Sesame Cookies

These cookies were a happy accident actually. I have this standard peanut butter chocolate chip cookie recipe and I wanted to branch out and try something new. I had a jar of almond butter in the fridge and thought it ought to make a nice substitution but instead accidentally grabbed my jar of tahini paste instead. Oops!

I discovered the error before they went into the oven so I thought I'd go double or nothing by pressing the cookies into some roasted sesame seeds before I baked them and you know what? They were darn tasty!

The cookies were still nice and sweet but they also had the nutty sesame flavor that goes really well with the chocolate--not bad at all.

1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup tahini paste
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Cream the sugars, butter, shortening and tahini paste then add the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla extract and mix well. Add the flour, soda and salt and mix until the dough sticks together Then add the chocolate chips, mixing until evenly distributed throughout the dough.

Roll a heaping tablespoon of dough into a ball and flatten it slightly. Dip it into the toasted sesame seeds and bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until slightly browned.

Sponsored by Rick Rack Attack--Aprons for the elegant hostess.

Technorati tags: recipes, sesame, cookies

Nancy's Asian Chicken Salad

Nancy is my aunt and she made this salad years ago for a family picnic and the crowd went wild. It's really about the tastiest salad I've ever had--probably because of the noodles, I'm a sucker for noodles.

Anyway, it's a terrific potluck creation and is nice and cool on a hot summer day. I make it all the time and never get tired of it.

3 packages Top Ramen, broken in pieces and cooked
2 grated carrots
3-4 green onions, sliced
1 cup peanuts
3-4 chicken breasts, grilled and sliced

For dressing:
1 cup rice vinegar
8 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
4 teaspoons sesame oil
4 minced garlic cloves

Combine all of the ingredients for the salad in a large bowl. Combine all of the ingredients for the dressing in a bottle and shake to mix. Pour the dressing over the salad and you're good to go.

***

Thinking about entering this month's Write-Away Contest? Prize is a Zune MP3 player and the theme is "Wonder Woman" but the deadline is this week so you'll have to hurry!

Sponsored by: Dimples and Dandelions--Serena and Lily Bedding for Children

Technorati tags: recipes, Asian, salads

Banana-Wrapped Halibut with Curry Sauce

You know I just couldn't possibly say enough good things about this recipe and if I tried you wouldn't believe me. I don't even really like fish but one bite of this stuff made me moan.

Tender, moist, not fishy at all (the most important part for me) and with a meld of amazing flavors that will have you moaning too.

As it happens Andrew went halibut fishing the week before last so our fridge was overflowing with fish and this was a fun way to fix it that everyone loved. The funny thing too is this recipe sounds pretty high-falutin' but it's really, really easy--the hardest part is coming up with a couple of the odd ingredients but any Asian grocery store should carry what you need. Then it's just a matter of throwing the sauce ingredients into the pot, boiling them, wrapping up the fish with some of the sauce then baking it--it's the original Thai tinfoil dinner!

12 green onions
1/4 cup minced garlic
1/4 c fresh cilantro (packed)
4 kaffir lime leaves (in the produce section wrapped separately)
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons red curry paste
1 tablespoon paprika
1 13 1/2 ounce can of coconut milk
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
6 halibut fillets
lemon juice from one lemon
salt and pepper to taste
6 sections of banana leaves big enough to wrap your fillets (you'll find them in the frozen food section of the Asian market)
aluminum foil

First you have to make up a green pesto/paste from the green onions, garlic, cilatro and lime leaves (first removing the woody spine on each leaf). Pulse it in a food processor until it's a paste then saute the paste in a medium sized saucepan with the vegetable oil over a medium-high heat for several minutes until you can smell those lime leaves and you're in heaven. Add the red curry paste and the paprika then cook another couple of minutes.

Meanwhile, open the can of coconut milk and spoon off the thick gloopy stuff on the top of the can. Pour the liquid into the pan with the pesto/curry mixture and add the sugar and fish sauce, stirring until it begins to boil. Turn down the heat a bit and simmer it until it's thickened up a bit.

Rinse your fish fillets and pat them dry, rip off six pieces of aluminum foil and set a banana leaf section in the middle of it. Set a fish fillet on the leaf and season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with lemon juice liberally. Spoon enough of the sauce to cover the fish then fold the long edges of the leaves up over the fish followed by the short ends. Fold the aluminum foil up over the banana leaf into a little tinfoil packet and let the fish set to marinate for 30 minutes or so (not longer than four hours though).

Preheat your oven to 450 then bake the fish for 14 minutes (thicker pieces may take longer). Unwrap the package and serve the fish over hot steamed rice with more sauce spooned over the top. It's just wonderful!

***

Congratulations to Calico Bebop for winning the pair of Protect-a-Bed pillow covers--there's still plenty of time to get in on the prizes over at Metropolitan Mama's . . .

