Roasted Chickpeas

In the past few weeks everyone was a buzz about Pinterest.  I’m sure we are late to the game, but of course, just as suggested, I am now wasting far too much time on yet another website.  Beautiful ideas for how to organize a kid’s room, or host a gorgeous party, or wear my hair for a wedding… all very useful suggestions posted mostly by friends who don’t live in tiny studio apartments. 

I did come across some practical pins however, like roasted chickpeas for snacking!  This would barely qualify as a recipe, more like an idea.  And, I have to say, having recently decided that microwave popcorn gives me migraines, this makes me extra happy.

The “recipe” comes from here and is listed below.  But my recommendation is to just play around.  Basically cook chickpeas on a parchment lined baking sheet at 450 for about 30 minutes and then dress as you see fit.  I did some spicy (because I heart cayenne pepper) and some sweet as recommended below.  No measuring necessary.  Crunchy and delicious. 

Happy pinning and crunching!

Red Velvet Cake Pops

Update: Second attempt at cake pops was much more successful and pretty!

The cupcake trend is over, at least in New York, which is really what counts.   I would venture to say the whole cupcake trend really got started back in 2000ish when Carrie and Miranda enjoyed Magnolia cupcakes on Sex and the City.  Once Magnolia hit it big, cupcake shops were popping up everywhere.  They’ve had a good run.  And, don’t get me wrong, I still love a good cupcake and will continue to bake them from time to time; however, I am glad to throw some different celebratory treats into the rotation.

On that note, a coworker recently mentioned making cake pops.  The only time I’ve had cake pops was in the form of insane deliciousness at Townhouse.  Those are cheesecake and the presentation is something to talk about in and of itself.  

Mine weren’t as divine as David Burkes, but then again this is an amateur venture. 

The recipes I found when googling “cake pops” basically involved crumbling cake mix, adding canned frosting to form balls, and then covering them with some sort of candy coating.  While I may not be David Burke, I also refuse to be Sandra Lee so I wasn’t about to use a cake mix and canned frosting.    Because the pops would be for Emily’s birthday (she turned 29 again, as I will in a few months!) I went with her favorite cake combination and combined red velvet cake, cream cheese frosting, and white chocolate candy coating.  I have to say, these were rather party-perfect in their miniature size. 

The best part is these can be done in any combination of cake and frosting flavors you can imagine - vanilla/vanilla, chocolate/chocolate, lemon/vanilla, red velvet/cream cheese, cheesecake, chocolate/mocha, chocolate/peanut butter.  Coat in candy shell (better than chocolate because it hardens at room temperature and doesn’t melt) and decorate as desired.  Trust me you will impress people, and as I continue to say, that is really what it’s all about.

Happy Popping! 

Cranberry Lemon Scones

It’s Marathon Sunday in New York.  Almost as fun and prestigious as Marathon Monday in Boston, but let’s leave that debate for another forum.  Growing up my Marathon memories are very child-oriented, cheering at heartbreak hill, maybe handing out some water or orange slices.  Then I moved to Manhattan and realized, like any other day in NY, the marathon is a big excuse to party.  I’m sure the same can be said of Comm Ave in Boston, I was just to naïve to realize.  Either way, parties usual begin at apartments with some brunch items.  I decided to tackle scones. 

I have made scones once or twice before and they were never quite good enough to share.  To be honest, these aren’t quite up to snuff either.  But I think it’s me.  I combined two great recipes and then fought the dough because I always do.  Maybe a dough/ pastry class needs to be in my future.   I know the general rules – don’t overwork dough, don’t add excessive flour when rolling it out – and I always do both.  It is so sticky I have no choice!

Stickiness aside, by batch two they came out pretty well.  And, if you can handle some sticky dough, it is a pretty easy recipe.  You can keep the dough formed and frozen for up to a week so a fresh batch is never more than 20 minutes away.

The original recipe comes from Cooks Illustrated.  The recipe is for Blueberry scones but I had seen a recipe for Cranberry Lemon scones that seemed much more seasonal so I did a bit of swapping.

  

The Cranberry Lemon recipe comes from…. Yep, SmittenKitchen… and suggested using a biscuit cutter because her scones didn’t hold shape.  So with a few adaptions the recipe is below.

Happy baking and marathon celebrating!

  

Chocolate Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies

In college, the girls and I had a habit of buying holiday edition Reese’s peanut butter cups whenever we went to CVS. The problem was that it was always Halloween, or Valentine’s Day, or Easter and there was always an excuse for a jumbo sized Reese’s. I’ll keep the rest of my thoughts on this bad habit to myself. The bottom line is, we clearly love the chocolate peanut butter combo, so for Cara’s birthday this seemed like a good starting point.

