White Chocolate Dipped Fresh Cranberry Cookies

Woohoo!! Thanksgiving break!!

... is basically over! Sigh. One of the best things about being a teacher is that you never have to give up those breaks you looked forward to so much growing up. I think teachers enjoy them more than the kids. The secret's out!

I had an amazing time relaxing with friends and family. I really am so lucky on both sides, mine and my fiancé's, to have a loving, wonderful, and entertaining family members. 

One reason I think I love being with my family so much is that we are a competitive bunch of gamers. Euchre, Settlers of Catan, you name it! The new favorite is called "Splendor". It was "game of the year" last year. It's simple to learn but has a lot of strategy. The only downside is it's only four players. You'll be fighting for a spot! 

We also played a couple rounds of "Bang!". It's a great game old western themed that involves role-playing and a lot of strategy. Plus it's an Italian and English game so you learn some words  in the process. I'm sure knowing how to say "panic", "general store" and "missed" in Italian will come in handy one day very soon.

My favorite complements to some intense game playing? Finger food. Specifically cookies! These cookies were really lovely with the burst fresh cranberry. My favorite desserts have that fresh fruit component, but cranberries are new for me. It was my first time cooking with fresh cranberries and I've got a bunch of leftovers that I can't wait to put to good use. 

White Chocolate Dipped Fresh Cranberry Cookies

Makes about two dozen cookies

6 tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 egg, beaten

Scant 1/3 cup whole milk

1 3/4 cup All purpose flour

1 tsp Baking powder

1/4 tsp Salt

1 tsp Vanilla 

3/4 cup chopped Walnuts 

2 cups Cranberries, halved

Zest of 1 lemon

3 tbsp heavy cream

1 1/2 cup white chocolate 

Preheat oven to 350°F. 

Cream the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl with the paddle attachment. Add in the sugars and mix to combine them to make sure it's creamy. Mix in the egg and vanilla.

Combine all the dry ingredients.

Add the dry ingredients and then the wet ingredients, alternating until fully incorporated. Carefully fold and walnuts and cranberries.

On parchment paper lined baking sheets, bake the cookies for 16 to 20 minutes or until beginning to look golden brown on the top. 

Once the cookies have cooled, prepare the ganache. Add the cream and white chocolate to a double boiler over boiling water. Stir frequently. When melted, use a spatula to maneuver the chocolate and dip each of the cookies halfway into the ganache. Let the excess chocolate roll off, wiping excess off with a spatula. Lay cookies back on the parchment paper, allowing to dry for at least 10 minutes

Start of the game of Splendor, and grab a cookie to nibble while you strategize!

Coconut Cupcakes With a Coconut Meringue Buttercream and Triple Citrus Curd

Oh, cupcakes. How I love thee.

I'd been dreaming of a coconut cupcake ever since the first cold day this year when I started dreaming about tropical vacations. And when one of my best friends decided to host a brunch, I knew I had to seize the opportunity to make my dreams come true! I have to bake for events, because I only bake for events, because if I bake only for myself I will eat every last bit. No good for that waistline I've been working so hard at maintaining!

Anyway, the brunch was so fun. My other bestie is an Arbonne consultant, so she was there promoting and educating us on the products. I use several of them, and have to say I see a big difference in my skin with this new skin care routine. I can hook you up if you're interested In hosting a facial party!

I'm so lucky to have these awesome ladies in my life. They not only put up with my quirks (I have several) but they are so supportive and kind and hilarious and fun... I could go on and on!

You'll definitely want to try out these cupcakes. Swiss meringue is my all time favorite buttercream, though I have not tried Italian meringue (although it seems quite similar so I assume it would be a tie)

The triple citrus curd is really out of this freezing, snow covered world. I used pomelo (finally! If you don't have one, you can easily use grapefruit), lime, and lemon. 

Topped with toasted coconut, they really were quite pretty. 

Coconut Cupcakes

Makes about 23 cupcakes

2 1/4 cups cake flour

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

6 egg whites, room temperature 

1 cup coconut milk

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together dry ingredients in your mixer. Add butter in tbsp chuncks until batter resembles a course dough. Combine wet ingredients, and whisk lightly. Add to dry ingredients, and mix on medium speed for two minutes or until light and fluffy. 

Divide into cupcake tins and bake for 15 to 18 minutes.

Coconut Swiss Meringue

1 1/2 cups sugar

6 large egg whites

3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

2/3 cup coconut milk 

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut

Heat the egg whites and sugar in a double boiler. When the mixture is warm to the touch, pour in mixer with a whisk attachment and beat on medium high for at least 10 minutes, or until the bowl is cool to the touch. Drop in butter tbsp by tbsp, being careful to incorporate after each one. Finally, add the vanilla and coconut milk slowly, and beat until mixture is fully incorporated and light and fluffy.