Sponsored by Dimples and Dandelions--Serena and Lily Bedding for Children

Technorati tags: recipes, halibut, Thai, curry,

I Love My Raclette

Last fall I wrote about my desire for a raclette and Andrew did not disappoint. Sure enough on Christmas morning I unwrapped my very own Hamilton Beach raclette (he follows those hints so well doesn't he? Clicks on the links like a pro!)

We've had so much fun with it since then I've got to mention it again with a follow-up because raclette has become the number one most requested meal around here.

Since I got it for Christmas we decided to have a New Year's Eve party where we could try it out with six friends but I have to say Andrew was skeptical--he was basically humoring me.

But we had a terrific time, it was a huge hit and got top grades from everyone. We had enough left over for more the next night with the kids and they all voted it the Greatest Meal Ever. EVER. And remember folks, that's beating out some pret-ty tough competition when it comes to fast food and burgers and pizza.

So now if anyone has a birthday and I ask them what they want? It's raclette every time and I really like it because what could be easier than slicing cheese and bread? Even I can handle that.

***

Here's a few extra links for your pleasure this happy Independence Day (are you feeling particularly independent? Hope so!)

* Here's a video for making an eco-friendly birdhouse from chopsticks. So when you have Asian birds visiting in the neighborhood they can feel right at home.

* Here's a pattern for the cutest-ever Peep-Toe-Tie-On-Slippers. Love 'em.

* Do you want to be a more productive blogger with those 24 hours you have? Problogger's post on Batch Processing is excellent, I use the same techniques myself I just didn't know they had a snappy name.

* Angry Chicken shows how to use Starbursts to decorate cakes--genius is the only word to cover it.

* Happy 4th of July with these patriotic drinks from Chocolate on My Cranium--if you were too late to make them today there's always Bastille Day in ten days . . .

Sponsored by: Alaskan TourSaver--great deals for travel in the Last Frontier

Technorati tags: raclette, cheese, cooking, bakeware

Mango-Lime Tarts with Shortbread Crusts

I use the filling for these little tarts in all sorts of things--good for pies, tarts, parfaits, pastries. You really can't go wrong with a combination like mango and lime.

for filling:
1 cup mango nectar
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup lime juice
1/4 cup corn starch
1/2 cup orange juice
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 1/2 tablespoons butter
6 ounces frozen or fresh raspberries plus a bit of sugar for puree
whipped cream and sliced strawberries for garnish

for crust:
1 cup butter
2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

To prepare crust, preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Lightly grease six tart pans and set aside.

Cream butter and sugar, add vanilla then flour and salt until dough sticks together. Divide the dough into six pieces and press each into a fluted greased tart pan. Prick each crust with a fork and bake at 325 for 40 minutes or until the crusts begin to turn slightly brown.

Let crusts cool completely and remove them from the tart pans.

Then for filling combine the nectar, sugar, lime juice, cornstarch, orange juice and eggs in a large sauce pan and whisk together. Cook over a medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to boil. Once it does, reduce the heat to low and cook for two more minutes, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and add butter, stirring to melt and combine.

Pour the mixture into a glass bowl and cover the top with plastic wrap until it's cooled a bit. Spoon the mixture into the baked shells, top with whipped cream and fresh strawberries with a drizzle of pureed strawberries underneath.

***

Okay we've watched a couple of movies in the last month or so--if you're wondering if you should put one of these guys in your Netflix queue here's one opinion on the matter:

Catch and Release. Bad, very bad--stinky in fact. Jennifer Garner has a sweet image somehow (even after all those abominable Electra stints) but she's just irritating in this drama-romance about a woman whose fiance is killed and she's left to pick up the pieces. It starts out quirky-sweet and goes downhill from there as she uncovers what kind of a jerk she was engaged to and shows how well she's learned her lesson in picking out men by making more of the same mistakes again--only for some reason they expect us to cheer her foolishness. We turned it off and never found out if she turns out to be as dumb as she was indicating--maybe she redeemed herself at the end but odds were against it. For a grade I'd give it a D-.

P.S. I Love You. Poor Andrew's been at the mercy of my video choices lately and has been a good sport about all the romance I've been dishing him but neither one of us liked this one either. It wasn't as bad as Catch and Release and it had a fun premise (a woman's husband dies and she learns to cope through letters he's arranged to have delivered after his death) but I found Hilary Swank to be irritating in a romance, she ought to stick to boxing. If the movie had had more of her fun husband in it I would have probably liked it more but I found her depressingly annoying and her flaky friends/family more so. Her husband's just died for goodness sake! Give her at least a week before insisting she get over it and find someone new! Harry Connick Jr., while always a thrill, was less appealing here, I didn't like his character and he was just thrown in randomly like shot gun pellets, not hitting any particular target or objective at all. Had potential but probably would have been better with Gwyneth Paltrow as the main character and without Lisa Kudrow (included in the cast for random Phoebe-ness). I'd give it a D+, a C being mediocre or average of course, but then what do I know? I didn't really care much for Becoming Jane which shows how flaky my movie tastes can be.

