April 30, 2008
Gluten Free Sandwich Bread
Gluten free bread, whether commercially made, or made from scratch is largely hit or miss, especially when you are used to eating the glutenized equivalents. I've talked to several people who no longer can eat gluten and their reactions are largely hit and miss too. One person told me after not having gluten for years they still hadn't found a gluten free bread that was to their liking. Another told me that they had no problem switching over to gluten free breads and actually enjoyed their bread of choice. Jamison would squarely fall in the former category and not the latter and given he's a very picky eater (yeah I know) this bread journey has been an adventure in and of itself! I have to admit though he's been a very good sport.
Right after we found out that Jamison couldn't eat gluten we purchased a bread machine
This bread is really good for gluten free. It doesn't dry out after a day or two after some gluten free baked goods do. It has a very nice texture and a nice crumb too. The taste is also mild and it doesn't overpower what you're putting on your sandwich. We've been really pleased with this concoction and I bake a loaf every week or so so that Jamison has bread for his lunch to take to work. I have not tried it out in a conventional oven, though I intend to do that one day soon. So far we've just stuck to the bread machine
What You'll Need:
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups of warm water
4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons of honey
2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar
4 tablespoons of powdered milk
1 tablespoon or organic cane sugar
2 cups of sweet rice flour
1 cup of tapioca flour
1/2 cup of sorghum flour
2 tablespoons of xanthum gum
2 teaspoons of sea salt
4 teaspoons of yeast
Into the well of your bread machine dump eggs through organic cane sugar. The machine will do the mixing for you so don't worry about stirring.
In a large bowl whisk or sift together sweet rice flour through sea salt until well incorporated. Once mixed dump the dry mixture on top of the wet ingredients. The machine will mix these together too. Dump yeast on top of the dry mixture and set the machine on the Basic 2 pound setting.
My machine also has a setting for light, medium or dark crust. If yours has this setting too then set it for medium. Start the machine and go back in and take a look between five and ten minutes to make sure that all the flour is incorporated. You may need to scrape down the sides of the well to make sure everything incorporates. I'm not sure why this is the case with gluten free breads, but I've had to do this with every loaf I've made even the mix
After the first mix and when you've scraped down the sides the dough will look like this:
The dough is very shaggy and makes a very rustic loaf.
After it has risen it will look like this:
Still shaggy, but roughly doubled in size.
The top and sides turn a lovely brown:
And thus your have your finished loaf. It's moist and holds up well and is easily sliced with a bread knife. It's just perfect for sandwiches.
Notes: Make sure that you use sweet rice flour and not just plain brown or white rice flour. It really adds to the texture and taste of the bread. Also the tapioca flour helps retain the moisture and give you the tender crumb. You could most likely use all honey or all organic cane sugar and it should work fine. The olive oil also lends to the crumb and flavor. You could substitute safflower oil or something if you wanted, but I wouldn't recommend that substitution.
Posted by Dianne at 9:21 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
April 29, 2008
Steak-a-Mabobs
So what to call this? I just didn't know, thus the Steak-a-Mabobs title! This is a very simple dish, that creates a certain wow factor. I got the idea from Chicken Cordon Blue, but without the extra breading and meat and minus the butter. The steak and spinach meld very well with the swiss cheese and overall it's just a wonderful combination. Paired with some roasted sweet potatoes it made the perfect meal! If you want something with a little pizazz, all while being easy to make, then this is the dish for you!
What You'll Need:
1 - 1 to 1/2 pound steak of your choice, pounded thin
Sea salt (Note: I used Celtic sea salt.)
Freshly ground black pepper
Baby spinach leaves, washed and dried
Swiss cheese (Note: I used raw milk baby swiss cheese.)
Extra virgin olive oil
Preheat oven to 375 F.
First you need to pound your steak until it is about 1/4 of an inch all the way around and then sprinkle the surface with sea salt and some freshly ground black pepper:
Next layer the steak with baby spinach leaves:
On top of the spinach leaves add 1 to 2 ounces of swiss cheese:
Roll up the steak and secure it with some wooden skewers:
Drizzle the top with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with a bit more sea salt and black pepper. Bake the steak for 25-55 minutes depending on how done you like your meat. I actually let this one go a bit too long for my taste as I like a medium rare steak, but you can cook it however you enjoy.
Makes 2-3 servings depending on the size of your steak.
Notes: You could use arugula in place of the spinach. You could also add in mushrooms and/or onions if you liked or switch out the cheese for provolone or Monterrey jack. It's a fun recipe to play around with.
Posted by Dianne at 10:26 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Tuesdays with Dorie: I'm Sitting Out This Week
Busy, busy, busy! That's me lately. I didn't get around to making this week's Tuesday with Dorie recipe, which was the Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake chosen by Caitlin of Engineer Baker so I have nothing to report on that front. Next week's recipe is the Peanut Butter Torte chosen by Elizabeth of Ugg Smell Food, which I'm hoping to make this weekend and then the week after is little old me...I get to choose the weekly recipe! I've already chosen, but I won't ruin the surprise! ;oP
Be sure and stop over at the Tuesdays with Dorie blog and visit the member links to see how their cakes turned out. Also check back here at Dianne's Dishes later for an as to be named recipe that has steak, baby spinach and swiss cheese all rolled into one...Now doesn't that sound interesting? ;o)
Oh and in case you missed it I'm Twittering now so be sure to check out my Tweets! (You can also keep up with the Tweets on the widget on the side bar.)
Have a great day everyone!
Posted by Dianne at 8:43 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 28, 2008
Join Me On Twitter
Yes, I've jumped on the Twitter bandwagon! Take this link or there is also a widget on the sidebar that gives my latest Tweets. See you there! ;o)
Posted by Dianne at 5:33 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Creamy Potato and Celery Soup
My spring allergies seem to get worse with every spring that comes around. The sun and warmth call me to be outside, most likely playing in the dirt, but once I get out there I pay for it by sneezing and coughing and man does it hurt to sneeze! Not fun at all! When my allergies just get to the point where I want to curl up in a ball and wait for next winter to come and freeze out the allergens it's time to make some soup and it's quick and easy to boot!
Now the standard go to soup when you're not feeling well is a basic chicken soup, but sometimes when you want soup, you just want something creamy. This soup is smooth and hearty, all while not being too heavy. It's just the ticket for when you just want something a little velvety. It's the perfect match to chase away those allergy blues!
What You'll Need:
2 teaspoons of butter
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 ribs of celery, chopped
A pinch of sea salt (Note: If your broth is already salty then skip the sea salt.)
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large sized potato, cut into small cubes
1 quart of chicken broth
2 cups of mashed potatoes
1 cup of milk (Note: Any milk will work...I used skim.)
1/4 cup of corn starch (Note: If the potatoes thicken the soup sufficiently for you then you can skip the corn starch.)
In a medium sized pot sauté onion and celery with a little sea salt and some freshly ground black pepper until tender. Add the chopped potato and cook for 2-3 minutes until potatoes are slightly browned.
Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until potatoes are fork tender.
Stir in mashed potatoes and milk until smooth. If the potatoes don't thicken the soup enough for your liking then stir in 1/4 cup a corn starch and cook until mixture thickens.
How easy is that?
Notes: You can add in other vegetables if you like. Leeks would be good, but I didn't have any on hand. You could add corn or carrots or even more potato. It's completely up to you and your tastes.
Posted by Dianne at 8:24 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 27, 2008
Daring Bakers April 2008 Challenge: Cheesecake Pops
It's that time of month again...Time for the Daring Bakers April Reveal! And this month's recipe was Cheesecake Pops from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey
So cheesecake...As many of you know I'm all about cheesecake! In fact I think cheesecake should be an additional food group! ;o) When I saw that this month's recipe was cheesecake pops I was thrilled. I mean chocolate and cheesecake how much better can life get? And taste wise this recipe did not disappoint, but I, like several others that I saw in the Daring Baker's forums, had a bit of a problem getting the cheesecake to set. The edges set, but the center just refused. I baked it for close to an hour and it felt firm on top and I though I had averted a mushy middle, but not so much.
I mean seriously doesn't that look like a perfectly baked cheesecake? I sure thought so!