Toast the coconut in the oven at about 350°F for 5 to 10 minutes. Keep a close eye!

Triple Citrus Curd

1 stick unsalted butter

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup fresh citrus juice (I ised 1/2 of my pomelo, 2 limes, and 2 lemons)

Pinch of salt

5 large egg yolks

First, prepare your citrus juice. Squeeze the juice of the fruits into a bowl, and then run them through a fine strainer or, as I did, a cheesecloth. 

Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat. Remove from heat and add in the citrus juice, sugar, and salt. Then add the egg yolks and whisk to combine. Return pan to medium heat, whisking constantly. 

Whisk for 10 to 12 minutes, or till curd thickens and reaches a temperature of about 165°F. Cover with plastic wrap directly over the center of the curd and refrigerate for at least 6 hours.

Preparation

Using a piping tip, remove a hole from the center of the cupcake. Pipe about 2 tbsp of the citrus curd into each cupcake. Top with the Coconut Swiss Meringue and toasted coconut!

Éclairs with a Dark Chocolate Ganache and Coffee Pastry Cream

So, let me preface this by saying I bit off way more than I could chew on Saturday. I decided to conquer another one of my kitchen fears and make eclairs for a party that night, and also make cupcakes for a brunch I was attending on Sunday. Typical Amy fashion, I decided to make too much for the first time and just made everything really complicated. Maybe one day I'll learn? (If I tell myself this everytime but never change does it continually decrease my chances?)

I'll post about the cupcakes later, which were wonderful. But for now... The eclairs! They were very tricky! Which is both annoying and satisfying at the same time. I would say I was fine with how they came out as a first attempt, but look forward to continued practice to perfect them. I also had several problems while making them, resulting in me not bringing them to the party like I was supposed to, but instead bringing them to school on Monday two days later. Blurg!

I've made the basic components of an eclair before but never together: pate a choux, ganache, and pastry cream. I decided on a dark chocolate ganache (because, yum) and a coffee pastry cream. This is the first time I've tried to make a flavored pastry cream, and I ran into a couple problems. I can't figure out exactly why, but my pastry cream did not set. It could be because of the different formula, or perhaps I just did not thicken it enough. Either way, you can imagine my dismay when I went to pipe the cream into the eclairs as I was about to leave for the night and realized that the pastry cream wasn't set! Argggh!

To prepare for these pastries, I read a really awesome (if you're a nerdy perfectionist like me) tutorial online by Iron Whisk. It really breaks down the minute details of making the perfect eclair. Seconds blooper of the day: after reading very carefully and very carefully preparing everything, I realized that the recipe given only yields about 10 eclairs! Not enough for the party! Blurggers! (A new exclamation I'm trying out)

http://www.ironwhisk.com/2014/06/tutorial-eclairs-choux-paste/

Anyhow, I ended up ganaching the pastries on Sunday and filling them Monday morning. You shouldn't fill them until the day they will be eaten because otherwise they will get soggy. The shells definitely were not as crispy as when they came out of the oven on Saturday but I still got plenty of compliments at school (the teachers are my guinea pigs!). Someone even commented that they looked like they came from a bakery! I know I can do better, but to already give that "bakery quality" impression is a success. Despite all the frustrations!

Here I've compiled the recipies I've followed. You'll find numerous recipes for pate a choux out there, and they are all very similar, but I liked the recipe from Iron Whisk a lot. If you read the section about the pate a choux recipe the author explains why a mixture of water and milk is important, as well as sufficient salt and the correct type of flour. Fascinating right?! (Just nod.)

You can really have a lot of fun with these guys. Next time I make them if like to try a few different varieties at once with different colored ganaches. So pretty!

You'll need about 2 hours, not including the time needed for the pastry cream to set. That needs to be done at least 3 hours beforehand.

1. Make the coffee pastry cream. I followed this epicurious recipe here. You'll need to do this at least three hours ahead of time. This recipe makes enough for about 20 Eclairs. If you plan to use all of it, you'll have to double the pate a choux recipe below. Or half it! 

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/espresso-pastry-cream-4642

2. Make the pate a choux shells. Scroll to the bottom of the Iron Whisk Tutorial and follow step by step to make the éclair shells. This recipie makes about 10 eclairs. I could've copy and paste it for you… But now you might be more inclined to read through:)

http://www.ironwhisk.com/2014/06/tutorial-eclairs-choux-paste/

3. After the shells cool, pipe the pastry cream in to the pastries. I used a 1/4 inch round tip and piped from the 2 original slits I made into the bottom of the shells to keep it from deflating. Pipe until it begins to ooze out - there's nothing worse than a bare eclair!

