My 2010 Top 10 List

Happy New Year!  I can't believe that today is the last day of 2010.  This year has been a wonderful one for me.  I've enjoyed blogging so much and I'm grateful for each and every reader I have.  Thanks for visiting and sharing 2010 with me.  To celebrate this yummy year, I've put together a list of my top 10 favorite recipe from this years posts.  I hope you've tried some of them.  If you haven't, I hope you do soon.  Have a great New Years Eve!

Lasagna

Penne With Vodka Sauce

Chocolate Oatmeal Almost-Candy Bars

Meatballs!

Chicken Marsala

 

Strawberry Tiramisu

Steak Tacos

Caesar Mayonnaise Dressing

 Cabernet Braised Boneless Short Ribs

Grilled Cumin Chicken Stuffed Pita Bread

Broccoli Almond Sweet and Sour Tofu

Is anyone ready for a healthy dinner that's really yummy? I know I am!  I have thoroughly enjoyed the incredibly decedent, rich holiday food but now I'm ready for a little break. I'm not a big tofu eater but after seeing it on lots of blogs and given the wonderful health benefits, I decided it was high time I tried to incorporate it into some family meals.  Now, I'm sure I've mentioned before, that my Hubby and son (aka Mowgli) are total meat and potato eaters.  So, giving them a dinner where the main attraction was tofu was a bit risky. Baby Girl and I LOVED it. Frankly, we have had it 3 more times since I first made it.  The meat and potato men were a little less enthused but, honestly, liked it very much.  They have a bit of evolving to do, I think, ( LOL! ;) ) but I'm up for the challenge of helping them on their journey of culinary growth. Wink!

This recipe is adapted from the book Vegan Yum Yum by Lauren Ulm.  I tweaked the sauce a bit more to the fams liking but, more significantly, I decided to try to bake the coated tofu rather than fry it. I was pleased with the texture and the way it tasted but most importantly loved that I reduced the fat without much, if any, compromise to the dish.  If you're new to cooking with tofu, like me, I think this is an excellent recipe to start with. It has a delicious and familiar Chinese take-out vibe and is fabulously nutritious at the same time.  As the cookbook author says, "YUM YUM".

Ingredients:

1 Tub extra firm tofu, pressed
2 teaspoons egg whites plus 4 teaspoons water-mixed
1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 cup sliced almonds
1-2 cups steamed broccoli
sesame seeds for garnish

Sweet and Sour Sauce:
2 1/2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons low sodium tamari
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon molasses
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch plus 2 tablespoons water-mixed

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2.Slice the tofu into small cubes.  Toss the tofu with the egg white-water mixture. In another bowl toss the tofu with the cornstarch until each piece is coated.  Add more cornstarch if necessary.

3. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. Spread tofu cubes out on sheet in a single layer.  Spray with cooking spray. Bake in preheated oven about 20 minutes.  They won't get much color if any.

4. Toast almonds in a large frying pan. Set aside.

5. Meanwhile, prepare sauce.  In a small saucepan, mix rice vinegar, water, sugar, tamari, ketchup, molasses, ginger powder and salt and whisk over medium heat until the sugar and salt dissolve.  Add the cornstarch-water mixture and whisk until the sauce thickens. Sauce can burn so watch closely.  When thick, turn off the heat and set aside.

6. Add all ingredients to the frying pan that you toasted almonds in.  Toss and serve.

Bourbon Toffee

Have you ever made toffee before?  If you haven't, now's the time to give it a try.  I'm telling you, its actually a breeze to make.  One bite of this delicious confection and you'd never guess it was so very easy and quick to make.  The secret to making toffee is to use a candy thermometer to make sure your candy achieves the correct temperature. I love this recipe because, while similar to many out there, this toffee recipe replaces the water usually found in it, with BOURBON.  The bourbon gives this toffee just a bit of extra depth of flavor without making it taste boozy in an way.  This is The Best Toffee I've ever crunched into.  Hope you give it a try!

All packaged up and ready for gift giving!

