September 2015

The food: My boyfriend’s birthday was last week (I won’t say how old he is, but he does have more white hair than I), so I surprised him with a homemade cake. Cake is often much too dry for my taste, so I set out to make the moistest chocolate cake possible. Also, I’m not a fan of typical frosting, which can be gritty or[…]

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The food: Starting a food blog has its perks. For example, I recently attended a culinary class sponsored by Mann’s. There were about a dozen bloggers there, drawn by the promise of learning some cutting skills and a few recipes (oh, and receiving a copy of The Vegetarian Flavor Bible by Karen Page). We also learned a bit about Mann’s new Culinary Cuts products, fresh-packed sweet potatoes[…]

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The food: Coming up with new ways to use ground beef is tough. We’ve grown bored with our regular standbys—hamburgers, tacos, meatloaf. To shake things up, I decided to try shepherd’s pie. It’s easy, fast, and includes an entire meal of protein, veggies, and carbs all in one dish. I’m also a big fan of anything I can make and bake right in my[…]

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The food: When it comes to protein, I prefer red meat. Unfortunately, that’s not the healthiest choice. Chicken is a smarter option, but unless it’s part of a cheesy pasta dish, I don’t really like it. I tend to overcook grilled or baked chicken out of fear of undercooking it, leaving it dry and lacking flavor. Desperate to find a way to make chicken a regular—and welcome—part[…]

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The food: It doesn’t get much better on a lazy Sunday morning than the sweet smell of homemade cinnamon rolls baking in the oven. When I’m feeling lazy, however, the last thing I want to do is make dough from scratch. To simplify the process, I decided to use pre-made crescent rolls for the dough. It saves time, plus the triangles easily roll into mini cinnamon rolls that[…]

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The food: Growing up in the Midwest, far from an ocean, my exposure to seafood as a child was mostly limited to fried fish sticks. Although I grew to appreciate the flavor of fish, mollusks, and other deep-sea finds, I never considered cooking them. Crab cakes, for example, sounded far too exotic for my limited culinary skills. Boy was I wrong! I decided to conquer my fear[…]

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The food: Sometimes you just want to clog your arteries a bit with a big, juicy steak topped with butter and cheese. When that mood strikes, make it worthwhile with a fatty bone-in ribeye and decadent gorgonzola compound butter (mitigate your guilt by adding a healthy side, like grilled asparagus). When indulging in a last-meal-worthy dinner, you must also drink a full-bodied red wine, preferably[…]

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The food: There’s nothing—and I mean nothing—like your grandma’s cooking. Try as she might, your mom can never perfectly replicate her mom’s recipes. There’s just something about the love our grandmas put into their food. Or at least, that was the case with my Grandma Gertrude (or Dirty Gertie, as some friends called her), who made the best down-home Southern meals and desserts. Visiting her in the Ozarks meant[…]

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The food: Coming up with new ways to use ground beef is tough. We’ve grown bored with our regular standbys—hamburgers, tacos, meatloaf. To shake things up, I decided to try shepherd’s pie. It’s easy, fast, and includes an entire meal of protein, veggies, and carbs all in one dish. I’m also a big fan of anything I can make and bake right in my[…]

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The food: Pulled pork is a hit-or-miss meat. When it’s good, it’s moist, flavorful, and nearly impossible to stop eating. When it’s bad, however, it’s dry, tasteless, and not worth the calories. The good news is I have an easy recipe for getting it right every time, so you can dish it up with confidence at your Super Bowl® or Oscars® party. Best of all, it’s a[…]

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The food: Cheesecake—especially the classic baked New York style—is a true crowd pleaser. Its rich, creamy flavors appeal to most tastebuds, and both the taste and the appearance fool people into thinking it is difficult to make. In fact, it’s a relatively simple dessert that requires very little skill (although it does demand a lot of patience, as you have to wait hours to eat your[…]

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The food: Mexican food is such a great guilty pleasure. After all, it’s very often deep fried and loaded with cheese—and when you visit a hole-in-the-wall restaurant (the best kind), it’s likely also swimming in oil, butter, or lard. To save us all a few calories, I came up with this baked chicken quesadilla recipe. Although it has a fair share of cheese, it’s[…]

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Whether you’ve run out of taco seasoning or simply prefer to make your own, use this simple recipe to make it. Combining a few spices you already have in the pantry will give you the perfect mixture for tacos, fajitas, burritos, quesadillas, and all of your other Mexican favorites. Print Yum Taco Seasoning Prep Time: 5 minutes Yield: 1/4 cup Ingredients2[…]

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The food: Brownies are either great or awful, and most of that depends on personal taste. People who like their brownies cakey rather than gooey are probably good people, but I just don’t understand them. For my money, a brownie shouldn’t bother calling itself such unless it is nearly batter-like, but with a perfectly crisp crust. After plenty of trial and error, I’m happy[…]

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The food: Sometimes you just want ooey gooey, all-American chocolate chip cookies. When the craving strikes, I like to bake rather than buy because homemade tastes so much better and they are really easy to make. I created this super-simple recipe by combining several I’ve used over the years. There are only nine ingredients and everything is basically a measurement of one or two, so it’s not terribly difficult to follow or remember.