4. Prepare the ganache. Heat 1 cup heavy cream to a simmer. In a bowl, put 4 oz dark chocolate of choice (I used Ghiardelli 60%) and 1 tbsp light corn syrup. Pour hot cream over chocolate mixture and let sit for a few minutes until. The chocolate is all melted. Stir to combine.

5. "Ganache" the eclairs. Place the eclairs face down into the ganache, rolling them side to side to cover the top fully. Using your fingers, wipe off excess ganache and make the side lines clean.

6. Top with your choice of garnish! I used chocolate sprinkles, only to realize later that I had some freshly toasted coconut sitting right there... A real missed opportunity!

Wild Mushroom Soup with Honey Rosemary Biscuits

It's Friday. It's snowing. And freezing. And I'm exhausted from a long week. And I had a monster workout at the gym after work burning off all that residual stress. Do I need another excuse to stay in and snuggle up on the couch? No! I do what I want!

And what food would be perfect for an evening filled with a lovely Pinot Noir, Chopped, and my hubby and baby dog? SOUP! I know, I have made 3 different soups in the past 2 weeks. I can't get enough. But 'tis the season, y'all! It's such an awesome way to get those vegetables in, especially in this time of treats and sweets.

We LOVE mushrooms. Whenever I go grocery shopping with Kenny, he always shows up at the cart with a bunch of mushrooms and a twinkle in his eye, and I always end up making stuffed mushrooms when I get home. I have never made a mushroom soup before, however, and used my tried and true French Onion Soup recipie (coming soon!) as inspiration. 

The Honey Rosemary biscuits were an AWESOME find from Saveur [once again]. If you can't tell, I'm a huge fan of that site. I halved the recipie, which would have given me 3 "large biscuits" but it gave me 3 "ridiculously large biscuits". Kenny could only eat half of his, but I finished mine because I have an affinity for ridiculously large biscuits. Plus, the honey and the Rosemary was a beautiful pairing with the soup. Dip it right in there! Nom!

Wild Mushroom Soup

Serves 3

16 oz crimini mushrooms

4 oz Shitake mushrooms

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

1 carrot, peeled and sliced

3 slices of bacon

3 cloves garlic, diced

1 tsp fresh thyme

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 cup red wine

3 cups beef broth 

1 tsp worchestire sauce

1 cup whole milk

Salt and Pepper to taste

2 tbsp parsley, diced

First, in a large Dutch oven, fry the bacon over medium high heat. Remove the bacon when finished, and lower the heat to medium. Add the onions and carrots and sauté for 5-8 minutes. Add the all mushrooms, sliced, except for 3 crimini mushrooms. Sauté for about 5 minutes, and then add the thyme, garlic, and pepper flakes and sauté until fragrant. 

Add the red wine. Cook for 5-7 minutes. Add in the beef broth and bring to a bill. Lower heat and simmer for 15 - 20 minutes.

Blend. Stir in heated milk.

Take the 3 remaining mushrooms and dice them. Heat 1 tbsp butter in a pan and sauté the mushrooms for 5-7 minutes or until cooked. Add to a small bowl along with the chopped bacon and diced parsley. Mix and garnish soup. Enjoy with the (halved) biscuit recipie below!

http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Honey-Buttermilk-Biscuits

Jaozi (Potstickers) with a Spicy Chinese Eggplant

I know, I could have just said pot stickers... but now you know the Chinese word for these delicious dumplings! You're so smart and impressive.

I've been wanting to try these dumplings out for a long time. You know how something intimidates you a little bit so you just keep putting it off/ avoiding it? Well, that was me and jaozi (rhymes with yeow-zah). And that whole avoiding thing, that's something I'm trying to conquer. If I'm intimidated by something, I need to make a focused effort to do it! Not only does it feel amazing to do something you've been intimidated by, it also opens you up to grow more as a person. I'm all for it!

A couple days ago, one of the books the kids and I were reading mentioned Eleanor Roosevelt. They didn't know who she was, so we talked a little about who she was and then I looked up some of her famous quotes. I'd heard most of them before, but reading them in succession and really disecting their meaning and implications with the kids really got me fired up. She really was so inspirational. This one really sticks to me and was one of the reason I up and decided to conquer all my kitchen"fears".

So, jaozi! These are one of my favorite foods from China. I even got the chance to make them with the Chinese family, something I'll never forget. I blogged about it back in 2009 if you care to go look! 

