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!