Breach. Really liked this one and liked it alot. I only had heard that it was a thriller and not until it was in the DVD player did I realize it was the dramatized story of Robert Hanssen, the most successful spy in the history of the U.S. The cast is excellent and though the movie moves slowly (probably because I was expecting a political thriller more along the lines of The Bourne Ultimatum or something--another Chris Cooper film) it isn't plodding or tedious. It's methodical and builds the characters and situations slowly but convincingly. You come to realize at certain points why the director led you along in certain ways and how he manipulated your emotions. The fact that it was based on a true story made me enjoy it more, somehow knowing that something really happened makes it all the more interesting, though I'm sure there are plenty of parts that were strictly Hollywood moments. An A- definitely.

Sponsored by Victoria P. Drucher Designs--Hip styles for kids

Technorati tags: recipes, tarts, lime

Pork Loin with Apples and Mustard Cream Sauce

I really like pork loin, mostly because it's fairly lean, I can get a lovely cut of meat inexpensively at Costco and a little slice will satisfy me quite well (I'm not a huge meat eater--give me pasta, soup or salad any day. Or forget that and just give me dessert--even better).

A $14.00 pork loin will serve all six of us for two meals easily which works out to just over a dollar a serving--not too bad--and it's very versatile.

1 4-pound boneless pork loin
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large tart apples
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons coarse-grain mustard
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

Separate halves of pork loin then rinse and pat dry. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown pork, 1 piece at a time, turning occasionally, 3 to 4 minutes per piece. Transfer to a small roasting pan and roast pork at 375 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes.

While pork roasts, peel, quarter, and core apples, then cut into small pieces. Cook onion in pork drippings in skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add apples, broth, and water and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until apples are tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in cream, vinegar and mustard and simmer until sauce is slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and keep sauce warm.

Transfer pork to a cutting board and let stand 10 minutes. Add pan juices into cream sauce along with remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt and remaining 3/4 teaspoon pepper and stir to combine.

Slice pork crosswise into one-inch slices. Serve topped with sauce.

Sponsored by: Victoria P. Zurcher Designs--Hip & fresh clothing for kids

Technorati tags: recipes, pork, mustard

Croque Monsieur Sandwiches

I'm on a cheesy-bread kick I guess but I make no apologies. You'll find none necessary when you try this tasty bite--but better bring a fork and knife because it's rather sloppy.

Hey! That's it! This is the French version of the famous Sloppy Joe--let's call it a Sloppy Jacques!

3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1 cup grated Swiss cheese
8 ounces sliced Swiss cheese
salt to taste
freshly ground pepper to taste
ground nutmeg to taste
8 slices of thick crusty French bread
6 ounces baked ham, sliced

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees, lightly grease a baking sheet and set it aside.

In a medium saucepan melt the butter then stir in the flour, stirring carefully to form a paste then whisk in the milk. Keep whisking, scraping the bottom of the pan continually, until the mixture becomes thick and bubbly. Once it begins to boil reduce the heat and allow it to gently boil for two more minutes.

Take it off the heat and stir in the grated cheese, salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Place four slices of bread on the buttered baking sheet and spread 1/4 cup of the sauce over the slices. Cover with a slice of cheese, a slice of ham, another slice of cheese, a second slice of bread, then top with more sauce and finally with some grated cheese. Let's hope your arteries can handle this.

Bake for about 5 minutes until golden brown then serve immediately.

***

Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life and all who voted at the Bloggy Hoss awards--it was so wonderful to find that nice little present waiting for me!

Sponsored by: The Fine Art of Family--Lasting jewelry, gifts & accessories by Monica Rich Kosann

Technorati tags: recipes, sandwiches, cheese

A Mermaid Cake and A New Crush

Yes we had another birthday around here and I can report that there were no broken arms. Whew! Lillian enjoyed every minute of her day and said with pride at breakfast, "This is fun--I've never been six before!"

Lillian insisted on a Barbie cake (you know, the kind where you stick a doll into a volcano of batter, bake her and see how she holds up? Kidding.) but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Not ANOTHER Barbie cake! I've done pirate ships, killer whales, Death Stars, horse heads, picture books, sheep, butterflies, rainbows, spiders, dinosaurs and salmon but NO MORE BARBIES!

So I "suggested" a mermaid cake. Of course in her mind she had visions of Ariel but I wasn't about to tell her that Disney wasn't getting any piece of this action and by the time I went to frost and decorate she was so excited that she didn't even remember Barbie or Ariel or anything else.

I was, however, a little disturbed at the results. Is anyone else seeing Raggedy Anne as a mermaid? There's a reason that one was never marketed--it's just creepy.

But as for details: those are madelines you see strategically positioned as seashells, licorice strings for hair and Necco wafers for the fish scales. The pattern takes a bucket load of cake batter--I made a 9 X 13 inch cake for the body and tail and then a second batch in a glass bowl for the face (there was enough left over for cupcakes).

