Coconut Macaroons

In case you were worried about where I have been or what I have been up to since my last post, I am here to allay your many concerns: I am in the Twin Cities!  (You were worried, right?!)  Visiting family, seeing friends, having lunch dates, seeing a flash mob.... You know, the usual.  (Don't know what a flash mob is? Click here.)  I'm not here to tell you about flash mobs though.  I am dropping in to tell you that if you are in Minneapolis, you should run (not walk) to the

The Salty Tart bakery is in the Midtown Global Market on Lake Street.

You can eat these:

Those, dear friends, are coconut macaroons.  They are warm, buttery, and chewy.  Are you not yet sold?  You can have them dipped in dark chocolate.  If you are still not sold, you are probably a robot - please power down.  Seriously, I had one and it moved me to tears. 

I could probably make these....stay tuned!

Sauce Aïoli

Happy Friday the 13th to all of you!  In honor of such a superstitious day, I am going to talk about the garlicky goodness that is Sauce Aïoli.  This is a french-style dipping sauce that is, essentially, garlic and olive oil.  It's amazing.  It will keep vampires at bay. (Take THAT, Kristen Stewart!  She's a vampire by now, right?)  It's also hard work, not gonna lie to you.  You will get one heck of an arm work-out by making this, but it's totally worth it and you can reward yourself later with a leftover cupcake.

SAUCE AÏOLI

1 thick slice french bread, crust removed

(I used one half of a Thomas-brand bagel and scooped out the soft part)

3 T. milk

6 cloves garlic, grated

(Grating the garlic is a super short-cut.  Traditionally, you would take the whole clove and crush it into paste using a mortar & pestle)

1 large egg yolk

1 1/2 c. olive oil

1/2 lemon, juiced

Soak the soft bread in milk for about 5 minutes.  Then lift out bread and squeeze out as much milk as possible.  You will be left with a really unappetizing lump of doughy mush.

Mix wet dough with grated garlic using the tines of a fork.

Using some serious muscle, whisk in your egg yolk to the bread/garlic mash-up.

Now comes the fun part.

Add olive oil one drop at a time.  Go slow.  Fully incorporate each small part of oil before adding more.  Start out still using the fork.  Really mash it all in.  It's important to go slowly.  If you add too much oil at the beginning, the sauce can separate.  That means that your sauce will look all curdled and nasty.  When the sauce becomes creamy, you can start going a little faster with the oil additions and can switch to a whisk.  After all of your olive oil has been added, squeeze in the juice of one lemon and whisk to incorporate.

Aïoli is really good as a dip for sweet potato fries.

Toss sweet potato strips with about 2 T. olive oil and a hefty pinch of coarse salt.  Bake at 425°F for about 15-20 minutes, or until crispy.

Aïoli is also delicious when added to ground turkey to make burgers. 

Add about 1 T. sauce to 1 lb. ground turkey.  Season with 2 t. chipotle pepper flakes, handful chopped peanuts (about 1/4 c.), and a couple handfuls of shredded asiago. 

ENJOY!!

Butterscotch Rolls

Coming off of a birthday high over here. Holy crazy cow! Birthdays = delicious food(s). I've said it before and I'll say it again: I've never had a BAD birthday dinner.  As you may have seen in yesterday's post, yesterday was my husband's birthday.  We had these for breakfast:

 and turkey burgers and sweet potato fries with home-made aioli for dinner.

Today = the start of my non-birthday food diet. 

BUTTERSCOTCH ROLLS

1 c. chopped nuts of your choice

(I like hazelnuts, but pecans or walnuts would do equally well)

8-12 quality frozen bread rolls

1 pkg. non-instant butterscotch pudding

1 stick margarine, melted

1/2 c. brown sugar

1) Sprinkle nuts on the bottom of your pan.  Place frozen rolls on top of the nuts.

2) Sprinkle dry pudding on top of rolls.  Melt your margarine in a small bowl and whisk in brown sugar to create a thick sauce.  Pour sauce over the pudding mix.

