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Chocolate Thumbprint Peanut Butter Cookies

I have two stories to tell you. The truth probably lies somewhere in between.

Story one: My mother was in the Strip District in Pittsburgh and saw a Guittard Chocolate Cookbook. Missing her eldest daughter and knowing that book is something which will make her smile, buys it for me.

Story two: My mother was in the Strip District in Pittsburgh and saw a Guittard Chocolate Cookbook. Looking through it she saw some recipes which looked delicious but she knew there was no way she would ever make them for herself. However, if she bought it for her daughter she could get the daughter to make the desserts and she would get all the deliciousness with none of the work.

Somewhere in these two stories lies the truth… but either way my mother bought me the Guittard Chocolate Cookbook and I promptly decided I needed to to bake something. Looking at what I had in my kitchen (and oddly having someone who like peanut butter cookies in my house!) I decided to make the Chocolate Thumbprint Peanut Butter Cookies.

I very rarely get to make peanut butter cookies because my husband doesn’t like them and due to peanut allergies I can’t take them to work. But I really enjoy peanut butter cookies – and adding chocolate.. well… that just makes it the best!

Chocolate Thumbprint Peanut Butter Cookies

from Guittard Chocolate Cookbook

For the Cookies:

1 1/4 cups flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

For the Filling

3 oz milk or bittersweet chocolate ( I went with milk but if you want dark chocolate go bittersweet)

3 tbsp butter

1 tsp light corn syrup

Cream the butter and the sugars together until fluffy. Add in the egg, vanilla, and peanut butter and beat well.

Mix in the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Roll the dough into 1” balls and place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Using the back of a teaspoon, carefully make an indentation in the center of each cookie.

Continue to bake for 5-7 minutes or until the cookies are set and just beginning to brown.

You may need to redefine the indentation when you remove them from the oven.

Allow the cookies to cool completely.

Melt together the chocolate, butter and corn syrup to create the filling.

Carefully scoop a little chocolate into the indentation in each cookie to fill the “thumbprint” up.

Allow the chocolate to cool and set for 2 hours before eating.

#Chocolate #cookies #peanut butter cookies

Black and White Cookies

Black and White cookies seem to be one of those quintessential New York desserts, much like Babka. I had never heard of them before I started dating my husband and I can honestly say I have never seen someone love them as much as my brother-in-law.

He came to visit last weekend for the Fourth of July and I decided this would be a good time to try this soft and cakey cookie. While mine came out a little too poofy they were still delicious and they taste pretty close to what you would find in bakeries and delis all over New York City.

Black and White Cookies

From: Heather Homemade

For the Cookies:

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup buttermilk (or mix a little lemon juice into the milk)

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

For the icing:

1 1/2 cup confectioners sugar

1 tbsp light corn syrup

1 tsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup cocoa powder

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl mix the buttermilk and vanilla. Set both aside.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

Add in the egg and mix well.

Carefully add in half the flour mixture and beat until combined.

Pour in the buttermilk and vanilla and stir well.

Add in the rest of the flour and mix until smooth.

Scoop large spoonfuls (about 1/4 a cup) of the batter onto a well greased or parchment-lined baking sheet.

Bake for 15- 17 minutes until the tops are puffed and pale brown.

Allow the cookies to completely cool.

Meanwhile make your icing.

I halved all of my icing ingredients into two separate bowls: 3/4 cup confectioners sugar, 1 1/2 tsp corn syrup, 1/2 tsp lemon juice, splash of vanilla.

In one of the two bowls you will also add the cocoa powder.

Stir both until they are smooth. I found the chocolate icing to be a little stiff so added 2-3 tbsp of water to get a nice consistency.

Turn the cookies upside down to ice. Spread the white icing over one half and allow to dry until tacky.

Spread the chocolate icing on the other half to complete the look.

Allow the icing to dry completely before eating.

The cookies will keep in an airtight container for 2-4 days.

#Black and White #Chocolate #cookies #New York

Oyakodon (Japanese Chicken and Egg Rice Bowl)

I am a fan of comfort food. This is probably evident if you look around the blog a lot. My brother once mentioned how much I love dinner in bowls. This is a great comfort food dinner in a bowl. It is warm and savory and salty and a little sweet. As I am bringing back a lot of different foods into my diet I am leaning heavily on the comfort foods.