 I got these adorable labels from Thumb Print Creative.  Here's a Link

Bourbon Toffee: Southern Living
Yield:  Makes about 1 1/2 pounds 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups chopped toasted pecans, divided
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/4 cup bourbon
1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels

Instructions:

1. Spread 1 cup pecans into a 9-inch circle on a lightly greased baking sheet.

2. Bring sugar and next 3 ingredients to a boil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook until mixture is golden brown and a candy thermometer registers 290° to 310° (about 15 minutes).

3. Pour sugar mixture over pecans on baking sheet.

4. Sprinkle with morsels; let stand 30 seconds. Spread melted morsels evenly over top; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup chopped pecans. Chill 1 hour. Break into bite-size pieces. Store in an airtight container.

CRANBERRY WALNUT TART

I saw this gorgeous Cranberry Walnut Tart posted on the fabulous Hungry House Wife blog before Thanksgiving. One look at this beauty and I knew I had to make this for the holidays. I'm so glad I did.  It is absolutely wonderful.  If you're anything like me, you're ready for a dessert that's not overly sweet.  Okay, so yes, I've been testing and snacking on all the Christmas cookies and candies I've been making to give away to friends. So, whats a girl to make when she's having a few friends over for a little holiday dinner?  This is IT!!! It's supper yummy, festive and has a great sweet tart thing going on. The crust is probably my all time favorite, too , btw. Oh ya, you've really got to try this one.  It's so totally IT!!!

CRANBERRY WALNUT TART from Epicurious via The Hungry House Wife

SWEET PASTRY DOUGH:
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 tablespoons ice water (I used lots more. I just added slowly until the dough came together)

1. Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.

2. Blend in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps. 

3. Beat together yolk and water with a fork and stir into flour mixture until combined well.
4. Gently knead mixture in bowl with floured hands just until a dough forms. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently 4 or 5 times more. 

5. Form dough into a ball, then flatten into a 5-inch disk. Chill, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, at least 1 hour

TART:
3 large eggs
2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups chopped fresh or frozen cranberries (7 oz; thawed if frozen)
1 cup chopped walnuts (1/4 pound)(TOASTED)

Special equipment: a 10- to 11-inch round tart pan (1 inch deep) with a removable bottom; pie weights or raw rice

Still working on getting the night time lighting right. LOL!

Make shell:
1. Roll out dough into a 13-inch round (1/8 inch thick) on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin and fit into tart pan. Trim edge of dough, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang, then fold overhang inward and press against side of pan to reinforce edge. Lightly prick bottom of shell all over with a fork, then chill 30 minutes.
2.Put oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 425°F. Line shell with foil and fill with pie weights.
3.Bake until pastry is set and pale golden on rim, about 15 minutes. Carefully remove foil and weights and bake shell until pale golden all over, 5 to 10 minutes more. Transfer shell in pan to a rack. While shell cools make filling.

Make filling:
1. Move oven rack to middle position and reduce oven temperature to 350°F. 

2. Whisk together eggs, brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, salt, and vanilla in a bowl until smooth, then stir in cranberries and walnuts.
 3. Pour filling into shell and bake tart until filling is set and golden, 40 to 50 minutes. (If pastry edge darkens before tart is done, cover edge with a pie shield or foil.) Cool completely in pan on rack. Can be made one day in advance and stored covered at room temperature.

Holy Mole Turkey Chili

This is a really, knock your socks off, aint your mama's chili, chili!  I mean knock your socks off cuz it's so unusual! It's like a chili mixed up with a Mole sauce. The cocoa and cinnamon are what give this chili its Mole personality. As the recipe is written, it's not too spicy.  If spicy is where you want to take this chili, it's easily done by adding more red pepper flake or a little hot sauce.  Don't be freaked out by the large quantity of chili powder.  I thought it blended everything together very well.  I found this recipe when I was cruising Epicurious.  It was really highly rated by lots of viewers. When I saw the recipe, I was drawn to it because the reviewers said that even though it was pretty healthy, it was very flavorful and satisfying, even for the serious meat and potatoes kinda guys (like my hubby and son! LOL).  The whole fam really enjoyed this delicious chili.  It's definitely going into the permanent dinner rotation. Next time I make it I plan on adding a few yellow peppers just to add a little more nutritive value.  My meat and potatoes boys will never even know they're in there!