But in reality the center looked more like this:
I tried freezing it, but couldn't get that to work either. I ended up making a few pops with what I could salvage and then using the unset portion to make some Blueberry Cheesecake Parfaits, because seriously did I mention how good this cheesecake tasted?
I mean look at that...Even the failed middle looks fabulous! Let's get a little closer look shall we?
Sometimes when something doesn't work that doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad thing! ;o)
I did end up with about 14 Cheesecake Pops though and oh my goodness...To die for! I used milk chocolate as a covering and it just melded so well with the cheesecake! Alexis really liked them too, but hey my child liking cheesecake...What are the odds? ;o)
We left them all lined up on the tray in the fridge until we finished them. I had intended to send these with Jamison to work as a treat, but 14 wasn't quite enough to share with everyone. The pops themselves really were just to die for. I think it might be nice to bake the cheesecake and simply pour the chocolate mixture on top as a top layer and just serve it that way.
Overall my pops might not have been perfect, but hey I made the best out of what I could and I have to say it tasted good anyway! This recipe most definitely was sticky, messy and gooey, but it also tasted absolutely delicious! And that my friends is always a very good thing. There is absolutely nothing wrong with dessert that gets a little messy! ;oP
Be sure and stop over at the Daring Baker's Blogroll and see how everyone else's Cheesecake Pops turned out! I can't wait to see what May brings!
What You'll Need:
5 8-oz. packages cream cheese at room temperature
2 cups sugar
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
5 large eggs
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¼ cup heavy cream
Boiling water as needed
Thirty to forty 8-inch lollipop sticks
1 pound chocolate, finely chopped – you can use all one kind or half and half of dark, milk, or white (Alternately, you can use 1 pound of flavored coatings, also known as summer coating, confectionery coating or wafer chocolate – candy supply stores carry colors, as well as the three kinds of chocolate.)
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
(Note: White chocolate is harder to use this way, but not impossible)
Assorted decorations such as chopped nuts, colored jimmies, crushed peppermints, mini chocolate chips, sanding sugars, dragees) - Optional
Position oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Set some water to boil.
In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and salt until smooth. If using a mixer, mix on low speed. Add the whole eggs and the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well (but still at low speed) after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and cream.
Grease a 10-inch cake pan (not a springform pan), and pour the batter into the cake pan. Place the pan in a larger roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with the boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake until the cheesecake is firm and slightly golden on top, 35 to 45 minutes.
Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and cool to room temperature. Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very cold, at least 3 hours or up to overnight.
When the cheesecake is cold and very firm, scoop the cheesecake into 2-ounce balls and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Carefully insert a lollipop stick into each cheesecake ball. Freeze the cheesecake pops, uncovered, until very hard, at least 1 – 2 hours.
When the cheesecake pops are frozen and ready for dipping, prepare the chocolate. In the top of a double boiler, set over simmering water, or in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, heat half the chocolate and half the shortening, stirring often, until chocolate is melted and chocolate and shortening are combined. Stir until completely smooth. Do not heat the chocolate too much or your chocolate will lose it's shine after it has dried. Save the rest of the chocolate and shortening for later dipping, or use another type of chocolate for variety.
Alternately, you can microwave the same amount of chocolate coating pieces on high at 30 second intervals, stirring until smooth.
Quickly dip a frozen cheesecake pop in the melted chocolate, swirling quickly to coat it completely. Shake off any excess into the melted chocolate. If you like, you can now roll the pops quickly in optional decorations. You can also drizzle them with a contrasting color of melted chocolate (dark chocolate drizzled over milk chocolate or white chocolate over dark chocolate, etc.) Place the pop on a clean parchment paper-lined baking sheet to set. Repeat with remaining pops, melting more chocolate and shortening (or confectionery chocolate pieces) as needed.
Refrigerate the pops for up to 24 hours, until ready to serve.
Makes 30 – 40 Pops
Posted by Dianne at 6:59 AM | Comments (24) | TrackBack
April 26, 2008
South Mountain Creamery Farm Festival!
This morning we ventured over to Middletown, Maryland to visit South Mountain Creamery, who was having a family farm festival today! We're customers of the creamery and I thought it would be fun to go over and see their operation in action. I'm all about seeing where your food comes from!
The festival is today from 10-5 and then again tomorrow from 12-5 as well. You can see cows, goats, adult turkeys, baby turkeys, baby chickens, baby ducks, bunnies, honey bees and so much more! They have booths set up with food to enjoy and they have a store on site so you can try their wares. You can go on a hayride, play in rocks and most importantly (at least from Alexis' point of view) you can pet a bunch of animals! It was really a fun and if you are in the Baltimore/DC Metro area then you should most definitely stop by!
And now for some more pictures!
This calf wanted to give Alexis a kiss:
It looks like he (or she) got her, but they didn't.
Much to Alexis' joy she got to pet some calves!
And she also got to pet some bunnies too:
We took a short hayride up the road and through one of the fields so I shot a picture from the back of the wagon.
They had some baby chicks and turkeys too.
They also had a duckling, but he was still in the incubator. They brought him out for a moment and let Alexis touch him, but I didn't get a shot of that as I have a thing for ducks and was too busy ooing and ahhing over how adorable he was and how soft he was because well who can resist a baby duckling?
And last but not least they had a window box beehive so you could see inside.
When I pointed out the queen to Alexis she told me "That can't be the queen...Where's her crown?" Yes all queens have crowns apparently. I must remember that for future reference. The lady standing next to us thought that was hilarious. That's my child...The laugh riot! ;o)
I also picked up a couple of Carbon tomato plants, which is a black tomato variety, as well as a couple of Cherokee purple plants. They are both heirloom varieties. I was also able to get a chocolate mint plant. I've always wanted to try chocolate mint, but had never located it before so I was beyond thrilled to find they had plants!
So that was our morning/early afternoon. We have had a very fun, very educational day so far and now we're off the the local nursery! How did you spend your day! ;oP
Posted by Dianne at 3:02 PM | Comments (4)
April 25, 2008
Garden Update...Spring Has Sprung!
Let's talk a little gardening this morning shall we?
Spring is finally here! (Even though it's supposed to get cooler this weekend again. Hhmmph!) And despite my spring allergies, which seem to get worse every year (what's up with that?), we are in high gear getting the garden ready!
Most of the seeds I planted have sprouted. The only thing that didn't fully sprout were the marigolds, but that's ok. I probably over planted those anyway, though I may add some more along the way! I actually ended up buying a few herb plants yesterday and as you can see above the apple trees are just covered in blooms so it appears we will have a bumper crop of those as well!
Now let's take a look at some of the seedlings. First up lets look at the little tomato plants:
I think only one of the seeds didn't sprout, maybe two. I also have removed one of the plants for a Yellow Pear Cherry tomato and planted it in a pot on the front porch for Alexis. The plants on the other side are the tray with the pumpkins and watermelon and such.
Next up are herbs and flowers:
These plants are still small (and why I bought some actual plants to get things started...I'm impatient what can I say?), but they are doing just fine and will go directly into the garden soon.
The sunflowers are sort of falling over as they grew too fast, but here is a shot of the marigolds:
I use the marigolds for both pest control and let's face it they are pretty too! We'll be direct planting a few more sunflowers as well. I'm going to try and salvage the seedlings too.
Now let's look at the pea box on the front porch:
Peas do wonderfully in a window box type container. They end up cascading over the sides and Alexis loves to munch them right off the vine!
We also planted spinach in a window box type container:
As you can see the spinach is still in the sprouting stage, but it grows pretty quickly so it should be busting out any day now.
I also planted an herb box:
I planted Italian Flat leaf parsley, rosemary, English thyme, spearmint, dill and rosemary. I usually plant several window boxes and hanging pots with herbs each year and place them on the front porch so I can go out and snip what I need as I cook. I've got two hanging pots planted with herbs, but so far they chives are the only things that have sprouted there so far.
Let's take a closer look at the herbs. First up spearmint!
I LOVE spearmint! I don't really cook with it, but I love the smell and the taste is fabulous too! Alexis likes to munch the leaves right off the plant for a little snack, but then again she does that with all of my herbs! I can't think of a single one of the herbs I grow that she doesn't nibble on.
