Lemon Yogurt Cakes

I really love lemons.  Some people love chocolate deserts; I cannot resist lemon desserts.  These light and tart lemon cakes are a lot like pound cakes.  I added a layer of fruit to the middle to make them really perfect. 

What you will need:
3 cups plus 2 tbsp all purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 6 oz containers of plain yogurt (2 cups)
2 cups of sugar (plus 2 tbsp)
6 eggs
4 lemons
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup vegetable oil
1 16 oz bag of frozen berries (thawed and drained)

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.  In a large bowl combine yogurt, sugar, eggs, the zest of the 4 lemons, vanilla, and oil.  Add dry ingredients to wet and stir to combine.

Spray 2 loaf pans with cooking spray and line bottoms with parchment paper.  Preheat oven to 350.  Pour 1/2 the batter evenly between both pans.  At this point you want to add the fruit to the top of the batter in an even layer.

Add the rest of the batter on top of the fruit layer (see below).

Bake at 350 for 55 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.  At this point you want to combine the juice of the 4 lemons with 2 tbsp of sugar.  After you take the cake out of the over allow it to cook for 10 minutes and then baste the cake with the lemon juice mixture several times to allow it to soak up the lovely juice and become super moist. 

When serving, dust generously with confectioners sugar.  You can cut the batch in half, but if you do, you may find that you will not have enough to share with others for yourself.

Enjoy!

Cinnamon Almonds

These babies don't need much of a story or an intro.  They are tasty, enough said.

What you need:
2 eggs (whites only)
6 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups almonds (raw)
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

In a medium bowl whisk the egg whites until foamy.  Next, add the vanilla.  After the vanilla and eggs are combined, toss the almonds in this mixture.  After the almonds are coated, add the sugars and cinnamon.  Make sure the almonds are coated evenly.  Pour this onto a greased baking sheet and bake at 350 for 15 minutes.  YUM!

Sriracha

     During a mad search for a really good homemade hot sauce i came across this recipe. Although it is quite hot, it has a refreshing sweet/fruity tang.  I put it on everything from sandwiches to eggs, and it makes a great base for a red enchilada sauce.


8oz red fresno chiles
4 garlic cloves
1teaspoon koshers salt
1 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons palm sugar (or 2 tablespoons brown sugar and 1 teaspoon molasses)

-chop the peppers and garlic, add salt and vinegar and let it sit in the fridge over night. aside from allowing the flavors to mingle, the time in the vinegar will dilute the heat.

-transfer all the contents to a saucepan, add the sugar and bring to a boil. lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. remove and allow it to cool.

-throw everything into a mixer and blend for 5 minutes. strain the mixture.

you will end up having this magnificently bright orange sauce.

enjoy!

Cheesy Potatoes with sauteed Garlic and Caramelized Onion

2 medium onion
4 large russets
7 cloves garlic (or more if you'd like)
butter
olive oil
romano cheese
parmigiano reggiano
salt
pepper
parsley

I cant believe its been over a month since I posted anything! My apologies. So, ive really been trying to give a little extra thought to my side dishes lately. I usually spend all of my time and energy on the main course and by dinner time all I have on my plate is a piece of meat. These potatoes were a huge hit and im really happy with how they came out. Here's the play by play:

-Start by caramelizing some onions (any onions will do). Just slice them thinly, melt some butter in a pan over med-low heat, season, and let them do their thing. Make sure you stay with them and stir randomly so they dont start to burn. when the are nicely caramelized remove them and set aside.

-In another pan saute about 7 cloves of minced garlic in a little olive oil until golden. set aside.

-Peel 4 russets, and slice them about 1/8 inch thick. rinse them under cold water to remove some of the starch.

-Now its time to layer. Take the potatoes and make a layer in the bottom of a baking dish. (think "fish scale" pattern), season, sprinkle some of the garlic and onions, and then grate some parm and romano on there.  (p.s. im getting hungry again writing this). add another layer of potatoes and repeat.

-After you cheese the final layer scatter a little butter on top, cover with foil, and bake at 350 for about 40 minutes or until a knife enters easily. uncover for the last 15 minutes, or stick it under the broiler to crisp-a-fy

-Rough chop some fresh parsley for the final touch and then serve.

-Enjoy!

Black and White Cookies

Imagine the hour and a half train ride to NY city, the hustle and bustle of Grand Central Station, the magnitude to the big city, your very first Broadway show.  Now imagine the whole time holding onto your daddy's hand for dear life because the big city scares you.  And then you stop in the most special bakery your eyes have ever seen and get the most wonderful cookie that your 8 years had ever tasted.  This is my memory of black and white cookies.  While fearing the fast passed life of the city I remember everything melting away for this... of course I was a complete copy cat and making my sisters favorite treat my own.

