Birthday Cupcakes

There are exactly 51 days of the year when Garret and I are the same age. The remaining 305 days of the year, he likes to endearingly call me a cradle robber or his cougar. Thankfully, I still get carded at the grocery store, and he usually doesn't. Garret finally entered his "late twenties" this week so we celebrated with friends at his favorite beer bar where we had tacos, craft brews and these cupcakes I made. They aren't exactly the typical fluffy-cakey cupcake most are used to. I would say they are more of a hybrid between a brownie and a flourless chocolate flavor. Topped with a bourbon-vanilla bean-brown sugar frosting, they were pretty good.

Cupcake Ingredients (makes 24)

Adapted from Chocolate and Zucchini

4 sticks butter

14 ounces, high quality chocolate (I used a combo of 80% cacao and a little milk chocolate)

2 cups white sugar

8 eggs

2 T flour

Cupcake Directions

In a sauce pan, heat butter to medium heat until it melts. Break the chocolate bars into pieces and slowly stir/melt the chocolate into the butter without scorching. Transfer to a bowl. Add sugar to the chocolate mix and stir with a wood spoon until combined. Let cool slightly.

Add eggs one at a time to the frosting while mixing on a medium speed. When combined, add flour. Transfer batter to cupcake pans.

Bake cupcakes at 350 degrees for twenty minutes. They might remain a little doughy at this point, but that is okay. Turn the oven off and let the cupcakes cool for ten minutes with the oven door open, (in the oven the cakes will puff up and then collapse upon cooling) then transfer to a wire rack until completely cool.

Frosting Ingredients

(makes a LOT- you could probably half this if you aren't a frosting person)

1, 80z package of cream cheese, room temperature

2 sticks of butter, room temperature

1/4 cup bourbon

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup powdered sugar

vanilla beans from inside of vanilla pod- not completely necessary

Frosting Directions

Add cream cheese and butter to a bowl and mix on High for 5 minutes. Slowly add bourbon and brown sugar and keep mixing on high until well combined and fluffy. Add powdered sugar until frosting reaches desired stiffness. Add in vanilla beans for pretty specks, mostly.

Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes in desired amounts. If you don't plan to eat these right away, store covered in refrigerator until you plan to enjoy. Right before serving, you may like to sprinkle with some large sugar crystals or chocolate powder.

Happy Birthday Garret!

Fig and Goat Cheese Appetizer

Fig season is just about coming to an end in San Luis Obispo, but I thought I would share this easy little recipe that is both sweet and tangy and full of that figgy goodness.

The twin has moved out to twelve fine acres of Edna Valley and with her sweet rental came a large mature fig tree with an abundant crop of ripe purple figs. So naturally, I stole quite a few of them this season. Garret and I have a tiny little fig tree on our porch that we once thought was barren, but this year it produced three whole figs! I think we are on to something.

Ingredients

6-10 figs, any color (anticipate about 1-1.5 figs per person)

*per fig half*

1/4 teaspoon creme fraiche

1/2 teaspoon chevre

a drizzle of honey or agave nectar

a dash of pepper

Directions

Clean figs under cool water. Pat dry and slice in half, removing stems. Top each half with a small dollop of creme fraiche followed by a coin of goat cheese. Place figs on a plate and carefully drizzle with honey or raw agave nectar and sprinkle with fresh cracked pepper.

Barley and Lentil Veggie 'Burgers'

I adapted this recipe from Cooking Light. We have an increasing number of veggie lovers in the group so I decided my first attempt at this for our 4OJ BBQ this year. I know I am a little late to post, but pictures were not taken on that occasion. We did a little BBQ last weekend before the Cal Poly/University of Montana football game (Go Mustangs!) and I made these patties once again. I recommend making the mix ahead of time and letting it set up in the fridge (up to two days) for more consistent 'burgers'. If you can't completely ditch the meat, Dave mixed this with half sirloin and half veggie mix and he really liked it. The extra fat from the ground beef made the patties stay in tact a little better. As pictured above, we topped them with pepper jack, sliced avocado, and ketchup. They are also very good served on a bun toasted with mayo and the regular burger fixings. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c water
1/2 c dried lentils
cooking spray
1 c chopped onion
1/4 c grated carrot or sweet potato
2 t minced garlic
2 T tomato paste
1 1/2 t ground cumin
3/4 t dried oregano
1/2 t chile powder
3/4 t salt
3/4 c cooked barley (about 1/3 c dried and boiled in water for 40 minutes)
1/2 c plain breadcrumbs
1/4 c finely chopped cilantro
1/2 t ground black pepper
1 large egg, 2 large egg whites
3 t canola oil

