Pizzookie

Cookie?  Pie?  Pizza?  Oh goodness, I don't know!!  All I know is that Bri LOVES this dessert, so when she suggested it, and I had no idea what it was, I figured I should give it a shot!

What's great about this recipe?  Well, you certainly don't have to worry about making each individual cookie - you just slap it all into one pie dish and plop it in the oven!  So, you know what else that means?  Yep!  Only ONE dish to clean AND only one thing to put in the oven (not three, four... different batches of cookies).

Bake this and serve with ice cream, whipped cream, or even a cup of hot chocolate (since it is winter!), and enjoy a simple dessert after a long week.  Top your ice cream with hot fudge, caramel, sprinkles, or even a cherry on top!  Whatever suits your fancy and putts a smile on your face.

And really, who doesn't like the idea of combing two wonderful desserts?  Pies... and cookies!  :)

Pizzookie

1 cup butter (2 sticks) at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/3 cups flour
1 tsp vanilla
1 bag chocolate chips (about 2 cups)

Preheat oven to 350.

In a stand mixer, in a bowl with a hand mixer, or old school (how I grew-up making everything!) in a bowl with a large spoon, cream the butter and both sugars together until light and fluffy.  Next, add each egg, one by one, mixing each in until incorporated.  Mix in vanilla and stir just until combined.

Combine your baking soda, salt, and flour in a separate bowl and whisk together.  Add your dry ingredients to your wet ingredients and mix just until combined.

Lastly, add your chocolate chips in, stir, and pour into a greased pie dish.  You could also use a cast-iron skillet.  Or want a "little" version?  Divide your batter between individual ramekins for a very personalized dessert.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.  It's best if the inside is still... a little gooey!  :)
Bake your ramekins for about 10-12 minutes.

Allow to cool for about 5 minutes and then... dive in!

Lemon Curd Cupcakes

There are two things I REALLY, REALLY want right now... a latte... and a CUPCAKE!!!  What kind?  Well, I almost "don't care," but these were so tasty, I wouldn't mind eating one of these!  (If there were any left...).

Lemon Curd brings me back to my undergrad days when I used to make it with Ian (in fact, he's the one who introduced me to it I believe).  The curd isn't quite the recipe we used, but it's still just as delicious as I remember it being.  We'd slap it on some warm scones or just eat it by the spoon full!  :)

Although this is more of a "spring" or "summer" recipe, lemons are readily available all year round and always brighten up a day (or a meal!).

Lemon Cupcakes

3/4 cup cake flour
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter (room temp)
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
zest of two large lemons or four small lemons (roughly 1 tbsp)

Preheat the oven to 350.  Line one cupcake pan with twelve liners.  Set aside until ready.

In a bowl, combine both flours, baking powder, and salt together.  Whisk and set aside.

In a stand mixer or with a hand beater, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (about two or three minutes).  Incorporate eggs one by one until the mixture is fully blended.  Add in the vanilla and lemon zest and blend for about ten seconds.

Combine the flour mixture and milk into the egg batter, alternating each and dividing the flour into three parts and the milk into two.

Beat the batter just until all the ingredients are combined.

Divide the batter evenly into the twelve liners.  Bake for roughly 14-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  (I sometimes test my cupcakes by touching them lightly on the top to see if they have a little bounce to them.  Works well if you don't have a toothpick!).

Allow to cool about 10-15 minutes before cutting open and filling cupcakes with the curd.

Once the cupcakes have cooled and the curd is firm and ready to use, cut a hole into the center of the cupcake about 3/4" - 1" wide and about 1" deep.  I cut the holes at an angle so they created a conical shape.  Cut off the bottom half of the cone.  Fill center with about 1 tbsp curd and place the top of the cone back onto the cupcake.

These are now ready to serve!

(Note - it's best to refrigerate these cupcakes as the curd does best in the fridge.  However, you can leave these out for a couple hours if you're planning on serving them the same day).

(cupcake recipe was adapted from a different Martha Stewart cupcake recipe)

Lemon Curd

1/3 cup lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
2 eggs plus one egg yolk
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
zest of one small lemon (or about 1 tsp - optional)

In a bowl, combine the eggs and sugar and beat together.

Heat lemon juice just in a small saucepan just until warm.  Once heated, slowly mix into the egg mixture, beating constantly, careful not to cook the egg.

Once fully incorporated, pour mixture into saucepan and begin to cook, stirring constantly, on medium heat.  The liquid will suddenly begin to thicken.  At the point where a spatula scrapped against the bottom creates a line, but quickly disappears, you know the mixture is ready!

Remove from the heat and beat in the butter and lemon zest.

Pour into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap on the surface of the curd.  Refrigerate and use once cool (this should take a couple hours).

For more curd, double this recipe and use it on WHATEVER you'd like!  (Certainly double this is you plan on making 24 cupcakes instead of 12 as above).  If you don't want to make your own curd, it's sold in almost every grocery store.