Certainly birthdays should be celebrated with cakes; however, sometimes transporting cakes or cupcakes is a bit too cumbersome. Traveling with a large cake tuperware isn’t the most convenient and certainly doesn’t work if you are going to a restaurant or bar. For such occasions I am a big fan of sandwich cookies. They can be stacked, and you can put a candle in them. So, a search for a good chocolate peanut butter cookie began… I found a recipe for Whoopie Pies on Epicurious (originally from Gourmet), that sounded delicious. With a bit of adjusting the filling became peanut butter and Cara’s insanely rich birthday “cookies” were created.

These were huge and shareable. So good that the few leftovers I had at home got given to the doormen so I wouldn’t be tempted by the gluttonous cookies.

Happy Baking. Whoop it up!

Zucchini Bread

Life is good. I’m summering in London with my cousin and three of the cutest little kiddies ever.

And, it just so happens Eitan loves to cook. He has become my sous chef (how lucky am I?) as we’ve made cupcakes, playdough and zucchini bread.

My memory of zucchini bread is that my moms weird friend Karen used to bring it over. She was uptight, clearly didn’t like kids, and brought over bread made from vegetables – eew. However, given that Marcy bought a humongous zucchini at the farmer’s market that had gone unused, I decided to get over my dislike for Karen, and zucchini bread… of course Smitten Kitchen had a recipe and so I had to look no further.

We made one loaf and 9 muffins – they were yummy, and kid-approved. If I made these again, I would definitely substitute some whole wheat flour, and maybe something lowfat (applesauce? Buttermilk?) for some of the oil. I don’t have any need to fuss with cakes and cookies, but zucchini bread seems like it should be healthy – and these were tasty enough that they could definitely be lower fat and still be good. Experimenting comes next…

Until then, happy baking (I hope you find a sous chef as cute as mine!)

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup olive or vegetable oil
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (*skipped)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 - 1 cup chopped walnuts/pecans, or dried cranberries, raisins or chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Grease and flour two 8×4 inch loaf pans. Or line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk.

Mix in oil and sugar, then zucchini and vanilla.

Combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and salt, as well as nuts, chocolate chips and/or dried fruit, if using.

Stir this into the egg mixture. Divide the batter into prepared pans.

Bake loaves for 50-70 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
Bake muffins for approximately 20 to 25 minutes.

Lemon Passover Cheesecake

We always end our Passover Seder with a sponge cake.  My dad’s mom, Grandma Gertie used to make it.  When the tradition was passed down, I felt somewhat honored to be making Grandma’s cake, until one day I realized Grandma’s recipe was pretty identical to the one found on the Manischevitz cake meal box.  I felt like Monica after she tried to perfect Phoebe’s special chocolate cookie recipe.  If you don’t know what I mean, you should be ashamed and then watch this.

Anyway, ever since the realization that Grandma’s cake was more of a generic Passover sponge cake recipe than a secret family recipe, I have realized how average that cake is (sorry Brinks).  We still make the cake for Grandma’s sake, she’s 92 after all, but this year I was finally home in time to make something more exciting for night two.

I found a recipe for Passover Cheesecake on Epicurious that had great reviews (4 forks!).  The crust is made from almonds and matzo meal and cheesecake is already Passover ready.  My first attempt at cheesecake was mighty good. 

Happy Passover.  And, Happy Updating!

Confetti Cupcakes

I grew up on Duncan Hines Yellow Cake Mix.  While I am certainly not a fan of cake mixes these days, I do admit that there is a tendency for cakes from a mix to come out perfectly moist, whereas cakes from scratch are much harder to get just right.  I am always searching for a great cake recipe… nothing fancy, but one where I control the ingredients (I’d prefer to avoid Maltodextrin, Xanthan Gum, and yellow food dye).  Not surprisingly, I found my new go-to on Smitten Kitchen.  Described as the Best Yellow Cake, it really is easy, moist and delicious. 

This time, I decided to get a little crazy.  A friend just mentioned that she had homemade Funfetti cake for her birthday and I thought Clare’s birthday would be the perfect occasion to add a little pizazz to the plain yellow cake.  Funfetti is actually a Pillsbury cake mix, but I figured all I needed to make my own confetti cake was some rainbow sprinkles.  As they dissolve in the batter of a simple yellow cake they form colorful, confetti-like spots.  The results were yummy and adorable…

Happy Caking!

Macarons

Macarons are French Almond Macaroons... I always thought I hated macaroons because to me macaroons come in a can at Passover... yuck.  I hate coconut and have been known to pretend I'm allergic to it... but those canned, dense Maneschevitz cookies have nothing to do with French Macarons.