I panfried mine, which was delicious, but I think I like them just the same boiled. If you're watching the calories, definitely go for the boiled version. I also use soy sauce to dip them, but I think I would've preferred a ponzu sauce. It's a lemony version of soy sauce and would've paired so well with the ginger overload that was these dumplings! I love the taste of ginger, especially fresh ginger. The ground version just does not have that same punch! 

You can really stuff them however you want. This recipe is enough for four people, or you can do like I did and make half, and freeze other half for another use. Additionally, I use store-bought wonton wrappers. You could definitely make your own pasta and cut it into rounds, but on this busy weekday that's not something I was interested in! They are in the freezer section of most grocery stores.

Also, the side of spicy Chinese eggplant is to die for! Kenny does not even like eggplant and he was crazy for the stuff!

Jaozi (Potstickers)

Serves 4 Hungry People

1 lb ground pork

1 cup finely chopped cabbage

1/2 cup Red onion, diced

4 oz mushrooms, chopped (I used Shitake) 

2 tbsp hoisin sauce

2 tsp sesame oil

1tsp siracha

4 cloves garlic

1/8 cup Ginger, diced

Wrappers, sometimes called wonton wrappers

Salt and pepper to taste

Oil if frying

But the first 9 ingredients into a large bowl and mix thoroughly. On your workspace, lay out the dumpling wrappers. You'll want to have a small bowl of water nearby to wet and seal the wrappers. Put a small spoonful of the filling inside each wrapper. Fold up in a half moon shape and seal with the water by pressing the edges together.

If frying, heat the oil in a skillet and fry 2 - 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. If boiling, boil water in a medium sauce pan and drop the dumplings in. When they are floating, which should take about two minutes, they are done.

Serve immediately with a side of soy  or Ponzu sauce.

Spicy Chinese Eggplant

Serves 3 - 4

(Modified from SAVEUR.com)

2 large Chinese egg plants, or about 8 ounces worth of eggplant

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup soy

1 tsp sesame oil

2 tbsp Chinese Rice Wine, or Sherry, or White wine

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 generous tbsp honey

3 cloves garlic

1 tsp ginger, grated

4 green onions, sliced 

First, slice the eggplant into wedges. You can cook them in 1 to 2 ways. You can steam them over a steamer for 5 to 8 minutes, or you can toss them in a little olive oil and bake them at 375°F for about 10 minutes. I baked mine because I do not have a steamer.

Combine the water, soy, sesame oil, pepper flakes, honey, and wine together in a bowl.

In a skillet, heat a little oil over medium high heat. Sauté the garlic and fresh ginger until fragrant, about one minute. Add the baked eggplant and the sauce and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes or until your eggplant reaches the desired consistency. Serve with green onions and some jaozi!

Mahi Mahi En Papillote (With a Sweet Chili Sesame Sauce)

Sitting here, enjoying my Blackstar Farms Pinot Noir rose, I'm feeling much better. Maybe it's the rose? I never really liked rose that much, only having tried the Zinfandel variety. However, this vineyard I visited on my recent trip to Traverse City had a Pinot Noir version and it is excellent! I might order myself a case!

Apparently, it's basically a Pinot Noir except they remove the skins a few hours into the fermentation process so the color is very light. It was a learning and drinking trip! If you can ever make it up to Traverse City, it's really worth the drive. Especially if you're a wino. Hear hear!

And what's that strange large green fruit in the background do you say? Why, it's a GIANT pomelo that I found at the grocery store. If I see something strange, I feel compelled to buy it. And trust me, I walked out of the grocery store with some strange things. The pomelo comes from Southeast Asia and is like a grapefruit (read: I blocked the aisle for a couple minutes while I went full nerd and researched produce). It could literally feed 4 people so I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with the whole thing yet! 

Sometimes, after a long day of work, I I am not in the mood for hours of cooking, and really look forward to a quick and easy dinner. Fish is one of my go-to quick week day meals, and this method of cooking is really spectacular. "En papillote" is French for in parchment. And that's how you cook your meal! Put your fish and vegetables and sauce together and parchment, seal it up, and bake.  Plus, it's kind of like opening up a present. Cooking dinner is always the best present to yourself, but this just takes it to another level in the literal sense!

There are endless possibilities, but this is one of my favorites.