Oh! And another thing about this whole birthday extravaganza--I was putting off shopping for Lillian's present because 1. I really dislike shopping in general and 2. I had no ideas. Add to this the fact that all the grandparents always send me cash to buy their presents for them so I have not just one idea but four ideas to give birth to. I was paralyzed with indecision.

Anyway, I had half an hour to kill in between piano lessons a couple days before her birthday and on a whim I ran to the nearby local toy store Over the Rainbow Toys which just set up shop around the corner (I was avoiding Toys R Us like the plague--I don't like going there). I walked in and there were millions of real toys. Not tiny stripper dolls or walls of video games or merchandising from the latest blockbuster but real toys. It took me all of fifteen minutes to find four great gifts and then (the icing on the cake) when I walked up to the register the friendly and helpful clerk asked that magic question: "Would you like these gift wrapped?"

She must have thought she had the village idiot staring at her because I kind of stood there for a second in a stupor, analyzing all the ways that this must be a scam or a dream, before she quickly said, "It's complimentary!"

So in less than a half an hour I had found terrific toys and had them all gift wrapped and in a big brown bag for my shopping pleasure. And boy was it a pleasure. And they're not even paying me to say that.

***

And speaking of healthy desserts loaded with sugar and more sugar here's a video clip sent in by Alex, a kind reader who put me onto this funny thing. It had me chuckling at "sommelier sauvant" and then had me on the floor with "constantly hugged goats." Go on, watch it . . . I dare you.

Sponsored by: Victoria P. Zurcher Designs--hip and fresh clothing for kids

Technorati tags: birthdays, cakes

Happy Cheese Bread

Andrew and I are pretty fond of bread. And of cheese. So cheese bread is the perfect marriage in our dairy-lovin' opinions.

Anyway, I came across this recipe at Epicurious and I'll tell you it lived up to every expectation I had. I did a couple things slightly different than what they called for and was highly satisfied with the results--a wonderfully chewy texture.

Epicurious called this "Georgian" cheese bread (not sure why as mozzarella cheese is hardly a Russian invention). I figured I should probably call it something else since this is slightly different from their recipe and "happy" pretty much sums up how I feel when I'm eating it.

1 cup warm water
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
4 1/2 teaspoons yeast
1 lb mozzarella, grated
olive oil cooking spray

Put the water, flour, salt, eggs and yeast in the bucket of your bread machine in that order then set the machine to the "dough" cycle and let it run.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees (yea you read that right, watch the eyebrows when you open the door).

Take the dough out and divide it into two equal sections. Press each section into a 7-inch circle on a greased cookie sheet. If the dough sticks to your hands run them under some water and your wet fingers will slip right off the dough.

Divide the grated cheese into two equal portions. Take each portion and squeeze the grated cheese into a ball--see picture to left. Set each ball of cheese on each circle of dough then gather the edges of each circle of dough up around the ball, making sure to seal the extra dough at the top.

The grated cheese ball is now encased in dough.

Press the ball dough cheese and dough flat with your hand--wetting your fingers as necessary to prevent them sticking to the dough. Press the ball down evenly so that the cheese gets mushed down in the center and you create a new circle of cheese-filled dough that's about 7 or 8 inches in diameter (you don't want to break it up so get it as flat as you can without tearing it up).

Once it's flattened, take a sharp knife and slash an "X" across the top of the dough so that the cheese gets exposed a big as you see in the picture on the right. Pop the breads into the oven to bake at 500 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Take them out of the oven and spray them with a bit of olive oil cooking spray then put them back in for another 3-5 minutes or until they're golden bubbly and nicely browned.

Cut the circles into wedges and enjoy--you're going to love them.

***

And here's something else that should make you happy--or at least make you chuckle:

Technorati tags: recipes, bread, cheese

Mustard Cranberry Glazed Chicken

June already?

Well this is a recipe I've made since I was first married and there are three things I love about it: first, it's so easy that it goes together in about ten minutes, second it smells wonderful cooking and third, everyone likes it so that I never have to worry about grumpy complaints.

Lately I've gotten extremely tough against that kind of attitude--one complaint about what's for dinner and the offender is "invited" to spend the rest of the meal up in their bedroom--far away from the food that they find so offensive. I find it looks much more appealing after an hour or two of solitary.

But, enough about my heartless childrearing techniques and on with the recipe. There are a lot of fancy mustards out there and most will substitute nicely--next time you're at the grocery store grab one that looks interesting and thrown it in the pot.

1 whole chicken
1 cup honey
1/2 cup cranberry mustard such as Pepperidge Farms
4 tablespoons finely chopped onion
4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Rinse then pat the chicken dry. I will often will substitute a package of thighs or breasts should the whim strike me, it just depends on what I have on hand. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and combine the rest of the ingredients in a medium saucepan and stir constantly over a medium heat until the butter melts and the mixture begins to boil. Remove from heat.