 Holy Mole Turkey Chili: slightly adapted from Epicurious

 Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 pounds lean ground turkey
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1-1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes
• 3 cups beef stock or canned beef broth or beer
• hot sauce to taste
• 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
• 3 15-ounce cans small white beans, rinsed, drained

Optional Toppings

• Chopped red onion
• Chopped fresh cilantro
• Plain low-fat yogurt or light sour cream
• Corn Bread

Instructions:

1. Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onions; sauté until light brown and tender, about 10 minutes. 

2. Add oregano and cumin; stir 1 minute. Increase heat to medium-high. Add turkey; stir until no longer pink, breaking up with back of spoon. 

3. Stir in chili powder, red pepper flakes, bay leaves, cocoa powder, salt, black pepper, brown sugar and cinnamon. Add tomatoes with their juices, breaking up with back of spoon. Mix in stock or beer, hot sauce, and tomato sauce. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4.Add beans to chili and simmer until flavors blend, about 10 minutes longer. Discard bay leaves. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium-low heat before continuing.)

Ladle chili into bowls. Pass red onion, cilantro and yogurt separately.

Black-Bottom Coconut Bars

Here’s a cookie that is truly double yummy.  I mean a Coconut Macaroon cookie on top of a Brownie.  Shut up!  Who thinks this stuff up?  Well, no surprise, it was Martha Stewart who came up with this unbelievable cookie combo.  I’m totally in love with this cookie.  Coconut and Chocolate are two of my all-time favorite flavors.  Put them together in a bar cookie and I’m one very happy bakin’ mama!  I hope you give it a try.  It’s a lovely new addition to my Christmas Cookie tray.

Black-Bottom Coconut Bars from Martha Stewart

• FOR CHOCOLATE BASE
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for pan
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• FOR COCONUT TOPPING
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 1 package sweetened shredded coconut (7 ounces), 1/2 cup reserved for sprinkling

  Directions:

1. For chocolate base: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving a slight overhang; butter bottom and sides of foil (not overhang).
2. Place butter in a large microwave-safe bowl; melt in microwave. Add sugar and salt; whisk to combine. Whisk in egg, then cocoa and flour until smooth. Spread batter in prepared pan.
3. Bake just until sides begin to pull away from edges of pan, 10 to 15 minutes (do not overbake). Let cool slightly while preparing coconut topping. Keep oven on for topping.
4. For coconut topping: In a medium bowl, whisk eggs with sugar and vanilla. Gently mix in flour and coconut (except 1/2 cup reserved for sprinkling).
5. Drop mounds of mixture over chocolate base; spread and pat in gently and evenly with moistened fingers. Sprinkle with reserved 1/2 cup coconut.
6. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely in pan. Lift cake from pan, peel off foil, and cut into 24 bars. Store in an airtight container 3 to 4 days.

Gingerbread Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

These are absolutely delicious gingerbread cupcakes.  They are everything gingerbread should be.  Nicely spiced, moist, and they melt in your mouth!  The frosting takes gingerbread to a whole new level.  Lemon Cream Cheese frosting. Seriously.  These are incredible and will put a nostalgic Christmas smile on your face with just one bite.  Merry Christmas, happy Holidays and happy baking!

 Gingerbread Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

 slightly adapted from Epicurious

Cupcakes:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 stick (1/4 cup)-softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup unsulfured molasses

1 large egg, beaten lightly

1 teaspoon baking soda

 Frosting:

8 ounce cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 stick (1/4 cup)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
mini gingerbread men

crystallized ginger-chopped or thinly sliced-optional

Instructions:

Cupcakes

1. Into a bowl sift together the flour, the ground ginger, the cinnamon, the cloves, the allspice, and the salt. 

2. In another bowl cream 1/2 stick of the butter, add the granulated sugar, and beat the mixture until it is fluffy. Beat in the molasses and the egg, beating until the mixture is smooth.  

3. In a measuring cup combine the baking soda with 1/2 cup boiling water and stir the mixture until the baking soda is dissolved. 

4. Stir the mixture into the molasses mixture (the mixture will appear curdled) and stir the molasses mixture.

5. Stir the molasses mixture into the flour mixture, stirring to combine the ingredients well.

6. Line twelve 1/2-cup muffin tins with paper liners and pour the batter into the liners, filling them evenly with all the batter.

