Roasted Chickpeas

Someone on twitter recently mentioned that roasted chick peas have become their favorite snack and I thought that was a statement I could get behind.  I was really excited with the prospect of a new healthy snack to eat while watching tv at night.  These did not disappoint.  I am also looking forward to playing with different spice blends, maybe trying something sweet next time with a cinnamon/sugar mix.

Ingredients & Directions:

• One 15-ounce Can Chick Peas
• 1 1/2 T Olive Oil
• Salt
• Spice blend of your choice (I used Curry Powder, Fresh Thyme, Crushed Red Pepper)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Drain the can of chick peas in a strainer and rinse with water for a few seconds to clean off the chick peas.

Lay paper towel on a baking sheet, and spread the beans over. Use another paper towel to gently press and remove the water from the beans. Roll the beans around with the paper towel to also remove the thin skin from any of the beans. Discard the skins and the paper towels.

Drizzle the olive oil over the beans and use your hands or a spatula to toss around and coat.

Roast for 30-40 minutes until the beans are a deep golden brown and crunchy. Make sure that the beans do not burn. Also, be aware that some of the chick peas will pop off the pan while cooking, just so you remember to check to bottom of your stove after cooking in case that happens to you too!

Season with salt and spice blend.  Tip: Do not put them in a closed container.  The chick peas I didn’t finish (I ate most of them) got soft and were just not as good.

(Steven)

Red Velvet Fried Chicken

I read about a restaurant, American Cupcake, in San Francisco that was serving these and knew I had to try and recreate it myself.  I went to one of my favorite Red Velvet Cake recipes and bought some chicken wings.  The final product might be one of the best things I have ever made.  Seriously, stop what you are doing and make these now, you won’t be sorry.

Ingredients & Directions:

• 2 1/2 C Flour
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 2 T Regular or Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1/2 C Butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 C Sugar
• 2 L Eggs
• 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons liquid red food coloring
• 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Chicken Wings or Legs (as many as you want)
• Oil, for frying

Parboil chicken wings.  Set aside.  Begin heating oil for frying.

In a mixing bowl sift together the flour, salt, and cocoa powder. Set aside.  In bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until soft (about 1-2 minutes). Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined. 

In a measuring cup whisk the buttermilk with the red food coloring. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter mixture, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.  In a small cup combine the vinegar and baking soda. Allow the mixture to fizz and then quickly fold into the cake batter.

Dip the parboiled chicken wings into the cake batter, let the excess drip off. 

Fry chicken wings until the batter is a darker shade of red, not burnt.  Remove from oil and let cool on paper towels to soak up any extra oil.  Serve hot.

I’m not even joking about how delicious these were.

(Steven)

Jennifer’s Carrot Cake

My friend Jennifer gave me this recipe about a year ago and said it was a great recipe.  I needed to make a cake to celebrate my birthday (yes i make my own cakes) and this seemed like the perfect time to try it out.

Ingredients & Instructions:

• 1 1/2 C Salad Oil (I used Vegetable Oil)
• 2 C Sugar
• 4 Eggs
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1/8 Ground Cloves
• 2 C Flour
• 2 tsp Baking Soda
• 3 C Finely Grated Carrots
• 1 C Blanched & Chopped Almonds (or walnuts)

Grease a 10” cake pan with cooking spray or butter and Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Blend the oil and sugar together in a large bowl with a wooden spoon.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In another bowl, sift together salt, cinnamon, cloves, flour, and baking soda. 

Add the sifted ingredients to the egg mixture, and stir until they are thoroughly combined.  Next, beat in the carrots (and almonds, I didn’t add them to the cake) and mix them to blend.

Pour the batter into a prepared cake pan and bake for about 1 hour and twenty minutes, or until a knife or cake tester comes out clean.

Let cake cool, remove from pan, bottom side up, onto a serving dish. 

Smooth icing over cake.  I decorated the sides of the cake with roasted blanched almonds.

Cream Cheese Icing

• 8 Oz Cream Cheese, softened
• 4 T Butter, melted
• 2 T Vanilla Extract
• 1 Lb. Confectioners Sugar

With an electric mixture, beat the cream cheese until it is light and fluffy.  Gradually add the melted butter until it is completely absorbed.  Add the vanilla and the sugar, beating well after each addition so that the icing is smooth.

Singing Happy Birthday to me!  Oh, and the cake was delicious. Jennifer was right.

(Steven)

Sauteed Broccolini

I’m still continuing my exploration of different vegetables at dinner time.  I know broccolini isn’t that far off from our traditional broccoli side at dinner, but it’s just different enough right? This recipe is from one of my favorites, Ina Garten.