Brush a thin layer of the sauce over the chicken pieces or whole roaster and bake uncovered for one hour. Then pull the chicken out and spoon the rest of the sauce over the bird and roast for another 15 minutes until it's got a lovely golden brown covering. If you have loose pieces of chicken rather than a whole roaster you should decrease the cooking time by 15 minutes: roast for 45 minutes then spoon the sauce and roast for another 15.

Let the chicken sit for five or ten minutes before serving to set the juices then enjoy--I served this most recently with a side of Parmesan polenta (thanks to Kelly at Love Well who's got me hooked on the stuff) and some springy asparagus--which did elicit a few gasps this last time but no complaints thanks to my new "take no prisoners" meal time policy.

***

More books to give away! Today I have The Real Deal Guide to Pregnancy by Erika Lenkert. Though the title might suggest otherwise this isn't a guide book about how to get pregnant it's a handbook to help you through the ensuing nine months of pregnancy once you've figured the important part out on your own. Maybe it should be called The Real Deal Guide through Pregnancy but then what do I know?

But regardless of the title it's a helpful little handbook and particularly good for any first-time mothers-to-be that you might know. What sets this book apart from so many pregnancy guides is the readability. Published by DK Books it's full of pictures, lists, insets, things that make reading easier. Then there's the length, with only 255 pages it feels less like a daunting Bible set to cover every question you might have and more the "Cliff Notes" it advertises itself to be.

But probably the best thing is that it highlights other mothers' experiences. Paragraphs of what other women felt and thought and did that bring pregnancy down to earth and make you think that perhaps you too can get happily through it.

There are websites in the back for a nice resource should you want more information and more support, there are recipes to support your cravings and practical talk about things like weight gain and finding good maternity clothes.

All in all not a bad little book. If you'd like to win it simply leave a comment on this post before midnight and I'll draw a winner to be announced in Monday's post.

Technorati tags: recipes, chicken, mustard

World's Best Lemon Bars

I've always loved lemon bars, my Mom made them all the time, but I've never been completely satisfied with the recipes I've tried over the years.

Some are too soft where they don't cut properly, some have too much crust, some are too curdly, you just wouldn't think that a simple thing like a lemon bar could cause so much trouble to create.

Well I found Angry Chicken's endorsement for Epicurious' lemon shortbread bar recipe. They, in turn, got it from Seattle's famous 60th Street Desserts so it's got quite a trail but you'll thank me for it because it truly is, as Amy said, the best lemon bar recipe there is.

For crust:
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
2 cups all purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 large egg yolks

For Lemon Filling:
6 large eggs
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
4 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel

For Streusel Topping:
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

For crust: Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly coat 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan with nonstick spray. Blend flour, sugar and salt in processor to combine. Cut in butter, using on/off turns, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add egg yolks and blend until moist clumps form. Press mixture onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake until just beginning to turn golden brown around edges, about 10 minutes. Remove crust from oven; reduce temperature to 325°F.

Meanwhile, prepare lemon filling: Whisk eggs and sugar in large bowl to blend. Whisk flour and baking powder in medium bowl to blend. Add flour mixture to egg mixture, whisking to blend. Whisk in lemon juice and peel. Immediately pour lemon filling over hot crust; bake until filling is set, about 30 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.

For streusel: Blend flour, 1/2 cup sugar and salt in processor to combine. Cut in butter, using on/off turns, until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Sprinkle topping over hot lemon bars; continue to bake until just golden, about 25 minutes longer. Cool completely. Sprinkle powdered sugar over. Cut into bars. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature.)

Technorati tags: recipes, lemon, shortbread

Hummus Surprise Soup

I saw this recipe over at Pinch My Salt and thought, "Hey, I like hummus!" followed by "I think I'll try this." And the rest is happy hummus history.

It's basically hummus in soup form and just like Pinch My Salt claims, the soup is so fast and easy it takes only about 15 minutes to have it on the table and ready to tempt your taste buds.

High in fiber, low in fat, high on taste and great with a side of homemade pita it got enthusiastic thumbs up from all six of us. How often do you hear that?

I've tweaked the recipe just a little bit so I'm linking to the original but publishing my own version. Mine makes 6-8 servings while the original is a much smaller batch, has a little more heat but less spice.

4 14-ounce cans of garbanzo beans (chick peas)
3 tablespoons light olive oil
3 tablespoons garlic
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 14-ounce can chicken broth
16 ounces cubed cooked lamb or chicken or beef (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
fresh lime for topping
fresh cilantro for garnish

Dump the cans of garbanzo beans, liquid and all, into a food processor or blender and puree until the beans are as smooth as possible. It won't be perfectly smooth and that's okay. Meanwhile, saute the minced garlic in the olive oil until it starts to brown then add the garbanzo bean puree to the pot. Add the ginger, coriander, cumin and broth--you can certainly use fresh grated ginger but when I threw this together I realized I was out of the fresh stuff and only had ground ginger. It worked. You can make the soup as thick or as thin as you want by adding more broth or water to the soup at this point. I also threw in some leftover rosemary and honey glazed leg of lamb that we'd had the night before which made the soup--well, more meaty. You could use another meat or just leave out the meat for a nice vegan dish.