7. Bake the cupcakes in the middle of a preheated 350°F. oven for 20 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. (The cupcakes will be flat or slightly indented on top.) Transfer the cupcakes to a rack and let them cool. 

Frosting:

1. In a bowl cream together the cream and cheese, softened butter until smooth.

2. Add the confectioners' sugar and the vanilla, and beat the mixture until it is fluffy and smooth. 

3. Beat in the zest and the lemon juice and chill the frosting for 30 minutes. Spread or pipe the frosting on the cupcakes and top each cupcake with some of the crystallized ginger.

Chunky Chocolate Gobs

 

Well, let me tell how fabulous I think these Chunky Chocolate Gobs are.  I've made two batches of these in preparation of Christmas cookie gift plates, carefully put them in ziplocks in the freezer, and there are none left!  Oh sure, no one will own up to this egregious theft, but there are NONE left.  Did I mention I made them two and a half days ago and I made two batches?  I found this recipe in a few of my Southern Living cookbooks and when the peeps from SL introduce them they claim they are some of the best cookies to ever come through their test kitchens.  Can you imagine how many cookies go through their test kitchens?  Well these are Good.  I mean GOOD!  They would make a great addition to your holiday cookies. If they last that long.

Chunky Chocolate Gobs from Southern Living

Ingredients:

3/4 cup unsalted butter-softened

1/3 cup butter flavored shortening

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups flour

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups Oreos coarsely chopped

3 (1.75 ounce) Mounds bars-chopped and chilled

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Beat butter and shortening at medium speed with an electric mixture until creamy; gradually add sugars, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, beating until blended.

2. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Stir in cookies, candy bars, and chocolate chips. Chill dough 30 minutes.

3. Drop dough by 1/4 cupful’s (I used a large cookie scoop) 2 inches apart onto greased baking sheets.

4. Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until barely set. Cool on baking sheets 10 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. 

I'm going to make a few more batches of these.  Wish me luck on getting them to my cookie plates ;)  Happy baking!

Christmas Cookie Favorites and a Guest Post

Hey everyone! I'm really excited about something and I can't wait to share it with all of you.  Today, I get to be a guest blogger for a seriously cool blog called, The Girl Who Ate Everything.  I love this blog.  Have you seen it?  I swear I want to try 99.9% of everything, Christy, posts.  You can't believe how many of her recipes I have bookmarked.  I'm also in love with her photos.  Those of you who know me, know that I'm a sucker for a beautiful food shot.

Christy is doing a great series on her blog that she calls the 12 days of Christmas Cookies.  How smart is that!  Every post is a different Christmas cookie.  My guest post is of one of my all time favorite cookies, 


Magic Middle Peanut Butter Cookies

These cookies have a perfectly moist, chewy, chocolate exterior with an incredible peanut butter filling.  Seriously, these little cookies will totally rock your world!  Go over to Christys and check out her incredible world of yumminess and please tell her that I sent you. 

Here are some other Christmas Cookies Favorites I've been baking so far:

Chocolate Oatmeal Almost-Candy Bars: slightly adapted from Dorie Greenspan 
These cookies are beyond amazing and I love that, since they're a bar cookie, the recipe makes lots!

Coconut White Chocolate Cookies

These cookies are absolutely divine. Love! Love! Love them!!!

Yugoslavian Christmas Cookies

I had these for the first time at a neighborhood cookie exchange and I was hooked after just one bite. They have a shortbread crust with a berry lemon filling and are topped with a wonderful meringue nut crust. What What!!!

 Cranberry Bar Cookies

Tender cakey bars with a cranberry filling and a lovely icing on top! These practically scream Merry Christmas! In the most delicious way possible, of course.