Macarons are airy, almondy sandwich cookies typically filled with buttercream.  For less typical, and exceptionally delicious macarons try Dutch Epicure Bakery in Amherst NH or Lakota Bakery in Arlington MA. Unreal.

Getting them to be the right consistency seemed a bit daunting so I teamed up with some fabulous bakers to tackle these beauties.  Martha Stewart over-complicated things a bit, but it turned out these were totally do-able. Doing the buttercream the day before could definitely be a time saver.  So, grab some friends, some booze, and get to it.

Happy Macaron-ing

Chimichurri Sauce

Usually when I cook I don't really use recipes... but this delicious steak dinner involves a chimichurri sauce worthy of sharing. Chimichurri is basically Argentinian pesto with parsley instead of basil. Super easy to make. And, you should know by now, that I love the idea of super simple recipes that impress. The best part is you probably have everything in your house besides the parsley. So, buy some parsley and invite someone over for dinner. I'm pretty sure most people will think you are serving them something fancy if you serve them steak with chimichurri... your secret is safe with me.

Happy Cooking!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup loosely packed flat-leaf parsley
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tablespoon fresh oregano leaves (or 2 tsp. dried oregano)
• 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt, Pepper, Crushed Red Pepper

Directions:

Add ingredients to food processor and pulse until combined. Add salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper to taste. (We also added some lemon for a little freshness).

Salted Oatmeal White Chocolate Cookies

December is cookie month. Cookies for holiday parties, cookies for family and friends, and quite honestly, cookies because I have a ton of time off and need to keep busy! I figured that it was time to introduce a few new recipes into the rotation... the first of which is salted oatmeal cookies. The original recipe is from Cook's Illustrated and then it was adapted a bit by Deb of Smitten Kitchen fame... Love Cook's Illustrated, Love SK, Love Salt... game on.

Happy December Cookie-ing!

Shaved Asparagus Pizza

I don’t have much to say about this asparagus pizza, except that it is delicious. I saw this recipe on Smitten Kitchen (obviously) and was immediately intrigued by the fact that it was tomato-free and involved shaved asparagus - which sounded both delicious and impressive. I love recipes like this that are incredibly simple but seem sophisticated…

This pizza is so yummy I've made it numerous times… despite the fact that it is no longer asparagus season, I indulged a friend’s request to try it, and it did not disappoint.

Happy Pizza-ing!

Felicia's Chocolate White Chip Cookies

Working at a preschool means eating a lot of cupcakes. It’s possible that KNS keeps the midtown Crumbs and Buttercup in business with all the birthdays and other celebrations at our school. Of course, I prefer to celebrate with home-made treats. My former co-teacher Felicia and I worked well together for many reasons. For one thing, she taught me the joys of color coordinating tacks and artwork. I swear my life, or at least my classroom, will never be the same… but on a food related note, she loves sweets as much as I do. After a little sneaky digging, I found out that she particularly loves chocolate white chip cookies, and Felicia’s birthday cookies were born… For the third year of these treats I decided to use a new recipe and the results were even more scrumptious. This recipe is simply the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe with added cocoa. Why mess with a good thing?


Happy Indulging!

Pad Thai

So, anyone who knows my dad, or his cooking, knows he has a special relationship with soy sauce. I mean, really, I grew up with some pretty delicious marinated chicken, grilled salmon, and even some awesome stir fries and sesame noodles for a Jewish girl in the suburbs of Boston. I learned how to whip up a really good marinade with a few simple ingredients, the most important of which is clearly soy sauce. However, one might argue there is a time and a place for soy sauce - brisket, does not need soy sauce, neither does chili. Sorry dad.

But, since my dad loves soy sauce so much, it seemed fitting to introduce him to some other delicious Asian ingredients. Almost two years ago, my dad received a yummy gift basket filled with Sriracha, Oyster Sauce, Mae Ploy (sweet chili sauce) etc. He also received all the ingredients he needed to make authentic Pad Thai… Pad Thai sauce (a recommended brand, not some supermarket junk), rice noodles, minced turnip, peanuts, etc.

Well, this summer, I happened to notice all of these ingredients sitting untouched in my dad’s kitchen. That had to be fixed. So, with little effort, I convinced him we should tackle Pad Thai.