Simmer the soup for ten minutes to let the spices sink in, more if you have the time. Season with the salt and pepper then top with freshly chopped cilantro and freshly squeezed lime juice for emphasis.

***

Today's the last day to enter the Write-Away Contest--you have until midnight to get those entries in!

***

Has everyone seen Iron Man? Andrew and I saw a preview for it months ago and I laughed out loud it looked so stupid (sorry). Yes, stupid--kind of like a bad Transformers knockoff (not that the original was really worth duplicating).

But then I kept hearing how great it was and how it was getting five-star reviews and it tempted my curiosity a bit. I love a good movie and Friday night Andrew and I were feeling downright reckless so we caught a late showing. At 9 o'clock! We're living on the edge I tell you, what next--a midnight show?

I gotta say it lives up to the reviews--it was a solid A movie, loved every minute of it.

The casting was perfect, I especially loved the chemistry between Gwyneth Paltrow (Pepper Potts) and Robert Downey, Jr. (Tony Stark) who have a modern Bond-Moneypenny thing going.

There's enough laughs to keep it from taking itself too seriously, Pepper wears smashing black dresses in all her scenes and Robert Downey, Jr. seems rather in his element as the playboy looking for a cause. It was a tad predictable but the whole movie was just cool. No other word to describe. Next to Batman Begins it's probably my favorite superhero movie ever--though Spiderman II was pretty good. This was better. And cooler. Just cool. Did I mention it was cool? Worth every penny of $19.50.

Oh and don't forget to stay to the very end after the credits--you'll get the set up for the sequel.

Technorati tags: recipes, hummus, soup, Iron Man

An All-Purpose Stir Fry

This is a basic, tried-and-true stir fry sauce that works for any and all of your stir fry needs.

My family's not thrilled about broccoli and other vegetables that you typically get in stir fry but the curry version of this sauce soaks in and coats those vitamins so well that even the kids really like this recipe.

I'm only posting the recipe for the sauce because you can pick your own meat and vegetables to go with this, there really are no rules about the stuff you can throw in here--perfect for those "What am I going to fix?" nights. Try it with either curry or ginger, both are tasty.

3 tablespoon soy sauce
1/3 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons chicken broth
2 teaspoons curry OR 3 tablespoons minced ginger root
2 sliced green onions

Mix up the sauce and set aside. Chop your chosen ingredients into small pieces--smaller is better because they will cook quicker and maintain that crispy-tender texture that is important with stir fries. Marinade the pieces of meat in a bit of soy sauce while you're waiting to add them to the pot.

Heat up your wok with a couple of tablespoons of canola oil then keep that wok HOT. You should only be able to keep your hand one-two inches away from the bottom of the pan for a couple seconds it's so hot. Heat the wok back up in between frying the batches.

Add a tablespoon of minced garlic to the oil then start frying up the veggies in batches from the ones that take the longest to cook to the ones that take the shortest time. For example . . .

First batch:
carrots
broccoli

Second batch:
red or green peppers
onions

Third batch:
green onions
sesame seeds

After each batch cooks for a minute in the wok, push it up on the sides then heat up the wok again before adding the next batch to the center along with any oil you might need to keep things from sticking. Keep doing this until all the veggies then the meat are fried up then add the sauce, stirring and heating to coat well.

Serve with a side of sticky rice. It's that easy.

Technorati tags: recipes, stir fry, rice

The Great Cookie Face Off

I have a standard chocolate cookie recipe, I know it so well I could give it to you from memory and it's served me well for a dozen years.

But apparently it's getting old with Andrew because he was going through my December issue of FamilyFun magazine and came across their recipe for Chocolate Crinkles.

"CHOCOLATE CRINKLES!" He squealed before ripping the recipe out and bringing it to me with those puppy dog eyes. Those eyes.

He claimed his mom had made them for him when he was young and that he'd been looking for this chocolate crinkly reunion for lo these many years.

"Yea, whatever. I'll make the cookies," I said. And a couple days later after dinner I plopped a plate of Chocolate Crinkles down in front of him.

He took a bite.

"Did you roll these in powdered sugar?" he asked skeptically through a mouthful.

"What?" I said, inwardly very irritated that he could tell that I'd cut that corner. How did he know??

"Yea, you didn't roll these in powdered sugar." he said, putting down the cookie, as if the case was closed and there was no point in finishing such an abomination.

I refrained from telling him where he could put that cookie--held back only by the sheer force of true love--but I wasn't giving up quite yet. My cookie honor was at stake.

I made up a second batch a few days later, properly and carefully rolled in powdered sugar before they were baked just as my neurotic but handsome husband had suggested and again I plopped down a cookie plate for dessert to see what the verdict was.

