Spork or Foon?

TWD: Semi-Tropical, All-American Granola Grabbers

These are Semi-Tropical, All-American cookies because they have tropical components and good old American components.  The tropical components being pineapple, banana, and coconut and the American components being chocolate, marshmallow, and peanut butter. 

Random Side Note:  I have the Science Channel on in the background (my boyfriend leaves it on for the dog when we are not home so she is not bored.  I know. Don't ask.  I think he should leave on Animal Planet.) and did you know that Lego means "I built" in Latin? 

Carrying on.

So,  as you see, instead of using the ingredients listed in the book, I took my own spin. I used chopped dried bananas, mini marshmallows (from the cocoa mix), coconut, dried pineapple, peanuts, dried cranberries, chocolate chunks, and these little banana peanut chips (they are kind of chewy and so delicious).  Then I stuffed the cookies with a peanut butter filling (similar to the chocolate filling from the best cookies everrrrrrrrrrrrrrr). Finally, I sprinkled some cinnamon sugar on top.

Let me just say, these took FOREVER to put together because of the peanut butter filling. It felt like a good three and a half years flew before my eyes.  I think I just lived through the end of my twenties and am 30 years old now. I found myself wondering where my youth went, missing the good old days of this past July where I could stuff cookies with filling without my back aching. I felt my sciatica kicking in and I don't even know what it is, but I just heard someone mention it at work today.  I wanted to yell at those darn kids down the hall playing their music so loudly, but then I realized it was coming from my

These cookies are pretty much amazing. But although I've aged a bit, I feel like a kid when I bite into one of these and I think I would like them more if I were a kid... these are SWEEEEET!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to find one of those Zoltar machines like Joshua (Tom Hanks) in BIG.  But before I do, I'll have to hit up F.A.O. Schwartz and do this. And play with some Legos.

That scene makes me so happy even 20 years later.

Thanks, Michelle of Bad Girl Baking, for a great pick! Check out TWD for more grabbers!

Cornmeal and Rosemary Cake with a Sweet Balsamic Syrup

Not your typical dessert.

Via Giadi De Laurentiis

For the Cake:
1/2 cup fine yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup cake flour
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar, plus more for dusting
4 large egg yolks
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream

For the Balsamic Syrup:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 small sprig fresh rosemary

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the cake:

Butter and flour an 8-inch round cake pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, cake flour, minced rosemary, baking powder, and salt.

Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, on low speed beat the butter and vanilla together until combined. Slowly add the powdered sugar. Once the sugar is incorporated increase the speed to high and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolks and eggs, 1 at a time. Reduce the speed to medium and add the sour cream. On low speed add the dry ingredients just until incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth the surface with a spatula. Bake in the lower third of the oven until the cake is golden and pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 35 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool. Transfer the cake from the pan to a serving plate and dust with powdered sugar.

For the Balsamic Syrup:

Place the sugar, balsamic vinegar, and rosemary in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer until the sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Discard the rosemary sprig and let the syrup cool.

To serve, place a slice of cake on a serving plate; spoon some syrup around the plate.

The Best Appetizer in Seattle- and I've never even been to Seattle.

I forgot the goat cheese in this shot.

Bon Appetit Magazine Featured this recipe this month, courtesy of a restaurant in Seattle. One man called it the best appetizer in Seattle. I've never been to Seattle, but I'll have to agree with him.  It probably is the best appetizer in Seattle, because it's unreal.  It is so amazingly sweet and tender, with the smooth goat cheese accompanying the crusty bread perfectly.

This is a very time consuming recipe, but the results are well worth the wait.  I would bathe in that pool of olive oil.  Goat cheese and all. Don't judge.

Recipe Courtesy BonAppetit

Pomodori Al Forn

Ingredients

• 1 cups (or more) olive oil, divided
• 2 pounds plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise, seeded
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 3/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 to 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh Italian parsley
• Aged goat cheese (such as Bûcheron)
• 1 baguette, thinly sliced crosswise, toasted

• INGREDIENT TIP/ Alta Cucina canned plum tomatoes are available online from sciabica.com.