Next we have English thyme:
Usually I don't have to buy sage, thyme or rosemary because it comes back in my boxes, but my main herb box was blown off the porch in high wind over the winter and it obliterated the herbs inside so I had to start over from scratch. Thyme is one of my all time favorite herbs! I actually like fresh thyme better than dried, even though I do use dried thyme too, but when it's fresh there is just no comparison!
Ah rosemary...
Rosemary is probably my all time favorite herb! I've often joked that if I could figure out a way to chocolate coat rosemary then I'd be in heaven. (Though it might not be too bad...Perhaps I should experiment a bit! A friend of mine tried chocolate covered blue cheese truffles and says they are to die for so who am I to question? ;o)) I love the smell of rosemary, it's just heavenly and much like thyme I prefer it fresh, though I do use it dried as well. If you plant rosemary in the ground it become a shrub and a great smelling shrub at that!
Next up we have Italian flat leaf parsley:
Parsley is a vastly under estimated plant. Some people simply turn their nose up at parsley, but it really has such a wonderful fresh and clean flavor! It's not just a garish people! Try some parsley in a salad or even on a sandwich along with, or in place of, lettuce! You'll be amazed at how it makes things pop!
And last but not least dill...
Dill is another all time favorite of mine and I like it fresh and dried. In fact I like it so much I'd have to say it comes in a close second to rosemary in my book. This year I'm hoping to have enough dill and cucumbers to make some pickles. The garden should be big enough so fingers crossed!
And speaking of gardens...Last night Jamison started digging! One of the gentleman at work mentioned that this area has a lot of rocks and such and you'd likely tear up a tiller. So far we have only unearthed one rock and it wasn't that big at that, so I think we are going to try and rent a tiller this weekend to finish the job. Once it's done I'll show you the plot, but for now I'm very happy to report that the soil is rich, brown and with every shovel full a bunch of earthworms are showing up!
And my precious little girly girl, who obviously has a little tom boy in her too, had a ball playing with worms! She is so my child!
So who's planting this year? How is your garden coming along? Isn't it fun to play in the dirt?!!?!?
So overall I'm very pleased! I'll be updating again soon. Tomorrow we're off to a local farm festival where Alexis is beside herself with joy because she will get to pet a cow! I may post a few pictures from that little sojourn as there are supposed to be many yummy things to sample. Also be sure and check back on Sunday for the April Daring Bakers reveal! It's a really good one even if mine didn't turn out quite as I expected...
Have a great weekend everyone!
Posted by Dianne at 8:16 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
April 24, 2008
Goat Cheese and Salmon Risotto...Otherwise Known As I've Got Leftovers Now What Do I Do With Them?
Tuesday evening Alexis and I had Baked Salmon with Dill and Alexis also wanted some green peas. We happened to have both left over and I'm all about taking leftovers and making them into something new and this is what evolved.
The salmon and dill go well together and paired with the goat cheese it's just an amazing flavor combination. This is a good way to use up leftovers and it's a delicious main course or you could even us it as small portion side dish. There are lovely flecks of dill throughout and the cheese gives it just the right punch.
Who says leftovers have to be boring?
What You'll Need:
Extra virgin olive oil
1/2 an onion, chopped
4 button mushrooms, chopped
A pinch of sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1-2 teaspoons of dried dill
1 cup of arborio rice
Broth and/or water (Note: Any kind of broth will do. I used chicken broth.)
2 cups of green peas
1 1/2-2 cups of baked salmon (Note: If you want to make this and don't have left over salmon you can bake a salmon fillet with a little olive oil, a pinch of sea salt and some dried dill for 8-10 minutes at 350 F until it's done through and then flake the fillet with a fork.)
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup of goat cheese crubmles
In a large skillet sauté onion and mushrooms until tender with a little sea salt, some freshly ground black pepper and dried dill. (Note: I like to add more dill, but if you want you can add less.) Add arborio rice and stir into the onions and mushrooms to mix.
Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring once or twice, to toast the rice a bit.
Next add enough broth or water to cover the arborio rice. (Note: Usually this about 2-3 cups of liquid.) Bring to a quick boil and them reduce to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed. (Note: You may need to add more liquid as the risotto cooks. I usually start out with broth and then add 1 cup of water as needed as the process goes along. On this dish I ended up only adding 1 additional cup of water, but sometimes it may take two or three more additions of water or broth until the rice is tender.) When the rice is tender and the liquid is mostly absorbed and looks a little like this:
Add the peas and salmon and stir to mix and the continue to cook until the liquid is mostly absorbed. Remove risotto from the heat and stir in Parmesan and goat cheese until melted and let risotto sit for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes: Risotto is very much the mix and match dish. You could use thyme, rosemary or any other herb that strikes your fancy instead of dill. You could use chicken, scallops or shrimp instead of salmon. You could even make a completely vegetarian option using other veggies in place of meat. The possibilities are endless!
Posted by Dianne at 12:38 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
April 23, 2008
Attention: Update to Two Recent Gluten Free Recipes!
In the Gluten Free Yellow Cupcake and the Gluten Free Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffin recipes I typed out buckwheat flour when in fact I used sorghum flour instead. I don't know how I got that confused in my head, but there you go. When I was making Jamison some gluten free bread for sandwiches this afternoon I realized the container was sorghum and not buckwheat and wanted to let you know. If you had planned to make either recipe I've changed it on the recipes themselves now so make a note of the changed flour. If you made them with buckwheat flour it would most likely work, but it wouldn't be exactly as it should be. Sorry for the mix up.
Posted by Dianne at 5:34 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Try It You'll Like It: Izze Sparkling Juices
I've been a quest for the past year to find a good alternative to the traditional soda to serve when we have guests over for dinner and when I found Izze Sparkling Juices the search was over! The Blueberry, Grapefruit and Clementine versions are really fabulous! They are no sweeteners added (and more importantly no artificial sweeteners)...It's nothing but real juice with sparkling water. As an added plus the container is completely recyclable too so you're not filling up the land fill either. Now that's a "soda" you can serve and not feel guilty about!
Try Izze Sparling Juices at your next party or get together...You'll love them!
Posted by Dianne at 2:16 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
Taste & Create VIII: Strawberry Pancakes (with Honey)
I decided to participate in a food blogging event hosted by For the Love of Food called Taste & Create VIII where you are paired with another food blog, you look through their recipes and then cook one you'd like to try and blog about what you prepared! I was paired with Passion + Love + Patience = Good Food and I chose to try Strawberry Pancakes since Alexis is a big fan of anything pancake. I had mine paired with some honey, Alexis chose to top hers with a bit of maple syrup and let me tell you these pancakes were really wonderful!
I wasn't able to find self-raising wholewheat flour so I had to use all-purpose flour and add in some baking powder, but other than that everything else was easily located. The pancakes were light and fluffy and the strawberries gave them just the right fruity touch. Alexis and I really enjoyed them!
Pancakes...Strawberries...Completely delicious! What's not to like?
Posted by Dianne at 7:02 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
April 22, 2008
Tuesdays with Dorie: Bill's Big Carrot Cake (Not So Big Cupcakes)
It's Tuesday! So you know what that means...Tuesdays with Dorie
I decided to make cupcakes instead of one big layer cake because then it's easier to send them to work with Jamison to share and I'm not stuck eating a whole big cake by myself! ;o) I ended up baking them for close to 27 minutes. Next time I'd probably bake them at 350 F for a bit shorter time.
The cupcakes turned out really well, though I did take a few liberties. I decided to add in 1/2 cup more coconut than the recipe called for an I also substituted a can of crushed pineapple for the raisins. With the frosting I went with two tablespoons of my homemade vanilla extract in place of the lemon juice because I felt like the vanilla would compliment the recipe more and I was not disappointed! I used pecans instead of walnuts also since the recipe said you could use either. I like walnuts, but I was in a pecan mood yesterday.