Directions:
Combine lentils and water in a small sauce pan. Cook about 30 minutes until tender and remove from heat. Drain any excess water. Reserve 1/2 cooked lentils in a large mixing bowl and add the rest to your food processor. Pulse until a paste is formed. Add the paste to the bowl with the reserved lentils. (As a side note, since my processor was already out of the cabinet, I also used to "chop" the majority of the ingredients in this recipe- super easy!)

Heat a large skillet over medium heat with a little cooking spray added. Add onion and carrot. Saute about 5 minutes until they start to soften. Add garlic and continue to cook one more minute. Add tomato paste, cumin, chile powder, oregano, and salt. Cook one more minute stirring constantly. Remove from heat and pour into lentil mixture. Add barley and remaining ingredients through egg. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate at least one hour until firm.

Divide mixture into 8 portions and form into patties. Heat 1 1/2 t canola oil in a large non stick pan (I used my grill pan). Grill 4 patties at a time. Cook three minutes per side. Repeat with remaining patties. Serve with pepper jack, sliced avocado, pickles, onion, salsa...whatever you like on your burgers.

Southwestern Cobb Salad

This is an awesome salad we adapted from the July Cooking Light. You can pretty much put whatever you want in the salad, but the dressing is the amazing part. I used turkey bacon thinking it would be "healthier". Subsequently, I read an article discussing that there isn't much difference in nutrition between turkey and pork bacon. In a nutshell, one ounce of turkey bacon has 107 calories per serving, 8 grams of fat, and a 640 mg of sodium. In contrast, pork bacon has 149 calories, 11 g of fat, and 680 mg of sodium. (Granted this will all differ by the actual product you buy). Now knowing that the difference isn't that substantial, I probably would have splurged on the real bacon...it just tastes and crumbles better! (and this recipe doesn't use all that much). We had the leftovers for lunch the next day and they were just as delicious as the dinner. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Ingredients:

Dressing-
3 T white balsamic vinegar
1 t honey
3/4 t ground cumin
1/2 t smoked paprika
1/2 t garlic powder
1/4 t ground red pepper
2 T canola oil

Salad-
3 slices center cut bacon
cooking spray
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, coated in cooking spray, S&P and grilled 8 min per side
8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1/2 c pico de gallo- we just used chopped farmers market tomato
1/2 c diced avocado
1/2 c crumbled queso fresco
1/4 c chopped green onions
1 can low sodium organic black beans
2 eggs hard boiled and finely chopped

Directions:
To prepare the vinaigrette, combine the first six ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Gradually add the oil, stirring constantly with a whisk, set aside.

Cook bacon in a non stick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove from pan and crumble.

Arrange 2 cups lettuce on each of 4 plates. Top each serving with about 2 t bacon, 5 T chopped chicken breast, 2 T pico de gallo, 2 T queso fresco, 1 T onions, 2 T chopped egg and 1/3 c beans. Drizzle dressing evenly over salads.

Grilled Lamb and Summer Squash Soup

My girlfriends came up from San Diego a few weeks ago and I promised them a delicious dinner. Since I had all day Friday off to plan, I decided to make things that were seasonal and I had never personally made before. Our dinner consisted of grilled lamb "lollipops" (recipe came from a coworker who made this at a work BBQ a few weeks prior), summer squash soup with cumin brown butter (from 101cookbooks), artichokes, and a mixed greens salad with farmers market tomatoes and home grown cucumbers from my garden. We had a day of wine tasting planned, so none of these recipes are super complex...just takes a little prior planning. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Grilled Lamb

Ingredients:
1 "frenched" cut rack of lamb

1 bottle decent zinfandel- I used Trader Joe's organic

4 garlic cloves, smashed

4 T fresh oregano

1/4 c olive oil

Directions:
Clean lamb and trim any excess fat. Mix all ingredients and marinate overnight in a shallow glass pan. If you can start marinating in the morning, this should prob suffice, it just needs a long soak in the vino.