My husband makes this and it is quick and easy. The only ingredient which may be a little tricky to find is the dashi powder/ dashi stock. We ordered this packet from Amazon and expect it will last though many many meals.

Oyakodon

adapted from All Recipes

1 cup jasmine rice

2 cups water

2 skinless boneless chicken breasts cut into pieces

1 small onion cut in half and sliced

1 cup dashi stock, made with dashi powder according to package instructions

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 1/2 tbsp Japanese rice wine

1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar

2 tsp parsley

3 eggs

2 egg yolks

Rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Add the rice and 2 cups of water to a stock pot. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and cook until tender and all the liquid has been absorbed (about 14 minutes).

Mix together in a measuring cup the dashi stock, soy sauce, rice wine, parsley, and brown sugar. Add the stock mixture, chicken, and onions to a large skillet.

Cover and cook over medium high heat for 3-4 minutes. Flip the chicken over and cook another 3-4 minutes or until the chicken is cooked though and the onions are soft.

Whisk the three eggs together gently. You don’t want them to be completely scrambled but just mixed.

Pour the egg mixture over the chicken/onion mixture. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and allow the eggs to steam until just cooked. About 4 minutes.

Place half the rice in the bottom of a deep soup bowl. Top with half the chicken and egg mixture.

Gently make an indentation in the bowl and add one egg yolk to each bowl.

Top the egg yolk and rice with about 1/2 cup of the broth left in the skillet.

Eat immediately!

#easy #eggs #japanese #Oyakodon #rice

Homemade Ketchup

Sorry I have been away for a while. I have mentioned a few times that I have been dealing with some health problems for the past little bit. At recent trip to my gastroenterologist, she suggested it would be helpful for me to go on a strict Low FODMAP diet for a few weeks and then slowly reintroduce the different food groups back into my diet to see how I react.

All of which makes sense to me but has thrown my regular diet and cooking habits into a little bit of a tailspin. No onions or garlic? Not even traces of onion powder? I am lost.

So I have been learning how to cook many different things, and I have been trying a lot of different recipes. I just haven’t been feeling confident enough in these new techniques and recipes to share them with you.

Until this one. This ketchup is low FODMAP and also delicious. Have you ever gone to a fancy (or hipster) burger place and gotten House-made Ketchup with your fries? Well this ketchup tastes pretty close to my memory of that fancy ketchup!

Homemade Ketchup

adapted form A Saucy Kitchen

1 6oz can of tomato paste

1/2 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup white sugar

a pinch of cumin

1/2 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp paprika

Add all of the ingredients into a small saucepan.

Mix well and bring to a simmer.

Allow the ketchup to simmer for 20 minutes, stirring fairly often so it doesn’t burn.

Allow the ketchup to cool completely before storing in an airtight container in the fridge.

It will keep for 3-4 weeks and is delicious on fries!

#ketchup #Low FODMAP

Mini Blueberry Muffins

I love when the berries start to come in and suddenly there is a whole world of baking options before you. My husband’s favorite berry is by far the blueberry. So of course I would be baking with blueberries before the season has even really started yet.

Why mini-muffins? Well you can use this recipe to make 12 regular sized muffins (just increase your baking time to about 20 minutes); the mini ones just seem more fun. And they go a lot faster. No one even thinks about eating a second muffin, but a fourth mini muffin… no problem!

This early the blueberries are a little on the tart side. I like that but if you are not a fan feel free to add an additional tablespoon or two of sugar to the batter to help even things out.

And of course you can always substitute blackberries or raspberries in this recipe if you prefer. They will make an equally delicious mini muffin.

Mini Blueberry Muffins

From The New Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook

1 3/4 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar (plus more for sprinkling on top)

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup canola oil or other neutral cooking oil

1 cup blueberries

zest of 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease or line a mini muffin pan.

In a large bowl mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

I do not like extra dishes so I combine the milk, canola oil, and egg all in the same measuring cup. Just be sure to put the egg in last. Stir well to beat the egg.