I was very pleased with the recipe overall. The only thing I would change if I made this again is that I would most likely substitute unsweetened apple sauce for the oil to lighten it up a bit. I might also use some brown sugar too to bring out the flavor of the carrots and pineapple and make them pop. I think I would add in a tablespoon of baking powder instead of just 2 teaspoons as the cupcakes didn't rise very much, but taste wise it was a winner and if you're looking for a good carrot cake then look no further...You've found it!
Be sure and stop on over at the Tuesdays with Dorie blog roll and see how the other member's cakes turned out. :o)
What You'll Need for the Cake:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon salt
3 cups grated carrots (about 9 carrots, you can grate them in food processor fitted w/ a shredding a blade or use a box grater)
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
½ cup moist, plump raisins (dark or golden) or dried cranberries
2 cups sugar
1 cup canola or safflower oil
4 large eggs
What You'll Need for the Frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick ( 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 pound or 3 and ¾ cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or ½ teaspoon pure lemon extract
½ cup shredded coconut (optional)
Finely chopped toasted nuts and/or toasted shredded coconut (optional)
Getting ready:
Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter three 9-x-2-inch round cake pans, flour the insides, and tap out the excess. Put the two pans on one baking sheet and one on another.
To make the cake:
Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, stir together the carrots, chopped nuts, coconut, and raisins.
Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the sugar and oil together on a medium speed until smooth. Add the eggs one by one and continue to beat until the batter is even smoother. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing only until the dry ingredients disappear. Gently mix the chunky ingredients. Divide the batter among the baking pans.
Bake for 40-50 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point, until a thin knife inserted into the centers comes out clean. The cakes will have just started to come away from the sides of the pans. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes and unmold them. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up.
The cakes can be wrapped airtight and kept at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to 2 months.
To make the frosting:
Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until the frosting is velvety smooth. Beat in the lemon juice or extract.
If you'd like coconut in the filling, scoop about half of the frosting and stir the coconut into this position.
To assemble the cake:
Put one layer top side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper. If you added the coconut to the frosting, use half of the coconut frosting to generously cover the first layer (or generously cover with plain frosting). Use an offset spatula or a spoon to smooth the frosting all the way to the edges of the layer. Top with the second layer, this time placing the cake stop side down, and frost with the remainder of the coconut frosting or plain frosting. Top with the last layer, right side up, and frost the top- and the sides- of the cake. Finish the top with swirls of frosting. If you want to top the cake with toasted nuts or coconut, sprinkle them on now while the frosting is soft.
Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes, just to set the frosting before serving.
Serving:
This cake can be served as soon as the frosting is set. It can also wait, at room temperature and covered with a cake keeper overnight. The cake is best served in thick slices at room temperature and while it's good plain, it's even better with vanilla ice cream or some lemon curd.
Storing:
The cake will keep at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. It can also be frozen. Freeze it uncovered, then when it's firm, wrap airtight and freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost, still wrapped, overnight in the refrigerator.
Posted by Dianne at 6:55 AM | Comments (28) | TrackBack
April 21, 2008
Gluten Free Yellow Cupcakes
On the continuing quest to develop some good gluten free alternatives to old standbys our next stop is Gluten Free Yellow Cupcakes!
These cupcakes are very good. Alexis and I enjoyed them and Jamison even liked them. The crumb was very nice, although as with many gluten free baked goods you'll want to eat these the day they are made or the next day at the latest, because they dry out quickly. For the full batch it would be perfect for a party, but if you're just making them for yourself I'd half the recipe and make a smaller batch. I topped them with my version of Wilton's Buttercream icing and Alexis insisted they be blue. Overall we were quite pleased!
What You'll Need:
2 cups of sweet potato flour
1 cup of sorghum flour
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 heaping tablespoon of baking powder
1 cup of organic cane sugar
1 cup of buttermilk
4 eggs
1/4 cup of safflower oil
1 tablespoon of vanilla
Preheat Oven to 350 F.
Sift or stir together sweet potato flour, buckwheat flour, sea salt and baking powder until well incorporated. Stir sugar into the flour mixture. In a separate bowl whisk together buttermilk, eggs, safflower oil and vanilla until well mixed and then add to the flour/sugar mixture. Stir until the two mixtures are incorporated fully.
Line a muffin pan with silicone baking cups
Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes give or take a few depending on how you fill your cups.
Notes: No notes for this one. What you see is what you get! ;o)
Posted by Dianne at 9:34 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 19, 2008
Tuesdays with Dorie (A Little Late): The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart (with Blueberry Sauce)!
It's not Tuesday, but it's time for a little Tuesdays with Dorie none the less! Last week the recipe for Tuesday's with Dorie was The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart and I was looking forward to trying it out and then all hell broke loose and it just didn't happen! But I promised myself (and you readers too) that I'd get back to the Tart and get back to it I did!
First of let me say Oh...My...God! This tart is heavenly! I halved the recipe and made four mini-tarts instead of one big tart, but it was divine! I also made some blueberry sauce to go along with it since lemon and blueberry are just a pair made in heaven and this tart really was heavenly....But...This is not an every day food! Talk about rich and calorie laden! It's definitely a sometimes food, but oh so lovely to enjoy when that sometimes rolls around!
So here is my take on The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart and as they say better late than never! ;o)
What You'll Need for the Filling: (Note: Remember I halved the recipe.)
1 cup sugar
Grated zest of 3 lemons (Note: I used the zest of two lemons as it's kind of hard to half three.)
4 large eggs
¾ c fresh lemon juice (from 4-5 lemons)
2 sticks plus 5 T butter (10 ½ ounces) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon size pieces, at room temperature
1 9-inch tart shell made with sweet tart dough (Note: See recipe below and I halved it too. You need to make the dough first...)
Getting ready:
Have a instant-read thermometer, a strainer and a blender or food processor at hand. Bring a few inches of water to a simmer in a saucepan.
Put the sugar and zest in a large heatproof bowl that can be set over the pan of simmering water. Off the heat, rub the sugar and zest together between your fingers until the sugar is moist, grainy, and very aromatic. Whisk in the eggs, followed by the lemon juice.
Set the bowl over the pan and start stirring with the whisk as soon as the mixture fees tepid to the touch. Cook the lemon cream until it reaches 180 degrees F. As you whisk- you whisk constantly to keep the eggs from scrambling- you’ll see that the cream will start out light and foamy, then the bubbles will get bigger, and then, as it gets closer to 180F, it will start to thicken and the whisk will leave tracks. Heads up at this point- the tracks mean the cream is almost ready. Don’t stop whisking or checking the temperature, and have patience- depending on how much heat you’re giving the cream, getting to temp may take as long as 10 minutes.
As soon as it reaches 180F, remove the cream from the heat and strain it into the container of the blender (or food processor); discard the zest. Let the cream stand, stirring occasionally, until it cools to 140 degrees F, about 10 minutes.
Turn the blender to high (or turn on the processor) and, with the machine going, add the butter about 5 pieces at a time. Scrape down the sides of the container as needed as you incorporate the butter. Once the butter is in, keep the machine going- to get the perfect light, airy texture of lemon-cream dreams, you must continue to bend the cream for another 3 minutes. If your machine protests, and gets a bit too hot, work in 1-minute intervals, giving the machine a little rest between beats.
Pour the cream into a container, press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface to create an airtight seal and refrigerate at least 4 hours, or overnight. (the cream will keep in the fridge for 4 days or, tightly sealed, in the freezer for up to 2 months; thaw it overnight in the refrigerator)
When you are ready to assemble the tart, just whisk the cream to loosen it and spoon it into the tart shell. Serve the tart, or refrigerate until needed.
What You'll Need for the Sweet Tart Dough: (Again I halved this)
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 stick plus 1 tablespoon (9 T) very cold (or frozen) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk (Note: I used the whole egg yolk as it's hard to cut one in two.)
(Note: I had to add a bit of cold water to the dough to get it to come together as well.)
Put the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse a couple of times to combine. Scatter the pieces of butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is coarsely cut in- you should have some pieces the size of oatmeal fakes and others the size of peas. Stir the yolk, just to break it up, and add it a little at a time, pulsing after each addition. When the egg is in, process in long pulses- about 10 seconds each- until the dough, which will look granular soon after the egg is added, forms clumps and curds. Just before you reach this stage, the sound of the machine working the dough will change- heads up. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and, very lightly and sparingly, knead the dough just to incorporate and dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing.