The music: When making sugary baked goods, I tend to listen to pop music because both are sweet, guilty pleasures. While making my chocolate chip cookies, I chose Cyndi Lauper’s “She’s So Unusual” from 1983. The cover (below) is iconic, don’t you think? I was eight when the record came out, and I remember wanting to shave a pineapple into the side of my head like Cyndi, but I was too young and too scared to ever do such a thing.

As I prepped my ingredients (below), I danced along to a couple of peppy classics—”Money Changes Everything” and “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.” While I mixed up the dough, things slowed down a bit with “When You Were Mine” and “Time After Time.” There’s not a bad song on this side, folks.

I flipped over to Side 2 before adding the chocolate chips to the dough (below). While forming dozens of balls with an ice cream scoop, I jammed to “SheBop” and “All Through the Night.”

The rest of the album is pretty great, including “Witness,” “I’ll Kiss You,” and “He’s So Unusual.” The only dud, in my opinion is the final song, “Yeah Yeah,” and I was pretty much finished baking by the time that ditty rolled around.

The next time you want something sweet to eat and hear, this pairing will curb your cravings. The chocolate chip cookies take less than an album to make, and are the perfect balance of crispy on the edges and doughy in the middle. Cyndi Lauper’s album is fun for adults and kids alike, and will have you dancing around the kitchen with a smile.

Looking for more cookie recipes? Try my Grandma’s Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. In large bowl, beat butter, sugars, and vanilla until smooth. Add eggs; beat until creamy.
4. Combine wet and dry ingredients. Add chocolate chips by hand.
5. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto ungreased baking sheets.
6. Bake 9-11 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Cool on baking sheets 2 minutes, then transfer onto wire racks to cool.

http://www.cookingwithvinyl.com/duet-chocolate-chip-cookies/ ® Cooking with Vinyl (do not reproduce without permission)

The food: Coconut is one of those foods that people tend to love or hate. As a child, I hated it. Now I love it. Sweet and crunchy coconut adds texture and depth of flavor to some of my favorite desserts. I think it’s at its best in the sugary, nutty frosting used atop German Chocolate cake. Interesting fact: There’s nothing German about the cake or topping—it’s an American dessert made popular in the 1950s. The name is not a reference to the country, but to the man who created the dark baking chocolate used for the cake. Whatever its origins, I have a serious addiction, so I decided to create a twist on the tradition with this rich and creamy German Chocolate Tart. I’m also certain this frosting would be killer on my recipes for Chocolate Chip Brownies and Moist Chocolate Cake.

The music: This dessert is seriously rich, and it has great depth and many layers. Its musical match may be an odd one, but it somehow works. Buddy Miles was a rock and funk drummer and vocalist best known for being in Jimi Hendrix’s Band of Gypsys. (Even if you don’t realize it, you definitely know Buddy Miles—he was the lead vocalist for The California Raisins in the late 80s.) As a solo artist, Miles released about a dozen studio albums, including 1975’s “More Miles Per Gallon.” This soulful LP has nine songs that sound similar to Stevie Wonder’s work from the same time, but with a harder edge. The souped-up rock sound comes from Buddy’s killer work on drums and guitar, plus his fearless vocals that can swing from sweet to scowling. I only recently discovered Buddy, thanks to my boyfriend who is a fan, and I was sad to learn that he died in 2008 at age 60. Before he died, Buddy told a magazine that he wanted to be remembered as “the baddest of the bad.” That’s exactly how I think of the big guy below with the big smile and even bigger talent.

Hear some of my favorite songs from Buddy Miles on my “German Chocolate Tart” playlist on Spotify.

The base of this German Chocolate Tart is a butter and chocolate graham cracker crust. The middle is very rich bittersweet chocolate that is made smoother with cream and eggs. Finally, the top is crunchy, sugary coconut-pecan topping. The layers come together in a symphony of texture and sweetness. We enjoyed the dessert at room temperature, a few hours after I made it, but discovered it got much better after it sat in the refrigerator for a day or two.

Love coconut? You’ll definitely want to try my recipe for delectable Coconut Macaroon Pie, too.

Ingredients

• For crust:
• 1 cup chocolate graham crackers
• ½ stick butter, melted
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• For filling:
• 1 ¼ cups heavy cream
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 9 oz. bittersweet chocolate
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• ¼ tsp. salt
• For frosting:
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 egg yolks, beaten
• ½ cup butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 1/2 cup coconut

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. For crust: Combine all crust ingredients and press into bottom and sides of tart ban. Bake 10 minutes. Cool on a rack.
3. For filling: Bring cream to simmer. Add butter, and stir until melted. Add chocolate, one square at a time until melted and mixed. Let stand 5 minutes. Whisk eggs, vanilla, and salt in a small bowl. Stir into chocolate. Pour filling into crust. Bake until edges are firm but center jiggles, about 20 minutes. Cool for 1 hour.
4. For the frosting: In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add milk, sugar, yolks, and vanilla. Stir constantly until thick. Remove from heat and stir in pecans and coconut. Let cool to room temperature before spreading on tart.

http://www.cookingwithvinyl.com/german-chocolate-tart/ ® Cooking with Vinyl (do not reproduce without permission)