Dig a well in your dry ingredients and pour in the egg mixture. Stir just until combined – it will be a little lumpy.

Fold in the blueberries and the lemon zest.

Scoop the batter into the prepared mini muffin pan filling each spot about 2/3 full.

Sprinkle the top of the muffins with a generous pinch of sugar.

Bake for 10 – 12 minutes (mine were done at 10).

Let the muffins cool for five minuets in the pan before removing to a wire rack. They are as delicious warm as they are cooled.

#Blueberries #Blueberry Muffins #easy #Muffines #Summer food

Birthday

Last Thursday was my birthday. I had seen this Glam Rock black cocoa cake on pinterst and I loved it! So I bought a bag of black cocoa and black gel food coloring and gave it a go. I opted for little cakes and cupcakes and some amazing sprinkles and a lavender filling. They were almost too pretty to eat!

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Matzo Brei

Happy Passover! I love Matzo Brei. We eat it year round and it is a go-to breakfast for me. Though I have been a little afraid to post this recipe. I have learned that there are literally hundreds of ways to make matzo brei and people have very strong opinions that their way of making it is correct.

This is the way my husband makes it and so this is the way I know and I think is correct. Though even he has a few variations: add in fried onions (mmm), douse with jam (meh I like mine savory, not sweet), use everything matzo for added flavor. Some people put cinnamon and sugar on it, some people serve it with syrup, and some serve it with sour cream and applesauce.

And then there are differences in ways of cooking it. We serve it more like a scramble but I have heard of making it like a big pancake or an omelet. And some people don’t even break up the matzo and treat it more like french toast with milk and vanilla mixed in with the egg.

So basically you can make matzo brei to suit your taste and desires.

Matzo Brei

From my husband

makes 2 servings

4 sheets matzo

4 eggs (basically you want one egg per matzo sheet)

butter for the pan

salt and pepper

Break the matzo roughly into quarters and place all the pieces in a medium bowl.

Fill the bowl with hot water and count to fifteen.

Flip the matzo over and count to fifteen again.

Drain the water.

Add in the eggs and stir until the matzo is very well combined and paste-like. Set aside.

Melt about 1 tablespoon of butter in a nonstick skillet. Let the butter get hot but not browned.

Add in the matzo/egg mixture and fry, stirring occasionally until the egg is no long shiny and runny but absorbed into the matzo. I also like to make sure there are some pieces that get brown and crispy.

Serve immediately and top with desired salt and pepper.

#comfort foods #eggs #Matzo #Matzo brei #Passover

Soft Pretzel Bites

I love soft pretzels. Going to the mall and the smell of the pretzel place hits you and mmmm I am hungry. I like the buttery salty ones and I love the cinnamon and sugar ones. So I have tried many different recipes to make delicious soft pretzel bites at home. Some I have found to be too sweet, some too roll-like, but these are pretty close to perfect.

My recipe is for basic salted ones (better than at the movies, my husband says). If you would like to make cinnamon and sugar pretzel bites follow this recipe up through the egg wash. Just don’t put salt on them. When they come out of the oven brush the pretzels with melted butter and roll in cinnamon and sugar. Equally as delicious.

Soft Pretzel Bites

From Gather For Bread

1 cup warm water

2 1/4 tsp (1 pkg) instant yeast

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp salt

2 1/2 cups flour

1/3 cup baking soda

1 egg

coarse salt

Mix together the warm water, yeast, and brown sugar. Leave it alone for about five minutes, until the yeast is all bubbly.

Stir in the flour and salt and kneed the dough until smooth, about five minutes.

Put the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise for an hour.

Pre heat the oven to 450 degrees.

Combine the baking soda with about 4 cups of water (it is ok to just eyeball it) and bring it to a boil.

Punch down the dough and divide it into six equal parts. With your hands, roll each into a 12 inch long rope.

Cut each rope into 6 approximately 2 in pieces.

In batches of 8 – 10, boil the pretzel bites in the baking soda water for 30 seconds. Move to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (or well greased) while you repeat with all the pretzel bites.

Make an egg wash by beating one egg with 1 tbsp water. Brush each pretzel with the egg mixture and sprinkle with course salt.