To press the dough into the pan: butter a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan, using all but one little piece of dough, which you should save in the refrigerator to patch any cracks after the crust is baked. Don’t be too heavy handed- press the crust in so that the edges of the pieces cling to one another, but not so hard that the crust loses its crumbly texture. Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes, preferable longer, before baking.
To partially or fully bake the crust: center a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F.
Butter the shiny side of aluminum foil and fit the foil, buttered side down, against the crust. (since you froze it, you can bake it without weights). Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake the crust for 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil. If the crust has puffed, carefully press it down with the back of a spoon. For partially baked crust, patch the crust if necessary, then transfer the crust to a cooling rack. To fully bake the crust, bake for another 8 minutes or so, or until it is firm and golden brown. Transfer pan to a rack and cool the crust to room temperature before filling.
Posted by Dianne at 7:53 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
April 18, 2008
The Best Slow Cooker Pot Roast You'll Ever Eat
Pot Roast is one of, if not the, quintessential comfort food of all time. When you cook a pot roast in a slow cooker you end up with a tender, moist roast that literally falls apart. You can cook it alone and make some mashed potatoes and a side salad to accompany the meal, or you can throw in some cut up potatoes, carrots, parsnips, etc to make a wonderful one dish meal.
Any way you make it, this is bound to become a family favorite! And the best part is this is simple and easy to throw on in the morning and have a hot, hearty dinner ready for the evening. Pot roast isn't just for Sunday dinner anymore!
What You'll Need:
1 roast (Note: You can chose shoulder, rump, whatever you like.)
Water
Sea salt
Black pepper
Place roast in the bottom of you slow cooker and cover with water until just covered. Add a very generous pinch of sea salt and a lot of freshly ground black pepper and believe it or not that's it!
Now for cooking. You can do it one of two ways. You can cook it on high for 5-6 hours or you can cook it on low all day long. You'll know it's done when you stick the roast with a fork and it sort of shreds.
Once the pot roast is cooked remove it from the slow cooker and let it sit for 5-10 minutes before slicing. I usually let it rest on a cutting board or in a glass dish. When you start to slice the roast it will normally just sort of fall apart. Once in a blue moon you may get a roast that does not, but it's very rare. 9.9 times out of 10 when a roast is cooked like this it just falls apart and is very tender.
If you want to add in vegetables then layer them on the bottom of the slow cooker and then lay the roast on top. After that follow the same directions as above.
If you want you can make gravy with the broth that forms from the cooking of the roast by taking 2 cups of the broth and placing them in a stock pot. Take about 1/4 a cup of broth and mix with 1-2 tablespoons of flour until smooth and add to the pot. Stir the broth/flour mixture in to mix and then cook over medium heat until mixture thickens. There is no need to add salt or pepper as the broth already has both. You can also reserve the left over broth for soup.
Notes: If you want you can add in a sliced onion on top of the meat or throw in 6-8 garlic cloves, but it's not necessary unless you just want to. The salt and pepper bring out wonderful aspects of the meat itself. You could also add in some rosemary and/or thyme.
Posted by Dianne at 7:24 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
April 17, 2008
Banana Bread with Toasted Pecans
Right before Grant was born my sister and I were discussing banana bread as I had a ton of bananas that were past eating stage, but just right for baking banana bread. She told me about a recipe that utilized toasted pecans, but I am really a sold on my adapted version of my mom's banana bread recipe and I think it's the best banana bread I've ever had, though the idea of the toasted pecans intrigued me. So what to do? I decided to toast some pecans and add them to my base recipe and I have to admit it was really good!
This recipe is a simple, quick solution that makes use of those bananas that are past their prime. The banana gives the bread such a lovely undertone, while the toasted pecans give it just the right punch. The best part is that the recipe makes two loaves so you have one for you and one to share or you can even freeze a loaf for later!
This bread is wonderful sliced right out the oven and it's also good at room temperature. You can eat it plain, spread on a little butter or even a little peanut butter and you've got a wonderful snack or even breakfast! What's not to like?
What You'll Need:
6-8 very ripe bananas
1 cup of organic cane sugar
1/2 cup of safflower oil or unsweetened apple sauce (Note: The apple sauce would make it healthier all while helping hold together the bread as the oil does. I make it with oil sometimes, but for the most part I utilize the apple sauce instead.)
4 eggs
1 tablespoon of vanilla
1 teaspoon of sea salt
2 teaspoons of baking soda
2 teaspoons of baking powder
4 cups of unbleached all purpose flour (Note: You can use white whole wheat flour if you like. This batch was made with all purpose flour, but normally I use the white whole wheat flour instead.)
2 cups of pecans, chopped and toasted
Preheat oven to 350 F.
In the bowl of a mixer (or with a hand mixer) beat bananas until smooth.
Next add sugar, eggs, vanilla and oil or apple sauce to the bananas and mix until smooth.
In a large bowl sift or whisk together flour, sea salt, baking powder and baking soda. Mix dry ingredients in with the banana mixture and stir until mixed. Set aside.
In medium sized skillet add chopped pecans and toast in a dry pan over medium heat until they turn slightly brown and you begin to smell their nutty flavor. Add nuts to the batter and stir to mix throughout.
Spray 2 loaf pans with non-stick spray and half the batter between the two pans. Place the pans on a baking sheet and bake for 50-60 minutes until bread is done through. Let sit in the pans for 5-10 minutes and then turn out to cool.
Makes two loaves.
Notes: For an added bonus you can stir in chocolate chips or raisins or even blueberries. You could also use a different type of nut. It's all up to you and your tastes.
Posted by Dianne at 7:16 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 16, 2008
Aw Shucks!
Allie from Allie's Answers has awarded me a Blog of Distinction Award and I must say I'm very honored! Now it's my turn to pass along the torch...
Allie would be one of my top choices had she not been awarded already. If you haven't check out her blog before do...She has great tips to green up your life! Another of her choices The Prettiest Denny's Waitress would have been a pick of mine too had he not already been awarded...Seriously if you like witty snark then hop over and check it out! Plus he's in Knoxvegas and Knoxville will always have a special place in my heart after having lived there myself! Both of these are on my daily read list.
Now for my awards....
First I'd like to give the Blog of Distinction award to The Humble Housewife! I stumbled across THW last year when I was looking at Irish blogs and I stuck around because not only do her recipes look fabulous, but her commentary is funny and warm! She's just starting a new food business too so stop by and say hello! If I lived in Ireland I think we'd be fast friends!
For my next Blog of Distinction award I'd like to introduce you to Do Better! Karen is on a journey to do better in terms of her life and health and I thoroughly enjoy keeping up with her journey as I'm on a similar path, though not as vocal about the topic. Her recipes look great and she gives me inspiration to help me not stray so far off the path.
My next Blog of Distinction award goes to Monica over at Blatherskite! Monica and I "met" through another blog I have and we've kept up with each other every since. She's sweet, charming and I'm totally convinced she'd be a kindred spirit in real life as well and hopefully one day we'll sit down and chat over a cup of tea or coffee. She blogs about a little bit of everything and her knitting skills are to die for!
So those are my award winners! Now it's their turn to share the love! ;o)
Thank you Allie...You made my day! :o)
Posted by Dianne at 12:34 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
Gluten Free Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins
Gluten free baked goods are tricky and they are largely hit and miss. As I've been experimenting I have discovered that buckwheat flour is nice in that it usually doesn't give baked goods such a grainy (and by that I mean sandy, not whole grain) texture. If you add in a variety of potato flour and/or tapioca flour you end up with a nice tender crumb that resembles wheat products more closely. These flours also tend not to have such a green taste.
These muffins would easily fool your average gluten eater. They would never know they were eating an alternative flour unless you told them. I also think that the batter would make an amazing sheet cake, but I'll have to test out that theory another time. These muffins are just perfect for a snack or even for a breakfast on the go and trust me you'll never miss the gluten!
In honor of full disclosure Jamison didn't actually like these muffins, but Alexis and I loved them! And I took some over to my sister right after Grant was born and they liked them too! I think it was just a little too much chocolate (is that possible??!?!?) for Jamison though. I'm going to play around with it without the chocolate and see if I can't come up with a good cupcake or blueberry muffin using a similar base. The sweet potato flour is really good utilized along these lines.