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 250°F. Pour 1/2 cup oil into 13x9x2-inch glass or ceramic baking dish. Arrange tomatoes in dish, cut side up. Drizzle with remaining 1/2 cup oil. Sprinkle with oregano, sugar, and salt. Bake 1 hour. Using tongs, turn tomatoes over. Bake 1 hour longer. Turn tomatoes over again. Bake until deep red and very tender, transferring tomatoes to plate when soft (time will vary, depending on ripeness of tomatoes), about 15 to 45 minutes longer.
• Layer tomatoes in medium bowl, sprinkling garlic and parsley over each layer; reserve oil in baking dish. Drizzle tomatoes with reserved oil, adding more if necessary to cover. Let stand at room temperature 2 hours. DO AHEAD Cover; chill up to 5 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.
• Serve with aged goat cheese and toasted baguette slices

In Honor of the Olympic Games in Beijing.

My boyfriend and I had high hopes for the opening ceremony last week and we were not disappointed. Neither of us are huge fans of the Olympic Games, but we fell victim to the hype, and to be even more cliche`, we decided to have a Chinese spread for dinner. 

We had high hopes.  We were going to make dumplings from scratch, spare ribs, spring rolls, and a type of soup, to be finished off with homemade ginger ice cream and fried bananas. 

None of that happened.  It was 6:30 on a Friday and the opening ceremony was to begin in an hour.   

Off to Trader Joe's! What a great supermarket.  When I lived in NY, I would actually take a cab from my apartment on 68th and Madison down to Union Square just to shop there. To save money. Obviously, my reasoning skills were desperately in need of some tweaking, because I never took into account the cost of the cab ride. But that is neither here nor there. We were able to get delicious dumplings (that aren't that bad for you!), spring rolls (that aren't that bad for you!) and ribs (which are really bad for you!).  But I still made the soup- I was really looking forward to that one. And wow, was it amazing.

Chinese Style Pho Bo Beef Noodle Soup

For Beef Broth:
1 small onion, diced
1 2 inch stick of ginger
2 pounds beef bones
12 cups water
6-8 star anise (or fennel or coriander seeds)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 pound lean beef

Noodles:
1 16-ounce package dry, flat Pho rice noodles

Garnish:
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1 large onion, thinly sliced
10 cilantro sprigs, finely chopped
1 cup bean sprouts
10 sprigs opal basil (you can use fresh if you can't find opal basil)
10 sprigs fresh culantro (ngo gai)
fresh red or green chile pepper, thinly sliced

Optional:
lime or lemon quarters
fish sauce
hoisin sauce
hot chile sauce

Directions

Directions:
Broil onion and ginger until very crisp and brown. Smash the ginger and set aside.

Wash beef bones, place in a large soup pot and add water to cover. Bring to a boil and immediately pour off this first boiling water and discard. Add another 12 cups of fresh water and again bring to a boil. Skim off foam. Add the broiled onion and ginger, star anise, salt and sugar. Over medium-low heat, simmer for 25-30 minutes.

Slice raw beef into thin strips and sear for 2 minutes until cooked.  Set aside

Remove bones from broth and strain out vegetables and seasonings.

Soak noodles in cold water for 10 minutes. Drain. In a soup pot bring two quarts of water to a boil. Add drained noodles and cook eight minutes at a rolling boil, stirring occasionally until noodles are tender.

Rinse noodles under cold running water and set aside.

Return the broth to a boil over high heat.  Add noodles, garnishes, and beef. Enjoy.

*Culantro is a leafy herb with a similar aroma to cilantro, although more pungent. If it is not available, increase the amount of cilantro or simply leave it out.

Note:  For a quick way to make the broth, replace water and beef bones with beef broth

Whisk Wednesdays: Onion Gratinee

 

Ahhh, the French Onion Soup.  Can you believe I have never had French Onion Soup?  Never!  What is wrong with me?  Broiled, cheesy goodness? A big hunk of bread? Onions? In soup form!?  What is up with these French and their brilliant creations?  Even the lactose intolerant can't resist. 

What happens to lactose intolerant people in France?  There is a lot of cheese served in that country.  Those poor people. Either live your life with pills and cheese or suffer the consequences. *Sigh*

But I digress.  The soup went beautifully. But AGAIN, it tasted bitter. It has to be the wine!  Sarah of The Wine Makers Wife, what do you suggest I use? This time, I used a Chardonnay. Bitter! GAH!  I had to add more water and salt and pepper to get that bitter flavor out.  Thankfully, it worked.