3) Cover with a clean dish towel and leave on your counter overnight.  In the morning, preheat your oven to 350°F and then bake for 25 minutes.  Or until they look like this:

4) It will be hard to do, but you must let them cool for about 5 minutes.  Then invert them on to a serving tray.

5) Break apart. Eat. Then have seconds.

Enjoy!!

Birthday Cupcakes

There's nothing like a birthday to give you the excuse to bring out the cannister of sugar.  Boy do I love birthdays.  No, dear readers, it is not MY birthday, it is my husband's birthday! Happy birthday, husband.  In honor of his 26th birthday and because I am finding myself more and more smitten with Smitten Kitchen, I whipped up a batch of Root Beer Float Cupcakes.  (Recipe here!)

You begin by heating the root beer (I used Virgils, but any kind made with cane sugar should work), cocoa powder, and butter together over medium heat.  Then you whisk in the white sugar and the brown sugar after the butter has melted.

Remove from heat and let cool.  Meanwhile, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.  In another bowl, whisk eggs until just beaten and then add that to the cooled chocolate mixture.  Fold flour mixture into the chocolate/egg mixture.  Result will be lumpy, but that's ok.  You don't want to overbeat this....DO NOT USE YOUR STAND MIXER!!  Using a 1/4 c. measuring cup, fill cupcake papers.

Bake at 350°F for 15-17 minutes or until tester inserted comes out clean.  (A toothpick works for this if you don't have a tester...)

Also from Smitten Kitchen, comes the frosting.  I used her Seven-Minute Frosting recipe which is exactly as easy as it sounds.  And as delicious as it looks. 

Well, friends, it's been fun, but I have to go eat a cupcake.

And then it's on to dinner.  The birthday boy has requested spicy turkey burgers with sweet potato fries and homemade aioli.  Stay tuned!

Green Thumb

My kitchen bucket list is full.  Tonight's dinner will be steaks on the grill with caprese salad.  The weekend will include things like sweet corn and pork tenderloin and pimiento cheeseburgers.  The weather is nice and we are on a grilling kick. 

Because I have a lack of new recipes to share with you, I am going to brag about the fruits of my labor.  (Herbs of my labor?!)  This summer, I planted my own herbs and have actually kept them alive long enough to use them.  One noted exception would be my sweet basil.  Although, the basil's demise might have more to do with the neighbor boys using their squirt guns on my plants and less to do with my wannabe-green thumb.  Without further adieu, my herbs.

Lemon Thyme

Thai Basil

Flat Leaf Parsley

Sage

Cilantro

Aren't you amazed by how green my thumb is?  Stay tuned for things I will do with these herbs. 

Jalapeno Poppers

I know, I know. I haven't posted anything new in quite some time. It's summertime, people, and you all know how I love summertime. Have you been busy in the kitchen? you ask. No, friends, I have not,  is my reply. I have been jumping from cabin to cabin and eating delicious foods that other people have made for me. Favorites include: roasted chicken and grilled vegetables; spicy turkey burgers with sweet potato fries and homemade aioli; and rosemary garlic chicken burgers with farmstand sweet corn. Don't worry, my dear radio audience, those have all been added to my kitchen bucket list. Last evening did find me, once again, back in my cozy, little kitchen. I had a hankering for jalapeno poppers that wouldn't quit. So I made some. And then I had a beer. On my patio.  Isn't life grand?!

Jalapeno Poppers

serves 3-4

4 ripe jalapenos - get the fattest ones you can find

1/3 c. reduced fat cream cheese

2 handfuls (about 1/4 c.) shredded sharp cheddar cheese

3 pieces of deli pancetta, diced

1) Cut pancetta into bite-sized pieces and put in a pan over medium-low heat until crispy.

2) Rinse jalapenos.  Slice length-wise and scoop out all of the seeds and cut out some of the ribbing.  Place hollow side up on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

3) Mix together the cream cheese and the shredded cheese.  Spoon cheese mixture into jalapeno halves.  Top with crispy pancetta bits. (Your beer should be started by now...)

4) Place poppers in a preheated, 350°F oven for 10 minutes or until the cheese is all melty.  You can eat them almost immediately upon removal from oven.

Enjoy!!