What You'll Need:
1 cup of sweet potato flour
1 1/2 cups of sorghum flour
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1/2 cup of cocoa
1 heaping tablespoon of baking powder
1 cup organic cane sugar
1 - 11.5 ounce package milk chocolate chips
1/4 cups safflower oil
2 tablespoons chocolate extract (Note: I used chocolate extract from Flavorganics, which is gluten free. Check the label of the chocolate extract to make sure it's gluten free if you don't use Flavorganics.)
3/4 cup of rice milk
4 eggs
Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a large bowl whisk together sweet potato flour, buckwheat flour, sea salt, cocoa, baking powder and sugar until completely incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips until incorporated in the dry mixture. Add safflower oil, chocolate extract, rice milk and eggs and stir until smooth. Place batter in muffins pans that have been lined with liners. Fill each liner 3/4ths of the way full and bake for 20 -25 minutes until done through.
Makes 14-16 muffins.
Notes: You could add in a cup of nuts too if you wanted or even leave out the chocolate chips.
Posted by Dianne at 7:06 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 15, 2008
Tuesdays with Dorie: (Pumpkin) Marshmallows
It's Tuesday! So you know what that means...Tuesdays with Dorie
I love homemade marshmallows...Whether they be chocolate, plain or even peanut butter I'm all about the homemade marshmallow! I like to make them from scratch because they are fluffy and sweet and you can control what goes into them (i.e. making sure there is no nasty high fructose corn syrup!) They are easy to play around with and you can make different flavors (like the pumpkin version I made for this) and you can change the colors or just leave them plain. Marshmallows are really fun to play around with!
Dorie's recipe calls for egg whites and I've made marshmallows this way before, but I'll be completely honest and say I prefer to make marshmallows that are egg white free as you can see if you take my marshmallow links above. These marshmallows were good, but not as good as the ones I usually make.
I chose to do the pumpkin flavor from Dorie's playing around suggestions because I've made chocolate and plain marshmallows before and I'm not a fan of cappuccino or raspberry, so pumpkin it was and that definitely gave it a nice undertone. It was especially nice as the marshmallow melted into a cup of hot chocolate.
At this point however let's talk about what went wrong...When I added the hot sugar syrup to the egg white mixture, even though the mixture was constantly moving and I did my best to the let the hot sugar mixture hit the sides of the bowl and the whisk BEFORE it hit the cool egg whites, I ended up with a bit of scrambled egg white here and there and that's a bit unnerving when you bite into a marshmallow expecting smooth and creamy and you get a bit of scrambled egg white. This wasn't a huge problem, but there was a bit of scrambling going on and the recipe did not mention tempering the egg white mixture. There was also no way to strain the mixture as it's too thick.
One thing I did do a bit differently, and it turned out to be a plus, was that I dusted the tops of the marshmallows with powdered sugar instead of using corn or potato starch:
I did use potato starch on the bottom of the marshmallows though. I usually use powdered sugar on my plain marshmallows, but I didn't think about that until after I had already lined the dish with the potato starch. If I ever made these again (which I doubt) I'd use powdered sugar for both steps.
Overall I'd give these a C. I want to try the pumpkin version by adapting the plain marshmallow recipe I use to see if I can get it to work, but most likely I'll try this close to Halloween and/or Thanksgiving.
Be sure and stop over at the other Tuesday with Dorie blogs and see how their marshmallows turned out!
P.S. I got around to making the The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart! Check back on Saturday to see how it turned out! And for those of you who wondered how the Gooey Chocolate Cakes would do once frozen and thawed check that out here!
What You'll Need:
About 1 cup potato starch (found in the kosher foods section of supermarkets) or cornstarch
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 1/4-ounce packets unflavored gelatin
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
3/4 cup cold water
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon sugar
GETTING READY: Line a rimmed baking sheet -- choose one with a rim that is 1 inch high -- with parchment paper and dust the paper generously with potato starch or cornstarch. Have a candy thermometer at hand.
Put 1/3 cup of the water, 1 1/4 cups of the sugar and the corn syrup in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Once the sugar is dissolved, continue to cook the syrup -- without stirring -- until it reaches 265 degrees F on the candy thermometer, about 10 minutes.
While the syrup is cooking, work on the gelatin and egg whites. In a microwave-safe bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the remaining cold water (a scant 7 tablespoons) and let it sit for about 5 minutes, until it is spongy, then heat the gelatin in a microwave oven for 20 to 30 seconds to liquefy it. (Alternatively, you can dissolve the gelatin in a saucepan over low heat.)
Working in the clean, dry bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or in another large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until firm but still glossy -- don't over beat them and have them go dull.
As soon as the syrup reaches 265 degrees F, remove the pan from the heat and, with the mixer on medium speed, add the syrup, pouring it between the spinning beater(s) and the sides of the bowl. Add the gelatin and continue to beat for another 3 minutes, so that the syrup and the gelatin are fully incorporated. Beat in the vanilla.
Using a large rubber spatula, scrape the meringue mixture onto the baking sheet, laying it down close to a short end of the sheet. Then spread it into the corners and continue to spread it out, taking care to keep the height of the batter at 1 inch; you won't fill the pan. Lift the excess parchment paper up to meet the edge of the batter, then rest something against the paper so that it stays in place (I use custard cups).
Dust the top of the marshmallows with potato starch or cornstarch and let the marshmallows set in a cool, dry place. They'll need about 3 hours, but they can rest for 12 hours or more.
Once they are cool and set, cut the marshmallows with a pair of scissors or a long thin knife. Whatever you use, you'll have to rinse and dry it frequently. Have a big bowl with the remaining potato starch or cornstarch at hand and cut the marshmallows as you'd like -- into squares, rectangles or even strips (as they're cut in France). As each piece is cut, drop it into the bowl. When you've got 4 or 5 marshmallows in the bowl, reach in with your fingers and turn the marshmallows to coat them with starch, then, one by one, toss the marshmallows from one hand to the other to shake off the excess starch; transfer them to a serving bowl. Cut and coat the rest of the batch.
SERVING: Put the marshmallows out and let everyone nibble as they wish. Sometimes I fill a tall glass vase with the marshmallows and put it in the center of the table -- it never fails to make friends smile. You can also top hot chocolate or cold sundaes with the marshmallows.
STORING: Keep the marshmallows in a cool, dry place; don't cover them closely. Stored in this way, they will keep for about 1 week -- they might develop a little crust on the outside or they might get a little firmer on the inside, but they'll still be very good.
Playing Around:
RASPBERRY MARSHMALLOWS: Fruit purees are excellent for flavoring these candies. For raspberry marshmallows, you'll need a generous 1/3 cup of puree; reduce the vanilla extract to 1/4 teaspoon. After the batter is mixed, gently fold in the puree with a rubber spatula. You can use the same measurements and technique for other purees, such as strawberry, mango and passion fruit.
CAPPUCCINO MARSHMALLOWS: Sift 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder and 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon together into a small bowl. Stir in 1/3 cup boiling water and mix until smooth. Reduce the vanilla extract to 1/2 teaspoon, and add it to the espresso mix. After you add the sugar syrup and gelatin to the meringue, beat in the espresso mixture and continue.
LIGHT CHOCOLATE MARSHMALLOWS: Melt 3 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate and stir in 2 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder. Reduce the vanilla extract to 1/4 teaspoon, and after the marshmallow batter is mixed, fold in the chocolate mixture with a large rubber spatula.
PUMPKIN SPICE MARSHMALLOWS: Whisk together 1/2 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin puree, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg and a pinch of ground allspice. After the marshmallow batter is mixed, fold in the spiced pumpkin with a large rubber spatula.
Posted by Dianne at 7:39 AM | Comments (26) | TrackBack
April 14, 2008
Creamy Vegetable and Chicken Pasta
Alexis and Jamison could eat spaghetti every night of the week if I let them, but I get bored with just plain old spaghetti so I often shift things around and make a pasta topper out of fresh tomatoes and veggies all while changing the herbs an things to make it different every time. This is one of those creations.