Again, I whipped out my trusty ramekins. I don't know how I lived before them. 

Maybe I needed to add a bit more cheese, but the amount of cheese I had already used to cover the top was astounding.  I felt my arteries clogging with each sprinkle of gruyere.  Could you imagine how much cheese the restaurants actually use!?  I shudder at the thought.

The flavor was subtle, and I feel that the US version may be made with beef broth. I could be wrong and I'm too lazy to look it up.  The color on this soup was a lot softer than I remember seeing (not tasting) in French Onion soup, and for some reason I expected the flavor to be bolder.  My boyfriend also agreed, while scooping up the last bites of his soup and reaching over and grabbing my ramekin to finish my soup.

I think the biggest reason men like having girlfriends is because they get to eat one and a half meals- their own and their significant other's.

Check out the rest of the blogroll here for more cheesy (in a good way) goodness.  Not for the faint of stomach. 

TWD: Sour Blueberry Ice Cream A La Mode

 

Thank you, Dolores of Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity because I was waiting for some ice cream! I have made this once before, and of course, did not have enough foresight to take pictures of it.  Guess I'll have to make it again *snaps fingers in an "aw shucks" manner*.

Such an interesting ice cream with such a delicious flavor. I'm not crazy about the texture, because I found it a bit chalky both times I made it, but I wonder if it was because I used frozen blueberries rather than fresh.  It still doesn't stop me from eating it. I would eat chalkboard chalk if it tasted like ice cream, because ice cream is my one weakness. 

I never ate chalkboard chalk as a child. Sure, I dabbled in glue tasting here and there, but I'm off that now. It was the 80's, we weren't worried about all of this crazy stuff that parents are faced with now, like transfats, the internet, and the effect of the Wiggles crazy dances on your brain. I'd take eat Elmer's glue over the watching Wiggles anyday. 

What happened to the days of Fraggle Rock, The Disney Afternoon, Rainbow Brite, The Wuzzles, Jem and the Rockers, Thundercats, NINJA TURTLES!?  When Saturday morning cartoons were actually good?!  When we actually used animation? 

I feel old. 

And I just went from talking about chalk to ranting about 80s cartoons.

So what does ice cream go well with? I was going to make an ice cream sandwich, with the blueberry ice cream sandwiched between to white chocolate chip cookies. Or two lemon cookies. But as I was cleaning my kitchen, one item stood out at me. My beloved Belgian Waffle Maker.  I asked for all sorts of crazy kithcen stuff for Christmas (yes, I still give my parents a Christmas list at the age of 26.  And I'll never stop.  But I've grown up now. I actually create a housewarming registry at Bed, Bath and Beyond. It was their idea!  Please don't judge me.  I feel like an awful person.), and my most exciting gift was this waffle maker (is my life sad?).  So I made a whole wheat waffle (I had to cancel out the negative effects of the ice somehow.) and some blueberry maple syrup (Just take equal parts blueberries and maple syrup and reduce). A. La. Mode.  Breakfast, lunch, and dinner, check please, wham, bam, thank you ma'am.

Check out the rest of the TWD crew here!

Drink Up.

I have no words.

Source

Sirloin Steak with Shrimp Potato Pancakes and Asparagus

Can I just say that this was the most amazing dinner ever?  I'm not kidding, I can still taste this. 

My father recently purchased David Burke's New American Classics.  He loves that I love to cook and bake and I think he hopes that one day I will open up my own place. I hope so, too.  Thanks Dad!

This is a great book for many reasons, mainly because it's David Burke (who gave me my best lobster bisque ever) and because it's a very great concept.  David Burke has three plays on a typical recipe. For example, if you choose Steak and Potatoes, he will provide you with three dishes- a classic, a new american, and a second day dish.  It's really fantastic.

This steak just melts in your mouth.  The buttery sweetness of the Worchestershire compound butter just adds such a great depth of flavor.  The shrimp potato pancakes are a perfect way to bring an old idea (surf and turf) into the New American realm of cooking.

Since I don't want to breach any copyright laws, purchase the book here.  But I will give a basic rundown of the recipe.  It's very simple.