(adapted from the Cooks Illustrated cookbook)

Peppermint Brownies

I fell in love with these peppermint brownies about four years ago!  One of my best friend, Bekah, and I would always check for them at Whole Foods whenever we went.  It was our tradition to buy one and slowly eat it, savoring every bite.  (It was about $4 a brownie, so we had to make every bite last as LONG as possible!).

We talked many times about making these, but with everything going on and life getting in the way, we somehow never actually go around to it.

One evening this past week, it suddenly donned on me.  It was TIME for peppermint brownies!

I've only actually seen these with green frosting (with I LOVE!!!), but somehow that seemed more "mint" rather than "peppermint," so Bri confirmed my decision to go with the red (SHOCKING!!!  I know!).

I hope you enjoy these as much as we did.  If you're looking for something a little different for this holiday season that's a little different, then why not try this?

Enjoy!

Brownie Base

3/4 cup butter (1.5 sticks)
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 1/4 cups white sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 325.

Over medium-low heat in a medium saucepan, combine the butter and unsweetened chocolate.  Allow both ingredients to melt completely, stirring occasionally to allow the two to come together.

Once fully melted, remove from heat.  Stir in the sugar, allowing it to melt a little.  Next, add in the three eggs, and mix completely to make sure their well incorporated.  Stirring constantly will also help to insure that the eggs don't accidentally cook if your chocolate mixture is still too hot.

Lastly, add in the vanilla, salt, and flour.  Mix just until combined.

Pour into either a 9x9 inch buttered pan or an 8x12 inch buttered pan.

Bake for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  If you don't over bake, the brownie layer will almost be like FUDGE (and AMAZING!!! - that might just be our personal preference, though).

Allow to cool and come to room temperature before continuing on to the next step.

Peppermint Butter Frosting

1/4 cup butter (room temperature)
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
2 tbsp heavy cream
red or green food coloring (optional - color as desired)

In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, combine all ingredients and whip until nice and smooth.

Once the brownies have cooled and come to room temperature, spread the peppermint frosting onto the brownies.  Place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to allow the peppermint layer to harden.

 

Chocolate Ganache Topping

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup heavy cream

In a small or medium saucepan, on very low heat, combine the two ingredients and allow to come together, stirring about every minute or so.  Once chocolate chips are melted and a smooth ganache is formed, remove from heat and allow to cool for about 10 minutes before pouring over the peppermint layer.

Allow to harden for at least 30 minutes (overnight is best) before cutting into.

Enjoy!

Hummus Wonton Poppers with Avocado Lime Chimichurri Sauce

It was after the premiere of my recent piano quintet that we all went out to a tapas restaurant and I was introduced to chimichurri sauce.  O-M-G!!!  I thought I had died and gone to HEAVEN!!  I wanted to start dipping topping everything with it and dipping bread in it.  (Okay... along with the romesco sauce Sophie had with her meatballs).

So... I found a new love and appreciation for tapas.  Once again, I had a "hem-ha" first experience at a tapas bar.  It wasn't bad, but I certainly wasn't blown away.  These flavors totally changed my mind!

Thanks to my awesome friend Chloe for suggesting tapas that night and introducing my to this new world of flavors!  <3

The next day?  Well, let's say that Chloe and I went on a food making FRENZY!  We made two different types of wontons and both the chimichurri and romesco sauces.  We ate to our hearts content.

It had been too long...  I needed more of that sauce.  So... here we go.  Here's our SLIGHT adjustment to the recipe.  I won two "meatatarians" over with a (surprisingly totally) vegan meal.  :)  (Hadn't even thought about that until right now!)

Hummus Wonton Poppers

1 package wonton wrapper (50 count)
16 oz hummus (I used Trader Joe's Cilantro Jalapeno Hummus)

You'll need a little water to help seal these pouches.  In the center of a wrapper, place a scant tablespoon hummus in the center.  Wet the sides of the pouch and bring together the sides, sealing them with your fingers.

In a skillet, heat about 2 tablespoons oil on medium heat.  Once ready, place wontons into the skillet and cook on each side for about 3 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from the skillet and, if desired, allow to drain on paper towels to remove the extra oil

Got a lot of people and want these as finger food for a party?  Double the recipe!

Avocado Lime Chimichurri Sauce

3 medium avocados
1 bunch cilantro
1 bunch Italian parsley
2 roasted poblano peppers
1 small red onion (about 1/2 cup)
4-5 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup lime juice (about 4 limes)
3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup water

In a blender, combine all of the ingredients and blend.  Base texture on your preference.  We blended it so it was nice and creamy.  If you like a little texture, just don't blend it as long.  It's that simple!

This makes a WHOOOOLE lot of sauce, so you'd better be prepared to use it as a topping for other dishes.  You could make some tacos, grill a nice steak, or top chicken breasts and a side of rice with the leftovers.  (You'll see the leftovers used on our Jamaican Jerk Chicken Tacos!).

If you don't think you'll be able to use that much, just cut the recipe in half.

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Like muffins?  Like chocolate?  Like zucchini?

Well... even if you said no to the last one, I don't think you'll even NOTICE the green vegetable hiding in this gem.