Cornmeal Pancakes

It’s a cool Sunday morning and I’ve been up for hours (early to bed, early to rise) so it seemed like the perfect time to linger over a cup of coffee and create something new in the kitchen. I pulled out my favorite cookbook, the Joy of Cooking, and settled on cornmeal pancakes. On any other day I would have added fruit to them, but alas, the lack of fresh produce kept them simple today. If you want some really good banana cornmeal pancakes I’d highly recommend Café Heaven in P-Town... but I suppose that isn’t a very helpful suggestion. So in the meantime, I recommend, getting out one bowl and a few easy ingredients and whipping up your own.

Happy Pancaking!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love to make cookies that impress, but quite honestly I have yet to find the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. I want to make cookies like they sell at Levain… seriously how insane does that cookie look?


Now, I know that is a dark chocolate peanut butter chip cookie but the picture does the best justice to their unbelievable, Throwdown with Bobby Flay winning cookies. It’s huge, fluffy, perfectly underdone, and just begging for a glass of cold milk.

Oreo Cheesecake Brownies

So a few weeks ago I had the pleasure of two days off for Shavuot (remind me never to leave my job!). What does Shavuot have to do with this brownie recipe you ask? Well, it all started when I was bragging to my cousin Marcy (the family Super Jew) about my days off for some holiday celebrating the Torah. She told me I was supposed to eat cheesecake. All of a sudden Shavuot became my kind of holiday! I bought lots of cream cheese and prepared to make my very first cheesecake. But, I didn’t have a springform pan and I really had to go dress shopping, so cheesecake just wasn’t in the cards. Instead, I got creative. And, with a little help from Jessica, Oreo cheesecake brownies were born.

The recipe comes from the Joy of Cooking. But I had tons of cream cheese to get rid of. And Oreos I really didn’t want in my house. So, we doubled up on the cheesecake portion and added cookies into the mix. The results were well received.

Happy belated Shavuot (I give you all permission to celebrate holidays that involve cheesecake, I surely celebrate holidays that involve Cadbury Eggs)

Black & White Cookies

Maybe it’s because my parents both grew up in Brooklyn, maybe it’s because as a child the black & white cookie was enormous and thus exciting, or maybe it’s because they stare me down at every local deli, bodega or market in NYC; but whatever the reason, the black and white cookie is truly a NY staple.

William Grimes of the NY Times said “Today's black-and-white cannot compare with the black-and-whites of yesteryear, of course, just as no mayor will ever be as good as La Guardia and no team as beloved as the Dodgers. It is now the stuff of legend, even though a truly impartial adult judge might say that, as cookies go, the black-and-white is nothing special. That argument does not get very far in New York.”

Pizza Pizza!

I found white whole wheat flour at the market tonight, which I’d been looking for, so decided to put it to use. White whole wheat flour is produced from white wheat (instead of red wheat) and has a lighter quality which makes it great for baking and cooking. For my dough, I used one-third white flour, one-third regular whole wheat flour, and one-third white whole wheat… it came out great – not too dense and wheaty, but it still felt healthy.

I grew up ordering half white pizza so that my family could eat regular pizza and I could avoid icky tomatoes!! Eventually, I learned to eat tomato sauce – maybe spending a semester in Italy helped. However, I still love white pizza (and still hate tomatoes, yes dad, even those “delicious” cherry tomatoes you grow). Anyway, since I’m the chef, I opted for a white pizza in the style of the Greek pizza from Spiritus in P-town - fresh mozzarella, feta, red onion and olives (but sadly forgot spinach!).

I don’t have a pizza stone, or a barbeque, so I cooked my pizza on a regular old cookie sheet and it came out just fine. But, feel free to fancy it up if you have the proper equipment.

In the meantime, a Sunday night with homemade pizza and a Red Sox win… “so good, so good, so good!”

Apple Muffins

I was really in the mood for a muffin yesterday but never got around to getting one… so, of course I made some today. I don’t know about you, but whenever I make muffins they come out kind of wimpy. I decided I really wanted to try to go for that bakery-like dome shape. I tried googling a bit to see what I could come up with. Here are my thoughts…

The most prevalent comment I could find was that it’s important to fill the muffin tins, like really fill them, maybe even over-fill them. Why do recipes always say to fill the tins two-thirds of the way? Silly. Go for it. Fill those babies up.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

If you know me at all, you know I love any excuse for baked goods… Valentine’s day was no excuse. And red velvet screams valentine’s day to me. I had never had a red velvet cupcake until I moved to Manhattan and for some reason, maybe all the cupcake chains, red velvet seemed to be everywhere. I fell in love… but I must admit, having it again recently I decided it’s really just an excuse for delicious cream cheese frosting. The cake is kind of mediocre. It has a good texture but the flavor is average. I think I might prefer a really good chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting instead…. There’s always next time.

Until then, happy belated valentine’s day!