Preheat the barbecue to med high. Grill the lamb fat side down for 12 minutes, turn and cook until desired doneness (we did about 5 more minutes for pink, but not super rare). Cover in foil and let rest at least 5 min, cut in between bones. we had some flare ups due to the olive oil/fat combination. Dave ended up bbqing it over foil after he got some initiall grill marks on this and it worked great.

Buttermilk Squash Soup (care of 101cookbooks)

Ingredients:
1 t cumin seeds
1/4 c butter
sea salt

3 T butter
2 med yellow onions, chopped
2 med garlic cloves, chopped
1 lb baking potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 1/2 lbs yellow summer squash
4 c vegetable stock
1 c buttermilk
1 bunch chives, finely chopped

Directions:
In your smallest frying pan, over medium heat, toast the cumin seeds until they are fragrant. Just a minute or two. Use a mortar and pestle to pound the seeds into a fine powder. (If you don't have this, you can leave them whole...it still tastes good). Set aside. In the same skillet, melt the butter and cook until it's brown. Remove from heat, stir the cumin into the butter along with a couple pinches of salt, then set aside in a warm place. You want the butter to stay liquid until you're ready to use it.

To make the soup, heat the butter in a stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onions, garlic, and a bit of salt. Saute for a few minutes, or until the onions start to get translucent. Stir in the potatoes and squash and cook for another 7-10 minutes, or until the squash starts to soften up. Stir in 3 1/2 cups of the stock (most of it) - the stock should just barely cover the vegetables. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender, roughly another 25 minutes. Remove the soup from heat, puree completely with a hand blender, then stir in the buttermilk. If you need to thin the soup out with a bit more stock, you can do so. Taste and add more salt if needed. Serve each bowl topped with plenty of the cumin butter, and a sprinkling of chives.

Since the initial making of this soup, I couldn't get enough of it and made another batch. It hold up really nicely in the fridge, which makes it a great thing to prepare ahead of time if needed.

Grilled Chicken and Chipotle Peaches

I love summer because of the simplicity of foods you can make on the grill. Dave and I made this dish from the Bon Appetit July 2010 edition to celebrate the completion of our (his) hard work on the back yard. It was pretty easy and does not require a lot of ingredients, which are things I look for on week night cooking. It was a great use of summer fruit and the adobo sauce gave it a nice smoky flavor. We served this over brown rice with a little extra sauce poured over the top.

Ingredients:
nonstick spray
1/3 c peach preserves
1/3 c peach nectar
4 t red wine vinegar
2 t adobo sauce from canned chipotle chiles
2 t extra virgin olive oil
1 t chopped fresh cilantro
3 large peaches, rinsed, cut in half
1 pack boneless skinless chicken tenders

Directions:
Coat grill rack with nonstick spray. Prep barbecue on medium high heat. Stir preserves and next three ingredients, 2 t oil, and cilantro into bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer 1/4 cup dressing into another smaller bowl for brushing.

Brush peaches, then chicken with oil and dressing. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill chicken until cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Grill peaches until grill marks appear, about 2 minutes per side.

Makes 4 servings. Place chicken and peaches over brown rice. Drizzle with remaining dressing.

It's Summer Time!

One of my friends made a recipe similar to this a few months ago for a dinner party we had and everyone loved it. I modified it a bit to go along with a Thai Red Duck Curry dish that Natalie made for us last weekend. The coolness and the texture were really nice to finish off a spicy meal. I am hoping one day Nat will post the curry recipe. I keep having dreams about it.

Crust:
30 Nabisco "Famous Chocolate Wafer" cookies, crushed (I used my food processor)
5 T butter, melted
1 pinch salt
1 t vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients and press into a pie plate that has been greased with cooking spray. Cook on 325 for 6-8 minutes until firm. Completely cool on a wire rack.

Filling:
2 pints of your favorite sorbet. I used pomegranate, but I imagine lemon or coconut or raspberry would also be fantastic with this.

Set out sorbet until soft and spread evenly into pie with a spatula. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until set about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the whipped cream.

Whipped cream:
2 c whipping cream
1 t vanilla
1/4 c powdered sugar- add more to desired sweetness

Beat in a cold bowl until stiff. Top the pie with the cream and again cover with plastic wrap. Freeze at least two hours.

To serve: Remove pie from freezer 20 minutes before serving. Top with toasted almonds and coconut.