Bake for 10 – 12 minutes until golden brown.

These are best consumed warm from the oven but still delicious at room temperature.

French Toast

This is not fancy French toast. This isn’t really a recipe but more a collection of guidelines. Some mornings you just want the basics. Some mornings I want vanilla almond crusted French toast and died in chocolate chips. But some mornings I want simple delicious French toast like my mom used to make.

I used leftover Italian bread though to be more accurate to my memory it should have been sliced white bread. Or, you know, use whatever you have on hand. This is not fancy French toast. It is easy and delicious French toast.

French Toast

4 slices of stale bread

2-3 eggs (this really depends on the bread you are using, start with 2 you can always add more)

1 tbsp of milk per egg

1 tbsp butter

sugar and cinnamon

maple syrup (optional)

Beat your eggs with the milk in a shallow baking dish or pie pan.

Place as many bread slices as you can fit into the egg mixture. Allow it to soak for about a minute (if your bread is very thick or very stale you may want to go a little longer). Flip over and repeat with the other side.

While the bread is soaking heat a griddle or a frying pan. Melt the butter on the griddle and cook the bread roughly 3 minutes on each side.

Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon as soon as they come off the heat.

Serve with more butter and syrup. And that’s it, simple, easy and delicious breakfast, sometimes all you really need.

Ham and Lentil Stew

Happy Easter everyone! Are you about to be inundated with leftover ham? I know that ham sandwiches are a favorite but they have never worked for me. I prefer something warm and delicious to use up my leftovers. Warm, delicious, surprisingly healthy. And this ham and lentil stew, while not the most photogenic of dishes, is very tasty.

I learned that lentils are very similar in some respects to split peas, so think of this as the best ham and pea soup you have ever had. It also freezes well if you have so many leftovers that you wind up with way too much stew and leftovers of your leftovers.

Ham and Lentil Stew

Adapted from Foodie With Family

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cups fully cooked leftover ham, diced

4-5 baby carrots, diced

1 medium onion, diced

1 stalk of celery, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup lentils, rinsed

1 can (14.5 ounces) tomato puree

3-5 cups of water (this really depends on your lentils, start with 3; add more if necessary)

1 cube chicken bullion

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp crushed rosemary

1 bay leaf

Heat the olive oil in the bottom of a soup pot and brown the ham.

Add in the carrots, onion, and celery and cook until the onions are translucent.

Stir in the minced garlic and cook just for 30 seconds or so until the garlic is fragrant.

Add in the lentils, tomato puree, water, chicken bullion, and dried herbs.

Stir well to combine and bring to a boil. Partially cover the pot and simmer over medium low heat until the lentils are tender. This will again depend a lot on your lentils. I have made this stew twice and the first time it finished cooking in about an hour. The second time it was closer to an hour and a half before the lentils were tender enough. You may also find you need to add more water while the lentils are cooking. Apparently fresher lentils cook faster and with less water required than older lentils.

But no matter what it will be comforting and delicious!

Rich Chocolate Pudding

When I made the banana pudding a few weeks ago I mentioned I was going to have a lip biopsy done… well it happened and went very well. However my bottom lip is now twice its normal size and I need soft easy-to-eat foods. Plus something inherently comforting sounds nice as well. And there are few things more comforting than a delicious bowl of rich, chocolate pudding.

This pudding is perfect: intensely chocolatey, smooth, creamy, and easy to make. If you are not an intense chocolate person I don’t see why you couldn’t substitute 6 ounces of milk chocolate chips, or butterscotch, or even peanut butter chips if you liked.

Rich Chocolate Pudding

From Smitten Kitchen

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 cup sugar (I might cut this down to 1/3 cup the next time I make it)

1/8 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 cup milk

1 ounce unsweetened chocolate

5 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate

1 tsp vanilla

Combine the cornstarch, sugar, and salt in a heavy saucepan. Slowly add in the cream and milk stirring constantly so no lumps form.

Cook over medium-low heat for 10 – 15 minutes stirring regularly. Don’t allow it to boil. You may find some lumps are beginning to form on the bottom and sides of the pan. Do your best to whisk them back in and turn the heat down a touch. (Also don’t worry too much; we will strain the pudding at the end so no lumps will make it into your final dessert.)