Ingredients & Directions:

• 1 Bunch Broccolini
• Salt
• 2 T Butter
• 1/2 Lemon, zested
• 1 tsp Minced Garlic
• 1 T Lemon Juice
• 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
• 3 T Capers

Blanch the broccolini in a large pot of boiling salted water for 2 minutes. Drain immediately and immerse in a bowl of ice water.

Melt the butter in a large saute pan. Add the lemon zest and garlic and stir.

Drain the broccolini and add it to the garlic mixture and capers. Heat for 2 minutes. Add the lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the pepper, and toss well before serving.

I served the broccolini with marinated steak tips covered in peppers & onions and sweet potato fries.

(Steven)

Mini Cranberry Meringue Pie

I made these a little bit ago when I was on my cranberry kick, but they were too good not to share.  The combination of the pate sucree (the pie crust), cranberry filling, and meringue in one bite was delicious.  This comes from a Martha Stewart recipe.

Pate Sucree

• 1 1/4 C Flour
• 4 1/2 tsp Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/2 C Cold Butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 Lg Egg Yolk
• 2 T Ice Water, plus more if needed

Pulse flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor to combine. Add butter; process until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. Add yolk; pulse. With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube; process until dough just holds together (no longer than 30 seconds). Shape into a disk. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour (up to 2 days).

Ingredients & Directions:

• Flour, for work surface
• Pate Sucree
• 3 1/4 C Fresh Cranberries, (12 ounces)
• 1 1/2 C Sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp Finely Chopped Orange Zest, plus 1/4 Cup Orange Juice
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1/8 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• Pinch of Ground Cloves
• 3 T Cornstarch
• 3 Large Egg Whites
• Pinch of Cream of Tartar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8 inch thick.

Cut out 4 1/8-inch fluted rounds, and fit into cups of a standard 12-cup muffin tin. Pierce bottoms with tines of a fork. Freeze 15 minutes. 

Line each shell with parchment paper, and fill with pie weights or dried beans (I used almonds and saved them for another cooking project). Bake 15 minutes. Remove weights and parchment. Return to oven; bake until bottoms are just turning golden, 5 minutes more. Transfer to wire racks; let cool 5 minutes. Remove shells from tin; let cool completely.

Bring 2 cups cranberries, 1 cup sugar, and 1 1/2 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat, and simmer mixture, stirring occasionally, until cranberries have burst, about 5 minutes.

Pour through a coarse sieve, or cheese cloth; discard solids. (You should have about 1 3/4 cups; if you have less, add water).

Bring strained cranberry juice, 1/4 cup sugar, the zests, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and remaining 1 1/4 cups cranberries to a boil in a medium saucepan, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; simmer, stirring occasionally, until cranberries are soft but have not burst, about 3 minutes.
Meanwhile, stir cornstarch, orange juice, and 1/4 cup water in a bowl; whisk into cranberry mixture. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook, stirring, until translucent, about 1 minute.

Divide among prepared shells. Refrigerate until set, about 1 hour (up to overnight).

Preheat broiler. Put egg whites and remaining 1/4 cup sugar into the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer set over a pan of simmering water; whisk until sugar has dissolved and mixture is hot to the touch. Attach to mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; beat on medium speed until foamy. Raise speed to high. Add cream of tartar; beat until medium, glossy peaks form.

Divide the meringue evenly among pies.

Set pies under broiler until tops are browned, 30 seconds to 1 minute.

(Steven)

Gingerbread House Contest

This past weekend my family got together for our annual gingerbread house making competition.  We break off into teams a few weeks before to strategize and come up with a design.  Each team has a gingerbread house kit that we can use in anyway we choose and the entire structure and all adornments must be edible.  This year each team had to use the same exact materials, previous years we could each bring stuff we wanted to use.  Of course this wouldn’t be a holiday party without some food.  I made two hor d’oeuvres and a simple dessert.  The idea behind all the food we have this night is that it’s all food you can just go and eat while working, like pizza & small sandwiches.

The dessert i made was just a simple dipped in chocolate pretzel with sprinkles.  Super easy and looks great (I mean if I do say so myself).

I made a Feta Spread that I have made before.

I also made pigs in a blanket, sorta…I forgot the croissant rolls when I went grocery shopping, but did have filo dough in the refrigerator.  I wrapped the filo dough around the mni-hot dogs and brushed a little butter on them and cooked them in the oven for a few minutes until the edges of the dough were golden.  The dipping sauce was also very easy. 

Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

• 1 C Yellow Mustard
• 2 T Honey
• 1 tsp Dill

Mix all together and serve.

My team made a McDonald’s Happy Meal complete with freshly fried french fries (each team got a potato as an item to use).

Another team made a pirate ship surrounded by sea monsters.

The last team made a Jewish temple complete with Mr. Potato Latke.

Hope you have a Happy Holiday!