So - here's variation no. 2 on zucchini.  :)

I guess I don't have too much to say, well, except that here are some pictures of one of my new BIRTHDAY DISHES!!!  Woohoo!!  (Thanks to my mommy - - - Anthro shopping spree!!!!).  Plan on seeing a few new dishes (no pun intended...) in the coming weeks/months sporting some new dinnerware.

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

3 cups grated zucchini
2 1/3 cups flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup butter or oil
1 1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.  (or for two loaves of bread, grease a 9x5x3 loaf pan and set aside until ready to use).

In a mixer, combine the butter or oil and sugars together and beat until fluffy.  On medium speed, add the eggs one by one.  Next, combine the grated zucchini, vanilla, milk, cinnamon, and allspice with the wet ingredients and blend just until combined.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Turning off the stand mixer, add the dry ingredients to the wet and beat just until combined.  Turn off the mixer, add in the chocolate chips, mix once more, for about 10 seconds.

Pour the batter evenly into the muffin pans or the two loaf pans.

Bake muffins for 14-17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and they "bounce back" with a light touch.  Bake loaves for 40-50 minutes, or again, until done (toothpick test).

Allow to cool for about 10 minutes before removing from the baking pans.

Zucchini Bread

I honestly can't remember when I came-up with this recipe or even what recipes I combined to come-up with this combination.  All I know is, I feel in love with this zucchini bread recipe a LONG time ago!  :)

There are a few "unusual" ingredients in this recipe, but don't let them put you off before you try it!  Also, it looks like QUITE a bit of poppyseeds, but they're really nicely balanced with everything else once the bread is baked.

The crystalized ginger helps give this bread a nice "zing" and twist while adding a uniquely "Fall-like" flavor.

Sit down with a nice hot cup of tea, a cold glass of milk (like you see in the picture in one of my new SWEET glasses!), or grab a slice as you run out the door!

Zucchini Bread

3 cups grated zucchini
2 tbsp vanilla
1/3 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp curry
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
zest of one orange
3/4 cup walnuts (chopped)
1/4 cup poppyseeds
1/4 cup crystalized ginger
1/2 cup butter (melted)
3 eggs

Preheat the oven to 350.

In a bowl, combine the grated zucchini, vanilla, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, curry, ginger powder, and the first 1/2 teaspoon salt and let sit.

Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and the second 1/2 teaspoon salt in a separate bowl and whisk to blend together.

In a stand mixer, combine the butter and sugar together and beat until light and fluffy.  Next, add in the eggs and mix well.  Add the zest of the orange, walnuts, poppyseeds, and crystalized ginger to the mixer and stir just until incorporated.  Next, add the wet zucchini mixture in and mix for about 30 seconds.  Lastly, add the flour mixture and stir in just until the flour in incorporated into the wet mixture.

Butter and flour two 8"x4"x2.5" loaf pans (or line two muffin tins with 24 paper liners).  Divide the batter evenly between the two loaf pans.  Bake loaf pans for 35-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  For muffins, bake for about 14-18 minutes checking the centers also with a toothpick.

Let cool for about 10 minutes before removing the bread from the pans.

Pear Pork Chops

This... was... divine.  Okay?

I don't want to be arrogant... (so please forgive me if it comes across that way).

Excellent!  Now that we have established that...  Let's move on.

I remember when the thought of a pork chop TERRIFIED me.  I'm pretty sure it stems from my mother's fear - that is, having been served a number of poorly prepared chops at one point in her life.  I think her fear tainted me for a while.  So, somehow, I have moved on and am now perfectly happy with consuming some pork here and there.

Probably four years back or so, while at CIM, a friend and fellow composer and I whipped up a tasty dinner of pear pork chops.  Seeing as I hadn't had it since then, and since I remember it being rather delicious, I decided it was time to make it again.  I don't remember exactly what recipe we used, but I do remember some slight variations.  This, however, was no letdown.

Pear Pork Chops
3 pork chops (about 3/4" thick)
1 tsp fresh chopped rosemary
3 cloves crushed garlic
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup sherry
2 bartlet pears
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp olive oil

In a small bowl, combine the rosemary, crushed garlic, salt, and pepper.  Rub equal parts of both sides of each pork chop.  Let the pork sit while the skillet heats and you slice the pears into 1/8" thick slices.

Heat skillet on medium-high heat.  Add olive oil and allow to heat.  Place pork in the skillet and allow to sear and cook for 5-6 minutes, turn pork, and repeat.  Check the internal temperature with a food thermometer.  (Note!  The USDA has changed the safe internal temperature for pork from 160 down to 145).

Remove the pork chops from the skillet and set aside.  Very carefully, put the sherry in the hot skillet to allow the alcohol to burn off (enjoy the nice sizzle and display when you do it, though).  After about 30 seconds, turn the heat down to medium heat, add pears, a dash of salt, and brown sugar to the skillet.  Allow to reduce and saute for roughly 10 minutes.

Place the pork back into the skillet and allow to reheat on both sides and absorb some of the sauce for about 90 seconds on both sides.  Remove from heat, place pork on serving platter, top with the sauteed pears, and serve.