Spinach and Cheese Tart

Dave and I moved to San Luis Obispo last week and with that I have a renewed commitment to start cooking and blogging again. Another great thing about this is that Natalie and I can now cook together! We decided to cook a feast this weekend in celebration of our house (mainly kitchen see above) finally being assembled. The menu included the following:

• Spiced white bean dip with whole wheat flatbread
• Spinach and cheese tart with cornmeal crust
• Grilled portobello mushrooms with pesto and Swiss cheese
• Grilled tri tip
  
• Mache salad with sun dried tomatoes, lentils, and Parmesan cheese

There is a vegetarian blog I follow regularly called 101 Cookbooks that has some amazing recipes. The post last week was a for a turnip greens tart. I have never made a tart before, but it seemed like a good challenge. I made this for our dinner this weekend, but I modified it by using spinach instead of turnip greens. I will warn you for those of you who have never made a tart that it is extremely time consuming. That said, I would still do it again. I would probably add a little more cheese, some caramelized red onions, and maybe some minced marinated artichoke hearts to give it more texture. The recipe makes two shells so I will probably attempt this soon...keep you posted! (recipe in the hyperlink above)

Natalie will have to post the mushrooms and salad recipes because these were her incredible contributions to the feast. Below is the dip recipe I created, which was really simple, but a great appetizer for a complicated dinner menu. Enjoy!

Spiced White Bean Dip

1 can white cannellini beans, drained

1/8 c olive oil

1/8 c lemon juice

1 clove garlic

1 t kosher salt (more to taste if desired)

1 t crushed red pepper flakes

1 t toasted cumin seeds

1 t coriander powder

1/2 t white pepper

dash of red wine vinegar

Directions

In food processor, pulse all ingredients until smooth. I put in a bowl and drizzled with a little more olive oil, fresh cracked black pepper, and some feta cheese. I served this with store bought whole wheat flat bread that I toasted and cut into triangles and carrot sticks.

Margaritas My Way

I would call these skinny girl margaritas, but let's face it- margaritas don't make anyone skinny. I liked this recipe because they were light and refreshing and didn't make you feel like going into diabetic shock after drinking them. They also went really well with a big plate of home made nachos and a movie.

This mixture should fit nicely into a standard blender and make a nice smoothie-like consistency. You can get all these ingredients at Trader Joe's.

Fruit Margaritas

Ingredients
3 cups ice
1 cup frozen fruit (I like pineapple)
3/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
3 ounces agave nectar
1/2 cup sparkling water
4-7 shots Resposado or 100% agave Tequila

Directions
Add ingredients to blender in order as above. Blend. Add more alcohol or ice as necessary. This should make 3-4 drinks. Top with a splash of Cointreau if you are feeling Cadillac.

Note: If you don't want them fruity, substitute fruit for another cup of ice and add a little more lime juice.

It's almost March- I know, right?

Let's just say my attempt at vegan Thanksgiving was good and bad- the vegan "cheese" was so bad that I had to take a recipe blogging hiatus for four months! I've been really busy doing things like:

planning for a big day,

enjoying the beautiful Central Coast weather,

dancing,


and wearing silly hats!

But in the meantime, I bring you this glorious soup recipe. I really enjoy the Dakota Smashed Pea and Barley Soup at California Pizza Kitchen, so I made an attempt at recreating it. Recipe follows:

Smashed Pea and Barley Soup




Ingredients
1 t olive oil
half of a white onion, minced
2 carrots, chopped
1/2 cup diced celery
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 quarts vegetable broth
2 cups split peas, rinsed

1/2 cup barley

1.5 t salt
1/2 t cayenne pepper
1 t fresh thyme
juice of half a lemon

Snipped green onions, parsley and cracked pepper for garnish

Directions
Coat a large stock pot with olive oil and sautee the carrots, celery, onions and garlic for 5-7 minutes. Add the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Add the peas and reduce to a simmer. Let this cook covered for about an hour.

Meanwhile, in a separate pot, cook the barley according to package directions. (It should take about an hour.)

When the peas are done cooking, turn the heat off on the soup pot and roughly blend with an immersion blender making sure to keep some of the peas still intact and not pureed. Add the cooked barley to the soup and season with the remaining ingredients. You may need to add more broth at this point to get a desired soup consistency. Garnish with parsley and chopped green onions and serve.