Mahi Mahi En Papillote

Serves 2

2 fillets of mahi-mahi

1 small carrot

1 cup chopped cabbage

1 zucchini 

1 lemon

1 tsp olive oil

3/4 cup dry Isreali cous cous 

Parchment paper, cut into large circles

Sweet Chili Sesame Sauce

1/2 cupwater 

3 tbsp soy sauce 

2 tbsp sesame oil 

1 tbsp honey 

1/2 tsp chili powder 

1 tsp red pepper flakes

2 tbsp Cilantro, minced

1 tbsp ginger, grated

First, preheat the oven to 375°F. Then, prepare your sauce. In a small saucepan, add all ingredients together and bring to a boil. Summer together for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Next, prepare your vegetables. Chop the cabbage, slice the zucchini in 1/4 inch rounds, after peeling your carrots, continue using the peeler to create thin ribbons of carrot. 

To prepare the pouch, first lay down the cabbage, then layer over the carrots and zucchini. Lay the fish on top and spoon sauce over. Seal up the pouch. Bake in oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

While the fishes baking, heat 1 cup water in a small saucepan to a boil. Add the couscous and simmer, covered, for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente. Squeeze half a lemon's worth of lemon juice and the olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste.

Let the fish sit for about five minutes after you take it out of the oven. Place the pouch on a plate and let each person open and enjoy!

Creamy Carrot Miso Soup

I usually try to eat healthy. I just feel so much better when I eat my five servings of fruits and vegetables a day and watch those sneaky added sugars (did you see Fed Up? Please do so we can talk about it!!)  My workouts are better, I feel better during the day, I sleep better, I have more energy… But there are times when I "fall off the wagon" so to speak and find myself eating junk for days straight. Which sometimes needs to happen every once a while to remind you why you make such an effort to eat well! 

That's happened past two days. Pizza, greasy tacos, pastries, and then last night's grilled cheese from a food truck (which was amazing... Duck bacon!) put me over the edge. I've been feeling awful since then! Aaaaand now I'm ready to focus my efforts once again on creating really delicious food that tastes amazing AND is makes me feel amazing. Cue this Sunday soup!

I love, love, love soup. I refuse to make it in the spring and summer months because I overdo it in the fall and winter. Soups are very easy, and they're great for weekday lunches too. 

I had some leftover miso paste that I decided to put to good use. Actually, I have A LOT of extra miso paste! The only grocery store and my vicinity that sold it sold the paste in a giant bag. Trust me, I looked everywhere. I even went about an hour out of my way to check out at Trader Joe's that I knew sold it… Only to find out it was discontinued! The whole ordeal was was worth it though. Miso paste has this amazing umami flavor that

 I love. And now that I have all this extra, I get to be more adventurous and try out different uses for the soybean paste. Win win!

There are actually a few different kinds of miso. I use white miso, which is the most common for cooking in soups. It's a little milder. I have never tasted the other ones... And until I can find them in a smaller container I won't be anytime soon. ;)

Creamy Carrot Miso Soup

Serves 4-6

6 large carrots, chopped

1 potato, chopped

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

Ginger (about 1 tbsp grated)

1/2 tsp cayenne powder

2-4 tbsp miso paste

1 can coconut milk 

1 tbsp coconut oil

Heat the coconut oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Sauté the onions for 5 minutes until translucent. At the ginger and Cayenne and sauté for one more minute. 

Add the chopped potatoes and carrots and about 1 1/2 to 2 cups water. Cover the pot and bring it to a simmer. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the carrots and potatoes are soft one pierced with a fork.

Add the miso, a little at first until you get a feel for how salty it is. Blend the soup. Add the coconut milk and continue to blend until smooth. Taste checking for salt levels, adding more me so as you see fit. Salt and pepper to taste.

Eat and enjoy!

Favorites Week: Chipotle Chicken and Corn Chowder

I am not feeling much better today, making for a somewhat dismal start to the week. I'm hoping that my stomach clears up so I don't have to go to the doctor; since I just moved and got a new job, I also have to find a new primary care physician! That's a lot of work when you're not feeling so great. I just want to be here. 

Nothing lifts your spirit up at work like an awesome lunch. I am anal about  packing a lunch beforehand because 1) A girl needs a good lunch and 2) a girl gets HANGRY. And plus, I work hard and deserve an awesome [working] lunch! 

In the kitchen, the aptly christened "Favorites Week" has come to an end, and I'm up to my old tricks experimenting. However, as I prepare my lunch for today, I realized that I had forgotten to introduce you to the last of the "Favorite's Week" selections! Chipotle Chicken and Corn Chowder! 

I follow the recipie here from the Brown Eyed Baker. If you haven't taken a look at her stuff yet, you really should peruse the site. Everything I've made per her guidance has turned out spectacularly.

http://www.browneyedbaker.com/chipotle-chicken-and-corn-chowder/?m

I doubled the chipotles in adobo and oregano. To lighten it up, I did use 2% milk instead of whole milk. You might also think about halving the cheese... I did this time around and thought it was great, but Kenny noticed it immediately. It has an excellent flavor without the added calories and fat, but if your up for it I'd say go full cheese, baby!