When the mixture has thickened enough to cover the back of a spoon, add in the chocolate and cook, stirring constantly, another 2-4 minutes, until the chocolate is completely melted. It will thicken quite a bit at this stage.

Remove the pudding from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

Pour the pudding through a fine-mesh strainer and into a serving bowl or individual pudding cups.

I hate the skin which forms on pudding so I always cover mine by laying a piece of plastic wrap directly on the pudding itself. I know there are some people who enjoy the skin, if you do, feel free to skip this step.

Chill the pudding in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours to allow it to cool and completely set up.

Enjoy with some Redi-Wip – or straight out of the fridge. I won’t judge.

#Chocolate #chocolate pudding #easy desserts #pudding

Baked Banana Pudding

I love banana pudding. I love the kind made with whipping cream that never sees any heat, and I love the kind topped with a pile of meringue and then baked until golden brown. This is a recipe for that second kind. The kind with meringue and baked into a delicious soft pudding. But honestly I would be happy with either. Banana pudding is a great comfort food.

I was supposed to have a small test this week which have ended up with me having at lest one stitch in my mouth. Anytime I am looking at any oral testing or surgery I start thinking about delicious, soft, comfort food. My mother sent me this recipe, I believe she found it in the People magazine. My test got moved to two weeks from now but by then my banana pudding craving was raging so I made it anyway. And who knows… I might make it again in two weeks!

Baked Banana Pudding

From the People Magazine

3 eggs, separated

2 cups half-and-half

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp butter, at room temperature

2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, divided

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1/4 cup powdered sugar

3/4 box of vanilla wafer cookies, approximately

4 ripe bananas, sliced into 1/4” thick rounds

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Make the pudding:

Whisk egg yolks together, set aside.

Whisk half-and-half and sugar in a double boiler or large steel bowl set over simmering water. Whisk in the flour and salt and stir until completely combined.

Remove from the heat and gradually temper the egg yolks with the half-and-half mixture. To temper the eggs, slowly combine about 1/4 of the half-and-half mixture with the egg yolks. Then whisk the egg mixture into the larger bowl of half-and-half.

Place the half-and-half mixture back over the simmering water. Cook, whisking constantly, until thickened to the consistency of pudding. This should take about 7 minutes.

Remove from the heat, stir in the butter and 2 tsp of vanilla. Set aside.

Make the meringue:

Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer (or stand mixer) until foamy. Add in the cream of tartar, powdered sugar, and remaining 1/2 tsp vanilla. Beat until stiff peaks form.

To assemble:

Cover the bottom of an 8X8 in baking dish (I used a pie pan because it is prettier) with vanilla wafers. Top with half of the banana slices and half of the pudding.

Repeat with a second layer, ending with pudding.

Spread the meringue over the entire pudding.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown on top. Be careful not to over-bake.

Let the pudding cool completely before eating.

#baked banana pudding #banana pudding #bananas #meringue

Chocolate Cake with Fudgy Chocolate Butter Cream

Last Monday was icy. It started as one of those days when the snow is just barely snow because the temperature is not really below freezing but then the temperature dropped. And all that nice slushy snow/not snow muck froze. And then it began to ice storm. We didn’t go out Monday or until noon the following Tuesday.

So I decided I should try baking a cake. Well I was pretty confident on the cake front, I decided I would try making butter cream again. Also we weren’t going out in the ice and I didn’t have any icing on hand and I wanted to make some cake! Happily this was delicious very successful buttercream, if I do say so myself.

The cake was pretty amazingly delicious too. And the perfect thing to make you not care about the dreary gray winter days outside.

Chocolate Cake with Fudgy Chocolate Butter Cream

From the Smitten Kitchen

For the Cake:

6 tbsp butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp granulated sugar

1 egg

1 egg yolk

3/4 cup buttermilk (I did the add a tsp of lemon juice to fresh milk and let it sit thing)

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup cocoa

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

For the Frosting:

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

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

Pinch of salt (optional)

1 tbsp cream (I used regular milk and it was fine)

1/2 tsp vanilla

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a cake pan with butter or nonstick spray.

Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, cream the butter and sugars until fluffy. Add in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Beat well.

Pour in the buttermilk and mix again – this will probably look uneven and watery but it will be fine.

Sift in (or just dump in but I do find my cocoa very lumpy so I actually sift here) the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Stir until just combined and pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes then flip out onto a cooling rack and allow it to cool completely before icing. (Or be impatient like me and open a window to allow nature to help speed things along)

To make the butter cream first beat the butter, powdered sugar and salt in a large bowl for a long time. I was surprised by how long this took.

Pour in the melted and cooled chocolate, vanilla, and milk and beat to mix evenly.

Then whip the whole thing for another minute or two to get it nice and super fluffy.

Scoop the icing onto the cooled cake and, if you feel like you really need the extra boost, top with rainbow sprinkles!

#cake #Chocolate #chocolate butter cream #Chocolate cake

Wings!

*** Guest post written by my husband! :) Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! *** Who doesn’t like wings? These blank slates of a snack can be doused in dry rubs or sauces, store bought or home made. You can go to the local pub and great some great ones and think it may be more trouble than it’s worth to make your own, but I SWEAR they aren’t much trouble.

Here’s the thing: It’s the skin. The skin makes them and the skin breaks them. You want these wings nice and crispy on the outside and juicy and succulent on the inside. That’s a problem when these things are surrounded by amazing, fatty skin. See, to get the skin crispy, you need a high, high heat. But that high heat is way past the smoke point, and you’ll end up with a smokey kitchen for hours afterwards.

So what do you do? Bake them at a lower temperature to avoid the smoke point? You’ll end up drying out the insides and the skin just won’t be crispy. Fry them? Very risky, messy, and in my opinion, more trouble than it’s worth.

Here’s what you do. You steam them, then bake them at a high, high heat.

“Steam them?” You ask. YES. You steam them.

See… the steam will melt off a lot of the fat from the skin, while keeping the insides nice and hydrated. Then, when you get those babies steamed, you then let refrigerate them for a little while, and then bake them at a high, high heat to get that nice crispy outside, without all the smoke that fat would’ve created. I know it sounds crazy. But it works. And it’s so so easy. Check it out.

Set up your steamer (you have one of those right?) and bring it to a boil.

Get your wings out, remove the tips of the wings, and use a kitchen shears or a knife to separate the wings at the joint, giving you a flatty and a drum (I’m a drum guy myself.)

Place your wings in the steamer basket, cover, and reduce the heat to medium. Steam them for 10 minutes. Now, we had a small steamer so we did it in three batches.

Once they’re steamed, take the wings out and pat them dry. Lay them out on a cooling rack that’s set in a sheet pan lined with paper towels. Place them in the fridge for an hour (or really as long as you’d like up to a day. Some people do them the night before.)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove the paper towels on the pan (this is super important. You don’t want a fire!) Replace them with parchment paper (or aluminum foil if you don’t have any parchment.) Just keep the wings on the cooling rack when baking, which will let the rest of the fat drip down and get your wings nice and crispy.

Roast the wings in your oven for about 20 minutes, Then turn the wings over and cook for another 20-30 minutes, or until the wings are cooked through and the skin is golden brown.

BAM, crispy wings.

Now what do you put them in? That’s up to you. I like Franks hot sauce, though I’m still working to find better. If you’re gonna do a kind of watery hot sauce like Franks, melt 4-5 tablespoons of butter and a clove of garlic into a big, big bowl and throw about 1/4 cup to a 1/2 cup of hot sauce into that bowl as well. Toss the just-out-of-the-oven wings into a bowl and then toss the wings in the amazing hot sauce. Throw on a plate and serve with some celery and blue cheese.

Or you could just toss them in a bowl with some BBQ sauce if that’s your thing *stares at my wife.*

#chicken wings #Party food #wings

Easy Weeknight Baguette

By now no one should be surprised when I say that I love carbs. And I really love the process of baking homemade bread. The smell of bread baking is one of the best smells for a cozy house. But between some late nights at work and the traffic getting home that is often a weekend smell. I might have found an answer to that dilemma!