They were good. The powdered sugar rolling had made them a little crusty and crunchy (I suppose that's where the "crinkle" part comes in) but honestly? I wasn't convinced that all that extra rolling effort was worth it. They were good--but were they worth getting my hands all messy? I'm still not sure so here I am, posting both recipes and you can decide which you prefer. I'll leave a poll at the end if you're feeling particularly domestic and end up making them both you can vote for yourself and see which way the votes go. The votes don't lie.

My Own Recipe:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup powdered cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips

Cream the butter and sugars. Then add the vanilla and eggs and mix thoroughly. Then add the flour, cocoa, soda and salt. Mix and add in the chocolate chips toward the end so that they get mixed in before the dough starts clumping completely together.

Bake at 350 degrees for 11-13 minutes. You can also add a half cup of flaked coconut, walnuts or peanut butter chips for fun variety.

Chocolate Crinkles:
3/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 6-ounce bag chocolate chips
3/4 cup powdered sugar

In a large bowl, mix the melted butter, cocoa powder and sugar; beat in the eggs and vanilla extract. In a medium-sized bowl, stir the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Slowly mix in the wet ingredients, then stir in the chips. Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Form the dough into 1-inch balls and roll in confectioners' sugar. Bake on an ungreased baking sheet for 12 minutes.

Which chocolate cookie recipe do you prefer?

• Chocolate Crinkles
• My Own Recipe
• Another recipe? Is there a better one out there? Leave it in the comments!

Created on May 1, 2008

View Results

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Technorati tags: recipes, cookies, chocolate

French Onion Soup

I adore French onion soup--really adore it. Maybe it's because Andrew hates onions so I can't get them around here and therefore I long for this soup even more. If they have it on the menu at a restaurant you can bet I'm ordering it.

The last time Andrew was out of town on business I decided that I was going to fix French onion soup just for me. I'd never made it before but figured how hard could it be?

Actually not hard at all, it takes a little patience because all those onions have to slowly simmer on low heat before they properly carmelize but if you can give it the twenty minutes it takes you've got yourself some sweet soup. My husband was out of town--I had plenty of time on my hands.

1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 1/2 pounds onions, thinly sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
4 cans (14.5 ounces each) beef broth
1 1/4 cups water
2 bay leaves
15 whole peppercorns
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
8 ounces Gruyere, grated
8 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated
6 slices crusty French bread, sliced

Heat butter and oil over medium-high heat in a large heave skillet until bubbly then add onions and sprinkle with sugar, stirring to prevent it burning. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring onions regularly, until they are tender and deep golden brown, about 20 or 30 minutes.

Carefully stir in 1 can of the beef broth, deglazing the pan by scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Transfer to a larger stockpot and add the other cans of broth and spices. Bring to a boil then simmer 30 minutes. Add vinegar, stir to combine, remove bay leaves and spoon the soup into six oven proof bowls.

Top each bowl with a slice of bread and top each slice with grated Parmesan and Gruyere. Broil in oven until cheese is golden and bubbly, only about a minute or two, then serve immediately and savor those yummy onions.

***

Can you believe it? After that blizzard we had two weeks ago it's been 50 degrees and beautiful until yesterday when Blizzard Number Two came through town and dumped all over my slightly greening grass. I'm so depressed I can hardly stand it. Take a good look at the view from my kitchen--that's a tree and not a bush and the two steps going up to the playhouse are under snow. I swear it will never melt. Ever.

***

And finally, for those of you in the Seattle area I've been told there's a new fine arts organization called The Ranier Family Opera that will be providing free concerts in an effort to reach first-time opera goers. It might be a nice chance to introduce your children (or yourselves) to opera without the stiff price tag an opera usually carries. Follow the link for more information.

Technorati tags: recipes, onions, soup

Chicken Caesar Salad

Are you up for another great salad recipe? I'm always looking for good salads, they're so versatile and tasty and healthy. Grace doesn't like them at all but the rest of us love a big salad dinner.

Oh, and please don't forget that anchovy paste--you're not going to get a Caesar-tasting salad without it.

6 cups torn romaine
2 cups sliced, cooked chicken
2 cups sliced mushrooms
croutons

Dressing:
2/3 cup mayonnaise
¼ cup grated Parmesan
½ teaspoon ground pepper
¼ cup lemon juice
3 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon anchovy paste

Mix the first three ingredients then mix the ingredients for the dressing separately and toss all together. Add the croutons on top and enjoy!

***

Heather at Cool Zebras and Trish who commented at 5:45pm have both won copies of the Laura Childs mystery The Silver Needle Murder that I was giving away last week. Happy reading! Please contact me to claim your prize Trish.

Technorati tags: salads, chicken, Caesar

Dump Cake

You can imagine the humor this cake spawned in my house growing up. With a name like "Dump Cake" it was bound to be the basis of plenty of stupid jokes but despite the name it's a good recipe.