Happy Monday!

Dark Chocolate Bark with Coffee Roasted Almonds and Goji Berries

In the aftermath of Halloween, I've certainly had my fill of cheap Mars company candies. We bought a giant mixed bag from Sam's club anticipating a lot of trick-or-treaters… And then quickly realized that due to the weather and our location on a cul-du-sac we would have A LOT of leftovers. Needless to say, I am in need of a change up! 

Also, sidenote: there were only like three Twix in the entire giant bag and it was about 60% Three Musketeers. LAME. If anyone actually likes Three Musketeers, just message me and I will mail them all to you! 

Anyway, I have been reading about Goji berries and their super food qualities, and decided to try them out. If you've ever had them, you know it's an interesting taste. They're not overly sweet and have a little spice to them. I love it. It's not something I think I would eat by itself, but they add an interesting twist when combined with other ingredients. I knew they'd be perfect for a bark recipe I had been conjuring up in my head. And on my day off for Veterans Day (bless your heart, veterans) I had some time in the afternoon to bring my dream to life.  

My days off usually falls into 1 of 2  categories. 

1. Super lazy day where I sit around and nothing gets done but make a big dent in my Netflix queue. It's amazing and sometimes necessary!

2. Super productive day where I clean the house, run a million errands, and manage to hang out with several people while also looking amazing and meeting my calorie goal on My Fitness Pal.

I'm having a day of the second variety, so watch out! Also, you should friend me on My Fitness Pal. Let's stay healthy and fit together:) 

And make this bark! Immediately!

Dark Chocolate Bark with Coffee Toasted Almonds and Goji Berries

Makes 1 cookie sheet 

16oz dark chocolate (I use Ghiardelli 60%)

1 1/2 cups raw almonds

1/2 cup coffee grounds 

1 1/2 tbsp cocoa

1/2 tsp cinnamon 

1/2 tbsp sea salt

2 tbsp coconut oil (melted)

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup goji berries

1/2 cup coconut flakes (unsweetened)

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and toast the almonds for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix together the coffee grounds, cocoa and salt in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, melt the coconut oil and combine with the vanilla.

When the almonds come out of the oven, toss in the coconut oil and then in the coffee ground mixture. Flatten on the pan and put back in the oven for 10 more minutes. Watch it closely so it doesn't burn!

While the almonds are roasting, heat the chocolate in a double boiler or in a bowl over boiling water. Stir until melted through and then remove from heat.

When the almonds come out of the oven, eat a few, and then carefully remove the parchment paper from the cookie sheet and spread the coconut out in even layer. Put back in the oven at 325°F and watch closely. Mine took about two minutes to toast! When the coconut flakes are golden brown take them out of the oven.

To assemble the bark, line the cookie sheet with a clean piece of parchment paper. Spread about 3/4 of the chocolate onto the cookie sheet. Sprinkle almonds, coconut, and goji berries over the bark; it's going to be crowded! Generously sprinkle the toasted coffee grounds over the bark as well. I used about half of what I roasted. Sprinkle remaining chocolate over the bark and refrigerate for about 45 minutes. Break, serve, enjoy!

Favorites Week: Crispy Orange Beef

Favorites week continues! 

Since we don't have school tomorrow because of Veterens Day (Thank you for all that you do/ did!) this morning we were in high spirits. We're talking me singing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" while putting on mascara and Kenny snapping along to his own tune while looking in the fridge for breakfast. This possibly could have been the result of the new bag of Lavazza coffee I brewed as well- never under estimate what an amazing cup of coffee can do to your spirits!

This one was a request from Kenny; I had forgotten about it! It's a Chinese dish. I love, love Chinese food, especially the sauces. Reminds me of my time in Jinan! I miss being in China sometimes, especially the unpredictability of it all. Getting chased down the street because people thought I was Hermoine? Almost watching a women get intentionally squished by a bus driver in the bus door? Suddenly becoming the center of a massive paparazzi crowd taking my picture in front of the Forbidden City? Some serious everyday adventures in China!

Anyway, today's adventure was a little less exotic. We took Karma to the dog park by our house- she makes my back seat look so good.

 After that, favorites week continues! 

Crispy Orange Beef! 

This is a quick yet exceptional weeknight dinner. I follow the recipe here pretty closely (https://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/7271-crispy-orange-beef).

