue to knead.  

Go ahead and preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Divide the dough into two pieces and work with one at a time.  To make rolling out the dough a lot easier, put a big piece of plastic wrap over the dough.  This keeps the rolling pin from getting dirty and sticking to the dough.  Roll the dough to a 1/4 inch thickness.  Use your favorite cookie cutter to cut into shapes, and repeat the rolling process for the excess cutout dough.  Bake the cookies for 8 - 10 minutes.  If you like them crisp then keep them in longer!  I like to decorate with royal icing, and Alton Brown has an easy recipe on Food Network's website (Royal Icing recipe).  I've successfully made 1/3 of the recipe since it makes a TON of icing.  Make sure the cookies are cool before icing them.  Happy Holidays!!

Sweet Potato & Pecan Casserole

This was another favorite dish at my family's Thanksgiving dinner this year.  If your idea of sweet potatoes on Thanksgiving is deathly sweet marshmallow-covered sweet potato mush, maybe this one isn't your thing.  But since my cousins were literally fighting over the leftovers, I think they would agree that this is the way to make sweet potatoes.  I'm sorry to say that I didn't get a picture, but just imagine some creamy orange-gold potatoes baked with a crunchy, caramelized pecan topping :-)


Ingredients:

• 3 lbs sweet potatoes
• 1/4 cup evaporated milk
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• The topping:
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg (freshly grated, if possible)
• 3 tbsp flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• pinch of salt

Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees.  Next, prick each sweet potato with a fork 4 - 5 times and microwave them on high for 3 to 4 minutes.  Don't cook all of them at once in the microwave, just two to three at a time.  This is just to speed up the cooking process.  Then, wrap each in foil, and stick directly onto the oven rack.  Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, turning them over halfway through the cook time.  They should feel soft when you give them a squeeze; if the potatoes feel stiff, they need more cooking time.  

Let the potatoes cool for several minutes before handling.  Open each foil pouch and cut a slit into the skin.  Using a fork, peel back the skin, remove the potato and put them into a large mixing bowl.  Add the butter and stir the potatoes with a whisk to incorporate and melt the butter.  Then whisk in the milk, vanilla extract, salt and 1 tbsp of sugar.  Next whisk in the egg.  Spread the potato mixture into a 9 x 13 pan sprayed with cooking spray.  

For the topping, mix all ingredients except the butter in a bowl; then stir in the melted butter until all ingredients are slightly moistened.  Sprinkle the topping over the potatoes.  Bake in a 350 degree oven, uncovered, for 25 - 30 minutes.  If the topping is not golden and bubbly enough, move the pan to the highest rack under the heating element and bake for a few more minutes.  Enjoy!

Italian Baked Mostaccioli

Believe it or not, this dish is a holiday staple in my family (tradition brought over from the old country, I’m sure).  I didn’t exactly have a recipe for it, but it’s a pretty simple dish so I just put in the ingredients I remembered.  It got some rave reviews at Thanksgiving, so I guess it’s a keeper!

Ingredients

• 1 lb box of mostaccioli, rigatoni or other tube-shaped pasta
• ½ lb ground beef
• ½ lb Italian sausage, casings removed
•  ½ cup ricotta cheese
•  6 cups of your favorite pasta sauce (my recipe follows)
•   ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
•   2 cups Italian cheese blend (or just mozzarella will be fine)
• Cooking spray
• Salt and pepper

Pasta sauce ingredients:

• 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
• 14 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 to 2 tbsp olive oil
• ½ cup finely chopped red onion (about half of a medium onion)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ½ tsp dried basil
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• Pinch of red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp sugar
• Salt and pepper, to taste

To make the sauce, heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onion, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.  Occasionally stir for 8 – 10 minutes, until the onions are soft and starting to caramelize.  Then add the garlic, red pepper flakes, and herbs for about 30 seconds before adding the tomatoes and water.  Add the teaspoon of sugar, stir to combine, and bring to a simmer.  When the sauce is simmering, cover and cook for 20 minutes.  Taste the sauce for seasoning and add salt and pepper, if necessary.  If it is too thin, leave the sauce uncovered and simmer for another 5 minutes. 

Boil a large pot of water for the pasta.  When it boils, season the water with salt (a few teaspoons) before adding the pasta.  Cook the pasta for 2 to 3 minutes LESS than the box says.  Since the pasta will also cook in the oven, you want to prevent it from being mushy when the dish is fully baked.  Meanwhile, brown the meat in a large skillet and lightly season with salt and pepper.  When the meat is cooked, drain on a paper towel-lined plate.  To prepare the dish:  spray a large 9x13 casserole dish with cooking spray.  Spoon enough of the pasta sauce to cover the bottom of the pan .  Add the cooked pasta, and immediately sprinkle with the grated Parmesan cheese.  Add the meat in a layer over the pasta, and then dot the pasta and meat with pinches of ricotta cheese.  Cover with the remaining sauce and then cover with the Italian cheese blend.  Bake at 375 degrees, covered with foil, for 35 minutes.  Then, remove the foil to let the cheese brown for another 5 minutes.  Let sit a few minutes before serving.  Enjoy!!