It's simple enough to qualify as White Trash Food but that doesn't stop me from making it when I'm racing to find something quick for dessert. Recipes that only have five ingredients and are ready in under a half an hour are just gold. I don't care if they come from a can.

You know . . . I bet this is the dessert Martha makes for herself when no one's looking.

1 15-ounce can crushed pineapple
1 20-ounce can of cherry pie filling
1 box yellow cake mix
1/2 cup melted butter
whipped cream for topping

Now be careful--these directions are pretty tricky so make sure you follow it carefully:

Pour the can of pineapple into a lightly greased 9x13 rectangular pan. Spoon the pie filling over the top. Pour the cake mix over that, followed by the melted butter evenly poured over the whole thing. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Top with whipped cream.

Not too classy, not too hard but highly satisfying.

Technorati tags: cake, desserts, cherries

Sausage Calzone

Those Italians are marketing geniuses I think. To invent the pizza is proof enough but to repackage it then call it something new shows the depth of intelligence we're talking about when it comes to Italy. I love it.

Calzone really is nothing but pizza inside out but I don't look at that as a shortcoming, in fact it just makes me love calzone all the more.

I have to ask--do you say "cal-ZONE" or "cal-ZO-nay"? You get those Italian words like provolone, calzone, marscapone and it seems to me that since they're Italian words they ought to have that vowel syllable on the end but we dumb ol' Americans give it that silent E treatment.

I was raised to call it "pro-vo-lo-nAY" (no fake accent or anything, just the vowel on the end) but if I ever call it that at the deli counter I get some blondie high schooler correcting me as if she had a doctorate in linguistics.

Well whatever it is, however you say it, it's delicious (or do you say de-li-sio-so?) It's also a good recipe for using if you ever have to take a meal into someone because you can wrap the calzones individually, they freeze well and require no dishes to transport, wash or return.

For dough:
1 ½ cup warm water
4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon fast acting yeast

Mix the dough (I use a bread machine) and let it rise half an hour.

For filling:
10 ounces Italian sausage
1 small onion
1 garlic clove
¼ pound crimini mushrooms
1 small carrot, finely diced
1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
1 cup sliced olives
1 teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon pepper
½ cup grated mozzarella cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
beaten egg white
marinara sauce
chopped fresh herbs for garnish

Saute sausage, add onion, garlic and mushrooms and carrot, cook till vegetables are tender and sausage is browned. Drain fat. Stir in tomato sauce, olives, basil, oregano, sugar and pepper. Simmer 5 minutes then let cool slightly. Mix in cheeses. Divide dough into twelve equal parts then flatten each section into a circle. Fill circle with filling (how much kind of depends on how fat you want them to be, less makes them easier to fill, more makes them harder to seal up). Fold dough over into a half-circle and seal the edges carefully, press also with the tines of a fork to help seal and prick the top to vent. Brush tops with beaten egg whites if desired.

Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve topped with marinara sauce and chopped fresh herbs if desired.

***

Don't forget the Write-Away Contest this month--the topic is "Going Home" and the deadline is coming!

Technorati tags: recipes, food, calzone

Coconut Rice Pudding

Regular rice pudding is fine I guess but I've never liked it much. To me it tastes rather bland but this recipe I liked, it was creamy and sweet and the coconut milk gave it flavor and body like a sweet version of my beloved risotto.

Of course I had to load on the calories with whipped cream and raisins and shredded coconut but I do believe it improved it substantially. Did you know it's a scientific fact that calories are what flavor food?

1 14-ounce can evaporated milk
1 15-ounce can coconut milk
2 cups low fat milk
1 1/2 cups long grain rice
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup raisins
flaked coconut for garnish
whipped cream for topping

In a medium saucepan combine the three kinds of milk, rice, sugar, salt and extract. Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring regularly, for 30 minutes or until the rice is nearly tender. Stir in the raisins and continue to cook until the rice is done, maybe 10 more minutes then serve with coconut and whipped cream on top. A great breakfast for cold days.

Technorati tags: rice, coconut, pudding

Curried Chicken Orzo Salad

In one of life's great ironies my mother, who lives in India, hates curry. So naturally every time I cook with curry I'm thinking of her and wishing her well in the Land of Curry.

This chicken salad uses orzo (rice shaped pasta) with a touch of curry in a lime-honey vinaigrette that's one of my favorites. I usually get overly zealous when I'm making it and end up making way too much so that I'm eating the leftovers for a couple days afterwards. Mmmmm.

16 ounces orzo, cooked
3 chicken breast, diced and lightly browned
3 cups halved grapes
1 1/2 cup raisins
6 green onions, sliced

For the dressing:
1/2 cup chicken broth
4 tablespoons lime juice
4 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons curry
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon minced garlic clove
1/4 teaspoon ginger

Combine the first five ingredients in a large bowl. Combine the rest of the ingredients for the dressing in a container that securely seals and shake to combine. Pour the dressing over the salad and serve.

Technorati tags: chicken, orzo, pasta, curry