 Many of you may know how a sibling can be.  You are eternally bonded to them.  My sister has been my best friend from the moment I was born.  When I applied to colleges I followed her to Ohio State.  She means a lot to me, even though she now lives very far away (California) and I haven't seen her in over a year.  So for Easter this year I decided to make her some cookies, but not just any cookies, her childhood favorite.  

What you need:
2 cups cake flour
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 sticks butter (salted - room temp)
1 3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
zest of one lemon
1 cup milk
--------------
5 oz chocolate
1/2 cup water
3 tbsp honey
5 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

For the cookies:  Cream together sugar and butter.  Add eggs one at a time until combined.  Mix in vanilla and lemon zest.  In a separate bowl whisk together the flour and baking powder.  Add this in 3rds to the butter mixture alternating additions with 3rds of the milk.  Scoop 1/4 cups full of the batter onto a baking sheet (leave plenty of room btwn cookies).  Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes or until the bottoms are golden (see below).

For the frosting: Over low heat combine honey and water in a small saucepan.  Once combined add the vanilla and pour 3/4 of the honey mixture to the powdered sugar.  Stir to combine and add extra honey mixture to the powdered sugar if needed.  Spread white icing on 1/2 of all the cookies.  Melt the chocolate and add it to the remaining sugar mixture.  Add more honey water if needed (I needed).  Spread chocolate frosting on the 2nd half of the cookie.

Hope you enjoy these as much as I do.  (A little bit of home away from home)

Can't Sleep? Then Bake...

Recently I've had quite a bit of stress in my life.  This past Sunday, my fathers best friend suddenly passed away.  So with all the other stresses, I am now worried about my parents coping with their grief over the loss of a very dear friend.  As a child, whenever something bad would happen, my mother would be right into the kitchen baking cookies.  She always said 'You need a little sweet to go with the bitter'.  That has been something that has always stuck with me.  Whether its the relief that I get from being in the kitchen, or the beautiful pairing of bittersweet in life and in food, I find that somehow being in the kitchen tonight at midnight helped relieve some of the stress.  I plan to mail some of these cookies of to my folks tomorrow morning.

Lemon Curd Thumbprint Cookies: The Bitter and the Sweet

What you need
 for the curd:
     3 eggs (whole)
     1/3 cup lemon juice
     3/4 cup sugar
     2 tbsp lemon zest
note: this is lemon zest and lemon juice from 3 large lemons
     4 tbsp room temperature butter
for the dough:
     1/2 room temperature butter
     1/4 cup sugar
     1 egg
     1/2 tsp vanilla
     1 cup all purpose flour

For the lemon curd: In a stainless steel bowl over a pot of boiling water whisk together eggs and lemon juice and sugar.  Keep whisking the mixture until it thickens (this will be a few minutes, be patient).  Then the mixture thickens, take it off the heat and add the butter and lemon zest.  Stir until everything is combined.  I had enough lemon curd to fill a small mason jar.  (It is yummy in place of jam on toast and scones too).

For the cookies: With an electric mixer combine butter and sugar.  Add the egg and vanilla and combine.  Add the flour in 2 portions mixing completely.  Make 1 inch diameter balls of dough and lay out on baking sheet.  Gently press thumb into center of dough to form a well for the lemon curd.  put about 1/2 tsp lemon curd into each well.  Bake on 350 for 13-15 minutes.

Pamesan and Thyme Crackers

When I was in undergraduate chemistry I was almost afraid to do my experiments because I thought doing the slightest thing wrong would cause a great catastrophe.  My friend in the class realized this and whenever he finished his lab he would come over to my station and set something on fire or cause some undesired chemical reaction.  This would make me laugh and let me finish the lab without worrying about setting the building on fire.  What exactly am I getting at?

When I started baking I was exactly the same way.  I was afraid I had to do everything exactly as the recipe said or my kitchen would spontaneous light on fire or my food would be awful.  These days I feel like my own grandmother in the kitchen.  I add things to improve texture and color instead of going by a recipe verbatim.  I now can feel how bread dough should be and either add flour or water to it to fix it.  There are some quantities I never measure, and I never use unsalted butter.

Which brings me to the following recipe.  The texture of a shortbread cookie, the taste of a artisan cracker, these babies are simple enough for any home-cook to make.  Here's how...

What you need:
2 sticks of butter (room temperature)
8 oz (2 cups) of Parmesan cheese (grated)
2 tsp fresh thyme
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 cups all purpose flour
2-3 tbsp water

With an electric mixer, beat the butter until creamy, about 1-2 minutes.  Then on a low speed blend the Parmesan cheese, thyme, and pepper into the butter.  Slowly add the flour.  Add water as needed to make the dough moist and easy to work with.  When the dough is mixed, divide into 2 portions.  Roll each ball of dough in waxed paper to create a log.  Chill this log for at least 30 minutes in the fridge.  Once the dough has been chilled, slice 1/4 inch pieces and lay them on a baking sheet.  Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes or until edges start to brown.  Enjoy!