(Steven)

Banana Cranberry Muffins

I bought way too many bags of cranberries for Thanksgiving and since I didn’t want to waste them I had to use them before they went bad.  I found this recipe on The Wooden Spoon and adapted it slightly by using Chobani Honey yogurt.

Ingredients & Directions:

• 1 Egg
• 1/4 C Vegetable Oil
• 1/4 C Chobani Honey Yogurt
• 1 C Mashed Bananas
• 1 3/4 C Flour
• 1/2 C Sugar
• 1 T Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/4 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp Nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp Cloves
• 1 C Fresh Cranberries
• Cinnamon-Sugar, sprinkle on top of muffins

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Combine the egg, oil, yogurt in a bowl and stir well.

Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, spices, and salt on top of the wet ingredients, then stir just to combine.

Add in the mashed bananas and cranberries, gently stirring so cranberries won’t break.  Be sure not to over mix.

Spray muffin pan with cooking spray.  Fill muffin pan with mixture. Sprinkle the tops of muffins with a little Cinnamon-Sugar if you want. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.

These are best served warm, but they also made a great breakfast treat during the work week.  I loved the tartness of the cranberries mixed in with the bananas.

Disclaimer: I was given this product free of charge by Chobani with no requirements to use for a review. All opinions are my own experiences with the product. Individual results may vary. No other compensation was given.

(Steven)

Satsuma Vodka-tini

This will be the last of my Thanksgiving recipes, but trust me this one is worth the wait.  The satsuma tangerine and cranberry blend make for such a nice holiday mixture, but I would totally drink this all year long.  This recipe is from Cooking Light Magazine.

Ingredients & Directions:

• 1 C Fresh Cranberries
• 1 C Vodka
• 1/2 C Sugar
• 4 Whole Satsumas
• 3/4 C Grand Marnier
• 1/4 C Fresh Lime Juice

Combine cranberries, vodka, sugar, and satsumas in a food processor.  Process until pureed.

Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Strain mixture through a cheesecloth over a bowl, pressing to extract juice.  Discard solids.  Stir in Grand Marnier and lime juice.

Place 1 cup of satsuma mixture in a martini shaker with 1/2 C crushed ice & shake.  Strain mixture into martini glasses.  Makes about 10 cocktails.

(Steven)

Maple Glazed Carrots & Parsnips

This was my favorite vegetable dish that I prepared on Thanksgiving.  I am definitely going to be adding this to the rotation of vegetables I regularly cook for dinner.  I never knew parsnips could be so good.  I used a recipe from Martha Stewart and adapted it just a little.

Ingredients & Directions:

• 1 1/4 pounds (about 6) parsnips, peeled
• 3/4 pound thin carrots, (about 12), peeled
• 4 Slices Apple Wood Smoked Bacon, each cut into 4 pieces
• 10 Sprigs Fresh Thyme
• 1/4 C Pure Maple Syrup
• Salt & Pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees, with rack in lower third. Place parsnips, carrots, bacon, and thyme in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet.  Drizzle with syrup; season with salt and pepper. Toss well to combine. Bake until bottoms of vegetables begin to caramelize and turn dark brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven, and toss vegetables carefully. Return to oven, and bake until all sides are well browned, about 25 minutes more. Discard bacon (or eat like I did) and thyme. Serve immediately.

(Steven)

Panko Covered Pearl Onions

I went to a blogger meetup about a month ago and there was some sort of pearl onion fried as a passed hor d’oeuvres.  I decided to try and recreate those hor d’oeuvres as a starter for my Thanksgiving dinner.  I can’t wait to have a party to make a ton more of these.

Ingredients & Directions:

• Jar of Pearl Onions
• 1 T Sugar
• About 1 C Panko
• 1/2 C Flour
• 1 Egg
• 1 T Water
• 2-3 T Butter
• Oil (for frying)

Melt butter in a saute pan on medium heat. Add pearl onions and let cook, stirring occasionally & carefully so the pearl onions do not crush.  After about 10 minutes sprinkle the sugar over the onions to help with the caramelization (optional).  Let cook for about 30 minutes or so until golden brown, but not burned.  Remove from heat.

In a another saute pan pour oil about an 1” or so full, heat of medium high.  Prepare three containers, one with flour, one with blend of egg & water, and one with panko.  Place each pearl onion carefully through the flour.

Dip in egg and water mix.

Coat with Panko.

Once all pearl onions are ready, drop them into the hot oil to fry,  This process should take just a few seconds.  Make sure all sides of the onion are fried and remove from oil.  Place on a paper towel to soak up excess oil.  Serve warm.

I served them with a zesty dipping sauce.

• 1/2 c. Mayonnaise
• 2 tsp. Ketchup
• 1 T Sriracha
• 1/4 tsp Paprika
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1/8 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/8 tsp Dried Oregano
• Dash Ground Pepper
• Dash Cayenne Pepper

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving.

(Steven)