So that's all I've baked so far, but stay tuned I'm on a Christmas cookie baking mission !!! I'll be post lots more soon.  I hope you all are enjoy decorating, baking and the fun stuff this wonderful season brings. :)

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Oh Red Velvet, how I love thee.  Seriously, I do.  Red Velvet cake, in cake form or cupcake form, is probably my favorite cake of all times.  Oh sure, I adore Chocolate cake and Carrot cake and Lemon cake but Red Velvet Cake is not only delicious,  it sparks a wee bit of magical, childlike delight, deep in my soul. I think it's probably because it's like a present.  You see a cake and your brain registers, "YUM"!  Then it's cut open and you see that magnificent, rich, red color, and the little kid in you says, " Oh my gosh! I can't believe it!  Wow!!!!"  And then you are forever hooked on the magic that is, and can only be, Red Velvet Cake!!!!  Do ya feel me out there?  Oh, I think I can almost see you guys nodding your heads with me and I think I might have heard someone shout out an Amen!  Okay, so I guess, Red Velvet Cake might make me get a little carried away with myself.   I tell you it's the magic of the dang cake.

So now lets get down to business and talk about this particular recipe.  It's from the Cook's Illustrated Holiday Baking magazine I yammered about it a couple weeks ago.  Remember, all about my addiction to cookbooks and cooking magazines yada, yada, yada...   Well, here is the cover recipe for Red Velvet Cake.  This is a really wonderful recipe.  The cake was moist and very tender.  The color was fabulous.  My one, very slight, disappointment was that the recipe only had 2 tablespoons of cocoa.  I personally like a little more chocolate in my Red Velvet but I think I may be in the minority on that point. Usually, 4 tablespoons is where I'm happiest.  Since this was the first time I tried this recipe, I wanted to make it exactly as written.  Next time, I'm bumping up the cocoa.  All in all, this Red Velvet Cake ranked in my all time top 3, and that's saying a lot cuz while I haven't posted any other recipes yet, I've made more of these cakes than I can count.  It's that magic thing!  I hope you try this.  Christmas is one of the many perfect occasions for this beauty.  If you give it a whirl, I'd love to hear what you think about it and how it rates for you in the Red Velvet world.

SURPRISE!!!  And the spell is cast.

Hey! Please share some Red Velvet Love and Stumble this post! Thanks;)

Red Velvet Cake  from Cook's Illustrated

Ingredients:

Cake:

2 1/4 cups (11 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of table salt

1 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons natural cocoa powder

1-1ounce bottle red food coloring

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar

Frosting:

16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

4 cups (16 ounces) confectioner's sugar

16 ounces cream cheese, softened and cut into 8 pieces

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

pinch of table salt 

Instructions:

FOR THE CAKE:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2-9 inch cake pans or line cupcake pans with liners.

2. In a medium bowl mix flour, baking soda and salt.

3. In another bowl add buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla and eggs and whisk to combine.

4. Sift cocoa into a small bowl the mix with food coloring until it forms a paste.

5. Beat butter and sugar together, in a standing mixer, set on medium, for 2 minutes.  Scrape down bowl.

6. Add 1/3 of flour mixture and and beat on medium speed just until it's incorporated.  Add 1/2 the buttermilk mixture and beat on low until combined.  Scrape down the bowl.  Add 1/3 of flour mixture and beat on medium until incorporate.  Add the rest of buttermilk mixture beat on low until combine.  Add last 1/3 of flour mixture and beat on medium until just combined.  Scrape down the bowl.

7. Add the cocoa paste mixture and beat on medium until incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and make sure the bottom of the batter is incorporating as well.   Give the batter a final good stir with a rubber spoonula to mix completely and pour into prepared pans.

8. Bake cake/cupcakes in preheated oven about 25 minutes for cake and 20 minutes for cupcakes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. ( I had to bake my cupcakes more like 24-25 minutes but my oven is wonky and doesn't seem to hold the temp correctly.)  Cool cakes in pans 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack to cool completely, at least 30 minutes. ( I skipped this step and left the cupcake in the pan and refrigerated over night.  I pulled them out the next day to frost and it worked perfectly for me.)

FOR THE FROSTING: 

1. In a standing mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Add cream cheese, 1 piece at a time, and beat until incorporate. ( Are you kidding me? Yah, I just plopped all the softened cream cheese in-full blocks-not cut up in and had no problems ;0 )  Beat in vanilla and salt. ( don't skip the salt- it doesn't make the frosting taste salty it heightens all the other flavs. IMHO).  Spread or pipe on completely cooled cakes.  If frosting seems a bit too soft to pipe well, pop it in the fridge a few minutes to firm it up a little.