• Asparagus

• Olive oil for cooking

• Sea salt and kosher salt (to taste)

• Sirloin Steak

• Worchesteshire Compound Butter (ingredients below)

• Salt and pepper to taste

• Potatoes

• 2 Idaho potatoes, skinned and grated

• 4 oz. shrimp, peeled, de-vained, chopped

• 1 egg

• Salt and pepper to taste

• 4 tbsp worchestershire sauce

• 1 tbsp sugar

• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) at room temperature

Shrimp Potato Pancakes

Mix shrimp, potatoes, and eggs.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Shape into pancakes and cook for ten minutes, flipping frequently.

Asparagus

I learned a fantastic way to cook asparagus. Heat some olive oil in a pan and grill the asparagus for about two minutes.  Sprinkle it with some kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Then, fill the pan 1/3 of the way with water, cover, and let simmer until tender (don't overcook, or else your aspargus will be soggy!).  Drain the water, sprinkle a drop of sea salt, and drizzle a bit more olive oil over the top.  You have a perfect combination of seared and steamed asparagus, the color is gorgeous, the texture is perfect, and the taste- amazing!

Eat and love.

Steak

Heat two tablespoons of butter in a pan. When hot, sear steak for 4 minutes on each side for medium rare.  Turn only once.

Worchestershire Compound Butter

Heat worchestershire sauce and sugar in a small saucepan until syrupy, about ten minutes.  Let cool completely.  When cooled, mix butter and worchestershire syrup until fully incorporated. Roll butter into a log using parchment paper and freeze until set.  Top steaks with butter right before serving.

Whisk Wednesdays: Consomme` Mardrilene

I am telling you, when I read this recipe, I almost cried. Out of confusion. Out of fear. Out of a "What the hell did I get myself in to?" feeling.

Maybe I don't need to be that dramatic, but I am an actress. What can I say? (Cue soap opera music and close up on my face while I am arching one eyebrow)

Anyways, there were a lot of ingredients.  Crusts were involved.  Impurities crust, as I like to call it. Scary.  Pouring things carefully through said impurities crust into a wet towel in a seive was involved carefully were involved. Scary.  Dragging strips of paper towel across the surface was involved. Scary (and a wtf? moment).  Chilled broth was involved. Scary.

I hate cold soup.  YUCK. Seriously. YUCK.  I can't even write yuck big enough to describe how much I hate cold soup. 

But I decided to go for it.  And you know what? It wasn't so scary.  The impurities crust actually smelled really good, and I wanted to do something with all of that goodness.  Maybe make an impurities crust pizza?

But I used my better judgement. 

The straining wasn't hard.  The soup looked perfectly clear and golden.  The red peppers and tomatoes added a gorgeous contrast in color.  And I went back for seconds! I NEVER go back for seconds!  This was definitely an impressive soup!

This was really good. Impurity-less broth. Yummy.  Check out the rest of the Whisk Wednesdays Crew here for more impurity free consomme`s!

 

TWD: Black and White Marble Loaf/Cupcake

My Italian side loves olive oil and pasta, my Trinidadian side loves bananas and rum. So this was perfect for me.  I will have to find a dish that combines olive oil, tomatoes, rum, and bananas. 

Or maybe not. That sounds gross.

This week was Black and White Marble Loaf, brought to us by Ashlee of A Year in the Kitchen.  I was very excited for this one, as I've never made a banana loaf. Can you tell? Yes, you can, don't lie.

Sure, my banana bread looks like poop, but it tastes damn good!

I'll have to work on this marbling technique.  Oddly enough, however, the bottom half of my cupcakes were marbled (if you close your left eye and squint with your right eye you can see it, yet the top half was not). 

I added some cinnamon struesel on the top of the banana bread to give it some oomph. Too bad my "oomph" sunk into the loaf.  It still tasted absolutely delicious and the cinnamon added a great flavor and complimented the hints of nutmeg well.  My intentions were to have a coffee cake like crumbling on top, but I'm thinking the slow cooking time was the culprit?  Or maybe I was just impatient and did something wrong. I think it was the latter.

My cupcake was fun.  One, lonely little cupcake, covered in banana frosting and walnuts.  So delicious.  One is the lonliest number, but not when it's in my tummy.  Then it's just right.

Banana Frosting

1/4 cup butter

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup mashed banana

1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

3 1/2 cups sifted confectioners; sugar

chopped walnuts, toasted, for topping, optional*