I do make a couple changes, the first being that I fry the frozen beef in my cast iron skillet in about 3/4 cup oil. This way, the dish is not excessively oily, and it makes it a little healthier. The beef absorbs most of the 3/4 cup of oil, so you can just toss the peppers and peel in when you're done frying the beef and you are good to go. I also add more orange juice than it says, and let the sauce reduce for about 10 minutes to let the flavors deepen a little. I serve mine with rice and steamed broccoli. 

You'll love it! Making an appearance in your own Favorites Week soon...

Favorites Week: Mexican Baked Eggs

Because I'm always trying out new things in the kitchen, sometimes I'll go long periods of time trying out and working on different techniques (and creating some delicious dinners in the process)... but forsaking the tried and true favorites. Sorry, favorites.

 Kenny is great about supporting me in my culinary adventures, always providing helpful and honest feed back, but also in drawing me back to the forsaken favorites. So after mandating Friday a taco night (taco recipie for another time... that recipie is one favorite to rule them all!) he proclaimed that this week shall be Favorites Week! And because all good things have a jingle, He began to sing "Happy Favorites Week to you..."; this is the man I love.

Day 1: Mexican Baked Eggs! These are very healthy, full of veggies and hitting all the right food groups, as well as low cal. And quick! And obviously delicious! You seriously can't go wrong. You can make them in individual ramekins, but I've found that they cook way faster in a cast iron pan (read: I did not know this and have accidentally turned eggs into rubber ... there might be a scientific discovery in there somewhere but it was NOT edible). 

Napolitos, or cactus, are available in specialty grocery stores or Hispanic grocery stores. They are prickly- if you are clumsy like me you will definitely get pricked once or twice. No pain, no cactus, right?  Because they are slimy, you need to salt them to make them edible. If you like olives, you'll like the salty crunch these bring to the dish. Además, es muy divertido comer cactus!

Mexican Baked Eggs

Serves 2

1/2 large white onion, chopped

1/2 green pepper, chopped

1/2 red pepper, chopped

1 napolito cactus, salted and chopped*

1 jalapeño 

1 14oz can of diced tomatoes 

Splash of red wine 

1 1/2 tbsp chile powder

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp lemon pepper

3 cloves garlic, diced

4 eggs

1 avocado, sliced 

1 lime, quartered

Cheddar cheese (optional)

First, peel and chop the cactus. Put in a small bowl and cover it with salt. Toss to coat. Let sit for a couple minutes. Then, rinse the cactus and let some of the slime out of the bowl. Once the napolitos are dry, add more salt and repeat the process. After the second rinse they should be mostly slime free and crunchy.

Pre-heat the oven to 375F.

Heat a tbsp of olive oil over medium heat in a cast iron pan. Sauté the onions until translucent. Add the peppers and continue to sauté for 5- 7 minutes. Add the chili powder, garlic, cumin and jalapeño to the pan and sauté for a minute or until fragrant. Add the red wine and reduce for 3 minutes. Add the can to tomatoes and their juices and reduce heat; simmer until there is no more excess liquid (about 10 - 15 minutes). Add the salted napolitos and combine.

With a spoon, create shallow beds in your mixture in which the eggs will sit. Crack eggs into pan, cover with cheese if desired, and put in the oven. Eggs need to cook for approximately 7 minutes- once they are set in the pan take out of the oven and serve immediately (they will continue to cook in the pan if you 

don't!). 

Serve with slices of fresh avocado and a lime. Buen provecho! 

Chiles Rellenos with an Ancho Chipotle Sauce

One of my favorite new things I've discovered in my cooking adventures is dried peppers. You know all those packages in the grocery store that you have no idea how to use? Well, let me tell you. They are easy to use and also YUM. They add an awesome smoky flavor to your concoction that you will just love.

 It makes me a little excited inside every time I successfully create something using these peppers... trying new things and having new experiences is what makes life worth living!

Anyway, I had some guests over for dinner last night and decided to make some chiles rellenos. I tried out this recipe for plantain fried rice via Rick Bayless. It was great... but not as good as when I had it at Xoco (Wicker Park). Missing that Bayless magic! I've never cooked rice like this before, and I'm interested to try it again. FYI I quartered this recipe and there was enough to serve 8 people! My friend Kimmy snapped some pictures of the food and preparation... I am trying to get better with this. Or maybe I should just have her over every night for dinner to be my photographer?

In my pantry I have a few different kinds of dried pepper. Guajillo, ancho and chipotle are my favorites. Ok, they are the only ones I've tried but they are my favorites already! I used 2 ancho chiles and 2 chipotle in the sauce. It was a BIG hit and super versatile. I'd cook any kind of meat in it. You could thin it out with more wine or broth and use it an a sauce for enchiladas, or use it as as a dipping sauce/ salsa. It's smoky, spicy and has a great depth of flavor.