This pasta topper is healthy and creamy with just the right punch of herbs and flavors. The fresh tomatoes give it a wonderful depth of flavor and it's a quick easy meal that comes together in no time! Pair it with a tossed salad and you've got a delicious dinner that will break the same old pasta blues!
What You'll Need:
2 cups of cooked pasta of your choice (Note: I used corn spaghetti since I made Jamison spaghetti at the same time and of course his has to be gluten free.)
Extra virgin olive oil
2 cups of cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in two
1 small onion, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
1 teaspoon of dried thyme
A pinch of sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup of California style frozen vegetables
2 cups of cooked chicken, cut or torn into bite sized pieces (Note: A rotisserie chicken would be perfect for this dish.)
1 cup of baby spinach, chopped
1 tablespoon of corn starch or flour (Note: If you use corn starch and pair it with a corn or soy pasta this dish is gluten free. I used flour this go around since Jamison wasn't eating the dish.)
3/4 a cup of water
Parmesan cheese to top (Note: About an ounce per person.)
In a large skillet sauté tomatoes, onion and garlic with oregano, thyme, sea salt and pepper in a little extra virgin olive oil until onions are tender. Add frozen vegetables, chicken and spinach and cook until the vegetables are thawed. Next stir in flour and water and cook until the mixture thickens. Serve over pasta noodles and top with some shredded Parmesan cheese.
Makes two good sized dinner sized portions or three smaller sized portions.
Notes: You can add in type of veggies that you like. I like to add mushrooms to the mix. You can also mix and match the herbs of your choice.
Posted by Dianne at 9:06 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 13, 2008
Gooey Chocolate Cakes Revisited
A few weeks ago when we made the Gooey Chocolate Cakes for Tuesdays with Dorie I mentioned that I had frozen all but one of them and many of you had asked to let you know how that turned out. Last week when my father was here I forgot to get them out and thaw them, but yesterday I decided to pull one out and let it thaw overnight and see how it turned out. I pleased to say it went very well. This afternoon I reheated one in the microwave for about 30 seconds and served it along with some vanilla ice cream. The center was not liquid and was more solid even after heating, but it was still good. Also these little suckers are very rich so again I finished about half of one instead of eating the whole little cake, which is about the size of a cupcake.
So there you go...Gooey Chocolate Cakes frozen, thawed, reheated and revisited! It works! ;o)
Posted by Dianne at 2:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 10, 2008
A Little Break
Hey everyone! Just wanted to let you know I'm taking today and tomorrow off. I have a bunch of recipes in the back log, but not enough time to write/edit them to be posted on Dianne's Dishes. For now take a look at the blogs on my blog roll over to the side and see what they're cooking!
Have a great weekend everyone and hopefully things will be back to normal on Monday. :o)
Posted by Dianne at 9:34 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 9, 2008
Gluten Free Chewy Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Squares
When the gluten monster reared it's ugly little head we had to totally rethink Jamison's lunch. His normal lunch was a peanut butter sandwich, chips of some sort, a piece of fruit and/or some carrots or raisins along with some cookies or a granola bar or something along those lines. We've been able to adapt the lunch somewhat, peanut butter on gluten free bread (which I'm still working on), corn tortilla chips in place of those that had wheat (including many of the baked potato chips), the fruit/veggies stayed the same, but the treat portion had to have a major makeover. We found some gluten free granola bars that were good, but they only have five in the box and they aren't the cheapest option so I set out to make something at home and this is what transpired.
These squares are something along the lines of a Rice Krispee square, yet different. I actually liked these and I'm not a fan of RK squares so that says a lot. But regardless these squares are a nice fix for a gluten free treat option. I'm going to play around with making some actual gluten free granola bars, but we'll get back to that later. For now enjoy the Chewy Peanut Butter Rice Squares!
What You'll Need:
3 packages unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup of water
1 1/2 cups organic cane sugar
1 cup light corn syrup (Note: I used one from Wholesome Sweeteners that a hint of vanilla. Read the back of your bottle and make sure it does not have high fructose corn syrup in the syrup itself.)
1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup powdered peanut butter
6 cups puffed rice cereal
1 - 11.5 ounce package of milk chocolate chips
Butter to coat your dish
(Note: Your first step is to basically make peanut butter marshmallows. In fact if you spread this mixture out in a buttered dish and let it sit for a bit that is exactly what you'd end up with, but in this case you're going to use it for the "glue" to hold your bars together.)
Combine the gelatin in 1/2 cup of cold water in your mixer and let sit while you complete the other steps.
In a medium sized pot mix sugar, corn syrup, peanut butter powder and water over low to medium heat and cook until the sugar dissolves. Once the sugar has dissolves raise the heat and cook until the mixture reaches 240 F (or in other words roughly soft ball stage). Remove from the heat and pour slowly into your gelatin mixture while the mixer is on low. Once the sugar liquid is all added turn your mixer slowly to high and beat for 6-8 minutes until the mixture is thick and creamy.
While the marshmallow mixture is beating in a very large bowl mix together rice cereal and chocolate chips. Once the marshmallow mixture is ready pour the mixture over the rice cereal and chocolate chips and stir to incorporate. (Note: It will be very sticky. Mix quickly!) Spread the mixture into a 13 X 9 inch dish that has been buttered or sprayed with non-stick spray. (Note: If you have trouble spreading the mixture then slightly wet your hands and help push it into place.) Let the mixture sit for and hour or so and then cut into squares.
Notes: You could stir in peanuts too if you wanted, or even leave out the chocolate chips and use raisins or something along those lines instead. It's an easily mixed and match sort of recipe to play around with.
Posted by Dianne at 7:46 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
April 8, 2008
Tuesdays With Dorie: The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart
It's Tuesday! So you know what that means...Tuesdays with Dorie
I was really excited about this recipe and had planned to make some blueberry sauce to go with along with the tart because lemon and blueberry, well we all know how well lemons and blueberries go together, but I didn't make the tart. In short we had a very long, very draining weekend that I won't get into here, but I just couldn't make this recipe due to not being at home. I plan to make this one later when I get a chance so I'll most likely post about it when I do, but it may be in a few weeks or so when time permits.
Be sure and check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakersand see how their tarts turned out because this one looked like a real winner!
Posted by Dianne at 6:41 AM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
April 7, 2008
Cheesy Ham Bake
I love Easter and not to mention the leftover Easter ham! A thick slice of ham makes a wonderful sandwich, but you can just eat so many sandwiches before you start looking to make something else. An omelet with ham and cheese is a good alternative or you can make a sinful, cheesy, macaroni bake with nice bites of ham through out. It's not light and it's not something you want to make everyday, but it's a fun treat or "sometimes" food an sometimes that's just what you need!
What You'll Need:
3/4 of a 16 ounce package of pasta (Note: I used rotini, but you can use whatever shape you want.)
2 cups of milk (Note: You can use whatever kind of milk you want. I used skim.)
2 - 8 ounce bars of Colby cheese, shredded
9 ounces of goat cheese, crumbled
Black pepper
4 cups of ham, chopped into bite sized pieces
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
While the pasta is cooking melt cheese in the milk until smooth with a little black pepper. (Note: You can add salt it you want, but given the cheese and ham are salty in and of themselves I don't. I think these two elements make the whole dish salty enough.)
Preheat oven to 375 F.
In a large bowl toss together pasta and ham. Pour melted cheese mixture over the mix and stir to coat. Pour mixture into a 13 X 9 inch dish that has been buttered or sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the mixture is slightly browned. Serve immediately.
Notes: I had planned to add 2 cups of broccoli florets into the mix too, but I was out of broccoli. You could add in other veggies if you wanted and leave out the ham if you wanted a vegeterian option. Mushrooms would be good, as would onion and/or bell peppers.
Posted by Dianne at 7:04 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 4, 2008
The Perfect Sugar Cookie
Sugar cookies are the quintessential kid snack. They're fun to make, they're fun to decorate and they're fun to eat...That is if they aren't hard as a rock and taste like cardboard! We've all had that sugar cookie that looks perfect, but then you bite into it and you break a tooth because you could hammer a nail with that sucker! This recipe ends up anything but a hard, projectile like lump of flour and sugar! Time and time again this cookie turns out sweet and tender and that is exactly what a sugar cookie should be!