I made some homemade stew this week and… forgot the bread! That can’t happen. All the work for a delicious velvety homemade soup and no bread?!? Tragedy!

So I found this quick, tasty, and fun Baguette recipe. Delicious dinner saved!

Easy Weeknight Baguette

From Brooke Mcaly at babble.com

2 cups warm water

1 packet yeast

2 tbsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

4 cups flour

3-4 cups ice

Mix together the water, yeast, and sugar. Let this sit for 10 minutes until very foamy.

Stir in the flour and salt to form a soft dough. Knead until elastic and smooth.

Cut the dough into four pieces and roll each into a thin rope.

Twist two together, being careful to seal the ends. Repeat with the other two ropes.

Put the loaves on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and let it rise for 30 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degree.

Put the loaves into the oven on the middle rack and quickly toss the ice cubes onto the floor of the oven.

Close the oven door and do not open for at least 15 minutes.

Bake the bread for 15 – 20 minutes until golden brown.

Enjoy your homemade bread on a weeknight!

#Baguette #easy homemade bread #homemade bread

One Pan English Breakfast

Ever since a stay in Ireland now almost ten years ago, I have loved baked beans with my breakfast. I don’t go for blood sausage – I can’t do that, and I often still prefer a much lighter breakfast on a daily basis, but, when we are going for a full breakfast, I kind of adore the English Breakfast, beans and all.

So as the storm was approaching DC this past week (and oh my has it stormed!), my wonderful husband found this recipe for us to try. He even went to the grocery store the day before the snow hit and we all know how much it sucks to be at the store the day before a blizzard.

This was a super easy and amazingly tasty breakfast! We are already talking about making it again as soon as we can get out of the house. It is spicy and sweet and filling and I highly recommend it even if you think I am crazy when I talk about the baked beans for breakfast.

One Pan English Breakfast.

From The Londoner

The recipe makes one serving but you can easily double or quadruple it for more.

Polish Kielbasa or chipolata sausage or whatever sausage you prefer – we used the kielbasa

2-3 slices of pancetta or bacon, diced

1/3 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes (look for the diced tomatoes in sauce if you can find them)

1/3 16 oz can of baked beans

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1 egg

a sprinkle of thyme

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Put your sausage into the pan and bake for 10 minutes.

Toss in the pancetta or bacon and bake for another 10 minutes.

Add in the tomatoes and beans. The amounts really depend on the size of your pan.

Stir in the paprika and red pepper flakes; be sure to stir well and get the sausage in the sauce.

Crack an egg into the pan and sprinkle with thyme.

Bake for an additional 15 – 20 minutes. You want the white to be set but the yolk still runny.

Serve with some good thick crusty bread and enjoy!

#breakfast #easy breakfast #eggs #english breakfast #sausage

Simple Tomato Soup

This is a hard time of year to come up with dinners. My husband is saying he wants lighter fare and to start the New Year with more healthy dinners. Which is good and noble but my impulse in the dark cold days of January is to eat warm comfort food and look at the bitter cold drizzle outside my window.

This soup answers both those desires. It is a thick rich tomato soup, just begging to be consumed with a grilled cheese sandwich and is if full of blended veggies. Healthy, warm and comforting, and super quick and easy to make. A perfect January dinner.

Simple Tomato Soup

adapted from Foodie with Family

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 onion, roughly chopped

1/2 celery stalk, chopped

1 medium or about 5 baby carrots, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes

1 6 oz can of tomato paste

1 – 2 cups of water

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

1/4 tsp basil

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup milk

Heat the olive oil in a small soup pot. Add in the chopped veggies and cook over low heat for about 10 minutes until the onions are translucent and the veggies softened. Add in the tomatoes, tomato paste, seasonings and 1 cup of water.

Bring this to a boil. Now, depending on what equipment you have on hand, either carefully blend the soup in a blender or use an immersion blender to get a nice thoroughly pureed soup.

I found mine to be too thick and added another 3/4 cup of water. You may need to or you may not.

Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes or so. (I cooked mine for as long as it took me to make some delicious grilled cheese sandwiches.)

Turn off the heat and stir in the 1/4 cup milk.

Serve immediately and try to stay warm!

#Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup #tomato soup #vegetable soup

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