Chiles rellenos are easy of customize to your taste. I chose mine to compliment the spicy sauce. Love to get creative with these!

Ancho Chipotle Sauce
2 Ancho peppers
2 Chipotle peppers
4 cloves garlic
1 1/2 tbsp chile powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tbsp cumin seeds
1/2 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp oregano
1 jalapeno - half of the seeds removed
2 tbsp honey
1/2 cup red wine (and more to reach desired thickness)
1 14 oz can tomato puree (or diced tomatoes... pureed)

Bring a small sauce pan of water to boil (enough to cover the 4 dried peppers, about 4 cups). Toast the peppers over a hot pan, a couple minutes per side until they begin to brown. Put them into the pot with boiling water and turn off the heat. Let sit for 20 minutes, covered. Meanwhile, toast the cumin and coriander seeds until fragrant and then grind with a mortar and pestle.

Seed the peppers and place in a blender with 1/2 cup of the soaking liquid, and the next 8 ingredients. Blend. Heat a skillet over medium high heat and sauce for a couple minutes. Add the red wine and continue to cook about 5 minutes as it reduces. Add the tomatoes and reduce to a simmer, about 20 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Chiles Rellenos (Stuffed Poblano Peppers)
6 poblano peppers
1/2 lb ground turkey
2 ears (or 1 can) of corn
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 white onion, diced
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp oregano
1/2 tbsp cumin
Vegetable oil for frying
1 cup flour
1 1/2 Panko bread crumbs
1 egg
1/4 cup milk

First, char your poblanos over your kitchen burners, rotating them to get a good char on all sides. The peppers should be black all over. Wrap them in foil as you take them off the burners and let sit for about 10 minutes. Then, rinse the peppers in lukewarm water, peeling the skins off carefully as to not rip the pepper (they will be fragile). Cut slit in the pepper on one side from and inch above the tip to the point where you can easily seed the pepper. Seed it and set aside.

To make your filling, sauté the onion for 5 minutes until translucent. Add the red pepper and sauté  for another 5 minutes. Add the corn, garlic, oregano and cumin and sauté  unit fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the group turkey and season generously with salt and pepper. Sauté until the meat is cooked, and then add the cheese and cook until melted.

Assemble your breading station and heat about 1 cm of vegetable oil in a pan. Beat the egg and milk together lightly in a bowl. Stuff the peppers to the point that they are full but you can still close the pepper. Coat with flour, cover with the egg/milk mixture, and then with the Panko. Place the pepper cut side down in the oil and fry for 2-4 minutes until golden brown. Flip, and repeat.

Serve on top of the Ancho Chipotle Sauce, with a side of plantain friend rice (above)... and enjoy!

Beet Pasta with Béchamel and Pancetta

I've been craving carbs lately, which is not unusual, but I don't usually crave pasta. I feel like I still carry a negative stigma about pasta in terms of a "healthy diet"...  but really it's not that bad. I am a firm believe in everything in moderation. So, when I want pasta, like today, I'm going to get it! And I'm not going for the boxed store bough version either; I'm going to make myself some fresh homemade pasta because it really is super easy and WAY better than anything you can buy in the store!

And... I'm going to hit the gym to burn off my delicious dinner tonight. I've been doing a great job staying focused on my fitness goals. Mantra up!

Today's workout: some core circuit work inspired by my total body conditioning class on Saturdays that I love, followed by an hour on the elliptical. Watching criminal minds of course. A great way to pass the time... and develop a phobia of strangers.

Today's meal: beat pasta with pancetta and bechamel sauce. It doesn't really taste like beets, but it's got this wonderful exotic color and added nutrition. Well, the belchamel on top and the pancetta might take away from that. But hey, all that time on the elliptical!

I've made pasta couple times before, but that was usually for ravioli. It took me a couple tries to get ravioli right, but making straight noodles is much less complicated. I also discovered that they have pancetta in my grocery's deli and it's way cheaper than the prepackaged version (read: I will be eating a lot more pancetta!).

I used the recipe here. It made about 3 - 4 portions of pasta. It calls for a juicer for the beets - I don't have one yet so I just blended some canned beets and their juices together. The color was not as vibrant as in the recipe's photo - it faded as you boiled the pasta. Add more rather than less, and adjust the amount of flour as you do. The recipe also says to boil the pasta much longer than you should - 1:30 - 2 minutes max.

Belhamel is a french mother sauce that is super simple and delicious. Recipe here. Simply fry up the pancetta, cut into small pieces, and toss into pasta. Even the guy loved it, and he is not a pasta fan!

Next time I make pasta, I'm trying the spinach version. Making my own momentum one dinner at a time!