On a side note I haven't lost track of time. The afternoon before Easter Alexis and I set out to make some cookies for the Easter Bunny. As you can see the shapes are springy and Easter themed I just haven't gotten around to posting them until now. These sugar cookies are perfect for any season though, I mean who doesn't like sugar cookies (other than Jamison of course! ;oP) Next week I've got a recipe coming up that uses that left over Easter ham, which again I made a while back, but I've got a ton of recipes in the back log so stay tuned!
What You'll Need:
1 cup of butter, softened
1 cup of organic cane sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon of vanilla
3 cups of unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of salt
Cream butter until it turns pale yellow. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt. Add dry mixture to butter mixture and mix until dough forms. Chill dough for at least 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375 F.
Roll out dough 1/8" thick on a well floured surface. Use cookie cutters and cut out cookies.
Bake on an ungreased baking sheet (I always do this on a sheet that has been lined with a silicone baking sheet.) Bake for 5-8 minutes until edges are golden. Cool on a rack.
Notes: You can ice these cookies with royal icing, use sprinkles or decorate them any way you see fit. You could also add in a few tablespoons of lemon juice and/or zest to make a lemon sugar cookies. The possibilities are endless.
Posted by Dianne at 10:03 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
April 3, 2008
Gluten Free Chocolate Peanut Drops
Before the attack of the gluten monster one of Jamison's all time favorite cookies were Oatmeal Peanut Butter Drops, or "Cow Drop" cookies as we always called them as kids. There is some debate within the Celiac community as to whether or not Oats are Celiac friendly or not. Apparently there is some evidence that says that oats are often contaminated with wheat and some Celiacs can't eat oats to begin with so therefore the Celiac Sprue Association lists oats as a no-no grain. So that kind of put a damper on the "Cow Drop" cookies needless to say.
When I first set about retooling this recipe in my head I immediately thought of cashews to replace the oats, but then again I'm all about the cashews, but I realized I didn't have any cashew butter on hand, but I did have peanuts and peanut butter so I went that route instead. I'll most likely get back to the cashew version another time, but this time it was chocolate and peanut butter all the way! I ended up taking a big bunch of them to my sister on the day Grant was born and they have enjoyed them a lot from what I've been told.
This cookie is a gluten free dream! It's also a chocolate/peanut butter lovers dream! It's a go to recipe that is easy to make and it will satisfy the gluten eaters and non-gluten eaters alike and sometimes that is just what you need to feed a crowd.
What You'll Need:
1 stick of butter
2 cups of sugar (Note: Sometimes I use organic cane sugar and sometimes I use brown. The brown sugar gives it a deeper flavor note that really compliments the peanut butter and chocolate.)
2 tablespoons of cocoa
2/3 cup of heavy cream
1/2 cup of peanut butter
2 cups of roasted peanuts (Note: Go with a lightly or no salted version.)
2 teaspoons of vanilla
Melt butter, sugar, cocoa and cream until smooth. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching.
Remove pot from the heat and stir in peanut butter until it is melted and the mixture is smooth. Add vanilla and stir to mix. Stir in peanuts and drop by the spoonful onto a baking sheet that has been lined with a silicone mat or wax paper. Let set for a couple of hours an then serve or store cookies in an airtight container.
Notes: This method should work with any nut and butter combo (i.e, cashews and cashew butter, almonds and almond butter, etc. I plan to experiment with it more in the future.)
Posted by Dianne at 9:27 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
April 2, 2008
Mushroom and Tortelloni Salad
I love a good pasta salad. The mix of pasta, vegetables, olive oil, vinegar and cheese just melds so perfectly together and makes a wonderful all in one meal!
Pasta salads are a good pot luck dish or even make a good addition to a picnic. You can mix and match ingredients and you always end up with a hearty, satisfying dish that can be changed the tiniest bit or drastically depending on what you're in the mood for, all while giving you a familiar, yet different experience. It's an extremely versatile alternative to your common salad. What's not to like about that?
What You'll Need:
1 - 8 ounce package of Barilla Ricotta and Spinach Tortelloni or equivalent product, cooked according to package directions and cooled (Note: If you want to cool it quickly you can simply rinse it in cool water.)
1 package of button mushrooms, sliced
Extra virgin olive oil
1 bell pepper, chopped
5 scallions, chopped
1 small can of black olives, drained
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil
A pinch of sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, shredded
Cook tortelloni according to package directions, drain and let cool.
Slice mushrooms and sauté in a little bit of extra virgin olive oil until mushrooms are tender. Let mushrooms cool to room temperature.
In a large bowl toss together vegetables and olives to mix. Add tortelloni and toss to incorporate. Set aside.
In a glass canning jar with a lid shake together vinegar, olive oil, sea salt, black pepper and oregano until completely incorporated. (Note: You can also do this in a glass bowl with a whisk, but the jar method is much easier.) Pour over the vegetable/tortelloni mixture and toss to coat.
At this point you can do one of two things. You can refrigerate the salad for an hour or two, sprinkle with Parmesan and then serve. Or you can just sprinkle with Parmesan and serve at room temperature. Most pasta salads don't store well due to the vinegar content breaking down the vegetables and are best eaten when made or within a couple of hours there after.
Notes: You can add in other veggies if you like. Cucumbers are a wonderful addition to pasta salads, as are peas and corn.
Posted by Dianne at 7:38 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
April 1, 2008
Tuesdays With Dorie: Gooey Chocolate Cakes
It's Tuesday! So you know what that means...Tuesdays with Dorie
This week I pretty much followed the recipe to the letter, BUT I did use 4 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate and 1 ounce of milk chocolate, in place of the 5 ounces of bittersweet chocolate and I really liked the way it turned out. I think these cakes would also be very good with a caramel drizzle and possibly even some whipped cream! Some chocolate ice cream in place of the vanilla would have gone well too and if you wanted to just go all out you could add a hot fudge drizzle or a little bit of all of the above might just be grand!
I've always wanted to make a lava type cake so this was a good experience, but I must say this wasn't exactly what I envisioned. These little babies were delicious, but I'm not sure what I was expecting. I ended up enjoying one of them (or half of it anyway) and I froze the other five since Jamison can't eat gluten and I didn't want to eat them all myself. I'll pull them out the next time my father visits because he is a huge snacker and these should be right up his alley!
Be sure and stop on over at the other Tuesdays with Dorie blogs and see how their Gooey Chocolate Cakes turned out. I mean chocolate...What's not to like? ;o)
What You'll Need:
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt (Note: I omitted the salt since I used salted butter.)
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate: 4 ounces coarsely chopped and 1 ounce very finely chopped (Note: As I mentioned above I used 4 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate and 1 ounce of milk chocolate.)
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces (Note: I used salted butter.)
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
6 tablespoons of sugar (Note: I used organic cane sugar.)
Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. butter (or spray – it’s easier) 6 cups of a regular-size muffin pan, preferably a disposable aluminum foil pan, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Put the muffin pan on a baking sheet.
Sift the flour, cocoa and salt together.
Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, put the coarsely chopped chocolate and the butter in the bowl and stir occasionally over the simmering water just until they are melted – you don’t want them to get so hot that the butter separates. Remove the bowl from the pan of water. (Note: I melted the chocolate and butter in the microwave instead.)
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and yolk until homogeneous. Add the sugar and whisk until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add the dry ingredients and, still using the whisk, stir (don’t beat) them into the eggs. Little by little, and using a light hand, stir in the melted chocolate and butter. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups and sprinkle the finely chopped chocolate over the batter.
Bake the cakes for 13 minutes. Transfer them, still on the baking sheet, to a rack to cool for 3 minutes. (There is no way to test that these cakes are properly baked, because the inside remains liquid.)
Line a cutting board with a silicone baking mat or parchment or wax paper, and, after the 3-minute rest, unmold the cakes onto the board. Use a wide metal spatula to lift the cakes onto dessert plates.
Posted by Dianne at 6:46 AM | Comments (33) | TrackBack
